Founder of Buddhism: Who is Buddha?

The 6th century BC is the period in which the Vedas (sacred texts) were questioned, and the search and exits took place in India. Legend has it that Siddhartha (Buddha) resided in the heavenly paradise of Tushita before he was born as a human being. He realizes that he has to be born on earth with an inspiration coming to him.

He was born in Kapilavastu, in the Lumbini region of the Himalayan foothills, now within the borders of Nepal. The exact date of birth is unknown. His mother, Maya, dies seven days after giving birth to her son. His father, Śuddhodana, a king of Sakya lineage, named his son Siddhartha, meaning attainment of his goal. Siddhartha was raised by his aunt and his father's second wife and received the necessary education as a prince.

Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha ("the awakened"), was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century and founded Buddhism

He marries his cousin Yasodhara at an early age and gives birth to a son named Rahula. He leads a happy life in his palace. Whatever happens, he'll be 29. Legend has it that he sees realities of life he has never encountered before sickness, old age, death, and peace. These facts affect him so much that he goes in search of celebrity. He aims to get rid of the birth-death cycle, to find a cure for the pains of life, and to reach the truth. Buddhism begins when a young prince called Gautama Siddhartha leaves his home and seeks a cure for the sufferings of life.

Siddhartha, influenced by a monk, lives a life of asceticism (avoiding all kinds of worldly blessings) that lasts forty-nine days according to some, six months according to some and six years according to some. Buddha is also dissatisfied with his life of extreme asceticism because he thinks that he is alienating the person from the truth. On the full moon of May, he sits under an Indian fig tree called the Bo tree, contemplates in search of truth, attains enlightenment, and becomes a Buddha. The Sanskrit word Buddha, which is also used for enlightened people in general, and which means awakening, enlightened, is a title mostly used for the founder of Buddhism, Gautama Siddhartha.

Upon attaining enlightenment and seeing the truth, he gives his first sermon in Varanasi (Benares) in India. In the Benares sermon, the Buddha said, “Dukkha, suffering is part of life and existence. Samudaya, the source of suffering is desire and desire. Nirodha, suffering can be ended if wants and desires are let go. Magga lays out the basis of his teaching by saying, "There are 8 stages of ending suffering." In the continuation of his speech, the Buddha shows greed and desire as the causes of suffering and says that suffering can be overcome only by defeating desire and greed. For the elimination of greed, and desire, Buddha explains the eight-step path that we can see in many teachings as follows: Right Word, Right Intention, Right View, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Thought, and Right Concentration.

From that day on, Buddha begins to explain his teaching, the Dharma, to those around him. As Buddha's sermons continue, people of all professions join him, and gradually a congregation forms around him. This congregation, which circulates the Buddha, is organized over time and takes the name, Sangha. There are both male and female priests in the Sangha organization. Male monks are called bhikkhu for short, and female monks are called bhikkhuni.

Buddha establishes the organization of priests and tells his teachings in the places where he goes like a traveling priest. Apart from this, he sends missionaries to some regions where he cannot go. Buddhist monks make a living by begging. Buddhas and monks do not have a specific place to stay. It is only during the monsoons that the monks retreat to their homes and teach with the Buddha. These houses are then converted into viharas (Buddhist monasteries). Thus, the Buddhist monastic life gradually took shape.

Buddha was 80 years old when he died. After his death, the first Buddhist religious council (Council) meets in Rajagriha. The assembly decides to compile the Buddha's words and paraphrase them. However, this board cannot implement its decision later. The second religious council meets in the city of Vaishali, roughly 140 years after Buddha's death. However, this religious council cannot show sufficient effectiveness either. Immediately after this assembly, we see the seeds of separation in Buddhism being sown.

While Buddhism was spreading, the teaching was not understood in the same way everywhere. The main reasons for this were climatic differences and the mental and cultural structures of the communities. Since Buddha answered every question while he was alive and there was no pending situation, there would be no great division and turmoil at that time. However, after his death, disagreements among the monks grew and Buddhism split into two major branches, Hinayana and Mahayana.

Hinayanists are a sect that denies the existence of God, they are atheists. For Hinayana, everything is temporary. Hinayana Buddhism seeks to achieve Nirvana, which means the cessation of consciousness that is not dependent on God's gift. It accepts the law of karma and the theory of rebirth. He is harsh and negative in his approach. The Hinayana sect and philosophy are not popular.

The Mahayana school is progressive, conciliatory, and universal. God gives positive ideas of soul and human destiny. In Mahayana, Buddha becomes the idol of worship and becomes equated with the supreme being. In the Mahayana sect, Buddha's mercy can lead man to his universal salvation. It denies that the world is the supreme reality, the world is extraordinary, but ultimately unreal.

Basic Concepts of Buddhism

Dharma: The concept of Dharma, which is accepted to come from a Sanskrit word, means law, the law of the universe. Dharma, the basic teaching of Buddhism, expresses both the Buddha's teachings and the forces that condition existence.

Sangha: refers to the group of Buddhist monks. This concept is also the proper name of the organization of priests in Buddhism, the common name given to the community of monks. The Sangha became a special name for the congregation that formed alongside the Buddha.

Vihara: Vihara, one of the important concepts in Buddhism, means Buddhist temple. Today, any building, monastery, or temple in which there is a seclusion is called a Vihara. Also, the term Vihara is used to express a special situation associated with the meditation technique.

Nirvana: A Sanskrit concept, Nirvana means freedom from suffering and action. Before Buddha, this concept denoted a state of mind to be realized after death. Since Buddha himself did not define Nirvana, there are three kinds of definitions of Nirvana. According to the first of these definitions, Nirvana is the state of relaxation in which a person finds himself after breaking away from worldly life through meditation. Only those who follow the path of Buddha achieve this state. According to the second definition, Nirvana is the complete liberation of one from both the outer world and the inner world. The third definition is atheist, Nirvana is the annihilation of a person both in his own life and in his universal life.

Karma: This concept, which forms the basis of Indian religions, is in Sanskrit and refers to the connection between the previous life and the present life lived. Also, karma means action, the whole of actions. Karma, which expresses the connection between this life and another life, is a cause-effect relationship. Karma is a concept that expresses the social differences in the future life, the good-bad fate in the future as a result of good-bad deeds done in the previous life. This is how karma was known in pre-Buddha times. According to the Buddha, everything depends on the action, and that depends on the understanding. In Buddhism, karma is seen as an elusive physical force.

Trans: This concept has a very important place in Buddhism. It is the state of mind before fully attaining nirvana. To understand the concept of trance, it is necessary to know transcendental meditation as well. Transcendental meditation is a unique and special technique of soul liberation and preparation beyond consciousness.

Samsara: In Buddhism, as in Hinduism, people are believed to be in a cycle of extinction-rebirth called Samsara. According to Buddhism, it is important for a person to get rid of suffering and the cycle of Samsara, to break the chain of death and rebirth, and to reach Nirvana, after applying the determined methods all his life. Buddha did not spread this resurrection over a certain period. Therefore, the deceased is reborn immediately or reborn after a certain time.