The transformation of Siddhartha Gautama from a sheltered prince to the Buddha (“The Awakened One”) represents one of history’s most profound spiritual journeys. Born into luxury and shielded from suffering, his encounter with the harsh realities of human existence led him to abandon royal comfort in search of deeper truth. After years of spiritual seeking, extreme asceticism, and profound meditation, he achieved enlightenment and spent his remaining years teaching others the path to liberation. This chronological account traces his remarkable life journey from birth to his final passing and enduring legacy.
30. Birth of a Prince
Siddhartha Gautama was born around 563 BCE in Lumbini (modern-day Nepal) to King Śuddhodana, ruler of the Shakya clan, and Queen Maya. His birth was reportedly accompanied by various auspicious signs, with legends claiming his mother had a dream of a white elephant entering her side before conception. Immediately after birth, he allegedly took seven steps, with lotus flowers blooming beneath his feet.
29. Prophecy of Greatness
Shortly after Siddhartha’s birth, a sage named Asita visited the palace and examined the infant prince. He identified thirty-two auspicious marks on the child’s body and prophesied that Siddhartha would become either a great universal monarch who would unite all of India or, if he witnessed suffering, would renounce worldly life and become a great spiritual teacher who would change the world.
28. Early Loss of His Mother
Queen Maya died just seven days after giving birth to Siddhartha, a significant early loss that would later inform his understanding of impermanence and suffering. The infant prince was subsequently raised by his mother’s sister, Mahapajapati Gotami, who became his stepmother. This maternal figure would later become the first Buddhist nun when Siddhartha eventually established his monastic order.
27. Extraordinary Education
King Śuddhodana, determined to fulfill the prophecy of his son becoming a great ruler rather than a spiritual leader, provided Siddhartha with an exceptional education. The young prince excelled in academics, martial arts, and royal administrative skills. His education was comprehensive, including literature, mathematics, warfare strategy, and statecraft, preparing him for his presumed future role as king of the Shakya kingdom.
26. Shielded from Suffering
Fearful of the prophecy that encountering suffering would turn his son toward spiritual life, King Śuddhodana created an artificial environment of perfect pleasure around the prince. Siddhartha was confined to luxurious palaces surrounded by beautiful gardens where all signs of aging, illness, and death were strictly forbidden. Guards ensured no unpleasant sights or sounds would disturb the prince’s sheltered existence.
25. Marriage to Yasodhara
At the age of sixteen, Siddhartha married his beautiful cousin Princess Yasodhara after reportedly winning her hand through demonstrations of his skill in archery, riding, and other martial contests. Their marriage was arranged to further anchor the prince to worldly responsibilities and pleasures. The couple lived together in sumptuous palaces designed specifically for different seasons of the year.
24. Birth of His Son Rahul
Several years after his marriage, Siddhartha’s wife Yasodhara gave birth to their son, named Rahula. The name reportedly means “fetter” or “impediment,” reflecting Siddhartha’s growing inner restlessness despite his father’s efforts to bind him to worldly life through family responsibilities. The birth coincided with Siddhartha’s increasing philosophical questions about the nature of existence.
23. The Four Sights
Despite his father’s protective measures, Siddhartha eventually ventured beyond the palace walls on four crucial chariot rides. On separate outings, he encountered an old man, a sick person, a corpse, and finally an ascetic seeker. These “Four Sights” shattered his sheltered worldview, revealing the inescapable realities of aging, illness, death, and the possibility of a spiritual quest for liberation.
22. The Great Departure
At age 29, deeply disturbed by his newfound awareness of suffering and determined to find its solution, Siddhartha made the momentous decision to leave palace life. One night, after gazing at his sleeping wife and newborn son, he silently departed his royal home. This “Great Renunciation” or “Great Departure” marked his abandonment of wealth, power, and family comforts to become a homeless spiritual seeker.
21. Cutting His Hair
After riding to the edge of the forest with his charioteer Channa, Siddhartha removed his royal garments and jewelry, cut off his long hair with his sword, and exchanged his fine clothes for the simple robes of an ascetic. This dramatic act symbolized his complete rejection of princely identity and privilege. He dismissed Channa, sending his horse Kanthaka back to the palace.
20. Studies with Alara Kalama
Siddhartha’s first spiritual teacher was Alara Kalama, a renowned meditation master with many disciples. Under Kalama’s guidance, Siddhartha quickly mastered advanced meditation states, including the formless realm of “nothingness.” Despite achieving these profound states of consciousness, Siddhartha realized these attainments did not constitute permanent liberation from suffering, prompting him to respectfully leave this teacher.
19. Learning from Uddaka Ramaputta
After leaving Alara Kalama, Siddhartha studied under another distinguished meditation teacher, Uddaka Ramaputta. With this master, he achieved even more refined states of consciousness, including the realm of “neither perception nor non-perception.” Though Ramaputta offered him co-leadership of his community, Siddhartha again realized these attainments still left suffering’s roots intact and departed to continue his search.
18. Six Years of Extreme Asceticism
Disappointed with meditation teachings that didn’t fully address suffering, Siddhartha joined five ascetics and practiced severe austerities for six years. He engaged in extreme fasting, reportedly surviving on a single grain of rice daily, and performed painful disciplines like holding his breath for extended periods. His body wasted away until he could feel his spine by touching his stomach.
17. Near-Death Experience
Siddhartha’s ascetic practices became so extreme that he nearly died from starvation and self-mortification. According to tradition, he became so emaciated that his body resembled a skeleton, his hair fell out in clumps, and his skin turned gray. This near-death experience proved pivotal, as it led him to question whether extreme self-denial was truly the path to spiritual awakening.
