Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),
[*
*
*
] was a
wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded
Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
. According to Buddhist legends, he was born in
Lumbini, in what is now
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
, to royal parents of the
Shakya
Shakya (Pali, PÄįø·i: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan clan of the northeastern region of South Asia, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age in India, Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised into a Gaį¹asaį¹
gha, (an Aristocrac ...
clan, but
renounced his
home life to live as a wandering ascetic. After leading a life of
mendicancy
A mendicant (from , "begging") is one who practices mendicancy, relying chiefly or exclusively on alms to survive. In principle, mendicant religious orders own little property, either individually or collectively, and in many instances members ...
,
asceticism
Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing Spirituality, spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world ...
, and meditation, he attained
nirvana
Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duįø„kha'') and from the ...
at
Bodh GayÄ in what is now
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
. The Buddha then wandered through the lower
Indo-Gangetic Plain
The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Northern Plain or North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain spanning across the northern and north-eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. It encompasses North India, northern and East India, easte ...
, teaching and building a
monastic order
Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...
. Buddhist tradition holds he died in
Kushinagar
Kushinagar (Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is a town in the Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, India, east of Gorakhpur on National Highway 27, Kushinagar is a Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha died.
Etymology
Acc ...
and reached ''
parinirvana
In Buddhism, ''Parinirvana'' (Sanskrit: '; Pali: ') describes the state entered after death by someone who has attained '' nirvana'' during their lifetime. It implies a release from '' '', karma and rebirth as well as the dissolution of the '' ...
'' ("final release from conditioned existence").
According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha taught a
Middle Way
The Middle Way (; ) as well as "teaching the Dharma by the middle" (''majjhena dhammaį¹ deseti'') are common Buddhist terms used to refer to two major aspects of the Dharma, that is, the teaching of the Buddha. The first phrasing, the Middle ...
between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to
freedom
Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws".
In one definition, something is "free" i ...
from
ignorance
Ignorance is a lack of knowledge or understanding. Deliberate ignorance is a culturally-induced phenomenon, the study of which is called agnotology.
The word "ignorant" is an adjective that describes a person in the state of being unaware, or ...
,
craving,
rebirth, and suffering. His core teachings are summarized in the
Four Noble Truths
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (; ; "The Four Arya (Buddhism), arya satya") are "the truths of the noble one (the Buddha)," a statement of how things really are (Three marks of existence, the three marks of existence) when they are seen co ...
and the
Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path () or Eight Right Paths () is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
The Eightfold Path consists of eight pra ...
, a
training of the mind that includes
ethical training and
kindness toward others, and
meditative practices such as
sense restraint,
mindfulness
Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through exercises, of sustaining metacognitive awareness towards the contents of one's own mind and bodily sensations in the present moment. The term ''mindfulness'' derives from the Pali ...
,
dhyana
Dhyana may refer to:
Meditative practices in Indian religions
* Dhyana in Buddhism (PÄli: ''jhÄna'')
* Dhyana in Hinduism
* Jain DhyÄna, see Jain meditation
Other
*''Dhyana'', a work by British composer John Tavener
Sir John Kenneth ...
(meditation proper). Another key element of his teachings are the concepts of the
five skandhas and
dependent origination
A dependant (US spelling: dependent) is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income and usually assistance with activities of daily living. A common-law spouse who is financially supported by their partner may also be included ...
, describing how all ''dharmas'' (both mental states and concrete 'things') come into being, and cease to be, depending on other ''dharmas'', lacking an existence on their own ''
svabhava
Svabhava (, svabhÄva; , sabhÄva; ; ; ) literally means "own-being" or "own-becoming". It is the intrinsic nature, essential nature or essence of beings.
The concept and term ''svabhÄva'' are frequently encountered in Hindu and Buddhist traditio ...
'').
While in the Nikayas he frequently refers to himself as the
TathÄgata
TathÄgata () is a Pali and Sanskrit word used in ancient India for a person who has attained the highest religious goal. Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, used it when referring to himself or other past Buddhas in the PÄli Canon. Like ...
, the earliest attestation of the title
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),*
*
*
was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
is from the 3rd century BCE, meaning 'Awakened One' or 'Enlightened One'. His teachings were compiled by the Buddhist community in the
Vinaya
The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...
, his codes for monastic practice, and the
Sutta Piį¹aka
The ''Sutta Piį¹aka'' (also referred to as ''SÅ«tra Piį¹aka'' or ''Suttanta Piį¹aka''; English: ''Basket of Discourse'') is the second of the three division of the Pali Tripitaka, the definitive canonical collection of scripture of Therava ...
, a compilation of teachings based on his discourses. These were passed down in
Middle Indo-Aryan
The Middle Indo-Aryan languages (or Middle Indic languages, sometimes conflated with the Prakrits, which are a stage of Middle Indic) are a historical group of languages of the Indo-Aryan family. They are the descendants of Old Indo-Aryan (OIA; ...
dialects through an
oral tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...
. Later generations composed additional texts, such as systematic treatises known as ''
Abhidharma
The Abhidharma are a collection of Buddhist texts dating from the 3rd century BCE onwards, which contain detailed scholastic presentations of doctrinal material appearing in the canonical Buddhist scriptures and commentaries. It also refers t ...
'', biographies of the Buddha, collections of stories about his past lives known as ''
Jataka tales
The ''JÄtaka'' (Sanskrit for "Birth-Related" or "Birth Stories") are a voluminous body of literature native to the Indian subcontinent which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Jataka stories we ...
'', and additional discourses, i.e., the
MahÄyÄna sÅ«tras
The Mahayana sutras are Buddhist texts that are accepted as wikt:canon, canonical and authentic Buddhist texts, ''buddhavacana'' in Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist sanghas. These include three types of sutras: Those spoken by the Buddha; those spoke ...
.
Buddhism evolved into a variety of traditions and practices, represented by
TheravÄda
''TheravÄda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''TheravÄdins'' ( anglicized from Pali ''theravÄdÄ«''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or '' Dhamma'' in ...
,
MahÄyÄna
MahÄyÄna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#MahÄyÄna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
and
VajrayÄna
''VajrayÄna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as MantrayÄna ('mantra vehicle'), GuhyamantrayÄna ('secret mantra vehicle'), TantrayÄna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a MahÄyÄna Buddhist tradition that emp ...
, and spread beyond the Indian subcontinent. While Buddhism declined in India, and mostly disappeared after the 8th century CE due to a lack of popular and economic support, Buddhism has grown more prominent in
Southeast
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directionsānorth, ...
and
East Asia
East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
.
Etymology, names and titles
SiddhÄrtha Gautama and Buddha Shakyamuni
According to Donald Lopez Jr., "... he tended to be known as either Buddha or Sakyamuni in China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet, and as either Gotama Buddha or Samana Gotama ('the ascetic Gotama') in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia."
''Buddha'', "Awakened One" or "Enlightened One", is the masculine form of ''
budh'' (ą¤¬ą„ą¤§ą„ ), "to wake, be awake, observe, heed, attend, learn, become aware of, to know, be conscious again",
"to awaken" to open up' (as does a flower)", "one who has awakened from the deep sleep of ignorance and opened his consciousness to encompass all objects of knowledge". It is not a personal name, but a title for those who have attained
bodhi
The English term ''enlightenment'' is the Western translation of various Buddhist terms, most notably ''bodhi'' and ''vimutti''. The abstract noun ''bodhi'' (; Sanskrit: ą¤¬ą„ą¤§ą¤æ; Pali: ''bodhi'') means the knowledge or wisdom, or awakene ...
(awakening, enlightenment). ''Buddhi'', the power to "form and retain concepts, reason, discern, judge, comprehend, understand",
is the faculty which discerns truth (''
satya
(Sanskrit: ; IAST: ) is a Sanskrit word that can be translated as "truth" or "essence.ā In Indian religions, it refers to a kind of virtue found across them. This virtue most commonly refers to being truthful in one's thoughts, speech and act ...
'') from falsehood.
The name of his clan was Gautama (Pali: Gotama). His given name, "SiddhÄrtha" (the Sanskrit form; the Pali rendering is "Siddhattha"; in Tibetan it is "Don grub"; in Chinese "Xidaduo"; in Japanese "Shiddatta/Shittatta"; in Korean "Siltalta") means "He Who Achieves His Goal" (
Siddhi
In Indian religions, (Sanskrit: '; fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of Yoga, yogic advancement through sÄdhanÄs such as medit ...
). The clan name of
Gautama means "descendant of Gotama", "Gotama" meaning "one who has the most light", or "one who has most cows" and comes from the fact that
Kshatriya
Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kį¹£atra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kį¹£atriyaįø„'' is used in the con ...
clans adopted the names of their house priests.
While the term ''Buddha'' is used in the Agamas and the Pali Canon, the oldest surviving written records of the term ''Buddha'' is from the middle of the 3rd century BCE, when several
Edicts of Ashoka
The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of more than thirty inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent from 268 BCE to 2 ...
(reigned ā232 BCE) mention the Buddha and Buddhism.
Ashoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or AÅoka ( ; , ; ā 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
's
Lumbini pillar inscription commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to Lumbini as the Buddha's birthplace, calling him the ''Buddha Shakyamuni'' (
Brahmi script
Brahmi ( ; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''BrÄhmÄ«'') is a writing system from ancient India. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the AÅokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as ...
: š©š¼š„
š²ššš¬š«š¼š¦š» ''Bu-dha Sa-kya-mu-nÄ«'', "Buddha, Sage of the Shakyas").
ÅÄkyamuni, Sakyamuni, or Shakyamuni (, ) means "Sage of the
Shakya
Shakya (Pali, PÄįø·i: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan clan of the northeastern region of South Asia, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age in India, Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised into a Gaį¹asaį¹
gha, (an Aristocrac ...
s".
TathÄgata
''TathÄgata'' (
Pali
PÄli (, IAST: pÄl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, PÄli Can ...
; ) is a term the Buddha commonly used when referring to himself or other Buddhas in the
PÄli Canon
The PÄįø·i Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the PÄli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...
. The exact meaning of the term is unknown, but it is often thought to mean either "one who has thus gone" (''tathÄ-gata''), "one who has thus come" (''tathÄ-Ägata''), or sometimes "one who has thus not gone" (''tathÄ-agata''). This is interpreted as signifying that the TathÄgata is beyond all coming and goingābeyond all
transitory phenomena.
[Chalmers, Robert]
The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1898. pp.103ā115
A ''tathÄgata'' is "immeasurable", "inscrutable", "hard to fathom", and "not apprehended".
[Peter Harvey, ''The Selfless Mind.'' Curzon Press 1995, p.227]
Other epithets
A list of other
epithet
An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...
s is commonly seen together in canonical texts and depicts some of his perfected qualities:
* ''Bhagavato (
Bhagavan
The word Bhagavan (; ), also spelt as Bhagwan (sometimes translated in English as "Lord", "God"), is an epithet within Indian religions used to denote figures of religious worship. In Hinduism it is used to signify a deity or an ''avatar'', pa ...
)'' ā The Blessed one, one of the most used epithets, together with ''tathÄgata''
* ''Sammasambuddho'' ā
Perfectly self-awakened
* ''Vijja-carana-sampano'' ā Endowed with higher knowledge and ideal conduct.
* ''
Sugata'' ā Well-gone or well-spoken.
* ''Lokavidu'' ā Knower of the
many worlds.
* ''Anuttaro Purisa-damma-sarathi'' ā Unexcelled trainer of untrained people.
* ''Satthadeva-Manussanam'' ā Teacher of
gods
A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...
and humans.
* ''Araham'' ā Worthy of homage. An
Arahant
In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, š
šš³š¦šš¢š) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved '' Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth.
The und ...
is "one with taints destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and is completely liberated through final knowledge".
* ''
Jina'' ā Conqueror. Although the term is more commonly used to name an individual who has attained
liberation in the religion
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...
, it is also an alternative title for the Buddha.
The
Pali Canon
The PÄįø·i Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the PÄli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...
also contains numerous other titles and epithets for the Buddha, including: All-seeing, All-transcending sage, Bull among men, The Caravan leader, Dispeller of darkness, The Eye, Foremost of charioteers, Foremost of those who can cross, King of the Dharma (''Dharmaraja''), Kinsman of the Sun, Helper of the World (''Lokanatha''), Lion (''Siha''), Lord of the Dhamma, Of excellent wisdom (''VarapaƱƱa''), Radiant One, Torchbearer of mankind, Unsurpassed doctor and surgeon, Victor in battle, and Wielder of power. Another epithet, used at inscriptions throughout South and Southeast Asia, is ''Maha sramana'', "great ''sramana''" (ascetic, renunciate).
Sources
Historical sources
Pali suttas
On the basis of
philological
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...
evidence, Indologist and PÄli expert
Oskar von Hinüber
Oskar von Hinüber (born 18 February 1939 in Hanover) is a German Indologist. He joined the German Navy after leaving high school, and holds the rank of commander as a reservist. From 1960 to 1966 he studied at University of Tübingen, Univer ...
says that some of the PÄli suttas have retained very archaic place-names, syntax, and historical data from close to the Buddha's lifetime, including the ''
MahÄparinibbÄį¹a Sutta'' which contains a detailed account of the Buddha's final days. Hinüber proposes a composition date of no later than 350ā320 BCE for this text, which would allow for a "true historical memory" of the events approximately 60 years prior if the Short Chronology for the Buddha's lifetime is accepted (but he also points out that such a text was originally intended more as
hagiography
A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...
than as an exact historical record of events).
John S. Strong sees certain biographical fragments in the canonical texts preserved in PÄli, as well as Chinese, Tibetan and Sanskrit as the earliest material. These include texts such as the "Discourse on the Noble Quest" (''AriyapariyesanÄ-sutta'') and its parallels in other languages.
Pillar and rock inscriptions
No written records about Gautama were found from his lifetime or from the one or two centuries thereafter. But from the middle of the 3rd century BCE, several
Edicts of Ashoka
The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of more than thirty inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent from 268 BCE to 2 ...
(reigned c.ā268 to 232 BCE) mention the Buddha and Buddhism. Particularly,
Ashoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or AÅoka ( ; , ; ā 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
's
Lumbini pillar inscription commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to Lumbini as the Buddha's birthplace, calling him the ''Buddha Shakyamuni'' (
Brahmi script
Brahmi ( ; ; ISO 15919, ISO: ''BrÄhmÄ«'') is a writing system from ancient India. "Until the late nineteenth century, the script of the AÅokan (non-Kharosthi) inscriptions and its immediate derivatives was referred to by various names such as ...
: š©š¼š„
š²ššš¬š«š¼š¦š» ''Bu-dha Sa-kya-mu-nÄ«'', "Buddha, Sage of the Shakyas").
Another one of his edicts (
Minor Rock Edict No. 3) mentions the titles of several ''
Dhamma
Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold'' or ''to support' ...
'' texts (in Buddhism, "dhamma" is another word for "dharma"), establishing the existence of a written Buddhist tradition at least by the time of the
Maurya era. These texts may be the precursor of the
PÄli Canon
The PÄįø·i Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the PÄli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...
.
"Sakamuni" is also mentioned
in a relief of
Bharhut
Bharhut is a village in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, central India. It is known for a Buddhist stupa, unique in that each panel is explicitly labelled in Brahmi characters saying what the panel depicts. The major donor for the Bharhut st ...
, dated to , in relation with his illumination and the
Bodhi tree, with the inscription ''Bhagavato Sakamunino Bodho'' ("The illumination of the Blessed Sakamuni").
Oldest surviving manuscripts
The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the
GandhÄran Buddhist texts
The GandhÄran Buddhist texts are the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered, dating from about the 1st century BCE to 3rd century CE and found in the northwestern outskirts of Pakistan. They represent the literature of Gandharan Buddhism a ...
, found in
Gandhara
Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...
(corresponding to modern northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan) and written in
GÄndhÄrÄ«, they date from the first century BCE to the third century CE.
Biographical sources
Early canonical sources include the ''Ariyapariyesana Sutta'' (
MN 26), the ''MahÄparinibbÄį¹a Sutta'' (
DN 16), the ''MahÄsaccaka-sutta'' (MN 36), the ''Mahapadana Sutta'' (DN 14), and the ''Achariyabhuta Sutta'' (MN 123), which include selective accounts that may be older, but are not full biographies. The
JÄtaka tales retell previous lives of Gautama as a
bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
, and the first collection of these can be dated among the earliest Buddhist texts. The ''MahÄpadÄna Sutta'' and ''Achariyabhuta Sutta'' both recount miraculous events surrounding Gautama's birth, such as the bodhisattva's descent from the
Tuį¹£ita Heaven into his mother's womb.
