Tathāgata is a Pali and Sanskrit word; Gautama Buddha uses it when referring to himself or other Buddhas in the Pāli Canon. Likewise, in the Mahayana corpus, it is an epithet of Shakyamuni Buddha and the other celestial buddhas. The term is often thought to mean either "one who has thus gone" (tathā-gata), "one who has thus come" (tathā-āgata), or sometimes "one who has thus not gone" (tathā-agata). This is interpreted as signifying that the Tathāgata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena. There are, however, other interpretations and the precise original meaning of the word is not certain.
The four sights are four events described in the legendary account of Gautama Buddha's life which led to his realization of the impermanence and the ultimate dissatisfaction of conditioned existence. According to this legend, before these encounters Gautama Siddhartha had been confined to his palace by his father, who feared that he would become an ascetic if he came into contact with sufferings of life according to a prediction. However, his first venture out of the palace affected him deeply and made him realize the sufferings of all, and compelled him to begin his spiritual journey as a wandering ascetic, which eventually led to his enlightenment. The spiritual feeling of urgency experienced by Siddhārtha Gautama is referred to as saṃvega.
Mahākāśyapa was one of the principal disciples of Gautama Buddha. He is regarded in Buddhism as an enlightened disciple, being foremost in ascetic practice. Mahākāśyapa assumed leadership of the monastic community following the parinirvāṇa (death) of the Buddha, presiding over the First Buddhist Council. He was considered to be the first patriarch in a number of Early Buddhist schools and continued to have an important role as patriarch in the Chan/Zen tradition. In Buddhist texts, he assumed many identities, that of a renunciant saint, a lawgiver, an anti-establishment figure, but also a "guarantor of future justice" in the time of Maitreya, the future Buddha—he has been described as "both the anchorite and the friend of mankind, even of the outcast".
Yasa was a bhikkhu during the time of Gautama Buddha. He was the sixth bhikkhu in the Buddha's sangha and was the sixth to achieve arahanthood. Yasa lived in the 6th century BCE in what is now Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in northern India.
Buddhism and Jainism are two Indian religions that developed in Magadha (Bihar) and continue to thrive in the modern age. Gautam Buddha and Mahavira are generally accepted as contemporaries. Jainism and Buddhism share many features, terminology and ethical principles, but emphasize them differently. Both are śramaṇa ascetic traditions that believe it is possible to attain liberation from the cycle of rebirths and deaths (samsara) through spiritual and ethical disciplines. They differ in some core doctrines such as those on asceticism, Middle Way versus Anekantavada, and self versus non-self.
A sāmaṇera (Pali),, is a novice male monk in a Buddhist context. A female novice nun is a sāmaṇerī (Pali), and a śrāmaṇerī or śrāmaṇerikā (Sanskrit). In Tibetan and in Tibetan Buddhism, a female novice nun is a getsulma, and a male novice monk is a getsul.
Uppalavanna was a Buddhist bhikkhuni, or nun, who was considered one of the top female disciples of the Buddha. She is considered the second of the Buddha's two chief female disciples, along with Khema. She was given the name Uppalavanna, meaning "color of a blue water lily", at birth due to the bluish color of her skin.
Yaśodharā or Yashodhara (Pali: Yasodharā, Sanskrit: यशोधरा, romanized: Yaśodharā, originally known as Bhaddakaccānā or Bhadrakātyāyani was the wife of Prince Siddhartha, the mother of Rāhula, and the sister of Mahaprajapati Gautami. She later became a Bhikkhunī and is considered an arahatā.
Kassapa Buddha (Pāli), is one of the ancient Buddhas whose biography is chronicled in chapter 24 of the Buddhavaṃsa, one of the books of the Pali Canon. He was the previous Buddha of this aeon before the present Gautama Buddha, though Kassapa lived long before him.
Kaundinya, also known as Ājñātakauṇḍinya, Pali: Añña Koṇḍañña), was one of the first five Buddhist monks (Pancavaggiya), disciple of Gautama Buddha and the first to attain the fruit of Arahant. He lived during the 5th century BCE in what are now Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. According to traditional accounts, at the time of Gautama Buddha's birth, he predicted his future destination as an enlightened teacher. Kaundinya Gotra is Hindu Gotra or clan name, named after the rishi Kaundinya.
