From The Life of Buddha Unit
Maya's Dream:
-do all dreams mean something?
-what a cool way to find out you will have a child, a special one
-king was intuitive to his emotions
-Brahmins description of Buddha is angelic and perfect
-The king began to do what Buddha would as he gave food to hungry etc. (shielding him from bad in the world and leading to his ultimate monk hood)
Birth of Siddhartha:
-Maya was not scared of childbirth, only remembering what would come from it
-Birth in such a beautiful environment
-how easy a birth like that would be! I wish I could smile and pop out this baby...
-songs of merriment, praise to his future
Asita's Prediction:
-Son bore marks of omnipotence?
-All bad things will come to an end basically and Asita is overwhelmed with joy and sorrow as he won't be alive to witness this era of greatness
Siddhartha at the Temple:
-is royalty more important to the king than the greater good?
-Maya's death with Siddhartha being a week old is sad because everything was so perfect at his birth
-Even jewels were outshined by his presence
-Arrival at the temple--> reminded me of Hercules movie
Siddhartha's First Meditation:
-Was he in a trance, not aware of the people passing by and saying things about him?
-the shade did not move, time stood still in his area of meditation
-Stop working in the fields? This is the message he was pondering on??
First Encounter:
-Why would the Gods want to trouble his mind?
-Oh, the old withered man is used as a humbling truth to Siddhartha to make him see the real world
-scared of old age destroys his peace in the presence
Two More Encounters:
-sees sickness, but used to perfection so this troubles him more
-the gods are playing with his mind
-has only half an image of the world
The Fair Maidens:
-are they trying to seduce him?
-but he ignores them because he is fixated on death
-does not see the beauty in life it seems
-Gopa's dream is interpreted by the prince instead of a dream interpreter like Siddhartha's mothers dream was
-scary dream= pleasant response and smile out of prince...
The Great Truths:
-Monk from Gods led prince to true purpose and what he was seeking
-the promises his father must make for him to stay and not leave kingdom: his life won't end in death, won't get sick, won't get old, and won't become misfortunate
-world is a prison
-were they really asleep or dead? (Gopa's companions)
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Siddhartha leaves:
-Kanthaka understood the princes need to leave
-Chandaka is conflicted with loyalty to king and universal urge to let prince leave
-the prince is a great orator, persuasive
Siddhartha the hermit:
-Chandra does not want to be the bearer of such bad news, he facilitated this as well
-shedding of his robe is symbolic, finalizing his departure
-he is stubborn and determined to conquer death and sickness
Gopa and Suddhodana grieve:
-Gopa really loved Siddhartha, I wonder how deep his love for her went
-What a bad wake up call
-the king (his father) is also super upset, he shuts down the city even though he knew this day was to come
-the death of the horse is equivalent to the death of Maya for me, he had to take the prince to his destination and come back to face the sad kingdom that is empty from Siddhartha
Arata Kalama:
-Arata's teachings were hermit like but he did not have a purpose or a mission to their suffering
Siddhartha and King Vimbasara:
-I wonder if he was actually begging in the streets
-the king Vimbasara saw the hermits light that shone, and wanted him a part of his kingdom
-like a trophy? Companion? What is his strategy to get him to his kingdom and adorn him with earthly things he obviously had no intentions of delving in?
-so his presence and meeting of this king results in a friendship (peace) between that kingdom and his fathers kingdom
-Rudraka, son of Rama is in this story, has followers but five start to follow Siddhartha
Siddhartha deserted by his first disciples:
-seems dead because of such fasting and malnourishment
-Maya comes to see her son, suggests that no one really 'dies' in a concrete way but Siddhartha thinks of the circle of life as being an awful cycle when he thinks of this later on.... logical?
-his followers are not as patient, do not see the good in his nourishment that he is being given, and leave
The tree of knowledge:
-gets clothes from dead slave, washes with help of a god
-Mara attempts to kill him with rising water... must be close to his awakening as a Buddha and defeat of Mara since he sees him as a threat
-five dreams. Whole body laying on top of earth, reed growing from belly button to sky, worms covering legs, birds flying from all directions toward head and appeared gold as they got closer, covered in filth and ascended mountain but filth did not defile him
-Realized from dreams that he would become a Buddha
-given bowl with food, throws bowl into river from knowledge of other Buddha doing same thing
-Grass obtained and made into a seat under tree, bowed to tree before sat
-bowing is a major sign of respect in this time
Mara's defeat:
-Mara's dream in relation to Buddha's transitioning phase
-his son urges him not to fight this, see the good in Siddhartha's transition
-the army he got looked like a Halloween costume party that was gruesome
-trying to frighten Siddhartha but end up frightening army because nothing is working to change his state of mind or surroundings
Siddhartha becomes the Buddha:
-three phases of enlightenment / realization
-death-birth-existence-ties-desire-sensation-contact-six senses-name/form-perception-impression-ignorance.
-ignorance
-realization, 12 times the earth shook and ends in song
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