Summary: [display_podcast] Welcome back! This is episode 2 of the Daily Buddhism, for February 24th, 2008. For more information, please visit http://www.dailybuddhism.com . I am still here in Japan, so my access to the Internet is a little sporadic; as you have probably figured out, the Daily Buddhism isn't exactly “Daily” just yet. I'll be doing at least one podcast and blog entry each week until I get back to the States in mid-March. At that point we'll pick up and hit our stride, actually going daily. In the meantime, I am going to be covering the basics of Buddhism in a few background episodes. If you have any specific questions about anything at all, please email me at dailybuddhism@gmail.com. If you send an MP3 recording, I'll play it on the show, otherwise, just ask your question by email. Last time, we briefly discussed the answer to the question, “What is Buddhism?” Today we will cover the story of the Buddha himself. Keep in mind that there are actually several different variations on the story, and we will cover some of them eventually, but this version seems to be the most common one. Who Was The Buddha? By "Dr. Arcane"Around 2500 years ago, King Shuddodana Gautama of the Shakya clan ruled in northern India. He built a great castle and ruled his people well. One night, his wife, Queen Maya, had a strange dream wherein she saw a white elephant enter her womb through the side of her chest. She soon found that she was indeed pregnant. The people of the kingdom were thrilled that there would soon be a royal heir.Planning to have the child at her parent's home, Maya traveled there before the birth. On April 8th, on the way to Queen Maya's ancestral home, she stopped to rest in a garden. Reaching for a blossoming branch in the garden, she suddenly, painlessly, had the child. Unfortunately, a few days later, Queen Maya died.The baby was named Siddhartha, meaning, “Every wish fulfilled,” and was raised within his father's grand castle. His father, of course, expected young Siddhartha to succeed him as King at some point in the future. Fate, however, had other plans for Siddhartha. A wandering holy man came to the castle to see the King. He had a vision concerning the young Prince and had to tell the King. He foretold that the young boy had two possible futures; either as a great King who would rule the entire world, or as a great holy man. The King decided immediately that his son would not leave the castle and learn to be the great future King. Young Siddhartha lived in the castle and grew up inside its protective walls, never seeing anything that would make him think of spiritual or religious things. His father was careful to remove all hints of the real suffering that accompany this world. The Prince lived a perfectly shielded life. His father arranged a marriage, and then Siddhartha had a son of his own. Not long after, on a parade through the city, he spotted three sights. First he saw a sick man. He asked his good friend and charioteer, “Will I become sick?” The charioteer answered truthfully, “Ees, eventually we all get sick.” They continued through the city, and the Prince spotted a very old man. He asked, “Will I grow old like that man?” to which the charioteer answered similarly. Lastly, he saw a dead man being carried away. “Will I die?” he asked, and did not like the answer. Leaving his wife and son behind, Siddhartha abandoned the castle and went off to live in the wilderness as a wandering holy man. He met up with other ascetic mendicants, refusing to eat, spending all day in meditation and denying all pleasures. For years he studied with the ascetics, and nearly starved to death in the process. After six years studying in this manner, he finally decided that he would learn no more following this path. He decided that denying the world was wrong, but that enjoying life too much, as in his younger days, was ad as well.
