LORD BUDDHA SAID
According to historical records Siddhartha Gautama, the Lord Buddha, was born
in 623 B.C. in the famous gardens of Lumbini located in the Terai plains of
Southern Nepa. His is testified by the inscription on a pillar erected by the
Mauryan Emperor Lord Asoka (c.304-232 BCE) who himself was one of the pilgrims.
The word“Buddha” means “the enlightened
one. It is a word derived from Sanskrit/Pali root Budh which means to wake, observe, become aware.
“Buddha”
is a title for “someone who has awakened from
the slumber of ignorance, transcended desire and hatred, and achieved complete
insight into reality and freedom from suffering.’
Buddhism sheds light on
: overcoming suffering and the cycle of
rebirth to achieve nirvana i.e. enlightenment
. The means to be employed are : ethical living, meditation, and wisdom.
Like many other saints Lord
Buddha was a poet. His collection of
sayings in verse is printed in the book titled Dhammapada. It is a famous scripture
which is widely read all over the world.
Here are a few citations
from the English translation of Dhammapada by Ven. Thanissoro, Bhikhukhu.
*Phenomena
are preceded by the heart, ruled by the heart, made of the heart. If you speak
or act with a corrupted heart, then suffering follows you ---as the wheel of
the cart, the track of the ox that pulls it.
**Phenomena are
preceded by the heart, ruled by the heart, made of the heart. If you speak or
act with a calm, bright heart, then happiness follows you, like a shadow that
never leaves.
***He
insulted me, hit me, beat me, robbed me’ for those who don’t brood on this, hostility isn’t stilled.
****He
insulted me, hit me, beat me, robbed m’---for those who don’t brood on this,
hostility is stilled.
*****Hostilities
aren’t stilled through hostility, regardless. Hostilities are stilled through non-hostility:
this, an unending truth.
Unlike those who don’t realize that
we’re here on the verge of perishing, those who do: their quarrels are stilled.
*****
G.R.Kanwal
13 May 2026
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