Buddha
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- For other uses, see Buddha (disambiguation).
Buddha (Sanskrit, Pali, others: literally Awakened One, Enlightened One, from the Sanskrit: "√budh", to awaken) can refer to the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, or to anyone who has attained the same depth and quality of enlightenment.
Buddhism recognises three types of Buddha, of which the simple term Buddha is normally reserved for the first type, that of Samyaksam-buddha (Pali: Samma-Sambuddha). The attainment of Nirvana is exactly the same, but a Samyaksam-buddha expresses more qualities and capacities than the other two.
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Generally Buddhists do not consider Siddhartha Gautama to have been the first or last Buddha. Technically, a Buddha is one who rediscovers the Dharma (that is, truth; the nature of reality, of the mind, of the affliction of the human condition and the correct "path" to liberation) by Enlightenment, comes to be after skillful or good karma (action) is perfectly maintained and all negative unskillful actions are abandoned.
From the standpoint of classical Buddhist doctrine, the word Buddha denotes a type of person of which there have been many in the course of cosmic time. (Similarly, American President refers not just to one man, but to everyone who has ever held the office of the American presidency). The Buddha Gautama, then, is simply one member of the spiritual lineage of Buddhas, which stretches back into the dim recesses of the past and forward into the distant horizons of the future.
According to Buddhist tradition, Siddhartha Gautama did not claim any divine status for himself nor did he assert that he was inspired by any god. He claimed to be a teacher to guide those who chose to listen, rather than a personal saviour.
Gautama Buddha stated that there is no intermediary between mankind and the divine; distant gods are subject to karma themselves in decaying heavens. The Buddha is solely an exemplar, guide and teacher for those sentient beings who must tread the path themselves, attain spiritual Awakening, and see truth and reality as they are.
Amongst the world religions, most of which proclaim the existence of a Creator god, Buddhism is regarded as unusual for being a non-theistic religion. For the Buddha, the key to liberation is mental purity and correct understanding, and for this reason he rejected the notion that we can gain salvation by begging to a distant deity.
According to Gautama Buddha, the Awakening bliss of Nirvana he attained is available to all beings; orthodoxy holds this includes only human beings. Emphasizing this concept, the Mahayana school of Buddhism in particular refers to many Buddhas and also bodhisattvas (beings committed to Enlightenment but who vow to postpone their own Nirvana in order to assist others on the path). In the holy Tripitaka - the core sacred text of Buddhism - the numerous past Buddhas and their lives are spoken of, including the next Buddha-to-be, the Maitreya Buddha.
also
da:Buddha de:Buddha es:Buda eo:Budho fr:Bouddha id:Buddha ms:Buddha nl:Boeddha ja:ไป้ pl:Budda pt:Buda ro:Buddha sv:Buddha th:พระพุทธเจ้า tpi:Buda uk:Сиддхартха Гаутама Будда zh:佛
