Siddhartha Gautama's Life

Buddhism originates in the teachings of Siddartha Gautama.

Siddhartha meditating under a bodhi tree

Prince Siddartha was born an Indian prince to King Sudhodana and Queen Maya.

At an early age, it was predicted by a Hindu Brahman that Siddhartha would be either a great ruler or a great holy man. For this reason, King Sudhodana restricted the young prince to the palace and gave him all he could ever desire. He even wed the most beautiful princess in the land, Yasodhara. However, one day the prince ventured outside the palace walls and saw four great sights that taught him four great realities.

The first sight, an old man, taught him that age comes to everybody and will cause suffering based on growing incapabilities of the individual. The second sight, a sick man, taught him that sickness and disease are types of suffering that are indiscriminate and inevitable.The third sight, a dead man, taught him that death must come to all from age and sickness, and causes not only internal but external suffering for those close to the individual. Finally, the fourth sight, a wandering ascetic, taught Siddhartha that life's hardships can be countered by leaving behind both suffering and desire to attain peace of mind. From this, Buddha became aware of and troubled by the problem of human suffering.

For several years, he subjected himself to ascetic disciplines, but found it impossible to reach the internal satisfaction and freedom of desire he sought. One day, however, while sitting beneath a Bodhi Tree during a 49 day period of meditation, he attained enlightenment to the true nature of all reality, as well as the answers to his questions about human suffering. His enlightenment caused him to be revered by many as the Buddha, or "Awakened One". After his awakening, Buddha resolved to communicate what he had realized to others, so that they way to liberation from samsara would be open to all.

It is thought that Buddha, after many years of traveling India and sharing his enlightened wisdom, died at age 80 due to food poisoning. Legends state that he knew the food was poisonous, yet chose to eat it as he didn't want it to go to waste. Following his death, his teachings were recorded by his disciples in the form of sutras and spread throughout Asia, giving rise to a number of distinct schools of Buddhism, generally characterized by an emphasis on peace and compassion.