Life of Gautama Buddha (567- 487 B.C.)

• Gautama Buddha was born as Siddhartha in the Sakya clan to its king Suddhodhana and his chief queen Mahamaya. At the age of sixteen he married Yasodhara and gave birth to a son, Rahula. The sight of an old man, a diseased man, a corpse and an ascetic turned him away from worldly life. He left home at the age of twenty nine in search of Truth. He wandered for seven years and at last, he sat under a bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya and did intense penance, after which he got Enlightenment (Nirvana) at the age of thirty five. Since then he became known as the Buddha or ‘the Enlightened One’. He delivered his first sermon at Sarnath near Benares and for the next forty five years he led the life of a preacher. He died at the age of eighty at Kusinagara. 

Teachings of Buddha

The Four Noble Truths of Buddha are:

• The world is full of suffering.
• The cause of suffering is desire.
• If desires are get rid off, suffering can be removed.
• This can be done by following the Eightfold Path.
• The Eightfold Path consists of right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, and right mindfulness.