ENCOUNTERING GODPersonal Transformation
According to the Buddhist tradition, a young
man named Siddhartha Gautama encountered
this kind of ‘monumental moment’ around the
age of twenty-nine. Modern writers might call
it a ‘paradigm shift’ (a personal transformation
that dramatically changed his worldview). When
I began seriously seeking truth, I was captivated
by his story. Though sheltered all his life within
the confines of a royal palace, Siddhartha dared
to venture into the outside world. According
to legend, it was during this excursion that he
viewed the “Four Sights” – a sick man, an old
man, a corpse, and an ascetic.
No longer could he remain spiritually asleep
on a bed of princely ease. Having witnessed
firsthand the suffering of this world, he was
jarred from a self-serving mentality. The
resulting desperation to find answers became
the raw building material necessary for
constructing a new life.
The sheltered palace protégé made an un-
orthodox decision. Walking away from the
opulent surroundings to which he’d grown