Was Gautama Siddhartha a Real Person

One of the most sensitive subjects in religious studies is whether a beloved religious figure was an actual, historic figure. Even for those people for who there is actual historic proof they lived, their lives are often shrouded in myths and legends. 

I have a number of thoughts on this topic. For one, does it matter if the teacher existed in the way our stories say?  Or are the teachings important?  I guess this depends on one's perspective.  

For example, can Christians find meaning in a Christianity with no historic Jesus or resurrection?  Does the Mormon church fall apart if Joseph Smith wrote the Book of Mormon and there were no golden plates or guiding angel?  Does the Torah stand if there was no Moses?

In turn, what if the Buddha is merely a legendary amalgam of different people and their teachings?  Can Buddhism survive on its message if there is no clear messenger?

To this question, my personal answer is yes as a Buddhist.  After 2500 years, it is challenging to separate myth and history regarding Gautama Siddhartha. For me, the practice and teachings are what I find helpful and of importance. I would certainly like there to have been this one genius Buddha who expounded these teachings and served as a role model. Nevertheless, my belief system does not require a Buddha anymore than I need to know the essence of Italian cooking was developed by one incredible chef to be able to take delight in Italian cuisine.  The recipes live on and develop. I suspect Buddhism similarly developed.  And if there was a historic Gautama Siddhartha, I suspect he would want us to focus on the practice. 

Being Anchored

One form of meditation is called "tonglin" and focuses on visualizing yourself smiling, happy, healthy and surrounded by light. Then you visualize someone you love being happy, smiling, healthy and surrounded by light.  Then you proceed to visualizing the same for a person for whom you have neutral feelings. Finally you visualize this happy light around someone with whom you are having a troubled relationship.  In each visualization you picture yourself smiling and laughing with the other person. 

This meditation has produced some amazing results in my life. It has helped me deal with strong feelings of anger with other people.  It has helped me find peace and even joy working with previously difficult people. 

Today when I meditated and turned to a tonglin sitting, I realized that the anchor of this chain of joyful visualizations is the self. If one cannot first anchor yourself in love for yourself ("maitri" in Buddhist terms), then it is impossible to share this light with others.  Loving compassion for our own humanity and selves is the gateway and anchor for compassion for others.