Reading Notes: The Life of the Buddha, Part B - Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha
Notes:
I'm going to be honest, Siddhartha lost me pretty quickly during his "profound meditation." He is searching for the root cause of old age and death, and somehow, it all comes down to ignorance. I can understand the Buddhist belief that the cause of suffering is desire; I think that's a pretty intuitive connection. I can even see the connection between desire and sensation. But towards the end of the meditation, when Siddhartha begins to arrive at the conclusion that the root cause of old age and death is ignorance, I'm lost. But, then again, I'm not the Buddha. I'm not even Buddhist - I practice mindfulness techniques sometimes, and I meditate once and awhile, but not regularly, and never for more than ten minutes. I think it takes a lot of dedication to reach the level of introspection that allows one to follow that kind of convoluted path of logic.
The story of Siddhartha's transition to becoming the Buddha is somehow simple and so complex, all at once. There's a reason people spend so much time studying this faith. I saw some similarities between the stories both of Jesus and Muhammad, which was interesting to see. I think so many of these beliefs from all over the world share very similar roots, if you look deep enough. That is something I'm starting to see in this class; there are so many mythologies from all over the world, and they're diverse and unique, but underneath them all are similar threads that connect us all.
Source: The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold (1922).
I'm going to be honest, Siddhartha lost me pretty quickly during his "profound meditation." He is searching for the root cause of old age and death, and somehow, it all comes down to ignorance. I can understand the Buddhist belief that the cause of suffering is desire; I think that's a pretty intuitive connection. I can even see the connection between desire and sensation. But towards the end of the meditation, when Siddhartha begins to arrive at the conclusion that the root cause of old age and death is ignorance, I'm lost. But, then again, I'm not the Buddha. I'm not even Buddhist - I practice mindfulness techniques sometimes, and I meditate once and awhile, but not regularly, and never for more than ten minutes. I think it takes a lot of dedication to reach the level of introspection that allows one to follow that kind of convoluted path of logic.
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| Siddhartha becoming Buddha (Source: Medium) |
The story of Siddhartha's transition to becoming the Buddha is somehow simple and so complex, all at once. There's a reason people spend so much time studying this faith. I saw some similarities between the stories both of Jesus and Muhammad, which was interesting to see. I think so many of these beliefs from all over the world share very similar roots, if you look deep enough. That is something I'm starting to see in this class; there are so many mythologies from all over the world, and they're diverse and unique, but underneath them all are similar threads that connect us all.
Source: The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold (1922).
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