The life of Buddha Shakyamuni, from his renunciation in search of the Way to his final nirvana.

The Great Renunciation

During the middle of the night on February 8th, Prince Tất Đạt Đa (Siddhartha), riding his horse Kiền Trắc together with his closest servant Xa Nặc, left the palace. Arriving at the A Nô Ma river, he cut his hair, took off his jewelry and gave them to Xa Nặc to bring back to King Tịnh Phạn, so the King would know that the prince had set out on a quest to find a way of freeing all beings from suffering. On his journey he met a hunter and traded clothing with him, resolutely leaving behind his life of royalty and luxury.

He first studied and practiced all the existing religious paths in the country, seeking which one truly led to liberation for all beings. In the city of Vương Xá, in the Bạt Già forest, he studied with ascetic sages the practice of austerities meant to reach the heavenly realms, but he saw that it was not the true path of liberation. To the north, in the city of Tỳ Xá Lỵ, he studied under A La La the method of reaching the heaven called Vô Tưởng (the realm of No-Thought), yet he felt this too was not liberation. He then studied under Uất Đầu Lam Phất the method of being reborn in the heaven of Phi Tưởng Phi Phi Tưởng Xứ; the prince practiced it and attained it, but he recognized that even this realm was not true liberation.

After these three attempts, the prince realized that none of the existing paths led to true liberation, and that he would have to practice on his own to find the correct Way. He went to the Ưu Lâu Tần La forest, south of the Tượng Đầu mountain, beside the Ni Liên river, where together with the five brethren of Kiều Trần Như he practiced austerities. For six years he mortified his body to such an extent that he ate only a single grain of rice or sesame each day. One day his body was so wasted that he fainted and lay as if dead. At that time a woman named Tu Xà Đề (Sujata) saw him lying beneath a tree and offered him milk. When he regained consciousness, he understood that austerity was not the path of liberation. He bathed clean in the Ni Liên river, then spread grass as a cushion beneath the Bồ Đề (Bodhi) tree, sat in meditation, and vowed: “If I do not attain the Way of liberation for all beings, I vow never to leave this Bodhi tree for the rest of my life.”

The Enlightenment

While he was settling his mind in practice, the demons (Mara), afraid that if he attained the Way he would awaken all beings, gathered to disturb him; but the prince, resolute in his practice, overcame all their disturbances. After forty-nine (49) days of practice beneath the Bodhi tree, on the night of December 8th, the prince attained supreme enlightenment and became the Buddha with the title Thích Ca Mâu Ni (Shakyamuni).

Teaching and Saving Beings

Buddha Shakyamuni went to the Lộc Uyển (Deer Park) garden and preached the Four Noble Truths (Suffering, its Cause, its Cessation, and the Path) to the five friends who had practiced austerities with him, the group of Kiều Trần Như, and they became disciples of the Buddha. From that moment on, the Three Jewels were complete: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

The Buddha preached and taught beings for more than forty-nine (49) years, guiding countless disciples of every class — rich and poor, noble and humble. While still on earth, he traveled and preached during the nine warm months in India, and during the three months of rain he stayed in the monastery to practice.

The Final Nirvana

Knowing that he was about to enter nirvana, on the night of the full moon of the second Indian month, he gathered his disciples at Câu Ly, in the Xa Nại forest, hung a hammock between two Song Thọ (Sala) trees, and gave his final teaching and counsel. He passed his robe and bowl to his disciple Ca Diếp (Kasyapa) to continue transmitting the Way, then bade farewell to everyone and entered nirvana. He lived to the age of eighty (80).