The kingdom of Kapilavastu

 

































Long, long ago, the continent of India was divided into many small kingdoms.  A great river named the Ganges runs through Central India, and over 2,600 years ago, on the banks of the Ganges was a small, prosperous kingdom named Kapilavastu. 


At the time, the kingdom was ruled by King Suddhodana.  He was a very wise and enlightened man.  His wife, the good Queen Maya, was as gentle as she was beautiful.

King Suddhodana and Queen Maya both longed to have a son who would someday rule the kingdom in their place. 

The Birth of Prince Siddhartha

 Just 2,622 years ago, on a clear, sweet morning on the fifteenth day of the fourth month, Queen Maya was strolling in the gardens of Lumbini.  Everything seemed particularly radiant in the gardens that day.  The Mandara flowers glowed with vibrant colors and blossomed more profusely than ever before.

Queen Maya felt her whole body suffused with ineffable joy.  As she raised her right hand to grasp the branch of a shady tree, a miraculous light shone suddenly all around.  It was at once awesome and beautiful, as if a new sun had risen in the sky.  At that very moment, Prince Siddhartha was born.

According to Buddhist scriptures, the newborn Prince stood up at once and walked seven steps, one finger pointing to the sky, the other to the earth, and said: - “I was born for Englightenment, for the good of all that lives”.

 Asita’s Predictions

 

 On the day the Prince was born, many good omens and signs of peace were seen throughout the land.  King Suddhodana was overjoyed, and named his son “Siddharta” which means “the one whose aim is accomplished”.

There lived in Kapilavastu at t hat time a venerable sage named Asita.  Asita was a hermit who lived in the snowy mountains, and he was known to be a very holy man.  When he heard about the wonderful signs, he came to pay his respects to the new-born Prince.

When he saw the infant, Asita gazed at him intently.  Then he made the following prediction:“In the future, if Siddhartha succeeds you on the throne, he will become a great emperor.  But if he chooses to give up the world and seek enlightenment, he is surely destined to become the Buddha, the Fully Englightenment One.”

 Golden Childhood

 

































Prince Siddhartha was not only a handsome, graceful child, but he was also remarkably intelligent, kind hearted and courteous.  His father, the King, doted on him, and everyone loved and admired the little Prince.

King Soddhadana and Queen Maya showered him with every toy a child could dream of tiny carriages and horses, ships and boats… They also built three magnificent palaces for their son, one for winter, one for summer and one for the rainy season.  

The little Prince Siddhartha spent his childhood in the lap of luxury, with all the pleasures and delights one can possibly imagine

 Wounded Swan

 

 One day as Siddhartha was walking in the garden, a wounded swam fell out of the sky and landed right at the Prince’s feet. 

 Its wing was pierced by an arrow, and the poor swan trembled with pain.  The Prince ran to the wounded swam and gently picked it up.  

He cleaned its wounds with warm water and made a comfortable nest for the swan to lie in.  He even fetched some grains of rice for the swan to eat.

After he had looked after the swan attentively for several days, it grew str3ong again and its wounds healed.  Siddhartha took it out to the garden and set it free, watching as the swan soared away into the vast blue skies.

 Schooldays

 

  






























When Siddhartha was seven years old, his father, the King, sent for a teacher to take charge of the Prince’s education.

His lesson’s covered a wide range of subjects: literature, mathematics, general knowledge and so on…The Prince also learned many subjects usually meant for grown-ups, such as philosophy, medicine and engineering.

He was extremely intelligent and eager to learn, and used to press his teacher with profound and penetrating questions.  

The Prince thus acquired great knowledge, and progressed rapidly in his studies.  Although Siddhartha was still a child, he became widely acclaimed as a brilliant and erudite scholar, and his reputation spread throughout the land.  

Kind Suddhodana was immensely proud of his son, and the Prince’s teachers were unsparing in their praise of this extraordinary pupil.

 Learning Martial Arts

 

































Siddharta was tall and strong, and he loved all kind of sports. So King Suddhodana arranged for a specialist to instruct his son in martial arts. 

Prince Siddhartha became proficient in horse-riding, archery, wrestling and many other sports thanks to his teacher, Nanda.

By the time he was twelve, Siddhartha was an accomplished master of all the martial arts and he surpassed his opponents in all the competitions. 

Everyone in the kingdom admired and revered the valiant young Prince for the exceptional bravery he displayed in all he did.  

Everyone was convinced  that Siddhartha would be a great help to his father in building Kapilavastu into a powerful and prosperous kingdom.

 The Great Sports Contest

 

































The Great Sports Contest had begun.  Princes and young noblemen came from all over the kingdom to take part in the contest and measure their strength. In the archery event, Prince Siddhartha used a blow bequeathed to him by his forefathers. 

The bow was so heavy that not one of the competitors could  even pull back the string.  Yet Siddhartha not only bent the bow with ease, but he shot the arrow with such strength that it continued to fly until it disappeared into space! 

By the end of the contest, Prince Siddhartha had outstripped all the other contestants and carried off the championship with ease.  

King Suprabuddha, the ruler of a neighboring kingdom, was so impressed by Siddhartha’s outstanding abilities that he agreed to let his daughter Yashodhara become the Prince’s bride.

 The Farmlands

 

































In the sweltering heat, with the sun beating down on his bare back, the farmer toiled in the fields with the ox and plough, his body running with sweat. The ox labored to drag the blade of the heavy plough through the hard, arid earth.  

