The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (449 page)

ja of Kapilavastu), and that he married (perhaps more than one wife). His wife Ya
odhar
bore a son, R
hula. Although his father tried to protect Gotama from disturbing experiences, he ordered a carriage and saw, on separate occasions, a sick man, an old man, and a dead man. Disturbed by the thought that these conditions awaited him, he wondered how to escape them. On a fourth trip, he saw an emaciated religious
ascetic
. Gotama abandoned his wife and son, and embarked on extreme asceticism. He discovered that such practices attain their goal—but no more than their goal; and these goals do not lead to escape from suffering and death.
In disillusionment at the limited attainments of asceticism, Gotama reverted to ‘the middle way’ (a characteristic name for ‘Buddhism’) and sat beneath a tree (
Bo
Tree), concentrating on ‘seeing things as they really are’. He passed through the four stages or layers of progressive insight (jh
nas), and reached enlightenment.
His initial response was to remain where he was, but eventually he was prevailed upon (by the god
Brahm
) to share the truth, on the grounds that humans are like lotuses in a pool: all are rooted in mud; most are swamped below the surface; but a few are struggling to the light and some have already blossomed. The Buddha agreed to teach according to the capacity of his audiences (
up
ya-kau
alya
).
The rest of his life (when he had in fact attained
nirv
na
, but the residual appearances of
karma
kept him in apparent form on this earth) was spent wandering, with an increasing band of disciples, in the area of the larger Ganges basin. According to
Majihima Nik
ya
, his last words before death were, ‘Decay is inherent in all compounded things, so continue in watchfulness’ (or ‘… work out your own salvation with diligence’).

 
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(359–429).
Buddhist
Sarv
stiv
da
monk, who was born in Kashmir, and entered the
sa
gha
at 17. He met Chih-yen, who advised him to go to China. There he translated basic works (e.g.
Mah
parinirv
nas
tra
and
Vin
ya
-pi
aka), but came into conflict with
Kum
raj
va
monks, and took refuge, away from the capital, in
Lu-shan
. There he became an interpreter of the teaching of
Huiyuan
.