How did Prince Become a buddha？｜02 Buddhism for Beginners

How did Prince Become a buddha？｜02 Buddhism for Beginners
Q 8: So we have to be a monk to study Buddhism?
A: Not necessarily. Shakyamuni Buddha later taught people a way to achieve full liberation without renunciation. It is to recite the name of Amitabha Buddha, gain rebirth in the Pure Land and attain Buddhahood there.
Q 9: How did Prince Siddhartha become a Buddha?
A: After leaving home, he visited three renowned scholars of the day and learned from them. Very soon, he mastered all their methods. But none of them was the real path of liberation. He then decided to seek freedom from samsara by himself. To convince the ascetics (who practiced austerities popular at the time), Siddhartha underwent severe austerities for six years in a forest on the banks of the Neranjara River, living on a grain of rice a day. After realizing the futility of austerities in his search for enlightenment, Siddhartha stopped them and took a bath in the Neranjara River, cleaning off the accumulated dirt of six years. He accepted milk gruel offered by a shepherd girl and recovered his strength. Then he went to a pippala tree, sat down on a seat made from auspicious grass and faced East. He vowed, “I will not rise from this seat until I have attained supreme enlightenment!” Finally, one night, after defeating moral afflictions and Mara’s temptations, he achieved complete enlightenment and became a Buddha.
The place where Shakyamuni attained Buddhahood is in the southern suburbs of Bodh Gaya in India’s Bihar State. Nearby are numerous other sites associated with the Buddha.
Q 10: Becoming a Buddha and an immortal are not the same, right?
A: Of course not. Some people can’t distinguish among Buddhas, deities and immortals. Probably they were influenced by old ethics books with contrived terms such as “divine Buddha” or “immortal Buddha.” Immortals are a type of ordinary being within the Six Realms of Rebirth. They may enjoy the five desires and possess certain supernatural powers in meditation, but they haven’t attained complete emancipation.
Q 11: Why is the Buddha called Fo in Chinese? What’s the meaning of the term?
A: Fo is an abbreviation of Fotuo, the transliteration of “Buddha.” Buddha means an “enlightened person,” with three implications: 1) self- enlightenment; 2) enlightening others -- not only awakening oneself but also helping others become enlightened; 3) perfect enlightenment and practice -- one’s wisdom and meritorious achievement have reached the highest and most perfect level in enlightening both self and others.
Q 12: After becoming a Buddha and attaining the highest levels of merit, what else did he do?
A: To deliver sentient beings from the suffering of samsara, Shakyamuni Buddha traveled widely; many who heeded his teachings gained liberation. First, he went to Sarnath in Benares (Varanasi) and found the five followers who practiced austerities with him. He taught them the Dharma. The five converted to his teachings and formed the very first Buddhist Sangha. In Buddhism, the Buddha’s first discourse is called “the initial turning of the Dharma wheel.”
Q 13: Why is it called the “turning the Dharma wheel”?
A: One of the seven treasures of the chakravartin is the chakra, or wheel. It can break mountain rock and cannot be impeded. Buddhism uses the chakra of the chakravartin as a metaphor to indicate that the Dharma can cut through the hardened negative karma and afflictions of sentient beings. Moreover, the Buddha did not stop with a single person or place while giving his teachings. He was on the move, instructing many -- like a turning wheel. So Buddhism calls the Buddha’s discourses on the Dharma the “turning of the Dharma wheel.”
Namo Amitabha Buddha
Compiled by Householder Fo’en
English translation : Householders Foqing and Folu
Edited by Householder Jingtu
Narrator: Fosu
Pure Land Buddhism Australia
______________
🙏【淨土宗宗旨】
信受彌陀救度，專稱彌陀佛名；
願生彌陀淨土，廣度十方眾生。
🙏【淨土宗特色】
本願稱名，凡夫入報，
平生業成，現生不退。
净土宗官方網站
The official website of the Pure Land Buddhism：
净土宗官網：www.plb.tw
净本法师：www.plb-sea.org
Pure Land Buddhism：www.purelandbuddhism.org
🔸淨土宗全球網站 bit.ly/2BuZPUi
🔸淨土宗全球道場 bit.ly/2EHEmJj
______________
淨土宗澳洲 Pure Land Buddhism Australia
Facebook👇
/ plb18.au

[@佛治]

🙏 Namo Amitabha Buddha 🙏

[@purelandbuddhismaustralia3858]

Namo Amituofo 🙏🏼

[@gkkong1651]

Namo Amitābha 🙏

[@purelandbuddhismaustralia3858]

Namo Amituofo 🙏🏼