According to tradition, Siddhartha had recently forsaken years of extreme ascetic practices and resolved to sit under a peepal tree and simply meditate until he found the root of suffering, and how to liberate oneself from it.
Ifølge traditionen havde Siddhartha nylig forladt års ekstrem asketisk praksis og besluttede at sidde under et bo-træ og bare meditere, indtil han fandt roden af lidelse, og hvordan man kan frigøre sig selv fra den.