The Origins of Buddhism: Part 2

The Life of Shakyamuni

Today, there are various explanations about the period in which Shakyamuni lived, and about Shakyamuni's life. But here, we wish to present Shakyamuni's life following the explanation given in the Shusho Iki, said to have been used by Nichiren Daishonin.

The Shakya Clan

Shakya is the name of a family which lived in what is now the southern region of Nepal, and it is said that at the time in question, the Shakya clan had built a kind of Republic. First they chose ten chiefs, and then elected one of the ten chiefs to be the leader, whom they called the king. The capital city of the Shakya clan was called Kapilavastu.

The Birth of Shakyamuni

The sage who came from this Shakya clan was given the honorific title "Muni," [meaning sage] and was called "Shakyamuni, the World-Honored One." This name was shortened to "Honored One of the Shakyas." Shakyamuni's father was Suddhodana, king of Kapilavastu castle, and his mother was the king's wife, Queen Maya. The story spread that at birth, the crown prince walked seven steps and proclaimed, "I alone am honored throughout heaven and earth."

Tears of the Ascetic Asita

Gladdened by the birth of the prince, King Suddhodana decided to have the ascetic Asita foretell the prince's future. Thereupon the ascetic said: "In the future, this prince will either become a great king and rule India, or if he should take the tonsure, he will become a great Buddha. However, I am old, and will not be able to see this prince come to maturity." So saying, it is told that Asita wept.

Tonsure

Prince Siddhartha, exhibited wisdom from infancy, and during his youth, his skill in both letters and the martial arts was markedly superior. Therefore, Suddhodana wished to have the prince ascend the throne. However, the prince had no such intentions, and when a son, Rahula, was born to Siddhartha and his wife, the Queen Consort Yashodhara, Siddhartha's desire to take the tonsure grew stronger. On occasion, Prince Siddhartha left the castle by one of the gates of the four directions (north, south, east and west), for recreation. But the first time, leaving by way of the east gate, he met up with an aged person. The next time, going out through the south gate, he came upon one who was ill. When he left through the west gate, he saw a corpse. At that time, he lost his appetite for pleasure, and felt more and more repugnance for his earthly existence. Finally, when the prince went out via the north gate, he met a man of the Way, whose body and mind were pristine. In that man, the crown prince saw the ideal figure he truly sought to become himself, and from that moment, resolved in his heart to enter the Path. This story is known as, "Play at the Four Gates."

Attaining the Path [Buddhahood]

It is said that Suddhohana dispatched five ascetics Ñ Ajnata Kaundinya, Ashivajit, Bhadrika, Dashabala Kashyapa and Mahanama Ñ to go with Prince Siddhartha when he left the castle. Together, they trained under two ascetics, first under Alara Kalama, and then under Uddaka Ramaputta. But this practice did not lead to enlightenment. Afterwards, for the next twelve years, Shakyamuni pursued every kind of religious austerity imaginable, but he realized that the practice of these extreme austerities was as meaningless as indulgence in worldly pleasures. So in a tributary of the Ganges River called the Nairanjana, near Buddhagaya, he bathed himself, ate a milk and rice porridge offered him by a maiden named Sujata, and regained his strength. When the five ascetics witnessed this, they believed that Shakyamuni had given up his quest for Buddhahood, and left him.

Following that, Shakyamuni sat with single-minded yearning under a pipal tree. After entering into profound meditation, his heart finally awoke and he became a Buddha (one who is enlightened). He was thirty years old at the time. Because the Buddha had attained enlightenment in that place, the town which had been known as Gaya was from that time called Buddhagaya.

Beginning to Expound the Law

From the seat where he had attained enlightenment, Shakyamuni spent twenty-one days preaching the Kegon Sutra, and afterwards traveled to Mrgadava (Deer Park) in Varanasi. There, he began by teaching the five ascetics who had left him when he had given up his practice of austerities, and made them his disciples. Next, Shakyamuni headed back towards Buddhagaya, to make disciples of the three Mahakashyapa brothers. Then continuing on to enter Rajagriha in Magadha, he taught multitudes of people, including two of his greatest disciples, Shariputra and Maha-Maudgalyayana. Meanwhile, because King Bimbisara had donated a monastery in a bamboo grove, and the wealthy merchant Sudatta had donated the Jetavana Monastery in Shravasti (MW, Vol. 5, p. 307-309), Buddhism greatly flourished.

When Shakyamuni returned to his birth place Kapilavastu, many of his family members became his disciples, including his cousin Ananda, his son Rahula, his stepmother Mahaprajapati and the queen consortx, Yashodhara. But in collusion with Ananda's brother Devadatta, the crown prince of Magadha, Ajatashatru interfered with Shakyamuni's teaching efforts. Yet, while undergoing what is known as the Nine Great Persecutions, Shakyamuni continued to expound the Law. Finally fulfilling the true purpose of his being, Shakyamuni gave voice to the Lotus Sutra at Gridhrakuta, or Eagle (Vulture) Peak, in Magadha. The Chinese Buddhist master T'ien-t'ai later codified the contents of the Buddha's lifelong teachings in his Five Periods and Eight Teachings.

The Nirvana of Shakyamuni

After teaching the truth of the Buddhist path for fifty years, at the age of eighty, Shakyamuni breathed his last under the Sal trees at Kushinagara on February fifteenth. The death of this Buddha is known as Nirvana.

Eight Events in the Life of a Buddha

In order for a Buddha to bring all life to Buddhahood, during his/her life, he/she must go through eight metamorphoses, known as the Eight Events of a Buddha's Life. They are: 1) Coming down from the Tushita heaven; 2) Entering the mother's body; 3) Being born from the mother's body; 4) Leaving "home" to enter the path of Buddhist practice; 5) Subjugating demons (Overcoming Inner Darkness which prevent the attainment of enlightenment); 6) Attaining Enlightenment; 7) Turning the Wheel of the Law (Begin to preach the Law in order to teach all mankind) and; 8) Entering Nirvana (Death, having finished teaching the Law).

We must not forget that the true purpose for Shakyamuni's exhibition of the Eight Events in the Life of a Buddha was in order to expound the Lotus Sutra.

©1995 Nichiren Shoshu Monthly. All rights reserved; Lectures on Basic Study Materials

from Dai-Byakuho, issue no. 360