Welcome to the Daily Dad podcast, where we provide one lesson every single day to help you with your most important job, being a parent.

I'm Ryan Holiday, and I draw these lessons from ancient philosophy, modern psychology, practical wisdom, and insights from

parents just like you all over the world. Thank you for listening, and we hope this helps.

This is anti-enlightment. Buddha is one of the greatest figures in all of history and made millions,

billions perhaps, of people better by helping them find peace, serenity, and alleviate suffering. Yet it's

worth pointing out that Buddha was not perfect. As Karen Armstrong writes in her fascinating

and accessible biography, Buddha, the man struggled and indeed failed as a parent. He had felt no

pleasure when the child was born, Armstrong explains. He called the little boy a fetter. The baby he

believed would shackle him to a way of life that had become abhorrent.

He had a yearning for an existence that was wide open and as complete and pure as a polished

shell. Tragically, selfishly, inexcusably, Buddha walked away from his young family. In fact,

he left without saying goodbye. We've talked before about this

disturbing pattern of great men and women who achieve incredible things, but do so at the cost of their

children. We talked about the false belief that children are somehow the enemy of good work,

of insight, of peace. And Buddha himself proves this because what happened when he got older?

He brought his son to study and be with him.

The thing he had mistakenly believed was a fetter was actually critical to his journey later in life.

In the end, he wanted a crowded table, as we've talked about.

And still, we can imagine as wonderful as that was for his son, he carried pain

about it that even the most dedicated spiritual practice had trouble alleviating.

Enlightenment, success, happiness, our destiny, these things cannot be reached by abandoning

our responsibilities. Our children are not obstacles to them but opportunities, ways of reconstituting

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