Famous Men Who Abandoned Their Children

Today I watched a video about Wim Hof and it talked about how he abandoned his children after the suicide of their mother. He moved in to live with another woman. I then remembered how the famous religious figure called the Buddha also abandoned his child.

I found this article online regarding this story:

“Some Buddhist narratives express the hurt and humiliation experienced by Yasodharā at the Buddha’s abandonment of their son Rāhula. Yet such texts are outnumbered by those that depict Rāhula, the son of the Buddha, as the glorious culmination of many lifetimes of rehearsal and aspiration. He was the direct recipient of the Buddha’s tender guidance to enlightenment. This chapter explores the relationship between the Buddha and his son, drawing on canonical, commentarial, and later literature, looking especially at Theravada sources while also taking into account Sanskrit and Chinese material. The chapter then turns to Rāhula as a role model of modest, uncomplaining obedience as both son and apprentice. Beautiful poetry praises Rāhula’s majestic mirroring of his father’s greatness. The individual teaching texts addressed by the Buddha to Rāhula are identified as age-appropriate instruction for young monks from the age of seven to early adulthood. These specific sutta texts were seen by the tradition as designed with the child practitioner in mind, placing them among the earliest surviving literature for children.Some Buddhist narratives express the hurt and humiliation experienced by Yasodharā at the Buddha’s…