In his late 20’s, The Buddha finally stole outside the palace walls and broke through the barricade of seamless illusion his father had so meticulously built to protect his son from the woes that eventually befall all. Once he touched the pulse of real life, he felt a fragile and temporal existence marked by the harsh reality of old age, sickness, and death. Charged by his boundless compassion, he soon vowed to find the solution – the way out of this universal suffering– not for himself, but for all beings. Thus he left his wife, a new son, and the security of the palace and set upon his way. He was 29.

For six years he wandered the valley of the Ganges in India, meeting famous religious teachers who all eagerly took on the prodigy.  Full of devotion and curiosity, he mastered each practice with stunning speed. Still finding himself himself short of the ultimate goal, he went his way, alone. Not long afterwards, on the night following his vow not to leave his place under the now-famous Bodhi, or “Wisdom’, tree, he cut through the final obstacles to complete liberation. Such was his attainment that he became fully enlightened, no longer subject to karma or any emotional afflictions. Henceforth he has been known as the Buddha, or “Awakened One”.

Soon after his enlightenment the Buddha delivered his first sermon to his old colleagues, a group of five ascetics. Skeptical of his path when he had left them to begin his solitary vigil, on that day they were immediately struck by his mastery– several of them were fully awakened under the dawn of this new light. From then on he tirelessly taught all classes of men and women, making no distinction between them. Besides showing many the way with his own peerless skill, he performed many miracles.

45 years later at the age of 80, the Buddha peacefully passed away. He left behind many awakened students, a vast legion of followers, and most importantly, some 80,000 teachings to be shared with each future generation.  These teachings are called the Dharma (dar’ mah), which, combined with those of his later incarnation Padmasambhava, form Tibetan teachings today. Central to these lessons is the idea that all beings hold the future in their own hands, that true happiness can be reached through the service of others and devoted practice to literally change one’s mind.

Today Buddhism is found in Ceylon, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Tibet, China, Japan, Mongolia, Korea, Formosa, India, Pakistan, Nepal, Russia, as well as Europe and the Americas.

The Buddhist population of the world is over 500 million.