203-591: The Great Renunciation or Great Departure (Sanskrit: mahābhiniṣkramaṇa ; Pali: mahābhinikkhamana ) is the traditional term for the departure of Gautama Buddha ( c. 563 – c. 483 BCE) from his palace at Kapilavastu to live a life as an ascetic ( Sanskrit : śrāmaṇa , Pali : sāmaṇa ). It is called the Great Renunciation because it is regarded as a great sacrifice. Most accounts of this event can be found in post-canonical Buddhist texts from several Buddhist traditions, which are
406-511: A bodhisattva , and the first collection of these can be dated among the earliest Buddhist texts. The Mahāpadāna Sutta and Achariyabhuta Sutta both recount miraculous events surrounding Gautama's birth, such as the bodhisattva's descent from the Tuṣita Heaven into his mother's womb. The sources which present a complete picture of the life of Siddhārtha Gautama are a variety of different, and sometimes conflicting, traditional biographies from
609-467: A holy man called Asita made a prediction that he would either become a world teacher or a world ruler ( Sanskrit : cakravartin , Pali : cakkavatin ), though one of the Brahmins, Kaundinya , and according to some sources Asita, stated that the child could only become a world teacher. To prevent his son and heir apparent from turning to religious life, Prince Siddhārtha's father and rāja of
812-467: A nun and attained enlightenment. In the same story, the Buddha is also described teaching his father, and later on, his step-mother Mahāpajāpatī who had raised him. The Great Renunciation is not only a part of the biography of Gautama Buddha, but is a pattern that can be found in the life of every single Buddha, part of a pre-established blueprint that each Buddha must follow. Only a little information
1015-561: A white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side, and ten months later Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother Queen Maya became pregnant, she left Kapilavastu for her father's kingdom to give birth. Her son is said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a sal tree . The earliest Buddhist sources state that the Buddha was born to an aristocratic Kshatriya (Pali: khattiya ) family called Gotama (Sanskrit: Gautama), who were part of
1218-520: A "true historical memory" of the events approximately 60 years prior if the Short Chronology for the Buddha's lifetime is accepted (but he also points out that such a text was originally intended more as hagiography than as an exact historical record of events). John S. Strong sees certain biographical fragments in the canonical texts preserved in Pāli, as well as Chinese, Tibetan and Sanskrit as
1421-472: A Buddha or an "all-conquering king". Brekke notes that the Buddha chooses to change the self instead of changing the world, as a king would do: he chooses to try to understand the essence of the world and awaken to its truth. Strong argues that the scene of the double prediction after the prince's birth serves to indicate that two aspects of character would continually operate in Prince Siddhārtha's life. On
1624-430: A Buddha. Moved by all the things he had experienced, the prince decided to leave the palace behind in the middle of the night against his father's will, to live the life of an wandering ascetic, leaving behind his son and wife Yaśodharā. Just before he left the palace for the spiritual life, he took one look at his wife Yaśodharā and his newborn child. Fearing his resolve might waver, he resisted to pick up his son and left
1827-576: A century after he lived. The literal interpretation of the confrontation with the four sights—seeing old age, sickness and death for the first time in his life—is generally not accepted by historians, but seen as symbolical for a growing and shocking existential realization, which may have started in Gautama's early childhood. Later, he may have intentionally given birth to his son Rāhula before his renunciation, to obtain permission from his parents more easily. The double prediction which occurred shortly after
2030-489: A century afterwards, respectively. He related these motifs to the association of the Buddha with the cakravartin , which would have made most sense during the rise of the Maurya empire. The connection between deities and previous Buddhas on the one hand, and the four sights on the other hand, Bareau dated to the end of the 3rd century BCE. It was then applied to Gautama Buddha in the 1st century BCE or 1st century CE. Drawing from
2233-411: A child or grandchild. Historian Hans Wolfgang Schumann [ de ] further speculated that Siddhārtha Gautama only conceived a son thirteen years after his marriage, because Yaśodharā initially did not want to bear a child, for fear that he would leave the palace and the throne as soon as the child was conceived. Although many traditional accounts of the Buddha's life relate that Siddhartha left
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#17327808252312436-473: A close relationship between the Buddha's aspiration to bring living beings to enlightenment on the one hand, and the carrying of Prince Siddhārtha by Kaṇṭhaka on the other hand. In several biographies of the Buddha's life, a shrine is mentioned which was placed at the point where Kaṇṭhaka passed during the Great Departure. Classicist Edward J. Thomas (1869–1958) thought this shrine to be historical. On
2639-495: A council with alternating rājas , which at the time of Siddhārtha Gautama's birth was Śuddhodana. Śuddhodana was a large landowner belonging to the nobility, and was likely to have had "considerable speaking ability and persuasive powers", which his son Siddhārtha may have inherited. Siddhārtha Gautama was probably born in a wealthy and aristocratic family. Indologist A.K. Warder believed that Siddhārtha Gautama's three palaces were historical, but "... conventional luxury for
2842-586: A custom in those days, and later became a standard Buddhist custom. The Great Renunciation was partly motivated by the First Meditation under the tree when the prince was still a child. This meditation goes hand-in-hand with a shock at the killing of animals which occurred during the ploughing ceremony. Foucher argues that this account may have been affected by the contempt which Indian intellectuals had for agriculture. Buddhist studies scholar Kate Crosby argues that Siddhārtha conceiving or giving birth to
3045-429: A debate with people in the court, but to no avail. Next, he sends women to tempt the prince, but again, unsuccessfully: Josaphat wishes to renounce the worldly life and become an ascetic. The king manages to persuade his son to stay, however, by giving him half of his kingdom. Accepting the offer, King Josaphat becomes a good king and his Christian kingdom prospers more than that of his father, who eventually converts. After
3248-513: A dramatic narrative about the life of the young Gotama as a prince and his existential troubles. They depict his father Śuddhodana as a hereditary monarch of the Suryavansha (Solar dynasty) of Ikṣvāku (Pāli: Okkāka). This is unlikely, as many scholars think that Śuddhodana was merely a Shakya aristocrat ( khattiya ), and that the Shakya republic was not a hereditary monarchy. The more egalitarian gaṇasaṅgha form of government, as
3451-593: A historical figure. Michael Carrithers goes further, stating that the most general outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true. Legendary biographies like the Pali Buddhavaṃsa and the Sanskrit Jātakamālā depict the Buddha's (referred to as " bodhisattva " before his awakening) career as spanning hundreds of lifetimes before his last birth as Gautama. Many of these previous lives are narrated in
3654-680: A later date. These include the Buddhacarita , Lalitavistara Sūtra , Mahāvastu , and the Nidānakathā . Of these, the Buddhacarita is the earliest full biography, an epic poem written by the poet Aśvaghoṣa in the first century CE. The Lalitavistara Sūtra is the next oldest biography, a Mahāyāna / Sarvāstivāda biography dating to the 3rd century CE. The Mahāvastu from the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda tradition
3857-547: A lifespan of about 80 years. According to these chronicles, Asoka was crowned in 326 BCE, which gives Buddha's lifespan as 624 – 544 BCE, and are the accepted dates in Sri Lanka and South-East Asia. Alternatively, most scholars who also accept the long chronology but date Asoka's coronation around 268 BCE (based on Greek evidence) put the Buddha's lifespan later at 566 – 486 BCE. However, the "short chronology", from Indian sources and their Chinese and Tibetan translations, place
4060-490: A parallel between the quest for enlightenment and Yaśodharā's path to being a mother, and eventually, they both are accomplished at the same time. The Great Renunciation functions as a "founding story" of Buddhism. Prince Siddhārtha's leaving the palace is traditionally called the Great Renunciation because of the great sacrifice it entails. Archaeologist Alfred Foucher pointed out that the Great Departure marks
4263-421: A point in the biographies of the Buddha from which he was no longer a prince, and no longer asked the deities for assistance: "And as such he found himself in an indifferent world, without guidance or support, confronted with both the noble task of seeking mankind's salvation and the lowly but pressing one of securing his daily bread ..." The sacrifice meant that he discarded his royal and caste obligations to affirm
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#17327808252314466-532: A political alternative to Indian monarchies, may have influenced the development of the śramanic Jain and Buddhist sanghas , where monarchies tended toward Vedic Brahmanism . The day of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death is widely celebrated in Theravada countries as Vesak and the day he got conceived as Poson . Buddha's Birthday is called Buddha Purnima in Nepal, Bangladesh, and India as he
4669-407: A political unit was gradually being replaced by larger kingdoms. The prince's sensitivity with regard to the future of his clan may have further added to his decision. Scholars have hypothesized that Siddhārtha Gautama conceived Rāhula to please his parents, to obtain their permission for leaving the palace and becoming a mendicant. It was an Indian custom to renounce the world only after the birth of
4872-466: A pre-Buddhist tradition. Kapilavastu has been identified with both Piprahwā-Ganwārīā , India, and Tilaurākoṭ , Nepal, and scholars are divided as to which site is more likely to have been the historical Kapilavastu. During the time of King Ashoka (3rd century BCE), the area was already regarded as the birthplace of the Buddha, judging from the pillar that was erected in Lumbinī , Nepal. With regard to
5075-407: A religious ascetic. Tradition says the prince threw his hairknot in the air , where it was picked up by deities and enshrined in heaven . The brahma deity Ghaṭikāra offered him his robes and other requisites [ th ] . Siddhārtha then comforted Chandaka and sent his charioteer back to the palace to inform his father, while the former prince crossed the river. Chandaka was to tell
