Week 10 · eastern

The Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama was a prince with a palace, a wife, a newborn son, and every comfort the ancient world could offer. He gave it all up because he saw a sick person, an old person, and a dead person, and realized that no amount of wealth could protect anyone from suffering. He sat under a tree for 49 days and refused to move until he understood why humans suffer. What he found there became Buddhism.

“"In the end, only three things matter...how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you." He figured that out under a tree in northern India, 2,500 years ago. We're still trying to learn it.”