At the age of 29, the Buddha stopped praying to the gods to end his suffering and the suffering of others. He left his family and friends, went to the edge of the forest, took off all his clothes and jewelry, covered his naked body with rags of cloth, cut off his hair and started to meditate.
He became a mendicant, and it took him six years of hard work and much suffering, but in the end he was able to stop his suffering forever (Nirvana) and help others stop their suffering as well.
Kusala Bhikshu in Do Buddhists Believe in God?
What took the Buddha six years to achieve is still beyond me, even though I am now 49 years of age. Even so, it is easier to meditate than it used to be prior to July 13, 2004 when I suffered a concussion during an assault at work.
But this wasn't the case prior to October 2006.
While it took until about March 2006,to achieve stability, a year previous to that I had lost lots of sleep and was slowly breaking down.
Much of the rest of 2005 I felt anxious outside and nervous.
After April things started to progress, but my best friend died in May 2006. By June I needed help. So I had my current roommates move much of my stuff into storage.
As well, other friends moved out the heavier drawers and furniture.
Between July and August 2006 I improved rapidly, but the greatest changes occurred when my roomies and I moved to a new place in August. The greatest changes came when I first bought a camera this year around June 2007.
It's so easy to remain calm, and to meditate!
For I owe it all to the guy who assaulted me, thus making him, in a sense, my Buddha.
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