Timeline of the Buddha's Life

483 BC- The Buddha Reaches Nirvana

After his life long journey of searching for enlightenment and after reaching his goals to spread Buddhism, the Buddha passes at the age of 80 of food poisoning. He died in a forest near Kusinagara, Nepal. The last words he spoke were "All compounded things are ephemeral; work diligently on your salvation" before passing into Nirvana.

523-483 BC- The Teacher

527 BC - Established a Great

Reputation

45 years after he reaches enlightenment, the Buddha travels to parts of Northern India to teach Buddhism. During this time he is very successful and attracts hundreds of thousands of voluntary followers.

527 BC - The Return Home

During a short period of time, the Buddha establishes a great reputation by teaching people the dharma and converting thousands of. People from all castes of life are taught, including lay people, monks, lepers, kings, outcastes, heavenly beings and more. People heard the dharma through his direct teachings, or his through his disciples.

The Buddha returns home to teach the royal family what he has learned, including his son, Rahula. He explains to him the five pleasures of sense, and continued by saying that departing from home and going on his journey ended his suffering.

528 BC - Enlightenment

In April or May, Siddhartha reaches enlightenment while meditating under a Bodhi tree in Bodh-Gaya. He spends seven weeks meditating under the Bodhi tree then attains the status of a fully realized Buddha at 35 years old. In June or July of the same year, the Buddha finds his five former ascetic companions and holds his first sermon with them, teaching them the Four Noble Truths amongst other things. When they hear this, they become arhats, meaning “one with enlightened wisdom”).

Timeline

of

the Buddha's Last Life

533 - 528 - Homeless Wanderer

At this point, Siddhartha is homeless. In his quest to reach enlightenment he practices extreme austerities. But not before becoming the disciple of master meditators, but quickly equals and abandons them. In 529, Siddhartha joins 5 ascetics and starves himself to self-mortifying levels. He later goes on to confront fear and terror by staying in places that would horrify a normal person. At one point, he is visited by the god Mara, who tries to sway him off his course. However, he eventually abandons asceticism, and practices meditation in hopes of reaching enlightenment that way.

533 BC- The Renunciation

On the night his 29th birthday Siddhartha leaves his life as a prince behind- leaving his wife and son. He runs away and travels a long distance, crossing the Anoma River. This is where he cuts off all his hair and departs from his royal garments.

533 BC- The Prince

and the Four Sights

563 BC - The Birth of the Buddha

Siddhartha becomes unsatisfied with his luxuries as a prince. He seeks for happiness outside the palace walls. This is when he encounters The Four Sights. The first sight he encounters is an elderly man, the second, a diseased man, the third, a corpse and lastly a sadhu/holy man. After the fourth sight the young prince realizes he has to make a change in his life.

Siddhartha Gautama is born in Lumbini, located near the border of present day Nepal and India to the great ruler og Sakya tribe, King Suddhodana and his wife Queen Mayadevi. Upon his birth, the king summos astrologers to predict Sihhartha's future. Asita, the wisest of the astrologers predicts that the infant would either become a great king or a great renunciate. Queen Mayadevi then dies seven days after Siddartha's birth.

547 BC- The Royal Wedding

Siddhartha marries to his beautiful cousin, Princess Yasodhara at the age of sixteen- the princess is also sixteen.