The Life of Lord Buddha

Pranams at the lotus feet of Lord Buddha!

Chapter – 2

While the chariot was rolling through the pathways, suddenly Siddhartha asked Channa to stop the chariot.  Channa stopped the chariot and enquired “ Yes, Your Highness, why did you ask me to stop here?” Siddhartha said, “ Channa, Look at the man walking on the sideways, he is thin and weak, his hairs are grey, his skin all over the body is wrinkled and unappealing, he is too weak to walk.” Channa replied “ Oh! That’s an old man, Your Highness”.  Siddhartha was curious to know more about this old man’s appearance, he wanted to know should we all go through the same state of the body, does it happen to everyone etc… Channa replied “ Yes, Your Highness, whoever took birth on this Earth should undergo these changes in their lives, this is the process of aging.  No one will be freed from this state of transformation.”  This information was all new to Siddhartha and it was shocking as well.  On that night Siddhartha pondered over the sight he had witnessed in the village, their journey began with the most marvelous sight of nature, when they arrived in the human-inhabited areas there were people of different colors and sizes, and domesticated animals, everyone was engaged in various odd activities, finally the sight of an old man with wrinkles who was struggling to move on the pathways, that was not an appealing sight for Siddhartha.  That was the first time Siddhartha came to know about the nature of human life and the sufferings of living beings on the Earth.