He also noticed that the birds were not just gayly singing. They were constantly searching for food, swooping down to snatch up the frightening insects. and the smaller birds darted about in fear, scared of the hawks and other large birds who circled hungrily above them.

He noticed that the oxen labored heavily while trying to drag the heavy plow through the ground. The lashes of the farmer's whip cut painful blisters into their sweating sides. And the farmer, too, worked hard. Like the beasts, his rough and sun-burnt body glistened with sweat.

"Such a circle of misery," thought the Prince. "This farmer, his animals, the birds and the insects work all day to be happy ,comfortable, and having enough to eat. But, in fact, they are constantly killing and hurting each other. How pitiful of the world seem to me." The Prince's heart was filled with compassion for all these suffering creatures. He hated to see them so unhappy. He found a shady place to sit under a rose apple tree and began to meditate deeply on what he had seen. As he looked deeper and deeper into the nature of the suffering he saw, his mind became more and more concentrated and calm. He experienced a quietness unlike anything he had known before.

With his mind now at rest he began to think, " every living thing is searching for happiness. Yet most are so blinded by their ignorance and desires that they find nothing but misery. Fear, disappointment, hunger, old age, sickness, and death are rewarding for their trouble! " "Now that I have seen this, I have no more interest in the small and changeable pleasures of this world. I must find something that will bring me lasting peace and happiness. But how can I content to be free from others suffering? I must find out a way to help all other living as well. Because they have been so kind to me , and they are so suffering. And then I will share this experience with them."

When Prince Siddhartha had finished this compassionate meditation . He opened his eyes and saw a man who was standing in front of him with a dress like a poor beggar. His eyes were bright and calm. "Please tell me," the Prince asked, "who are you?"

The man answered, " I am someone who has become frightened by the sufferings of the world. I have grown tired of the so-called pleasures to be found in the company of others, so now I wander alone. I have given up my home and now live and sleep in caves, in the forest or wherever I find myself. My only interest in finding the highest and most happiness." When he had spoken these words, the man disappeared. " At last I have found the true meaning for my life," he thought , "I begin searching for the true of the happiness and stop these sufferings." With this thinking, he went back to the palace.
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 Upon his arrival home the Prince immediately went to the King's room. Pressing his hands together, as was the custom when making an important request, he announced, "I wish to become a homeless wanderer and search for the end of all suffering. Grant me your permission, Father, to leave the palace." From the time his son was a baby, the King had feared that someday he would have to hear this dreaded request. But still his son's words came as a great shock to him. In a voice chocked with tears he replied, "Dearest son, forget this idea of leaving. You are still much too young to follow the lonely life of a holy man. Wait until you are older. Meanwhile stay here in Kapilavastu and rule my kingdom."

"O father, I shall stay here only if you can promise me four things. Tell me that I shall never grow old, never become ill, never die, and never be unhappy. If you can not promise me these things, then I must leave immediately."

The King was shocked by these strange words and began to get angry. "Forget these foolish ideas, Siddhartha," he said loudly. But the Prince remained firm. "Father, If you can not save me from the sufferings of old age, sickness, death and unhappiness, then you must let me go and try to save myself. It is not right to keep me a prisoner here."

But the King would hear no more. "Do not let the Prince leave! Set a guard around the palace grounds!" he shouted to his ministers and then stormed out of the room angrily.
 

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 Siddhartha left the King's room and returned to his palace. He passed through the beautifully decorated rooms, the magnificent hallways, past the sparkling fountains and into his rooms on the upper story. He walked among the talented musicians and past the beautiful serving girls. But none of these delights affected his mind. He had only thought, and that was to leave.

That night after dinner a strange force seemed to enter the palace. One by one the musicians and dancers and servants became drowsy and fell asleep. Finally even Yasodhara fell asleep next to her baby Rahula. The Prince saw them lying there and thought to himself, "I would like to hold my child in my arms one last time before I leave, but that might awaken Yasodhara. Then it would be very difficulty to depart. No, I must go quickly and quietly before anyone wakes up."

