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It was the full-moon day of the month of wesak (which usually falls in the earlier part of the month of may). The river Rohini now called the kohana was flowing through the kingdom of kapilavastu from the Himalaya mountains. In the kingdom of Kapilavastu, there ruled a good king named Suddhodana. On that fullmoon night, Siddhariha, the prince of Kapilavastu was born (Siddharatha was his royal name, and Goutama or Gotama was his family name). He was born under the constellation Wissa on a friday. His date of birht was six hyndred and twenty-three years before the Christian Era (1). The king Suddhodana and the queen Maya were very much delighted seeing the splendid face of the newly born child. But soon after they filled with anxiety as the astrologers had foretold at his birth that he would one day renounce his kingdom and became a Buddha. He was very mild, kind and thoughtful from his infancy. The king of Kapilavastu, not willing to lose his loving son had carefully prevented him from seeing any sight that might suggest to him human misery and death. Even no body was allowed to speak of such things to the prince.

When the prince came of age, his father, the king built three magnificent palaces for the three Indian seasons, and handsomely decorated them. Around each palace were gardens of the most beautiful and fragrant flowers with fountains spouting water, the trees full of singing birds and pea-cocks strutting over ground.

When the young prince came at the age of sixteenth years old, the king sent ambassadors to different places to look a bride for the young prince. At last the prince was married with the princess Yasodhara, daughter of the king Suprabudha. On the marriage ceremony, many beautiful maidens, skilled in dancing and music, were in continual attendance to amuse them.

The prince Rahula was born after on year of their happy conjugal life. But his pity and love for all beings were so strong that he could not loke a splendour and the princely life in the palace.

One day a deva appeared to him when driving out in his charist, under four impressive farms on four different occasions. These four forms were (1) a very old-man broken down by age, (2) a sickman (3) a decaying cropse and (4) a dignified hermit. Channa, his favourite chorister also saw them. Although these sights were familiar to everybody but made so a deep impression on his gentle mind be as he passed his younger life almost like a prisoner in his lovely palaces and flower gardens. These were surrounded by high walls and inside everything was made as beautiful as possible, so that he might not wish to go and see the sorrow and distress that are in the world.

As he was very kind hearted to all beings and his love for human being was boundless, the four impressive forms that he saw, made him thoughtful about the causes of human miseries and sufferings. He decided to find out the way for salvation from it. At last by removing far away from all that could prevent his thinking deeply of the causes of sorrow and the nature of man, he decided to go into the jungle. One night when all were asleep he arose, took his last look at his beloved sleeping wife, princess Yosodhara and infant son Rahula. He called Channa, mounted his favourite white horse kantaka and rode to the palace gates. The devas had thrown a deep sleep upon the king's guard who watched the gates, so that they could not hear the noise of the horse's hoofs. Although the gate was locked, the deva caused it to open without the slightest noise and thus he rode away into the darkness. Although he was so kind hearted, he left all in his 29th year. He even left his beloved wife and only son Rahula as his boundless love for all beings was so deep that nothing could deter him from going into the jungle to sacrifice himself for the world's sake.

