Birth of Prince Siddhartha
-
About 2500 years ago, on the Nepalese border of northern India, there lived a benevolent King of the Shakyan clan by the name of Shuddhodana Gautama. He ruled over the Shakyans from his palace in Kapilavastu.
Queen Maya's Dream
The king had a beautiful queen called Maya who was loved by the people. One night, Queen Maya had a strange dream in which she saw a white elephant entering her womb through the right side of her body. It was an auspicious sign to her for the white elephant was the symbol of greatness. Then, she knew that she had conceived a child who would be unique. During her pregnancy, she was happy and healthy and led a pure life befitting one who was to bear such a baby.
Birth of the Prince
The king and his subjects eagerly looked forward to the birth of the royal child. It was an ancient Indian custom for a woman to return to her parent's home for the birth of her child. So when the time came, Queen Maya obtained the king's consent to leave the palace for her parent's home. A royal party accompanied the Queen's sedan-chair on the long journey. On the way, she stopped at a garden called Lumbini Park, where big, shady trees grew. It was spring and all the flowers were blooming in the park. With her maids around her, She strolled in the grounds, enjoying the beauty of nature. While resting under the shade of a Sala tree, she gave birth to a boy. Everyone around her was delighted at the event.
After the birth of the prince, which took place on the day of the full moon in the fifth month of the year, the royal party returned to the palace. King Shuddhodana was filled with joy and there was rejoicing in the palace and throughout the country.
AsitaÂ’s Prediction
There was then an old sage called Asita who had retired to the mountains not far from the palace. The sage Asita noticed radiance about the palace and realized that a prince had been born. Immediately, he went to the palace to look at the royal baby.
On reaching the palace, he was greeted by the king who said, “Your reverence, what is the reason for your coming?”
In great eagerness, Asita replied, “Where is the prince? I wish to see him.”
The proud and happy king quickly brought the baby and showed him to Asita. When he looked at the baby, Asita was delighted. At first he smiled, overwhelmed with joy. Then he began to shed tears of sorrow. Seeing such a sudden change of feelings in the sage, the king was puzzled and anxiously questÂioned him. He was afraid that the old sage could foresee trouble for the prince.
“Will some misfortune befall the child?” asked the king.
Asita answered, “Among men, he is unique. I foresee no harm for the boy. He will achieve the highest knowledge. He will become a Buddha, a sage of unequalled purity. Through compassion for the many, he will spread his Teaching. Little of my lifespan now remains and I shall die soon. I shall not hear his good Teaching. This is what saddens me.”
After making this prediction, Asita paid homage to the royal baby and left the palace.
The Naming Ceremony
On the fifth day after the birth of the prince, many priests were invited to the palace for the naming ceremony. Among them, were eight who carefully observed the features of the child in order to predict his future. After studying him, seven of them raised two fingers each, indicating that the prince would either become the king of kings if he succeeded to his father's throne, or become a Buddha if he chose to renounce the kingdom. However, the youngest among the eight was more certain. He put up only one finger to predict that the prince would definitely become a Buddha. After the predication, the prince was given the name Siddhartha which means "wish fulfilled".
The Passing Away of Queen Maya
The happiness over the birth of Prince Siddhartha was however, quickly followed by sorrow because seven days after his birth, Queen Maya passed away. the queen's sister, Prajapate, took over the responsibility of being a mother to the prince, and brought him up with loving care. -
Nice Sharing there
-
Childhood and Education
The Ploughing Ceremony
As a child, Prince Siddhartha was kind, compassionate and thoughtful. One day, at the age of seven, the prince followed his father to witness the annual ploughing ceremony at the beginning of the sowing season. While the king was busily engaged in the ceremony, the prince was left in the care of his maids under a shady rose-apple (jambu) tree. He was left alone when his maids wandered off to watch the ceremony.
The prince, not particularly attracted by the events, noticed a bird swooping to the ground and carrying off a small worm, which had been dug up from the earth by the farmer’s plough. The prince was greatly disturbed by what he had seen. “Alas! Do all living creatures kill each other?” he thought to himself. He realized that killing is suffering. Sitting alone under the big tree, he began to ponder in sorrow, over what he had seen. As he concentrated his mind, he began to experience the joy of meditation.
When his father and maids noticed that he was not among the crowd who were watching the ploughing ceremony, they came looking for him. Under the tree, the king found his seven-year-old child in meditation. The king was deeply moved at the sight.
The Incident of the Wounded Swan
In another incident in his childhood, Prince Siddhartha showed that he was kind and compassionate and was sensitive to the sufferings of all living creatures. He was twelve years old when he and his cousin, Devadatta, were walking in the woods. Suddenly they saw a swan flying in the air. His cousin took his bow and arrow and shot the swan down. Both boys ran to pick it up but the prince, being the faster runner, reached the spot first and picked up the poor wounded creature. He pulled out the arrow and held the bird in his arms. Soon his cousin caught up with him and insisted that he should have the swan since he had shot it down. The prince refused to let his cousin have the swan, knowing that he would kill it. Unable to settle the matter between the two of them, they referred it to the wise man of the court.