The sources which present a complete picture of the life of SiddhÄrtha Gautama are a variety of different, and sometimes conflicting, traditional biographies from a later date. These include the ''
Buddhacarita'', ''
Lalitavistara Sūtra
The ''Lalitavistara Sūtra'' is a Sanskrit Mahayana sutras, Mahayana Buddhist sutra that tells the story of Gautama Buddha from the time of his descent from Tushita until his first sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Varanasi. The term ''La ...
'', ''
MahÄvastu'', and the ''NidÄnakathÄ''. Of these, the ''Buddhacarita'' is the earliest full biography, an epic poem written by the poet
AÅvaghoį¹£a
, also Devanagari transliteration, transliterated Ashvaghosha (, ; lit. "Having a Horse-Voice"; ; ) ( Common Era, CE), was a Buddhist philosopher, dramatist, poet, musician, and orator from India. He was born in Saketa, today known as Ayodhya. ...
in the first century CE. The ''Lalitavistara Sūtra'' is the next oldest biography, a
MahÄyÄna
MahÄyÄna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#MahÄyÄna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
/
SarvÄstivÄda
The ''SarvÄstivÄda'' (; ;) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (third century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy in the First Millennium CE, 2018, p. 60. It was particularl ...
biography dating to the 3rd century CE.
The ''MahÄvastu'' from the
MahÄsÄį¹ghika
The MahÄsÄį¹ghika (Brahmi script, Brahmi: š«š³šøš²šøšššŗš, "of the Great Sangha (Buddhism), Sangha", ) was a major division (nikÄya) of the early Buddhist schools in India. They were one of the two original communities th ...
LokottaravÄda
The LokottaravÄda (Sanskrit, ą¤²ą„ą¤ą„ą¤¤ą„ą¤¤ą¤°ą¤µą¤¾ą¤¦; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools according to Mahayana doxological sources compiled by BhÄviveka, Vinitadeva and others, and was a subgroup which emerged from the MahÄsÄ ...
tradition is another major biography, composed incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE. The
Dharmaguptaka
The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: ą¤§ą¤°ą„ą¤®ą¤ą„ą¤Ŗą„ą¤¤ą¤; ; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools from the ancient region of Gandhara, now Pakistan. They are said to have originated from another sect, the MahÄ«ÅÄsakas f ...
biography of the Buddha is the most exhaustive, and is entitled the ''Abhiniį¹£kramaį¹a SÅ«tra'', and various Chinese translations of this date between the 3rd and 6th century CE. The ''NidÄnakathÄ'' is from the
Theravada
''TheravÄda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''TheravÄdins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravÄdÄ«''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
tradition in Sri Lanka and was composed in the 5th century by
Buddhaghoį¹£a.
Historical person
Understanding the historical person
Scholars are hesitant to make claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most of them accept that the Buddha lived, taught, and founded a monastic order during the
Mahajanapada
The MahÄjanapadas were sixteen kingdoms and aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation period.
History
The 6thā5th centuries BCE are often regarded as a ...
period, specifically during the reign of
Bimbisara
BimbisÄra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories ( or ) was
the King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 262010p. 166f. or ) and belonged to the Haryanka d ...
, ruler of
Magadha
Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...
, and died during the reign of Bimbisara's successor
Ajatashatru
Ajatasattu (PÄli: ) or Ajatashatru (Sanskrit: ) in the Buddhist tradition, or Kunika () and Kuniya () in the Jain tradition (reigned c. 492 to 460 BCE, or c. 405 to 373 BCE), was one of the most important kings of the Haryanka dynasty of Mag ...
, thus also making him a contemporary of
Mahavira
Mahavira (Devanagari: ą¤®ą¤¹ą¤¾ą¤µą„ą¤°, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: ą¤µą¤°ą„ą¤§ą¤®ą¤¾ą¤Ø, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...
, the Jain
tirthankara
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saį¹sÄ ...
.
There is less consensus on the veracity of many details contained in traditional biographies, as "Buddhist scholars
..have mostly given up trying to understand the historical person." The earliest versions of Buddhist biographical texts that we have already contain many supernatural, mythical, or legendary elements. In the 19th century, some scholars simply omitted these from their accounts of the life, so that "the image projected was of a Buddha who was a rational, socratic teacherāa great person perhaps, but a more or less ordinary human being". More recent scholars tend to see such demythologisers as remythologisers, "creating a Buddha that appealed to them, by eliding one that did not".
Dating
The dates of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Within the Eastern Buddhist tradition of China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan, the traditional date for Buddha's death was 949 BCE, but according to the Ka-tan system of the
Kalachakra
''KÄlacakra'' () is a Polysemy, polysemic term in Vajrayana, Vajrayana Buddhism and Hinduism that means "wheel of time" or "time cycles". "''KÄlacakra''" is also the name of a series of Buddhist texts and a major practice lineage in History of ...
tradition, Buddha's death was about 833 BCE.
Buddhist texts present two chronologies which have been used to date the lifetime of the Buddha. The "long chronology", from Sri Lankese chronicles, states the Buddha had a lifespan of 80 years and died 218 years before
Asoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or AÅoka ( ; , ; ā 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was Emperor of Magadha from until his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynasty. His empire covered a large p ...
's coronation, thus from which it is inferred that he was born about 298 years before the coronation. According to these chronicles, Asoka was crowned in 326 BCE, which gives Buddha's lifespan as 624ā544 BCE, and are the accepted dates in Sri Lanka and South-East Asia. Alternatively, most scholars who also accept the long chronology but date Asoka's coronation around 268 BCE (based on Greek evidence) put the Buddha's lifespan later at 566ā486 BCE.
However, the "short chronology", from Indian sources and their Chinese and Tibetan translations, while also giving a lifespan of 80 years, place the Buddha's death 100 years before Asoka's coronation, from which his birth is inferred at about 180 years before the coronation. Following the Greek sources of Asoka's coronation as 268 BCE, this dates the Buddha's lifespan even later as 448ā368 BCE.
Most historians in the early 20th century use the earlier dates of 563ā483 BCE, differing from the long chronology based on Greek evidence by just three years. More recently, there are attempts to put his death midway between the long chronology's 480s BCE and the short chronology's 360s BCE, so circa 410 BCE. At a symposium on this question held in 1988, the majority of those who presented gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death. These alternative chronologies, however, have not been accepted by all historians.
The dating of Bimbisara and Ajatashatru also depends on the long or short chronology. In the long chrononology, Bimbisara reigned , and died 492 BCE, while Ajatashatru reigned . In the short chronology Bimbisara reigned , while Ajatashatru died between and 330 BCE. According to historian
K. T. S. Sarao, a proponent of the Short Chronology wherein the Buddha's lifespan was , it can be estimated that Bimbisara was reigning , and Ajatashatru was reigning .
Archaeological evidence
Two archaeological sites have been linked to the time of the Buddha around the 5th century BCE.
The first of these is the
Relic Stupa of Vaishali situated in the Indian state of
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
which is considered to be the earliest archaeologically known
stupa
In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' ÅarÄ«ra''āthe remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...
. The stupa itself is made of brick and has a
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...
core that has been enlarged several times. The excavators noted that the final brick addition was contemporary with a nearby 3rd century BCE
Mauryan empire
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...
column which would therefore mean that the clay core predated the Mauryans. They also found that the relics within the stupa had been removed at a later date. This would match up with the history of
Ashoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or AÅoka ( ; , ; ā 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
who is said to have redistributed the relics of the Buddha in the 3rd century BCE.
The second site is a small wooden structure that was excavated in
Lumbini around 2015 which also contained traces of tree roots. Carbon dating has been used to date the structure and the roots to possibly the sixth-century BCE.
Historical context
Shakyas
According to the Buddhist tradition, Shakyamuni Buddha was a
Shakya
Shakya (Pali, PÄįø·i: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan clan of the northeastern region of South Asia, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age in India, Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised into a Gaį¹asaį¹
gha, (an Aristocrac ...
, a sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. The Shakya community was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE. The community, though describable as a small republic, was probably an
oligarchy
Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...
, with his father as the elected chieftain or oligarch. The Shakyas were widely considered to be non-
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...
(and, hence impure) in
Brahminic texts; their origins remain speculative and debated.
Bronkhorst terms this culture, which grew alongside
Aryavarta without being affected by the flourish of Brahminism, as
Greater Magadha
Greater Magadha is a theory in the studies of the ancient history of India, introduced by Johannes Bronkhorst. It refers to the non-Vedic political and cultural sphere that developed in the lower Gangetic plains (modern day Bihar, Eastern ...
.
The Buddha's tribe of origin, the Shakyas, seems to have had non-Vedic religious practices which persist in Buddhism, such as the veneration of trees and sacred groves, and the worship of tree spirits (
yaksha
The Yakshas (, , ) in Mythology are a broad class of nature spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Bud ...
s) and serpent beings (
nÄga
In various Asian religious traditions, the NÄgas () are a divine, or semi-divine, race of half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala), and can occasionally take human or part-human form, or are so depicted in art. ...
s). They also seem to have built burial mounds called stupas.
Tree veneration remains important in Buddhism today, particularly in the practice of venerating Bodhi trees. Likewise, yakshas and nÄgas have remained important figures in Buddhist religious practices and mythology.
Shramanas
The Buddha's lifetime coincided with the flourishing of influential
Åramaį¹a
A ''Åramaį¹a''; ; ; ; ) is a person "who labours, toils, or exerts themselves for some higher or religious purpose" or "seeker, or ascetic, one who performs acts of austerity".Monier Monier-Williams, ą¤¶ą„ą¤°ą¤®ą¤£ Åramaį¹a, Sanskrit-Eng ...
schools of thought like
ÄjÄ«vika
''Ajivika'' (, IAST: ) is one of the Ästika and nÄstika, ''nÄstika'' or "heterodox" schools of Indian philosophy.Natalia Isaeva (1993), Shankara and Indian Philosophy, State University of New York Press, , pages 20-23James Lochtefeld, "Ajiv ...
,
CÄrvÄka
Charvaka (; IAST: ''CÄrvÄka''), also known as ''LokÄyata'', is an ancient school of Indian materialism. It's an example of the atheistic schools in the Ancient Indian philosophies. Charvaka holds direct perception, empiricism, and condit ...
,
Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...
, and
AjƱana
''AjƱÄna'' (, (Vedic) IPA: /ÉdĶ”Ź.ɲÉĖ.nÉ/; (Classical) IPA: /ÉdĶ”ŹĖɲÉĖ.nĢŖÉ/) was one of the Ästika and nÄstika, ''nÄstika'' or "heterodox" schools of Hindu philosophy, ancient Indian philosophy, and the ancient school of rad ...
. The ''
Brahmajala Sutta'' records sixty-two such schools of thought. In this context, a Åramaį¹a refers to one who labours, toils or exerts themselves (for some higher or religious purpose). It was also the age of influential thinkers like
Mahavira
Mahavira (Devanagari: ą¤®ą¤¹ą¤¾ą¤µą„ą¤°, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: ą¤µą¤°ą„ą¤§ą¤®ą¤¾ą¤Ø, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...
,
PÅ«raį¹a Kassapa,
Makkhali GosÄla,
Ajita Kesakambalī,
Pakudha KaccÄyana, and
SaƱjaya Belaį¹į¹haputta, as recorded in
SamaƱƱaphala Sutta, with whose viewpoints the Buddha must have been acquainted.
ÅÄriputra
ÅÄriputra (; Tibetan: ą½¤ą½±ą¼ą½¢ą½²ą½ ą½²ą¼ą½ą½“ą¼, Pali: ''SÄriputta'', lit. "the son of ÅÄri", born Upatiį¹£ya, Pali: ''Upatissa'') was one of the top disciples of Gautama Buddha, the Buddha. He is considered the first of the Buddh ...
and
MoggallÄna
MaudgalyÄyana (), also known as MahÄmaudgalyÄyana or by his birth name Kolita, was one of Gautama Buddha, the Buddha's closest disciples. Described as a contemporary of disciples such as Subhuti, ÅÄriputra ('), and MahÄkÄÅyapa (), he i ...
, two of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, were formerly the foremost disciples of SaƱjaya Belaį¹į¹haputta, the sceptic. The PÄli canon frequently depicts Buddha engaging in debate with the adherents of rival schools of thought. There is philological evidence to suggest that the two masters,
Alara Kalama and
Uddaka RÄmaputta
Uddaka RÄmaputta (PÄli; ) was a sage and teacher of meditation identified by the Buddhist tradition as one of the teachers of Gautama Buddha. 'RÄmaputta' means 'son of RÄma', who may have been his father or spiritual teacher. Uddaka RÄmaput ...
, were historical figures and they most probably taught Buddha two different forms of meditative techniques. Thus, Buddha was just one of the many Åramaį¹a philosophers of that time. In an era where holiness of person was judged by their level of asceticism, Buddha was a reformist within the Åramaį¹a movement, rather than a reactionary against Vedic Brahminism.
Coningham and Young note that both Jains and Buddhists used stupas, while tree shrines can be found in both Buddhism and Hinduism.
Urban environment and egalitarianism
The rise of Buddhism coincided with the
Second Urbanisation, in which the Ganges Basin was settled and cities grew, in which
egalitarianism
Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hum ...
prevailed. According to Thapar, the Buddha's teachings were "also a response to the historical changes of the time, among which were the emergence of the state and the growth of urban centres". While the Buddhist mendicants renounced society, they lived close to the villages and cities, depending for alms-givings on lay supporters.
According to Dyson, the Ganges basin was settled from the north-west and the south-east, as well as from within, "
omingtogether in what is now
Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
(the location of
Pataliputra
Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, Bihar, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE, as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliput ...
)". The Ganges basin was densely forested, and the population grew when new areas were deforestated and cultivated. The society of the middle Ganges basin lay on "the outer fringe of Aryan cultural influence", and differed significantly from the
Aryan society of the western Ganges basin. According to Stein and Burton, "
e gods of the brahmanical sacrificial cult were not rejected so much as ignored by Buddhists and their contemporaries." Jainism and Buddhism opposed the social stratification of Brahmanism, and their egalitarism prevailed in the cities of the middle Ganges basin. This "allowed Jains and Buddhists to engage in trade more easily than Brahmans, who were forced to follow strict caste prohibitions."
Semi-legendary biography
Nature of traditional depictions

In the earliest Buddhist texts, the
nikÄya
''NikÄya'' () is a PÄli word meaning "volume". It is often used like the Sanskrit word '' Ägama'' () to mean "collection", "assemblage", "class" or "group" in both PÄįø·i and Sanskrit. It is most commonly used in reference to the Pali Buddhis ...
s and
Ägamas, the Buddha is not depicted as possessing
omniscience
Omniscience is the property of possessing maximal knowledge. In Hinduism, Sikhism and the Abrahamic religions, it is often attributed to a divine being or an all-knowing spirit, entity or person. In Jainism, omniscience is an attribute that any ...
(''sabbaƱƱu'') nor is he depicted as being an eternal transcendent (''lokottara'') being. According to
Bhikkhu Analayo
Bhikkhu AnÄlayo is a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk), scholar, and meditation teacher. He was born in Germany in 1962, and went forth in 1995 in the TheravÄdin monastic tradition of Sri Lanka. He is best known for his comparative studies of Early Bu ...
, ideas of the Buddha's omniscience (along with an increasing tendency to deify him and his biography) are found only later, in the
Mahayana sutras
The Mahayana sutras are Buddhist texts that are accepted as wikt:canon, canonical and authentic Buddhist texts, ''buddhavacana'' in Mahayana, Mahayana Buddhist sanghas. These include three types of sutras: Those spoken by the Buddha; those spoke ...
and later
Pali
PÄli (, IAST: pÄl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, PÄli Can ...
commentaries or texts such as the ''MahÄvastu''. In the ''Sandaka Sutta'', the Buddha's disciple
Ananda outlines an argument against the claims of teachers who say they are all knowing while in the ''Tevijjavacchagotta Sutta'' the Buddha himself states that he has never made a claim to being omniscient, instead he claimed to have the "higher knowledges" (
abhijƱÄ
AbhijĆ±Ä (; Pali pronunciation: ''abhiƱƱÄ''; ''mngon shes''; zh, t=å
éļ¼ē„éļ¼å
ē„é, p=LiùtÅng/ShĆ©ntÅng/LiùshĆ©ntÅng; ) is a Buddhist term generally translated as "direct knowledge", "higher knowledge"Rhys Davids & Stede (1 ...
). The earliest biographical material from the Pali Nikayas focuses on the Buddha's life as a Åramaį¹a, his search for enlightenment under various teachers such as
Alara Kalama and his forty-five-year career as a teacher.
Traditional biographies of Gautama often include numerous miracles, omens, and supernatural events. The character of the Buddha in these traditional biographies is often that of a fully transcendent (Skt. ''lokottara'') and perfected being who is unencumbered by the mundane world. In the ''MahÄvastu'', over the course of many lives, Gautama is said to have developed supramundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse; no need for sleep, food, medicine, or bathing, although engaging in such "in
conformity
Conformity or conformism is the act of matching attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to social group, group norms, politics or being like-minded. Social norm, Norms are implicit, specific rules, guidance shared by a group of individuals, that guide t ...
with the world"; omniscience, and the ability to "suppress karma". As noted by Andrew Skilton, the Buddha was often described as being superhuman, including descriptions of him having the 32 major and 80 minor marks of a "great man", and the idea that the Buddha could live for as long as an aeon if he wished (see DN 16).
The ancient Indians were generally unconcerned with chronologies, being more focused on philosophy. Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing a clearer picture of what Gautama may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of the culture and daily life of ancient India which can be corroborated from the
Jain scriptures
Jain literature () refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the canonical ''Jain Agamas'', which are wri ...
, and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in
Indian history for which significant accounts exist. British author
Karen Armstrong
Karen Armstrong (born 14 November 1944) is a British author and commentator known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and Christian mysticism, mystical ...
writes that although there is very little information that can be considered historically sound, we can be reasonably confident that SiddhÄrtha Gautama did exist as a historical figure.
Michael Carrithers goes further, stating that the most general outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true.
Previous lives
Legendary biographies like the Pali ''
Buddhavaį¹sa
The ''Buddhavaį¹sa'' (also known as the ''Chronicle of Buddhas'') is a hagiographical Buddhist text which describes the life of Gautama Buddha and of the twenty-four Buddhas who preceded him and prophesied his attainment of Buddhahood. It is ...
'' and the Sanskrit ''JÄtakamÄlÄ'' depict the Buddha's (referred to as "
bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
" before his awakening) career as spanning hundreds of lifetimes before his last birth as Gautama. Many of these previous lives are narrated in the
Jatakas
The ''JÄtaka'' (Sanskrit for "Birth-Related" or "Birth Stories") are a voluminous body of literature native to the Indian subcontinent which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Jataka stories we ...
, which consists of 547 stories. The format of a Jataka typically begins by telling a story in the present which is then explained by a story of someone's previous life.
Besides imbuing the pre-Buddhist past with a deep karmic history, the Jatakas also serve to explain the bodhisattva's (the Buddha-to-be) path to Buddhahood. In biographies like the ''Buddhavaį¹sa'', this path is described as long and arduous, taking "four incalculable ages" (''
asamkheyyas'').
In these legendary biographies, the bodhisattva goes through many different births (animal and human), is inspired by his meeting of
past Buddhas, and then makes a series of resolves or vows (''
pranidhana'') to become a Buddha himself. Then he begins to receive predictions by past Buddhas. One of the most popular of these stories is
his meeting with Dipankara Buddha, who gives the bodhisattva a prediction of future Buddhahood.
Another theme found in the Pali Jataka Commentary (''JÄtakaį¹į¹hakathÄ'') and the Sanskrit ''JÄtakamÄlÄ'' is how the Buddha-to-be had to practice several "perfections" (''
pÄramitÄ
''PÄramitÄ'' (Sanskrit, Pali: पारमिता) or ''pÄramÄ«'' (PÄli: पारमą„) is a Buddhist term often translated as "perfection". It is described in Buddhist commentaries as a noble character quality generally associated with ...
'') to reach Buddhahood. The Jatakas also sometimes depict negative actions done in previous lives by the bodhisattva, which explain difficulties he experienced in his final life as Gautama.
Birth and early life

According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in
Lumbini,
now in modern-day Nepal, and raised in
Kapilavastu. The exact site of ancient Kapilavastu is unknown. It may have been either
Piprahwa
Piprahwa is a village near Siddharthnagar city in Siddharthnagar district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. Kalanamak rice, a scented and spicy variety, is grown in this area. It lies in the heart of the historical Buddha's homeland and ...
, Uttar Pradesh, in present-day India, or
Tilaurakot, in present-day Nepal. Both places belonged to the Sakya territory, and are located only apart.
In the mid-3rd century BCE the Emperor
Ashoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or AÅoka ( ; , ; ā 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
determined that Lumbini was Gautama's birthplace and thus installed a pillar there with the inscription: "...this is where the Buddha, sage of the ÅÄkyas (''ÅÄkyamuni''), was born."
According to later biographies such as the ''
Mahavastu'' and the ''
Lalitavistara'', his mother,
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (East Africa), a p ...
, Suddhodana's wife, was a princess from
Devdaha, the ancient capital of the
Koliya
Koliya (PÄli: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan clan of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Koliyas were organised into a (an aristocratic republic), presently referred to as the Koliya Republic.
Locat ...
Kingdom (what is now the
Rupandehi District
Rupandehi District (; ), a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal and covers an area of . The district headquarter is Bhairahawa. As per the national census 2011, the population of Rupandehi was 880,196.
Etymo ...
of Nepal). Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that a
white elephant
A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of without extreme difficulty, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, ...
with six white tusks entered her right side, and ten
months
A month is a unit of time, used with calendars, that is approximately as long as a natural phase cycle of the Moon; the words ''month'' and ''Moon'' are cognates. The traditional concept of months arose with the cycle of Moon phases; such lunar m ...
later Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother became pregnant, she left Kapilavastu for her father's kingdom to give birth.
Her son is said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a
sal tree
''Shorea robusta'', the sal tree, sÄla, shala, sakhua, or sarai, is a species of tree in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The tree is native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Tibet and across the Himalayan regions.
Evolution
Fossil evidence from lign ...
. The earliest Buddhist sources state that the Buddha was born to an aristocratic
Kshatriya
Kshatriya () (from Sanskrit ''kį¹£atra'', "rule, authority"; also called Rajanya) is one of the four varnas (social orders) of Hindu society and is associated with the warrior aristocracy. The Sanskrit term ''kį¹£atriyaįø„'' is used in the con ...
(Pali: ''khattiya'') family called Gautama (Pali: Gotama), who were part of the
Shakya
Shakya (Pali, PÄįø·i: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan clan of the northeastern region of South Asia, whose existence is attested during the Iron Age in India, Iron Age. The Shakyas were organised into a Gaį¹asaį¹
gha, (an Aristocrac ...
s, a tribe of rice-farmers living near the modern border of India and Nepal. His father
Åuddhodana
Åuddhodana (; Pali: ''Suddhodana''), meaning "he who grows pure rice," was the father of Siddhartha Gautama, better known as the Buddha. He was a leader of the Shakya, who lived in an Oligarchy, oligarchic republic, with their capital at Kapil ...
was "an elected chief of the
Shakya clan", whose capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed by the growing Kingdom of
Kosala
Kosala, sometimes referred to as Uttara Kosala () was one of the Mahajanapadas of ancient India. It emerged as a small state during the Late Vedic period and became (along with Magadha) one of the earliest states to transition from a lineage ...
during the Buddha's lifetime.
The early Buddhist texts contain very little information about the birth and youth of Gotama Buddha. Later biographies developed a dramatic narrative about the life of the young Gotama as a prince and his existential troubles. They depict his father Åuddhodana as a
hereditary monarch of the
Suryavansha (Solar dynasty) of (PÄli: OkkÄka). This is unlikely, as many scholars think that Åuddhodana was merely a Shakya aristocrat (''khattiya''), and that the Shakya republic was not a hereditary monarchy. The more egalitarian
form of government, as a political alternative to Indian monarchies, may have influenced the development of the Åramanic
Jain and Buddhist
sanghas, where monarchies tended toward
Vedic Brahmanism.
The day of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death is widely celebrated in
Theravada
''TheravÄda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''TheravÄdins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravÄdÄ«''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
countries as
Vesak
Vesak (; Sanskrit: '), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima, Visak Bochea and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhism, Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as in Tibet and Mongolia. It is among the ...
and the day he got conceived as
Poson
Poson, also known as Poson Poya, is an annual festival held by Sri Lankan Buddhists celebrating the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC. The festival is the most important Poya (full moon) holiday of the year and the second mos ...
.
Buddha's Birthday
Buddha's Birthday or Buddha Day (also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima, and Buddha Pournami) is a primarily Buddhist festival that is celebrated in most of South Asia, South, Southeast Asia, Southeast and East Asia, commemorating the bir ...
is called ''Buddha
Purnima
PÅ«rį¹imÄ () is the word for full moon in Sanskrit. The day of Purnima is the day ('' Tithi'') in each month when the full moon occurs, and marks the division in each month between the two lunar fortnights (paksha), and the Moon is aligned exac ...
'' in Nepal, Bangladesh, and India as he is believed to have been born on a full moon day.
According to later biographical legends, during the birth celebrations, the hermit seer
Asita journeyed from his mountain abode, analyzed the child for the
"32 marks of a great man" and then announced that he would either become a great king (''
chakravartin
A ''chakravarti'' (, ) is an ideal (or idealized) universal ruler, in the history, and religion of India. The concept is present in Indian subcontinent cultural traditions, narrative myths and lore. There are three types of chakravarti: ''c ...
'') or a great religious leader. Suddhodana held a naming ceremony on the fifth day and invited eight
Brahmin
Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
scholars to read the future. All gave similar predictions.
Kaundinya
Kaundinya (Sanskrit ą¤ą„ą¤ą¤”ą¤æą¤Øą„ą¤Æ), also known as ''ÄjƱÄtakauį¹įøinya'', Pali: ''AƱƱa Koį¹įøaƱƱa''), was one of the first five bhikkhu, Buddhist monks (Pancavaggiya), disciple of Gautama Buddha and the first to attain the f ...
, the youngest, and later to be the first
arhat
In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, š
šš³š¦šš¢š) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism ...
other than the Buddha, was reputed to be the only one who unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha would become a
Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),*
*
*
was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...
.
Early texts suggest that Gautama was not familiar with the dominant religious teachings of his time until he left on his religious quest, which is said to have been motivated by existential concern for the human condition. According to the
early Buddhist Texts of several schools, and numerous
post-canonical accounts, Gotama had a wife,
Yasodhara, and a son, named
RÄhula
Rahul (PÄli) or RÄhula (Sanskrit; born ) was the only son of SiddhÄrtha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha, and his wife, princess YaÅodharÄ. He is mentioned in numerous Buddhist texts, from the early period onward. Accounts about R ...
. Besides this, the Buddha in the early texts reports that "I lived a spoilt, a very spoilt life, monks (in my parents' home)."
The legendary biographies like the ''
Lalitavistara'' also tell stories of young Gotama's great martial skill, which was put to the test in various contests against other Shakyan youths.
Renunciation

While the earliest sources merely depict Gotama seeking a higher spiritual goal and becoming an ascetic or ''Åramaį¹a'' after being disillusioned with lay life, the later legendary biographies tell a more elaborate dramatic story about how he became a mendicant.
The earliest accounts of the Buddha's spiritual quest is found in texts such as the Pali ''AriyapariyesanÄ-sutta'' ("The discourse on the noble quest", MN 26) and its Chinese parallel at
MÄ 204. These texts report that what led to Gautama's renunciation was the thought that his life was subject to old age, disease and death and that there might be something better.
The early texts also depict the Buddha's explanation for becoming a sramana as follows: "The household life, this place of impurity, is narrowāthe ''samana'' life is the free open air. It is not easy for a householder to lead the perfected, utterly pure and perfect holy life." MN 26, MÄ 204, the
Dharmaguptaka
The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: ą¤§ą¤°ą„ą¤®ą¤ą„ą¤Ŗą„ą¤¤ą¤; ; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools from the ancient region of Gandhara, now Pakistan. They are said to have originated from another sect, the MahÄ«ÅÄsakas f ...
Vinaya and the
MahÄvastu all agree that his mother and father opposed his decision and "wept with tearful faces" when he decided to leave.

Legendary biographies also tell the story of how Gautama left his palace to see the outside world for the first time and how he was shocked by his encounter with human suffering. These depict Gautama's father as shielding him from religious teachings and from knowledge of human
suffering
Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, may be an experience of unpleasantness or aversion, possibly associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence (psyc ...
, so that he would become a great king instead of a great religious leader. In the ''
Nidanakatha
The ''JÄtaka'' (Sanskrit for "Birth-Related" or "Birth Stories") are a voluminous body of literature native to the Indian subcontinent which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Jataka stories we ...
'' (5th century CE), Gautama is said to have seen an old man. When his charioteer
Chandaka explained to him that all people grew old, the prince went on further trips beyond the palace. On these he encountered a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an
ascetic
Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...
that inspired him. This story of the "
four sights
The four sights are four events described in the legendary account of Gautama Buddha's life which led to his realization of the impermanence and the ultimate dissatisfaction of conditioned existence. According to this legend, before these encoun ...
" seems to be adapted from an earlier account in the ''Digha Nikaya'' (DN 14.2) which instead depicts the young life of a previous Buddha,
Vipassi.
The legendary biographies depict Gautama's departure from his palace as follows. Shortly after seeing the four sights, Gautama woke up at night and saw his female servants lying in unattractive, corpse-like poses, which shocked him. Therefore, he discovered what he would later understand more deeply during his
enlightenment: ''
dukkha'' ("standing unstable", "dissatisfaction") and the end of ''dukkha''. Moved by all the things he had experienced, he decided to leave the palace in the middle of the night against the will of his father, to live the life of a wandering ascetic.
Accompanied by Chandaka and riding his horse
Kanthaka
According to Buddhist legend, Kanthaka (in Pali language, Pali and Sanskrit language, Sanskrit) (6th century BC, in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, India) was an eighteen cubit long, favourite white horse and royal servant of Prince Siddhartha, who ...
, Gautama leaves the palace, leaving behind his son
Rahula and
YaÅodhara. He travelled to the river
Anomiya, and cut off his hair. Leaving his servant and horse behind, he journeyed into the woods and changed into
monk's robes there, though in some other versions of the story, he received the robes from a
''Brahma'' deity at Anomiya.
According to the legendary biographies, when the ascetic Gautama first went to Rajagaha (present-day
Rajgir
Rajgir, old name Rajagriha, meaning "The City of Kings," is an ancient city and university town in the Nalanda district of Bihar, India. It was the capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty, the Maurya ...
) to beg for
alms
Alms (, ) are money, food, or other material goods donated to people living in poverty. Providing alms is often considered an act of Charity (practice), charity. The act of providing alms is called almsgiving.
Etymology
The word ''alms'' come ...
in the streets, King
Bimbisara
BimbisÄra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories ( or ) was
the King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 262010p. 166f. or ) and belonged to the Haryanka d ...
of
Magadha
Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...
learned of his quest, and offered him a share of his kingdom. Gautama rejected the offer but promised to visit his kingdom first, upon attaining enlightenment.
Ascetic life and awakening

Majjhima Nikaya 4 mentions that Gautama lived in "remote jungle thickets" during his years of spiritual striving and had to overcome the fear that he felt while living in the forests. The Nikaya-texts narrate that the ascetic Gautama practised under two teachers of
yogic
Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
meditation. According to the ''AriyapariyesanÄ-sutta'' (MN 26) and its Chinese parallel at MÄ 204, after having mastered the teaching of
ÄrÄįøa KÄlÄma (), who taught a meditation attainment called "the sphere of nothingness", he was asked by ÄrÄįøa to become an equal leader of their spiritual community.
Gautama felt unsatisfied by the practice because it "does not lead to revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to knowledge, to awakening, to Nibbana", and moved on to become a student of
Udraka RÄmaputra (). With him, he achieved high levels of meditative consciousness (called "The Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception") and was again asked to join his teacher. But, once more, he was not satisfied for the same reasons as before, and moved on.
