Siddhartha Gautama Buddha first tried meditation, which he learned from two teachers. Siddhartha Gautama Buddha felt that these were valuable skills. However, meditation could not be extended forever; Siddhartha Gautama Buddha eventually had to return to normal waking consciousness and face the unsolved problems relating to birth, sickness, old age and death.

Siddhartha Gautama Buddha then joined a group of similarly-minded students of Brahmanism in a forest where he practiced breath control and fasted intensely for six years. Siddhartha Gautama Buddha is said to have brought himself to the brink of death by only eating a few grains of rice each day. Some sources say that he consumed only a spoonful of bean soup per day. This technique produced a series of physical discomforts. Ultimately, he rejected this path as well. He realized that neither the extremes of the mortification of the flesh or of hedonism would lead to enlightenment. He determined that a better path to achieve the state of Nirvana -- a state of liberation and freedom from suffering -- was to pursue”Middle Way." This way was largely defined by moderation and meditation.

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