Sidhartha born to a king
Brought up as prince
Astrologers foresaw in him a spiritual teacher
Which his king father worried
Who wanted him to become monarch in lineage?
Shielded him from sufferings of the world
Gave him all the pleasures
But the prince saw crippled, old and poor
Their sufferings melted his heart
All the pleasures looked to him shallow
Left home at middle of night
Leaving behind beautiful wife and child Rahul
To find solution for sufferings of the world
Headed to Varanasi, a great center of learning
Searched every book, probed every mind for six years
Could not find answers he was seeking
Left all learning behind
For it did not give him what he sought
Went into deep forests for contemplation
Lived life of recluse
Lost consciousness one day
When he woke up, he realized
This penance led him nowhere
A light descended at once
Surmised, there is no path to truth
But one has to understand one self
Which no teacher can teach
He discovered many more things
‘That truth is a pathless land
suffering is common to all
life here is more important than in heaven
bliss results from good conduct'
Found himself in dilemma
Whether to reach out to world steeped in ignorance
Persuaded himself to go into the world
Taught people eight-fold path
Message started as a trickle
Became bigger and bigger
Emperor Ashoka took his teachings far and wide
Until engulfed whole of Asia and rest of the known world
Sent many a disciple on paths of discovery
'truth cannot be found from others'
But only one lets sail through himself,
Liberation from suffering is in sight
He said time and again
‘To become light unto oneself’
disowned himself as others teacher.
Author notes
Link www.dishq.urg/saints/budha/htm
Giving up physical things never liberated Budha. when he realised that there is no path to truth and 'One should become light unto one self' he became enlightened
A contest entry
- Interesting People from History. (for the serious poets and writers) by Shamanicmusings.
1100 points, ended January 21, 2008, 8 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Buddhist poetry by madskillbassist1.
1050 points, ended February 18, 2008, 18 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - THE PHILOSOPHY AND SPIRITUALITY OF INDIA by maa.
777 points, ended April 16, 2008, 10 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - - Bronze...Go For the Gold - by Desire.
400 points, ended May 17, 2008, 4 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - write about your favorite character. by TChaplinette.
600 points, ended September 22, 2008, 9 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 12 of 12
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Oh My~
Beautiful piece I must say but unfortunately this specific contest calls for pieces from my previous contests only to be considered for Gold...I'm sorry
but Best Wishes in future contests!!
and much love~ Desire~*~
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welcome to this contest dedicated to indian spirituality and philosophy, I feel blessed to read your poem a second time and to integrate different parts of siddharta's message this time ...
what touched me most were these few lines :
"Surmised, there is no path to truth
But one has to understand one self
Which no teacher can teach"
as well as the statement :
"That truth is a pathless land"
thank you so much for the blessings sent through this verse,
pranams,
maa -
A fine poem, worthy of study.
Thank you for your summation of
Siddartha's message in your notes.
Rarely mentioned by others.
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a very enlightening poem! i haven't read the works of Buddha but have truly realized one thing. all religions say similar things in different ways and languages for different kinds of people to understand. And ultimately it is the faith in Your Lord and honesty to oneself that matters.a very beautiful poem .... one that reads wonderful when read slowly, grasping in each line at a time! great!
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I have just finished a book my husband had been offered by a friend, about an occidental sadhu who went to india 35 years ago to find his sadguru and to follow a strict sadhana, and who reveals his experiences through this book ... he has certainly attained many exalted states and accomplished certain siddhas, but I must admit that the more I read about his astral experiences (meeting gods and goddesses etc.) the more I felt that he might have been fascinated by them and gotten attached at a certain stage of his life ... it seems that, like buddha, he has transcended the tendencies towards extreme states in the meantime, and has integrated the wisdom of being in a constant state of meditation and communion with oneself (and all), no matter the physical activity ...
I still remember when I was told once not to strive for spiritual powers (siddhas) and should they come, which they will during serious sadhana, to welcome them without attachment, and to let them go again ...
well, all this came up while reading your poem ...
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Well, the only thing I can say was this poem was amazing. You went through Buddha's entire life and even included quotes and teachings of Buddha. Very well done.
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How I love Buddhic teachings and wisdom! This was a wonderful write!
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Thankyou for entering this wonder insightful poem.
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By those who remain within their own shells this story is the mysterious unknown. Thank you for bronging it here and sharing you Light with those here.
Bravo!
Marianne
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This is wonderful We know the stories of Budha Excellent Write and Good luck with it in the contest Dear Brother
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what a wonderfully condencsed history here! I have read Sidhartha but I think this little version gives much clarity to the pieces that were missing. Thankyou for this.
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This is such a great write and such a wonderful topic. I was actually reading this about a month ago, about how he ran out from his family, searching for the truth. Great story and perfect for the contest. All the best.
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