THE FOUR GREAT SIGHTS

The King had asked the Band of Five Elders what his son could see that would make him want to choose the ascetic life. They answered, “The four signs: an old man, a sick man, a dead man, and a monk.” 

The King decided that he did not want his son to become a Buddha. He wanted him to become the next King and rule over all the land. He had guards placed to ensure that Siddhattha Gotama would never see the four sights. 

However, on this day, the gods saw Siddhattha Gotama in his chariot and thought, “It is time for his enlightenment! We must show him a sign.” 

And so, the gods created a very old man, with grey hair and a cane, and they placed him in the road so that only Siddhattha Gotama and the charioteer could see him. 

Siddhattha Gotama was shocked, he had never seen anyone like this! He asked Channa who the man was. When he received the answer, he became sad and disturbed that the fate of everyone born was to become old. 

He returned to his palace and rushed inside. His father, the King, asked the charioteer what had happened. Channa told him that he had seen an old man and wanted to retire from the world. The King extended the guards in each direction, to protect Siddhattha Gotama from seeing any more sights that would cause him to withdraw from the world. 

Yet each time the future Buddha rode to the park, the gods sent another sight for him to see, although each time, the King extended the guards. 

He saw a sick man. He saw a corpse. Finally, he saw a monk, carefully and decently dressed, with a shaved head and orange robes shining in the light. The monk looked at peace. 

When he asked Channa about the monk, the gods spoke through the charioteer, praising the monk to Siddhattha Gotama, describing the serene and peaceful life of a monk. This deeply resonated with Siddhattha Gotama, and he realized that he too, wanted to renounce the worldly life and pursue the same path as the monk.