Introducing the founder of Buddhism
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Who was Siddhartha Gotama (The Buddha)?
Siddhartha Gotama was the founder of
Buddhism. He lived around 2,500.
The Buddha was born in India in
563 BC. Before he became the
Buddha he was known as Prince
Siddhartha Gotama.
He gained the title Buddha, meaning ‘the awakened one’,
when he became enlightened at the age of 35.
For the next 45 years he taught the Noble Eightfold
Path to enlightenment and the end of all suffering.
The wheel is the main symbol of Buddhism. It symbolises the Noble
Eightfold Path to enlightenment.
Siddhartha's Birth
Before he was born, Siddhartha’s
mother, Queen Maya, had a dream
that a white elephant entered her
womb. Ten months later she gave
birth to her son on a full moon night
while on her way home to see her
parents. When he was born it is said
that he leapt onto the ground and
where he touched it a lotus flower
sprang up. Astrologers predicted he
would either be a great ruler or a
great religious teacher.
Buddhists today
remember the
Buddha’s
birthday in a
festival called
Wesak, in April–
May.
Prince Siddhartha grew up surrounded by luxury. His
father tried to keep him in the palace as he wanted him
to rule the kingdom. Astrologers predicted he would
either be a great ruler or a great religious teacher.
Siddhartha married at the age of 16 and had a son.
Siddhartha leaves home
The king was very protective and would not let his son leave the palace. One
day he disobeyed his father's orders and left the palace. He saw four sights that
changed his life.
We all grow old.
1. An old person
2. An ill person
3. A corpse
4. A holy man
We all die.
We all get ill.
Is there a reason
for our lives?
He realised that life involves suffering. He gave up his life as a prince,
and set off to find out why people suffer. He was 29 years old.
The Enlightenment of the Buddha
After leaving the palace, Siddhartha went to
live in the
with five other wandering
holy men. He ate only the
to stay
alive. After six years he realised this
approach was bringing him no nearer to an
understanding of why humans
. To
his friends disapproval, he decided to live a
life between the extremes of
(the
life he had as a prince) and self-denial (the
life of a
man).
One day, whilst
, he experienced
an overwhelming sense of inner
and
with it a realisation of the causes and
ending of human suffering. He became
the
the Enlightened One.
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