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The Buddha, the founder of Buddhism was born in the 尝耻尘产颈苍墨 grove, in the vicinity of Kapilavatthu, near the present-day border of India and Nepal in the 6^th century B.C. He was called Siddhattha Gotama (Sanskrit. 厂颈诲诲丑腻谤迟丑补 Gautama). Siddhattha鈥� s father, Suddhodana, was a relatively powerful and wealthy leader of a small tribe called the Sakkya, structured more as a republic than a kingdom, and located in the Ganges river basin near the foothills of the Himalayan Mountains (Kapilavatthu was its capital). His mother 惭补丑腻尘腻测腻 died a week after his birth, and he was raised by 惭补丑腻辫补箩腻辫补迟颈 骋辞迟补尘墨, an aunt who became his father鈥檚 second wife.

At the time of his birth, religious authorities observed that Siddhattha possessed the 鈥榯hirty-two marks peculiar to a Great Man鈥� and they predicted that he would become an important world figure, either a just ruler or an enlightened spiritual leader. His father was determined that he should become a ruler, and to ensure this outcome he protected his son from everything unpleasant in life. An early omen should have warned Suddhodana that his son had a different destiny.

Presumably Siddhattha was raised in considerable prosperity and received a good education by the standards of the time. He was also reputed to have been extremely attractive physically. Aged sixteen, he married the beautiful 驰补蝉辞诲丑补谤腻, the Koliyan Princess. That Siddhattha was married, had a son, and was probably in line to acquire the power and wealth of his father no doubt made him a very fortunate and much envied young man in the Kingdom of Sakkya (in modern Nepal). Several years later, when he was twenty-nine, she gave birth to their only child, their son 搁腻丑耻濒补.

At the age of twelve, Siddhattha was found meditating under a tree during a festival. Eventually, he discovered what everyone comes to know鈥搕hat there is suffering in human life. One day he left the palace and saw a decrepit, bent-over old man walking with a stick to support him. Thus Siddhattha realized that human beings are not forever young: we all age and grow old. On a second outing, he saw a man who was extremely ill. Thus Siddhattha realized that human beings are not forever healthy: we are all liable to sickness. On a third excursion, he saw a dead man in a funeral procession. Thus Siddhattha realized that human beings do not live forever: we all die eventually.

The threefold discovery that aging, illness and death are facts of every human life was a shock to Siddhattha. He was overcome with disgust and shame. He wondered: What is the meaning of human suffering? What is its cause? Can it be overcome? How can such questions be answered? On a fourth outing, Siddhattha saw a man who had left home, shaved his head, and donned yellow robes: he was seeking a life of wisdom, virtue and tranquillity outside the conventional life of society, and he became an initial role-model for Siddhattha. The first three omens signify the nature of life symbolically and fourth was considered as the ideal life to go in search of truth, remedy for unsatisfactoriness of life.

At the age of twenty-nine, Siddhattha left his kingdom and became an ascetic to find the solution鈥攖he way of this universal suffering. He began his search by seeking instruction from persons who were reputed to be wise. The dominant religion in his society was Brahmanism. There are three features of Brahmanism worth noting here. First, it maintained that all persons were determined by birth to fall into exactly one class in a hierarchy of four: the religious leaders known as Brahmins, rulers and warriors, farmers and traders, and servants. Second, Brahmanism accepted polytheism and supposed that benefits from the gods could be obtained by sacrificial rituals. Third, it emphasized the value of ascetic practices as well as meditation techniques known as yoga. As the Buddha, Siddhattha would be critical of the first two of these tenets, but he would incorporate and transform both features of the third. It is especially significant that, as he began his quest, he found himself in a world in which meditation was already regarded as an important spiritual discipline. It was with two teachers of meditation that he embarked on his quest for understanding.

