Editing The Buddha (section)

==Semi-legendary biography==

=== Nature of traditional depictions ===
[[File:BimaranCasket2.JPG|thumb|One of the earliest anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha, here surrounded by [[Brahma (Buddhism)|Brahma]] (left) and [[Śakra (Buddhism)|Śakra]] (right). [[Bimaran Casket]], mid-1st century CE, [[British Museum]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yaldiz |first1=Marianne |title=Investigating Indian Art |date=1987 |publisher=Staatl. Museen Preuss. Kulturbesitz |page=188 |quote=The earliest anthropomorphic representation of the Buddha that we know so far, the Bimaran reliquary}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Verma |first1=Archana |title=Cultural and Visual Flux at Early Historical Bagh in Central India |date=2007 |publisher=Archana Verma |isbn=978-1-4073-0151-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_os7mOK9v38C&pg=PP4 |page=1 |access-date=12 July 2018 |archive-date=11 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111053955/https://books.google.com/books?id=_os7mOK9v38C&pg=PP4 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
[[File:Astasahasrika Prajnaparamita Queen Maya Birth.jpeg|thumb|[[Maya (mother of the Buddha)|Māyā]] miraculously giving birth to Siddhārtha. [[Sanskrit]], [[palm-leaf manuscript]]. [[Nalanda|Nālandā]], Bihar, India. [[Pala Empire|Pāla period]]]]
In the earliest Buddhist texts, the [[nikāya]]s and [[Āgama (Buddhism)|āgamas]], the Buddha is not depicted as possessing [[omniscience]] (''sabbaññu''){{sfnp|Anālayo|2006}} nor is he depicted as being an eternal transcendent (''lokottara'') being. According to [[Bhikkhu Analayo]], ideas of the Buddha's omniscience (along with an increasing tendency to deify him and his biography) are found only later, in the [[Mahayana sutras]] and later [[Pali]] commentaries or texts such as the ''Mahāvastu''.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2006}} In the ''Sandaka Sutta'', the Buddha's disciple [[Ananda]] outlines an argument against the claims of teachers who say they are all knowing<ref>{{cite web |author1=Tan, Piya (trans) |author-link1=Piya Tan |date=2010 |title=The Discourse to Sandaka (trans. of Sandaka Sutta, Majjhima Nikāya 2, Majjhima Paṇṇāsaka 3, Paribbājaka Vagga 6) |website=The Dharmafarers |publisher=The Minding Centre |url=http://dharmafarer.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/35.7-Sandaka-S-m76-piya.pdf |access-date=24 September 2015 |pages=17–18 |archive-date=9 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160109050837/http://dharmafarer.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/35.7-Sandaka-S-m76-piya.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> while in the ''Tevijjavacchagotta Sutta'' the Buddha himself states that he has never made a claim to being omniscient, instead he claimed to have the "higher knowledges" ([[abhijñā]]).<ref>MN 71 Tevijjavacchagotta [Tevijjavaccha]</ref> The earliest biographical material from the Pali Nikayas focuses on the Buddha's life as a śramaṇa, his search for enlightenment under various teachers such as [[Alara Kalama]] and his forty-five-year career as a teacher.<ref>{{cite web |date=2005 |title=A Sketch of the Buddha's Life: Readings from the Pali Canon |website=Access to Insight |url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/buddha.html |access-date=24 September 2015 |archive-date=22 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101222123834/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/buddha.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Traditional biographies of Gautama often include numerous miracles, omens, and supernatural events. The character of the Buddha in these traditional biographies is often that of a fully transcendent (Skt. ''lokottara'') and perfected being who is unencumbered by the mundane world. In the ''Mahāvastu'', over the course of many lives, Gautama is said to have developed supramundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse; no need for sleep, food, medicine, or bathing, although engaging in such "in [[conformity]] with the world"; omniscience, and the ability to "suppress karma".{{sfnp|Jones|1956|p={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}} As noted by Andrew Skilton, the Buddha was often described as being superhuman, including descriptions of him having the 32 major and 80 minor marks of a "great man", and the idea that the Buddha could live for as long as an aeon if he wished (see DN 16).{{sfnp|Skilton|2004|pp=64–65}}

The ancient Indians were generally unconcerned with chronologies, being more focused on philosophy. Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing a clearer picture of what Gautama may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of the culture and daily life of ancient India which can be corroborated from the [[Jain Agamas (Śvētāmbara)|Jain scriptures]], and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in [[History of India|Indian history]] for which significant accounts exist.{{sfnp|Carrithers|2001|p=15}} British author [[Karen Armstrong]] writes that although there is very little information that can be considered historically sound, we can be reasonably confident that Siddhārtha Gautama did exist as a historical figure.{{sfnp|Armstrong|2000|p=xii}} [[Michael Carrithers]] goes further, stating that the most general outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true.{{sfnp|Carrithers|2001|p={{page needed|date=May 2022}}}}

=== Previous lives ===
Legendary biographies like the Pali ''[[Buddhavaṃsa]]'' and the Sanskrit ''Jātakamālā'' depict the Buddha's (referred to as "[[bodhisattva]]" before his awakening) career as spanning hundreds of lifetimes before his last birth as Gautama. Many of these previous lives are narrated in the [[Jataka tales|Jatakas]], which consists of 547 stories.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=19}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Jatakas: Birth Stories of the Bodhisatta |work=British Library |date=13 March 2015 |access-date=28 June 2023 |url= https://blogs.bl.uk/asian-and-african/2015/03/the-jatakas-birth-stories-of-the-bodhisatta.html}}</ref> The format of a Jataka typically begins by telling a story in the present which is then explained by a story of someone's previous life.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=21}}

Besides imbuing the pre-Buddhist past with a deep karmic history, the Jatakas also serve to explain the bodhisattva's (the Buddha-to-be) path to Buddhahood.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=24}} In biographies like the ''Buddhavaṃsa'', this path is described as long and arduous, taking "four incalculable ages" (''[[Asaṃkhyeya|asamkheyyas]]'').{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=30}}

In these legendary biographies, the bodhisattva goes through many different births (animal and human), is inspired by his meeting of [[List of the named Buddhas|past Buddhas]], and then makes a series of resolves or vows (''[[Bodhisattva vow|pranidhana]]'') to become a Buddha himself. Then he begins to receive predictions by past Buddhas.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=31}} One of the most popular of these stories is [[Sumedha|his meeting with Dipankara Buddha]], who gives the bodhisattva a prediction of future Buddhahood.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=25}}

Another theme found in the Pali Jataka Commentary (''Jātakaṭṭhakathā'') and the Sanskrit ''Jātakamālā'' is how the Buddha-to-be had to practice several "perfections" (''[[pāramitā]]'') to reach Buddhahood.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=37}} The Jatakas also sometimes depict negative actions done in previous lives by the bodhisattva, which explain difficulties he experienced in his final life as Gautama.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=43}}

