Reading Notes: Life of Buddha, Part B


For the second part of the Life of Buddha reading, I chose to focus on the story where Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this unit. From the beginning when Queen Maya had a dream, to the birth of Siddhartha, Siddhartha's life, and then Siddhartha becoming Buddha. It has been really interesting to follow this story and see how it progresses.

I find the statement, "There is old age and death because there is birth." to be very interesting... and philosophical. It is a unique perspective on life and death. Also, it was interesting to see how the significance progresses from old age/death to birth, from birth to existence, from existence to ties, etc. It was interesting to see the thought process in this paragraph basically explaining the reason for life. I also found the sentence, "By leading a life of holiness, desire is stifled, and we cease to endure birth and suffering." to be quite interesting. I'll admit I am having a little trouble deciphering what this statement means. But, it is an interesting concept that living a life of holiness allows you to escape birth. I plan to look further into this concept. 

Like I mentioned above, I really enjoyed reading and learning about this unit. I think this could potentially be an interesting set of stories to re-write for a story project.

 Buddha Statue
Source: Max Pixal

Bibliography: The Life of Buddha by Andre Feridnand Herold (1922).

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