5278-530: A renunciation himself in the middle of his life, inspired by the story. Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama , most commonly referred to as the Buddha ( lit. ' the awakened one ' ), was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia , during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism . According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini , in what
5481-544: A sense of fear and disgust that arises when confronted with the transient nature of the world. The Buddha was shocked by the pervasiveness of old age, sickness and death, and spoke about a noble quest of stillness, in which one faces duḥkha as it is and learns from it. The early Buddhist texts state that Prince Siddhārtha's motivation in renouncing the palace life was his existential self-examination, being aware that he would grow old, become sick and die. This awareness would also inspire his teachings later, such as on suffering and
5684-406: A similar note, Xuan Zang claimed that the pillar of Aśoka which marks Lumbinī was once decorated at the top with a horse figure, which likely was Kaṇṭhaka, symbolizing the Great Departure. Many scholars have argued that this is implausible, however, saying this horse figure makes little sense from a perspective of textual criticism or art history. Buddhist art scenes that are often depicted are
5887-505: A similar note, in Thai ordinations of monks, the candidate monk-to-be sometimes rides on a horse in procession to the ordination grounds, in memory of Prince Siddhārtha's departure. Relatives play the role of Māra. In Cambodia, similar customs can be found, with participants even playing the role of Indra, of Chandaka, the roles of other deities, and the army of Māra. Strong has hypothesized that some of these ritual reenactments may have influenced
6090-436: A small number of archetypes all literary forms and narratives could be derived. To prove his point, he connected the Great Renunciation of the Buddha with Arabian, Chinese and Irish stories, and explained that the same motifs were at play: for example, the motif of the ascetic who shows the meaninglessness of the king's land, and thereby destroys the king's confidence. Comparative literature scholar Dominique Jullien concludes that
6293-404: A son before his renunciation functions as a motif to prove that he is the best at each possible path in life: after having tried the life of a father to the fullest, he decides to leave it behind for a better alternative. In early Buddhist India, being a father and bearing a son was seen as a spiritual and religious path as well as that of renouncing one's family, and Siddhārtha's bringing a son in
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6496-400: A song from a Kapilavastu woman called Kisā Gotami, praising the prince's handsome appearance. The song contained the word nirvṛtā ( Pali : nibbuta ), which can mean 'blissful, at peace', but also 'extinguished, gone to Nirvana'. The song fascinated him for this reason, and he took it as a sign that it was time for him to seek Nirvana . Foucher describes this as follows: Marvelous power of
6699-427: A story in which mythological motif is more important than psychology of character, and authorial anonymity is a key factor. Furthermore, he saw in the story the proof of the universal and archetypical nature of literature, deriving from Goethe 's idea of morphology . This biological theory presumed an archetypical, intuitive unity behind all living forms: Borges presumed a similar idea in literature, in which from only
6902-429: A theory by philologist Friedrich Weller [ de ] , Buddhist studies scholar Bhikkhu Anālayo argues, on the other hand, that the four sights might originate in pictorial depictions used in early Buddhism for didactic purposes. These are already mentioned in the early texts and later generations might have taken these depictions literally. With regard to the restrictions enforced by Śuddhodana, Schumann said it
7105-445: A way toward wisdom. Therefore, again, the prince discovered what he would later understand more deeply during his enlightenment : duḥkha and the end of duḥkha . Some time later, Prince Siddhārtha heard the news that a son had been born to him. The Pāli account claims that when he received the news of his son's birth he replied " rāhulajāto bandhanaṃ jātaṃ ", meaning 'A rāhu is born, a fetter has arisen', that is, an impediment to
7308-466: A wealthy person of the time, whether a warrior or a merchant". However, the palaces were probably houses with multiple levels, not great palaces. Buddhologist André Bareau (1921–1993) argued that the association that is made between the life of the Buddha and that of the cakravartin may have been inspired by the rapid growth of the Maurya Empire in 4th-century BCE India, though it could also be
7511-519: A woodsman or hunter. The former prince then swapped his clothes with the man, who is in some versions identified with the deity Indra in disguise. Scholar of iconography Anna Filigenzi argues that this exchange indicates Gautama's choice to engage in a more "primitive" kind of society, removed from urban life. Ascetic Gautama then traveled via the Uttarāpatha (Northern Route) passing Rājagṛha, present-day Rajgir . There Gautama met king Bimbisāra , who
7714-425: A word, which as a crystal dropped in a saturated solution produces crystallization, gave form to all his aspirations still vague and scattered. At that moment, he spontaneously discovered the goal towards his life had turned. In some versions of the story, he therefore rewarded the woman for her song with a string of pearls. Before Prince Siddhārtha decided to leave the palace, in the morally oriented Lalitavistara he
7917-504: Is beyond death . The story of the Great Renunciation is therefore a symbolic example of renunciation for all Buddhist monks and nuns. The Buddha's rejection of the hedonism of the palace life would be reflected in his teaching on the Middle Way , the path between the two extremes of sensual pleasure and self-mortification. The Buddha's motivation is described as a form of strong religious agitation ( Sanskrit and Pali : saṃvega ),
8120-459: Is "immeasurable", "inscrutable", "hard to fathom", and "not apprehended". A list of other epithets is commonly seen together in canonical texts and depicts some of his perfected qualities: The Pali Canon also contains numerous other titles and epithets for the Buddha, including: All-seeing, All-transcending sage, Bull among men, The Caravan leader, Dispeller of darkness, The Eye, Foremost of charioteers, Foremost of those who can cross, King of
8323-405: Is a core problem in the study of Buddhism, and is one of the fundamentals of Buddhist practice. Bodhi , Sanskrit बोधि , "awakening", "perfect knowledge", "perfect knowledge or wisdom (by which a man becomes a बुद्ध [Buddha ] or जिन [ jina , arahant ; "victorious", "victor" ], the illuminated or enlightened intellect (of a Buddha or जिन)". The word Bodhi is an abstract noun , formed from
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8526-507: Is another major biography, composed incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE. The Dharmaguptaka biography of the Buddha is the most exhaustive, and is entitled the Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sūtra , and various Chinese translations of this date between the 3rd and 6th century CE. The Nidānakathā is from the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka and was composed in the 5th century by Buddhaghoṣa . Scholars are hesitant to make claims about
8729-443: Is believed to have been born on a full moon day. According to later biographical legends, during the birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita journeyed from his mountain abode, analyzed the child for the "32 marks of a great man" and then announced that he would either become a great king ( chakravartin ) or a great religious leader. Suddhodana held a naming ceremony on the fifth day and invited eight Brahmin scholars to read
8932-744: Is equivalent to vipassana , insight into the three marks of existence, namely anicca , dukkha and anatta . Insight leads to the four stages of enlightenment and Nirvana. In Mahayana Buddhism Prajna (Sanskrit) means "insight" or "wisdom", and entails insight into sunyata . The attainment of this insight is often seen as the attainment of "enlightenment". Wu is the Chinese term for initial insight. Kensho and satori are Japanese terms used in Zen traditions. Kensho means "seeing into one's true nature". Ken means "seeing", sho means "nature", "essence", c.q Buddha-nature. Satori (Japanese)
9135-478: Is given in the texts and discourses about the early life of the Buddha, which contrasts with the abundance of traditional sources about the rest his life, from enlightenment to Parinirvana . Bareau speculated that this may be because the Buddha was disinclined to talk about it, either out of modesty, or because he—and also his leading disciples—did not consider that relating his secular life was sufficiently edifying, as opposed to his religious life. Furthermore, since
9338-689: Is horrified by his harem attendants and decides to leave his father's palace to seek spiritual fulfillment. Balawhar wa-Būdāsf would later be widely circulated and modified into the story of the legendary Christian saints Barlaam and Josaphat , being passed down through the Manichaeans , the Islamic world and the Christian East. From the 11th century onward, this story would in turn become very popular and would significantly affect western spiritual life. Its romantic and colorful setting, as well as
9541-458: Is indicative of the event happening at midnight during the full moon. Sometimes the Greek moon goddess Selene , or a veiled woman is also used to indicate night time. Gandhāran reliefs connect the departure with the month of Vaiśākha, following the Āgamas . Some Gandhāran frontal depictions of the Great Renunciation are likely to have been influenced by Greco-Bactrian images of the god Helios and
9744-399: Is most likely historical: though it is unlikely that it was possible to raise the young Siddhārtha as "blissfully unaware" as described in traditional texts, it is clear from multiple early texts that confrontation with old age, sickness and death was an important motivation in his renunciation. In the words of Buddhist studies scholar Peter Harvey: In this way, the texts portray an example of
9947-535: Is my last birth, now there is no rebirth." Schmithausen notes that the mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight", which is attained after mastering the Rupa Jhanas, is a later addition to texts such as Majjhima Nikaya 36. Bronkhorst notices that ...the accounts which include the Four Noble Truths had a completely different conception of the process of liberation than
10150-524: Is no escape." — The Balavariani (Barlaam and Josaphat) , Lang (1966 , p. 57), cited in Almond (1987 , p. 399) The Christian story of Barlaam and Josaphat starts out very similar to the story of Prince Siddhārtha, but the birth of the prince is preceded by a discussion between his father, the Indian king Abenner, and a nobleman turned Christian ascetic. In this conversation, the ascetic points at
10353-410: Is nobody on earth who can rejoice in his children or his treasures without constantly worrying about them as well. Sorrow and heartache are brought on by the anticipation of impending evils, the onset of sickness or accidental injuries, or else the coming of death itself upon a man's head. The sweetness of self-indulgence turns into bitterness. Delights are rapidly succeeded by depression, from which there
