Siddhartha Gautama was the original founder of Buddhism. He was given his more commonly known name, Buddha, after many years spent searching for the state of enlightenment. After six years, Siddhartha reached the state of mind in which he had been searching, and was henceforth called Buddha, the enlightened one.

When Siddhartha was born, it was predicted by a wise man that the child would grow to be a great king. His parents ruled a small kingdom near today's Nepal. His mother died within a week of his birth, so Siddhartha was raised by his aunt. His father, the king, made sure that his son lived in great luxury, so someday he would live out the prophecy. Though this treatment could have easily turned the young prince spoiled and haughty, he had a gentle, thoughtful personality. At the age of 20, Siddhartha was married to a princess named Yasodhara, and they had one son.

At the age of 29, Siddhartha received four visions. The first was of an old man, the second a sick man, the third a corpse, and the fourth was of a wandering holy man. The visions were later referred to as the Four Heavenly Messengers. The first three visions convinced Siddhartha that life involves sickness, death, and suffering. The fourth, that he sould leave his wife and son and seek religious enlightenment. This major change was later referred to as the Great Renunciation.

So Siddhartha left his family and old life behind, and became a wandering monk, searching for enlightenment. He practiced extreme forms of self torture, including plucking all of the hairs of his beard and starving himself almost to the point of death. He tried this for six years before concluding this was no way to reach his goal. Siddhartha decided instead to meditate until enlightenment came. He sat under a Bayan tree and meditated. Several hours later enlightenment had come and he understood the Four Noble Truths.

Buddha then traveled around preaching about overcoming suffering. This message is called dharma, or saving truth. The first sermon ever preached by Buddha was to five holy men near the holy city of Varanasi. Monks and nuns who follow Buddha are called bhikkshuns. The first Buddhist nun was Siddhartha's aunt. A set of rules was made called the Vinaya. Those who follow the Vinaya can live without causing harm to people or the environment.

At the age of 80 Buddha died. He knew this was to happen and told his friends not to grieve for him, but to spread his message about finding enlightenment. He would not be reborn because he was enlightened. Instead Buddha would pass into nirvana, bliss after death.