The Buddha was born over 2500 years ago in Lumbini (Nepal). His early life was one of privilege and pleasure but he soon realized that there was no escape from suffering, old age, sickness and death. At the age of 29 he left his father's palace, his own wife and young child, and began to search for an answer to the fundamental questions that beset us all. After six years of intensive practice he finally attained Nirvana. For the next forty-five years he spent his time teaching others the profound truth he had discovered