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#173278082523110556-628: Is now Nepal , to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic. After leading a life of mendicancy , asceticism , and meditation, he attained nirvana at Bodh Gaya in what is now India . The Buddha then wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain , teaching and building a monastic order . Buddhist tradition holds he died in Kushinagar and reached parinirvana ("final release from conditioned existence"). According to Buddhist tradition,
10759-732: Is often much older than biographical sources. These artistic depictions were produced in a time when there was no continuous written account of the life of the Buddha available yet. In Buddhist discourses , the Great Renunciation and Departure are usually mentioned in the life of the Buddha, among several other motifs that cover the religious life of the Buddha-to-be, Prince Siddhārtha Gautama ( Pali : Siddhattha Gotama ): his first meditation , marriage, palace life, four encounters, life of ease in palace and renunciation, great departure, encounter with hunters, and farewell to his horse Kaṇṭhaka and his charioteer Chandaka ( Pali : Channa ). In
10962-519: Is often used interchangeably with kensho, but refers to the experience of kensho. The Rinzai tradition sees kensho as essential to the attainment of Buddhahood , but considers further practice essential to attain Buddhahood. East-Asian (Chinese) Buddhism emphasizes insight into Buddha-nature. This term is derived from Indian tathagata-garbha thought, "the womb of the thus-gone" (the Buddha),
11165-501: Is often used to distinguish the enlightenment of a Buddha from that of an Arhat. The term Buddha and the way to Buddhahood is understood somewhat differently in the various Buddhist traditions. An equivalent term for Buddha is Tathāgata , "the thus-gone". In the suttapitaka , the Buddhist canon as preserved in the Theravada tradition, a couple of texts can be found in which the Buddha's attainment of liberation forms part of
11368-430: Is probable that the rāja tried to prevent his son from meeting with free-thinking samaṇa and paribbājaka wandering mendicants assembling in nearby parks. Siddhartha's departure at 29 years old is also seen as historical. With regard to Prince Siddhārtha's motivations in renouncing the palace life, at the time of the renunciation, the Śākyans were under military threat by the kingdom of Kosala. The tribal republic as
11571-454: Is process-oriented. The western use of the term "enlighten" has Christian roots, as in Calvin's "It is God alone who enlightens our minds to perceive his truths". Early 19th-century bodhi was translated as "intelligence". The term "enlighten" was first being used in 1835, in an English translation of a French article, while the first recorded use of the term 'enlightenment' is credited (by
11774-399: Is realized that observer and observed are not distinct entities, but mutually co-dependent. The term vidhya is being used in contrast to avidhya , ignorance or the lack of knowledge, which binds us to samsara . The Mahasaccaka Sutta describes the three knowledges which the Buddha attained: According to Bronkhorst, the first two knowledges are later additions, while insight into
11977-414: Is seen asking his father whether he could leave the city and retire to the forest, but his father said his son that he would give anything for him to stay. Then the prince asked his father whether he could prevent him from growing old, becoming sick or die: the rāja answered he could not. Knowing that his son would therefore leave the palace, he gave him his blessing. That night, Prince Siddhārtha woke up in
12180-733: Is the Fobenxingji Jing ( Sanskrit : Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sūtra ), usually translated as the 'Sūtra of the Departure'. Sinhalese commentators have composed the Pāli language Jātakanidāna , a commentary to the Jātaka from the 2nd – 3rd century CE, which relates the Buddha's life up until the donation of the Jetavana Monastery. Other important Pāli biographies of later origin are the 12th-century Jinālaṅkāra by Buddharakkhita ,
12383-514: Is the actualisation of insight, leading to an awakened awareness which is "non-reactive and lucid". In Mahayana-thought, bodhi is the realisation of the inseparability of samsara and nirvana , and the unity of subject and object. Similar to prajna , the realizing of the Buddha-nature , bodhi realizes sunyata and suchness . In time, the Buddha's awakening came to be understood as an immediate full awakening and liberation, instead of
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#173278082523112586-431: Is the masculine form of budh (बुध् ), "to wake, be awake, observe, heed, attend, learn, become aware of, to know, be conscious again", "to awaken" " 'to open up' (as does a flower)", "one who has awakened from the deep sleep of ignorance and opened his consciousness to encompass all objects of knowledge". It is not a personal name, but a title for those who have attained bodhi (awakening, enlightenment). Buddhi ,
12789-609: Is the same as liberation. The usage of the term "enlightenment" to translate "nirvana" was popularized in the 19th century, in part, due to the efforts of Max Müller, who used the term consistently in his translations. There are three recognized types of Buddha: Siddhartha Gautama , known as the Buddha, is said to have achieved full awakening, known as samyaksaṃbodhi (Sanskrit; Pāli: sammāsaṃbodhi ), "perfect Buddhahood", or anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi , "highest perfect awakening". Specifically, anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi , literally meaning unsurpassed, complete and perfect enlightenment,
12992-430: Is the severing of the last tie that bound him to the world. Chandaka left reluctantly; Kaṇṭhaka died because it could not bear the loss. (Although in some versions Prince Siddhārtha returned with Chandaka to the palace first.) The former prince then continued his journey into the woods, probably in the area of Malla . According to some accounts, he changed his princely clothes into more simple clothes only now, when he met
13195-517: Is unknown. It may have been either Piprahwa , Uttar Pradesh, in present-day India, or Tilaurakot , in present-day Nepal. Both places belonged to the Sakya territory, and are located only 24 kilometres (15 mi) apart. In the mid-3rd century BCE the Emperor Ashoka determined that Lumbini was Gautama's birthplace and thus installed a pillar there with the inscription: "...this is where
13398-522: Is very likely to be historical. After all, according to Foucher, the monastic and celibate composers of the biographies would have had no good reason to include it if it was not a notable event. Scholars have pointed out that the four sights are not mentioned in the earliest texts in relation to Gautama Buddha, but they are mentioned in one of those texts ( Sanskrit : Mahāvadāna Sūtra , Pali : Mahāpadāna Suttanta ) with regard to another Buddha, that is, Vipaśyin Buddha ( Pali : Vipassī ). Nevertheless,
13601-704: The Mahāvastu from the Lokottaravādins (1st century CE), the Lalitavistara from the Sarvāstivādins (1st century CE) and the Saṅghabedavastu . There are also translated biographies in Chinese about the life of the Buddha, of which the earliest can be dated between the 2nd and 4th century BC. Many of these include the Chinese word for Great Departure as part of the title. One of the most well-known of these
13804-421: The 8th day of the waxing moon , others the 15th , as was already observed by Chinese translator Xuan Zang ( c. 602 – 664 CE). Other early Buddhist textual traditions contain different accounts with regard to Rāhula's birth. The Mahāvastu, as well as Mūlasarvāstivāda texts, relate that Rāhula was conceived on the evening of the renunciation of the prince, and only born six years later, on
14007-543: The Aryan society of the western Ganges basin. According to Stein and Burton, "[t]he gods of the brahmanical sacrificial cult were not rejected so much as ignored by Buddhists and their contemporaries." Jainism and Buddhism opposed the social stratification of Brahmanism, and their egalitarism prevailed in the cities of the middle Ganges basin. This "allowed Jains and Buddhists to engage in trade more easily than Brahmans, who were forced to follow strict caste prohibitions." In
14210-463: The Bodhisattva is the ideal. The ultimate goal is not only of one's own liberation in Buddhahood, but the liberation of all living beings. The cosmology of Mahayana Buddhism regards a wide range of buddhas and bodhisattvas, who assist humans on their way to liberation. Nichiren Buddhism , a branch of Mahayana Buddhism, regards Buddhahood as a state of perfect freedom, in which one is awakened to
14413-540: The Enlightenment as the free, unimpeded use of reason. Müller's translation echoed this idea, portraying Buddhism as a rational and enlightened religion that aligns with the natural religious truths inherent to human beings. By the mid-1870s it had become commonplace to call the Buddha "enlightened", and by the end of the 1880s the terms "enlightened" and "enlightenment" dominated the English literature. While
14616-472: The Four Noble Truths is here called awakening. The monk ( bhikkhu ) has "...attained the unattained supreme security from bondage." Awakening is also described as synonymous with Nirvana , the extinction of the passions whereby suffering is ended and no more rebirths take place. The insight arises that this liberation is certain: "Knowledge arose in me, and insight: my freedom is certain, this
14819-404: The Four Noble Truths . The Buddha has also described his motivation to leave the palace life as a yearning for a life that is "wide open" and as "complete and pure as a polished shell", rather than the palace which is "constricting, crowded and dusty". Author Karen Armstrong has suggested that the Buddha's motivation to renounce the worldly life was motivated by a belief in opposites, a feature of
15022-737: The Jatakas , which consists of 547 stories. The format of a Jataka typically begins by telling a story in the present which is then explained by a story of someone's previous life. Besides imbuing the pre-Buddhist past with a deep karmic history, the Jatakas also serve to explain the bodhisattva's (the Buddha-to-be) path to Buddhahood. In biographies like the Buddhavaṃsa , this path is described as long and arduous, taking "four incalculable ages" ( asamkheyyas ). In these legendary biographies,
15225-845: The Mahayana sutras . Buddhism spread beyond the Indian subcontinent, evolving into a variety of traditions and practices, represented by Theravada and Mahayana. While Buddhism declined in India, and mostly disappeared after the 8th century CE due to a lack of popular and economic support, Buddhism is more prominent in Southeast and East Asia. According to Donald Lopez Jr., "... he tended to be known as either Buddha or Sakyamuni in China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet, and as either Gotama Buddha or Samana Gotama ('the ascetic Gotama') in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia." Buddha , "Awakened One" or "Enlightened One",