After some thought, the wise man remarked, “A life certainly must belong to him who tries to save it; a life cannot belong to one who is only trying to destroy it. The wounded swan by right belongs to Prince Siddhartha.” So the prince brought the swan to his garden to have the wound treated, leaving his cousin disappointed and dejected.
The Education of the Prince
As a young boy, Prince Siddhartha was given a good education that would prepare him to be a strong and learned king, one who could rule his country wisely. The most well known teachers in the country were appointed to be his tutors. His education was based on a syllabus consisting of five main areas of study according to the ancient way of learning. The five main areas were Grammar (language and Composition), Art and Crafts, Medicine, Logic and Religion.
In addition to the academic subjects, the prince was also trained to be a warrior so that he could defend his country when he himself became a king. During his time, wars were fought on horses and elephants, so the prince had to learn the art of riding them. And since bows and arrows were the main weapons used in wars, he was taught archery. To make him physically fit and strong, he was coached in athletics and wrestling. He was also taught how to use weapons such as swords, lances and clubs.
The prince was a perfect student. Being intelligent, skilful and strong, he excelled in all fields, whether it was academic learning, the art of warfare, sports or games. -
Youth and Marriage
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Life of Luxury
The king became worried whenever he recalled AsitaÂ’s prediction. He tried every possible way to entertain the prince with a life of luxury and comfort, so that life would appear happy to the prince. He wanted the prince to remain in the palace to inherit the kingdom instead of leaving the royal family to become an ascetic. Thus the king built three different palaces for the prince to live in - one for the winter, one for the summer, and one for the rainy season In this way, the prince would be well protected from the heat of summer, the cold of winter, or the heavy rain and so did not have to suffer any form
To make life seem always pleasant to the prince, the king built beautiful gardens and extensive parks with lovely ponds in which lotuses of different colours grew and swans and beautiful fish were bred. In the gardens, all withered flowers and leaves were cleared away immediately so that the prince would not see anything dead or unsightly.
The prince wore the finest clothes and ate the choicest foods. Even the servants and attendants who waited upon the prince were well treated. No one was allowed to talk about old age, sickness or death, for these topics would make the prince think about the problems of life and feel sad. There was no mention of asceticism for fear the idea of renunciation would occur to the prince. In the palace, he was entertained with music and dance all day long.
Marriage of the Prince
All these things were part of the kingÂ’s plans to hide the miseries of life from the prince so that he would not feel inclined to leave the palace and choose the life of an ascetic. Next, the king decided that the prince should get married so that, having a family, he would not think of leaving the palace. He summoned the prince and put forward the idea of marriage. After some hesitation, the prince replied that the maiden he would marry must be a woman endowed with certain virtues.
She had to be compassionate, truthful and faithful, kind and considerate. In short, she had to be pure in body, speech and mind.
So the king made a proclamation that on a certain day, Prince Siddhartha would distribute gifts to the young girls in the region, who were of royal birth. They were permitted to enter the palace and present themselves before the prince. When the day came, a large number of young maidens turned up at the palace, dressed in their best clothes. All of them were so filled with wonder at his handsome appearance that they became very agitated and nervous when they went forward to receive the gifts of jewels from him. Eventually all the gifts were distributed, but none of the recipients managed to impress the prince. Then there came a young maiden who walked calmly and steadily towards the prince and her manner impressed him greatly. Her name was Yashodhara. She bowed to the prince and looked at him calmly. He was delighted with her gentleness and charm. He gazed at her and gave her the necklace he was wearing. With a smile, she said, “Is this all that I am worth?" Then the prince gave her his own ring.
The king heard of the incident and decided that Yashodhara was the right match for Prince Siddhartha. So he invited her father to make a proposal for the marriage between the prince and Yashodhara. YashodharaÂ’s father, a king, did not accept the proposal at once. He felt that the prince had been living too much of a life of luxury and indolence, and doubted his physical and intellectual abilities.
To prove that the prince was superior in strength and intelligence to any other eligible young man in the country, King Shuddhodana proclaimed that a public contest would be held in academic studies as well as in the royal sports. A day was fixed for the great event in which many young men, skilled in sports and of great learning, took part. A large gathering of people came to watch the contest.
The prince was tested on his knowledge of Ancient Literature and Writing as well as his ability to solve complicated problems in Mathematics. He also had to participate with other able-bodied young men in athletic events including archery. In every contest, the prince was proclaimed the champion amid thunderous applause and cheers from the spectators. None of the contestants could better him.
When the contest was over, YashodharaÂ’s father, pleased that his daughter would be marrying a prince of excellence, agreed to the marriage. Soon, a grand royal wedding party was held in the palace. The king felt relieved. He thought that Prince Siddhartha and Princess Yashodhara would live contentedly in the palace for the rest of their lives, and that Prince Siddhartha would succeed him as the future ruler of his kingdom.