0:00:01.000,0:00:07.674
Five hundred years before Christ[br]a young prince set out on a journey.

0:00:07.674,0:00:13.447
He would travel through pain[br]and suffering to reach nirvana

0:00:13.447,0:00:17.284
- the everlasting bliss we all dream of.

0:00:17.284,0:00:20.587
Symbol of peace

0:00:20.587,0:00:23.857
Symbol of compassion,[br]symbol of non-violence.

0:00:23.857,0:00:30.931
He was the Buddha.

0:00:30.931,0:00:34.234
He grew up in a palace surrounded[br]by luxury.

0:00:34.234,0:00:38.138
In his teens his privilege afforded him[br]every indulgence

0:00:38.138,0:00:44.278
But he gave all this up[br]- to gain ultimate wisdom.

0:00:44.278,0:00:51.785
He would travel the darkest corridors[br]of his mind to come face to face

0:00:51.785,0:00:55.989
with the devil inside him.

0:00:55.989,0:00:59.793
He founded the first world religion,

0:00:59.793,0:01:02.162
followed today by over 400 million people

0:01:02.162,0:01:06.066
- a religion where[br]meditation is used to reach

0:01:06.066,0:01:08.602
a state of complete peace and happiness.

0:01:08.602,0:01:12.806
Our own potential our own effort

0:01:12.806,0:01:15.876
to know the ultimate reality.

0:01:15.876,0:01:20.380
And the events of his life make up one of

0:01:20.380,0:01:22.883
the greatest stories ever told

0:01:22.883,0:01:25.219
- and the Buddha the world's most[br]enduring icon.

0:01:25.219,0:01:40.901
Two and a half thousand years after[br]his death the Buddha's message lives on.

0:01:40.901,0:01:47.040
The Dalai Lama

0:01:47.040,0:01:48.375
- the spiritual figurehead of[br]Tibetan Buddhism

0:01:48.375,0:01:51.144
- passes on the teachings of the Buddha

0:01:51.144,0:01:53.347
- continuing a practice that[br]began the day he died.

0:01:53.347,0:01:59.253
Buddhism has been adopted by many different[br]cultures and has many interpretations.

0:01:59.253,0:02:05.025
The Buddha's teachings of[br]a higher mental calm

0:02:05.025,0:02:07.327
and clarity are seen by some as a religion,[br]others a philosophy, even a psychotherapy.

0:02:07.327,0:02:14.001
Some people[br]describe Buddhism is not a religion

0:02:14.001,0:02:17.471
but Buddhism is science of mind.

0:02:17.471,0:02:21.675
The Buddha's message is as relevant today

0:02:21.675,0:02:24.111
as it was two[br]and a half thousand years ago.

0:02:24.111,0:02:27.181
What has made Buddhism so popular

0:02:27.181,0:02:29.416
is that it is insightful[br]and largely true that

0:02:29.416,0:02:32.519
the Buddha discovered[br]immensely important things.

0:02:32.519,0:02:36.757
Unlike other religions, Buddhism,

0:02:36.757,0:02:38.892
which centers on the mind,[br]has no supreme God.

0:02:38.892,0:02:42.296
Instead a great teacher[br]- the Buddha or the Awakened One.

0:02:42.296,0:02:48.168
It seems very almost intuitive to an age

0:02:48.168,0:02:52.139
in which psychology becomes for many people[br]an alternative to religion

0:02:52.139,0:02:56.643
it's the means it's a therapeutic means

0:02:56.643,0:02:59.413
to dealing with the problems of life

0:02:59.413,0:03:01.615
and so it seems very accessible[br]to many people.

0:03:01.615,0:03:05.819
There are many representations[br]of the Buddha

0:03:05.819,0:03:08.622
- and Buddhists all have their own picture[br]in their minds of what he was like.

0:03:08.622,0:03:13.360
Some kind of vibration of complete peace,[br]non-violence I think that must be there.

0:03:13.360,0:03:24.605
Until little more than[br]one hundred years ago

0:03:24.605,0:03:27.407
the life of the Buddha remained unknown[br]to the West.

0:03:27.407,0:03:31.545
By the time the British colonized India

0:03:31.545,0:03:34.014
- the country of the Buddha's birth[br]- Buddhism had all but died out,

0:03:34.014,0:03:38.485
destroyed by Hindu kings[br]and Muslim invaders.

0:03:38.485,0:03:42.823
The origins and the sites of[br]the Buddha's life became lost to everyone.

0:03:42.823,0:03:48.228
It wasn't until[br]British colonial archaeologists

0:03:48.228,0:03:50.964
began to explore Northern India[br]that their discoveries

0:03:50.964,0:03:54.268
began to root the Buddha's life[br]in historical fact.

0:03:54.268,0:03:59.106
In the 1860's,

0:03:59.106,0:04:00.641
a series of archaeologists began to try

0:04:00.641,0:04:03.443
and identify the sites associated[br]with the life of the Buddha.

0:04:03.443,0:04:08.882
By the 1890's many of these sites

0:04:08.882,0:04:11.718
had been successfully identified[br]within the Ganges area,

0:04:11.718,0:04:16.423
but that time two of the great sites[br]connected with Buddhism were still missing,

0:04:16.423,0:04:21.495
the site of Lumbini,[br]where the Buddha had actually been born,

0:04:21.495,0:04:24.865
and the site of Kapilavastu[br]which was the childhood home of the Buddha.

0:04:24.865,0:04:30.304
The area to the north of the Ganges[br]was less well known,

0:04:30.304,0:04:33.907
partly because of[br]the very thick jungle there,

0:04:33.907,0:04:36.944
tigers as well as malaria.

0:04:36.944,0:04:41.448
It took a breakthrough discovery to unlock

0:04:41.448,0:04:43.750
the story of the Buddha's origins.

0:04:43.750,0:04:48.822
In a remote village across the border[br]in Nepal a pillar was discovered.

0:04:48.822,0:04:55.195
A British expedition was sent out[br]to decipher its inscription.

0:04:55.195,0:04:59.366
The script is the early Brami script

0:04:59.366,0:05:01.335
and the language is[br]a local vernacular language

0:05:01.335,0:05:05.038
of Northern India[br]and indeed the inscription itself depicts

0:05:05.038,0:05:09.376
that this is where the Buddha,[br]the enlightened one was born.

0:05:09.376,0:05:17.718
This was the first piece of[br]evidence to suggest that the Buddha

0:05:17.718,0:05:20.787
was not just a legendary figure[br]- he actually existed.

0:05:20.787,0:05:25.759
Ancient Buddhist texts[br]had named the Buddha's birthplace as Lumbini

0:05:25.759,0:05:30.097
and now the archaeologists[br]had it located on the map.

0:05:30.097,0:05:35.602
Now they tried to find[br]the Buddha's childhood home

0:05:35.602,0:05:38.305
- an ancient city named in the texts as[br]- Kapilavastu.

0:05:38.305,0:05:43.343
It was apparent that[br]it was located to the west

0:05:43.343,0:05:46.480
perhaps 10 or 15 kilometers[br]to the west of Lumbini

0:05:46.480,0:05:50.551
and that is where the search[br]began to intensify.

