"While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell"
--- Hurricane, Desire, 1976
Photo of a Buddha Statue in a collage at the back cover of "Desire".
"You were telling him about Buddha,
you were telling him about Mohammed"
--- Precious Angel, Slow Train Coming, 1979
Siddhartha Gautama (Gotama) was born in 563 BC into the royal family of
Kapilavastu (northern India). After living for 29 years amidst the wealth
and luxury of his royal family he left his palace in search of "truth".
After years of wandering with sages, studying, and meditation he
attained "Bodhi" (enlightenment) in a place which is now known as
Bodhgaya (eastern India). Buddha ("the enlightened one") started
preaching his "Dhamma" (Dharma=religion) of truth, peace and
non-violence ("Dhammachakkapabattana").
He spent rest of his life spreading the Dhamma throughout northern and
central India. Buddhism was greeted by all sorts of people, from the
down-trodden to the kings and wealthy merchants.
After his death ("Mahaparinibbana") in 483 BC his disciples carried
his words of truth to distant lands. In the next several centuries
Buddhism spread through the South Asia, South-east Asia, Tibet, China,
Korea, Japan and Central-Asia (modern-day Afghanistan). Theravada
(Heenayana) and Mahayana are the two major schools of Buddhism.
For more facts on Buddha and Buddhism:
BuddhaNet
Ethics of Buddha and Buddhism
Allen Ginsberg and Buddhism:
Allen the Buddhist
Date: Fri, 30 Aug 2002 11:09:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: Siddhartha Ghosh
To: webmaster@expectingrain.com
