Sakyamuni - 
From Crown Prince to Buddha

 

Attained Supreme Enlightenment

 

¡@ ¡@ Siddhartha sat alone beneath a pippala tree and vowed, "If I do not attain the supreme enlightment, I'd rather have this body shattered than to getting up."

¡@ ¡@ After forty-eight days of meditation, on the night of the seventh day of the twelve month on the Chinese Lunar calendar, Siddhartha went through various most frightful and beautiful realms.  After he subjugated Mara's* challenges and the last worrying obstacles, he revealed all realms with profound charm.  At noon, the eighth day of the twelve month on the Chinese Lunar calendar, He finally achieved the profound and complete revelation.  Siddhartha attained the supreme enlightenment and completed Buddhahood, named Sakyamuni Buddha.

¡@ ¡@ After attaining Buddhahood, Sakyamuni Buddha disseminated Dharma throughout the five regions of India.  On arrival at His home kingdom, He delivered His family members.  It was six years after His attaining Buddhahood.  Sakyamuni Buddha and the crown princess gave birth to a son named Rahula.  Rahula was one of the ten great disciples of Buddha.  He was famous for being "The first in Esoteric Practice" and is an Indian ancestral master of Esoteric Buddhism.

¡@ ¡@ Bodimanda or Bodgaya were the names given to the place where Sakyamuni Buddha attained Buddhahood.  The pippala tree was known as the Bodhi Tree, or the Enlightenment Tree.

¡@ ¡@ In the 3rd Century BC, Asoka built the structure of Maha Bodhi-Vihara (Big Bodhi Temple) around the pippala tree.  Nowadays, there is a stone crafted "diamond throne" built beneath the pippala tree to commemorate the place and there remains a 52 metre high pagoda for people to pay respect.

* Mara - The lord of demons


Sakyamuni - From Crown Prince to Buddha
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