Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion that developed from the teachings of a man named Siddattha Gotama (or Siddhartha Gautama in the Sanskrit language). He was born around 2500 years ago in Lumbini, which is now in Nepal.

Siddattha was known as the Buddha, which is where Buddhism gets its name. ‘The Buddha’ means ‘enlightened one’. Buddhists believe Siddattha gained enlightenment when he was 35.

One of the major aims of Buddhism is to gain enlightenment.

Buddhism is quite distinct from other major world religions, because Buddhists do not worship a supreme being (god) or believe in the existence of a soul. This is why Buddhism is sometimes called an education, rather than a religion.