[purple111]

Compassion, integrity, faith, love, hope

Thank you

[SOMATHILAKA]

Gautam Buddha was one of the greatest religious teachers of the world. He gave the message of truth, peace, humanity and equality. His teachings and sayings became the basis of Buddhism, one of world's leading religions which are followed in some countries like Japan, China, and Burma etc.

He is believed to have been born in Lumbini forests in Nepalese Terai in the sixth century B.C. Before he became the Buddha (the Enlightened), he was called Siddharth. His father's name was Suddhodana, who was the ruler of Kapilvastu. His mother's name was Maya Devi, who died soon after Siddharth's birth.

Siddharth was a child with a contemplative bent of mind. He was inclined towards meditation and spiritual pursuits much against the wishes of his father. His father feared that Siddharth might leave home, and so, kept tried to insulate him from the harsh realities of the world outside by keeping him inside the palace all the time.

He even arranged his marriage with a beautiful princess Yashodhara when he was 18. They had a son named Rahul. But all these could not change the mind of young Siddharth.