Gautama or Siddhartha (566-486 B.C), who later came to be known as the Buddha or 'The Enlightened One' was born into a wealthy Kshatriya family, in Lumbini, at the foothills of Nepal. He founded the religion of Buddhism after he attained true wisdom under a pipal tree at Bodhgaya. Buddha delivered his first public address at Sarnath Deer park in Benares, where he spoke of the four noble truths which are, (i) the world is full of suffering (ii) suffering is caused by desire (iii) suffering can be removed (iv) in order to remove suffering one has to overcome desire.
The main spiritual goal of Buddhism is to attain 'Nirvana', which means the spiritual liberation from the cycle of birth and rebirth. Buddhism religion does not believe in the existence of god and questions the Hindu practice of elaborate ceremonies, image worship, suppression of women and the elevation of Brahmins. Its core lies in the philosophy that every one is equal and that nothing lasts forever and nothing happens by chance. The teachings of Buddha teachings were first compiled on the Pali script as the 'Tripitakas'. King Ashoka (250 B.C) was one of its chief believers and propagators. Buddhism is divided into 2 major sects - Huinayanas (travellers by a lesser vehicle) & Mahayanas (travellers by a greater vehicle). Huinayana Buddhism flourished in Sri Lanka, Burma and South East Asia, while Mahayana Buddhism flourished in India, China, Japan, Tibet & Central Asia. Buddha created monasteries for praying and preaching and till date the paintings of his life and stupas can be seen in the Ajanta & Ellora caves. Schools of Nalanda and Vikramshila in Bihar and Valashi in Gujarat were famous institutes of learning and Ashwaghosha and Nagarjuna were responsible for the spread of Buddhism after Buddha's death.
According to Buddha these noble truths can be achieved by following the 'eight fold path', comprising of:
1. Right view.
2. Right thought.
3. Right speech.
4. Right action.
5. Right livelihood.
6. Right effort.
7. Right mindfulness.
8. Right concentration.
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