It is said that Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha was born in a small town in Lumbini in the kingdom of Kipilvastu; today these places are located in Nepal. Buddha was born into royalty and was a royal prince at birth. During conception a wise prophet or Rishi was said to prophesy that the young prince would grow up to be a great king or a religious holy man.
The Buddha’s father was king of the Shakyas, which was an organized colony found in the foothills of Nepal. This group was a part of the Kingdom of India during the Vedic years. The Vedic years are the years in which the forming of the Vedas in the Hindu religion, which are the governing scripture of the religion, were being founded. During the Vedic times, the people of India were rumoured to have endured attacks from the exiled Norseman of the Roman and Greek empires. These Vedic invaders became known as the Aryan people, comprised of Indo-Iranian people in India and those among the Persians (Iran, Iraq, Pakistan).
During Buddha’s childhood he was schooled in the arts of politics and 123
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war; spiritualism was a big part of the Hindu religion and the prophesied existence of young Siddhartha Gautama was just beginning to unfold.
During the Vedic conflicts, the Buddha had attained significant victories and the frontier lands among his borders were secure for peace. After a time, Buddha was married to a cousin and the throne of the Shakyas was to be his. The young prince had everything he desired and peace amongst his lands, yet still he sought greater enlightenment elsewhere.
His father attempted to keep him sheltered from some of the evils of the kingdom; however, the young Buddha had a need to connect with the people. It is said that he came across an aging man, a decaying corpse, and a deceased man. These sufferings inspired him to learn more of his people. Because of Buddha’s military training and political experience it is unlikely that these sufferings would be enough to cause enlightenment on their own. Instead the Buddha, who was well on his way to enlightenment, wanted to understand and suffer with the people.
After touring his kingdom and deciding that the only way to understand the people was to become like the people, Buddha packed and went in journey of enlightenment and spiritual guidance in order to become a better leader. Ironically during this same rumoured time period, Lao Tzu went on a similar mission, with a similar purpose. Remember that Lao Tzu sought the sage-king, and left the southern part of China in order to seek greater enlightenment elsewhere in the kingdom. It is possible that these men were driven by the same spiritual guidance and that they were great philosopher generals who met long ago and helped unite the kingdoms of India and China during the Vedic invasions.
The Vedic missions remain largely a mystery, and to some a myth of ancient battles and crusades fought in India. It is not that the Vedic invaders controlled and overthrew India and influenced scripture; it is in fact that India defended and overthrew invaders for many hundreds of years that these wars can be viewed as the Vedic invasions. Invasion from the Aryans can be seen as the countries of what are now considered Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. These ancestors are from the Indo-Iranian culture, the same culture in which some members migrated to Northern India. This ancient feud may have been a reason for the Vedic wars to start in the first place.
The Buddha left his palace and his queen in order to seek greater enlightenment elsewhere in the kingdom. He dressed like a poor man and 124
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began to beg on the streets in order to better understand his people. The Buddha was able to hear and have greater understanding about the problems plaguing the people and the lands. Much like a king dressing as a commoner, Buddha sought to gain simple pleasure in life, a concept that is hard to achieve as a wealthy prince. Buddha’s experience as a beggar and spiritual guide to the people served as a key path of enlightenment in establishing his beliefs.
It is said that the Buddha continued to live off of the people, seeking charity, shelter, and food from them. From a logical and enlightened position, we can see how this would not make much sense. A Buddhist monk’s position is to provide for the people (poor, sick, elderly), not the other way around. It can be assumed that after the Buddha gained the enlightenment he sought, he returned to the kingdom as prince and distributed the wealth and funds to the people. This enlightened spirit and esteem would reflect the peaceful existence that the Buddha strove to attain for all, making him truly a Buddha. For whom would the Buddha be if he turned his back on the position given to him by God? Some may argue that his path to poverty, asceticism, and simplicity would be a more “correct” path; correct for whom?
Whether the Buddha chose to stay and live as a poor man amongst the people, or return to his throne to be a leader he was destined to be...
it is up to the believer. This is a known fact when studying any text; remember that the difference in denomination is in the interpretation of the text. It is easy to see how people would not like to view the Buddha as having such traits like anger and military cunningness; however, how would he be able to protect his people and preserve enough peace to extend the message that he was given?
Remember that in history many great military leaders were peaceful men (Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon), so why not the Buddha? It is not certain how the Buddha died; however, it is said that he knew he was going to become ill. He ate his last meal (which he received from charity) and told the man who gave it to him not to worry about his death after.
It should not be taken as his fault for the events about to take place. It is said that at about the age of eighty, the Buddha passed on and instructed his followers to adhere to the way of his teachings and follow no leader.
It is uncertain how he died, or where he died, only that he did. It is said that a Buddha never really dies or grows old, that he just is... That is the legend of Siddhartha Gautama, the one known as Buddha.
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