Birth of the Prince

◎The Prince's Birth and Education 
　　Approximately 2,500 years ago, in northern India, there was a small Indian state of Kapilavastu that was ruled by King Suddhodhana and his wife, Queen Maya. One day, the queen was filled with joy as she learned of her pregnancy and awaited the birth of her baby.
　　However, the queen must journey from Kapilavastu to the home of her parents to give birth, as was the custom of the time. On the way there, she came to rest under a Sala tree in Lumini Garden, where she gave birth to a lovely baby prince.
　　Shortly after the prince's birth, the queen passed away and the young prince was raised by the queen's younger sister, Mahaprajapati Gautami.
　　While the prince's family name was Gautama, he was given the name Siddhartha, and from a very young age, he was very intelligent and fond of learning. Since he was such a quick learner, his father, King Suddhodhana, allowed him to learn everything from literature to military training.

Prince Siddhartha thinking of married life…

◎The Prince Getting Married
　　Very often, Siddhartha would sit by himself in deep thoughts. King Suddhodhana believed that it might be better for his son to get married, so a search was on to find a wife for the young prince. Finally, a princess was found and her name was Yasodhara. However, in order for Siddhartha to marry the young lady, he must participate in a skills competition and win. So he did, and took the beautiful Yasodhara as his good and capable wife.

After seeing old age, sickness, death and the sight of the practitioner, many questions arose inside Siddhartha's mind about the realities of life.

◎The Prince's Anguish: Is it true that all must die ?
　　Siddhartha lived in the four palaces that his father had built for him—one for each of the four seasons. Inside each palace, there were many beautiful court ladies waiting on the young prince, who also enjoyed the many tastes of exotic delicacies and wore clothes of silk and satin. One day, the prince left the comfort of his palaces…
　　Siddhartha traveled outside the palace's eastern gate and came upon a skinny man who was overcome by old age. Then, he took another trip outside the palace's southern gate and saw a very thin man who was groaning in pain because he was very ill. As the prince rode past the western gate, a funeral procession passed in front of him with grieving family members weeping for their dearly departed one. On his final excursion outside the palace's northern gate, Siddhartha came upon a practitioner, who was calm and serene ─ a sight never seen by the prince before.
◎The Prince Leaving Home in Search of Enlightenment
　　In the middle of the night, Siddhartha could not help but think to himself, “Why are there old age, sickness and death? How could one escape such suffering and be calm and serene like the practitioner?” As these thoughts passed through his mind over and over again, the prince became restless and sleepless. He finally walked out of his sleeping quarters and came to the banquet hall, where he saw the unseemly sight of the court ladies fast asleep from a night of singing and dancing. Then the prince came to realize that beauty is not forever and what is beautiful will one day be ugly.
　　Determined in his search for an answer, when everyone was sound asleep, Siddhartha left the palace without even looking back. His son, Rahula, was born not long ago.

The charioteer and Siddhartha's favorite horse were very sad and crying because they did not want to part with the prince who left for the path to enlightenment.

◎The Prince Parting with His Favorite Horse and Charioteer
　　By dawn, Siddhartha came to the foot of a mountain. He was so determined in his search for the truth that he shaved his head, gave his charioteer the precious jewels that he was wearing, and said, “Please tell my father to take good care of himself and to forgive my determination for treading on the path to enlightenment.”
　　Inside the palace, King Suddhodhana ordered his ministers and the prince's teacher to look for the missing prince as soon as he learned of his son's midnight departure. Although they had found him, the prince refused to go back to the palace because he was firm in his resolve. Unable to change the prince's mind, Kaundinya and four other ministers decided to stay and practice with the prince.

The shepherd girl made an offering of milk rice.

◎Ascetic Practice is not the Right Path to Enlightenment
　　 Although Siddhartha went everywhere calling on famous teachers, he was unable to find the answer that he wanted. So he went to the forest alone to practice asceticism. For six years, he ate only a sesame seed and a grain of wheat everyday. Siddhartha became sunken-eyed, and all skin and bones, a stark contrast to what he once was, a person of good health, virility and energy.
　　 Although he had tormented his body through ascetic practices, Siddhartha was nowhere near the truth. He still could not grasp the meaning of true happiness. So he abandoned asceticism, bathed in the Nairanjana River, and walked to Buddhagaya for a short rest. When a shepherd girl saw the emaciated Siddhartha, she offered him a meal of rice cooked with milk.

◎The Conquest of Mara, the Tempter
　　Gradually, Siddhartha regained his strength after he drank the milk rice offered by the young maiden. He then sat under a Bodhi tree in meditation and vowed, “I shall not rise from this seat until I have found a way to end human suffering.”
　　As Siddhartha made his vow, Mara, the tempter, became alarmed, for he feared that everyone would follow an enlightened Siddhartha in learning the good Dharma and his own followers would dwindle in number. So Mara tried to tempt the future Buddha with beautiful girls, harm him with poison arrows, and frighten him with poisonous snakes and beasts in the hope that he would abandon his quest for enlightenment. However, Siddhartha remained unmoved and Mara failed to destroy the prince's resolve. Finally, Siddhartha was able to subdue and defeat Mara and his troops.
　　Before the break of dawn, Siddhartha looked up at the stars and was suddenly awakened, “Now, I have finally come to the realization that everyone can become a Buddha. It is delusion and attachment that are the obstacles to the attainment of Buddhahood.” The prince had finally understood the complete truth of the universe and discovered the law of causes and conditions in the world. Henceforth, he became the “Buddha”— the Enlightened or Awakened One.

Delusion: mistaken thought or conceptualization.
Causes and Conditions: the cause(s) of every phenomenon.