Life of Buddha Shakyamuni

Category:
Buddha Śākyamuni
Buddha Śākyamuni

1. The Birth

In the 7th century BC, the northern part of India was divided into 16 principal states or Mahā-Janapadas, 8 of which were Kingdoms and the remaining Republics.

The names of these states are listed in Aṅguttara I, 213 and Vinaya Texts 2, 146.

Among the kingdoms, the most powerful were Māgadha and Kosala. According to Rhys Davids, Māgadha occupied the district now called Bihar and had its capital at Rājagaha.

In the Buddha's time, it had 80 000 villages under the rule of King Bimbisāra and afterwards, his son Ajātasattu. It covered an area of 300 Yojanas or about 2400 miles in circumference.

The Kosalas were the ruling clan in the kingdom whose capital was Sāvatthi that is now part of the ruins called Sahet-Mahet near Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh. Their ruler was King Pasenadi.

To the north across the present Indo-Nepalese border, was the little Sakyan republic, a vassal state of Kosala. Its chief was Suddhodana and he had his capital at Kapilavatthu.

According to the Theravāda tradition, the Buddha was born on the full-moon day of Vesākha (late April-May) in 623 BC, although this date is disputed by other traditions.

His mother was Mahāmāyā Devi, chief consort of King Suddhodana. Already 56 years old and in the final stage of pregnancy carrying the Bodhisattva or future Buddha for 10 full months,

she was traveling in state to her parents' home in Devadaha to deliver her first child according with the ancient tradition of her Koliyan clan.

Along the way, the entourage passed Lumbini Garden, a pleasure grove of Sāla trees, which were then in full bloom. Seeing the immense splendour, she decided to stop there and admire the flowering trees and plants.

Soon she began to experience the unmistakable signs of impending birth. Quickly she summoned her female attendants to cordon off the area with curtains.

Then holding on to the branch of a Sāla tree with her right hand for support, she gave birth to the Bodhisattva while standing up.

In 249 BC, the great Mauryan Emperor Aśoka (c. 273-236 BC) visited Lumbini as part of his pilgrimage to the sacred Buddhist places.

To commemorate his visit, he built a stone pillar that bore an inscription in Brāhmī script to record the event for posterity. The inscription engraved in 5 lines reads (Translation):

20 years after his coronation, King Piyadasī, Beloved of the Gods, visited this spot in person and worshipped at this place because here Buddha Śākyamuni was born.

He caused to make a stone (capital) representing a horse and he caused this stone pillar to be erected.

Because the Buddha was born here, he made the village of Lumbini free from taxes and subject to pay only 1/8th of the produce as land revenue instead of the usual rate.

After the Muslim conquest of northern India during the 12 century AD that led to the indiscriminate pillaging and desecration of Buddhist shrines and monasteries, Lumbini was abandoned and eventually engulfed by the forests.

In 1886, the German archaeologist, Dr. Alois A. Fuhrer, while wandering in the Nepalese forests in search of the legendary site, came across a stone pillar and ascertained beyond doubt that it was indeed the birthplace of the Buddha.

The Lumbini Pillar (or Rummindei pillar) stands today majestically proclaiming that here the Buddha was born.

2. The Prediction

When the good news reached the capital of Kapilavatthu, there was great rejoicing among the people over the birth of their new-born prince.

An ascetic named Asita, also known as Kaladevila the Hermit, being the royal tutor visited the palace to see the royal baby.

The overjoyed King brought the child to him to pay reverence, but to the King's surprise, the child's feet turned and planted themselves on the matted locks of the ascetic's head.

The ascetic, realizing this astonishing and extraordinary power and glory of the Bodhisattva, instantly rose from his seat and saluted him. Witnessing the marvellous scene, the King also bowed down before his own son.

Asita was an expert in distinguishing the marks of greatness and as soon as he examined the child, he confidently proclaimed the child's future supremacy among mankind.

Then seeing his own impending death, tears came to his eyes. The Sakyans, seeing him cry, thought that misfortune would befall on the prince.

