Finding Your Way to Enlightenment

Close to 2,500 years ago, Prince Siddharta Gautama was given birth in what is presently called Lumbini in Nepal. He was born a prince and his birth was heralded with a lot of special conditions that indicated a destiny of greatness. The prince's father went to a wiseman that resided inside the kingdom for advice regarding his boy.  The sage man theorized that the prince, Siddharta Gautama, might either follow in his father's  footsteps and turn out to be a great king or he might become a spiritual leader.

Praying that his son should develop into his heir, the king managed his best to separate the prince from those things that might inspire him toward a spiritual existence.  The prince was bombarded by comfort  and excess, every one of the advantages that his royal status could offer.  Siddharta Gautama proved to be a brilliant scholar and exceptional sportsman.  He married a lovely woman whom he cherished and  they  bore a child.

At the age of 29, the prince found out that the world around him was much more complex than what he encountered in the walls of his palace.  Out amongst the people of the kingdom, he  discovered reality: sickness, old-age and death. The shock of this discovery left the youthful prince shaken. He decided then to dedicate himself to ending the suffering. Leaving his wife and child, the prince forsaked his worldly belongings and embarked on a spiritual journey.

Guatama began a course of study under numerous teachers to understand their methods. With the help of Alara Kalama, he soon started to learn meditation and discovered an exalted form known as absorption.  This allowed him to accomplish a state of nothingness where there is no moral or cognitive dimensions. Although this was useful it was clear to the past prince that it would not resolve the suffering he  had seen.  Guatama carried on his hunt for others who could guide him on his spiritual voyage.  Udraka Ramputra, helped Gautama to comprehend a state of neither perception or non-perception,  but this to was not what he was searching for. The next step in his quest led Gautama to Uruvilva in Northern India.  It was there that he deciced on an ascetic way, experiencing a life of deprivation for nearly 6 years. This just resulted in the degradation of his entire body, weakness and self-destruction. Even though it cost him his five followers, Gautama ended this ascetic lifestyle.

The end of this spiritual journey appeared as far away as ever, so the Buddha sat down under a Bodhi tree and proclaimed that “flesh may wither, blood may dry up, but I shall not rise from the spot until Enlightenment has been one.”  After 40 days of thought and meditation, the Buddha at last attained Enlightenment.

It's the Buddhist belief that at that moment he achieved a state of being that exceeds anything else in the world. Our normal experiences are based on preconceptions and conditions: how we were raised, our ordeals, imperfections and mistakes. Enlightenment is a state in which the complicated inner workings of life become apparent and the reason for human suffering identified.

For the next 45 years, the Buddha journeyed through much of what's today north India. He taught the way of Enlightenment to all or any that desired to understand. This teaching had become known as the dharma or “the teaching of the enlightened one.     The Buddha took a number of disciples who in turn achieved their own Enlightenment and so they trained others.

Buddhists believe that Buddha attained a state of existence that goes beyond everthing else in the world. If typical experience is founded on conditions – parental input, psychology, viewpoints, awareness, and so on – Enlightenment is Unconditioned. It was a state in which the Buddha gained insight into the deepest operation of life and for that reason, into the cause of human suffering, the challenge that had set Him on His spiritual journey originally.

The Buddha statue we often see doesn not represent a god and would not look at himself as a divine person. He was just a man who endeavored to transform himself through self reflection and meditation. Buddhists view him as an ideal and his journey as a guideline which will direct them on the path to enlightenment.  Most homes that practice Buddhism will display some type of Buddha decor like a statue of Buddha, but this is intended to remind them of their own spiritual journey.

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