When Gautama passed away around 483 B.C., his followers began to organize a religious movement. Buddha's teachings became the foundation for what would develop.
Buddhism itself started sometime in the fifth century BCE. We now think that the Buddha, who founded the religion, died sometime toward the year 400 BCE. As Buddhism developed, it spread beyond India
Contents. Buddhism is a faith that was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, more than 2,500 years ago in India. With about 470 million followers, scholars consider Buddhism one of the major world religions.