"Buddha"

[Ven. Tantra]

I see two underpinning questions here: (1) When did
the term �Buddha� first gain currency in India? And
whether or not this was before or after the time of
Gautama, (2) At what time did the Buddha-cult adopt
the term as an appellation for their culture-hero, who
was more or less viewed as the Embodiment of
Enlightenment. I do not know what indications there
are that Gautama was referred to as "Buddha" during
his lifetime.

Ven Tantra
_______

nanda chandran wrote:
The reference to the Buddha in the GaudapAdiya KArikA
is a highly controversial topic. It is asserted by
traditionalists that �Buddha� refers to Lord NArAyana
or a �wise one�.

Though the word �Buddha� does mean �awakened� or �wise
one� and it might have been used in pre Buddhist
literature, can the learned members confirm whether
this trend was followed i.e, the use of the word
�Buddha�, by non Buddhist schools after the advent of
the historical Buddha.

So was it after the historical Buddha only Buddhist
schools used the term and after him the other schools
ceased to use the term to indicate their wise ones?


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