Stepping carefully around the sleeping bodies, he reached the window and climbed out onto the roof and then down to the ground. He went to where Channa, the charioteer was sleeping and gently woke him up. "Hurry, Channa, saddle my horse. I wish to ride tonight."

Channa was surprised that the Prince would want to go out in the middle of the night, but he did as he was asked. He saddled Kantaka and led him to the Prince. Siddhartha patted his horse and whispered, "Kantaka, my old friend, we must be very quiet. I do not want to wake up any of the guards. Tonight is a very special night." As the three of them approached the heavy gates at the edge of the gardens, the doors suddenly opened by themselves. Silently they rode out into the night. When they reached the edge of the city, the Prince looked back and vowed, "until I learn how to conquer all sufferings, I shall not return to this fair city of Kapilvastu !"

They rode all night. Just as the morning sun was about to rise they reached a quiet forest where many holy people lived. The Prince was happy and thought to himself, "now my real journey has begun." Then he turned to Channa and said, "my friend, I thank you deeply for your help. I have reached the place that I wanted. Now it is time for you to take my horse and return to the palace."

Channa could not believe that the Prince would not be returning to the palace with him. He stood there confused, tears begining to fill his eyes. The Prince understood his grief and spoke to him again very softly, "my faithful Channa, do not cry. Sooner or later we all have to say goodbye. Here, take these royal jewels I am wearing; I shall not need them anymore. Return to the palace and tell my father that I have not left in anger. It is not that I do not love my family anymore. Rather, it is because I love them all so much that I must leave them for now. If I ever discover the way to end all suffering, I shall return to them. If I fail, then it really makes little difference that I am leaving them now. Sooner or later death would pull us apart anyway. Go now, and let me begin my search."

Channa realized that there was no way he could change the Prince's mind. He took Kantaka's reins from the Prince and slowly led the horse away. Many times both the charioteer and Kantaka looked back at the Prince with tears in their eyes. Eventually they reached Kapilavastu where Channa had the sad duty of telling everyone that Siddhartha had left the royal life forever.
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 As Siddhartha stood alone in the forest, ready to begin his great adventure, he thought, "From today onwards I am no longer a prince. Therefore, it is not right that I continue to look and dress like one. " He took his knife and cut off his long, flowing hair, a sign of royalty. Then he met a poor hunter and said to him, "Sir, I have no more need of these silk clothes. If I am to live in the forest I should wear something rough like yours. Let us switch." The hunter was surprised and delighted to receive such expensive clothing in exchange for his own and quickly agreed to Siddhartha's suggestion.

 

Now that he was properly dressed as a poor seeker of the truth, Siddhartha began to look for a teacher who could show him the way to end all sufferings. He wandered through the forests and spoke to all the many holy men he found there. Everywhere he went he was welcomed with respect. Even though he now wore ragged clothes and ate only the poor food he could beg, he was still a very handsome and striking looking man. When the people in the forest saw him coming they said to each other, "Here comes a very special person. His face is so strong and determined! If such a man is looking for the truth, he is sure to find it."

Siddhartha studied with several teachers, but was not satisfied with what he learned from them. "What they teach is helpful," he thought, "but it does not lead to perfect happiness." Finally he heard that some very wise men lived in the kingdom of Magadha where King Bimbisara ruled. So he decided to travel far to the south and east to find them.

