The Tale of Gautama Buddha
1)
I am Lord Ganesha and I am here to tell you the tale of Gautama Buddha. This particular Avatar of Lord Vishnu has caused quite an uproar among some of us, the Hindu gods. Being that I am the god of wisdom, I have remained neutral in this heated debate. Some of the gods believe this Avatar state undermines us. In Vishnu's defense, I can see that mortals needed him. It was the beginning of the Kali age. In this age humans became separated from us, the gods. I will admit that I miss the simplicity of the old days. In previous times, we were not questioned and we were revered. Time, as it is, is in constant motion and not even the gods can stop it from coming. Though there are those among us who believe Lord Vishnu led humans away from us, I can see that he taught them the skills they would need to survive the Kali age. It was inevitable. Without further ado, let me introduce you to how Gautama Buddha came to be. Here is his story, as I understand it to be.
Siddhartha was born into a rich and fruitful kingdom known as Kapilavastu. His father was king and young Siddhartha grew up in a house full of joy, light, and laughter. His mother had died shortly after his birth, but his father gave the young boy every opportunity and advantage to fill the void left by his mother's absence. Siddhartha, being a part of the warrior caste, was taught all of the skills and knowledge a young warrior was expected to know. He was surrounded by youth and beauty - his father shielded Siddhartha from aging, illness, and death.
Fate cannot be kept at bay. The king could not shield his son from the harsh realities of the world forever. Siddhartha, needing to escape for a short time, decided to go for a drive outside of the city. He needed peace... at least for one afternoon. He enjoyed the drive immensely. The wind in his hair and the sun on his skin had never felt better. Siddhartha slowly became aware that he had ventured further from home than he ever had and he asked his driver to stop. He was extremely interested in his surroundings. He came across a man advanced with age. Siddhartha was quite curious about what ailed this poor man - he had never met anyone in this condition. The old man's skin was leathery and frail, his eyes were yellowed and sunken, and he moved slowly as if he were in pain. Siddhartha asked his driver, "Why does this man move in such a manner and why is his appearance so different?"
"Sire, this man is old. It is the way of the world. Everyone ages," replied his driver.
Siddhartha said no more. He returned to his golden kingdom of youth and beauty. As time passed, Siddhartha never forgot his encounter with the aging man. He began to wonder what other intrigues the world had that he had not encountered. He asked his driver to take him in a different direction than their last voyage for he wanted to see what else the world held. After some time, when Siddhartha was not sure of his surroundings, he asked his driver to stop. There, lying next to the road, was a man wild with fever. Though not old, the man carried his illness heavily. Siddhartha, again, asked his driver "Why does this man move in such a manner and why is his appearance so different?"
His driver commented, "Sire, this man is ill. It is the way of the world. Everyone gets ill."
Siddhartha now had to mysteries to consider. He returned to his city more thoughtful than ever. Upon his return, he sought out the council of his father.
"My king, I come to you deeply distraught. Twice now, I have left the city. I have discovered a man advanced in age and one man wild with sickness. Why have I never encountered these conditions before?"
The king knew this day would come, but he had never given up hope that it would be later, rather than sooner.
"My son, I have only wanted what is best for you. I have shielded you from the sorrows of the world. I wanted only that you know youth, beauty, lightness, and ease. You are my son and I love you. Why would I want you to experience these things if I had it in my power to keep you from them?"
Siddhartha silently acknowledged his father's statements and left the room in deep contemplation. He decided that there was more that he must see and he sought out his driver.
"Driver, again take me for a drive. Take me where we have not been. There is more that I must see."
On the third drive, Siddhartha encountered death. He came upon a funeral procession where a man was being carried on a litter. He did not move, his skin was cold and gray, and the spark of life was missing from his form. A procession of loved ones followed in the man's wake. They shed tears of sadness and wailed in grief. Alas, Siddhartha did not know what had happened. The driver looked at his young charge and was dismayed to see Siddhartha's face. On their previous outings, the prince always maintained an air of curiosity. The driver was the first person to ever see a look of sadness cross the warrior prince's face.
"Sire, what it is? What is wrong?"
"Driver, why does this man not move? Why is his appearance so different?"
