1.3 Siddhartha's Journey: The Ascetic Life and Its Rejection

    Cards (23)

    • ascetic
      living a simple and strict lifestyle with few pleasures or possessions; someone who follows ascetic practices
    • meditation
      a practice of calming and focusing the mind, and reflecting deeply on specific teachings to penetrate their true meaning
    • Siddhartha's ascetic practices
      practices that involved rejecting pleasure, extreme self-discipline, and fasting for long periods
    • Alara Kalama
      one of the ascetics with whom Siddhartha practiced meditation
    • Uddaka Ramaputta
      another ascetic who practiced meditation with Siddhartha
    • extreme self-discipline
      a rigorous approach to controlling one's desires and physical needs
    • fasting
      the act of abstaining from food for extended periods
    • middle way
      a balanced approach between indulgence and extreme asceticism that Siddhartha developed
    • River Nairanjana
      the location where Siddhartha accepted food after realizing he was too weak to meditate
    • Buddha's realization
      the understanding that neither luxury nor asceticism provided answers to suffering
    • Bodhisattva
      one aspiring to Awakening
    • austerities
      severe self-discipline practices aimed at spiritual advancement
    • alms
      food or money given to the needy, which Siddhartha began to gather after abandoning asceticism
    • solid food
      the nourishment Siddhartha reverted to after stopping his ascetic practices
    • Jataka
      a collection of stories about the previous lives of the Buddha
    • suffering
      the state of undergoing pain, distress, or hardship, which Siddhartha sought to understand and overcome
    • discipline
      the practice of training oneself to follow rules or a code of behavior
    • willpower
      the ability to control oneself and determine one's actions
    • simplicity in religious life
      the practice of living with minimal possessions and pleasures to focus on spiritual growth
    • danger of ignoring bodily needs
      the potential harm that can come from neglecting physical health in pursuit of spiritual goals
    • living skeleton
      a description of Siddhartha's physical state due to extreme fasting and self-denial
    • thorns
      the uncomfortable bed Siddhartha used as part of his ascetic practices
    • extreme fasting
      the practice of consuming little to no food for prolonged periods, which Siddhartha engaged in