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The Struggle Within
At what
point the Buddha's disaffection for his life of luxury began
to manifest itself is hard to determine. It is likely that it
was something that he struggled with for a long time before,
at the age of twenty-nine, he decided to leave the palace, his
life of pleasure and comfort, and even his wife, Yasodhara,
and child, Rahula. The factors that must have led up this
emphatic and irrevocable decision have been crystallized in
the traditional account.
Outside
the Palace
Because of the
prophecies that attended Siddhattha's birth - that he would
either become a world ruler or a great holy man - his father,
Suddhodhana tried to shield his son from the more distressing
features of the world. Consequently, Siddhattha spent his life
with the confines of the palace and its grounds, absorbed in
pleasure.
But
dissatisfaction grew to the extent that one day Siddhattha
asked his charioteer to take him on an excursion outside of
the place. On the first visit he encountered an old
man. On the next excursion he encountered a sick
man. On his third excursion, he encountered a corpse
being carried to cremation. Such sights brought home to
him the prevalence of suffering in the world and that he too
was subject to old age, sickness and death - that no-one, not
even a king's son, could escape these three. What hope
was there, what point in living, if this was the destiny of
all? On
his fourth excursion, however, he encountered a holy
man or sadhu, apparently content and at
peace with the world. Perhaps, there was a way out of
what seemed like the inevitability of suffering after all! (In
Buddhism these are referred to as 'the four sights' or 'four
signs'.)
The Leaving
It was not easy for Siddhattha to leave his home and
family. As his wife and child lay sleeping, he said his
goodbyes, fearing that if his wife should wake he wouldn't be
able to leave. And then he was gone, to begin life as a
wandering holy man in search of the ultimate...
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