0:05:50.551,0:05:54.421
Expeditions uncovered two possible sites

0:05:54.421,0:05:57.057
for Kapilavastu[br]- one in India the other in Nepal.

0:05:57.057,0:06:02.663
For a hundred years archaeologists[br]have argued over them.

0:06:02.663,0:06:07.301
New research by Dr Coningham[br]and his team

0:06:07.301,0:06:09.937
suggests the ancient city lay[br]at modern day Tilaurakot - in Nepal.

0:06:09.937,0:06:15.475
It's an extremely exciting site[br]because it is so well preserved,

0:06:15.475,0:06:19.880
we conducted that a series of[br]geo physical surveys

0:06:19.880,0:06:23.483
and we then identified a series of roads[br]laid out and it became a clear

0:06:23.483,0:06:29.489
that the entire city in its final phrase[br]had been laid out on a girded pattern.

0:06:29.489,0:06:37.331
At its centre lay a palace.

0:06:37.331,0:06:40.033
It is here that the Buddha's story begins.

0:06:40.033,0:06:46.773
Two and a half thousand years ago

0:06:46.773,0:06:48.976
Northern India was divided up[br]into Kingdoms and republics.

0:06:48.976,0:06:53.780
The Buddha's father - Sudhodana

0:06:53.780,0:06:56.016
- was the elected chieftain[br]of the Shakya tribe.

0:06:56.016,0:07:00.220
He ruled his kingdom from his palace[br]near the foothills of the Himalayas.

0:07:00.220,0:07:05.559
His queen was called Maya.

0:07:05.559,0:07:09.029
Legend tells that on the night

0:07:09.029,0:07:10.797
of the full moon[br]she had an extraordinary dream.

0:07:10.797,0:07:14.601
It told that a special Being known

0:07:14.601,0:07:16.537
as the Buddha[br]was about to be born again on earth.

0:07:16.537,0:07:22.176
The legend goes on[br]that Four Guardian deities of the world

0:07:22.176,0:07:25.445
carried Queen Maya up to[br]the Himalaya mountains in her bed.

0:07:25.445,0:07:30.150
They anointed her with divine perfumes[br]and decked her with heavenly flowers.

0:07:30.150,0:07:35.255
A white elephant with[br]six tusks descended from heaven,

0:07:35.255,0:07:38.592
carrying a lotus flower in its trunk,[br]and entered her womb.

0:07:38.592,0:07:43.096
The Buddha would be born of Maya.

0:07:43.096,0:07:47.568
If one looks at this story of[br]the Buddhist conception and compares it

0:07:47.568,0:07:51.138
to say the conception story of Jesus,[br]where you have angels appearing.

0:07:51.138,0:07:56.944
I suppose a similar basic idea is there.[br]That the forces which are beyond

0:07:56.944,0:08:04.685
are signaling that[br]something great is happening.

0:08:04.685,0:08:07.554
Its said that the Buddha chose the time[br]and the place that he would be reborn.

0:08:07.554,0:08:14.561
The baby boy was named Siddhartha[br]- meaning 'every wish fulfilled'.

0:08:14.561,0:08:19.299
But his mother fell ill after giving birth[br]and died a few days later.

0:08:19.299,0:08:23.704
Siddharta was brought up by his aunt.

0:08:23.704,0:08:27.307
The family summoned Brahmin priests

0:08:27.307,0:08:29.443
and then a trusted palace soothsayer[br]to predict the young prince's future

0:08:29.443,0:08:34.414
We're told that he noticed

0:08:34.414,0:08:35.349
the auspicious signs of a great[br]being upon Siddhartha's body,

0:08:35.349,0:08:39.987
including the mark of[br]a wheel upon his feet.

0:08:39.987,0:08:44.091
It's said that the Buddha was born

0:08:44.091,0:08:46.727
with certain marks on his body[br]the so called 32 marks of a great person.

0:08:46.727,0:08:52.266
They are seen as appearing on[br]the body of two kinds of people.

0:08:52.266,0:08:55.335
One who will become the Buddha[br]and one who will become a world Emperor.

0:08:55.335,0:09:00.207
His father was quite keen on the idea

0:09:00.207,0:09:02.309
that his son would become[br]a great political leader.

0:09:02.309,0:09:05.245
So this is why it is said that[br]he cosseted his son,

0:09:05.245,0:09:08.949
to prevent him seeing things which[br]might send him in a religious direction.

0:09:08.949,0:09:19.793
Everyone knew the signs meant Siddharta[br]was exceptional, especially the King.

0:09:19.793,0:09:25.432
But as he watched his

0:09:25.432,0:09:26.533
inquisitive young son growing up[br]he worried about these predictions

0:09:26.533,0:09:30.938
- that one day his son would abandon[br]the palace and become the spiritual leader

0:09:30.938,0:09:35.108
rather than stay to become[br]chief of the Shakyas.

0:09:35.108,0:09:44.685
As Siddhartha grew older his father[br]was delighted to see the boy's exceptional

0:09:44.685,0:09:48.856
ability at the princely sports of fencing,[br]wrestling and archery.

0:09:48.856,0:09:54.695
But he also noticed that Siddharta[br]was a deeply thoughtful and curious child.

0:09:54.695,0:10:00.167
He appeared to be more interested in[br]trying to understand

0:10:00.167,0:10:02.870
the nature of the world around him[br]than in military pursuits.

0:10:02.870,0:10:07.741
For the King these were[br]the most important skills

0:10:07.741,0:10:10.744
young Siddharta should learn[br]if he was to become a leader of men.

0:10:10.744,0:10:16.049
Siddhartha was expected to become

0:10:16.049,0:10:17.718
the future King[br]and defender of Kapilavasthu

0:10:17.718,0:10:21.155
- one of the very first cities[br]in Northern India.

0:10:21.155,0:10:26.226
The Palace where Siddhartha grew up[br]has long since crumbled away.

0:10:26.226,0:10:30.564
Its mud and wood construction

0:10:30.564,0:10:32.099
have left nothing[br]for archaeologists to examine.

0:10:32.099,0:10:35.335
But more durable materials have recently[br]been discovered at Tilaurakot.

0:10:35.335,0:10:40.073
We cut a trench 3 meters by 3 meters[br]and eventually

0:10:40.073,0:10:43.777
We had a very clear sequence at the site

0:10:43.777,0:10:46.013
and then we began to be somewhat surprised[br]by identifying a material known as

0:10:46.013,0:10:51.685
painted greyware which is basically[br]a flat bowl with black paint.

0:10:51.685,0:10:57.524
This tiny fragment has huge significance.

0:10:57.524,0:11:00.694
Dr Coningham believes it was[br]made in the 5th Century BC

0:11:00.694,0:11:04.565
- at the time Siddhartha was[br]growing up in the palace.

0:11:04.565,0:11:08.368
What we have is a centre of small industry[br]- We are probably dealing with a settlement

0:11:08.368,0:11:13.907
that we would even hesitate[br]to call a city today

0:11:13.907,0:11:17.277
- centered around a large[br]courtyard belonging to the ruler.

