: thus it came to pass that at the age of twenty-nine siddhattha gotama , the once-to-be heir of a small , but prosperous kingdom , took a long and meaningful look at the palace , at his wife , at his son , at his father the king , at the beauty of the gardens , at the abundance that did its very bestbut failedto cover up the underlying and much larger truth : things are born , they grow , they decline , and pass away .