Buddha - The Enlightened One

Buddhism began in India with a young prince named Siddahartha Gautama.

He set off to try to understand why there was suffering and what to do about it.

He wandered for years and years, looking for answers to his questions.


Then one night he set down under a tree to be quiet and think.

He sat and thought for a long time, and in the morning when the sun rose,

he felt that now he understood.

He had become

" enlightened ", which means wise and aware.

And so he was called Buddha, which means

" the enlightened one, the one who knows."

What did Buddha know ?

He said that he now understood that suffering and death are part of life.

He said that life is like a great wheel in which birth, suffering, and death come round

and round again.

And he said that

the most important thing is to live a life of goodness.

Buddha taught pwople how to be good, and many people began to follow his teachings.

He told his followers to be kind and merciful to humans and animals alike.



　一番大切なのは、

　善なる生き方を心がける事である。

　人間にも動物にもひとしく優しく　慈悲あれ。