Women in Buddhism is a topic that can be approached from varied perspectives including those of theology, history, anthropology, and feminism. Topical interests include the theological status of women, the treatment of women in Buddhist societies at home and in public, the history of women in Buddhism, and a comparison of the experiences of women across different forms of Buddhism. As in other religions, the experiences of Buddhist women have varied considerably.
Assaji was one of the first five arahants of Gautama Buddha. He is known for his conversion of Sariputta and Mahamoggallana, the Buddha's two chief male disciples, counterparts to the nuns Khema and Uppalavanna, the chief female disciples. He lived in what is now Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in northern India, during the 6th century BCE.
Anuruddha was one of the ten principal disciples and a cousin of Gautama Buddha.
Bhadda Kundalakesa was a former Jain ascetic who was converted to Buddhism by Śāriputra, one of the two chief disciples of Gautama Buddha. She attained arahantship faster than any other nun and lived in the 6th century BCE in what is now Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India.
Princess Sundarī Nandā of Shakya, also known simply as Sundarī, was the daughter of King Suddhodana and Queen Mahapajapati Gotami. She was the half-sister of Siddhartha Gautama, who later became a Buddha. She became a nun after the enlightenment of her half-brother and became an arhat. She was the foremost among bhikkhunis in the practice of jhana. She lived during the 6th century BCE in what is now Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in India.
Sariputra, one of the two chief disciples of Gautama Buddha is frequently described in the Jataka, a collection of Buddhist texts which describe the previous reincarnations of the Buddha and his closest disciples. Pali texts mention Sariputra in 150 Jatakas, the second most of any disciple of the Buddha, second only to Ananda. The Jatakas depict a multitude of previous lives in which Sariputra interacted with previous reincarnations of the Buddha and Mahamoggallana, the other of the two chief disciples. Such frequent relations in the past are consistent with the Buddhist theory of karma, with the consequences of the present being intricately linked to causes and actions committed in the past. Sariputra also interacts with the reincarnations of Ananda, the chief attendant of the Buddha, and Devadatta, a cousin and arch-rival of the Buddha.
The Buddha was born into a noble family in Lumbini in 563 BCE as per historical events and 624 BCE according to Buddhist tradition. He was called Siddhartha Gautama in his childhood. His father was king Śuddhodana, leader of the Shakya clan in what was the growing state of Kosala, and his mother was queen Maya. According to Buddhist legends, the baby exhibited the marks of a great man. A prophecy indicated that, if the child stayed at home, he was destined to become a world ruler. If the child left home, however, he would become a universal spiritual leader. To make sure the boy would be a great king and world ruler, his father isolated him in his palace and he was raised by his mother's younger sister, Mahapajapati Gotami, after his mother died just seven days after childbirth.
The ten principal disciples were the main disciples of Gautama Buddha. Depending on the scripture, the disciples included in this group vary. In many Mahāyāna discourses, these ten disciples are mentioned, but in differing order. The ten disciples can be found as an iconographic group in notable places in the Mogao Caves. They are mentioned in Chinese texts from the fourth century BCE until the twelfth century CE, and are the most honored of the groups of disciples, especially so in China and Central Asia. The ten disciples are mentioned in the Mahāyāna text Vimalakīrti-nideśa, among others. In this text, they are called the "Ten Wise Ones", a term which is normally used for the disciples of Confucius.
Maṅgala Buddha is the sixth of twenty-seven Buddhas who preceded the historical Gotama Buddha according to the Buddhavamsa, a text from the Theravada Pali canon, and its commentary. He was also the first Buddha of the Sāramaṇḍa kalpa.
Narrative images of episodes from the life of Gautama Buddha in art have been intermittently an important part of Buddhist art, often grouped into cycles, sometimes rather large ones. However, at many times and places, images of the Buddha in art have been very largely single devotional images without narrative content from his life on Earth.