But Asita reassured them that the prince's future was secure, as he would surely become a Buddha. He was sad because he would die soon and be reborn in a Formless Realm thereby missing the opportunity to meet the Buddha and listen to His Dhamma.

In order to ensure that someone in his family would not miss this rare opportunity, he related his prediction to his nephew Nālaka.

On Asita's advice, Nālaka renounced the world and when the Bodhisattva attained Supreme Enlightenment 35 years later, Nālaka came to see the Buddha to ask some questions. After listening to the Buddha's answers, Nālaka became an Arahant.

A full account of Asita's prediction and Nālaka's meeting with the Buddha is given in the Nālaka Sutta of the Sutta Nipāta (Group of Discourses).

5 days after the Bodhisattva's birth, the king held a ceremony to choose a suitable name for the new-born prince:

According to the Jātaka Commentaries, many learned Brahmins were invited to the Naming Ceremony. Among them were 8 experts who could foretell the child's future just by examining the marks and characteristics of his body:

7 of them raised 2 fingers to indicate that the child would grow up to become either a Universal Monarch or a Buddha.

But the 8th, Sudatta of the Koṇḍañña clan who was the youngest and who excelled the others in knowledge, raised 1 finger and confidently declared that the prince would renounce the world and become a Buddha.

Consequently the Brahmins gave him the name of Siddhārtha meaning wish- fulfilled. His family name was Gotama.

On the 7th day, Prince Siddhārtha's mother died.

Her younger sister, Mahā Prajāpati Gotamī who was also married to King Suddhodana became his foster mother.

3. The Ploughing Ceremony

During the Buddha's time, the main economic activity of his country was farming:

As such, a festival was held every year to promote agriculture whereby the King and his noblemen would lead the common folk in ploughing the fields to prepare them for planting.

On the appointed day, the King took his young son along, accompanied by the nurses to take care of the child:

Placing the child on a couch with a canopy overhead under the cool shade of a solitary rose-apple tree to be cared for by the nurses, the King went to participate in the Ploughing Festival.

At the height of the festival, the nurses became distracted by the gaiety and abandoned their posts to watch the spectacle.

Left alone, instead of crying or running after the nurses, the Bodhisattva sat cross-legged on the ground and concentrating on the inhaling and exhaling of his breath, achieved one-pointedness of mind by which he developed the First Jhāna (mental absorption).

He must have been absorbed in this ecstatic concentration for a long time because when the nurses realized their mistake, it was past noon. Rushing back to the rose-apple tree, they were amazed to see the child sitting cross-legged in deep meditation.

On hearing of this remarkable event, the King hurried to the scene and seeing the miracle, he saluted his son, saying, This, dear child, is my second salutation.

Many years later, after struggling for 6 years in search of Enlightenment, the memory of this childhood experience convinced the Bodhisattva to abandon the path of self-mortification by recognizing that this indeed was the way to Enlightenment.

4. Prince Siddhārtha's Youth

Although the Pāḷi Scriptures provide little information about the Bodhisattva's early years, one can surmise that during his boyhood, he would have studied under Brahmin tutors just like his father before him:

Under them he would have studied together with the other Sakyan princes all the Brāhmaṇic literature including the Vedas (scriptures), Āgamas (codes), Purāṇas (mythology), Itihāsas (history) and others.

This is borne out in the suttas that reveal the Buddha's familiarity and insight of Brahmin codes and lore. As a member of the warrior caste (Kṣatriya), he was specially trained in the art of warfare excelling in archery and dexterity skills.

Prince Siddhārtha grew up in great comfort and luxury. In Aṅguttara Book of Threes, 38, the Buddha described the luxuries he was showered upon by his father during his youth:

He was delicately nurtured and wore the best clothes made from Kāśī silk. Day and night, a white umbrella was held over him to shelter him from heat and cold, dust or chaff or dew.

He had 3 palaces; one for the winter, one for the summer and one for the rainy season.

In the rains palace, female minstrels were provided for his entertainment. For the 4 months of the rains, he never went down to the lower palace.

Though meals of broken rice with lentil soup were given to the servants and retainers in other people's houses, in his father's house white rice and meat were given to them.

