Who is the founder of buddhism?
Buddha Shakyamuni was the name attributed to Prince Siddhartha Guatama after he attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree. The present Buddhist doctrine and lineages initially arose from this Buddha. The common view in society is that he is the source of the teachings in the sense that he invented them, or learned and gained realization by his own contemplation. In a sense this is true in that he was showing that such attainments come from meditating on spiritual truths. The uncommon understanding is that such teachings were not invented by him, but that he received them from his Guru’s. Buddha Shakyamuni had attained enlightenment aeons before in another Buddha’s pureland. The thousand Buddhas of this Fortunate Aeon discussed who would go to the ‘unforgetting world’ (unforgetting because living beings never forget objects of attachment) during degenerate times to lead people into the liberating paths. Buddha Shakyamuni volunteered, and so took a fully conscious controlled rebirth in
