1. Nepal Nepal is a large country
The Northern part of the country is in the Himalayan Mountains and includes eight of the tallest mountains in the world including Mount Everest.
The population is 27 million people
Most people live in villages although there are some big cities such as Kathmandu
The southern part of the country is good farmland and humid
Lumbini, the birthplace of Buddha, is located in this region. Lumbini is a place of Buddhist pilgrimage.
Nepal is one of the least developed nations in the world
The Gurkha regiment come from Nepal.

2. Buddhism at a Glance Buddhism at a Glance
Buddhism is 2,600 years old and began in Nepal
There are currently 376 million followers worldwide
There were around 152,000 Buddhists in Britain [according to the 2001 census ]
Buddha is a term not a name it means ‘enlightened one’. Buddha is derived from the Hindi word Budhi , which means WISDOM. In that sense Buddha means wise man
Buddha’s name was Siddartha Gautama
Buddhism arose as a result of Siddhartha Gautama's quest for Enlightenment in around the 6th Century BCE

3. Buddhism at a Glance Buddhism at a Glance
Buddhism is a religion which has variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha.

4. Where did it all happen?
L Lumbini – Siddhartha Gautama’s place of birth
A Bodh Gaya – Where Siddhartha Gautama reached enlightenment and became the Buddha

5. Buddhism was developed in India by a man called Siddattha Gotama
Buddhism was developed in India by a man called Siddattha Gotama. His father was the ruler of a small kingdom in the area of Nepal and Siddattha was born in Lumbini in about 563 BC. His parents lived in a splendid palace.

6. Siddartha was brought up as a Hindu
More than 50% of Buddhism Teachings are part of Hinduism, the most popular religion in India.

7. The Life of Buddha – Special Signs
Before and after his birth there were signs that the child would be important.
One is that his Mother Queen Maya had a dream a special dream which meant the Buddha was going to be important

8. If this boy ever sees suffering, he will never become King
If this boy ever sees suffering, he will never become King. Instead, he will become a great spiritual leader.
My son WILL become the King. I decree that he will never be allowed to see a person suffer.

9. The Life of Buddha – life at the palace
What they said worried the King as he wanted Siddartha to reign after him. He realised that he might become a holy man. So the King kept him in the palace. Well away from suffering. He had everything he could ever want and at an early age married a beautiful princess Yasodhara. They had a son.

10. The life of buddha – The Four signs
The King attempted to protect Siddartha from the realities of the world but Siddartha was not happy. So one day he went out with his servant and he saw the four sights
Old age
Sickness
Death
A holy man
He asked his
Servant to
Explain these
Sights to him
And he could
Not.

11. The life of buddha – the great renunciation
Each of the four sights made Siddartha sad, and made him think about life.
The day after his son was born Rahula, Siddartha decided that he must leave home in a search for an answer to his questions, it was tough for him to leave his family but he thought he was doing it for the best and as soon as if he reached enlightenment he would return.

12. Life of buddha – a life of asceticism
The search for enlightenment led him from one extreme to the other Siddartha lived as a Holy man. He had no money, clothes or luxury. He ate very little and was near to death when he realised this was not the answer.
He gave it up and decided a middle way was better between extreme luxury and extreme poverty

13. The life of buddha - enlightenment
Siddartha did not give up his search, instead he sat himself under a Bodhi tree in a place called “Bodh Gaya”and meditated, determined to find the truth.
Whilst under the tree he was faced with many temptations sent by Mara – the force of evil.
Finally he found enlightenment-he realised that the way to end suffering was to follow the “Middle way” between having nothing and having everything.

14. The life of buddha – his first teachings
Siddartha Gotama was now the enlightened one – The Buddha, and had reached enlightenment.
He decided to share his teachings and ideas.
The Buddha then went and taught his first sermon in the Deer Park at Sarnath.