Who Was the Buddha?

Gautama Buddha (5th century BCE) is presented through his life from royal birth in Kapilavatthu and prophecy by Brahmin seers to his renunciation, awakening and decades of teaching. Shielded by King Suddhodana from the “four sights” of old age, sickness, death and asceticism, he nevertheless encountered them, left the palace with charioteer Channa and horse Kanthaka, and pursued spiritual training. He studied with Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, practiced extreme austerities for seven years with five companions, then rejected that path for the Middle Way. At Bodh Gaya under a pipal tree he attained full enlightenment at thirty-five, gave his first sermon (Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta) at Isipatana to the five ascetics, and spent forty‑five years teaching before dying at eighty in Kushinagar.

His core teaching is the Four Noble Truths: dukkha (suffering), samudaya (craving as its cause), nirodha (cessation) and magga (the path). The Noble Eightfold Path is detailed as three trainings - morality (sīla: right speech, action, livelihood), concentration (samādhi: right effort, mindfulness, concentration) and wisdom (paññā: right view, intention). Practical specifics include the five basic precepts and optional higher precepts, meditation methods such as ānāpānasati, kasina and jhāna for concentration, and vipassanā for insight. These practices mutually reinforce one another to realize Nibbāna.