Although Gautama believed that to live was to suffer, he did rrot discover how to escape from sufferirrg until he attained enlightenment. After he left his family he joined a band of five monks who practiced extreme austerities. But starvation and exposure to the elements failed to produce any deep insights, so he left the band and resumed a normal, though frugal, existence.
One day, however, he sat under a tree (called the Bodhi, or "Wisdom," tree) to meditate, resolving not to rise until he had found ultimate wisdom. An evil god called Mara sought to distract Gautama with demons, fire and visions of sensual delight, but to no avail.
Concentrating deeply, Gautama found the truths he had sought for so long. Like most Indians, he believed that each time a man died he was fated to be reborn into a harsh world. Now he saw that the cause of rebirth was the craving people felt for life's illusory pleasures; if a man could uproot all his desires he would escape rebirth. With this insight, Gautama achieved enlightenment.
PREPARING TO MEDITATE, Gautama (indicated by the empty seat under the tree) is attended by winged deities—and tempted by Mara's daughter, shown standing to the right of the tree.
LEERING DEMONS, seen here in two parts of a carved frieze, were sent by Mara to frighten the meditating Gautama. They tried to infect him with worldly vices, but Gautama proved incorruptible.
World History
