Buddhism
Buddhism is a world religion and philosophy founded by Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, in ancient India around the 5th century BCE, centered on the path to overcoming suffering.
A prince who had never known suffering gave up his palace the moment he encountered it firsthand, setting off a search for meaning that would eventually reach hundreds of millions of followers.
A Prince's Renunciation
Siddhartha Gautama was born a prince in what is now Nepal, raised in luxury and shielded from suffering by his father. According to tradition, encountering old age, illness, and death for the first time as a young man shattered his illusions, prompting him to renounce his privileged life in search of spiritual truth.
The Path to Enlightenment
After years of extreme ascetic practice failed to bring him understanding, Gautama adopted a "Middle Way" between indulgence and self-denial, and is said to have attained enlightenment while meditating beneath a Bodhi tree, becoming "the Buddha," or "the awakened one."
The Four Noble Truths
Central to Buddhist teaching are the Four Noble Truths, which hold that suffering is an intrinsic part of existence, that suffering arises from craving and attachment, that suffering can be ended, and that the way to end it is through the Eightfold Path — a guide to ethical conduct, mental discipline, and wisdom.
Spreading Across Asia
Buddhism spread from India across Asia over subsequent centuries, developing distinct major traditions including Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia, Mahayana Buddhism in East Asia, and Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet and the Himalayas, each with its own distinctive practices and texts.
A Global Faith Today
Today, Buddhism has an estimated 500 million adherents worldwide, particularly concentrated across East and Southeast Asia, and its practices of meditation and mindfulness have also gained significant popularity in secular contexts around the world in recent decades.
