Buddha (title)

For the Buddha of this era, see Gautama Buddha.

Buddha (Sanskrit: बुद्ध) refers to one who have achieved enlightenment and Buddhahood, and has fully comprehended the Four Noble Truths. Contemporary, the term refers to Siddharta Gautama, the teacher and founder of Buddhism, who is simply known as "the Buddha". The term also refers to others who have achieved enlightenment and Buddhahood, such as the 27 Buddhas who preceded Gautama, Amitābha and the future Buddha, Maitreya.

Etymology

The word Buddha means "awakened one" or "the enlightened one". "Buddha" is also used as a title for the first awakened being in a Yuga era. In most Buddhist traditions, Siddhartha Gautama is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (Pali sammāsambuddha, Sanskrit samyaksaṃbuddha) of the present age.

Hypothetical root budh "perceive" 1. Pali buddha – "understood, enlightened", masculine "the Buddha"; Aśokan (the language of the Inscriptions of Aśoka) Budhe nominative singular; Prakrit buddha – ‘ known, awakened ’; Waigalī būdāī, "truth"; Bashkarīk budh "he heard"; Tōrwālī būdo preterite of bū, "to see, know" from bṓdhati; Phalūṛa búddo preterite of buǰǰ , "to understand" from búdhyatē; Shina Gilgitī dialect budo, "awake"; Gurēsī dialect budyōnṷ intransitive "to wake"; Kashmiri bọ̆du, "quick of understanding (especially of a child)"; Sindhī ḇudho, past participle (passive) of ḇujhaṇu, "to understand" from búdhyatē, West Pahāṛī buddhā, preterite of bujṇā, "to know"; Sinhalese buj (j written for d), budu, bud, but, "the Buddha".

Buddhavamsa named 25 Buddhas including Gautama in section three until twenty seven, while the twenty eight section lists three Buddhas who lived before the time of Dipankara Buddha.