Buddhist teachings are the basis of a lifestyle based on prudence, moderation and balance. On the day of Asar Purnima, Buddhist followers all over the world resolve to put these ideas and teachings of Buddha into practice as a message in their lives.
According to the chronological description of Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa in Pali literature, Prince Bodhisattva Siddhartha was born in Lumbini, Nepal on the day of Baisakh Purnima in 623 BC. At the age of 29, he set out in search of truth on the day of Asar Purnima at the age of 29 in order to attain complete liberation from worldly folk cycles.
This event is called Mahabhinishkraman of Bodhisattva Siddhartha . In his spiritual journey, he received seventh and eighth levels of meditation from the then great ascetic Acharya Alarkalam and Uddhakaramputra respectively . But after those meditations did not destroy the roots of the clay, he chose the path of extreme penance.
Even after about 6 years of rigorous physical penance, finally, after the kles shaman was not relieved, he went through the exercise remembering the Anapanasati, i.e. awareness of breathing, that he had practiced in his childhood. While following the middle path and practicing mindfulness of breathing, Vipassana meditation was awakened and at the age of 35 on the day of Baisakh Purnima, he attained the state of complete liberation in present-day Bodh Gaya, India, which is called Samyak Sambodhi Lav of Bodhisattva Siddhartha .
The Buddha spent seven weeks after becoming a right sambuddha from the bodhisattva Siddhartha under the bodhi tree where he had attained sambodhi knowledge. He thought that it would be difficult to explain the knowledge he had acquired from the harsh Bodhisattvacharya of the kalpa-kalpa to the common people who were immersed in the worldly cycle, and first of all he felt alienated from the world . On serious consideration again, the Buddha saw through the Bodhinetra the virtuous beings who could benefit from his Samyak Bodhi and be freed from mental disorder, and for their salvation, eternal compassion arose in him . First of all, the desire arose to taste Vimuktiras as a gratitude to the Acharya who allowed him to enter the seventh and eighth higher levels of Dhyanasamapati. However, looking from the Bodhinetra, one realizes that both of them have passed away on the seventh and one day before. Now the Buddha remembers the five ascetic friends who constantly supported him during his 6 years of severe penance and wishes to preach the path of liberation from them.
When Bodhisattva Siddhartha did Mahabhinishkraman, there were five ascetics Kondanya, Assaji, Mahanam, Vappa and Bhaddiya who were Brahmins of Kapilvastu located in present day Nepal. These are known as Panchavargiya Bhikshus . They lived together for 6 years when Bodhisattva Siddhartha was performing his duties and went to Banaras under the illusion that he had gone astray as soon as he left his duties. After attaining enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, the Buddha first gave eternal knowledge of life and the world to these five-class monks at Mrigadavan in Banaras on the day of Asar Purnima. This event is called the turning of the first wheel of religion, i.e. the first cycle of religion.
Buddha's knowledge given to the world through the first Dharmachakra promotion is an important milestone for human history, which paved a new way by defeating the two extremes prevalent in society . On the one hand, the society which was entangled in materialism and sensual pleasures without understanding the true meaning of life and on the other hand, in response to this, the Buddha showed the right and balanced path of life, which is known today as the 'middle path', by saving the seeker who was trapped in unnecessary physical suffering and difficult austerities in the name of religion and spirituality. Under the middle path, the Buddha taught the eight-fold path, which includes right vision, right resolution, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right exercise, right memory and right meditation.
Samyak Drishti means to understand any object or subject in its reality in an objective way through direct experience, while Samyak Sankalp means to witness the various resolution options that come to mind. The practice of both these paths is called Prajna . The practices related to the discipline of mind and body are called right words, right actions and right livelihood, while the remaining three parts come under right exercise, right samadhi and right memory samadhi. In this way, the Buddha preached Sheel, Samadhi and Prajnayukta Arya Ashtangika Madhyama Way for the welfare of the people.
The Four Noble Truths can be taken as the basic teachings of the first Dharmachakra Pravantan, where the Buddha revealed the four truths related to all the sufferings of human life, their causes, their prevention, and the means of prevention. These four truths are the real truths of life and the world, which can be understood at the level of experience to the last degree, they become truths and become the cause of the welfare of beings . Just as a doctor identifies the disease in its entirety, understands the cause of the disease, determines the subject of the disease to be cured and brings the patient out of the disease by giving the necessary medicine, in the same way, the complete practice of the four Arya Satyas makes a person stand from Lokchakra to Dharmachakra, from Anarya to Arya Marga . As a result of Buddha's practice of Dharmachakra, the monks of the five categories attain complete liberation and become the Buddha's First Sangha . In this way, according to the chronological description of the Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa, on the day of Asar Purnima 588 BC, Buddha, Dharma and Sangha were completed and Shakyamuni Buddha's rule began.
The basic essence of Buddhist philosophy, Madhyamarga, Arya Ashtangik path and the land of four noble truths are becoming more relevant in today's world environment . These paths are useful for the spiritual and religious advancement of a person, moreover, these philosophies can become more guiding principles in today's contemporary environment. Today's extreme consumerism, materialism, individualistic thinking, momentaryism, extreme selfishness and blindness towards objectivity are raising questions about the decency of human civilization. Modesty, morality, control over emotions and objective analysis of the subject are the thoughts of the Buddha. Buddhist teachings are the basis of a lifestyle based on prudence, moderation and balance. On the day of Asar Purnima, Buddhist followers around the world are resolving to implement these ideas and teachings of Buddha as messages in their lives. Even today, the first wheel of the Dharmachakra Pravartana continues to revolve in the form of consciousness, compassion and liberation.
– Neupane is an associate professor at Lumbini Buddhist University.
