The Meaning of the Word- Buddha

Who is Buddha?

 

Buddha is the one who knows the secrets of life and nature. Buddha is the Great Being who recognizes himself or herself- the one whose body, mind and soul are in unison. This knowledge and recognition is called enlightenment or Buddhatva. Thus, Buddha means the enlightened one.

Among all the Buddhas, Shakyamuni Gautam Buddha is the Greatest and of the highest order. He was able to lead people to the path of righteousness and virtue through the middle path between sensual pleasure and outrageous penances.  Vipaswi, Shikhi, Vishwambhu, Krakuchchanda, Kanakmuni and Kashyapmuni, Manjushree, Amoghsiddhi, Amitabh, Bajrayogini(female Buddha) are the notable names of Buddhas present in Buddhist scriptures.

How can Buddhatva or Enlightenment Attained?

Enlightenment may be achieved from the keen observation of anything that happens around us. When one sees a food chain and wonders why such thing ever existed, he moves to the path of enlightenment. When one sees dispute in his community and reasons for the solution for the solution of that dispute, he attains the way to speak to his soul. One's soul is not only confided to himself. It wants to wander, explore to the mystery of anything that happens around it. It then co-ordinates with the brain. If the brain ignores, the soul gets suppressed. If the brain and soul unite, they create a great level of concentration and reach to the depth of any matter. This results in creativity and creativity is a way of Happiness. To be enlightened is, therefore to find the way to happiness.

However, attaining enlightenment and becoming Buddha may be different things. While normal people try to attain Happiness, its for our own selfish interest. Buddha on the other hand, attains happiness, finds the cause of His Happiness, finds other righteous ways to Happiness and leads other people to their Happiness through his preachings. So, it is not a wonder why Buddha is called the "Great Human" or "Maha Manav".

Why is Buddha Significant in Modern Times?

In modern times, people have become extremely busy. They do not even have the time to think for themselves- let alone for others. There is rush everywhere. Everyone wants to get ahead of the other. No one is satisfied with what he has. 21st century has brought great changes in technology but people have started feeling more lonely. The need for monetary wealth and assets have increased so much that we are parting from our soul and converting ourselves into machines. The teachings of Buddha help in reverting the situation. They help to bridge the gap between our mind and soul. They help one to become compassionate human from emotionless machines.

Buddha taught Eight ways(fold-paths) to remain Happy. They are: 

(1) Right Vision                       (2) Right Meditation

(3) Right Thought                    (4) Right Speech

(5) Right Action                      (6) Right Livelihood

(7) Right Memory                   (8) Right Enlightenment

Buddha also preached to remain away from these four causes of Unhappiness: (1)Desire, (2)Rage, (3)Greed and (4)Lust.

When one Desires to become a multibillionaire like Bill Gates, he works hard for it. If he succeeds, he falls into Greed for more money. He wants to become richer and richer. If he does not succeed, then Rage captivates him. Such Greed and Rage ultimately lead to the Lust for Money or Life. Buddha's teachings help in minimizing the Desire such that pursuit of Happiness becomes easier. His preachings lead us to become good Human Beings.