Buddhist Mythology

The Gods and Bodhisvattas of Enlightenment...

BUDDHA

Indian God

The Wise One and original Enlightened Buddhist Being

There are now budding Buddhas everywhere, but the original and, dare we say, the best started as an ordinary guy named Gautama, also known as SIDDHARTA (or even Sid Arthur if you prefer).

Searching for the meaning of life, he realized the Ultimate Truth as he sat meditating under a Bho tree and became Buddha, the Enlightened One.

Now Big Buddha is watching you — and lots of little Buddhas too — but in a serene and peaceful manner. He is hoping you too will take the Path to Enlightenment.

The revelation of Buddha was exported, imported and carried to every part of the world. The more Buddhism travelled, the more it diversified. Anyone could join in or even become one of the Buddhas themselves. Even some rival Gods from other religions may have jumped on the bandwagon and claimed to be a manifestation of Buddha. In those heady days it seemed you could have as many versions as you like.

It is plain that there are many planes of existence. So Buddhism has as many branches, schools, paths and systems as Christianity has sects. Yet nobody fights over Buddha. He just smiles and keeps his peace.

Buddha has been and gone and come again more times than we know. He is such a vastly influential figure that Buddhists even spot him popping up in other religions. Before he was Sid Arthur, for example, he may have been biding his time as the ninth Avatar of Vishnu. Furthermore he can also be Chinese, Tibetan, Japanese or almost any East Asian nationality. In which case he may not have been Gautama at all — or maybe only a little bit.

Wherever you go, his smiling benign features and air of blissful relaxation can only have a beneficial and calming influence. And there are many other Buddhas to help share the goodness. Not to mention all the Bodhisattvas who are Buddhas-Who-Have-Been or Maitreya, the Buddha-To-Be if he has not already come and gone.

But when Buddha comes back in the form of Kalki the Horse of Doom, that’s definitely the End of the Universe. It would all be too much otherwise.

Buddha Facts and Figures

Name: Buddha
Pronunciation: Coming soon
Alternative names:

Gender: Male
Type: God
Celebration or Feast Day: Unknown at present

Role: Unknown at present

Good/Evil Rating: GOOD, quite approachable
Popularity index: 11210

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Article last revised on September 20, 2018 by Rowan Allen.
Editors: Peter J. Allen, Chas Saunders

References: Coming soon.

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