letting him visit a part of the city that was beyond the palace gates. Before allowing the prince to ride in his chariot, Shuddhodana ordered the streets to be cleared of the sick or the infirm, that the prince not be allowed to see any of the corpses or the world renouncers. Despite the kings efforts, at one point the path of the royal chariot was blocked by a sick man. He found that the man had only grown old and that such afflictions were the result of age. Siddhartha was amazed to find that most people see such sights every day but persist in short-sighted pursuit and mundane affairs, apparently unconcerned that they will become sick, grow old, and die. In two other journeys outside the palace, Siddhartha saw a man stricken with disease and a corpse, and when he learned that eventua
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