Get to know the Buddha

　

    The word "Buddha" is transliterated from Sanskrit, the language used in ancient India. It originally means "enlightened one". Because Buddha has realized the highest and most complete truth of life and the universe, people honor him as "Enlightened One". Although there is not only one enlightened person in the vast universe, most of the "Buddhas" we talk about refer to "Shakyamuni Buddha" who was born in India more than 2,000 years ago.

　

    Buddha Shakyamuni is not a god, but a "human". He was a prince of a country in ancient middle India. He was proficient in worldly knowledge and martial arts when he was young. He married a wife when he was seventeen, and later had a son. Because he saw the suffering of "birth, old age, sickness and death" for all living beings in the world, he gave up his future throne and a happy life, became a monk, and sought the way of getting relief..

　

    During his practicing period, the Buddha tried different methods of practice, including asceticism: eating very little food every day and deliberately putting his body in pain, trying to achieve relief through this method; he also learned with other immortal practitioners, but, in the end, he realized that these are not the most perfect ways, they cannot achieve the state of getting relief. So he gave up these practices, and went to meditate alone under a Bodhi tree next to Mount Gaya, swearing that if he could not be enlightened to the truth, he would not get up from his seat.

　

    At this time, the Demon King (Mara) was afraid that the Buddha was about to become an enlightened person, and that the Buddha would ruin the evil way of the Demon King in the future, which would reduce the number of followers of the Demon King, so he (Mara) sent three beautiful daughters, trying to tempt the Buddha with female sex to give up, but the Buddha was unmoved. The Demon King launched the Demon Army again and tried to use force to threaten the Buddha to stop his practice, but all failed.

　

    After the Buddha defeated the demon army, he continued to practice under the Bodhi tree. Just before dawn, he looked up and saw the bright stars in the sky. He suddenly became enlightened and achieved the highest and most complete enlightenment. He was thirty-five years old at that time.

　

    So the Buddha began his career of teaching Buddhist Dharma for more than 40 years. The first to receive the teachings of the Buddha were the five followers who had practiced with him. The Buddha explained to them: the Middle Way, the Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths. In the days to come, the Buddha accepted more and more disciples; they formed a large group. Some disciples provided the place to live for them, and they still maintained a monk life begging for food.

　

    At first, what the Buddha taught his disciples was "Theravada Buddhism". After explaining Theravada Buddhism for a period of time, the Buddha waited until the time was right before he began to teach "Mahayana Buddhism". And then, several years before he entered Nirvana, he explained “Lotus Sutra”. This Sutra explained the concepts of "all living beings can become Buddhas" and "both Mahayana and Hinayana are one Buddha vehicle".

　

    During the forty years that the Buddha taught the Dharma, he taught various sutras with different methods according to the different abilities of all living beings. In ancient times when there was no writing, some wise people could fully recite the teachings of the Buddha after listening to the Buddha's teachings, and then passed on to others. Among these people, the most famous person was Ananda, a disciple of the Buddha. After the Buddha entered Nirvana, Buddhist sutras were gradually gathered by his disciples, and then slowly turned into written records. Finally, they were translated into different languages ​​and spread to other places, becoming what we know now.

　

    The Buddha's teaching career was not completely smooth. He had experienced incidents such as the extermination of his own clan, the "Devadatta" who wanted to hurt the Buddha because of jealousy, etc., but the Buddha was with a heart of compassion to all beings and was not affected; he unceasingly continued to teach the people in the world the way of becoming a Buddha which can be away from suffering and attain happiness, until he entered Nirvana.

　

    Although the body of the Buddha has passed away, the way to become a Buddha taught by him is still circulating in the world. The Buddha is a compassionate saint. Because he explained Buddhist Dharma without complaining about the hard work, later generations can learn the rare way to become a Buddha. Therefore, we should really cherish these Dharma and practice according to the teachings of the Buddha, so as not to waste such precious good cause and condition.