0:11:17.277,0:11:22.249
And the majority of the population living[br]in the agrarian hinterland.

0:11:22.249,0:11:30.557
It was this hinterland,

0:11:30.557,0:11:32.292
lying beyond the city walls[br]that fascinated Siddhartha.

0:11:32.292,0:11:36.930
So when at the age of nine

0:11:36.930,0:11:38.098
his father allowed him out[br]to celebrate the annual ploughing festival

0:11:38.098,0:11:41.902
he eagerly participated.

0:11:41.902,0:11:45.539
His first glimpse of reality beyond

0:11:45.539,0:11:47.407
the palace walls would open a door[br]for Siddharta to a new vision of the world

0:11:47.407,0:11:52.279
and would become[br]the turning point of his life.

0:11:52.279,0:12:00.554
The story recalls that[br]he watched a farmer ploughing.

0:12:00.554,0:12:03.790
He saw the toil and effort, struggle and[br]repetition of this back-breaking work,

0:12:03.790,0:12:08.862
something he'd never seen in the palace.

0:12:08.862,0:12:16.537
He managed to slip away from[br]the festivities and be alone.

0:12:16.537,0:12:20.674
This first experience of real life[br]had a profound effect upon him.

0:12:20.674,0:12:25.379
To everyone else this was a celebration

0:12:25.379,0:12:28.682
- but to Siddhartha it symbolized[br]something quite different.

0:12:28.682,0:12:37.124
He felt his mind leading him[br]into a contemplative state.

0:12:37.124,0:12:42.329
He watched the plough as it cut

0:12:42.329,0:12:44.097
and parted the ground and noticed a bird[br]eating a freshly unearthed worm.

0:12:44.097,0:12:50.003
He asked himself why living beings[br]have to suffer in this way.

0:12:50.003,0:12:55.108
If the farmer had not been ploughing[br]the bird would not have eaten the worm.

0:12:55.108,0:13:00.280
He realized that everything was connected[br]and that all actions had consequences.

0:13:00.280,0:13:05.953
This simple observation would become

0:13:05.953,0:13:07.955
one of the corner stones of his teachings[br]- known as karma.

0:13:07.955,0:13:12.860
As Siddharta's mind focused[br]on these profound thoughts he slipped

0:13:12.860,0:13:16.663
into a trance or jana[br]- a mental state which would become

0:13:16.663,0:13:20.400
his first step[br]on the road to enlightenment.

0:13:20.400,0:13:24.137
He was sat under a tree

0:13:24.137,0:13:25.506
and he was just focusing on[br]the plough going through the earth.

0:13:25.506,0:13:30.143
And its said while doing that[br]he fairly Naturally went into

0:13:30.143,0:13:33.413
a meditative state called a first Jana.[br]Which was very very joyful and happy.

0:13:33.413,0:13:38.452
And which he later uses[br]as part of his spiritual path.

0:13:38.452,0:13:42.389
The connection to Buddhist meditation

0:13:42.389,0:13:44.057
is the focusing on something[br]which has a calming centering effect.

0:13:44.057,0:13:48.128
Possibly also the idea of compassion

0:13:48.128,0:13:50.063
for the worms being killed as[br]the plough went through the earth.

0:13:50.063,0:13:56.503
So I suppose one would see this as[br]just part of his rather special nature.

0:13:56.503,0:14:02.376
The young prince's behavior[br]deeply unsettled the King.

0:14:02.376,0:14:06.647
Brahmanism[br]- the religious tradition of the time

0:14:06.647,0:14:09.850
- insisted that sons should follow[br]in the footsteps of their fathers.

0:14:09.850,0:14:15.189
One of the things that I think[br]makes this narrative so powerful is,

0:14:15.189,0:14:18.926
again we can imagine[br]this scene of his father

0:14:18.926,0:14:25.465
trying to protect his son[br]encountering any suffering.

0:14:25.465,0:14:28.569
Now the reason for doing this is[br]that there has been a prophesy that/

0:14:28.569,0:14:33.040
he'll either become a universal monarch

0:14:33.040,0:14:35.242
or he'll become a renunciant[br]who will gain enlightenment.

0:14:35.242,0:14:39.813
His father of course wants him to become[br]a king to follow in his footsteps.

0:14:39.813,0:14:47.020
As Siddhartha grew up

0:14:47.020,0:14:48.422
his father did all he could to tempt him[br]to stay inside the palace.

0:14:48.422,0:14:52.759
He tried to create a perfect[br]and seductive world for him to live in.

0:14:52.759,0:15:07.374
As was Customary for a prince,[br]Siddhartha was offered beautiful maidens

0:15:07.374,0:15:11.545
to entertain him with music and[br]to pleasure him with their physical beauty.

0:15:11.545,0:15:29.596
When Siddhartha reached the age of sixteen

0:15:29.596,0:15:32.032
the King even found him a beautiful bride[br]- Princess Yasodhara.

0:15:32.032,0:15:38.572
Siddharta had to compete for her hand

0:15:38.572,0:15:40.908
and the King was delighted how skillfully[br]his son fought off the competition.

0:15:40.908,0:15:47.147
The King began to convince himself

0:15:47.147,0:15:49.082
that palace life was beginning[br]to suit his son at last.

0:15:49.082,0:15:53.420
But this was wishful thinking

0:15:53.420,0:15:55.355
and Siddhartha pestered his father[br]to allow him out of the palace.

0:15:55.355,0:16:01.261
Unable to refuse[br]his son's wishes any longer,

0:16:01.261,0:16:03.931
the King desperately set about

0:16:03.931,0:16:05.432
clearing every eyesore[br]from the surrounds of the palace.

0:16:05.432,0:16:13.073
Like a Hollywood film set, the sick,[br]the poor and the old were all deleted

0:16:13.073,0:16:17.644
from the fantasy[br]presented to the young prince.

0:16:17.644,0:16:23.617
Despite his father's efforts,

0:16:23.617,0:16:25.419
Siddhartha's first taste of the[br]outside world would reveal stark realities.

0:16:25.419,0:16:32.793
With the naivety of a child[br]he set out with Chana,

0:16:32.793,0:16:35.896
his charioteer, as his guide.

0:16:35.896,0:16:42.736
The prince would make four journeys[br]and see four signs

0:16:42.736,0:16:46.974
- as predicted[br]by the palace fortune teller.

0:16:46.974,0:16:50.677
Early Buddhist texts place great importance[br]on this point in the story

0:16:50.677,0:16:54.948
as each journey would reveal to Siddhartha

0:16:54.948,0:16:57.518
an aspect of life which had been[br]deliberately hidden from him.

0:16:57.518,0:17:03.957
On his first trip Siddhartha[br]went out into the country,

0:17:03.957,0:17:07.494
away from his father's influence.

0:17:07.494,0:17:11.131
He noticed an old man painfully making[br]his way through a village.

0:17:11.131,0:17:16.170
He asked Chana what was wrong with the man

0:17:16.170,0:17:18.672
and Chana explained[br]the process of ageing to him.

0:17:18.672,0:17:24.878
Siddhartha was alarmed

0:17:24.878,0:17:25.913
when he learnt that ageing is inescapable[br]and happens to us all.

