Buddhism is a religion and a way of living that started in India and then spread through east and central Asia — places such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, China, Tibet, Korea, and Japan. It is based on the teaching of a man called Gautama Buddha. Buddha means someone who has woken up; he was a person, not born a god. He taught that life has a lot of pain and worry, that holding on too hard keeps that pain going, and that people can train the mind to become freer and kinder. There is not one single Buddhism: some schools chant in temples, some sit in quiet meditation, some talk a lot about lives after this one, and some talk more about how to live this life well. You will also meet it in the West now, often as sitting practice rather than as a full temple religion.