20 Lies About the Buddha
The distance in time, the oral culture in which he lived and the fantastic legends creators of the myth were configuring a deified character of who was extraordinary human being.
The Buddha was a prince, son of Suddhodhana, king of the Sakyas.
His father worked in the fields, but he was a rich landowner
Then, prince, I remembered: ‘One day, when my father, of the clan of the sakyas, was working, I was sitting taking the fresh one in the shade of a tree.
MN 85. Bodhirajakumara sutta
Gentlemen, the Gotama inmate came out and abandoned a lot of gold and ingots stored in vaults and lofts.
MN 95. Canki Sutta
The mother of the Buddha, Queen Mahā Māyā, died during childbirth.
If his mother says goodbye, she could not be dead.
The Buddha was married to his cousin .
There is no mention of women or children. Also, he did not say goodbye to them, if they existed it would not be logical.
The Buddha had a son named Rahula .
Rahula means «impediment» strange name to put a son, but suitable for the legend. There is a monk named Rahula, but the Buddha does not refer to him with any kind of familiarity.
«Later, when I was young, a man with black hair, endowed with the blessing of youth, in the first fruits of life, although my mother and father wanted something else and shed tears, I shaved my head and beard, I put myself the yellow habit and I left home to assume a homeless lifestyle.
MN 85. Bodhirajakumara sutta
Gentlemen, inmate Gotama left his home and became homeless when he was still young, a young man with black hair and blessed with youth, at the height of life.Gentlemen, inmate Gotama shaved his hair and beard, put on his yellow robe, and went from family life to homelessness, although his mother and father wanted the opposite and cried with tearful faces. […] Gentlemen, the Gotama prisoner came from a rich family, from a family of great wealth and great possessions.
MN 95. Canki Sutta
The Buddha achieved Enlightenment by practicing Vipāssana .
This is also false. The Buddha used the jhānas. «Vipassana» is an aggregate of exercises devised in the eighteenth century CE by Mendawi, a Burmese monk who wanted his body to mummify. He was declared heretical by the official Sangha in his time. Later it became popular mainly among Westerners eager for meditation exercises.
The Buddha was called Siddhartha .
Siddhatta or Siddharta is an adjective that means «He who got it». It is another adjective like Buddha that means «Awakened».
In fact, he never wanted his name to be known to note that the achievement was achieved by himself, not by his crib, family or any other circumstance of his birth.
The Buddha was born in Lumbini .
The perpetrator of the fraud was Dr. Führer, a well-known scoundrel who sold contrails of Asoka made by himself to the places that wanted spiritual tourism in imperial India at the beginning of the 20th century. He was denounced by the British authorities themselves, but the business he started was too juicy to be discarded.
The Buddha was a chubby gentleman with curly hair.
He was very handsome, which is not compatible with the Hellenistic figures that made him centuries later. In addition, the renouncers shaved their hair and ate what they were given and only once a day.
«Gentlemen, the Gotama inmate is handsome, elegant and graceful, possesses a supreme beauty of complexion. With sublime beauty and sublime presence, remarkable to the eye.
MN 95. Canki Sutta
The Buddha belonged to the Gotama Gotra .
This is also false. Gotama is, even to this day, a Brahmin surname and the Buddha made it clear that he was not a Brahmin. He was given the last name because he was one of the most prestigious of his time.
‘Truly, sirs, Samaṇa Gotama believes in Karma, and in action, he is the one who puts justice in the foreground (of his exhortations) to the Brahman race. […] «In truth, gentlemen, the Samana Gotama came out of a primal distinguished family among the Kshatriya clans.
DN4 To Sonadanda
Mahapajapati Gotami was her aunt and adoptive mother.
I did not need any adoptive mother. Mahapajapati was his first and most outstanding bhikkhuni, possessing extraordinary faculties, but he was not related to the Buddha. Notice that she could not be her mother’s sister calling herself Gotama like him. This is due to a crude machista maneuver to attribute the excellence of Mahapajapati to his alleged «magic» family.
«Monks, the first among my disciples nuns in the manor is Mahapajapati Gotama.
AN 1.235-247. Fifth subchapter
The Buddha lit up under the Bodhi tree .
With the heat that makes in India, it is normal for the Buddha to be placed under a shadow. What we do know, and this is very important, is that he went to live in Uruvela, a very pleasant place in a charming forest with a river of clear waters and gentle riverbanks. Having water running where you meditate is very important, the species of one or the other tree, no.
«Continuing with the quest, prince, for what is healthy, seeking the supreme state of sublime peace, I toured the country of Magadha in parts, until finally I arrived at Uruvela, in Senanigama. There I saw a pleasant terrain, a lovely forest, with a river of clear waters with pleasant and gentle riverbanks, which was near a village where to obtain the food of alms. Then, I considered this: ‘This is a nice piece of land, this is a lovely forest, with a river of clear waters with pleasant and gentle riverbanks, which is close to the village where you can get the food of the alms. This will be appropriate for the clan’s son to make the effort, to try to make an effort. « And I sat there thinking: ‘This will be appropriate to make the effort.’
