Worksheet 3
The Life of the Buddha

The life of the Buddha is usually told as a mixture of historical fact and legend. The name of the historical Buddha is Siddhārtha Gautama. The exact date of his birth is not known. Many scholars say he was born in Kapilavastu on the present-day Indian-Nepalese border about 563 BC, and other sources indicate he may have been born up to a century later. As he belonged to a people called the Śākyas, he became known as Śākya-muni, 'the sage of the Śākyas'.

Legend tells that Queen Māyā, the mother of Śākyamuni, became pregnant after dreaming of an elephant appearing on a cloud. Śākyamuni was born from his mother's right side as she was reaching for a branch of a sāla tree in the Lumbinī grove. As a young prince, Śākyamuni lived a life of luxury in his father's palace.

At the age of 29, the young prince became curious about life outside the palace walls. In the outside world, Śākyamuni had four encounters which would change his life. He saw an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a serene holy man. From these experiences he learnt that life is full of suffering, is impermanent and eventually comes to an end. He noted that the holy man seemed unaffected by these traumas, and decided to leave his father's palace to embark on his own spiritual journey to understand human suffering and how it may be endured and transcended.

After attempting various kinds of ascetic practices, Śākyamuni sought shelter under a bodhi tree to reflect on his life and the passing away of all living things. During this time, he was tormented by a demon called Māra but eventually, at the age of 35 he achieved enlightenment, subsequently becoming known as the 'Buddha', or the 'Awakened One'. From this moment, Buddha devoted the rest of his life to alleviating the suffering of other beings through teaching. This was effectively the birth of the Buddhist religion.