Siddhartha’s father decided to keep him in the palace and never let him see pain, sickness, or suffering. although siddhartha enjoyed a comfortable and easy life, he was unhappy. the king finally allowed siddhartha to leave the palace, but the king intended to have siddhartha see only the “good” side of life. f or the first time in his life, siddhartha saw pain, sickness, suffering, and death. he also saw a man who was seeking the truth about why people suffer. siddhartha, troubled by what he had seen, wanted to eradicate suffering.

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siddhartha gautama, the son of a king, was born about 500 b. c. in northern india. he was a hindu and a member of the kshatriya, or warrior, caste. he was believed to have been a holy man in a previous life. someone prophesized that siddhartha would become a holy man and a great teacher if he left his father’s palace. siddhartha’s father insisted that no one should tell siddhartha about the prophecy.

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siddhartha gave up his wealth, family, and comfortable life to experience suffering firsthand. he believed it would him find the truth about suffering. he joined a group of ascetics and practiced self-denial to find spiritual truth. living with ascetics did not siddhartha find the truth. he left the ascetics and wandered alone for some time. he sat under a tree and thought about good and evil, and life and death. siddhartha felt his mind open up and he finally thought he understood the truth about life. he felt free from pain and suffering. the experience enlightened him, thereby earning him the title buddha, which means “the enlightened one.”

1.

summary paragraph with background information about siddhartha.

2.

summary paragraph of events from when siddhartha's father made a decision to keep him at the palace and siddhartha's commitment to free the world from suffering.

3.

summary paragraph of when siddhartha left the palace to his experience under the tree.