Unlike many other world saviors, Buddha was an actual  historical figure who lived and taught 2500 years, ago in southeast Asia. He was born 563 B.C. in Kapilvastu, Nepal, and died about 483 B.C.

        The legends and stories of life are as follows:

        Once upon a time there was in northern India a city called Kapilavastu. The king of this land was a member of the Sakya clan named Suddhodana Guatama. His mother’s name was Maya.

         One day during the Festival of the Full Moon of Mid-summer had a disturbing dream. She told her husband of the dream and he summoned his Brahmins, the wise men of his court.

         "This dream brings no misfortune to your race," they told the king, "but a great joy. For a son will be born to you, a worthy descendant of the royal Sakyas. If he dwells in a house, he will become a king, a universal monarch, and rule the world. But if he. should choose to leave his house, to forsake royal power, and go forth among mankind, out of compassion, then he will become a Buddha, and the wisest of men."

           In the Full Moon of May it came time for Maya to deliver. Some of the Buddhist texts say further that on this occasion a great lotus flower sprang up from the earth, bursting it in twain, that joyful Hindu gods made their appearance in the air, revealing themselves up to the waist, and stream of hot-and-cold running water issued from the sky in which the baby was bathed.

           Other stories, are more incredible. They tell us that directly after his birth, this child stood on his feet, examined the four quarters of the Earth, and then, while gods held a white parasol and jeweled fans over his head, he took seven steps toward the north, roaring like a lion and proclaiming to the world that he was the lord of it all.

           At his birth a brilliant light to spread over the Earth, an infinite and splendid radiance which penetrated even to the murky dark regions below the world. The deaf heard, the lame walked, bad-tempered people thought sweet thoughts, and the multitude of heavenly beings sprang into the sky to sing and praise the new born child.

           King Suddhodana gave his son a conqueror's name: Siddhartha, which means "the victorious one."

          The wise men, the Brahmins, came to view the. child and told the king, "Rejoice, sire, for one of the mighty ones is born. Fortune is yours, sire, good fortune is yours!"

          They could plainly see on Siddhartha's small body all of the 32 signs that mark a man of noble destiny. Some of these mystical signs are, a straight frame, soft and tender hands and feet, ankles like rounded shells, delicate and soft skin, a jaw as, strong as a lions, etc.

          Other signs were that on the soles of his feet were the designs of little wheels (chakras), that the small hairs of his body instead of growing downward like other people's, grew upward. Most particularly they noted a curious cluster of hairs, not black, but white, where his eyebrows grew together. His head had a knob on it which gave it shape of a royal turban. On his fingertips there were chakras (complete circles).

         There was a holy man named Asita who lived as a hermit in a cave of the Himalayas. When his meditations were interrupted by the great light and the sound of the heavenly choir, he realized that a great event had taken place on the plains below. He got to his feet and began traveling toward Kapilavastu. At the entrance to the king's palace, he announced himself.

          Since he was clearly a holy man, he was received by the king himself. The young prince Siddhartha was brought before. Asita. Asita gazed on him and praised the child. But then, to the king's alarm, the holy man turned- aside and wept.

"Why are you weeping," exclaimed the king, "shedding tear and heaving sighs? Do you see any danger threatening the prince?"

          And Asita replied, ":I do not weep for the prince, and no danger threatens him. Nay, I weep for myself. Great king, I am old, full of years and worn with age. This prince without doubt shall attain the highest and most perfect wisdom. And 1 shall not live to see it. Therefore I weep, 0 king!"

          To keep his son from becoming a religious teacher, the king brought up his son in luxury and in ignorance of the ills of life, until at the age of 29 he was brought suddenly face to face with sickness, old age, and death. He left his home, resolved to find a way to cure the sorrows of this world even refusing to take a look at his new-born son lest he should waken his wife and be hindered in his purpose.

           For six years he wandered studying under famous yogis. He mastered their techniques but did not attain the answer he sought. He spend years in fasting and extreme austerity, But still he found no answer. Finding that none of these methods and systems provided him with a solution, he gave them up. His companions lost faith in him,^, forsook him, and left him quite alone in his pursuit.

         One day, he sat down at the foot of a pipal tree (which later became  known as the Tree of Enlightenment-  The Bodhi Tree) and resolved not to rise until by earnest meditation he discovered the way to escape from the sorrows of life, and had won a permanent state of peace.