The first was 膧濒腻谤补 碍腻濒腻尘补. Siddhattha quickly learned 碍腻濒腻尘补鈥� s teaching and achieved up to the third meditative absorption of formless sphere level in his system鈥搘hat he called 鈥榯he base of nothingness鈥�. But Siddhattha was not satisfied with what he had achieved.

He said,

鈥楾his teaching does not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, to direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to liberation (苍颈产产腻苍补)鈥�.^[1]

(狈腻测补峁� dhammo nibbid膩ya na vir膩g膩ya na nirodh膩ya na upasam膩ya na 补产丑颈帽帽腻测补 na sambodh膩ya na nibb膩n膩ya 蝉补峁僾补迟迟补迟颈).^[2]

His second teacher was Uddaka 搁腻尘补辫耻迟迟补. Once again, Siddhattha rapidly understood his teaching and achieved forth medita-tive absorption of formless sphere, the 鈥榖ase of neither-perception-nor-nonperception鈥�. But as before, Siddhattha was similarly dissatisfied. Having departed from his two more conventional teachers, Siddhattha joined company with a group of five ascetics. Among them he practiced asceticism with a vengeance, bringing himself to 鈥榓 state of extreme emaciation鈥� and nearly to the point of death by eating almost nothing.

In addition, he undertook a 鈥榖reathless meditation鈥� he described in these words:

鈥業 stopped the in-breaths and out-breaths through my mouth, nose, and ears. While I did so, violent winds cut through my head. Just as if a strong man were to crush my head with the tip of a sharp sword, so too, while I stopped I stopped the in-breaths and outbreaths through my mouth, nose, and ears, violent winds cut through my head.^[3]

(Tassa mayha峁� mukhato ca n膩sato ca ka峁囜箛ato ca ass膩sapass膩sesu uparuddhesu adhimatt膩 s墨se s墨save-dan膩 honti. 厂别测测补迟丑腻辫颈 aggivessena 产补濒补惫腻 puriso varattakkha峁嘾hena s墨se s墨s-惫别峁环补峁� dadeya, evameva kho me aggivessena mukhato ca n膩sato ca ka峁囜箛ato ca ass膩sapass膩sesu uparuddhesu adhimatt膩 s墨se 蝉墨蝉补惫别诲补苍腻 honti).^[4]

But it was all to no avail. Eventually, after nearly six years, Siddhattha reached the conclusion that 鈥榖y this racking practice of austerities I have not attained any superhuman states, any distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones.鈥� He asked, 鈥榗ould there be another path to enlightenment?鈥� Thinking there must be, he began to eat food provided by a young woman named 厂耻箩腻迟腻, and his five ascetic companions left him, disgusted that he had 鈥榬everted to luxury鈥�.^[5] Once nourished, Siddhattha sat under the 鈥�Bodhi-tree鈥� (tree of enlightenment) at Buddha-Gaya, (near Gaya in modern Bihar) and he began to reflect and meditate, determined to achieve enlightenment on his own.

He promptly passed through four levels of concentration, the four 箩丑腻苍补蝉 that are a key part of Buddhist meditation. Siddhattha鈥� s mind was thereby 鈥榩urified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection鈥�. He then attained three kinds of knowledge. The first was specific knowledge of his own past lives. The second was knowledge of the passing away and reappearance of beings, those who lived well in a 鈥榞ood destination,鈥� and those who did not in a 鈥榮tate of deprivation.鈥� The third and most important was knowledge of the nature of suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the way leading to its cessation鈥搘hat he would call the four noble truths (补谤颈测补蝉补肠肠腻), the heart of his teaching. Thus his mind was liberated from the taints (腻蝉补惫补) of sensual desire, being, and ignorance.

He had achieved enlightenment at the age of thirty鈥揻ive under the 鈥�Bodhi-tree鈥� at Buddha-Gaya.

After the enlightenment he was called the Buddha, the Enlightened One, or more correctly 厂补尘尘腻蝉补尘-产耻诲诲丑补, the Fully Enlightened One.

