hartha was to be shielded from any contact with suffering, an old man was over looked, when Siddhartha saw this old, decrepit man, he learned the fact of old age. On the second ride, Siddhartha encountered a body ravaged by disease; on the third journey, Siddhartha saw a corpse. Finally, on the fourth journey, Siddhartha saw a monk with shaven-head and ochre robe; and this day Siddhartha became aware of the life of withdrawal from the world. (84)Having been exposed to these things, Siddhartha went to King Suddhodana and asked for permission to leave the city and retire to the forest. But when King Suddhodana refuse, Siddhartha asked his father, the king, to promise never to die, become ill, grow old, or lose his fortune. Receiving the answer from King Suddhodana that those things were beyond his power, Siddhartha resolved to go forth in search of a state beyond birth and death. At this time was when Siddhartha’s and Yasodohara’s son was born, but Siddhartha did not wish to hold him for the prince deemed the child a fetter and the child was therefore named Rahula, meaning fetter (Lopez 38-39).With the yearning to partake in the life of withdrawal from the world, Siddhatha set forth on his journey towards attaining Nirvana. Siddhartha searches for a way that leads to enlightenment, trying several methods being taught by other ascetics. On such ascetic, Arada Kalama, taught Siddhartha the method of one-pointed concentration and deep meditation, but his method, ending at the Sphere of Nothingness, did not lead to the absence of passion, tranquility, higher knowledge, or Nirvana, therefore Siddhartha abandoned the method. After Abandoning many methods that were unfulfilling, Siddhartha joined a group of ascetics whom dedicated their lives to the most extreme forms of self-mortification. Surviving on one grain of rice and one drop of water a day, Siddhartha fainted while bathing in a river one day and came to the conclusi...
