Buddha facts for kids

Buddhism; ;
	Basic terms;
	Three Jewels; ; Four Noble Truths; Dukkha; ; Samudaya; ; Nirodha; ; Marga; ; ; Noble Eightfold Path; ; Buddhahood; ; Enlightenment; ; Nirvana; ;
	People;
	Gautama Buddha; Dalai Lama; Bodhisattva; Sangha
	Schools;
	Theravada; Mahayana; Zen; Vajrayana; Nyingma Kagyu Sakya Gelug
	Practices;
	study Dharma; Meditation; Metta

This article is about the definition of a Buddha. For the historical Buddha, see Gautama Buddha.

Big Lord Buddha Statue, Lantau Island, HK

A Buddha is the holiest type of being in Buddhism, a teacher of God's and humans. The word Buddha means "enlightened one" in Sanskrit or Fully Awakened One in Pāli.

It is also a title for Siddhartha Gautama. He was the man who started Buddhism. Sometimes people call him "the Buddha" or the "Shakyamuni Buddha". Other times, people call any person a Buddha if they have found enlightenment. If a person has not found enlightenment yet, but is very close to reaching it, then he is called bodhisattva.

Summary

Buddhists believe that there are many Buddhas. The most recent one was Gautama Buddha. People who will become Buddhas someday are called "bodhisattvas."

Buddhists believe that the Buddha was enlightened, which means that he knew all about how to live a peaceful life and how to avoid suffering. He is said to have never argued with other people, but only said what was true and useful, out of compassion for others.

Some Buddhists pray to Buddhas, but Buddhas are not gods. Buddhas are teachers who help the people who will listen. A Buddha is a human being who has woken up and can see the true way the world works. This knowledge totally changes the person so that they can have a better life in the present and the future. A Buddha can also help a person achieve enlightenment.

There are ideas which are said to lead someone to enlightenment. They are called the Dharma (Sanskrit) or "Dhamma" (Pāli), meaning "the way" or "the truth." Anyone can become a Buddha, but it is very difficult. He became Buddha under the peepal or "bodhi" tree at Bodhgaya in Bihar in what is now India.

Types of Buddhas

There is a special type of Buddha called a pratyekabuddha or "silent Buddhas". These Buddhas reached enlightenment on their own, but they did not teach others.

Another type of Buddha is a samyaksambuddha. This is the best kind of Buddha because he is able to teach all living beings.

Seven Buddhas of the past

Buddhists believe that there have been many Buddhas in the past. There will also be many Buddhas in the future. Traditionally, seven Buddhas are given names.

Vipashyin Buddha
Shikhin Buddha
Vishvabhu Buddha
Krakucchanda Buddha
Kanakamuni Buddha
Kashyapa Buddha
Shakyamuni Buddha

Maitreya will be the next Buddha.

32 Signs of a Great Man

A Buddha is a person who has reached perfection. Some believe that there are 32 physical features of a Buddha; these are the 32 marks of a Great Man from Vedic brahmin folklore, but are mentioned in the Pāli canon. Some of these features are represented in art and sculpture. These are listed below.

Flat feet
Thousand-spoked wheel symbol on feet
Long, slender fingers
Flexible hands and feet
Webbed fingers and toes
Full-sized heels
Arched insteps
Thighs like a royal stag
Hands that reach below the knees
Sheathed male organ
Equal height and stretch of arms
Dark-colored hair
Graceful and curly body hair
Golden-hued body
Ten-foot halo around his body
Soft, smooth skin
Soles, palms, shoulders, and crown of head well-rounded
Area below armpits filled out
Lion-shaped body
Erect and upright body
Full, round shoulders
Forty teeth
White, even, and close teeth
Four pure white canine teeth
Jaw like a lion
Saliva that improves the taste of all food
Long and broad tongue
Deep and resonant voice
Deep blue eyes
Eyelashes like a royal bull
White curl of hair (ūrṇā) that emits light between eyebrows
Bump on the crown of the head