When he reached the river Anoma, along way from Kapilavastu,the prince sprang his horse, cut off his hair with his sword, put on yellow dress of an ascetic and giving his ornaments and horse to channa, ordereded him to take them back to his father. Then, he went on foot towards Rajagriha, the capital city of Magadha. There he began to stay in Ratnagiri. He became acquainted with king Bimbisara (who after Siddhatha's enlightenment, became his disciplne). From Ratnagiri for the convenience of quite practice of spiritual disciplines he came to Uruvela, which is now known as the famous Buddha-Gaya. In Uruvela, he went into the jungle to meet hermits, in the hope of finding the knowledge of which he was in search. They taught that by severe penances and torture of the body of a man may acquire perfect wisdom. The prince learned their system and practise all their penances, but could not thus discover the reason for human sorrow. There he spent six years in deep meditation and fasting. At Buddha Gaya, Five companions namely kondanya, Bhaddiya, Wappa, Mahanama and Assaje attended him. There he sat and meditated, concentrating his mind upon higher problems of life, and shuting out from his sight and hearing all that was likely to interrupt his inward reflections. Through the whole period, he took less and less food and water. He ate scarely more than one grain of rice of sesame seed each day. He grew thinner and thinner in body and fainter in strength, until, one day, as he was slowly walking about and meditating, his vital force suddenly left him and he fell to the ground unconscious. His companious thought that he was dead but after a time revived. Then, the thought came to him that knowledge could never be reached by mere fasting or bodily suffering. It must be gained by the opening of the mind. He just barely escaped death from self mortification, yet he had not obtained the perfect wisdom. So he decided to eat, that he might live at least long enough to became wise. He therefore, received some food from Sujata, a nobleman daughter who saw him lying at the foot of a Nuga tree. After that his strength returned to him. He arose, took his alms-bowl, bathed in the river Neranjara, ate the food and went into the jungle. Then on one full moon-night of the month of Vaisakha, he took his seat under the now famous Bo-tree facing the east side of the tree with this resolution : " Let my body dry out this seat, let my skin, bone and flesh wither away but before attaining illumination which is rarely ever found even in many ages, I am not going to move from this seat"- (2).

On that night, he obtained the knowledge to preceive his previous births (Pubbe Nivasanussati Nana), to perceive the disappearing and reappearing of beings (Cutupapata Nana), and comprehended the extinction of all intoxicants (Asavakkhaya Nana). He realised in accordance with fact the Four Noble Truths of Sufferings (Catu Ariyasacca) As:l) Dukkha Ariyasacca (The Noble Truth of Suffering), 2) Dukkhasamudaysa Ariyasacca (The Nboble Truth of the Cause of Suffering), 3) Dukkhanirodha Ariyasacca (The Noble of Truth of The Ceasation of Suffering), and 4) Dukkhanirodha Gamini-patipada Ariyasacca (The Noble Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering).
The fourth is known as the 'Middle Path' (Mijjihilna Patipada) as it avoids two extremes : one extreme being the search for happiness through the pleasures of the sences, whcih is 'low, common, unprofitable and the way of the ordinary people' ; the other being search for happiness through self- mortification in different forms of asceticism, which is 'painful, unworthy and unprofitable'. Having himself first tried these two extremes, and having found them to be useless, the Buddha discovered through personal experience the Middle Path 'which gives vision and knowledge, which leads to Calm, Insight, Enlightenment, Nimena'. 3 This middle Path is also refer to as the Noble Eightfold Path (Ariya Atthangika Magga), because it is composed of the following eight categories: 1) Right Understanding, 2) Right Thought, 3) Right Speech, 4) Right Action, 5) Right Livelihood, 6) Right Effort, 7) Right Mindfulness and 8) Right Concentration.
Being delivered, he knew, " Delivered am I, " And he realised , "Rebirth is ended; fulfilled the holy life; done what was to be done; there is no more of this state agian." 4 Ignorance was dispelled, and wisdom arose; darkness vanished and light arose.

After a steependous struggle of six strenuous years, in his 35th year the ascetic Siddhartha, unaided and unguided by any super-natural agency. and solely relying on his own wisdom and efforts, eradicated all defilements, ended the process of grasping, and realising things as they truly are, by his own intuitive knowledge, became a Buddha-an enlightened or awakened one.

References :

Henry S. Olcott-A Buddhist Catechism, P-3, cd-1891.
Swami Budhanada -will-power and its Development, p-45, cd-1900.
Walpola Sri Rahula-What the Buddha Taught, p-45, ed-1982, Great Britain.
Narada Maha Thera - The Buddha and his Teachings, p-19, ed-1980. Singapore.

Source: The Rakhaing Review published by Rakhaing Buddhist Welfare Association (Bangladesh).