Reading Notes: The Life of Buddha, Part A
Hello, and welcome to my notes. This week, I'm reading about The Life of Buddha. Read on for my notes!
1: Maya's Dream
-Maya (Buddha's mother) has a dream that a white elephant from the gods with 6 tusks enters her womb; all the gods appear to her and she knows she will never be unhappy again; the next day, she goes to the woods and tells her handmaids to bring the king there; as the king is walking towards the woods, he feels an overpowering sense of dread but doesn't know why; a voice from a god told him that "he who seeks supreme knowledge has chosen to be your son" and to be happy, so the king is
-the king goes to Maya in the woods and she asks him to summon brahmans who can tell them whether her dream was good or bad; the brahmans come and tell them to be happy because their son will be the Buddha; they were very happy with this news so they started serving their people; just a touch of Maya's hand on a sick person could cure them
2: Birth of Siddhartha
-Maya decides to give birth to the Buddha in the gardens surrounded by flowers; the king tells the servants to deck the garden out with all of their finest things; Maya goes to the garden and wanders around for a bit, then goes to a rare tree; when she touched it, the Buddha was born (and the world was cleansed of all evil)
-the king goes to the garden to see his new son, Siddhartha (the Buddha); they all sing about all the good things the Buddha will do in the world
3: Asita's Prediction
-a hermit named Asita hears about the birth of Siddhartha and travels to the palace; Asita tells the king that he has come because he has heard from the gods about the baby having "the true knowledge" and wanted to come meet him; the king brings Siddhartha to Asita and Asita starts to cry; the king gets worried and asks Asita why he's crying
-Asita tells the king that he's crying because his own life is coming to a close while this divine baby was just born; Asita tells the king how the Buddha will save everyone and end all suffering
4: Siddhartha at the Temple
-the king gets worried because he knows the prophecy says Siddhartha will renounce all royalty, but his worries go away when he realizes how much their kingdom has prospered since Siddhartha was born; seven days later, Maya dies, so Siddhartha was looked after by his aunt
-Siddhartha grows up; everyone loves him and gives him tons of gifts, toys and jewelry; one day, Siddhartha's aunt decides she wants to teach him how to wear necklaces and bracelets, but when she puts them on him, she realizes that their brilliance dims because his "inner light" was too brilliant; a goddess appears to the aunt and tells her that he shouldn't wear jewelry because it is too crude for him
-one day, the king and his aunt take Siddhartha to the temple of the gods; when Siddhartha enters the temple, the statues of all the major gods come to life and they bow at his feet
5: Siddhartha's First Meditation
-the king chooses the best teacher in India, Visvamitra, to tutor Siddhartha; Siddhartha asks Visvamitra which script he would like him to write in, reciting 64 different kinds; Visvamitra is stunned and tells Siddhartha that there's nothing he can teach him
-Siddhartha goes for a walk in a nearby village; he sits down under a group of trees and meditates; a group of people walk by, wondering who he is; a divine voice tells them that he is greater than a god, and they all see he has the mark of omnipotence and will become the Buddha; the group of people then talk about all the great things he'll do
-the king sends servants to look for Siddhartha; one finds him meditating, and sees that even though the shadows of the other trees have moved, the shadow of the tree he originally sat under has not moved and still shades him; the servant goes to get the king and they marvel at Siddhartha for a while; then Siddhartha stops meditating at they all go home
6: First Encounter
-one day, Siddhartha decides he wants to leave the palace for a while; the king orders that the sick and the beggars must stay away from the streets while Siddhartha travels so he doesn't know of the evil in the world; the people marveled at Siddhartha as he traveled by; the gods got jealous so they sent an old man down to come across Siddhartha's path
-the old man was very sick, and Siddhartha asks the charioteer what's wrong with him; the charioteer explains how old age works; this makes Siddhartha upset, so he decides to go back to the palace, contemplating old age
7: Two More Encounters
-the next day, Siddhartha rides through the city again; the gods send a diseased man to cross paths with Siddhartha this time; Siddhartha asks the charioteer what's wrong with the man, and the charioteer explains sickness to Siddhartha; Siddhartha is upset again, so they return home so he can contemplate sickness
