The Story of Siddhartha Gautama - a Digital Story

We know Buddhism today as the fourth largest religion in the world. It was also the first world religion and while 360 million people follow the way of Buddhism now, over 2,500 years ago it was just one man who started it all. This man was born around 520 BC to King Shuddhadana Gautama and his wife Queen Mahamaya in what is now southern Nepal. According to tradition the baby was born When he spoke he said he'd been born to free mankind from suffering. When he walked lotus blossoms bloomed in his footsteps. They named him Siddhartha which means he who has attained his goals. When King Shuddhadana consulted a seer about the future of his son he was told Siddhartha would be one of two things, a great king or a great sage and savior of humanity. Shuddhadana was determined for his son to be a king like himself so he resolved to shield Siddhartha from anything that would inspire him to dedicate his life to religion. So Siddhartha spent his days in the palace surrounded by beauty and health. He was carefully kept away from the elderly, the sick, the dead and anyone who had dedicated his life to spirituality. He trained in the arts of war and married a beautiful princess when he was just 16 years old but grew increasingly restless to see his people and his lands beyond the After much begging from his son the king carefully arranged a tour of the capital for him making sure to avoid any glimpses of suffering or death by asking only young and healthy people to greet the young prince. As Siddhartha was led through the capital he noticed two old men who had accidentally wandered too close to the parade. He left the procession and chased after the men in amazement to find out more about them. In pursuing them he happened upon a group of severely ill people suffering and in pain. Lastly he came to a funeral ceremony near the river where for the very first time in his life he saw death. Confused and bewildered Siddhartha asked his squire what had happened to these people and his squire sadly informed him of the simple truths of life that Siddhartha had never known. Everyone gets old, everyone gets sick and everyone eventually dies. Seeing the harsh realities of life Siddhartha realized he could never be happy living life as he had been for the past 29 years. Now that he had discovered suffering he vowed to find a way to overcome it in order to help others. He bid goodbye to his sleeping wife and newborn son, snuck out of the palace, cut his long hair and gave away his expensive clothing. Siddhartha then spent years studying and practicing with famous gurus and aesthetics. He chose to adopt a lifestyle of pain and suffering in an attempt to gain wisdom and freedom. When his efforts failed Siddhartha drove himself even further into the practice by refusing food and water until he was nearly dead. He realized that this state of suffering brought about nothing but delusions and doubts rather than clarity and he resolved to find the middle ground between extreme luxury and the painful ascetic lifestyle. So Siddhartha ate, drank and bathed again. Now 35 years old and once again healthy, Siddhartha came to a fig tree where he decided he would sit for as long as it would take for the answers to the problems of suffering to come. He sat for many days. Eventually he began to recall all of his previous lives and was able to see everything that was going on in the entire universe. With the rising of the morning star on the full moon of May, Siddhartha finally understood the answer to the question of suffering. At that moment he became the Buddha which means His enlightenment helped him understand that there are four noble truths which center around the idea of Dukkha which means suffering and anxiety. He also came to understand the eightfold path which describes the way to reach the end of Dukkha and find enlightenment. The Buddha traveled all over the land spreading the teachings of the four noble truths and the eightfold path to enlightenment. His community of followers grew eventually including his wife, son and father as well. To the Buddha all were capable of enlightenment no matter what their status or background or wealth. The Buddha would teach throughout northeast India for another 45 years and lived to be 80 years old. Just before his death he went into a deep meditation under a grove of salad trees and spoke these words. Impermanent are all created things. Strive on with awareness.