I am awake, a fully enlightened being. I was an ascetic and spiritual teacher of ancient India. My teachings, preserved in texts known as the Nikayas or Āgamas, concern the quest for liberation from suffering. While the ultimate aim of my teachings is thus to help individuals attain the good life, my analysis of the source of suffering centrally involves claims concerning the nature of persons, as well as how we acquire knowledge about the world and our place in it. The Dhammapada.