Situated eight miles from Kathmandu, Budhanilkantha, the stone image of sleeping Vishnu on a bed of snakes, is an excellent and stately example of sculpturing. Various religious festivals and practices are connected with this place. Annual melas (fairs) especially a twelve-yearly festival, are attended by huge crowds of people from different parts of the country. It has been the traditional belief among Nepalese people that since the king of Nepal was a human form of Lord Vishnu, His majesty may not see the Buddhanilkantha, which too is a form of God Vishnu. Therefore, a miniature replica of this sleeping Vishnu is made at Balaju garden, so that His Majesty may visit it.
The Gist of Buddha’s Teachings
The Sarnath sermon, based on, and also known as The Four Noble Truths is the nucleus of Buddha’s teachings.
1. Suffering is omnipresent in our life; all forms of existence are subject to it. It is inextricably bound to individual existence, making life basically a succession of suffering experiences.
2. Suffering is caused by all kinds of desires such as desire for possessions, desires for pleasures and enjoyment, desires for selfish identification and separate individual-centred existence. Desires are rooted in ignorance.
3. The end of misery can be achieved by conquering over and through total annihilation of desires, cravings and passions of all kinds.
4. The way to end misery is the eight-fold path, which consists of the 1. right views, 2. right intentions, 3. right speech, 4. right action, 5. right livelihood, 6. right kind of effort, 7. Right consciousness or awareness and 8. right meditation or concentration. In other words: good morals, mental concentration and wisdom. This path is called The Middle Way because it opposes the extremes of both self-indulgence and of ascetics.
Thus, the early Buddhist doctrine is mainly an agnostic ethical discipline, a system of self-training and mind-cultivation, with no theology, dogma or belief in super-natural power. There is also no permanent ego or soul. Self is eternally changing.
BUDDHISM
Buddhism as propounded by Lord Gautam Buddha is also known as ethical system or codes of conduct or scientific analysis of sufferings and the ways to encounter them for attainment of Nibbana or Nirvana or final salvation. Buddhism does not believe in the eternal existence of God and the soul (Atma). Everyone is master of himself. To get rid of the wheel of existence, the path shown by the Buddha is known as the Noble Eightfold Path. Understanding of the four noble truths are of basic importance for a Buddhist to empower oneself to lead to the path to enlightenment. They are (a) the truth of the existence of suffering (b) The truth existence of the cause of the suffering (c) the truth of the existence of means to mitigate the suffering and (d) the eight noble paths to get rid of the suffering which is also known as the middle path. Buddhism prescribes to abstain from extremities either of too much of sensual pleasures or of too much physical torture, and advises to lead the middle path. Blind faith, commandments from any lord or blind following of any doctrine is foreign to Buddhism. Habit of free thinking and investigation of truth in every individual is the basic philosophy inculcated and encouraged. This philosophy is against any discrimination in the ground of caste, creed, colour and sex. Buddha vehemently opposed the practice of animal sacrifice and slave system. Furthermore, Buddhism, as Adlous Huxley writes, is alone of all the great world religions, which made its way without persecution, censorship or inquisition.
However, various derivations and interpretations through new thoughts and philosophies like Mahayana, Tantrayana and other schools of Buddhism have developed various diverse philosophies. Different traditional inputs and derivations gave multiple colours to Buddhism and, thus started worshipping of many deities in Buddhist texts and shrines.
Propounder of Modern Buddhism is known to Buddha Gautam, or Sakyamuni, who attained enlightenment on the 49th day of his latest meditation at Buddha Gaya. He attained three-fold knowledge namely:
1. The knowledge of his own previous births;
2. The knowledge of the births and deaths of all other beings; and,
3. The knowledge of his ultimate release from the whole processes of life.
He gained the highest knowledge and came to know that he was completely free from the forces of ignorance, of sensuous desires and from any bondage and desire for existence. Having understood the causes and remedies of suffering in this world, he made his way to modern Benaras and preached his first sermon in the deer park at Sarnath. This sermon became immortalized in his symbolic gesture of Turning-the-Wheel-of-the-Law or Dharma Chakra Mudra.
BUDDHA VAIROCHANA
Vairochana or Vajradhara embodies all perfection and is the most important embodiment. One of the Pancha Buddhas or Five Buddhas in the unified structure of Pancha Buddha, his place is in the centre where as others are in all four cardinal directions. He is of white colour and is the embodiment of sovereignty. His symbol is the wheel and his vehicle is the lion. Majusri is the spiritual son of Vairochana.