According to some sutras, after leaving his meditation teachers, Gotama then practiced ascetic techniques. The ascetic techniques described in the early texts include very minimal food intake, different forms of
breath control, and forceful mind control. The texts report that he became so emaciated that his bones became visible through his skin. The ''MahÄsaccaka-sutta'' and most of its parallels agree that after taking asceticism to its extremes, Gautama realized that this had not helped him attain nirvana, and that he needed to regain strength to pursue his goal. One popular story tells of how he accepted milk and
rice pudding
Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and commonly other ingredients such as sweeteners, spices, flavourings and sometimes eggs.
Variants are used for either desserts or dinners. When used as a dessert, it is commonly c ...
from a village girl named
Sujata.
According to the čŗ«ęÆåč±ē¶, his break with asceticism led his five companions to abandon him, since they believed that he had abandoned his search and become undisciplined. At this point, Gautama remembered a previous experience of ''
dhyana
Dhyana may refer to:
Meditative practices in Indian religions
* Dhyana in Buddhism (PÄli: ''jhÄna'')
* Dhyana in Hinduism
* Jain DhyÄna, see Jain meditation
Other
*''Dhyana'', a work by British composer John Tavener
Sir John Kenneth ...
'' ("meditation") he had as a child sitting under a tree while his father worked. This memory leads him to understand that ''dhyana'' is the path to
liberation, and the texts then depict the Buddha achieving all four dhyanas, followed by the "three higher knowledges" (''
tevijja''), culminating in complete insight into the
Four Noble Truths
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (; ; "The Four Arya (Buddhism), arya satya") are "the truths of the noble one (the Buddha)," a statement of how things really are (Three marks of existence, the three marks of existence) when they are seen co ...
, thereby attaining liberation from ''
samsara'', the endless cycle of rebirth.
According to the ''
Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta
The ''Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta'' (Pali; Sanskrit: ''Dharmacakrapravartana Sūtra''; English: ''The Setting in Motion of the Wheel of the Dhamma Sutta'' or ''Promulgation of the Law Sutta'') is a Buddhist scripture that is considered by Buddhi ...
'' (SN 56),
the
Tathagata, the term Gautama uses most often to refer to himself, realized "the
Middle Way
The Middle Way (; ) as well as "teaching the Dharma by the middle" (''majjhena dhammaį¹ deseti'') are common Buddhist terms used to refer to two major aspects of the Dharma, that is, the teaching of the Buddha. The first phrasing, the Middle ...
"āa path of moderation away from the extremes of
self-indulgence
Hedonism is a family of philosophical views that prioritize pleasure. Psychological hedonism is the theory that all human behavior is motivated by the desire to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. As a form of egoism, it suggests that peop ...
and self-mortification, or the
Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path () or Eight Right Paths () is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
The Eightfold Path consists of eight pra ...
.
In later centuries, Gautama became known as the ''Buddha'' or "Awakened One". The title indicates that unlike most people who are "asleep", a Buddha is understood as having "woken up" to the true nature of reality and sees the world 'as it is' (''yatha-bhutam''). A Buddha has achieved liberation (''vimutti''), also called Nirvana, which is seen as the extinguishing of the "fires" of desire, hatred, and ignorance, that keep the cycle of suffering and rebirth going.
Following his decision to leave his meditation teachers, MÄ 204 and other parallel early texts report that Gautama sat down with the determination not to get up until full awakening (''sammÄ-sambodhi'') had been reached; the ''AriyapariyesanÄ-sutta'' does not mention "full awakening", but only that he attained nirvana. In Buddhist tradition, this event was said to have occurred under a
pipal treeāknown as "the
Bodhi tree"āin
Bodh Gaya
Bodh GayÄ is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautam ...
, Bihar.
As reported by various texts from the Pali Canon, the Buddha sat for seven days under the bodhi tree "feeling the bliss of deliverance". The Pali texts also report that he continued to meditate and contemplated various aspects of the Dharma while living by the
River NairaƱjanÄ, such as
Dependent Origination
A dependant (US spelling: dependent) is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income and usually assistance with activities of daily living. A common-law spouse who is financially supported by their partner may also be included ...
, the
Five Spiritual Faculties and suffering (''dukkha'').
The legendary biographies like the ''
Mahavastu,
Nidanakatha
The ''JÄtaka'' (Sanskrit for "Birth-Related" or "Birth Stories") are a voluminous body of literature native to the Indian subcontinent which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Jataka stories we ...
'' and the ''
Lalitavistara'' depict an attempt by
Mara
Mara or MARA may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Fictional characters
* Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials
* Mara (She-Ra), fictional characters from the ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' and ''The New Advent ...
, the ruler of the desire realm, to prevent the Buddha's nirvana. He does so by sending his daughters to seduce the Buddha, by asserting his superiority and by assaulting him with armies of monsters. However the Buddha is unfazed and calls on the earth (or in some versions of the legend, the
earth goddess
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
) as witness to his superiority by
touching the ground before entering meditation. Other miracles and magical events are also depicted.
First sermon and formation of the saį¹
gha

According to MN 26, immediately after his awakening, the Buddha hesitated on whether or not he should teach the ''
Dharma
Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...
'' to others. He was concerned that humans were overpowered by ignorance, greed, and hatred that it would be difficult for them to recognise the path, which is "subtle, deep and hard to grasp". However, the god
BrahmÄ Sahampati convinced him, arguing that at least some "with little dust in their eyes" will understand it. The Buddha relented and agreed to teach. According to AnÄlayo, the Chinese parallel to MN 26, MÄ 204, does not contain this story, but this event does appear in other parallel texts, such as in an ''
Ekottarika-Ägama'' discourse, in the ''Catusparisat-sÅ«tra'', and in the ''Lalitavistara''.
According to MN 26 and MÄ 204, after deciding to teach, the Buddha initially intended to visit his former teachers,
Alara Kalama and
Udaka Ramaputta, to teach them his insights, but they had already died, so he decided to visit his five former companions. MN 26 and MÄ 204 both report that on his way to
VÄrÄnasÄ« (Benares), he met another wanderer, an
ÄjÄ«vika
''Ajivika'' (, IAST: ) is one of the Ästika and nÄstika, ''nÄstika'' or "heterodox" schools of Indian philosophy.Natalia Isaeva (1993), Shankara and Indian Philosophy, State University of New York Press, , pages 20-23James Lochtefeld, "Ajiv ...
ascetic named Upaka in MN 26. The Buddha proclaimed that he had achieved full awakening, but Upaka was not convinced and "took a different path".
MN 26 and MÄ 204 continue with the Buddha reaching the
Deer Park (Sarnath) (''MrigadÄva'', also called ''Rishipatana'', "site where the ashes of the ascetics fell")
near VÄrÄnasÄ«, where he met the group of five ascetics and was able to convince them that he had indeed reached full awakening. According to MÄ 204 (but not MN 26), as well as the TheravÄda Vinaya, an
''Ekottarika-Ägama'' text, the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, the
MahÄ«ÅÄsaka
MahÄ«ÅÄsaka (; ) is one of the early Buddhist schools according to some records. Its origins may go back to the dispute in the Second Buddhist council. The Dharmaguptaka sect is thought to have branched out from the MahÄ«ÅÄsaka sect toward ...
Vinaya, and the ''MahÄvastu'', the Buddha then taught them the "first sermon", also known as the "Benares sermon",
i.e., the teaching of "the noble eightfold path as the middle path aloof from the two extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification". The Pali text reports that after the first sermon, the ascetic
Kaundinya
Kaundinya (Sanskrit ą¤ą„ą¤ą¤”ą¤æą¤Øą„ą¤Æ), also known as ''ÄjƱÄtakauį¹įøinya'', Pali: ''AƱƱa Koį¹įøaƱƱa''), was one of the first five bhikkhu, Buddhist monks (Pancavaggiya), disciple of Gautama Buddha and the first to attain the f ...
became the first
arhat
In Buddhism, an ''Arhat'' () or ''Arahant'' (, š
šš³š¦šš¢š) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana (Buddhism), Nirvana'' and has been liberated from the Rebirth (Buddhism ...
(liberated being) and the first Buddhist
bhikkhu
A ''bhikkhu'' (, ) is an ordained male in Buddhist monasticism. Male, and female monastics (''bhikkhunī''), are members of the Sangha (Buddhist community).
The lives of all Buddhist monastics are governed by a set of rules called the pratimokļæ½ ...
or monastic. The Buddha then continued to teach the other ascetics and they formed the first
, the company of Buddhist monks.
Various sources such as the ''MahÄvastu,'' the ''MahÄkhandhaka'' of the TheravÄda Vinaya and the ''Catusparisat-sÅ«tra'' also mention that the Buddha taught them his second discourse, about the characteristic of
"not-self" (''
AnÄtmalakį¹£aį¹a SÅ«tra''), at this time or five days later.
After hearing this second sermon the four remaining ascetics also reached the status of ''arahant.''
The TheravÄda Vinaya and the ''Catusparisat-sÅ«tra'' also speak of the conversion of
Yasa, a local guild master, and his friends and family, who were some of the first laypersons to be converted and to enter the Buddhist community.
The conversion of three brothers named Kassapa followed, who brought with them five hundred converts who had previously been "matted hair ascetics", and whose spiritual practice was related to fire sacrifices. According to the TheravÄda Vinaya, the Buddha then stopped at the Gayasisa hill near
Gaya and delivered his third discourse, the ''
ÄdittapariyÄya Sutta
The ''ÄdittapariyÄya Sutta'' (Pali, "Fire Sermon Discourse"), is a discourse from the Pali Canon, popularly known as the Fire Sermon. In this discourse, the Gautama Buddha, Buddha preaches about achieving liberation from dukkha, suffering t ...
'' (The Discourse on Fire), in which he taught that everything in the world is inflamed by passions and only those who follow the Eightfold path can be liberated.
At the end of the rainy season, when the Buddha's community had grown to around sixty awakened monks, he instructed them to wander on their own, teach and ordain people into the community, for the "welfare and benefit" of the world.
Travels and growth of the saį¹
gha
For the remaining 40 or 45 years of his life, the Buddha is said to have travelled in the
Gangetic Plain
The Indo-Gangetic Plain, also known as the Northern Plain or North Indian River Plain, is a fertile plain spanning across the northern and north-eastern part of the Indian subcontinent. It encompasses northern and eastern India, eastern Pakist ...
, in what is now
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
, Bihar, and southern Nepal, teaching a diverse range of people: from nobles to servants, ascetics and householders, murderers such as
Angulimala, and cannibals such as Alavaka. According to Schumann, the Buddha's travels ranged from "
Kosambi
Kosambi (Pali) or Kaushambi (Sanskrit) was an ancient city in India, characterized by its importance as a trading center along the Ganges Plain and its status as the capital of the Vatsa Kingdom, one of the sixteen mahajanapadas. It was loca ...
on the
Yamuna
The Yamuna (; ) is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of Bandarpunch peaks of the Low ...
(25 km south-west of
Allahabad
Prayagraj (, ; ISO 15919, ISO: ), formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi, Varanasi (Benar ...
)", to Campa (40 km east of
Bhagalpur
Bhagalpur, historically known as Champapuri, Champa Nagari, is a city in the Indian state of Bihar, situated on the southern bank of the Ganges river. It is the Bihar#Government and administration, third largest city of Bihar by population and ...
)" and from "Kapilavatthu (95 km north-west of
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the List of state and union territory capitals in India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the West Rapti River, Rapti river in the Purvanchal , Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometres east of ...
) to Uruvela (south of Gaya)". This covers an area of 600 by 300 km. His sangha enjoyed the patronage of the kings of
Kosala
Kosala, sometimes referred to as Uttara Kosala () was one of the Mahajanapadas of ancient India. It emerged as a small state during the Late Vedic period and became (along with Magadha) one of the earliest states to transition from a lineage ...
and
Magadha
Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...
and he thus spent a lot of time in their respective capitals,
Savatthi and
Rajagaha.
Although the Buddha's language remains unknown, it is likely that he taught in one or more of a variety of closely related
Middle Indo-Aryan
The Middle Indo-Aryan languages (or Middle Indic languages, sometimes conflated with the Prakrits, which are a stage of Middle Indic) are a historical group of languages of the Indo-Aryan family. They are the descendants of Old Indo-Aryan (OIA; ...
dialects, of which
Pali
PÄli (, IAST: pÄl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, PÄli Can ...
may be a standardisation.
The sangha wandered throughout the year, except during the four months of the
Vassa
''Vassa'' (, , both "rain") is the three-month annual retreat observed by Theravada Buddhists. Taking place during the wet season, Vassa lasts for three lunar months, usually from July (the Burmese month of Waso, ) to October (the Burmese ...
rainy season when ascetics of all religions rarely travelled. One reason was that it was more difficult to do so without causing harm to flora and animal life. The health of the ascetics might have been a concern as well. At this time of year, the sangha would retreat to monasteries, public parks or forests, where people would come to them.
The first vassana was spent at
Varanasi
Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...
when the sangha was formed. According to the Pali texts, shortly after the formation of the sangha, the Buddha travelled to
Rajagaha, capital of
Magadha
Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...
, and met with King
Bimbisara
BimbisÄra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories ( or ) was
the King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 262010p. 166f. or ) and belonged to the Haryanka d ...
, who gifted a bamboo grove park to the sangha.
The Buddha's sangha continued to grow during his initial travels in north India. The early texts tell the story of how the Buddha's
chief disciples,
SÄriputta and
MahÄmoggallÄna, who were both students of the skeptic sramana
SaƱjaya Belaį¹į¹hiputta, were converted by
Assaji. They also tell of how the Buddha's son,
Rahula, joined his father as a bhikkhu when the Buddha visited his old home, Kapilavastu. Over time, other Shakyans joined the order as bhikkhus, such as Buddha's cousin
Ananda,
Anuruddha
Anuruddha (; ) was one of the ten principal disciples and a cousin of Gautama Buddha.
Early years
Anuruddha was the son of Amitodana and brother to Mahanama and princess Rohini (Buddha's disciple). Since Amitodana was the brother of Suddh ...
,
Upali the barber, the Buddha's half-brother
Nanda and
Devadatta
Devadatta was by tradition a Buddhist monk, cousin and brother-in-law of Gautama SiddhÄrtha. The accounts of his life vary greatly, but he is generally seen as an evil and divisive figure in Buddhism, who led a breakaway group in the ear ...
. Meanwhile, the Buddha's father Suddhodana heard his son's teaching, converted to Buddhism and became a
stream-enterer.
The early texts also mention an important lay disciple, the merchant
AnÄthapiį¹įøika, who became a strong lay supporter of the Buddha early on. He is said to have gifted
Jeta's grove (''Jetavana'') to the sangha at great expense (the Theravada Vinaya speaks of thousands of gold coins).
Formation of the bhikkhunī order

The formation of a parallel order of female monastics (
bhikkhunī
A bhikkhunī (, ) is a fully ordained Buddhist nun. Bhikkhunīs live by the Vinaya, a set of either 311 Theravada, 348 Dharmaguptaka, or 364 Mulasarvastivada school rules. Until recently, the lineages of female monastics only remained in Mahay ...
) was another important part of the growth of the Buddha's community. As noted by AnÄlayo's comparative study of this topic, there are various versions of this event depicted in the different early Buddhist texts.
According to all the major versions surveyed by AnÄlayo,
MahÄprajÄpatÄ« GautamÄ«, Buddha's step-mother, is initially turned down by the Buddha after requesting ordination for her and some other women. MahÄprajÄpatÄ« and her followers then shave their hair, don robes and begin following the Buddha on his travels. The Buddha is eventually convinced by Änanda to grant ordination to MahÄprajÄpatÄ« on her acceptance of
eight conditions called gurudharmas which focus on the relationship between the new order of nuns and the monks.
According to AnÄlayo, the only argument common to all the versions that Ananda uses to convince the Buddha is that women have the same ability to reach all stages of awakening. AnÄlayo also notes that some modern scholars have questioned the authenticity of the eight gurudharmas in their present form due to various inconsistencies. He holds that the historicity of the current lists of eight is doubtful, but that they may have been based on earlier injunctions by the Buddha.
AnÄlayo notes that various passages indicate that the reason for the Buddha's hesitation to ordain women was the danger that the life of a wandering sramana posed for women that were not under the protection of their male family members, such as dangers of sexual assault and abduction. Due to this, the gurudharma injunctions may have been a way to place "the newly founded order of nuns in a relationship to its male counterparts that resembles as much as possible the protection a laywoman could expect from her male relatives".
