Chapter 282

"Today I saw the New City, and I also saw the vast sea of suffering, poverty, illness, and the elderly. Between the rich and the poor, there are distorted rules flowing, and the cycle of life and death continues without end, regardless of Caste. Brahmin and Kshatriya alike will eventually die. Vaishya, Shudra, and the Untouchable are all the same."

He continued.

"I saw the Sorrow in their eyes, so much so that I loathe my birth. If becoming Wheel-Turning King is my destiny, it is not what I desire."

Siddhartha's unwavering stance led some ministers to speculate...

Crown Prince Highness, are you perhaps considering abandoning the throne?

The mere thought of this terrifying possibility filled them with dread.

If he doesn't become king, how can the Wheel-Turning King appear? This shouldn't be happening...

Therefore, they looked with pleading eyes at Kavia, the current Siddhartha Kapilavastu, who had accompanied Siddhartha in but remained silent, hoping that he could calm Siddhartha down and prevent him from doing anything impulsive.

However, Kavia remained silent and did not respond.

This caused the already anxious ministers to jump out and kneel at Siddhartha's feet, pleading with him.

"No, Your Crown Prince, how can you see through Sorrow when you observe only through the cracks?"

"Yes, Your Highness, you have seen the essence of life. But within life there is also love and trust. Love can soothe all pain. Even if Sorrow makes life difficult, love can treat everything kindly."

"Crown Prince, His Majesty loves you, all the people of the country love you, and so do we. You also deeply love us, for appearing in our lives. As long as we, who have accompanied Your Highness as you grew up, are here, we can overcome any obstacle."

"Yes, yes, Your Crown Prince, you mustn't do anything foolish!"

The pleas of the crowd reached Siddhartha's ears, and for a moment he felt a sense of 'regret,' wanting to immediately heed their advice and abandon his own decision. However—

"You are all people I have known since childhood, and you all love me."

But I have seen that after the male bird dies, the female bird also chooses to leave. It seems that the end of love is pain, or perhaps love is pain itself, an unbearable pain. Profound love may be envied by the world, but in the end, death is inevitable. You say that love can heal all wounds, but separation is eternal.

But the young man's determination to endure hardship and stand with those who suffer could not be changed.

"You are so close to me, within reach, yet in reality, we are so far removed from the real world. Joy is fleeting, while pain lingers endlessly. Therefore, this love is like an illusion, and I, like you, am lost in the darkness of Ignorance."

The crowd fell silent, unsure how to respond to Siddhartha's words.

Then, Gautama Siddhartha said this:

"From this day forward, I will neither Dharma nor commit Adharma; pain, sorrow, Sorrow, and hatred will surround me—"

Therefore, I will become Renunciant.

In an instant, the entire Three Worlds Realms and all things in the Six Paths heard a tremor that seemed to be a cry from the world itself, as if some impossible 'darkness' had begun, causing the heavens and earth to tremble.

The Renunciant is the fourth stage in the Hinduism four-stage life system, which in other words is asceticism.

The being destined to become the Wheel-Turning King abandoned the throne and became Renunciant?

This was a complete joke, but the facts were undeniable. The ministers of Kapilavastu and King Suddhodana could only stare blankly at Siddhartha, hoping that it was just a slip of the tongue and that he didn't really mean it.

But Gautama, without the slightest hesitation, turned and left, walking out of the Royal Palace Great Gate with Kavia and heading towards the Forest.

King Suddhodana was so enraged that he fainted, while his ministers wept incessantly.

The Crown Prince Gautama Siddhartha's determination to become Renunciant quickly spread throughout the streets and alleys of Kapilavastu.

"Have you heard? Crown Prince Siddhartha has gone to the forest to practice asceticism."

"Shh, keep your voice down. You shouldn't be saying these things. Perhaps His Highness the Crown Prince has his reasons. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill."

"What nonsense am I talking about? Ask yourself! The Royal Palace maids saw His Highness and the Grand Preceptor leave with their own eyes... Look, she's here."

The people who were arguing about the news saw a maid in the Royal Palace and hurriedly asked her questions.

"Is that true? Did the Crown Prince really go to the forest to practice asceticism?"

The maid could only nod in response before quickly leaving.

Now the people of Kapilavastu were certain that Gautama had left the Royal Palace and gone into the Forest to become Renunciant.

"Lord, what will the days to come be like...?"

"Our hard times aren't over yet..."

Some were worried about the Future, while others offered words of comfort.

"He just went to the forest to cultivate; it's nothing serious. He'll be back. The Imperial Preceptor is with him; he won't abandon us..."

However, these words of comfort had no effect on the vast majority of people who were already feeling down.

Not only the Human Realm, but even the gods of the Three Worlds were puzzled. How could a perfectly good Wheel-Turning King, Ideal King wanted to make the Dharma shine again, suddenly want to go into ascetic practice after just seeing the plight of a bunch of insignificant people?

Unable to comprehend it, the gods could only travel to Mount Kailash to seek Shiva's help.

Shiva sits atop a large rock with his eyes closed, his left foot planted on the ground, his right leg bent at the knee, his posture majestic, and in his outstretched right hand he holds a straight Trident.

Beside him were his wife Parvati, several children, and the sacred cow Nandi.

Then, Shiva, in his Meditation, sensed the imminent arrival of the gods, headed by Indra, the Heavenly Emperor. So he opened his eyes and gently rose from the great rock.

Then, accompanied by a burst of purple light, the gods, led by Indra, appeared before Shiva.

"Great God, the Wheel-Turning King has strayed from the path! What should we do?"

"Yes, while Renunciant isn't inherently bad, it's certainly not the path Righteous King should take."

