Gautama Buddha Gautama Buddha , also known as Siddhārtha Gautama , Shakyamuni Buddha , [note 3] or simply the Buddha , after the title of Buddha , was an ascetic ( śramaṇa ) and sage , [3] on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. [web 2] He is believed to have lived and taught mostly in the eastern part of Ancient India sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE . [4] [note 4] Gautama taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the śramaṇa movement [5] common in his region. He later taught throughout other regions of eastern India such as Magadha and Kosala . [4] [6] Gautama is the primary figure in Buddhism. He is recognized by Buddhists as an enlightened or divine [7] teacher who attained full Buddhahood , and shared his insights to help sentient beings end rebirth and suffering . Accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized afte