To show my ignorance (again) does anyone know if the Buddha was a symbolic or mythical figure or if he actually lived?
“To show my ignorance (again) does anyone know if the Buddha was a symbolic or mythical figure or if he actually lived?”
Je lived. He founded Buddhism.
He lived and died and never rose again. /Mic drop/
The Buddha statue depicts Siddhartha Gautama, who lived in South Asia around 2,550 years ago. Born a prince, he would later renounce his worldly wealth and seek out enlightenment, eventually becoming the Buddha...
Additionally, SG was the fourth Buddha.
Buddha clearly lived - there are primary sources of him as a ascetic founder of Buddhism.
Though note - one must stick with the Hinayana Buddhist commentary as that is the older form (found in Sri Lanka). Gautama explicitly said he was not a god, leave alone God. He was also explicitly within the Sanatana Dhama “Hindu” fold with his concept of escaping the cycles of birth-rebirth. This was/is similar to the Jainist adharma form, only Jainism is stricter and it denies any creator deity.
Gautama was a prince who was shocked by the reality of life and then became a sage, and used existing “Hindu” ascetism to found his own “way”.
This was later spread by the Emperor Chandragupta Maurya (who in circa 300 BC ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent from Afghanistan to Karnataka. And later around the time of Christ, a Tocharian/Kushan emperor spread Buddhism further.
Gautama pretty definitely DID exist as did Jesus. There are adequate historical evidence for both.
Strangely enough - there is no primary evidence for a Muhammad - no writings of him for the first 150 years after he allegedly died.