After seeing old age, sickness, death, and a holy man in the city streets, Siddhartha Gautama became deeply disillusioned by the suffering and impermanence of life. This experience ignited a strong desire in him to understand the nature of existence and find a way to overcome suffering. Consequently, he renounced his luxurious life as a prince and began a spiritual quest in search of answers.
Siddhartha Gautama left his palace during the night, leaving behind his wife and young son, to become an ascetic. For several years, he lived an austere life, practicing severe self-mortification and studying under various renowned spiritual teachers of the time. Despite his efforts, he realized that extreme asceticism did not lead to enlightenment.
Finally, Siddhartha decided to follow a middle path between indulgence and extreme asceticism. He began practicing deep meditation under a Bodhi tree near (now Bodh a in present-day India) and vowed not to rise until he had achieved enlightenment.
After intense meditation, Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment, breaking free from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. He became the Buddha, meaning "the awakened one" or "the enlightened one." Following his enlightenment, the Buddha started preaching the Middle Way and his teachings, which eventually formed the foundation of Buddhism.
What did siddartha Gautama do after seeing old age, sickness, death and finally a holy man in the city streets?
1 answer