Siddhartha Gautama was his original name, before he attained enlightenment. He was later then termed ‘Lord’ after he attained enlightenment, and founded the world famous religion, Buddhism. His birthday is celebrated as ‘Buddha Poornima’ because people believe that he was born on a full moon day. Gautama Buddha attained enlightenment in a place in the northern part of India called Bodhgaya. After he realized the pain and sufferings through which people, sick and old, went through, h decided to give up everything – the luxuries of life, and started meditating. That way, he gathered disciples and started teaching them the art of living life, and the various principles of life that he preached. The great man that he was, he founded Buddhism, and taught people about this religion near and far, so much so that today, Buddhism is one growing religion of the world. Here is a list of the top 10 facts about Gautama Buddha which a lot of people might not know of, along with the fact that Buddha means ‘the enlightened one’.

10. His words of wisdom

Gautama Buddha died in 483 BC and in a place in India named Kushinagar. But before his death, he spread some words of wisdom which are remembered by people till date. People might not be following the Buddhism religion, but his simple wisdom and preaches of life, such as spreading kindness and compassion among others is believed to be a way of life, followed by a log of people around the world. One of his main wisdom thoughts was that happiness lies only in knowing that nothing in this world remains permanent.

9. Family Re-united

After he decided to leave his home and go around the world to spread his teaching and principles, he visited his son, father, his wife and his foster mother. His family members later then joined the Sangha, which Gautama Buddha had formed, and became monks. Thereon, his cousin Ananda also joined him in his ventures as his disciple and turned a monk. Gautama Buddha’s son, Rahula, also followed his father’s footsteps and became the youngest monk in the Sangha.

8. Worldly Teachings

Gautama Buddha travelled around the world to spread his idea of life and principles, and taught people never to be ignorant, never to fall in the trap of hate and never to be angry. He spoke to people of how to avoid and refrain from negative feelings in life. He spread positive vibes among people and made a place in their hearts quickly and easily.

7. The wise teacher

The first sermon of Gautama Buddha was in Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh, India. Therefore, it would be surprising to know that Gautama Buddha was reluctant in the first place to spread his teachings and teach people of wisdom and life. He believed that there are some things which cannot be learnt, and some things which cannot be taught. To learn the things which he wanted to propagate, a person needs to have a pure mind and heart.

6. Enlightenment and ‘The Middle Way’

Gautama Buddha had decided to sit under a ‘peepul’ tree and meditate till the time he does not seek the answer to the purpose of life and the truth behind life. That tree today is famously known as the ‘Bodhi’ tree. After years of meditation, he found enlightenment to ‘The Middle Way’, which basically means that human beings should remain devoid of any extremism in their life. Extreme self mortification and self indulgence was exactly the opposite of ‘The Middle Way’, which he preached for years after that.

5. Searching for the truth

Gautama Buddha went around the world searching for truth and seeking answers to life. He had left all the worldly pleasures and luxuries of life and lived the life of a hermit. After meditating for years and seeking the path of ‘The Middle Way’ and attaining enlightenment, he travelled to spread these teachings of his. He had gone to the wisest of teachers to seek wisdom from them, but none of them could answer the questions to what he asked. So he decided to seek for the truth himself.

4. Gautama Buddha’s realization

The day he left the palace, he saw people in pain and suffering. After he got back to his palace, he could not lead the normal life anymore, after realizing that the reality of life was not pleasures and luxury but pain, suffering and death. He realized the fact that all these worldly pleasures which got at his palace would die one day, and that death would naturally come to him as well.

3. The four terrible sights

Gautama Buddha hadn’t been out of the palace till that one day when he comes across the four sights, which is actually the turning point of his life. At the age of 29, he went outside the palace and what he saw shocked him and made him realize and see the reality of life. He came across an old man, a corpse, a sick man and a wandering ascetic. It then dawned on him that all of this later would come to him as well.

2. Born a Prince

Siddhartha Gautama was actually a prince, who belonged to the Shakya Clan of Nepal. His father, Suddhodhana was the chief of that clan. Yet, when he came face to face with the realities of life, he sacrificed the luxurious life of being a Prince, and went on his own path to give birth to Buddhism.

1. The predictions

When Gautama Buddha was born, a famous astrologer had predicted that he would go on to be a great and a holy man, with the fact that one day he would leave the palace and his family. Scared by the thought of losing his son, his father Suddhodhana kept him inside the palace, taught him inside and gave him everything what he required, but never let him out of the palace. Until that one day when he got out, he returned just to leave again.