What is the work of the Holy Spirit photos on Flickr

Branches of the Vine

Young Catholics complete sacraments of initiation

By Andrew Junker | May 21, 2009 | The Catholic Sun

CAREFREE — They were lined up down the main aisle of Our Lady of Joy’s church in starched shirts, white dresses and uncomfortable dress shoes.

And they were nervous.

Well, “nervous and excited,” explained Jenna Mateo, one of the 40 or so third-graders who made their first Communion and were confirmed by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted May 10 at the north Valley parish.

Maci McMeel — who chose Christina as her confirmation name — agreed with Mateo.

“I was kind of nervous because there were a lot of people watching us,” she said. McMeel said she had thought a lot about what it would be like to receive the Eucharist, and that making her first Communion was very “exciting.”

Across the Diocese of Phoenix, confirmation and first Communion season is in full bloom. Hundreds of children are receiving the sacraments either from the hands of the bishop or one of his appointed vicars or deans.

Jill Pavolovsky prepared the young confirmandi at Our Lady of Joy. The sacrament preparation is worked into the regular religious education classes at the parish, which have been focused on preparing for confirmation and first Communion for about a year now.

“The restored order of the sacraments helps the children receive the Blessed Sacrament more worthily and gives them the graces to make better choices in their lives,” said Pavlovsky, who is known to her students simply as “Miss Jill.”

Linking confirmation to baptism as one of the sacraments of initiation, as well as teaching the children about Pentecost and the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit “helps them understand how confirmation will help them live out, spread and defend the faith,” she said, “as a third-grader and hopefully beyond.”

In his homily, Bishop Olmsted told the children about their new responsibilities as fully initiated members of the Church and gave them advice on how to remain close to Christ.

The Gospel reading included Jesus telling His disciples, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in Me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without Me you can do nothing.”

“These words of Jesus help us see why holy Communion and confirmation are such great blessings from God,” Bishop Olmsted said. “The sacraments help us stay in communion with Christ, and that’s the only way to have real joy.”

More: www.catholicsun.org

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Day 57- Living for Your Glory by Rebekah Fuller

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Project365 No.57

Wednesday 25th Febuary 2009

I didn't think I could be more encouraged by things as of late. God has been working through so many situations in mine and others lives recently, in the past few weeks and months. It is amazing to see and experience, and so unbelieveably encouraging. So the events that hapenned tonight came somewhat as a shock, and I am still in awe now. Words can not express my emotions, they are completely sky high and off the chart, but I will do my best.

So this evening was the third evening of F Plan, it was held at the Church centre and about being baptised in the Holy Spirit. Everything that was said this evening just felt so true and real, I understood it all and it seemed to make so much more sense even now. After looking at how you can recieve the Holy Spirit, who He is exactly, and the fruits of His amazing Spirit; Pam suggested that we should get into small groups and pray on what we'd heard. Or... if anybody wanted to recieve the Holy Spirit then to talk to her and Ken and Annie for prayer.

Dan (bless him!) asked a few questions, my favourite being

"Baptism in the Holy Spirit, and baptism in water, which would you recommend first?!"

I knew Dan would then go up for prayer, he is so eager to know God more and just give his life to God. I find this passion and fire with him awe inspiring, more should be like this! It is so refreshing, and although I've only known Dan for a few months now, he is an amazing friend of mine and I've seen such a transformation within him in those few months as it is! I'm getting so excited just thinking about this all!

As I was saying, Dan went up for prayer and God did His work. Ken and Annie prayed he would be filled with the Holy Spirit, and he was! He fell to the floor, was shaking, and breathed heavily for atleast half an hour. God then showed Himself through Dan's laughter, and he was laughing in the Spirit! Anyone who knows Dan already will know his laugh is extremely loud and memorable. You usually hear Dan before you see him, and even at Church the slightest thing will set him off into hysterics for hours! So imagine his laughter when he is full of the Holy Spirit. I tell you it was fantastic! Something even more fantastic, he started speaking in tongues! I'm completely in awe of God right now.

Dan was on the floor for logner than expected, and people were getting eager to go, yet also wishing to stay to witness this miraculous moment in Dan's life. The laughing and tongues decreased and then in a sudden spurt he said

"I just hurt my foot..."

Completely out of the blue, so we all though he was finished. Then a few seconds later he went off speaking tongues and laughing in the Spirit again! This was just an awesome thing to witness and I can't even begin to thank God for this evening. Trully it has been amazing and so encouraging! I suggested we prayed for Dan and for everyone else, so we got into a small huddle and prayed, occasional bouts of laughter from Dan could just be heard. He he.