Later years

According to J.S. Strong, after the first 20 years of his teaching career, the Buddha seems to have slowly settled in Sravasti, the capital of the Kingdom of Kosala, spending most of his later years in this city.
As the sangha grew in size, the need for a standardized set of monastic rules arose and the Buddha seems to have developed a set of regulations for the sangha. These are preserved in various texts called "
Pratimoksa" which were recited by the community every fortnight. The Pratimoksa includes general ethical precepts, as well as rules regarding the essentials of monastic life, such as bowls and robes.
In his later years, the Buddha's fame grew and he was invited to important royal events, such as the inauguration of the new council hall of the Shakyans (as seen in MN 53) and the inauguration of a new palace by Prince Bodhi (as depicted in MN 85). The early texts also speak of how during the Buddha's old age, the kingdom of Magadha was usurped by a new king,
Ajatashatru
Ajatasattu (PÄli: ) or Ajatashatru (Sanskrit: ) in the Buddhist tradition, or Kunika () and Kuniya () in the Jain tradition (reigned c. 492 to 460 BCE, or c. 405 to 373 BCE), was one of the most important kings of the Haryanka dynasty of Mag ...
, who overthrew his father
Bimbisara
BimbisÄra (in Buddhist tradition) or Shrenika () and Seniya () in the Jain histories ( or ) was
the King of Magadha (V. K. Agnihotri (ed.), ''Indian History''. Allied Publishers, New Delhi 262010p. 166f. or ) and belonged to the Haryanka d ...
. According to the ''SamaƱƱaphala Sutta,'' the new king spoke with different ascetic teachers and eventually took refuge in the Buddha. However, Jain sources also claim his allegiance, and it is likely he supported various religious groups, not just the Buddha's sangha exclusively.
As the Buddha continued to travel and teach, he also came into contact with
members of other ÅrÄmana sects. There is evidence from the early texts that the Buddha encountered some of these figures and critiqued their doctrines. The ''SamaƱƱaphala Sutta'' identifies six such sects.
The early texts also depict the elderly Buddha as suffering from back pain. Several texts depict him delegating teachings to his chief disciples since his body now needed more rest. However, the Buddha continued teaching well into his old age.
One of the most troubling events during the Buddha's old age was
Devadatta
Devadatta was by tradition a Buddhist monk, cousin and brother-in-law of Gautama SiddhÄrtha. The accounts of his life vary greatly, but he is generally seen as an evil and divisive figure in Buddhism, who led a breakaway group in the ear ...
's schism. Early sources speak of how the Buddha's cousin, Devadatta, attempted to take over leadership of the order and then left the sangha with several Buddhist monks and formed a rival sect. This sect is said to have been supported by King Ajatashatru. The Pali texts depict Devadatta as plotting to kill the Buddha, but these plans all fail. They depict the Buddha as sending his two chief disciples (Sariputta and Moggallana) to this schismatic community in order to convince the monks who left with Devadatta to return.
All the major early Buddhist Vinaya texts depict Devadatta as a divisive figure who attempted to split the Buddhist community, but they disagree on what issues he disagreed with the Buddha on. The
Sthavira texts generally focus on "five points" which are seen as excessive ascetic practices, while the
MahÄsaį¹
ghika Vinaya speaks of a more comprehensive disagreement, which has Devadatta alter the discourses as well as monastic discipline.
At around the same time of Devadatta's schism, there was also war between Ajatashatru's Kingdom of Magadha, and Kosala, led by an elderly king Pasenadi. Ajatashatru seems to have been victorious, a turn of events the Buddha is reported to have regretted.
Last days and ''parinirvana''
The main narrative of the Buddha's last days, death and the events following his death is contained in the ''
Mahaparinibbana Sutta'' (DN 16) and its various parallels in Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan. According to AnÄlayo, these include the Chinese Dirgha Agama 2, "Sanskrit fragments of the ''Mahaparinirvanasutra"'', and "three discourses preserved as individual translations in Chinese".
The ''Mahaparinibbana sutta'' depicts the Buddha's last year as a time of war. It begins with Ajatashatru's decision to make war on the
Vajjika League
The Vajjika (PÄli: ) or Vrijika () League, Confederacy, or Sangha, also called simply Vajji (PÄli: ) or Vriji (), was an ancient Indo-Aryan league which existed during the later Iron Age period in the north-eastern Indian subcontinent.
Na ...
, leading him to send a minister to ask the Buddha for advice. The Buddha responds by saying that the Vajjikas can be expected to prosper as long as they do seven things, and he then applies these seven principles to the Buddhist Sangha, showing that he is concerned about its future welfare.
The Buddha says that the Sangha will prosper as long as they "hold regular and frequent assemblies, meet in harmony, do not change the rules of training, honour their superiors who were ordained before them, do not fall prey to worldly desires, remain devoted to forest hermitages, and preserve their personal mindfulness". He then gives further lists of important virtues to be upheld by the Sangha.
The early texts depict how the Buddha's two chief disciples, Sariputta and Moggallana, died just before the Buddha's death. The ''Mahaparinibbana'' depicts the Buddha as experiencing illness during the last months of his life but initially recovering. It depicts him as stating that he cannot promote anyone to be his successor. When Änanda requested this, the ''Mahaparinibbana'' records his response as follows:
After travelling and teaching some more, the Buddha ate his last meal, which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named
Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Änanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his death and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha. Bhikkhu Mettanando and
Oskar von Hinüber
Oskar von Hinüber (born 18 February 1939 in Hanover) is a German Indologist. He joined the German Navy after leaving high school, and holds the rank of commander as a reservist. From 1960 to 1966 he studied at University of Tübingen, Univer ...
argue that the Buddha died of
mesenteric infarction
Infarction is tissue death (necrosis) due to Ischemia, inadequate blood supply to the affected area. It may be caused by Thrombosis, artery blockages, rupture, mechanical compression, or vasoconstriction. The resulting lesion is referred to as a ...
, a symptom of old age, rather than food poisoning.
The precise contents of the Buddha's final meal are not clear, due to variant scriptural traditions and ambiguity over the translation of certain significant terms. The
Theravada
''TheravÄda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''TheravÄdins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravÄdÄ«''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...
tradition generally believes that the Buddha was offered some kind of pork, while the
Mahayana
MahÄyÄna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#MahÄyÄna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
tradition believes that the Buddha consumed some sort of truffle or other mushroom. These may reflect the different traditional views on
Buddhist vegetarianism
Buddhist vegetarianism is the practice of vegetarianism by significant portions of Mahayana Buddhist monastics and laypersons as well as some Buddhists of other sects. In Buddhism, the views on vegetarianism vary between different schools of ...
and the precepts for monks and nuns. Modern scholars also disagree on this topic, arguing both for pig's flesh or some kind of plant or mushroom that pigs like to eat. Whatever the case, none of the sources which mention the last meal attribute the Buddha's sickness to the meal itself.
As per the ''Mahaparinibbana sutta,'' after the meal with Cunda, the Buddha and his companions continued travelling until he was too weak to continue and had to stop at
Kushinagar
Kushinagar (Pali: ; Sanskrit: ) is a town in the Kushinagar district in Uttar Pradesh, India, east of Gorakhpur on National Highway 27, Kushinagar is a Buddhist pilgrimage site, where Buddhists believe Gautama Buddha died.
Etymology
Acc ...
, where Änanda had a resting place prepared in a grove of Sala trees. After announcing to the sangha at large that he would soon be passing away to final Nirvana, the Buddha ordained one last novice into the order personally. His name was Subhadda. He then repeated his final instructions to the sangha, which was that the Dhamma and Vinaya was to be their teacher after his death. Then he asked if anyone had any doubts about the teaching, but nobody did. The Buddha's final words are reported to have been: "All
''saį¹
khÄras'' decay. Strive for the goal with diligence (''
appamÄda'')" (Pali: 'vayadhammÄ saį¹
khÄrÄ appamÄdena sampÄdethÄ').
He then entered his final meditation and died, reaching what is known as ''parinirvana'' (final nirvana; instead of a person being reborn, "the five aggregates of physical and mental phenomena that constitute a being cease to occur"). The ''Mahaparinibbana'' reports that in his final meditation he entered the four dhyanas consecutively, then the four
immaterial attainments and finally the meditative dwelling known as ''nirodha-samÄpatti,'' before returning to the fourth dhyana right at the moment of death.
Posthumous events
According to the ''Mahaparinibbana sutta,'' the Mallians of Kushinagar spent the days following the Buddha's death honouring his body with flowers, music and scents. The sangha waited until the eminent elder
MahÄkassapa arrived to pay his respects before cremating the body.
The Buddha's body was then cremated and the remains, including his bones, were kept as
relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...
s and they were distributed among various north Indian kingdoms like Magadha, Shakya and
Koliya
Koliya (PÄli: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan clan of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The Koliyas were organised into a (an aristocratic republic), presently referred to as the Koliya Republic.
Locat ...
. These relics were placed in monuments or mounds called
stupa
In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' ÅarÄ«ra''āthe remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...
s, a common funerary practice at the time. Centuries later they would be exhumed and enshrined by
Ashoka
Ashoka, also known as Asoka or AÅoka ( ; , ; ā 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
into many new stupas around the
Mauryan realm. Many supernatural legends surround the history of alleged relics as they accompanied the spread of Buddhism and gave legitimacy to rulers.
According to various Buddhist sources, the
First Buddhist Council
Since the Mahaparinirvana of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhist monastic communities, the "''sangha''", have periodically convened for doctrinal and disciplinary reasons and to revise and correct the contents of the Buddhist ...
was held shortly after the Buddha's death to collect, recite and memorize the teachings. MahÄkassapa was chosen by the sangha to be the chairman of the council. However, the historicity of the traditional accounts of the first council is disputed by modern scholars.
Teachings and views
Historicity
Scholarly views on the earliest teachings

One method to obtain information on the oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest versions of the
Pali Canon
The PÄįø·i Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the PÄli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...
and other texts, such as the surviving portions of
Sarvastivada
The ''SarvÄstivÄda'' (; ;) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (third century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy in the First Millennium CE, 2018, p. 60. It was particular ...
,
Mulasarvastivada
The MÅ«lasarvÄstivÄda (; ) was one of the early Buddhist schools of India. The origins of the MÅ«lasarvÄstivÄda school and their relationship to the SarvÄstivÄda remain largely unknown, although various theories exist.
The continuity of t ...
,
Mahisasaka,
Dharmaguptaka
The Dharmaguptaka (Sanskrit: ą¤§ą¤°ą„ą¤®ą¤ą„ą¤Ŗą„ą¤¤ą¤; ; ) are one of the eighteen or twenty early Buddhist schools from the ancient region of Gandhara, now Pakistan. They are said to have originated from another sect, the MahÄ«ÅÄsakas f ...
, and the Chinese
Agamas
Religion
*Ägama (Buddhism), a collection of Early Buddhist texts
*Ägama (Hinduism), scriptures of several Hindu sects
*Jain literature (Jain Ägamas), various canonical scriptures in Jainism
Other uses
* ''Agama'' (lizard), a genus of lizards ...
. The reliability of these sources, and the possibility of drawing out a core of oldest teachings, is a matter of dispute. According to
Lambert Schmithausen, there are three positions held by modern scholars of Buddhism with regard to the authenticity of the teachings contained in the Nikayas:
# "Stress on the fundamental homogeneity and substantial authenticity of at least a considerable part of the Nikayic materials".
# "Scepticism with regard to the possibility of retrieving the doctrine of earliest Buddhism".
# "Cautious optimism in this respect".
Scholars such as
Richard Gombrich
Richard Francis Gombrich (; born 17 July 1937) is a British Indologist and scholar of Sanskrit, PÄli, and Buddhist studies. He was the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford from 1976 to 2004. He is currently Founder-Preside ...
, Akira Hirakawa, Alexander Wynne and
A.K. Warder hold that these Early Buddhist Texts contain material that could possibly be traced to the Buddha.
Richard Gombrich
Richard Francis Gombrich (; born 17 July 1937) is a British Indologist and scholar of Sanskrit, PÄli, and Buddhist studies. He was the Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford from 1976 to 2004. He is currently Founder-Preside ...
argues that since the content of the earliest texts "presents such originality, intelligence, grandeur andāmost relevantlyācoherence...it is hard to see it as a composite work." Thus he concludes they are "the work of one genius".
Peter Harvey also agrees that "much" of the Pali Canon "must derive from his
he Buddha'steachings". Likewise,
A.āK. Warder has written that "there is no evidence to suggest that it
he shared teaching of the early schoolswas formulated by anyone other than the Buddha and his immediate followers." According to Alexander Wynne, "the internal evidence of the early Buddhist literature proves its historical authenticity."
Other scholars of Buddhist studies have disagreed with the mostly positive view that the early Buddhist texts reflect the teachings of the historical Buddha, arguing that some teachings contained in the early texts are the authentic teachings of the Buddha, but not others. Ainslie Embree writes that many sermons credited to the Buddha are the works of later teachers, so there is considerable doubt about his original message. According to Tilmann Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other methods must be applied to resolve those inconsistencies. According to Tilmann Vetter, the earliest core of the Buddhist teachings is the meditative practice of ''dhyÄna'', but "liberating insight" became an essential feature of the Buddhist tradition only at a later date.
He posits that the Fourth Noble Truths, the Eightfold path and Dependent Origination, which are commonly seen as essential to Buddhism, are later formulations which form part of the explanatory framework of this "liberating insight".
Lambert Schmithausen similarly argues that the mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight", which is attained after mastering the four ''dhyÄnas'', is a later addition.
Johannes Bronkhorst also argues that the four truths may not have been formulated in earliest Buddhism, and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a description of "liberating insight".
Edward Conze
Edward Conze, born Eberhard Julius Dietrich Conze (1904ā1979), was a scholar of Marxism and Buddhism, known primarily for his commentaries and translations of the PrajƱÄpÄramitÄ literature.
Biography
Conze's parents, Dr. Ernst Conze (1872 ...
argued that the attempts of European scholars to reconstruct the original teachings of the Buddha were "all mere guesswork".
Core teachings
A number of teachings and practices are deemed essential to Buddhism, including: the
samyojana (fetters, chains or bounds), that is, the
sankharas ("formations"), the
kleshas (unwholesome mental states), including the
three poisons
The three poisons (Sanskrit: ''triviį¹£a''; Tibetan: ''dug gsum'') in the Mahayana tradition or the three unwholesome roots (Sanskrit: ''akuÅala-mÅ«la''; PÄli: ''akusala-mÅ«la'') in the Theravada tradition are a Buddhist term that refers to th ...
, and the
Äsavas ("influx, canker"), that perpetuate
sasÄra, the repeated cycle of becoming; the
six sense bases and the
five aggregates, which describe the process from sense contact to consciousness which lead to this bondage to sasÄra;
dependent origination
A dependant (US spelling: dependent) is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income and usually assistance with activities of daily living. A common-law spouse who is financially supported by their partner may also be included ...
, which describes this process, and its reversal, in detail; and the
Middle Way
The Middle Way (; ) as well as "teaching the Dharma by the middle" (''majjhena dhammaį¹ deseti'') are common Buddhist terms used to refer to two major aspects of the Dharma, that is, the teaching of the Buddha. The first phrasing, the Middle ...
, summarized by the later tradition in the
Four Noble Truths
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (; ; "The Four Arya (Buddhism), arya satya") are "the truths of the noble one (the Buddha)," a statement of how things really are (Three marks of existence, the three marks of existence) when they are seen co ...
and the
Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path () or Eight Right Paths () is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
The Eightfold Path consists of eight pra ...
, which prescribes how this bondage can be reversed.
According to N. Ross Reat, the Theravada Pali texts and the
Mahasamghika school's
''ÅÄlistamba SÅ«tra'' share
these basic teachings and practices.
Bhikkhu Analayo
Bhikkhu AnÄlayo is a bhikkhu (Buddhist monk), scholar, and meditation teacher. He was born in Germany in 1962, and went forth in 1995 in the TheravÄdin monastic tradition of Sri Lanka. He is best known for his comparative studies of Early Bu ...
concludes that the Theravada ''
Majjhima Nikaya'' and
Sarvastivada
The ''SarvÄstivÄda'' (; ;) was one of the early Buddhist schools established around the reign of Ashoka (third century BCE).Westerhoff, The Golden Age of Indian Buddhist Philosophy in the First Millennium CE, 2018, p. 60. It was particular ...
