(1)Father and Mother
About 2500 years ago, there was a kingdom
called Kapilawat, which was ruled by the King Sudodana. His last
name was Gotama, and he was known as Sudodana Gotama. The King had
two Queens. The first Queen was Mayadaiwi. The second Queen
was Gaudami. The two Queens were sister. One night, as Queen
Mayadaiwi was sleeping, she dreamed the most fantastic dream. She
dreamed that four gods lifted her along with her bed and carried her to
the Himalayas. When she got there, four goddesses gave her a bath at
a magical pond. Then, they let her sleep in the golden tower atop
the silver mountain. As she slept, a white elephant appeared and
entered her womb. This was the Queen Mayadaiwi's dream. At
this moment, the future Buddha was conceived in the Queen's womb. |
(2) The Birth
When Queen Mayadaiwi had been pregnant for ten
months, she wanted to visit her parents, who lived at the kingdom of
Daiwadaha, and she requested the permission to go there from her husband,
the King. The King gave her the permission without any reluctance.
The next morning, Queen Mayadaiwi began her journey towards the kingdom of
Daiwadaha, riding on the golden sedan surrounded by her maids and
servants. Along her journey, when she reached the garden of Lombani,
there was a Sal tree, which was full with blooming flowers. The
Queen wanted to pick flowers from the tree, and she ordered the caravan to
stop for a while. Queen Mayadaiwi took hold of a Sal branch, and at
this moment, she gave birth to the future Buddha. It was the year 68
of the Royal calendar, the full moon day of the month of Kasone, a Friday,
which was in year 623 BC according to the international calendar.
The future Buddha stood up immediately after he was born. He made
seven steps, and he said, "I'm greater than any other being in the
universe!" The day the future Buddha was born, Princess
Yasodara, cousin Ananda, future minister of the court Kaludawi and Sanda
were born also. The Kantaka horse was born. The four pots of
gold appeared. The Bodhi tree grew. These were the seven birth
mates of the future Buddha. |
(3) The Future Buddha & The Hermit Kaladaiwila
When the news of the birth of the future
Buddha reached the kingdoms of Kapilawat and Daiwadaha, relatives from
these two kingdoms came to the site of the birth of the future
Buddha. Then they brought Queen Mayadaiwi and the future Buddha to
the Kapilawat kingdom. There was a hermit Kaladaiwila whom King
Sudodana regarded as a noble teacher. One day the hermit came to the
palace. The King introduced his son to the hermit and said, "My
son, pay respects to the noble hermit." But the future Buddha
would not pay respects to the hermit. Instead the hermit paid
respects to the future Buddha. When the King saw this, he paid
respects to his son, the future Buddha. The hermit looked at the
future Buddha carefully, and then he both laughed and cried. When
the King asked why, the hermit said, "Noble King! Your son will be
the Buddha. That is why I laugh with happiness. But I will not
live to see him become the Buddha. That is why I cry with
sadness." |
(4) Siddartha
Five days after his birth, the King invited Brahmins to
examine the signs of his son. The seven Brahmins said, "Your
son will become either universal King or the Buddha." But the
youngest of the Brahmins, Kawnatanya said, "Your son will renounce
all worldly things and will surely become the Buddha." The King
then asked what will his son see which will make him renounce all worldly
things. Kawnatanya answered, "He will see four great signs
namely an old man, a sick man, a dead man and a monk, and then he will
renounce all worldly things." Then Brahmins named the future
Buddha Siddartha. Because his last name was Gotama, he was known as
Siddartha Gotama. |