=== Birth and early life ===
[[File:Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|A map showing [[Lumbini]] and other major Buddhist sites in India. [[Lumbini]] (present-day Nepal), is the birthplace of the Buddha,<ref name=WHC />{{efn|name="birthplace"}} and is also a holy place for many non-Buddhists.<ref name="google260">{{Cite book |year=1997 |chapter=Buddha as depicted in the Purāṇas |title=Encyclopaedia of Hinduism |volume=7 |last=Nagendra |first=Kumar Singh |publisher=Anmol Publications |isbn=978-81-7488-168-7 |pages=260–275 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=UG9-HZ5icQ4C&pg=PA260 |access-date=16 April 2012}}</ref>]]
[[File:BRP Lumbini Mayadevi temple.jpg|thumb|[[Maya Devi Temple, Lumbini|Mayadevi Temple]] marking the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]'s birthplace in [[Lumbini]]]]
[[File:Lumbini pillar with inscription and its location.jpg|thumb|The [[Lumbini pillar inscription|Lumbini pillar contains an inscription]] stating that this is the Buddha's birthplace.]]

According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in [[Lumbini]],<ref name="WHC">{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/666 |title=Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha |website=World Heritage Convention |publisher=UNESCO |access-date=26 May 2011 |archive-date=31 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731003917/https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/666/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Victoria and Albert Museum">{{cite web |url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-astamahapratiharya-buddhist-pilgrimage-sites/ |title=The Astamahapratiharya: Buddhist pilgrimage sites |publisher=Victoria and Albert Museum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121031180234/http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/the-astamahapratiharya-buddhist-pilgrimage-sites/ |archive-date=31 October 2012 |url-status=dead |access-date=25 December 2012}}</ref> now in modern-day Nepal,{{efn|Based on stone inscriptions, there is also speculation that Lumbei, Kapileswar village, [[Odisha]], at the east coast of India, was the site of ancient Lumbini.({{harvnb|Mahāpātra|1977}}{{harvnb|Mohāpātra|2000|p=114}}{{harvnb|Tripathy|2014}}) {{harvnb|Hartmann|1991|pp=38–39}} discusses the hypothesis and states, "The inscription has generally been considered spurious (...)" He quotes Sircar: "There can hardly be any doubt that the people responsible for the Kapilesvara inscription copied it from the said facsimile not much earlier than 1928."}} and raised in [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)|Kapilavastu]].{{sfnp|Keown|Prebish|2013|p=436}}{{efn|Some sources mention Kapilavastu as the birthplace of the Buddha. Gethin states: "The earliest Buddhist sources state that the future Buddha was born Siddhārtha Gautama (Pali Siddhattha Gotama), the son of a local chieftain—a ''rājan''—in Kapilavastu (Pali Kapilavatthu) what is now the Indian–Nepalese border."{{sfnp|Gethin|1998|p=14}} Gethin does not give references for this statement.}} The exact site of ancient Kapilavastu is unknown.{{sfnp|Trainor|2010|pp=436–437}} It may have been either [[Piprahwa]], Uttar Pradesh, in present-day India,{{sfnp|Nakamura|1980|p=18}} or [[Tilaurakot]], in present-day Nepal.{{sfnp|Huntington|1986}} Both places belonged to the Sakya territory, and are located only {{convert|15|mi|km|order=flip}} apart.{{sfnp|Huntington|1986}}{{efn|name="birthplace"}}

In the mid-3rd century BCE the Emperor [[Ashoka]] determined that Lumbini was Gautama's birthplace and thus installed a pillar there with the inscription: "...this is where the Buddha, sage of the Śākyas (''Śākyamuni''), was born."{{sfnp|Gethin|1998|p=19}}

According to later biographies such as the ''[[Mahāvastu|Mahavastu]]'' and the ''[[Lalitavistara Sūtra|Lalitavistara]]'', his mother, [[Maya (mother of the Buddha)|Maya]], Suddhodana's wife, was a princess from [[Devdaha]], the ancient capital of the [[Koliya]] Kingdom (what is now the [[Rupandehi District]] of Nepal). Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that a [[white elephant (animal)|white elephant]] with six white tusks entered her right side,{{sfnp|Beal|1875|p=37}}{{sfnp|Jones|1952|p=11}} and ten [[lunar month|months]] later{{sfnp|Beal|1875|p=41}} Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother became pregnant, she left Kapilavastu for her father's kingdom to give birth.

Her son is said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a [[Shorea robusta|sal tree]]. The earliest Buddhist sources state that the Buddha was born to an aristocratic [[Kshatriya]] (Pali: ''khattiya'') family called Gautama (Pali: Gotama), who were part of the [[Shakya]]s, a tribe of rice-farmers living near the modern border of India and Nepal.{{sfnp|Hirakawa|1990|p=21}}{{sfnp|Gethin|1998|p=14}}{{sfnp|Samuel|2010}}{{efn|According to [[Geoffrey Samuel]], the Buddha was born into a Kshatriya clan,{{sfnp|Samuel|2010}} in a moderate Vedic culture at the central Ganges Plain area, where the shramana-traditions developed. This area had a moderate Vedic culture, where the Kshatriyas were the highest [[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]], in contrast to the Brahmanic ideology of [[Kuru Kingdom|Kuru]]–[[Panchala]], where the Brahmins had become the highest varna.{{sfnp|Samuel|2010}} Both the Vedic culture and the shramana tradition contributed to the emergence of the so-called [[Hinduism#Roots of Hinduism|"Hindu-synthesis"]] around the start of the Common Era.{{sfnp|Hiltebeitel|2013}}{{sfnp|Samuel|2010}}}} His father [[Śuddhodana]] was "an elected chief of the [[Shakya|Shakya clan]]",{{sfnp|Warder|2000|p=45}} whose capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed by the growing Kingdom of [[Kosala]] during the Buddha's lifetime.

