Siddhartha Gautama: The Life of the Buddha

Buddhism began with Siddhartha Gautama, a prince of the Shakya clan born at Lumbini in what is now Nepal; scholars place his life roughly in the 5th century BCE, though dates vary. According to tradition, he was sheltered in luxury until he encountered an old man, a sick man, a corpse and a wandering ascetic, the 'four sights' that revealed suffering and a possible path beyond it. He left home, practiced extreme fasting, and then rejected it for a 'Middle Way' between indulgence and self-denial.

Meditating under a tree at Bodh Gaya, he attained enlightenment and became the Buddha, 'the awakened one'. He gave his first teaching at Sarnath and taught for about 45 years before dying at Kushinagar. Buddhists do not regard him as a god but as a human teacher who discovered and showed the path to liberation. His story models the journey from comfort to insight that Buddhists seek to follow.