Many of the fantastic masters — from Shakyamuni Buddha to Lama Tsongkhapa and Milarepa —created realizations by meditation that included withdrawing totally from mundane life for a period of intensive reflection; Shakyamuni, famously, under the Bodhi tree, Milarepa walled up in his cave, Lama Tsonkhapa undertaking a million mandalas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMMWwN9ho2U