The Middle Way

Buddha Shakyamuni discarded ascetic practices


The founder of Buddhism Buddha Shakyamuni grew up in royal family as a prince in one of ancient local Indian countries. He was so rich that he lived in comfort and did not know any pain. Since he was young he was contemplative, and he was not satisfied with all his heart. He had been searching for something.

One day, when he and his attendant were about to go out of his castle, he found out an old person at one of castle's gates. Till then old people had been kept away from him and he had not met any old person so that he was very shocked and he came to know human beings grow old. Next he tried to go out from another gate of his castle and he found out a sick person at the gate. Sick people had been kept away from him and he had not met any sick person so that he was very shocked and he understood human beings can be got sick. Then he tried to go out from another gate of his castle, and he found a dead man at the gate to came to know death. He realized that human beings grow old, get sick and die. He begun to consider meaning of life. Finally, he renounced the world and started doing all kinds of penance (religious austerities and ascetic practices). He tried to look for his mentor, but he could not meet any mentor whom he looked up. Some of them could teach him how to concentrate his attention, but that was not enough to lead him enlightenment. He became weaker and weaker.

After six year penance, when he was starving with a fast, he was given a bowl of gruel as charity by a girl and he recovered from starvation. The innocent girl was full of vital energy, on the other hand a shadow of death passed over his face. Then he realized that ascetic practices are useless to attain enlightenment. This is the point that parted Buddhism from Hinduism. He experienced wealthy life and ascetic practices. He did not find a way to attain enlightenment nor to attain happiness in materially luxurious life nor in hard penance. He concluded that materially luxurious life would bring you pleasure and depravity, and that ascetic practices had no relation to enlightenment. He meditated.
He heard a song; "If you tighten the strings of a harp too tight, strings will break. If you do not tighten the strings of a harp enough, the harp will not make good a sound. Strings should be tightened moderately, and they will make a good sound." He thought; 'Likewise strings of mind should be tightened moderately.' There are no answer in extremes. He was convinced that he should take 'the Middle Way' between those extremes. He persuade himself the right way must be in quest for mind. He called it 'the Middle Way.' The Middle Way does not mean moderation or the middle course. He might have think that material ascetic life is not enough, the most important thing is to remove attachment that stuck in your mind.

(references; 'Chudou karano Hatten')

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