Siddhartha went back to the palace very depressed. He began to obsess about these things—sickness, old age, and death—that he could not control. His father forbade him from leaving the palace and ordered the guards to stop him when he tried. But one night, after a feast, everyone in the palace except the prince fell into a deep sleep, and Siddhartha saw his chance. He kissed his slumbering wife and son, looked around one last time, and snuck out into the world of suffering.

He wandered for a long time, thinking, learning, studying with different teachers, acquiring followers and losing them. He fasted for six years. He meditated for more. Finally, feeling himself close to the understanding he sought, he sat beneath a tree—an ancient fig at Bodh Gaya, which grew only perfect, heart-shaped leaves—to consider the nature of human suffering. Mara, lord of desire, appeared with an army, but their arrows turned to flowers that fell harmlessly around the meditating prince. In a rage, Mara sent his three beautiful daughters to tempt the prince from his seat, but Siddhartha was not swayed. Finally, Mara demanded that Siddhartha prove that he was worthy of enlightenment. Siddhartha simply reached down and touched the ground.

The next morning, as the sun rose, Siddhartha cut the last veils of ignorance from his mind. He realized that all concepts were impermanent, empty and without inherent existence. He realized that human suffering came from clinging to false ideas—self, happiness, continuity—and that it could be overcome only by waking up to them. He realized the true nature of reality. It was through these realizations that Siddhartha achieved enlightenment and became the Awakened One: the Buddha.

“Or, maybe,” my father said, sitting on the edge of my childhood bed the night after my very first meditation lesson. “Who knows exactly what Siddhartha realized, and in what order, and at which moment. But these things became the backbone of his teachings. The Four Noble Truths.” He ticked them off on his fingers. “Life is suffering. Suffering is caused by clinging to things. But there is a way out, and the way out is the Eightfold Path. Which I will also explain someday, if you want me to.” Then he stood, said good night, and left, lingering in the doorway for a moment before shutting the door quietly behind him. That night, I barely slept. How could I, considering the depth and breadth of human suffering? How could I, considering the metaphysical teachings of the smooth-skinned Indian prince? How could I, considering the sounds now coming from my parents’ bedroom, and the feeling of these clean, untucked, untouched sheets sliding soft against my tender legs?