I am currently reading "An Introduction to Buddhism", a book by Dr. C. George Boeree of Shippensburg University.
In the first chapter he has dealt with The Life of Siddhartha Gautama (letter known as Buddha). I found this chapter both amusing and wonderful. The good Doc tells us that immediately Buddha was born he spoke and walked on all the four directions of the compass. The first words he uttered were, "I have come to free mankind from Suffering". In my interpretation this sounds to me like Buddha is declaring that he is some sought of a saviour sent to mankind. He does not however say that he has been sent to mankind by any supreme authority. The fact the as an infant, he could utter such words and even take a stroll tells us that he was not an ordinary child. He was somehow Prophetic in character.
At his birth we get to see that he is fully conscious and even already know what suffering is all about, a miracle we can say. However I find the author of the book in the succeeding texts annulling all that. Dr. George tells us that on Baby's day out( the first time ever Buddha went out of the Palace since his childhood)He saw four things
1. Old people
2. Sick people
3. Death
4. Monk
In fact Buddha got confused as we see below,
As he (Buddha) was lead through Kapilavatthu, the capital, he chanced to see a couple of old men who had accidentally wandered near the parade route. Amazed and confused, he chased after them to find out what they were. Then he came across some people who were severely ill. And finally, he came across a funeral ceremony by the side of a river, and for the first time in his life saw death. He asked his friend and squire Chandaka the meaning of all these things, and CHANDAKA INFORMED HIM OF THE SIMPLE TRUTHS THAT SIDDHARTHA SHOULD HAVE KNOWN ALL ALONG: THAT ALL OF US GET OLD, SICK, AND EVENTUALLY DIE."
This where George begins to confuse even us. He has first lead us to believe in Buddha's miraculous birth and his infant proclamation on saving mankind from suffering. But he letter on tells us that Buddha was just another normal person who needed explanation to life's event. This means that Buddha lied when he first told us about suffering that he did not know about.
Buddha's mother Queen Mahamaya died seven days after giving birth to his son. It is amazing that in his consciousness at infancy and his prophet like characteristic he never got know about the death of his mother. He only comes to learn about death itself, letter in his life. As we see in the paragraph below, Buddha never knew what suffering was all about prior to his venturing out of the palace.
"At the age of 29, Siddhartha came to realize that he could not be happy living as he had been. HE HAD DISCOVERED SUFFERING, AND WANTED MORE THAN ANYTHING TO DISCOVER HOW ONE MIGHT OVERCOME SUFFERING. After kissing his sleeping wife and newborn son Rahula goodbye, he snuck out of the palace with his squire Chandara and his favorite horse Kanthaka. He gave away his rich clothing, cut his long hair, and gave the horse to Chandara and told him to return to the palace. He studied for a while with two famous gurus of the day, but found their practices lacking."
Islam and Christianity have been branded all the names we could ever thought of having knowledge of. Yet other religions are left unscathed. By the above few instances I have cited it is possible to say that whoever said that Buddha was walked and talked immediately after his birth was fabricating the story to give Buddha some high religious significance.
I encourage all of you to get the book and read it and give your own verdict. You can also find it here
http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/buddhaintro.html. It is a great read.
Buddhism -
02-21-2007, 09:39 AM
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