Eventually we started to pack up the tables and chairs around Dan, who still lay completely in love with God on the floor. We could have vacuumed around him and he wouldn't have noticed, I'm sure of it.

Eventually he came out of it, and sat up to see us all, with beaming faces smiling back at him. He looked completely different, his smile seemed so much brighter and real. I don't know if this is just me or not, but you could clearly tell he was and is filled now. The picture above shows it too, his smile just looks different!

He ran around hugging everyone and jumping up and down, unable to shut up about his experience and his love for God, his new realisation that he is in The Kingdom, and how REAL it all feels, and IS!

We all got onto the bus after saying goodbye to Ken, Annie and Pam. Matt P amazingly evangelised to one of the two non-Christians on the top deck of the double decker 2A. The guys name was Oli, and is apparently doing an essay on the Holy Spirit in his Religious Studies course as it is!

Back on Campys, Natalie suggested we all go and pray and worship at hers, so we did. Put on some immense Christian music in the background and we just gave God our all. There was Natalie, Laura L, Dan, Matt, Johnny and myself cramped into Natalie's room, praising and jumping up and down with love. The Holy Spirit was so present in the room and it was just amazing to worship with my friends. God was there, through prophetic word, tongues, and the guys laid their hand upon me for a certain situation I'm in need of prayer for. We lost all self-consciousness in that room tonight, and praised with our loudest voices, even if we got the lyrics to the songs wrong or were out of tune, it didn't and doesn't matter to God. All that matters is our desire to know Him more and more.

Matt and I then went back to my house to chat about situations and the Holy Spirit and such. I bought yet another immense song from itunes (Living for Your Glory by Tim Hughes) and then as soon as Matt left (1am) I began to write this. I still can't get that smile off my face, my cheekbones are in pain because of this smile. I feel so encouraged, so in love, so in awe of our Amazing and loving God. I just want to run around campus singing Praise to Him! He trully is amazing.

I thank God for my friendship with Dan, his amazing persistence and pressing into knowing God more. I thank God he is open and honest about things and that he had the courage to be prayed for tonight. I thank God for my Christian friends on campus, the CU and everything the CU does. I pray that we can never shut up about how amazing Jesus is, but be constantly filled with the Holy Spirit, so filling that we overflow!

What an evening. THANK YOU GOD!!

Also... today is EXACTLY a year since I was baptised in the Holy Spirit! Good timing again God :)

The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, Lincoln by Jelltex

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Lincoln Cathedral (in full The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, or sometimes St. Mary's Cathedral) is a cathedral located in Lincoln in England and seat of the Bishop of Lincoln in the Church of England. Building commenced in 1088 and continued in several phases throughout the medieval period. It was reputedly the tallest building in the world for 238 years (1311–1549).[1][2][3] The central spire collapsed in 1549 and was not rebuilt. The cathedral is the third largest in Britain (in floor space) after St Paul's and York Minster, being 484 by 271 feet (148 by 83 m). It is highly regarded by architectural scholars; the eminent Victorian writer John Ruskin declared: "I have always held... that the cathedral of Lincoln is out and out the most precious piece of architecture in the British Isles and roughly speaking worth any two other cathedrals we have."

Remigius de Fécamp, the first Bishop of Lincoln, moved the episcopal seat (cathedra) there "some time between 1072 and 1092"[4] About this, James Essex writes that "Remigius ... laid the foundations of his Cathedral in 1088" and "it is probable that he, being a Norman, employed Norman masons to superintend the building ... though he could not complete the whole before his death."[5] Before that, writes B. Winkles, "It is well known that Remigius appropriated the parish church of St Mary Magdalene in Lincoln, although it is not known what use he made of it

Up until then St. Mary's Church in Stow was considered to be the "mother church"[7] of Lincolnshire[8] (although it was not a cathedral, because the seat of the diocese was at Dorchester Abbey in Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire). However, Lincoln was more central to a diocese that stretched from the Thames to the Humber.

Bishop Remigius built the first Lincoln Cathedral on the present site, finishing it in 1092 and then dying on 9 May of that year,[9] two days before it was consecrated. In 1141, the timber roofing was destroyed in a fire. Bishop Alexander rebuilt and expanded the cathedral, but it was mostly destroyed by an earthquake about forty years later, in 1185 (dated by the BGS as occurring 15 April 1185).[6][10] The earthquake was one of the largest felt in the UK: it has an estimated magnitude of over 5. The damage to the cathedral is thought to have been very extensive: the Cathedral is described as having "split from top to bottom"; in the current building, only the lower part of the west end and of its two attached towers remain of the pre-earthquake cathedral.[10] Some (Kidson, 1986; Woo, 1991) have suggested that the damage to Lincoln Cathedral was probably exaggerated by poor construction or design; with the actual collapse most probably caused by a vault collapse.[10]

