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Gautama Buddha

By Michael Alan Prestwood

Author and Natural Philosopher

04 Apr 2024
Published 2 years ago.
Updated 6 days ago.
Buddhism
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Gautama Buddha

b. circa 563
circa 563 to 486 BCE
Subhrajyoti07, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Gautama Buddha

103 Generations Ago

30 Phil, Chapter 6: Gautama Buddha and Buddhism
In a much simpler time, the royal family of the Shakya dynasty lived in a palace located at the capital of the Shakya kingdom in present-day Nepal. Around 563 BCE, a boy named Siddhartha Gautama was born in the palace. At the age of 29, he left the luxury of his palace, and became one of the many wandering ascetics. After six years of wandering, in a flash, he suddenly attained enlightenment at the age of 35 under a Bodhi tree. Over the centuries, Buddhist Councils reorganized and revised the Canon, eventually adding the third text containing philosophical and psychological analysis. The degree to which these revisions deviated from the Buddha’s original words remains unknown. It was not until the 1st century BCE that the orally transmitted Pali Canon was finally committed to writing. 

Pictured: Gautama Buddha statue in Buddha Park of Ravangla, Sikkim. Showing after Confucius just to group Laozi & Confucius together.

Michael Alan Prestwood
Author & Natural Philosopher

Prestwood writes on science-first philosophy, with particular attention to the convergence of disciplines. Drawing on his TST Framework, his work emphasizes rational inquiry grounded in empirical observation while engaging questions at the edges of established knowledge. With TouchstoneTruth positioned as a living touchstone, this work aims to contribute reliable analysis in an emerging AI era where the credibility of information is increasingly contested.

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7 Jan 2026
Story of the Week
Heraclitus
Quote of the Week
“Everything is in flux.”
Weekly Crossroads!
1. Science »
Will the night sky have stars nearly forever?
2. Philosophy »
What does existence before essence mean?
3. Critical Thinking »
Is cause and effect certain?
4. History!
Who were the Presocratic Philosophers?
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