Buddha



In Blanco's Earth Tails # 1, Buddha joined
other great and influential humans throughout time (like Lao Tzu,
Morgaine, Jesus, Saraswati...) in a boy named Lars Ravenkeep's
dream one night. They all gathered around Big Tree to show Lars
and the rest of humanity that there should be no divisions between
people because of their skin color or religion.

10 months before the Buddha was born, his mother (queen Maha Maya)
had a powerful dream. Some say she dreamt she had a child in her womb -
a boy who turned into a white elephant. Other's say a group of Devas
(Goddesses and Gods) flew down from above and watched a white
elephant walk up to Maha Maya's belly and touch it with its trunk.
When the queen told a wise man about the dream, he said she was going
to give birth to the Buddha - the master, the world's savior.

10 months later, The Buddha was born in a small village in India
called Kapilavatthu, which was ruled by king Suddhodana and his wife,
Queen Maha Maya. On the 5th day after his birth, the king invited 5 wise
men to witness the naming ceremony. After looking at markings on the
soles of the child's feet, they concluded he would be the Buddha. They
named him Siddhartha, which meant "wish fulfilled", or
"one who has accomplished his goal".

The 5 wise men also made a prediction. They said after Siddhartha
witnessed 4 specific things (a sick man, an old man, a dead body,
and a monk) he would want to leave the palace to become a monk.

On the 7th day after Siddhartha's birth, his mother died.

The prophecy of the 5 wise men bothered king Suddhodana.
He did his best to shelter Siddhartha from the harshness of reality
so he would never want to leave the palace - he wanted Siddhartha
to be a great king in his place after he died. King Suddhodana gave
Siddhartha many servants so he would never need help with anything
and built 3 separate palaces for prince Siddhartha to live in.

King Suddhodana arranged a marriage between the prince and a
girl named Yasodhara. After they were married, the king felt
much better about everything. He felt he had tied his son securely
to the fate of being a great king.

One day, Siddhartha asked his father if he could go out into the world -
to see how people lived. This worried the king, who told Siddhartha
he could go into the city once they cleaned it up a little. The king
ordered everyone to clean up and decorate the city before Siddhartha
journeyed through it. Once the city was decorated, the prince
went with a driver named Channa through the streets of the city
surrounding his father's palace. While riding through the streets
in a carriage, he saw an old man laying in the street. He was dressed
in rags and begged people for food or money. Prince Siddhartha was
dismayed and asked Channa what was wrong with the old man.
Channa told him, "He's just an old man. Some people end up like him.
Forget about him." 

But, Siddhartha couldn't forget about the old man. He went back to
the palace and was very depressed by the incident. He became afraid
of the spectre of 'Old Age'. King Suddhodana was worried when he
heard how seeing the old man affected him. He tried to distract his
son, but failed - Siddhartha wanted eagerly to return to the streets
of the city. He told his father he wanted to see the city as it was
un-decorated. He really wanted to see how common people lived.

Reluctantly, the king gave Siddhartha permission to go into the city.
Siddhartha and his friend Channa dressed up as common folks
and wandered through the city. It was much different than when
they'd visited before. Rather than dancing and celebrating, the
people were all very busy. Many were working hard at whatever
their trade was - and doing so quite happily.

Siddhartha saw a man laying on the ground beside a building. The
man twitched and hugged himself tightly. His face was covered
with ugly sores and he could hardly breathe. The prince knelt
by the man and turned to Channa, "What's wrong with him?"

"He is sick my prince. Please stay away from him, or you may
become ill too!"

When they returned to the palace, Siddhartha was more depressed
than he had been the night before. He sat up all night and thought
deeply about 'Old Age' and 'Illness'. He begged his father to allow
him to return to the city. King Suddhodana knew he could not stop
fate and allowed his son to go back into the city.

Again, he and Channa dressed up as common folk and went into
the city. During this journey they saw a small group of people
carrying a flat board that was holding the body of a man. The body
was still as a stone as they lowered it onto a burning pyre. The
man on the board remained motionless as the flames swallowed him.

Siddhartha watched all this in disbelief - he had never witnessed
death before. He turned to Channa and asked, "Why is that man
laying there while the flames burn him up?"

"He is dead my prince. No life flows through him - it has left the
body. Flames cannot hurt him now."

"Do we all die Channa?"

"Yes, my prince. We all do."

Prince Siddhartha was shocked and dismayed by this new
concept of death, and went home and again stayed up all night
thinking about 'Old Age', 'Illness', and 'Death'.

Many days later, Siddhartha visited the city. Channa drove the carriage
through the streets where Siddhartha saw a man in an orange robe who
seemed very happy.

