History

The Buddha, “the awakened one”, was born in modern day Lumbini, Nepal in 623 BC as Siddhartha Gautama, a prince of the Shakya clan. His father sheltered Gautama from “the ills of the world, including old age, sickness, and death” (ii). However, at age 29, “his life underwent a profound change” (i). He requested to be taken on a ride through the city. During, this ride and three more, he encountered exactly what his father had hidden from him: old age, sickness, and death. Most importantly, Gautama witnessed a holy man that “radiated a calmness that suggested to Gautama that he had somehow come to terms with the unpleasant fact of suffering” (iii). After witnessing this, Gautama abandoned his position as prince and started his journey as a holy man with nothing more than an alms bowl. Gautama placed his body in great hardship with fasting and ascetic practices, however he was not able to find the cause of suffering. Instead Gautama decided to sit and meditate under a Bodhi tree in place now called Bodh Gaya. One night in May during the full moon, he gained deeper knowledge. He had “a vision of all of his past lives, recollecting his place of birth, name, caste, and even the food he had eaten” (i). On the second night, “he saw how beings rise and fall through the cycle of rebirth as a consequence of their past deeds” (i). During the third night before dawn, he was liberated. He achieved “enlightenment” and is no longer Siddhartha Gautama; he is the Buddha, “The Awakened One.” For the next 45 years until his death, the Buddha spent his time teaching others about what he had learned when he achieved “enlightenment” and thus emerges the beginning of Buddhism.

i. “Buddha.” Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 25 Nov. 2013. .<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/83105/Buddha>.

ii. “Buddhism.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 24 Nov. 2013. .<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/83184/Buddhism>.

iii. “The Buddhist Society.” The Buddhist Society. H.H. The Dalai Lama, 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2013.
<http://www.thebuddhistsociety.org/>