After the earthquake, a new bishop was appointed. He was Hugh de Burgundy of Avalon, France, who became known as St Hugh of Lincoln. He began a massive rebuilding and expansion programme. Rebuilding began with the choir (St Hugh's Choir) and the eastern transepts between 1192 and 1210.[11] The central nave was then built in the Early English Gothic style. Lincoln Cathedral soon followed other architectural advances of the time – pointed arches, flying buttresses and ribbed vaulting were added to the cathedral. This allowed support for incorporating larger windows. There are thirteen bells in the south-west tower, two in the north-west tower, and five in the central tower (including Great Tom). Accompanying the cathedral's large bell, Great Tom of Lincoln, is a quarter-hour striking clock. The clock was installed in the early 19th century.[12] The two large stained glass rose windows, the matching Dean's Eye and Bishop's Eye, were added to the cathedral during the late Middle Ages. The former, the Dean's Eye in the north transept dates from the 1192 rebuild begun by St Hugh, finally being completed in 1235. The latter, the Bishop's eye, in the south transept was reconstructed a hundred years later in 1330.[13] A contemporary record, “The Metrical Life of St Hugh”, refers to the meaning of these two windows (one on the dark, north, side and the other on the light, south, side of the building):

"For north represents the devil, and south the Holy Spirit and it is in these directions that the two eyes look. The bishop faces the south in order to invite in and the dean the north in order to shun; the one takes care to be saved, the other takes care not to perish. With these Eyes the cathedral’s face is on watch for the candelabra of Heaven and the darkness of Lethe (oblivion)."

After the additions of the Dean's eye and other major Gothic additions it is believed some mistakes in the support of the tower occurred, for in 1237 the main tower collapsed. A new tower was soon started and in 1255 the Cathedral petitioned Henry III to allow them to take down part of the town wall to enlarge and expand the Cathedral, including the rebuilding of the central tower and spire. They replaced the small rounded chapels (built at the time of St Hugh) with a larger east end to the cathedral. This was to handle the increasing number of pilgrims to the Cathedral, who came to worship at the shrine of Hugh of Lincoln.

In 1290 Eleanor of Castile died and King Edward I of England decided to honour her, his Queen Consort, with an elegant funeral procession. After her body had been embalmed, which in the 13th century involved evisceration, Eleanor's viscera were buried in Lincoln cathedral and Edward placed a duplicate of the Westminster Abbey tomb there. The Lincoln tomb's original stone chest survives; its effigy was destroyed in the 17th century and replaced with a 19th-century copy. On the outside of Lincoln Cathedral are two prominent statues often identified as Edward and Eleanor, but these images were heavily restored in the 19th century and they were probably not originally intended to depict the couple.

Between 1307 and 1311 the central tower was raised to its present height of 271 feet (83 m). The western towers and front of the cathedral were also improved and heightened. At this time, a tall lead-encased wooden spire topped the central tower but was blown down in a storm in 1549. With its spire, the tower reputedly reached a height of 525 feet (160 m) (which would have made it the world's tallest structure, surpassing the Great Pyramid of Giza, which held the record for almost 4,000 years). Although there is dissent,[1] this height is agreed by most sources.[14][15][16][17][18] Other additions to the cathedral at this time included its elaborate carved screen and the 14th-century misericords, as was the Angel Choir. For a large part of the length of the cathedral, the walls have arches in relief with a second layer in front to give the illusion of a passageway along the wall. However the illusion does not work, as the stonemason, copying techniques from France, did not make the arches the correct length needed for the illusion to be effective.

In 1398 John of Gaunt and Katherine Swynford founded a chantry in the cathedral to pray for the welfare of their souls. In the 15th century the building of the cathedral turned to chantry or memorial chapels. The chapels next to the Angel Choir were built in the Perpendicular style, with an emphasis on strong vertical lines, which survive today in the window tracery and wall panelling.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Cathedral

Growing in Glory by Heart Windows Art

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John 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee: 2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. 3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word. 7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee. 8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me. 9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. 10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are. 12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. 13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil. 16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. 18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. 19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. 26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

You Can’t Grow Morning Glories in the Dark

by Kathie Luther

What a beautiful log home! It’s so bright that the logs glow with an amber color and a glorious light spills out from the windows. It is so rich looking that I can tell that someone important must live here. Look at all these mobile homes around it! There must be at least 40 acres full of homes in this trailer park. That one in the front has a garden by it which includes a sturdy metal fence made to grow morning glories on. All these places look vacant, but all are for rent. The landlord must live in the log home.

