SIDDHARTHA:
THE STORY OF BUDDHA
The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was born in 567 B.C.E., in a small kingdom set amid the Himalayan mountains. Twelve years before his birth, it had been prophesied that he would become a great sage. Siddhartha grew up amidst royal riches, shielded from the poverty and hardship just outside his door. Siddhartha’s father, the King, wanted his son to continue the royal line and did not want him to become the great sage that he was prophesied to become.
In order to make sure that the thoughts of the prince would never turn in this direction, the King ordered that those serving him or in his association were never to speak a single word about the ills of life such as old age, sickness, and death. They were to act as if there was no unpleasantness in the world. Siddhartha studied literature and music and was trained in sport and combat. When he was older, he married and had a son. Until the age of twenty-nine, he lived a sheltered life of luxury, ease, and culture.
One day, Siddhartha wandered beyond his palatial confines. On the street, he encountered three men: an old man, a man who was sick, and the body of a man who had just died and was being carried away to the burial grounds. It was then that Siddhartha first realized that all life was subject to old age, sickness, and death. Until that moment, the concepts of hardship and suffering had been completely unfamiliar to Siddhartha.