Week 5 Story: Siddhartha's Earthly Encounters

Siddhartha Gautama meditating from Sacca (source: Wikimedia).

Siddhartha was a prince, born to a worthy king and queen, and destined to become a buddha. Even at a young age, Siddhartha was very knowledgable, for he understood spiritual truths that no other being on Earth could comprehend. There was something special about him, an ethereal aura that could only have been bestowed on him by the Gods themselves. But for all his knowledge, Siddhartha knew little about life in the real world. The King and Queen sheltered him during his childhood, fearing the ugly truths would corrupt his soul. 

One bleak morning, however, the Queen awoke suddenly, feeling compelled by the Gods to expose Siddhartha to the bad things in the world, for this would only better prepare him for his journey to enlightenment. "I fear that protecting him any longer will be a detriment to our people," the Queen voiced, "for how is he to fight the evils of the earth if he does not know what such evils are?" After much contemplation, the King responded, "You are wise, my Queen, and have made me see a truth I have been avoiding. You and I will show Siddhartha the three worst ailments that plague our kingdom, so that he may use this wisdom for good, one day."

So the King and Queen journeyed through their lands with Siddharta and several companions, this time showing him both the good and bad. The group came upon an old man first, crippled by age, stumbling painfully alongside the road. "What is wrong with this man?" questioned Siddhartha, for he had never seen anyone so aged and broken. "He has simply obtained many years, my Prince. It is an honor to reach such an age, for many do not live as long as he, but it can take a toll on one's body," replied the Queen. And the royal family stopped to feed and tend to the man, demonstrating to Siddhartha that the old must be respected and treated with care. 

Further down the road, the group encountered several people aiding a young woman who appeared delirious with fever. "What is wrong with this woman?" Siddhartha asked, "Is she old, too?" "No, my prince," answered the King, "she is ill. This is an evil that happens to everyone and, if she is lucky, it shall pass." The royal family halted their travels again, this time dispensing the healer that had accompanied them. This taught Siddhartha to attend to those who are sick and to do everything in his power to cure them. 

Finally, the entourage came upon a small town in whose center a small crowd had gathered. Siddhartha saw in the center of this group a body, shrouded and raised upon several people's shoulders. He quickly asked, "is that person too sick to move, mother and father?" "No," they responded in unison. "That person is dead, and we cannot heal them, but we can honor them." So Siddharta learned to respect people's customs and venerate those who had passed on from this Earth. 

Author's Note: I adapted this story from The Life of Buddha, a tale about Siddhartha's path to enlightenment. In the original, the king and queen never tell Siddhartha about the evil parts of life, and he finds out about age, sickness, and death on his own. He fears these things because he does not understand them, so I changed the story to where each of his encounters becomes a lesson that hopefully helps him reach enlightenment sooner. 

Bibliography: The Life of Buddha by Andre Ferdinand Herold.