Week 5 Storytelling: The Buddha(s)

It came through a mystical dream on a breezy summer night. Unlike any other dream before, the mother, Maya was awoken. Maya had that gut wrenching feeling that something great was coming. She had waited all her life for this one moment...

Maya was married to King Suddhodana. They lived happily and healthy in their castle ruling over the land. They were good people and did much for their people. The King and Queen were connected on a spiritual level as well and could feel what each other were thinking.

King Suddhodana could feel the excitement that his wife was feeling and knew they were destined to have something great join their little family in their lavish lifestyle.

Although the King and Queen were good people, they lived their life enjoying all things wonderful. From fine dining to maid services to everything in between, they never really had any struggles. They helped the poor and worked with communities, but were never challenged like others that lived in the towns they ruled over. They had power and felt that what was coming would make them even stronger.

Just after the dream had come, Maya learned that she was pregnant. The King and Queen were ecstatic.

"This is a God sent gift to us. He has chosen us as the worthy ones to be the bearer of all things great through our child", the King exclaimed to Maya.

As the birth neared, all the sudden Maya had another dream. This dream was not like the coming of something great experience she had in the first dream. She woke in fear, as tears trickled down her face.

"What is wrong?", Suddhodana whispered.

"God came to me in a dream. He said where there is good, there is also evil. I fear for my pregnancy and what is to come", Maya cried back.

Weeks went on and Maya was nearing her pregnancy. The King wanted everything to be wonderful and for Maya to be showered with gifts and all things great. He ordered the servants to prepare for the birth of what they thought would bring them great glory.

It happened... But not quite as how they anticipated things would go.

A maiden came running to King Suddhodana yelling, "We come with some news. Two sons have been born, twins."

In a world of shock, the King did not know what to think or what to do. How should she feel? These dreams his wife was having had to have meant something. He went to go see his beautiful baby boys and give names to them. Gazing into their eyes and addressing them for the first time he said, "You shall be called Siddhartha and you shall be Hiddhartha."

As a great hermit came to welcome their sons into the world, he had a worried look on his face. He picked Siddhartha up and smiled. When he picked Hiddhartha up, he got a bad vibe from the child and set him back down. The hermit said, "Be careful, for life isn't always what it seems."

Not sure what to do or what that meant, Siddhartha and Hiddhartha were raised in the lavish lifestyle that the King and Queen provided for them. They knew eventually, that only one of the boys were going to be destined for greatness.

(Siddhartha and Hiddhartha) 

Siddhartha wasn't like his brother, he rejected the nice things and was always helping the people. He wanted to get away from the life he was provided and to get out into the world on his own. Hiddhartha, on the other hand, was a greedy boy. He enjoyed the expensive things in life and wanted nothing more than to take over with power.

The King and Queen were became very worried. Their sons were nothing alike. One wanted nothing to do with their fancy offerings and merely wanted to help the people. The other wanted power and was only worried about himself.

King Suddhodana called for God, "What must we do? We are lost and want our people to be safe under the chosen Buddha. Give us some guidance and we will be ever so thankful."

Siddhartha spent his days meditating and searching for the true meaning of life. He found that through prayer and practice life and death were connected. Hiddhartha thought he knew everything already and that he would be the chosen one. He didn't care about the connection or the people.

When the time came Siddhartha became the chosen one, the true Buddha. Although Siddhartha did not want the lifestyle, he had a way promoting peace and prosperity. Hiddhartha was sentenced to live under the teachings of his brother. Siddhartha would eventually come to teach the world nirvana. Only the good will prevail the evil.



Bibliography: "The Life of Buddha" by Andre Ferdinand Herold; Web Source 

Author's Note: The original story was about the life of Buddha. Siddhartha was born to a King and Queen who wanted nothing but the best for their son. He was hidden from the bad parts of life, but ultimately wanted to adventure. Although his parents were not pleased, Siddhartha went on his journey as a hermit and found nirvana through meditation. In the original story, his mom passed away and he was left to her sister. In my story, I made a twist in the fact that two sons were born instead of one. They were sort of competing to become the Buddha, but it is a chosen position. Siddhartha was the good son and his brother Hiddhartha was evil. In the end my story has the message that good outweighs the evil in the world, but that good and evil are accompanied by eachother.