The driver took his time and chose his words wisely. "Sire, this man is dead. He does not move and he looks different because his life force has left him. It is time for him to be reborn."
I'm sure that you can imagine the sadness that Siddhartha felt in this unseen world. He decided to leave his father's home, and in the process, he vowed to lead the life of an ascetic. He sought release from earthly consequences like age, illness, and death. He sought nirvana. It is at this time that Siddhartha came to be known as Buddha. The teachings of Buddha do appear to go against us. Yet, it was inevitable. Lord Vishnu kept us, the gods, a part of the world by taking this Avatar state. Without the Buddha, we would have slowly faded from existence. He carried us forward into a time of no gods.
Bibliography:
I am Lord Ganesha and I am here to tell you the tale of Gautama Buddha. This particular Avatar of Lord Vishnu has caused quite an uproar among some of us, the Hindu gods. Being that I am the god of wisdom, I have remained neutral in this heated debate. Some of the gods believe this Avatar state undermines us. In Vishnu's defense, I can see that mortals needed him. It was the beginning of the Kali age. In this age humans became separated from us, the gods. I will admit that I miss the simplicity of the old days. In previous times, we were not questioned and we were revered. Time, as it is, is in constant motion and not even the gods can stop it from coming. Though there are those among us who believe Lord Vishnu led humans away from us, I can see that he taught them the skills they would need to survive the Kali age. It was inevitable. Without further ado, let me introduce you to how Gautama Buddha came to be. Here is his story, as I understand it to be.
Siddhartha was born into a rich and fruitful kingdom known as Kapilavastu. His father was king and young Siddhartha grew up in a house full of joy, light, and laughter. His mother had died shortly after his birth, but his father gave the young boy every opportunity and advantage to fill the void left by his mother's absence. Siddhartha, being a part of the warrior caste, was taught all of the skills and knowledge a young warrior was expected to know. He was surrounded by youth and beauty - his father shielded Siddhartha from aging, illness, and death.
Fate cannot be kept at bay. The king could not shield his son from the harsh realities of the world forever. Siddhartha, needing to escape for a short time, decided to go for a drive outside of the city. He needed peace... at least for one afternoon. He enjoyed the drive immensely. The wind in his hair and the sun on his skin had never felt better. Siddhartha slowly became aware that he had ventured further from home than he ever had and he asked his driver to stop. He was extremely interested in his surroundings. He came across a man advanced with age. Siddhartha was quite curious about what ailed this poor man - he had never met anyone in this condition. The old man's skin was leathery and frail, his eyes were yellowed and sunken, and he moved slowly as if he were in pain. Siddhartha asked his driver, "Why does this man move in such a manner and why is his appearance so different?"
"Sire, this man is old. It is the way of the world. Everyone ages," replied his driver.
Siddhartha said no more. He returned to his golden kingdom of youth and beauty. As time passed, Siddhartha never forgot his encounter with the aging man. He began to wonder what other intrigues the world had that he had not encountered. He asked his driver to take him in a different direction than their last voyage for he wanted to see what else the world held. After some time, when Siddhartha was not sure of his surroundings, he asked his driver to stop. There, lying next to the road, was a man wild with fever. Though not old, the man carried his illness heavily. Siddhartha, again, asked his driver "Why does this man move in such a manner and why is his appearance so different?"
His driver commented, "Sire, this man is ill. It is the way of the world. Everyone gets ill."
Siddhartha now had to mysteries to consider. He returned to his city more thoughtful than ever. Upon his return, he sought out the council of his father.
"My king, I come to you deeply distraught. Twice now, I have left the city. I have discovered a man advanced in age and one man wild with sickness. Why have I never encountered these conditions before?"
The king knew this day would come, but he had never given up hope that it would be later, rather than sooner.
"My son, I have only wanted what is best for you. I have shielded you from the sorrows of the world. I wanted only that you know youth, beauty, lightness, and ease. You are my son and I love you. Why would I want you to experience these things if I had it in my power to keep you from them?"
Siddhartha silently acknowledged his father's statements and left the room in deep contemplation. He decided that there was more that he must see and he sought out his driver.
"Driver, again take me for a drive. Take me where we have not been. There is more that I must see."
