T1:A: The biographical impact of the Four Sights

The four sights were: old age, sickness, death and a wandering holy man. It was argued that if the prince was kept away from these things, then he would not waver from his path of future king. If he did encounter these sights, this would serve as a catalyst for a search from truth that would take Gautama on an alternative path as a wandering holy man.

Up until the age of 29, Gautama lived a life of luxury. He married Yasodhara and had a son called Rahula. He took four excursions from the palace grounds with his charioteer and saw an old man, a sick man, a funeral procession…