week 5 reading notes: life of the buddha - part a

For this week's reading, I chose to read stories from the Life of the Buddha unit. 

"The Birth of Siddhartha" LINK TO STORY

• Very vivid imagery; creates a positive tone for the story.
• King Suddhodana would do anything for his pregnant wife, Maya, to make sure she is happy and satisfied.
• Googled what a palanquin is - definition: (in India and the East) a covered litter for one passenger, consisting of a large box carried on two horizontal poles by four or six bearers.
• Maya pulls down on a branch of a rare tree and her child was born? At the same time he became born, all that was wrong in their world was now right. Flowers were blooming, fruit emerged from tree branches, there was light, etc. 
• The birth of Maya and King Suddhodana's child was a symbolism of restoration and light. 
•  A major change to the plot could be having the child be a girl instead of a boy.

"Siddhartha at the Temple" LINK TO STORY

• Maya passed away 7 days after giving birth to Siddhartha.
• Siddhartha was now under the care of Maya's sister, Mahaprajapati, who cares for him as if he were her own child. 
• Siddhartha continues to flourish and develop. People bring him toys and gifts, like gems and jewelry. His "mother" decides to put the jewelry that were gifted on him. She quickly discovers that they end up looking dull because of Siddhartha's own light. 
• He is taken to the temple, where the statues of the Gods of India resurrect and they bow down to Siddhartha, praising him simultaneously. 

"The First Encounter" LINK TO STORY

• Siddhartha wants to leave the palace. The king doesn't oppose his child's wish even though he doesn't want Siddhartha to leave and see the reality of the world outside of the palace. The king orders the city to be decorated and look pleasant; he also dismisses the poor and old off the streets. 
• Possible plot change: the king could try to persuade Siddhartha to stay at the palace.
• Outside the palace, Siddhartha encounters an old man created by the gods out of jealousy. After conversing with his driver who is basically mind-controlled by the gods, Siddhartha becomes distraught after finding out he will become old and weak, so he frantically returns to the palace. 
• "The prince returned to his palace, but nowhere could he find peace. He wandered through the halls, murmuring, "Old age, oh, old age!" and in his heart there was no longer any joy." - this is where Siddhartha's views and attitude begins to change.
• Dialogue between Siddhartha and the charioteer helps to portray the emotions he was feeling in this first encounter. For story retelling, instead of the charioteer, there could be conversation between Siddhartha and the old man. 

A buddha statue shining in nature. (Web Source)

Bibliography: The stories are from The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold.