What did Siddhartha Gautama do after seeing old age, stickman
and death for the first time?
After Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, witnessed old age, sickness, and death for the first time, he realized the impermanence and suffering in life. This experience led him to renounce his luxurious lifestyle as a prince and undergo a spiritual quest to seek enlightenment and find a way to overcome suffering.
Siddhartha left his palace, his wife, and his newborn son and embarked on a spiritual journey as a wandering ascetic. He sought teachings from various spiritual teachers and practiced extreme forms of asceticism, including severe fasting and self-mortification, in an attempt to find answers beyond the material world.
Eventually, Siddhartha realized that these extreme practices did not lead him to the enlightenment he sought. He decided to abandon asceticism and adopted a middle way, which advocated for moderation and balance rather than extreme self-denial or indulgence.
Under a Bodhi tree in Bodh a, India, Siddhartha engaged in deep meditation and vowed not to rise until he had found clarity and liberation from suffering. After spending a night meditating, he achieved enlightenment and became the Buddha, meaning "the awakened one."
Following his enlightenment, the Buddha spent the next several decades teaching the Dharma (universal truth) and establishing a monastic order known as the Sangha. He preached the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and various other teachings to guide people towards liberation from suffering and attain enlightenment.
The Buddha's teachings spread across different regions, and he gained many followers who became monks, nuns, or lay practitioners. The Buddha's teachings had a profound impact on Indian society at the time, and Buddhism eventually spread across Asia and other parts of the world, becoming one of the major religions with various traditions and schools.