Siddhartha Research Paper

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The Buddha was born Siddhartha Gautama in the sixth century BCE (Buddha Dharma Education Association Inc). Siddhartha was born into a family of royalty, as his father was the ruler over the Sakya clan, located in the Himalayan region in Nepal. Prior to his birth, predictions were made that he would grow up to be either a great emperor or a great spiritual leader and these predictions impacted Siddhartha’s entire existence. Approximately seven days after he was born his mother died which is believed to be his first experience of suffering. His father, King Suddhodana wanted Siddhartha to follow in his footsteps and become a great ruler therefore, his father kept him in an environment in which the prince would never want to leave the palace,…show more content…
Children do not come with a manual, for that reason being a parent means one must make the best decision to protect their children, ensuring an evolving and productive life. Sometimes the decisions made, work out perfectly and other times they do not however, in this circumstance I believe by keeping his son away from any suffering, the king ill-prepared his son for any hardships that occurred and not only did this ill-prepare the Buddha but, it also paved the way for Siddhartha’s path to enlightenment. Parents must allow their children to experience all situations whether they may be positive or negative incidents and by creating a fantasy world for his son, King Suddhodana impeded Sidhartha’s ability to truly grieve for his mother making him obsess on suffering. I think, because his father’s turmoil was so great in relation to the death of the queen, allowing his son to explore the grief would in turn cause the king to deal it. This choice impacted the prince’s life and his outlook on life and suffering. In my experiences, at times parents forget that their kids need to grieve too, by not talking about it or trying to make up for the loss the outcome rarely turns out the way one thought it might. With different circumstances, Rahula would have been given the chance to grow up with his father and Princess Yasodhara

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