Buddhism was brought to light around 500 BC by Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhism has not been described as a religion as such but rather as a philosophy. The story of Siddhartha Gautama and how he brought Buddhism to prominence is quite moving. This essay explains Siddhartha Gautama's thoughts and how society reacted to his arguments. Generally this essay will briefly describe the achievements of Siddhartha Gautama in his quest to achieve enlightenment and how this affected the society of his time and, to some extent, the society today. It is reported that Buddha was born in 563 BC was born with the ability to walk and talk; He went around and shouted, “I am supreme in the world. This is my last birth: from now on there will be no more birth for me!” (Warren 105). His father, who was a king, was informed that Siddhartha would become a monk, but if it could be prevented, he could become a powerful king. His father, determined to make Siddhartha a great king, tried all means to prevent him from becoming a monk. The king ensured that Siddhartha was locked within the palace walls, away from the vision of suffering in society that might have driven his heart to become a monk. After getting married at the age of 19 and having a son, he wanted to leave the palace and visit the outer area. It is from this tour that he saw people suffer. It is reported that what he encountered on this tour changed his mind about wanting to become a monk (Warren 106). Siddhartha decided to change his life by moving from princely privileges to that of a monk. After seeing the kind of suffering people went through, a strong desire grew in him to find a solution to human suffering. He did not believe that the answer was ... middle of paper ......in countries and argues that this is so because Buddhism offers "answers to many of the problems of modern materialistic societies" (1). Buddhism is also claimed to offer a good understanding of the human mind, with eminent psychologists agreeing that the understanding offered is very effective and advanced (White 1). Buddhism is a philosophy that holds that humanity lives happily and avoids suffering. The philosophy holds that people coexist peacefully by avoiding hurting each other through the wrong use of words or actions. Philosophy also teaches us to form a weak attachment to the things around us to avoid being hurt when these things are lost because they are not permanent. Buddhism has found general acceptance among those who have heard and read its tenets as they are morally upright and worthy of instilling peace in a society.