Buddha" and "Gautama" redirect here.

For other uses, see Buddha (disambiguation) and

Gautama (disambiguation).

Gautama Buddha

A statue of the Buddha from Sarnath, 4th century CE

c. 563 BCE or c. 480 BCE[1][2]
Born
Lumbini, Sakya Republic (according to
Buddhist tradition)[note 1]
c. 483 BCE or c. 400 BCE (aged 80)
Died
Kushinagar, Malla Republic (according
to Buddhist tradition)[note 2]
Known for Founder of Buddhism
Predecessor Kassapa Buddha
Successor
Maitreya Buddha
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Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhrtha Gautama,[note 3] Shakyamuni,[note 4] or
simply the Buddha, was a sage[3] on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.[web 1] He is
believed to have lived and taught mostly in eastern India sometime between the sixth and
fourth centuries BCE.[4][note 5]

The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one". "Buddha" is also
used as a title for the first awakened being in an era. In most Buddhist traditions,
Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (Pali sammsambuddha,
Sanskrit samyaksabuddha) of our age.[note 6] Gautama taught a Middle Way between
sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the Sramana (renunciation)
movement[5] common in his region. He later taught throughout regions of eastern India
such as Magadha and Koala.[4][6]
Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism and accounts of his life, discourses, and
monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and
memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were
passed down by oral tradition and first committed to writing about 400 years later.

Contents

1 Historical Siddhrtha Gautama

2 Traditional biographies
o 2.1 Biographical sources
o 2.2 Nature of traditional depictions
3 Biography
o 3.1 Conception and birth
o 3.2 Early life and marriage
o 3.3 Renunciation and ascetic life
o 3.4 Awakening
o 3.5 Formation of the sangha
o 3.6 Travels and teaching
o 3.7 Mahaparinirvana
4 Buddha and Vedas
5 Relics
6 Physical characteristics
7 Nine virtues
8 Teachings
o 8.1 Tracing the oldest teachings
o 8.2 Dhyana and insight
o 8.3 Core teachings
o 8.4 Later developments
9 Other religions
10 Depiction in arts and media
11 Notes
12 References
13 Sources
o 13.1 Printed sources
o 13.2 Online sources
14 Further reading
o 14.1 The Buddha

14.2 Early Buddhism

14.3 Buddhism general
15 External links
o
o

Historical Siddhrtha Gautama

Ancient kingdoms and cities of India during the time of Buddha.

Scholars are hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's
life. Most accept that he lived, taught and founded a monastic order during the
Mahajanapada era in India during the reign of Bimbisara, the ruler of the Magadha
empire, and died during the early years of the reign of Ajatshatru who was the successor
of Bimbisara, thus making him a younger contemporary of Mahavira, the Jain teacher.[7]
Apart from the Vedic Brahmins, the Buddha's lifetime coincided with the flourishing of
other influential sramana schools of thoughts like jvika, Crvka, Jain, and Ajana. It
was also the age of influential thinkers like Mahvra, Praa Kassapa , Makkhali
Gosla, Ajita Kesakambal, Pakudha Kaccyana, and Sajaya Belahaputta, whose
viewpoints the Buddha most certainly must have been acquainted with and influenced by.
[8][9][note 7]
Indeed, Sariputta and Maudgalyyana, two of the foremost disciples of the
Buddha, were formerly the foremost disciples of Sajaya Belahaputta, the skeptic.[10]
There is also evidence to suggest that the two masters, Alara Kalama and Udaka
Ramaputta, were indeed historical figures and they most probably taught Buddha two
different forms of meditative techniques.[11] While the most general outline of "birth,
maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true,[12]
most scholars do not consistently accept all of the details contained in traditional
biographies.[13][14]
The times of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Most historians in the early 20th
century dated his lifetime as circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE.[1][15] More recently his death is
dated later, between 411 and 400 BCE, while at a symposium on this question held in
1988,[16][17][18] the majority of those who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20
years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death.[1][19][note 5] These alternative
chronologies, however, have not yet been accepted by all historians.[20][21][note 8]
The evidence of the early texts suggests that Siddhrtha Gautama was born into the
Shakya clan, a community that was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally,

of the northeastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE.[22] It was either a small
republic, in which case his father was an elected chieftain, or an oligarchy, in which case
his father was an oligarch.[22] According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in
Lumbini, nowadays in modern-day Nepal, and raised in Kapilavastu (Shakya capital),
which may either be in present day Tilaurakot, Nepal or Piprahwa, India.[note 1] He
obtained his enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon in Sarnath, and died in
Kushinagara.
No written records about Gautama have been found from his lifetime or some centuries
thereafter. One edict of Emperor Ashoka, who reigned from circa 269 BCE to 232 BCE,
commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to the Buddha's birthplace in Lumbini. Another
one of his edicts mentions several Dhamma texts, establishing the existence of a written
Buddhist tradition at least by the time of the Mauryan era and which may be the
precursors of the Pli Canon.[23][note 9] The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the
Gandhran Buddhist texts, reported to have been found in or around Haa near
Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan and now preserved in the British Library. They are
written in the Kharoh script and the Gndhr language on twenty-seven birch bark
scrolls, and they date from the first century BCE to the third century CE.[web 2]

Traditional biographies

Buddha by Otgonbayar Ershuu

Biographical sources
The sources for the life of Siddhrtha Gautama are a variety of different, and sometimes
conflicting, traditional biographies. These include the Buddhacharita, Lalitavistara Stra,
Mahvastu, and the Nidnakath.[24] Of these, the Buddhacarita[25][26][27] is the earliest full
biography, an epic poem written by the poet Avaghoa, and dating around the beginning

of the 2nd century CE.[24] The Lalitavistara Stra is the next oldest biography, a
Mahyna/Sarvstivda biography dating to the 3rd century CE.[28] The Mahvastu from
the Mahsghika Lokottaravda tradition is another major biography, composed
incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE.[28] The Dharmaguptaka biography of the
Buddha is the most exhaustive, and is entitled the Abhinikramaa Stra,[29] and various
Chinese translations of this date between the 3rd and 6th century CE. Lastly, the
Nidnakath is from the Theravda tradition in Sri Lanka and was composed in the 5th
century CE by Buddhaghoa.[30]
From canonical sources, the Jtakas, 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 Jtakas retell previous lives of Gautama as a bodhisattva,
and the first collection of these can be dated among the earliest Buddhist texts.[31] The
Mahpadna Sutta and Achariyabhuta Sutta both recount miraculous events surrounding
Gautama's birth, such as the bodhisattva's descent from Tuita Heaven into his mother's
womb.

