Who was the ‘the Enlightened One’?

Buddhism is not a religion so much as a way of life, as it has no god and no prayer. Buddha, which means ‘the enlightened one’, was Gautama Siddhartha who founded the religion about 528 BC. He came from an aristocratic family in northern India. Having decided that worldly success meant nothing, he had a vision one night, as he sat under a Bo tree, which became the foundation of his teaching. The aim of Buddhism is to gain nirvana, a state of enlightenment gained through the extinction of all desires. Buddhists believe in reincarnation and that acts in this life affect future lives. It is still a powerful religion, and his influenced many people who are not Buddhists.