the life of buddha

i think i was fifteen, perhaps sixteen when i first read hermann hesse’s novel siddhartha. i had no sense at the time that i was reading what was in part, a fictionalized version of the lifestory of a man who had actually walked the face of this earth, let alone the buddha. it quickly became clearer as i read on, and of course i was compelled to re-read the book to scoop out all that i could about this - to me - mythical figure.

the buddha or siddhartha gautama as his family and friends would have known him, is generally considered to have been born around 400 b.c. his life story is a classic tale of the renunciation of wealth in all its forms. simply and briefly put, while destined to be a wealthy prince, siddhartha upon reaching the age of 29, and finally seeing the world for what it truly is after being hidden and protected from all of its harsh realities, elected to adopt the life of an ascetic.

after six years as a mendicant he experienced the great enlightenment. in that moment he saw his past lives spread out before him and realized complete awakening and insight into the nature and cause of human suffering which was ignorance, along with the steps necessary to eliminate it. these truths were then categorized into the four noble truths; the state of supreme liberation—possible for any being—was called nirvana.

among the many great learnings that the buddha brought into this world, the most powerful, i think, is that it is the totality of experiences that brings enlightenment.

the bbc has prepared a beautifully filmed documentary describing the life of siddharta gautama, the process by which he arrived at the fundamentals of buddhism, archeological findings that confirm the traditional account of his life, as well as giving a glimpse of buddhism today.

the life of buddha . . .