From Siddhartha to Shakyamuni: The Life of Budhha
These twelve important moments gives us an overview of Siddhartha, the person who became Shakyamuni, and of his Buddhist teachings. The twelve notable events are:
1. Queen Maya’s dream
2. The birth of Siddhartha
3. Raising the young prince
4. Life at the court
5. The four encounters
6. Siddhartha secretly leaves the palace
7. Asceticism
8. Mara’s attack
9. Enlightenment
10. Proclaiming the teachings
11. Extraordinary events
12. Parinivana
Queen Maya’s Dream:
In the upper left corner of thangka is the sleeping Queen Maya, who dreamed of a white elephant that flew through the air and touched her right side with its trunk.. The royal fortune-tellers explained that dream announced the queen’s pregnancy and that the newborn would possess exceptional traits.
It was prophesied that the new born would become a chakravartin. Chakravartin means “wheel turner.” A golden wheel, or chakra – a rim with four, eight, or more spokes – is an ancient Indian symbol of universal authority. Anyone who turns this symbolic wheel exercises authority.
To the left, below the palace with the dreaming queen, it is evident that right after her pregnancy was made known, Maya was congratulated and offered gifts. In order to fortify her, she was fed by the gods for ten months.
The Birth of Siddhartha:
As her due date approached. Maya took a trip to her parental home to have the baby there with her mother, an ancient custom that is still rarely practiced in remote areas of Nepal. However, the contractions set in en route, and, in a garden in present-day Lumbini in Southern Nepal, the crown prince was born out of his mother’s right side. It is believed that, in all things, right is more positive than left. When we see how the birth took place and recall that Queen Maya died seven days later, it is not impossible that this was an instance of royal birth by caesarean section.
The Hindu gods Brahma and Indra were present at the birth. Normally, in Hindusim, everything that has to do with death, birth, excrement, and blood, is unclean.
The little child was exceptional. He raised his right index finger, took seven steps (lotuses spring forth beneath his feet), and announced that he had been born for the last time and would attempt to eliminate suffering in the world. Deities heard his words and blessed him from heaven with a cleansing bath and showers of flowers.
Everywhere that same day miracles manifested themselves. The blind were able to see again, the lame could walk. An illuminating glow surrounded the earth and a pleasant fragrance descended. Afterward, mother and child went to the palace.
Raising the Young Prince:
The wise Asita paid his respects and saw that he was encountering a great and universal ruler because the little boy had 32 unsual, characteristic physical features (lakshanas) and 80 characteristic aesthetic traits. In art, only a few of the 32 are to be clearly visualised: a gold glow around the body; a blue-black shine to the hair; wavy hair growing to the right; his bulging fontanel (ushnisha) covered with hair; a face bright as the full moon; a lock of hair curling onto his forehead; a swastika on his chest; straight shoulders; chakras in the palms of his hands and soles of his feet; arms reaching down to his knees; long slender fingers; soft palms with a silk-like sheen; hidden genitals; good body proportions.
By virtue of lakshanas, Asita foretold that the boy would become a great holy man. Reflecting on this and the earlier chakravartin prophecy, King Shuddhodana saw little to be had from a son who was going to devote himself to spiritually and morally lofty things. The king hoped that hedonistic and carefree life would prevent the crown prince from broadening his horizons beyond the walls o fthe palace complex, and that he would never devote himself to philosophical reflections. But the prince had litytle interest in glamour, splendour, or entertainment.
Nothing helped. King Shuddhodana was suggested that marriage of Siddartha might have the power to divert him.
Life at the Court:
Princess Gopi was the selected candidate. It was customary at that time that girls decided for themselves who they would marry. Gopi therefore organised a tournament and made it known that she would choose the one who excelled in courtly and military arts. Shuddhodana worried about this because the crown prince wasn’t trained in anything. Nevertheless Siddhartha went to the competition in the company of his cousin Devadatta and half-brother Nanda and others.
An elephant had been placed inside the city gate to rest who was the strongest. Devadatta killed the animal with one hand and Nanda pulled it to the side. Afterward Siddhartha showed up. He saw the senselessly killed animal, tossed it inan arc over the city wall, and the elephant instantly came to life again. At the tournament, the crown prince excelled in everything, including swimming and archery. Gopi picked him.
The marriage was consummated, but even this did not succeed in cheering Siddhartha up. A second marriage to two beauties, one of whom was Yashodhara, and countless concubines didn’t kindle even a spark of joy in him. His every thought was focused on the road to salvation. At long last, it was decided to give the price the opportunity of casting his gaze on the everyday world as it went its business outside the palace walls.
The Four Encounters:
The king proclaimed that the prince would ride out, and decreed that all the roads and towns were to look perfect and smell wonderful. The deities (remember, the deities at that time in Southern Asian history were Hindu deities) were of the opinion, however, that it was time that Siddhartha should have his eyes opened and that he should give up his domestic situation for the salvation of humanity. This is why it was arranged that the crown prince would encounters aspects of life that had been unknown to him until then. He came to the conclusion that the great majority of humanity lived in a far less carefree manner than he did. The average person led a hard, deplorable, and lamentable life. Due to samsara, there was little prospect for most people of an improved situation in their next earthly life.
