Buddha : a title applied to

Sakyamunu or Gautama, the

founder of an Asian religion of
spiritual purity .

A general name for any one of a

series of teachers of whom he is
one.
 Siddhartha was born in Lumbini and raised
in the small kingdom or principality of
Kapulvastu, both of which are in modern day
Nepal.
The time of his birth and death are uncertain
but the early texts suggest that it was between
563 BC and 483 BC.
When his mother Queen Maya became
pregnant, she left for her father's kingdom to
give birth. However, she gave birth on the way,
at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a Sal tree.
 The day of the Buddha's birth is widely
celebrated around the countries .
Various sources hold that the Buddha's
mother died at his birth, a few days or seven days
later. The infant was given the name of
Siddhartha, meaning "he who achieves his aim".
During the birth celebrations, a famous
hermit journeyed from his mountain abode and
announced that the child would either become a
great king or a great holy man.
 Siddhartha, was said to have been destined
to a luxurious life as a prince, had three palaces
(for seasonal occupation) especially built for
him.
His father, King Śuddhodana, wishing for
him to be a great king, shielded his son from
religious teachings or knowledge of human
suffering. Siddhartha was brought up by his
mother's younger sister
 As the boy reached the age of 16, his
father arranged his marriage to a cousin of
the same age, according to the traditional
account, in time, she gave birth to a son,
Siddhartha spent 29 years as a Prince in his
kingdom.
Although his father ensured that
Siddhartha was provided with everything he
could want or need, Siddhartha felt that
material wealth was not the ultimate goal of
life
 At the age of 29, Siddhartha left his palace in
order to meet his subjects. Despite his father's
effort stop him, aged and suffering from the public
view, Siddhartha was said to have seen an old man
Disturbed by this, when told that all people
would eventually grow old and die, the prince went
on further trips where he encountered, variously, a
deceased man and decaying corpse.
Deeply depressed by these sights, he sought to
overcome old age, illness, and death by living the
life of an ascetic.
"Ascetic is the one who aims to achieve holiness
through mortification of the flesh.”
 Siddhartha escaped his palace, accompanied by
Channa aboard his horse, leaving behind him royal life
to become a mendicant. It is said that, "the horse's
hooves were muffled by the gods" to prevent guards from
knowing of the departure.
This event is traditionally called "The Great
Departure".
Siddhartha began his ascetic life by begging for alms in
the street. Having been recognized by the men of King
Bimbisara, The King offered him the throne after
hearing of Siddhartha's quest. Siddhartha rejected the
offer, but promised to visit his kingdom first, upon
attaining enlightenment.
 Siddhartha and a group of companions set
out to take their austerities even further. They
tried to find enlightenment through near total
deprivation of worldly goods, including food,
practicing self mortification .
After nearly starving himself to death by
restricting his food to around a leaf or nut per day,
he collapsed in a river while bathing and almost
drowned. Siddhartha began to reconsider his
path.
He attained a concentrated and focused state
that was blissful and refreshing, the Jhana.
 After asceticism and concentrating on
meditation and Anapana-sati (awareness of breathing
in and out), Siddhartha is said to have discovered
what Buddhists call the Middle - way a path of
moderation away from the extremes of self-
indulgence and self-mortification.
Then, sitting under a tree, he vowed never to arise
until he had found the Truth. His companions,
believing that he had abandoned his search and
become undisciplined, left. After 49 days meditating,
at the age of 35, he attained ENLIGHTMENT.
Gautama, from then on, was known as the Buddha
or "Awakened One."
 At this point, he is believed to have realized
complete awakening and insight into the nature
and cause of human suffering which was
ignorance, along with steps necessary to eliminate
it.
This was then categorized into ‘Four Noble
Truth' that we will deal with later; the state of
supreme liberation—possible for any being—was
called Nirvana(which is the cessation of individual
existence, it is a blissful state). He then allegedly
came to possess the Ten Characteristics , which
are said to belong to every Buddha
 After his Enlightenment, the Buddha was
wondering whether or not he should teach his
doctrine to human beings.
He was concerned that, as human beings were
overpowered by greed, hatred and delusion,
they would not be able to see the true dharma,
which was subtle, deep and hard to understand
With his great compassion to all beings in the
universe, the Buddha agreed to become a
teacher.
 For the remaining 45 years of his life, the
Buddha is said to have traveled in the countries,
teaching his doctrine and discipline to an
extremely diverse range of people from nobles to
outcast street sweepers, mass murderers and
cannibals.
This extended to many adherents of rival
philosophies and religions. The Buddha founded
the community of Buddhist monks and nuns (the
Sangha) to continue the dispensation after his
Parinirvana or "complete Nirvana", and made
thousands of converts.
 His doctrine was open to all races and classes
and had no caste structure. He was also subject to
attack from opposite religious groups, including
attempted murders and framings.
At the age of 80, the Buddha announced that
he would soon reach Parinirvana or the final
deathless state abandoning the earthly body.
After this, the Buddha ate his last meal.
Falling violently ill, Buddha asked all the
attendant to clarify any doubts or questions they
had. They had none. He then finally entered
Parinirvana. The Buddha's final words were, "All
composite things pass away. Strive for your own
liberation with diligence."
 The Buddha's body was cremated and the
relics were placed in monuments or stupas,
some of which are believed to have survived
until the present. Pilgrimage were organized to
places of Buddha's birth, enlightenment, first
sermon and his death.
For example, The Temple of the tooth or
"Dalada Maligawa" in Sri Lanka is the place
where the relic of the right tooth of the Buddha
is kept at present.
 Some of the fundamentals of the teachings of
Gautama Buddha are:

