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Sakyamuni buddha

Historical founder of Buddhism, Guatama Siddhartha, who was born circa 581-501 BC as the first son of King Suddhodna, whose capital city of Kapilavastu was located in what is now Nepal. At the age of twenty-nine, he left his father’s palace and his wife and child in search of the meaning of existence. One morning at the age of thirty five, he realized enlightenment while practicing meditation seated beneath the Bodhi tree. Thereafter, he spent the next forty nine years, until his death at the age of eighty, expounding his teachings in order that all sentient beings might realize the same enlightenment that he had. Nowadays, the term “a Buddha” denotes anyone who has realized enlightenment, while “the Buddha” refers to the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni. “Buddhas” naturally refers to all enlightened beings.”

(from The Seeker’s Glossary of Buddhism)