Week 10 Storytelling: Suddy the CEO

Once upon a time there lived a very successful business man named King Suddhodana. Now, Suddy, as he preferred to be called, was the CEO of an oil and gas company in the south of Kapilavastu. He was well liked by all of his employees, and was even often given praise by his competitors. However, this was not always the case.

You see, up until the birth of his son, Suddy was the run-of-the-mill corporate big wig. However, once his son was born he had a totally new perspective on life, and for good reason. Now, his son, Siddhartha, was no ordinary baby. It was predicted upon his birth that Sid, with the same knack for nicknames as his father, was to be the bearer of the ultimate wisdom who would rid the world of its suffering. Woah, is right.

From here on out, Suddy was determined to be the best man he can be. With a son like Sid, no pressure, right? This went on for many years and Suddy and Sid lived a happy life together-enjoying their wealth while not abusing it.

However, this all changed when Sid got a little older and decided he wanted to take their helicopter out for a leisure cruise. Once up in the sky, Sid saw the how the other 99% of the world was living and this pained him. He eventually moved out of his dad’s house and started up his own non-profit organization aimed at helping those less fortunate than him. While his father already had one set up with the profits from his oil business, Sid was starting from the bottom up.

Eventually, Sid’s organization became the most well-respected organization in the entire world. People from all corners of the world dreamt of the day where they would get to meet the man who had done so much good for the world. The prophecies had come true, and Sid was now known by everyone as Buddha.

Suddy was proud of his son, no doubt. However, the reason he was so contented with the situation was the fact that Nanda, Sid’s younger brother, would one day take over the company and keep the family business going. Nanda had started working for the company at a very young age and loved every second of it. He seemed to be the perfect fit.

After years on the road, Sid returned to south Kapilavastu to pay his family a visit. Everyone from his home town was thrilled to see him, but none more than his father. Hearing his stories made Suddy very proud.

One afternoon Sid was talking to Nanda over lunch and started asking him questions about his plans for the future. Nanda told him how excited he was to fill his father’s shoes and enjoy all of the luxuries of being the CEO of a massive oil & gas company. Now, this was difficult for Sid to listen to after seeing all he had seen through his travels. After a long conversation, Nanda decided that he would give up his future CEO position and work to help other.

This was heartbreaking news for Suddy. He knew it was for a good cause. But this still saddened him. He approached Sid and told him how he was feeling. After calming him down, Suddy accepted that his sons were off to make their own way.

The Great Going Forth: Wiki Commons 

Author’s Note.

This story is based on the episode The Buddha Leaves Kapilavastu from The Life of Buddha. In this episode, Buddha is visiting his father and during his stay convinces his brother, Nanda, that his pleasures are immoral. After a conversation with his brother, Nanda decides to become a disciple of Buddha and leave his father’s kingdom. King Suddhodana is saddened at first, but Buddha convinces him that is truly the right decision. I tried to put a modern spin on it and I thought, being in Oklahoma, that oil and gas would be the most relative comparison. The lesson is that it is ok for people to make their own path in life, even if that means giving up a flashy lifestyle.

Bibliography.

The Life of Buddha, by A. Ferdinand Herold, tr. by Paul C Blum [1922], at sacred-texts.com