Buddhahood: Dukkha

12/21/2017 Buddhahood - Wikipedia
Buddhahood
Seated Buddha, from the Seokguram, Silla.
In Buddhism, buddhahood (Sanskrit: buddhatva, Pali: buddhatta or

buddhabhāva) is the condition or rank of a buddha "awakened one".[1]
The goal of Mahayana's bodhisattva path is Samyaksambuddhahood, so that

one may benefit all sentient beings by teaching them the path of cessation of
dukkha.[2] Mahayana theory contrasts this with the goal of the Hinayana path,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhahood 1/14
where the goal is individual arhatship.[2]
Contents
Explanation of the term Buddha
Nature of the Buddha
Spiritual realizations
Ten characteristics of a Buddha
Buddha as a supreme human
Buddha as "just a human"
Mahāsāṃghika supramundane Buddha
Depictions of the Buddha in art
Markings
Hand-gestures
Names of the Buddha
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Explanation of the term Buddha
In Theravada Buddhism, Buddha refers to one who has become awakened
through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out the
dharma (Sanskrit; Pali dhamma; "right way of living"). A samyaksambuddha
teaches the dharma to others after his awakening. A pratyekabuddha also
reaches Nirvana through his own efforts, but does not teach the dharma to
others. An arhat needs to follow the teaching of a Buddha to attain Nirvana,
but can also preach the dharma after attaining Nirvana.[3] In one instance the
term buddha is also used in Theravada to refer to all who attain Nirvana, using
the term Sāvakabuddha to designate an arhat, someone who depends on the

teachings of a Buddha to attain Nirvana.[4] In this broader sense it is equivalent
to the arhat.
Buddhahood is the state of an enlightened being, who having found the path of
cessation of suffering,[5] is in the state of "No-more-Learning".[6][7][8]
There is a broad spectrum of opinion on the universality and method of

attainment of Buddhahood, depending on Gautama Buddha's teachings that a
school of Buddhism emphasizes. The level to which this manifestation requires
ascetic practices varies from none at all to an absolute requirement, dependent
on doctrine. Mahayana Buddhism emphasizes the bodhisattva ideal instead of
the Arhat.
The Tathagatagarba and Buddha-nature doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism

consider Buddhahood to be a universal and innate property of absolute
wisdom. This wisdom is revealed in a person's current lifetime through
Buddhist practice, without any specific relinquishment of pleasures or "earthly
desires".
Buddhists do not consider Gautama to have been the only Buddha. The Pāli
Canon refers to many previous ones (see list of the named Buddhas), while the
Mahayana tradition additionally has many Buddhas of celestial origin (see
Amitābha or Vairocana as examples, for lists of many thousands of Buddha
names (see Taishō Tripiṭaka numbers 439–448).
Nature of the Buddha
The various Buddhist schools hold some varying interpretations on the nature
of Buddha (see below).
Spiritual realizations
All Buddhist traditions hold that a

Buddha is fully awakened and has
completely purified his mind of the
three poisons of craving, aversion
and ignorance. A Buddha is no
longer bound by saṃsāra, and has
ended the suffering which
unawakened people experience in
life.
Most schools of Buddhism have

also held that the Buddha was
omniscient. However, the early
texts contain explicit repudiations
of making this claim of the
Buddha.[9][10]
Ten characteristics of a
The Buddha, in Greco-Buddhist
Buddha
style, first-second century,
Some Buddhists meditate on (or Gandhara (now Pakistan). (Standing
contemplate) the Buddha as having Buddha).
ten characteristics (Ch./Jp. 十號 ).
These characteristics are frequently
mentioned in the Pāli Canon as well as Mahayana teachings, and are chanted
daily in many Buddhist monasteries:
1. Thus gone, thus come (Skt: tathāgata)

2. Worthy one (Skt: arhat)
3. Perfectly self-enlightened (Skt: samyak-saṃbuddha)
4. Perfected in knowledge and conduct (Skt: vidyā-caraṇa-saṃpanna )
5. Well gone (Skt: sugata)
6. Knower of the world (Skt: lokavida)
7. Unsurpassed (Skt: anuttara)
8. Leader of persons to be tamed (Skt: puruṣa-damya-sārathi)
9. Teacher of the gods and humans (Skt: śāsta deva-manuṣyāṇaṃ)

