When Siddhartha was twelve his father, the rajah, called a council in which it was decided that the boy must never see human suffering or death if he was to become a universal king. Later, his father urged him to acquire a wife in order to bind him to a life of sensual indulgence. Siddhartha sought out the beautiful Yasodhara, daughter of one of his father's ministers; and he won her through his amazing prowess in riding, fencing, and wrestling. For a while Siddhartha lived a pleasurable life with Yasodhara, insulated from the cares of the world. Then one day he came upon an old man who explained that aging happens to everyone. He pondered the misery of this, and soon came to learn of disease and death. Finally he met a begging ascetic, a humble holy man with peace of mind, and he determined to become a monk as well. Leaving his wife, his newborn son, his palace, and his servants, Siddhartha set out to find the truth about human existence.
In his monastic life he was called Sakyamuni and for a time became a disciple of the Yogis, drifting from hermitage to hermitage. Dissatisifed with Yoga, he underwent a severe self-discipline in which he almost starved himself to death and wrecked his intellect. After six years of this he decided that asceticism was pointless, since it ruined the body and enfeebled the mind. His five disciples were greatly disturbed at his renunciation of harsh self-discipline, but Sakyamuni was persistent in seeking the truth. He went off through the jungle, his body giving off a wondrous light that attracted birds and animals. He was looking for the sacred tree of wisdom, and when he found this Bodhi tree he sat down under it, determined not to rise until he had solved the problem of human suffering. The demon Mara, the Tempter, sent three voluptuous daughters to seduce Sakyamuni. When they failed, Mara sent an army of devils to assault him, but they too proved ineffective. At last Mara hurled his terrible disk at Sakyamuni to slay him, but the disk was transformed into a wreath of flowers suspended over his head.
