Lord Buddha in Crisis -The Flashpoint of Realization (Part 2)

An existential crisis is a moment at which an individual questions the very foundations of their life: whether this life has any meaning, purpose, or value. At the age of 29 years, Siddharta hit the brick wall — a true existential crisis, with a sense of meaninglessness and hopelessness. Although reliable factual data on the life of Siddhartha Gautama is very scarce, in the traditional legend, the realization that he, like anyone else, could be subject to different forms of human suffering from disease, old age, and death drove the pampered young prince Siddhartha into a profound existential crisis. To this intelligent and sensitive young man, these were devastating realities. Joy vanished. Grief and anxiety took its place. He had a burning need to find the answer to his existential questions. What happens after death? Does life have meaning? Is there a God? If there is a God then why the suffering? He just needed answers.

It would cause him to leave his wife and newborn son to discover the truth of birth and death, and to find that one answer that would give him peace of mind. He sought out one teacher, and then another one, mastering what they taught him and then moving on. But the answer to his question didn’t come, and enlightenment seemed no closer. Then, with five companions, for five or six years he engaged in rigorous asceticism. He tortured himself, held his breath, and fasted until his ribs stuck out “like a row of spindles” and he could almost feel his spine through his stomach. Finally he realized that he was getting nowhere. Though he had neglected his bodily needs, he had not found an end to suffering.

Under the Bodhi tree, where he finally sat, immovable, unwavering, the futility of his search dawned on him. That was his realization. He “stumbled” upon the middle path in which he did not ignore human suffering, but developed his whole approach to happiness and well-being by coming to terms with it. The solution was to surrender and accept reality as it was, and adopt the middle way between asceticism and a life of luxury.