Question

With reference to the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha, explain the following:

How did Buddha get Enlightenment?

Answer 1

The given question with reference to the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha is answered as below:

Gautama Buddha was born about the years 567 BC in the village of Lumbini near Kapilavastu. The Kshatriya Prince, Gautam was the son of Suddhodhana, the Chief of the Shakya Clan of Kapilavastu in the foot-hills of Nepal.Right from childhood, his inclination was towards deep spiritual matters and got never enticed to the luxuries of royal life. He was married to princess Yashodhara and they had a son named, Rahula. Gautama could no longer get entwined to the family life, as his urge to find the solution to the enigmatic process of life and death, never allowed him to remain at ease. The “Four Great Sights” in Buddha’s life brought a big change in his life and at the age of 29, he broke all his worldly ties and left his palace as an ascetic in search of truth. This event came to be known as the Great Renunciation (Maha Parityaga). When Gautama Buddha’s spiritual quest could not be quenched after he accompanied a number of Brahmins and religious teachers. The severe penance that he performed along with five Brahmin ascetics also proved to be futile to seek the answers to his questions of the mysticsm. He gave up penance after learning it’s futility. Then he sat under a Pipal tree at Bodh Gaya and remained in meditation till he attained spiritual knowledge.