Buddha

A statue representing the historical Buddha in Sri Lanka

Buddha (Sanskrit/Pali):

1) ‘The Enlightened One’, literally ‘The Awakened One’;

2) The historical Buddha, known as Gautama Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, Tathagata, or simply the Buddha;

3) The primordial reality that lies beneath apparent phenomena (in Mahayana Buddhism, Buddha equals the unconditioned Dharma or ‘buddha nature’);

4) Any of the enlightened teachers that founded Buddhism in the distant past;

5) A celestial (or mythological) enlightened one such as Amitabha.