Nature of traditional depictions

Queen My miraculously giving birth to Siddhrtha. Sanskrit palm leaf manuscript.

Nland, Bihar, India. Pla period
In the earliest Buddhists texts, the Nikayas and Agamas, the Buddha is not depicted as
possessing omniscience (sabbau) [32] nor is he depicted as being an eternal transcendent
(lokottara) being. According to Bhikkhu Analayo, ideas of the Buddha's omniscience
(along with an increasing tendency to deify him and his biography) are found only later,
in Mahayana sutras and later Pali commentaries or texts such as the Mahavastu.[33] In the
Sandaka Sutta, the Buddha's discipline Ananda outlines an argument against the claims of
teachers who say they are all knowing [34] 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" (Abhij).[35] The earliest biographical material
from the Pali Nikayas focuses on the Buddha's life as a sramana, his search for
enlightenment under various teachers such as Alara Kalama and his forty five year career
as a teacher. [36]
Traditional biographies of Gautama generally 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 Mahvastu, over the course of many lives, Gautama is said to

have developed supra-mundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without

intercourse; no need for sleep, food, medicine, or bathing, although engaging in such "in
conformity with the world"; omniscience, and the ability to "suppress karma".[37][38][39]
Nevertheless, some of the more ordinary details of his life have been gathered from these
traditional sources. In modern times there has been an attempt to form a secular
understanding of Siddhrtha Gautama's life by omitting the traditional supernatural
elements of his early biographies.
Andrew Skilton writes that the Buddha was never historically regarded by Buddhist
traditions as being merely human:[40]
It is important to stress that, despite modern Theravada teachings to the contrary (often a
sop to skeptical Western pupils), he was never seen as being merely human. For instance,
he is often described as having the thirty-two major and eighty minor marks or signs of a
mahpurua, "superman"; the Buddha himself denied that he was either a man or a god;
and in the Mahparinibbna Sutta he states that he could live for an aeon were he asked
to do so.
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, and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in Indian history for
which significant accounts exist.[41] British author Karen Armstrong writes that although
there is very little information that can be considered historically sound, we can be
reasonably confident that Siddhrtha Gautama did exist as a historical figure.[42] Michael
Carrithers goes a bit further by stating that the most general outline of "birth, maturity,
renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true.[12]

Biography
Conception and birth

Maya dream of the Birth of Gautama Siddharta

Purported birthplace of Gautama Buddha in Lumbini, Nepal,[note 1] a holy shrine also for
many non-Buddhists.[note 10]
The Buddhist tradition regards Lumbini, in present-day Nepal to be the birthplace of the
Buddha.[43][note 1] He grew up in Kapilavastu.[note 1] The exact site of ancient Kapilavastu is
unknown. It may have been either Piprahwa, Uttar Pradesh, present-day India,[44] or
Tilaurakot, present-day Nepal.[45] Both places belonged to the Sakya territory, and are
located only 15 miles apart from each other.[45]
Siddharta Gautama was born as a Kshatriya,[46][note 11] the son of uddhodana, "an elected
chief of the Shakya clan",[4] whose capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed
by the growing Kingdom of Kosala during the Buddha's lifetime. Gautama was the
family name. His mother, Queen Maha Maya (Mydev) and Suddhodana's wife, was a
Koliyan princess. Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya
dreamt that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side,[47][48] and ten
months later[49] Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother
Queen Maya became pregnant, she left Kapilvastu for her father's kingdom to give birth.
However, her son is said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a
sal tree.
The day of the Buddha's birth is widely celebrated in Theravada countries as Vesak.[50] the
Buddha's birth anniversary holiday is called "Buddha Purnima" in Nepal and India as the
Buddha is believed to have been born on a full moon day. Various sources hold that the
Buddha's mother died at his birth, a few days or seven days later. The infant was given
the name Siddhartha (Pli: Siddhattha), meaning "he who achieves his aim". During the
birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita journeyed from his mountain abode and
announced that the child would either become a great king (chakravartin) or a great holy
man.[51] By traditional account,[which?] this occurred after Siddhartha placed his feet in
Asita's hair and Asita examined the birthmarks. Suddhodana held a naming ceremony on
the fifth day, and invited eight Brahmin scholars to read the future. All gave a dual
prediction that the baby would either become a great king or a great holy man.[51]
Kaundinya (Pali: Kondaa), the youngest, and later to be the first arahant other than the
Buddha, was reputed to be the only one who unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha
would become a Buddha.[52]

While later tradition and legend characterized uddhodana as a hereditary monarch, the
descendant of the Solar Dynasty of Ikvku (Pli: Okkka), many scholars think that
uddhodana was the elected chief of a tribal confederacy.
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.[53] The state of the Shakya clan was not a
monarchy, and seems to have been structured either as an oligarchy, or as a form of
republic.[54] The more egalitarian gana-sangha form of government, as a political
alternative to the strongly hierarchical kingdoms, may have influenced the development
of the Shramana-type Jain and Buddhist sanghas, where monarchies tended toward Vedic
Brahmanism.[55]