When Prince Siddhārtha reached 16 years of age, his father decided to install him on the throne and arrange for his marriage.

As soon as word went out that King Suddhodana was looking for a princess to marry his son, the Sakyan aristocrats made derogatory remarks saying that although the prince was handsome, he did not possess any craft that would enable him to support a family.

Thereupon, the Bodhisattva gave a spectacular display of his dexterity and archery skills, which so impressed his royal relatives that they all sent their own daughters beautifully dressed and adorned for him to choose as his bride.

Among the Sakyan princesses, the one chosen to be his consort was his beautiful cousin, Princess Yaśodharā whose maiden name was Bhaddā Kaccānā, also of the same age.

She was the daughter of the Koliyan ruler of Devadaha kingdom, Suppabuddha (his mother's brother) and Queen Amita (his father's sister).

She earned the name of Yaśodharā because of her pristine fame and great retinue (Yaso = great retinue and repute, dharā = bearer).

After his happy marriage, he led a luxurious life, blissfully unaware of the vicissitudes of life outside the palace gates.

5. The 4 Signs and the Great Renunciation

With the march of time, the Bodhisattva became increasingly disenchanted with life in the palace and he would seek solace by going out to visit the royal garden.

On 4 occasions, while riding to the royal garden, he encountered successively the strange sights of:

  1. a decrepit old man,
  2. a diseased man,
  3. a corpse
  4. a serene-looking ascetic.

The first 3 sights brought him face to face with the stark realities of the true nature of existence. They are called samvega nimitta, signs that give rise to a sense of religious urgency.

As he contemplated on them, seeing that he too was not immune from ageing, sickness and death, the vanity of youth, health and life entirely left him.

The last sight provided a ray of hope for a means of escape from the suffering of existence. It is called Padhāna nimitta, sign that gives rise to a sense of meditative exertion in order to escape from old age, sickness and death.

When King Suddhodana came to know of these encounters, he became worried that his son would renounce the secular life as predicted by the royal astrologers.

To prevent his son from leaving the royal life, he built high walls around the palace, fitted massive doors at the city gate, and increased the strength of guards, attendants and dancing girls to look after the prince.

But the Bodhisattva's samvega (religious urgency) had been aroused. Sensual pleasures no longer appealed to him:

Realizing the futility of sensual pleasures so highly sought after by ordinary people and the value of renunciation that the wise take delight in, he decided to renounce the world in search of the Deathless.

It was with this deep sense of religious urgency that the Bodhisattva received the news that a son had been born to him. Normally an ordinary father would have rejoiced at it.

But the Bodhisattva, having made the decision to renounce the world after much deliberation, saw it as an impediment and remarked: An impediment (Rāhu) has been born; a fetter has arisen. The king, hearing this, named his grandson, Rāhula.

According to the Commentaries, the Great Renunciation took place at midnight on the full moon of Asalha (July/August) when the Bodhisattva was 29 years old.

Earlier in the evening, he had been entertained by a female troupe of musicians, dancers and singers but he took no delight in it and fell asleep. Seeing the master asleep, the entertainers stopped the show and started to rest. Very soon, they too fell asleep.

When the Bodhisattva awoke, he saw these women sleeping like corpses in a cemetery, their musical instruments and belongings strewn about,

some with saliva flowing out of their mouths, some grinding their teeth, some talking confusedly, some snoring, some with their garments in disarray exposing their bodies, their hair loose and tangled.

When the Bodhisattva saw the change in them, he was filled with loathsomeness and uttered, How oppressive it is; how terrible indeed!

His mind was made up, This very day I must depart from here.

Leaving the palace, he went to the stable and ordered his charioteer Channa to saddle his favourite horse Kaṇṭaka for his departure immediately.

While Channa was making preparations, the Bodhisattva went to the bedroom to have a look at his new-born son before leaving:

He saw his wife asleep with her arm resting on the child's head.

He wanted to remove the mother's hand and cradle his son in his arms but decided against it for fear that it would awaken his wife and jeopardize his plan of renunciation.

Knowing that both mother and child would be well taken care of by his father, the Bodhisattva left, vowing to return to see his son again only after attaining Enlightenment.

