Four Sights that Drove Siddhartha in His Religious Quest
1) What were the four sights that drove Siddhartha in his religious quest? Explain them.
Siddhartha encountered four sights that deeply disturbed him and ultimately sent him on his religious quest. Kept inside the walls of the palace was the best way to keep young Siddhartha oblivious from the incomprehensible truths of reality. One day, Siddhartha goes wandering outside his palace with his charioteer and notices something odd. Siddhartha sees two men that look different from everybody else; they showed characteristics of old helpless men. The modern day term we describe people like this would be either hobo or homeless. Siddhartha was curious to learning about these men due to his father keeping the truths of reality from him his whole life. The curious Siddhartha asked his charioteer many questions as he went to explore where these two unfamiliar men went. Siddhartha visualizes the characteristics of an aged elderly man. He learns about aging and that everybody ages no matter what. The next thing Siddhartha encounters is a man in terrible pain. The charioteer describes this to Siddhartha as an illness and how it’s unpredictable to first notice when you have it. Everybody would eventually suffer from illnesses of all sorts and some couldn’t treat it like we do today. Following these two sightings, Siddhartha then witnessed a funeral. He noticed that the physical body was shut down and no longer alive. Siddhartha viewed the body being burned and people crying. Siddhartha felt the sorrow from the weeping family as he learned about death. Finally, Siddhartha saw someone who had given up everything they had in order to search for their inner self. A troubled Siddhartha was inspired by this person and finally decided to leave the palace to embark on a religious quest. On his journey outside the palace, Siddhartha learned that “all humanity is vulnerable to ageing, sickness and death” (Prebish 31). Siddhartha left his wonderful lifestyle, wealth, wife and son to begin
Siddhartha encountered four sights that deeply disturbed him and ultimately sent him on his religious quest. Kept inside the walls of the palace was the best way to keep young Siddhartha oblivious from the incomprehensible truths of reality. One day, Siddhartha goes wandering outside his palace with his charioteer and notices something odd. Siddhartha sees two men that look different from everybody else; they showed characteristics of old helpless men. The modern day term we describe people like this would be either hobo or homeless. Siddhartha was curious to learning about these men due to his father keeping the truths of reality from him his whole life. The curious Siddhartha asked his charioteer many questions as he went to explore where these two unfamiliar men went. Siddhartha visualizes the characteristics of an aged elderly man. He learns about aging and that everybody ages no matter what. The next thing Siddhartha encounters is a man in terrible pain. The charioteer describes this to Siddhartha as an illness and how it’s unpredictable to first notice when you have it. Everybody would eventually suffer from illnesses of all sorts and some couldn’t treat it like we do today. Following these two sightings, Siddhartha then witnessed a funeral. He noticed that the physical body was shut down and no longer alive. Siddhartha viewed the body being burned and people crying. Siddhartha felt the sorrow from the weeping family as he learned about death. Finally, Siddhartha saw someone who had given up everything they had in order to search for their inner self. A troubled Siddhartha was inspired by this person and finally decided to leave the palace to embark on a religious quest. On his journey outside the palace, Siddhartha learned that “all humanity is vulnerable to ageing, sickness and death” (Prebish 31). Siddhartha left his wonderful lifestyle, wealth, wife and son to begin