10. The Blessed One or fortunate one (Skt: bhagavat)[11]
The tenth epithet is sometimes listed as "The World Honored Enlightened
One" (Skt. BuddhaLokanatha) or "The Blessed Enlightened One" (Skt.
BuddhaBhagavan).[12]
Buddha as a supreme human

In the Pāli Canon, Gautama Buddha is known as being a "teacher of the gods
and humans", superior to both the gods and humans in the sense of having
nirvana or the greatest bliss, whereas the devas, or gods, are still subject to
anger, fear and sorrow.
In the Madhupindika Sutta (MN 18),[13] Buddha is described in powerful terms

as the Lord of the Dhamma (Pali: Dhammasami, skt.: Dharma Swami) and the
bestower of immortality (Pali: Amatassadata).
Similarly, in the Anuradha Sutta (SN 44.2)[14] Buddha is described as
the Tathagata—the supreme man, the superlative man, attainer

of the superlative attainment.
[Buddha is asked about what happens to the Tathagatha after
death of the physical body. Buddha replies],
"And so, Anuradha—when you can't pin down the Tathagata as a
truth or reality even in the present life—is it proper for you to
declare, 'Friends, the Tathagata—the supreme man, the
superlative man, attainer of the superlative attainment—being
described, is described otherwise than with these four positions:
The Tathagata exists after death, does not exist after death, both
does & does not exist after death, neither exists nor does not
exist after death'?
In the Vakkali Sutta (SN 22.87) Buddha identifies himself with the
Dhamma:[15]
O Vakkali, whoever sees the Dhamma, sees me [the Buddha]
Another reference from the Aggañña Sutta of the Digha Nikaya, says to his
disciple Vasettha:
O Vasettha! The Word of Dhammakaya is indeed the name of the

Tathagata
Shravasti Dhammika, a Theravada monk, writes:
In the centuries after his final Nibbāna it sometimes got to the

stage that the legends and myths obscured the very real human
being behind them and the Buddha came to be looked upon as a
god. Actually, the Buddha was a human being, not a 'mere
human being' as is sometimes said but a special class of human
called a 'complete person' (mahāparisa). Such complete persons
are born no different from others and indeed they physically
remain quite ordinary.[16]
Sangharakshita also states that "The first thing we have to understand - and
this is very important - is that the Buddha is a human being. But a special kind
of human being, in fact the highest kind, so far as we know."[17]
Buddha as "just a human"

When asked whether he was a deva or a human, he replied that he had
eliminated the deep-rooted unconscious traits that would make him either one,
and should instead be called a Buddha; one who had grown up in the world but
had now gone beyond it, as a lotus grows from the water but blossoms above it,
unsoiled.[18]
Andrew Skilton writes that the Buddha was never historically regarded by
Buddhist traditions as being merely human:[19]
It is important to stress that, despite modern Theravada

teachings to the contrary (often a sop to skeptical Western
pupils), he was never seen as being merely human. For instance,
he is often described as having the thirty-two major and eighty
minor marks or signs of a mahāpuruṣa, "superman"; the Buddha
himself denied that he was either a man or a god; and in the
Mahāparinibbāna Sutta he states that he could live for an aeon
were he asked to do so.
However, Thích Nhất Hạnh, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk in the Zen tradition,
states that "Buddha was not a god. He was a human being like you and me, and
he suffered just as we do."[20]
Jack Maguire writes that Buddha is inspirational based on his humanness.
A fundamental part of Buddhism's appeal to billions of people

over the past two and a half millennia is the fact that the central
figure, commonly referred to by the title "Buddha", was not a
god, or a special kind of spiritual being, or even a prophet or an
emissary of one. On the contrary, he was a human being like the
rest of us who quite simply woke up to full aliveness.[21]
Mahāsāṃghika supramundane Buddha

