Question

historians agree that buddhism began with the teachings of siddhartha gautama (si-dar-tuh gow-tuh-muh). during his life, siddhartha became a great teacher and was given the title \buddha\ (boo-duh). read about some common buddhist beliefs. then answer the question below. - there were buddhas who lived before siddhartha, and there will be buddhas who come after him. - human history is divided into periods of time called ages. each age lasts about 12,000 years. and during each age, a buddha comes to teach people. - siddhartha is often called \the buddha,\ instead of just \buddha,\ because he is the buddha of this age. what does it mean to say that siddhartha is \the buddha of this age\? he was not very old when he became a buddha. he was the buddha who lived most recently. he was less important than future buddhas. he was the first buddha who ever lived.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: The text doesn't mention his age when becoming a buddha, so this is incorrect.
• Option 2: From the beliefs, there were buddhas before and will be after Siddhartha, and he is the buddha of "this age" (the current period), meaning he is the most recent buddha. This matches.
• Option 3: The text doesn't imply he is less important than future buddhas; in fact, he is "the Buddha" of this age, so this is wrong.
• Option 4: The text states there were buddhas before him, so he isn't the first, making this incorrect.

Answer:

B. He was the buddha who lived most recently.