The most extensive volume of 'The Life of Buddha' ever written in Korea

Just before entering nirvana at the age of 80, the Buddha had to witness the nirvana of his two favorite disciples, Sariputta and Moggallana.
When he heard the news of the two disciples' nirvana, he said, "Since we were born and formed existence, we must disintegrate someday. How could we not leave our side?" However, throughout the sutras, the loneliness and emptiness of the Buddha who sent his two disciples away first are expressed through his actions and words.
The nirvana of Sariputta and Moggallana was one of the greatest events in the Buddha's later years.
This part is also inserted in most biographies of Buddha.

However, there are few books that deal with the nirvana of Gotami, who became the adoptive mother of Buddha in place of his mother who passed away in the same year as his birth, raised him, and established the ordination of women and became the first nun.
In the same year, Rahula, the Buddha's lay son, also entered nirvana.
There are almost no biographies of Buddha that describe this in domestic literature.
Finally, in the same year, Yasodhara, who was the Buddha's wife before he became a monk, also entered nirvana.
There are no domestic publications describing this.
No, there is not even a biography of the Buddha that tells of Yasodhara's ordination, and many people do not even know that she became a monk.

Most biographies of the Buddha, which are about 300 or 400 pages long, have limitations in describing all the events that occurred around the Buddha over the 80 years from his birth to his nirvana.
I had to cut back and cut back.
As a result, it met readers with a lot of the ‘context’ omitted.
This book restores a significant portion of the previously unknown events and omitted 'context'.
If you skip the plot, you can see that he was a god, but when you figure out the 'why' and 'how', he was human, and when you bring to life the social and historical aspects, the myth becomes history.


One of the most brilliant passages is the detailed description of female monks, who have been so often neglected in biographies and accounts of the Buddha's life.
Of the eight chapters, one is devoted to female practitioners, and other chapters also delve into the practice and enlightenment of female practitioners.
There are stories of great women who became nuns after ordaining themselves as monks, such as the Buddha's lay wife Gotamina, the famous courtesan Amba Pali, as well as Queen Khema of King Bimbisara, and Dhammadinna, who excelled in preaching, and great female laywomen like Visakha.
This book is based on the Nikaya, an early Buddhist scripture, and was created by referencing later commentaries.
However, rather than simply copying the scriptures as they are, the focus was on increasing readability by organizing the contents of the scriptures so that readers can understand them more easily.


There was no biography of Buddha of this magnitude in Korea.
Of course, there are more extensive works abroad than 『Buddha Chronicles』.
Sayadaw Mingun's Maha Buddhavamsa is a monumental work of over 3,000 pages.
However, among the books on the life of Buddha written in Korea so far, this book, 『Buddha Chronology』, is the most extensive.

Ramaputta was secretly happy to have accepted Siddhartha, who at first glance seemed to have an extraordinary aura, as his disciple.
He began to teach the meditation techniques he had been practicing with great care.
Siddhartha soon discovered that the method of practice taught by Uddaka Ramaputta was essentially the same as that of Alara Kalama, except that it was one step further.
So, while Alara Kalama achieved the state of nothingness (the state of non-possession) and stopped practicing further, Uddaka Ramaputta had reached the state of 'neither consciousness nor non-consciousness (the state of neither consciousness nor non-consciousness).'
But this state was ultimately achieved by the same principles that Alara Kalama had adopted to transcend the first two stages.
In other words, it was not much different from the method used by Alara Kalama to transcend space and consciousness and reach the state of non-possession.
However, while Alara Kalama recognized the state of non-possession as the ultimate absolute state, Uddaka Ramaputta went a step further and analyzed the state of non-possession itself to determine whether it was a real state.
But since he could not find any substance there, Uddaka Ramaputta went beyond it and thought that the ultimate state of meditation is neither consciousness in any form nor non-consciousness at the same time.
Therefore, Uddaka Ramaputta regarded this state, the state of non-perception and non-perception, as an absolute state that transcends all ordinary knowledge.
However, there was a slight difference in breathing method.
While Alara Kalama was maintaining a similar ratio of inhalation, holding, and exhalation, Uddaka Ramaputta was maintaining a ratio of Kumbhaka (holding the breath: the act of stopping breathing).
That is, when dividing the stages of breathing into three stages of inhalation, holding the breath, and exhalation, Alara Kalama's meditation method had an equal ratio, whereas Uddaka Ramaputta's meditation technique had a relatively high ratio of time spent holding the breath.
Under the guidance of the sage Ramaputta, Siddhartha thought:
'The practice of Uddaka Ramaputta, like that of Alara Kalama, is not the ultimate state that I wish to attain.
It also does not lead to defilement, it does not lead to the fading of greed, it does not lead to extinction, it does not lead to tranquility, it does not lead to the highest wisdom, it does not lead to right enlightenment, and it does not lead to nirvana.
This law may also temporarily bring about a state of high ecstasy, but it does not allow for the freedom to continue until the end.
If I let go for a moment, I will be bound again by desire, anxiety, and pain, so this is not the perfect refuge I seek.
--- pp.207~209