''
Madhyama Agama'' contain mostly the same major doctrines. Likewise,
Richard Salomon has written that the doctrines found in the
Gandharan Manuscripts are "consistent with non-Mahayana Buddhism, which survives today in the Theravada school of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, but which in ancient times was represented by eighteen separate schools".
Samsara
All beings have deeply entrenched
samyojana (fetters, chains or bounds), that is, the
sankharas ("formations"),
kleshas (unwholesome mental states), including the
three poisons
The three poisons (Sanskrit: ''triviį¹£a''; Tibetan: ''dug gsum'') in the Mahayana tradition or the three unwholesome roots (Sanskrit: ''akuÅala-mÅ«la''; PÄli: ''akusala-mÅ«la'') in the Theravada tradition are a Buddhist term that refers to th ...
, and
Äsavas ("influx, canker"), that perpetuate
sasÄra, the repeated cycle of becoming and
rebirth
Rebirth may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Film
* ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film
* ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film
* ''Rebirth'', a 2011 documentary film produced by Project Rebirth
* '' ...
. According to the Pali suttas, the Buddha stated that "this saį¹sÄra is without discoverable beginning. A first point is not discerned of beings roaming and wandering on hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving." In the ''Dutiyalokadhammasutta sutta'' (AN 8:6) the Buddha explains how "eight worldly winds" "keep the world turning around
..Gain and loss, fame and disrepute, praise and blame, pleasure and pain". He then explains how the difference between a noble (''arya'') person and an uninstructed worldling is that a noble person reflects on and understands the impermanence of these conditions.
This cycle of becoming is characterized by ''
dukkha'', commonly referred to as "suffering", ''dukkha'' is more aptly rendered as "unsatisfactoriness" or "unease". It is the unsatisfactoriness and unease that comes with a life dictated by automatic responses and habituated selfishness, and the unsatifacories of expecting enduring happiness from things which are impermanent, unstable and thus unreliable. The ultimate noble goal should be liberation from this cycle.
''Samsara'' is dictated by
karma
Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...
, which is an impersonal natural law, similar to how certain seeds produce certain plants and fruits. ''Karma'' is not the only cause for one's conditions, as the Buddha listed various physical and environmental causes alongside karma. The Buddha's teaching of karma differed to that of the Jains and Brahmins, in that on his view, karma is primarily mental intention (as opposed to mainly physical action or ritual acts). The Buddha is reported to have said "By karma I mean intention." Richard Gombrich summarizes the Buddha's view of karma as follows: "all thoughts, words, and deeds derive their moral value, positive or negative, from the intention behind them".
The six sense bases and the five aggregates
The
Äyatana
In Buddhism, ''Äyatana'' (PÄli; Sanskrit: ą¤ą¤Æą¤¤ą¤Ø) is a "center of experience" or "mental home," which create one's experience. The term ' (PÄli; Skt. ') refers to six cognitive functions, namely sight, hearing, smelling, tasting, body ...
(six sense bases) and the
five skandhas (aggregates) describe how sensory contact leads to attachment and ''dukkha''. The six sense bases are eye and sight, ear and sound, nose and odour, tongue and taste, body and touch, and mind and thoughts. Together they create the input from which we create our world or reality, "the all". This process takes place through the five skandhas, "aggregates", "groups", "heaps", five groups of physical and mental processes, namely form (or material image, impression) (), sensations (or feelings, received from form) (), perceptions (), mental activity or formations (), consciousness ().
They form part of other Buddhist teachings and lists, such as dependent origination, and explain how sensory input ultimately leads to bondage to samsara by the mental defilements.
Dependent Origination
In the early texts, the process of the arising of dukkha is explicated through the teaching of
dependent origination
A dependant (US spelling: dependent) is a person who relies on another as a primary source of income and usually assistance with activities of daily living. A common-law spouse who is financially supported by their partner may also be included ...
, which says that everything that exists or occurs is dependent on conditioning factors. The most basic formulation of dependent origination is given in the early texts as: 'It being thus, this comes about' (Pali: ''evam sati idam hoti''). This can be taken to mean that certain phenomena only arise when there are other phenomena present, thus their arising is "dependent" on other phenomena.
The philosopher Mark Siderits has outlined the basic idea of the Buddha's teaching of Dependent Origination of dukkha as follows:
In numerous early texts, this basic principle is expanded with a list of phenomena that are said to be conditionally dependent, as a result of later elaborations, including Vedic cosmogenies as the basis for the first four links.
According to Boisvert, nidana 3-10 correlate with the five skandhas. According to Richard Gombrich, the twelve-fold list is a combination of two previous lists, the second list beginning with ''tanha'', "thirst", the cause of suffering as described in the second noble truth". According to Gombrich, the two lists were combined, resulting in contradictions in its reverse version.
= Anatta
=
The Buddha saw his analysis of dependent origination as a "Middle Way" between "eternalism" (''sassatavada'', the idea that some essence exists eternally) and "annihilationism" (''ucchedavada'', the idea that we go completely out of existence at death). in this view, persons are just a causal series of impermanent psycho-physical elements, which are ''
anatta'', without an independent or permanent self. The Buddha instead held that all things in the world of our experience are transient and that there is no unchanging part to a person. According to Richard Gombrich, the Buddha's position is simply that "everything is process".
The
Buddha's arguments against an unchanging self rely on the scheme of the five skandhas, as can be seen in the Pali ''
Anattalakkhaį¹a Sutta'' (and its parallels in Gandhari and Chinese)''.'' In the early texts the Buddha teaches that all five aggregates, including consciousness (''
viƱƱana'', which was held by Brahmins to be eternal), arise due to dependent origination. Since they are all impermanent, one cannot regard any of the psycho-physical processes as an unchanging self. Even mental processes such as
consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
and will (''
cetana'') are seen as being dependently originated and impermanent and thus do not qualify as a self (''atman'').
The Buddha saw the belief in a self as arising from our grasping at and identifying with the various changing phenomena, as well as from ignorance about how things really are. Furthermore, the Buddha held that we experience suffering because we hold on to erroneous self views. As
Rupert Gethin
Rupert Mark Lovell Gethin (born 1957, in Edinburgh) is Professor of Buddhist Studies in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies and codirector of the Centre for Buddhist Studies at the University of Bristol, and (since 2003) president of ...
explains, for the Buddha, a person is
Due to this view (termed ), the Buddha's teaching was opposed to all soul theories of his time, including the Jain theory of a ''"
jiva
''Jiva'' (, IAST: ), also referred as ''JivÄtman,'' is a living being or any entity imbued with a life force in Hinduism and JÄ«va (Jainism), Jainism. The word itself originates from the Sanskrit verb-root ''jÄ«v'', which translates as 'to br ...
"'' ("life monad") and the Brahmanical theories of
atman (Pali: ''atta'') and
purusha
''Purusha'' (, ŹÉ¾ŹŹįµ ) is a complex concept whose meaning evolved in Vedic and Upanishadic times. Depending on source and historical timeline, it means the cosmic being or self, awareness, and universal principle.Karl Potter, Presupposit ...
. All of these theories held that there was an eternal unchanging
essence
Essence () has various meanings and uses for different thinkers and in different contexts. It is used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property (philosophy), property or set of properties or attributes that make an entity the ...
to a person, which was separate from all changing experiences, and which transmigrated from life to life. The Buddha's
anti-essentialist view still includes an understanding of continuity through rebirth, it is just the rebirth of a process (karma), not an essence like the atman.
The path to liberation
The Buddha taught a path (''marga'') of training to undo the
samyojana,
kleshas and
Äsavas and attain ''vimutti'' (liberation). This path taught by the Buddha is depicted in the early texts (most famously in the Pali ''Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta'' and its numerous parallel texts) as a "
Middle Way
The Middle Way (; ) as well as "teaching the Dharma by the middle" (''majjhena dhammaį¹ deseti'') are common Buddhist terms used to refer to two major aspects of the Dharma, that is, the teaching of the Buddha. The first phrasing, the Middle ...
" between sensual indulgence on one hand and mortification of the body on the other.
A common presentation of the core structure of Buddha's teaching found in the early texts is that of the
Four Noble Truths
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (; ; "The Four Arya (Buddhism), arya satya") are "the truths of the noble one (the Buddha)," a statement of how things really are (Three marks of existence, the three marks of existence) when they are seen co ...
, which refers to the
Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path () or Eight Right Paths () is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth, in the form of nirvana.
The Eightfold Path consists of eight pra ...
. According to Gethin, another common summary of the path to awakening wisely used in the early texts is "abandoning the
hindrances, practice of the four establishments of mindfulness and development of
the awakening factors".
According to Rupert Gethin, in the Nikayas and Agamas, the Buddha's path is mainly presented in a cumulative and gradual "step by step" process, such as that outlined in the ''
SamaƱƱaphala Sutta''. Other early texts like the ''Upanisa sutta'' (SN 12.23), present the path as reversions of the process of Dependent Origination.
''
BhÄvanÄ'', cultivation of wholesome states, is central to the Buddha's path. Common practices to this goal, which are shared by most of these early presentations of the path, include ''
sila'' (ethical training), restraint of the senses (''indriyasamvara''), ''
sati'' (mindfulness) and ''
sampajaƱƱa
''SampajaƱƱa'' (PÄli; Skt.: ''saį¹prajanya'', ''samprajnata'', Tib: ''shes bzhin'') is a term of central importance for meditative practice in all Buddhist traditions. It refers to "The mental process by which one continuously monitors one ...
'' (clear awareness), and the practice of ''
dhyana
Dhyana may refer to:
Meditative practices in Indian religions
* Dhyana in Buddhism (PÄli: ''jhÄna'')
* Dhyana in Hinduism
* Jain DhyÄna, see Jain meditation
Other
*''Dhyana'', a work by British composer John Tavener
Sir John Kenneth ...
'', the cumulative development of wholesome states leading to a "state of perfect
equanimity
Equanimity is a state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by the experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may otherwise cause a loss of mental balance. The virtue and value of equanimity is ...
and awareness (''upekkhÄ-sati-parisuddhi'')". Dhyana is preceded and supported by various aspects of the path such as sense restraint and
mindfulness
Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through exercises, of sustaining metacognitive awareness towards the contents of one's own mind and bodily sensations in the present moment. The term ''mindfulness'' derives from the Pali ...
, which is elaborated in the ''
satipatthana
''Satipatthana'' (; ) is a central practice in the Buddha's teachings, meaning "the establishment of mindfulness" or "presence of mindfulness", or alternatively "foundations of mindfulness", aiding the development of a wholesome state of mind. I ...
''-scheme, as taught in the Pali ''
Satipatthana Sutta
The ''Satipaį¹į¹hÄna Sutta'' ( Majjhima Nikaya 10: ''The Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness''), and the subsequently created MahÄsatipaį¹į¹hÄna Sutta (DÄ«gha NikÄya 22: ''The Great Discourse on the Establishing of Mindfulness'' ...
'' and the sixteen elements of ''
Anapanasati
(Pali; Sanskrit: '), meaning " mindfulness of breathing" ( means mindfulness; refers to inhalation and exhalation), is the act of paying attention to the breath. It is the quintessential form of Buddhist meditation, attributed to Gautama Bud ...
'', as taught in the ''
Anapanasati Sutta''.
Jain and Brahmanical influences
In various texts, the Buddha is depicted as having studied under two named teachers,
Äįø·Ära KÄlÄma and
Uddaka RÄmaputta
Uddaka RÄmaputta (PÄli; ) was a sage and teacher of meditation identified by the Buddhist tradition as one of the teachers of Gautama Buddha. 'RÄmaputta' means 'son of RÄma', who may have been his father or spiritual teacher. Uddaka RÄmaput ...
. According to Alexander Wynne, these were yogis who taught doctrines and practices similar to those in the
Upanishads
The Upanishads (; , , ) are late Vedic and post-Vedic Sanskrit texts that "document the transition from the archaic ritualism of the Veda into new religious ideas and institutions" and the emergence of the central religious concepts of Hind ...
. According to
Johannes Bronkhorst, the "meditation without breath and reduced intake of food" which the Buddha practiced before his awakening are forms of asceticism which are similar to Jain practices.
According to Richard Gombrich, the Buddha's teachings on
Karma
Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...
and
Rebirth
Rebirth may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Film
* ''Rebirth'' (2011 film), a 2011 Japanese drama film
* ''Rebirth'' (2016 film), a 2016 American thriller film
* ''Rebirth'', a 2011 documentary film produced by Project Rebirth
* '' ...
are a development of pre-Buddhist themes that can be found in
Jain and
Brahmanical
The historical Vedic religion, also called Vedism or Brahmanism, and sometimes ancient Hinduism or Vedic Hinduism, constituted the religious ideas and practices prevalent amongst some of the Indo-Aryan peoples of the northwest Indian subcontin ...
sources, like the ''
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad
The ''Brihadaranyaka Upanishad'' (, ) is one of the Mukhya Upanishads, Principal Upanishads and one of the first Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism. A key scripture to various schools of Hinduism, the ''Brihadaranyaka Upanisad'' is tenth in the ...
''. Likewise, ''
samsara'', the idea that we are trapped in cycles of rebirth and that we should seek liberation from them through non-harming (''
ahimsa
(, IAST: , ) is the ancient Indian principle of nonviolence which applies to actions towards all living beings. It is a key virtue in Indian religions like Jainism, Buddhism and Hinduism.
(also spelled Ahinsa) is one of the cardinal vi ...
'') and spiritual practices, pre-dates the Buddha and was likely taught in early Jainism. According to
K.R. Norman, the Buddhist teaching of the ''
three marks of existence
In Buddhism, the three marks of existence are three characteristics (Pali: ''tilakkhaį¹a''; Sanskrit: ą¤¤ą„ą¤°ą¤æą¤²ą¤ą„षण ''trilakį¹£aį¹a'') of all existence and beings, namely '' anicca'' (impermanence), '' dukkha'' (commonly translated ...
'' may also reflect Upanishadic or other influences . The Buddhist practice called
''Brahma-vihara'' may have also originated from a Brahmanic term; but its usage may have been common in the sramana traditions.
Homeless life
The early Buddhist texts depict the Buddha as promoting the life of a homeless and celibate "''sramana''", or mendicant, as the ideal way of life for the practice of the path. He taught that mendicants or "beggars" (
''bhikkhus'') were supposed to give up all possessions and to own just a begging bowl and three robes. As part of the Buddha's monastic discipline, they were also supposed to rely on the wider lay community for the basic necessities (mainly food, clothing, and lodging).
The Buddha's teachings on monastic discipline were preserved in the various
Vinaya
The Vinaya (Pali and Sanskrit: विनय) refers to numerous monastic rules and ethical precepts for fully ordained monks and nuns of Buddhist Sanghas (community of like-minded ''sramanas''). These sets of ethical rules and guidelines devel ...
collections of the different early schools.
Buddhist monastics, which included both monks and nuns, were supposed to beg for their food, were not allowed to store up food or eat after noon and they were not allowed to use gold, silver or any valuables.
Society
Critique of Brahmanism
According to Bronkhorst, "the bearers of
he Brahmanicaltradition, the Brahmins, did not occupy a dominant position in the area in which the Buddha preached his message." Nevertheless, the Buddha was acquainted with Brahmanism, and in the early Buddhist Texts, the Buddha references Brahmanical devices. For example, in
Samyutta Nikaya 111,
Majjhima Nikaya 92 and Vinaya i 246 of the
Pali Canon
The PÄįø·i Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the PÄli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...
, the Buddha praises the
Agnihotra as the foremost sacrifice and the
SÄvitrÄ« meter as the foremost meter. In general, the Buddha critiques the animal sacrifices and social system on certain key points.
The
Brahmin
Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
caste held that the
Vedas
FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...
were eternal revealed (''
sruti'') texts. The Buddha, on the other hand, did not accept that these texts had any divine authority or value.
[Tola, Fernando. Dragonetti, Carmen (2009). ''"Brahamanism and Buddhism: Two Antithetic Conceptions of Society in Ancient India"''. p. 26: "This also implied the denial of the Shruti provided with characteristics which grant it the status of a substance. All this carried with itself also the negation of the authority of all the sacred texts of Brahmanism. Buddhism does not acknowledge to them any value as ultimate criterion of truth, as depository of the norms which regulate man's conduct as a member of society and in his relations with the Gods. Buddhism ignores the Shruti, the very foundation of Brahmanism."]
