by Chris Wilkinson

Sakyamuni's Enlightenment

Siddharta Gautama, the Sage of the Shakya clan, began the Buddhist tradition in this era. He began life as a prince in Northern India. At his birth there were miraculous signs, and it was predicted that he would become either a universal ruler or an Enlightened One. His father, wishing him to follow in the way of the warrior caste, did everything possible to prevent him from going the way of an ascetic religious person, and provided him with the luxuries of this world. Nonetheless, at the age of 29, he had several experiences of seeing the pain of the world. Full of angst, he left behind his wife and child, rode off into the jungle, and devoted himself to a life of serious meditation and yogic practices to seek the truth beyond life's suffering. He followed ascetic teachers for many years, and at last decided he could not depend on any teacher but himself. He meditated in the ascetic way until he reached a change of heart. At that point he accepted a bowl of milk from a cow-girl, then sat down under a fig tree, and in the course of one night meditated until he reached enlightenment. He was besieged at that time by the temptations of Mara, the Lord of Life and Death, for to be Enlightened is to escape the round of Mara's circle. He touched the Earth, calling her to witness for his austerity and renunciation. Mara stopped his attack. The Buddha reached Enlightenment.

This image shows the moment of transition from Bodhisattva, or Would-Be-Buddha, to Buddha. This moment is celebrated throughout Buddhist iconography as a continual reminder of the ability to gain true liberation. In this Thangka, Shakyamuni's two chief disciples, Shariputra and Maugalyayana, stand to his left and right, indicating that even after he began teaching he continually reasserted his enlightened relaxation and the ability to transmit it to others­for both of these disciples were to gain Arhatship, enlightenment in the face of adversity. He sits on a Lotus Throne, supported by lions, and a halo of beautiful things surrounds him. The two Buddhas seated above him represent the Buddhas of the past and those of the future, for he is the Buddha of the present. Goddesses make offerings to him below. His throne is marked by the Eight Spoked Wheel, which is the symbol of the path he teaches and a sign of the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths were the Buddha's first teachings, and are held to be fundamental truths by all Buddhists. These Truths are as follows: 1.) there is pain; 2.) there is a Cause for this; 3.) it can be stopped; and 4.) there is a way to stop it. The way is the Eightfold Path.