Biography of Mahatma Buddha and History of Buddhism | Biography of Mahatma Buddha and History of Buddhism
Lord Buddha was the originator of Buddhism. The childhood name of Lord Buddha was Siddhartha, who was born in 563 BC to a Kshatriya clan in a village called Lumbini in Kapilvastu. His father’s name was Shuddhodhana and mother’s name was Mahamaya. His mother died on the 7th day after the birth of Buddha, due to which he was brought up by his aunt Mahaprajapati Gautami.
At the age of 16, Siddhartha was married to Yashodhara, a daughter of the Shakya clan, after which he received a son Ratna, whose name was Rahul.
From childhood, Mahatma Buddha was not interested in worldly affairs. Once he went on a tour, he saw four scenes in turn. The first scene is of an old man, the second of a sick person, the third of a weeping crowd carrying a dead body and the fourth of a happy sannyasi. Seeing the last scene, the mind of Mahatma Buddha was attracted towards sannyas. Due to which distressed by worldly problems, he left the house at the age of 29. The incident of Mahatma Buddha leaving his house is called Mahabhinishkraman.
After leaving home, he first came to Alarkalam’s ashram near Vaishali. Alarkalam was a teacher of Sankhya philosophy and was famous for his spiritual power. After which he left for Bodh Gaya via Rajgriha. At the age of 35, at the age of 35, Siddhartha attained enlightenment under a Peepal tree on the night of Vaishakh Purnima, after 6 years of rigorous penance without food and water. After attaining enlightenment, he came to be called Buddha. Near Bodh Gaya, two Banjaras made Tapus and Mallik their first disciples.
From Bodh Gaya, Lord Buddha reached Sarnath, where he gave his first sermon to 5 Brahmin monks. In Buddhist texts this event is known as the change of Dharma Chakra. The first female disciple of Mahatma Buddha was his aunt Mahaprajapati Gautami. Vaishali’s famous city bride Amrapali also became his disciple and provided Amravatika for the development of the Bhikshu Sangh.
Mahatma Buddha gave his sermons in Magadha, Kosala, Vaishali, Kaushambi, and many other states. Lord Buddha gave most of his sermons in Shravasti, the capital of Kosala. The main rulers of Buddha were Bimbisara, Prasenjit and Udayana.
Mahatma Buddha reached Kushinara at the end of his life, where he died in 483 BC at the age of 80. In the Buddhist texts, the incident of his death was called Mahaparinirvana. After his death, the remains of his body were divided into 8 parts and 8 stupas were built on it.
Teachings of Mahatma Buddha Teachings of Mahatma Buddha
Mahatma Buddha has spoken of the Eightfold Path for liberation from worldly sorrows, which are as follows- 1. Right Vision, 2. Right Will, 3. Right Speech, 4. Right Action, 5. Right Living, 6. Right Exercise. , 7. Right Smriti, 8. Right Samadhi. According to the Buddha, by following these eightfold paths, one’s cravings are destroyed and Nirvana is attained.
While preaching the middle path, Mahatma Buddha has said that one should avoid vegetable type of attraction and temptation. The ultimate goal of Buddhism is nirvana, which means the extinguishing of the lamp, that is, liberation from the cycle of life and death.
Mahatma Buddha has given special emphasis on 10 Shilas to make it easy to attain Nirvana. These 10 precepts are non-violence, truth, non-stealing, abstaining from adultery, abstinence from alcohol, taking food on time, abstaining from sleeping on a soft bed, avoiding accumulation of wealth, staying away from women and dancing, etc.
The three jewels of Buddhism are Buddha, Sangha and Dhamma.
During the reign of Kanishka, Buddhism was divided into two parts – Hinayana and Mahayana. The Hinayana people were low-lying and conservative. He was of individualistic view. Hinayana considered Mahatma Buddha to be a great man. He did not believe in idol worship and devotion. The people of Hinayana sect are spread in countries like Sri Lanka, Burma, Java etc. These people have accepted the original teachings of the Buddha without any change.
Whereas the people of Mahayana Mahayana were excellent and reformist tendencies. In this, there is a provision for worshiping the idol of Buddha and worshiping Buddha as an incarnation. Presently the people of Mahayana sect are in Tibet, China, Korea, Mongolia and Japan.