In the 500s b. c., a family by the name of Gautama (GOW-tuh-muh), from the Sakyas (SAHK-yahs) clan, ruled a kingdom in northern India, in what is now Nepal. To the king and queen was born a son named Siddartha (sid-AHR-tah). As many legends surround his birth as do that of Jesus nearly six centuries later.
As the New Testament relates how an angel appeared to Mary to tell her she would bear God's son, so Buddhist legend holds that Siddartha was not conceived by normal means. In the Buddhist story, his mother was visited in a dream by a white elephant, which touched her side with a fragrant blossom from the lotus tree. Soon afterward, she became pregnant. In both cases, the unusual conception showed believers that the one being born would rise above the established patterns of the world. Christ, in his virgin birth, broke the cycle of sin and death, just as the Buddha would break the cycle of death and rebirth known as reincarnation.
It was also said that Siddartha's mother experienced no pain in giving birth to him but that he simply came out of her side. At that moment, Buddhists believe, light flooded the world and many miracles occurred. The newborn baby told his mother, “This is my last rebirth—henceforth there is no more birth for me.” He then began to walk, and lotus blossoms sprouted where his feet had trod.
His birth may have been painless, but the mother soon died. In the meantime, Siddartha's father, Suddhodana (sood-hoh-DAH-nuh), called in fortune-tellers to discover what was in store for this unusual child. The seers said that if he chose to become a ruler, Siddartha would be a world conqueror; if, on the other hand, he turned away from worldly pursuits to seek wisdom, he would bring spiritual salvation to all mankind. The father decided that his boy would become a king.
World History