Mounting his horse Kaṇṭaka and letting Channa hold on to the tail, the Bodhisattva rode out of Kapilavatthu by the East Gate and journeyed into the night.

They travelled the whole night without stopping and arrived next day on the bank of the Anoma River in the country of the Mallas.

Here the Bodhisattva cut off his hair and beard with his sword and handing over his garments and ornaments to Channa, he donned the simple robe of an ascetic.

Although Channa wanted to renounce too in order to serve him, the Bodhisattva forbade it and asked him to return to the palace with the horse.

But Kaṇṭaka, seeing his master leaving them, died of a broken heart and Channa returned alone to Kapilavatthu to break the news to King Suddhodana.

6. The Search & Struggle for Enlightenment

After becoming an ascetic, the Bodhisattva spent a week at the nearby mango grove called Anupiya before proceeding to Rājagaha to look for a suitable teacher to help him realize his goal.

Even when he arrived at Rājagaha where King Bimbisāra offered him half the kingdom, he rejected the offer, stating that he wanted to find a way to end old age, sickness and death, promising that he would return after he had found the answer.

As a seeker of Truth and Peace, he approached Āḷāra Kālāma of Vesālī, an ascetic of repute and speedily learnt his doctrine and developed the 7th Arūpa Jhāna, the Realm of Nothingness, a very advanced stage of concentration.

Dissatisfied with Kālāma's system, he left him and approached Uddaka Rāmaputta of Rajgir where he mastered his doctrine and attained the highest stage of mundane concentration, namely, the 8th Arūpa Jhāna, the Realm of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception.

Again he was not satisfied with the results and he left it to pursue his search:

He was seeking for Nibbāna, the complete cessation of suffering. He found that nobody was competent to teach him what he sought as all were enmeshed in ignorance.

Though disappointed, he was not discouraged in seeking for the incomparable state of Supreme Peace:

He continued to wander and arrived in due course at Uruvela forest by the banks of the Nerañjarā River, where he resolved to settle down for his meditation and to achieve his desired goal on his own.

Hearing of his renunciation, Koṇḍañña, the Brahmin who predicted that he would become a Buddha and Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahānāma and Assaji, sons of 4 other sages, also renounced the world to join his company.

For 6 long years, Siddhārtha led a superhuman struggle practising all forms of severe austerities:

In the Greater Discourse on the Lion's Roar in the Majjhima -Nikāya, the Buddha related to the Venerable Sāriputta how he practised the extremes of asceticism, coarse living, scruples and seclusion in dreaded places like forests, groves and cemeteries when he was a Bodhisattva.

The Venerable Nāgasamala who was standing behind the Blessed One fanning him said that he could feel the hairs on his body standing on ends as he listened to the discourse and wanted to know its name. To this the Buddha replied that it should be remembered as The Hair- raising Discourse.

The extreme austerities took a heavy toll on his delicate body:

It was almost reduced to a skeleton and resulted in the exhaustion of his energy. He was so emaciated that when he touched his belly skin, he could feel his backbone.

He was on the verge of death, having gone beyond any ascetic or Brahmin in the practice of self-mortification. Yet all these proved futile and he began to look for another path to Enlightenment.

He remembered the time during his childhood when he was enrapt in Jhāna, secluded from sensual desires. Then following up that memory, there came the recognition that it was the way to Enlightenment.

Realizing that Enlightenment could not be gained with an exhausted body, he abandoned self-mortification and adopted the Majjhima Pratipāda or Middle Path, which is the Path between the two extremes of sensual pleasure and self-mortification.

His decision to take some food, however, disappointed the 5 Ascetics who attended on him. At a crucial time when help would have been most welcome, his only companions left him, but he was not discouraged.

After a substantial meal of milk rice offered by Sujāta, a generous lady, he sat under the famous Pipal tree at Bodhgaya to meditate with the earnest wish and firm determination not to rise from his seat until he attained Buddhahood.

