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From a Prince to a Monk Born to king Shudodhana in 563 B.C in Lumbini, (now in Nepal ) prince siddhartha was raised amid the finest luxuries of the time. Having demonstrated his skill in archery, Siddartha chose Yasodhara and lived a luxurious life within his palaces until his son Rahula was born. One day while strolling outside his palace he happened to come across an old man, sick man, dead man, and a religious ascetic. These sights made him think about the human miseries. So he decided to renounce his kingdom and seek a way out human miseries of old age, sickness and death.
Siddartha practiced yoga and meditation and eventually took upon the path of extreme austerities. He fasted for long periods of time and his flesh shrank, bones almost stuck out of his skin so that he could touch his spine from the front. However, to gain the strength he felt he needed for concentration he decided to start eating again.
With his mind thus concentrated and cleansed he directed it to the remembrance of former existences from previous births, also perceiving cycles of evolution and dissolution of the universe.
He directed his mind to the means of ultimate release and realized that there is pain, a cause of pain, the cessation of pain, and a way that leads to that cessation of pain. Thus his mind was emancipated from sensual desires, the desire for existence, and ignorance.
Thus the light dispelled darkness and ignorance as Siddartha Gautama became enlightened and was henceforth known as the Buddha.
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