0:17:25.913,0:17:34.454
For Siddhartha,

0:17:34.454,0:17:35.522
reality was beginning to unveil[br]a cruel picture of the world.

0:17:35.522,0:17:39.827
- Where misfortune and suffering appeared[br]to dominate every aspect of life.

0:17:39.827,0:17:48.936
The second sign was soon to follow

0:17:48.936,0:17:50.804
when Siddhartha noticed a sick man,[br]his features twisted with disease.

0:17:50.804,0:17:57.778
He asked Chana if anyone could become sick[br]and again he was shocked

0:17:57.778,0:18:02.015
when he learnt the brutal truth[br]that we all can.

0:18:02.015,0:18:08.822
The protective wall of fantasy around him[br]was beginning to crumble.

0:18:08.822,0:18:12.960
And the further the young Prince ventured[br]the more of life's horrors confronted him.

0:18:16.514,0:18:20.067
Now he saw a corpse, bound in linen,

0:18:20.067,0:18:22.736
being carried to the funeral pyre[br]- and the story records that Siddhartha

0:18:22.736,0:18:26.673
is appalled to discover[br]not only that all men are mortal,

0:18:26.673,0:18:30.511
but also that it was a Brahmin belief[br]that after death we are all reborn

0:18:30.511,0:18:35.082
- to suffer and die time and time again.

0:18:35.082,0:18:41.722
There seemed no end

0:18:41.722,0:18:43.157
and no solution to life's miserable[br]and inevitable cycle.

0:18:43.157,0:18:48.929
The Buddha's life is an allegory[br]because the most important point in it is

0:18:48.929,0:18:54.434
that here is a young man[br]who is brought up with every luxury

0:18:54.434,0:18:59.406
and he realizes that isn't enough[br]because he has a shock.

0:18:59.406,0:19:03.410
He has a shock because for the first time[br]he encounters old age,

0:19:03.410,0:19:10.184
disease and death.

0:19:10.184,0:19:14.087
It's not plausible to think that[br]growing up as an intelligent youth

0:19:14.087,0:19:18.959
he wouldn't have known anything about it.[br]The point is rather to

0:19:18.959,0:19:23.463
convey the tremendous impact that[br]coming face to face with

0:19:23.463,0:19:28.101
these fundamental facts of human existence,[br]has and must have upon us,

0:19:28.101,0:19:33.874
and that it's urgent[br]that we do something about it.

0:19:33.874,0:19:40.948
But it was the fourth sign that would[br]definitively point to Siddharta's future

0:19:40.948,0:19:45.686
- a man wearing a simple robe[br]with a begging bowl before him.

0:19:45.686,0:19:51.525
Why should anyone want to give up[br]the pleasures of the world

0:19:51.525,0:19:54.261
to wander the countryside, begging?[br]Asked the prince.

0:19:54.261,0:19:58.065
Chana explained that the man had renounced[br]such pleasures in order to confront reality

0:19:58.065,0:20:03.337
and seek answers to this painful existence.

0:20:03.337,0:20:09.843
The account of the four signs[br]I see as quite an effective story way

0:20:09.843,0:20:15.516
of putting certain existential realizations[br]we all know we are going to get old

0:20:15.516,0:20:20.454
we all know we are going to get sick[br]we all know we are going to die

0:20:20.454,0:20:23.190
in our heads but its very different[br]to sit down on day

0:20:23.190,0:20:26.660
and realize here no is not just[br]other people who get old sick and die

0:20:26.660,0:20:31.899
its I'm going to get old[br]I'm going to get sick and I'm going to die

0:20:31.899,0:20:36.904
and I think the story accounts[br]are trying to portray

0:20:36.904,0:20:40.641
that moment of existential realization[br]where you see it for the first time

0:20:40.641,0:20:45.579
you are going to die[br]and you know it and you taste it.

0:20:45.579,0:20:49.716
When Siddartha returned to the palace[br]after this fourth journey

0:20:49.716,0:20:53.487
his mind was reeling[br]with his new understanding of the world.

0:20:53.487,0:21:01.328
The fruits and flowers around him[br]would rot and wither away.

0:21:01.328,0:21:06.066
Even the walls of the palace[br]would one day crumble.

0:21:06.066,0:21:11.338
His wife had just given[br]birth to a beautiful child.

0:21:11.338,0:21:14.575
But they would both one day grow old,

0:21:14.575,0:21:17.277
become ill and die. It was inevitable.

0:21:17.277,0:21:22.716
He had learnt the meaning of impermanence[br]and saw it in everything around him.

0:21:22.716,0:21:28.755
Siddharta knew he had to leave his family

0:21:28.755,0:21:31.058
to seek answers to the questions[br]that tormented him,

0:21:31.058,0:21:34.728
even though this meant[br]abandoning his wife and son.

0:21:34.728,0:21:38.632
Against the tradition of his family[br]and the Brahmin religion,

0:21:38.632,0:21:42.269
Siddhartha left home to find[br]his own answers to life's suffering.

0:21:42.269,0:21:50.010
One story recalls

0:21:50.010,0:21:51.512
how a hypnotic mist sent[br]the guards to sleep

0:21:51.512,0:21:54.481
allowing him to escape with Chana,[br]through the Eastern Gate of the palace.

0:21:54.481,0:22:12.332
It is said that beside the river Anoma,[br]he removed his jewellery,

0:22:12.332,0:22:17.004
exchanged his robes for rags[br]and cut off his long hair.

0:22:17.004,0:22:21.475
He asked Chana to carry them[br]back to the palace.

0:22:21.475,0:22:28.415
Siddhartha was alone for the first time.

0:22:28.415,0:22:31.251
He had at last escaped[br]the false world of palace life

0:22:31.251,0:22:34.588
where suffering had been[br]swept out of sight.

0:22:34.588,0:22:38.892
Now he needed to come[br]face to face with reality,

0:22:38.892,0:22:41.995
if he was ever to find a solution[br]to the pain of existence.

0:22:41.995,0:22:49.203
Siddhartha was confronted[br]by suffering on a scale

0:22:49.203,0:22:52.005
he'd never seen before[br]when he arrived in the cities.

0:22:52.005,0:22:58.779
And within those cities people[br]were being thrown together,

0:22:58.779,0:23:00.681
at times there was perhaps[br]an increase in disease and suffering.

0:23:00.681,0:23:04.818
Some people have seen[br]this as a particular trigger

0:23:04.818,0:23:07.621
for the Buddha's emphasis on suffering.

0:23:07.621,0:23:10.924
It accentuated a universal problems[br]that any human being in any society faces.

0:23:10.924,0:23:22.536
Siddhartha realized that

0:23:22.536,0:23:24.071
if he was to find an answer[br]to the suffering surrounding him,

0:23:24.071,0:23:27.307
he would have to challenge

0:23:27.307,0:23:28.675
the Brahmin religion under[br]which everyone lived.

0:23:28.675,0:23:32.679
What the Brahmins had was sacred knowledge[br]this sacred knowledge

0:23:32.679,0:23:39.153
centered on knowing certain texts[br]called the Vedas

0:23:39.153,0:23:42.723
the word Veda itself simply means knowledge[br]and the implication is that

0:23:42.723,0:23:47.060
that was the only knowledge[br]which was really worth having.