7. The Enlightenment and the 7 Weeks After

On the eve of Vesākha in 588 BC, while meditating with mind tranquillized and purified, in the 1st watch of night (6pm-10pm) he developed that supernormal knowledge which enabled him to remember his past lives, thereby dispelling the ignorance with regard to the past.

In the second watch (10pm-2am), he developed the clairvoyant supernormal vision, which enabled him to see the death and rebirth of beings thereby dispelling the ignorance with regard to the future.

In the last watch (2am-6am), he developed the supernormal knowledge with regard to destruction of defilements and comprehending things as they truly are, realized the 4 Noble Truths, thus attaining Perfect Enlightenment.

The famous Pipal tree is now called the Bodhi tree for it was under this tree that Prince Siddhārtha attained Saṁbodhi or Perfect Wisdom.

Having in his 35th year attained Buddhahood, that supreme state of Perfection, He devoted the remainder of his life to serve humanity and to lead men by the Noble Eightfold Path to the cessation of all suffering.

After the Enlightenment, for 7 weeks the Buddha fasted, and spent His time under the Bodhi tree and in its neighbourhood:

1) The whole of the 1st week, the Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree in one posture experiencing the Bliss of Emancipation.

2) During the 2nd week, as a mark of gratitude to the Bodhi tree that sheltered Him during His struggle for Enlightenment, the Buddha stood gazing at it with unblinking eyes (Animisalocana).

3) During the 3rd week, the Buddha paced up and down on a jewelled promenade (Ratana Cankamana) near the Bodhi tree.

4) The 4th week He spent in a jewelled chamber (Ratanaghara) meditating on the Abhidhamma and rays of 6 colours emanated from his body.

5) The 5th week was spent under the Ajapala Banyan tree in the vicinity of the Bodhi tree. Here He declared the qualities of a true Brahmin in answer to the question by a conceited Brahmin.

6) The Buddha spent the 6th week under the Mucalinda tree. At that time, there arose a great rainstorm with cold winds and gloom for 7 days.

Thereupon Mucalinda, the Serpent King of the lake, came out and coiled himself around the body of the Buddha and sheltered the Lord's head with his large hood.

7) The Buddha spent the 7th week under the Rajayatana tree where 2 merchant brothers, Tapussa and Bhallika from Ukkalā (Odisha) offered Him rice cakes and honey.

When the Buddha finished His meal, they prostrated themselves before His feet and sought Refuge in the Buddha and the Dhamma. Thus, they were the first lay disciples who took the 2-fold refuge.

8. The Buddha Propounds the Teaching (Dhamma)

After His meal, the Buddha began to contemplate and was reluctant to teach the Dhamma to the people. He thought that people would not be able to understand His noble and deep teaching for they were shrouded by ignorance.

Thereupon, Brahma Sahampati came and invited Him to teach the Dhamma saying that there will be those who could understand the Dhamma.

On surveying the world, the Buddha perceived that there were beings that could understand and realize the Dhamma and He accepted the invitation of Brahma Sahampati to teach the Dhamma.

The first person that came to His mind was Āḷāra Kālāma but a deity informed Him that Āḷāra Kālāma had died 7 days ago. Then He thought of Uddaka Rāmaputta and again a deity informed Him that Uddaka had died the previous evening.

Finally He thought of the 5 ascetics who attended on Him during His struggle for Enlightenment. With His supernormal vision, He perceived that they were staying in Deer Park at Isipatana near Benares (present day Vārāṇasī).

On the 50th day after His Enlightenment, the Buddha proceeded to Benares to expound the Dhamma to his friends, the 5 Ascetics, namely Koṇḍañña, Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahānāma and Assaji.

He arrived at the Deer Park in Isipatana on the full-moon day of Asalha, 2 months after Vesākha and delivered His 1st Discourse, the Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta or Discourse on Turning the Wheel of Dhamma which led to the 5 Ascetics attaining Sotāpatti, the 1st stage of sainthood, and all became monks under the Buddha.

Later the Buddha preached the Anatta-Lakkhaṇa Sutta or Discourse on on-Self, hearing which all attained Arahantship or final stage of sainthood.

