| Gautam Buddha is said to be the ninth incarnation of | | | | emperor or an ascetic who would renounce the |
| Vishnu. However, many do not agree. They feel that | | | | pleasures of the world and show humankind the way |
| the theory of his being an incarnation of Vishnu was | | | | to eternal bliss. Despite much dissuasion from his |
| advanced to create misunderstanding amongst people. | | | | family, at the age of 29, one night he slipped away |
| We cannot, however, overlook the fact that Gautam | | | | from home when everyone was fast asleep. He |
| Buddha was born in India, where he attained Nirvana | | | | joined two Brahmin hermits. Together they meditated |
| and went on to influence Hindu religious thought. | | | | to find the root cause of suffering. In search of the |
| Despite originating in India, Buddhism did not continue to | | | | truth, Siddharth visited the wise and the learned and |
| attract adherents in India as it did in other countries. In | | | | the Buddha became a teacher. |
| 1193, marauders led by Bakhtiyar Khalji sacked the | | | | Buddha's Teachings |
| great Buddhist in India. However, it thrived mightily in in | | | | The Buddha proclaimed that there were four eternal |
| South-East Asia. There are almost 350 million Buddhist | | | | truths: |
| around the world. | | | | - There is suffering in life. |
| Siddharth was born in a garden in Lumbini to | | | | - There are causes for this suffering. |
| Mahamaya and Shudhodhan, ruler of a small kingdom | | | | - This suffering can be avoided. |
| the on the present Indo-Nepal border. Astrologers | | | | - There is a middle path to avoid suffering. |
| predicted that Siddharth would one day either be an | | | | |