The man who would become the Buddha can be seen as a godlike mystic, rational philosopher, psychologist, physician, or social reformer. Buddhist texts contain few references to biographical events from his life. However, historians do agree that he did actually exist and lived a long and prosperous life — he died at eighty years old after teaching for forty-five years, traveling all over India to do so. Although the Buddha's teachings were preserved through oral recitation and first written down hundreds of years after his death, they are considered credible and accurate.