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The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was the son of Suddhodana Gautama, the leader of the Sakya clan in northeastern India. (Hence he is also often called Sakyamuni, the "wise man of the Sakya clan"). His mother's name was Maya, usually referred to as "Maha Maya" ("Maya the Great"). She died seven days after giving birth to Siddhartha, and he was raised by Maya's younger sister, Maha Pajapati. Siddhartha had several half-brothers, including Ananda and Devadatta. Ananda eventually become the Buddha's attendant, and--due to his great memory skills--is believed to be the verbatim source of Buddha's teachings. Devadatta, on the other hand, was jealous of Siddhartha and tried to foil his mission. The Buddha had a wife, named Yasodhara and a son named Rahula. Even though Yasodhara was initially furious when Siddhartha abandoned her in his quest for enlightenment, she eventually came around to seeing things his way and emulated his actions, though within the confines of the palace. When Siddhartha eventually returned home (now as Buddha), Ananda negotiated between him and Yasodhara, which eventually resulted in Siddhartha ordaining her to be the first female member of his order.

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15y ago

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