Early life and marriage

Departure of Prince Siddhartha

Siddhartha was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati.[56] By tradition,
he is said to have been destined by birth to the life of a prince, and had three palaces (for
seasonal occupation) built for him. Although more recent scholarship doubts this status,
his father, said to be King uddhodana, wishing for his son to be a great king, is said to
have shielded him from religious teachings and from knowledge of human suffering.
When he reached the age of 16, his father reputedly arranged his marriage to a cousin of
the same age named Yaodhar (Pli: Yasodhar). According to the traditional account,
[which?]
she gave birth to a son, named Rhula. Siddhartha is said to have spent 29 years as
a prince in Kapilavastu. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with
everything he could want or need, Buddhist scriptures say that the future Buddha felt that
material wealth was not life's ultimate goal.[56]

Renunciation and ascetic life

The Victory of Buddha

The "Great Departure" of Siddhartha Gautama, surrounded by a halo, he is accompanied

by numerous guards, maithuna loving couples, and devata who have come to pay
homage; Gandhara, Kushan period

Prince Siddhartha shaves his hair and becomes an ascetic. Borobudur, 8th century
At the age of 29, the popular biography[which?] continues, Siddhartha left his palace to meet
his subjects. Despite his father's efforts to hide from him the sick, aged and suffering,
Siddhartha was said to have seen an old man. When his charioteer Channa 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. These depressed him,
and he initially strove to overcome aging, sickness, and death by living the life of an
ascetic.[57]
Accompanied by Channa and riding his horse Kanthaka, Gautama quit his palace for the
life of a mendicant. It's said that, "the horse's hooves were muffled by the gods"[58] to
prevent guards from knowing of his departure.
Gautama initially went to Rajagaha and began his ascetic life by begging for alms in the
street. After King Bimbisara's men recognised Siddhartha and the king learned of his

quest, Bimbisara offered Siddhartha the throne. Siddhartha rejected the offer, but
promised to visit his kingdom of Magadha first, upon attaining enlightenment.
He left Rajagaha and practised under two hermit teachers of yogic meditation.[59][60][61]
After mastering the teachings of Alara Kalama (Skr. ra Klma), he was asked by
Kalama to succeed him. However, Gautama felt unsatisfied by the practice, and moved
on to become a student of yoga with Udaka Ramaputta (Skr. Udraka Rmaputra).[62] With
him he achieved high levels of meditative consciousness, and was again asked to succeed
his teacher. But, once more, he was not satisfied, and again moved on.[63]
Siddhartha and a group of five companions led by Kaundinya are then said to have set out
to take their austerities even further. They tried to find enlightenment through deprivation
of worldly goods, including food, practising self-mortification. After nearly starving
himself to death by restricting his food intake to around a leaf or nut per day, he collapsed
in a river while bathing and almost drowned. Siddhartha was rescued by a village girl
named Sujata and she gave him some payasam (a pudding made from milk and jaggery)
after which Siddhartha got back some energy. Siddhartha began to reconsider his path.
Then, he remembered a moment in childhood in which he had been watching his father
start the season's ploughing. He attained a concentrated and focused state that was blissful
and refreshing, the jhna.

Awakening
See also: Enlightenment in Buddhism

The Buddha surrounded by the demons of Mra. Sanskrit palm leaf manuscript. Nland,
Bihar, India. Pla period
According to the early Buddhist texts,[web 3] after realizing that meditative dhyana was the
right path to awakening, but that extreme asceticism didn't work, Gautama discovered
what Buddhists call the Middle Way[web 3]a path of moderation away from the extremes
of self-indulgence and self-mortification, or the Noble Eightfold Path, as was identified
and described by the Buddha in his first discourse, the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta.[web
3]
In a famous incident, after becoming starved and weakened, he is said to have accepted
milk and rice pudding from a village girl named Sujata.[web 4] Such was his emaciated
appearance that she wrongly believed him to be a spirit that had granted her a wish.[web 4]
Following this incident, Gautama was famously seated under a pipal treenow known as
the Bodhi treein Bodh Gaya, India, when he vowed never to arise until he had found
the truth.[64] Kaundinya and four other companions, believing that he had abandoned his

search and become undisciplined, left. After a reputed 49 days of meditation, at the age of
35, he is said to have attained Enlightenment.[64][web 5] According to some traditions, this
occurred in approximately the fifth lunar month, while, according to others, it was in the
twelfth month. From that time, Gautama was known to his followers as the Buddha or
"Awakened One" ("Buddha" is also sometimes translated as "The Enlightened One").
According to Buddhism, at the time of his awakening he realized complete insight into
the cause of suffering, and the steps necessary to eliminate it. These discoveries became
known as the "Four Noble Truths",[web 5] which are at the heart of Buddhist teaching.
Through mastery of these truths, a state of supreme liberation, or Nirvana, is believed to
be possible for any being. The Buddha described Nirvna as the perfect peace of a mind
that's free from ignorance, greed, hatred and other afflictive states,[web 5] or "defilements"
(kilesas). Nirvana is also regarded as the "end of the world", in that no personal identity
or boundaries of the mind remain. In such a state, a being is said to possess the Ten
Characteristics, belonging to every Buddha.
According to a story in the ycana Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya VI.1) a scripture found in
the Pli and other canons immediately after his awakening, the Buddha debated
whether or not he should teach the Dharma to others. He was concerned that humans
were so overpowered by ignorance, greed and hatred that they could never recognise the
path, which is subtle, deep and hard to grasp. However, in the story, Brahm Sahampati
convinced him, arguing that at least some will understand it. The Buddha relented, and
agreed to teach.

