Life of the Buddha
Life-of-the-Buddha
Age Group: 11–16
Materials: 7
Image: Terton Sogyal Trust

For Buddhists, the story of the life of Buddha Shakyamuni is an example of how to reach freedom by acknowledging the suffering in our world and seeking to cut its causes at the root. This section covers the following: the birth of the Buddha and his life of luxury, the Four Sights, the Buddha’s ascetic life, and the Buddha’s Enlightenment.

The content presented here follows the AQA GCSE Religious Studies A specification. If you are seeking further detail please see our resources in the 16-19 section of the website or Discovering Buddhism by Dominique Side for further reading.

Buddhist Stories

DOCUMENT   (.pdf)
Angulimala
DOCUMENT   (.pdf)
Devadatta

Detailed Subject Knowledge

DOCUMENT   (.pdf)
How Buddhists see the Buddha
DOCUMENT   (.pdf)
Life of the Buddha in brief

Lesson Activities and Reflections

DOCUMENT   (.pptx)
Buddha's life sheets to print
DOCUMENT   (.pptx)
Buddha's life slides

Lived Experience

VIDEO   (Youtube)
What the Buddha means to me
Play Video

Worksheets