Birth of Prince Siddhartha
(Photo from Wikimedia Commons)
Queen Maya has a dream of a white elephant with six tusk falling from the sky and into her womb. She new then she would only know happiness. When she woke she went into the little wood and called for her husband, King Suddhodana. Upon his arrival he heard the thundering voices of the gods telling him "Be happy, King Suddhodana, worthiest of the Sakyas! He who seeks supreme knowledge is about to come into the world." They tell him they were chosen for their wealth and virtue. Queen Maya asks to see the brahmans, who will interpret her dreams. They told her good things, she fed the hungry, cured the sick, and everyone was happy.
Prince Siddhartha was born. A hermit, Asita comes to see the boy. He sees signs of omnipotence and begins to cry. He cries because Prince Siddhartha will help a lot of people. He has a lot of power and we "will know great glory." Kapilavastu was a land of happiness, women gave birth with no suffering and neighbors lived peacefully with each other. That was until Queen Maya suddenly died and the price was given to her sister Mahaprajapti to be taken care of. She loved him like her own.
He grew older and Mahaprajapati took him to the temple. As he entered the gods Siva, Skanda, Vishnu, Kuvera, Indra, and Brahma came to life from their statues. The Gods sang.
Prince Siddhartha grew older and his teacher Visvamitra was teaching him the art of writing. His teacher then realized he had nothing to teach him. The prince went for a walk later that day and sat under the tree. He fell into a meditation and hermits passed and realized who he was. They saw that the shadow around that tree hadn't moved but they did everywhere else. The king came to find him and witnessed it himself. The prince came out of mediation and said he needs to seek great truths.
The prince wanted to leave the palace so the king arranged it to make sure he could see nothing sad. He ordered beggers to be taken away from the roads and he can't see anyone who is sick and suffering. The Gods did not like that so they created a man to throw the prince off. The prince saw the man and learned of old age and that beauty and strength will not last forever. He saw aging as a threat. He then was introduced to disease and returns to the palace. The king attempts to show him joy again but the Gods disagree and introduce him to death.
The prince began to shun all pleasure and wouldn't even smile at the maidens who threw their bodies at him and danced around him. He felt sad because no one was aware of aging, disease, or death. He asked his father to make four promises. "Promise me that my life will not end in death, that sickness will not impair my health, that age will not follow my youth, that misfortune will not destroy my prosperity." But his father said he could not.
Bibliography. Andre Ferdinand Herold. "The Life of Buddha." Web Source.
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