This showed him the pain and suffering of humankind, which he had never seen before this (Rawding 14). He returned home full of thought (Rawding 14). Six days later he returned to the city and saw a man with a shaven head, yellow robe, pilgrim's staff, and beggars bowl (Rawding 14). Siddharta asked him what manner of man he was and the man answered "I am one who has left the world and its ways and forsaken home and friends in order to find deliverance and do all things. I am called a homeless one" (Rawding 14). Siddharta dismounted his chariot and walked around the pilgrim three times, being a sign of the greatest respect (Rawding 14). He remounted and returned home, but found no delight in the pleasures and luxuries of the court (Rawding 14). He began to contemplate leaving everything he loved most in the world (Rawding 14). "One night, he whispered a farewell to Yasodhara and Rahula as they lay sleeping on the beds strewn with jasmine petals and set out from the palace" (Rawding 14).
He was only twenty-nine when he dismounted from the chariot at the edge of the jungle. He used his sword to cut off his hair to give to Channa to give to his wife as a keepsake. He tossed off his silk mantle and put on the rags of a beggar. His goal was to save all creatures from rebirth in the world of suffering(Rawding 14). He turned his life to a life of extreme asceticism, and by doing so he nearly starved himself (Hooker 1). One day, however, he heard a teacher speaking of music saying, "If the strings on the instrument are set too tight, then the instrument will not play harmoniously. If the strings are set too loose, the instrument will not produce music. Only the middle way, not too tight and not too loose, will produce harmonious music" (Hooker 1-2). This thought changed his life overnight. The goal isn't to be too worldly, yet at the same time should not be in denial of the body, but to live in the Middle Way.
