Kanthaka
King Śuddhodana had great expectations for his son, Prince Siddhartha Gautama, to inherit and expand the family empire. He provided him a civilized life of comfort, convenience, security, and status, yet the young prince was so dissatisfied with his sheltered, privileged existence that he rejected his father's expectations and abandoned his beautiful wife and newborn son, whom he bluntly named "Fetter." Bourgeois sensibilities judge Siddhartha as selfish, inconsiderate, irresponsible, and foolish, yet this jarring abandonment of duty seems a necessary component of the hero's adventure. Consider the equally jolting words of Jesus: " If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters - yes, even their own life - such a person cannot be my disciple. " There are no epic tales of the contented family man. When Siddhartha left his family’s palace, it was his beloved horse, Kanthaka, that bore the dissatisfied you...