The Buddha also succeeded in expounding His Dhamma to a rich young man, Yasa and his 54 friends who joined the Holy Order and became Arahants.

Yasa's parents and his wife also attained Sotāpatti and became the first lay disciples who took the Threefold Refuge of the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha.

Thus, within a short period of time there were 60 monks, all of them Arahants.

Lord Buddha dispatched them in various directions to spread the Dhamma.

Lord Buddha himself also left Benares and journeyed to Uruvela:

On the way, He met a group of 30 young noblemen called Bhaddavaggi or the fortunate group because they were princely brothers having a good life.

While they were merry-making in the forest, a hired woman ran off with the valuables of one of the brothers.

The 30 princes while searching for the woman saw the Buddha. In the encounter, the Buddha succeeded in preaching the Dhamma to them. They were established variously, in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd stages of sainthood and entered the Order.

These monks were half-brothers of King Pasenadi of Kosala and as they usually resided in Pāveyya City in the western part of Kosala, they were known as the Pāveyyaka monks.

They realized Arahantship at a later date after hearing the Anamatagga Sutta or Discourse on the Endless Rounds of Existence, while the Buddha was dwelling in Veluvana monastery in Rājagaha.

It was on their account that the Buddha allowed monks to hold the Kathina ceremony every year after the Rains Retreat or Vassa.

At that time in Uruvela, there were 3 matted hair ascetic brothers: Uruvela Kassapa, Nādi Kassapa and Gaya Kassapa living separately with 500, 300 and 200 disciples respectively.

With much effort and at times using His psychic powers, the Buddha succeeded in convincing them to enter the Order:

Knowing that they were all fire-worshippers, the Buddha delivered to them the Ādittapariyāya Sutta or Fire Sermon, hearing which all attained Arahantship.

Accompanied by His retinue of 1000 Arahants, all former matted hair ascetics, the Buddha proceeded to Rājagaha to meet King Bimbisāra in accordance with the promise He made before His Enlightenment.

When King Bimbisāra and the Brahmin citizens saw the Buddha with Uruvela Kassapa whom they held in high esteem, they were not sure who the leader was.

Reading their minds, the Buddha questioned Kassapa who acknowledged the Buddha as His Master by rising in the air and paying homage to the Buddha 3 times.

Later on the Buddha preached the Mahā Nārada Kassapa Jātaka followed by a graduated discourse, at the end of which 110 000 Brahmins headed by Bimbisāra attained the first stage of sainthood.

Later on, King Bimbisāra offered his Bamboo Grove (Veluvana) for the use of the Buddha and His disciples, the first gift of a place of residence. The Buddha spent 3 successive Vassas and 3 other Vassas in this famous park.

9. Conversion of Sāriputta and Moggallāna

Not far from Rājagaha in the village of Nālaka, there lived a very intelligent Brahmin youth named Upatissa also known as Sāriputta, scion of the leading family of the village.

He had a very intimate friend in Kolita also known as Moggallāna, the son of the leading family of another village. Together they had left the luxury of the household life and became ascetics under a teacher named Sanjaya.

Very soon, they became dissatisfied with his teaching and returned to their own villages, with the understanding that whosoever discovered the Path of Release should teach the other.

It was at this time that the Venerable Assaji, one of the first 5 disciples, was on alms round in Rājagaha:

Impressed by his calm and serene manner, Upatissa offered his seat and water to the Venerable Assaji when the latter was having his meal.

On being asked by Upatissa to teach him the doctrine, Ven. Assaji uttered a 4-line stanza, skilfully summing up the Master's Teaching of cause and effect:

Ye dhamma hetuppabhava
– tesam hetu tathagato
Aha tesan ca yo nirodho
– evam vadi Maha-Samano.

Of things that proceed from a cause
– their cause the Tathāgata has told.
And also their cessation –
- Thus teaches the Great Ascetic.

Immediately on hearing half the stanza consisting of two lines, Upatissa attained Sotāpatti, the 1st stage of sainthood. In accordance with the agreement, he returned to his friend Kolita, who also attained Sotāpatti after hearing the whole stanza.

