At first he "went forth," literally walking away from the Brahmin society he knew, by joining the "forest monks," a group of honored rebels, seekers of truth, and engaged in many yogic trances and ascetic deprivations with them. This proved unfruitful, however, and only by seeking out his own self-liberation, with a determination to find the truth within himself, did he realize the way out of the cycle of constant suffering. Like his contemporaries, he discovered that the "truth that lies within" led to a universal understanding of the need for "compassion" to set a person free. That is, when one gave up the "self" or ego-binding grasping, and discovered the truth of the emptiness of "self," simultaneously embracing all sentient beings with loving kindness, equanimity and compassion, then, and only then, could one achieve true freedom from suffering. Not keeping his discoveries to himself, he spent the rest of...
[ View Full Essay]