Wait a second! There’s an old rundown building way in the back. Let’s go look. Why, it’s only a shack that should’ve been torn down long ago! Let’s look inside. There’s a dark, obscure little room way back in the corner with a nameplate on the door. You’re kidding me! Somebody actually lives here? I’ll brush off all this dirt on their names. Let’s see, hmmmm. It says, "Mr. And Mrs. D. Feated Christian." I knock and two of the most pathetic excuses for human beings invite me in. We talk and I realize that they were having a private pity party there in the dark. They complained about their poverty and they both claimed to be orphans by saying that their Father was dead. As I listened, I realized that something was very wrong. They lived futile, fruitless lives that lacked joy and power.

I had a feeling that if we investigated this further we would discover the problem. So we took a walk to look around. We came up to the mobile home with the garden. They said that it was reserved only for someone who would "grow morning glories on the fence." Since they lived in such darkness, they never even thought of moving up to this nice place.

So we walked a little farther and came to the fabulous log home full of light. "Let’s go in and meet the landlord," I said. The office was open, so we went right in. Nobody was home, but there were obvious clues as to the identity of the landlord. For one thing the desk was piled high with mail all addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Victor E. Us Christian." These were all applications for renting out the wonderful homes in this lovely park. This place would be a prospering business, a literal boomtown if only the landlord would get busy!

Then we saw it! An entire wall full of photos. We all stared in surprise! Every photo had Mr. and Mrs. D. Feated Christian in it, but they looked so different, so radiant. The stunning solid gold nameplate that was the focal point of this display also boasted proudly, "Mr. and Mrs. Victor E. Us Christian!" What in the world was going on?

A Bible lay open on the desk and a dictionary as well as a notebook. At the top of the notebook was the title of a Bible study: "Authority, the Inheritance of all Christians." The first entry in the notebook was a definition from a Bible dictionary for "glory."

GLORY= beauty, power, or honor; a quality of God’s character that emphasizes His greatness and authority.

Then there were notes from the book of Ezekiel showing that the manifestations of God’s glory was like an amber brightness. The last note showed that "logos" is a Greek word used for Christ as the living Word of God. Mrs. Christian slowly began to understand that the "log" home with it’s "amber brightness" was symbolic of the glory and authority of Christ, the LOGos! Another note quotes Jesus from John 17:22 in which He delegates His glory and authority to Christians. Jesus told the Father, "…the glory that you gave Me, I have given them." There were some eye opening verses in which we read that Christians are "seated with Christ in the heavenlies," are "heirs of promise" and "joint heirs with Christ." They have access to "all the riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

By this time great floods of tears poured out of every eye as the full impact of all of these things began to sink in. Christians that "shack up with the world" are lukewarm, not understanding even the milk of the Word. They leave Christ behind as the sorrowing Bachelor who waits for His bride to take her rightful place at His side. The glory of the Lord has long since departed from the Bride of Christ; the inheritance lies idle and unclaimed.

We all got down on our knees before God and we confessed our sins and repented of not claiming our sacred birthright. Mr. Christian led us in prayer. "Father, we have acted like orphans who have lived defeated lives in spiritual poverty, destitute of understanding. We were blinded by the deep darkness of the devil’s lies. Forgive us for ignoring the precious gift that you provided for us through Christ. You have told us in 1 Cor. 3:21-23 that all things are ours: the world, life, death, things present, things to come. We know now that we are the landlords, we have all this authority and we are leaving the shack behind and moving into glory today! Thank you, Father! Hallelujah! In the Name of Jesus, Amen."

Meet the landlords, everybody! I present to you, Victor and Victoria who are Christians who know who they are in Christ! They are radiant with joy, power, and praise just like the photos on the wall. They are going to learn how to stand against the wiles of the devil. There is more to this story.

We remembered that "fence" for growing "morning glories" which was by the mobile home. This also must have meaning, so we looked up "fence" which means "to fence as in the art of fencing." We then found that fencing is defined as "skillful swordplay, both offensive and defensive." This time it was Victor who understood the symbolism. "Why, it’s perfectly plain to me that we need to grow in the glory of our newly claimed authority by using the Sword of the spirit as an effective offensive and defensive weapon!," he shouted with elation.

