The life story of Buddha

Buddha also known as Siddhartha was born in Lumbini to an aristocratic family. He was as Barth says the finished model of calm and sweet majesty.

The life story of Buddha

Early life

On the fifth day of his birth, his father King Suddhodana summoned eight wise men to choose the baby's name and speak of his future. The wisemen kept his name Siddhartha meaning the one who has accomplished a goal and declared that either he will become a cakravarti (a universal monarch) or a samma- sambuddha, a supremely enlightened person who would deliver humanity from ignorance. 

Obviously, the king wanted the former. He started keeping Siddhartha away from life's miseries, he built three palaces for him each for a season, married him to Princess Yasodhara hoping that Siddhartha would be his worthy successor but with age and maturity his search for truth and enlightenment only heightened.

True Reality:

One day when Siddhartha was going on his chariot he saw an old man; wrinkled and weak, then a sight of man suffering with disease and then a corpse, seeing this for the first time deeply moved him. This was his first introduction to ageing, disease and death. Next he saw a recluse who had left his home in search of truth. He himself then started thinking of renunciation and to give the world true happiness.

              Thus at the age of 29, on the day when his wife had given birth to his son, Siddhartha abandoned the royal life and moved to find true way out of suffering and to perfect enlightenment.

Guidance:

First he sought guidance from two sages Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta about meditation and then reached Uruvela at Gaya to continue his quest for enlightenment.

The life story of Buddha

Self Mortification:

Siddhartha first tried self mortification, in the hope that his soul would be free from shackles of the body. He struggled for six years but was no way close to his goal of liberation. Soon he realized that the path to enlightenment lay in the direction of a search inward to his own mind. Thus he abandoned self torture and again with firm determination made final effort to attain nirvana.

The life story of Buddha

Attainment of truth:

Siddhartha sat under the banyan tree also called The Tree of Wisdom or Bodhi tree on the bank of river Neranjara at Gaya (also called Buddhagaya), making his final effort to seek the ultimate truth. Finally he attained knowledge. 

         The first knowledge he got that night was of past births, then he got knowledge of disappearing and reappearing beings of varied forms, in good states of experience , in states of woe, each faring according to his deeds and then the knowledge of eradication of the taints and being liberated. This was the threefold knowledge.

         Thus at the age of 35 Siddhartha attained Supreme enlightenment and became The Buddha- the meditator, the spiritual teacher and religious leader who taught the world about suffering and nirvana.