0:23:47.060,0:23:51.465
With their sacred knowledge,

0:23:51.465,0:23:53.500
Brahmin priests[br]oversaw every stage of life,

0:23:53.500,0:23:57.004
from birth to death.

0:23:57.004,0:24:02.442
Their blessing was essential

0:24:02.442,0:24:04.278
but their knowledge could only be[br]handed down to their sons.

0:24:04.278,0:24:08.448
The position of[br]Brahmin families remained assured

0:24:08.448,0:24:11.652
- until a new wave of thinkers[br]began to challenge this.

0:24:11.652,0:24:16.056
It was a time when Brahamism,

0:24:16.056,0:24:18.425
early form of Hinduism[br]was being questioned,

0:24:18.425,0:24:23.964
it was a little bit like[br]the time of the ancient philosophers

0:24:23.964,0:24:27.768
such as Plato[br]and Socrates in Ancient Greece.

0:24:27.768,0:24:31.772
People debating arguing with people and

0:24:31.772,0:24:35.075
the Buddha tried to cut a way through that.

0:24:35.075,0:24:38.545
He described the context as a welter[br]of views a jungle of views.

0:24:38.545,0:24:45.752
As Siddhartha explored[br]this jungle he realized that

0:24:45.752,0:24:49.189
the solution to life's suffering[br]needed to be available to everyone,

0:24:49.189,0:24:53.427
rather than an exclusive few[br]- like the Brahmin tradition.

0:24:53.427,0:24:57.764
The Buddha disagreed with the Brahmins[br]and he said one does not become a Brahmin

0:24:57.764,0:25:04.204
by birth one becomes a Brahmin

0:25:04.204,0:25:07.007
by living well one[br]does not become an outcast

0:25:07.007,0:25:10.310
by birth one becomes an outcast[br]by living badly.

0:25:10.310,0:25:15.115
Now that's a wonderful and important thought[br]its like saying in our society

0:25:15.115,0:25:21.588
a true gentleman is not one[br]who is born into a particular family

0:25:21.588,0:25:25.792
but one who behaves properly.

0:25:25.792,0:25:31.265
Siddhartha traveled further[br]on his search into Northern India.

0:25:31.265,0:25:36.203
He was looking[br]for an alternative way of life

0:25:36.203,0:25:38.906
that attempted to overcome[br]the suffering he'd seen around him.

0:25:38.906,0:25:46.280
He was interested[br]in all the new philosophies

0:25:46.280,0:25:49.616
but he wanted to go further[br]- to reach deeper into his mind.

0:25:49.616,0:25:54.788
He now decided to focus on[br]the technique of meditation

0:25:54.788,0:25:58.292
and sought out[br]the leading gurus of the day.

0:25:58.292,0:26:01.895
There been broadly speaking two kinds[br]of meditation in ancient India.

0:26:01.895,0:26:07.100
Which consisted in putting yourself[br]under various kinds of pressure

0:26:07.100,0:26:11.104
by controlling your breathing[br]or sometimes fasting

0:26:11.104,0:26:16.109
or undergoing other forms of discomfort

0:26:16.109,0:26:19.980
and the aim is really to obtain what[br]we call altered states of consciousness.

0:26:19.980,0:26:26.820
So they would think that they had climbed[br]to very high plains in the universe.

0:26:26.820,0:26:32.926
They're not taking this literally,

0:26:32.926,0:26:34.895
its not that they think that[br]they go five thousand feet up in the air,

0:26:34.895,0:26:37.998
so to speak but they think that[br]there are certain planes which become more

0:26:37.998,0:26:42.069
and more abstract such things[br]as the plane of infinity of space

0:26:42.069,0:26:47.941
and that's followed by the plane of[br]infinite consciousness as you got

0:26:47.941,0:26:51.111
and then the plane of infinite nothingness,

0:26:51.111,0:26:53.847
these were the sorts of things

0:26:53.847,0:26:55.048
the Buddha definitely must have learnt[br]from his teachers.

0:26:55.048,0:26:58.685
It is said that Siddhartha,

0:26:58.685,0:27:00.053
so excelled at mediating that[br]he attracted a group of five followers

0:27:00.053,0:27:04.892
and his teachers asked him to stay on[br]and take over their schools.

0:27:04.892,0:27:09.496
But Siddhartha decided that[br]this practice alone was not

0:27:09.496,0:27:12.199
the answer to the problem of suffering[br]and rebirth or reincarnation.

0:27:12.199,0:27:18.172
He set out to explore other techniques[br]- this time focusing on his body.

0:27:18.172,0:27:23.043
So he then goes to try another method[br]which is harsh asceticism.

0:27:23.043,0:27:28.382
This involved things like fasting,[br]not washing,

0:27:28.382,0:27:33.053
meditations where you hold your breath[br]for a very long time

0:27:33.053,0:27:36.390
and its very forceful willful way.

0:27:36.390,0:27:47.301
Ascetics may starve[br]and even mutilate themselves.

0:27:47.301,0:27:50.804
For them the physical body[br]is a barrier to spiritual liberation.

0:27:50.804,0:27:58.245
By shedding their attachment to the body

0:27:58.245,0:28:00.481
they will cleanse the mind[br]and liberate the soul.

0:28:00.481,0:28:08.622
Siddhartha tried to[br]achieve this state of liberation.

0:28:08.622,0:28:12.426
He fasted for so long[br]his life hung by a thread.

0:28:12.426,0:28:18.098
'All my limbs became like[br]the knotted joints of withered creepers,

0:28:18.098,0:28:22.436
my buttocks like a bullocks hoof,

0:28:22.436,0:28:25.139
my protruding backbone[br]like a string of balls,

0:28:25.139,0:28:28.809
my gaunt ribs like the crazy rafters[br]of a tumbledown shed.

0:28:28.809,0:28:33.881
My eyes lay deep in their sockets,

0:28:33.881,0:28:36.450
their pupils sparkling[br]like water in a deep well.

0:28:36.450,0:28:40.287
As an unripe gourd shrivels[br]and shrinks in the hot wind,

0:28:40.287,0:28:44.658
so became my scalp.

0:28:44.658,0:28:53.333
Just as Siddhartha[br]was about to die of starvation a young girl

0:28:53.333,0:28:57.271
saved his life by giving him[br]a bowl of rice and milk.

0:28:57.271,0:29:02.442
He now realized that[br]if he starved himself again

0:29:02.442,0:29:06.013
he would simply die[br]having achieved nothing.

0:29:06.013,0:29:11.351
And the story says that[br]he is living on one grain of rice a day.

0:29:11.351,0:29:14.188
He's practically starved himself to death

0:29:14.188,0:29:17.090
and realizes that disciplining the body[br]through extreme self renunciation,

0:29:17.090,0:29:25.732
aestheticism inflicting pain upon the body[br]that doesn't solve the problem.

0:29:25.732,0:29:34.708
When his five followers saw Siddhartha

0:29:34.708,0:29:36.677
had given up his fast[br]they lost faith in him.

