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7. The Teachings of the Buddha
For a total of forty–nine days he was deep in rapture, after which he again turned his attention to the world. He found Mara waiting for him with one last temptation: "How can your experience be translated into words? Return to nirvana. Do not try to deliver your message to the world, for no one will comprehend it. Remain in bliss!" But Buddha replied: "There will be some who will understand," and Mara vanished from his life forever.
In his first sermon he revealed the key discovery of his quest: the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path and the Middle Way. For forty–five years, Gautama walked the dusty roads of India, preaching the Dharma (universal Doctrine), which led to the foundation of Buddhism. He established the Sangha (community) that soon numbered over twelve hundred devotees. When the people questioned him as to his identity, he answered, "I am awake"—hence, the Buddha, meaning "Enlightened One" or "Awakened One."
He passed during the full moon of May, about 483 BC, after advising his chief disciple, Ananda, that the Dharma—the Truth—must be his master and reminding the monks of the transiency of all conditioned things.
Gautama Buddha today holds the office of Lord of the World (referred to as "God of the Earth" in Revelation 11:4). At inner levels, he sustains the threefold flame of life, the divine spark, for all children of God on earth. (Prophet and Prophet 2003, 111-114)