Prabuddha Jivan 2016 07

SR No.: 526096
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Sejal Shah
Publisher: Mumbai Jain Yuvak Sangh
Publication Year: 2016
Total Pages: 44
Language: Gujarati
Classification: Magazine, India_Prabuddha Jivan, & India
File Size: 2 MB

Page 39

JULY 2016
PRABUDDH JEEVAN
39
So he decided to eat again till he regained his energy and ability to concentrate and converge on what he ought to do - Meditation, salvation, and enlightenment, and experience the joy that he was seeking for. It so happened that at that time, a lady was passing by and she carried a bowl of rice. When she saw Siddhartha starving, she went and offered him the bowl of rich. When she presented it to Siddhartha with the kind words. Siddhartha saw the joy of satisfaction and compassion in her eyes. When Siddhartha accepted the rice from her, that was the call and decision he took towards life. He realized how very important it is to experience the compassion to evolve joy and happiness.
Although, this disturbed Siddhartha's followers and companions. They turned their face from Siddhartha and said he cannot give up his luxuries that he is habituated of and so he can never endure with his spiritual practices. But Siddhartha was determined and he knew what he was looking for and believed in himself. He thought as a human being he could eat and drink and still obtain the kind of realization he was looking for. He followed his own insight and he became his own master and trusted himself. Siddhartha embarked again upon the meditative path in order to achieve enlightenment.
One fine day, he sat down below a fig tree (now called as Bodhi tree) with inordinate concord and natural aura. He strongmindedly decided that unless he attains the insight of supreme and final wisdom, he would not move from his position no matter his skin and body withers. Stories say that lord of desires- Marga and demons attacked Siddhartha and tried to demotivate him, but to the surprise, their weapon turned to flowers. He was also allured by a beautiful woman (Marga's daughter) dancing around him but nothing distrained him and he remained still. When he faced Marga, he realized he was facing his own desires. Under all the circumstances and situations, Siddhartha's determination endured by him to the utmost.
His aspiration was not too far. After a great struggle within himself and the "demons" of ignorance, he finally broke through the illusions of his own mind and experienced true Reality. He experienced peace and joy.
One night he visualized all his past lives. His infinite
numbers of births and rebirths. He attained the powers to see the cycle of birth and rebirth. He felt the aura within himself.
He achieved enlightenment - Nirvana and became a "buddha" -"an enlightened one." The flower of enlightenment bloomed within Buddha and the fragrance without any qualm had to spread around.
His unfathomable compassion towards the world around him enforced him to unfold what he experienced to the individuals around him. But that was not so easy. The tangible skirmish was yet to antagonize by Buddha. To preach his teachings to others wasn't so simple. He did not have any Guru, he himself was his mentor. And he was no special either. He was just an ordinary man to others. Why would anybody accept his preachings and entrust him? This journey enfrightened him as to how he would express what he expreirenced, to others and how would he make them believe in him. How he would find words to explain the path to the enlightenment what he had experienced?Finally, he encountered his first five companions who had abandoned him for breaking his fast. Reluctantly and disgracefully they heard what Buddha had to say and eventually they were the first ones to accept the preechings of Buddha. They accepted him from "Siddhartha" to "Buddha". They became Buddha's first disciples.
Lord Buddha's preachings came straight from his heart. From what he had experienced himself. His teachings balanced itself from the extremeties. His teachings chose the path of intermediate, neither very trivial, neither too extreme, but somewhere medium. This approach gratified the hearts of common man and also ascetics. And so they followed Buddha's teachings to seek the path of happiness, joy and serenity, which is given today in the form of Buddhism. According to Buddha, and Buddhism, anyone can become Buddha.
"Long is the night to him who is awake; long is a mile to him who is tired; long is life to the foolish who do not know the true law." Gautama Buddha
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