HISTORY OF BUDDHISM : 2. AT THE ORIGINS: THE VENERATED SHAKYAMUNI, THE HISTORICAL BUDDHA Kindle Edition

I, Marcellin Zirignon, a Bodhisattva of the earth, became a Buddha in January 1993 before the age of 23. This followed six months of intense Gongyo practice, crowning arduous Bodhisattvic practices initiated at birth and which continue to this day. Acting for the moment as a provisional Buddha (one who hides his true identity while striving to save all living beings), I wish, through this sutra, to lead humanity to Buddhahood immediately and in this lifetime—in other words, to help others become Buddhas like me, here and now.Born into an aristocratic family of ancient India in the 6th or 5th century BC, depending on the sources, Siddhartha Gautama was deeply afflicted by the state of great distress in which his loved ones and the surrounding world languished. At the age of 24, he renounced the throne in favor of an ascetic life, seeking a spiritual remedy capable of healing humanity of all its ills. After a period of ascetic practices lasting between six and twelve years, he discovered the ways and means to end the sufferings of birth and death. Revealing himself as the "physician of civilization," he took the name Shakyamuni, meaning the sage (muni) of the Shakya clan, his tribe of origin.Shakyamuni taught for nearly half a century. During the first forty-one years of his ministry, following a propaedeutic framework, he prepared his disciples' intellects to receive the true Dharma of his advent in this world (saha): the Lotus Sutra. The teaching of this "Sutra of Sutras," which lasted approximately ten years, was concluded by the Nirvana Sutra. At the age of 80, he entered Great Nirvana.What should be retained from the Buddha’s Dharma?The possibility of escaping the sufferings of the cycle of birth and death by attaining Buddhahood;The universalization of the attainment of Buddhahood;The possibility of immediate and direct enlightenment;The assurance that the Buddhist Law will propagate during the troubled era of Mappo, so that absolute wisdom and happiness may henceforth reign over Jambudvipa (the southern continent);The consubstantial nature of the Buddha state within human nature. Read more