9
ens of guards whose special task was to make sure that young
Siddhartha stayed inside the palace walls at all times. From
infancy to young manhood, therefore, the prince led a shel-
tered life filled with creature comforts, laughter, and all manner
of luxuries. He had no inkling of what the outside world was
like. He knew nothing of disease, suffering, and death. Later, as
an old man, he was said to have looked back on his childhood
and teen years and said:
I was delicate, excessively delicate. In my father’s dwell-
ing three lotus ponds were made purposely for me. Blue
lotuses bloomed in one, red in another, and white in the
third. [Day and] night a white parasol was held over me so
that I might not be touched by heat or cold, dust, leaves,
or dew. [I was regularly] entertained by female musicians,
without coming down from the palace.
6
The Prince’s Shocking Discovery
Siddhartha’s life of privilege and bliss continued on into his twen-
ties. He married a lovely young princess named Yasodhara, and
they had a son together, whom they named Rahula. The three
continually enjoyed good health and were extremely happy.
This contented existence came to a
sudden halt, however, when Siddhar-
tha was twenty-nine. For years he had
wondered about the world beyond the
palace walls. Finally, his curiosity got the
better of him. With the aid of a faithful
servant, the prince managed to get past
the guards and secretly escaped into
the countryside.
Less than an hour after gaining his
freedom, the prince found himself in a
rural village and encountered a sight he
had never before beheld. It was a very
old man with a wrinkled face, white hair,
and a body emaciated from not having
enough to eat. Siddhartha later recalled
“[Day and]
night a white
parasol was
held over
me so that I
might not be
touched by
heat or cold,
dust, leaves,
or dew.”
6
—The Buddha
