Buddhism is one of the oldest religions. It is found
in all of Asia and it influenced many cultures and gained followers in the West.
In the 5th century B.C.E was the time that religion was forming.
There were many philosophy schools that taught how to mediate and study with
gurus. During this time Siddhartha Gautama, became known as Buddha, or
the Awakened One when he was on his journey of finding himself.
The founder of Buddhism in this world is Buddha Shakyamuni. He was born as a royal prince in 624 BC in a place called Lumbini, which was originally in northern India but is now part of Nepal. ‘Shakya’ is the name of the royal family into which he was born, and ‘Muni’ means ‘Able One’. His parents gave him the name Siddhartha and there were many wonderful predictions about his future. In his early years he lived as a prince in his royal palace but when he was 29 years old he retired to the forest where he followed a spiritual life of meditation. After six years he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree in Bodh Gaya, India.