The word “Buddha” is not a name, but a title designated to “one who has woken up.” It refers to a being who has awakened to the true knowledge of the world and found release from suffering. His enlightenment involves the deepest insight into the inter-being of phenomenon and the Four Noble Truths (the nature of suffering or unsatisfactoriness). While anyone can practice towards enlightenment, some may not want to. An analogy likens the Buddha to a doctor with a cure, but it is up to the patient to take the medicine.
The Buddha is human, but an extraordinary one. He is not a savior but a teacher, known as “satthar”, as it appears in the ancient Pāli texts. He teaches out of compassion and sympathy the path of the end of suffering for the benefit and wellbeing of all living things. The Buddha set in motion the wheel of “dhamma” with his teachings and established a community of disciples, the “saṅgha”. Buddhism is in essence the learning and practice of the Buddha’s teachings of compassion and wisdom. It is a continuous practice in search of sustainable happiness.
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