The early Buddhist texts contain very little information about the birth and youth of Gotama Buddha.{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=8}}{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=51}} Later biographies developed a dramatic narrative about the life of the young Gotama as a prince and his existential troubles.{{sfnp|Hirakawa|1990|p=24}} They depict his father Śuddhodana as a [[hereditary monarchy|hereditary monarch]] of the [[Suryavansha]] (Solar dynasty) of {{IAST|Ikṣvāku}} (Pāli: Okkāka). This is unlikely, as many scholars think that Śuddhodana was merely a Shakya aristocrat (''khattiya''), and that the Shakya republic was not a hereditary monarchy.{{sfnp|Dhammika|n.d.|p={{page needed|date=October 2020}}}}{{sfnp|Gethin|1998|pp=14–15}}{{sfnp|Gombrich|1988|pp=49–50}} The more egalitarian [[gaṇasaṅgha|{{transliteration|sa|gaṇasaṅgha}}]] form of government, as a political alternative to Indian monarchies, may have influenced the development of the śramanic [[Jain monasticism|Jain]] and Buddhist [[Sangha (Buddhism)|sanghas]],{{efn|name="Upaddha"}} where monarchies tended toward [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic Brahmanism]].{{sfnp|Thapar|2002|p=146}}

The day of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death is widely celebrated in [[Theravada]] countries as [[Vesak]] and the day he got conceived as [[Poson]].{{sfnp|Turpie|2001|p=3}} [[Buddha's Birthday]] is called ''Buddha [[Purnima]]'' in Nepal, Bangladesh, and India as he is believed to have been born on a full moon day.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Roy |first=Christian |title=Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia [2 volumes] |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |date=2005-06-29 |pages=481 |isbn=978-1-85109-689-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ETPEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA481 |language=en}}</ref>

According to later biographical legends, during the birth celebrations, the hermit seer [[Asita]] journeyed from his mountain abode, analyzed the child for the [[Physical characteristics of the Buddha|"32 marks of a great man"]] and then announced that he would either become a great king (''[[chakravartin]]'') or a great religious leader.{{sfnp|Narada|1992|pp=9–12}}{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=55}} Suddhodana held a naming ceremony on the fifth day and invited eight [[Brahmin]] scholars to read the future. All gave similar predictions.{{sfnp|Narada|1992|pp=9–12}} [[Kaundinya]], the youngest, and later to be the first [[arhat]] other than the Buddha, was reputed to be the only one who unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha would become a [[Buddhahood|Buddha]].{{sfnp|Narada|1992|pp=11–12}}

Early texts suggest that Gautama was not familiar with the dominant religious teachings of his time until he left on his religious quest, which is said to have been motivated by existential concern for the human condition.{{sfnp|Hamilton|2000|p=47}} According to the [[early Buddhist Texts]] of several schools, and numerous [[post-canonical Buddhist texts|post-canonical accounts]], Gotama had a wife, [[Yaśodharā|Yasodhara]], and a son, named [[Rāhula]].{{sfnp|Meeks|2016|p=139}} Besides this, the Buddha in the early texts reports that "I lived a spoilt, a very spoilt life, monks (in my parents' home)."{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=23}}

The legendary biographies like the ''[[Lalitavistara Sūtra|Lalitavistara]]'' also tell stories of young Gotama's great martial skill, which was put to the test in various contests against other Shakyan youths.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=60}}

=== Renunciation ===
{{See also|Great Renunciation}}
[[File:Great Departure.JPG|thumb|upright=1.35|The "Great Departure" of Siddhartha Gautama, surrounded by a [[Halo (religious iconography)|halo]], he is accompanied by numerous guards and [[devata]] who have come to pay homage; [[Gandhara]], [[Kushan Empire|Kushan period]].]]

While the earliest sources merely depict Gotama seeking a higher spiritual goal and becoming an ascetic or ''śramaṇa'' after being disillusioned with lay life, the later legendary biographies tell a more elaborate dramatic story about how he became a mendicant.{{sfnp|Hirakawa|1990|p=24}}{{sfnp|Gethin|1998|p=15}}

The earliest accounts of the Buddha's spiritual quest is found in texts such as the Pali ''Ariyapariyesanā-sutta'' ("The discourse on the noble quest", MN 26) and its Chinese parallel at [[Madhyama Agama|MĀ]] 204.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=170}} These texts report that what led to Gautama's renunciation was the thought that his life was subject to old age, disease and death and that there might be something better.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last=Wynne |first=Alexander |date=2019 |title=Did the Buddha exist? |journal=JOCBS |volume=16 |pages=98–148}}</ref> The early texts also depict the Buddha's explanation for becoming a sramana as follows: "The household life, this place of impurity, is narrow—the ''samana'' life is the free open air. It is not easy for a householder to lead the perfected, utterly pure and perfect holy life."{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=45}} MN 26, MĀ 204, the [[Dharmaguptaka]] Vinaya and the [[Mahāvastu]] all agree that his mother and father opposed his decision and "wept with tearful faces" when he decided to leave.{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|pp=45–46}}{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=173}}
[[File:Siddharta Gautama Borobudur.jpg|thumb|Prince Siddhartha shaves his hair and becomes a [[śramaṇa]]. [[Borobudur]], 8th century]]
Legendary biographies also tell the story of how Gautama left his palace to see the outside world for the first time and how he was shocked by his encounter with human suffering.{{sfnp|Gethin|1998|p=21}}{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=63}} These depict Gautama's father as shielding him from religious teachings and from knowledge of human [[dukkha|suffering]], so that he would become a great king instead of a great religious leader.{{sfnp|Gethin|1998|p=20}} In the ''[[Nidanakatha]]'' (5th century CE), Gautama is said to have seen an old man. When his charioteer [[Channa (Buddhist)|Chandaka]] explained to him that all people grew old, the prince went on further trips beyond the palace. On these he encountered a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an [[shramana|ascetic]] that inspired him.{{sfnp|Conze|1959|pp=39–40}}{{sfnp|Warder|2000|p=322}}{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=44}} This story of the "[[four sights]]" seems to be adapted from an earlier account in the ''Digha Nikaya'' (DN 14.2) which instead depicts the young life of a previous Buddha, [[Vipassī Buddha|Vipassi]].{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=44}}

The legendary biographies depict Gautama's departure from his palace as follows. Shortly after seeing the four sights, Gautama woke up at night and saw his female servants lying in unattractive, corpse-like poses, which shocked him.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|loc=Incitements to Leave Home}} Therefore, he discovered what he would later understand more deeply during his [[enlightenment in Buddhism|enlightenment]]: ''[[dukkha]]'' ("standing unstable", "dissatisfaction"{{sfn|Monier-Williams|1899|p=483, entry note:&nbsp;}}{{sfnp|Analayo|2013c}}{{sfnp|Beckwith|2015|p=30}}{{sfnp|Alexander|2019|p=36}}) and the end of ''dukkha''.{{sfnp|Strong|2015|loc=The Beginnings of Discontent}} Moved by all the things he had experienced, he decided to leave the palace in the middle of the night against the will of his father, to live the life of a wandering ascetic.{{sfnp|Conze|1959|pp=39–40}}

Accompanied by Chandaka and riding his horse [[Kanthaka]], Gautama leaves the palace, leaving behind his son [[Rahula]] and [[Yashodhara|Yaśodhara]].{{sfnp|Narada|1992|pp=15–16}} He travelled to the river [[Anoma River|Anomiya]], and cut off his hair. Leaving his servant and horse behind, he journeyed into the woods and changed into [[Kasaya (clothing)|monk's robes]] there,{{sfnp|Strong|2015|loc=The Great Departure}} though in some other versions of the story, he received the robes from a [[Brahma (Buddhism)|''Brahma'']] deity at Anomiya.{{sfnp|Penner|2009|p=28}}

