The Great Renunciation or Great Departure (Sanskrit: mahābhiniṣkramaṇa; Pali: mahābhinikkhamana) is the traditional term for the departure of Gautama Buddha ( BCE) from his palace at Kapilavastu to live a life as an ascetic (, ). It is called the Great Renunciation because it is regarded as a great sacrifice. Most accounts of this event can be found in post-canonical Buddhist texts from several Buddhist traditions, which are the most complete. These are, however, of a more mythological nature than the early texts. They exist in Pāli, Sanskrit and Chinese language.
According to these accounts, at the birth of Prince Siddhārtha Gautama, the Buddha-to-be, brahmin priests predicted that he would either become a world teacher or a world ruler. To prevent his son from turning to religious life, Prince Siddhārtha's father and rāja of the Śākya clan Śuddhodana did not allow him to see death or suffering, and distracted him with luxury. During his childhood, Prince Siddhārtha had a meditative experience, which made him realize the suffering (, ) inherent in all existence. He grew up and experienced a comfortable youth. But he continued to ponder about religious questions, and when he was 29 years old, he saw for the first time in his life what became known in Buddhism as the four sights: an old man, a sick person and a corpse, as well as an ascetic that inspired him. Shortly after, Prince Siddhārtha woke up at night and saw his female servants lying in unattractive poses, which shocked the prince. Moved by all the things he had experienced, the prince decided to leave the palace behind in the middle of the night against the will of his father, to live the life of an wandering ascetic, leaving behind his just-born son Rāhula and wife Yaśodharā. He traveled to the river Anomiya with his charioteer Chandaka and horse Kaṇṭhaka, and cut off his hair. Leaving his servant and horse behind, he journeyed into the woods and changed into monk's robes. Later, he met King Bimbisāra, who attempted to share his royal power with the former prince, but the now ascetic Gautama refused.
The story of Prince Siddhārtha's renunciation illustrates the conflict between lay duties and religious life, and shows how even the most pleasurable lives are still filled with suffering. Prince Siddhārtha was moved with a strong religious agitation (Sanskrit and ) about the transient nature of life, but believed there was a divine alternative to be found, found in this very life and accessible to the honest seeker. Apart from this sense of religious agitation, he was motivated by a deep empathy with human suffering (Sanskrit and ). Traditional accounts say little about the early life of the Buddha, and historical details cannot be known for certain. Historians argue that Siddhārtha Gautama was indeed born in a wealthy and aristocratic family with a father as a rāja. But the hometown was an oligarchy or republic, not a kingdom, and the prince's wealth and blissful life have been embellished in the traditional texts. The historical basis of Siddhārtha Gautama's life has been affected by his association with the ideal king (cakravartin), inspired by the growth of the Maurya empire a century after he lived. The literal interpretation of the confrontation with the four sightsseeing old age, sickness and death for the first time in his lifeis generally not accepted by historians, but seen as symbolical for a growing and shocking existential realization, which may have started in Gautama's early childhood. Later, he may have intentionally given birth to his son Rāhula before his renunciation, to obtain permission from his parents more easily.
The double prediction which occurred shortly after the prince's birth point at two natures within Prince Siddhārtha's person: the struggling human who worked to attain enlightenment, and the divine descendant and cakravartin, which are both important in Buddhist doctrine. The Great Renunciation has been depicted much in Buddhist art. It has influenced ordination rituals in several Buddhist communities, and sometimes such rituals have affected the accounts in turn. A modified version of the Great Renunciation can be found in the legend of the Christian saints Barlaam and Josaphat, one of the most popular and widespread legends in 11th-century Christianity. Although the story describes a victorious Christian king and ascetic, it is imbued with the Buddhist themes and doctrines derived from its original. In modern times, authors such as Edwin Arnold (1832–1904) and Jorge Luis Borges (1899–1986) have been influenced by the story of the Great Renunciation.
Sources
Several Early Buddhist Texts such as the Ariyapariyasenā Sutta and the Mahāsaccaka Sutta, as well as sections in the texts on monastic discipline (Sanskrit and ), contain fragments about the early life of the Buddha, but not a complete and continuous biography. Nevertheless, even in these fragments, the great departure is often included, especially in Chinese translations of the early texts from the Mahīśāsaka and Dharmaguptaka schools. Later onward, several Buddhist traditions have produced more complete accounts, but these are of a more mythological nature. This includes a more complete biography in the Vinaya of the Mūlasarvāstivādins from the 4th century BC, and several related texts. Sanskrit texts that deal with the life of the Buddha are the Buddhacarita by Aśvaghoṣa ( – CE), the Mahāvastu from the Lokottaravādins (1st century CE), the Lalitavistara from the Sarvāstivādins (1st century CE) and the Saṅghabedavastu. There are also translated biographies in Chinese about the life of the Buddha, of which the earliest can be dated between the 2nd and 4th century BC. Many of these include the Chinese word for Great Departure as part of the title. One of the most well-known of these is the Fobenxingji Jing (), usually translated as the 'Sūtra of the Departure'.
