Wesak Day - Part 01 - The Buddha and Buddhism

Wesak Day (or Vesak Day) today celebrates not just the birth of Siddhārtha Gautama, but also his enlightenment, nirvana and passing. The term Buddha means The Enlightened One; so those later people who attained enlightenment are also Buddhas.

Wesak Day falls on the 15th Day of the Fourth Lunar Month (for countries in South East Asia and China).

Siddhārtha Gautama was believed to have lived in 563 BCE to 483 BCE (its impossible to be definitive). His teachings and sayings were passed down orally and were only written up some 400 years after his death. His was a nice story of a prince, in a small state said to be in present day Nepal, who was foretold at birth that he would either be a Great King, or a Great Holy Man if he was allowed to see the world. His father kept him within the palace walls until he escaped when he was 29 years old. The suffering he saw in the "real world" prompted his spiritual quest. He achieved enlightenment at age 35 under a Bhodi Tree, and spent the rest of his life preaching this Path of Enlightenment

In the present day, there are numerous varieties of Buddhism of the generally accepted two schools of Buddhism. The older school is called Theravada(India and South East Asia) and the other Mahayana (East Asia - Zen, Tibetan, Nichiren ...).

Its impossible in this short write-up to go much deeper into Buddhism Philosophy, but I like to believe that The Buddha taught The Four Noble Truths. The Fourth Truth states that liberation can be attained from following The Noble Eightfold Path.

The Four Noble Truths are:

• The Noble Truth that is Suffering.

• Life as we know it ultimately leads to suffering in one way or another.

(Note that english words have very narrow meanings and so cannot convey the full scope of the concept . "Suffering" is more than physical pain or mental anguish. It has the wide scope of disquietude - a condition of being disturbed; which encompasses unsatisfactoriness, anxiety, stress, frustration, discomfort, ... The concept of Suffering is not pessimistic, but realistic)

• The Noble Truth that is The Arising of Suffering.
• Suffering is caused by Craving (Desire).

(Usually explained as clinging onto beliefs and wanting things thought to bring happiness or the desire to remove the beliefs and things thought to cause unhappiness.)

• The Noble Truth that is The End of Suffering.
• Suffering ends when Craving (Desire) ends.

(Simple, isn't it?)

• The Noble Truth that is The Way Leading To The End of Suffering.

• Liberation is by following the Noble Eightfold Path.

(What's the Noble Eightfold Path? Well, let's leave that to another day - another post)

Buddhism is NOT a religion.

The Buddha does not have any SPIRITUAL POWER over you.

He is NOT A God.