The Madras Documentary Company, 8/16; Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly
This is the standard fairy tale told by most scholars beginning with the British. But maverick Indian historian Ranajit Pal, Ph.D. differs as do sutra sources. For instance, when the Buddha recounts his early life, he speaks of another buddha before him. Nearly everything we say about the historical Buddha's life actually, in the Buddha's recounting, refers to that previous buddha. But most scholars and teachers thoughtlessly repeat the popular misconception.
Walk with the Master: The story of the sites of the Buddha
Being endlessly reborn, growing old, falling sick, re-dying, only to be reborn...this is the cycle of suffering the Buddha sought to break. He found the solution, the way of awakening from illusions.
To find it he embarked on a spiritual quest, leaving behind his luxurious life as a prince. In the world meditating, wandering, traveling, undertaking ascetic practices, and then letting go, he finally gained insight and enlightenment under the bodhi tree.
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| Scythian Prince Siddhartha |
And many of them became wandering ascetics, shamans, in his monastic order. With this the first Buddhist sangha or “monastic community” formed.
Often the Buddha was asked how a person could ensure a “good rebirth” so that one's quest for knowledge could continue without a break. The Buddha answered that, Those who seek with confidence (faith) should take up a pilgrimage to
- Lumbini, the place of his birth
- Bodhgaya, where he found enlightenment
- Sarnath, the place of his first sermon, and
- Kushinagar, where he reclined into final nirvana.
So the practice of visiting these sacred sites became a Buddhist tradition. And many who stayed in the nearby monasteries have gained enlightenment.
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