The Story of Buddhism Part II
Storyboard Text
- Slide: 1
- What is the matter with that poor man?
- That man over there is sick.
- After Siddhartha became a father, the king gave him more freedom to travel outside the royal palaces. During his trips, the prince discovered 3 forms of suffering. On his first trip, the prince and his chariot driver saw a thin man who walked with the aid of a stick. "Why does that man look so terrible?" the prince asked. His driver replied that the man was old. He told the prince that everyone's body weakens as it ages. Furthermore, on the second trip, the prince and his driver saw a man crying out in pain in the road. "What is the matter with that poor man?" he asked. The driver explained that the man was sick. On the third trip, the prince saw a collection of people slowly walking down the road. The collection of people were carrying a figure wrapped in white cloth. "Death came for that man," Siddhartha's driver said quietly. "One day it will come for you." The prince was troubled by his discovery of aging, sickness, and death. Being unable to sit at home with his thoughts, he set once again. This time he met a man who was an ascetic, a person who gives up all pleasures such as clothes or possessions. Furthermore, Siddhartha asked "How can you sit so peacefully when there is so much suffering around you?" the prince asked the man. The ascetic responded with, "To be free of suffering, one must give up the desires, pleasures, and comforts of the world. I find peace by helping others find peace."
- Slide: 2
- I am going to become an ascetic and try to reach enlightenment. Thank you, and farewell!
- Prince Siddhartha's experiences with suffering changed him forever. Siddhartha decided to give up his old life and find enlightenment. Becoming enlightened meant finding deep truth and being free of suffering. One night Prince Siddhartha's driver drove him to the end of the forest and Siddhartha removed his royal robes, sandals, and jewels. Moreover, he cut off his hair with a knife. He put on a simple robe and kept only a small bowl for alms. Wishing his driver farewell, Siddhartha began his life as an ascetic. Siddhartha met other ascetics, like him, they wanted to understand the world. They believed they could reach enlightenment through meditation. While meditating, the ascetics sat quietly and focused their minds on spiritual questions. Siddhartha quickly became an expert at meditation. The ascetics denied their bodies many basic needs such as staying up all night without sleeping or sitting in the hot sun without shelter. They hoped to find spiritual truth through self-denial. Siddhartha followed the way of the ascetics until he was painfully thin from lack of food. Eventually, he became unhappy with this unhinged and strange way of living. He still had not even found the key to enlightenment.
- Slide: 3
- Eventually, Siddhartha had learned that giving up bodily pleasures did not bring enlightenment. He decided to balance himself between extremes of pleasure and pain. He would neither be a prince or an ascetic. Instead, he would find the "middle way" as a path to enlightenment. The prince's new way of thinking made other ascetics leave him. He was content to be alone. He was not yet enlightened, but he was on the right path. A full moon rose on Siddhartha's 35th birthday. He bathed in a river and rested quietly in a grove of trees. When he awoke, he had a strong feeling that he would soon become enlightened. Then a grass cutter gave him eight handfuls of soft grass as a present. Siddhartha walked until he reached a tree that became known as the Bodhi (Enlightenment) tree. He placed grass at the foot of the tree and sat down. He vowed to meditate under the tree until he reached enlightenment. WhileSiddhartha meditated but suddenly, a wicked god appeared. His name was Mara, and he tried to tempt him by sending his three daughters, Discontent, Delight, and Desire. Siddhartha resisted them all. He meditated through the night about the nature of reality and how to reach nirvana. As the night went on, his mind filled with the truths he had been seeking. He saw his past lives and the grand cycle of rebirth. He saw the importance of karma. Eventually he saw how to gain freedom from the endless cycle and so end all suffering. By morning, the prince had become a Buddha, the awakened one. He had reached enlightenment. The truths that the Buddha discovered under the Bodhi tree are the basis of Buddhism. They are often called the Four Noble Truths. The Buddha would spend the rest of his life sharing these truths with the people of India. The End.
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