Samsara - How Did Buddha Conquer Sufferings of Samsara?

The followers of Buddhism are present in every nook and corner of the world. After attaining enlightenment, Mahatma Buddha told many wise things to his disciples, which are being followed by the followers of Buddhism even today. Here we are talking about intelligence. Buddhahood is said to be the state in which a living being has attained Bodhi i.e. complete knowledge and has progressed on the path of Samyama Sambuddha. This is called the position of Samyak Sambodhi in Sanskrit. It is about conquering samsara. Samsara is defined as the endless cycle of births and deaths.

When Lord Buddha attained Buddhahood, the first word or sentence that came out of his mouth was that this was my last birth. After this, I will not be born again. He said he had conquered samsara. Now, this raises the question of the doctrine of the incarnation, because now I will not have any birth, saying that Buddha rejected the theory of incarnation itself. However, one reason for this was also that Buddha did not believe in the doctrine of reincarnation. He only wanted to remove the misery of every human being and make him peaceful and happy, so that an egalitarian society could be established.

Husband-Wife Relationship In Buddhism

Buddha has also expressed his opinion on the relationship between husband and wife. He has given the highest respect to the relationship of husband and wife. According to him, it is a bond of pure love. He advised the husband and wife to remain faithful to each other and also to respect each other and have a sense of complete devotion towards each other. They can together develop spiritually and fight samsara. He has said that husband and wife are complementary to each other, so they should fully fulfil their responsibilities towards each other so that there is no scope of complaint among themselves.

Bodhisattva In Buddhism

Now let’s talk about Bodhisattvas. According to Buddhism, one who attains enlightenment (or eliminates samsara) without any personal motive, for the betterment of sentient beings, inspired by kindness and compassion, is considered a bodhisattva. The use of the term Bodhisattva evolved over time. In Buddhism, one who fully adheres to the 10 Paramitas is called a Bodhisattva. These 10 paramitas are Mudita, Vimala, Deepti, Archishmati, Sudurjaya, Abhimukhi, Durangama, Sadhumati, Achal, Dhamma-Megha.

The Types of Wisdom

There are three types of intelligence. Among them are Samyakasambuddha, Harabuddha or Savakabuddha or Arhat etc. Let us know about them in detail.

Samyakambuddha

In Buddhism, Samyakasambuddha is one who has achieved enlightenment (a state of full awareness) and has chosen to teach others how to reach this state. The word comes from the Sanskrit samyak, which means “totally” or “absolutely”. Here sama, means “entirely”; And Buddha means “awakened.”

In Buddhism, the Buddha, the “awakened person,” is one who has attained nirvana and enlightenment. It is most commonly used in reference to Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. Enlightenment is the state and position of an “awakened person”. This highest spiritual state is also called Samyaksambodhi (complete awakening). These are the Buddhas who had attained enlightenment before Gautam Buddha, who destroyed samsara.

The goal of the Mahayana bodhisattva path is total enlightenment, so that all sentient beings can be benefited by teaching the way to the end of suffering. The Mahayana doctrine contrasts with the goal of the Theravada path, where the most common goal is individual Arhatvada. Though both address and do away with samsara.

Pakkeka Buddha

Now let’s talk about each Buddha or Pakkeka Buddha. According to some schools of Buddhism, each Buddha literally means “a solitary Buddha”, “a Buddha in his own right”, “a private Buddha”, or “a silent Buddha”, meaning an enlightened being. The other two types of enlightened beings are Arhats and Sammasambuddhas.

The Yana or “vehicle” by which each Buddha attains enlightenment is called Harabuddhayana in the Indian Buddhist tradition. According to some traditions, each Buddha attains enlightenment on his own, without the use of teachers or guides. They are said to arise only in those eras where there is no Buddha and Buddhist teachings are lost. Only, then it becomes more important to defeat Samsara.

According to the Theravada school, Harabuddha (one who has attained the supreme and perfect insight, but who dies without declaring the truth to the world) is unable to teach the Dhamma, which requires omniscience and here even he hesitates in teaching the truth. Pakkekabuddha gives moral teachings but does not lead others to enlightenment. They leave no association as a legacy to promote the Dhamma. There has been an individual struggle against samsara.

Savakbuddha or Arhat

In Buddhism, one is called an arhat in Sanskrit or an arahant in Pali. It is also called Savakbuddha. Arhat in Buddhism is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has attained nirvana. The Mahayana Buddhist traditions use the term to refer to people who are very far along the path of enlightenment but who have not reached full Buddhahood.

Understanding of the concept has changed over the centuries, and varies between different schools of Buddhism and different regions. Many views on the attainment of arhats existed in the early Buddhist schools. Sarvastivada, Kashyapya, Mahasanghika, Ekavairika, Lokottarvada, Bahusrutya, Prajnapativada, and Chaitika all considered the Arhats to be imperfect in their achievements compared to the Buddhas.

Mahayana Buddhist teachings ask followers to follow the path of bodhisattva and not fall back to the level of arhats and sravakas. The arhat, or at least the senior arhat, came to be widely regarded by Theravada Buddhists as “going beyond a state of personal freedom to engage in bodhisattva enterprise in one’s own way”.

Mahayana Buddhism regards a group of eighteen arhats awaiting the return of the Buddha as Maitreya, while other groups also appear in tradition and Buddhist art, especially in East Asia called Luohan or Lohan.

Samsara In Buddhism

Samsara in Buddhism is often defined as the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth. Unlike Nirvana, which is the state of being free from suffering and the cycle of rebirth, you can think of it as a world of sorrow and discontent.

Literally speaking, the Sanskrit word samsara means “to flow” or “to pass”. It is illustrated by the circle of life and explained by the twelve links of dependent origins. It can be understood as the state of being bound by greed, hatred and ignorance. According to traditional Buddhist philosophy, we are trapped in one life world after another until we find awakening through enlightenment.

In Buddhism, samsara is the eternal cycle of repeated birth, earthly existence and dying again. The samsara is considered to be suffering and generally unsatisfactory and painful, which is the culmination of desire and avidya (ignorance).

Reincarnation takes place in the six realms of existence, namely the three good ones (heavenly, half-deity, human) and the three evil ones (animal, ghost, hellish). If a person attains nirvana, the world ends.

In Buddhism, samsara is a continuous cycle of suffering, life, death and rebirth. Samsara is related to the Four Noble Truths in Buddhism, because suffering is the essence of samsara. Every rebirth is temporary and impermanent. In each rebirth one is born and dies, to be reborn elsewhere according to one’s karma. The world continues until salvation is attained.

Conclusion

Siddhartha overcame Samsara to become the Buddha. Every sentient being should strive for his/her own enlightenment. That can happen only by crossing over the Samsara.