[upekkha100]

What is the name of the sutta that talks about this:
The story about how the Bodhisatta was to only be aware of beautiful/young/healthy people, and all disease/old people/the dead/suffering were intentionally hidden from him (so that the Bodhisatta would choose to become a universal monarch rather than a Buddha). Story about how there was what seemed to be basically numerous hired actors in the entire kingdom so that the Bodisatta would not know the truth which would inspire him to search for the cause of suffering?

[Lal]

It is surprising to me that there does not seem to be any English textbooks on the life of Prince Siddhartha in general.

Such information is unlikely to be in the suttas, but could be in the Vinaya Piṭaka. I have not had time to look at the Vinaya Piṭaka (I only started reading suttas after the Parinibbana of Waharaka Thero; until then I just relied on his desanas).

When I was growing up in Sri Lanka, these details on Buddha’s life before Enlightenment (i.e., Prince Siddhartha’s) were taught in school. There were books written in Sinhala. So, it never occurred me to even look into this aspect all this time.

After seeing upekkha100’s post, I looked into it a bit, but could not find much online or in textbook form.

If anyone knows any text books or online info, that would be very beneficial.

[sybe07]

i have not readn this book but maybe this book?

https://what-buddha-said.net/library/pdfs/The_Life_of_the_Buddha.pdf

siebe

[Lal]

I don’t think this book has those details. This is a good book that I recently mentioned in a post. But it has very little information before the Buddhahood.

[SengKiat]

The Buddha and His Teachings by Ven. Narada Mahathera from Buddhist Publication Society.
PDF : The Buddha and His Teachings by Ven. Narada Mahathera
ePub format : The Buddha and His Teachings by Ven. Narada Mahathera

Table of Contents
The Buddha From Birth to Renunciation
His Struggle for Enlightenment
Buddhahood
After the Enlightenment
The Invitation to Expound the Dhamma
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta — The First Discourse
The Teaching of the Dhamma
The Buddha and his Relatives
The Buddha and his Relatives (Continued)
The Buddha’s Chief Opponents And Supporters
The Buddha’s Royal Patrons
The Buddha’s Ministry
The Buddha’s Daily Routine
The Buddha’s Parinibbāna (Death)
The Teachings of the Buddha
Some Salient Characteristics of Buddhism
The Four Noble Truths
Kamma
What Is Kamma?
The Working of Kamma
Nature of Kamma
What Is the Origin of Life?
The Buddha on the So-Called Creator-God
Reasons To Believe In Rebirth
The Wheel of Life (Paṭicca Samuppāda)
Modes of Birth and Death
Planes of Existence
How Rebirth Takes Place
What Is It That Is Reborn? (No-Soul)
Moral Responsibility
Kammic Descent and Kammic Ascent
The Doctrine of Kamma and Rebirth in the West
Nibbāna
Characteristics of Nibbāna
The Way to Nibbāna (I)
The Way to Nibbāna (II) Meditation
The Five Hindrances
The Way to Nibbāna (III)
The State of an Arahant
The Bodhisatta Ideal
Pāramī — Perfections
Brahmavihāra — The Sublime States
Eight Worldly Conditions (Aṭhalokadhammā)
The Problems of Life

Appendix
Bibliography

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