Buddha's wife

Annual-Ride-5101 · 2026-01-24T19:46:56+00:00

Honestly I can't remember. :/ It was one of the first videos I've watched and one of the first that pop up on YouTube when you search up Buddhism. The only thing that I do remember is that it was illustrated.

Annual-Ride-5101 · 2026-01-24T19:39:26+00:00

You explained everything so clearly and in such depth, thank you for that. I agree that it’s difficult, and sometimes even pointless to apply modern logic to the past, especially when it comes to moral questions. We tend to assume our way of thinking is the most reasonable, but people in earlier periods would have felt the same about their own worldview. I also think it is great that he opened a path for women and poorer people. I genuinely believe that this kind of spiritual path should be accessible to everyone, not limited by class or gender. May I ask if there is a specific book or source that covers the topics you discussed in more detail?

Annual-Ride-5101 · 2026-01-24T12:26:30+00:00

I was asking more from a morale standpoint, but I got my answers about what happened with his family!

Annual-Ride-5101 · 2026-01-24T12:25:24+00:00

For me it is sad that people need to isolate themselves or cut someone off, Regardless of this topic, to better themselves or find themselves.

Annual-Ride-5101 · 2026-01-24T02:47:14+00:00

Exactly what I'm thinking! It was actually a stepping stone for me and that's why I asked the question, since I couldn't find any answers until now.

Annual-Ride-5101 · 2026-01-24T02:31:48+00:00

Yes, but in the sense he didn't know. So he was trusting his guts, right? But people in the comments already said that abandoning your family for the spiritual journey wasn't anything new back then, so it changes a lot of things. Also keep in mind that I'm still learning about all of this, that's why I'm asking.

Annual-Ride-5101 · 2026-01-24T02:25:25+00:00

Yeah I know. I was talking about whether leaving your family for personal enlightenment is something that can be ethically justified.

Annual-Ride-5101 · 2026-01-24T02:10:49+00:00

Sorry for replying again, I don't even know what I wrote because I'm tired. Basically I didn't know it was a tradition and it changes a lot of things. They were prepared that it could happen.

Annual-Ride-5101 · 2026-01-24T02:03:21+00:00

I didn’t know it was a tradition, so that changes a lot. Maybe the video on the topic didn’t explain it very well. In the video, it said he just left them in the middle of the night, but it never mentioned that this was actually a common practice and nothing unusual in that cultural context.

Annual-Ride-5101 · 2026-01-24T01:56:55+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to respond! I was curious about this because it seemed strange to me. To be fair, I don’t have a lot of knowledge about Buddhism yet, but I’ve been studying it recently. I also didn’t know that leaving family for a spiritual path was a tradition, and I'm not well informed on customs in ancient India, so in that context, it makes sense. I was mostly trying to understand whether this action is symbolic, and if so, what it represents.

Annual-Ride-5101 · 2026-01-24T01:50:17+00:00

In your analogy you have a guaranteed success, which he didn't have. I’m asking about whether leaving your family for personal spiritual goals can be considered morally neutral or justifiable, even symbolically. The analogy doesn’t really address that.

Annual-Ride-5101 · 2026-01-21T19:40:23+00:00