Siddhartha next crossed paths with a meditating ascetic (a person who practices severe self-discipline and abstention; a monk or sadhu) wearing a simple robe and carrying a prayer bowl.
At that instance, Siddhartha was overcome with an all consuming need to comprehend the truths of the world around him - in particular, the sufferance that he had discovered beyond the palace walls. He renounced his princely title, choosing to deprive himself of worldly goods and live an ascetic life.
For the many years to follow, Siddhartha roamed in search of truth and enlightenment. One day, he sat meditating under the shade of a Bodhi tree determined to find answers to his mind’s questions. He sat there for six days until one morning he “awoke”, finally understanding how to be free of suffering and how ultimately to achieve salvation. “Wonder of wonders,” he said, “this very enlightenment is the nature of all beings, and yet they are unhappy for lack of it.” At the age of thirty-five, Siddhartha became the Buddha, also known as Shakyamuni, “the Awakened One”.
Amongst his famous teachings are the “Four Noble Truths”. The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence of the Buddha's teachings.
As the Buddha preached his dharma (philosophy) across India, he gained faithful followers and eventually established the first sangha (a community of Buddhist monks).
The ceremonial creation of mandalas as instruments of meditation and symbols of prayer soon became central to the rituals of Buddhism. The monks brought this sacred practice to the many lands they traveled. The earliest evidence of Buddhist mandala art dates back to the first century B.C.E. By the fourth to eighth centuries, mandalas could be found in both Buddhist and Hindu traditions in parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, and Tibet.