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| Personal photo (Dec. 28, 2015; Chiang Mai, Thailand) |
- Dream: young elephant descending from the sky, had six great tusks, white as snow on mountain tops. Entered Maya's womb, and thousands of Gods suddenly appeared before her.
- She walked to the woods and asked or the king to meet her. As he was entering the woods, he felt weird.
- A great voice said from the sky: "Be happy, King Suddhodana, worthiest of the Sakyas! He who seeks supreme knowledge is about to come into the world. He has chosen your family to be his family because of its fame, good fortune and virtue, and for mother he has chosen the noblest of all women, your wife, Queen Maya."
- The king ordered food to be given to the hungry, alms to the poor, drink to the thirsty.
- The sick crowded her path, she touched them, they are cured.
- The queen felt the baby coming and went to walk in the woods.
- The king named the baby Siddhartha.
- Asita is a hermit. He came to the palace to meet the baby.
- He started crying and went on a long speech about how the baby will set the world free and break down the evil gates. He is crying because he won't be able to hear the words of the baby, Siddhartha.
- Suddhondana was happy at first, then realized that the speech included Asita mentioning that Siddhartha would renounce royalty and live his life as a hermit. He is worried that his line would end.
- He quickly forgot his worries, for since Siddhartha was born, wealth have been flowing into the palace.
- Maya died after 7 days.
- The prince was given to Mahaprajapati's care. Siddhartha is so brilliant and radiant that even when wearing gold jewels, it looks dim compared to him.
- The day came to take him to the temple of the Gods. The streets were cleared and decorated beautifully. When he entered the temple, all the statues of the Gods --Siva, Skanda, Vishnu, Kuvera, Indra, Brahma -- came to life and bowed at his feet.
- He went out to walk and rested under a tree, where he first meditates. Five hermits walk by wondering who he is, suddenly realizing that he would become the Buddha some day.
- The king wondered where he is, sending a servant to search. When the servant came upon the prince, he is still meditating under the tree, where the shadows have not moved, continuing to shelter him throughout the day.
- The prince grew curious and wanted to leave the palace one day. The king ordered the streets to be cleared of beggars and the sick, wishing his son to see nothing that will trouble the serenity of his soul; he must never suspect the evil there is in the world.
- Seeing the beautiful city, the wealth of the mend and the beauty of the women, felt a new joy pour into his soul.
- The Gods sent an old man down the road the prince was traveling. He was worn and decrepit, bad teeth, thin, grey hair, and skin full of wrinkles. The prince sees this and, confused, asks the charioteer why the old man looked like he did.
- The charioteer replied: That which mars beauty, which ruins vigor, which causes sorrow and kills pleasure, that which weakens the memory and destroys the senses is old age.
- He returned to the palace but could not find peace, and in his heart there was no longer any joy.
- Siddhartha goes through the city once again. The gods made him encounter a sick man on the way. The charioteer explains that everyone could get sickness, telling the prince the painful truth.
- The prince returned to the palace in a somber mood. The king found out why and punished the man who took care of the streets (lightly). The man wondered why he even got punished, since he saw neither the sick nor the old man.
- The king tried to keep the price in the palace, to no avail. Finally he thought to let the prince out again, changed the charioteer, and cleared the streets.
- The Gods were unhappy and made the entourage encounter 4 men carrying a corpse. The prince now realizes that everyone can get sick, old, and die.
- The king had ordered Udayin, the prince's friend since childhood, to assemble many beautiful women in the garden. The prince went unwillingly. The women approach but neither smile nor talk, which angers Udayin, who tries to encourage them.
- They finally approach the prince, but the prince was still thinking about death. The women later left to go back to the city.
- Gopa had a bad dream and went to the prince. "You saw the earth shake? Then one day the Gods themselves shall bow before you. You saw the moon and the sun fall from the sky? Then you shall soon defeat evil, and you shall receive infinite praise. You saw the trees uprooted? Then you shall find a way out of the forest of desire. Your hair was cut short? Then you shall free yourself from the net of passions that holds you captive. My robes and my jewels were scattered about? Then I am on the road to deliverance. Meteors were speeding across the sky over a darkened city? Then to the ignorant world, to the world that is blind, I shall bring the light of wisdom, and those who have faith in my words will know joy and felicity. Be happy, O Gopa, drive away your melancholy; you will soon be singularly honored. Sleep, Gopa, sleep; you have dreamed a lovely dream."
- Siddhartha leaves the palace and encounters a monk. After he spoke, he rose to the sky. It was a God taking the form of the monk to arouse the prince.
- Siddhartha decided to leave the palace and become a monk.
- Siddhartha goes to ask the King for permission to leave. The king tries to stop him. The prince asks his father to promise 4 things, and he shall not leave: promise that his life will not end in death, that sickness will not come, that age will not approach, and that misfortune will not destroy his prosperity.
- The prince left.
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