This Shakyamuni (Siddhartha) Buddha thangka was handmade in Nepal. This thangka is made from brocade material. This thangka is 34 inches long and 20 inches wide.

Shakyamuni is the founder of Buddhism on this earth. He was born as Siddhartha about 3,000 years ago. Siddhartha was born as a prince to King Shuddhadana.

Siddhartha walked around his father's palace and saw that there was suffering everywhere, he then made it his mission to find the cause for the suffering and alleviate that suffering. After searching for eight years Siddhartha was no closer to his goal. He went through all of the religious practices of that time and eventually he decided to sit underneath a Bodhi Tree and not leave until he had found his answer. Siddhartha closed his eyes and began meditating underneath the Bodhi tree. Eventually Siddhartha could feel his oneness with everything surrounding him, and experienced enlightenment. After that time he was called, "The Buddha," or "Shakyamuni."

Shakyamuni then went around and taught others how to find enlightenment, and thereby end their suffering. Shakyamuni spent the next 50 years of his life teaching others, and his teachings were retold by word of mouth and eventually written down into what is now The Sutras. The supreme teaching of Shakyamuni is "The Lotus Sutra."