Thus, we sat down to do more bible study. The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. Eph. 6:17 So we got the concordance and did a study on "word." We found out that there are two main Greek words that are translated into English as "word." Logos and rhema. Rhema was used in this verse, so we had to find out why. We saw that logos was more common and that rhema was only used about 30 times. As we looked up all the verse we found that a rhema word is a word of God that we can speak aloud in faith which then becomes a powerful weapon! With this Sword we can combat fear, worry, guilt, depression, shame, rejection, loneliness, and anything else common to man. We can defeat the devils lies as Jesus did when he quoted Deut. 8:3 out loud so the devil could hear it. This account is in Matthew 4:4 and the word "rhema" was used here for "word." Jesus used a rhema word!

Jesus wants us to do likewise. To be victorious, more than conquerors through Him who loves us, we need to pray the Word. We must activate the Sword of the Spirit with praise and faith as we claim it for our lives. We have put on Christ who is our armor of light, the whole armor of God. The apostles and disciples only had Jesus with them and did great miracles even before Pentecost and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We now have Christ in us, the hope of glory, and we have as much authority as they did! Jesus has ALL power in Heaven and on Earth and He told us that ANYONE who believes in Him could do the works that He did and even greater works. This is from John 14:12 and is a great authority verse.

I asked God to give me a verse that the devil hates and He quickened to me Philippians 4:13, "I can do ALL things through Christ which strengthens me!" Let’s grow in glory, power, and authority because we understand how to "fence" with the devil and his works. We can "grow morning glories on the fence" because we no longer live in the dark!

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Verses used in the article:

John 17:20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

1 Cor. 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; 22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; 23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.

Deut. 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

Matthew 1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. 4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word [rhema] that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

BUDDHA / DRAWING / ART / ILLUSTRATION / PEN DRAWING / CREATIVE ART / DOODLE ART / CHENNAI ART / CHENNAI ARTIST WORKS / LINE ART / LINE DRAWING / PAINTING / Artist Anikartick,Chennai,TamilNadu,India by Artist ANIKARTICK,Chennai(T.Subbulapuram VASU)

1

Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama,[note 3] Shakyamuni,[note 4] or simply the Buddha, was a sage[3] on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.[web 2] He is believed to have lived and taught mostly in eastern India sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE.[4][note 5]

The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one". "Buddha" is also used as a title for the first awakened being in an era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (Pali sammāsambuddha, Sanskrit samyaksaṃbuddha) of our age.[note 6] Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the Sramana (renunciation) movement[5] common in his region. He later taught throughout regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kośala.[4][6]

Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition and first committed to writing about 400 years later.Scholars are hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most accept that he lived, taught and founded a monastic order during the Mahajanapada era in India during the reign of Bimbisara, the ruler of the Magadha empire, and died during the early years of the reign of Ajatshatru who was the successor of Bimbisara, thus making him a younger contemporary of Mahavira, the Jain teacher.[7] Apart from the Vedic Brahmins, Buddha's lifetime coincided with the flourishing of other influential sramana schools of thoughts like Ājīvika, Cārvāka, Jain, and Ajñana. It was also the age of influential thinkers like Mahāvīra, Pūraṇa Kassapa , Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambalī, Pakudha Kaccāyana, and Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, whose viewpoints Buddha most certainly must have been acquainted with and influenced by.[8][9][note 7] There is also evidence to suggest that the two masters, Alara Kalama and Udaka Ramaputta, were indeed historical figures and they most probably taught Buddha two different forms of meditative techniques.[10] While the most general outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true,[11] most scholars do not consistently accept all of the details contained in traditional biographies.[12][13]

The times of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Most historians in the early 20th century dated his lifetime as circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE.[1][14] More recently his death is dated later, between 411 and 400 BCE, while at a symposium on this question held in 1988, the majority of those who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death.[1][15][note 5] These alternative chronologies, however, have not yet been accepted by all historians.[20][21][note 9]

The evidence of the early texts suggests that Siddhārtha Gautama was born into the Shakya clan, a community that was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the northeastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE.[23] It was either a small republic, in which case his father was an elected chieftain, or an oligarchy, in which case his father was an oligarch.[23] According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in Lumbini, nowadays in modern-day Nepal, and raised in Kapilavastu, which may either be in present day Tilaurakot, Nepal or Piprahwa, India.[note 1] He obtained his enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon in Sarnath, and died in Kushinagara.