Formation of the sangha

Dhamek Stupa in Srnth, India, site of the first teaching of the Buddha in which he
taught the Four Noble Truths to his first five disciples
After his awakening, the Buddha met Taphussa and Bhallika two merchant brothers
from the city of Balkh in what is currently Afghanistan who became his first lay
disciples. It is said that each was given hairs from his head, which are now claimed to be
enshrined as relics in the Shwe Dagon Temple in Rangoon, Burma. The Buddha intended
to visit Asita, and his former teachers, Alara Kalama and Udaka Ramaputta, to explain
his findings, but they had already died.
He then travelled to the Deer Park near Varanasi (Benares) in northern India, where he set
in motion what Buddhists call the Wheel of Dharma by delivering his first sermon to the

five companions with whom he had sought enlightenment. Together with him, they
formed the first sagha: the company of Buddhist monks.
All five become arahants, and within the first two months, with the conversion of Yasa
and fifty four of his friends, the number of such arahants is said to have grown to 60. The
conversion of three brothers named Kassapa followed, with their reputed 200, 300 and
500 disciples, respectively. This swelled the sangha to more than 1,000.

Travels and teaching

Buddha with his protector Vajrapani, Gandhra, 2nd century CE, Ostasiatische Kunst
Museum
For the remaining 45 years of his life, the Buddha is said to have traveled in the Gangetic
Plain, in what is now Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and southern Nepal, teaching a diverse range
of people: from nobles to servants, murderers such as Angulimala, and cannibals such as
Alavaka.[65] Although the Buddha's language remains unknown, it's likely that he taught
in one or more of a variety of closely related Middle Indo-Aryan dialects, of which Pali
may be a standardization.
The sangha traveled through the subcontinent, expounding the dharma. This continued
throughout the year, except during the four months of the Vsan rainy season when
ascetics of all religions rarely traveled. One reason was that it was more difficult to do so
without causing harm to animal life. At this time of year, the sangha would retreat to
monasteries, public parks or forests, where people would come to them.

A view of Vulture Peak, where the Atanatiya Sutta was held

The first vassana was spent at Varanasi when the sangha was formed. After this, the
Buddha kept a promise to travel to Rajagaha, capital of Magadha, to visit King
Bimbisara. During this visit, Sariputta and Maudgalyayana were converted by Assaji, one
of the first five disciples, after which they were to become the Buddha's two foremost
followers. The Buddha spent the next three seasons at Veluvana Bamboo Grove
monastery in Rajagaha, capital of Magadha.
Upon hearing of his son's awakening, Suddhodana sent, over a period, ten delegations to
ask him to return to Kapilavastu. On the first nine occasions, the delegates failed to
deliver the message, and instead joined the sangha to become arahants. The tenth
delegation, led by Kaludayi, a childhood friend of Gautama's (who also became an
arahant), however, delivered the message.
Now two years after his awakening, the Buddha agreed to return, and made a two-month
journey by foot to Kapilavastu, teaching the dharma as he went. At his return, the royal
palace prepared a midday meal, but the sangha was making an alms round in Kapilavastu.
Hearing this, Suddhodana approached his son, the Buddha, saying:
"Ours is the warrior lineage of Mahamassata, and not a single warrior has gone seeking
alms."
The Buddha is said to have replied:
"That is not the custom of your royal lineage. But it is the custom of my Buddha lineage.
Several thousands of Buddhas have gone by seeking alms."
Buddhist texts say that Suddhodana invited the sangha into the palace for the meal,
followed by a dharma talk. After this he is said to have become a sotapanna. During the
visit, many members of the royal family joined the sangha. The Buddha's cousins Ananda
and Anuruddha became two of his five chief disciples. At the age of seven, his son
Rahula also joined, and became one of his ten chief disciples. His half-brother Nanda also
joined and became an arahant.
Of the Buddha's disciples, Sariputta, Maudgalyayana, Mahakasyapa, Ananda and
Anuruddha are believed to have been the five closest to him. His ten foremost disciples

were reputedly completed by the quintet of Upali, Subhoti, Rahula, Mahakaccana and
Punna.
In the fifth vassana, the Buddha was staying at Mahavana near Vesali when he heard
news of the impending death of his father. He is said to have gone to Suddhodana and
taught the dharma, after which his father became an arahant.

The last days of buddha teachings

The king's death and cremation was to inspire the creation of an order of nuns. Buddhist
texts record that the Buddha was reluctant to ordain women. His foster mother Maha
Pajapati, for example, approached him, asking to join the sangha, but he refused. Maha
Pajapati, however, was so intent on the path of awakening that she led a group of royal
Sakyan and Koliyan ladies, which followed the sangha on a long journey to Rajagaha. In
time, after Ananda championed their cause, the Buddha is said to have reconsidered and,
five years after the formation of the sangha, agreed to the ordination of women as nuns.
He reasoned that males and females had an equal capacity for awakening. But he gave
women additional rules (Vinaya) to follow.

Mahaparinirvana

The Buddha's entry into Parinirvana. Sanskrit palm leaf manuscript. Nland, Bihar,
India. Pla period

Buddha's cremation stupa, Kushinagar (Kushinara).

The sharing of the relics of the Buddha, Zenymitsu-Temple Museum, Tokyo

According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the Buddha
announced that he would soon reach Parinirvana, or the final deathless state, and abandon
his earthly body. After this, 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 nanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do
with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided
the last meal for a Buddha.[web 6] Mettanando and Von Hinber argue that the Buddha died
of mesenteric infarction, a symptom of old age, rather than food poisoning.[66][web 7]
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
tradition generally believes that the Buddha was offered some kind of pork, while the
Mahayana tradition believes that the Buddha consumed some sort of truffle or other
mushroom. These may reflect the different traditional views on Buddhist vegetarianism
and the precepts for monks and nuns.
Waley suggests that Theravadin's would take suukaramaddava (the contents of the
Buddha's last meal), which can translate as pig-soft, to mean soft flesh of a pig. However,
he also states that pig-soft could mean "pig's soft-food", that is, after Neumann, a soft
food favoured by pigs, assumed to be a truffle. He argues (also after Neumann) that as
Pali Buddhism was developed in an area remote to the Buddha's death, the existence of
other plants with suukara- (pig) as part of their names and that "(p)lant names tend to be
local and dialectical" could easily indicate that suukaramaddava was a type of plant
whose local name was unknown to those in the Pali regions. Specifically, local writers
knew more about their flora than Theravadin commentator Buddhaghosa who lived
hundreds of years and kilometres remote in time and space from the events described.
Unaware of an alternate meaning and with no Theravadin prohibition against eating

