Siddhartha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from ancient India who founded Buddhism . In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha of our age, "Buddha" meaning "awakened one" or "the enlightened one." The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as c. 563 BC to 483 BC, but more recent opinion may be dating his death to between 411 and 400 BC.
Gautama, also known as Sakyamuni or Shakyamuni ("sage of the Shakyas"), is the key 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 Gautama were passed down by oral tradition, and first committed to writing about 400 years later.
In Hinduism, Buddha is regarded as an avatar of the god Vishnu; whom Puranas say attempted to lead beings away from the Vedic religion.He is also regarded as a prophet in the Bahá'í faith.
Gautama Buddha
