The Four Sights

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There was once a young man named Siddhartha Gautama. He was born a prince in the land of Kapilavastu to King Suddhodana and Queen Maya. Before his birth, they were informed that their son could grow up and possibly be destined to become either a powerful king or a great spiritual leader. The king became anxious for his son’s future. After all, it was said that he would possibly renounce his royalty and lavish life. The fate that his son could become such a spiritual hermit brought fear into the king’s mind especially considering that would mean that his family would cease.

For years of Siddhartha Gautama’s life, King Suddhodana did what he could to keep the sufferings of the world from being exposed to his son. The prince grew up only knowing happiness, everlasting riches, and loyal friends. He lived happily as he was married to a beautiful wife, Yasodhara. The two became parents to a son and named him Rahula.

Siddhartha had lived a picture perfect life for the first 29 years of his life, but it was not until one day he had an alluring desire to leave the palace. On his journey outside the palace, the prince discovered what is known as The Four Sights.

The first sight he came across was of an old man. The old man was weak and frail. Never in his life did the prince know that old age existed. It was then that the prince came to the realization that the human body would not always be fit and healthy. Eventually we’d get weaker and sore. In other words, we do not live forever. Siddhartha then came across the second sight, sickness. The prince saw a man pale in the face and weak. It was a hard concept for him to grasp realizing that people deal with illnesses. He learned that this kind of suffering is inevitable and something the majority of people experience. The next sighting he saw was of a dead body. Not only did he see that, but he witnessed the sorrow of the family that belonged to the dead person as they were weeping in pain. It was then that the prince learned that even after someone dies, there is still suffering around them. It is something that also affects the friends and family of the loved one. The fourth sighting the prince came across was a holy man. Before meeting this monk, Siddhartha felt great confusion and almost was in an existential crisis. Everything he knew was wrong; old age, sickness, and death existed. At that moment, the prince seemed to not know what happiness felt like anymore. However, after meeting the monk, he learned of the spiritual life. The man lived as a religious ascetic. He had no earthly attachments but all the clarity in the world.

Image Source: The Four Sights

Author's Notes:

The first part of the story book focuses on Siddhartha Gautama's beginning and how he came to the decision to leave. It was after seeing the four sights mentioned in the story, the old man, the sick man, the dead body, and the holy man, that led to him walking away from his family and renouncing everything. In other words, these sightings are what essentially fueled the young prince to question his life and everything he thought he knew which led him to begin a journey of spiritual enlightenment.

In Buddhism, The Four Sights are known as and can be described as the four events that Siddhartha Gautama experienced before he had realized that the world was not perfect as well as the realization that the world did not exist without suffering. His discovery led to the realization that his life was filled with impermanence and dissatisfaction of conditioned existence.

Bibliography: The Life of Buddha