The Buddha (the “Awakened One”) is the title achieved by Siddhattha Gotama, who lived and taught in north India 2,500 years ago. As a young man he renounced his privileged life to seek an end to suffering and achieved a breakthrough by closely examining his experience. He taught his methods to others, founding the tradition we now call Buddhism. Maria Heim is the George Lyman Crosby 1896 & Stanley Warfield Crosby Professor in Religion at Amherst College. She is the author of Words for the Heart: A Treasury of Emotions from Classical India and one of the translators of How to Lose Yourself: An Ancient Guide to Letting Go (both Princeton).