Siddhartha Gautama was born years ago in 563 BCE. He was the prince of the kingdom of Kapilavastu. 

He was later known as the Buddha because of his religious teachings and redeeming acts.

                        Once upon a time.......

In the faraway kingdom of Kapilavastu, lived a king named Suddhodana and his wife, Queen Maha Maya.

In her dream, a six-tusked white elephant came down from heaven and entered her stomach through the right side.

One night when Queen Maya was asleep, she had a dream.

Ten months after her dream of the elephant, Queen Maya was pregnant and was expecting her child.

During the last month of her pregnancy, Queen Maya left Kapilavastu and headed to her father's kingdom, guarded by soldiers and servants. 

On the way, they stopped in a deep forest and Queen Maya began going through labor pain. It is said that a tree lowered it's branches for the Queen to hold on to while giving birth.

Right after his birth, the child took seven steps forward and at each step, a lotus flower bloomed on the ground. 

At his seventh step, he stopped and said,

"I am chief of the world,

Eldest am I in the world,

Foremost am I in the world.

This is the last birth.

There is now no more coming to be."

The people around him were very amazed.

After the baby's birth, the king called all the wise sages to predict his son's future. Among them was an old sage named Asita. When he saw the child, he said that he will either become a "great leader or the redeemer" and named him Siddhartha.

Siddhartha grew up in luxury. Since his father wanted him to inherit the kingdom, he shielded Siddhartha from sufferings, sadness and provided him with everything he asked for.

Siddhartha was married to his cousin, Yasodhara at a very young age. They also had a baby named Rahula.

But as he grew, Siddhartha was curious about the life outside his palace. So, he persuaded his charioteer, Channa to take him out to the village.

Once in the village, Siddhartha came across Four Sights:

A Sick Man                                        A Dead Man

An Old Man                                        An Ascetic

Siddhartha was very troubled and shocked after seeing the first 3 sights for the first time. But after he saw the ascetic monk, he was struck by the calmness and wanted to follow this path.

In order to begin his ascetic life, Siddhartha left his wife, child and his luxurious life in the palace behind. He also cut his hair off as it was a symbol of social status. He then started his search for the truth.

Siddhartha started practicing meditation and fasted for long periods of time. He fasted until he was near starvation like the other ascetics with him.

One day when he was taking a bath in the river, a village girl named Sujata gave him a bowl of rice. After eating the bowl of rice, Siddhartha realized that fasting and starvation won't help him reach his goal.

Siddhartha understood that he had to end his life of asceticism if he wanted to find an end to suffering. That is how he found the Middle Way, which was a moderate path between poverty and luxury.