One day, as he was walking through Rajagriha, the capital city of Magadha, he passed near the palace gates. One of the King Bimbisara's ministers saw him and immediately ran to the King. "Sir," He said excitedly, "I have just seen a most unusual man in the city. He is dressed in rags and begs his food from door to door , but I am sure he must be a great person. His face is so strong and he walks with such dignity. It almost seems that a special light shines from him!" The King was very interested and asked that Siddhartha be brought before him. They talked together for a while and the King was very impressed by his intelligence, modesty and king manner. Then the King said, " I have never met a man I felt I could trust more than you. Please settle here in Rajagriha and help me rule my kingdom." But Siddhartha replied politely, "O King, I have already had the chance to rule a kingdom, but I had to refuse. I am not interested in wealth or power, only in the path of truth. I thank you for you offer, but I have come to your kingdom only to find teachers who can help me with my search." Then the King bowed to the man in rags and said, " I wish you have a lot of luck on your journey. If you do find what you are looking for, please return here and teach it to me. But even if you fail, you are already welcome to return to my palace." Siddhartha thanked him and continued on his way.

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 Eventually Siddhartha came to the forest where the wise men lived. He studied first with Arada and then with Udraka. In a short time he mastered everything they had to teach him. But still he was not satisfied. "My teachers are holy people, but what they have taught me does not bring an end to all suffering. I must continue to search on my own." He continued his travels until he came to the Nairangana River, Near the holy town of Gaya. He crossed the river and entered the forests on the other side. There he found a group of five men. Their life was extremely simple. They ate very little food, lived out in the open, and sat perfectly still for many hours each day.

"Why are you doing such painful thing to your bodies?" Siddhartha asked these men. "Most people in the world treat their bodies very gently," they answered, "yet still experience such suffering. We feel that if we can learn to master pain, we shall have found the way to control all suffering." Siddhartha thought to himself, "For so many years I lived in those luxurious pleasure palaces. I was treated very gently, yet still my mind did not find peace. Perhaps these men are right. I shall join them in their practices and see if this leads to the end of sufferings."

 

And so he began these difficulty and painful practices. He sat for hours and hours in the same spot. Even though his legs and back hurt very much, he would not move a muscle. He let himself be burned by the blazing summer sun and chilled by the winter winds. He ate barely enough food to remain alive. But no matter how difficult it was, he thought, "I must continue and discover the way out of all misery!"

The five men were amazed at Siddhartha. They said to themselves, "we have never seen anyone with as much determination as this man. He drives himself on and on and never quits. If anyone is ever going to succeed in these practices it will be Siddhartha. Let us stay near him so that when he discovers the true path we shall be able to learn it from him."

Siddhartha treated his body more and more harshly. In the beginning, he slept only a few hours for each night, but eventually he stopped going to sleep . He stopped taking even the one poor meal a day that he used to eat, and would only eat the few seeds and berries that the wind blew into his lap. He grew thinner. His body lost its radiance and became covered with dust and dirt. Eventually, he looked like little more than a living skeleton. But still, he did not give up his practices.

Six long years passed. Siddhartha was thirty five, having spent six years with hardly any food, sleep, shelter or decent clothing. One day he thought to himself, "Am I any closer to my goal now than I was six years ago? Or am I still as ignorant as before? When I was a Prince and lived in luxury, I had everything a person could desire. I wasted many years in those prisons of pleasures. "Then I left and began my search. I have lived the forests and caves and have had nothing but poor food and much pain. But I still have not learned how to put an end to suffering. I can see now that it is a mistake to punish my body like this, just as it was a mistake to have wasted so much time in those palaces. To find the truth I must follow a middle path between too much pleasure and too much pain." He remembered that many years ago, after he had seen the dead man, he had meditated under a rose apple tree. "After that meditation," he thought, "my mind was very calm and still. I was able to see things clearly for the first time. I shall try to meditate like that again now."

But when he looked at himself he realized, "I have been sitting here for such a long time with no food that I am tired, dirty and weak. I am so thin that I can see my bones through my skin. How can I meditate when I am too hungry dirty even to think clearly?" And so he slowly pulled himself up and went to bath himself in the river. He was so weak, however, that he fell and was almost drowned. With great effort he just managed to pull himself to the shore. Then he sat for a while, resting.
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