I use to see this figure in different and various places and wonder what exactly it was. I remember going with my dad to one of those stores that sold the statues for your yard and there it was again. It wasn't until I got older that I found out it is called a Buddha.
Buddha, which means the enlightened one, is the name given to Siddhartha Gautama who lived in India some three to five thousand years ago. He was born to a princely Hindu family and was well educated and protected from the experience of pain and suffering. At the age of twenty-nine, Siddhartha renounced his wealth, abandoned his wife and child and began the quest for inner illumination. For the next forty years, Buddha taught the message of humility and compassion until is death at the age of eighty.
Buddha's message is still one that resonates with many believers and followers. In one of his earliest sermons he spoke about the Four Noble Truths:
1. Pain is universal
2. Desire causes pain
3. Ceasing to desire relieves pain
4. Right conduct leads to release from pain.
The Buddha was an eloquent teacher whose concerns were ethical and democratic. He encouraged the destruction of worldly desires and the renunciation of material wealth. He emphasized modesty, moderation, and compassion and spoke highly of insight, knowledge, and the distinction of "Self." Below is a quote from the great Buddha. May it help you along your way.
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