Before the Buddha was born, his mother, Maya, dreamed a white elephant, thought to foretell her child’s future greatness, descended from heaven and entered her womb. When the time came, she journeyed homeward for the birth. Along the way she came to a beautiful grove of trees and decided to rest. There in the garden, assisted by Hindu gods, her child was born from her side. Seven days later Maya died. She had given birth to a Buddha and could serve no further purpose on earth.
The child was Siddhartha Gautama. His father, Suddhodana, was a wealthy ruler from the prestigious Sakya clan of northern India. Their royal home was in Kapilavastu, a city nestled near the foothills of the Himalayas in present-day Nepal. When Siddhartha was five days old, his father invited one hundred Brahmins—nobles from the highest Hindu caste—to his palace to foretell the future of his baby son.
Seven of the men prophesied Siddhartha would become either a powerful ruler of the world or a wandering holy man who would found a great religion. But an eighth man named Kodanna was certain Siddhartha was destined for the latter. He prophesied the boy would become a Buddha who would achieve full enlightenment. Kodanna also foretold Siddhartha’s renunciation of the world upon his sight of four things—an old man, a sick man, a dead man, and a monk.
Siddhartha’s father hoped his son would become a great king, so he vigilantly sought to prevent his son from fulfilling Kodanna’s prophecy. He worked tirelessly to shelter Siddhartha from the knowledge of human suffering and made sure he was surrounded with every comfort and luxury within the palace walls.
Going Forth: The Four Sights
On a chariot ride through the park one afternoon, Siddhartha passed by an old man. Shocked by the man’s withered appearance, Siddhartha asked the driver of his chariot what was wrong with him. The driver explained there was nothing wrong, and that the man was only old. Siddhartha returned to the palace agitated and disturbed. On two subsequent drives, Siddhartha encountered a sick man and a corpse. Last of all, he saw a religious man dressed in yellow robes, deep in meditation. Siddhartha was stunned by the pain and suffering he suddenly realized awaited all humanity—even a prince like himself.
Later that evening, Siddhartha was entertained by beautiful women before he fell asleep. When he awoke sometime in the night, he was repulsed by the chaos and discomposure of the women who had fallen asleep around him. His impressions of the world had undergone a dramatic change, and he decided to leave the palace that very night. Before he left, he stole one last glimpse of his sleeping wife and infant son but did not say goodbye. Once he fled, the twenty-nine-year-old Siddhartha shaved his head and dressed in the robes of a monk. He would spend the next six years seeking the answer to human suffering.
Enlightenment: The Cessation of All Things
In northern India during Siddhartha’s time, many people felt enslaved to a painful existence of suffering. Wandering Hindu holy men renounced family and a normal life to seek universal truth. They hoped to attain nirvana—that transcendent state beyond self, suffering, and desire that leads to complete peace and happiness. Many believed reaching enlightenment—a perfect state of wisdom and knowledge—would provide insight into the true nature of reality and thus release them from the endless cycle of death and rebirth and into nirvana.
At first, Siddhartha studied Hindu scriptures and practiced meditation and yoga under the guidance of several Brahmin priests. When he mastered their techniques but remained unchanged, he lost his enthusiasm for the teachings and left. However, when Siddhartha later reached enlightenment and began to formulate his own teachings, he retained some elements of Hinduism.