16. The Middle Way Revelation
While near collapse from his austerities, Siddhartha recalled a childhood memory of sitting under a rose-apple tree, spontaneously entering a peaceful, joyful meditative state. This recollection sparked his revolutionary insight into the “Middle Way”—a path between sensual indulgence and extreme asceticism. He realized sustainable spiritual practice required a balanced approach that avoided these harmful extremes.
15. Rejecting Extreme Practices
Having discovered the Middle Way concept, Siddhartha made the controversial decision to abandon extreme ascetic practices, which his five companion ascetics interpreted as weakness. He began eating proper meals again to restore his strength, accepting milk rice offered by a village woman named Sujata. His disappointed companions left him in disgust, convinced he had abandoned the spiritual path.
14. Meditation Under the Bodhi Tree
After regaining his strength, Siddhartha settled beneath a large fig tree (later known as the Bodhi tree) in Bodh Gaya, determined not to rise until achieving complete enlightenment. He arranged himself in a meditation posture and vowed: “Let my skin, sinews, and bones dry up, together with all the flesh and blood of my body! I welcome it! But I will not move from this spot until I have attained enlightenment.”
13. Mara’s Temptations
As Siddhartha deepened his meditation, he was reportedly assailed by Mara, the embodiment of temptation and delusion. Mara first sent his beautiful daughters to seduce Siddhartha, then armies of demons to frighten him, and finally challenged his worthiness to achieve enlightenment. Responding to this final challenge, Siddhartha touched the earth as witness to his accumulated merit from countless lifetimes.
12. Achieving Enlightenment
After withstanding Mara’s attacks, Siddhartha entered increasingly profound states of meditation. During the night, he gained extraordinary knowledge: in the first watch, he recalled all his past lives; in the second watch, he understood karma and rebirth; and in the third watch, he comprehended the Four Noble Truths, completely uprooting all mental defilements and achieving perfect enlightenment.
11. Seven Weeks of Contemplation
Following his enlightenment, the newly awakened Buddha remained in the vicinity of the Bodhi tree for seven weeks, contemplating the profound implications of his realization. During this period, he experienced various challenges, including severe storms (during which a naga king named Mucalinda reportedly sheltered him) and doubts about whether to teach others, given the subtle difficulty of his discoveries.
10. Decision to Teach
After his contemplation period, according to Buddhist texts, the god Brahma Sahampati appeared before the Buddha, urging him to teach for the benefit of those “with little dust in their eyes.” The Buddha surveyed the world and saw that indeed, some beings would understand his teachings. Moved by compassion, he decided to share the path to liberation despite its profound subtlety.
9. First Sermon at Deer Park
The Buddha sought out his former five ascetic companions, finding them in the Deer Park at Sarnath near Varanasi. Initially reluctant to listen to the man they thought had abandoned the spiritual path, they were struck by his transformed appearance and presence. Here, he delivered his first discourse, the “Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dharma,” introducing the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path.
8. Growth of the Sangha
After his first sermon converted his five former companions, the Buddha’s community of disciples grew rapidly. A wealthy merchant named Yasa and his friends were early converts, followed by many others attracted by the Buddha’s teachings and presence. Within the first year, he had gathered a community of sixty enlightened disciples whom he sent forth to spread the Dharma “for the welfare of many.”
7. Return to Kapilavastu
Several years after his enlightenment, the Buddha returned to his homeland of Kapilavastu, reconciling with his father King Śuddhodana, who initially felt abandoned but eventually became his disciple. During this visit, many Shakya clan members joined the monastic community, including his half-brother Nanda, cousin Ananda, and son Rahula, whom he ordained as the first novice monk.
6. Establishment of the Nun’s Order
At the persistent request of his stepmother Mahapajapati Gotami and with the advocacy of his attendant Ananda, the Buddha eventually established an order of nuns (Bhikkhuni Sangha), though with additional rules. This groundbreaking development made Buddhism the first major spiritual tradition of its time to create formal religious roles for women, despite the patriarchal nature of ancient Indian society.
5. Forty-Five Years of Teaching
After enlightenment, the Buddha spent forty-five years traveling throughout northeastern India, primarily in the Gangetic plain across the modern states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and southern Nepal. He walked from village to village teaching people of all castes and backgrounds, establishing monastic communities, and engaging with kings, merchants, farmers, courtesans, and outcasts alike with perfect equanimity.
4. Surviving Assassination Attempts
The Buddha faced several dangerous situations during his teaching years, including assassination attempts orchestrated by his cousin Devadatta, who grew jealous of the Buddha’s influence. These included releasing a drunken elephant to trample him and rolling a boulder down a mountainside toward him. According to Buddhist texts, the Buddha remained unharmed through his spiritual power and compassion.
3. Final Instructions
At age 80, knowing his death was approaching, the Buddha gave his final instructions to his disciples at Kusinara (modern Kushinagar, India). He asked if there were any final questions about his teachings and, when none arose, famously advised: “All conditioned things are subject to decay. Strive for your liberation with diligence.” These became known as his final words to the community.
2. The Mahaparinirvana
After consuming his final meal (reportedly mushrooms or pork) offered by a blacksmith named Cunda, the Buddha became severely ill with dysentery. Despite his pain, he continued teaching until reaching Kushinagar, where he lay between two sala trees. He entered progressively deeper meditative states and finally achieved parinirvana—his complete passing away from the cycle of rebirth—around 483 BCE.
1. Legacy and Spread of Buddhism
Following the Buddha’s parinirvana, his disciples convened the First Buddhist Council to preserve his teachings. From its Indian origins, Buddhism gradually spread throughout Asia, developing diverse traditions: Theravada in Southeast Asia, Mahayana in East Asia, and Vajrayana in Tibet and Mongolia. Today, with over 500 million followers worldwide, the Buddha’s teachings on compassion, mindfulness, and liberation continue to transform countless lives.