Prince Siddhartha was the son of King Shuddhodana.
Sages had told the king that his son would become a saint and Shuddhodana did not want this to happen. So Siddhartha was kept away within the palace.
He was not allowed to go outside.
He was given all that he needed to keep him happy within the palace. But one day he went out of his palace and there he saw an old man, a sick person and a dead body.
He was shocked as he did not know what this meant.
Although he was married and had a beautiful young wife, Prince Siddhartha then left the palace and went out into the world to find out the truth about life.
He reached a place called Gaya and sat under a bodhi tree. After a long time of deep thought and meditation, he understood the truth. He was then called the Buddha.
Buddha spent the rest of his life teaching people the meaning of life.
He told them that it is not proper to kill animals just to eat them and enjoy the taste of their flesh. His message was called Buddhism and it spread all over the world. Buddha was the ninth avatara or form of Lord Vishnu.