BUDDHA PURNIMA: CELEBRATING THE BIRTH, ENLIGHTENMENT, AND NIRVANA OF LORD BUDDHA

Buddha Purnima, one of the most important festivals for millions of Buddhists around the world, marks the birth, enlightenment, and death (parinirvana) of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism.

- TDG NETWORK JAIPUR

The festival, observed on the full moon day in the month of Vaisakha (April-May), is a time for reflection, meditation, and reverence for the profound teachings of Lord Buddha.

THE LIFE OF SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA

Siddhartha Gautama, who would later become known as the Buddha, was born into a royal family around the 6th century BCE in Lumbini, which is now in Nepal.

His father, King Suddhodana, ruled over the Shakya clan, and his mother, Queen Maya, was a princess.

Siddhartha's early life was one of privilege and luxury, shielded from the harsh realities of the world.

King Suddhodana, eager to protect his son from the sufferings of life, kept him within the confines of the palace, surrounding him with beauty, pleasures, and distractions.

Despite his father's best efforts to shield him, Siddhartha was curious about the world outside the palace.

At the age of 29, he ventured beyond the palace walls, where he encountered what are known as the "Four Sights": an old man, a sick person, a dead body, and a wandering ascetic.

These sights deeply affected Siddhartha, as they revealed to him the inevitability of aging, illness, and death.

This realization sparked a profound crisis in him, and he began to question the nature of life and the meaning of suffering.

THE PATH TO ENLIGHTENMENT

Determined to find answers to the suffering that seemed inherent to life, Siddhartha left his royal life, wife, and young son, renouncing his privileged existence.

He embarked on a journey of spiritual quest, seeking wisdom and enlightenment.

He studied under several renowned teachers of his time, practicing intense meditation and austerities.

However, after several years of extreme self-denial, Siddhartha realized that the path of self-mortification was not leading him to the truth.