Resumo de The Life Of Man

Outsidethe PalaceBecause of the prophecies that attended Siddhattha's birth - that he wouldeither become a world ruler or a great holy man - his father, Suddhodhana triedto shield his son from the more distressing features of the world.Consequently, Siddhattha spent his life with the confines of the palace and itsgrounds, absorbed in pleasure.But dissatisfaction grew to the extent that one daySiddhattha asked his charioteer to take him on an excursion outside of theplace. On the first visit he encountered an old man. On the next excursion he encountered a sick man. On his third excursion, heencountered a corpse beingcarried to cremation. Such sights brought home to him the prevalence ofsuffering in the world and that he too was subject to old age, sickness anddeath - that no-one, not even a king's son, could escape these three.What hope was there, what point in living, if this was the destiny of all?On his fourth excursion,however, he encountered a holy manor sadhu, apparentlycontent and at peace with the world. Perhaps, there was a way out ofwhat seemed like the inevitability of suffering after all! (In Buddhism theseare referred to as 'the four sights' or 'four signs'.)TheLeavingIt was not easy for Siddhattha to leave his home andfamily. As his wife and child lay sleeping, he said his goodbyes, fearing thatif his wife should wake he wouldn't be able to leave. And then he was gone, tobegin life as a wandering holy man in search of the ultimate...TheQuest BeginsAfter leaving hisfather's palace and his family, Siddhattha embarked upon the life of awanderer, sleeping in forests and living off the food given to him by those hecame into contact with. At first he sought out those who might teach him how toprogress further along his spiritual path, teachers such as Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta. Through themeditation techniques taught by them, he was able to reach higher states ofknowledge, but fell short of complete enlightenment. Though he became a teacherunder Ramaputta, he came to realize that what he had learnt so far did not'lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to peace, toenlightenment, to Nibbana'.Self-MortificationLike many other seekers of hiskind, Siddhattha decided that perhaps enlightenment could be won by pushing thebody to extremes. Sometimes this took the form of eating only certain kinds offood; at other times, it took the form of rigorous fasting. Thus he becameextremely emaciated: 'Because of eating so little my belly skin adhered to mybackbone; thus if I touched my belly skin I encountered my backbone; andif I touched my backbone I encountered my belly skin'. He would go naked, sleepin cemeteries, allow himself to be tormented by young cowherds but all this didnot lead to the ultimate knowledge he sought.

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