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Buddhism was founded by Gautama Buddha who lived in the 6 th century B.C. Gautama, otherwise known as Siddhartha, was the son of an Indian Prince, Suddhodana, chief of the Sakyas. Even as a child he was given to contemplation. The sorrows and sufferings of the world tormented his loving heart and he abandoned his princely home, his wife and child and started in pursuit of enlightment at the age of 29. After years of wandering and contemplation Gautama at last found enlightenment while meditating under a great people tree. From that day, he came to be known as the Buddha or the Enlightened One.
The Buddha preached that emancipation from the cycle of rebirths, i.e. a path of self-purification can attain nirvana. He attached little importance to rituals and ceremonies in which the Brahmin priests indulged. He does not appear to have even envisaged the existence of a Supreme God. He preached in the vernacular of the people, a simple doctrine of love and mercy, which appealed to all.
Buddhism is essentially a religion of kindness, humanity, and equality. It denounces all claims to superiority on grounds of birth or caste. The eminence or lowness of men is determined by their own conduct and actions.
Two or three centuries after the death of the Buddha, we find the Buddhist religion divided into two broad schools, the Hinayana and the Mahayana. The Hinayana school prided itself on maintaining the teachings of the Buddha in their original form. The Mahayana school converted the human Buddha – Sakya Muni into an eternal and supreme deity, presiding over the world and succoring his devotees.
Mahayana Buddhism is prevalent in China, Tibet, Korea and Mongolia. Hinayana Buddhism is prevalent in Burma, Srilanka, Kampuchea and Vietnam.
The most scared places of Buddhism are Lumbini in Nepal, where the Buddha was born, the Bodh Gaya (Bihar in India), where he received enlightenment and Kushinara (UP in India), where he attained Nirvana (Died).