On the third drive, Siddhartha encountered death. He came upon a funeral procession where a man was being carried on a litter. He did not move, his skin was cold and gray, and the spark of life was missing from his form. A procession of loved ones followed in the man's wake. They shed tears of sadness and wailed in grief. Alas, Siddhartha did not know what had happened. The driver looked at his young charge and was dismayed to see Siddhartha's face. On their previous outings, the prince always maintained an air of curiosity. The driver was the first person to ever see a look of sadness cross the warrior prince's face.
"Sire, what it is? What is wrong?"
"Driver, why does this man not move? Why is his appearance so different?"
The driver took his time and chose his words wisely. "Sire, this man is dead. He does not move and he looks different because his life force has left him. It is time for him to be reborn."
I'm sure that you can imagine the sadness that Siddhartha felt in this unseen world. He decided to leave his father's home, and in the process, he vowed to lead the life of an ascetic. He sought release from earthly consequences like age, illness, and death. He sought nirvana. It is at this time that Siddhartha came to be known as Buddha. The teachings of Buddha do appear to go against us. Yet, it was inevitable. Lord Vishnu kept us, the gods, a part of the world by taking this Avatar state. Without the Buddha, we would have slowly faded from existence. He carried us forward into a time of no gods.
2)
Author's Note:
I found this story particularly fascinating. In the past, I have heard so much about Buddha - I have even heard him compared to Jesus. I was really excited that this story overlaps with a different belief system...Buddhism. I felt conflicted about how to present this story fairly. The overlap between Hinduism and Buddhism was confusing...and still is. These two beliefs clearly contradict each other. Hinduism relies strongly on gods, whereas Buddhism does not believe in any deity. How could I portray it accurately? This particular Avatar state actually led people away from Hinduism; Buddhists do not believe in gods after all. It is interesting that this is the last Avatar state that Vishnu has taken, physically anyway (Vishnu hasn't taken his tenth Avatar state yet).
In my research, it became obvious that Hinduism could not simply overlook Buddha. He was a huge part of the history of India and I find it interesting how Hinduism was able to incorporate him. I chickened out of going into detail about Gautama Buddha's life when he was older and I decided to tell about Gautama Buddha's youth. While reading this story, most of the other elements didn't seem nearly as important as Buddha's encounters with aging, illness, and death. I tried to imagine encountering these basic elements of life for the first time. This approach seemed to work the best for the story of Gautama Buddha.
Author's Note:
I found this story particularly fascinating. In the past, I have heard so much about Buddha - I have even heard him compared to Jesus. I was really excited that this story overlaps with a different belief system...Buddhism. I felt conflicted about how to present this story fairly. The overlap between Hinduism and Buddhism was confusing...and still is. These two beliefs clearly contradict each other. Hinduism relies strongly on gods, whereas Buddhism does not believe in any deity. How could I portray it accurately? This particular Avatar state actually led people away from Hinduism; Buddhists do not believe in gods after all. It is interesting that this is the last Avatar state that Vishnu has taken, physically anyway (Vishnu hasn't taken his tenth Avatar state yet).
In my research, it became obvious that Hinduism could not simply overlook Buddha. He was a huge part of the history of India and I find it interesting how Hinduism was able to incorporate him. I chickened out of going into detail about Gautama Buddha's life when he was older and I decided to tell about Gautama Buddha's youth. While reading this story, most of the other elements didn't seem nearly as important as Buddha's encounters with aging, illness, and death. I tried to imagine encountering these basic elements of life for the first time. This approach seemed to work the best for the story of Gautama Buddha.
Cover Page
Introduction
My OU Homepage
Image Information:
1) Buddha at The Lineage of the Buddha
2) Lord Ganesha at One India
1) Buddha at The Lineage of the Buddha
2) Lord Ganesha at One India
Bibliography:
"The Buddha Avatara" by W.J. Wilkins,
from Hindu Mythology, Vedic, and Puranic (1900). Web Source: Sacred Texts
Archive.
"Gautama Buddha in Hinduism,"
2009. Web Source: Wikipedia.
"Kali Yuga," 2009. Web Source: Wikipedia.