The traditional story is that Siddhartha Gautama was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, sometime around 500 BCE. He was the son of a king, raised in luxury and affluence. By the age of 29, he was married, had a son, and was carrying out his princely duties when, one day, everything changed. While on a carriage ride outside the palace, he encountered first an old man, then a sick person, and then a corpse. Up until this point, Siddhartha had lived a sheltered life in the palace and had been shielded from the realities of old age, sickness, and death. These encounters shook him to the core.
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