You Can Be a Buddha Too

Written by Naren on November 28, 2008

In one of my previous articles The Joy of Being Yourself I talked about how we can achieve the utmost bliss in life by being our own true original face and not by imitating others. In the same article I also mentioned that there is no need to be another Buddha, Gandhi, Jesus or Rama. Now to those of you who have read The Joy of Being Yourself, it may seem like a contradiction when the topic of this article clearly indicates that we all can be a Buddha. It is indeed true that we all can become a Buddha. Let me explain:

Who is Buddha?
What is Buddha?
Do we really know what Buddha means?

The contradiction is bound to arise because whenever the word Buddha is mentioned, we tend to think of a person. A person named Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in a place called Kapilvastu, in one of the poorest countries in the world, Nepal.

A few years ago, this would have strengthened my ego, as Buddha was born in the same country as I. But after having begun my own inner revolution, instead of being proud, now I feel blessed. My eyes are filled with tears of gratitude whenever I talk about Buddha. I truly admire from the deepest core of my being -- this person, this man, who attained the highest peak of consciousness 2500 years ago! Can you believe that 2500 years ago a man achieved such height that still today he is worshipped as God? It is said that when Siddhartha Gautama become awakened, even Gods from heaven descended to shower him with flowers and blessings. Though it may not be true in reality, it wouldn’t surprise me. Why? – Because if one man in thousands of years reaches to that height and blooms to his ultimate flowering, it is indeed a godly moment -- a divine and a blissful moment of celebration.

Buddha's Enlightenment

The story of Buddha is interesting. He was born as a prince to a powerful king. The royal astrologers had predicted that he would either be a great emperor or an ascetic. Certainly no king wants his son to be a homeless ascetic. Heeding the advice of the learned gurus, every precaution was exercised to shield the prince from knowing the sorrowful realities of life and he was provided with everything new, afresh, lively, and beautiful that the life could offer. Despite all the efforts, on one occasion, Prince Siddhartha Gautama encountered a sick person, an old man, a corpse and a sannyasin (monk) on a street. This hurled him into deep thought. Instantly, he resolved to leave his kingdom, wife and newly born baby in search of the truth about life and the causes of suffering. For six years, he tried tirelessly to find the truth with different masters, but nothing happened. The doctrines, the Upanishads, the theories, the fasting all proved futile. All he encountered was frustration and failure. Exhausted from the arduous efforts, he was staying by the side of Niranjana River. He went down into the river to take a bath and was almost swept away by the river. Somehow he caught hold of the roots of a tree, and in that moment he realized that his strenuous asceticism and severe fasting had weakened him so much that he almost drowned in the small Niranjana River. In this weakened state, how could he cross the bhavasagar, the ocean of the world?

After the bath, tired and frustrated, Prince Siddhartha, positioned himself under the Bodhi tree (fig tree) with a strong determination to not budge from his sitting until he found the ultimate truth. Meanwhile, a woman in a nearby village had made a vow that on the full-moon night she would offer a bowl of sweets to the deity of the tree, if her son would be cured from the illness. It was a full-moon night, and just by coincidence, she found Prince Siddhartha sitting silently under the Bodhi tree. The woman overjoyed, thinking him to be a deity himself, placed the sweets at his feet in gratitude and love.

The Prince ate for the first time in years without guilt or the concept of right and wrong. That night he slept like a child, unburdened with worries about truth or enlightenment. He slept a deep sleep. In the morning he became enlightened. Watching the last morning star disappear, Prince Siddhartha achieved the greatest understanding, and all the conditioning, all his ego, all the burden of his convictions and knowledge disappeared like the star. Just like the disappearing morning star, Prince Siddhartha disappeared too. That day he became a Buddha.

Hence, "Buddha" is the awakening of Siddhartha Gautama’s consciousness. It’s not his real name. It’s not his true identity. Once a person is enlightened, then he is no more. He becomes a whole. He is not there as a person, he will simply remain as a presence. So the word Buddha is given to Siddhartha Gautama, only after he became awakened.

Is he the only Buddha?

Not really. There have been many Buddhas before him and many have become Buddha after him. Since Siddhartha Gautama is the most famous Buddha, we tend to forget others who have attained Buddhahood. He is the superstar of all Buddhas. No wonder he has managed to strike a chord with millions of lives even today. Can you believe that no other man in history has more idols, statues or temples than the Buddha? Siddhartha Gautama has become synonymous with the word Buddha that now when we speak of Buddha, he is the only one that springs to our mind

What does Buddha mean?

The word Buddha simply means “the awakened one” or “the enlightened one”. It is derived from the Sanskrit word called buddhi, which means wisdom or intelligence. Buddhi has the same meaning as gyan, and one who has attained “gyan” is called “gyani.” Hence, the one who achieves the ultimate wisdom, gyan or buddhi or if one’s intelligence is awakened to the utmost level, may then be called Buddha. Sanskrit is such a rich language, that the word Buddha means “the one who has reached to the supreme understanding.” There is also a word for a fool or a person whose level of intelligence is very low, and he is called “Buddhu.” You can be a Buddha or Buddhu. It all depends on you.

Is it possible for other human beings to be a Buddha?

Yes. Absolutely! It might take millions of years. It might take millions of lives, but in the end you can become awakened just as Buddha (Prince Siddhartha Gautama). It took six years of hard work, effort, and perseverance for Buddha to attain truth. It’s not an easy task, but it’s the most satisfying...

Please go to Next Page » for You Can Be a Buddha Too (Part 2)

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