Though details of his existence are widely debated and shrouded in mystery, historians and scholars alike are in agreement that Siddhartha Gautama, the man who would be known as Buddha, or "the fully Enlightened One," did indeed exist. He was born around 563 B.C. in present day Nepal and although concrete details of events in his life have been blurred as his story has been told and retold over the millenniums and often submerged in myth, his general message of enlightenment unearthed through the spiritual awakening that he experienced is as clear and concise as the moment he gave his first sermon, relaying the truth that he had found. These words would unite masses as they became the foundation of the Buddhist religion.
Greatness seemed to permeate through Siddhartha's very existence, beginning even before birth. It is said that his conception was marked by his mother Mahamaya dreaming of a great white elephant entering her womb though her right side. This is relevant symbolism as the white elephant represents royalty and authority. She later gave birth to Siddhartha in a seemingly painless manner and after emerging, the infant seven strides to the East and proclaimed, "I am the chief of the world." It is told that the purity of Siddhartha's birth was so great that it caused Mahamaya's death seven days later. After Siddhartha's birth, his father Suddhodana was visited by a great seer named Asita. Asita foretold of the prince's destiny to ".proclaim the path which leads to salvation." by "giv[ing] up his kingdom." Disturbed by this premonition, the king sought to immerse Siddhartha's very existence in absolute pleasure to abolish any possibility of suffering causing his son to waive his birthright. Suddhodana plan seemed to work at first as Siddhartha knew nothing but pleasure and delight in his formative years and even into marriage and fatherhood, as his Princess Yasodhara bore him a son named Rahula.
