Buddha
A Story of Enlightenment
Chapter One
The Kingdom of Sakya, 563 BCE
One crisp spring day King Suddhodana turned in his
saddle to survey the battlefield. He needed a weakness
to exploit, and he was confident the enemy had left one
for him. They always did. His senses were closed to
everything else. Screams of the wounded and dying were
heightened by the hoarse commands of his officers
bellowing orders and calling on the gods for help. Torn
by hooves and elephants' feet, cut by iron-rimmed
chariot wheels, the land oozed blood as if the earth
itself were mortally wounded.
"More soldiers! I want more soldiers now!"
Suddhodana didn't wait for anyone to obey. "If any man
within the sound of my voice runs away, I will kill him
personally!"
Charioteers and infantry moved toward the king, battered
figures so filthy with fighting they could have been
demiurges fashioned from the mud of the field.
Suddhodana was a warrior king, and the first thing to
know about him is this: he mistook himself for a god.
Along with his army, the king would kneel in the temple
and pr ... read full excerpt from Buddha ebook