animal flesh, Theravadins would not have questioned the Buddha eating meat and
interpreted the term accordingly.[67]
Ananda protested the Buddha's decision to enter Parinirvana in the abandoned jungles of
Kuinra (present-day Kushinagar, India) of the Malla kingdom. The Buddha, however, is
said to have reminded Ananda how Kushinara was a land once ruled by a righteous
wheel-turning king that resounded with joy:
44. Kusavati, Ananda, resounded unceasingly day and night with ten soundsthe
trumpeting of elephants, the neighing of horses, the rattling of chariots, the beating of
drums and tabours, music and song, cheers, the clapping of hands, and cries of "Eat,
drink, and be merry!"
The Buddha then asked all the attendant Bhikkhus to clarify any doubts or questions they
had. They had none. According to Buddhist scriptures, he then finally entered
Parinirvana. The Buddha's final words are reported to have been: "All composite things
(Sakhra) are perishable. Strive for your own liberation with diligence" (Pali:
'vayadhamm sakhr appamdena sampdeth'). His body was cremated and the relics
were placed in monuments or stupas, some of which are believed to have survived until
the present. For example, The Temple of the Tooth or "Dalada Maligawa" in Sri Lanka is
the place where what some believe to be the relic of the right tooth of Buddha is kept at
present.
Life scenes of Buddha, sand stone: Birth, Enlightenment, Descent from Heaven, First
Sermon, Passing Away, c. 2nd Century CE, Government Museum, Mathura.
According to the Pli historical chronicles of Sri Lanka, the Dpavasa and Mahvasa,
the coronation of Emperor Aoka (Pli: Asoka) is 218 years after the death of the Buddha.
According to two textual records in Chinese ( and ), the coronation of
Emperor Aoka is 116 years after the death of the Buddha. Therefore, the time of
Buddha's passing is either 486 BCE according to Theravda record or 383 BCE
according to Mahayana record. However, the actual date traditionally accepted as the date
of the Buddha's death in Theravda countries is 544 or 545 BCE, because the reign of
Emperor Aoka was traditionally reckoned to be about 60 years earlier than current
estimates. In Burmese Buddhist tradition, the date of the Buddha's death is 13 May 544
BCE.[68] whereas in Thai tradition it is 11 March 545 BCE.[69]
At his death, the Buddha is famously believed to have told his disciples to follow no
leader. Mahakasyapa was chosen by the sangha to be the chairman of the First Buddhist
Council, with the two chief disciples Maudgalyayana and Sariputta having died before
the Buddha.
While in the Buddha's days he was addressed by the very respected titles Buddha,
Shkyamuni, Shkyasimha, Bhante and Bho, he was known after his parinirvana as

Arihant, Bhagav/Bhagavat/Bhagwn, Mahvira,[70] Jina/Jinendra, Sstr, Sugata, and

most popularly in scriptures as Tathgata.

Buddha and Vedas

See also: Gautama Buddha in world religions
Buddha's teachings deny the authority of the Vedas and consequently [at least atheistic]
Buddhism is generally viewed as a nstika school (heterodox, literally "It is not so"[note 12])
from the perspective of orthodox Hinduism.[71]
However, while he was against the authority of the Vedas, he might not have been against
the Vedas themselves. Buddhist scholar Walpola Rahula wrote that the Buddha was trying
to shed light on the true meaning of the Vedas.[citation needed] Buddha is said to be a knower of
the Veda (vedaja) or of the Vedanta (vedntaja) (Sa.myutta, i. 168) and (Sutta Nipta,
463).

Relics
See also: arra and Relics associated with Buddha
After his death, Buddha's cremation relics were divided amongst 8 royal families and his
disciples; centuries later they would be enshrined by King Ashoka into 84,000 stupas.[web
8][72]
Many supernatural legends surround the history of alleged relics as they
accompanied the spread of Buddhism and gave legitimacy to rulers.

Physical characteristics
Main article: Physical characteristics of the Buddha

Gandhran depiction of the Buddha from Hadda, Afghanistan; Victoria and Albert
Museum, London.

An extensive and colorful physical description of the Buddha has been laid down in
scriptures. A kshatriya by birth, he had military training in his upbringing, and by
Shakyan tradition was required to pass tests to demonstrate his worthiness as a warrior in
order to marry. He had a strong enough body to be noticed by one of the kings and was
asked to join his army as a general. He is also believed by Buddhists to have "the 32
Signs of the Great Man".
The Brahmin Sonadanda described him as "handsome, good-looking, and pleasing to the
eye, with a most beautiful complexion. He has a godlike form and countenance, he is by
no means unattractive." (D, I:115)
"It is wonderful, truly marvellous, how serene is the good Gotama's appearance, how
clear and radiant his complexion, just as the golden jujube in autumn is clear and radiant,
just as a palm-tree fruit just loosened from the stalk is clear and radiant, just as an
adornment of red gold wrought in a crucible by a skilled goldsmith, deftly beaten and laid
on a yellow-cloth shines, blazes and glitters, even so, the good Gotama's senses are
calmed, his complexion is clear and radiant." (A, I:181)
A disciple named Vakkali, who later became an arahant, was so obsessed by the Buddha's
physical presence that the Buddha is said to have felt impelled to tell him to desist, and to
have reminded him that he should know the Buddha through the Dhamma and not
through physical appearances.
Although there are no extant representations of the Buddha in human form until around
the 1st century CE (see Buddhist art), descriptions of the physical characteristics of fully
enlightened buddhas are attributed to the Buddha in the Digha Nikaya's Lakkhaa Sutta
(D, I:142).[73] In addition, the Buddha's physical appearance is described by Yasodhara to
their son Rahula upon the Buddha's first post-Enlightenment return to his former princely
palace in the non-canonical Pali devotional hymn, Narasha Gth ("The Lion of Men").
[web 9]