15428-656: The Mahāvastu . In the Sandaka Sutta , the Buddha's disciple Ananda outlines an argument against the claims of teachers who say they are all knowing while in the Tevijjavacchagotta Sutta the Buddha himself states that he has never made a claim to being omniscient, instead he claimed to have the "higher knowledges" ( abhijñā ). The earliest biographical material from the Pali Nikayas focuses on
15631-596: The Second Urbanisation , in which the Ganges Basin was settled and cities grew, in which egalitarianism prevailed. According to Thapar, the Buddha's teachings were "also a response to the historical changes of the time, among which were the emergence of the state and the growth of urban centres". While the Buddhist mendicants renounced society, they lived close to the villages and cities, depending for alms-givings on lay supporters. According to Dyson,
15834-472: The Shakyas , a tribe of rice-farmers living near the modern border of India and Nepal. His father Śuddhodana was "an elected chief of the Shakya clan ", whose capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed by the growing Kingdom of Kosala during the Buddha's lifetime. The early Buddhist texts contain very little information about the birth and youth of Gotama Buddha. Later biographies developed
16037-512: The Shan people in Myanmar, commemorate Prince Siddhārtha's departure in a procession which takes place during an ordination of a novice , in which the departure is reenacted. There are also reenactments of the scene in which Māra tries to block the prince, the role of Māra being played by relatives or friends; or reenactments of the scenes in which deities encourage the prince to leave the palace. On
16240-406: The perennial philosophy common in the pre-modern world, that is, that all things in mundane life have their counterpart in divine life. The Buddha looked for the divine counterpart of the suffering of birth, ageing and death—the difference was, though, that the Buddha believed he could realize this counterpart in a "demonstrable reality" in the mundane world, natural to human beings and accessible to
16443-429: The warrior-noble caste , who is described as perfect in many ways. All the while, the texts depict Prince Siddhārtha as the perfect prince, being both a good student, a good warrior and a good husband, to emphasize the glory he would have to leave behind when renouncing the palace life. He is described as intelligent, eager to learn and compassionate. But the prince continued to ponder about religious questions, and when he
16646-491: The Śākya (Pali: Sakya ) clan Śuddhodana ( Pali : Suddhodana ) did not allow him to see death or suffering, and distracted him with luxury to prevent him from worrying and becoming interested in the religious life. The early texts and post-canonical biographies describe in much detail how the raja ' s son lived in great luxury. Śuddhodana provided him with three palaces in Kapilavastu ( Pali : Kapilvatthu ) for
16849-400: The Śākya clan Śuddhodana did not allow him to see death or suffering, and distracted him with luxury. During his childhood, Prince Siddhārtha had a meditative experience, which made him realize the suffering ( Sanskrit : duḥkha , Pali : dukkha ) inherent in all existence. He grew up and experienced a comfortable youth. But he continued to ponder about religious questions, and when he
17052-454: The "blowing out" ( nirvana ) of disturbing emotions and desires; and the attainment of supreme Buddhahood ( samyak sam bodhi ), as exemplified by Gautama Buddha . What exactly constituted the Buddha's awakening is unknown. It may have involved the knowledge that liberation was attained by the combination of mindfulness and dhyāna , applied to the understanding of the arising and ceasing of craving. The relation between dhyana and insight
17255-511: The 13th-century Jinacarita by Vanaratana Medhaṅkara, the 18th-century Mālāṅkāra Vatthu and Jinamahānidāna from the 14th - 18th century. However, the most widely distributed biography in Southeast Asia is the late medieval Paṭhamasambodhi , recorded in Pāli and at least eight vernacular languages. Besides textual sources, information about basic elements of the life of the Buddha can be obtained from early Buddhist art , which
17458-458: The 15th and 16th centuries, respectively. Although the story has been passed on through different languages and countries, some basic tenets of Buddhism can still be found in it: the nature of duḥkha in life as expressed in the opening dialogue between the nobleman and the king; the cause of suffering being desire ; the path of self-analysis and self-control which follows this realization, and there are even some hints that point at ideals similar to
17661-420: The 32 major and 80 minor marks of a "great man", and the idea that the Buddha could live for as long as an aeon if he wished (see DN 16). The ancient Indians were generally unconcerned with chronologies, being more focused on philosophy. Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing a clearer picture of what Gautama may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of
17864-531: The 5th century BCE. The community, though describable as a small republic, was probably an oligarchy , with his father as the elected chieftain or oligarch. The Shakyas were widely considered to be non- Vedic (and, hence impure) in Brahminic texts; their origins remain speculative and debated. Bronkhorst terms this culture, which grew alongside Aryavarta without being affected by the flourish of Brahminism, as Greater Magadha . The Buddha's tribe of origin,
18067-719: The British poet Edwin Arnold (1832–1904), to the extent that it became the subtitle of the work. The work was based on the Chinese translation of the Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sūtra . The focus on the renunciation in the life of the Buddha contributed to the popularity of the work, as well as the fact that Arnold left out many miraculous details of the traditional accounts to increase its appeal to a post-Darwinian audience. Moreover, Arnold's depiction of Prince Siddhārtha as an active and compassionate truth-seeker defying his father's will and leaving
18270-548: The Buddha commonly used when referring to himself or other Buddhas in the Pāli Canon . The exact meaning of the term is unknown, but it is often thought to mean either "one who has thus gone" ( tathā-gata ), "one who has thus come" ( tathā-āgata ), or sometimes "one who has thus not gone" ( tathā-agata ). This is interpreted as signifying that the Tathāgata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena . A tathāgata
18473-526: The Buddha must have been acquainted. Śāriputra and Moggallāna , two of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, were formerly the foremost disciples of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, the sceptic. The Pāli canon frequently depicts Buddha engaging in debate with the adherents of rival schools of thought. There is philological evidence to suggest that the two masters, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Rāmaputta , were historical figures and they most probably taught Buddha two different forms of meditative techniques. Thus, Buddha
18676-551: The Buddha taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to freedom from ignorance , craving , rebirth, and suffering . His core teachings are summarized in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path , a training of the mind that includes ethical training and kindness toward others , and meditative practices such as sense restraint , mindfulness , dhyana (meditation proper). Another key element of his teachings are
18879-479: The Buddha's birth at 180 years before Asoka's coronation and death 100 years before the coronation, still about 80 years. Following the Greek sources of Asoka's coronation as 268 BCE, this dates the Buddha's lifespan even later as 448 – 368 BCE. Most historians in the early 20th century use the earlier dates of 563 – 483 BCE, differing from the long chronology based on Greek evidence by just three years. More recently, there are attempts to put his death midway between
19082-415: The Buddha's life as a śramaṇa, his search for enlightenment under various teachers such as Alara Kalama and his forty-five-year career as a teacher. Traditional biographies of Gautama often include numerous miracles, omens, and supernatural events. The character of the Buddha in these traditional biographies is often that of a fully transcendent (Skt. lokottara ) and perfected being who is unencumbered by
19285-427: The Buddha's lifespan was c.477–397 BCE, it can be estimated that Bimbisara was reigning c.457–405 BCE, and Ajatashatru was reigning c.405–373 BCE. According to the Buddhist tradition, Shakyamuni Buddha was a Shakya , a sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. The Shakya community was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Indian subcontinent in
19488-467: The Buddha's renunciation with Rāma 's leaving for the forest. Hiltebeitel believes that such borrowing is not only about using poetic motifs, but a conscious choice in order to compare the Dharma of the Buddha with the Dharma of Brahmanism . Prince Siddhartha's motivations in renunciation are explained in conversations with his relatives and other figures, alluding explicitly and implicitly to motifs from
19691-587: The Buddha, sage of the Śākyas ( Śākyamuni ), was born." According to later biographies such as the Mahavastu and the Lalitavistara , his mother, Maya (Māyādevī), Suddhodana's wife, was a princess from Devdaha , the ancient capital of the Koliya Kingdom (what is now the Rupandehi District of Nepal ). Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that
19894-417: The Buddha. In of the previous lives of the Buddha, as Sumedha , Yaśodharā and Sumedha are depicted taking a vow to spend the following lifetimes together, on the condition that Yaśodharā would not hinder the Buddha-to-be on his quest. After having become the Buddha, the former Prince Siddhārtha is seen to come back to the palace to teach Yaśodharā and Rāhula and liberate them as well. Eventually Yaśodharā became
20097-469: The Buddhist Nirvana . The legend of Barlaam and Josaphat affected Western literature up until early modern times: Shakespeare used the fable of the caskets for his The Merchant of Venice , probably basing the fable on an English translation of a late medieval version of the story. In the 19th century, the Great Renunciation was a major theme in the biographical poem The Light of Asia by
20300-556: The Buddhist canon: "that the five Skandhas are impermanent, disagreeable, and neither the Self nor belonging to oneself"; "the contemplation of the arising and disappearance ( udayabbaya ) of the five Skandhas"; "the realisation of the Skandhas as empty ( rittaka ), vain ( tucchaka ) and without any pith or substance ( asaraka ). An example of this substitution, and its consequences, is Majjhima Nikaya 36:42–43, which gives an account of
20503-637: The Buddhist community in the Vinaya , his codes for monastic practice, and the Sutta Piṭaka , a compilation of teachings based on his discourses. These were passed down in Middle Indo-Aryan dialects through an oral tradition . Later generations composed additional texts, such as systematic treatises known as Abhidharma , biographies of the Buddha, collections of stories about his past lives known as Jataka tales , and additional discourses, i.e.,
