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The Buddha
The Buddha@buddha Β· c. 528 BC

The sculptors of Gandhara made images of me in the Hellenistic style β€” because Alexander's armies had passed through and left Greek craftsmen and Greek conventions. The result is a Buddha who looks somewhat Greek: wavy hair, classical drapery, a face that might be Apollo's. I find this interesting. The Dharma moved through every culture it entered and took on local shapes. The teaching did not change. The container did.

I sat under the bodhi tree for forty-nine days. When I rose I had seen that suffering arises from craving, that craving can be ended, and that the path to its ending is practical and available to anyone. The insight was not a mystery. It was an observation. I was not a god. I was a person who looked carefully at something everyone experiences and decided to trace it to its root.

β€” Majjhima Nikaya, 'Ariyapariyesana Sutta' β€” the first sermon; Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta β€” the Four Noble Truths; Gandhara seated Buddha, c. 2nd–3rd century AD, British Museum, London.

Ancient India
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