Buddha
[boo-duh, boo d-uh]
- Also called Butsu, Gautama, Gautama Buddha. Prince Siddhāttha or Siddhartha, 566?–c480 b.c., Indian religious leader: founder of Buddhism.
- any of a series of teachers in Buddhism, of whom Gautama was the last, who bring enlightenment and wisdom.
- (sometimes lowercase) Buddhism. a person who has attained full prajna, or enlightenment; Arhat.
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Origin of Buddha
1675–85; < Sanskrit: awakened (budh- awaken, notice, understand + -ta past participle suffix)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for buddha
Contemporary Examples
“My children are traumatised,” Than Dar told a group of reporters in front a large reclining Buddha.
It was the first time I witnessed his balanced mix of strength and kindness, or what could be dubbed his “Buddha nature.”
But the Buddha condemned both extreme luxury and extreme poverty as obstacles to enlightenment.
This is one of the meanings of the famous Zen koan, “If you see the Buddha on the road, kill him.”
He so much embodied the ancient teachings of the Buddha, yet insisted on a completely inclusive, secular, contemporary approach.
Historical Examples
This time it was the old Buddha of the Radiance of the Light.
The Chinese Fairy BookVarious
Not till he had promised all this did the Buddha let him out of the pagoda again.
The Chinese Fairy BookVarious
In the course of time he gained the hidden knowledge and was called Buddha.
The Chinese Fairy BookVarious
In heaven, on earth and in the Nether World only the gospel of Buddha has no limits.
The Chinese Fairy BookVarious
The followers of Buddha and the Brahmins were in direct conflict.
buddha
- Buddhism (often capital) a person who has achieved a state of perfect enlightenment
- an image or picture of the Buddha
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Word Origin
C17: from Sanskrit: awakened, enlightened, from budh to awake, know
Buddha
- the Buddha ?563–483 bc, a title applied to Gautama Siddhartha, a nobleman and religious teacher of N India, regarded by his followers as the most recent rediscoverer of the path to enlightenment: the founder of Buddhism
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for buddha
Buddha
n.
1680s, from Pali, literally "awakened, enlightened," past participle of budh "to awake, know, perceive," related to Sanskrit bodhati "is awake, observes, understands" (see bid). Title given by his adherents to the man who taught this path, Siddhartha Gautama, also known to them as Sakyamuni "Sage of the Sakyas" (his family clan), who lived in northern India 5c. B.C.E.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper