Prince Siddharta headed east to the land of Ran. He shaved his head and
became an ascetic. He shed his royal clothes and had his servant take them
and his horse to his father. Later, he went to the land of Bishari, near
Osha Castle, looking for the famous hermits Bakka, Arara and Uddara. He
was hoping they would be able to guide him to the true path to salvation.
However, he was only frustrated. Thus, Siddharta resolved to search for
enlightenment by himself without following any master. He settled on the
east bank of the Nirezen River between Mt. Gayashirija and Kugyorin and
began his practices as a mendicant.
Meanwhile, people of the Kapila Castle were shocked and saddened when they
heard that the prince had left the castle. King Jobon gathered his ministers
and asked them if they had any idea where his son had gone. No one knew.
A soldier named Kyotinyo volunteered to search for the prince. The king
ordered four more soldiers to join him in the search. The search party
tracked him to the hermit Bakka. However, when they arrived there, the
prince had gone. They continued to follow the prince's trail. When they
finally found him, he was doing practices under a tree. Kyotinyo fervently
told the prince, "Prince, I've heard that in this world there are
four reasons why a man becomes an ascetic: He chooses to be an ascetic
because of some kind of disease that doesn't enable him to enjoy the pleasures
of this life; he becomes an ascetic after getting old and losing all hope;
he decides to be an ascetic after losing fortune and becoming unable to
live with himself; or he becomes an ascetic when he loses a loved one and
is unable to find happiness in this world. However, prince, none of these
applies to you. Your Highness is young, healthy, rich and no one in your
family has died. Why has Your Highness abandoned the joy of youth and become
a mendicant searching for enlightenment in such a faraway place? We don't
understand at all. We cannot even guess what is going on in Your Highness'
mind. Even a hermit that lives apart from the pleasures of life has attachment...."
In tears, Kyotinyo tried to convince the prince to give up his intention
of becoming an ascetic, by telling him how King Jobon and his wife, Princess
Yashodara, were worried and saddened by his absence. However, the prince's
resolution did not waver.