The Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama—who'd become known as the Buddha—basically rejected everything: his royal life, his family, his possessions, basically all the stuff most people want. He spent six years meditating under the Bodhi Tree before reaching enlightenment, supposedly finding a way through suffering that most people never discover.
The guy was kind of a spoiled kid at first, living in luxury and indulgence. But he walked away from all that to pursue something he thought mattered more. His whole thing was about controlling desire and emotion—the idea that wanting things is what actually makes life miserable, and that there's a better way if you're willing to be alone with yourself and figure it out.
Fans and scholars often describe his path as lonely, solitary work—"like the horn of the rhinoceros," as the saying goes. He wasn't looking for followers or approval; he was just doing his own thing until he cracked something fundamental about how to live.
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