The founder of Theravada Buddhism is not a single individual, but rather the tradition is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, who is also known as the Buddha. Siddhartha Gautama was an Indian prince who lived around the 6th century BCE and renounced his royal life to seek spiritual enlightenment. After years of rigorous meditation and contemplation, he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India. Following his awakening, the Buddha spent the rest of his life traveling and teaching his insights and wisdom to others, gathering a community of followers. The early disciples of the Buddha preserved his teachings through oral transmission and later recorded them in the Pali language, which became the basis for the Pali Canon, the sacred scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. The term “Theravada” means “Doctrine of the Elders,” referring to the belief that this tradition adheres closely to the original teachings of the Buddha as passed down by the early monastic elders. Thus, while the Buddha is not the “founder” of Theravada Buddhism in the sense of creating a distinct religious tradition, his teachings form the core principles and basis of the Theravada tradition as it exists today.