20706-408: The Buddhist tradition regards bodhi as referring to full and complete liberation ( samyaksambudh ), it also has the more modest meaning of knowing that the path that is being followed leads to the desired goal. According to Johannes Bronkhorst , Tillman Vetter, and K.R. Norman, bodhi was at first not specified. K.R. Norman: It is not at all clear what gaining bodhi means. We are accustomed to
20909-480: The Chinese god of the cosmos. In some depictions, Chandaka clings to the tail of Prince Siddhārtha's horse departing from the palace. In Gandhāran art, the Great Renunciation is the most popular episode of the Buddha's biography, together with the Buddha's birth. The scene of the Great Departure is often depicted in such art with the sun and the moon positioned opposite one another, and a Taurus symbol, which scholars of iconography Katsumi Tanabe and Gerd Mevissen argue
21112-608: The Dharma ( Dharmaraja ), Kinsman of the Sun, Helper of the World ( Lokanatha ), Lion ( Siha ), Lord of the Dhamma, Of excellent wisdom ( Varapañña ), Radiant One, Torchbearer of mankind, Unsurpassed doctor and surgeon, Victor in battle, and Wielder of power. Another epithet, used at inscriptions throughout South and Southeast Asia, is Maha sramana , "great sramana " (ascetic, renunciate). On
21315-579: The Emperor's pilgrimage to Lumbini as the Buddha's birthplace, calling him the Buddha Shakyamuni ( Brahmi script : 𑀩𑀼𑀥 𑀲𑀓𑁆𑀬𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀻 Bu-dha Sa-kya-mu-nī , "Buddha, Sage of the Shakyas"). Śākyamuni, Sakyamuni, or Shakyamuni ( Sanskrit : शाक्यमुनि , [ɕaːkjɐmʊnɪ] ) means "Sage of the Shakyas ". Tathāgata ( Pali ; Pali: [tɐˈtʰaːɡɐtɐ] ) is a term
21518-484: The Emperor's pilgrimage to Lumbini as the Buddha's birthplace, calling him the Buddha Shakyamuni ( Brahmi script : 𑀩𑀼𑀥 𑀲𑀓𑁆𑀬𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀻 Bu-dha Sa-kya-mu-nī , "Buddha, Sage of the Shakyas"). Another one of his edicts ( Minor Rock Edict No. 3 ) mentions the titles of several Dhamma texts (in Buddhism, "dhamma" is another word for "dharma"), establishing the existence of a written Buddhist tradition at least by
21721-462: The Ganges basin was settled from the north-west and the south-east, as well as from within, "[coming] together in what is now Bihar (the location of Pataliputra )". The Ganges basin was densely forested, and the population grew when new areas were deforestated and cultivated. The society of the middle Ganges basin lay on "the outer fringe of Aryan cultural influence", and differed significantly from
21924-453: The Great Renunciation on Vaiśākha, but in China, the event is celebrated on the 8th day of the second month of the Chinese calendar , in the same month the Buddha's passing into final Nirvana is celebrated . A version of the life story of the Buddha was incorporated in the work of the Shi'ite Muslim theologian Ibn Bābūya (923–991). In this story, titled Balawhar wa-Būdāsf , the main character
22127-439: The Indian counterpart Surya . The steps that Prince Siddhārtha goes through when becoming a monk have become a model for ordination rituals for monastics: the cutting of the hair, removal of princely clothes and putting on the monk's robes, the providing of the monastic requisites, etc. Therefore, the founding story of Buddhism essentially becomes the founding story of every Buddhist monk or nun . Many Buddhists, for example
22330-482: The Jain tirthankara . There is less consensus on the veracity of many details contained in traditional biographies, as "Buddhist scholars [...] have mostly given up trying to understand the historical person." The earliest versions of Buddhist biographical texts that we have already contain many supernatural, mythical, or legendary elements. In the 19th century, some scholars simply omitted these from their accounts of
22533-736: The Oxford English Dictionary) to the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (February 1836). In 1857 The Times used the term "the Enlightened" for the Buddha in a short article, which was reprinted the following year by Max Müller . Thereafter, the use of the term subsided, but reappeared with the publication of Max Müller's Chips from a german Workshop , which included a reprint from the Times article. The book
22736-643: The Pali Jataka Commentary ( Jātakaṭṭhakathā ) and the Sanskrit Jātakamālā is how the Buddha-to-be had to practice several "perfections" ( pāramitā ) to reach Buddhahood. The Jatakas also sometimes depict negative actions done in previous lives by the bodhisattva, which explain difficulties he experienced in his final life as Gautama. According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in Lumbini , now in modern-day Nepal, and raised in Kapilavastu . The exact site of ancient Kapilavastu
22939-488: The Rāmayāṇa. In his analysis of Indian literature, scholar of religion Graeme Macqueen observes a recurring contrast between the figure of the king and that of the ascetic, who represent external and internal mastery, respectively. This contrast often leads to conflicting roles and aggression in Buddhist stories. In the life of the Buddha, this contrast can be found in the two predictions, in which Prince Siddhārtha will either be
23142-522: The Shakyas, seems to have had non-Vedic religious practices which persist in Buddhism, such as the veneration of trees and sacred groves, and the worship of tree spirits (yakkhas) and serpent beings (nagas). They also seem to have built burial mounds called stupas. Tree veneration remains important in Buddhism today, particularly in the practice of venerating Bodhi trees. Likewise, yakkas and nagas have remained important figures in Buddhist religious practices and mythology. The Buddha's lifetime coincided with
23345-505: The Tibetan tradition, the Great Departure is mentioned as one of twelve great acts of a Buddha, and the Pāli commentarial tradition includes the Great Departure in a list of thirty deeds and fact that describe Buddhahood . Traditional Buddhist texts relate that Prince Siddhārtha Gautama was born with 32 auspicious bodily characteristics . Based on the child's body, as well as his parents' dreams about his birth, eight Brahmin priests and
23548-406: The abandonment of the ten fetters and the cessation of dukkha or suffering. Full awakening is reached in four stages. According to Nyanatiloka, (Through Bodhi) one awakens from the slumber or stupor (inflicted upon the mind) by the defilements ( kilesa , q.v.) and comprehends the Four Noble Truths ( sacca , q.v.). Since the 1980s, western Theravada-oriented teachers have started to question
23751-414: The accounts about the Buddha's life are filled with mythological embellishments, it may be not be possible to know the exact history, though the accounts are clearly based around historical events. The site of Siddhārtha Gautama's birth, Kapilavastu, is considered likely to have been historically genuine, though not as commercially important as depicted in later texts. It was an oligarchy or republic, led by
23954-544: The accounts in turn. A modified version of the Great Renunciation can be found in the legend of the Christian saints Barlaam and Josaphat , one of the most popular and widespread legends in 11th-century Christianity. Although the story describes a victorious Christian king and ascetic, it is imbued with the Buddhist themes and doctrines derived from its original. In modern times, authors such as Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) and Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) have been influenced by
24157-406: The adaptable and archetypical nature of the story. Borges used the story of the Buddha's renunciation, mixed with ideas of Schopenhauer (1788–1860) and idealism , to formulate his universal model of narrative. Borges based his works on The Light of Asia , as well as numerous translations of traditional Buddhist texts. Borges saw in the Great Renunciation the anti-thesis for the realist novel :
24360-441: The awakening of the Buddha. The term bodhi acquired a variety of meanings and connotations during the development of Buddhist thoughts in the various schools. In early Buddhism, bodhi carried a meaning synonymous to nirvana , using only a few different metaphors to describe the insight, which implied the extinction of lobha (greed), dosa (hate) and moha (delusion). In Theravada Buddhism , bodhi and nirvana carry
24563-489: The basis of philological evidence, Indologist and Pāli expert Oskar von Hinüber says that some of the Pāli suttas have retained very archaic place-names, syntax, and historical data from close to the Buddha's lifetime, including the Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta which contains a detailed account of the Buddha's final days. Hinüber proposes a composition date of no later than 350–320 BCE for this text, which would allow for
24766-483: The biographies connect this motif with Gautama Buddha from still a relatively early date, and the Mahāvadāna Sūtra also says that these events were repeated in the life of every Buddha. The earliest texts do mention that the Buddha reflected on aging, sickness and death, thereby overcoming the delusion of eternal youth, health and a long life, and deciding to help humanity conquer aging, sickness and death. This part
24969-429: The bodhisattva goes through many different births (animal and human), is inspired by his meeting of past Buddhas , and then makes a series of resolves or vows ( pranidhana ) to become a Buddha himself. Then he begins to receive predictions by past Buddhas. One of the most popular of these stories is his meeting with Dipankara Buddha , who gives the bodhisattva a prediction of future Buddhahood. Another theme found in
25172-482: The conception of what exactly this "liberating insight" was developed throughout time. Whereas originally it may not have been specified, later on the four truths served as such, to be superseded by pratityasamutpada , and still later, in the Hinayana schools, by the doctrine of the non-existence of a substantial self or person. And Schmithausen notices that still other descriptions of this "liberating insight" exist in
25375-414: The concepts of the five skandhas and dependent origination , describing how all dharmas (both mental states and concrete 'things') come into being, and cease to be, depending on other dharmas , lacking an existence on their own svabhava ). A couple of centuries after his death, he came to be known by the title Buddha , which means 'Awakened One' or 'Enlightened One'. His teachings were compiled by
25578-503: The culture and daily life of ancient India which can be corroborated from the Jain scriptures , and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in Indian history for which significant accounts exist. British author Karen Armstrong writes that although there is very little information that can be considered historically sound, we can be reasonably confident that Siddhārtha Gautama did exist as