Among the 32 main characteristics it is mentioned that Buddha has blue eyes.[74]

Nine virtues
Recollection of nine virtues attributed to the Buddha is a common Buddhist meditation
and devotional practice called Buddhnusmti. The nine virtues are also among the 40
Buddhist meditation subjects. The nine virtues of the Buddha appear throughout the
Tipitaka,[web 10] and include:
Buddho Awakened
Sammasambuddho Perfectly self-awakened
Vijja-carana-sampano Endowed with higher knowledge and ideal conduct.
Sugato Well-gone or Well-spoken.
Lokavidu Wise in the knowledge of the many worlds.
Anuttaro Purisa-damma-sarathi Unexcelled trainer of untrained people.

Satthadeva-Manussanam Teacher of gods and humans.

Bhagavathi The Blessed one
Araham Worthy of homage. An Arahant 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."

Teachings
Main article: Buddhist philosophy

Reclining Buddha in Jade Temple, Shanghai.

Lord Buddha at Pandavleni Caves, Nashik.

Tracing the oldest teachings

Information of the oldest teachings may be obtained by analysis of the oldest texts. One
method to obtain information on the oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest
extant versions of the Theravadin Pali Canon and other texts.[note 13] The reliability of these
sources, and the possibility to draw out a core of oldest teachings, is a matter of dispute.
[75][76][77][78]
According to Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other methods must be applied
to resolve those inconsistencies.[79][note 14]
According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be
distinguished:[80]

1.

2.

3.

"Stress on the fundamental homogeneity and substantial authenticity of at least a

considerable part of the Nikayic materials;"[note 15]
"Scepticism with regard to the possibility of retrieving the doctrine of earliest
Buddhism;"[note 16]
"Cautious optimism in this respect."[note 17]

Dhyana and insight

A core problem in the study of early Buddhism is the relation between dhyana and
insight.[76][81][78] Schmithausen, in his often-cited article On some Aspects of Descriptions
or Theories of 'Liberating Insight' and 'Enlightenment' in Early Buddhism notes that the
mention of the four noble truths as constituting "liberating insight", which is attained
after mastering the Rupa Jhanas, is a later addition to texts such as Majjhima Nikaya 36.
[82][75][76]

Core teachings
According to Tilmann Vetter, the core of earliest Buddhism is the practice of dhyna.[76]
Bronkhorst agrees that dhyana was a Buddhist invention,[75] whereas Norman notes that
"the Buddha's way to release [...] was by means of meditative practices."[83]
Discriminating insight into transiency as a separate path to liberation was a later
development.[84][85]
According to the Mahsaccakasutta,[note 18] from the fourth jhana the Buddha gained
bodhi. Yet, it is not clear what he was awakened to.[83][75] "Liberating insight" is a later
addition to this text, and reflects a later development and understanding in early
Buddhism.[82][75] The mentioning of the four truths as constituting "liberating insight"
introduces a logical problem, since the four truths depict a linear path of practice, the
knowledge of which is in itself not depicted as being liberating:[86]
[T]hey do not teach that one is released by knowing the four noble truths, but by
practicing the fourth noble truth, the eightfold path, which culminates in right samadhi.[86]
Although "Nibbna" (Sanskrit: Nirvna) is the common term for the desired goal of this
practice, many other terms can be found throughout the Nikayas, which are not specified.
[87][note 19]

According to Vetter, the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as
simple as the term "the middle way".[76] In time, this short description was elaborated,
resulting in the description of the eightfold path.[76]
According to both Bronkhorst and Anderson, the four truths became a substitution for
prajna, or "liberating insight", in the suttas[88][89] in those texts where "liberating insight"
was preceded by the four jhanas.[90] According to Bronkhorst, the four truths may not
have been formulated in earliest Buddhism, and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a

description of "liberating insight".[91] Gotama's teachings may have been personal,

"adjusted to the need of each person."[90]
The three marks of existence[note 20] may reflect Upanishadic or other influences. K.R.
Norman supposes that these terms were already in use at the Buddha's time, and were
familiar to his listeners.[92]
The Brahma-vihara was in origin probably a brahmanic term;[93] but is usage may have
been common to the Sramana traditions.[75]

Later developments
In time, "liberating insight" became an essential feature of the Buddhist tradition. The
following teachings, which are commonly seen as essential to Buddhism, are later
formulations which form part of the explanatory framework of this "liberating insight":[76]
[75]

The Four Noble Truths: that suffering is an ingrained part of existence; that the
origin of suffering is craving for sensuality, acquisition of identity, and
annihilation; that suffering can be ended; and that following the Noble Eightfold
Path is the means to accomplish this;
The Noble Eightfold Path: right view, right intention, right speech, right action,
right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration;
Dependent origination: the mind creates suffering as a natural product of a
complex process.

