Siddhartha was born a prince in northern India around 563 BC. When he was 30, he left his life of luxury seeking answers to human suffering. After years of meditation and spiritual practice, at age 35 Siddhartha found enlightenment under a bodhi tree and became known as the Buddha. The Buddha's core teachings centered around the Four Noble Truths about the nature of suffering and its cessation through following an Eightfold Path of right view, intent, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.