0:29:36.677,0:29:40.414
They no longer believed he had the strength

0:29:40.414,0:29:42.382
to live up to his spiritual convictions[br]and abandoned him.

0:29:42.382,0:29:47.221
He feels he tried what's on offer,

0:29:47.221,0:29:49.523
they haven't worked,

0:29:49.523,0:29:51.859
and its at this stage[br]that he remembers meditation

0:29:51.859,0:29:54.495
that he went into spontaneously[br]in his teens/ and he thinks mm,

0:29:54.495,0:29:59.266
maybe that is a way through to awakening[br]because its not taken up the desires

0:29:59.266,0:30:04.872
of the body[br]but it is very joyful and happy.

0:30:04.872,0:30:09.610
By chance Siddharta came across[br]a musician tuning his sitar.

0:30:09.610,0:30:14.348
When the string was too slack[br]it would not play.

0:30:14.348,0:30:17.951
When it was too tight it snapped.

0:30:17.951,0:30:20.988
Somewhere in the middle lay[br]tuneful harmony.

0:30:20.988,0:30:26.260
Siddhartha realized that

0:30:26.260,0:30:27.561
this simple observation signified[br]something of great importance.

0:30:27.561,0:30:32.499
It was the middle way that would lead him[br]to the state of mind he was looking for

0:30:32.499,0:30:36.837
- to a state of tuneful harmony[br]- enlightenment.

0:30:36.837,0:30:42.009
But how could he achieve it?

0:30:42.009,0:30:45.179
And the way that Buddha eventually uses[br]is what one could call mindfulness

0:30:45.179,0:30:49.416
or awareness of the body,

0:30:49.416,0:30:51.118
which neither ignores it nor tries[br]to forcefully master it,

0:30:51.118,0:30:54.454
but it's a kind of middle way.

0:30:54.454,0:31:00.327
The middle way led Siddhartha[br]through the countryside.

0:31:00.327,0:31:04.264
He had been traveling for six years,[br]He had experienced pain and suffering

0:31:04.264,0:31:09.670
and had stretched[br]the boundaries of his mind.

0:31:09.670,0:31:12.639
But he'd still not found the inner peace[br]and harmony he was searching for.

0:31:12.639,0:31:17.611
The state of absolute wisdom and[br]everlasting bliss known as Enlightenment.

0:31:17.611,0:31:27.688
Siddhartha arrived at Bodh Gaya.

0:31:27.688,0:31:30.424
Here his torment would end.

0:31:30.424,0:31:35.729
He sat down beneath a tree and vowed not to[br]leave until he had reached ENLIGHTENMENT.

0:31:35.729,0:31:52.179
'Flesh may decay, bones may fall apart,

0:31:52.179,0:31:55.916
but I will never leave this place[br]until I find the way to enlightenment. '

0:31:55.916,0:32:04.658
He's no longer giving himself a hard time,

0:32:04.658,0:32:07.694
he's not stressing himself unbearably,[br]he's not undergoing anything painful,

0:32:07.694,0:32:13.634
he thinks, well life is painful without[br]taking the trouble to make it more painful,

0:32:13.634,0:32:18.772
but let me just calmly think things out,[br]think of how life works.

0:32:18.772,0:32:27.247
He starts to focus the mind by attention[br]to the slow movement of the breath coming

0:32:27.247,0:32:35.088
and going out a refined sensation[br]which exists in the body

0:32:35.088,0:32:40.127
just around the nose in a way which[br]starts to lead to the mind quietening,

0:32:40.127,0:32:48.535
stilling, settling, gathering, purifying.

0:32:48.535,0:33:43.924
Siddhartha's mind was now so focused

0:33:43.924,0:33:46.660
that he could successfully[br]enter the darkest reaches of his unconscious.

0:33:46.660,0:33:52.733
It was now that he would face[br]his final and greatest torment.

0:33:52.733,0:33:56.970
The demon Mara - the Lord of Ego[br]and illusion appeared before him.

0:33:56.970,0:34:01.909
He could make any horror real[br]in Siddhartha's mind.

0:34:01.909,0:34:06.914
It's very important to remember[br]that Mara this demon king

0:34:06.914,0:34:09.550
is not like the Christian Satan[br]because he isn't a tempter

0:34:09.550,0:34:14.321
and he isn't any kind of counterpart[br]to God,

0:34:14.321,0:34:17.691
he is purely psychological forces[br]which we have within us,

0:34:17.691,0:34:28.302
Mara unleashed an army of demons[br]to attack Siddhartha.

0:34:28.302,0:34:32.539
They fired flaming arrows at him.

0:34:32.539,0:34:41.281
But mid flight[br]Siddhartha turned them into lotus blossoms

0:34:41.281,0:34:45.219
and they fell harmlessly around him.

0:34:45.219,0:34:56.096
Having failed Mara[br]then tried to seduce Siddhartha

0:34:56.096,0:34:59.333
with his tempting daughters.

0:34:59.333,0:35:07.841
He's assailed by the demon king[br]who is the same time death

0:35:07.841,0:35:12.279
and desire very Freudian[br]that in a way desire is death,

0:35:12.279,0:35:16.984
death is desire and in fact the Demon king[br]offers him his three daughters

0:35:16.984,0:35:22.289
who are both passion or lust and aversion[br]where it is equally bad

0:35:22.289,0:35:29.897
if you shy away from this[br]and say it is disgusting

0:35:29.897,0:35:33.333
you are also a slave to passion

0:35:33.333,0:35:36.570
- and he can be completely calm[br]and indifferent

0:35:36.570,0:35:39.006
and just gaze at them without[br]any feelings of attraction or repulsion.

0:35:39.006,0:35:46.446
The faces of Mara's daughters[br]began to rot before Siddharta's eyes.

0:35:46.446,0:35:52.119
The evil daughters[br]then disappeared into the earth.

0:35:52.119,0:35:57.524
It is in fact[br]you could say the Buddha's very recognition

0:35:57.524,0:36:01.795
that Mara is an aspect of himself

0:36:01.795,0:36:05.532
the total recognition of that[br]is his enlightenment.

0:36:05.532,0:36:10.737
The earth is said to have trembled[br]as he dispelled the devil.

0:36:10.737,0:36:14.341
Siddhartha, now aged 35,[br]passed through four Janas

0:36:14.341,0:36:18.545
to reach enlightenment

0:36:18.545,0:36:19.880
and become the Buddha - or Awakened One.

0:36:19.880,0:36:25.986
He then spent 7 days beneath the tree[br]in a meditative state of absolute bliss.

0:36:25.986,0:36:35.829
This is seen as a state where the mind[br]is incredibly refined and sensitive,

0:36:35.829,0:36:41.301
and an image might be of a lake,[br]which is totally still,

0:36:41.301,0:36:45.205
which would register[br]even an insect on the surface.

0:36:45.205,0:36:49.343
So this is seen as a state[br]where the mind is very,

0:36:49.343,0:36:51.845
very powerful as[br]an instrument of knowledge, very sensitive.

