Chapter 8 Chapter 1 Artificiality and Impermanence-2
It is important for us to understand that the prince is not abandoning his worldly responsibilities.He didn't join an organic farm to avoid military service or pursue romantic dreams.As the head of the family, he was determined to sacrifice comfort and travel far away from home in order to give his family what was most needed and most precious, even if they didn't know it.It is hard for us to imagine how sad and disappointed the King of Suddhodana was the next morning.This mood is similar to some modern parents who find their teenage children, learn from the hippie flower children of the 1960s (many from comfortable and wealthy families), and go to Kathmandu or Ibiza to pursue their ideal utopia.But Siddhartha subverted the tradition by taking off the prince's fancy clothes instead of wearing flared trousers, piercing his face, dyeing his hair purple, and tattooing his body.He took off all the foreign objects that symbolized the upbringing of the nobility, and put on a rag, and he became a wandering beggar.
Our society expects Siddhartha to stay in the palace, enjoy power, and inherit the royal line, because we are used to judging others by "what you have", not "what kind of person you are".In our world, the paragon of success is Bill Gates.We rarely think of Gandhian success.In some Asian and Western societies, parents put pressure on their children to achieve in school that exceeds physical and mental health.Children need good grades to apply to the prestigious Ivy League schools, and they need an Ivy League degree to get a high-paying position at Citibank.All of these are to make the glory of the family immortal.Some parents have such a strong sense of family pride that if they had to choose between saving an entire village or being the CEO of a large corporation, they would choose the latter.
Imagine your son has a prominent and lucrative career, but suddenly resigns after he realizes he is dying of old age.He no longer sees the point of working fourteen hours a day, currying favor with his boss, greedily annexing rivals, destroying the environment, exploiting child labor, and living under constant stress for a few days off a year.He said that he would sell all his stocks, donate them all to the orphanage, and then go wandering around the world.What will you do at this time?Bless him and brag to friends that your son has finally come to his senses?Or reprimand him for being completely irresponsible and send him to a psychiatrist?
Just the disgust of old age and death is not enough to make the prince leave the palace and step into the unknown world; Siddhartha will take such drastic action because he really cannot rationally explain the relationship between all living beings who have been born and will be born. That's what fate is all about.If all living things must decay and die, then the peacocks in the garden, the treasures, the canopy, the incense, the music, the gold tray for the slippers, the imported glass water bottle, his affections with Yasodhara and Rahula, Families, countries, have all become meaningless.What is the purpose of all this?Why would a sane person bleed and shed tears over something that he knew would eventually pass away or had to be discarded?How could the happiness created in the palace make him continue to indulge?
We might wonder where Siddhartha could go?There is no escape from death, inside or outside the palace.Even if the wealth of the royal family is exhausted, it cannot extend his life for a minute.Is he seeking immortality?We all know that is futile.We find it hilarious in Greek mythology about immortal gods, the Holy Grail, and Ponce de Leon's futile search for the Fountain of Youth.We also laugh at the legend that Qin Shihuang sent boys and girls to the East China Sea to find the elixir of youth and immortality.We may think that Siddhartha was after the same thing.Indeed, Siddhartha left the palace with some naive thoughts. Although he could not make his wife and children live forever, his exploration was not in vain.