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The classical image of a large, laughing Buddha is what most are acquainted with. However, the original Buddha1 was Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in about 560 BC. The story goes that one day he wandered out of his palace and saw old age, decay and suffering. Depressed by what he saw, he became estranged from the luxury in which he lived and from the shallowness of the people around him.

Eventually he left the palace, and after experimenting with various lifestyles from extreme ascetism to hedonism2, he sat down under a tree - known as the Bhodi Tree - and vowed that he would not leave until his understanding was complete.

He confronted the fear of his own death, and fought off temptation and desire. At night he remembered the successive series of his previous births. 'People again and again leave the people they love when they die and have to go on to new births, without ever stopping, like a wheel in motion.'

For the next 49 years, Buddha travelled around the villages of India, speaking to the people about everyday experiences and the uses of meditation. One typical story tells of a woman who brought a dead child in her arms, begging for him to heal it. Buddha told her to bring him a mustard seed from a house where no-one had died. She returned later without the seed, having realised that death was universal.

Buddha saw that people's present experience is caused by their previous actions. He established the concept of Karma - the belief in an ego - which is a sort of ethical continuum: one's happiness or suffering is the result of one's past chosen actions, which can prompt a belief in self importance and security.

However, Buddha held that there is no security anywhere. 'We are all subject to birth, sickness, old age and death, and without an awareness of death, life can only be lived on a shallow level,' he said. 'Suffering begins from basic bewilderment. From that fundamental of not knowing who or what we are, we base perceptions on an idea of ourselves as a permanent entity.'

Buddha saw the end of suffering as enlightenment or Nirvana. His Zen3 teachings point to enlightenment being found in the present moment, and all of its methods are designed to wake the student to this understanding. They stress the prime importance of the enlightenment experience and the uselessness of religious ritual and intellectual analysis for the attainment of liberation.

Buddha's last words, aged 80, were 'Everything that is born is subject to decay. Since there is no external saviour, it is up to each of you to work out your own liberation.'

The Buddhist experience thus relies on a self spiritual journey in which the person experiences the truth for themselves. The followers of Buddha trust in their own wisdom rather than trying to interpret what is said in old texts.

SINDHARTA - THE MAN WHO BECAME BUDDHA.

Little Siddhartha Gautama started life in the village of Kapilavastu in the Himalayas. The Gautamas were Brahmin of the Hindu caste system and his parents were rich as his father ruled the land. There were many circumstances surrounding his birth (believed to have been around 566 BC) that were taken as omens of greatness.

Firstly, his mother had a dream the night he was conceived. She dreamt that an elephant was with her, and touched her with its trunk. This was, apparently, a good omen. Most of the other omens were discovered upon Siddhartha's birth. He had gold-tinged skin, a bump on his head, webbed fingers/toes, a long tongue, and hair between his eyebrows.

These omens led the priests to declare that he would grow to be a great man. If he stayed home, he would become a ruler1, if he left home, he would become a religious man.

His father wanted him to stay home and become a great ruler and decided to shelter him from the world outside. He was given the royal treatment all his life, as an incentive to never leave home. Siddhartha grew to the age of twenty-nine before he really looked outside the castle he was raised in.

Then, he heard someone singing a song... It was beautiful, and he learned that it was about a land that was beautiful. But Siddhartha knew of no land other than that immediately outside his walls! What had he been missing? So he left the castle four times, to see what the world outside those walls was like...

The first time he left the castle, he saw an old man; the second, a sick man; the third, a corpse being brought to a crematorium; and the fourth time, he saw a religious man, who was content. The suffering he saw amazed Siddhartha. Inside, under the protection of his father, he had never seen such things, and it shocked him into his next conclusion... He must find the meaning of suffering and aging.

A String Too Tight, a String Too Loose

So Siddhartha left the castle without saying goodbye to anyone, even his wife and newborn child, with the intention of finding a way to escape the suffering of life. He began his search for enlightenment with Asceticism3.He was an Ascetic for many years, and fasted severely. He, supposedly, ate only six grains of rice a day, and was so thin that you could poke his spine through his stomach. However, this did not aid him in his search for enlightenment.

He decided on meditation next. He sat under a Boddhi tree meditating for a long time. Then a musician. who was passing by was overheard by Siddhartha. He said 'If you make the string too tight, it will break. If you make the string too loose, it will not play'. Eureka! Siddhartha had found the wisdom he had longed for.

The Middle Path

Siddhartha, now Buddha, decided this: The path to Nirvana was through moderation in all things. Not the bare-bones survival of the Ascetics, nor the lavish lifestyle of kings, but something between. He laid down his beliefs in the Four Noble Truths.

Four Noble Truths

Everything in life is suffering and sorrow.

The cause of all suffering is people's selfish desire for the temporary pleasures of the world.

The way to end all suffering is to end all desires.