0:36:51.845,0:36:56.250
In this highly attuned state,

0:36:56.250,0:36:58.519
the Buddha saw way to escape

0:36:58.519,0:37:00.287
the inevitable cycle of old age sickness[br]and death.

0:37:00.287,0:37:04.424
He realized that if we remove desire

0:37:04.424,0:37:07.594
we can remove dissatisfaction[br]and suffering from our lives.

0:37:07.594,0:37:12.733
A key cause of the painfulness

0:37:12.733,0:37:15.903
and frustration of life[br]is craving kind of demanding desires.

0:37:15.903,0:37:20.507
So There's a general mismatch

0:37:20.507,0:37:23.477
between how you want things to be[br]and how they actually are.

0:37:23.477,0:37:28.215
The insight the Buddha attained[br]beneath the tree was the birth of Buddhism

0:37:28.215,0:37:32.920
- a religion followed today[br]by 400 million people.

0:37:32.920,0:37:38.692
The Buddha summed up his wisdom[br]in four noble truths

0:37:38.692,0:37:42.229
which are the foundation[br]of all Buddhist beliefs

0:37:42.229,0:37:47.701
The first noble truth recognized[br]that there is suffering in life.

0:37:47.701,0:37:52.473
The second diagnosed[br]the cause of that suffering - desire.

0:37:52.473,0:37:57.611
In the third truth, like a doctor,

0:37:57.611,0:38:00.080
the Buddha revealed[br]that there was a cure for desire.

0:38:00.080,0:38:03.584
And in the fourth noble truth[br]he gave the prescription

0:38:03.584,0:38:07.354
- how to cure the illness[br]and achieve Enlightenment or Nirvana.

0:38:07.354,0:38:13.227
The ultimate aim was to reach[br]a state of mind completely free of craving,

0:38:13.227,0:38:17.698
ignorance, greed, hatred and delusion,

0:38:17.698,0:38:21.034
thereby free of all[br]the causes of future rebirth

0:38:21.034,0:38:25.806
when an enlightened person dies[br]they're seen as going beyond rebirth

0:38:25.806,0:38:29.743
to a state beyond if you like space[br]and time and not coming back

0:38:29.743,0:38:34.081
so that is seen as a state of liberation.

0:38:34.081,0:38:40.287
The Buddha would further teach[br]that morality, meditation and wisdom

0:38:40.287,0:38:44.558
were the stepping stones to enlightenment.

0:38:44.558,0:38:50.898
He would dedicate the rest of his life[br]helping others to follow this path

0:38:50.898,0:38:55.335
- towards freedom from suffering.

0:38:55.335,0:38:58.138
As his followers grew in number[br]he went on to set up a school or Sangha

0:38:58.138,0:39:05.913
Today a temple stands beside a descendant

0:39:05.913,0:39:08.315
of the very tree under[br]which the Buddha became enlightened.

0:39:08.315,0:39:15.689
The monks here have become[br]a living library of the Buddha's teachings.

0:39:15.689,0:39:23.764
Chanting his sacred words[br]beneath the Bodhi tree of Enlightenment

0:39:23.764,0:39:27.568
is seen by Buddhists to give special power[br]to their practice.

0:39:27.568,0:39:33.407
The chief monk is responsible

0:39:33.407,0:39:34.808
for preserving this tradition[br]at the temple.

0:39:34.808,0:39:38.011
The most important thing[br]is the practice of his teachings.

0:39:38.011,0:39:43.183
Practice diligently, be ever mindful.

0:39:43.183,0:39:48.755
So now I say I explain Buddhism[br]in two words,

0:39:48.755,0:39:55.529
practice mindfulness.

0:39:55.529,0:39:59.733
The path to enlightenment begins[br]with the focusing of the mind

0:39:59.733,0:40:03.137
and following a number of commandments.

0:40:03.137,0:40:07.107
Morality, meditation and wisdom.

0:40:07.107,0:40:11.512
So not to kill, not to steal,

0:40:11.512,0:40:16.283
not to have any sexual misconduct,

0:40:16.283,0:40:20.254
not to tell a lie and not to have indulge[br]in intoxicating drinks or intoxicants.

0:40:20.254,0:40:32.299
This was the way of life established by[br]the Buddha in the very first sangha.

0:40:32.299,0:40:39.907
After eight years

0:40:39.907,0:40:41.208
he went back to the palace[br]and the family he'd abandoned.

0:40:41.208,0:40:45.446
We're told his father now forgave

0:40:45.446,0:40:47.214
the Buddha for the deep hurt[br]he had caused.

0:40:47.214,0:40:50.350
King Sudhodhana now realized the importance[br]of his son's quest.

0:40:50.350,0:40:55.456
His stepmother even begged[br]to join his sangha

0:40:55.456,0:40:58.559
and she went on to become[br]history's first nun.

0:40:58.559,0:41:02.095
The Buddha is justified in the eyes[br]of all Buddhists of even leaving his wife

0:41:02.095,0:41:06.433
and child to go on his solitary journey[br]to try and find what the solution

0:41:06.433,0:41:13.440
to life's problems is[br]and how life should be lived

0:41:13.440,0:41:16.977
and for him how life should be lived[br]is the question infinitely more important

0:41:16.977,0:41:24.184
than having any possessions[br]or even the company of loved ones.

0:41:24.184,0:41:30.190
The Buddha was to abandon his family again.[br]He set out to teach, for forty years

0:41:30.190,0:41:36.597
- passing on to his followers the wisdom[br]he had attained beneath the bodi tree.

0:41:36.597,0:41:41.869
But before he left he ordained[br]his son as a monk.

0:41:41.869,0:41:48.442
The Buddha encouraged his followers[br]to live together in a monastery or Sangha

0:41:48.442,0:41:52.913
- to help them focus[br]on the path to enlightenment.

0:41:52.913,0:41:57.451
Some people become[br]a monk purely to meditate,

0:41:57.451,0:42:01.622
purely to practice meditation,[br]purely to practice the life of a recluse.

0:42:01.622,0:42:09.797
Some become a monk to work[br]for the propagation of the religion.

0:42:09.797,0:42:16.436
Monks from all over the world

0:42:16.436,0:42:17.938
come to live in monasteries established[br]around the temple of the Bodi Tree.

0:42:17.938,0:42:23.177
Non-Monks or lay Buddhists,[br]come here too, to learn from them.

0:42:23.177,0:42:29.583
Monks must be celibate[br]and give up every selfish desire.

0:42:29.583,0:42:34.755
And that is the one part of the training[br]to get rid of self tendencies,

0:42:34.755,0:42:42.830
tendencies to always think about yourself

0:42:42.830,0:42:45.165
and put yourself fully in[br]the context of the community of the sanga

0:42:45.165,0:42:51.939
Then when all the sacrifices[br]have been made the hard work begins

0:42:51.939,0:42:56.410
- committing long chants[br]or mantras to memory.

0:42:56.410,0:43:01.215
Mantras such as this have a purpose

0:43:01.215,0:43:03.684
- they are designed[br]to test the monk's memory,

0:43:03.684,0:43:05.919
concentration and commitment[br]to the Buddha's teachings.

