20 Interesting Facts About Buddha

1. Buddha was born as a wealthy Prince of Kapilvastu, Nepal and its was only after 29 years of his birth he left to seek true meaning of life.

2. Buddhist view Buddha as a teacher rather than a God.

3. There are three major tenants Buddha taught his followers – Not to be ignorant, not to hate others and not to get angry.

4. In real life Buddha was lean, but he is portrayed as chubby because he is symbol as Happiness in the east.

5. His name was Siddhartha before he achieved enlightenment, after tremendously long meditation and mental battle with Mara, he became woken and then known as the Buddha.

6. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the Gandharan Buddhist texts and today it is found in Eastern Afghanistan.

7. Buddha spent most of his time walking hundreds of miles and spreading the philosophy of enlightenment.

8. The teaching od Buddha was spread by word of mouth, it was only many years later the teaching was documented.

9. Buddha died in Khushinagar, India in 483BC.

10. The first biography of Buddha was “Buddhacarita” which was written by the poet Asvaghosa in the first century CE.

11. The famous saying “Nothing is permanent in the world” was said by Buddha, after he rode the countryside of his kingdom.

12. Buddha had a wife named Yasodhara and a son Rahul and Rahul became the youngest monk at the very age of 7.

13. Buddha lived in Nepal during 6th to 4thcentury BC.

14. After leaving the palace, he initially went to Rajagaha and began his ascetic life by begging for alms in the street.

15. The three tallest statues in the world are of Buddha. The tallest outdoor seated bronze Buddha in the World is on Lan Tau Island. The tallest Buddha statue in the World is in Pattaya, Thailand with 130 meters height. The second largest carved statue of Buddha is in Sichuan, China.

16. In Lao, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka and Cambodia the Buddhist New Year is celebrated for three days.

17. Buddha achieved supreme Enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, and Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath is the first site where the first teaching of the Buddha – The Four Noble Truth was taught to his first five disciples.

18. There are five precepts of Buddhism: respect for life, respect for others’ property, respect for our pure nature, respect for honesty and respect for a clear mind.

19. The Golden Buddha, officially titled Phra Phuttha Maha Suwana Patimakon in Thai is a gold statue with a weight 5,500 kilograms and is located in the temple of Wat Traimit, Bangkok, Thailand.

20. According to Hindus, Gautam Buddha is the 9th avatar of God Vishnu.