BUDDHA, RATNASAMBHAV
One of the Pancha Buddhas or Five Buddhas, yellow-coloured Buddha Ratnasambhav is the savior of all creatures. With a horse as his vehicle, Ratnapani as his spiritual son and Mamaki as his consort, he always looks downward to keep the world safe.
BUDDHA, MAITREYA
Maitreya is the name given to the future Buddha who is expected to come in the next aeon. Generally found sitting on a seat of lotus flowers, or in the standing position, it is believed that he will come to this world in his mortal form once again to turn the wheel of the Buddhist doctrine in order to save humanity from destruction. Maitreya Buddha is expected to come to earth from Tushita Heaven. He is supposed to be passing the life of a Bodhisatwa in the Tushita Heaven preparatory to this descent to earth in Human form. It is said that he will come to earth after 4000 years from the date of disappearance of Gautam Buddha for the deliverance of all sentient beings. He is the only Bodhisatwa who is worshipped by the followers of both Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism.
Maitreya may be represented as a standing figure adorned with rich ornaments and holding a stalk of lotus flowers in his right hand. Sometime he is shown in sitting with legs either interlocked or dangling down.
BUDDHA JAYANTI
Observed on the full-moon day of the month of Baishak, Buddha Jayanti, literally meaning the birthday anniversary of Lord Buddha is, a thrice blessed day – the day of His birth, of attainment of enlightenment and of Nirvana (salvation). Born in Nepal at Lumbini gardens of Rupandehi district, his birthday is celebrated with grandeur and festivities in Nepal. With cosmopolitan personality, Lord Buddha belongs to the whole world. So this birthday celebration which is termed as Buddha Jayanti is observed throughout the world. Colourful celebrations take place in most of the East, North, South-East and South Asian countries. In Nepal, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike come forward to pay their homage to Lord Buddha, the illustrious son of the Himalayam Kingdom. On this great day of Baishak Poornima (full moon day) Buddhists visit temples and monasteries to pay homage to Lord Buddha. Images of Buddha are taken around in respective cities and villages in processions by local devotees in many parts of the country. All Buddhist shrines are colourfully lit with electric and butter-fed lights and decorated as well.
BUDDHAHOOD
Buddha-hood is the attainment of all perfection, supreme enlightenment and complete freedom form all kinds of evils and malice leading one to Nirvana or an ultimate end or freedom from the wheel of existence. Anyone who can achieve such a state of affair may attain Buddha-hood and thus, become the Buddha.
BUDDHA GAUTAM
Born in Lumbini garden in 541 BC, Siddhartha Gautama was destined to become Lord Buddha eventually, was born to Maya Devi, consort of King Suddhodana of Kapilvastu. Kingship was a highly respectable position there, even though, monarchy was neither hereditary nor lifelong in that state as the monarch would be elected. Prince Siddhartha received all possible care and luxury from his father, King Suddhodana and his (Siddhartha’s) second mother Queen Gautami as Siddharth’s own mother. Queen Maya Devi had died after a few days of his birth. Wise, keen and compassionate, Prince Siddhartha could not be satisfied and happy by all the luxuries he had in the palace, nor by his marriage with a beautiful and ideal wife Yasodhara and not even by the birth of his one and only beloved son Rahula. The mystery and bitter realities of life, its inevitable realities like all kinds of sufferings from illness, old age, death, separation and the like, haunted him day and night. He, therefore, quit his palace at the age of 29 with a view to find out true knowledge and the right path to alleviate sufferings for the sake of mankind as a whole. He learnt a lot about many facets of life from several well known teachers like Alar Kalam and Uddak and others, but none to his full satisfaction, So he went on to a rigorous meditation for six years in a forest which also could not be successful in imparting him perfect knowledge. Later he chose the middle path, a path lying between both extremities like those of extreme suffering and excessive luxury. Accordingly, he took one meal daily and meditated with great concentration and discipline under a pipal tree at Gaya in India where he finally attained enlightenment and became The Buddha. Since then, he preached for 45 years covering every aspect of Buddhism. At the age of 80, he attained Nirvana, the ultimate end of life without having to take any rebirths any more. See Tri-ratna and Buddhism.
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