Final answer:
Siddhartha Gautama, known as Buddha, was born around 563 BCE near Lumbini, Nepal, and founded Buddhism after achieving enlightenment at the age of thirty-five. His teachings, including the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, enabled Buddhism to spread across Asia, influenced by the support of rulers and trade networks.
Step-by-step explanation:
Buddhism traces its origins to a teacher known as Buddha, whose personal name was Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha was born into a royal family in a region near Lumbini, in today's Nepal, around the year 563 BCE. Growing up in luxury, he chose to abandon his princely life at the age of twenty-nine, after encountering sights of sickness, old age, and death. Seeking a deeper understanding of life, he engaged in ascetic practices and meditation, finally achieving enlightenment under a sacred fig tree at the age of thirty-five. Siddhartha Gautama became known as the Buddha, the "enlightened one," and began to spread his teachings, which laid the foundation for Buddhism. Buddhism's core tenets include the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, which provide a way to liberation from suffering and ultimately enlightenment. Through the support of rulers like the Indian King Ashoka and during the Kushan Empire, as well as through trade routes and missionary activity, Buddhism expanded both in its geographical reach and cultural influence across Asia.