Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal: Who is the Buddha?

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Who is the Buddha?

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

This lunette, one of only two complete examples known, is a rare survival from the once extensive Buddhist complex at Hadda, Afghanistan, which was destroyed in the late 1980s during fighting between the Russians and the Mujahideen. Probably the high base of a Buddhist stupa, or relic mound.

According to tradition, the historical Buddha lived from 563 to 483 B.C. He was born to the rulers of the Shakya Clan, hence his appellation Shakyamuni ("sage of the Shakyas"). The legends that grew up around him hold that both his conception and birth were miraculous. His mother, Maya, had a omen of an auspicious birth when she dreamed that a white elephant entered her right side (The Dream of Queen Maya, 1976.402). She gave birth to him in a standing position while grasping a tree in a garden (Birth of the Buddha, 1987.417.1).

Birth of the Buddha, Kushan period, Pakistan (ancient region of Gandhara, probably Takht-i-Bahi). Gift of The Kronos Collections, 1987. The Buddha's mother, Maya, delivered him in present-day Nepal. She stood beneath a tree and, with her right arm, clung to a branch for support. This pose mirrors one given to ancient Indian female nature spirits whose touch , it was believed, caused a tree to bloom and fruit. The figure of the Buddha-to-be, although somewhat damaged, can be seen emerging from Maya's side.

The child emerged from his mother's side. Once back in the palace, he was presented to an astrologer who predicted that he would become either a great king or a great religious teacher. So he was given the name Siddhartha ("he who achieves his goal"). His father, evidently thinking that any contact with unpleasantness might prompt his son to seek a life of renunciation, and not wanting to lose him to such a future, protected Siddhartha from the realities of life.

The ravages of poverty, disease, and even aging were therefore unknown to Siddhartha, who grew up surrounded by every comfort in a sumptuous palace. At age 29, he took four successive chariot rides outside the palace grounds and saw an old person, a sick person, and a corpse, all for the first time. On the fourth trip, he saw a wandering holy man whose asceticism inspired Siddhartha to follow a similar path in search of freedom from the suffering caused by the infinite cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.

Because he knew his father would try to stop him, Siddhartha secretly left the palace in the middle of the night (The Great Departure and the Temptation of the Buddha, 28.105) and sent all his belongings and jewelry back with his servant and horse as a sign of having willingly left it all behind. Completely abandoning his luxurious existence, he spent six years as an ascetic (Fasting Siddhartha, 1987.218.5), attempting to conquer the innate appetites for food, sex, and comfort by engaging in various yogic disciplines.

Eventually near death from his vigilant fasting, he accepted a bowl of rice from a young girl. Once he had eaten, he had a realization that physical austerities were not the means to achieve spiritual liberation. At a place now known as Bodh Gaya ("enlightenment place"), he sat and meditated all night beneath a pipal tree (Ficus religiosa, bo or bodhi tree). After defeating the forces of the demon Mara, Siddhartha reached enlightenment (Plaque with scenes from the life of the Buddha, 1982.233) and became a Buddha ("awakened one") at the age of 35.

The Buddha continued to sit after his enlightenment, meditating beneath the tree and then standing beside it for a number of weeks. During the fifth or sixth week, he was beset by heavy rains while meditating but was protected by the hood of the serpent-king Muchilinda (Buddha sheltered by a Naga, 1987.424.19ab).

Buddha sheltered by a Naga, Angkor period, 12th century Cambodia Bronze. This sculpture depicts a serpent-king protecting the Buddha from heavy rains.

Seven weeks after his enlightenment, he left his seat under the tree and decided to teach others what he had learned, encouraging people to follow a path he called "The Middle Way," which is one of balance rather than extremism.

He gave his first sermon (Buddha's First Sermon at Sarnath, 1980.527.4) in a deer park in Sarnath, on the outskirts of a famous spiritual center in India, the city of Benares (Varanasi). He soon had many disciples and spent the next 45 years walking around northeastern India spreading his teachings. More>>