Siddhartha Gautama, prince of a Hindu kingdom, was born. Not only did he enter the world wealthy, but he was prophesied of becoming a great king, or saviour.
He will be a great king... a great saviour.
40O BCE:NORTHERN INDIA NEPAL
Siddhartha, you should stay inside. Do not expose yourself to suffering.
However, Siddhartha cannot expose himself to any sort of suffering, otherwise, he will not become king/saviour. He was protected growing up to ensure his fate.
Yes, papa.
At 16, Siddhartha married and was on his way to achieving political leadership, until one day, he was exposed to suffering, destroying his fate in becoming a great king, or saviour. This led to the creation of Buddhism!
Over the years on his journey of learning about Buddhism...
Siddhartha witnessed more sufferings of others.
Siddhartha followed the Buddha's teachings.
OLD AGE
DISEASE
The Buddha gave him his first sermon, the Wheel of Dharma!
DEATH
Siddhartha met a calm and peaceful holy man who he left his wife and son for.
I am here because I want to find answers to the sufferings I have been seeing. I want to become a religious ascetic.
As time passed, Siddhartha continued to find enlightenment.
So he sat and meditated for 49 days. He fought against evil gods during this time, like Mara.
But from teacher to teacher, and each and every attempt, he was not successful.
Then finally...Siddhartha attained the Great Enlightenment! Siddhartha is now the Buddha!
Siddhartha resolved to mediate for as long as he could until he reached enlightenment.