Airline Safety Buddhism

Buddha began his life as a prince and lived it as such until around the age of 30.

Afterwards, he shared his knowledge and philosophy to help improve the lives of others.

This has me wondering.
Was Buddha able to help others only because he had all of his needs taken care of?

Did the benefits of being a prince allow him the time to self reflect and attain his enlightenment?

I think of it like airline safety instructions.

Passengers should put on their own oxygen mask before helping a child in case of an emergency.

The greek origin of the word scholar, skholastikos, means "enjoying leisure; devoting one's leisure to learning,

Until the era of the printing press, all scholars were wealthy. They could afford books. They could afford the time to craft their ideas.

Is this an inadvertent lesson?

Making sure all your needs are met before helping others.

a reply to: TinfoilTophat

I don't have the answer, but thanks for giving me something to reflect on today.

I consume as much information as possible, but have become convinced that following the path others have 'created' for me to believe in is the wrong way to go.

You can not enlighten others if you are not enlightened yourself. But in the Buddha's case. He only achieved enlightenment after he turned his back to his life of material riches. To draw out the inner one has to burn all the desires of the outer. He certainly had more to burn than us average folk.