Buddha campaigned for social reform<\/p>\n
By P.G. Punchihewa<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Waisak commemorates the birth, the enlightenment
\nand the passing away of Buddha. He was born about 563 years B.C,
\nin Lumbini in present-day Nepal near the north-eastern border
\nwith India. His original name was Siddhartha Gautama, and he
\nbelonged to the Sakya clan. Hence he was also known as Gautama
\nPutra -- son of Gautama and Sakya Muni -- Sage of Sakyas. King
\nAsoka, who lived about two centuries after his death, visited
\nLumbini and set up a stone pillar with an inscription engraved on
\nit, to mark the place where Buddha was born. It reads \"Reverence
\nwas paid here in person by King Priyadarsin, the beloved of the
\ngods, for Buddha the Sakyan sage was born here.\" The recent
\ndiscovery by a team of international archaeologists from India,
\nJapan, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, of a flawless stone slab
\nburied on a platform of bricks five meters under a temple dating
\nfrom Asoka's time further confirm the exact location where he was
\nborn 2600 years ago.<\/p>\n
Buddha was born to a royal family and brought up in the lap of
\nluxury. But the realization of the futility and emptiness of that
\nlife made him renounce the world at the age of twenty-nine and go
\ninto the world seeking a way to end suffering. For six years he
\nwent from one religious teacher to another, studying, discussing
\nand following their teachings, and experimenting with vigorous
\nascetic practices. Not achieving his objectives through ascetism,
\nhe went his own way. Following a middle path -- neither enjoyment
\nof sensuous pleasures nor self-mortification, he attained
\nenlightenment at the age of thirty five.<\/p>\n
It was again under the full moon of Waisak that he attained
\nenlightenment in Gaya, which is in present-day India's Bihar
\nstate.<\/p>\n
From that time onward he wondered from place to place in North
\nIndia in the Ganges Valley, teaching and preaching, carrying his
\nmessage to the world into the ripe old age of eighty. His passing
\naway took place under the full moon of Waisak. Thus, for
\nBuddhists all over the world, Waisak is a thrice blessed day.<\/p>\n
Buddha's life was a multifaceted one. First and foremost, he
\nwas a religious teacher. His was a mission of compassion and non-
\nviolence. A few weeks after his enlightenment he established an
\norder of monks and his advice to them was to go to the world
\ntaking his message \"of happiness for the many, and out of
\ncompassion for the world\". He advised them that no two monks
\nshould take the same road, and he himself went off in one
\ndirection. After twenty-six centuries, more than 500 million
\npeople in the world continue to follow his teachings.<\/p>\n
Equally important is his place in history as a social
\nreformer. He was born and lived at a time when society was pinned
\ndown by caste irrevocably fixed at birth. Brahmins held the
\nhighest position in a hierarchy of four tiers, in which the
\nSudras, the untouchables, the outcastes, were at the bottom. His
\nwas a movement of protest against the tightening grip of
\nBrahmanism.<\/p>\n
Long before the modern world recognized the existence of human
\nrights, the Buddha preached their importance and practiced them.
\nWhat mattered to him was not the caste but the deeds of a person.
\nOn one occasion when questioned as to what makes one a Brahmin,
\nhe said:<\/p>\n
\"By birth one is not an outcaste<\/p>\n
By birth one is not a Brahmin<\/p>\n
By deeds one is an outcaste<\/p>\n
By deeds one is a Brahmin\"<\/p>\n
True to his words, he opened the doors of his order of monks
\nto people from all walks of life. His chief disciple in matters
\nrelating to discipline was a barber before joining him. Once when
\nhe was seeking alms he met a scavenger belonging to the lowest
\ncaste who sought admission to the order of monks. Buddha readily
\naccepted him. Among his disciples were also those from the
\nhighest caste. His chief disciple was previously a follower of
\nBrahmanism. He did not condemn anyone. Once he admitted a highway
\nrobber seeking refuge with him. Nor did he have any favorites due
\nto birth or relationship. His own son became a monk but did not
\nreceive any special treatment.<\/p>\n
The Buddha's contribution to the emancipation of women is
\nequally important. At a time when women were considered inferior
\nto men and looked down on, Buddha elevated their status in
\nsociety. At the request of his foster-mother he established an
\norder of nuns. As in the order of monks he permitted women of any
\nsocial standing to join. Thus, one would find among them queens,
\nprincesses, slaves, prostitutes and housewives. A nun named Subha
\nwas the daughter of a smith. In one instance he accepted an
\ninvitation for alms from a slave girl in preference to that of
\nher master who was a millionaire. The stories of the monks and
\nnuns who joined from a cross section of society are vividly
\ndescribed in the two books, Psalms of the Monks and Psalms of the
\nNuns.<\/p>\n
It is said the King Kosala while in conversation with the
\nBuddha was dismayed to learn from a messenger that his queen had
\ngiven birth to a baby girl. The Buddha, to soothe the King's
\ndisappointment said, \"A female child, O King, may prove an even
\nbetter child than a male.\"<\/p>\n
Only the brave and courageous could single-handedly go against
\ndeep-rooted customs and traditions. Buddha was such a person. In
\nthis task he faced many obstacles. Many stood in his way and some
\neven made attempts on his life. He continued his mission
\nregardless. The virtues he preached and practiced 2600 years ago
\nare concepts recognizable to the world today.<\/p>\n
The Buddha was a human being. But he was an extraordinary
\nhuman being.<\/p>",
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