Buddha's Secret And The Meaning Of Happiness
Be a Lamp unto Yourself
The young man sat by the sacred tree with a mixture of confusion, dejection, and disillusionment. He was spent, tired, and hungry. He thought many times if death would come to free him from his torment.
He closed his eyes but only for a moment, for every time he did, demons would appear worse than in a nightmare. Only at certain times, he would get relief from the appearance of what he thought was a virtuous young beauty speaking mostly in tongues but nevertheless, softly and sensual.
She said her name was Mara. She spoke of his past and brought him visions of what used to be his home, surrounded by parents and siblings.
She made him reminisce of how wonderful those days were, full of laughter and joy, a blissful time where nothing was amiss. Music and servants were providing for every need. The preparations for festivities were constant as one deity after another was celebrated and the best food was served, with fruits and wine and concubines for the elders. Few people lived as he did in the Indian caste system. And he was royalty.
She succeeded in making him daydream and she wasn’t wrong. He had that life and more. She begged him to go back and honor his father’s request as being next in line for being the head of the family. She told him of the riches he was entitled to and the land that came with it which extended for many thousands of miles.
And about all the people who were anxiously waiting for his return. And his young son who now is wondering what happened to his father.
But he had renounced that life. Too much time had passed since then and he left for a very particular reason.
But now, the doubts returned. She was making sure of that.
After planting the seeds of hesitation, she’d leave just like she appeared and he would be left alone again to face the demons.
So much time passed he lost track of it. It must have been many moons and the state of his health was showing signs of much deterioration. He looked 30 years older than he was.
People, realizing he was abstaining from normal life, would bring him food and water to prevent him from dying.
But he was determined to remain there until a sign was disclosed. Until he understood the objective of the meaning of life.
His name was Siddhartha Gautama, Prince of Sakya Republic, Kosala Kingdom.
The young man had a curious mind, inquisitive and intelligent. He hardly ever stepped outside his palace without the bodyguards his father donned on him.
One fateful day, he gave them orders not to come along and out he went for a stroll by himself not knowing the reasons why. Scholars say he was probably bored.
As he walked through nearby villages, he saw firsthand how other people lived and he was shocked to the core.
He saw things he never imagined possible; people begging, crying in silence, lying on the streets, some with babies on their backs. He witnessed misery and hopelessness. Disease and depression; desolation and solitude.
Disturbed, he started to walk back to his palace but he noticed that dozens of townsfolk were following him in their desperation to hopefully get a coin or two from him. He didn’t realize he shouldn’t have worn those expensive garments going where he was going.
In horror, he gave away all he had, including most of his clothes. As fast as he could, he rushed back through the immense gate that separated the two worlds.
Such experience haunted him and he struggled to comprehend how those differences might have existed and why he never knew about them. And why didn’t anyone tell him?
He resented the sheltered life he was living; he felt guilty, almost culpable of the awful situation he witnessed that day.
Since no one could explain why the world outside the palace was so hard and brutal or refused to even address the subject, he took it upon himself to find out.
He packed the bare minimum and snuck out in the middle of the night.
He was determined to find out why life was so unfair to so many while being so unequally good for so few.
Time passed and he eventually ran out of provisions.
He was now one of them. He had to beg like them and do everything the same way they did, including sleeping anywhere, although when at all possible, under a tree.
Seasons change everywhere, and India was no different. Many times he was tempted to return home, especially when a messenger sent by his father found him and told him his bride was threatening to take her own life unless he came back at once.
He still refused and he told the messenger to please tell her to take everything of value that belonged to him and find a new suitor because she deserved a proper husband.
He traveled to faraway places, hitchhiking a ride on a cart carrying grains or being taken by mule to an always unknown destination.
He never told about his past to the ones who inquired. He only said he renounced his old life to become an ascetic, searching for meaning.
He said he realized that “Man is the highest Being and must achieve his own realization of the Truth”.
He became an ascetic and accepted alms from people. But that has consequences, mostly from the lack of nutrients on a poor diet or fasting.
Everything he did up to that point was to try to find out his purpose, the meaning of life, and how to transcend what he thought was a meaningless existence. He was inspiring as a rational, philosophical orator when he shared his profound views.
He had 7 followers, also ascetics who were influenced by him as he promoted a sense of restraint, kindness, and mindfulness.
Spent 6 years as a renouncer, an ascetic, practicing yoga and fasting to the point of almost dying from such practice that in the end, left him unrecognizable.
Disappointed with the lack of progress, he started eating anything to get back on his feet. His companions left him, except for 2 and he told them to go as well. He told them he had nothing to teach.
Leaving the palace at 29, the man now appeared to be in his 70s.
That’s when he decided he couldn’t find what he was seeking by regular means; he made the decision to sit by what’s now known as the Bodhi Tree until the answer came to him.
That’s when Mara tried to seduce him to go back to the palace and give up his search.
But Mara and all the demons couldn’t dissuade him as he recited ancient Sanskrit mantras to obtain the peace he needed for his meditations. From those, came the advice to touch the ground below him.
Lo and behold, as soon as he did so, Mara and the demons disappeared.
A few days later, according to the texts, he became enlightened.
He became the Buddha (the enlightened one).
He wasted no time to find his old followers and explained the roots of what is now Buddhism.
The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path.
His teachings are called the Dharma; the basic principles of cosmic or individual existence which in part say to follow no gods; follow no leaders. The ultimate truth is inside each and every one of us. Find it within.
Asoka, the emperor of the Shakya clan that he belonged to, converted to Buddhism shortly thereafter.
To these days, many ramifications of the original Buddhist school, the Theravada, thrive all over the world.
Following his awakening, he taught the precepts of Buddhism for 45 years.
He died at 80 years old.
His last words spoken to the monks present were: “Work out your salvation with diligence. Be a lamp unto yourselves.”