Born into his family’s small kingdom, Siddhartha Guatama was given everything life had to offer. But he was unhappy living a life of royals. He saw the realities of death, sickness, and suffering and was deeply moved. So, he left his family behind in search of life’s greater meaning. His answer changed the world.
Becoming Buddha
The traditional story of Buddha tells us that he endured all kinds of self-torture and cut his hair to deny his royal status. When he realized he was no closer than when he began, he set off to a pipal tree to meditate until the answers revealed themselves. 49 days later he emerged victorious and Enlightened.
What It Means To Be Buddha
Buddha is a title adorned by the person who achieves true Enlightenment and travels the world to spread its message. It’s Sanskrit for “the one who is awake”. The concept of Enlightenment is central to Buddhism. It’s all about unconditioning yourself from the constructs of life like strong opinions, perceptions, and upbringing. Part of the title of Buddha is sharing the wisdom of your hard-earned Enlightenment with others.
The Buddha does not claim to be divine. His humanity helped drive people towards him and his teachings. The simplicity of Buddhism was quite appealing to many people. Buddhism was delivered to people in their native language. It also isn’t ritualistic, so it isn’t complicated to follow along with the teachings as a new observer.
Social Impacts
Compassion and kindness are marks of the Buddha along with following the Eightfold path of moderation and the Four Noble Truths. These beliefs led Buddhists to be a vocal opponent of caste discrimination and social oppression.
In this, the Buddha held revolutionary beliefs. He regarded women as a man’s equal and counterpart. The role of women in society started to change for the better thanks to him. Society began to acknowledge women as people with worth, even though before they were generally put in the lowest caste.
Women’s accessibility to both education and faith also increased with the rise of Buddhism. Buddha allowed for the first established order for nuns following his teaching. It was an unprecedented stance, since most Indian women were highly dependent on male family members.
Beyond helping Indian women, he made an impact through his travels. Later in Buddha’s life, he went throughout northern India to spread his teachings. Lots of people have attempted to follow in Buddha’s footsteps. As they traveled the world they brought with them Indian culture, language, and literature.
Fun Facts
There is only one Buddha per age of humankind. This means that the Buddha of today is the historical Buddha.
It is thought that Buddhism originated between the sixth and fourth centuries BC.
Around 500 million people practice Buddhism today. That is about ten percent of the world’s population.
Anyone can reach true Enlightenment. Those that do can either be called “arhat” meaning worthy one, or “arahant” meaning perfected one.
In the east, followers don’t use the name Buddhism. They use the names Buddha Dharma or Dharmavinaya.
In Thailand, there is a different Buddha statue for each day of the week. These poses all have unique meanings.
The Buddha left behind big shoes to fill. In honor of Buddha, Maatir’s talented designers crafted a collection of vibrant magnets, iconic totes, and comfortable tees. We want to share with you our art just as Buddha did so many years ago. Let it be a visual reminder of peace in your home.
