The life of the Buddha.

The historical Buddha was born into the warrior class of the Sakya clan at Kapilavasthu in modern day Nepal. His father was the ruler of a small republic. He was named Siddhartha Gotama. The exact date of his birth is not known but is most probably 563 BCE. According to mythology his conception and birth were accompanied by supernatural events. His mother died seven days after his birth and Siddhartha was brought up by his mother's younger sister in a palace.

Because of a prediction that he would become a great leader or an enlightened holy man, his father tried to shield him from unpleasant aspects of life. At the age of 16 he married his cousin Yasodhara.

At the age of 29 he asked to see what life was like outside the palace and despite the efforts of his father he saw an old man, a sick man, a body of a dead man and a holy man. These sights disturbed him, and following the birth of his son, Rahula, he left the palace, cut off his hair and became a wandering ascetic in search of the meaning of life.

He studied and practised with the wisest holy men of the time, mastering their teachings but still did not find the answer to his problems. He then took us very ascetic practises until he almost starved to death, without finding the solution.

He then abandoned these practices and vowed to sit in meditation beneath a tree until he was enlightened. This he achieved at the age of 35 at Bodh-Gaya. According to the Nirvana Sutra he exclaimed "how marvellous - all beings are enlightened from the very start - but because they cling to false ideas and passions they cannot see it".

He decided to visit his teachers and tell them of his experience. On the way he met two rich merchants who were impressed by his radiance; they requested permission to take refuge in his teaching and became the first members of the community (Sangha). To this day people become Buddhists by taking Refuge in the Buddha, Dharma (teaching) and Sangha.

He went on to teach and gather disciples into the Sangha until the age of 80, when he died of food poisoning at Kushinara. Following his death his body was cremated and the relics divided into ten urns and donated to followers. Two of these urns survive to the present day.

The teachings of the Buddha were memorised and passed from generation to generation. They were not written down until several hundred years after his death. Perhaps that is why there are so many lists in the scriptures, e.g. the Eightfold Path - if you can only remember seven you know to ask someone else! Some scriptures (such as the Jataka, the stories of the 'former lives' of the Buddha) incorporate older folk tales.

[The historical facts about the life of the Buddha have been embellished in the scriptures with myth and metaphor. But this means that you have to decide what to accept as truth or myth for yourself. In the Kalama Sutta, the Buddha says that you should not accept a teaching as the truth just because someone famous tells you it. The story of the life of the Buddha strongly reinforces the teaching of a Middle Way beyond extremes - the Buddha found that a life of luxury and a the life of asceticism both unsatisfactory.]