Gautama Buddha was one of the most exceptional of free thinkers and religious leaders. Buddha was born as Prince Siddhartha to King Suddhodana and Queen Myaadevi in the Himalayan Kingdom of Kapilavastu in 544 BC. Sage Asita visited the palace and predicted that the baby will live to be either the greatest of kings of the greatest of saints. Frightened by the prophecy, Suddhodana took great care to ensure that the young prince was surrounded only by beauty, luxury and happiness.

Years later, restless in his gilded cocoon, Siddhartha set out to explore his kingdom and was greatly moved at the state of human suffering. One fine day, he renounced the world and began a life of severe asceticism to seek an answer to life and sorrow, to seek the ultimate truth.

His search led him to enlightenment that liberated and illuminated him as he pondered under a Bodhi tree. He became the Buddha at the age of 35. He realized that the body need not suffer of starve to seek the truth. He adopted the “middle-path”, that moderation. He returned to preach what he had learnt and experienced, and did it with compassion for his fellow beings.

The noble Buddha then formed his first sangha and traveled through numerous lands for several years spreading his wisdom, reforming many kings and nobles and winning hundreds of followers. Buddha’s gospel slowly spread further east, to the Asian countries, and become famous throughout the world. Today, the Buddha has followers across the world, but the largest numbers are concentrated in the South East Asian countries.