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Choosing the famous Bodhi tree close to the river, Siddhartha undertook to meditate until he attained the knowledge he sought. A local grasscutter offered him some soft green kusha grass for a cushion. Siddhartha walked around the tree seven times and then he prepared his seat. Sitting down facing eastwards, he began to meditate, vowing that he would not get up from that spot until he had attained enlightenment.
As Siddhartha sat deep in meditation, Mara (the Lord of Delusion who personifies the obscurations of our own mind) was unable to bear the sight of Siddhartha's inevitable realization of ultimate truth. Mara came with his army to distract Siddhartha from his contemplation. They came in the form of beautiful maidens, and then in the form of fearful demons. They tried to break Siddhartha's concentration through temptations and then through fear. The arrows sent by the demons only turned into flowers, and the torrential storms merely dispearsed. The Buddhato- be remained impervious to the illusions and spells with which Mara tried to undermine his efforts.
Mara then taunted Siddhartha, claiming that Siddhartha had not produced any good merit in the past.
Siddhartha stretched down his hand and touched the earth, calling it to bear witness to his eons of striving for virtuous ends. The earth quaked in all directions and miraculously testified that over countless lifetimes Siddhartha had practiced the perfections of generosity, discipline, patience, effort, concentration and wisdom. Mara and his army fled at the sight of defeat, each demon fleeing in a different direction.
During that night, Siddhartha entered into deeper and deeper states of meditative absorption. He realized the interdependence of all phenomena and directly perceived that nowhere was there even one atom that had even the slightest independent existence. He saw that every instant of suffering stemmed from the inability to understand the way in which all things exist.
The very subtle layers of obscuration that veiled the pure clear light nature of Siddhartha’s mind were removed and at dawn he arose as a fully awakened one, a Buddha. He had conquered sorrow and attained supreme bliss.
Sitting under that pipal tree Siddhartha had finally accomplished his goal by demonstrating to the world the path and attainment of Buddhahood. In this way, the Buddha was born in order to show that an ordinary man can become a Buddha.
After the Siddhartha attained enlightened, he remained in Seven places, each for seven days:
The very first teaching of the Buddha was esoteric, and hidden away by the Nagas (serpent spirits). These teachings were not deliver by the Buddha himself, but by the bodhisattvas and other beings who spoke of the Buddha's qualities and activities after his achievement of enlightenment. These teachings became known as the Avatamsaka Sutra.
Finally, the Buddha left the Bodh Gaya area and traveled to the deer park at Sarnath, where his five former peers were living. On the way he passed two merchants, Trapusha and Bhallika. Seeing the Enlightened One's glowing countenance, the two merchants bowed before him and offered him the choicest food they had. The merchants went on their way, greatly uplifted by the encounter.
The Buddha, at first, decided to not teach the Dharma because others would not understand its meaning. Like is traditional, the Buddha had to be requested to teach the Dharma. The gods Indra and Brahma, presenting a conch shell and golden wheel as offerings, did so accordingly.
Traveling northward, along the river Ganga, the Buddha reached the city of Varanasi and went directly to the deer park at Sarnath to find his five peers. They had previously left the Buddha on the banks of the Niranjana river, after becoming disillusioned with him for forsaking the practice of austerities. When they saw the Buddha now, at first they tried to shun him. However, they soon were overwhelmed by Siddhartha’s serenity and tranquillity. The five peers became the Buddha’s disciples. They washed Siddhartha’s feet and invited him to sit, requesting the Buddha to teach.
The teaching at Sarnath was the Buddha's first turning of the 'Wheel of Dharma'. He taught the Four Noble Truths, which have remained the basis of all traditions of Buddhist doctrine to this day. The Buddha talked all through the night and when morning came, the five disciples embraced his teachings and took refuge in the Three Jewels of Buddhism; the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha. They became the first five members of the Sangha, the community of monks who follow the teachings of the Buddha.
The next individual who accepted the Buddha's path was a young nobleman named Yasa. Like the Buddha himself, Yasa had been born into an affluent family and surrounded by luxury, yet he left his home and family in search of the truth. Yasa's father, coming in search of his son also listened to the Buddha and was so struck by the teachings that he and his household also converted to the Buddha's path. Yasa and his father became the first of many lay followers who accepted the teachings, but did not give up their worldly lives to become monks.
