Lesson video

Hello, I'm Ms. Ramalli, and thank you for joining me for today's RE lesson.

I'll be guiding you through our learning today, and my priority is to ensure you successfully meet our learning outcome.

By the end of today's lesson you'll be able to recount how Siddhartha became disturbed by suffering and tried to find its cause.

In today's lesson there are four key words to help guide you through your learning.

They are, ascetic, Lumbini, prophecy, dukkha.

Ascetic refers to a person who practises self-discipline, and the denial of luxury.

Lumbini is the birthplace of Siddhartha in what is now Nepal.

Prophecy refers to a prediction of what will happen in the future.

And dukkha refers to the fact that all life involves suffering.

We are gonna begin with the first part of our lesson on Siddhartha early life, on Siddhartha the prince.

Buddhists follow the teachings of the Buddha.

The Buddha was born a prince in Lumbini, now Nepal.

He was named Siddhartha Gautama.

As a prince, Siddhartha lived a life of luxury in the palace.

What activities do you think he did to fill his time? What might he have eaten? What might he have worn? What would living a life of luxury look like to you? Pause the video here and discuss your answers.

Just have a moment now to reflect, is what you said regarding living a life of luxury and what that looks like, similar or different to how Siddhartha may have lived? After Siddhartha's birth, an astrologer named Asita prophesied that he would become a great king, or a great religious teacher.

Asita's prophecy highlighted the choice Siddhartha would face between a life of luxury or a spiritual path.

Let's reflect on what we've just heard.

True or false? Siddhartha was born a prince.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Well done to everybody who said, true.

Siddhartha was born into a wealthy royal family.

Fantastic, well done.

When Siddhartha's father, King Suddhodhana, heard the prophecy, he was worried.

He did not want his son to be a religious teacher, he wanted him to be king, a great ruler.

He made sure that his son had everything he wanted so that he didn't need to leave the palace.

He also ensured that his son never encountered pain and suffering, or saw anything unpleasant.

Despite Siddhartha living in luxury and having all he desired, he was curious and wanted to leave the palace.

One night, Siddhartha left in the middle of the night with Channa, his charioteer.

On his journey, he experienced four sights which would profoundly impact his life.

Let's pause for a moment and reflect on what we have just heard.

What did King Suddhodhana want his son to be when he grew up? A, a great religious leader.

B, great ruler.

Or C, a great teacher.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Well done to everybody that said, B.

The answer was, a great ruler.

So now we are in a good position to put all of our knowledge about Siddhartha the Prince into practise.

I would like you to explain why King Suddhodhana did not want his son, Siddhartha, to leave the palace walls.

You should include the following words in your answer, Prince, Lumbini, Nepal, prophecy, great ruler, pain, religious teacher, palace, luxury.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

So let's check your answer on the task.

I asked you to explain why King Suddhodhana did not want his son, Siddhartha, to leave the palace walls.

Your answer might look like this.

Siddhartha was born a prince in Lumbini, now Nepal.

When he was born, a prophecy was made that he would either become a great ruler, or a religious teacher.

His father, King Suddhodhana, prevented his son from seeing any form of pain or suffering in case he was inspired to become a religious teacher.

He insisted that Siddhartha stayed within the palace walls and so offered him a life of luxury.

Well done on all your hard work on that task.

So now we're in a great position to move on to our second and final part of our lesson, the four sights.

Once upon a time there lived a young prince named Siddhartha.

He had everything a young prince could wish for.

He lived in a grand palace, ate delicious food, and had plenty of friends.

But his father, the king, wanted to protect Siddhartha from anything sad or upsetting.

So Siddhartha had never seen anything unpleasant in his life.

Despite having all that he desired within the palace, Siddhartha grew curious and wanted to see beyond the palace walls.

One day, Siddhartha and his charioteer, Channa, left the palace and headed to the nearby city.

Siddhartha was excited to see what laid beyond the palace gates.

As they travelled through the bustling town, he noticed an elderly man with grey hair and wrinkled skin leaning on a stick.

Siddhartha was shocked, he had never seen anyone look like this before.

Channa explained, "This man is old.

As people age, their bodies change and they become slower." Siddhartha was puzzled.

"Does this happen to everyone?" He asked.

"Yes, my Prince," said Channa.

Siddhartha felt sad and confused.

He had never imagined that people grew old, and he wondered what other secrets the world held.

The second sight, illness.

As his chariot continued, he spotted a man sitting by the side of the road coughing and groaning.

The man looked weak and pale, clutching his stomach in pain.

"What is wrong with him?" Siddhartha asked worried.

Channa told him, "That man is ill.

Sometimes people get sick, and it makes them feel weak or hurt." "But can this happen to anyone?" asked Siddhartha, his heart heavy.

"Yes, sickness can come to anyone, even those who are strong and young." Siddhartha felt a pang of sadness, he had never thought that people could suffer in such a way.

Why did things like this have to happen? Let's pause for a moment and reflect on what we have just heard.

Why was Siddhartha shocked by the first sight? Was it, A, he didn't know that people can get hurt.

B, he didn't know that people get sick.

Or C, he didn't know that people grow old.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Well done to everybody who said C.

Siddhartha was shocked by the first sight because he didn't know that people grow old.

The third sight.

Death.

By now, Siddhartha heart was filled with questions he didn't know how to answer.

The third sight.

Death.

By now, Siddhartha heart was filled with questions he didn't know how to answer.

He continued on his journey, hoping to learn something that would help him understand.

In front of him he saw a long, silent procession of people walking slowly down the road.

Some were crying and others held flowers.

They were carrying a small wooden platform with a covered body lying on it.

Siddhartha felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Who is that person? Why is everyone so sad?" He asked.

"That person has died, my Prince," Channa explained quietly.

"Death comes to all of us eventually, and it is very sad for those who love them." Siddhartha felt a great weight in his heart, he hadn't known that life came to an end.

He wondered, "Is there any way to escape these things?" Channa only shook his head.

Siddhartha grew very quiet, lost in thought.

The fourth sight.

A holy man.

Siddhartha went back to the palace, feeling deeply troubled by all he had seen, but he still had one more question, so he went out again hoping to find an answer.

This time he saw a man in simple clothes, walking barefoot.

The man looked calm and peaceful even though he had no fine clothes or jewels like the people at the palace.

"Who is that?" Siddhartha asked, watching him curiously.

"That is a holy man," Channa replied.

"He has given up all his belongings to search for wisdom and truth.

He believes that finding inner peace is more important than having riches." Siddhartha was fascinated, this man had none of the things that Siddhartha thought made people happy, yet he looked content and peaceful.

Siddhartha wondered if this holy man had discovered the secret to overcoming sadness and fear.

When Siddhartha returned to the palace, he realised that he wanted to learn more about finding peace, just like the holy man.

He had seen four sights that changed him forever.

Old age, illness, death, and the search for truth.

And from that day on, Siddhartha knew he would leave the palace one day to seek answers to the truth about life, and so his journey for wisdom and compassion began.

Let's pause for a moment and reflect on what we have just heard.

Which one of these was not one of the four sights? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Well done to everybody who said, C.

The four sights were a turning point for Siddhartha, he was shocked to learn of dukkha.

He decided to leave his life of luxury in the palace behind and began searching for the truth about dukkha.

Siddhartha became an ascetic, meaning he had to practise great self-discipline and live without luxury.

Okay, let's pause for a moment and reflect on what we've just heard.

True or false? Siddhartha left the palace to discover the cause of ageing.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Well done to everybody who said false.

After the four sights, Siddhartha left the palace to search for the truth about life and causes of dukkha.

Well done.

So now we are in a really good position to put all of our knowledge about the four sights into practise.

I would like you to describe the four sights and explain why each one may have disturbed or surprised Siddhartha.

You might want to use these sentence starters to help you.

The first sight was.

It may have disturbed the Buddha because.

The second sight was.

It may have disturbed the Buddha because.

The third sight was.

It may have disturbed the Buddha because.

And lastly, the fourth sight was.

It may have surprised the Buddha because.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Well done to everybody on all of your hard work on that task.

Your answers could have included the following points.

The first sight was an old person.

It may have disturbed the Buddha because he did not know people age, grow old and experience dukkha.

The second sight was illness.

It may have disturbed the Buddha because he had never met anyone who was ill.

He did not know that people get sick.

This third sight was death.

It may have disturbed the Buddha because he did not know that people eventually die.

And the fourth sight was a holy man.

It may have surprised the Buddha because he was curious about this man who was looking for the truth about life.

Well done everybody for all of your hard work on that task.

So this brings us to the summary of our lesson on Siddhartha early life.

Siddhartha Gautama was born into a life of luxury as a prince.

When Siddhartha was born, there was a prophecy that Siddhartha would be a great ruler or a holy man.

Siddhartha's father, the king, wanted him to be a great ruler, so kept him in the palace walls.

One night Siddharta left the palace and saw four sights, old age, sickness, death, and a holy person.

After seeing these, Siddhartha left the palace and lived as an ascetic to try and discover the causes of dukkha.

Fantastic.

Well done everybody.

And thank you for joining me for today's lesson.

Good-bye.