King Suddhodana took the hand of his beloved son, whom he respected and loved, and placed it on his chest, smiling brightly.
“Now my wish has come true.
“I am happy to be on my last journey to see the Buddha like this.”
King Suddhodana lay down, put his hands together in prayer, and quietly closed his eyes.
The ceremony was over.
The Sakya doctor who had been caring for the king washed the king's body with perfume, wrapped it in cotton, fur, and silk, and placed it in a coffin.
It was time to move the body to the lion's seat in the crematorium.
“I will carry the coffin from the front.”
When the Buddha said this, his relatives tried to stop him.
“The World-Honored One is the most honorable being above and below the heavens.
No matter how deep our predestined connection is, I cannot allow the teacher of Incheon to bear the burden of human suffering.”
“I understand your intentions.
But if I do not carry the bier, there will be those who will criticize me, saying that I do not know the kindness of my parents.”
After some scuffles, the Buddha, instead of carrying the body, took the incense burner and led it to the crematorium. He sprinkled flowers as an offering and then lit a fire on the piled up firewood.
The Buddha spoke to the people who were crying as if they were running towards the blazing fire.

“This world is impermanent, and because it is impermanent, it is painful.
Since nothing is eternal, the body is also inherently fleeting.
Living in this world is like a fantasy, like a burning flame, like the moon's shadow reflected on water.
It just seems like everyone is like that for a while.
Life is a temporary existence with an impermanent body.
Look at that fierce fire, everyone, that consumes everything.
You may find this fire hot, but the fire of greed is hotter than this.
So, don't be lazy and practice diligently to save life and death.
“Get rid of the suffering and attain the joy of liberation.”
After the funeral of his father, King Suddhodana, the Buddha retired to Nigrodha Garden for a while.
He was very tired from the long journey and from watching over his father's funeral and cremation, so he needed some rest.
--- pp.508~510

Yasodhara, the woman whom Buddha loved most, if not only.
Although she did not receive ordination directly from the Buddha, she became a nun by becoming a disciple of Gotami, the Buddha's first nun disciple.
After Gotami became the first nun in Vesali, she was practicing asceticism in the Nigrodha Garden of Kapilavatthu when Yasodhara came to visit her and asked for permission to become a nun.
Afterwards, Yasodhara, who had been quietly practicing Buddhism, came to see the Buddha when she was 78 years old.
At that time, Buddha was 80 years old.
Yasodhara, who had come to see the Buddha, the beloved husband, the father of Rahula, the apple of his eye, and the supreme leader of the Sangha, told him that she would pass away that night.
However, Yasodhara did not ask the Buddha to allow her to enter nirvana like the other disciples.
She was that independent.
Even after becoming a nun, Yasodhara's independent and enterprising nature remained.
She said to the Buddha.
“World-Honored One, I did not become a monk directly under the World-Honored One.
I did not even receive the precepts from the Buddha.
I turned to myself.
And I took refuge in the teachings taught by the World-Honored One.”
The Buddha felt boundless compassion as he looked at Yasodhara, who had become increasingly weak.
Before or after becoming a monk, no, even after, the woman he loved the most, the woman who gave birth to his only blood relative, Rahula, the great woman who willingly allowed him to become a monk, provided him with spiritual nourishment so that he could live the life of a monk, and finally became a monk herself and achieved immortality, was a mixture of love, compassion, and respect in the Buddha's eyes as he looked at Yasodhara.

Yasodhara gathered her strength and said:
"Thank you.
Thank you.
Oh, World-Honored One.
The connection we had, the love we shared, and the years we spent together - none of them are unimportant.
It's all thanks to you.
Above all else
I have been able to live a life without regrets thanks to the great teachings you have given me.
And finally, I obtained the path to immortality.
I love you, World Honored One.
“Thank you for everything.”

--- pp.845~846