In the early Buddhist schools, the Mahāsāṃghika branch regarded the
buddhas as being characterized primarily by their supramundane nature. The
Mahāsāṃghikas advocated the transcendental and supramundane nature of
the buddhas and bodhisattvas, and the fallibility of arhats.[22] Of the 48 special
theses attributed by the Samayabhedoparacanacakra to the Mahāsāṃghika
Ekavyāvahārika, Lokottaravāda, and the Kukkuṭika, 20 points concern the
supramundane nature of buddhas and bodhisattvas.[23] According to the
Samayabhedoparacanacakra, these four groups held that the Buddha is able
to know all dharmas in a single moment of the mind.[24] Yao Zhihua writes:[24]
In their view, the Buddha is equipped with the following

supernatural qualities: transcendence (lokottara), lack of
defilements, all of his utterances preaching his teaching,
expounding all his teachings in a single utterance, all of his
sayings being true, his physical body being limitless, his power
(prabhāva) being limitless, the length of his life being limitless,
never tiring of enlightening sentient beings and awakening pure
faith in them, having no sleep or dreams, no pause in answering
a question, and always in meditation (samādhi).
A doctrine ascribed to the Mahāsāṃghikas is, "The power of the tathāgatas is

unlimited, and the life of the buddhas is unlimited."[25] According to Guang
Xing, two main aspects of the Buddha can be seen in Mahāsāṃghika teachings:
the true Buddha who is omniscient and omnipotent, and the manifested forms
through which he liberates sentient beings through skillful means.[26] For the
Mahāsaṃghikas, the historical Gautama Buddha was one of these
transformation bodies (Skt. nirmāṇakāya), while the essential real Buddha is
equated with the Dharmakāya.[27]
As in Mahāyāna traditions, the Mahāsāṃghikas held the doctrine of the

existence of many contemporaneous buddhas throughout the ten
directions.[28] In the Mahāsāṃghika Lokānuvartana Sūtra, it is stated, "The
Buddha knows all the dharmas of the countless buddhas of the ten
directions."[28] It is also stated, "All buddhas have one body, the body of the
Dharma."[28] The concept of many bodhisattvas simultaneously working
toward buddhahood is also found among the Mahāsāṃghika tradition, and
further evidence of this is given in the Samayabhedoparacanacakra, which
describes the doctrines of the Mahāsāṃghikas.[29]
Depictions of the Buddha in art
Buddhas are frequently represented in the form of statues and paintings.
Commonly seen designs include:
The Seated
Buddha
The Reclining
Buddha
The Standing
Buddha
Hotei or Budai,
the obese
Laughing
Buddha, usually
seen in China
A statue of Gautama Buddha at Tawang
(This figure is
believed to be a Monastery, India.
representation of
a medieval
Chinese monk who is
associated with Maitreya, the
future Buddha, and is therefore
technically not a Buddha
image.)
the Emaciated Buddha, which
shows Siddhartha Gautama
during his extreme ascetic
practice of starvation.
The Buddha statue shown calling
for rain is a pose common in Laos.
Buddha statues at Shwedagon
Pagoda
Markings
Most depictions of Buddha contain a certain number of markings, which are
considered the signs of his enlightenment. These signs vary regionally, but two
are common:
a protuberance on the top of the head (denoting superb mental acuity)

long earlobes (denoting superb perception)
In the Pāli Canon, there is frequent mention of a list of thirty-two physical
characteristics of the Buddha.
Hand-gestures
The poses and hand-gestures of these statues, known respectively as asanas

and mudras, are significant to their overall meaning. The popularity of any
particular mudra or asana tends to be region-specific, such as the Vajra (or Chi
Kenin) mudra, which is popular in Japan and Korea but rarely seen in India.
Others are more common; for example, the Varada (Wish Granting) mudra is
common among standing statues of the Buddha, particularly when coupled
with the Abhaya (Fearlessness and Protection) mudra.
Names of the Buddha
Aśvaghoṣa in his Buddhacarita gives a long list of names for the Buddha:
Buddha, Self-existent, Lord of Law (Dharmaraja), Nayaka,

Vinayaka, Caravan Leader, Jina (Victorious One), the Master-
giver of Dharma, The Teacher, Master of the Dharma, the Lord
of the World, the consoler, the loving-regarder [cf.
Avalokiteshvara,] the Hero, the champion, the victorious one in
conflict, Light of the World, Illuminator of the Knowledge of
True Wisdom, The dispeller of the darkness of ignorance,
Illuminator of the Great Torch, Great Physician, Great Seer, the
Healer, Attainer of the Great Vehicle (Mahayana), Lord of all
Dharma, the Ruler, Monarch of All Worlds, the Sovereign, Lord
of all wisdom, the wise, the destroyer of the pride of all disputers,
the omniscient, the Arhat, Possessor of Perfect Knowledge, the
Great Buddha, Lord of Saints, The Victorious, the Perfect
Buddha, Sugata, the wise one who fulfills the wishes of all
beings, The ruler of the world, bearer of the world, master of the
world, sovereign of the world, teacher of the world, preceptor of
the world, The Fount of Nectar, the powerful luminary, Bringer
of all virtue and all real wealth, possessor of perfect excellence
and all good qualities, the guide on the road of wisdom who
shows the way to Nirvana, Tathagata without stain, without
attachment, without uncertainty.[30]
In his commentary to the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, Hsuan Hua tells the following
fable:
Originally every Buddha had ten thousand names. In time these

