More than 2,500 years ago, Prince Siddharta Gautama was given birth in what is presently called Lumbini in Nepal. He was born a prince and his birth was received with a lot of special signals that indicated a destiny of greatness. The prince’s father went to a wiseman that resided inside the kingdom for advice about his boy.  The sage man theorized that the prince, Siddharta Gautama, might either follow in his father’s  footsteps and become a great king or he might become a spiritual leader.

Praying that his son should grow to be his heir, the king managed his best to separate the prince from those things that could motivate him toward a spiritual life.  The prince was surrounded by extravagance  and excess, all the advantages that his royal placement could offer.  Siddharta Gautama turned out to be to be a brilliant student and excellent sportsman.  He wed a exquisite woman whom he adored and  they  bore a child.

At the age of 29, the prince discovered that the world surrounding him was far more complex than what he experienced in the walls of his palace.  Out and about amongst the people of the kingdom, he  observed actuality: sickness, old-age and death. The surprise of this discovery left the young prince shaken. He decided then to dedicate himself to ending the suffering. Leaving his wife and child, the prince forsaked his worldly property and embarked on a spiritual journey.

Guatama started a course of study with numerous teachers to understand their particular methods. With the help of Alara Kalama, he soon started to comprehend meditation and discovered an exalted form known as absorption.  This allowed him to accomplish a state of nothingness where there was no moral or cognitive dimension. While this was beneficial it was clear to the past prince that it wouldn’t solve the suffering he  had seen.  Guatama continued his hunt for others who could assist him on his spiritual quest.  Udraka Ramputra, helped Gautama to perceive a state of neither perception or non-perception,  but this to wasn’t what he was searching for. The next step in his quest led Gautama to Uruvilva in Northern India.  It was there that he chose an ascetic path, living a life of deprival for nearly 6 years. This just resulted in the destruction of his entire body, weakness and self-destruction. Although it cost him his five followers, Gautama ended this ascetic lifestyle.

The end of this spiritual quest seemed as far away as ever, so the Buddha sat down under a Bodhi tree and proclaimed that “flesh may wither, blood may dry up, but I shall not rise from the spot until Enlightenment has been one.”  After 40 days of thought and meditation, the Buddha finally achieved Enlightenment.

It is the Buddhist belief that at that time he achieved a state of being that exceeds anything else in the universe. Our normal experiences are based on preconceptions and conditions: how we were raised, our ordeals, flaws and mistakes. Enlightenment is a state in which the complex inner workings of existence become apparent and the cause of man’s suffering identified.

For the next 45 years, the Buddha traveled through much of what is now north India. He taught the way of Enlightenment to any or all that desired to comprehend. This particular instruction came to be referred to as the dharma or “the teaching of the enlightened one.     The Buddha adopted a number of disciples who in turn achieved their own Enlightenment and so they trained others.

Buddhists believe Buddha accomplished a state of being that flows beyond everthing else in the world. If normal experience is founded on conditions – parental input, mindsets, opinions, perceptions, and so forth – Enlightenment is Unconditioned. It was a state in which the Buddha acquired insight into the deepest workings of life and therefore, into the cause of human suffering, the problem that had set Him on His spiritual journey originally.

The Buddha statue we often see does not represent a god and didn’t look at himself as a divine creature. He was simply a man who endeavored to transform himself by means of self reflection and meditation. Buddhists view him as an ideal and his journey as a guide which will lead them on the path to enlightenment.  Most homes that practice Buddhism will display a statue of Buddha, but this is intended to remind them of their own spiritual journey.

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