The Buddha also did not see the Brahmanical rites and practices as useful for spiritual advancement. For example, in the
UdÄna, the Buddha points out that
ritual bathing does not lead to purity: only "truth and morality" lead to purity. He especially critiqued
animal sacrifice
Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of animals, usually as part of a religious ritual or to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the spread of Chris ...
as taught in Vedas.
The Buddha contrasted his teachings, which were taught openly to all people, with that of the Brahmins', who kept their mantras secret.
The Buddha also critiqued the Brahmins' claims of superior birth and the idea that different castes and bloodlines were inherently pure or impure, noble or ignoble.
In the ''Vasettha sutta ''the Buddha argues that the main difference among humans is not birth but their actions and occupations. According to the Buddha, one is a "Brahmin" (i.e., divine, like Brahma) only to the extent that one has cultivated virtue. Because of this the early texts report that he proclaimed: "Not by birth one is a Brahman, not by birth one is a non-Brahman; ā by moral action one is a Brahman"
The ''AggaƱƱa Sutta'' explains all classes or Varna (Hinduism), varnas can be good or bad and gives a sociological explanation for how they arose, against the Brahmanical idea that they are divinely ordained. According to Kancha Ilaiah, the Buddha posed the first contract theory of society. The Buddha's teaching then is a single universal moral law, one Dharma valid for everybody, which is opposed to the Brahmanic ethic founded on "one's own duty" (''svadharma'') which depends on caste.
Because of this, all castes including untouchables were welcome in the Buddhist order and when someone joined, they renounced all caste affiliation.
Socio-political teachings
The early texts depict the Buddha as giving a deflationary account of the importance of politics to human life. Politics is inevitable and is probably even necessary and helpful, but it is also a tremendous waste of time and effort, as well as being a prime temptation to allow ego to run rampant. Buddhist political theory denies that people have a moral duty to engage in politics except to a very minimal degree (pay the taxes, obey the laws, maybe vote in the elections), and it actively portrays engagement in politics and the pursuit of enlightenment as being conflicting paths in life.
In the ''AggaƱƱa Sutta'', the Buddha teaches a history of how monarchy arose which according to Matthew J. Moore is "closely analogous to a social contract". The ''AggaƱƱa Sutta'' also provides a social explanation of how different classes arose, in contrast to the Vedic views on social caste.
Other early texts like the ''Cakkavatti-SÄ«hanÄda Sutta'' and the ''MahÄsudassana Sutta'' focus on the figure of the righteous wheel turning leader (Chakravarti (Sanskrit term), ''Cakkavatti''). This ideal leader is one who promotes Dharma through his governance. He can only achieve his status through moral purity and must promote morality and Dharma to maintain his position. According to the ''Cakkavatti-SÄ«hanÄda Sutta'', the key duties of a Cakkavatti are: "establish guard, ward, and protection according to Dhamma for your own household, your troops, your nobles, and vassals, for Brahmins and householders, town and country folk, ascetics and Brahmins, for beasts and birds. let no crime prevail in your kingdom, and to those who are in need, give property."
The sutta explains the injunction to give to the needy by telling how a line of wheel-turning monarchs falls because they fail to give to the needy, and thus the kingdom falls into infighting as poverty increases, which then leads to stealing and violence.
In the ''MahÄparinibbÄna Sutta,'' the Buddha outlines several principles that he promoted among the Vajjika tribal federation, which had a quasi-republican form of government. He taught them to "hold regular and frequent assemblies", live in harmony and maintain their traditions. The Buddha then goes on to promote a similar kind of republican style of government among the Buddhist Sangha, where all monks had equal rights to attend open meetings and there would be no single leader, since The Buddha also chose not to appoint one.
Some scholars have argued that this fact signals that the Buddha preferred a Republicanism, republican form of government, while others disagree with this position.
Worldly happiness
As noted by Bhikkhu Bodhi, the Buddha as depicted in the Pali suttas does not exclusively teach a world-transcending goal, but also teaches laypersons how to achieve worldly happiness (''sukha'').
According to Bodhi, the "most comprehensive" of the suttas that focus on how to live as a layperson is the ''SigÄlovÄda Sutta'' (DN 31). This sutta outlines how a layperson behaves towards six basic social relationships: "parents and children, teacher and pupils, husband and wife, friend and friend, employer and workers, lay follower and religious guides". This Pali text also has parallels in Chinese and in Sanskrit fragments.
In another sutta (''DÄ«ghajÄį¹u Sutta'', Aį¹
guttara NikÄya, AN 8.54) the Buddha teaches two types of happiness. First, there is the happiness visible in this very life. The Buddha states that four things lead to this happiness: "The accomplishment of persistent effort, the accomplishment of protection, good friendship, and balanced living." Similarly, in several other suttas, the Buddha teaches on how to improve family relationships, particularly on the importance of filial love and gratitude as well as marital well-being.
Regarding the happiness of the next life, the Buddha (in the ''DÄ«ghajÄį¹u Sutta'') states that the virtues which lead to a good rebirth are: Faith in Buddhism, faith (in the Buddha and the teachings), moral discipline, especially keeping the five precepts, generosity, and wisdom (knowledge of the arising and passing of things).
According to the Buddha of the suttas then, achieving a good rebirth is based on cultivating wholesome or skillful (''kusala'') karma, which leads to a good result, and avoiding unwholesome (''akusala'') karma. A common list of good karmas taught by the Buddha is the list of ten courses of action (''kammapatha'') as outlined in MN 41 ''Saleyyaka Sutta'' (and its Chinese parallel in SÄ 1042).
Good karma is also termed Merit (Buddhism), merit (''puƱƱa''), and the Buddha outlines three bases of meritorious actions: giving, moral discipline and meditation (as seen in AN 8:36).
Physical characteristics

Early sources depict the Buddha's appearance as similar to other Buddhist monks. Various discourses describe how he "cut off his hair and beard" when renouncing the world. Likewise, Digha Nikaya 3 has a Brahmin describe the Buddha as a shaved or bald (''mundaka'') man. Digha Nikaya 2 also describes how king Ajatashatru is unable to tell which of the monks is the Buddha when approaching the sangha and must ask his minister to point him out. Likewise, in MN 140, a mendicant who sees himself as a follower of the Buddha meets the Buddha in person but is unable to recognize him.
The Buddha is also described as being handsome and with a clear complexion (Digha I:115; Anguttara I:181), at least in his youth. In old age, however, he is described as having a stooped body, with slack and wrinkled limbs.
Various Buddhist texts attribute to the Buddha a series of extraordinary physical characteristics, known as "the Physical characteristics of the Buddha#The 32 Signs of a Great Man, 32 Signs of the Great Man" (Skt. ''mahÄpuruį¹£a lakį¹£aį¹a'').
According to AnÄlayo, when they first appear in the Buddhist texts, these physical marks were initially held to be imperceptible to the ordinary person, and required special training to detect. Later though, they are depicted as being visible by regular people and as inspiring faith in the Buddha.
These characteristics are described in the Digha Nikaya's ' (D, I:142).
ÅÄkyamuni Buddha in MahÄyÄna

In Mahayana, MahÄyÄna Buddhism, the figure of ÅÄkyamuni Buddha (Ch: é迦ēå°¼ä½, ShƬjiÄmóunĆfó) retains his central role as the historical Buddha who lived and taught in ancient India. However, MahÄyÄna developments introduce significant reinterpretations of his nature, activities, and metaphysical status, presenting a cosmic, timeless identity. Unlike the more human-centered portrayals, MahÄyÄna works present ÅÄkyamuni as a transcendent being of inconceivable qualities, who operates within a vast cosmological framework.
[Teiser, Stephen F.; Stone, Jacqueline Ilyse (2009), ''Interpreting the Lotus Sutra''; in: Teiser, Stephen F.; Stone, Jacqueline Ilyse; eds. ''Readings of the Lotus Sutra'', New York: Columbia University Press, pp. 1ā61, ] Moreover, Mahayana sutras, MahÄyÄna sutras often depict ÅÄkyamuni preaching in vast assemblies composed of bodhisattvas, gods, other Buddhas, and beings from other realms. These assemblies vastly exceed the human scale of early canonical suttas.
In many MahÄyÄna scriptures, ÅÄkyamuni is presented as the preacher of profound
MahÄyÄna
MahÄyÄna ( ; , , ; ) is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, Buddhist texts#MahÄyÄna texts, texts, Buddhist philosophy, philosophies, and practices developed in ancient India ( onwards). It is considered one of the three main ex ...
teachings intended for advanced
bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
s. In contrast to the mainstream NikÄya/Ägama presentations of ÅÄkyamuni as a renunciant teacher, MahÄyÄna texts emphasize his Prajnaparamita, boundless wisdom, Other power, vast power, and infinite Karuį¹Ä, compassion. Furthermore, according to MahÄyÄna sutras, ÅÄkyamuni teaches myriad teachings according to the capacities of beings. Thus, what appears to be the classic teaching of the sravakayana path taught in the NikÄyas/Ägama (Buddhism), Ägamas is considered a provisional teaching, which is preparatory to the ultimate MahÄyÄna Dharma. The ''Lotus Sutra, Lotus SÅ«tra'' develops this idea most explicitly, portraying ÅÄkyamuni as a master teacher who uses various Upaya, skillful means (upaya) to guide beings to the One Vehicle (ekayÄna) which leads to Buddhahood for all.
While ÅÄkyamuni is the central Buddha of our world (often called SahÄ), MahÄyÄna cosmology includes countless Buddhas presiding over various Pure Land, buddhafields. ÅÄkyamuni is often depicted as one among an infinite assembly of Buddhas, yet his salvific function remains paramount in many texts.
[Williams, Paul, ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations,'' Routledge, 2008, p. 21.] The ''BuddhÄvataį¹saka SÅ«tra, Avataį¹saka SÅ«tra'' also presents ÅÄkyamuni as inseparable from the cosmic Buddha Vairocana. The ''Gandavyuha, Gaį¹įøavyÅ«ha SÅ«tra'' (a part of the ''Avataį¹saka'') describes ÅÄkyamuni's activities as pervading all worlds and times, manifesting various forms for the sake of sentient beings. He is sometimes seen as a Buddha who simultaneously appears in countless forms (bodhisattvas, teachers, even ordinary beings), subverting any fixed notion of a singular historical presence.

In contrast with early Buddhist views that emphasize the Buddha's struggle on the spiritual path, MahÄyÄna scriptures, such as the ''Avataį¹saka SÅ«tra'' and ''Lotus SÅ«tra'', portray ÅÄkyamuni as already fully enlightened countless eons ago. Thus, his attainment under the Bodhi tree is also a didactic device (upaya), a demonstration for the sake of others rather than an actual personal breakthrough from delusion to awakening. This ÅÄkyamuni who appeared to be born as a prince in the ÅÄkya clan in India is understood to be a nirmÄį¹akÄya, a Docetism, docetic emanation. His apparent human birth, life, attainment of enlightenment, and death were skillful manifestations designed to teach and guide sentient beings, rather than literal events in the life of a finite being.
[Williams, Paul, ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations,'' Routledge, 2008, p. 27.] The ''MahÄyÄna MahÄparinirvÄį¹a SÅ«tra, MahÄparinirvÄį¹a SÅ«tra'' reinforces this doctrine by denying that the Buddha truly enters Parinirvana, parinirvÄį¹a. His apparent death is merely another teaching device. In fact, he remains eternally active, and his dharma-body (dharmakÄya) continues to benefit beings. These texts collectively assert that the true ÅÄkyamuni is eternal, unconditioned, and ever-present, even though he assumes various forms adapted to the spiritual capacities of those he teaches.
A central doctrinal framework for understanding ÅÄkyamuni in MahÄyÄna thought is the Trikaya, trikÄya ("triple body") doctrine, which holds that Buddhas have a triune body: (1) NirmÄį¹akÄya ("emanation body"), the body which appears in the world, (2) Saį¹bhogakÄya ("enjoyment body"), a resplendent supranatural form, and (3) DharmakÄya, the formless body of ultimate reality. Through this framework, the "historical" ÅÄkyamuni is not merely a historical teacher, but a cosmic being whose appearance on earth is but one of countless manifestations. His true identity is that of the saį¹bhoga- and dharmakÄyas, which extend beyond the limits of space and time. Not limited to a single location or lifespan, his bodies permeate the entire cosmos, appearing in innumerable worlds. In this view, the universe itself is ÅÄkyamuni's Pure Land, pure land, gradually being purified and transformed through his spiritual presence and teaching. This aligns with MahÄyÄna cosmology in which Buddhas are not absent from the world and never abandon it due to their great compassion.
[Williams, Paul, ''Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations,'' Routledge, 2008, pp. 21-27.]
In other religions
Hinduism
After the lifetime of the Buddha the Hindu synthesis emerged, between 500ā200 BCE and , under the pressure of the success of Buddhism and Jainism. In response to the success of Buddhism, Gautama was incorporated into Vaishnavism as the 9th avatar of Vishnu.
The adoption of the Buddha as an incarnation began at approximately the same time as Hinduism began to predominate and Buddhism to decline in India, and the inclusion is ambiguous, as the co-option into a list of avatars may be seen as an aspect of Hindu efforts to decisively weaken Buddhist power and appeal in India. While his inclusion has been Gautama Buddha in Hinduism#Rejection, rejected by some traditionalists, many Neo-Vedanta, modern Hindus include the Buddha in their conception of Hinduism.
Buddha's teachings deny the authority of the
Vedas
FIle:Atharva-Veda samhita page 471 illustration.png, upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the ''Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of relig ...
and the concepts of Brahman-Ätman (Hinduism), Atman.
Consequently, Buddhism is generally classified as a ''Nastika, nÄstika'' school (heterodox, literally "It is not so") in contrast to the six orthodox schools of Hinduism.
Islam
Buddhist ideas in Muslim culture can be traced to the presence of Buddhism in Transoxiana and Greater Khorasan, K̲h̲urÄsÄn.
[Monnot, G. (2012). Sumaniyya. In P. Bearman (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online (EI-2 English). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_7186] Buddhism lasted from the 2nd century B.C. to the 8th century, there, until it dwindled in the face of Zoroastrianism, the Sassanid Empire, Sassanide state religion.
Remnants of Buddhism remains until the 9th century
[Brack, J. Z. (2023). An afterlife for the Khan: Muslims, Buddhists, and sacred kingship in Mongol Iran and Eurasia. Univ of California Press. p. 27] and the lasting impact of Buddhist influence is reflected in Muslim arts and poetry of Islam in Iran, Islamic Persia.
However, in the 9th century, the intellectual distance between Buddhism and Islam increased drastically.
Only centuries later, during Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol governance, the attention of Muslim scholars shifted towards Buddhism again.
In Islamic sources, Buddha is called ''Budd'' (Persian: ''but'')
[Carra de Vaux, B. (2012). Budd. In P. Bearman (ed.), Encyclopaedia of Islam New Edition Online (EI-2 English). Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_1489] or Shakyamuni. The former term is used in the writings of al-Jahiz, al-Mas'udi, al-Biruni, and al-Shahrastani.
The term further denotes a temple or an idol,
as many authors believed that Buddhists were idolaters.
They are described further as believing in the eternity of the world, the retributation of actions after life, and the appearance of Buddha in various forms.
Buddhists were referred to as ''sumaniyya''.
Although Muslims had only rudimentary knowledge about Buddhism, they attempted to integrate the Buddha into their own religious history.
Ibn Hazm defines the Buddha as a person who is not born, does not eat or drink, and does not die.
The Buddha is compared to various Islamic figures by Muslim heresiologists. In his ''Fihrist'', ibn al-Nadim reiterates three opinions from among the scholars, that the Buddha is either an Angels in Islam, angel, an Ifrit, ''ʿifrīt'' (demon), or a Prophets and messengers in Islam, Prophet.
[Brack, J. Z. (2023). An afterlife for the Khan: Muslims, Buddhists, and sacred kingship in Mongol Iran and Eurasia. Univ of California Press. p. 31] Al-Shahrastani identified Buddha with the legendary Khidr, al-Khizr.