No written records about Gautama have been found from his lifetime or some centuries thereafter. One edict of Emperor Ashoka, who reigned from circa 269 BCE to 232 BCE, commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to the Buddha's birthplace in Lumbini. Another one of his edict mentions several Dhamma texts, establishing the existence of a written Buddhist tradition at least by the time of the Mauryan era and which may be the precursors of the Pāli Canon.[34][note 11] The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the Gandhāran Buddhist texts, reported to have been found in or around Haḍḍa near Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan and now preserved in the British Library. They are written in the Kharoṣṭhī script and the Gāndhārī language on twenty-seven birch bark scrolls, and they date from the first century BCE to the third century CE.[web 10]The sources for the life of Siddhārtha Gautama are a variety of different, and sometimes conflicting, traditional biographies. These include the Buddhacarita, Lalitavistara Sūtra, Mahāvastu, and the Nidānakathā.[35] Of these, the Buddhacarita[36][37][38] is the earliest full biography, an epic poem written by the poet Aśvaghoṣa, and dating around the beginning of the 2nd century CE.[35] The Lalitavistara Sūtra is the next oldest biography, a Mahāyāna/Sarvāstivāda biography dating to the 3rd century CE.[39] The Mahāvastu from the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda tradition is another major biography, composed incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE.[39] The Dharmaguptaka biography of the Buddha is the most exhaustive, and is entitled the Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sūtra,[40] and various Chinese translations of this date between the 3rd and 6th century CE. Lastly, the Nidānakathā is from the Theravāda tradition in Sri Lanka and was composed in the 5th century CE by Buddhaghoṣa.[41]

From canonical sources, the Jātakas, the Mahapadana Sutta (DN 14), and the Achariyabhuta Sutta (MN 123) which include selective accounts that may be older, but are not full biographies. The Jātakas retell previous lives of Gautama as a bodhisattva, and the first collection of these can be dated among the earliest Buddhist texts.[42] The Mahāpadāna Sutta and Achariyabhuta Sutta both recount miraculous events surrounding Gautama's birth, such as the bodhisattva's descent from Tuṣita Heaven into his mother's womb.Traditional biographies of Gautama generally include numerous miracles, omens, and supernatural events. The character of the Buddha in these traditional biographies is often that of a fully transcendent (Skt. lokottara) and perfected being who is unencumbered by the mundane world. In the Mahāvastu, over the course of many lives, Gautama is said to have developed supramundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse; no need for sleep, food, medicine, or bathing, although engaging in such "in conformity with the world"; omniscience, and the ability to "suppress karma".[43][44][45] Nevertheless, some of the more ordinary details of his life have been gathered from these traditional sources. In modern times there has been an attempt to form a secular understanding of Siddhārtha Gautama's life by omitting the traditional supernatural elements of his early biographies.

Andrew Skilton writes that the Buddha was never historically regarded by Buddhist traditions as being merely human:[46]

It is important to stress that, despite modern Theravada teachings to the contrary (often a sop to skeptical Western pupils), he was never seen as being merely human. For instance, he is often described as having the thirty-two major and eighty minor marks or signs of a mahāpuruṣa, "superman"; the Buddha himself denied that he was either a man or a god; and in the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta he states that he could live for an aeon were he asked to do so.

The ancient Indians were generally unconcerned with chronologies, being more focused on philosophy. Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing a clearer picture of what Gautama may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of the culture and daily life of ancient India which can be corroborated from the Jain scriptures, and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in Indian history for which significant accounts exist.[47] British author Karen Armstrong writes that although there is very little information that can be considered historically sound, we can be reasonably confident that Siddhārtha Gautama did exist as a historical figure.[48] Michael Carrithers goes a bit further by stating that the most general outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true.[11]The Buddhist tradition regards Lumbini, present-day Nepal, to be the birthplace of the Buddha.[49][note 1] He grew up in Kapilavastu.[note 1] The exact site of ancient Kapilavastu is unknown. It may have been either Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh, present-day India,[32] or Tilaurakot, present-day Nepal.[50] Both places belonged to the Sakya territory, and are located only 15 miles apart from each other.[50]

Siddharta Gautama was born as a Kshatriya,[51][note 13] the son of Śuddhodana, "an elected chief of the Shakya clan",[4] whose capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed by the growing Kingdom of Kosala during the Buddha's lifetime. Gautama was the family name. His mother, Queen Maha Maya (Māyādevī) and Suddhodana's wife, was a Koliyan princess. Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side,[53][54] and ten months later[55] Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother Queen Maya became pregnant, she left Kapilvastu for her father's kingdom to give birth. However, her son is said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a sal tree.

