The Buddha�s Early Life
Anyone who follows the rules of Buddhism can become a Buddha, but when Buddhists talk about the Buddha they mean Prince Siddhartha Gautama an Indian prince who lived from approximately 563 BCE to 483BCE.

His father was a ruler of a small state in northern India and fortune tellers predicted when the boy was born that he would one day leave the family home when he learnt about sickness, sorrow and death. His father therefore kept the prince away from all worldly problems and ensured that he had everything he required in the palace. Siddhartha married and his wife gave birth to a son for the prince called Rahula.  

The Four Men 
Years passed and the prince became curious as to the outside world after hearing descriptions of beautiful trees which he had never seen. His father agreed to let him go and see the grove but first made sure that his soldiers drove away any person who might give the prince an insight into sickness, sorrow or death. He saw a very old man who the soldiers had missed and he was very distressed and disturbed by the sight. On subsequent trips he saw a sick man and then a corpse. 

The Buddha�s Search   
The Prince realised that these were his own thoughts and decided that he must follow this path. He left the palace taking only the robe he wore,
the sandals on his feet
and a bowl for food which he would have to beg for from now on.

He was 29 years old when he began his search for the supreme goal.

The Buddha�s Studies
At first he sought answers in the teachings of the Hindu gurus. He went from teacher to teacher over a period of 6 years. From the gurus he took on board the concept of reincarnation, of rebirth. This is called by Hindus the wheel of life, the constant idea of birth, death, rebirth. The number of times you are reborn depends on your karma (the sum of all the good things and the bad things which a person has done in their life), each future life depends on the actions of the previous life.  
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Moksha
Moksha is the goal for a Hindu, it is the release from reincarnation (samsara). The soul (atman) ceases to be reborn and instead rejoins Brahman (the Supreme Being for Hindus). This is what Siddhartha tried to achieve without any success and finally he turned to ascetic hindu teachers who said this could only be achieved by fasting and punishing the flesh in order to free the spirit. He later recounted this part of his life to his followers:

�Naked was I, flouting all decency. I took first only one morsel of food a day. Then I took one morsel every two days. Then only one every seven days. I pulled out the hair of my head and the hair of my beard. I crouched on thorns. I lived in torment, so great were the lengths I went in asceticism.�

Meditation
Siddhartha realised salvation could only come from within � he could expect no help from anyone. The Buddha sought salvation in Meditation. One day barely alive he was given food.  He ate and concluded that the mortifications of the flesh did not lead to discovery. He decided to look for the answers in himself rather than from others. He therefore sat down under a Bodhi Tree  to meditate  and vowed that he would not get up until he had found out why people suffer. 

He meditated for 49 days. During this time he was tempted and tormented by the Lord of the demons (Mara.) He called up floods and thunderbolts, feasts and women. Siddhartha realised that he had failed to reach enlightenment before because he had sought and desired it.  When he had ceased to desire he reached it.

During his meditation he remembered his past lives on the earth, and acquired the ability to read the lives of others and finally he understood the 4 Noble Truths which lie at the heart of Buddhism � with this knowledge Siddhartha had become enlightened and from this moment onwards he was the Buddha. He was now 35 years old. His search had taken him 6 years.  He traveled throughout India teaching of his discovery. His first followers were the 5 holy men from whom he'd tried to learn on first setting out on his quest. His first sermon was at  Sarnath. It is called setting in motion the wheel of law.  Here he explained the basis of his beliefs including the Noble Eight Fold Path.  
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The Beliefs of the Buddha

The Buddha accepted the Hindu belief of karma and rebirth BUT not Moksha. He did not believe that moksha was a mystical reunion of the soul with Brahman � he did not believe in Brahman. Instead of Moksha, he believed in NIRVANA. The Buddha never explained what Nirvana is but it takes the place of heaven in other religions.  

Additional information will be added covering the below, as and when time allows!

The Nature of Nirvana
Buddha and the Soul
The First Sermon
The Eight Fold Path
The Brotherhood
The Precepts
The Middle Way
Development of the Dharma
The Death of the Buddha
The Two Buddhisms
Theravada
Mahayana
Other Sects Back to the top of the page         Buddhism Home Page