He was born in Lumbini garden, under a Sal-tree, when His mother Queen Mahamaya-devi was on her way to her parents’ home. The Queen passed away one week after His birth. As a prince, he was named Siddhartha Gautama.
He lived from 566 to 486 BC. His teachings were passed down orally and they were only committed to writing, on ola leaves, in Sri Lanka around the middle of the first century BC. The Buddha taught for a period of forty five years. They consisted of three baskets or divisions called Pitaka, which are the Discourses, the Monastic regulations, and the Abhidhamma. In all they consisted of 84 000 chapters, about 5000 of them are the Discourses (Suttas). It has been estimated by scholars that if all the main points of the three baskets were listed in book form, that set of books would be equivalent to 360 volumes of our average encyclopedia today.
If a person wishes to become a Buddhist, no initiation ceremony is needed.
There is no need for baptism. If a person understands the Buddha’s teaching, is convinced that His teaching is the right Path, and does his best to follow it. Then he is a Buddhist.
The four sacred Buddhist places are: Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kusinara. Lumbini is now in Nepal, was the birthplace of Sakyamuni Buddha. Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kusinara are in India. Bodh Gaya was the place where Sakyamuni was enlightened, after He moved from place to place in India practicing meditation for seven years. At Deer Park, Sarnath , near Benares, He carried out His first teaching, (turning of the Dharma Wheel) to the five ascetics, with these discourses : Dhammacakkapavattana Sutta, (Four Noble Truths & The Eightfold Path); and Anattalakkhana Sutta, ( Soulless). Kusinara was the place of His final Nibbana. The Buddha personally said that Buddhists who visit these four places would travel to higher states.
He was born as an average person. This was a good sign because it means you and I can also become a Buddha. You don't need to be the most intelligent ones in the nation like the top 0.000001% of the population to be able to understand the Dharma to become a Buddha. If He was very intelligent, He would have attained Nibbana earlier, because as a child (aged 7) He sat under a rose-apple tree (Bodhi Tree, Botanical name: ficus religiosa) watching His father carrying out the opening ceremony for the annual ploughing festival, He crossed legs and went on meditation and was believed to have reached the different levels of the Jhanas. He could have continued and practised harder and successfully attain Buddhahood without spending the six years which He did later on. It was said that as the child sat under the tree, the tree-shade remained protecting him even though the position of the sun on the sky had changed. So you see, the devas protect the good people.
As a young prince, the turning point in his life was when he observed a frog being swallowed by a snake, and at that moment, a hawk swooped down and carried both the snake and the frog away.
How could an almighty creator allow his creatures to be preyed upon by others, and to live in constant fear? All creatures either hunt or are hunted by others. Herbivorous animals are also the victims of other animals, including human beings.
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