Bairaj Chawalgami
Buddhism is one of the greatest religions of the world and majority of the world population follows this religion. Lord Buddha is the founder of Buddhism and like other great religions, this religion stands for non-violence in deed and thought, compassion, love, peace and above all exhorts people to live a life of contentment and love all beings including animals and birds. Buddha Purnima also called Vesak or vesakha is the most auspicious festival in Buddhism and it commemorates the birth, enlightenment (nirvana)and death of Gautam Buddha. This sacred festival of Buddhists is observed as a holyday in many countries including India, Sri Lanka and Nepal. This year Buddha Purnima will be celebrated on 12th of May (Monday). Lord Buddha pointed to a great law or dharma that flows through everything that exists.It is by living according to this law that true wisdom, compassion and freedom from suffering may be achieved. Here are a few quotes/sayings of Lord Buddha that we can learn from and bring into practice in our day to day life. According to Lord Buddha,”The secret of health for both mind and body is not mourn for the past,nor to worry about the future .But to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.”
Secondly however many holy words you read .However many you speak ,what good will they do you if you do not act upon them. Thirdly Buddha said that Peace comes from within and do not seek it without. Thus according to Buddha one should seek peace within oneself and not seek it from outer world. Fourthly Buddha said, that you cannot hide three things for long and these are the moon, the sun and the truth. Fifthly ”Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else ,you are the one who gets burned,” Sixthly Buddha said, “Every morning we are born again .What we do today is what matters most.” Seventhly he said. ”There is no path to happiness, Happiness is the path,” He said,”A man is not called wise because he talks and talks again .But if he is peaceful ,loving and peaceful,loving and fearless then he is in truth called wise. ‘Buddha also said,”Conquer the angry one by not getting angry ,conquer the wicked by goodness ,conquer the stingy by generosity and liar by speaking truth,” He further said, ‘Hatred does not cease by hatred ,but only be love .This is the eternal rule. ‘He said, ‘Better than a thousand hollow words is one word that brings peace.”He proclaimed that an insincere friend is more to be feared than a wild beast,A wild beast may wound your body. But an evil friend would wound your mind.”Buddha said. ‘Whatever a monk keeps pursuing with his thinking and pondering ,That becomes the inclination of his awareness. ‘He also said, ‘With our thoughts we make the world. ‘The adoption of the middle path by avoiding the extreme positions as taught by Buddha leads to realizing the truth which further leads to avoiding conflict ,reconciliation of different viewpoints and achieving consensus. Buddha in fact gave to the mankind the message of peace and non violence and his teachings and message is more relevant in today’s materialistic world.The current crisis is an apt time to revisit the teachings of Buddha, which can be the guiding light for a world looking for peace, harmony and sustainability .Buddha denotes one who has attained enlightenment and has a sense of awakening to build a peaceful ,harmonious and just society.Today we are celebrating Buddha Purnima ,the day which marks the birth, enlightenment and Mahaparinirvana of Gautam Buddha ,whose teachings have caught the imagination of the people across the world over the past 2500 years. His life and deeds contain such a powerful and magnetic message that their resonance transcends cultures ,religions and geographies .His messages are becoming increasingly relevant in the present context and is a guiding light for humanity. Buddha’s message of unity, service to others is important when the world suffers from Covid -19. The UN chief has called all nations to take action for others with compassion and solidarity .Lord Buddha’s message of unity ,service to others is important today as humanity again suffers from Covid -19 and it is only by working together that nations can stop the spread ,recover from the deadly corona-virus the UN chief said in his message for the day of Vesak. Vesak marks the birth ,enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha. It is most sacred day to the millions of Buddhists around the world. Buddhism is a major global religion with a complex history and system of beliefs .Historians estimate that the founder of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama ,lived from 566 – 480 BC. The son of an Indian warrior -king ,Gautama led an extravagant life through early adulthood ,reveling in the privileges of his social caste,But when he bored of the indulgences of royal life ,Gautama wandered into the world in search of understanding. After encountering an old man ,an ill man .a corpse and an ascetic ,Gautama was convinced that suffering lay at the end of all existence.
