Gautama Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama)
The historical founder of Buddhism, traditionally held to have been born in Lumbini, in present-day Nepal.
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Biography
Gautama Buddha is traditionally described as a prince of the Shakya clan who renounced royal life in search of an end to suffering, and whose teachings became the foundation of Buddhism. Lumbini, his traditionally recognized birthplace, is located in present-day Nepal and is widely regarded as a major pilgrimage site. Historians generally place his life sometime in the 6th to 5th century BCE, though exact dates are debated and vary between traditions and scholarly sources — this page intentionally avoids stating a single precise date as settled fact.
Significance
Regarded across Buddhist traditions as the founder of the Buddhist path, though different schools (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana) frame his significance somewhat differently.