In my sophomore year of college, I took a world religions course where I was first exposed to the story of Siddhartha Gautama, the man who would be known as The Buddha. Legend has it that before Siddartha was born, his father was told that he would become either a universal monarch or a great sage. Preferring the king-route, Siddhartha’s father kept him confined in their palace walls, surrounded by every luxury. Siddhartha grew up, got married, and had his own son. Then one day, he snuck out of the palace. In the local streets, he had his first encounters with an elderly man, a sick man, and a dead corpse. For the first time, he realized that life was not just pool parties and Netflix, or whatever Himalayan princes did 2,600 years ago. His life suddenly didn’t make sense. So he left his family and began the ascetic journey that made him The Buddha.
The Formula for Happiness
The Formula for Happiness
The Formula for Happiness
In my sophomore year of college, I took a world religions course where I was first exposed to the story of Siddhartha Gautama, the man who would be known as The Buddha. Legend has it that before Siddartha was born, his father was told that he would become either a universal monarch or a great sage. Preferring the king-route, Siddhartha’s father kept him confined in their palace walls, surrounded by every luxury. Siddhartha grew up, got married, and had his own son. Then one day, he snuck out of the palace. In the local streets, he had his first encounters with an elderly man, a sick man, and a dead corpse. For the first time, he realized that life was not just pool parties and Netflix, or whatever Himalayan princes did 2,600 years ago. His life suddenly didn’t make sense. So he left his family and began the ascetic journey that made him The Buddha.