Buddhism is often described as a religion and a collection of various philosophies, based initially on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as Gautama Buddha. To many, however, Buddhism is not a religion, nor a philosophy or a set of doctrines, but rather teachings to guide one to directly experiencing reality. Buddhism is also known as Buddha Dharma or Dhamma, which means roughly the "teachings of the Awakened One" in Sanskrit and Pali, languages of ancient Buddhist texts. Buddhism began around 5th century BCE with the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who was born in Ancient India.
