There is a tradition that a seer predicted that Siddatta would become a great religious leader. His father tried to stop this by keeping all ideas of suffering from his son. Siddatta lived a royal life and married a princess called Yasodhara. They had a son called Rahula.
When he was 29, Siddatta went riding with his charioteer and saw four things that made him think about his life and want to change it. He saw three examples of suffering: an old man (everyone grows old), a sick person (everyone may face disease), and a corpse (everyone has to die). Siddatta realised that suffering came to everyone. He also saw a holy man (one who has devoted himself to the spiritual life; a Sadhu.) He decided to leave his home, rid himself of his fine clothes and become a Sadhu to try and find a cure for the world's suffering.
Siddatta went to two Brahmins and trained in meditation but was not happy with their teaching. He then tried living in the forest with Sadhus who tried to become better spiritually by living very simply and treating the body with the strictest discipline. Siddatta assumed that the only way to gain spiritual insight was to treat the body severly, until physical needs were reduced to an absolute minimum. He lived this way for six years and nearly starved himself to death, but did not find an answer to suffering. One day when bathing, he saw Nandabala, the daughter of the overseer who offered him a bowl of milk-rice. Siddatta realised that his accetic practises could never lead him to full insight because he was too weak to even meditate.
He was now 35 years old, and had not found an answer to the question of suffering. Siddatta decided to sit under a tree and meditate until he had an answer. The tree he sat under was a papal tree. The first thing that happened as he sat under the tree was that a devil figure called Mara tried to frighten him away from his meditation. The story then goes that the Hindu earth goddess Vasundhara appeared and helped him. The devil then left and Siddatta carried on meditating until he became enlightened, and experienced the peace of Nirvana. This lasted one whole night which was divided up into four periods. 1(6-10pm), Siddatta gained understanding of all the past and what had lead him to this point of seeking enlightenment. 2(10pm-2am), he understood how all creatures come into existance and pass away again. He understood that everything in the world is constantly changing and nothing lasts forever. He had found a whole new way of seeing and relating to life. 3(2am-6am), all negative feelings and cravings that make people grasp at life which brings suffering, he had overcome this. Finally at 6am he is said to have been enlightened at which three fires of hatred, greed and ignorance are burnt out leaving a sence of happiness and calm.
Siddatta now became called the Buddha, or enlightened one. He decided he had to tell other people how to overcome suffering and find peace. The first people he told were the Sadhus he had lived with in the forest. He taught them the Dharma or teaching. They all became enlightened.
The Buddha then started to travel and spread his ideas. During his lifetime there were two kinds of followers. There were those who joined him in the wandering life, but who gathered together from time to time. They became monks and nuns. There were also those who stayed at home and supported the travelling preachers in various ways. They are known as lay Buddhists.
The Buddha spent about 45 years travelling and teaching. He had a great effect on many people's lives. He died aged about eighty at Kushinara. By the time he died, the Buddha had become the leader of a very large religious movement, which is still very important today.
