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continued.... The four signs When he was about 29, Gautama persuaded his charioteer, Channa, to drive him outside the palace grounds and into the neighbouring villages. There he saw an old man, a sick man, a corpse being carried in a funeral procession, and a holy man. In some accounts these four signs appear as visions, or dreams, rather than actual encounters. Whatever their origin, they had a profound effect on Gautama. For the first time he faced the reality of old age, sickness, and death. Gautama could not forget these experiences. He became restless and dissatisfied, and decided to leave home to seek religious enlightenment. The great renunciation. In the middle of the night, the prince left his sleeping wife and baby son in the protection of his family. He crept out of the palace, accompanied by Channa. He cut off his long black hair, took off his fine clothes, and put on the clothes of a wandering monk. He sent Channa back to the palace with his horse, to tell his family what he had done. Gautama went into the forest. For six years he learnt about meditation with some of the famous teachers of the time, such as Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta. Gautama tried to learn about the true nature of life, and how to be freed from suffering. He practised strict physical asceticism (self-denial), living on just a grain of rice a day. He became so thin that he could feel his backbone through his stomach and all his ribs stuck out. This scene is often represented in Buddhist art. Gautama found that self-denial brought him no closer to the end of his search than had the life of luxury in the palace. He began to eat moderately, and some of the other ascetics thought he had given up his quest for enlightenment. In fact, Gautama had found that the middle way, between luxury and self-indulgence as a prince and extreme self-denial as a hermit, was the most helpful for his spiritual quest. Enlightment One day, Gautama came to the outskirts of a village called Gaya. He sat down to meditate under a sacred tree. He accepted food from a village girl, and decided he would stay under that tree until he had found the answer to his quest. Gautama meditated in a lotus (cross-legged) posture throughout the night, using the methods he had been taught. He overcame various obstacles and temptations, which had obstructed his path to enlightenment. The Buddha is said to have asked Mother Earth to bear witness to his worthiness to enlightenment. In Buddhist art, Buddha is shown touching the earth with his right hand. At the heart of this spiritual experience was an understanding of how everything changes all the time. Gautama believed that the root of all suffering caused by change is desire and ignorance. Knowing this is what it means to be enlightened. The tree under which Gautama was sitting when this happened came to be known as the bodhi or enlightenment tree, or Bo tree. Buddhists call the place of his enlightenment Bodh Gaya. It is in Bihar, India, and has become a center of Buddhist pilgrimage since the Buddha's death. From the time of this enlightenment, Gautama came to be called The Buddha. continued....
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