According to the legendary biographies, when the ascetic Gautama first went to Rajagaha (present-day [[Rajgir]]) to beg for [[alms#Buddhism|alms]] in the streets, King [[Bimbisara]] of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]] learned of his quest, and offered him a share of his kingdom. Gautama rejected the offer but promised to visit his kingdom first, upon attaining enlightenment.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|loc=The Great Departure}}{{sfnp|Hirakawa|1990|p=25}}

=== Ascetic life and awakening ===
{{See also|Enlightenment in Buddhism|Nirvana (Buddhism)}}
[[File:Wat Suthat วัดสุทัศน์ - emaciated fasting Buddha.jpg|thumb|The gilded "Emaciated Buddha statue" in [[Wat Suthat]] in [[Bangkok]] representing the stage of his [[asceticism]]]]
[[File:Bodhgaya 3639641913 f4c5f73689 t.jpg|thumb|The Mahabodhi Tree at the [[Mahabodhi Temple]] in [[Bodh Gaya]]]]
[[File:Vajrasana, early 20th century.jpg|thumb|The ''[[Vajrasana, Bodh Gaya|Enlightenment Throne]]'' of the Buddha at [[Bodh Gaya]], as recreated by Emperor [[Ashoka]] in the 3rd century BCE]]
[[File:Miracle of the Buddha walking on a River - East Face - South Pillar - East Gateway - Stupa 1 - Sanchi.jpg|thumb|Miracle of the [[Buddha]] walking on the River Nairañjanā. The Buddha is not visible ([[aniconism]]), only represented by a path on the water, and his empty throne bottom right.{{sfnp|Marshall|1918|p=65}} [[Sanchi]].]]

Majjhima Nikaya 4 mentions that Gautama lived in "remote jungle thickets" during his years of spiritual striving and had to overcome the fear that he felt while living in the forests.{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=15}} The Nikaya-texts narrate that the ascetic Gautama practised under two teachers of [[yogic]] meditation.{{sfnp|Upadhyaya|1971|p=95}}{{sfnp|Laumakis|2008|p=8}} According to the ''Ariyapariyesanā-sutta'' (MN 26) and its Chinese parallel at MĀ 204, after having mastered the teaching of [[Alara Kalama|Ārāḍa Kālāma]] ({{langx|pi|Alara Kalama}}), who taught a meditation attainment called "the sphere of nothingness", he was asked by Ārāḍa to become an equal leader of their spiritual community.{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=47}}{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=175}}

Gautama felt unsatisfied by the practice because it "does not lead to revulsion, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to knowledge, to awakening, to Nibbana", and moved on to become a student of [[Udaka Ramaputta|Udraka Rāmaputra]] ({{langx|pi|Udaka Ramaputta}}).{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=48}}{{sfnp|Armstrong|2000|p=77}} With him, he achieved high levels of meditative consciousness (called "The Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception") and was again asked to join his teacher. But, once more, he was not satisfied for the same reasons as before, and moved on.{{sfnp|Narada|1992|pp=19–20}}

According to some sutras, after leaving his meditation teachers, Gotama then practiced ascetic techniques.{{sfnp|Hirakawa|1990|p=26}}{{efn|An account of these practices can be seen in the ''Mahāsaccaka-sutta'' (MN 36) and its various parallels (which according to [[Bhikkhu Analayo|Anālayo]] include some Sanskrit fragments, an individual Chinese translation, a sutra of the ''Ekottarika-āgama'' as well as sections of the ''Lalitavistara'' and the ''Mahāvastu'').{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|pp=234–235}}}} The ascetic techniques described in the early texts include very minimal food intake, different forms of [[Pranayama|breath control]], and forceful mind control. The texts report that he became so emaciated that his bones became visible through his skin.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=236}} The ''Mahāsaccaka-sutta'' and most of its parallels agree that after taking asceticism to its extremes, Gautama realized that this had not helped him attain nirvana, and that he needed to regain strength to pursue his goal.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=240}} One popular story tells of how he accepted milk and [[rice pudding]] from a village girl named [[Sujata (milkmaid)|Sujata]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Golden Bowl |work=Life of the Buddha |url=http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/lifebuddha/15lbud.htm |access-date=25 December 2012 |via=BuddhaNet |archive-date=3 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303222852/http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/lifebuddha/15lbud.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to the 身毛喜豎經,{{efn|a Chinese translation of ''Mahāsīhanāda-sutta''.}} his break with asceticism led his five companions to abandon him, since they believed that he had abandoned his search and become undisciplined. At this point, Gautama remembered a previous experience of ''[[Dhyana in Buddhism|dhyana]]'' ("meditation") he had as a child sitting under a tree while his father worked.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=240}} This memory leads him to understand that ''dhyana'' is the path to [[moksha|liberation]], and the texts then depict the Buddha achieving all four dhyanas, followed by the "three higher knowledges" (''[[tevijja]]''),{{efn|According to various early texts like the ''Mahāsaccaka-sutta,'' and the ''[[Samaññaphala Sutta]],'' a Buddha has achieved three higher knowledges: Remembering one's former abodes (i.e. past lives), the "Divine eye" (''dibba-cakkhu''), which allows the knowing of others' [[Karma in Buddhism|karmic]] destinations and the "extinction of mental intoxicants" (''[[āsava]]kkhaya'').{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=236}}<ref>{{cite web |translator-first=Thanissaro |translator-last=Bhikkhu |date=2008 |title=Maha-Saccaka Sutta: The Longer Discourse to Saccaka |id=([[Majjhima Nikaya|MN]] 36) |website=Access to Insight |url=https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.036.than.html |access-date=19 May 2007 |archive-date=29 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081229223634/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.036.than.html |url-status=live }}</ref>}} culminating in complete insight into the [[Four Noble Truths]], thereby attaining liberation from ''[[samsara]]'', the endless cycle of rebirth.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=243}}{{sfnp|Anderson|1999}}{{sfnp|Williams|2002|pp=74–75}}<ref name="EB-DL Four Truths">{{cite encyclopedia |first=Donald |last=Lopez |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Four-Noble-Truths |title=Four Noble Truths |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=21 June 2022 |archive-date=18 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518100726/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Four-Noble-Truths |url-status=live }}</ref>{{efn|name="awakening_inconsistencies"|Scholars have noted inconsistencies in the presentations of the Buddha's enlightenment, and the Buddhist path to liberation, in the oldest sutras. These inconsistencies show that the Buddhist teachings evolved, either during the lifetime of the Buddha, or thereafter. See:<br />* {{harvp|Bareau|1963}}<br />* {{harvp|Schmithausen|1981}}<br />* {{harvp|Norman|2003}}<br />* {{harvp|Vetter|1988}}<br />* {{harvp|Gombrich|2006a|loc=Chapter 4}}<br />* {{harvp|Bronkhorst|1993 |loc=Chapter 7}}<br />* {{harvp|Anderson|1999}}}}