25781-570: The day that Prince Siddhārtha achieved enlightenment. Mūlasarvāstivādin and later Chinese texts such as the Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sūtra give two types of explanation for the long gestation period: the result of karma in Yaśodharā and Rahula's past lives, and the more naturalistic explanation that Yaśodharā's practice of religious austerities stunted the foetus' growth. Buddhist studies scholar John S. Strong notes that these alternative accounts draw
25984-486: The death of his father, however, Josaphat gives up the throne to become an ascetic as he originally intended, and spends the final years of his life with Barlaam in Ceylon. It would take up until 1859 before well-known Western translators and scholars realized that the story was derived from the life of the Buddha, although the similarities had been noticed before by a less well-known Venetian editor and Portuguese traveler in
26187-425: The earliest Buddhist texts, the nikāyas and āgamas , the Buddha is not depicted as possessing omniscience ( sabbaññu ) nor is he depicted as being an eternal transcendent ( lokottara ) being. According to Bhikkhu Analayo , ideas of the Buddha's omniscience (along with an increasing tendency to deify him and his biography) are found only later, in the Mahayana sutras and later Pali commentaries or texts such as
26390-523: The earliest material. These include texts such as the "Discourse on the Noble Quest" ( Ariyapariyesanā-sutta ) and its parallels in other languages. No written records about Gautama were found from his lifetime or from the one or two centuries thereafter. But from the middle of the 3rd century BCE, several Edicts of Ashoka (reigned c. 268 to 232 BCE) mention the Buddha and Buddhism. Particularly, Ashoka 's Lumbini pillar inscription commemorates
26593-633: The early texts from the Mahīśāsaka and Dharmaguptaka schools. Later onward, several Buddhist traditions have produced more complete accounts, but these are of a more mythological nature. This includes a more complete biography in the Vinaya of the Mūlasarvāstivādins from the 4th century BC, and several related texts. Sanskrit texts that deal with the life of the Buddha are the Buddhacarita by Aśvaghoṣa ( c. 80 – c. 150 CE),
26796-731: The first century BCE to the third century CE. Early canonical sources include the Ariyapariyesana Sutta ( MN 26), the Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta ( DN 16), the Mahāsaccaka-sutta (MN 36), the Mahapadana Sutta (DN 14), and the Achariyabhuta Sutta (MN 123), which include selective accounts that may be older, but are not full biographies. The Jātaka tales retell previous lives of Gautama as
26999-598: The flourishing of influential śramaṇa schools of thought like Ājīvika , Cārvāka , Jainism , and Ajñana . The Brahmajala Sutta records sixty-two such schools of thought. In this context, a śramaṇa refers to one who labours, toils or exerts themselves (for some higher or religious purpose). It was also the age of influential thinkers like Mahavira , Pūraṇa Kassapa , Makkhali Gosāla , Ajita Kesakambalī , Pakudha Kaccāyana , and Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta , as recorded in Samaññaphala Sutta , with whose viewpoints
27202-402: The former prince, but the now ascetic Gautama refused. The story of Prince Siddhārtha's renunciation illustrates the conflict between lay duties and religious life, and shows how even the most pleasurable lives are still filled with suffering. Prince Siddhārtha was moved with a strong religious agitation ( Sanskrit and Pali : saṃvega ) about the transient nature of life, but believed there
27405-404: The four sights, the harem and Yaśodharā, the scene in which the prince slips out of the palace, Kaṇṭhaka dying, the lock of hair being picked up by the deity Śakra , and the brahma deity offering the robes and other requisites. The scene in which Prince Siddhārtha leaves the palace riding Kaṇṭhaka is frequently depicted in Buddhist art of South and Southeast Asia. In some depictions, the hooves of
27608-502: The four truths represents a later development, in response to concurring religious traditions, in which "liberating insight" came to be stressed over the practice of dhyana . Vimukthi, also called moksha , means "freedom", "release", "deliverance". Sometimes a distinction is being made between ceto-vimukthi , "liberation of the mind", and panna-vimukthi , "liberation by understanding". The Buddhist tradition recognises two kinds of ceto-vimukthi , one temporarily and one permanent,
27811-617: The future. All gave similar predictions. Kondañña , the youngest, and later to be the first arhat other than the Buddha, was reputed to be the only one who unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha would become a Buddha . Enlightenment in Buddhism The English term enlightenment is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably bodhi and vimutti . The abstract noun bodhi ( / ˈ b oʊ d i / ; Sanskrit : बोधि ; Pali : bodhi ) means
28014-513: The historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most of them accept that the Buddha lived, taught, and founded a monastic order during the Mahajanapada , and during the reign of Bimbisara (his friend, protector, and ruler of the Magadha empire); and died during the early years of the reign of Ajatashatru (who was the successor of Bimbisara), thus making him a younger contemporary of Mahavira ,
28217-402: The honest seeker. Scholar of religion Torkel Brekke [ no ] argues that the Buddha's motivation for renunciation was a cognitive dissonance between the pleasurable palace life and the hard reality of age, sickness and death in real life, and a resulting emotional tension. Generally, Buddhists regard the marriage between Prince Siddhārtha and Princess Yaśodharā as a good one, and
28420-480: The horse are supported by deities to prevent noise and wake up the royal family. In scenes of the Great Departure, there often is a figure depicted standing next to Prince Siddhārtha holding a bow. Some scholars identify him as Vaiśravaṇa ( Pali : Vessavaṇa ), one of the Four Heavenly Kings in Buddhist cosmology; others identify him as Indra , King of the second heaven in Buddhism , or Bēnzhì ,
28623-405: The human confrontation with frailty and mortality; for while these facts are 'known' to us all, a clear realization and acceptance of them often does come as a novel and disturbing insight. Bareau pointed out that the four sights express the moral shock of confrontation with reality in a legendary form. Moreover, studying Vinaya texts, he found an episode with Prince Siddhārtha as a child, expressing
28826-539: The inherent potential of every sentient being to become a Buddha . This idea was integrated with the Yogacara-idea of the ālaya vijñāna , and further developed in Chinese Buddhism , which integrated Indian Buddhism with native Chinese thought. Buddha-nature came to mean both the potential of awakening and the whole of reality, a dynamic interpenetration of absolute and relative. In this awakening it
29029-430: The insight into and certainty about the way to follow to reach enlightenment. In some Zen traditions, however, this perfection came to be relativized again; according to one contemporary Zen master, "Shakyamuni buddha and Bodhidharma are still practicing." Mahayana discerns three forms of awakened beings: Within the various Mahayana-schools exist various further explanations and interpretations. In Mahāyāna Buddhism,
29232-403: The jungle, and the attainment of awakening. The Mahasaccaka Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 36) describes his ascetic practices, which he abandoned. Thereafter he remembered a spontaneous state of jhana, and set out for jhana-practice. Both suttas narrate how, after destroying the disturbances of the mind , and attaining concentration of the mind , he attained three knowledges (vidhya): Insight into
29435-430: The king that his son had not chosen this life because of spite or lack of love, nor for "yearning for paradise", but to put an end to birth and death . He had been the witness to the departure from the start up until the transformation into a mendicant, which was exactly what he was required to see, to make the palace understand the transformation was irreversible. The former prince dismissing Chandaka and his horse Kaṇṭhaka
29638-402: The knowledge or wisdom , or awakened intellect, of a Buddha. The verbal root budh- means "to awaken", and its literal meaning is closer to awakening . Although the term buddhi is also used in other Indian philosophies and traditions, its most common usage is in the context of Buddhism . Vimutti is the freedom from or release of the fetters and hindrances . The term enlightenment
29841-451: The last being equivalent to panna-vimukthi . Yogacara uses the term āśraya parāvŗtti , "revolution of the basis", ... a sudden revulsion, turning, or re-turning of the ālaya vijñāna back into its original state of purity [...] the Mind returns to its original condition of non-attachment, non-discrimination and non-duality". Nirvana is the "blowing out" of disturbing emotions, which
30044-501: The life, so that "the image projected was of a Buddha who was a rational, socratic teacher—a great person perhaps, but a more or less ordinary human being". More recent scholars tend to see such demythologisers as remythologisers, "creating a Buddha that appealed to them, by eliding one that did not". The dates of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Within the Eastern Buddhist tradition of China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan,
30247-519: The limitations of the worldly life, in which no real satisfaction can be found. After the birth of the prince Josaphat, the double prediction of his possible future, his growing up in a protected environment, and the first three of the four sights, he enters upon a personal crisis. Then he meets with the Ceylonese sage Barlaam, who introduces him to the Christian faith. The king attempts at first to fool his young son in understanding that Barlaam has lost
30450-425: The long chronology's 480s BCE and the short chronology's 360s BCE, so circa 410 BCE. At a symposium on this question held in 1988, the majority of those who presented gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death. These alternative chronologies, however, have not been accepted by all historians. The dating of Bimbisara and Ajatashatru also depends on the long or short chronology. In
30653-400: The long chrononology, Bimbisara reigned c. 558 – c. 492 BCE , and died 492 BCE, while Ajatashatru reigned c. 492 – c. 460 BCE . In the short chronology Bimbisara reigned c. 400 BCE , while Ajatashatru died between c. 380 BCE and 330 BCE. According to historian K. T. S. Sarao , a proponent of the Short Chronology wherein
30856-415: The majority of English books on Buddhism use the term "enlightenment" to translate the term bodhi . The root budh , from which both bodhi and Buddha are derived, means "to wake up" or "to recover consciousness". Cohen notes that bodhi is not the result of an illumination, but of a path of realization, or coming to understanding. The term "enlightenment" is event-oriented, whereas the term "awakening"
31059-510: The mentioning of castes in the texts, scholars are in debate as to what extent Kapilavastu was already organized along the lines of the castes of mainland India. Apart from Kapilavastu, nineteen other places featured in the first 29 years of the prince's life were identified by Xuan Zang, who was also a well-known pilgrim. Foucher argued that these places were based on oral recitation traditions surrounding pilgrimages, which now have been lost. The marriage between Siddhārtha Gautama and Yaśodharā
