"Life of the Buddha" (cartoon)

Ashley Wells, Crystal Quintero (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; Lasantha Roshan (video)

 

Are you a god, a human...? No, I am awake.

This is an allegorical, legendary tale of how young [Scythian/Shakyian] Prince Siddhartha renounced the luxurious life of the palace to go on a quest to make an end of ALL suffering.

First he had to discover what "suffering" (dukkha) is, second its cause (ignorance, aversion, and greed, fear), third its solution (the path), and finally practice the path to full realization. The story of the Buddha has been embellished and mythologized all in the service of its message.

Oh, Ziggy, will you never learn!?

It is not a historical documentary the way we would record it today, but instead an mystic and heroic of how we can all journey to discover that what the Buddha found is relevant to ALL who suffer and are motivated to make an end of all suffering.

The suffering is not happening by accident or chance. It is being caused. It will continue so long as it remains unseen and unaddressed. But just seeing the problem is not enough. One must take up the path-of-practice that leads to serenity and insight and culminates in enlightenment (bodhi) and nirvana (liberation).

A Young People's Life of the Buddha
Ven. Silacara, A Young People's Life of the Buddha (accesstoinsight.org)

1. Birth
2. Boyhood
3. Youth
4. Leaving Home
5. Compassion
6. First Endeavors
7. Success
8. Making Known the Teaching
9. Sigala
10. [Chief male disciples, counterparts to the nuns Khema and Uppalavanna] Sariputta and Moggallana
11. [Hometown:] Kapilavatthu
12. Daily Life
13. [Foster mother/aunt] Maha Pajapati
14. Wonder-working
15. Discourses (sutras)
16. The Kindness of the Buddha
17. ["Judas" in-law] Devadatta
18. [Final passing into nirvana] Mahaparinibbana