MN 85. Bodhirajakumara sutta
The Buddha, just before his enlightenment, decided to eat to save his life .
The Buddha was exhausted when he discovered that the way to attain enlightenment was to attain the jhānas. Then he realized that he could not generate enough «happiness that has nothing to do with the senses», that is, the neurotransmitter called serotonin generated directly without using the senses, if he did not eat its precursor which is the amino acid tryptophan, as well as vitamin B6 and glucose. That’s why he did not eat anything, but rice and curd. Something that did not understand the renunciants that accompanied him.
«Then, prince, I remembered: ‘One day, when my father, of the clan of the sakyas, was working, I was sitting taking the fresh one in the shade of a tree. There, apart from the desires of the senses, apart from what is harmful, I reached and remained in the first meditative abstraction, in which there is joy and happiness born of isolation and is accompanied by ideation and reflection. Could not that be the path to enlightenment? ‘
«And, in the light of that memory, I understood: ‘This is the path to enlightenment.’
«Then I thought: ‘Why fear a happiness that has nothing to do with the pleasures of the senses or with what is harmful?’
«And I said to myself: ‘I do not fear that happiness that has nothing to do with the pleasures of the senses or with the detrimental.’
«Then, prince, I thought: ‘It is not easy to achieve that happiness with a body reached to such exhaustion, and if I ate something solid, rice boiled and curdled?’
«So I ate something solid, boiled and curdled rice. On that occasion I was accompanied by five monks who thought: ‘If the ascetic Gotama achieves the Teaching, he will tell us.’ But, to take something solid, rice and curd, disappointed with me and left thinking: ‘The ascetic Gotama sticks the good life, has put aside the effort giving to the good life’.
«So, after eating solid food and regaining strength, away from the desires of the senses, away from what is harmful, I reached and remained in the first meditative abstraction, in which there is joy and happiness born of the separation, and goes accompanied by ideation and reflection. «
MN 85. Bodhirajakumara sutta
The Buddha was a humble and egoless person .
The Buddha was not lying, so he did not walk around with false modesty.Humility was not a virtue that adorned him. Virtue is hypocrisy, the Buddha was not hypocritical.
«Then, I responded to Ajivaka Upaka in verse:
«Victorious, above all, knowledgeable about everything, it’s me, between all incorruptible things, leaving everything, free from death and greed, knowing for myself, who could I follow?
For me, there is no teacher, one like me, does not exist, in this world with his devas, There is no one like me.
Since I am perfect in the world, the supreme teacher is me. I am only the Awake to everything, I became serene, to reach Nibbana.
To set the wheel of Dhamma in motion, I go to the city of Kasi, playing the drum of immortality, in the world that came to be blinded. «
MN 85. Bodhirajakumara sutta
The Buddha was kind and kind .
We could say that it was just the opposite. He had a lot of character, could not bear to be contradicted by anyone and did not hesitate to insult anyone who showed misconceptions.
«Foolish man, have you ever heard me preach the Teaching this way to someone?Foolish man, have I not said in many ways that consciousness arises dependently and that without condition there is no arising from consciousness? However, you, a foolish man, with your misinterpretation, you slander us, you damage yourself and you generate much demerit. This will bring you harm and suffering for a long time. «
Then the Blessed One said to the monks:
«What do you think, monks? Has the monk Sāti, the son of the fisherman, the Teaching and the Discipline?
«How could it be, venerable sir? No, venerable sir. «
Having said this, the monk Sāti, the fisherman’s son, sat silent, perplexed, his shoulders slumped, his head downcast, sad and speechless. Then the Blessed One, knowing this, said to him thus:
«Foolish man, you will be known by your own pernicious opinion. Now I will ask the monks. «
Then, the Blessed One said to the monks:
«Monks, do you understand the preaching of the Teaching as does the monk Sāti, the fisherman’s son, who, with his misinterpretation, slanders us, harms himself and generates much demerit?»
«No, venerable sir, the Blessed One has said in many ways that consciousness arises dependently and that without condition there is no arising from consciousness.»
«Well, monks, it is good that you understand the preaching of the Teaching in this way, because I have said in many ways that consciousness arises dependently and that without condition there is no arising from consciousness.
«However the monk Sāti, the son of the fisherman, a foolish man, by his misinterpretation slanders us, harms himself and generates much demerit. This will bring harm and suffering for a long time.
MN 38. Mahatanhasankhaya Sutta
15. The Buddha died of old age .
No. The Buddha was already very tired and tired of maintaining a life only for others to be enlightened. When he saw that the goal was already accomplished, he committed suicide. Suicide is the normal way for the arahants to enter their parinibbāna.
After spending the night, Cunda the Blacksmith, in his own residence, having prepared excellent foo