# Buddha  **Siddhartha Gautama**, most commonly referred to as **the Buddha** (lit. 'the awakened one'), was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. ## Key Information - **Born**: c. 563 or 480 BCE in Lumbini, Shakya Republic (according to Buddhist tradition, now in Nepal) - **Died**: c. 483 or 400 BCE (aged 80) in Kushinagar, Malla Republic (according to Buddhist tradition) - **Philosophy**: Buddhism, Middle Way - **Other Names**: - Gautama Buddha - Shakyamuni (Sage of the Shakyas) - Siddhartha Gautama - **Core Teachings**: - Four Noble Truths - Noble Eightfold Path - Middle Way - Five Skandhas - Dependent Origination ## Life and Career According to Buddhist legends, Siddhartha was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan. His father was Śuddhodana and his mother was Maha Maya. He was married to Yaśodharā and had a son named Rāhula. ### The Great Renunciation At age twenty-nine, Siddhartha made the famous "Four Sights" - encountering an old person, a sick person, a corpse, and finally a wandering holy man. These encounters inspired him to renounce his home life to live as a wandering ascetic in search of freedom from the suffering caused by the infinite cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. ### Enlightenment After leading a life of mendicancy, asceticism, and meditation, he attained nirvana (enlightenment) at Bodh Gayā in what is now India. At a place now known as Bodh Gaya ("enlightenment place"), he sat and meditated all night beneath a pipal (Bodhi) tree. After defeating the forces of the demon Mara, Siddhartha reached enlightenment and became a Buddha ("enlightened one") at the age of thirty-five. ### Teaching Period The Buddha then wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain for approximately 45 years, teaching and building a monastic order (Sangha). His core teachings were summarized in the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, describing a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism. ### Death (Parinirvana) Buddhist tradition holds he died in Kushinagar and reached parinirvana ("final release from conditioned existence"). According to tradition, he accepted a meal from a village blacksmith that was unknowingly tainted, causing his final illness. ## Philosophy and Teachings The Buddha taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to freedom from ignorance, craving, rebirth, and suffering. His core teachings include: - **Four Noble Truths**: The truth of suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path to the cessation of suffering - **Noble Eightfold Path**: Right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration - **Five Skandhas**: Form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness - **Dependent Origination**: The principle that all phenomena arise in dependence upon conditions ## Legacy His teachings were compiled by the Buddhist community in the Vinaya (monastic codes) and the Sutta Piṭaka (collection of discourses). Buddhism evolved into various traditions including Theravāda, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna, spreading throughout Asia and eventually worldwide. The Buddha's influence extends far beyond religion, impacting philosophy, psychology, and mindfulness practices in contemporary Western society. ## Quotes <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[Buddha]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> <!-- SerializedQuery: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[Buddha]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> - [[A disciplined mind brings happiness]] - [[Anger will never disappear so long as thoughts of resentment are cherished in the mind]] - [[Change is never painful, only the resistance to change is painful]] - [[Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment]] - [[Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most]] - [[Give, even if you only have a little]] - [[In life, we can’t always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. The second arrow is optional]] - [[No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may]] - [[Suffering is optional. Do not strive and you will avoid excess pain. It is the acceptance of suffering that enables its transcendence]] - [[The root of suffering is attachment]] - [[We are shaped by our thoughts. We become what we think]] - [[What we think we become]] - [[What we think, we become]] - [[You only lose what you cling to]] <!-- SerializedQuery END --> ## Books <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #books AND [[Buddha]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC -->