Match SIDDARTHAS, actions that let him to the middle way
1. Renunciation of a luxurious life: Siddhartha, as a prince, had everything he could desire but he renounced his royal status, wealth, and comfort to seek the truth and find a way out of suffering.
2. Practice of extreme asceticism: Siddhartha initially followed a path of extreme self-mortification, subjecting himself to severe austerity and fasting. However, he realized that this extreme approach did not lead to liberation and only weakened his body and mind.
3. Meditation and mindfulness: Siddhartha dedicated himself to intense meditation and mindfulness practices, seeking inner stillness and clarity. Through persistent meditation, he developed a deep sense of awareness and understanding of the true nature of existence.
4. Encounter with the Middle Way: After renouncing extreme asceticism, Siddhartha realized that a middle way between indulgence and self-mortification is the key to liberation. He found this balance when a young girl offered him a bowl of rice gruel, symbolizing the importance of nourishing the body without indulging in excessive desires.
5. Insight into the Four Noble Truths: Siddhartha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, where he realized the Four Noble Truths – the truth of suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path to the cessation of suffering. This insight led him to embrace the middle way as the path to end suffering.
6. Teaching the Eightfold Path: Siddhartha dedicated the rest of his life to sharing his teachings with others. He laid out the Eightfold Path, which consists of right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration, as the means to achieve the middle way and ultimate liberation.