The day of the Buddha's birth is widely celebrated in Theravada countries as Vesak.[56] Buddha's birth anniversary holiday is called "Buddha Purnima" in Nepal and India as Buddha is believed to have been born on a full moon day. Various sources hold that the Buddha's mother died at his birth, a few days or seven days later. The infant was given the name Siddhartha (Pāli: Siddhattha), meaning "he who achieves his aim". During the birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita journeyed from his mountain abode and announced that the child would either become a great king (chakravartin) or a great holy man.[57] By traditional account,[which?] this occurred after Siddhartha placed his feet in Asita's hair and Asita examined the birthmarks. Suddhodana held a naming ceremony on the fifth day, and invited eight Brahmin scholars to read the future. All gave a dual prediction that the baby would either become a great king or a great holy man.[57] Kaundinya (Pali: Kondañña), the youngest, and later to be the first arahant other than the Buddha, was reputed to be the only one who unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha would become a Buddha.[58]

While later tradition and legend characterized Śuddhodana as a hereditary monarch, the descendant of the Solar Dynasty of Ikṣvāku (Pāli: Okkāka), many scholars think that Śuddhodana was the elected chief of a tribal confederacy.

Early texts suggest that Gautama was not familiar with the dominant religious teachings of his time until he left on his religious quest, which is said to have been motivated by existential concern for the human condition.[59] The state of the Shakya clan was not a monarchy, and seems to have been structured either as an oligarchy, or as a form of republic.[60] The more egalitarian gana-sangha form of government, as a political alternative to the strongly hierarchical kingdoms, may have influenced the development of the Shramana-type Jain and Buddhist sanghas, where monarchies tended toward Vedic Brahmanism.[61]Siddhartha was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati.[62] By tradition, he is said to have been destined by birth to the life of a prince, and had three palaces (for seasonal occupation) built for him. Although more recent scholarship doubts this status, his father, said to be King Śuddhodana, wishing for his son to be a great king, is said to have shielded him from religious teachings and from knowledge of human suffering.

When he reached the age of 16, his father reputedly arranged his marriage to a cousin of the same age named Yaśodharā (Pāli: Yasodharā). According to the traditional account,[which?] she gave birth to a son, named Rāhula. Siddhartha is said to have spent 29 years as a prince in Kapilavastu. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with everything he could want or need, Buddhist scriptures say that the future Buddha felt that material wealth was not life's ultimate goal.[62]According to the early Buddhist texts,[web 11] after realizing that meditative dhyana was the right path to awakening, but that extreme asceticism didn't work, Gautama discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way[web 11]—a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification, or the Noble Eightfold Path, as was identified and described by the Buddha in his first discourse, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.[web 11] In a famous incident, after becoming starved and weakened, he is said to have accepted milk and rice pudding from a village girl named Sujata.[web 12] Such was his emaciated appearance that she wrongly believed him to be a spirit that had granted her a wish.[web 12]

Following this incident, Gautama was famously seated under a pipal tree—now known as the Bodhi tree—in Bodh Gaya, India, when he vowed never to arise until he had found the truth.[70] Kaundinya and four other companions, believing that he had abandoned his search and become undisciplined, left. After a reputed 49 days of meditation, at the age of 35, he is said to have attained Enlightenment.[70][web 13] According to some traditions, this occurred in approximately the fifth lunar month, while, according to others, it was in the twelfth month. From that time, Gautama was known to his followers as the Buddha or "Awakened One" ("Buddha" is also sometimes translated as "The Enlightened One").

According to Buddhism, at the time of his awakening he realized complete insight into the cause of suffering, and the steps necessary to eliminate it. These discoveries became known as the "Four Noble Truths",[web 13] which are at the heart of Buddhist teaching. Through mastery of these truths, a state of supreme liberation, or Nirvana, is believed to be possible for any being. The Buddha described Nirvāna as the perfect peace of a mind that's free from ignorance, greed, hatred and other afflictive states,[web 13] or "defilements" (kilesas). Nirvana is also regarded as the "end of the world", in that no personal identity or boundaries of the mind remain. In such a state, a being is said to possess the Ten Characteristics, belonging to every Buddha.

According to a story in the Āyācana Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya VI.1) — a scripture found in the Pāli and other canons — immediately after his awakening, the Buddha debated whether or not he should teach the Dharma to others. He was concerned that humans were so overpowered by ignorance, greed and hatred that they could never recognise the path, which is subtle, deep and hard to grasp. However, in the story, Brahmā Sahampati convinced him, arguing that at least some will understand it. The Buddha relented, and agreed to teach.After his awakening, the Buddha met Taphussa and Bhallika — two merchant brothers from the city of Balkh in what is currently Afghanistan — who became his first lay disciples. It is said that each was given hairs from his head, which are now claimed to be enshrined as relics in the Shwe Dagon Temple in Rangoon, Burma. The Buddha intended to visit Asita, and his former teachers, Alara Kalama and Udaka Ramaputta, to explain his findings, but they had already died.

He then travelled to the Deer Park near Varanasi (Benares) in northern India, where he set in motion what Buddhists call the Wheel of Dharma by delivering his first sermon to the five companions with whom he had sought enlightenment. Together with him, they formed the first saṅgha: the company of Buddhist monks.

