Gotama

Gotama Siddhartha  Siddhartha · Spiritual teacher in northern region of Indian subcontinent who found Buddhism · Lived between 563 BCE to 483 BCE, debatable

Early life · Born in Lumbini, raised in small kingdom of Kapilvastu, nowadays known as Nepal. · Son of Suddhodana, chief of Shakya nation · Had a luxurious life as a prince · Was shielded from religious teachings and the knowledge of human suffering in hope that he could become a great king · Arranged marriage to Yasodhara, cousin of the same age, who gave birth to a son · Father made sure he had everything he wanted, but he felt that material wealth was not his goal in life

Ascetic Life · Age 29, left palace to meet subjects, on the way saw an old man, a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an ascetic · Depressed by sights, sought to overcome old age, illness, and death by living life as an ascetic · Escaped palace with charioteer Channa · Group of five companions set out to find enlightenment through · Discovered the middle way – path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. · Sat under a papal tree, the Bodhi tree, and vowed never to arise until he found the Truth. Other companions left him, believing that he had become undisciplined <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· Age 35, 49 days of meditating, he attained enlightenment, then on was known as the Buddha (Awakened One, Enlightened One) <span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-list: Ignore; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Believed to have realized complete awakening and insight into the nature and cause of human suffering which was ignorance, and steps necessary to eliminate suffering: four noble truths Teachings: The Four Noble Truths: suffering is an inherent part of existence, the origin of suffering is ignorance and the main symptoms of ignorance are cravings and attachment, and lastly that attachment and craving can be ceased by following the “Noble Eightfold Path”.
 * deprivation of worldly goods, including food.
 * Practiced self-mortification.
 * Decided weren't good ideas
 * Meditation and Anapanasati (awareness of breathing in and out)

Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding, right though, right speech, right action, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration Dependent Origination: any phenomenon exist only because of the existence of other phenomena in a complex web of cause and effect covering past, present and future

Anicca: All things are impermanent Anatta: the perception of a constant “self” is an illusion Dukkha: all beings uffer from all situations due to unclear mind Lumbini, Nepal || Kushinagar, India ||
 * = Gautama Buddha, 1st century CE, Gandhara ||
 * ~ Born || 563 BCE
 * ~ Died || 483 BCE
 * ~ Occupation || Prince, Spiritual teacher ||
 * ~ Home town || Kapilavastu ||
 * ~ Known for || Founder of Buddhism ||
 * ~ Successor || Maitreya ||

Citation: "Gautama Buddha." __wikipedia.com__. 2 Apr 2009 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha>.