[Buddha-l] Great Renunciation

[Erik Hoogcarspel]

rbaksa at mac.com schreef:

>Siddhartha had to pay for his pro-peace position. As per the Sakyan union tradition, anyone defying the majority decision could be subjected to social boycott, confiscation of property, even exile. Siddharth was confronted with this question, and decided to take Parivraja lest his family face unnecessary hardship. But, it wasn't only that.
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>The book reproduces Siddhartha's dialogue with his father Shuddodan and Gautami on his decision to take Parivraja.
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>The dialogue is ample evidence to showing that at 29, Siddhartha was already a philosopher of peace. His concerns were not confined to his family alone or to the Kolis and Sakyan, but the entire humanity at large."
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>I have never run across this explanation of the Great Renunciation before and would appreciate any information on it from the members of this list.
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Well, Richard if the writer pretends to write not just fiction, he must 
provide his readers with references in the first place.
I agree that the traditional story is implausable, but perhaps it never 
was meant tp be historical report. It might have been a kind of story a 
grantfather told his grantchildren or a tourguide told the tourists at 
the te stupa.

Erik


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