Prince Siddhartha's Great Renunciation
Siddhartha Gautama was born c. 563 BCE in Lumbini (present-day Nepal) to King Suddhodana and Queen Maya Devi. Legend recounts that Queen Maya dreamed of a white elephant entering her womb, and the newborn Siddhartha immediately took seven steps, declaring this his last birth. Protected from suffering by his father, Siddhartha lived in luxury. At 29, he made four fateful chariot rides outside the palace, encountering an old man, a sick person, a corpse, and a serene ascetic — the Four Sights that revealed life's suffering. That night, the Great Renunciation: he left his sleeping wife Yasodhara