Siddhartha (the first Buddha) had grown up a prince and was sheltered from the real world for most of his early life. He was even married before getting the explore the world outside of the palace he lived in. One day, The prince wanted to go into the city and see how the people outside of the palace lived. What he did not know is that the king ordered all of the old, sick, poor, and weak people to be taken out of the city. This was done so that the prince would not see the bad things that occurred in the world.
While the prince was riding his chariot through the city he was struck with happiness at all of the youth that he saw. The people and buildings were so young and happy. He continued to ride through the city until he saw and old man come out from around the corner. The chariot stopped and the prince saw the old man. He was confused at first by the lack of youthfulness in the man. He asked his adviser if this was normal and he replied that everyone awaits the same fate of old age. The prince became sad and returned the palace.
The next day, the prince decided to go for another ride through the city. The king made sure that all of the old people were no longer in the city so that the prince would not have another incident like the day before. Again, Siddhartha was struck with awe when he saw just how healthy all of the plants and people looked. That was until a sick young man who could barely walk came around the corner. The prince saw him and asked his adviser if other people get sick too. He replied that everyone gets sick a some point in their life. The prince once again immediately returned to his palace in sadness.
On the third day, the prince wanted to try one last time. The king made sure there were no more sick or old people in the city and sent the prince on his way. The prince felt better after seeing all of the life that surrounded him in the city until he saw a dead man being carried for a funeral. He asked his adviser if he too will die one day and he replied that everyone dies eventually. The prince fell sad once more and returned to his palace. This sadness was different for he did not want to go into the city the next day. This is when the first Buddha realized the world is not youthful, healthy, or full of life.
(Siddhartha's Encounters. Source: Wikipedia)
Author's Note: This week, I decided to revise my story from Week 13. Without realizing it, I had made a few mistakes, including forgetting an authors note. There were also a few forgotten letters or repeat words that I took care of. I also added a few sentences to make the flow of the story better. The reason I wrote this story is because I am currently reading about the Siddhartha in the readings. This story jumped out at me because I always assumed the Buddha to have a lived a wise and happy life. I did not expect him to get sad at the challenges of the world. I liked this because it humanized him and I was able to relate to him.
Bibliography: The Life of Buddha
Hi Jacob!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I did not read the original story, I think that you did a great job conveying the meaning. I like how you broke up to the story and each paragraph was a different day that he went out. I also agree with your comment in your author’s note that I always assumed that Buddha already had the knowledge of these things. I think it’s interesting that this story tells us otherwise. Great job with this!
Hi Jacob! I think that you made great revisions on this story. I really enjoyed it and think that you are an excellent writer. Your story was very interesting to read, but had a rather sad ending and I am not fond of those. I wish you the best of luck on finals and hope you have had a great semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Jacob! I'm not certain where particularly you made the changes you mentioned, but whatever you did really works in this revised version of the story. You have a great pace with the paragraph breaks and nothing stands out as far as content tweaks you should consider making. If nothing else, maybe in the second paragraph you ought to find a synonym for "happy" or "happiness" as this is a tad redundant but again this is personal preference. Though your story deals with some heavy existential realizations for your main character, you still manage to keep it approachable for the reader which I appreciate. Very well done!
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