-the king finds out about Siddhartha seeing old age and sickness on the streets and gets very angry; he decides to let Siddhartha go out once more so that he might find a little joy (Siddhartha has been very depressed since he came back) so he tells his servants to keep sick and old people away from the streets
-Siddhartha goes out again, but this time the gods send 4 men carrying a corpse across his path; Siddhartha asks the charioteer what's wrong with this man, so the charioteer explains death to Siddhartha; Siddhartha gets upset tells the charioteer that they need to go back to the palace, but the charioteer takes him to the garden instead (because the king had ordered him to)
8: The Fair Maidens and Gopa's Dream
-the charioteer takes Siddhartha to the garden; the king had sent one of Siddhartha's childhood friends (Udayin) and many maidens there to entertain Siddhartha; when Siddhartha shows up, the maidens are captivated by him and a little scared of him; Udayin convinces them to try and make Siddhartha fall in love with them; the maidens each do different things to try and catch Siddhartha's attention, but Siddhartha stays depressed and thinks about death
-Udayin tries to get Siddhartha to focus on the women, but he can't because of he's too busy thinking about death, sickness and old age; everyone returns to the palace, depressed
-that night, Gopa (Siddhartha's wife) has a dream that all of their things were destroyed and scattered about, the whole earth shaking and dark; she wakes up and tells Siddhartha about this dream; Siddhartha tells her that this means that they would both be honored one day
9: The Great Truths
-Siddhartha becomes increasingly unhappy and restless; one day, while Siddhartha is walking through the country contemplating old age, sickness and death, he comes across a monk; the monk tells Siddhartha about his life (how he lives in solitude and wanders around seeking good) and then disappears (he was sent by the gods); Siddhartha realizes that he needs to become a monk
-Siddhartha goes back to the palace and tells the king that he needs to leave and walk the path of deliverance; the king tries to convince him to stay by trying to give him the kingdom and make him king; Siddhartha tells the king that he will only become king if the king can promise him that he will be free of old age, sickness and death; the king obviously can't deliver, so Siddhartha eventually leaves the palace and goes on his journey
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"The Life of Buddha" by Andre Ferdinand Herold. Source: Untextbook.
1: Maya's Dream
-Maya (Buddha's mother) has a dream that a white elephant from the gods with 6 tusks enters her womb; all the gods appear to her and she knows she will never be unhappy again; the next day, she goes to the woods and tells her handmaids to bring the king there; as the king is walking towards the woods, he feels an overpowering sense of dread but doesn't know why; a voice from a god told him that "he who seeks supreme knowledge has chosen to be your son" and to be happy, so the king is
-the king goes to Maya in the woods and she asks him to summon brahmans who can tell them whether her dream was good or bad; the brahmans come and tell them to be happy because their son will be the Buddha; they were very happy with this news so they started serving their people; just a touch of Maya's hand on a sick person could cure them
2: Birth of Siddhartha
-Maya decides to give birth to the Buddha in the gardens surrounded by flowers; the king tells the servants to deck the garden out with all of their finest things; Maya goes to the garden and wanders around for a bit, then goes to a rare tree; when she touched it, the Buddha was born (and the world was cleansed of all evil)
-the king goes to the garden to see his new son, Siddhartha (the Buddha); they all sing about all the good things the Buddha will do in the world
3: Asita's Prediction
-a hermit named Asita hears about the birth of Siddhartha and travels to the palace; Asita tells the king that he has come because he has heard from the gods about the baby having "the true knowledge" and wanted to come meet him; the king brings Siddhartha to Asita and Asita starts to cry; the king gets worried and asks Asita why he's crying
-Asita tells the king that he's crying because his own life is coming to a close while this divine baby was just born; Asita tells the king how the Buddha will save everyone and end all suffering
4: Siddhartha at the Temple
-the king gets worried because he knows the prophecy says Siddhartha will renounce all royalty, but his worries go away when he realizes how much their kingdom has prospered since Siddhartha was born; seven days later, Maya dies, so Siddhartha was looked after by his aunt
-Siddhartha grows up; everyone loves him and gives him tons of gifts, toys and jewelry; one day, Siddhartha's aunt decides she wants to teach him how to wear necklaces and bracelets, but when she puts them on him, she realizes that their brilliance dims because his "inner light" was too brilliant; a goddess appears to the aunt and tells her that he shouldn't wear jewelry because it is too crude for him