鈥業gnorance was banished and true knowledge arose, darkness was banished and light arose.鈥�^[6]

(础惫颈箩箩腻 惫颈丑补迟迟腻 惫颈箩箩腻 耻辫辫补苍苍腻, tamo vihato 膩loko uppanno).^[7]

He declared,

鈥業 directly knew: 鈥渂irth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being鈥�.^[8]

(碍丑墨峁嚹� 箩腻迟颈 惫耻蝉颈迟补峁� 产谤补丑尘补肠补谤颈测峁� 办补迟补峁� kara峁嚹�-ya峁� n膩para峁� itthatt膩ya).^[9]

After his Enlightenment, Gotama the Buddha decided to teach what he had learned 鈥榦ut of compassion for beings鈥�. He was aged thirtyfive and would spend the remaining forty-five years of his life teaching the Dhamma to all who would listen so that they themselves might achieve enlightenment and overcome suffering.

The Buddha鈥檚 initial thought was to return to his first two teachers, 膧濒腻谤补 碍腻濒腻尘补 and Uddaka 搁腻尘补辫耻迟迟补, but they had both died recently. He chooses as first recipients of his teaching a group of five ascetics who had attended on him during his years of ascetic practice. He delivered his first sermon to a group of five ascetics in the Deer Park at Isipatana (modern Sarnath), near 叠腻谤腻苍补蝉墨 (Varanasi). That first sermon is the first discourse of the Buddha itself, known as 鈥渢he Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dhamma鈥� (Dhammasakkapavattana sutta).

It is interesting to note that the discourse begins by showing the futility of the two extremes practices prevailing among the truth seekers of the day. The first of two practices mentioned in the discourse was based on materialism (耻肠肠丑别诲补惫腻诲补) and the other was on eternalism (蝉补蝉蝉补迟补惫腻诲补).

The Buddha says that there are two extremes to be avoided by a recluse who is seeking realization. The two extremes are self-indulgence (办腻尘补蝉耻办丑补濒濒颈办腻苍耻测辞驳补) and self-mortification (补迟迟补办颈濒补尘补迟丑腻苍耻-测辞驳补). Attachment to worldly enjoyment in respect of sensual pleasure is low (丑墨苍辞), vulgar (gammo), way of worldlings (pothujjaniko), ignoble (anariyo), and unbeneficial (补苍补迟迟补蝉补峁僪颈迟辞). Self-mortification is full of suffering (dukkho), ignoble (anariyo), and unbeneficial (anatta-蝉补峁僪颈迟辞). Although five adjectives have been used for the former and three for the latter with reference to the basic of ideology on which they were founded for purpose of realising truth, the two extreme practices are comparatively useless.

The Buddha pointed out the middle path (尘补箩箩丑颈尘补辫补峁璱辫补诲腻) lying between these two extremes, product insight and knowledge leading to serenity, higher knowledge, full enlightenment and supreme bliss, 苍颈产产腻苍补. Then discourse summerises the eight factors of middle path and moves on to reveal the four noble truths:

1. the noble truth of suffering (诲耻办办丑补蝉补肠肠腻)
2. the noble truth of the origin of suffering (诲耻办办丑补蝉补尘耻诲补测补蝉补肠肠腻)
3. the noble truth of the cessation of suffering (诲耻办办丑补苍颈谤辞诲丑补蝉补肠肠腻)
4. the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering (dukkhaniro-dhag膩minipa峁璱pad膩 补谤颈测补蝉补肠肠腻).

1. This is noble truth of suffering: birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering, union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing suffering; not to get what one wants suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.

