We can't find the internet
Attempting to reconnect
Something went wrong!
Hang in there while we get back on track. If this problem persists help us by reporting it so we can investigate it.
Watch this talk
Login or create a free account to watch this talk and discover other teachings from Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh.
Log in or create an account
Talk on Birth of the Buddha at Lumbini
The birth of Siddhartha Gautama is a collective realization, an event in which all of humanity participated. Rather than viewing the Buddha as a permanent self traveling through time, his presence is understood through the light of nonself, where being is a constant movement of input and output with the cosmos. We deserve a Buddha in the present moment, who exists in our hearts as the capacity to remain calm and lucid, much like a single person who inspires confidence on a boat of refugees during a storm. We must be attentive to recognize this presence, which may not appear with a halo or robes, but as a brother we have lost.
The narrative examines the life of the Prince, emphasizing his reality as a human being rather than a god, noting that legends like the seven steps and lotus flowers betray his human nature. His upbringing included learning the Vedas and the three basic principles of the Brahmanical doctrine:
- The sacred texts are revealed only to Brahman priests.
- Brahma is the highest being ruling the cosmos and the base of everything that is.
- Ritual chanting and recitation possess the power to modify the situation of the universe.
At age nine, during a plowing ceremony, he entered meditation for the first time after witnessing the suffering of an earthworm and the reality of living beings eating one another, realizing that ritual chanting could not relieve this suffering. Disillusionment with political power and the inability to help others while bound by personal anger and ambition led to the decision to leave home. Following the birth of his son Rahula, Yasodhara experienced three dreams predicting his departure:
- The city’s beautiful white cow escaping and refusing to return.
- The flag pole on the Sumeru Mountain breaking in the wind amidst falling celestial flowers.
- Waking to find Siddhartha missing and his ornaments turning into dust and a snake.
The account concludes with Siddhartha leaving the palace, cutting his hair at the Anoma River, and exchanging his royal garments for the robe of a hunter to enter the forest as a monk.