Buddha Puzzle

Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama[note 1], Shakyamuni,[note 2], or simply the Buddha, was a sage[2] on whose teachings Buddhism was founded.[3] A native of the ancient Shakya republic in the Himalayan foothills,[4][note 3] Gautama Buddha taught primarily in northeastern India.

Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one." "Buddha" is also used as a title for the first awakened being in an era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (P. sammāsambuddha, S. samyaksaṃbuddha) of our age. [note 4]

Gautama taught a Middle Way compared to the severe asceticism found in the Sramana (renunciation) movement [11] common in his region. He later taught throughout regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kośala.[12][13]

The time of Gautama's birth and death is uncertain: most historians in the early 20th century dated his lifetime as circa 563 BCE to 483 BCE,[14] but more recent opinion dates his death to between 486 and 483 BCE or, according to some, between 411 and 400 BCE.[15] [note 5] However, at a symposium on this question held in 1988,[14] the majority of those who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death. These alternative chronologies, however, have not yet been accepted by all other historians.[16][17]

Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism, and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down by oral tradition, and first committed to writing about 400 years later.