Abridged Biography of
Sakyamuni Buddha

        Sakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born on the fifteenth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar (in 624 B.C.), in Lumbini Park, Kapilavastu in Northern India, in what is now Nepal, a country situated on the slope of Himalaya, the highest mountain of the world. He was born a prince. His father was Rajah Suddhodana, and His mother Maha Maya. His personal name was Siddartha, meaning heir to the throne. He married the princess Yasodhara, daughter of King Soupra Buddha, who bore Him a son named Rahula. Although raised in princely luxury and glory, surrounded with splendid palaces, His beautiful wife and well-behaved son, He felt trapped amidst this luxury like a bird in a gold cage, a fish in a silver vase.

        During a visit to the city, outside the four palace portals, He saw the spectacles of human suffering: an old man with white hair, fallen teeth, blurred eyes, deaf ears, and bent back, resting on his cane and begging for his food; a sick man lying at the roadside who groaned painfully; a dead man whose body was swollen and surrounded with flies and bluebottles, and a holy ascetic with a calm appearance. The four sights made Him realize that life is subject to all sorts of sufferings. The sight of the holy ascetic who appeared serene gave Him the clue that the first step in His search for Truth was Renunciation. Back in His palace, He asked His father to let Him enter monkhood, but was refused. Nevertheless, He decided to re-Buddhism: Religion of Freedom, by Hoang Van Lac, reveals the evolution of Buddhism. Lac weaves history as well as the spiritual essence of the religion and its founder, Sakyamuni Buddha.

      Buddha was born a prince, surrounded by the earthly riches and splendor inherent to his position. Disgusted that he lived in luxury while the rabid stench of human suffering persisted around him, Buddha renounced his royal world for one of Nirvana.

          Buddha taught the lessons of enlightenment for half a century. After his death, his followers carried his teachings around the world. This book follows in that virtuous path.

          HOANG Van Lac graduated from the Dalat Military Academy in Vietnam. Serving under President Ngo Dinh Diem as Special Commissioner in charge of the Strategic Hamlet Program, he was later promoted to the rank of Major General. He emigrated to the United States in 1975. Retired since 1994, the author is now caring for his four grandchildren. He enjoys reading and playing tennis in his spare time.