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Life of the Buddha

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Buddha Statue-Bodhgaya The Buddha ( the enlightened or Awakened), also known as Sakyamuni or Thathagata , was born in 563 B. C. on the Vaihsakha Purnima day in the royal grove at Lumbini, near Kapilavastu , capital of the Sakyan republic, where his father Suddhodana was at the time ruling. At birth the Buddha stood upright, took seven strides, and spoke: “ This is my last birth-henceforth there is no more birth for me .” His mother, Mahamaya , died seven days after the birth. So the child, named Siddhartha , was brought up by his stepmother Gautami. Gautama as a child led a sheltered life and was given every kind of luxury. He was married at the age of 16 to Yasodhara , his cousin and the beautiful daughter of a neighboring chieftain whom he won at a contest where he defeated all the contenders including his envious cousin Devadatta . Gautama enjoyed family life for thirteen years and had a son Rahula . Since one of the soothsayers had prophesied that Siddhartha is des