week 5 story: siddhartha's trip to enlightenment

A king and queen was eagerly waiting for the arrival of their child. One day the king’s wife was walking through the palace garden where she found a special tree -- enormous in size and abundant with flowers blooming. She sat down at this beautiful tree and fell into a deep sleep. During her slumber, she dreamt of a beautiful white elephant, who revealed that her child would become an impressive leader--a powerful ruler or a spiritual leader. She suddenly awoke and knew her child was ready to be born.

The child of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya was a handsome boy named Siddhartha. He was blessed with vast knowledge and a radiant soul. Remembering the dream, the king and queen wanted Siddhartha to be a powerful leader to rule their kingdom instead, so they did everything possible to shield him from the world’s displeasing nature. All his life at the palace, they spoiled him with all kinds of luxury and entertainment.

One spring day, Siddhartha, now a young man, had an overpowering desire to leave the comforts of his palace. “Situated here at the palace all day is dull and spiritless,” he cried to the king and queen. “I want to see the city.”

The king and queen loved Siddhartha very much and didn’t want to dissatisfy him, so they agreed. “If we want him to stay and rule this kingdom, he mustn't see the depressing truths of the world,” the queen warned her husband.

“You are right, my Queen,” the king gasped. “Siddhartha shall see no evil that perturbs his peaceful soul.” Doing what he thought was best for his family, the king arranged for all the poor and sick to be cleared from the streets of the city. Then, he bestowed Siddhartha with a chauffeur and the finest horse with a gold chariot for his outing.

Siddhartha rode peacefully through the city. He didn’t see anything different than what he experienced at the palace. People admiring him, wealthy men praising his knowledge and strength, women enjoying his beauty. But as he rode past the people, he noticed a scraggly, grotesque figure peering behind a tree near the forest.

“Why does the man look like that?” he wondered aloud as his chariot pulled closer. Siddhartha was perplexed at the sight of this old, sick man.

The man had grey, stringy hair, wrinkled skin, missing teeth, and dull eyes. “My lord, this is the result of a life long lived. I was once a young, vigorous boy like you,” the old man announced. “You cannot escape time. This is the real world. This will be your fate, too.”

Siddhartha was shocked upon hearing this, “Sickness! Old age! Old age weakens memory and destroys beauty and strength!” He felt bad for the old, sick man and invited him onto the chariot. Perhaps, we can help him when we get back to the palace, Siddhartha wondered. They continued on the trip.

Some miles down the road, Siddhartha’s chariot drew closer to a group of people walking in the middle of the road. They were dressed in black clothing and weeping with tears. He noticed a body being transported on top of six men’s shoulders, “What is wrong with this man?” Siddhartha had never seen anything like this. “Is he sick like you?” he asked the old man.

“Ah, my lord, this man is neither sick nor healthy; he does not breathe, think, nor speak like you and I do now. His time has come. This fate is inevitable to all living beings and creatures, including you and your loved ones.” the old man told Siddhartha.

“What fate?” Siddhartha retorted.

“Death,” the old man answered.

Siddhartha became flustered learning that old age, sickness, and death would affect him and his family. He could not do anything about it. How could anyone live life knowing this? He jumped off the chariot in frustration and walked down the road. As he walked alone, he stumbled upon a monk meditating under a tree.

“What are you doing?” Siddhartha inquired. 

The monk opened his eyes to Siddhartha’s, captivating Siddhartha’s mind and soul. Siddhartha never experienced this overpowering feeling before, but he could sense the monk, who remained calm and composed, was seeking to understand truth. In this moment, Siddhartha realized what he was destined to do. Siddhartha accepted that his path must stray from the privilege and duties of royalty. He understood that he needed to live a simpler life that freed him from his fear of misery and death; to understand suffering; to be at peace; to achieve Nirvana. 

Siddhartha was just at the beginning of his path to Enlightenment.

Siddhartha's encounters in the city. Web Source

Author's Note: This retelling was adapted from the story The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold. I kept most of the original storyline the same, but made some changes. In the original story, Siddhartha's mother dies after seven days of giving birth, but I kept her alive in my story. In the original story, the king shields Siddhartha from the ugly reality of the world outside of the palace. During his outing, Siddhartha has three different encounters that greatly upsets him: old age, sickness, and death; however, this is significant for his journey to Enlightenment. In my story, I did combine old age and sickness into one encounter. Also, he doesn't invite the old man onto his chariot, but I thought it would make Siddhartha seem personable. The original story was lengthy and had many parts, but mine was shortened to introduce Siddhartha's journey to Enlightenment. The story ending could allow for future stories to be told. 

Story source