he child was able to walk and talk immediately. A lotus flower blossomed under the infant’s feet at each step, and then the child announced that this would be his last lifetime (37). King Suddhodana Gautama, the infant’s father, summoned Asita, a Brahmin of dignified mien, to see the child. While holding the infant, Asita began to weep and sighed deeply; this caused King Suddhodana distress, so King Suddhodana asked Asita, “Why has the sight of my son caused you grief and pain?” Asita, as in Paul Carus’s writes, answers King Suddhodana’s question thoroughly:“ The King, like the moon when full should feel great joy, for he has acquired a wondrously noble son. I do not worship Brahma, but I worship this child; and the gods in the temples will descend from their places of honor to adore him. Banish all anxiety and doubt; the omens manifested indicate that the child now born will bring deliverance to the whole world. The wheel of empire will come to him. He will either be a king of kings to govern all the lands of Earth, or eh will become a Buddha. He is born for the sake of everything that lives. His pure teaching will be like the shore that receives the shipwrecks. His power of meditation will be like a cool lake; and all creatures parched with the drought of lust may freely drink from it. The king of the law has come forth to rescue from bondage all the poor, the miserable, and the helpless.” (12)After hearing Asita’s words, Queen Maya and King Suddhodana name the child Siddhartha, which means he who achieves his aim.With the insight about Siddhartha given to both Queen Maya and King Suddhodana Gautama, King Suddhodana decides to try and steer Siddhartha’s life onto the path to become a king of kings. The king built three palaces for Siddhartha, one for winter, one for summer, and one for the rainy season. Each palace was surrounded by vast gardens and parks filled ...
