Today (05 May 2012) is Vesak day. 'VESAK' Day is the Birth, Enlightenment and Death of Budhha. The significance of Vesak lies with the Buddha and his universal peace message to mankind.
BUDDHA
This documentary (Buddha )is made by filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere. It tells the story of the Buddha's life, a journey especially relevant to our own bewildering times of violent change and spiritual confusion. It features the work of some of the world's greatest artists and sculptors, who across two millennia, have depicted the Buddha's life in art rich in beauty and complexity. Hear insights into the ancient narrative by contemporary Buddhists, including Pulitzer Prize winning poet W.S. Merwin and His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
WHAT IS BUDDHISM?
Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who lived about 25 centuries ago in what is now Nepal and northeastern India.
Biography of Siddhartha Gautama, Founder of Buddhism
He came to be called "the Buddha," which means "awakened one," after he experienced a profound realization of the nature of life, death and existence. In English, the Buddha was said to be enlightened, although in Sanskrit it is bodhi, meaning "awakened."
In the remaining years of his life, the Buddha traveled and taught. However, he didn't teach people what he had realized when he became enlightened. Instead, he taught people how to realize enlightenment for themselves.
Spread of Buddhism in Asia and the World
In the centuries following the Buddha's life, Buddhism spread throughout Asia to become one of the dominant religions of the continent. The most common estimate of the number of Buddhists in the world today is 350 million, which makes Buddhism the fourth largest of the world's religions.
Distinctions Between Buddhism and Other Religions
Buddhism is so different from other religions that some people question whether it is a religion at all. For example, the central focus of most religions is God, or gods. But Buddhism is non-theistic. The Buddha taught that believing in gods was not useful for those seeking to realize enlightenment.
Instead of teaching doctrines to be memorized and believed, the Buddha taught how we can realize truth for ourselves. The focus of Buddhism is on practice rather than belief.
Basic Teachings of Buddhism
The foundation of Buddhism is the Four Noble Truths. The Truths are: The truth of suffering (dukkha) The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya) The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha) The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)
More About the Four Truths of Buddhism
By themselves, the Truths don't seem like much. But beneath the Truths are countless layers of teachings on the nature of existence, the self, life, and death, not to mention suffering. The point is not to just "believe in" the teachings, but to explore them, understand them, and test them against one's own experience. It is the process of exploring, understanding, testing and realizing that is Buddhism.
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS (THE FOUNDATION OF BUDDHA'S TEACHINGS)
The Four Noble Truths are the essence of Buddha's teaching or the foundation for most Buddhist belief, and they make a good starting off point for trying to understand the religion.
(Video transcript)
The Buddha's first sermon after his Enlightenment centered on the Four Noble Truths, which are the foundation of Buddhism. The truths are:
1. The truth of suffering (dukkha)
2. The truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya)
3. The truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha)
4. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga)
Recognizing Suffering
The Truth of Suffering: The First Noble Truth often is translated as "Life is suffering." Many people new to Buddhism tune out as soon as they hear this. But the Pali word "dukkha" also refers to anything that is temporary, conditional, or compounded of other things. Even something precious and enjoyable is dukkha, because it will end. The Truth of the Cause of Suffering: The Second Noble Truth teaches that the cause of suffering is craving or thirst (tanha). We continually search for something outside ourselves to make us happy. But no matter how successful we are, we never remain satisfied. The Buddha taught that this thirst grows from ignorance of the self. We go through life grabbing one thing after another to get a sense of security about ourselves. We attach not only to physical things, but also to ideas and opinions about ourselves and the world around us. Then we grow frustrated when the world doesn't behave the way we think it should and our lives don't conform to our expectations.
Ending Suffering
The Truth of the End of Suffering: The Buddha taught that, through diligent practice, we can put an end to craving. Ending the hamster-wheel chase after satisfaction is enlightenment (bodhi, "awakened"). The enlightened being exists in a state called Nirvana. The Truth of the Path That Frees Us From Suffering: Here, the Buddha as physician prescribes the treatment for our illness: The Eightfold Path. Unlike in many other religions, in Buddhism, there is no particular benefit to merely believing in a doctrine. Instead, the emphasis is on living the doctrine and walking the path.
Link to original text and video
Related links:
The Significance of Vesak - Buddha Day http://www.buddhanet.net/vesak.htm
Vesak http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesak
බුදුදහම හා බටහිර විද්යා කතන්දර http://www.divaina.com/2012/05/06/nalin.html
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