was Buddha trying to remember something when sitting that long under a tree?!?

Answer 1

Under the tree he remained, emphasizing a meditation called "space-like concentration on the Dharmakaya" in which he focused single-pointedly on the ultimate nature of all phenomena. After training in this meditation for six years he realized that he was very close to attaining full enlightenment, and so he walked to Bodh Gaya where, on the full moon day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, he seated himself beneath the Bodhi Tree in the meditation posture and vowed not to rise from meditation until he had attained perfect enlightenment. With this determination he entered the space-like concentration on the Dharmakaya.

As dusk fell, Devaputra Mara, the chief of all the demons, or maras, in this world, tried to disturb Siddhartha's concentration by conjuring up many fearful apparitions. He manifested hosts of terrifying demons, some throwing spears, some firing arrows, some trying to burn him with fire, and some hurling boulders and even mountains at him. Through the force of his concentration, the weapons, rocks, and mountains appeared to him as a rain of fragrant flowers, and the raging fires became like offerings of rainbow lights.

Seeing that Siddhartha could not be frightened into abandoning his meditation, Devaputra Mara tried instead to distract him by manifesting countless beautiful women, but Siddhartha responded by developing even deeper concentration. In this way he triumphed over all the demons of this world, which is why he subsequently became known as a "Conqueror Buddha."

Siddhartha then continued with his meditation until dawn, when he attained the varja-like concentration. With this concentration, which is the very last mind of a limited being, he removed the final veils of ignorance from his mind and in the next moment became a Buddha, a fully enlightened being.

Answer 2

Hi,
You have some splendid answers which I probably cannot better, no matter how long I meditate the imponderables of life.
I would like to think that perhaps he was wondering as to where on earth have I put my long-handled screwdriver.
Or perhaps "this tree is in need of the chain-saw here & there"
Forgive my silly humour, Buddhists, I respect your religeon and its' doctrines.
I wish that many a "Christian", such as myself, would have similar notions now & then.
I was sitting on the boat deck last weekend, thinking that the planet we are on is generally a beautiful place to be,
But also concerned that the sausages under the grill may be getting a tad burnt.
I don't suppose that Buddha had similar concerns at the time.

Hey Ho !

Bob.

Answer 3

Buddha tryed to find himself

Answer 4

Buddha was sitting under that tree
And waiting until
It was time for his tea
He sat getting tired
And looking quite wan
Till his Mum came along
With a freshly baked nan!

Answer 5

He was looking for an answer rather than remembering ,but he did do some remembering while there ,that of past lives !

Answer 6

He was trying to remember who he was.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 7

All of the answers given so far are good to some extent, but I will try to give you some perspective on what was really going on "behind the scene" so to speak. In a way, the answer would be "yes" – you could say he was trying to "remember" his true nature, or "remember the way home." But it would be more accurate to say he was seeking his true nature, because using the word "remember" gives the false impression that he had a specific plan involving "searching for a memory", when in fact he was simply meditating and trying to GET RID OF MEMEORIES. In fact, he was attempting to get rid of all conceptual thinking. But even this still misses the point of his ultimate motivation – it doesn't get at the truth of what he was really doing there.

He grew up as a rich, pampered prince, but he became bored and restless so he wandered out into the world and noticed that everyone was suffering. This was the key: "How can we bring about an end to suffering?" This whole business about the Buddha seeking to understand his true nature was all really secondary to his primary mission, which was to alleviate suffering. He didn't care about metaphysics, or religion, or anything unless he believed it would help to bring an end to suffering. I should also add that his primary concern was not eternal bliss in heaven, but rather, an end to suffer here and now for physical beings living IN THIS WORLD. In other words, he wasn't trying to "find himself" just out of curiosity, nor was he seeking God or salvation in any traditional sense. He was more like a very practical design engineer. He was trying to come up with a verifiable technique that people could use in order to end their own suffering, and alleviate the suffering of others. He wanted a practical method. He wanted to develop a step-by-step instruction manual that any person could follow that would bring them to understand the nature of suffering so that we can stop suffering. And it just so happens that realizing your true nature is the key to ending suffering, so the step-by-step instruction manual for ending suffering became a step-by-step guide to self-realization, aka, "enlightenment".

Once he saw what he needed to do, he went and sat in meditation and decided not to stop until he reached enlightenment. So he picked that spot under the tree and went for it. I think this answers your question, but as an added bonus, I will give you a very quick synopsis of what he found. The basic idea is to become fully aware of the present moment, which ironically means achieving a state of "no-mind" because conscious thoughts always get in the way of complete awareness of the moment. Conscious thoughts are like the sun insofar as their intense nature blocks out more subtle aspects of reality. The stars are always shining overhead, but you can't see them so long as the sun drowns them out. Conscious thoughts force everything to fit into categories consistent with whatever language we speak. Letting our conscious thoughts fade completely away allows us to become aware of our pre-linguistic nature – our nature as it is prior to the conscious categorization of things into "this" and "that". What we discover is that our conceptual categories (created by language) are not "ultimately real". In ordinary consciousness we cling to these categories – we hold on to things and try to possess them, but this clinging is always futile because in reality there is nothing substantial or permanent to cling to. This constant effort of clinging to what in reality cannot be possessed is the source of all suffering. In letting go of this ego-centered clinging, we discover great compassion for all beings (we recognize our Oneness with them), and this great compassion is exactly what we must have in order to eliminate suffering.

Answer 8

I don't think any of us can top "yes, the way home". Nice one peter o. I am going to Rate your answer as a pretty good one :-).

Answer 9

Only Buddha can answer that for you...

Answer 10

He was constipated and his followers have glorified it!