Who is Buddha ?

Born near Nepal on the full moon of May in 623 BC, Buddha was first named Prince Siddhartha Gautama, meaning 'wish-fulfilled'. Following a series of profound signs and prophecies about his important spiritual future, Prince Siddhartha was well-educated, married and lived a wealthy and happy life until four great omens changed his views about existence.

Outside his palace one day he came across first a decrepit old man, then a diseased man, a corpse and a hermit — these encounters, known as The Four Sights, were the Prince's first awakening to deeper truths about life.

At 29, he left the royal court to wander the country as a monk searching for a way to end suffering. There are many stories about Prince Siddhartha's journeys and how they led him finally to Enlightenment, which Buddhists describe as true insight into the meaning of life and perfect peace. At 35, Prince Siddhartha achieved this state of Enlightenment, also known as Buddhahood and Nirvana, and lived from then on as the Buddha; teaching, serving humanity and offering an example of a way of life and a state of mind that we still know as Buddhism.