More than 2,500 years ago, a man decided to find out why there is suffering, and how to overcome it. He succeeded, and became known as "The Buddha," which means, "One who is awake." Over the centuries, many details of his life and his teachings have been lost, distorted, or confused. Yet by comparing what remains with the teachings given by other men and women who reached similar development, his full teachings become very evident. Many biographers have presented his life story with twelve essential stages. The twelve stages of the life of Buddha have deep symbolic importance that has rarely been revealed. By comparing these twelve stages with the esoteric knowledge of Gnosis, the meanings of the events of the life of Buddha Shakyamuni are made brilliantly clear. This lecture has been expanded into an entire course, which you can read here.