Siddhartha Gautama was raised in great luxury and shielded from religion and human suffering. He had little experience of the world outside the walls of his palaces.
During a ride along the countryside; Siddhartha Gautama encountered his first experiences with old age, disease and death. He also encountered a man that had renounced the world.
This countryside ride was the life changing encounters that would lead Siddhartha Gautama to Buddhism. These are known as the Four Passing Sights.
These Four Passing Sights drove Siddhartha to seek out renowned teachers. He learned how to meditate and seek further enlightenment.
While meditating under a sacred fig tree; later known as a Bodhi Tree, Siddhartha reached out his right hand to touch the earth. The earth roared “I bear you witness!” and his demons were expelled. Siddhartha achieved the Great Reality. Siddhartha became the Buddha as a Teacher.
The first sermon he gave as Teacher is known as the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta and centered on the Four Noble Truths: the truth of suffering (dukkha), the truth of the cause of suffering (samudaya), the truth of the end of suffering (nirhodha), and the truth of the path that frees us from suffering (magga).
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