Buddha was born into a royal family (623–544 BC). His mother died in childbirth. The father named the child Siddhartha, which means "The Bringer of Good."
The day after his birth, a famous saint of those days came to the palace. Buddha's father loved him and always touched his feet when they met. The saint asked to show him the newborn child. When he saw the boy, he cried and touched his feet.
Father asked:
- Why did you do this?
The saint replied:
“I touched the child’s feet because I can see the future.” Now he is a bud, but when he grows up, he will be a beautiful lotus!
- Why are you crying? - asked Buddha's father.
“I’m crying because then I won’t be in the world anymore, and I won’t be able to see this miracle.”
At that time, it was customary for newborns to have a horoscope drawn up. Astrologers predicted a great future for him: “This boy will either be the king of the whole world or a sannyasin.”
Father said:
- How is this so? You are talking about two extremes, how is this possible?
Astrologers answered:
- It's always like this. Whenever a person is born who is capable of becoming the ruler of the world, he is capable of renouncing this world.
The father couldn't understand. He asked: “Tell me in more detail.” And the astrologers answered:
“We don’t know much about the phenomenon of sannyas, but here’s what the scriptures say: when a person has everything, then the understanding suddenly blossoms in him that everything is useless. To throw away worldly life, you need to have it in full, you need to have something to throw away. The cup can only be thrown away by the one who has drunk it to the dregs.
Buddha's father became very worried and asked:
- What should I do? How to raise him? He is my only son. I am no longer young, and my wife died immediately after giving birth. I can't hope to have any more sons. My kingdom may collapse.
Give me recommendations: how to raise such a child?
And astrologers advised:
- So that he does not turn away from this world, hide the negative aspects from him, such as old age, illness, death. Surround his life only with beautiful things: flowers, works of art. Forbid talking about death in front of him.
They say that in the garden of the Buddha's palace not even a flower was allowed to wither. At night, the gardeners trimmed them and dry branches so that this would not make the boy think about death. Buddha knew only beautiful things, only dreams, he lived in these dreams. But reality is too strong, it penetrates every dream. No one can escape reality. It hits us like a fresh wind constantly.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru