Like other major religions, Buddhism embodies non-violence in thought and deed, compassion, love, peace and most importantly encourages a lifestyle of compassion towards all beings including animals and of being content with what we have. Buddha Purnima also known as Vesak or vesakha is considered the most sacred festival for Buddhists. This sacred day for Buddhists is a general holyday in many countries including Sri Lanka, India and Nepal. Buddha Purnima is celebrated in 2023 on the 12th of May or Monday.
The middle path as avoidance of the extremes as taught by Buddha brings the truth and avoids conflict, reconciles different opinions, and seeks consensus. Buddha did talk to the people of the world and give them the message of peace and non violence and though he talked about it then his message and teaching is relevant more so today in this materialistic world. Buddha means one who is enlightened and who has awoken with an intention to develop a peaceful, harmonious and just society. His messages are becoming more and more relevant in today's world and they are a beacon of hope for humanity. Buddha's message of unity, solidarity and service is even more relevant when the world and humanity are suffering from Covid -19. The UN Secretary general called on all nations to take action to help others out of compassion and solidarity.
Gautama was born the son of an Indian warrior – king, and lived a wealthy life into adulthood relishing the spoils of his social status. However, boredom with the pleasures of wealth and royalty led him to wander into the world seeking understanding. He quickly drew the conclusion that suffering was at the end of every living aspect of existence. So he gave up all he was to be a monk and in renouncing worldly possessions, he hoped to understand the truth of the world around him. His search for understanding came to completion, while mediating under a tree, he had achieved salvation.
The four noble truths that contain the teachings of the buddha are the trifecta of the buddha's teachings, yet they say little too. It can be put more simply by saying: suffering exists, there is a cause for suffering, and an end to suffering. The intent of suffering is unsympathetic world view, but a practical view that deals with the world for the way it is and tries to change the world for better. The idea of pleasure is not rejection but instead less than infinite. The pursuit of pleasure can only sustain itself in an unquestionable thirst. The same logic follows when applying a definition of happiness. When it is all said and done, only growing old, sickness, and your death is guaranteed and unavoidable. For all that is accepted within a contemporary society, the buddha taught a certain interpretation of Karma, not as a predestined fate. Karma is really about good or bad actions, where good can mean to act by either separating from bad action, or acts such as generosity, righteousness and/journalethoden meditation that work toward generating, in the long-run, happiness.
Like all major religions, Buddhism teaches the value of spiritual or holy values. Buddhism teaches that if a person has a pure mind, anything he does will be pure and good, and if he has a pure heart, then happiness will come to him. Published first in 1925, Buddha's Teachings was originally compiled by Japanese scholars of Buddhism before WW-11 and widely distributed throughout Japan. Buddhism was created in India, in the 6th century, by the most famous religious figure of all time, Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, who abandoned his royal life to find the answers to human suffering and death, attaining spiritual enlightenment through mediation which became what is known as Buddha. Buddhsm is entirely based on the life of Buddha, his enlightenment and his teachings. The teachings of Buddha or doctrine are fundamentally directed towards liberation of humanity from suffering and together are called Dhrama or Dhamma. Buddha stressed certain virtues. These were wisdom, kindness, patience, generosity, and compassion .Buddhism is made up of core teachings from Buddha:- 1-Three universal Truths. 2- The Four Noble Truths. Everything is changing and nothing is permanent in the universe. Buddha taught cause and effect. Buddha's Four noble truths are :-
1. Truth of suffering
2. Truth of cause of suffering
3. Truth of cause of suffering
4. Truth of end of suffering.
Buddha gave us the Eightfold Noble Path. He stressed the importance of developing wisdom, moral character, and concentration. In conclusion we can safely assume that Buddha’s teachings are applicable to the modern and materialistic world and we should follow the path and teachings of Lord Buddha for salvation and eternal happiness. The dates allocated to Buddha’s life traditionally is given as 566-486 BC. Buddha died of an illness, the exact nature of which is not known.
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