ten thousand names were reduced to one thousand because
people got confused trying to remember them all. For a while
every Buddha had a thousand names, but people still couldn’t
remember so many, so they were again reduced to one hundred
names. Every Buddha had a hundred different names and living
beings had a hard time remembering them, so they were
shortened again to ten.[31]
See also
Amitābha List of the named Buddhas
Buddha-nature Mahāyāna Mahāparinirvāṇa
Buddhism in Indonesia Sūtra
Dona Sutta Maitreya
Enlightenment in Buddhism Mankiala stupa
Eternal Buddha Physical characteristics of the
Buddha
Five Tathagatas
The unanswered questions
Gautama Buddha
Vairocana
List of Buddha claimants
Notes
References
1. buddhatva, बु . Spoken Sanskrit Dictionary (http://spokensanskrit.de/ind
ex.php?script=HK&beginning=0+&tinput=buddhatva&trans=%E7%BF%B
B%E8%A8%B3&direction=AU). (accessed: January 10, 2016)
2. Gethin, Rupert (1998). The foundations of Buddhism (1. publ. paperback

ed.). Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press. pp. 224–234. ISBN 0-19-
289223-1.
3. Snelling, John (1987), The Buddhist handbook. A Complete Guide to
Buddhist Teaching and Practice. London: Century Paperbacks. Page 81
4. Udana Commentary. Translation Peter Masefield, volume I, 1994. Pali
Text Society. page 94.
5. Gethin, Rupert (1998). The foundations of Buddhism (1. publ. paperback
ed.). Oxford [England]: Oxford University Press. p. 32. ISBN 0-19-289223-
1.
6. Damien Keown; Charles S. Prebish (2013). Encyclopedia of Buddhism (htt
ps://books.google.com/books?id=NFpcAgAAQBAJ). Routledge. p. 90.
ISBN 978-1-136-98588-1.
7. Rinpoche Karma-raṅ-byuṅ-kun-khyab-phrin-las (1986). The Dharma: That
Illuminates All Beings Impartially Like the Light of the Sun and Moon (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=N4wVW91BLAYC). State University of
New York Press. pp. 32–33. ISBN 978-0-88706-156-1.; Quote: "There are
various ways of examining the Complete Path. For example, we can
speak of Five Paths constituting its different levels: the Path of
Accumulation, the Path of Application, the Path of Seeing, the Path of
Meditation and the Path of No More Learning, or Buddhahood."
8. Robert E. Buswell; Robert M. Gimello (1990). Paths to liberation: the
Mārga and its transformations in Buddhist thought (https://books.google.co
m/books?id=hu0oIf0n87IC). University of Hawaii Press. p. 204. ISBN 978-
0-8248-1253-9.
9. A. K. Warder, Indian Buddhism. Third edition published by Motilal
Banarsidass Publ., 2000, pages 132–133.
10. Kalupahana, David (1992). A History of Buddhist Philosophy: Continuities
and Discontinuities (https://books.google.com/books?id=SlDArya3YvcC&p
g=PA43). University of Hawaii Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-8248-1402-1.
11. Japanese-English Buddhist Dictionary (Daitō shuppansha) 147a/163
12. [1] (http://www.tientai.net/teachings/dharma/buddha/10titles.htm), also see
Thomas Cleary and J. C. Cleary The Blue Cliff Record, page 553.
13. Majhima Nikaya 18 Madhupindika Sutta: The Ball of Honey (http://www.ac
cesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.018.than.html)
14. Sutta Nikaya 44.2 Anuradha Sutta: To Anuradha (http://www.accesstoinsig
ht.org/tipitaka/sn/sn44/sn44.002.than.html)
15. Sutta Nikaya 22.87 Vakkali Sutta: Vakkali (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/t

ipitaka/sn/sn22/sn22.087x.wlsh.html)
16. Dhammika, Shravasti (2005). The Buddha and His Disciples. Buddhist
Publication Society. p. 16. ISBN 9789552402807.
17. Sangharakshita (1996). A Guide to the Buddhist Path. Windhorse
Publications. p. 45. ISBN 9781899579044.
18. Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism: Teachings, History, and
Practices. Cambridge University Press, 1990, page 28
19. Skilton, Andrew. A Concise History of Buddhism. 2004. pp. 64-65
20. Nhất Hạnh, Thích (1999). The Heart of the Buddha's Teaching. Broadway
Books. p. 3. ISBN 0-7679-0369-2.
21. Maguire, Jack (2013). Essential Buddhism. Simon & Schuster. p. 2.
ISBN 9781476761961.
22. Baruah, Bibhuti. Buddhist Sects and Sectarianism. 2008. p. 48.
23. Sree Padma. Barber, Anthony W. Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of
Andhra. 2008. p. 56.
24. Yao, Zhihua. The Buddhist Theory of Self-Cognition. 2005. p. 11
25. Tanaka, Kenneth. The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine.
1990. p. 8
26. Guang Xing. The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early
Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory. 2004. p. 53
27. Sree Padma. Barber, Anthony W. Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of
Andhra. 2008. pp. 59-60
30. E. B. Cowell; Francis A. Davis (1894). Buddhist Mahayana Texts (https://b
ooks.google.com/books?id=LYIfAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA183). 49. Oxford
University Press. p. 183. ISBN 0486255522. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
The Buddha-karita of Aśvaghoṣa, translated from the Sanskrit, in the
Sacred Books of the East
31. From the Chapter on "The General Explanation of the Title", The
Surangama Sutra, English translation by the Buddhist Text Translation
Society.
Further reading
What the Buddha Taught (Grove Press, Revised edition July 1974), by
Walpola Rahula
Buddha: The Compassionate Teacher (2002), by K. M. M. Swe
External links
BuddhaNet (http://www.buddhanet.net/index.html)
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12/21/2017 Buddhahood - Wikipedia

Seated Buddha, from the Seokguram, Silla.

In Buddhism, buddhahood (Sanskrit: buddhatva, Pali: buddhatta or

The goal of Mahayana's bodhisattva path is Samyaksambuddhahood, so that

where the goal is individual arhatship.[2]

the term Sāvakabuddha to designate an arhat, someone who depends on the

There is a broad spectrum of opinion on the universality and method of

The Tathagatagarba and Buddha-nature doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism

All Buddhist traditions hold that a

Most schools of Buddhism have

1. Thus gone, thus come (Skt: tathāgata)

9. Teacher of the gods and humans (Skt: śāsta deva-manuṣyāṇaṃ)

Buddha as a supreme human

In the Madhupindika Sutta (MN 18),[13] Buddha is described in powerful terms

Similarly, in the Anuradha Sutta (SN 44.2)[14] Buddha is described as

the Tathagata—the supreme man, the superlative man, attainer

O Vakkali, whoever sees the Dhamma, sees me [the Buddha]

O Vasettha! The Word of Dhammakaya is indeed the name of the

Shravasti Dhammika, a Theravada monk, writes:

In the centuries after his final Nibbāna it sometimes got to the

Buddha as "just a human"

It is important to stress that, despite modern Theravada

Jack Maguire writes that Buddha is inspirational based on his humanness.

A fundamental part of Buddhism's appeal to billions of people

Mahāsāṃghika supramundane Buddha

In their view, the Buddha is equipped with the following

A doctrine ascribed to the Mahāsāṃghikas is, "The power of the tathāgatas is

As in Mahāyāna traditions, the Mahāsāṃghikas held the doctrine of the

a protuberance on the top of the head (denoting superb mental acuity)

The poses and hand-gestures of these statues, known respectively as asanas

Buddha, Self-existent, Lord of Law (Dharmaraja), Nayaka,

Originally every Buddha had ten thousand names. In time these

2. Gethin, Rupert (1998). The foundations of Buddhism (1. publ. paperback

15. Sutta Nikaya 22.87 Vakkali Sutta: Vakkali (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/t

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?

This page was last edited on 7 October 2017, at 22:07.

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;

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