Siddhartha Gauthama - the Buddha, a historic personage of the 6th century Before Christ has been extolled in Buddhist literature as a Super Humanbeing, with extra-ordinary qualities and powers. With His extra-sensory perceptions He could describe the universe as it is now found to be by scientists of today.

Although He could tread into any area of knowledge His doctrine was purposely narrowed down to what is required for the liberation from craving that tie us down to all sufferings imaginable. Of the Four Unchanging Truths discovered by the Enlightened One, the Buddha, the Truth of Suffering is the first, which may appear to the uninitiated as pessimism. The next Truth alerts us to the causes of this condition. Once the causes are identified the next Truth reveals that there is a path to liberation from sufferings. The Fourth Truth is that one could indeed surpass this condition of suffering.

The Buddha with His Great Compassion revealed these to the worldlings, particularly for the benefit of those who can grasp it, with a view to liberating them from this endless condition of suffering. Since His Enlightenment every single day was begun by Him, looking at the worldlings identifying one per day who deserves to be helped with priority. On one day it was Angulimala, the killer highwayman whose mother was to die at his hands that day.

In his great compassion he not only prevented this but also helped the killer to get out of that rut and tread the path to complete liberation.

A sculptor in ancient Sri Lanka has expressed on stone this great compassion of the Buddha at the Galvihara in Polonnaruwa. In the Buddha Statue to the left of the reclining statue depicting the Parinirvana, the final departure from continued existence, stands this statue with arms folded on the breast, looking in a particular posture with half closed eyes as He would, on the creatures of the three realms of existence who are entangled in fetters of suffering.

Considering the plight of these creatures He gave up His chance for complete liberation. He had to go through innumerable births before, aspiring to become the Buddha cultivated the extraordinary qualities required in this process, in births counting about five hundred going through many sufferings in various forms.

In His final birth, the Bodhisathva was born as Prince Siddhartha of the Gauthama clan ruling in Kapilavasthu, that was in land of modern Nepal. Though closer to His goal He led a princely life which He renounced when the time was ripe. A mind conditioned with materialistic consideration alone, may not be able to grasp the rationale of this great departure, the Abhiniskramana. Some have even used it to tarnish the greatness of this super humanbeing, the Buddha. Bharatha (expanding beyond modern India with a large number of independent kingdoms wanting to be identified under that name) in the 6th century B.C. was going through a period of unprecedented emancipation.

Youths both male and female went into homeless life in search of Truth about existence and deliverance from suffering.

Princess Yashodara perhaps at least had an idea about this background that conditioned her husband’s thinking though she may not have been aware of his aspirations for Enlightenment as a Buddha coming through numerous previous births. Enmeshed in the narrow limits of a nucleus family one may not understand the extended family life that existed in that time.

Though Prince Siddhartha’s mother died seven days after His birth, He was breast fed and brought up with love and care by His foster mother Maha Prajapathi Gothami added to which was His father’s great love.

The decision to leave the palace was taken on the day His son was born, fourteen years after being happily married since begin wedded to Yashodara at the age of sixteen. He knew well that His wife and child shall only lose His company which He had to sacrifice for the greater good for both of them as well as for all other beings of the three realms of existence. He had the confidence that they shall be well looked after in the palace, unlike those of the present day, taking pride in the limited bonds of a nucleus family, depending mostly on the father, the bread winner, who spends His earnings for no one else of the extended family.

The conditions were right for the Prince to be motivated by His Great Compassion for all beings of suffering and He made a sacrifice of His comforts and family bonds. Dhamma with the Four Unchanging Truths were then discovered by Him in the subsequent years of homelessness. The benefits of this discovery was not only for the beings of that period for the Dhamma is timeless or ‘Akalika’.

Therefore it is for us too and for the posterity, depending on the degree of inclination and emancipation. If we have eyes only to see the glitter of modern living and be dazzled then we shall never see anything else. How far behind are the present day people in the spirit of spiritual exploration, that existed in the Bharatha in the 6th century B.C. But we can make a decision even today and the path to complete liberation shall be revealed for us to tread, with the Great compassion of the Enlightened One, the Buddha.

Original article by Somi Sekarama; Source Lanka dailynews

Tag: Maha Karuna