After trying to live a ascetic lifestyle, in which he virtually starved to death, Siddhartha realized that enlightenment or salvation from rebirth would not come from extremes of either pleasure or self-inflicted suffering.
Instead, he advocated what is known as the “middle way” between these extremes. This means taking care of one’s basic needs without attachment to worldly pleasures. For this reason, Buddhism itself is sometimes called “The Middle Way.”