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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.

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