Buddha - Meaning

The word Buddha means "enlightened one." It is used today as a title

to the one who has given us more religious beliefs than almost any other

human who lived in this world. However, he was not given this name at

birth; he had to earn it for himself by undergoing long, hard hours of

meditation and contemplation. Buddha has changed the lifestyles of many

cultures with new, never-before asked questions that were explained by

his search for salvation. He began an entirely new religion that dared

to test the boundaries of reality and go beyond common knowledge to find

the answers of the mysteries of life. India During the sixth

century BC, India was a land of political and religious turmoil. It was

an era of great brutality with the domination of Northwest India by

Indo-Aryan invaders. Many people, influenced by the Aryan civilization,

began to question the value of life and it's true meaning. Schools were

opened because of this curiosity where teachers would discuss the

significance of existence and the nature of man and held programs to

reconstruct one's spiritual self. (Pardue, page 228) Background Near

the town of Kapilavastivu, today known as Nepal, lived King Suddhodhana

and Queen Maya of the indigenous tribe known as the Shakyas.

(Encyclopedia Americana, page 687) Queen Maya soon became pregnant and

had a dream shortly before she gave birth. In this dream a beautiful,

white elephant with six tusks entered her room and touched her side.

This dream was soon interpreted by the wisest Brahmin, or Priest of

Brahmanism, that she was to give birth to a son that would, if he were to

remain in the castle, become the wisest king in the world, but if he were

ever to leave the castle he would then become the wisest prophet far into

future generations. (Encyclopedia Americana, page 410) In around the

year 563 BC, Siddhartha Gautama was born into a life of pure luxury.

(Wangu, page 16) His father wanted to make sure that his son was well

taken care of as he grew to prevent him from desiring to leave the

palace. Suddhodhana, listening to the prophecy, kept Siddhartha away

from the pain of reality so that he could follow in his father's

footsteps in becoming a well respected leader. As Siddhartha grew, he

became very curious about the world outside of the palace walls. He felt

a great need to undergo new experiences and learn the truth of reality.

Siddhartha was married to a woman named Yasodhara who gave birth to a

boy, Rahul. Even after his marriage, Siddhartha was still not completely

satisfied with his life; he decided that it was necessary for him to see

the lives of those outside the castle. The Four Meetings One day,

Siddhartha called for his charioteer to take him to the park. When the

King heard of this, he ordered the streets to be cleared of everything

except beauty. As the Prince rode by, the people cheered and threw

flowers at him, praising his name and Siddhartha was still clueless to

the suffering of life until a god, disguised as a poor, old man stumbled

before the chariot. Siddhartha was curious to this man's condition and

he asked the charioteer about his appearance. The charioteer replied

that all men must endure old age and that even the prince could not

escape this fate. Siddhartha then returned to the palace to contemplate

about old age which caused him to want to see more. The next day,

Siddhartha decided to venture on to the streets again which were, by the

King's request, once more cleared of all evil and ugliness. This time,

Siddhartha encountered a sick man and again, returned to the palace to

reflect on sickness. On his third trip to the park, Siddhartha

approached a funeral in a garden and was educated by the charioteer about

how every man must experience death. Finally, on the fourth day, the

young prince saw a shaven- headed man wearing a yellow robe. He was

amazed and impressed by how peaceful the man seemed; he carried with him

only a begging bowl and had left all other possessions to try to find

spiritual deliverance. At that moment, Siddhartha knew his destiny was

to discover how this man has avoided these acts of suffering. (The New

Encyclopedia Britannica, page 270) Later that night, Siddhartha kissed

his wife and son, and left with his charioteer away from the palace of

riches and pleasure. He left behind his life of pure desire to

understand the true meaning of life. To symbolize his renunciation from

civilization, Siddhartha cut his long hair and beard with his jeweled