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In their wedlock was born a son whom they named Rahula which means "fetter" or "tie",
and King Suddhodana, glad that an heir was born to his son, said: [8]
"The prince having begotten a son, will love him as I love the prince.
This will be a strong tie to bind Siddhattha”s heart to the interests of the world,
and the kingdom of the Sakyas will remain under the sceptre of my descendants." [9]
With no selfish aim, but regarding his child and the people at large,
Siddhattha, the prince, attended to his religious duties,
bathing his body in the holy Ganges
and cleansing his heart in the waters of the law.
Even as men desire to give happiness to their children,
so did he long to give peace to the world. [10]
The Three Woes
The palace which the king had given to the prince
was resplendent with all the luxuries of India;
for the king was anxious to see his son happy. [1]
All sorrowful sights, all misery,
and all knowledge of misery were kept away from Siddhattha,
for the king desired that no troubles should come nigh him;
he should not know that there was evil in the world. [2]
But as the chained elephant longs for the wilds of the jungles,
so the prince was eager to see the world,
and he asked his father, the king,
for permission to do so. [3]
And Suddhodana ordered a jewel-fronted chariot with four stately horses to be held ready,
and commanded the roads to be adorned where his son would pass. [4]
The houses of the city were decorated with curtains and banners,
and spectators arranged themselves on either side,
eagerly gazing at the heir to the throne.
Thus Siddhattha rode with Channa, his charioteer,
through the streets of the city,
and into a country watered by rivulets and covered with pleasant trees. [5]
There by the wayside they met an old man with bent frame,
wrinkled face and sorrowful brow, and the prince asked the charioteer:
"Who is this
His head is white,
his eyes are bleared,
and his body is withered.
He can barely support himself on his staff." [6]
The charioteer, much embarrassed, hardly dared speak the truth.
He said: "These are the symptoms of old age.
This same man was once a suckling child,
and as a youth full of sportive life;
but now, as years have passed away,
his beauty is gone and the strength of his life is wasted." [7]
Siddhattha was greatly affected by the words of the charioteer,
and he sighed because of the pain of old age.
"What joy or pleasure can men take," he thought to himself,
"when they know they must soon wither and pine away!" [8]
And lo! while they were passing on,
a sick man appeared on the way-side, gasping for breath,
his body disfigured, convulsed and groaning with pain. [9]
The prince asked his charioteer:
"What kind of man is this
"
And the charioteer replied and said: "This man is sick.
The four elements of his body are confused and out of order.
We are all subject to such conditions:
the poor and the rich, the ignorant and the wise,
all creatures that have bodies, are liable to the same calamity." [10]
And Siddhattha was still more moved.
All pleasures appeared stale to him,
and he loathed the joys of life. [11]
The charioteer sped the horses on to escape the dreary sight,
when suddenly they were stopped in their fiery course. [12]
Four persons passed by, carrying a corpse;
and the prince, shuddering at the sight of a lifeless body,
asked the charioteer: "What is this they carry
There are streamers and flower garlands;
but the men that follow are overwhelmed with grief!" [13]
The charioteer replied:
"This is a dead man:
his body is stark;
his life is gone;
his thoughts are still;
his family and the friends who loved him
now carry the corpse to the grave." [14]
And the prince was full of awe and te…
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