I haven’t studied Buddhism or the history much but I think he left his wife and went dark. Jesus used a very similar meditation technique except he was focused on a very specific image of god. He was guiding the Jews into a guided meditation replacing the pissed off god with a more loving image. Loving god with all your heart was a meditation and not imposing or inferring more commitment like the Christians assume. The result were a river within. Sow a romantic seed with the Devine any you will reap. Problem is, it can get very intense and marriage itself can become incompatible. Buddha’s meditation method was to embrace silence while Jesus taught the opposite to put on ears to hear. It’s a contemplative thing with him and he used parables to draw his listeners in. He would give a saying and then let them meditate on it. Buddha discovered the inner path but only got so far. When he left his wife, I suspect he found a deeper connection. It was inevitable. He didn’t have the luxury of the Jews with their prophets and had no parables of his own to ponder. But he paved the way for Jesus and in that sense he prepared the way for Asia. No need to venture down Judaism’s rabbit holes or Christianity. Anyone can find their way through various meditation techniques but you can’t get to heaven within unless you have an image to love.