Greetings and salutations!
So you've come seeking Buddha. Well, Siddhartha Gautama was born during the sixth century BC in Lumbini, at the foothills of the Himalayas along the southern edge of modern Nepal. His father, King Suddhodana, was the ruler of the Shakya clan. Belonging to the Kshatriya (warrior caste) and the ruling family, Siddhartha's childhood was that of a fabulously wealthy prince with incredible power. According to tradition, at the age of 16 he married a beautiful girl named Yasodhara. King Suddhodana ordered that the young couple's life be untroubled by the concerns and pains of the world. To that end, for the next 13 years, Siddhartha and Yasodhara lived together in isolation and bliss. Shortly after the birth of his son, Siddhartha ventured from his estate and was confronted by the death of an old man. The next day, Siddhartha Gautama left his kingdom, wife and infant child to search the world for a way to relieve universal suffering. For six years, he lead the life of an ascetic following different teachers; praying, studying, meditating, practicing yoga, living a life of austerity. One day, a young girl offered the monk a bowl of rice and in that moment, Siddhartha realized that physical deprivation were not the means to achieve understanding. That night, he sat under the bodhi tree meditating until the dawn. His new understanding lead him to a new teaching. From that moment, he called people to follow "the Middle Way", a path of balance rather than extremism. He purified his mind of defilements and attained enlightenment at the age of 35. It was at this point that he earned the title Buddha, which means "Enlightened One". Siddhartha chose to remain bound to the suffering Earth for the rest of his life so as to share his insight into enlightenment with the other struggling seekers of truth. He spent the remainder of his 80 year life preaching the Dharma so that all might achieve enlightenment and Nirvana. Well, if you want to learn more about the Siddhartha Buddha, try checking out BuddhaNet. As for me, Buddha Bear is just a college nickname. And a long story at that, so I'm not going into it...
Obviously, I'm familiar with Buddhism. Chalk one up for a liberal arts education at a Jesuit University. Actually, when I enrolled, I considered myself a pretty serious Catholic but after my experiences abroad I just felt there had to be something more -- the Christian faith just doesn't speak to the life experience of the whole world. So, when I came home, I started looking around.
Nope, I'm not a Buddhist, although I think they have several tenets which I try to live by; "all things in balance", "what goes around comes around" and "no idea is more powerful than the truth". I also think that the world's other major religions have their strengths. And their faults. Heck, the way I see it, there are a hundred or so "absolute" truths. Now, no more than one of them can be correct -- maybe none of them are right. Some are clearly culturally motivated, others build on obscure traditions. But, if you look at where they all agree, that must be "truth". Everything else comes out in the "cultural wash".
Well, if you find the Buddha (try looking in the kitchen), you should shoot him. Since I'm not even close to a bodhisatva (and I usually burn water), I won't sweat it. 8-)
© 1998 buddhabear@geocities.com