Accompanied by their followers, the two friends went to see the Buddha and requested for admission into the Order:

The Venerable Moggallāna attained Arahantship after one week but the Venerable Sāriputta passed a fortnight in reviewing and analysing with insight all levels of consciousness, attaining Arahantship while fanning the Buddha who was giving a discourse to the wandering ascetic Dīghanakha.

That very evening, the Buddha summoned all His disciples to His presence and conferred the titles of First and Second Chief Disciples of the Saṅgha respectively on the Venerable Sāriputta and Mahā Moggallāna.

At this, some monks were displeased and complained among themselves that the Buddha should have given the rank of Chief Disciples to those who ordained first

such as the 5 Ascetics or to Yasa and his friends or the 30 Bhaddavaggi (fortunate) monks or else to the 3 Kassapa brothers.

Instead He had bypassed all those Great Elders and given the title to the 'youngest monks' i.e. those who ordained last.

When the Buddha came to know of this, He assembled the monks and explained His choice:

When Ven. Sāriputta and Ven. Mahā Moggallāna many aeons ago, at the time of Buddha Anomaddassin, were born as the Brahmin youth Sāradā and merchant Sirivaḍḍhaka, they made the aspiration to become Chief Disciples:

So what the Buddha had done was to give them what they had aspired for, while the other senior monks did not make the aspiration to become Chief Disciples.

10. The Buddha Visits His Birthplace

King Suddhodana knowing that the Buddha was preaching the Dhamma in Rājagaha dispatched 9 courtiers on 9 successive occasions to invite the Buddha to Kapilavatthu

but on every occasion, the courtier was converted by the Buddha and attained Arahantship. After the attainment they became indifferent to worldly affairs and so did not convey the message to the Buddha.

Finally another courtier Kāḷudāyī, a childhood friend of the Buddha, was chosen to carry the invitation. He agreed to go as he was granted permission to enter the Order:

On meeting the Buddha and hearing the Dhamma, he too attained Arahantship but he remembered his promise to the old King and conveyed the message to the Buddha.

When the Buddha returned to Kapilavatthu, He had to exhibit His psychic powers to subdue the pride of His relatives and elderly Sakyans who did not pay Him due reverence.

His father, on seeing the miracles saluted Him for the third time. The Buddha then proceeded to preach to them the Vessantara Jātaka.

He continued preaching to his father on several occasions and the aged king succeeded in reaching the 3rd Stage of Sainthood.

The Buddha succeeded in persuading His stepbrother Nanda and cousin Ānanda to join the Holy Order.

When the Buddha visited the palace, Princess Yaśodharā and her son Rāhula came to pay their respects and the latter was admitted into the Order though at a tender age of 7 years only.

When King Suddhodana heard about the ordination of his beloved grandson, he felt aggrieved and requested the Buddha not to approve the ordination of any minor without prior consent of the parents. The Buddha agreed to this request and made it a Vinaya Rule.

Before he died, King Suddhodana heard the Dhamma from the Buddha and attained Arahantship. He passed away after experiencing the bliss of Emancipation for 7 days as a lay Arahant when the Buddha was 40 years old.

After the death of the king, Mahā Prajāpati Gotamī and Princess Yaśodharā joined the Order of Nuns formed by the Buddha and later attained Arahantship.

11. The Buddha's Ministry

The Buddha's ministry was a great success lasting for 45 years and was generously supported by many lay disciples, ranging from kings to commoners:

His chief male lay-supporter (dayaka) was the millionaire Sudatta, commonly known as Anāthapiṇḍika (feeder of the poor) who donated the famous Jetavana Monastery at Sāvatthī where the Buddha spent 19 rainy seasons and gave many discourses found in the Scriptures.

His chief female lay-supporter (dayika) was the Lady Visākhā who donated the Pubbarama Monastery in the east of Sāvatthī where the Buddha spent 6 rainy seasons.

The Buddha was so skilful in His preaching of the Dhamma that He even succeeded in converting the notorious killer Aṅgulimāla to join the Order while He was in Sāvatthi.

