The life story of Gautama Buddha

1. Buddha
His life story

2. Buddha
Skakyamuni was
born as a royal
prince in 563 BC in
northern India but is
now part of Nepal.

3. The Queen's Dream
One night, Queen
Mayadevi dreamed that a
white elephant descended
from heaven and entered
her womb. The white
elephant entering her womb
indicated that on that very
night she had conceived a
child who was a pure and
powerful being.

4. The Queen gave birth
and when the king
saw the child he felt
as if all his wishes had
been fulfilled and he
named the young
prince “ Siddhartha ”.
Birth

5. princehood
The King invited a Brahmin seer to make
predictions about the prince's future. The
Brahmin said “He could become either a king
or a fully enlightened Buddha ”.
The king was determined to shield the child
from anything that might result in him taking up
the religious life. He was not permitted to see
the elderly, the sickly, the dead, or anyone who
had dedicated themselves to spiritual practices.
Being intelligent and eager to learn, the Prince
became very good at studies and military skills.
His compassion was shown at his young age
as well. In his 16th year, he was married to his
own cousin Yasodhara, daughter of
Suddhodana.

6. The Four
Encounters
Siddhartha grew increasing restless and curious about the world beyond the palace walls
and asked his father to visit the town outside.
The king arranged it so that Siddhartha would see no suffering in the world during his outing.
However, during the visit he came into contact with an old person and a sick person, and on
one occasion he saw a corpse. He also encountered a holy man.
These encounters left a deep impression on his mind and led him to realize that all living
beings without exception have to experience the sufferings of birth, sickness, ageing and
death.

7. Leaving the Palace Prince Siddhartha reflected on
the old age, disease, and death
that would overtake everyone
and turn bodies to dust.
He realized then that he could
no longer be content living the
life of a prince.
That very night he left the
palace, shaved his head, and
changed his prince's clothes for
a beggar's robe. Then he began
his quest for enlightenment.

8. Siddhartha began by seeking
out renowned teachers, who
taught
him about the many religious
philosophies of his day as well
as how to meditate. But after he
had learned all they had to
teach, his doubts and questions
remained. So
he and five disciples left to find
enlightenment by themselves.
The six companions attempted
to find release from suffering
through physical discipline--
enduring pain, holding their
breath, fasting nearly to
starvation. Yet Siddhartha was
still unsatisfied.
It occurred to him that in
renouncing pleasure he had
grasped pleasure's opposite--
The Search for Truth

9. After leaving his friends the aesthetics, Siddhartha went to pursue reaching the truth using the middle way. He realized that was not the answer to
stopping pain and suffering. After finally having food, he sat under a Bodhi tree and said that he would not leave until he had gained
Enlightenment.
While Ascetic Gautama was meditating under the Bodhi tree, Mara, the evil on, told him to give up his struggle for Enlightenment. He freed his
mind of all bad thoughts, and became calm and peaceful. He was in deep meditation. In the second part of the night, he saw the past lives of
other beings. During the third part of the night, he finally came to know the truth of all sufferings. At age 35, Ascetic Gotama gained
Enlightenment and became a Buddha, or a "Fully Enlightened One."
Enlightenment

10. After a long rest, the Buddha began to plan what to do in
the future. The Buddha decided he must share his
experience and teach the dharma to all those who would
listen so that they too, could benefit.
The Buddha’s first disciples were those who were once
his companions on the quest for truth.
The Buddha taught the Four Noble Truths. The first
Noble Truth was about the fact that suffering exists. The
second was about the cause of suffering; the third was
that it is possible to end suffering; and the fourth
explained the path to be followed if you want to end
suffering.
Eventually, the Buddha had thousands of followers whom
many had been ordained and reached enlightenment
themselves.
Buddha taught in a personal manner by solving personal
problems and answering situational questions .
The Buddha also accepted women to be monks, as well,
which was unheard of in his time.
Teaching The Dharma

11. Buddha’s Death
The Lord Buddha taught for 40 years. At the age of 80, the Buddha ate some
pork offered to him for his teachings. It was said that the pork had been
spoiled causing the Buddha to get dysentery .
Knowing his death would occur shortly, he gave his monks the chance to ask
any last questions an told them to not to follow any leader other than
themselves. He then, finally spoke “Monks, this is the last time for me to talk to
you. All things change. Work hard to gain your own salvation!”