Founder of Buddhism, a prince of the Shakya clan in ancient north India who gave up his home and, Buddhists believe, reached enlightenment and taught the way out of suffering. His name means "sage of the Shakyas".
His name gave Chinese monks their shared surname: the Eastern Jin monk 道安 (312–385) urged every monk and nun to take 释, the first character of 释迦牟尼, as a family name, and it became the custom. His title 佛陀 means 'the awakened one'.
