The Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama, widely known as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE. He is regarded as the founder of Buddhism, one of the major world religions. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, to royal parents of the Shakya clan. After later renouncing his householder life in what is known as the Great Renunciation, he lived as a wandering ascetic devoted to meditation and self-discipline. Following years of austerities, he attained nirvāṇa at Bodh Gaya in present-day India.
After his awakening, the Buddha travelled widely across the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain, teaching the principles of the Middle Way, and gathering a monastic community known as the Saṅgha. Buddhist tradition holds that he died in Kushinagar, reaching parinirvāṇa, or final liberation from conditioned existence.
Central to his teaching are the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, which outline a practical method of ethical conduct, mental cultivation and wisdom aimed at liberation from suffering (dukkha) and the cycle of rebirth (saṃsāra). He also taught the doctrines of the skandhas (the aggregates), and dependent origination, explaining how physical and mental phenomena arise and cease through interdependent causes and conditions, without an intrinsic self-nature.
In the early texts, the Buddha frequently refers to himself as the Tathāgata, while the earliest epigraphic occurrence of the title Buddha dates to the 3rd century BCE in the edicts of Ashoka, including the Lumbini pillar inscription. His teachings were preserved through an oral tradition and eventually compiled into the Vinaya and Sutta Piṭaka. Later generations added further literature such as Abhidharma, Jātaka tales and Mahāyāna sūtras.
Buddhism subsequently developed into diverse traditions—Theravāda, Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna—and spread throughout Asia. While it declined in much of India after the 8th century CE, Buddhism today remains prominent across South, Southeast and East Asia.

Etymology, names and titles

The name Siddhārtha (Pāli: Siddhattha) means “he who has accomplished his aim”, while Gautama (Pāli: Gotama) is the clan name, traditionally interpreted as “descendant of Gotama”. The title Buddha derives from the Sanskrit root budh, meaning “to awaken”, denoting one who has attained complete enlightenment.
Other common epithets include:

• Śākyamuni (“Sage of the Śākyas”)
• Tathāgata (variously interpreted as “thus gone”, “thus come”, or “thusness embodied”)
• Bhagavān (The Blessed or Exalted One)
• Samyaksaṃbuddha (Perfectly Enlightened One)
• Lokavidū (Knower of the Worlds)
• Arahant (Worthy One)
• Numerous poetic titles in the Pāli Canon, such as “Dispeller of Darkness”, “Lion of the Śākyas”, “Lord of the Dhamma” and “Unsurpassed Healer”.

Historical sources

Because no contemporary written records from the Buddha’s lifetime survive, information about him relies on a combination of early Buddhist texts, inscriptions and later biographical traditions.

• Pāli suttas: Some discourses preserve archaic language and geographical detail that may reflect early memories. Texts such as the Mahāparinibbāna Sutta and the Ariyapariyesanā Sutta contain narrative elements concerning his final days and teaching mission.
• Edicts of Ashoka (3rd century BCE): Several inscriptions mention the Buddha and early Buddhist teachings. The Lumbini pillar inscription identifies Lumbini as his birthplace and uses the title “Buddha Śākyamuni”. Other edicts list early dharma texts, showing that Buddhist literature had begun to take written form.
• Later traditions: Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan sources preserve parallel accounts that, despite embellishment, contribute to the broader picture of early Buddhism.

Across Buddhist cultures—China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia—the Buddha has been known by different forms of his name, including Śākyamuni, Gotama Buddha and Śramaṇa Gotama.
Siddhartha Gautama’s life and teachings have remained central to the development of Buddhist philosophy, meditation, ethics and monastic tradition, and they continue to influence religious and philosophical thought worldwide.