0:43:05.919,0:43:11.725
Over the centuries his message has evolved[br]into a number of different traditions,

0:43:11.725,0:43:16.530
with their own interpretations[br]and monastic practices.

0:43:16.530,0:43:22.402
But the Buddha taught that lay people

0:43:22.402,0:43:24.238
can also follow the path to eternal bliss[br]and ultimate wisdom.

0:43:24.238,0:43:30.043
Most westerners are not drawn to Buddhism[br]as a way of leaving society behind

0:43:30.043,0:43:33.080
they're drawn to the practical[br]of meditation as a way of being

0:43:33.080,0:43:36.316
more effective within society[br]and that's a way in which

0:43:36.316,0:43:39.620
the message of Buddhism takes on[br]a very different caste

0:43:39.620,0:43:43.223
because it becomes a form[br]of self improvement a way of dealing

0:43:43.223,0:43:47.427
with the stresses of life a way[br]of clarifying your goals and objectives.

0:43:47.427,0:43:54.535
Many westerners are especially attracted[br]to Buddhist meditation.

0:43:54.535,0:44:00.140
I think all of us sometimes glimpse[br]that magic and mystery of the moment

0:44:00.140,0:44:05.345
what meditation does[br]is to help us touch that more often,

0:44:05.345,0:44:09.950
it helps us to be more calm[br]and controlled in our mind

0:44:09.950,0:44:13.320
and we can create conditions[br]that allow us to come into

0:44:13.320,0:44:16.423
a state of awareness of interdependence,[br]of impermanence, of nirvana.

0:44:16.423,0:44:24.031
Some schools of Buddhism[br]believe the Buddha was superhuman

0:44:24.031,0:44:27.768
a magical figure who consorted[br]with gods and performed miracles.

0:44:27.768,0:44:32.473
Others that he was no more than

0:44:32.473,0:44:33.740
a human being and they believe it is this[br]that adds power to his message.

0:44:33.740,0:44:39.947
There is no doubt that the Buddha wished[br]to be remembered as a human being

0:44:39.947,0:44:45.219
with human frailties not perhaps frailties[br]of the intellect or moral frailties

0:44:45.219,0:44:51.859
but certainly physical frailties

0:44:51.859,0:44:53.927
and the Buddha suffers from back pain[br]towards the end of his life

0:44:53.927,0:44:58.432
he suffers from various physical complaints[br]and weaknesses.

0:44:58.432,0:45:04.204
The Buddha would die at the age of eighty[br]from a common illness - food poisoning.

0:45:04.204,0:45:12.079
It is said that before

0:45:12.079,0:45:13.013
passing away he fell into a deep trance[br]on his journey from this world to Nirvana

0:45:13.013,0:45:18.285
- a state of eternal bliss

0:45:18.285,0:45:20.387
- free at last from rebirth,

0:45:20.387,0:45:22.523
free at last from suffering and death.

0:45:22.523,0:45:29.429
A council was assembled to record[br]for posterity the Buddha's teachings.

0:45:29.429,0:45:35.102
These were learnt by heart and handed down[br]the centuries by generations of monks.

0:45:35.102,0:45:42.209
The Buddha's body was cremated.

0:45:42.209,0:45:44.211
And his remains were preserved.

0:45:44.211,0:45:48.282
They were enshrined two hundred years later

0:45:48.282,0:45:50.517
by India's first Emperor King Ashoka[br]who converted to Buddhism.

0:45:50.517,0:45:58.392
He built vast monuments or stuppas

0:45:58.392,0:46:01.228
and erected pillars to mark the key sites[br]of the Buddha's life.

0:46:01.228,0:46:05.632
Asoka then becomes[br]an absolutely key figure,

0:46:05.632,0:46:08.268
both in terms[br]of the actual spread of Buddhism

0:46:08.268,0:46:12.005
but then as a model

0:46:12.005,0:46:13.674
for future Buddhist leaders throughout Asia[br]they look back to Ashoka as

0:46:13.674,0:46:18.779
the kind of ideal king[br]and supporter of Buddhism.

0:46:18.779,0:46:24.985
So far as we know the Emperor Asoka

0:46:24.985,0:46:27.087
who ruled over two thirds of modern India

0:46:27.087,0:46:30.791
in the middle of the 3rd century BC,

0:46:30.791,0:46:33.460
helped monks to send out missions[br]to countries bordering India,

0:46:33.460,0:46:40.167
missionaries were sent up into Kashmir[br]to Nepal and certainly Sri Lanka.

0:46:40.167,0:46:45.839
They converted the king,[br]the king give his patronize to Buddhism

0:46:45.839,0:46:49.510
and Sri Lanka has therefore been[br]a Buddhist country from that day to this.

0:46:49.510,0:46:53.781
And in country after country[br]we know over many centuries

0:46:53.781,0:46:57.251
that this is the way[br]that Buddhism was successfully implanted.

0:46:57.251,0:47:05.626
Ashoka's pillars outlived Buddhism in India[br]- they withstood Muslim invasions

0:47:05.626,0:47:10.864
and survived to catch the attention[br]of the first colonial archaeologists.

0:47:10.864,0:47:15.969
This gave a very significant impetus[br]to the revival of Buddhism

0:47:15.969,0:47:19.573
- the desire to go back to the places[br]associated with the Buddha.

0:47:19.573,0:47:22.976
Imagining Buddhism for people in the West[br]but these investigations also become

0:47:22.976,0:47:27.981
the basest for a revival[br]within Buddhism in Asia.

0:47:27.981,0:47:33.854
Today the sites associated[br]with the Budha's life attract tourists

0:47:33.854,0:47:38.325
and pilgrims flock to Bodh Gaya[br]to follow in the Buddha's footsteps,

0:47:38.325,0:47:42.496
hoping to find, as he did,

0:47:42.496,0:47:44.965
eternal peace and happiness[br]and a cure for suffering and death.

0:47:44.965,0:47:50.571
It's a great irony[br]that after the Buddha's death the person

0:47:50.571,0:47:55.309
who preached of the uselessness of ritual[br]and also the uselessness

0:47:55.309,0:47:59.580
of personality cult became[br]the object of ritual worship

0:47:59.580,0:48:03.684
and as big a personality cult[br]as has ever existed in history.

0:48:03.684,0:48:09.923
Buddhist temples have been[br]built in Bodh Gaya representing

0:48:09.923,0:48:13.026
the different traditions[br]from around the world.

0:48:13.026,0:48:17.531
Buddhism, in all its forms,[br]has come home, to the Bodi tree,

0:48:17.531,0:48:22.736
to the place where once a prince reached[br]enlightenment and became the Buddha.

0:48:22.736,0:48:29.777
The Buddha attained enlightenment on that[br]fleeting moment of a wink, this moment,

0:48:29.777,0:48:39.319
fleeting moment is the time that takes[br]to realize that moment cannot be explained.

0:48:39.319,0:48:51.865
That special moment gave birth[br]to the first world religion

0:48:51.865,0:48:56.804
- A religion without a God

0:48:56.804,0:48:59.006
where the path to Nirvana lies in the mind[br]of each and every one of us.

0:48:59.006,0:49:05.745
Ripped by:[br]SkyFury