In the course of His ministry for 45 years, the Buddha was indefatigable:

He travelled on foot with a company of monks all over Northern India, from Vesālī in the east to Kuru (Delhi) in the west, preaching the Dhamma for the benefit of mankind.

Although His motive was pure and selfless, yet He faced strong opposition, mainly from the leaders of other religious sects and the traditional Brahmin caste.

Within the Order too, the Buddha also faced some problems especially from His cousin and brother-in-law Devadatta, who was always plotting against Him in order to take over the Order but was never successful.

In the end, Devadatta left the Order but just before his death, he repented and desired to see the Buddha:

Before he could enter Jetavana monastery where the Buddha was residing, he was swallowed into the swampy ground just outside the gate. At the last moment, he took refuge in the Buddha.

12. The Parinibbāna and Final Admonition

3 months before His Parinibbāna (passing away wherein the elements of clinging do not arise again), Lord Buddha relinquished the will to live at the Cāpāla Shrine in Vesālī.

Summoning all the local monks to the assembly hall of the Gabled House, he delivered his Final Admonition in which he exhorted them to thoroughly learn, develop, practise and propagate those Teachings, which he had direct knowledge in order that the Holy Life may last long:

And what, Bhikkhus, are these Teachings?

Verily, they are:

  1. the 4 Foundations of Mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna),
  2. the 4 Right Efforts (sammappadhāna),
  3. the 4 Bases of Success (Iddhipāda),
  4. the 5 Faculties (Indriya),
  5. the 5 Powers (Bala),
  6. the 7 Factors of Enlightenment (Bojjhaṅga),
  7. and the 8 Constituents of the Path (Maggaṅga).

These are the 37 Requisites of Enlightenment that must be developed in order to attain Enlightenment.

From Vesālī, the Buddha took the journey on foot to his final resting place in Kusinārā, instructing the monks in the Dhamma along the way.

He had His last meal from Cunda the smith, while His last convert was the wandering ascetic named Subhadda to whom the Buddha preached the Lion's Roar in which He declared the Noble Eightfold Path to be the true way to Nibbāna, namely:

In whatsoever Teaching and Discipline, Subhadda, there is not found the -Noble Eightfold Path, neither is there found the true ascetic of the first nor second, third nor fourth degree of saintliness.

But in whatsoever Teaching and Discipline, there is found the -Noble Eightfold Path, therein is found the true ascetic of the first and second, third and fourth degree of saintliness.

-Now in this Teaching and Discipline, Subhadda, is found the -Noble Eightfold Path; and in it alone is found also the true ascetic of the first and second, third and fourth degree of saintliness. (* i.e. the Sotāpanna, Sakadāgāmin, anāgāmin and Arahant respectively)

Devoid of true ascetics are the systems of other teachers; but if, Subhadda, the bhikkhus live righteously, the world will not be destitute of Arahants.

The Buddha's Parinibbāna took place on the full-moon day of Vesākha under the shade of two Sāla trees in the Sāla Grove of the Mallas.  It was His 80th year in 543 BC.

His famous last message to His disciples was:

Behold, O disciples, I exhort you.
Subject to decay are all component things.
Accomplish all your duties with heedfulness.

Thus, ended the life of the noblest being the world has ever known. As a man He was born. As an extraordinary man He lived. As a Buddha, He passed away.

In the annals of history, no man is recorded as having so consecrated himself to the welfare of all beings, irrespective of caste, class or creed as the Supreme Buddha, endowed with Omniscience and Great Compassion.

Although the Buddha is gone, yet the Dhamma that he taught for 45 years still remains, thanks to the indefatigable efforts of his far-sighted and faithful disciples who codified His Teachings and transmitted them orally over 5 centuries before they were finally written on palm leaves in the island of Śrī Lanka, far away, from its birthplace.

The story of how this Dhamma Treasury called the Tipiṭaka or Three Baskets containing the teachings and practices leading to the end of suffering has remained intact and unadulterated, spreading beyond the borders of its narrower home, is a fascinating chronicle:

It is a living testament of the religious zeal and dedication of the ancient monks in preserving, propagating and perpetuating the Teachings of Lord Buddha, from his Mahāparinibbāna till the present day.