The Buddha means 'the Awakened One', one who has been enlightened with the Truth. The Hindu prince, Siddhartha Gautama went in quest of the Truth and attained a state of Nirvana. The followers of the Buddha then started following the doctrine of Buddhism. The Buddha realized several important Truths – that the world was full of suffering. Suffering was caused by desires and if one renounces desires, one could overcome suffering. More significant than this, was the Buddha's method of silence, of going within. The Buddhists call this Mindfulness or Consciousness. It is the art of becoming aware. It is being awakened to the Truth. The Buddhists don't believe in anything that is based on assumptions. The Buddha advocated living a life following the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path of right living.
Writing a book on Consciousness without the story of the Buddha would be incomplete. The world considers him to be an icon for silence and meditation and for living consciously. His sitting under the Bodhi tree, a fig tree in a meditative pose around 500 BC, has become an aspiration for those who want to attain the state of Consciousness. To the Buddha, life was all about going within, lighting the lamp of Enlightenment so that the darkness of ignorance would vanish. Then one could live with Enlightenment. We too can become a Buddha if we live as the Consciousness that we are.