The Origins and Lineage of the Shakya Clan

The Holy Birth on the Eighth Day of the Fourth Month

Shakyamuni Buddha original: "釋迦牟尼佛" (Shìjiāmóunífó). The historical Buddha, born Siddhartha Gautama. belonged to the Kshatriya Kshatriya: the warrior and ruling caste of ancient India lineage. His father was King Suddhodana literally "King Pure Rice" and his mother was Queen Maya. Before his final birth, he held the rank of "One Birth Remaining" original: "補處" (bǔchù). A Bodhisattva who is destined to become a Buddha in their next lifetime. in the Tushita Heaven Tushita Heaven: the "Heaven of Contentment" where future Buddhas reside before descending to the human world. There, his name was Shengshan literally "Supreme Excellence", and he was also known as the Great Being Who Protects the Light original: "護明大士" (Hùmíng Dàshì), often identified with the Sanskrit name Prabhapala.. He delivered the various heavenly hosts by preaching the practices of the "Next-to-be Buddha," manifesting his body to preach the Dharma the Buddha's teachings across the ten directions of the universe.

The Sutra of Universal Radiance original: "普耀經" (Pǔyào Jīng), likely referring to the Lalitavistara Sutra, which chronicles the life of the Buddha. says: When the Buddha was first born into the house of the Kshatriya King, he emitted the great light of wisdom, which illuminated the worlds of the ten directions. Golden lotus flowers sprouted from the earth, naturally supporting his feet. He walked seven steps in each of the four directions: the East, the West and the South, and the North. Pointing one finger to the heavens and one finger to the earth, he let out a "lion's roar" a Buddhist metaphor for the powerful and fearless delivery of the truth, saying: "Above, below, and in the four cardinal directions, there is none more honorable than I."

This occurred on the eighth day of the fourth month in the year Jiayin, the twenty-fourth year of the reign of King Zhao of Zhou Traditional Chinese historiography placed the Buddha's birth much earlier than modern scholars, dating it here to approximately 1027 BCE.. By the eighth day of the second month in the forty-second year of King Zhao’s reign, at the age of nineteen, he desired to leave the household life. He thought to himself: "What shall I encounter hereafter?" He then went on a tour through the Four Gates the four gates of his father's palace, where he traditionally encountered an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and an ascetic. to observe the four types of human experience. His heart felt both sorrow and joy, and