The way to overcome such desires and attain enlightenment (nirvana) is to follow the Eightfold Path, which is called the Middle Way between desire and self-denial.

The Four Noble Truths culminate simply as: Don't work toward the short-lived pleasures of the flesh and one's desires, instead, look for the eternal peace offered by Nirvana, by way of meditating and learning to control your impulses.

The Eightfold Path

These are the guidelines that Buddha set out to help people achieve Nirvana. These rules have been interpreted in different ways, (as is almost always the case), but are basically these:

Panna (Wisdom/Insight)

Right Understanding: Know the truth of the Four Noble Truths.

Right View/Thought: Have the urge to follow the path and reach Nirvana.

Sila (Ethics)

Right Speech: Do not lie, or slander anyone, and do not say things that are unkind.

Right Conduct: Do not kill, steal, lie or be unchaste or drunk.

Right Livelihood: Choose an occupation that serves humanity and does not harm life.

Samadhi (Mental Discipline)

Right Effort: Have self-control, especially over your thoughts, strive for the good.

Right Awareness: Have psychological insight into your own motives and deeds, do not be moved by either sorrow or joy.

Right Concentration: Ponder deeply and meditate until you experience Nirvana.

The Five Precepts

Apparently, there were more ways in which Buddha guided people along the middle path:

To refrain from destroying living creatures.
To refrain from taking that which is not given.
To refrain from sexual misconduct.
To refrain from incorrect speech.
To refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness.

KARMA IN BUDDHISM.

The word 'karma' literally means 'action' or 'to do'. In Buddhism, however, the word is used to mean volitional, or intentional, actions.

In the Buddhist view, all creatures are caught in samsara — the endless chain of birth, death and rebirth. That which determines our capture in this chain is our karma, past and present. Past karma has an effect on our present situation in life and the difficulties or advantages we have experienced, and this karmic cause-and-effect is entirely our own fault and responsibility, not at the whim of any divine being.

Types of Karma.

Karma can be divided into two main types — skillful and unskillful karma — and each intentional action that you take will bring about a similarly skillful or unskillful effect in time. All of our unskillful karma comes from the three fires that are inherent in our nature: greed, hatred, and ignorance. It is possible to extinguish these fires through mindfulness and selflessness; but in accepting that we are unlikely to achieve this entirely without leading a monastic life, it is important to note that we can perform skillful actions despite the inherent tendency in all creatures to act unskillfully. Skillful actions often derive from giving (be it the giving of a material object such as money, or a spiritual object such as hope), goodwill, and mindfulness. Buddhists see that there are three doors through which we act and generate karma: body, speech, and mind. In accordance with this system we generate skillful or unskillful karma even from thinking of performing wholesome or unwholesome actions.

To clarify: examples of unskillful actions of the body may include stealing and physical violence, while skillful actions of the body may include giving and self-control. Karma is not set in stone and we cannot make actions black or white; hence Buddhists will not refer to 'good' or 'bad' karma, but 'skillful' and 'unskillful' karma, implying that you can improve your karmic action as you would any other skill. Buddhists acknowledge that karma is dependant on the intent of the creature. There is a third type of karma that may also be noted; this is neutral karma—karma that is bereft of intent and has little moral implication. Examples of this may include breathing and walking.

The Wider Implications of Karma

One may wonder about the wider implications of karma, which may be regarded without applying any context of religious belief. Indeed, it may be easier to understand the implication of karma by seeing it as simple cause and effect. If you were to harbour unskillful thoughts, such as anger and hatred, it is inevitable that you would turn to unskillful speech, such as malicious gossiping and lying. This would eventually cause hurt and suffering to the object of your hatred. Once you have established yourself as a malicious gossip or one who causes upset to others, it is likely that you may be alienated from your social circle and will eventually find yourself alone and the victim of similar malicious gossip. In this way, if you perform an unskillful karmic action you will eventually suffer the effects of this action. In Buddhist terms we do not always experience the effects of our skillful or unskillful karma in this life, but will work off or enjoy the effects of our karma in future rebirths. A higher stockpile of skillful karma will lead to more comfortable rebirths, whereas a higher stockpile of unskillful karma will result in a less comfortable rebirth.

Due to the highly personal nature of karma, it is important to note that there are five conditions that alter the weight or significance of the karma generated: If your actions are performed repeatedly, they are more significant. The presence or absence of regret in performing an action changes the weight of the karma. When an action is performed on those who possess extraordinary qualities, such as a Buddha (an enlightened being), the karmic weight is increased. If the action is performed on someone who has benefited you in the past, such as a teacher or a parent, the karmic weight is increased. When the action is done with great determination or with exceptional intent the karmic weight is increased.

It is impossible for us to identify the results of any past karma, but it is not wise to blame a situation on karma and claim no responsibility for it, as karma is not a form of destiny or fate but simply the medicine you prescribe for yourself.