Triad of Shakyamuni Buddhas

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Gautama Buddha, also known as Siddhārtha Gautama, Shakyamuni Buddha, or simply the Buddha, after the title of Buddha, was an ascetic and sage, whose teachings Buddhism was founded on. He is believed to have lived and taught primarily in ancient India's eastern part sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE. Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the śramaṇa movement common in his region. He later taught throughout other regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kosala. Gautama is the main figure in Buddhism. He is recognized by Buddhists as an enlightened or divine teacher who attained full Buddahood, and shared his insights to help sentient beings end rebirth and suffering. Accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to him were passed down through oral tradition and first committed to writing about 400 years later.