He left his family (wife and two kids) in the middle of the night, went searching, met lots of spiritual teachers, tried all kinds of stuff, starved the body, got nursed back to health by some young woman, kept searching, meditated more and more, felt like he was getting close to the truth, sat down under a pipul tree and vowed not to get up until he understood, and a few days later had a huge woo woo experience upon seeing Venus in the morning sky. His search began when he was 36 and lasted six years. His time under the tree was relatively short. He taught for about 40 years before dying after eating some tainted food.
The Buddha was a real thinker and talker, and he had a disciple who had a photo-aural memory. After the Buddha died, his main disciples got together to assemble the story of his life and record his dialogues. Someone once told me that the written record is eleven times longer than the Bible. Some of his sermons were brilliant and concise, but some of his dialogues would put most people to sleep. He meticulously dissects various questions and analyzes them socratically and tediously. He had lots of highly unusual encounters with people, and taught dozens of parables similar to those of Jesus.
The Buddha was a real thinker and talker, and he had a disciple who had a photo-aural memory. After the Buddha died, his main disciples got together to assemble the story of his life and record his dialogues. Someone once told me that the written record is eleven times longer than the Bible. Some of his sermons were brilliant and concise, but some of his dialogues would put most people to sleep. He meticulously dissects various questions and analyzes them socratically and tediously. He had lots of highly unusual encounters with people, and taught dozens of parables similar to those of Jesus.