According to the ''[[Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta]]'' (SN 56),<ref name="sn56">{{cite web |translator-last=Bhikkhu |translator-first=Thanissaro |date=1993 |title=Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta: Setting the Wheel of Dhamma in Motion |website=Access to Insight |url=http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.than.html |access-date=25 December 2012 |archive-date=30 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330205320/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn56/sn56.011.than.html |url-status=live }}</ref> the [[Tathagata]], the term Gautama uses most often to refer to himself, realized "the [[Middle Way]]"—a path of moderation away from the extremes of [[hedonism|self-indulgence]] and self-mortification, or the [[Noble Eightfold Path]].<ref name="sn56" /> In later centuries, Gautama became known as the ''Buddha'' or "Awakened One". The title indicates that unlike most people who are "asleep", a Buddha is understood as having "woken up" to the true nature of reality and sees the world 'as it is' (''yatha-bhutam'').{{sfnp|Gethin|1998|p=8}} A Buddha has achieved liberation (''vimutti''), also called Nirvana, which is seen as the extinguishing of the "fires" of desire, hatred, and ignorance, that keep the cycle of suffering and rebirth going.<ref>{{cite web |title=nirvana |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9055914/nirvana |access-date=22 October 2014 |archive-date=16 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080516235521/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9055914/nirvana |url-status=live }}</ref>

Following his decision to leave his meditation teachers, MĀ 204 and other parallel early texts report that Gautama sat down with the determination not to get up until full awakening (''sammā-sambodhi'') had been reached; the ''Ariyapariyesanā-sutta'' does not mention "full awakening", but only that he attained nirvana.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=178}} In Buddhist tradition, this event was said to have occurred under a [[Sacred fig|pipal]] tree—known as "the [[Bodhi tree]]"—in [[Bodh Gaya]], Bihar.{{sfnp|Gyatso|2007|pp=8–9}}

As reported by various texts from the Pali Canon, the Buddha sat for seven days under the bodhi tree "feeling the bliss of deliverance".{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=30}} The Pali texts also report that he continued to meditate and contemplated various aspects of the Dharma while living by the [[Lilajan River|River Nairañjanā]], such as [[Pratītyasamutpāda|Dependent Origination]], the [[Indriya|Five Spiritual Faculties]] and suffering (''dukkha'').{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|pp=30–35}}

The legendary biographies like the ''[[Mahāvastu|Mahavastu]], [[Nidanakatha]]'' and the ''[[Lalitavistara Sūtra|Lalitavistara]]'' depict an attempt by [[Mara (demon)|Mara]], the ruler of the desire realm, to prevent the Buddha's nirvana. He does so by sending his daughters to seduce the Buddha, by asserting his superiority and by assaulting him with armies of monsters.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=93}} However the Buddha is unfazed and calls on the earth (or in some versions of the legend, the [[Prithvi|earth goddess]]) as witness to his superiority by [[Maravijaya attitude|touching the ground]] before entering meditation.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=94}} Other miracles and magical events are also depicted.

=== First sermon and formation of the saṅgha ===
[[File:Sarnath1.jpg|thumb|[[Dhamek Stupa]] in [[Sarnath]], India, site of the first teaching of the Buddha in which he taught the [[Four Noble Truths]] to his first five disciples]]
According to MN 26, immediately after his awakening, the Buddha hesitated on whether or not he should teach the ''[[Dharma (Buddhism)|Dharma]]'' to others. He was concerned that humans were overpowered by ignorance, greed, and hatred that it would be difficult for them to recognise the path, which is "subtle, deep and hard to grasp". However, the god [[Brahma (Buddhism)#Brahmā Sahampati|Brahmā Sahampati]] convinced him, arguing that at least some "with little dust in their eyes" will understand it. The Buddha relented and agreed to teach. According to Anālayo, the Chinese parallel to MN 26, MĀ 204, does not contain this story, but this event does appear in other parallel texts, such as in an ''[[Ekottara Agama|Ekottarika-āgama]]'' discourse, in the ''Catusparisat-sūtra'', and in the ''Lalitavistara''.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=178}}

According to MN 26 and MĀ 204, after deciding to teach, the Buddha initially intended to visit his former teachers, [[Alara Kalama]] and [[Udaka Ramaputta]], to teach them his insights, but they had already died, so he decided to visit his five former companions.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=182}} MN 26 and MĀ 204 both report that on his way to [[Varanasi|Vārānasī]] (Benares), he met another wanderer, an [[Ājīvika]] ascetic named Upaka in MN 26. The Buddha proclaimed that he had achieved full awakening, but Upaka was not convinced and "took a different path".{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=183}}

MN 26 and MĀ 204 continue with the Buddha reaching the [[Sarnath|Deer Park (Sarnath)]] (''Mrigadāva'', also called ''Rishipatana'', "site where the ashes of the ascetics fell")<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Boisselier|first=Jean |title=The wisdom of the Buddha|date=1994|publisher=Harry N. Abrams|isbn=0-8109-2807-8|location=New York|oclc=31489012}}</ref> near Vārānasī, where he met the group of five ascetics and was able to convince them that he had indeed reached full awakening.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=185}} According to MĀ 204 (but not MN 26), as well as the Theravāda Vinaya, an [[Ekottara Agama|''Ekottarika-āgama'']] text, the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, the [[Mahīśāsaka]] Vinaya, and the ''Mahāvastu'', the Buddha then taught them the "first sermon", also known as the "Benares sermon",<ref name=":8" /> i.e., the teaching of "the noble eightfold path as the middle path aloof from the two extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification".{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=185}} The Pali text reports that after the first sermon, the ascetic [[Kaundinya]] became the first [[arhat]] (liberated being) and the first Buddhist [[bhikkhu]] or monastic.{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|pp=44–45}} The Buddha then continued to teach the other ascetics and they formed the first [[Sangha (Buddhism)|{{IAST|saṅgha}}]], the company of Buddhist monks.{{efn|name="Upaddha"}}

Various sources such as the ''Mahāvastu,'' the ''Mahākhandhaka'' of the Theravāda Vinaya and the ''Catusparisat-sūtra'' also mention that the Buddha taught them his second discourse, about the characteristic of [[Anatta|"not-self"]] (''[[Anattalakkhaṇa Sutta|Anātmalakṣaṇa Sūtra]]''), at this time{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=110}} or five days later.<ref name=":8" /> After hearing this second sermon the four remaining ascetics also reached the status of ''arahant.''<ref name=":8" />

