RG ST 21 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Buddhacarita, Shakya, Asita
Document Summary
Prince siddhartha born in the shakya clan in kapilavastu (nepal) Parents were king suddhodana and queen mahamaya. Queen maya had a dream of a white elephant touching her with his trunk and entering her body. Thus, siddhartha gautama was conceived w/o defilement . As she was walking in lumbini (nepal), she paused to pick a flower. At that moment the prince was born causing no pain or bloodshed. He took 7 steps and announced this would be his last birth. I am born for enlightenment for the good of the world; this is my last birth in the world of phenomena . During the celebrations, the sage asita predicted the boy would be a great king ( wheel turning king chakravartin) or a holy man. Suddhodana didn"t want his son to become a holy man. Unable to bear the joy queen maya dies days after siddhartha"s birth. Prince is raised by his mahaprajapati, who becomes his surrogate mother.
