Buddha

Buddha (563 ?-483 ? BC) , religious leader, b. present-day Nepal.

Buddha means 'enlightened one' and it was the name given to Siddhartha Gautama.

He was the son of a rajah and he founded the religion called Buddhism.

Many, many stories are told of his life but most of them are legends.

He is said to have set out to find out why he was alive. He gave up his riches, left his wife and child, and travelled from place to place.

Everywhere he spoke to wise men and priests. Then he began to preach. He taught his followers to make themselves better people.

He said a person keeps being reborn until he reaches his full goodness. This he called 'nirvana'.

Buddha started an order of monks and founded monasteries. He taught for about forty years and Buddhism spread first over India and later to Tibet, Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand, China and Japan.

Buddha wrote down nothing himself. His teachings and the story of his life were passed on by word of mouth and written down centuries after his death.

Buddha's body was burned and the ashes were set down in many different places. Each of these is now looked upon as a holy place.

See Walpola Rahula What the Buddha Taught