????Happiness in life is Impermanent and Perishable, Dharma Outline 2-5, 人生的幸福是無常的，易逝的, 佛法修學概要

(English Subtitles) Lectured by Master Jìng Jiè (淨界法師) from Taiwan.
Subtitles:
[38] What was the cause and significance of the Buddha’s manifestation of accepting a wife?
Let's look at the fourth phase – marry a wife. There is a reason for marrying a wife. After Prince Siddhartha was born, according to Indian custom, all wealthy families would seek out fortune tellers to tell their fortunes. Of course King Suddhodana was no exception. As a king, he found several sages to read Prince Siddhartha's fortune at the same time. After these sages read the child's appearance, they all felt that this child was extraordinary. He possessed the 32 marks - 32 beautiful appearances. So, these sages came with two conclusions: If this man grew up and stayed in the secular world, he would become a wheel-turning king and rule over the whole of India;
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If he becomes a monk, he will achieve the supreme enlightenment and have great success in spiritual practice. So, King Suddhodana was very nervous and asked, What on earth will he become a monk or stay at home? These sages cannot decide and cannot tell. In short, both situations are possible. Then the King asked who could foresee it? The sages said that the only one who could foresee it in this world was our teacher, Immortal Asita. The King asked, "Can we invite your master to come?" The sages sat down and thought of their master, and then Asita appeared. Then he looked closely at the child's appearance and burst into tears. He said that this person has the thirty-two marks and eighty good features, so this person must become a buddha, and he will not become a wheel-turning king. The wheel-turning king only has thirty-two marks without the eighty good features, so he will definitely become a monk.
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Why are you crying? “Because I am already 120 years old, and I will never have the chance to see the Buddha. When the Buddha was born, I was degraded, after he became a Buddha, I was no longer in the world.” He felt sorry for himself. This incident also served as a warning to King Suddhodana, because he was a secular man after all, and he hoped that his son would inherit his throne and bring honor to the family. So in order to keep the Buddha and prevent him from becoming a monk, the King did two things:
First, he built four palaces, and let the prince live in four different palaces in spring, summer, autumn and winter respectively, so that he could feel very pleasant.
Secondly, let the prince married at the young age of seventeen, hoping that he would give up the idea of ​​becoming a monk. This was one of the reasons why he marry a wife.
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The King wanted to find a wife for the prince. He found a minister of the neighboring king named Zhizhang. His daughter was named Yasodhara, who was dignified and virtuous. The girl holding the staff was called Yasodhara. She was dignified and virtuous. However, kings from eight countries came to propose marriage to Yasodhara at the same time. The country of Zhizhang was small, and he dared not offend others for fear of disputes. So, he had no choice but to hold an open contest to determine who could win fairly and marry his daughter. The contest was to hang a round plate and see how far you could shoot an arrow. The Buddha won the contest and he married Yasodhara. The contest was to hang a round plate and see how far you could shoot an arrow. As a result, he Buddha won the contest and he married Yasodhara.
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What was his life like after marriage? He led a pleasant life among the beauty and taste, living a comfortable life in the four palaces. Of course, this passage illustrates that dharma is inseparable from worldly matters. He must go through them before attaining enlightened. Therefore, the phase of accepting a wife is a must among the phases of attaining enlightenment. Experiencing the faults in the midst of life's pleasures, the Buddha had to lead by example to prove that his Dharma was correct.
[39] Why did Buddha become a monk?
Let's look at the 5th phases – Become a monk. Let’s first look at the reasons why Buddha became a monk. After Buddha married, he enjoyed worldly joy. Because the Buddha spent most of his time in the palace, one day he wanted to go out for a walk.
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He took his attendants, opened the city gate, went outside, and interacted with the public. As a result, he saw that the situation of the public was different from that in the palace. He saw four situations that had great revelations for him. First, he saw an old man, his face was haggard and his movements were sluggish. No matter how happy you are, you will still grow old and your mentality and strength will weaken. Second, he saw a sick person, trembling all over, gasping and groaning. As a human, no matter how happy you are, you will definitely get sick and have pain. When you are suffering from illness, there is nothing you can do. Your whole body is trembling, and you can neither live nor die.