The Life of Buddha - Discovering Sorrow
One day Siddhartha went out riding with his charioteer Chandaka. As he left the palace, he came upon an old man with bent body and legs trembling with the decrepitude of age. Slowly, painfully and leaning heavily upon his stick the old man was struggling down the road. Siddhartha had never before seen the infirmity of old age. He pulled his chariot to a halt and asked Chandaka what ailed the man. Chandaka replied that the man was old and his body was failing. In an anguished voice, Prince Siddhartha asked if all human beings were fated to grow old as such and Chandaka replied this was a fact of life. Siddhartha returned to the palace in a troubled state of mind.
Shortly after this, the Prince went riding along another road that led southwards out of the city. He hadn't gone far when he saw a man who was desperately ill. The sight shocked him and he stopped to ask Chandaka what the matter was. Chandaka replied that the man was mortally ill and no one could help him. Once again the Prince turned homewards in a troubled mood.
Later, he again left the city and saw a dead body being carried to the cremation ground. Behind the body walked a group of people wailing and crying. Siddhartha asked Chandaka why the procession of people was so sad and Chandaka replied that the man on the litter had died and his family would never see him again. Disturbed and anguished by what he had seen, the Prince again returned home.
A short while later the Prince went riding along the road leading northwards. He saw a monk dressed in saffron robes. The monk carried a begging bowl in his hand and he walked along the road with an aura of serenity. The Prince was struck by the man's calmness and asked Chandaka who the monk was and why he was dressed that way. Chandaka replied that the monk had renounced the world and all material possessions and in doing so had found a measure of peace. He explained that the monk and others like him were engaged in trying to discover the ultimate truth.
These four happenings marked a turning point in Siddhartha's life. The harshness of the sights he had seen brought about a realisation that old age, sickness and death were the fate of all human beings and he began to understand the illusory nature of the existence he had led so far. Even his infant son seemed one more chain holding him to the rigours of a worldly existence.
The King heard of Siddhartha's unrest and redoubled his efforts to keep him entertained and distracted. He strengthened the doors of the palace and set guards around the gates in an effort to prevent the Prince from leaving.
Meanwhile Siddhartha had decided to leave the palace and take to a life of asceticism in an effort to find the truth, so he went to seek his father's permission to do so. Legend has it that the gods intervened and King Suddhodana in the grip of their spell granted permission to his son. After Siddhartha had left his chamber, however, the King ordered his courtiers and soldiers to prevent the Prince from leaving the palace.
Siddhartha meanwhile sent for Chandaka and asked him to saddle Kanthaka, his horse. Chandaka, in great distress, tried to convince the Prince to change his mind, but Siddhartha, was insistent and ordered Chandaka to carry out his wishes. Here the gods intervened once more to aid the Prince's departure, causing the guards to fall asleep and gates and doors to open of their own accord.
Accompanied by Chandaka, Siddhartha rode out of the city and travelled far beyond his father's kingdom. He dismounted from Kanthaka and removed his Princely ornaments, giving them to Chandaka to be returned to his father. Then taking his sword he cut his long hair, a symbol of his princely status and bade Chandaka farewell. Upon meeting a poor hunter he exchanged his fine silk robes for the man's shabby saffron-coloured clothing and he set out as a seeker of truth. He was no longer Prince Siddhartha, heir to the throne of the Shakyas, but Siddhartha, a wandering mendicant.
