Worm Bird In Siddhartha

509 Words3 Pages

Buddhism is a religion established on the experiences and beliefs of an individual, that is Siddhartha. Siddhartha's significant life events, namely the worm-bird encounter, the four sights, and the bodhi tree meditation, contributed to Buddha’s interpretation of life and thus, impacted the four noble truths, eightfold path and Dhammapada. Siddhartha’s witnessing of the bird consuming the worm directly influenced the initial three noble truths by introducing karma and the eightfold-path by setting forth moral occupation. Firstly, what caused the event is the seemingly pure act of plowing the ground which unveiled worm from its cover which led the bird to eat it. But as said in the dhammapada:“Whoever offends an innocent, pure and faultless …show more content…

Throughout Siddhartha’s journey in the outer-world, he witnesses several negative events, such as the elderly man who then got sick and later died, but he also saw light at the end of the tunnel for those seek to develop and expand their mental abilities through but not limited to meditation, such as the meditating monk. “He who keeps his mind on the impurities (of the body), who is well-controlled in his senses and is full of faith and energy, will certainly be not overwhelmed by Mara, just as stormy winds cannot shake a mountain of rock.” (8) This elaborates on the idea that the Mara can only hurt the broken and to keep the mind whole one should meditate. Furthermore, the mental laziness the elderly man possessed affected his health in a way that correspond with the above reference to the Dhammapada. These four sights propelled Siddhartha’s life-long strive to comprehending as well as finding the elemental ideas that together make life. After the last of the four sights, Siddhartha went back to the palace only to find out that his baby was born, knowing that the baby would hinder his path to Nirvana, he decided to run away. That’s when he encountered asceticism and other major events that led him to the most major, life changing event he has