The Gautama Buddha

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"Buddha" and "Gautama" redirect here. For other uses, see Buddha (disambiguation) and Gautama (disambiguation).

Gautama Buddha
A statue of the Buddha from Sarnath, 4th century CE
Born	c. 563 BCE or c. 480 BCE[1][2] Lumbini (in present-dayNepal)[3]
Died	c. 483 BCE or c. 400 BCE (aged 80) Kushinagar (present-day inUttar Pradesh, India)
Known for	Founder of Buddhism
Predecessor	Kassapa Buddha
Successor	Maitreya Buddha

The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one." "Buddha" is also used as a title for the first awakened being in an era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (PalisammāsambuddhSanskrit samyaksaṃbuddha) of our age.^{[note 4]}Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama,^{[note 1]} Shakyamuni,^{[note 2]} or simply the Buddha, was asage^[4] on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.^[5] Born in the Shakya republic in the Himalayan foothills, he is believed to have lived and taught mostly in eastern India sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE.^{[6][note 3]}

Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the Sramana(renunciation) movement ^[13] common in his region. He later taught throughout regions of eastern India such asMagadha and Kośala.^[14][15]

Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism, and account of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition, and first committed to writing about 400 years later.