Great Departure
Also called: Four sights, Mahabhinishkramana · Topic: Buddhism, Jainism and Heterodox Traditions · NCERT: Class 6, Ch 7 "India's Cultural Roots"; Class 12, Ch 4 "Thinkers, Beliefs and Buildings"
Meaning
The Great Departure (Mahābhinishkramana, "the great going forth") is the moment Prince Siddhārtha left his palace to search for truth. He had been raised in comfort and kept away from life's hardships. On chariot rides into the city he saw the "four sights": an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a mendicant (a wandering holy man who lived on alms). The mendicant seemed calm in the face of age, disease and death. Deeply moved, Siddhārtha left behind his wife and son. This event begins his path to becoming the Buddha.
Example
Siddhārtha was about 29 when he made these chariot rides. Leaving the palace of his father, a Śhākya chief, he first tried harsh bodily suffering, which nearly killed him. He later gave up such extremes and attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya.
Don't confuse with
- Mahāparinibbāna: this is the Buddha's final passing away at Kusinagara, at the end of his life. The Great Departure is his renunciation at the start of his search.
Related concepts
- Gautama Buddha
- Sakya clan
- Kapilavastu
- Lumbini
- Bodh Gaya
- Bodhi tree
- Mahabodhi Temple
- Kushinagar
- Mahaparinibbana Sutta
- Piprahwa relics