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Buddhism, a buddha
(Sanskrit: Awakened) is any being who has become fully awakened (enlightened), and has experienced Nirvana. In the Pali Canon and the Theravada tradition, the term 'buddha' usually refers to anyone who has become enlightened (i.e., awakened to the truth, or Dharma) on their own, without a teacher to point out the
Dharma
, in a time when the teachings on the Four Noble Truths or the Eightfold Path do not exist in the world. By comparison, those who awaken due to the teachings given by a Buddha are known as Arahants, a title also applied to Buddhas. Arahants and Buddhas are the same in the most fundamental aspects of Liberation (Nirvana), but differ in their paramis. In the
Mahayana tradition
, the definition of Buddha extends to any being who becomes fully awakened. The Theravada Arhant would be considered a kind of Buddha (although not generally by Mahayana Buddhism itself) in this Mahayana sense, and this usage also occurs once in later (12th century) Theravada literature. Buddhists do not consider Siddhartha Gautama to have been the only Buddha. The Pali Canon refers to many previous ones (see List of the 28 Buddhas), while the Mahayana tradition additionally has many Buddhas of celestial, rather than historical, origin (see Amitabha or Vairocana as examples). A common Buddhist belief across all Buddhism is that the next Buddha will be one named Maitreya (Pali: Metteyya). (from Wikipedia.com)
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(AP) - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama leaves Kangra airport enroute to his home in Dharmsala, India, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. The Tibetan spiritual leader was away from the Himalayan town for over a month, during which he presided over a major Buddhist ceremony. (AP Photo/Angus McDonald)
(AP) - Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, left, and Prime Minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile Lobsang Sangay leave Kangra airport enroute to his home at Dharmsala, India, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012. The Tibetan spiritual leader was away from the Himalayan town for over a month, during which he presided over a major Buddhist ceremony. (AP Photo/Angus McDonald)
(AP) - FILE - In this June 20, 2009 file photo, tourists look at the view from the Potala Palace, the former home of the Dalai Lama before he fled Tibet after a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, China. For a fifth straight year, China plans to close Tibet to foreign travelers during a sensitive period starting in mid-February, travel agents said Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Greg Baker, File)
(AP) - FILE - In this June 20, 2009 file photo, tourists walk through the Potala Palace, the former home of the Dalai Lama before he fled Tibet after a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, China. For a fifth straight year, China plans to close Tibet to foreign travelers during a sensitive period starting in mid-February, travel agents said Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Greg Baker, File)
(AP) - Buddhist devotees watch Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama at the Mahabodhi temple, believed to be the place where Buddha attained enlightenment, before leaving the town of Bodh Gaya at the end of Kalachakra Buddhist festival in the eastern state of Bihar, India, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)