Millions celebrate enlightenment of Buddha

Is Buddhism the key to happiness? Today, people around the world will celebrate Buddha's birthday. How true are his teachings? And what can we learn from them? What's happening? This weekend, the Moon turned red.  It was a blood moon. It happened because of an eclipse. But for millions, it was even more special. It was BuddhaThe founder of Buddhism. Born Gauthama Siddhartha in Nepal in around 563BC, he left his princely family to seek wisdom.'s birthday.  Find out more The full Moon of May each year is Vesak Day. It is Buddha's birthday.  He was born about 2,600 years ago in northern India. His name was Siddhartha Gautama.  He was born as a prince. But soon he realised life for lots of people was hard.  He sat under a tree for 49 days. At the end of that time, he was enlightened. He became the Buddha.  Today there are many types of Buddhism. Lots of them use meditationThe name for a variety of techniques to train attention and awareness, for instance by focusing on the movement of your breath. Meditation existed long before Buddhism and is also an element in the practice of other religions, including Hinduism..  It is becoming more popular. In the USA, three times more people meditate now than in 2012. Is Buddhism the key to happiness? Some say  Yes! Buddhism is thousands of years old. People have followed it. It is clear that it can make us happy.  Others think  No. Buddhism is just another religion. They all have different ideas. But none can say they have the one right way to happiness.    KeywordsBuddha - The founder of Buddhism. Born Gauthama Siddhartha in Nepal in around 563BC, he left his princely family to seek wisdom.