Rashid al-Din Hamadani's (1247ā1318) ''JÄmiŹæ al-TawÄrÄ«kh'' dedicates an entire chapter on describing Buddhist beliefs to the Ilkhanate from a Muslim viewpoint. He identifies Buddha (Shakyamuni) as a monotheistic prophet. He integrates the cyclical reappearance of the Buddha into the lineage of Islamic prophets, who likewise raise whenever a community yielded into decay and violence. In line with Islamic prophetology, Rashid al-Din emphazizes the finality of Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad.
[Brack, J. Z. (2023). An afterlife for the Khan: Muslims, Buddhists, and sacred kingship in Mongol Iran and Eurasia. Univ of California Press. p. 33] In order to establish Buddha's monotheism, the author retells a story from the ''
Lalitavistara Sūtra
The ''Lalitavistara Sūtra'' is a Sanskrit Mahayana sutras, Mahayana Buddhist sutra that tells the story of Gautama Buddha from the time of his descent from Tushita until his first sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Varanasi. The term ''La ...
'' within an Islamic framework: Accordingly, the Indian deities, Vishnu, Brahma, Shiva, and Indra are prophets or angels who claim divinity for themselves and thus identified with the "people of Iblis" (''ahl-i iblÄ«s''). When Buddha is brought to the idols and ordered to worship them, the idols bow down before Buddha instead, an idea linked to the Quranic story of angels prostrating before Adam, and the superiority of prophets over angels in Islamic theology (''KalÄm'').
Muhammad Hamidullah (1908 ā December 2002) identifies Buddha as a prophet based on the Quran Surah 95:1. The verse takes an oath by a fig-tree, followed by Mount Sinai. Since Moses in Islam, Moses received his revelation on Mount Sinai, the fig-tree features as the location of revelation for another prophet, identified with Buddha, since Buddha reached enlightenment under a fig-tree. He is further identified with the prophet Dhu al-Kifl, supposedly related to his birthplace in Kapila-Vastu. He furthermore compares Buddha's teachings with that of Muhammad: The teaching of the omnipresence of
dukkha, as formulated in the
Four Noble Truths
In Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths (; ; "The Four Arya (Buddhism), arya satya") are "the truths of the noble one (the Buddha)," a statement of how things really are (Three marks of existence, the three marks of existence) when they are seen co ...
, is compared to 90:04, stating that "humans are created in "pain toil and trial"". Similarly, by receiving his revelation, Muhammad would have entered into a state of peace (salam) and, as per hadith, his Qareen, devilish nature surrendered to islam (''aslama shayį¹ÄnÄ«'').
Christianity

The Christian saint Barlaam and Josaphat, Josaphat is based on the Buddha. The name comes from the Sanskrit ''Bodhisattva'' via Arabic ''BÅ«dhasaf'' and Georgian ''Iodasaph''. The only story in which St. Josaphat appears, ''Barlaam and Josaphat'', is based on the life of the Buddha. Josaphat was included in earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology (feast-day 27 November)āthough not in the Roman Missalāand in the Eastern Orthodox Church liturgical calendar (26 August).
Other religions
In the BahÔʼà Faith, Buddha is regarded as one of the Manifestation of God (BahÔʼà Faith), Manifestations of God.
Some early Chinese Taoist-Buddhists thought the Buddha to be a reincarnation of Laozi.
In the ancient Gnosticism, Gnostic sect of Manichaeism, the Buddha is listed among the prophets who preached the word of God before Mani (prophet), Mani.
In Sikhism, Buddha is mentioned as the 23rd avatar of Vishnu in the Chaubis Avtar, a composition in Dasam Granth traditionally and historically attributed to Guru Gobind Singh.
Artistic depictions
The earliest artistic depictions of the Buddha found at
Bharhut
Bharhut is a village in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh, central India. It is known for a Buddhist stupa, unique in that each panel is explicitly labelled in Brahmi characters saying what the panel depicts. The major donor for the Bharhut st ...
and Sanchi are aniconic and symbolic. During this early aniconic period, the Buddha is depicted by other objects or symbols, such as an empty throne, a riderless horse, footprints, a Dharmachakra, Dharma wheel or a Bodhi Tree, Bodhi tree. Since aniconism precludes single devotional figures, most representations are of Life of Buddha in art, narrative scenes from his life. These continued to be very important after the Buddha's person could be shown, alongside larger statues. The art at Sanchi also depicts
Jataka tales
The ''JÄtaka'' (Sanskrit for "Birth-Related" or "Birth Stories") are a voluminous body of literature native to the Indian subcontinent which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Jataka stories we ...
, narratives of the Buddha in his past lives.
Other styles of Indian Buddhist art depict the Buddha in human form, either standing, sitting crossed legged (often in the Lotus position, Lotus Pose) or lying down on one side. Iconic representations of the Buddha became particularly popular and widespread after the first century CE. Some of these depictions, particularly those of Gandharan Buddhism and Buddhism in Central Asia, Central Asian Buddhism, were influenced by Hellenistic art, a style known as Greco-Buddhist art. The subsequently influenced the art of East Asian Buddhism, East Asian Buddhist images, as well as those of Southeast Asian Theravada Buddhism.
Gallery showing different Buddha styles
File:A Royal Couple Visits the Buddha, from railing of the Bharhut Stupa, Shunga dynasty, early 2nd century BC, Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, India, sandstone - Freer Gallery of Art - DSC05134.JPG, A Royal Couple Visits the Buddha, from railing of the Bharhut Stupa, Shunga dynasty, early 2nd century BC.
File:Adoration of the Diamond Throne and the Bodhi Tree Bharhut relief.jpg, Adoration of the Diamond Throne and the Bodhi Tree, Bharhut.
File:Descent of the Buddha from the Trayastrimsa Heaven Sanchi Stupa 1 Northern Gateway.jpg, Descent of the Buddha from the Trayastrimsa Heaven, Sanchi Stupa No. 1.
File:Miracle at Kapilavastu Suddhodana praying as his son the Buddha rises in the air with only path visible Sanchi Stupa 1 Northern Gateway.jpg, The Buddha's Miracle at Kapilavastu, Sanchi Stupa 1.
File:Bamboo garden (Venuvana) at Rajagriha, the visit of Bimbisara.jpg, Bimbisara visiting the Buddha (represented as empty throne) at the Bamboo garden in Rajagriha
File:Andhra pradesh, la grande dipartita, da regione di amaravati, II sec.JPG, The great departure with riderless horse, Amaravati, 2nd century CE.
File:MaraAssault.jpg, The Assault of Mara, Amaravati, 2nd century CE.
File:Isapur Buddha.jpg, Isapur Buddha, one of the earliest physical depictions of the Buddha, . Art of Mathura
File:The Buddha attended by Indra at Indrasala Cave, Mathura 50-100 CE.jpg, The Buddha attended by Indra at Indrasala Cave, Mathura 50-100 CE.
File:Buddha Preaching in Tushita Heaven. Amaravati, Satavahana period, 2d century AD. Indian Museum, Calcutta.jpg, Buddha Preaching in Tushita Heaven. Amaravati, Satavahana dynasty, Satavahana period, 2nd century CE. Indian Museum, Kolkata.
File:Gandhara Buddha (tnm).jpeg, Standing Buddha from Gandhara.
File:Berenike Buddha (drawing).jpg, The ''Berenike Buddha'', discovered in Berenice Troglodytica, Berenice, Egypt, 2nd century CE.
File:Buddha-Vajrapani-Herakles.JPG, Gandharan Buddha with Vajrapani-Heracles, Herakles.
File:BuddhaTriadAndKushanCouple.JPG, Kushan art, Kushan period Buddha Triad.
File:Buddha Statue, Sanchi 01.jpg, Buddha statue from Sanchi.
File:Four Scenes from the Life of the Buddha - Birth of the Buddha - Kushan dynasty, late 2nd to early 3rd century AD, Gandhara, schist - Freer Gallery of Art - DSC05128.JPG, Birth of the Buddha, Kushan dynasty, late 2nd to early 3rd century CE.
File:InfantBuddhaTakingABathGandhara2ndCenturyCE.jpg, The infant Buddha taking a bath, Gandhara 2nd century CE.
File:Buddha with radiate halo and mandorla.Gandhara.Met.jpg, 6th century Gandharan Buddha.
File:Upper Floor, Cave No. 6, Ajanta Caves - 1.jpg, Buddha at Cave No. 6, Ajanta Caves.
File:Standing Buddha Installed by Buddist Monk Yasadinna - Circa 5th Century CE - Jamalpur Mound - ACCN 00-A-5 - Government Museum Mathura Golden background.jpg, Standing Buddha, .
File:Sarnath standing Buddha 5th century CE.jpg, Sarnath standing Buddha, 5th century CE.
File:British Museum - Seated Buddha (Gupta period).JPG, Seated Buddha, Gupta art, Gupta period.
File:Gal Viharaya 02.jpg, Seated Buddha at Gal Vihara, Sri Lanka.
File:Clevelandart 1914.567.jpg, Chinese Stele with Sakyamuni and Bodhisattvas, Wei period, 536 CE.
File:Asuka dera daibutsu.jpg, The Shakyamuni Daibutsu Bronze, , Nara, Nara, Nara, Japan.
File:Buddha Seguntang Palembang.jpg, Amaravati style Buddha of Srivijaya period, Palembang, Indonesia, 7th century.
File:Seokguram Buddha.JPG, Korean Seokguram Cave Buddha, .
File:Buddha Mendut.jpg, Seated Buddha Vairocana flanked by Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani of Mendut temple, Central Java, Indonesia, early 9th century.
File:Stupa Borobudur.jpg, Buddha in the exposed stupa
In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' ÅarÄ«ra''āthe remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...
of Borobudur mandala, Central Java, Indonesia, .
File:023 Vairocana Buddha, 9c, Srivijaya (35212721926).jpg, Vairocana Buddha of Srivijaya style, Southern Thailand, 9th century.
File:Seated Shaka Nyorai (Sakyamuni, Gautama Buddha).jpg, Seated Buddha, Japan, Heian period, 9thļ¼10th century.
File:FireLanceAndGrenade10thCenturyDunhuang.jpg, Attack of Mara, 10th century, Dunhuang.
File:Naga-enthroned Buddha - Beyond Angkor - Cleveland Museum of Art (40887945882).jpg, Cambodian Buddha with Mucalinda NÄga, , Banteay Chhmar, Cambodia
File:Thai - Buddha at the Moment of Victory - Walters 542775.jpg, 15th century Sukhothai Kingdom, Sukhothai Buddha.
File:Thai - Walking Buddha - Walters 542765.jpg, 15th century Sukhothai Walking Buddha.
File:Sakyamuni, Lao Tzu, and Confucius - Google Art Project.jpg, Sakyamuni, Lao Tzu, and Confucius, c. from 1368 until 1644.
File:Shakyamuni detail, Clevelandart 1991.9 (cropped).jpg, Chinese depiction of Shakyamuni, 1600.
File:Sakyamuni Buddha on Snowy Mount, Tay Phuong pagoda, Ha Tay province, 1794 AD, lacquered wood - Vietnam National Museum of Fine Arts - Hanoi, Vietnam - DSC05083.JPG, Buddha on the snowy mountain, Vietnam, 18th century
File:Shakyamuni Buddha with Avadana Legend Scenes - Google Art Project.jpg, Shakyamuni Buddha with Avadana Legend Scenes, Tibetan, 19th century
File:Bodh Gaya - Wat Thai - Main Buddha Statue (9228460504).jpg, Golden Thai Buddha statue, Bodh Gaya.
File:Gautama Buddha-1.jpg, Gautama statue, Shanyuan Temple, Liaoning Province, China.
File:P1040704.JPG, Burmese style Buddha, Shwedagon Pagoda, Shwedagon pagoda, Yangon.
File:Large Gautama Buddha statue in Buddha Park of Ravangla, Sikkim.jpg, Large Gautama Buddha statue in Buddha Park of Ravangla.
File:MET DP264118 (cropped).jpg, Head of Buddha, from Hadda, Afghanistan, ā6th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art.
In other media
Films
* ''Buddha Dev'' (''Life of Lord Buddha''), a 1923 Indian silent film by Dadasaheb Phalke, Dhundiraj Govind Phalke, first depiction of the Buddha on film with Bhaurao Datar in the title role.
* ''Prem Sanyas'' (''The Light of Asia''), a 1925 silent film, directed by Franz Osten and Himansu Rai based on Arnold's epic poem with Rai also portraying the Buddha.
* , a 1952 Japanese feature film representing the life of Buddha.
* ''Gotoma the Buddha'', a 1957 Indian documentary film directed by Rajbans Khanna and produced by Bimal Roy.
* ''Siddhartha (1972 film), Siddhartha'', a 1972 drama film by Conrad Rooks, an adaptation Hesse's novel. It stars Shashi Kapoor as Siddhartha, a contemporary of the Buddha.
* ''Little Buddha'', a 1994 film by Bernardo Bertolucci, the film stars Keanu Reeves as Prince Siddhartha.
* ''The Legend of Buddha'', a 2004 Indian animated film by Shamboo Falke.
* Buddha's life, 2011 This animation movie is about the life of Buddha based on Pali Canon (Theravada Buddhism) and other commentaries. It was produced by members of the Buddhist community in cooperation with the Department of Religious Affairs and the National Office of Buddhism, Thailand. It is considered one of the most accurate story of the Buddha. It is almost 5 hours long and very detailed. The production took 8 years to complete (from 2003-2011).
"The Life of Buddha"
full animated film.
* ''The Life of Buddha'', or Prawat Phra Phuttajao, a 2007 Thai animated feature film about the life of Gautama Buddha, based on the Tipitaka.
* ''Gautama Buddha (film), Tathagatha Buddha'', a 2008 Indian film by Allani Sridhar. Based on Sadguru Sivananda Murthy's book ''Gautama Buddha'', it stars Sunil Sharma as the Buddha.
* ''Sri Siddhartha Gautama (film), Sri Siddhartha Gautama'', a 2013 Sinhalese epic biographical film based on the life of Lord Buddha.
* ''A Journey of Samyak Buddha'', a 2013 Indian film by Praveen Damle, based on B. R. Ambedkar's 1957 Navayana book ''The Buddha and His Dhamma'' with Abhishek Urade in the title role.
Television
* ''Buddha'', a 1996 Indian series which aired on Sony Entertainment Television, Sony TV. It stars Arun Govil as the Buddha.
*
The Buddha
' 2010 PBS documentary by filmmaker David Grubin and narrated by Richard Gere.
* ''Buddha (TV series), Buddha'', a 2013 Indian drama series on Zee TV starring Himanshu Soni in the title role.
Literature
* ''The Light of Asia'', an 1879 epic poem by Edwin Arnold
* ''The Buddha and His Dhamma'', a treatise on Buddha's life and philosophy, by B. R. Ambedkar
* ''Before He Was Buddha: The Life of Siddhartha'', by Hammalawa Saddhatissa
* ''Buddha (manga), Buddha'', a manga series that ran from 1972 to 1983 by Osamu Tezuka
* ''Siddhartha (novel), Siddhartha'' novel by Hermann Hesse, written in German in 1922
* ''Lord of Light'', a novel by Roger Zelazny depicts a man in a far future Earth Colony who takes on the name and teachings of the Buddha
* ''Creation (novel), Creation'', a 1981 novel by Gore Vidal, includes the Buddha as one of the religious figures that the main character encounters
Music
* ''The Light of Asia (oratorio), The Light of Asia'', an 1886 oratorio by Dudley Buck based on Arnold's poem
* ''Karuna Nadee'', a 2010 oratorio by Dinesh Subasinghe
See also
* Buddhist pilgrimage sites
* Family of Gautama Buddha
* List of Indian philosophers
* List of places where Gautama Buddha stayed
* Miracles of Gautama Buddha
Notes
References
Citations
Sources
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The Buddha
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Buddha, The
Gautama Buddha,
5th-century BC Indian people
5th century BC in religion
5th-century BC Indian philosophers
6th-century BC Indian people
6th-century BC Indian philosophers
Avatars of Vishnu
Buddhas
Classical humanists
Founders of religions
Indian ethicists
Indian political philosophers
Prophets in Ahmadiyya
Miracle workers
National heroes of Nepal
Philosophers of mind
Ascetics
Social philosophers
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
Journey to the West characters
Seven Buddhas of the Past
Deified men
Shakyas
Indian princes
Deified Indian men