Attachment is the root of suffering

A world religion
Having established Buddhism as 
the state religion, Ashoka founded 
monasteries, and sponsored 
scholarship. He sent Buddhist 
missionaries to every corner of the 
subcontinent and abroad as far as 
Greece, Syria, and Egypt. His 
missions established Buddhism 
initially as an elite pursuit, but the 
religion went on to take root at all 
levels of society in Sri Lanka, 
Southeast Asia, along the Silk Road 
in the Indo–Greek kingdoms (in 
modern-day Pakistan and 
Afghanistan), and later in China, 
Japan, and Tibet. In India—its 
birthplace—Buddhism started to 
decline after Ashoka’s death in 232 
bce
, affected by a resurgence of 
Hinduism and then the arrival of 
Islam. Outside India, however, its 
tradition and scholarship flourished, 
evolving into multiple strands 
including Zen Buddhism, Theravada 
or Hinayana Buddhism, Mahayana 
Buddhism, and Varayana Buddhism.
The first religion to have spread 
widely beyond the society in which 
it originated—so the first “world 
religion”—Buddhism is also one of 
the oldest, having been practiced 
since the 6th century 
bce
. 
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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?