Disappointed but not discouraged, the ascetic Gotama [the future Buddha], seeker of the incomparable peace, the highest Truth, wandered through the district of Magadha, northern India.
He eventually arrived at Uruvela, in the market town of Senani. There he found a lovely spot of ground, a charming forest grove, a flowing river with pleasant sandy fords, and nearby was a village where he could obtain almsfood. Then he thought:
Hearing of his renunciation, Kondanna, the youngest brahmin soothsayer who predicted his future, and four sons of the other sages -- Bhaddiya, Vappa, Mahanama, and Assaji -- also renounced the world and joined his company.
In ancient India great importance was attached to rites, rituals, ceremonies, penances, and sacrifices. It was popularly believed that no liberation could be gained unless one led a life of strict asceticism.
Accordingly, for six years the ascetic Gotama made a superhuman struggle to practice all forms of the severest austerities. His delicate body was reduced almost to a skeleton. But the more he tormented his body, the farther his goal receded from him.
How strenuously he struggled, the various methods he employed, and how he eventually succeeded were graphically described in his own words in various discourses. The Maha Saccaka Sutra describes his preliminary efforts:
"Then the following thought occurred to me:
"How if I were to clench my teeth, press my tongue against the palate, and with (moral) thoughts hold down, subdue and destroy my (immoral) thoughts! More>>
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