Buddhism

The last words of the Buddha are: "Come now, brethren, I do remind ye, 'Subject to decay are all compounded things.' Do ye abide in heedfulness."

Siddhartha Gautam: The Buddha

Siddhartha Gautam, the Bodhisatta, was a prince who after realizing that he could not avoid old age, sickness, death and decay, renounced the world so that he is not subject to rebirth. The estimates of dates for the major events in Buddha’s life vary. According to a common belief he was born in 563 B.C. in The Sakyas. He was raised by his maternal aunt as his mother died shortly after his birth.

After renouncing the world he learnt various techniques of yoga and other prevailing philosophies, practiced severe penance, but ultimately discovered that neither a life given to extreme pleasures nor the life of extreme penance is desirable. He preached avoidance of any form of extremism and accepting a balance between pleasures and self-punishment.