⑼Buddha has renounced severe suffering and has been restored by Sujata's milk porridge. Enlightenment is finally near.

The life of Buddha (Shakyamuni Buddha) as seen through local photographs] ⑼
　Buddha, having renounced severe suffering and recovered by Sujata's milk gruel. Enlightenment is finally near.

Previous Article⑻Buddha's six-year ascetic life: the transmission of meditation techniques by two masters and the ascetic Buddha's rigorous ascetic practices."In the previous article, I described Buddha's six years of severe asceticism, and now the day has come when he will attain enlightenment. In this article, we will talk about the Buddha just before his attainment of enlightenment.

Buddha Abandoning Suffering

Buddha's six years of asceticism were conducted with unimaginable stoicism. A look at the famous fasting Buddha of Gandhara will give you an idea of the grandeur of his life.

But then an intuition flashed in his mind.Buddhacharita."describes the dramatic moment as follows.

The saint, whose body had been mischievously injured by his intense suffering, fearing to be born again into a world of suffering, and desiring to become a man of understanding of the Truth, thought that he would

'This teaching of suffering is of no use for freedom from lust, for understanding the truth, or for the liberation of the soul.' (omitted)."

Therefore, he took care to improve his physical fitness, and furthermore, he thought as follows.

'He who is tired and exhausted from hunger and thirst, his heart is sick with fatigue. How can one who has no peace of mind obtain what should be obtained with the mind?

When the sense organs are always full, peace of mind is attained. When the sensory organs are well-filled, mental health is attained.

From a healthy and contented mind, deep mental concentration (sami) arises. The practice of meditation begins in the mind with deep mental concentration.

By the beginning of meditation, the correct doctrine is obtained. By the right doctrine, the highest state of unobtainable tranquility, the state of immortality, is attained.

Therefore, this method presupposes a meal". So the saint, whose will is strong and whose wisdom is infinite, decided to take a meal.Kodansha, Yuichi Kajiyama, Nobuhiko Kobayashi, Musashi Tachikawa, Katsumi Omaki, Translation "Complete Translation of Buddhacharita" P142-143

This is a very important place to consider Buddha's teachings.

First,The saint, whose body had been mischievously injured by intense penance, fearing to be born again into a world of suffering, and desiring to become a man of the understanding of the truth, thought:"The Buddha's greatest fear was that he would be born again into a world of suffering.

This is truly an Indian way of thinking about the world.

In ancient India, there was a belief that all living beings, not just human beings, are reincarnated and continue to be reborn. They believed that to escape from this loop of reincarnation was "salvation" (liberation). This was a very Indian view of human beings, who believed that the world was a world of suffering, and that no matter how many times they were reborn, they would only continue to suffer in the end.

The Chinese, on the other hand, are more world-centered and believe that this world is a wonderful place to live in. From this reality-affirming approach comes the idea of immortality and immortals. In India, the world is a world of suffering that should be hated, whereas in China, the world is a world to be enjoyed, and liberation from the world is unacceptable. These diametrically opposed worldviews had a great influence on the later acceptance of Buddhism in China, which in turn led to Japanese thought.

At any rate, Buddha continued to practice under this Indian worldview, and he himself was aiming for liberation.

The Buddha realized that such practices and meditations would not lead to liberation.

This teaching of suffering does nothing to free us from lust, to understand the truth, or to liberate our souls."

Those who are doing hardship may feel that since they are doing something so painful, there must be a reward, but Buddha intuited that it is not helpful to leave the suffering of this world. This may seem obvious if you ask me, but I think this idea is more difficult to grasp the more serious the practitioner is in his or her suffering. It is not surprising that they would be outraged if they were told that their lives, which are completely different from those of those who live peacefully in the world, in which they abandon everything and devote themselves to ascetic practice, have nothing to do with salvation in the first place. What is the point of each person's desperate efforts? However, the Buddha achieved this change in thinking.

Thus, Buddha stopped fasting and went down to the village to beg for alms. There he met a girl named Sujata.

Milk porridge of Neelanjara River and Sujata

Buddha bathed in the Neelanjara River, which flows right in front of BuddhagayaZen River Nunrendouble-barreled pictureIt was a river called the Today it is called the Falg River, and here it becomes a river that almost runs out of water during the dry season.

This is the Neelanjara River a little downstream from the previous photo. I visited during the dry season in February, so the water has completely dried up. The spire on the other side of the river is the Great Pagoda of Bodh Gaya. As I will introduce later, this is the holy place where Buddha attained enlightenment.

Buddha descended the mountain and first bathed in this body to purify his body. His body was at its limit. Just as he was about to die of consumption, Sujata, who had just arrived to offer an offering to the god of the forest, found him. She gave milk gruel to the saint, who looked extraordinarily divine in spite of his weakened body.

Thanks to this milk porridge, Buddha regained his strength and was resurrected.

Japanese Soup CompanySujahta (brand of coffee cream and icecream)is famous for getting its name from this very anecdote. I also love Sujata corn soup and drink it often.

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