The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was searching for the answer to why people suffer, probably better described as why people are dissatisfied with life. What he learned was this:
1) There is suffering (discontentment, unhappiness) in the world.
2) There are specific causes of this suffering. Suffering is caused by our desires and our self-centeredness.
3) There is a state (a mindset, a way of life) where suffering ceases.
4) There is a path (actions, practices) to attain this state of freedom from suffering.
He called these ideas the Four Noble truths. He expanded these by identifying the Eightfold Path which detailed the positive aspects that a person should cultivate in his life.
Although most of the Buddha's original training in meditation came during his period as an ascetic, these findings came after the Buddha abandoned the extreme practice of personal deprivation where he nearly starved himself to death by restricting his food intake to around a leaf or nut per day. Siddhartha reconsidered this path and began to follow the middle way.
Siddhartha Gautama was a Hindu prince, who became an ascetic upon discovering the suffering in the world. He eventually went on to found Buddhism.
Siddhartha Gautama's father, King Suddhodana, initially opposed his son's decision to renounce his privileged life and pursue spiritual enlightenment as a wandering ascetic. However, he eventually came to respect Siddhartha's dedication and teachings, leading to a reconciliation between them.
Siddhartha Gautama was a prince. He was the son of King Suddhodana of a small region in northern India called Sakya(which is where he gets the title Sakyamuni Buddha).
Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, was married and had a son before he left home to become a wandering ascetic. His son, Rahula, became a monk as a child and therefore had no children.
The four sights that profoundly changed Siddhartha Gautama's life were an old man, a sick person, a dead body, and an ascetic. These encounters exposed him to the realities of aging, suffering, and death, prompting deep reflection on the nature of existence. The sight of the ascetic, who had renounced worldly pleasures in pursuit of spiritual enlightenment, inspired Siddhartha to seek a path toward liberation from suffering. This journey ultimately led him to attain enlightenment and become the Buddha.
Siddhartha Guatama, or Buddha, was a prince of India. He left his fathers home before he was king and so never ruled. He left to his wife and son to do so. He decided enlightenment needed to be achieved in another fashion, and left to live as an ascetic. He eventually left this life of deprivation to pursue the middle path.
As a prince, Siddhartha lived in luxury, surrounded by wealth, comfort, and indulgence, shielded from the realities of suffering and hardship. In contrast, as an ascetic, he renounced his royal privileges and adopted a life of extreme austerity, focusing on meditation and self-denial in pursuit of enlightenment. This stark shift led him to confront the nature of suffering and the path to spiritual awakening, ultimately culminating in his realization of the Middle Way, which balanced indulgence and asceticism.
It changed by Siddhartha wanting to become an ascetic and find enlightenment.
Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha, left the holy men because he realized that their extreme ascetic practices did not lead to enlightenment or true understanding. Despite their rigorous discipline, he found that they could not provide the answers to the suffering he sought to overcome. Instead, he believed that a balanced approach, known as the Middle Way, was necessary for achieving spiritual awakening. This led him to pursue a more moderate path that ultimately culminated in his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
As an ascetic, I would focus on simplicity, self-discipline, and spiritual growth. I would practice meditation, cultivate mindfulness, live minimally, and prioritize service to others. My lifestyle would revolve around inner peace, detachment from material possessions, and a deeper connection with the divine.
Ah, "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse is a beautiful tale of a young man's spiritual journey to find enlightenment. He embarks on a quest for meaning, facing various experiences and meeting different teachers along the way. Ultimately, Siddhartha discovers that true wisdom comes from within oneself, leading him to a place of inner peace and understanding.
When Buddha, then known as Siddhartha Gautama, sneaked out of his palace, he encountered four significant sights: an old man, a sick man, a dead body, and a wandering ascetic. These experiences deeply affected him, revealing the realities of aging, illness, and death, which led him to question the nature of life and seek a path to enlightenment. The sight of the ascetic inspired him to pursue a spiritual journey in search of understanding and liberation from suffering.