Mahamaya sets out on her journey to give birth to Buddha in her home city. However, she stops to rest at a park called Lumbini and "the baby is born through her side as she holds onto a tree branch for support" (Oxtoby 378). Both the birth of Jesus and Buddha were accompanied by divine signs as well. At the time of Jesus's birth, there was a choir of angels and a star that rose in the sky. Jesus was then visited by three wise men who "presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh" (Matthew. 2:11). During the birth of Buddha, the tree that supported Mahamaya lowered its branches to assist her, "flowers appear[ed] out of season, and streams of hot and cold water rain[ed] down from the sky to wash the baby" (Oxtoby 378). Buddha is also later visited by various brahmins, who were considered to be the wisest men in India. .
The parallels between Buddha's entrance into monasticism and Jesus's entrance to ministry are quite similar as well. Since Buddha was born into a royal family, he was ignorant at first about the hardships of life. It is during his thirteenth year that he "learns the bitter truth of life's sorrows" (Oxtoby 379). As he embarks on a chariot ride through a park, Buddha sees four sights that change his life. The first three are "a sick man, a suffering old man, and a dead man" (Oxtoby 379). Having never been exposed to such sights, Buddha is taken aback. The final sight is that of a monk who has a peaceful aura around him, suggesting "that there is a way to overcome the suffering of life" (Oxtoby 379). After pondering these four sights, Buddha decides to abandon his wife, child, and pleasures in what is known as the Great Departure. He begins a new life seeking spiritual truth and masters seven levels of classical yoga. His desire for enlightenment takes him on a path of rigorous ascetic discipline and for six years, he survives on nothing but "one palmful of water and one of food per day" (Oxtoby 381).