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The Birth of the Buddha 3. The Four Encounters The Birth of the Buddha
The Birth of the Buddha
4. The Great
Departure
Siddhartha was now nearly thirty and the moment of his final decision was
imminent. Tired of waiting, his father, King Shuddhodhana, had already begun
preparations for the crowing his heir, and in seven days Siddhartha was to be
enthroned. Shuddhodhana took every precaution to prevent his son's flight and
even mobilized all Shakya people capable of bearing arms to guard the palace
exits. At this same moment Siddhartha's son, Rahula, was born. "It is a bondage
which has come to me," said Siddhartha when he heard of his first-born and only
child, meaning that it was another tie added to those already holding him back.
However, that night as he left his palace, he stopped and thought: "I must see
my son." He went to the residence of his wife and opened the door. She was
asleep on a bed, her hand on her son's head. Siddhartha, with one foot in the
doorway, stopped and watched. "If I lift the Queen's hand to take my son in my
arms she will awaken and thus my departure will be hampered. When I shall become
Buddha I will come back and see him." And with these words he went forth on his
horse, accompanied by his charioteer, Chandaka. But how did he pass through all
the doors and gates heavily guarded? Again, it was the moment when supernatural
assistance interfered and helped him.
As Figure 6
show, thirty-three gods descended from the sky and put all of Kapilavastu's
inhabitants into such a profound sleep that no sound whatsoever would awaken
them. And to be even safer they held the horse's hoofs in their hands to soften
their pounding on the ground and helped him jump over the wall of the palace.
According to traditional reckoning he was then twenty-nine years old and this
was the beginning of a six-year quest for awakening.
The Birth of the Buddha 5. Austerities
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