         After a long time in meditation he was enlightened (buddha), which became his title, "the Enlightened One ". The tree, which still stands in India, is know as the Bodhi Tree - the tree of enlightenment.

           He went forth and, in Benares, on the banks of the sacred Ganges River, Buddha preached his now famous Deer Park Sermon in which he revealed to the world what had been revealed to him under the Bodhi Tree.

He spent the rest of his life in preaching the new doctrine to all who will hear. He taught that to achieve real peace, one must eliminate kama (emotional values) from one's life.

           Buddha's teachings were, so powerful that he has been worshipped for 2500 years by more people than any other religion in the world.

          Legend says both Jesus and Buddha were born, enlightened, and died on the same day: Jesus at the Aries Full Moon and Buddha at the Taurus Full Moon.

         Wesak is the most holy time in the Buddhist calendar. The word Wesak itself is the name of the second month of the Indian calendar. The exact date of Wesak is defined according to the astrological calendar, as the time of the Taurus full moon.

        The decision to agree to celebrate Wesak as the Buddha's birthday was formalized at the first Conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) held in Sri Lanka in 1950, although festivals at this time in the Buddhist world are a centuries-old tradition.

        On Wesak Day, Buddhists all over the world commemorate events of significance to Buddhists of all traditions: The birth, enlightenment and the passing away of Gautama Buddha. As Buddhism spread from India it was assimilated into many foreign cultur es, and consequently Wesak is celebrated in many different ways all over the world. 

THE TEACHINGS OF BUDDHA

The three truths:

           1. Nothing is lost in the universe

Matter turns into energy, energy turns into matter. A dead leaf turns into soil. A seed sprouts and becomes a new plant.

           2. Everything Changes

Everything is continuously changing. Life is like a river flowing on and on, ever-changing. Nothing every remains the same.

           3. Law of Cause and Effect

Karma. Every cause has an effect and every effect has a

cause.

The Four Noble Truths

1. Suffering is common to all. -

2. We are the cause of our suffering.

3. To end suffering, stop doing what causes it.

4. Everyone can achieve this path.

The Noble Eight-fold Path

1. Right View. See the world with wisdom and compassion.

2. Right Thought. We are what we think. 3. Right Speech.

4. Right Conduct.5. Right Livelihood. Choose a job that does not hurt others.

6. Right Effort. Do your best at all times.

7. Right Mindfulness. Watch yourself at all times

8. Right Concentration. Do not be distracted.

This is NOT

the Buddha

The image shown above is not an image of Buddha (Shakyamuni), at all. A fat body is usually, as we know, an indication of access to lots of food. Therefore it indicates blessings in the form of prosperity. Sometimes it is also, not surprisingly, associated with fertility.

         The figure shown above is that of Hotei, the Japanese God of contentment and happiness. Hotei has a cheerful face and a big belly. He is the laughihg monk with hands held up' over his head as if supporting the heavens, therefore some equate him with Indra, the sky god. Some people think we ought to rub his belly.

         He is supposedly based on an actual person, and is widely recognized outside of Japan. He carries a large cloth bag over his back, one that never empties, for he uses it to feed the poor and needy. Indeed, the Japanese spelling of "Ho Tei" literally means "cloth bag." He also holds a Chinese fan called an oogi (said to be a "wish giving" fan -- in the distant past, this type of fan was used by the aristocracy to indicate to vassals that their requests would be granted).

Hotei is most likely based on the itinerant tenthcentury century Chinese Buddhist monk and hermit Budaishi (who died in 917), who is said to be an incarnation of Maitreya Bodhisattva. He was a zen priest who cited Buddhist teachings - and roamed around looking scruffy. The Chinese called him Ho-Tei-Shi, which means "old cloth bag." But he was a wonderful speaker and storyteller.

Hotei is sometimes shown surrounded by a group of small children, romping and squealing in delight around his rotund shape. .

In recent times, Hotei is also referred to as the patron saint of restaurateurs and bartenders. When one over eats and over drinks, one may sometimes, jokingly attribute if to Hotei s influence.

Most Chinese and Japanese restaurants and bars have a statue of Hotei in their foyers. Rub his belly for luck.