The Buddha's Greatness
Despite the fact that the Buddha was
born, lived, preached and died in India, his
greatness and attainment have
overcome geographical and historical
barriers. On his Enlightenment, he
discovered the Truth which was
beyond all that was taught by former
religious teachers.
The Buddha did not claim that he was a god.
To call the Buddha a god is to discredit
him of his attainment. As described in
the sacred texts of various sects, certain
gods show characteristics of anger,
jealousy, love for praises, prejudice and
various other human failings.The Buddha is beyond all such failings. In
his innumerable births, he had
developed to perfection the ten
transcendental virtues of generosity,
morality, renunciation, wisdom,
energy, patience, truthfulness,
determination, loving-kindness and
equanimity.
He had eradicated all greed, hatred and
delusion. It has been said:The Buddha- taught the egocentric, power-
seeking world, the noble ideal of
selfless service. - protested against the evils of the
caste- system that hampered
progress and advocated equal
opportunities for all. - declared that the gates of
deliverance were open to all, in
every condition of life, high or low,
saint or sinner, who would but care
to turn into a new leaf and aspire to
perfection. - raised the status of down-trodden
women, and not only stressed on
their importance in society but also
founded the first religious order for
women.- attempted to abolish slavery for the
first time in history. - pointed out the cruelty and futility
of the sacrifice of animals and
brought them within his ambit of
compassion. - granted complete freedom of thought
to his followers and urged them to
regard for him but only after
discovering the truth in them. - comforted bereaved women like
Patacara who went insane after
losing her husband,two childrenand
parents on the same day,and Kisa
Gotami at the death of her only son. - with his own hands ministered the
deserted sick like Putigatta Tissa
Thera who had a contagius disease. - helped the poor and neglected like
Rajjumala and Sopaka and saved them
from an untimely and tragic death. - transformed the lives of criminals like
Angulimala who was about to kill his
mother for his one-thousandth victim. - ennobled courtesans like Ambapali.
What Can We Learn from His Life
Story?
TheBuddha was a truly admirable figure:a
man of quiet majesty,of wisdom and pleasant
humour,consistent in thought, word and deed.
He was of perfect equanimity and moral
fervor, was free from every prejudice,
overcame evil with good and was full of
tenderness for all beings.Even if the virtues of the Blessed One are
infinitely superior to those of ordinary men,
still the ideal can serve as a pattern and
guide. We can always take the Buddha as
our model so that the recollection of his
heroic and saintly life may assist us to be a
hero and saint as well.Known are the things to be known,
Cultivated are the things to be
cultivated , Destroyed are the things to
be destroyed, Therefore, Brahman, I am
the Buddha.Copyright of BMSM^7