(3) Why did Buddha abandon his home and wish to be ordained - Buddha's youth in Kapilavastu and Shimonsyutuyu

(Life of Buddha (Shakyamuni Buddha) as seen from local photos)
　Why did Buddha wish to renounce his home and become ordained - Buddha's youth in Kapilavastu and his Shimonsyutuyu

Buddha's Youth - Why did Buddha abandon his throne and seek ordination?

Although he continued to live a life of unencumbered luxury, he was eventually moved to become a monk.

A typical episode of this is the "Shimonsyutuyu.".

This is a very important event that inspired Buddha to become ordained after seeing the people he met at the four gates of Kapilavastu, east, west, south, and north. Until now, the Buddha had been confined to his palace, living a life free from the evils and sufferings of the world, as Suddhodana had planned. The story begins when he took out his carriage to leave the palace and go outside.

Buddhist teachingsBuddhacharita."In the following section, this Shimonsyutuyu is depicted as follows. The first deity, Shuddhadivasa, is an indigenous Indian deity. This is probably an indication that the gods of India also desire Buddha's ordination. Now, let's read it carefully, because it is an important passage, though it is a little long.

The prince was delighted to see for the first time the path of revelry crowded with condescending people dressed in clean, sober clothes. He felt as if he himself had been reborn.

Meanwhile, the Shuddhavasa deities, seeing the city as if it were a heavenly realm, created an old man to encourage the prince's ordination.

Then the prince found this man, overcome by old age and looking different from the people, greatly interested, and without moving his eyes, he stared at him and asked him.

Who is this man with white hair, leaning on his staff with his hand, his eyes sunken and covered by his brow, and his body slack and bent? Is this change original or accidental?

When this was said to him, he was so blinded by his gods that he did not even know it was a mistake, but told the prince, even though he should have concealed it.

He is shattered by that which robs him of his beautiful form, which ruins his strength, which produces sorrow, which is the end of pleasure, which erases memory, which is the enemy of the senses, which is called old age.

For he also suckled as an infant, and in time he became a beautiful young man, but he also grew old in the same way.

When the prince was told this, he became a little upset and asked the governor, "Do I also have this weakness? And the Gohisha said to him, "I do not have this weakness either.

You, who live a long life, are undoubtedly aged in this way by the power of time. Knowing that old age destroys color, people still try to go there.

Then this great man, whose heart had been purified by his will from a previous life to follow the Way (Dharma) of Deva, and who had done good works for countless eons, was horrified to hear of his old age. As if he were a cow that heard a thunderclap very close by.

Sighing deeply and shaking his head, he gazed at the old man and at the delighted crowd, and said in horror, "I am so happy to see you.

Thus old age robs anyone of his memory, his color, and his energy. People see such a person before their eyes and do not tremble.

Therefore, my son, bring back the horse. Return to the house as soon as possible. How can I rejoice in the garden while there is fear of old age in my heart?

So the prince ordered the coach to turn back. And the prince entered a mansion, but his heart was troubled, and he felt as if he had entered an empty house.

But even there, his mind was not at rest as he pondered his old age and old age. Therefore, as before, he went out again with the king's permission.

Then the gods created another man whose body was diseased. Finding the man, the son of King Shuddhodana asked the sovereign to look at him.

Who is that man with the swollen belly, his body rising and falling with every breath, his shoulders and arms slumped, his limbs lean and pale, leaning on another and crying out pitifully, "Mother?

Then the Gohan said, "This man used to be of good health, but now he has lost his freedom. This man used to be of good health, but now he is unable to move freely. This, Your Highness, is due to the great misfortune of illness, which has increased in strength due to a malfunction of the body's fluids.

The prince looked at the man with pity and said to him, "Did this weakness happen only to this man? Is this weakness only in this man? Is the fear of sickness present in every living thing?

Then the Prince said, "My Prince, this weakness is common to all people. Thus, people are crushed by various illnesses and suffer pain, but they are also enjoying themselves.

Thus hearing the truth, the prince's heart sank and he trembled like the moon reflected in the waves. Pitying the man, he said in a somewhat low voice: "I am not a man.

This is the evil of disease that all living things have. People see it and are unconcerned. Oh, how great is the ignorance of those who play without being freed from the fear of all kinds of diseases!

Turn back from your outing, O Lord, and send the chariot forward to the palace. When I hear of the fear of sickness, my heart seems to shrink from pleasure.

Then, his joy gone, he returned and entered the pavilion, lost in thought. Seeing that he had returned this way twice. The king examined him.

And when the king heard the cause of his return, he felt that he had been abandoned by the prince. The king only reprimanded the man in charge of maintaining the road, and although he was angry, he did not impose a heavy sentence.

And the king arranged for his son to have something that would appeal wonderfully to his sensei, hoping that he would not be seized by his sensei's changeable nature and abandon them. He also arranged for something that would appeal wonderfully to the king's sensei, in the hope that they would be caught up in the sensei's changeable nature and perhaps not abandon them.

