Story of Mahatma Buddha continued Page 4

Kondanna,the leader amongst the 5 attained the first stage of enlightenment as he understood all that Buddha taught.Mahatma Buddha ordained him as a monk and the others as well.Soon,they became the enlightened ones and formed the first association or sangha.
With time,Buddha had 60 disciples. He told them,"Go and spread my teachings, so that more people get freedom from sufferings."
    After a while,Mahatma Buddha went back to Rajagriha with his disciples. He met King Bimbisara who became his disciple. Over the years Buddha continued to preach travelling from place to place.King Suddhodhana too was ordained by Buddha.Mahatma Buddha also ordained Mahaprajapati Gotami,his foster mother who became the first nun of Buddhism.
    Buddha preached for 45years.Thousands of people influenced by his teachings joined the sangha.When Buddha was80 years old,he travelled towards foothills of Himalayas with his chief attendant and a few other disciples.A blacksmith Cunda offered them a meal.A little later,Mahatma Buddha fell severely I'll.However,he went to Kusinara where Amanda prepared a bed for him under 2 Sal trees.
It was then that Mahatma Buddha announced that he would soon attain Parinirvana(a deathless state).Meanwhile, hearing of his forthcoming demise,people rushed to meet him.A wandering ascetic named Subhadda was among them. He became the last person to be ordained by Buddha.Before entering Parinirvana,Buddha's final message was that 'Every human should strive for liberation as nothing lasts forever.'

Story of Mahatma Buddha continued Page 3

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One day in Rajagriha,Siddhartha saw a flock of sheep being sacrificed under the ruling king,Bimbisara's orders.He at once stopped the sacrifice saying,"Life is extremely precious. All living creatures have a desire to live."
    His powerful yet simple words greatly affected Bimbisara who requested Siddhartha to stay.But he declined, promising to return.
    Soon,Siddhartha left Rajagriha and joined 2 sages who taught him how to reach a deep state of meditation. But he still didn't find the answer which he was looking for. After sometime, Siddhartha met 5 ascetics with whom Siddhartha practiced severe starvation. The 5 ascetics soon became his followers.However, starvation so weakened his body that 1 day,Siddhartha collapsed and fell into a river and almost drowned.It was then that he reconsidered his path.
   He realized the nature and causes of human suffering and the necessary steps to eliminate it.He also identified the 4 noble truths and the 8 fold path by which one could attain Nirvana-a state of supreme liberation from all suffering and the cycle of birth and death.
    Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree in a state of strange happiness for many days.Then he decided to teach what he had realised and thought of his 5 ascetic followers who were in Sarnath at that time.When Mahatma Buddha met them,the ascetics were surprised to see the divine radiance on his face.And so,Buddha gave his first sermon in the deer park in Sarnath.


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Story of Mahatma Buddha cont'nd page 2

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Siddhartha from his very childhood was kindhearted. One day,when he was playing in the palace garden a swan hit by an arrow fell near him.As Siddhartha was attending to the wounded swan,his cousin Devadatta came running and said,"This swan is mine as I have shot it!"But Prince Siddhartha refused to give his cousin the swan.

   Devadatta angrily complained to King Suddhodana. After listening to them both,the king asked his jury to settle the dispute. Devadatta argued that the swan was his,as he had shot it.But Siddhartha said calmly,"If the swan had died then it would have belonged to Devadatta.But I saved its life.Life belongs to its Savior ,not destroyer!"Impressed by Siddhartha's argument the jury gave him the swan.

    One day,the king and his attendants noticed that Siddhartha was missing,and they started looking for him.A little later,they found him sitting under a tree absorbed in meditation. The king was worried."I must distract hisind from all thoughts of austerity,"he thought.So,a luxurious palace was built to divert his mind and Siddhartha was not allowed to go out of it.

     By the time Siddhartha was sixteen, he had grown up to be a handsome young prince.King Suddhodhana thought,'It is time Siddhartha should get married so that he never abandons family life.'And so,Siddhartha was married to Princess Yasodhara.But Siddhartha often thought,'I wonder how life is outside this palace?'After some time,Siddhartha  and Yasodhara were blessed with a baby boy called Rahula.

   Siddhartha was very affected by people's sufferings.So he thought,'I will find a way to stop suffering.'He decided to abandon his family and kingdom. So,one night,at the age of 29,Siddhartha left his wife and infant son accompanied by his charioteer Channa.

    The 2 travelled for sometime and finally stopped near a river.Siddhartha shaved his hair and discarding his princely robes wore the garb of an ascetic.Calmly he said to Channa,'Now my quest for truth begins.'Asking Channa to return to the palace,Siddhartha went to Rajagriha and began living like an ascetic, begging for alms.

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The Story of the Buddha

  Long ago,the small kingdom of Kapilavastu was ruled by a noble monarch,Suddhodhana.He was married to Princess Maha Maya.One night, Queen Maya had a strange dream.She dreamt that a six tusked white elephant, carrying a white lotus in its trunk entered her body.Puzzled, the queen told King Suddhodana about her dream the next morning.

    King Suddhodana was confused. So he consulted a few wise men.They said,"The dream is an indication that the queen will give birth to a wise and virtuous baby.After hearing this the king and the queen were filled with joy.When the baby was about to be born,Queen Maha Maya decided to visit her mother.

On her way Queen Maya grew tired. So,her bearers carried her to a beautiful garden.Here under a Sal tree the queen gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.5 days after the prince's birth,a naming ceremony was held.The prince was named Siddhartha.King Suddhodhana invited 8 brahmin scholars to foretell the future of the child.

   The brahmin scholars said that Siddhartha would either be a monarch or a holy man.However,Kondanna,the youngest of all the brahmins predicted,"The child will abandon his kingdom and become monk."Hearing this, the king was worried.'I will not let Siddhartha become a monk,'thought King Suddhodhana.Unfortunately, 2 days after the ceremony, Queen Maha Maya died.Mahaprajapati Gotami,her sister,became Siddhartha's foster mother.

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