For the Happiness and Welfare of Many
- by S. N. Goenka
(The following is an extract from “Was the Buddha a Pessimist
” which is a translation of the VRI publication, “Kyā Buddha Dukkhavādī The
”)
Many people in India have criticized the root motivation for the going forth of Prince Siddhattha Gotama. They said that the going forth of only those ascetics is useful who leave home for homelessness with the intention of helping others. Siddhattha Gotama left home in search of the truth. Therefore, his going forth into homelessness was not proper.
They believe that the Buddha did not leave home to help others; he chose homelessness only to satisfy his curiosity or to serve himself and, therefore, his going forth was not logical or beneficial. It was a sad surprise for me to come across this comment. Even esteemed scholars did not know much about the facts of the Buddha”s life. This is because the words of the Buddha have not been available in India for millennia.
When Prince Siddhattha grasped the realities of old age, disease and death, he was troubled but not just because he himself would one day have to endure this suffering. The truth is that he developed immense compassion for the countless beings who suffer these miseries. Then the question arose in his mind: is there a way out of this misery for all beings
He was confident that—
Yathāpi dukkhe vijjante, sukhaṃ nāmapi vijjati,
Evameva jāti vijjante, ajātīpi icchitabbakaṃ;
Evaṃ kilesapariruddho, vijjamāne sive pathe,
Pariyesissāmi taṃ maggaṃ bhavato parimuttiyā.
Where so many miseries exist, there also exists (ultimate) happiness;
where (repeated) births exist, there also exists the desired state of unborn;
for those encumbered by afflictions due to past deeds, there is a noble path of deliverance;
I want to find out that path which gives liberation from the cycle of becoming.
(Buddhavaṃsa 2.9-16, Sumedhapatthanākathā)
He did not investigate the path of liberation only for himself, but to help all beings afflicted in the ocean of saṃsāra.
Kiṃ me ekena tiṇṇena, purisena thāmadassinā;
Sabbaññutaṃ pāpuṇitvā, santāressaṃ sadevakaṃ.
What is the use of I alone gaining liberation and realising the truth through such strenuous efforts
After attaining perfect enlightenment, I should become helpful to men and gods in their liberation.
(Buddhavaṃsa 2.56, Sumedhapatthanākathā)
It was natural that he had this intention. It was because of this wholesome volition that he went through so many lives as a Bodhisatta, fulfilling his pāramis (merits) by helping those with whom he came into contact.
Now this was the last life of that Bodhisatta. By attaining enlightenment, he became liberated and helped others to get liberated. Obviously, it was of primary importance to liberate himself. How can a blind man show the way to another blind man
How can a handicapped person help another handicapped person
How can one ensnared in a trap help other entrapped people to free themselves
The aim to leave the householder”s life was not just to fulfil his curiosity about the ultimate truth but to liberate himself in order to help many others. Therefore, it is incorrect and most unfortunate to imply that the Buddha did not take up the life of homelessness in order to help others.
Truth is within: Why leave home to find it
One more criticism commonly levelled against the Buddha is that there was no need for him to leave household life to search for liberation because the ultimate truth of reality is within each person. However, this charge does not take into account the fact that the path to experience ultimate reality within oneself had been lost. Therefore, it was nec…
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