Although the beast pulled and strained to his utmost, tears and sweat mingling with his puffing and panting breath, the farmer kept on lashing him with his whip, pressing the ox to work faster. 

Both man and beast worked hard, each toiling as painfully as the other.  They had no choice, for both had to work to have enough to eat. 

Birds swooped down in search of food, squabbling and fighting with each other to snatch up the worms, grasshoppers and other insects churned up in the  wake of the plough.

 A Visit to the People

 

































Siddhartha sat watching this ruthless struggle for survival and observed how all living beings hurt and kill each other.  Pity welled up in his heart, and he fell  into deep thought, looking for a way to end all sufferings on the earth.

Siddhartha was keenly interested in the daily lives of his people, so one day he went on a visit around the city.  All the people came out excitedly to greet him.  

Some shouted out joyously and others, joining their hands and bowing low, wished the Prince happiness and good fortune.  The little children clapped gleefully and cried:  “Look, the Prince is here!  The Prince is here at last!”

Siddhartha was deeply moved by his people’s welcome, and thought to himself: “I must seek every means to improve each person’s life, create a peaceful society and make sure that my people are always happy and well-fed.” But the Prince wanted to know even more about his people’s daily lives, so he asked his charioteer to drive him outside the citadel’s East Gate.

 The Prince Visits the Four City Gates

 
































As the prince drove out of the East Gate, he met and old man.  The man’s hair was completely white.  He had hardly an teeth and his face was covered with wrinkles.  

Eh leaned on a stick and his bent body trembled as he walked slowly along. The charioteer told Siddhartha:  “This is an old man.”

At the South Gate, the Prince saw a sick person lying by the side of the road, moaning as if on the point of death. His servant said: “This is a sick man.  Any one of us could fall sick like him at any moment.  It can happen to anyone.”

At the West gate, Siddhartha saw a funeral procession.  The death person’s relatives were weeping and lamenting piteously. His servant said:  “Death is end of life.  There is nothing anyone can do to avoid this.” Siddhartha was plunged in sadness.  

He realized that birth, old age, sickness and death were part of a natural law.  All living beings were subjected to this  law, and no-one had ever been able to change it.  No-one, not even the king, could escape or save others from these four terrible misfortunes.

 The Prince Visits the Four City Gates (continue)

 

































Last of all, Siddhartha went to the city’s North Gate.  As he was resting in the shade of a tree, a holy man dressed in simple robes, with a solemn and serene appearance came up to the Prince and said: “I am someone who is seeking the truth.  I try to live a pure, good life and commit no evil deeds.”
 
What is so good about seeking the truth?”

Siddhartha asked the holy man.

“If you are successful in seeking the truth, you can destroy all sufferings such as birth, old age, sickness and death, and attain happiness and freedom forever,” replied the holy man. 

Siddhartha was overjoyed by these words, and swiftly bowed down in thanks to the holy man

 The Prince’s Vow

 

































When he returned from his journey to the city gates, Siddhartha began seeking out quiet places in the palace or park to meditate alone and think of ways to search for anend to all suffering.

One day, the Prince went to his father, the King, and asked permission to leave the palace and become a holy man.  King Suddhodana refused. Siddhartha pleaded with him: “O father, can you save me from the sufferings of birth, old age, sickness and death? If not, please let me leave home and seek deliverance from  suffering!”

Fearing that the Prince would try to escape from the palace to carry out his vow, King Siddhodana summoned five hundred extra guards to keep watch day and night, and began preparations fro Siddhartha to succeed him on the throne within the next seven days.

 The Prince becomes a Monk

 

































Siddhartha began to see that the world was like a burning house, consumed by the flames of birth, old age, sickness and death.  

Everyone, whatever their rank or birth, could fall victim to these afflictions at any moment.  The Prince decided that he must give up his princely life and leave home to search for a way to conquer all suffering and discover the means of salvation for himself and for the world.

So one night, when the whole palace was plunged in a deep sleep, Siddhartha summoned Channa, his companion, and Kanthaka, his faithful horse, and  slipped silently out of the citadel…

Before he rode off into the night, the Prince wished all his loved ones happiness and made this vow.  “Until I discover the way to overcome all suffering, I shall not return to this fair palace.”
From then on, Siddhartha began his life as wandering ascetic.  He was then twenty nine years old

 Very Strange Hermits

 


































The Ascetics’ Forest was a spacious, wooded area where many hermits and holy men lived.  They practiced many different spiritual disciplines, all of which were very strange indeed.  

Some worshipped the sun, others venerated water or fire.  Some dressed themselves only in leaves and slep on a bed of thorns, others keep silent for days on end…These hermits believed that by punishing their bodies in this life, after death they would be reborn into a world of bliss and be happy forever…

Although Siddhartha was a newcomer to the Forest, he did not hesitate to show these strange hermits that their aims and harsh practices were mistaken.  

They might attain paradise and find happiness during the period of one life-span, but they would inevitably fall back into the infinite cycle of birth and rebirth.  When their happiness in paradise was spent, they would continue on the never-ending path of birth and death.

To escape from the cycle of rebirth and attain happiness forever, the only way is to purify oneself and eliminate all greed, hatred and lust.  This is the fundamental objective of Buddhism.  (thesoulandyou.blogspot.com - Source: Thư Viện Hoa Sen)


Written in Vietnamese by C.L., Translated into English by P. Faulkner and illustrated by Quang Đặng