Buddhism Introduction

Is the Buddha worshipped as a God?

Buddha did not claim the status of a deity, nor is he recognized as such.  He was just a person who happened to acquire a level of wisdom and wanted to share his experience to help others achieve the same.

 

Who was he?

If the Buddha wasn't a God, who was he and why do so many people follow his teachings so many years later?  Buddha was born Siddhartha Gotama to a royal family in 563 B.C. in what is now Nepal.  When he was 29, he came to understand that wealth could not buy happiness, so he began to study a variety of religions and schools of thought that were prevalent in his time.  He spent six years studying and meditating and discovered 'the middle path' and found enlightenment. After that time, he spent the next 45 years teaching the Dhamma, or Truth, the core values of Buddhism, until his death at 80 years old.

 

 

• 
  What is Buddhism? Is Buddhism a Religion?
• 
  What is Karma? How do I Become a Buddhist? What did he teach?