The Story of Buddha

Long long time ago, around 2,500 years ago, got one prince born in a small kingdom called Kapilavastu, somewhere near Nepal and India today. His name was Siddhartha Gautama, later people call him Shakyamuni Buddha – means “The wise one from the Shakya clan.”

He was born into a rich royal family, lah — his father was King Suddhodana, and his mother Queen Maya. People said when his mother was pregnant, she dreamt of a white elephant entering her body. Very auspicious one! So everyone already knew, this baby sure special.

👶 Growing up in the palace

From young, Siddhartha very smart and kind. His father loved him so much until he didn’t want him to see any sadness or pain outside. So he lived in the palace, full of luxury – got dancers, nice food, beautiful gardens – everything perfect, you know?

At 16, he married a beautiful princess named Yashodhara, and later they got a son, Rahula.

🚪 One day he went out of the palace…

When he was around 29 years old, he went out for the first time. And outside, he saw four things that totally changed his life.

First, he saw an old man – then he realised, “Wah, everyone will grow old one.”

Then he saw a sick person – he thought, “Aiyo, even rich people also cannot avoid sickness.”

Later he saw a dead body – he felt shocked, “So everyone will die one day.”

Lastly, he saw a monk – peaceful and calm. That time he realised, maybe there’s another path, to find true peace.

🌙 The decision to leave everything behind

That night, while everyone sleeping, he quietly left the palace — his wife, his son, all the comfort — just to find out what’s the real meaning of life.

He cut his hair, wore a simple robe, and started his journey as a monk.

🧘 Years of practice and meditation

He followed many teachers, tried many ways — fasting, meditating, all kinds of hardship. He even became so thin until can see bones already, but still, he didn’t find the answer.

One day, he realised — too much suffering also no good, too much pleasure also no good. Must follow the Middle Way.

🌕 Under the Bodhi Tree

So he sat under a big Bodhi tree in a place called Bodh Gaya, and he said, “I won’t get up until I find the truth.”

He meditated deeply, fought through all his inner fears and temptations.

Finally, he became fully enlightened — he understood the truth of life:

Everything is changing, everything depends on cause and condition, and true peace comes when the mind lets go.

That’s when he became the Buddha, “The Awakened One.”

🌾 Spreading the teaching

After that, Buddha went to Deer Park to teach his first five followers. He shared what he discovered — the Four Noble Truths:

Life got suffering,

Suffering comes from craving,

If you let go of craving, suffering ends,

There’s a path to do it — The Noble Eightfold Path.

He travelled all around India for more than 40 years, teaching people — kings, beggars, women, children, anyone who wanted peace in the heart.

🌸 Final days

When he was 80 years old, he told his disciples, “Everything that is born must pass away. So practice well, and don’t waste your time.”

Then, peacefully, he passed into Nirvana — the ultimate peace, no more birth and death.

💫 His legacy

Today, millions of people around the world follow his teaching — about kindness, wisdom, and compassion.

Buddha didn’t want people to worship him like a god; he wanted people to find the truth inside themselves.

He showed us that even an ordinary human can become truly free — if we understand the mind and live with love and awareness.