Illustration by Teresa Villegas
Happy birthday to the baby Buddha! 2500 years ago, nestled in the fertile valley along the border between India and Nepal, a child was born who was to become the Buddha.
Stories tell that before his birth, his mother; a queen of a small kingdom had a dream. A beautiful white elephant offered the queen a white lotus flower, and then entered the side of her body. When sages were asked to interpret the dream they predicted the queen would give birth to a son destined to become a great ruler or a holy man.
One day, they said, he would either conquer the world or become an enlightened being, a Buddha. Within 10 months, while she was traveling, the procession passed through a grove of blossoming trees. Entranced, the Queen asked her courtiers to stop, and she walked into the grove.
A tree lowered a branch to support her. As she reached up to touch the blossoms, her son was born emerging from her side. The Queen and her son were showered with perfumed blossoms, and two streams of sparkling water poured from the sky to bathe them.
The newborn is said to have immediately taken seven steps representing the six directions of East, South, West, North, Above and Below. The infant would transcend the six realms of suffering and take the extra step into the awakened life that is the Buddha’s. With each step a lotus bloomed. Seven days later, the queen died. Later, the Buddha would proclaim “The world is filled with pain and sorrow, but I have found a serenity that you can find too.”
“Buddha was asked, “What have you gained from meditation?” He replied “nothing!” However, let me tell you what I have lost; anger, anxiety, depression, insecurity, fear of old age and death.”