All five become arahants, and within the first two months, with the conversion of Yasa and fifty four of his friends, the number of such arahants is said to have grown to 60. The conversion of three brothers named Kassapa followed, with their reputed 200, 300 and 500 disciples, respectively. This swelled the sangha to more than 1,000.For the remaining 45 years of his life, the Buddha is said to have traveled in the Gangetic Plain, in what is now Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and southern Nepal, teaching a diverse range of people: from nobles to servants, murderers such as Angulimala, and cannibals such as Alavaka. Although the Buddha's language remains unknown, it's likely that he taught in one or more of a variety of closely related Middle Indo-Aryan dialects, of which Pali may be a standardization.

The sangha traveled through the subcontinent, expounding the dharma. This continued throughout the year, except during the four months of the Vāsanā rainy season when ascetics of all religions rarely traveled. One reason was that it was more difficult to do so without causing harm to animal life. At this time of year, the sangha would retreat to monasteries, public parks or forests, where people would come to them.The first vassana was spent at Varanasi when the sangha was formed. After this, the Buddha kept a promise to travel to Rajagaha, capital of Magadha, to visit King Bimbisara. During this visit, Sariputta and Maudgalyayana were converted by Assaji, one of the first five disciples, after which they were to become the Buddha's two foremost followers. The Buddha spent the next three seasons at Veluvana Bamboo Grove monastery in Rajagaha, capital of Magadha.

Upon hearing of his son's awakening, Suddhodana sent, over a period, ten delegations to ask him to return to Kapilavastu. On the first nine occasions, the delegates failed to deliver the message, and instead joined the sangha to become arahants. The tenth delegation, led by Kaludayi, a childhood friend of Gautama's (who also became an arahant), however, delivered the message.

Now two years after his awakening, the Buddha agreed to return, and made a two-month journey by foot to Kapilavastu, teaching the dharma as he went. At his return, the royal palace prepared a midday meal, but the sangha was making an alms round in Kapilavastu. Hearing this, Suddhodana approached his son, the Buddha, saying:

"Ours is the warrior lineage of Mahamassata, and not a single warrior has gone seeking alms."

The Buddha is said to have replied:

"That is not the custom of your royal lineage. But it is the custom of my Buddha lineage. Several thousands of Buddhas have gone by seeking alms."

Buddhist texts say that Suddhodana invited the sangha into the palace for the meal, followed by a dharma talk. After this he is said to have become a sotapanna. During the visit, many members of the royal family joined the sangha. The Buddha's cousins Ananda and Anuruddha became two of his five chief disciples. At the age of seven, his son Rahula also joined, and became one of his ten chief disciples. His half-brother Nanda also joined and became an arahant.

Of the Buddha's disciples, Sariputta, Maudgalyayana, Mahakasyapa, Ananda and Anuruddha are believed to have been the five closest to him. His ten foremost disciples were reputedly completed by the quintet of Upali, Subhoti, Rahula, Mahakaccana and Punna.

In the fifth vassana, the Buddha was staying at Mahavana near Vesali when he heard news of the impending death of his father. He is said to have gone to Suddhodana and taught the dharma, after which his father became an arahant.

The king's death and cremation was to inspire the creation of an order of nuns. Buddhist texts record that the Buddha was reluctant to ordain women. His foster mother Maha Pajapati, for example, approached him, asking to join the sangha, but he refused. Maha Pajapati, however, was so intent on the path of awakening that she led a group of royal Sakyan and Koliyan ladies, which followed the sangha on a long journey to Rajagaha. In time, after Ananda championed their cause, the Buddha is said to have reconsidered and, five years after the formation of the sangha, agreed to the ordination of women as nuns. He reasoned that males and females had an equal capacity for awakening. But he gave women additional rules (Vinaya) to follow.Dhyana and insight[edit]

A core problem in the study of early Buddhism is the relation between dhyana and insight.[82][95][84] Schmithausen, in his often-cited article On some Aspects of Descriptions or Theories of 'Liberating Insight' and 'Enlightenment' in Early Buddhism notes that the mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight", which is attained after mastering the Rupa Jhanas, is a later addition to texts such as Majjhima Nikaya 36.[85][81][82]

BUDDHA ART - BUDHHA PAINTING - BUDDHA DRAWING - BUDDHA ILLUSTRATION - BUDDHA CONCEPT ART - BUDDHA CREATIVE ART - Artist Anikartick,Chennai,TamilNadu,India by ANIKARTICK ( T.Subbulapuram VASU,Andipatti,Theni )

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