Buddhadk

Gautama Buddha ** Was a spiritual teacher in the north eastern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddism. 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 563 BC to 483 BC more recently, however, at a specialist symposium on this question, the majority of those scholars who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BC for the Buddha's death, with others supporting earlier or later dates. Gautama, 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.
 * [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Buddha_in_Sarnath_Museum_%28Dhammajak_Mutra%29.jpg width="440" height="594" align="right" caption="A statue of the Buddha from Sarnath, 4th century." link="Buddismdk"]]