It is five o’clock in the morning in Japan, and we have woken up because we are staying in a Buddhist temple. Today, at six o’clock, in just half an hour, the ceremony begins, and we will be attending it.
This is the outfit the monk gave us to wear so that we can move around comfortably and participate in the ceremony.
Let's go and see who the Buddha is, the figure to whom the girl was praying.
Who Was Buddha?
Buddha was born in 563 BC on the outskirts of what is now Nepal. His name was Siddhartha Gautama, and he belonged to the ruling warrior class.
His mother died shortly after his birth, and he grew up as a prince in three luxurious palaces belonging to his father, who also maintained harems of women.
However, Siddhartha was naturally melancholic. He did not speak much and rarely laughed. His father did everything possible to keep him occupied with the pleasures of palace life, providing him with every comfort, education, and luxury.
At the age of sixteen, Buddha married his sixteen-year-old cousin, Yasodhara. They had a son together.
He was also trained in martial arts and became an accomplished archer.
At some point, however, he abandoned his family and the palace, choosing a completely different path and beginning to philosophize about the meaning of life.
He became increasingly melancholic as his thoughts focused on the problems of sickness, old age, and death.
He eventually fled to the Uruvela forest, where he became an ascetic and joined five fellow practitioners. They eventually abandoned him.
After seven years, while sitting beneath a tree, he believed that he had attained the perfect state of existence, known as Nirvana.
From then on, he travelled throughout India for forty years, teaching his philosophy and particularly promoting monasticism.
Through his teachings, he gained many followers who believed in his doctrines.
At the age of eighty, he was once again welcomed into the home of a wealthy believer, who received him lavishly.
together with some of his disciples.
Although he was already very old, he reportedly became ill and died after eating too much.
Although the teachings attributed to him emphasized moderation in eating and prohibited excessive drinking, he himself was also said to have eaten excessively.
This explains why, in certain paintings and depictions, we sometimes see Buddha portrayed as thin and, in others, as very large.
What Does Buddhism Teach?
What Buddhism teaches, according to this speaker, is that there is no God and that you yourself are God. Buddhism is essentially a religion based on atheistic concepts.
It does not teach belief in an eternal Creator God. In other words, it tells you that you yourself are divine.
You supposedly possess unlimited powers within yourself. You can perform things that appear supernatural through the power of your mind alone.
Everything a person can supposedly accomplish, it teaches, is not achieved through divine power but through the power of the mind.
All these theories about telepathy, mental concentration, and similar practices are explained in terms of the power of the mind. However, they do not reveal to you, according to this speaker, that ultimately these things are not accomplished through the power of the mind but through the power of the devil.
The Two Ways of Life in Buddhism
In Buddhism, there are two different ways of life: that of ordinary people, who live without many strict moral obligations apart from five basic commandments, and that of monks, who follow a very strict lifestyle.
Buddhist monks wear orange robes, withdraw from ordinary society, isolate themselves, and limit their interactions with other people.
Young men and women up to the age of eighteen are reportedly introduced to monastic life in a monastery of their choice. From among them, those considered most capable are selected, as they are believed to have a greater chance of attaining Nirvana by following the prescribed rules.
What Does Buddhism Teach About Human Life?
According to the speaker's interpretation, Buddhism teaches four things:
First, that life is not worth living.
Second, that one should withdraw into the wilderness.
Third, that one should live with apathy and detachment.
Fourth, that the soul will be reincarnated until it eventually reaches a state of nothingness.
Buddhists therefore believe in reincarnation. They maintain that after death, people are reborn according to the way they lived their lives on earth.
Finally, Buddhists are also said to believe in the effectiveness of certain unusual remedies.
Do you know what these supposedly are?
The urine of monks and the water from the bathtub in which their religious leader, the Dalai Lama, bathes.
These teachings are still being promoted today.
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