31262-446: The middle of the night against the will of his father, to live the life of an wandering ascetic, leaving behind his just-born son Rāhula and wife Yaśodharā . He traveled to the river Anomiya with his charioteer Chandaka and horse Kaṇṭhaka , and cut off his hair. Leaving his servant and horse behind, he journeyed into the woods and changed into monk's robes . Later, he met King Bimbisāra , who attempted to share his royal power with
31465-435: The middle of the night only to find his female servant musicians lying in unattractive poses on the floor, some of them drooling. The prince felt as though he was in a cemetery, surrounded by corpses. Indologist Bhikkhu Telwatte Rahula notes that there is an irony here, in that the women originally sent by the rāja Śuddhodana to entice and distract the prince from thinking to renounce the worldly life, eventually accomplish just
31668-411: The most complete. These are, however, of a more mythological nature than the early texts. They exist in Pāli, Sanskrit and Chinese language . According to these accounts, at the birth of Prince Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha-to-be, Brahmanas predicted that he would either become a world teacher or a world ruler. To prevent his son from turning to religious life, Prince Siddhārtha's father and rāja of
31871-546: The most light", and comes from the fact that Kshatriya clans adopted the names of their house priests. While the term Buddha is used in the Agamas and the Pali Canon, the oldest surviving written records of the term Buddha is from the middle of the 3rd century BCE, when several Edicts of Ashoka (reigned c. 269 –232 BCE) mention the Buddha and Buddhism. Ashoka 's Lumbini pillar inscription commemorates
32074-460: The mundane world. In the Mahāvastu , over the course of many lives, Gautama is said to have developed supramundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse; no need for sleep, food, medicine, or bathing, although engaging in such "in conformity with the world"; omniscience, and the ability to "suppress karma". As noted by Andrew Skilton, the Buddha was often described as being superhuman, including descriptions of him having
32277-484: The narrative. The Ariyapariyesana Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 26) describes how the Buddha was dissatisfied with the teachings of Āḷāra Kālāma and Uddaka Rāmaputta , wandered further through Magadhan country, and then found "an agreeable piece of ground" which served for striving. The sutta then only says that he attained Nibbana. In the Vanapattha Sutta (Majjhima Nikaya 17) the Buddha describes life in
32480-424: The one hand, that of the king, the cakravartin , the divine descendant from Mahāsammata , and on the other hand, the human being, the person who struggled to find spiritual truth on his path to enlightenment. Buddhist studies scholar Jonathan Silk points out two aspects of Prince Siddhārtha's life narrative that co-exist: one the one hand, that of the nearly perfect being who was born with full awareness, whose life
32683-503: The one which includes the Four Dhyanas and the destruction of the intoxicants. It calls in question the reliability of these accounts, and the relation between dhyana and insight, which is a core problem in the study of early Buddhism. Originally the term prajna may have been used, which came to be replaced by the four truths in those texts where "liberating insight" was preceded by the four jhanas. Bronkhorst also notices that
32886-614: The opposite. Prince Siddhārtha realized that human existence is conditioned by dukkha , and that the human body is of an impermanent and loathsome nature. In another version of the story recorded in the Lalitavistara , the musicians played love songs to the prince, but the deities caused the prince to understand the songs as praising detachment and reminding him of the vow to Buddhahood which he took in previous lives. That night, Prince Siddhārtha dreamt five different dreams, which he would later understood to refer to his future role as
33089-506: The other". Arnold's depiction of the Buddha's renunciation inspired other authors in their writings, including the American author Theodore Dreiser (1871–1945) and Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986). Borges was greatly influenced by the story of the renunciation of the Buddha, and wrote several essays and a book about it. The emphasis on plot above character, and the aspects of epiphany and destiny appealed to him, as well as
33292-427: The palace as planned. Some versions of the story say that deities caused the royal family to fall into a slumber, to help the prince escape the palace. Because of this, Chandaka and Kaṇṭhaka tried to wake up the royal family, but unsuccessfully. Nevertheless, in some accounts the prince is seen taking leave from his father in a respectful manner, while the latter slept. Finally, Chandaka and Kaṇṭhaka both protest against
33495-440: The palace in secret, Early Buddhist Texts clearly state that his parents were aware of his choice, as they are said to have wept at the time their son left them. The motif of leaving the palace without the parents' permission might also originate in the early use of didactic canvases, Anālayo argues. The way the former prince renounces the worldly life, by shaving his hair and beard and putting on saffron robes, may have already been
33698-490: The palace life went against the stereotype of the weak-willed and fatalistic Oriental, but did conform with the middle-class values of the time. Arnold also gave a much more prominent role to Yaśodharā than traditional sources, having Prince Siddhārtha explain his departure to his wife extensively, and even respectfully circumambulating her before leaving. The Light of Asia therefore inclined both "... toward imperial appropriation and toward self-effacing acknowledgment of
33901-733: The power to "form and retain concepts, reason, discern, judge, comprehend, understand", is the faculty which discerns truth ( satya ) from falsehood. The name of his clan was Gautama (Pali: Gotama). His given name, "Siddhārtha" (the Sanskrit form; the Pali rendering is "Siddhattha"; in Tibetan it is "Don grub"; in Chinese "Xidaduo"; in Japanese "Shiddatta/Shittatta"; in Korean "Siltalta") means "He Who Achieves His Goal". The clan name of Gautama means "descendant of Gotama", "Gotama" meaning "one who has
34104-469: The powerful structure of the story caused it to enjoy "a popularity attained perhaps by no other legend". The story would be translated in many languages, including the 13th-century Islandic Barlaam's Saga . In total, over sixty versions of the story were written in the main languages of Europe, the Christian East and Christian Africa, reaching nearly every country in the Christian world. "And how can this world avoid being full of sorrow and complaint? There
34307-426: The primacy of insight. According to Thanissaro Bhikkhu , jhana and vipassana (insight) form an integrated practice. Polak and Arbel, following scholars like Vetter and Bronkhorst, argue that right effort , c.q. the four right efforts (sense restraint, preventing the arising of unwholesome states , and the generation of wholesome states ), mindfulness, and dhyana form an integrated practice, in which dhyana
34510-403: The prince as an example of loving-kindness for his wife and son. All Buddhist schools agree that his main motivation in this is a deep empathy with human suffering (Sanskrit and Pali: karuṇā ). Though the prince left behind his wife and only son, Buddhists see this lifetime in the context of a path of many lifetimes, through which both the wife and child had taken vows to become a disciple of
34713-458: The prince's birth point at two natures within Prince Siddhārtha's person: the struggling human who worked to attain enlightenment , and the divine descendant and cakravartin , which are both important in Buddhist doctrine. The Great Renunciation has been depicted much in Buddhist art . It has influenced ordination rituals in several Buddhist communities, and sometimes such rituals have affected
34916-453: The prince's departure, but the prince went on anyway. Having finally left the palace, the prince looked back at it once more and took a vow that he would not return until he had attained enlightenment. The texts continue by relating that Prince Siddhārtha was confronted by Mara , the personification of evil in Buddhism, who attempted to tempt him to change his mind and become a cakravartin instead, but to no avail. However, in most versions of
35119-458: The prince's jewels, the queen discarded those in a pond to forget the loss. Pali sources state that the renunciation happened on the full moon day of Āsādha ( Pali : Asāḷha ), whereas sources from the Sarvāstivāda and Dharmaguptaka schools say it happened on Vaiśākha (Pali: Vesakha ). There are also textual discrepancies with regard to which day Prince Siddhārtha left, some texts stating
35322-443: The prince's renunciation. Besides rituals, the biographies may have been influenced by local accounts. These accounts developed at pilgrimage sites dedicated to certain events in the Buddha's life, such as the Great Renunciation. The more official biographies integrated these local accounts connected to cultic life , to authenticate certain Buddha images, as well as the patrons and polities connected to them. Many Buddhists celebrate
35525-442: The realisation of the four noble truths, which leads to deliverance. According to Nyanatiloka, (Through Bodhi) one awakens from the slumber or stupor (inflicted upon the mind) by the defilements ( kilesa , q.v.) and comprehends the Four Noble Truths ( sacca , q.v.). This equation of bodhi with the four noble truths is a later development, in response to developments within Indian religious thought, where "liberating insight"
35728-454: The same meaning: that of being freed from greed, hate and delusion. Bodhi , specifically, refers to the realisation of the four stages of enlightenment and becoming an Arahant . It is equal to supreme insight, the realisation of the four noble truths, which leads to deliverance. Reaching full awakening is equivalent in meaning to reaching Nirvāṇa . Attaining Nirvāṇa is the ultimate goal of Theravada and other śrāvaka traditions. It involves
35931-435: The search for enlightenment. Accordingly, the rāja named the child Rāhula , because he did not want his son to pursue a spiritual life as a mendicant. In some versions, Prince Siddhārtha was the one naming his son this way, for being a hindrance on his spiritual path. After having taken a bath and having been adorned by a barber who was a deity in disguise, Prince Siddhārtha returned to the palace. On his way back, he heard
36134-444: The shadow of the tree remained miraculously still, leading the king to come and bow for his own son. The experience would later be used by Gautama after his renunciation, when he discarded austerities and sought another path. It is also a brief summary of what was yet to come: seeing duḥkha and using meditation to find a way to transcend it. When Prince Siddhārtha was 16, he married Yaśodharā ( Pali : Yasodharā ), just like him of