Other religions

Buddha depicted as the 9th avatar of god Vishnu in a traditional Indian representation
Main article: Gautama Buddha in world religions
Some Hindus regard Gautama as the 9th avatar of Vishnu.[note 10][94] The Buddha is also
regarded as a prophet by the Ahmadiyya Muslims[web 11][web 12][web 13] and a Manifestation of
God in the Bah' Faith.[95] Some early Chinese Taoist-Buddhists thought the Buddha to
be a reincarnation of Lao Tzu.[96]

The Christian Saint Josaphat is based on the Buddha. The name comes from the Sanskrit
Bodhisattva via Arabic Bdhasaf and Georgian Iodasaph.[97] The only story in which St.
Josaphat appears, Barlaam and Josaphat, is based on the life of the Buddha.[98] Josaphat
was included in earlier editions of the Roman Martyrology (feast day 27 November)
though not in the Roman Missal and in the Eastern Orthodox Church liturgical
calendar (26 August).
Disciples of the Cao i religion worship the Buddha as a major religious teacher.[99] His
image can be found in both their Holy See and on the home altar. He is revealed during
communication with Divine Beings as son of their Supreme Being (God the Father)
together with other major religious teachers and founders like Jesus, Laozi, and
Confucius.[100]

Depiction in arts and media

Films
Main article: Depictions of Gautama Buddha in film
Little Buddha, a 1994 film by Bernardo Bertolucci
Prem Sanyas, a 1925 silent film, directed by Franz Osten and Himansu Rai
Television
Buddha (TV series),a 2013 mythological drama on Zee TV
Literature
The Light of Asia, an 1879 epic poem by Edwin Arnold
Buddha, a manga series that ran from 1972 to 1983 by Osamu Tezuka
Siddhartha (novel) by Hermann Hesse, written in German in 1922
Music

Karuna Nadee, a 2010 oratorio by Dinesh Subasinghe

The Light of Asia, an 1886 oratorio by Dudley Buck

Notes
1.

According to the Buddhist tradition, following the Nidanakatha,[web 14] the

introductory to the Jataka tales, the stories of the former lives of the Buddha,
Gautama was born in Lumbini, present-day Nepal.[web 15][web 16] In the mid-3rd
century BCE the Emperor Ashoka determined that Lumbini was Gautama's
birthplace and thus installed a pillar there with the inscription: "...this is where the
Buddha, sage of the kyas (kyamuni), was born."[101]
Based on stone inscriptions, there is also speculation that Lumbei, Kapileswar
village, Odisha, at the east coast of India, was the site of ancient Lumbini.[102][103]
[104]
Hartmann discusses the hypothesis and states, "The inscription has generally
been considered spurious (...)"[105] He quotes Sicar: "There can hardly be any

doubt that the people responsible for the Kapilesvara inscription copied it from
the said facsimile not much earlier than 1928."
Kapilavastu was the place where he grew up:[106][note 1]

Warder: "The Buddha [...] was born in the Sakya Republic, which
was the city state of Kapilavastu, a very small state just inside the modern
state boundary of Nepal against the Northern Indian frontier.[4]

Walsh: "He belonged to the Sakya clan dwelling on the edge of the
Himalayas, his actual birthplace being a few miles north of the present-day
Northern Indian border, in Nepal. His father was in fact an elected chief of
the clan rather than the king he was later made out to be, though his title
was raja a term which only partly corresponds to our word 'king'. Some
of the states of North India at that time were kingdoms and others
republics, and the Sakyan republic was subject to the powerful king of
neighbouring Kosala, which lay to the south".[107]

The exact location of ancient Kapilavastu is unknown.[106] It may

have been either Piprahwa in Uttar Pradesh, northern India,[44][108][109] or
Tilaurakot,[110] present-day Nepal.[111][106] The two cities are located only
fifteen miles from each other.[111]
See also Conception and birth and Birthplace Sources
2.

3.

4.

According to Mahaparinibbana Sutta,[web 17] Gautama died in Kushinagar,

which is located in present day Uttar Pradesh, India.
Sanskrit: ; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama; Sinhalese:

Baroni: "The sage of the Shakya people"[3]
5.

411400: Dundas 2002, p. 24: "...as is now almost universally

accepted by informed Indological scholarship, a re-examination of early
Buddhist historical material, [...], necessitates a redating of the Buddha's
death to between 411 and 400 BCE..."

405: Richard Gombrich[112][113][114][115]

Around 400: See the consensus in the essays by leading scholars in

Narain, Awadh Kishore, ed. (2003), The Date of the Historical kyamuni
Buddha, New Delhi: BR Publishing, ISBN 81-7646-353-1.

According to Pali scholar K. R. Norman, a life span for the Buddha

of c. 480 to 400 BCE (and his teaching period roughly from c. 445 to 400
BCE) "fits the archaeological evidence better".[2] See also Notes on the
Dates of the Buddha kyamuni.
Hypothetical root budh "perceive" 1. Pali buddha "understood,
enlightened", masculine "the Buddha"; Aokan (the language of the Inscriptions
of Aoka) Budhe nominative singular; Prakrit buddha known, awakened ;
Waigal bd, "truth"; Bashkark budh "he heard"; Trwl bdo preterite of b,
"to see, know" from bdhati; Phala bddo preterite of bu , "to understand"
from bdhyat; Shina Gilgit dialect budo, "awake"; Gurs dialect budyn

6.

7.

8.

intransitive "to wake"; Kashmiri bdu, "quick of understanding (especially of a

child)"; Sindh udho, past participle (passive) of ujhau, "to understand" from
bdhyat, West Pah buddh, preterite of buj, "to know"; Sinhalese buj (j
written for d), budu, bud, but, "the Buddha".Turner, Sir Ralph Lilley. "buddha
9276; 19621985". A comparative dictionary of the Indo-Aryan languages.
Digital Dictionaries of South Asia, University of Chicago. London: Oxford
University Press. p. 525. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
According to Alexander Berzin, "Buddhism developed as a shramana
school that accepted rebirth under the force of karma, while rejecting the
existence of the type of soul that other schools asserted. In addition, the Buddha
accepted as parts of the path to liberation the use of logic and reasoning, as well
as ethical behavior, but not to the degree of Jain asceticism. In this way,
Buddhism avoided the extremes of the previous four shramana schools."[web 18]
In 2013, archaeologist Robert Coningham found the remains of a
Bodhigara, a tree shrine, dated to 550 BCE at the Maya Devi Temple, Lumbini,
speculating that it may possible be a Buddhist shrine. If so, this may push back
the Buddha's birth date.[web 19] Archaeologists caution that the shrine may represent
pre-Buddhist tree worship, and that further research is needed.[web 19]
Richard Gombrich has dismissed Coningham's specualtions as "a fantasy", noting
that Coningham lacks the necessary expertise on the history of early Buddhism.
[web 20]

Geoffrey Samuels notes that several locations of both early Buddhism and Jainism
are closely related to Yaksha-worship, that several Yakshas were "converted" to
Buddhism, a well-known example being Vajrapani,[note 2] and that several Yakshashrines, where trees were worshipped, were converted into Buddhist holy places.
[116]
9.

