This happened a very long time ago. One ancient book states it was in 542 BC, whilst another says it occurred 2,500 years ago.
At the very foot of the Himalayan mountains, in India, there was a small kingdom. The king and queen were very kind people, but they had no children. Year after year passed in this way. Then, one day, the queen had a dream in which a white baby elephant flew to her and touched her with its trunk.
She was not frightened, but awoke with hope that this was a good sign. And indeed, some time later, she gave birth to a child. It was a boy. He grew not by the day, but by the hour. He began to walk and talk almost immediately. And his gaze was so intelligent and aware, like that of a very wise person.
Where he stepped, lotus flowers grew. Where he passed, everyone became wiser, and wherever he went, he brought goodness.
The boy said:
I was born to gain knowledge and free all living things from suffering.
His father surrounded the little prince with care and attention. He taught him to ride horses, shoot arrows, as well as various games and entertainments. The boy never left the walls of the kingdom, as his father had built him four palaces for all the seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn. He arranged it so that only young and healthy people lived in the city, so that the boy would not see old age and illness. His father decided that his son would be king when he grew up.
One day, whilst walking through the kingdom, the heir wandered into a distant street and heard a song there in a strange foreign language. The young prince asked his friend to translate its content. And he told him that there were other countries, another life. Not as good and carefree as his, but rather wretched, with illness, suffering and poverty.
I must see the world.
He said.
And, returning to his chambers, he gathered the most necessary things and went to see what was happening in the world.
The first thing the young prince saw upon leaving the gates of the kingdom was that life is filled not only with joy and laughter, but also with suffering. And he decided that he would teach and learn how to free oneself from suffering. Looking around and observing the lives and concerns of other people, he understood that the world which had surrounded him since childhood and to which he had become so accustomed was not actually like that everywhere.
Sometimes it seems that everything is good and wonderful, but this is only an illusion. And in order to understand what the truth is, one must develop spiritually and become enlightened. Only an extraordinary person can do and think this way, and that person is Buddha.
He would sit at the foot of Mount Kailash, 6,638 metres high, and dream. And at that time, an unusual glow of red, blue and white appeared above the mountain. It illuminated everything around, the emanating light was so bright that it hurt one's eyes to look at it.
One day a bear came to Buddha and asked:
How can I quickly dig a large den?
Buddha advised him to start by digging a small hole first, then a larger pit, and that this was normal. After all, one must always start with small things. This was the first lesson.
The second followed. A little owlet had a sore wing, and because of this he could not fly. And Buddha advised him to think that his wing was healthy, strong and did not hurt at all. The owlet thought about this so often that everything really did stop hurting, and he flew.
And the essence of the second lesson is that thoughts are material. What you think about is what happens in reality (comes true).
Once, some black crows could not divide their prey amongst themselves and were angry with each other because of it. They even fought, because one of them got a larger piece than the other. Buddha suggested that the offended crow forgive the offender, and the conflict was resolved. Thus appeared the third lesson.
And once, whilst swimming in a pond, a little duckling caught his foot on a snag and could not free himself. And his friend was swimming carelessly nearby and did nothing to help. This was seen by a goose who was also swimming in that pond, and he quickly came to the rescue. So here it is: actions matter: one must act, not remain inactive. This was Buddha's fourth lesson.
As in the animal world, so in the human world, one must try to understand another person first, and then speak about oneself and one's own desires. Such was Buddha's fifth lesson.
And here is another: a young man came to Buddha for advice. He could not understand what he wanted himself. His thoughts ran one ahead of the other, and, accordingly, the young man would start one task, then abandon it without finishing, and take up another which seemed more interesting to him, then interrupt himself and start a third task... In the end, he never finished anything.
The young man was very scattered, unfocused, and Buddha gave him a lesson which he called the sixth. The essence of the lesson is as follows: "Conquer yourself, learn to control your thoughts, be consistent in bringing them to life". This lesson is considered one of Buddha's most important lessons; only intelligent, brave and disciplined students are capable of fulfilling it.
With his seventh lesson, Buddha teaches living in harmony. Never dwell on troubles. Do not live with grievances. Do not harbour malice. Do not become irritated. Be able to quickly forget the bad.
And his eighth lesson is very useful: "Be grateful". There will always be something for which it is worth thanking friends, acquaintances and strangers, teachers, Higher Powers.
That is what Buddha is like, and these are his lessons. And he also believes very much that there is another world where final liberation and peace occur, where there is no suffering, and it is called nirvana.
And our life is a cycle. All things are impermanent by their nature. Everything flows and changes under the influence of the environment and events that have occurred. Therefore, one must study, read a lot, in order to understand the world and the laws of nature, to be flexible and ready for any changes.