* The Four Noble Truths: that suffering is an

inherent part of existence; that the origin of
suffering is ignorance and the main symptoms of
that ignorance are attachment and craving; that
attachment and craving can be ceased; and that
following the Noble Eightfold Path that will lead to
the cessation of attachment and craving and
therefore suffering.
The Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding,
right thought, right speech, right action, right
livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and
right concentration.
* Dependent origination : that any
phenomenon 'exists' only because of the
‘existence’ of other phenomena in a complex
web of cause and effect covering time past,
present and future. Because all things are thus
conditioned and transient (anicca), they have
no real independent identity (anatta).
* Rejection of the infallibility of accepted
scripture: Teachings should not be accepted
unless they are borne out by our experience and
are praised by the wise.

* Anicca : That all things are impermanent.

* Dukkha : That all beings suffer from all
situations due to unclear mind.
* Anatta : That the perception of a constant “self"
is an illusion.
 The teachings of Buddhism provides a set
of commandments that are essentials: Do not
kill, do not steal, be chaste, do not lie, do not
intoxicate, do not eat after noon, there is no
use for dancing, avoid clothing & accessories,
do not use a big bed, do not accept precious
metals and do not boast over the forces of
manpower
 According to tradition, the Buddha
emphasized ethics and correct
understanding. He questioned the average
person's notions of divinity and salvation. He
stated that there is no intermediary between
mankind and the divine; distant gods are
subjected to karma themselves in decaying
heavens;
 Karma is a conception of the quality of
actions, the theory of inevitable consequence,
generally the result of action of life and the
Buddha is solely a guide and teacher for the
sentient beings who must tread the path of
nirvana themselves to attain the spiritual
awakening called bodhi and see truth and
reality as it is.
 The Buddhist system of insight and
meditation practice is not believed to have
been revealed divinely, but by the
understanding of the true nature of the mind,
which must be discovered by personally
treading a spiritual path guided by the
Buddha's teachings.
 The irreligious Buddhism is different
from that of monks, as it is not based on
practices but on the performance of some
rules and solitary worship.
The luck of rituals keeps the way wide
open for this cult to blend with habitual
beliefs and other religions.
This monument
is situated in
Japan made in
the XIII
century.

It is 11.5 meters
height and 120
tones weight.
A gigantic monument of Buddha of 20m height
situated in India, it's an important centre of
pilgrimage.
Bouddha de
Seokguram
 If Buddhism is still a strong religious
philosophy today, it's certainly because of the
essential qualities that it preserved over
centuries: its tolerance regarding other
religions and beliefs, its flexibility and ability
to adjust in any society, and also the essential
issues that it evokes (individual existence,
future of the human being).