"Who is that man in the orange robe Channa? Why is he smiling
like that?"

"That is a monk, my prince. He asks for offerings of food from people
and walks around telling them how to live in peace and harmony."

Prince Siddhartha decided right then, he needed to become a monk.
He went to a park and sat under a tree when a messenger found him
and told him his wife had just given birth to a baby boy. Rather than
being happy, Siddhartha felt a heavy weight being placed on his
shoulders. He sighed and returned to the palace where his father
had prepared a great feast in celebration of his new son.
Siddhartha went to the feast just to please his father. He sat
bored through all of the dancing, singing, and feasting, and
actually fell asleep in the middle of it all. He woke late at night
surrounded by drunken partiers. He was offended by their presence
and quickly left the hall and went to his sleeping wife and newborn son.
He watched them sleep for a long time, then made a decision.
"I must leave this place and live the life of a monk. I have to
find a way to defeat 'Old Age', 'Illness', and 'Death'."

Dressed as a beggar, prince Siddhartha left the city of Kapilavatthu
and walked to the city of Rajagaha. He walked the streets like a monk,
going door to door asking for food. They started calling him 'Gotama'.
His good looks, charm, cleanliness and humility caused a stir among
the people of Rajagaha. A group of people went to king Bimbisara
and told him of the strange young man called Gotama. The king
knew immediately that they were talking about his friend king
Suddhodana's son, Siddhartha. King Bimbisara found Gotama
and offered him half his kingdom if he stayed.

Gotama replied, "Thank you for your kind offer, sir. But, I am on a
quest to end Old Age, Illness, and Death." He turned away from the
king and walked away.

Gotama traveled through India and studied under a few teachers. He
absorbed everything quickly and was soon their equals. This left Gotama
with no-one to teach him. After he left his last teacher, he met 5 men
who had left a life of ease and riches to become wandering monks. Their
names were Kondanna, Bhadduya, Wappa, Mahanama, and Assaji.
These men became Gotama's most trusted friends and they watched over
and protected him during the next phase of his life.

Gotama spent 6 years pushing his body to its limits. He lived on 1 grain
of rice a day and meditated constantly. He withered away to a skeleton
with skin stretched over the bones. Finally, one day he said, "This
is not the way to find the answers I seek." He took up his bowl and
went to the city and begged for food again. His 5 friends were offended
that he gave up and deserted him. Gotama spent many months rebuilding
his withered body and restoring his physical strength.

One day, soon after Gotama had recovered from his 6 year fast, a
young girl prepared rice-milk to give to the young Gotama. She found
him sitting under a Banyan tree and offered him the rice milk. He
thanked her graciously and bathed in the river next to the tree.
After he bathed, he sat next to the tree and said, "I will not leave
this spot until I have achieved enlightenment."

He meditated for 5-7 weeks (some accounts say 5 weeks, others
say 7...) under the Bodhi tree. During this time, the demon Mara
tried to distract him with temptation (much like Christian myth,
when Jesus went on a vision quest and was confronted by Satan).
Gotama resisted everything that was thrown at him during this
fast. He achieved enlightenment at the end and became the Buddha.
He had a choice - he could vanish from Earth into Nirvana and
become absorbed by the universe, or he could stay to teach others
how to achieve enlightenment. At the urging of Brahma, Buddha
decided to stay.

The Buddha searched for and found his 5 friends that had deserted
him. He talked with and befriended them again.
They became his first followers.

He spent the rest of his life wandering through India and parts of
Asia speaking in forests and parks to people. Buddha started a huge
movement and throughout the years, was faced with many tough
situations. There were people from time to time who tried to discredit
him and ruin his name - nothing ever succeeded. He died at the age of 84,
about 400 years before the birth of Christ. Like Christ, the Buddha
didn't write his wisdom or teachings down. Descendants of his
followers wrote the Buddha's teachings on Ola leaves around 80 BC.
Like Christianity, much was lost between the time of the Buddha's
teachings to when they were written down. There were disputes
among Buddhists and many sects formed - each with their own
interpretations and Buddhist writings.


Click here to learn more about Buddhism


Click on the image below to download
and print a free coloring book page!



Click here for printing instructions

FREE Stories / Creation Myths / FREE Coloring Book Pages / Free Music 
Learn more about the characters of Blanco's Magic Tails / Links / Thank-you's
Photo Gallery / Kid's Bookstore / Parent's Bookstore / CD Store
About Magic Tails / FAQ / News & Announcements 
Abydos Enterprises / E-Mail
Rich Brown / Mary Sojourner