The Buddha - Story Continues - How He Almost Killed Himself!

This continues on from THIS blog post. It's his first few adventures outside the Palace trying to seek his answers. In his search, he tried everything. Literally everything. He even almost killed himself. The following takes place between 20 minutes and 41 minutes of the Movie...

Once he leaves the Palace and is out on his own.

1. He puts on the orange robe, cuts his hair and is now homeless with no possessions or money.

2. At his time, there were THOUSANDS of people who had done the same - gave up all possessions and all belongings to seek spiritual enlightenment.

They were trying to exit the re-incarnation cycle.

3. His time believed in dying and being re-born according to your previous life, your Karma.

4. It is said that Siddhartha had lived many lives before this one as animals, humans and even Gods or Sages. He had experienced life in many different forms.

5. The Buddha himself had a Guru that he lived with early on to learn meditation and to learn how to free his spirit.  Interesting, even the Buddha had a Guru early on! 

Of course, it is said, that soon he himself surpassed even his Guru's knowledge.

6. Yoga is involved in this tradition - it's been around for centuries. This was how the spiritual leaders used their bodies to tame their minds. To meditate.

7. Buddha practiced all these practices and excelled, however, he kept finding himself still stuck in these pains and the suffering. He was not getting his answers. He found them as only a temporary escape from the problems, but not a solution.

8. Siddhartha moved himself to another Guru, but his results were the same.

9. He eventually concluded that "these practices do not lead to what I seek…" - he left this Master as well and continued his search, drifting further South.

10. His question remained "Why do human beings suffer? Is there any escape?"

11. The next practice he took on was punishing his body to hardships and pains - there were believers at that time that felt this would lead to ultimate wisdom and truth.  Siddhartha joined them as well. 

12. He punished himself for 6 years, literally tortured himself trying to destroy anything inside himself that he saw as "bad." 

He was eating one grain of rice a day, he was drinking his own urine, he was sleeping on nails - he tried it all. He was on the verge of death...

13. That's when he remembered something…a day when he was young and sat by the river with his Father (at a Spring planting festival). He remembered seeing the ground and thinking about the ants and their eggs that were destroyed when the field was planted - he remembered feeling great sadness and compassion.