The king's son, however, was not amused by music and other objects of the senses in the palace. Therefore, the king ordered him to go out, thinking that his mood would change.

The king, who knew his son's feelings because he loved him, thought nothing of the dangers of lust and ordered that the prince be attended by suitable courtesans, all of whom were skilled in the art. And after the way of his visit had been carefully beautified and examined, the king replaced the coach with a new one, and sent the prince out.

As the prince went on his way, the gods created a dead man. He and the prince saw the dead man being carried along the road, but the others did not see him.

Then the prince said to the governor. 'Who is that one who is carried by four men, who is accompanied by sorrowful people, who is adorned but mourned?'

At that time, the heart of the Gohan was captured by the shuddhadivasa deities, whose nature is pure, and knowing the truth, he said things to his master that he should not have said.

We do not know who he is, but he has lost his intellect, his senses, his breath, and all his other faculties; he is asleep, unconscious, and has become grass and trees. He has been nurtured and protected with great effort by those who love him, but now he is to be discarded.

When the prince heard these words, he flinched a little and said, "Is this happening only to this man? Is this what happens only to this man? Is this the end of all living things?

The prince replied. This is the final state of all living things. Whether lowly, medium, or great, the extinction of all things is certain in this world.

Although the prince was a man of firm heart, his heart sank as soon as he heard of his death. He leaned his shoulder against the end of the carriage railing and spoke in a trembling voice.

This is the predetermined outcome for all living things, and yet people are unafraid and unconcerned about it. I believe that the human heart is a stubborn thing, because it is on the road to death, and yet it is at ease.

Therefore, My Lord, restore our chariot. For this is neither the time nor the place for a garden tour. How can anyone with a heart be unconcerned at this time of doom, now that he knows that it is about to be annihilated?

Kodansha, Yuichi Kajiyama, Nobuhiko Kobayashi, Musashi Tachikawa, Katsumi Omaki, Translation "Complete Translation of Buddhacharita" P34-38

Although not depicted in the Buddhacharita, the basic Buddhist tradition states that Buddha went out again after this and met an ordained practitioner at that time, which solidified his intention to become an ordained practitioner.

The episode of the four gates of departure was the catalyst for Buddha's full-fledged awakening from his comfortable life in the palace, and it is impossible that Buddha, however young he was at that time, did not know about old age, illness, and death. What is important about this episode is that Buddha realized old age, illness, and death as his own problems. It is not mere knowledge, but the fact that he felt their existence through his whole body that made such an impact on him.

This is the same for us, isn't it? We know in our heads that we are going to die, get sick, and grow old. However, it is not so easy to say that we really feel it as a real problem that shakes our whole body. In reality, we tend to look at it from the sidelines as if it were someone else's problem. However, once you experience the fear of old age, sickness, and death as your own problem, the way you see the world will change. Buddha must have experienced this kind of human condition here.

And finally, there is one more point that particularly struck me when I read the Buddhacharita. I was struck by the following words of the Buddha.

How can a wise man ascend to the throne, which is the dependence of deceit? Kingship comes with fear, pride, and fatigue, and can destroy righteousness by treating others unjustly.

Kingship is pleasant, but like a golden palace on fire, like an extraordinary feast with poison, like a lotus pond filled with crocodiles, it is a source of disaster. (omitted).

If you enjoy peace of mind, your royalty will waver. If you use your will for kingship, your peace of mind will collapse. Peace of mind and severity of punishment do not go together. Cold water and hot fire do not mix.

Kodansha, Yuichi Kajiyama, Nobuhiko Kobayashi, Musashi Tachikawa, Katsumi Omaki, Translation "Complete Translation of Buddhacharita" p. 102-103

To get a little ahead of myself, these are Buddha's words in the "tension-filled exchange of arguments between Gautama and the two ministers and court priests who came to bring back the ordained prince (Chapter 9)".

Why did Buddha abandon the throne? Here is a straightforward example of how Buddha felt about the throne.

Buddha's fundamental motivation for ordination was to attain religious enlightenment. But that is only the ultimate and fundamental motive. There are also various motives in Buddha's life on a practical level. He saw sick and dead people during his Shimonsyutuyu, he was a contemplative, he saw beautiful women sleeping ugly, etc., etc., and a combination of factors finally led him to become ordained.

So we need to look at this aversion to the throne as one of the main reasons.

I used to be,The Kautilya Theory of Reality.an Indian classic, was introduced on this blog.

For more details, please refer to the linked article, but the "Kautilya Pragmatics" explains many of the maneuvers that a king should perform. And this is what Machiavelli was talking about.The Monarchist.The book is a collection of essays on imperialism, which are quite serious and comparable to those of the

Reading this book, I do not envy you at all for being born in royalty. No matter how extravagant I could be, I would respectfully give back that right. When I read "Kautilya Theory of Reality," I thought that Buddha might have felt the same way.

In any case, Buddha would make a firm decision to renounce his throne and become an ordained ascetic.

We will look at Kapilavastu, where Buddha actually lived, in the next article.

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