It’s Buddha Poornima today and I know you are already smitten by the positive vibes ferrying around. Monday is usually a moaning day, after all it’s the first and the most hectic day of the week. Nonetheless, a cup of coffee with some bonkers facts can charge you up for the upcoming week. Let’s raise our cup of coffee to Gautam Buddha. I am sure, he wouldn’t have been really very pleased with such coffee gathering if we had him with us in person.
Ahan! Gautam Buddha, I guess no introduction is required coz we see him in the forms of statues and scriptures every other day. Since our very childhood, we know how did Siddharta renounce the world and led a simple life to achieve salvation. His four noble truths and three jewels are the essence of life. How can we forget the “Noble Eightfold Paths” and the ethical guidelines “The Five Precepts”. I know we don’t remember them by heart. Do you? Now don’t start googling them because we are not discussing any of it here. ITHOM brings in some perplexing and riveting facts which will leave you spellbound. Here the countdown starts:
10. The Buddhists abhor sexism in every form. You will be amazed to know every country with a buddhist convention has made porn illegal. Be it China, South Korea, Thailand or Laos.
9. Total Buddhas on earth are 29 in number. The 28 Buddhas have already accomplished their enlightenment while the last one is yet to come. Kalki in Hinduism, Jesus in Christianity and Maitreya in Buddhism are believed to be the upcoming saviors of the earth.
8. The teachings of Buddha were never complied in a book. His teachings were unfurled by non-violent methods like word of mouth and carvings on stones. A counter-statement which is trusted to be given by Gautam Buddha himself is, "Thousands of Buddhas lived through trackless centuries, and the thousand more are yet to come".
7. Buddhas are classified in three brackets- a.) Samyaksambuddhas b.) Pratyekbuddhas c.) Savakabuddhas. Samyaksambuddhas: They need no teacher to attain Nirvana and post their enlightenment teach the paths of salvation. Pratyekbuddhas: Silent in nature, attain nirvana without teachers and stay aloof without disciples. Samyaksambuddhas: Follow teachers to attain Nirvana and might choose to teach post enlightenment.
6. Enlightenment is only gained under the Bodhi tress. It is strongly believed that the tree plays a significant role in procuring Nirvana.
5. Eight Dream of Clarity: The beautiful princess Yashodhara dreamt of eight episodes, predicting the spiritual awakening of Gautam Buddha. It is a myth that Siddharata left Yashodhara. She encouraged him to walk towards Nirvana and initiate the un-foldings of intangible awakening.
4. Tushita is the original Buddha presently who lives in the heavenly abode with the angels. Tushita preaches the angels and Devas Buddhism. It is believed that he would return to earth in the form of Maitreya, a super hero, and establish Dharma again.
3. Buddha demonstrated his previous births as monkey, deer and elephant. His disciples jotted his cute little folktales as literature. Those literatures are now knows as Jatakas.
2. Dalai Lama is not the religious head of all the Buddhists. He is only the head of Tibetians, as Tibet has been following the custom of appointing the re-incarnted kind of the last religious head. So, Tibet follows no democracy, no dictatorship and no aristocracy. It's just the other Buddhist countries in the west who have a different opinions of Dalai Lama.
1. Don't confuse Buddai with Buddha. The fat little cute man with a bag hanging on a stick carried on his back, was a Zen monk in China that lived in China during 900s. The Chinese assume that he had reached enlightenment and so he is found everywhere in the form of statues and wall paintings till date (very popular in China). So, next time you offer money to Buddai or tickle his stomach, do it with full devotion. You never know, Buddai appears right in-front of you with his bag full of wishes hanging on a stick.
WAS IT ENOUGH OR YOU ARE HUNGRY FOR MORE SUCH BONKERS. WELL! I MEASURE YOUR CURIOSITY LEVEL. THEREFORE, I BRING TWO BONUS BONKERS FOR YOU EXCLUSIVELY:
1.2. Buddha's one of the rigid teaching of the creed was: Don't harm. This means that they were and still are purely vegetarian. On the contrary, it is also said that Buddhists eat whatever is offered to them without complaining. Now, I know you must be racing your brains. Yes! You got it. In travels, it is more likely that Buddha was served with meat and he never denied the offer. In the nutshell, there are no clear demarcation on his choice of food. He was more likely a non- vegetarian but not by choice.
1.1. Each one of us know the physical appearance of Buddha. Try to recollect if you have ever noticed the bun like top-knot in his hair. Also the robe styles as Toga. Doesn't Buddha look a real stylo? He would have been a style icon during those days, Isn't it? But I got big time disappointed when I identified the truth behind his artistry style. Buddha was never like this. He was very simple in his appearance. When the Buddha's teaching were picking pace around the world, the artistry was mainly dominated by the Greeks. They contributed a lot in raising Buddhist statues and chiseled him into eccentric and divine figurine.
I am sure, you never heard of such engaging facts before. By the way the meaning of "Buddleia" in the headline is a species of shrub which is a fast growing deciduous genus with beautiful masses of blossom.
Today in 2018, you still can see the remnants of Buddha. Wanna know How? All the teeth of Buddha were removed and preserved at the time of his death. They are currently conserved in Sri Lanka.
Vrinda Thanks for the Enlightment :)