The Search for Enlightenment
When someone mentions Buddha, listeners usually picture a chubby man meditating under a fig tree. Siddhartha Gautama, which is Buddha’s real name, was the founder of Buddhism. Siddhartha’s father kept his son inside their palace for 29 years to hide the truth of sufferings in the world. Once Siddhartha escaped and witnessed the pain in this world, he started on a search for enlightenment. Eventually, he found it. After his success, Siddhartha Gautama was known as Buddha, which translates as “the awakened one”. Siddhartha Gautama was born in 563 B.C in present day Nepal. He was born as a prince of the warrior caste. Sadly, his mother, Maya, died shortly after giving birth. Since then, Siddhartha’s father
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First, he spotted a sick person. Second, Gautama notices an old man. Lastly, he somehow finds a corpse. Witnessing all of this, Siddhartha starts to question the purpose of life. As he is pondering, he encounters a man with calm eyes and a face that expresses enlightenment. Siddhartha Gautama decided that he would search for this enlightenment. His journey to find enlightenment was called “The Great Departure”. Siddhartha wandered for six years in the forests. He studied with two Hindu gurus, joined a group of ascetics, then renounces asceticism and meditates under a Bodhi tree for 49 days. At the end of his meditation, Siddhartha finally found enlightenment. Siddhartha Gautama had four nights of enlightenment at the end of his meditation. The first night, Siddhartha watched all of his previous lives. Hindus believe that when they die, they will be reincarnated and have different lives. In his second night, he gained knowledge of suffering. He understood the cycle of life after his third night. On his fourth and last night of enlightenment, Siddhartha realized that if karma is destroyed, a living being ceases to be imprisoned by the perpetual cycle of life. Learning all of this, Siddhartha found enlightenment and earned the name Buddha, “the awakened