Sinhalese commentators have composed the Pāli language Jātakanidāna, a commentary to the Jātaka from the 2nd – 3rd century CE, which relates the Buddha's life up until the donation of the Jetavana Monastery. Other important Pāli biographies of later origin are the 12th-century Jinālaṅkāra by Buddharakkhita, the 13th-century Jinacarita by Vanaratana Medhaṅkara, the 18th-century Mālāṅkāra Vatthu and Jinamahānidāna from the 14th - 18th century. However, the most widely distributed biography in Southeast Asia is the late medieval Paṭhamasambodhi, recorded in Pāli and at least eight vernacular languages.
Besides textual sources, information about basic elements of the life of the Buddha can be obtained from early Buddhist art, which is often much older than biographical sources. These artistic depictions were produced in a time when there was no continuous written account of the life of the Buddha available yet.
Accounts In Buddhist discourses, the Great Renunciation and Departure are usually mentioned in the life of the Buddha, among several other motifs that cover the religious life of the Buddha-to-be, Prince Siddhārtha Gautama (): his first meditation, marriage, palace life, four encounters, life of ease in palace and renunciation, great departure, encounter with hunters, and farewell to his horse Kaṇṭhaka and his charioteer Chandaka (). In the Tibetan tradition, the Great Departure is mentioned as one of twelve great acts of a Buddha, and the Pāli commentarial tradition includes the Great Departure in a list of thirty deeds and fact that describe Buddhahood.
Birth and early youth
Traditional Buddhist texts relate that Prince Siddhārtha Gautama was born with 32 auspicious bodily characteristics. Based on the child's body, as well as his parents' dreams about his birth, eight Brahmin priests and a holy man called Asita made a prediction that he would either become a world teacher or a world ruler (Sanskrit: , ), though one of the Brahmins, Kaundinya, and according to some sources Asita, stated that the child could only become a world teacher. To prevent his son and heir apparent from turning to religious life, Prince Siddhārtha's father and rāja of the Śākya () clan Śuddhodana () did not allow him to see death or suffering, and distracted him with luxury to prevent him from worrying and becoming interested in the religious life. The early texts and post-canonical biographies describe in much detail how the rajas son lived in great luxury. Śuddhodana provided him with three palaces in Kapilavastu () for the summer, winter and monsoon, as well as many female attendants to distract him. During his childhood, the prince had his first experience of meditation sitting under a Jambu tree during the Royal Ploughing Ceremony. In some later texts, this is extensively described, explaining how the young prince looked at the animals on the courtyard eating each other, and him realizing the suffering (Sanskrit: , ) inherent in all existence. This caused him to attain meditative absorption. During this meditative experience, the shadow of the tree remained miraculously still, leading the king to come and bow for his own son. The experience would later be used by Gautama after his renunciation, when he discarded austerities and sought another path. It is also a brief summary of what was yet to come: seeing duḥkha and using meditation to find a way to transcend it.
The four sights
When Prince Siddhārtha was 16, he married Yaśodharā (), just like him of the warrior-noble caste, who is described as perfect in many ways. All the while, the texts depict Prince Siddhārtha as the perfect prince, being both a good student, a good warrior and a good husband, to emphasize the glory he would have to leave behind when renouncing the palace life. He is described as intelligent, eager to learn and compassionate. But the prince continued to ponder about religious questions, and when he was 29 years old, he traveled outside the palace. He then sawaccording to some accounts, on separate occasionsfour sights for the first time in his life: an old man, a sick person, a corpse and an ascetic. Most traditional texts relate that the sights were brought about through the power of deities, because Śuddhodana had kept all such people away from his son's sight. However, some sources say it was because of chance. Regardless, Prince Siddhārtha learned that everyone, including himself, will have to face old age, sickness and death in the same way. He was shocked by this, and found no happiness in the palace life. The fourth sign was an ascetic who looked at ease, restrained and compassionate. The ascetic taught compassion and non-violence and gave the prince hope that there was a way out of suffering, or a way toward wisdom. Therefore, again, the prince discovered what he would later understand more deeply during his enlightenment: duḥkha and the end of duḥkha.
Some time later, Prince Siddhārtha heard the news that a son had been born to him. The Pāli account claims that when he received the news of his son's birth he replied "", meaning 'A rāhu is born, a fetter has arisen', that is, an impediment to the search for enlightenment. Accordingly, the rāja named the child Rāhula, because he did not want his son to pursue a spiritual life as a mendicant. In some versions, Prince Siddhārtha was the one naming his son this way, for being a hindrance on his spiritual path.
Discontentment
After having taken a bath and having been adorned by a barber who was a deity in disguise, Prince Siddhārtha returned to the palace. On his way back, he heard a song from a Kapilavastu woman called Kisā Gotami, praising the prince's handsome appearance. The song contained the word nirvṛtā (), which can mean 'blissful, at peace', but also 'extinguished, gone to Nirvana'. The song fascinated him for this reason, and he took it as a sign that it was time for him to seek Nirvana. Foucher describes this as follows: