Four sights

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Part of a series on Buddhism
History
Dharmic religions Timeline of Buddhism Buddhist councils
Foundations
Four Noble Truths Noble Eightfold Path The Five Precepts Nirvāṇa · Three Jewels
Key Concepts
Three marks of existence Skandha · Cosmology · Dharma Saṃsāra · Rebirth · Shunyata Pratitya-samutpada · Karma
Major Figures
Gautama Buddha Disciples · Later Buddhists
Practices and Attainment
Buddhahood · Bodhisattva Four Stages of Enlightenment Paramis · Meditation · Laity
Regions
Southeast Asia · East Asia India · Sri Lanka · Tibet Western Countries
Schools
Theravāda · Mahāyāna Vajrayāna · Early schools
Texts
Pali Canon · Mahayana Sutras Tibetan Canon
Comparative Studies Culture · List of Topics Portal: Buddhism
This box: view • talk • edit

According to accounts of Gautama Buddha's life, he led a sheltered existence as a prince surrounded by luxury and pleasure in his younger years.

One day he violated the king's orders by sneaking out for an unannounced excursion outside the royal palace. There he saw the four sights that were his inspiration to become a monk: an old crippled man (old age), a diseased man (illness), a decaying corpse (death), and finally an ascetic.