Before enlightenment, he made a mistake that nearly cost him his life. For six years, Siddhartha Gautama practiced extreme asceticism. He starved his body, denied himself food and rest, believing suffering would lead him to truth. He pushed so far that his ribs showed through his skin. He was close to death. Then he realized the answer wasn’t in punishing the body. It was in balance. He chose a Middle Way, neither indulgence nor extreme denial, and sat beneath the Bodhi tree until he reached enl