This is a detailed, 10,000+ word chronicle of the extraordinary life and spiritual journey of Siddhartha Gautama who pursued enlightenment from a young princely upbringing in India to become Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism - one of the world's major religions built on his teachings and insights aimed at alleviating universal human suffering. The biography tracks his birth, opulent childhood, crises triggering a spiritual quest, years as an ascetic, final enlightenment, sharing the teachings across the land till his death at 80 and the religion's enduring legacy today based on his pivotal realizations about existence, impermanence and the end of dissatisfaction.