Reading Notes: Life of Buddha Part B

Personal Image of a statue of Buddha from my time in Hong Kong

For me, this was the most exciting reading to work on so far. As I have previously mentioned, I was raised Buddhist by my father, so I have always had a deep connection with Buddhism and the "life of Buddha". I have made the joke many times that both my father and I are terrible Buddhists in practice, so any opportunity to learn more about the culture, the faith, and the history is exciting to me. Reading all of these stories this week made me feel more in tune with the faith that I was brought up in, obviously being in America, there is not much Buddhist culture to latch onto or learn about, but reading these little anecdotes was a very valuable experience for me. I loved reading the legends and the stories and the fables, all of the different aspects that lead from Siddartha Guatama becoming the Buddha. My favorite story, and the focal point of my notes, is "Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha". This short story nicely ties together all of the histories of the Buddha to one concise point. The last few lines reading, "I have had numerous births. In vain have I sought the builder of the house. Oh, the torment of perpetual rebirth! But I have seen you at last, O builder of the house. You no longer build the house. The rafters are broken; the old walls are down. The ancient mountain crumbles; the mind attains to nirvana; birth is no more for desire is no more" (Herold). Which is a great way to wrap up the entire story, and a great beginning to the life that the Buddha would lead. Although it was the end of this story, it is only the beginning of the Buddha.

Bibliography
Source: The Life of Buddha: Source
Siddhartha Becomes the Buddha: Source

Comments

Introduction to a Future Teacher, Ex Wrestler

Hello Friends! My name is Mikayla Chandler, I am a Junior here at the University of Oklahoma, and I am studying Secondary Language Arts Education. My go-to fun fact? I wrestled for 8 wonderful years of my life on an all-boys wrestling team. The years I spent wrestling were some of the most formative years of my life. If I was not studying to become a teacher right now, I would be training for the 2020 Olympics. The coolest thing about my major? I get to do what I love for the rest of my life. I cannot wait to teach English (hopefully on the high school level) to the next generation of young adults. I think it is beyond cool that I get the opportunity to become a teacher, I cannot think of anything I would rather be doing. Last semester I was enrolled in 18 hours while working nearly full-time, so I guess I am not really sure what class is my favorite, they all made me cry regularly. My favorite class was honestly probably my Young Adult Literature class, taught by Dr. Bain

Comment Wall

The Cultural Depictions of Dogs: Homepage Goofy, who is allegedly actually a cow, not a dog: Source

Week 7 Story: The Monkey King Continues

The Monkey King depiction: Source "One day I awoke. There was nothing before I existed, I was born of the rock and sculpted by the Heavens. I was a handcrafted entity that was untouchable for all my life, until now. I had my run-in with rebellion, I fought back with the Gods, I met with the Buddha, and I became a Buddha. I have a life full of journey and adventure, yet, I yearn for more." It had been 12 years since the Monkey King had been seen, then, the news came. The Monkey King was going to come out of hiding, but only to train a new enlightened one. He would come out for just one year in order to find someone to fill his shoes, then, he would never be seen again. "I am tired of the responsibility, the weight that I carry on my shoulders is too much for one man, I need someone to carry on the torch" he exclaims, publicly to the town. "I need not this power that I carry, I will be training one new soul to take over my place, to be th

Welcome to Mikayla's Blog

Search This Blog