The path to enlightenment Flashcards
Describe Siddhartha’s life as an ascetic
He had five ascetic followers. He tried to meditate by controlling his breath but this gave him headaches and exhaustion. He tried to starve himself and take part of the ascetic practice of punishing oneself to gain wisdom
Why did Siddhartha decide to leave his life as an ascetic
Siddhartha was growing progressively ill because of his self-punishments and realised that continuing this way would eventually lead him to his death
Explain the principle of the Middle Way
The Middle Way is the Buddha’s principle of moderation where he teaches his followers to avoid both extreme luxury and suffering by living a life that is neither too entitled nor too painful
Describe Siddhartha’s experience meditating beneath a Bodhi tree
At the verge of enlightenment, Siddhartha was attacked by Lord Mara’s temptations. Lord Mara was supposedly the god/leader of Samsara so he did not want Siddhartha to find a way to escape it by finding nirvana. Mara sent his demons to intimidate him, his daughters to sexually tempt him and his false claim for Siddhartha’s spot to try and make him move. This did not work and in the end, Siddhartha touched the earth as a symbol of his newly found enlightenment and became the Buddha