The Theravāda Vinaya and the ''Catusparisat-sūtra'' also speak of the conversion of [[Yasa]], a local guild master, and his friends and family, who were some of the first laypersons to be converted and to enter the Buddhist community.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=113}}<ref name=":8" /> The conversion of three brothers named Kassapa followed, who brought with them five hundred converts who had previously been "matted hair ascetics", and whose spiritual practice was related to fire sacrifices.{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|pp=48, 54–59}}{{sfnp|Strong|2001|pp=116–117}} According to the Theravāda Vinaya, the Buddha then stopped at the Gayasisa hill near [[Gaya, India|Gaya]] and delivered his third discourse, the ''[[Ādittapariyāya Sutta]]'' (The Discourse on Fire),{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=64}} in which he taught that everything in the world is inflamed by passions and only those who follow the Eightfold path can be liberated.<ref name=":8" />

At the end of the rainy season, when the Buddha's community had grown to around sixty awakened monks, he instructed them to wander on their own, teach and ordain people into the community, for the "welfare and benefit" of the world.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=115}}<ref name=":8" />

=== Travels and growth of the saṅgha ===
[[File:Mahajanapadas (c. 500 BCE).png|thumb|right|Kosala and Magadha in the post-Vedic period]]
[[File:Buddha mit Mogallana und Sariputta.JPG|thumb|The chief disciples of the Buddha, Mogallana (chief in psychic power) and Sariputta (chief in wisdom)]]

For the remaining 40 or 45 years of his life, the Buddha is said to have travelled in the [[Gangetic Plain]], in what is now [[Uttar Pradesh]], Bihar, and southern Nepal, teaching a diverse range of people: from nobles to servants, ascetics and householders, murderers such as [[Angulimala]], and cannibals such as Alavaka.{{sfnp|Malalasekera|1960|pp=291–292}}{{sfnp|Gethin|1998|p=15}}{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=131}} According to Schumann, the Buddha's travels ranged from "[[Kosambi]] on the [[Yamuna]] (25&nbsp;km south-west of [[Allahabad]] )", to Campa (40&nbsp;km east of [[Bhagalpur]])" and from "Kapilavatthu (95&nbsp;km north-west of [[Gorakhpur]]) to Uruvela (south of Gaya)". This covers an area of 600 by 300&nbsp;km.{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=231}} His sangha{{efn|name="Upaddha"}} enjoyed the patronage of the kings of [[Kosala]] and [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]] and he thus spent a lot of time in their respective capitals, [[Shravasti|Savatthi]] and [[Rajgir|Rajagaha]].{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=231}}

Although the Buddha's language remains unknown, it is likely that he taught in one or more of a variety of closely related [[Middle Indo-Aryan languages|Middle Indo-Aryan]] dialects, of which [[Pali]] may be a standardisation.

The sangha wandered throughout the year, except during the four months of the [[Vassa]] rainy season when ascetics of all religions rarely travelled. One reason was that it was more difficult to do so without causing harm to flora and animal life.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=132}} The health of the ascetics might have been a concern as well.<ref>Bhikkhu Khantipalo (1995). ''"[https://accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/khantipalo/wheel206.html Lay Buddhist Practice, The Shrine Room, Uposatha Day, Rains Residence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102071244/https://accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/khantipalo/wheel206.html |date=2 November 2022 }}"''</ref> At this time of year, the sangha would retreat to monasteries, public parks or forests, where people would come to them.

The first vassana was spent at [[Varanasi]] when the sangha was formed. According to the Pali texts, shortly after the formation of the sangha, the Buddha travelled to [[Rajgir|Rajagaha]], capital of [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]], and met with King [[Bimbisara]], who gifted a bamboo grove park to the sangha.{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=68}}

The Buddha's sangha continued to grow during his initial travels in north India. The early texts tell the story of how the Buddha's [[Śrāvaka#Foremost disciples|chief disciples]], [[Śāriputra|Sāriputta]] and [[Maudgalyayana|Mahāmoggallāna]], who were both students of the skeptic sramana [[Sanjaya Belatthiputta|Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta]], were converted by [[Assaji]].{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=70}}{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=119}} They also tell of how the Buddha's son, [[Rāhula|Rahula]], joined his father as a bhikkhu when the Buddha visited his old home, Kapilavastu.{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=78}} Over time, other Shakyans joined the order as bhikkhus, such as Buddha's cousin [[Ānanda|Ananda]], [[Anuruddha]], [[Upali]] the barber, the Buddha's half-brother [[Nanda (Buddhism)|Nanda]] and [[Devadatta]].{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|pp=79–83}}{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=122}} Meanwhile, the Buddha's father Suddhodana heard his son's teaching, converted to Buddhism and became a [[sotapanna|stream-enterer]].

The early texts also mention an important lay disciple, the merchant [[Anathapindika|Anāthapiṇḍika]], who became a strong lay supporter of the Buddha early on. He is said to have gifted [[Jetavana|Jeta's grove]] (''Jetavana'') to the sangha at great expense (the Theravada Vinaya speaks of thousands of gold coins).{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=91}}{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=136}}

=== Formation of the bhikkhunī order ===
[[File:Mahapajapati.jpg|thumb|Mahāprajāpatī, the first bhikkuni and Buddha's stepmother, ordains]]
The formation of a parallel order of female monastics ([[bhikkhunī]]) was another important part of the growth of the Buddha's community. As noted by Anālayo's comparative study of this topic, there are various versions of this event depicted in the different early Buddhist texts.{{efn |Anālayo draws from seven early sources:{{sfnp|Anālayo|2016|pp=40–41}}
# the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya in Four Parts, preserved in Chinese
# a *Vinayamātṛkā preserved in Chinese translation, which some scholars suggest represents the Haimavata tradition
# the Mahāsāṃghika-Lokottaravāda Vinaya, preserved in Sanskrit
# the Mahīśāsaka Vinaya in Five Parts, preserved in Chinese
# the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, where the episode is extant in Chinese and Tibetan translation, with considerable parts also preserved in Sanskrit fragments
# a discourse in the Madhyama-āgama, preserved in Chinese, probably representing the Sarvāstivāda tradition
# a Pāli discourse found among the Eights of the Aṅguttara-nikāya; the same account is also found in the Theravāda Vinaya preserved in Pāli}}

According to all the major versions surveyed by Anālayo, [[Mahapajapati Gotami|Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī]], Buddha's step-mother, is initially turned down by the Buddha after requesting ordination for her and some other women. Mahāprajāpatī and her followers then shave their hair, don robes and begin following the Buddha on his travels. The Buddha is eventually convinced by Ānanda to grant ordination to Mahāprajāpatī on her acceptance of [[Eight Garudhammas|eight conditions called gurudharmas]] which focus on the relationship between the new order of nuns and the monks.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2016|p=43}}

According to Anālayo, the only argument common to all the versions that Ananda uses to convince the Buddha is that women have the same ability to reach all stages of awakening.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2016|p=79}} Anālayo also notes that some modern scholars have questioned the authenticity of the eight gurudharmas in their present form due to various inconsistencies. He holds that the historicity of the current lists of eight is doubtful, but that they may have been based on earlier injunctions by the Buddha.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2013b}}{{sfnp|Anālayo|2016|pp=111–112}}

