T4. The Buddha

• Siddhatta Gotama (Siddharths Gautama) was born around 500 BCE in lumbini, Northern India (now Nepal)
• after his enlightenment Siddhatta Gotama was given the title ‘the Buddha‘ meaning ’the awakened one’
• • The legends surrounding Buddha’s birth:
• • Siddhatta’s Birth
  • Queen Maya (his mother) dreamt that a white elephant (a symbol of nobility and wisdom) entered her womb - an indication that her child would be special
  • as soon as Siddhatta was born, he took 7 steps, and lotus flowers sprung up from where his feet touched the ground and declared: “this is my last rebirth. Now there are no more future lives”
• The birth stories aren’t that important to Buddhists today but they do show that he was not an ordinary human being - he was a Bodhisattva (someone close to enlightenment) and this life would be his last.

  however they are important as they remind buddhists of the importance of their role model, Buddha, and that he went through many lives before this one where he would achieve enlightenment, and they are on this path too.

  Buddhists celebrate his birth at Wesak (Theravada) and on Buddha day (Mahayana).
• • Siddhatta‘s early life of luxury
  • on his birth the ascetic Anita predicted that the he would either be a great ruler or spiritual leader
  • the king wanted Siddhatta to follow his footsteps and so prevented him from seeing anything that could inspire him to leave the palace and become a wondering ascetic
  • at 16 Siddhatta married his first cousin Yashdara and they had a son, Rahula, just before he left the palace
• the ascetic Asita said

  “This prince will touch the ultimate self-awakening. He, seeing the utmost purity, will set rolling the Wheel of Dhamma through sympathy for the welfare of many.”
• the Buddha recounted reflecting on his life of luxury:

  “I had three palaces: one for the cold season, one for the hot season, one for the rainy season. During the four months of the rainy season I was entertained in the rainy-season palace by minstrels without a single man among them, and I did not once come down from the palace”
• Siddhatta’s early life of luxury is important because it highlights that the prince had every luxury yet was dissatisfied
• the four sights seen by Siddhartha when he became curious of the outside world

  • an old man
  • a sick man
  • a corpse or dead man
  • an ascetic - someone searching for the true happiness
• At what age did prince Siddhattha begin his journey towards Enlightenment?

  Twenty-nine
• What did the devas instill in prince Siddhattha's heart?

  A desire to visit the park
• What was prince Siddhattha's reaction upon encountering the old man in the park?

  He was shocked by the reality of aging
• What realization did prince Siddhattha come to after seeing the old man?

  That everybody becomes old and no mortal can escape it
• How did the king respond to prince Siddhattha's mental shock?

  He made every object of mundane pleasure available to him
• What was prince Siddhattha's reaction to worldly pleasures after his mental shock?

  He was not interested in worldly pleasure
• What did prince Siddhattha see on the second day of his visit to the park?

  A sick person
• What did prince Siddhattha realize after seeing the sick person?

  That disease is a reality of life that no one can escape
• What did prince Siddhattha witness on the third day of his park visit?


  A corpse
• What realization did prince Siddhattha come to after seeing the corpse?

  That death is another reality that no one can escape
• What did prince Siddhattha conclude about mundane life after his experiences in the park?

  That it is trivial and bound to crumble
• What is the process that everyone undergoes according to prince Siddhattha's realizations?

  Aging, sickness, death, and suffering
• What did prince Siddhattha learn about the mightiest monarchs in relation to life's realities?

  Even they cannot overpower the realities of life
• On what day did prince Siddhattha see the ascetic?

  On the full-moon day of Asalha
• What did prince Siddhattha ask his charioteer Channa about the ascetic?


  About the identity of the person
• What did Channa inform prince Siddhattha about the ascetic?

  That he had renounced the world in pursuit of eternal bliss
• How did the ideals of the ascetic affect prince Siddhattha?

  They infused greater happiness in his heart and inspired him to lead the life of an ascetic
• What are the Four Sights in Buddha's life?

  The old man, sick man, corpse, and holy man
• Why are the Four Sights considered a key moment in Buddha's life?

  They mark the moment of realization that there is suffering in the world
• How did seeing the old man, sick man, and corpse affect Buddha's thoughts on suffering?

  It disturbed him and caused him to think deeply about suffering
• What realization did Buddha come to after seeing the holy man?


  He realized there might be a way out of suffering
• What decision did Buddha make after his realization about suffering?

  He decided to leave his royal life to find Enlightenment
• What is the significance of the Jataka Tales in relation to the Four Sights?

  • The story of the Four Sights comes from the Jataka Tales
  • Some Buddhists do not see it as a historical account
  • Some Buddhists do not believe it actually happened
  • It may not hold much importance for some Buddhists