A band of five ascetics joined Him
and together they practised severe austerities in the belief that if the
body was tortured then the soul would be released from suffering.
Siddhartha was a man of energy and will power and He outdid
other ascetics in every austerity they practised. While fasting, He
ate so little that when He took hold of the skin of His stomach, He
actually touched His spine. He pushed Himself to do superhuman
feats of self-torture so that He would have certainly died. But He
realised the futility of self-mortification, and decided to practise
moderation instead.