(顿耻办办补峁� 补谤颈测补蝉补肠肠补峁�-箩腻迟颈pi dhukk膩 jar膩pi dukkh膩 by膩dipi dukkho 尘补谤补峁嘺峁�-pi 诲耻办办丑补峁� appiyehi sammapayogo dukkho piyehi vippayogo dukkho yapic-cha峁� nalabatitampi 诲耻办办丑补峁� sa峁僰hittena pa帽cup膩danakkhandh膩 dukkh膩).^[10]

2. This is the noble truth of the origin of suffering: it is this craving that leads to renewed existence, accompanied by delight and lust, seeking delight here and there; that is, craving for sensual pleasures, craving for existence, craving for extermination.

(Dukkasa-mudaya峁� 补谤颈测补蝉补肠肠补峁�-y膩ya峁� 迟补峁噃腻 辫辞苍辞产产丑补惫颈办腻 苍补苍诲墨谤腻驳补-sahagat膩 tatratatr膩binandin墨 seya峁環ida峁僰膩ma-迟补峁噃腻 bhava迟补峁噃腻 vibhava迟补峁噃腻).^[11]

3. This is the noble truth of the cessation of suffering: it is the remainderless fading away and cessation of that same craving, the giving up, and relinquishing of it, freedom from it, nonattachment.

(Dukkanirodaya峁� 补谤颈测补蝉补肠肠补峁�-yo tass膩yeva 迟补峁噃腻ya asesavir膩ganirodho c膩go pa峁璱nissaggo mutti 补苍腻濒补测辞).^[12]

4. This is the noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: it is noble eightfold path; right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

(Dukkanirodag膩min墨pa峁璱pad膩 补谤颈测补蝉补肠肠补峁僡yameva ariyo a峁�峁環-a峁単iko maggo, seyyathida峁� 蝉补尘尘腻诲颈峁�峁�丑颈 蝉补尘尘腻蝉补峁卥补辫辫补 蝉补尘尘腻惫腻肠腻 sam-m膩kammanta samm膩膩j墨va, samm膩v膩yama samm膩sati 蝉补尘尘腻蝉补尘腻诲丑颈).^[13]

The truth of suffering should be fully understood (辫补谤颈帽帽别测测补). The truth of its origin, craving, should be abandoned (辫补丑腻迟补产产补). The truth of cessation, 苍颈产产腻苍补, should be realized (蝉补肠肠丑颈办腻迟补产产补). The truth of way, the noble eightfold path, should be developed (产丑腻惫别迟补产产补).

The fourth noble truth completes the pattern established by the first three truths by revealing the means to eliminate craving and thereby bring an end to suffering. This truth teaches the 鈥渕iddle way鈥� discovered by the Buddha, the noble eightfold path.

The noble eightfold path can be incorporated into threefold: virtue or morality (蝉墨濒补), concentration (蝉补尘腻诲丑颈) and wisdom (辫补帽帽腻). Right speech, right action, and right livelihood made up virtue or morality (蝉墨濒补); right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration made up concentration (蝉补尘腻诲丑颈); and right view and right intention made up the wisdom (辫补帽帽腻). The threefold sequence in turn serves as the basic outline for the gradual training.

The 厂墨濒补 consists of moral practices involving the conscious and voluntary transformation of one鈥檚 patterns of bodily and verbal behavior, 蝉补尘腻诲丑颈 the development of mental composure, and 辫补帽帽腻 the cultivation of the insight that leads to moral perfection. They are composed of eight factors call 鈥渘oble path鈥� leading to the extinction of suffering. If a person has completely developed the noble path, it is also considered that he has completely developed 鈥渢he factors leading to enlightenment (bodhipakkhiya), which comprise the teachings of the Buddha.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, p. 258

[2]:

MN I, p. 164

[3]:

Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, p. 337-8

[4]:

MN I, p. 243

[5]:

MN I, p. 338

[6]:

Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, p. 105

[7]:

MN I, p. 21

[8]:

Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, p. 106

[9]:

MN I, p. 22

[10]:

SN V, p. 420

[11]:

Ibid, p. 420

[12]:

Ibid, p. 420

[13]:

SN V, p. 420