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Directions: For this assignment, you will read the following – then create a detailed
drawing or diagram illustrating the life of Siddhartha (Buddha). Then answer the
questions on this sheet, thinking about the larger ideas and beliefs of Buddhism.
Life in the Palace
Buddhism is one of the major religions in the world. It began around 2,500 years ago in India
when Siddhartha Gautama discovered how to bring happiness into the world. He was born around 566
BC, in the small kingdom of Kapilavastu. His father was King Suddhodana and his mother was Queen
Maya. Soon after Prince Siddhartha was born, the wise men predicted that he would become a Buddha.
When the king heard this, he was deeply disturbed, for he wanted his son to become a mighty ruler. He
told Queen Maya, "I will make life in the palace so pleasant that our son will never want to leave."
At the age of sixteen, Prince Siddhartha married a beautiful princess, Yasodhara. The king built
them three palaces, one for each season, and lavished them with luxuries. They passed their days in
enjoyment and never thought about life outside the palace.
The Four Sights
Soon Siddhartha became disillusioned with the palace life and wanted to see the outside world. He
made four trips outside the palace and saw four things that changed his life. On the first three trips, he saw
sickness, old age and death. He asked himself, "How can I enjoy a life of pleasure when there is so much
suffering in the world?" On his fourth trip, he saw a wandering monk who had given up everything he
owned to seek an end to suffering. "I shall be like him." Siddhartha thought.
Renunciation
Leaving his kingdom and loved ones behind, Siddhartha became a wandering monk. He cut off his
hair to show that he had renounced the worldly lifestyle and called himself Gautama. He wore ragged
robes and wandered from place to place. In his search for truth, he studied with the wisest teachers of his
day. None of them knew how to end suffering, so he continued the search on his own.
For six years he practiced severe asceticism (a life free from worldly pleasures) thinking this
would lead him to enlightenment. He sat in meditation and ate only roots, leaves and fruit. At times he ate
nothing. He could endure more hardships than anyone else, but this did not take him anywhere. He
thought, "Neither my life of luxury in the palace nor my life as an ascetic in the forest is the way to
freedom. Overdoing things can not lead to happiness." He began to eat nourishing food again and
regained his strength. Enlightenment
On a full-moon day in May, he sat under the Bodhi tree in deep meditation and said. "I will not
leave this spot until I find an end to suffering." During the night, he was visited by Mara, the evil one, who
tried to tempt him away from his virtuous path. First he sent his beautiful daughters to lure Gautama into
pleasure. Next he sent bolts of lightning, wind and heavy rain. Last he sent his demonic armies with
weapons and flaming rocks. One by one, Gautama met the armies and defeated them with his virtue.
As the struggle ended, he realized the cause of suffering and how to remove it. He had gained the most
supreme wisdom and understood things as they truly are. He became the Buddha, 'The Awakened One'.
From then on, he was called Shakyamuni Buddha.
The Buddha Teaches
After his enlightenment, he went to the Deer Park near the holy city of Benares and shared his new
understanding with five holy men. They understood immediately and became his disciples. This marked
the beginning of the Buddhist community.
For the next forty-five years, the Buddha and his disciples went from place to place in India
spreading the Dharma, his teachings. Their compassion knew no bounds, they helped everyone along the