-one day, the king and his aunt take Siddhartha to the temple of the gods; when Siddhartha enters the temple, the statues of all the major gods come to life and they bow at his feet
5: Siddhartha's First Meditation
-the king chooses the best teacher in India, Visvamitra, to tutor Siddhartha; Siddhartha asks Visvamitra which script he would like him to write in, reciting 64 different kinds; Visvamitra is stunned and tells Siddhartha that there's nothing he can teach him
-Siddhartha goes for a walk in a nearby village; he sits down under a group of trees and meditates; a group of people walk by, wondering who he is; a divine voice tells them that he is greater than a god, and they all see he has the mark of omnipotence and will become the Buddha; the group of people then talk about all the great things he'll do
-the king sends servants to look for Siddhartha; one finds him meditating, and sees that even though the shadows of the other trees have moved, the shadow of the tree he originally sat under has not moved and still shades him; the servant goes to get the king and they marvel at Siddhartha for a while; then Siddhartha stops meditating at they all go home
6: First Encounter
-one day, Siddhartha decides he wants to leave the palace for a while; the king orders that the sick and the beggars must stay away from the streets while Siddhartha travels so he doesn't know of the evil in the world; the people marveled at Siddhartha as he traveled by; the gods got jealous so they sent an old man down to come across Siddhartha's path
-the old man was very sick, and Siddhartha asks the charioteer what's wrong with him; the charioteer explains how old age works; this makes Siddhartha upset, so he decides to go back to the palace, contemplating old age
7: Two More Encounters
-the next day, Siddhartha rides through the city again; the gods send a diseased man to cross paths with Siddhartha this time; Siddhartha asks the charioteer what's wrong with the man, and the charioteer explains sickness to Siddhartha; Siddhartha is upset again, so they return home so he can contemplate sickness
-the king finds out about Siddhartha seeing old age and sickness on the streets and gets very angry; he decides to let Siddhartha go out once more so that he might find a little joy (Siddhartha has been very depressed since he came back) so he tells his servants to keep sick and old people away from the streets
-Siddhartha goes out again, but this time the gods send 4 men carrying a corpse across his path; Siddhartha asks the charioteer what's wrong with this man, so the charioteer explains death to Siddhartha; Siddhartha gets upset tells the charioteer that they need to go back to the palace, but the charioteer takes him to the garden instead (because the king had ordered him to)
8: The Fair Maidens and Gopa's Dream
-the charioteer takes Siddhartha to the garden; the king had sent one of Siddhartha's childhood friends (Udayin) and many maidens there to entertain Siddhartha; when Siddhartha shows up, the maidens are captivated by him and a little scared of him; Udayin convinces them to try and make Siddhartha fall in love with them; the maidens each do different things to try and catch Siddhartha's attention, but Siddhartha stays depressed and thinks about death
-Udayin tries to get Siddhartha to focus on the women, but he can't because of he's too busy thinking about death, sickness and old age; everyone returns to the palace, depressed
-that night, Gopa (Siddhartha's wife) has a dream that all of their things were destroyed and scattered about, the whole earth shaking and dark; she wakes up and tells Siddhartha about this dream; Siddhartha tells her that this means that they would both be honored one day
9: The Great Truths
-Siddhartha becomes increasingly unhappy and restless; one day, while Siddhartha is walking through the country contemplating old age, sickness and death, he comes across a monk; the monk tells Siddhartha about his life (how he lives in solitude and wanders around seeking good) and then disappears (he was sent by the gods); Siddhartha realizes that he needs to become a monk
-Siddhartha goes back to the palace and tells the king that he needs to leave and walk the path of deliverance; the king tries to convince him to stay by trying to give him the kingdom and make him king; Siddhartha tells the king that he will only become king if the king can promise him that he will be free of old age, sickness and death; the king obviously can't deliver, so Siddhartha eventually leaves the palace and goes on his journey
Siddhartha encountering death. Source: Untextbook.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"The Life of Buddha" by Andre Ferdinand Herold. Source: Untextbook.
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