Ascetic Life and Enlightenment

• Ascetic: One who leads a life of self-denial and contemplation; absent of luxury.
• Peepul tree 


  Sacred fig tree.
• Meditation: The calming and focusing of the mind, and reflecting on spiritual ideas to find their meaning.
• Dukkha 


  Suffering.
• Mara: A demon that represents spiritual obstacles, especially temptation. He unsuccessfully tried to tempt Siddhartha from his meditation.
• Vasundhara: Earth goddess that witnessed Siddhartha was fit to achieve enlightenment.
• The Three Watches of the Night: Siddhartha recalled his past lives, understood nothing is permanent, discovered the law of dependent arising. He achieved enlightenment at the end of the third night.
• Enlightened Being 


  Fully awakened one.
• Three Poisons

  Greed, hatred, ignorance.
• The Five Ascetics: The Buddha's first five students; five monks who followed ascetic practices.
• Renunciation 


  To give something up.
• The Lotus Flower: Symbol of enlightenment. It begins in the mud, rises up through deep water before finally opening up in the sunlight.