Siddhartha Gautama

One of the things that I found to be very interesting while studying ancient India was religion. There are two main religions practiced in India, Hinduism and Buddhism. It was Buddhism that I found to be most interesting. A man named Siddhartha Gautama founded Buddhism. He was born around 480 BCE. He did not claim to be a God, and has never been regarded as one by Buddhists. He was a human who became Enlightened, understanding …

…Buddha taught numerous disciples, many of whom gained Enlightenment in their own right. They, in turn, taught others and in this way an unbroken chain of teaching has continued, right down to the present day. The Buddha was not a God and he made no claim to divinity. He was a human being who, through tremendous efforts, transformed himself. Buddhists see him as an ideal and a guide who can lead one to Enlightenment oneself.