When he later saw a dead person being carried away, his servant told him that death awaits all of us, and that rebirth most people return to another similarly miserable life.
During his fourth trip, he became aware of an ascetic beggar dressed in a saffron-colored robe, who moved from place to place apparently without worry, and who had withdrawn from everyday life in the hope of gaining spiritual understanding.
On returning to the palace, he sunk into brooding thoughts and was even more cheerless than before. A minister advised the king to have the crown prince oversee farming operations. But when Siddhartha saw how ploughs tore the earth open, churning up worms that were immediately eaten by birds, and how frogs were consumed by snakes, while peacocks polished off the snakes, and falcons dove down on the peacocks, he became sad at heart.
Siddartha Secretly Leaves the Palace:
Siddartha realised that at home, he would never find the solution to put an end to all suffering. When everybody was asleep, Siddhartha snuck out of the palace and mounted his horse, Kanthaka. To prevent the hoof-beats from walking anyone, the gods lifted the horse up. Far outside the city, the prince bid farewell to horse and servant. Sitting in front of a stupa, he cut off his long hair, removed his jewellery and expensive clothing, and wrapped himself in a simple monk’s robe. Siddhartha was to study under various masters.
A stupa is a monument that is both connected with the death of Shakyamuni, and with death in general. The original dome-shaped earth mound resembles a burial mound that later evolved into the shapes seen in these thangkas to the right center and in the upper right. Shakyamuni’s cremains were kept here and worshipped here.
Ascetism:
Siddhartha had the feeling he wasn’t getting anywhere. Along with the five companions, he subjected himself to strict asceticism and self-denial. He limited his food intake to one sesame seed or one rice grain a day. After six years, although he was emaciated, he was not a step closer to the hoped-for understanding. Convinced that his extreme method did not result in ultimate understanding, he decided on another approach. He started eating again and went on by himself, under reproach from his fellow ascetics, and found a quiet place where he hoped to meditate in silence. He stopped in Bodhgaya and sat down to think under a large papal tree.
Mara’s Attack:
During his seven weeks of pondering and meditation, Mara, the personification of evil, tried to prevent Siddhartha from coming to the ultimate understanding. Mara sent his armies of monsters, but all their weapons and fired arrows transformed into flowers.
As a final attack, Mara deployed his stunning, sensual daughters, who danced voluptuously around Siddhartha, and attempted to seduce him. Mara said that nobody would believe that he had not succumbed to their tricks and techniques. At this, the solitary Siddhartha called the earth goddess to be his witness, by signalling down with his right hand. The earth opened and the goddess confirmed that he had remained steadfast. Mara backed down and slunk away. In some traditions Mara’s daughters are not brought into the picture until after Siddhartha attains Enlightenment.
Enlightenment:
After 49 years of thinking and meditating, Siddhartha received insight into both his former and present lives. He came to the conclusion that extremes in life lead to nothing, that life is suffering, and that suffering must be eliminated. When he reached this insight, he attained nirvana, or liberation, enlightenment, or bodhi, and he, himself, became a Buddha, an Enlightened One, or, better yet, an Awakened One.
Proclaiming the Teachings:
The Buddha walked from Bodhgaya to Varanasi (Benares), the largest and most thriving city in the region. It was ruled by a king and there was generous group of patrons in the form of well-to-do nobility and the upper middle class. He went to preach in nearby Sarnath, in the deer park, or rather, “He set the wheel (chakra) of teachings (dharma) into motion.”
Here he met his five former fellow ascetics. They noticed the unusual glow that the Buddha radiated. After their initial scepticism, they listened to his words. Their leader summarised the dharma with the words: all that exists will pass away. They were the first to join the Buddha and they formed the beginning of the monastic order. For the next 45 years Shakyamuni journeyed throughout Nothern India with his followers and announced the message of salvation. During the monsoons, the group would stay in gardens and buildings, monasteries, that had been donated by well-to-do supporters.
Extraordinary Events:
During his years of wandering, Buddha met with jealousy and suspicion as well as approval. In order to convince others of his holiness, sometimes he performed miracles. He transformed snake poison into flowers, and, in a fast-flowing river, he created a passage so he could cross and stay dry. Two important major events were his visit to his family and acquaintances in Kapilvastu, where he converted his father, and his journey to the Heaven of 33 gods. In this Trayastrimsha Heaven he taught Queen Maya, his mother. We see the Buddha seated on the throne of Indra, the king of gods. He is sitting in the so-called European position, with his legs hanging down. By way of a ladder with 33 rungs, the Buddha descended to Earth.
Parinirvana:
At the age of 80, the Buddha dided in Kushinagara. He attained parinirvana, which means definite nirvana, the passing beyond nirvana. His body was cremated, and the ashes and few unburned parts were divided into eight portions and placed in eight stupas.
In thangkas, the moment of death, at which the Buddha was lying on his right side, has been depicted in the center, just below the large centeral scene where the Buddha is sitting on the throne. Fortified by his last words, the monastic order went alone: “Be a lamp for yourself, be a refuge for yourself, seek no refuge outside yourself.”