Anālayo notes that various passages indicate that the reason for the Buddha's hesitation to ordain women was the danger that the life of a wandering sramana posed for women that were not under the protection of their male family members, such as dangers of sexual assault and abduction. Due to this, the gurudharma injunctions may have been a way to place "the newly founded order of nuns in a relationship to its male counterparts that resembles as much as possible the protection a laywoman could expect from her male relatives".{{sfnp|Anālayo|2016|p=127}}

=== Later years ===
[[File:Indian Museum Sculpture - Ajatasattu worships the Buddha %289217704485%29.jpg|thumb|Ajatashatru worships the Buddha, relief from the [[Bharhut]] Stupa at the Indian Museum, [[Kolkata]]]]

According to J.S. Strong, after the first 20 years of his teaching career, the Buddha seems to have slowly settled in Sravasti, the capital of the Kingdom of Kosala, spending most of his later years in this city.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=136}}

As the sangha{{efn|name="Upaddha"}} grew in size, the need for a standardized set of monastic rules arose and the Buddha seems to have developed a set of regulations for the sangha. These are preserved in various texts called "[[Pratimokṣa|Pratimoksa]]" which were recited by the community every fortnight. The Pratimoksa includes general ethical precepts, as well as rules regarding the essentials of monastic life, such as bowls and robes.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=134}}

In his later years, the Buddha's fame grew and he was invited to important royal events, such as the inauguration of the new council hall of the Shakyans (as seen in MN 53) and the inauguration of a new palace by Prince Bodhi (as depicted in MN 85).{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|pp=232–233}} The early texts also speak of how during the Buddha's old age, the kingdom of Magadha was usurped by a new king, [[Ajatashatru]], who overthrew his father [[Bimbisara]]. According to the ''Samaññaphala Sutta,'' the new king spoke with different ascetic teachers and eventually took refuge in the Buddha.{{sfnp|Jain|1991|p=79}} However, Jain sources also claim his allegiance, and it is likely he supported various religious groups, not just the Buddha's sangha exclusively.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mahajan |first=V.D. |year=2016 |title=Ancient India |publisher=S. Chand Publishing |page=190}}</ref>

As the Buddha continued to travel and teach, he also came into contact with [[Śramaṇa#Pre-Buddhist śrāmana schools in Buddhist texts|members of other śrāmana sects.]] There is evidence from the early texts that the Buddha encountered some of these figures and critiqued their doctrines. The ''Samaññaphala Sutta'' identifies six such sects.{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=215}}

The early texts also depict the elderly Buddha as suffering from back pain. Several texts depict him delegating teachings to his chief disciples since his body now needed more rest.{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=232}} However, the Buddha continued teaching well into his old age.

One of the most troubling events during the Buddha's old age was [[Devadatta]]'s schism. Early sources speak of how the Buddha's cousin, Devadatta, attempted to take over leadership of the order and then left the sangha with several Buddhist monks and formed a rival sect. This sect is said to have been supported by King Ajatashatru.{{sfnp|Anālayo|2011|p=198}}{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=257}} The Pali texts depict Devadatta as plotting to kill the Buddha, but these plans all fail.{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=236}} They depict the Buddha as sending his two chief disciples (Sariputta and Moggallana) to this schismatic community in order to convince the monks who left with Devadatta to return.{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=237}}

All the major early Buddhist Vinaya texts depict Devadatta as a divisive figure who attempted to split the Buddhist community, but they disagree on what issues he disagreed with the Buddha on. The [[Sthavira nikāya|Sthavira]] texts generally focus on "five points" which are seen as excessive ascetic practices, while the [[Mahāsāṃghika|Mahāsaṅghika]] Vinaya speaks of a more comprehensive disagreement, which has Devadatta alter the discourses as well as monastic discipline.<ref>Bhikkhu Sujato (2012), [http://santifm.org/santipada/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/WhyDevadattaWasNoSaint.pdf "Why Devadatta Was No Saint, A critique of Reginald Ray's thesis of the 'condemned saint'"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130154318/http://santifm.org/santipada/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/WhyDevadattaWasNoSaint.pdf |date=30 January 2020 }}</ref>

At around the same time of Devadatta's schism, there was also war between Ajatashatru's Kingdom of Magadha, and Kosala, led by an elderly king Pasenadi.{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=280}} Ajatashatru seems to have been victorious, a turn of events the Buddha is reported to have regretted.{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=239}}

=== Last days and ''parinirvana'' ===
[[File:040 Ananda worships Buddha (25595318747).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|This East Javanese relief depicts the Buddha in his final days, and [[Ānanda]], his chief attendant. |alt=Metal relief]]

The main narrative of the Buddha's last days, death and the events following his death is contained in the ''[[Mahaparinibbana Sutta]]'' (DN 16) and its various parallels in Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=165}} According to Anālayo, these include the Chinese Dirgha Agama 2, "Sanskrit fragments of the ''Mahaparinirvanasutra"'', and "three discourses preserved as individual translations in Chinese".{{sfnp|Anālayo|2014}}

The ''Mahaparinibbana sutta'' depicts the Buddha's last year as a time of war. It begins with Ajatashatru's decision to make war on the [[Vajjika League]], leading him to send a minister to ask the Buddha for advice.{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|pp=286–288}} The Buddha responds by saying that the Vajjikas can be expected to prosper as long as they do seven things, and he then applies these seven principles to the Buddhist Sangha,{{efn|name="Upaddha"}} showing that he is concerned about its future welfare.

The Buddha says that the Sangha will prosper as long as they "hold regular and frequent assemblies, meet in harmony, do not change the rules of training, honour their superiors who were ordained before them, do not fall prey to worldly desires, remain devoted to forest hermitages, and preserve their personal mindfulness". He then gives further lists of important virtues to be upheld by the Sangha.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|pp=165–166}}

The early texts depict how the Buddha's two chief disciples, Sariputta and Moggallana, died just before the Buddha's death.{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=244}} The ''Mahaparinibbana'' depicts the Buddha as experiencing illness during the last months of his life but initially recovering. It depicts him as stating that he cannot promote anyone to be his successor. When Ānanda requested this, the ''Mahaparinibbana'' records his response as follows:{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=246}}

