The Buddha
The
life history of Siddartha
Gautama is obscured by the myth
and legend that has grown up
around him. Different traditions
give different chronologies for his
birth and death, but many agree
on 563–483
bce
. Said to have been
born miraculously through the
side of his mother, Siddartha was
raised in luxury in the palace of
his father, King Suddhodana
Tharu, leader of the Shakya clan.
Aged 29, Siddartha rejected
this luxurious life and left his wife
and child, renouncing material
things to seek enlightenment
through asceticism. Having spent
six years wandering and
meditating, he achieved
enlightenment and became
the Buddha, but instead of
ascending
to nirvana, the
transcendent state that is the
goal of Buddhism, he chose
to remain and preach his new
message, the
dharma.
Gathering followers who
formed the Sangha, a monastic
order, the Buddha pursued his
ministry until he died, at age 80.
He urged his disciples to follow
the
dharma, instructing them:
“All individual things pass
away. Strive on, untiringly.”
Given that separation
is certain in this world,
is it not better to separate
oneself voluntarily for
the sake of religion?
Siddartha Gautama
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