Knowledge of Buddhism

The Buddha
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    Over 2600 years ago, King Suddhodhana lived with his Queen Māyā in the city of Kapilavatthu and ruled over a small kingdom of the Sākya in the northern part of India at the foot of the Himālayas on the border of Nepel. A son named Siddhattha was them born to them and he was brought up in great luxury. At the age of 16, he married Princess Yasodayā, daughter of Suppabuddha of Koliya, a neighbouring kindom. He lived with her in great luxury for some years. Later, the sight of an old man, a sick man and dead body revealed to him the impermanency, the misery and impersonality of life, and a recluse he had then seen roused him to renounce the world to seek the way to end suffering. At that time a son was born to him and was named Rāhulā. At that very night, he ( at the age of 29 ) quietly left the palace on horseback, accompanied only by his royal attendant Channa. He had crossed over Anomā River, and sent back Channa and the horse, Kaņţka.

        The prince, Bodhisatta ( Would be Buddha ) put on the yellow robes and led the religious life, under two hermits, Āļāra Kālāma and Udaka Rāmaputta. But he was not satisfied with their teachings, which he believed would not lead to Nirvāna. So he left them and came into contact with the 5 ascetics, commonly known as Pañcavaggī, Who had been awaitting him in the forest of Uruvela, near Gayā, in the province of Magadha to guide them towards deliverance. They attended on him in the hope of receiving the true insight in to the law. He practised all the ascetic austerities and finally even gave up all forms of food. He became so weak that he was almost unconscious. He then gave up that self-denial practice and decided to take some food again, but in moderation. There upon the 5 attendent ascetics left him immediately, thinking that the Prince recluse could not attain Buddhahood as he gave up austere practices. ![image](https://img.esteem.ws/12nhf5aqpp.jpg)

      Then the Boddhisatta proceeded to the Bo-tree and was seated at the foot of that tree in a crose-legged posture, with the firm determination not to leave his seat till he had attained full Enlightenment. Thus he attained Reminiscence of former Births at night fall, Divine Sight at midnight and the Extinction of Influxes at down, and finally he attained Buddhahood (at the age of 35 ). He was known as the Buddha, the Enlightened One, as he himself realised the 4 Noble Truths, namly, Suffering, its cause, its Extinction and the way to its Extinction. For 45 years after the Enlightenment, the Buddha went from place to place to preach his teachings of truth (Dhamma )-worldly and spritual. He was the great teacher of both gods and men, as he taught them, day and night things to be avoided and things to be practised and showed the way to Nirvana, the final liberation from seffering of birth and death. And he organised his disciples, monks and lay people and founded Community of Buddhist monks, the spritual theirs to him, to continue studying, practising and preachings his teachings. Thus was the Buddhist religion of Truth founded by the Buddha.
  
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