Many more young monks joined the Sangha and were taught by the Buddha. When they had understood the teachings, they would go out in different directions, to spread the Dharma for the welfare of all living beings, just as the Buddha himself was doing.
Many more young monks joined the Sangha and were taught by the Buddha. When they had understood the teachings, they would go out in different directions, to spread the Dharma for the welfare of all living beings, just as the Buddha himself was doing.
The Buddha traveled back to Uruvela, near Gaya, where he gathered other one thousand followers who converted only after the Buddha performed numerous miracles.
The Buddha returned to the King Bimbisara, welcomed by a great ceremony and the King became a lay disciple. In the King’s country, over one hundred thousand people entered the path of realization and over ten thousand took refuge. The King offered the Buddha and his followers a bamboo grove and monastery in which to live. Thus the Buddha and his followers traveled through the Gangetic plain, but returned to the grove only during the monsoon rainy seasons.
For the next forty years, the Buddha and his disciples traveled from one village and town to another and spread their message. Buddha also returned to his home of Kapilavastu, where his father, King Suddhodana, greeted him with jubilation and invited him to teach. Hearing the Buddha's teaching, the King along with Yasodhara and Rahula (the Buddha's son) also embraced the Dharma. Rahula became a monk and disciple of his father. The Buddha’s son, wife, father and aunt all attained realization.
The Buddha's travels took him to Vaishali, Sravasti, Rajagriha and Kushinagar. Wherever the Buddha went, he gave teachings that would most benefit the listener. The Sangha grew and flourished in the villages of the Gangetic basin, and word of the Buddha's teachings spread far beyond.
Scriptures recount many miracles and great works performed by the Buddha who at one point created a thousand Buddha images in the sky depicting the postures of meditation and teaching. In this way his critics were silenced and all doubts set aside.
The Buddha also visited the realm in which his deceased mother was born into (the heaven of the Thirty three Gods), bestowing on her various teachings.
Generally, the Buddha's teachings to the public were based upon the Hinayana, the teachings which lead one to the end of suffering and Arhatship.
During the later part of Buddha's life, he began to teach the Mahayana, or the vehicle which leads to Buddhahood. This vehicle explained the path in which the Bodhisattvas (and the Buddha himself undertook) travel to achieve enlightenment.
The Buddha also taught the tantras which are the teachings of the Vajrayana. The Buddha gave four tantras: the kriya tantras, the carya tantras, the yoga tantras, and the anuttarayoga tantras.
These teachings were given in many places. Sometimes the Buddha gave these teachings in some of the god realms such as Tushita and some of the teachings were given in physical places in India. Those receiving these teachings were bodhisattvas and dakas and dakinis practicing the secret mantas. King Indrabodhi and others received special transmissions of the Buddhist tantras.
The sutras already provided very deep and vast teachings on the nature of phenomena. But with the vajrayana, the Buddha was able to give people the possibility to achieve the fruition of the Buddhist path very quickly and without major hardships. The vajrayana can do this by providing special skillful means such as the meditation on the generation stage and the completion stage of a deity, and using meditation techniques of looking at the nature of the mind directly.
At the request of his cousin Ananda and his Aunt Gotami, the Buddha allowed the establishment of an order of nuns. However, the Buddha warned that nuns would be targeted due to their gender and that the nuns could experience more difficult obstacles than the monks, especially due to unfair biases. During his Aunt’s passing away, the Buddha urged her to disprove the misunderstanding that women cannot attain Arhatship. So, Gotami performed numerous miracles after she died which stunned those present.
Devadatta was a cousin of the Buddha who ended up holding a grudge, because the Buddha refused to let Devadatta become the head of the Sangha. Although Devadatta, with the help of King Ajatasatthu, repeatedly tried to kill the Buddha, he did not succeed. As a final assault he made a wild elephant drunk so that it might trample the Buddha to death. Instead, the Buddha, through his great loving power, stopped and taught the elephant. Devadatta attempted to throw a huge boulder to crush the Buddha on a hill, the Buddha just stood still as the boulder hit a sharp rock and split into pieces, each rolling by the Buddha on the side but missing Him. However, a small pebble hit the Buddha’s toe and caused the Buddha to bleed. Devadatta commited one of the most evil acts by harming a saintly being, and later on felt remorseful.
Khema, one of King Bimbisara’s queens, disliked the Buddha because he did not acknowledge her beauty. One day she was drawn to the place where the Buddha was teaching just by his voice alone. But she sat in the very back of the gathering, covering her face. The Buddha, through his omniscient wisdom, knew she was present and conjured a young girl who was even more beautiful than Khema. However, the girl soon grew old, died and rotted right in front of the Queen’s eyes. The Queen realized impermanence and joined the order of nuns.
Anathapindika, a very rich man, had such great devotion for the Buddha that upon their first meeting his body glowed. He bought a park for the Buddha and built the Jetavana Monastery for the Buddha. This was where the Buddha resided during the rainy reason. The park’s cost was measured by the amount of gold coins it took to entirely cover the ground without any earth showing.
A man named Kasibharadvaja snickered at the Buddha because the Buddha received alms from others and did not grow the food himself. The Buddha explained that although he does not plough, weed and plant seeds of earth, he does plant the seeds of faith and weeds with truthfulness. The man realized his error, bowed to the Buddha and later on became a monk attaining Arhatship.
The King Kosala lamented to the Buddha that he had a daughter instead of a son. The Buddha told him to not grieve, because a daughter can be very wise and virtuous, and possibly even more honorable than a male child.
A band of wicked ascetics once attempted to frame the Buddha and his monks for murdering a female sage, Sundari. They told her to spy on the Buddha near the Jeta Monastery, and killed her, burying her there and then reported to the King Kosala that she was missing. After some searching, the wicked men “discovered” she was buried and killed. The local people began shouting and accused the Buddha and his disciples. But since they were innocent and remained calm, the local people realized that the Buddhist truly could not be the murderers. The Buddha advised his disciples to remain with a pure mind in face of harsh words. The ascetics were found to be the real murders and the Buddha became even more honored.
The savage Angulimala was converted by the Buddha. Angulimala was once a wise pupil of a renowned teacher. But when Angulimala refused the wife’s invitation to consort with her, she told her husband to punish Angulimala for trying to assault her. Out of revenge, the teacher taught Angulimala that in order to achieve perfection he must kill one thousand people and make a rosary out of their fingers. The young man became a savage, blindly following his teacher’s words. When he saw the Buddha approach, he figured that his final victim had arrived. However, the Buddha ended up converting the man and taught him virtue.
One time, a female was set up and hired by a band of jealous sages to accuse the Buddha of impregnating her. However, the deva Indra transformed himself into a rat and pulled the pot from underneath her cloths, revealing that she was a liar.
When the Buddha was eighty years of age, he announced that his time was at an end. He prepared his followers for his Mahaparinirvana, the great cessation of his existence on earth.
The Buddha’s main attendant was his disciple Ananda. The Buddha told Ananda that after his death the Sangha should not think their Master's words had come to an end. The truth of the Dharma and the Sangha would continue to guide and teach those who came after he had died.
When he and his followers had reached Kushinagar, the Buddha ate a meal which was offered. The meal consisted of soured food which brought on a deadly illness.
The Buddha went to lay down on his right side between two trees, with his head facing the north and addressed His followers for the last time:
"Decay is inherent in all compounded phenomena!
Work for your liberation with diligence!"
When the ruler of Kushinagar heard of the Buddha's death, he sent word that he would arrange the funeral ceremony. The last rites were carried out with all the honor due to a Universal Monarch. The Kings of all the states of the Gangetic plain were in attendance. After the cremation they divided the Buddha’s ashes into eight parts and each King carried these back to his kingdom, where a Stupa was built out of respect and veneration.
The Buddha Shakyamuni, born Prince Siddhartha Gautama, was a human being who was able to go beyond the mere capabilities of materialism and nihilism. Instead, he transcended suffering and decided to benefit all. Today, his blessings still remain with us.
Even though the Buddha's physical body died, his mind still pervades all existence and he can still manifest to benefit living beings.