He renounced his princely title and became a monk ,depriving himself of worldly possessions in the hope of comprehending truth of the world around him. The culmination of his search came while mediating beneath a tree,where he finally achieved salvation. Following this epiphany ,Gautama was Known as the Buddha ,meaning the “Enlightened One ”The Buddha spent the remainder of his life journeying about India ,teaching others what he has come to understand. The four noble truths which comprise the teachings of lord Buddha are the essence of the Buddha’s teachings ,though they leave much unexplained. They are the truths of suffering ,and truth of the cause of suffering ,the truth of the end of suffering ,and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering. More simply put, suffering exists, it has a cause,it has a cause to bring its end. The notion of suffering is not intended to convey a negative world view ,but rather a pragmatic perspective that deals with the world as it is and attempts to rectify it. The concept pleasure is not denied ,but acknowledged as fleeting .Pursuit of pleasure can only continue what is ultimately an unquestionable thirst. The same logic belies an understanding of happiness. In the end only aging ,sickness and death are certain and unavoidable .Contrary to what is accepted in a contemporary society ,the Buddhist interpretation of Karma does not refer to preordained fate.Karma refers to good or bad actions ,which involve either the absence of bad actions ,or actual positive acts such as generosity ,righteousness and meditation to bring about happiness in the long run .Bad actions such as lying ,stealing, or killing ,bring about unhappiness in the long run.Karma plays out in the Buddhism cycle of rebirth. There are six separate planes into which any living being can reborn -three fortunate realms and three unfortunate realms. Like all great religions ,Buddhism teaches the importance of spiritual or holy values.This religion teaches that if a person has a pure mind ,everything he does will be pure and decent and that if he has a pure heart ,all happiness will come to him.First published in 1925 ,Buddha’s Teachings was originally edited by Japanese scholars of Buddhism before WW11 and distributed widely throughout Japan. In the 6th century ,India was the birthplace of one of the world’s most famous religious movements, Buddhism.
Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha Gautama Buddha who had renounced his royal life to find answers to the problems human suffering and death and attained spiritual enlightenment through mediation which came to be known as Buddha. It is wholly based on the life of Buddha ,his attainment of enlightenment and his teachings. The doctrine or teachings of Buddha are aimed entirely at the liberation of humans from suffering and collectively called Dhrama or Dhamma. It reveals truths as revealed and taught by Buddha and encourages people to follow the Noble Eightfold path ,which will lead them towards achieving enlightenment. Buddha gave importance to virtues -wisdom, Kindness, patience, generosity, and compassion.
The core of Buddhism is formed from Buddha’s teachings which are :- 1-Three universal Truths. 2-The Four Noble Truths. 3-The Eightfold Noble Path. The three universal truths are nothing is lost in the universe, all things exist in cycle. Matter turns into energy which in turn changes back to matter .Everything changes and nothing is permanent in the universe. Buddha preached the law of cause and effect. Buddha preached four noble truths which are -1Truth of suffering 2-Truth of cause of suffering 3-Truth of cause of suffering 4- Truth of end of suffering. Buddha gave Eightfold Noble Path .He emphasized the development of wisdom ,moral character and concentration. Buddhism is a non-theistic religion founded by Gautama Buddha the enlightened.
To conclude it can be safely said that Buddha’s teachings are relevant in the modern and materialistic world and we should follow the path and teachings given by Lord Buddha for salvation and permanent happiness. The dates of Buddha’s life traditionally are given as 566-486 BC. Buddha died from an illness, the nature of which remains uncertain. May sanity prevail on both India and Pakistan so that peace is restored and Lord Buddha may shower his blessings for peace and happiness of Indian sub continent. Let us follow the teachings and preaching’s of Buddha, so as to live the life of contentment free from sufferings of the world.