10.

11.

Minor Rock Edict Nb3: "These Dhamma texts Extracts from the
Discipline, the Noble Way of Life, the Fears to Come, the Poem on the Silent
Sage, the Discourse on the Pure Life, Upatisa's Questions, and the Advice to
Rahula which was spoken by the Buddha concerning false speech these
Dhamma texts, reverend sirs, I desire that all the monks and nuns may constantly
listen to and remember. Likewise the laymen and laywomen."[23]
Dhammika:"There is disagreement amongst scholars concerning which Pali suttas
correspond to some of the text. Vinaya samukose: probably the Atthavasa Vagga,
Anguttara Nikaya, 1:98-100. Aliya vasani: either the Ariyavasa Sutta, Anguttara
Nikaya, V:29, or the Ariyavamsa Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya, II: 27-28. Anagata
bhayani: probably the Anagata Sutta, Anguttara Nikaya, III:100. Muni gatha:
Muni Sutta, Sutta Nipata 207-221. Upatisa pasine: Sariputta Sutta, Sutta Nipata
955-975. Laghulavade: Rahulavada Sutta, Majjhima Nikaya, I:421."[23]
Kumar Singh, Nagendra (1997). "Buddha as depicted in the Puras".
Encyclopaedia of Hinduism 7. Anmol Publications. pp. 26075. ISBN 978-817488-168-7. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
According to Geoffrey Samuel, the Buddha was born as a Kshatriya, [46] in
a moderate Vedic culture at the central Ganges Plain area, where the shramanatraditions developed. This area had a moderate Vedic culture, where the kshatriyas

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.
17.

18.
19.

20.

were the highest varna, in contrast to the Brahmanic ideology of Kuru-Panchala,

were the Brahmins had become the highest varna.[46] Both the Vedic culture and
the shramana tradition contributed to the emergence of the so-called "Hindusynthesis" around the start of the Common Era.[117][46]
"in Sanskrit philosophical literature, 'stika' means 'one who believes in
the authority of the Vedas' or 'one who believes in life after death'. ('nstika'
means the opposite of these). The word is used here in the first sense."
Satischandra Chatterjee and Dhirendramohan Datta. An Introduction to Indian
Philosophy. Eighth Reprint Edition. (University of Calcutta: 1984). p. 5, footnote
1.
The surviving portions of the scriptures of Sarvastivada,
Mulasarvastivada, Mahisasaka, Dharmaguptaka and other schools,[79][118] and the
Chinese Agamas and other surviving portions of other early canons.[citation needed]
Exemplary studies are the study on descriptions of "liberating insight" by
Lambert Schmithausen,[82] the overview of early Buddhism by Tilmann Vetter,[76]
the philological work on the four truths by K.R. Norman,[119] the textual studies by
Richard Gombrich,[78] and the research on early meditation methods by Johannes
Bronkhorst.[120]
Well-known proponents of the first position are A.K. Warder[note 3] and
Richard Gombrich.[121][note 4]
A proponent of the second position is Ronald Davidson.[note 5]
Well-known proponent of the third position are J.W. de Jong,[122][note 6]
Johannes Bronkhorst[note 7] and Donald Lopez.[note 8]
Majjhima Nikaya 36
Vetter: "I am especially thinking here of MN 26 (I p.163,32;
165,15;166,35) kimkusalagavesi anuttaram santivarapadam pariyesamano
(searching for that which is beneficial, seeking the unsurpassable, best place of
peace) and again MN 26 (passim), anuttaramyagakkhemam nibbiinam pariyesati
(he seeks the unsurpassable safe place, the nirvana). Anuppatta-sadattho (one who
has reached the right goal) is also a vague positive expression in the Arhatformula
in MN 35 (I p, 235), see chapter 2, footnote 3, Furthermore, satthi (welfare) is
important in e.g. SN 2.12 or 2.17 or Sn 269; and sukha and rati (happiness), in
contrast to other places, as used in Sn 439 and 956. The oldest term was perhaps
amata (immortal, immortality) [...] but one could say here that it is a negative
term."[87]
Understanding of these marks helps in the development of detachment:

Anicca (Sanskrit: anitya): That all things that come to be have an

end;

Dukkha (Sanskrit: dukha): That nothing which comes to be is

ultimately satisfying;

Anatt (Sanskrit: antman): That nothing in the realm of

experience can really be said to be "I" or "mine".

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Further reading
The Buddha

Bechert, Heinz, ed. (1996). When Did the Buddha Live? The Controversy on the
Dating of the Historical Buddha. Delhi: Sri Satguru.
amoli, Bhikku (1992). The Life of the Buddha According to the Pali Canon
(3rd ed.). Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society.
Wagle, Narendra K (1995). Society at the Time of the Buddha (2nd ed.). Popular
Prakashan. ISBN 978-817154553-7.

Early Buddhism

Rahula, Walpola (1974). What the Buddha Taught (2nd ed.). New York: Grove
Press.
Vetter, Tilmann (1988), The Ideas and Meditative Practices of Early Buddhism,
Brill

Buddhism general

Kalupahana, David J. (1994), A history of Buddhist philosophy, Delhi: Motilal

Banarsidass
Robinson, Richard H.; Johnson, Willard L; Wawrytko, Sandra A; DeGraff,
Geoffrey (1996). The Buddhist Religion: A Historical Introduction. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth.