9 Mar 2006 @ 15:38, by Shreepal Singh
Buddhcharitam (Life of Buddha), a Sanscrit book written by Buddhaghosha (150 AD), describes the unusual events following the birth of Buddha. On the birth of Buddha, in the garden of Lumbini rare and special flowers bloomed out in great abundance out of season. All diseases and afflictions among men without a cure applied of themselves were healed. Various cries and confused sounds of beasts were hushed and silence reigned all around. The self-caused angelic music was heard all around and the whole world of sentient creatures enjoyed peace and universal tranquility.
However, his royal mother, the queen Maya, finding her son born under such extra-ordinary circumstances and a beautiful child of heaven adorned with every excellent distinction could not control her excessive joy and died thereof after seven days of his birth. Thereupon, he was brought up by Prajapati Gautami, his foster mother, whom he regarded as his real mother.
Christmas Humphreys describes the early life of would-be Buddha in these words:
Buddha, as a boy, lead a normal easy life of a prince but from earliest of his boyhood he was never satisfied for long with worldly pleasures and had been self-possessed and pre-occupied with unusual questions of inquiring mind. At the age of sixteen he won his wife, Yashodhara, after exhibiting his strength in fighting, wrestling and archery in a contest and had a son, Rahula, by her.
However his mind was not at rest in pursuing worldly ways.
Once he heard a maiden singing, who fell in love with his manly beauty as he passed by her, saying: -
Happy indeed is the Mother,
Happy indeed is the Father,
Happy indeed is the Wife,
Who has such a Husband.
Very well said, thought Buddha-to-be. But what is it which, extinguished, makes the heart eternally happy; for flesh will grow old and will die? He realized that it was lust and craving in all its forms, the extinguishing of which was the end of suffering. He was then twenty- nine.
His father tried to keep him away from his unusual thoughts by arranging all means of worldly pleasure.
But one day, while on an errand with his charioteer in attendance, he saw worldly woes with his own eyes: first (he saw) an old man, then a sick man and then a dead man. At the sight of each of these he asked his charioteer the meaning of what he saw. 'This comes to all men', said the charioteer, and the Prince's mind was troubled that such was the effect of birth, the common cause. Then he saw a recluse with shaven head and a tattered yellow robe. 'What man is this?' he asked, and was told it was one who had gone forth into the homeless life.
He returned to the palace, deeply pondering, and, that night, while his pleasure girls lay sleeping in unbecoming postures at his feet, he revolted from sensual pleasures, and at the same time the flame of compassion awoke within him. Not for the first time, but now with overpowering effect, he felt the positive call to save not only himself but all mankind from birth in the world of suffering. He bade farewell to his sleeping wife and babe, and in the silence of the Indian night went forth with Channa, his charioteer, and Kanthaka, his stallion. At the edge of the forest he alighted, cut off his long black hair with his sword and sent it back to the palace by the hand of Channa. He exchanged his princely robes with those of a beggar, and went forth into the homeless life, alone.
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