36337-649: The sleeping harem preceding the renunciation is widely considered by scholars to be modeled on the story of Yasa , a guild-master and disciple of the Buddha, who is depicted having a similar experience. However, it can also be found in the Hindu epic Rāmayāṇa , and scholar of religion Alf Hiltebeitel , as well as folklorist Mary Brockington believe the Buddhacarita may have borrowed from it. Orientalist Edward Johnston did not want to make any statements about this, however, preferring to wait for more evidence, though he did acknowledge that Aśvaghoṣa "took pleasure" in comparing
36540-506: The story of the Great Renunciation, the widespread narrative of the king and the ascetic, is a confrontation between a powerful and powerless figure. However, the powerless figure has the last word, leading to change and reform in the king. Not only the original story of Prince Siddhārtha influenced modern writers. The derived story of Barlaam and Josaphat has much influenced the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910). Indeed, he went through
36743-444: The story of the Great Renunciation. Several Early Buddhist Texts such as the Ariyapariyasenā Sutta and the Mahāsaccaka Sutta , as well as sections in the texts on monastic discipline ( Sanskrit and Pali : Vinaya ), contain fragments about the early life of the Buddha, but not a complete and continuous biography. Nevertheless, even in these fragments, the great departure is often included, especially in Chinese translations of
36946-475: The story, as well as visual depictions, there is no such figure. In some versions and depictions, it is not Māra, but Mahānāman ( Pali : Mahānāma ), father of Yaśodharā, or the local city goddess (representing the distressed city). Regardless, the prince traveled on horse with his charioteer Chandaka, crossing three kingdoms, reaching the river Anomiya ( Pali : Anomā ). There he gave all his ornaments and robes to Chandaka, shaved his hair and beard and became
37149-553: The summer, winter and monsoon, as well as many female attendants to distract him. During his childhood, the prince had his first experience of meditation sitting under a Jambu tree during the Royal Ploughing Ceremony . In some later texts, this is extensively described, explaining how the young prince looked at the animals on the courtyard eating each other, and him realizing the suffering (Sanskrit: duḥkha , Pali: dukkha ) inherent in all existence. This caused him to attain meditative absorption . During this meditative experience,
37352-546: The time of the Maurya era . These texts may be the precursor of the Pāli Canon . "Sakamuni" is also mentioned in a relief of Bharhut , dated to c. 100 BCE , in relation with his illumination and the Bodhi tree , with the inscription Bhagavato Sakamunino Bodho ("The illumination of the Blessed Sakamuni"). The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the Gandhāran Buddhist texts , found in Gandhara (corresponding to modern northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan) and written in Gāndhārī , they date from
37555-410: The traditional accounts again, such as can be seen in the motif of the deities dressing up Prince Siddhārtha before his departure and tonsure. On a similar note, there is a custom for novices to meditate on their body parts before full ordination [ th ] to develop detachment. This may have affected the narratives, as can be seen in the motif of the musicians lying naked on the floor before
37758-418: The traditional date for Buddha's death was 949 BCE, but according to the Ka-tan system of the Kalachakra tradition, Buddha's death was about 833 BCE. Buddhist texts present two chronologies which have been used to date the lifetime of the Buddha. The "long chronology", from Sri Lankese chronicles, states the Buddha was born 298 years before Asoka 's coronation and died 218 years before the coronation, thus
37961-419: The translation "enlightenment" for bodhi , but this is misleading ... It is not clear what the buddha was awakened to, or at what particular point the awakening came. According to Norman, bodhi may basically have meant the knowledge that nibbana was attained, due to the practice of dhyana . Originally only "prajna" may have been mentioned, and Tillman Vetter even concludes that originally dhyana itself
38164-476: The value of spiritual enlightenment. The story of his renunciation illustrates the conflict between lay duties and religious life, and shows how even the most pleasurable lives are still filled with suffering. All traditional sources agree that the prince led a very comfortable life before his renunciation, emphasizing the luxury and comfort he had to leave behind. He renounced his life in the palace in order to find "the good" and to find "that most blessed state" which
38367-488: The verbal root *budh- , Sanskrit बुध , "to awaken, to know", "to wake, wake up, be awake", "to recover consciousness (after a swoon)", "to observe, heed, attend to". It corresponds to the verbs bujjhati (Pāli) and bodhati , बोदति, "become or be aware of, perceive, learn, know, understand, awake" or budhyate (Sanskrit). The feminine Sanskrit noun of *budh- is बुद्धि , buddhi , "prescience, intuition, perception, point of view". Robert S. Cohen notes that
38570-420: The wish to leave the palace and family life, which Bareau believed was the actual cause for the rāja ' s concern about his son leaving, rather than the prediction or the four sights. Bareau dated this explanation to the first century after the Buddha or even the Buddha himself (5th century BCE), whereas he dated the four sights and the motif of the blissful youth to the Maurya period (late 4th century BCE) and
38773-431: The world before renunciation proves he is capable of both. Buddhist studies scholar John S. Strong hypothesizes that the Mūlasarvāstivāda and Mahāvastu version of the story of the prince conceiving a child on the eve of his departure was developed to prove that the Buddha was not physically disabled in some way. A disability might have raised doubts about the validity of his ordination in monastic tradition. The motif of
38976-414: Was 29 years old, he saw for the first time in his life what became known in Buddhism as the four sights : an old man, a sick person and a corpse, as well as an ascetic that inspired him. Shortly after, Prince Siddhārtha woke up at night and saw his female servants lying in unattractive poses, which shocked the prince. Moved by all the things he had experienced, the prince decided to leave the palace behind in
39179-404: Was 29 years old, he traveled outside the palace. He then saw—according to some accounts, on separate occasions—four sights for the first time in his life: an old man, a sick person, a corpse and an ascetic. Most traditional texts relate that the sights were brought about through the power of deities , because Śuddhodana had kept all such people away from his son's sight. However, some sources say it
39382-401: Was a divine alternative to be found, found in this very life and accessible to the honest seeker. Apart from this sense of religious agitation, he was motivated by a deep empathy with human suffering ( Sanskrit and Pali : karuṇā ). Traditional accounts say little about the early life of the Buddha, and historical details cannot be known for certain. Historians argue that Siddhārtha Gauatama
39585-419: Was because of chance. Regardless, Prince Siddhārtha learned that everyone, including himself, will have to face old age, sickness and death in the same way. He was shocked by this, and found no happiness in the palace life. The fourth sign was an ascetic who looked at ease, restrained and compassionate. The ascetic taught compassion and non-violence and gave the prince hope that there was a way out of suffering, or
39788-534: Was deemed essential for Liberation . The four noble truths as the liberating insight of the Buddha eventually were superseded by Pratītyasamutpāda , the twelvefold chain of causation, and still later by anatta, the emptiness of the self. In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhi is equal to prajna , insight into the Buddha-nature , sunyata and tathatā . This is equal to the realisation of the non-duality of absolute and relative . In Theravada Buddhism pannā (Pali) means "understanding", "wisdom", "insight". "Insight"
39991-399: Was deemed liberating, with the stilling of pleasure or pain in the fourth jhana, not the gaining of some perfect wisdom or insight. Gombrich also argues that the emphasis on insight is a later development. In Theravada Buddhism, bodhi refers to the realisation of the four stages of enlightenment and becoming an Arahant . In Theravada Buddhism, bodhi is equal to supreme insight, and
40194-403: Was indeed born in a wealthy and aristocratic family with a father as a rāja . But the hometown was an oligarchy or republic, not a kingdom, and the prince's wealth and blissful life have been embellished in the traditional texts. The historical basis of Siddhārtha Gautama's life has been affected by his association with the ideal king ( cakravartin ), inspired by the growth of the Maurya empire
40397-414: Was just one of the many śramaṇa philosophers of that time. In an era where holiness of person was judged by their level of asceticism, Buddha was a reformist within the śramaṇa movement, rather than a reactionary against Vedic Brahminism. Coningham and Young note that both Jains and Buddhists used stupas, while tree shrines can be found in both Buddhism and Hinduism. The rise of Buddhism coincided with
40600-413: Was much impressed by his demeanor. The king sent a retainer to offer a share to his kingdom, or according to some sources, a position as a minister. The prince refused, however, but promised to return later after his enlightenment. Meanwhile, when the royal family realized their son and prince was gone, they suffered from the loss. But they were able to deal with it partly by raising grandson Rāhula. As for
40803-407: Was only one life in a long series, and who was surrounded by miraculous events. On the other hand, the human being who was emotionally shocked by old age and death and grew to full awareness and enlightenment. Both aspects are part of the Buddhist message of liberation. The horse Kaṇṭhaka has an important role in the accounts about the Great Renunciation. Through several motifs, the accounts establish
41006-432: Was popularised in the Western world through the 19th-century translations of British philologist Max Müller . It has the Western connotation of general insight into transcendental truth or reality. The term is also being used to translate several other Buddhist terms and concepts, which are used to denote (initial) insight ( prajna (Sanskrit), wu (Chinese), kensho and satori (Japanese)); knowledge ( vidya );
41209-399: Was translated in 1969 into German, using the term " der Erleuchtete ". Max Müller was an essentialist , who believed in a natural religion , and saw religion as an inherent capacity of human beings. "Enlightenment" was a means to capture natural religious truths, as distinguished from mere mythology. This perspective was influenced by Kantian thought, particularly Kant's definition of
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