Siddhartha Gautama Buddha was destined by birth to lead the life of a prince, but at the age of 29, he renounced everything and left his palace. Seeing the suffering around him, he decided to lead ascetic life and practiced meditation. It is believed, that at the age of 35, he attained Enlightenment.
Buddha's main concern was always freedom from dukkha (unease), and he taught that the path to ultimate freedom lies in ethical action (karma), meditation and in direct insight (prajña). He regarded the practice of meditation (dhyana) leading to extinguishing of the fires of desire, hatred, and ignorance (Nirvana) and liberation from the cycle of birth and death (Moksha).
He lived and taught mostly in the eastern part of Ancient India