The Lord Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gauthama is the founder of Buddhism. The Lord Buddha is not a God but a person who is beyond a human or a god. Therefore the Lord Buddha is considered to be incomparable to any being, other than another Buddha.  

Before enlightenment his lay name was Siddartha, who was born as a prince to the king Suddodana in present day Nepal. Although the prince Siddartha had a comfortable life, he was moved by the sufferings of people. Those sufferings are getting old, getting sick and death. These are unavoidable truths of life. After he saw a monk who seemed calm he decided to give up his lavish lifestyle. Actually it was the day Princess Yashodhara, his wife gave birth to their only son, prince Rahula. 

In searching for the solution to end the suffering of living beings, he met five friends whose purpose was also the same. All of them endure extreme deprivation and  poverty. This didn’t fulfill Siddhartha Bodhisattva.  He promoted the idea of “middle way”  which means existing between two extremes. His friends thought that the Bodhisattva Siddartha had given up searching the truth, so that they left him. Bodhisattva Siddartha continued his way of life that is without social indulgences but also without deprivation.

After six years of searching, Bodhisattva Siddartha found enlightenment while meditating under a Bodhi tree. After the enlightenment he spent the rest of his life teaching others about how to achieve this spiritual state which is called the “Nirvana”. After attaining enlightenment The Lord Buddha, the blessed one went to Sarnath - Isipathana migadaya (deer park) and delivered his first sermon, the “Wheel of the Dharma” to his five friends (ascetics) who left him before. The five ascetics become monks and in this way the Lord Buddha established the Buddha sasana, the monastic order. 

Buddhists believe in the incarnation (Punarbhawaya). It is said that the Bodhisattva has been in “Sansara” for a very long period of time to fulfil the qualifications (Parami dharma) to become Buddha one day. 

With the enlightenment, The Blessed One has destroyed all evil within himself and did not endure in sins even by thoughts. The qualities of the Lord Buddha cannot be described as such. It is said that the virtue of the Supreme Buddha is greater than the water in the ocean. Therefore, the Buddha deserves to be worshiped and offered  by the most valuable offerings on earth. 

After the “Parinirvanaya” (death) of the Supreme Lord Buddha around 483 B.C, his followers began to organize a religious movement. Buddha’s teachings became the foundation for what would develop into Buddhism. 

I would like to end this article here. I will write another article about the key beliefs of Buddhism.