160309

The Biography of Shakyamuni Buddha (The Buddha’s Family Tree)

The Biography of Shakyamuni Buddha -4- The Buddha’s Family Tree

The Genealogy of the Buddha

Speaking of the Buddha’s family tree, we must first know the origin of the Shakya family. At that time, two or three thousand years before the Buddhist era, the Aryan people living in Central Asia launched an immigration movement and began to colonize India and Persia. At first, other local races in India also made strong resistance, because the Aryans were strong and fair-skinned, and finally conquered the most powerful but dark-skinned Dravidian tribe.

The Aryans thus took control of India, established many states there, and laid the foundation of the Indian nation. Among them were the conquerors called the Sakyans, who belonged to the Aryan tribe.

The distant ancestor of the Shakya clan, whose first king was named Zhongsuo, and whose surname was passed down to King Dashansheng, is the seventh ancestor of Shakyamuni Buddha. King Dashansheng had a son named Shimoyi, Shimoyi had a son Youdhara, Udara had a son Gura, and Gura had a son and a daughter, the male name was Shizijia, and the female name was Yasodhara. His son, King Cheek, had four sons. The eldest son, King Jingfan, was later the father of Sakyamuni Buddha.

Among his relatives, King Jingfan married Maya, the princess of King Anashakya of the Kingdom of Tianarm, and her sister Mahapajapati, as his wives. Mrs. Maya was the mother of the Buddha who became a monk and became enlightened.