"If Righteous King cannot appear, how can this Dharma contend with the Adharma Six Schools in this dark age?"

Immediately, the gods could not contain themselves and began to directly question Shiva.

Knowing the gods' feelings, Shiva simply smiled calmly, waiting for them to quiet down before slowly speaking:

"The Light of the Dharma, the Wheel-Turning King."

"The Righteous King possesses Thirty-Two Marks."

This is the mark of Renunciant.

With Shiva's promise to uphold the Dharma, the gods naturally understood that Gautama 'Renunciant was a process, not an end, and that he would eventually become Wheel-Turning King. Relieved, they departed.

However, after the gods departed, Parvati, gazing at her beloved Shiva sitting on the rock with a smile but unable to enter Meditation for a long time, guessed that her husband had lied, most likely because of her father, Kavia...

Just as Parvati thought, Shiva was indeed merely appeasing the emotions of the gods. After all, Gautama becoming Renunciant was completely outside the scope of the Lila. Therefore, at the moment of his choice, a tremendous tremor resounded as if the Three Worlds had fallen into darkness.

At this moment, Shiva ceased his Meditation and instead observed the activities of the Human Realm below, softly uttering:

"Did you foresee this possibility a long time ago?"

In the damp autumn wind, the Willow Tree by the river swayed, their slender Leaf touching the yellow soil.

"What are you looking at, Siddhartha?"

Kavia squinted slightly, gazing at the green-haired youth who was staring intently at a certain spot in the Forest.

"There's an Ascetics there, and he seems to be shooting arrows... I'd like to go see, Teacher."

"Let's do it together then."

Not long afterward, Kavia and Siddhartha saw Ascetics sitting in a tree, drawing his bowstring.

"What are you doing?"

Siddhartha asked.

"Sh--"

The Ascetics shot an arrow, but missed. Frustrated, he frowned and looked at Siddhartha, saying, "Look, your voice caused my prey to escape."

"As a Renunciant, a person who practices asceticism, do you still need to hunt?"

Upon hearing this, the man in the yellow Ascetic Robe shook his head. "No, it's a disguise. I'm a Hunters, just disguising myself as Renunciant to deceive my prey."

"But how can the birds and beasts trust cultivators after this? You're abusing this garment."

"To survive in the Forest, you have to be ruthless."

Siddhartha paused briefly, but then continued:

"If I give you money, will you still hunt?"

"If you had money, why would you go hunting? I would have gone into small business a long time ago, but seeing that you have nothing—"

"I'll give you my clothes, my friend. These clothes are sewn with money and engraved with gemstones. Sell them, and you'll live a life free from want."

Gautama removed his magnificent robes and handed them to the Hunters, saying, "But in exchange, you must give me your monastic robes."

The Hunters could naturally tell that the garment was valuable, but he was somewhat puzzled:

"Sure, but why do you want this monk's robe?"

Gautama smiled and said, "I want to gain the trust of all living beings and befriend them."

"... I have another one, but it's a bit worn. If you still want it, I can give it to you as well."

"Can."

Gautama wanted to ask Kavia for her opinion, but Kavia nodded in response the moment the Hunters spoke.

In this way, both of them had yellow robes for practicing asceticism and wore them.

"Teacher, please use this sword to cut off my long hair. I want to rid myself of all constraints."

Kavia raised the sword that Gautama had handed her, and obeyed his command, leaving her with only short green hair.

After.

"Since I will suffer with you, then let us suffer together."

Kavia's words startled Siddhartha, who then gave a slight, bitter smile.

"Teacher, thank you for your continued support."

So, both of them cut their hair and kept short hair.

Siddhartha looked up at Kavia's remaining silver hair, as if it were the eternal permafrost connected to the Himalayas Mountains and winter.

Thinking about it carefully, is it because I am the Wheel-Turning King that I have unknowingly received preferential treatment from my Teacher?

So, the green-haired youth gently placed his hand on his chest.

"Teacher, on the way I heard that the Rishi Arada is our master. I think we should go and see him to see if he can be of any help to us."

"Arada... alright then..."

Kavia smiled.

The Rishi Arada was the Samkhya master of the Rain Followers, but despite the name of the heretics, he was not one of the Six Heretical Teachers. He was a philosophical school that recognized the authority of the Veda, in other words, he recognized the Caste System of the Wheel-Turning King, and was completely opposed to the Six Heretical Teachers who opposed the Veda and their monopolists, the Brahmin.

But Kavia was not disappointed, after all, Gautama had only just begun; this was merely the first step for the only human in the world to become Enlightened One who had become a 'Buddha'.

Chapter 337 By your side, everything is like a lamp.

The Ganges River flows endlessly and majestically.

Specifically, at this time, Kavia and Siddhartha were already outside the borders of Kapilavastu.

"Should we move past it?"

"Is it possible, Siddhartha?"

"Of course, Teacher."

From their current position to the opposite bank of the Ganges, the distance is estimated to be several hundred meters. While swimming across such a long distance seems impossible, it is certainly possible, given that we live in India's Age of Gods and a time of heightened mysticism; such a feat is entirely feasible.

Thus, the two headed together toward the opposite bank of the Ganges, to the Purified Grove where their destination, the Rishi Arada, resided.

"I've heard that King Suddhodana has already withdrawn from the border between Kapilavastu and the New City."

"That was the biggest mistake my father made in order to make me the Wheel-Turning King..."

Amidst the surging river, the two also engaged in appropriate conversation.

"If you become king, you will do this before him, won't you?"

"... I know."

Siddhartha sighed, "But it's too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost, Teacher."

Then, Kavia looked at him with an expression that seemed to show great interest.

"In my time, I once saw a man carrying his newborn child across the turbulent Yamuna River, a tributary of the Ganges."