How Long Did Buddha Meditate?

 

MAJOR BELIEFS AND GOALS: Since Buddhism was an offshoot of Hinduism, it is important to see where there are significant differences. Siddhartha Gautama rejected the idea of the caste system, so there is no separation of people and no idea that a person's social or economic status is a reflection of his/her goodness in this or in past lives. In Buddhism, there is no interest in the origin of the world or in a personal God. The emphasis is on the individual rather than on the supernatural. In Buddhism, there is more emphasis on labor, discipline, and compassion rather than on tradition, ritual, and metaphysical speculation. While Buddhists believe in reincarnation, they do not believe in the transmigration of the "soul." Their goal is to

eliminate desires, and they believe that if a person dies without having eliminated all desires, the remaining desires call forth, or into a new body.

Who was Buddha? Many Buddhists say that it is incorrect to call Siddhartha Gautama "Buddha." Buddha means the "Enlightened One." Siddhartha Gautama is not believed to have been the only "Buddha" to have lived on Earth. It is believed that there were many before him and that there may be others after him. It would be more correct to call him Buddha Gautama.

Siddhartha Gautama was born into a noble Hindu family. He studied Hinduism and practiced it. As a young man, he was sheltered from the realities of the world by his well-meaning father, but eventually, he became aware of the real world. He was disturbed by old age, illness, death, and all forms of suffering. He left his home and family and began a Hindu spiritual journey. He spend six years in the forests of India practicing Hinduism and living as an ascetic, but he still was troubled by the reality of suffering.

After spending 49 days sitting under a Bo-tree meditating, Siddhartha Gautama became Buddha Gautama; he had finally reached enlightenment. During those 49 days, tradition says that Gautama was tempted by the evil one, Mara. By resisting the temptations, he was open to enlightenment. At this point, he had a choice. He could remain enlightened and be in a state of bliss called nirvana, having no use for the world of mortal beings, or he could teach others the way to enlightenment before he finally died. Buddha Gautama chose to remain among mortals and teach them the Dhamma, the eternal truth to which he had awakened.

At first, Buddha Gautama and his followers were shramanas, wandering ascetic teachers. They wandered back and forth in the middle part of the Ganges Valley. Later the order of monks developed a settled way of life as communities of Buddhist sramanas began to be established.

The teaching of Buddha Gautama came to be called "the middle way" because it stressed a life between the extreme of sensuality and luxury and the extreme of strict asceticism. Buddhists stress that one doesn't understand the Buddhist way through intellectual studies. They stress that "If you wish to understand the Buddha's doctrine, you must practice it!"

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