{{blockquote|Ananda, why does the Order of monks expect this of me? I have taught the Dhamma, making no distinction of "inner" and " outer": the Tathagata has no "teacher's fist" (in which certain truths are held back). If there is anyone who thinks: "I shall take charge of the Order", or "the Order is under my leadership", such a person would have to make arrangements about the Order. The Tathagata does not think in such terms. Why should the Tathagata make arrangements for the Order? I am now old, worn out...I have reached the term of life, I am turning eighty years of age. Just as an old cart is made to go by being held together with straps, so the Tathagata's body is kept going by being bandaged up...Therefore, Ananda, you should live as islands unto yourselves, being your own refuge, seeking no other refuge; with the Dhamma as an island, with the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge... Those monks who in my time or afterwards live thus, seeking an island and a refuge in themselves and in the Dhamma and nowhere else, these zealous ones are truly my monks and will overcome the darkness (of rebirth).}}
[[File:Dying Buddha (Mahaparinirvana), Gandhara, 3rd or 4th century AD, gray schist - John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art - Sarasota, FL - DSC00665.jpg|thumb|[[Parinirvana|Mahaparinirvana]], Gandhara, 3rd or 4th century CE, gray schist]]
[[File:19th century sketch and 21st century photo collage, Cave 26 Ajanta, Buddha Parinirvana.jpg|thumb|Mahaparinibbana scene, from the [[Ajanta caves]]]]

After travelling and teaching some more, the Buddha ate his last meal, which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named [[Cunda (Buddhism)|Cunda]]. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Ānanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his death and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha.<ref>{{Citation | publisher = Access insight | chapter-url = http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.16.1-6.vaji.html | chapter = Maha-parinibbana Sutta | title = Digha Nikaya | number = 16 | at = verse 56 | title-link = Digha Nikaya | access-date = 5 March 2009 | archive-date = 6 June 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110606001458/http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.16.1-6.vaji.html | url-status = live }}</ref> Bhikkhu Mettanando and [[Oskar von Hinüber]] argue that the Buddha died of [[Superior mesenteric artery syndrome|mesenteric]] [[infarction]], a symptom of old age, rather than food poisoning.{{sfnp|Bhikkhu|von Hinüber|2000}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Bhikkhu |first=Mettanando |date=15 May 2001 |title=How the Buddha died |work=Bangkok Post |url= http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/ebdha192.htm |access-date=25 December 2012 |via=BuddhaNet |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121114032016/http://www.buddhanet.net/budsas/ebud/ebdha192.htm |archive-date=14 November 2012 }}</ref>

The precise contents of the Buddha's final meal are not clear, due to variant scriptural traditions and ambiguity over the translation of certain significant terms. The [[Theravada]] tradition generally believes that the Buddha was offered some kind of pork, while the [[Mahayana]] tradition believes that the Buddha consumed some sort of truffle or other mushroom. These may reflect the different traditional views on [[Buddhist vegetarianism]] and the precepts for monks and nuns.{{sfnp|Waley|1932|pp=343–354}} Modern scholars also disagree on this topic, arguing both for pig's flesh or some kind of plant or mushroom that pigs like to eat.{{efn|name="Wayley1932"|Waley notes: ''suukara-kanda'', "pig-bulb"; ''suukara-paadika'', "pig's foot" and ''sukaresh.ta'' "sought-out by pigs". He cites Neumann's suggestion that if a plant called "sought-out by pigs" exists then ''suukaramaddava'' can mean "pig's delight".}} Whatever the case, none of the sources which mention the last meal attribute the Buddha's sickness to the meal itself.{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=176}}

As per the ''Mahaparinibbana sutta,'' after the meal with Cunda, the Buddha and his companions continued travelling until he was too weak to continue and had to stop at [[Kushinagar]], where Ānanda had a resting place prepared in a grove of Sala trees.{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=249}}{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=178}} After announcing to the sangha at large that he would soon be passing away to final Nirvana, the Buddha ordained one last novice into the order personally. His name was Subhadda.{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=249}} He then repeated his final instructions to the sangha, which was that the Dhamma and Vinaya was to be their teacher after his death. Then he asked if anyone had any doubts about the teaching, but nobody did.{{sfnp|Schumann|2003|p=250}} The Buddha's final words are reported to have been: "All [[Saṅkhāra|''saṅkhāras'']] decay. Strive for the goal with diligence (''[[appamāda]]'')" (Pali: 'vayadhammā saṅkhārā appamādena sampādethā').{{sfnp|Wynne|2007|p=112}}{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=183}}

He then entered his final meditation and died, reaching what is known as ''parinirvana'' (final nirvana; instead of a person being reborn, "the five aggregates of physical and mental phenomena that constitute a being cease to occur"{{sfn|Gethin|1998|p=76}}). The ''Mahaparinibbana'' reports that in his final meditation he entered the four dhyanas consecutively, then the four [[Dhyāna in Buddhism|immaterial attainments]] and finally the meditative dwelling known as ''nirodha-samāpatti,'' before returning to the fourth dhyana right at the moment of death.{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=324}}{{sfnp|Strong|2001|p=178}}
[[File:Buddha's cremation stupa, Kushinagar.jpg|thumb|Buddha's cremation stupa, [[Kushinagar]] (Kushinara)]]
[[File:Piprawa vase with relics of the Buddha.jpg|thumb|[[Piprahwa]] vase with relics of the Buddha. The inscription reads: ''...salilanidhane Budhasa Bhagavate...'' ([[Brahmi script]]: ...𑀲𑀮𑀺𑀮𑀦𑀺𑀥𑀸𑀦𑁂 𑀩𑀼𑀥𑀲 𑀪𑀕𑀯𑀢𑁂...) "Relics of the Buddha Lord".]]

=== Posthumous events ===
{{See also|Śarīra|Relics associated with Buddha}}
According to the ''Mahaparinibbana sutta,'' the Mallians of Kushinagar spent the days following the Buddha's death honouring his body with flowers, music and scents.{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=327}} The sangha{{efn|name="Upaddha"}} waited until the eminent elder [[Mahākāśyapa|Mahākassapa]] arrived to pay his respects before cremating the body.{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=330}}

The Buddha's body was then cremated and the remains, including his bones, were kept as [[relic]]s and they were distributed among various north Indian kingdoms like Magadha, Shakya and [[Koliya]].{{sfnp|Ñāṇamoli Bhikkhu|1992|p=331}} These relics were placed in monuments or mounds called [[stupa]]s, a common funerary practice at the time. Centuries later they would be exhumed and enshrined by [[King Ashoka|Ashoka]] into many new stupas around the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryan realm]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/83105/Buddha/230773/The-Buddhas-relics |first=Donald |last=Lopez |title=The Buddha's relics |access-date=21 June 2022 |archive-date=7 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150507022035/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/83105/Buddha/230773/The-Buddhas-relics |url-status=live }}</ref>{{sfnp|Strong|2007|pp=136–137}} Many supernatural legends surround the history of alleged relics as they accompanied the spread of Buddhism and gave legitimacy to rulers.

According to various Buddhist sources, the [[First Buddhist Council]] was held shortly after the Buddha's death to collect, recite and memorize the teachings. Mahākassapa was chosen by the sangha to be the chairman of the council. However, the historicity of the traditional accounts of the first council is disputed by modern scholars.<ref>Harvey, Peter (2013), ''An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History and Practices'' (PDF) (2nd ed.), New York: [[Cambridge University Press]], p. 88, {{ISBN|978-0-521-85942-4}}</ref>