Related pages

Images for kids

Ancient kingdoms and cities of India during the time of the Buddha (circa 500 BCE)
The words "Bu-dhe" (𑀩𑀼𑀥𑁂, the Buddha) and "Sa-kya-mu-nī " ( 𑀲𑀓𑁆𑀬𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀻, "Sage of the Shakyas") in Brahmi script, on Ashoka's Lumbini pillar inscription (circa 250 BCE)
Bharhut inscription: Bhagavato Sakamunino Bodho (𑀪𑀕𑀯𑀢𑁄 𑀲𑀓𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀺𑀦𑁄 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑁄 "The illumination of the Blessed Sakamuni"), circa 100 BCE.
One of the earliest anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha, here surrounded by Brahma (left) and Śakra (right). Bimaran Casket, mid-1st century CE, British Museum.
The legendary Jataka collections depict the Buddha-to-be in a previous life prostrating before the past Buddha Dipankara, making a resolve to be a Buddha, and receiving a prediction of future Buddhahood.
The "Great Departure" of Siddhartha Gautama, surrounded by a halo, he is accompanied by numerous guards and devata who have come to pay homage; Gandhara, Kushan period
Prince Siddhartha shaves his hair and becomes a sramana. Borobudur, 8th century
The gilded "Emaciated Buddha statue" in an Ubosoth in Bangkok representing the stage of his asceticism
Scene of the battle with Mara
Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, India, site of the first teaching of the Buddha in which he taught the Four Noble Truths to his first five disciples
The chief disciples of the Buddha, Mogallana (chief in psychic power) and Sariputta (chief in wisdom).
The remains of a section of Jetavana Monastery, just outside of ancient Savatthi, in Uttar Pradesh.
Mahāprajāpatī, the first bhikkuni and Buddha's stepmother, ordains
Procession of King Prasenajit of Kosala leaving Sravasti to meet the Buddha. Sanchi
This East Javanese relief depicts the Buddha in his final days, and Ānanda, his chief attendant.
Mahaparinirvana, Gandhara, 3rd or 4th century CE, gray schist
The Bodhisattva meets with Alara Kalama, Borobudur relief.
Gandharan Buddhist birchbark scroll fragments
Buddha meets a Brahmin, at the Indian Museum, Kolkata
Schist Buddha statue with the famed Ye Dharma Hetu dhāraṇī around the head, which was used as a common summary of Dependent Origination. It states: "Of those experiences that arise from a cause, The Tathāgata has said: 'this is their cause, And this is their cessation': This is what the Great Śramaṇa teaches."
Gandharan sculpture depicting the Buddha in the full lotus seated meditation posture, 2nd-3rd century CE
Buddhist monks from Nepal. According to the earliest sources, the Buddha looked like a typical shaved man from northeast India.
Buddha depicted as the 9th avatar of god Vishnu in a traditional Hindu representation
Gautama Buddha, Buddhist temple, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
A Royal Couple Visits the Buddha, from railing of the Bharhut Stupa, Shunga dynasty, early 2nd century BC.
Adoration of the Diamond Throne and the Bodhi Tree, Bharhut.
Descent of the Buddha from the Trayastrimsa Heaven, Sanchi Stupa No. 1.
The Buddha's Miracle at Kapilavastu, Sanchi Stupa 1.
Bimbisara visiting the Buddha (represented as empty throne) at the Bamboo garden in Rajagriha
The great departure with riderless horse, Amaravati, 2nd century CE.
The Assault of Mara, Amaravati, 2nd century CE.
Buddha Preaching in Tushita Heaven. Amaravati, Satavahana period, 2d century CE. Indian Museum, Calcutta.
Isapur Buddha, one of the earliest physical depictions of the Buddha, circa 15 CE. Art of Mathura
The Buddha attended by Indra at Indrasala Cave, Mathura 50-100 CE.
Buddha Preaching in Tushita Heaven. Amaravati, 2nd century CE.
Standing Buddha from Gandhara.
Kushan period Buddha Triad.
Buddha statue from Sanchi.
Birth of the Buddha, Kushan dynasty, late 2nd to early 3rd century CE.
The Infant Buddha Taking A Bath, Gandhara 2nd century CE.
6th century Gandharan Buddha.
Buddha at Cave No. 6, Ajanta Caves.
Standing Buddha, Circa 5th Century CE.
Sarnath standing Buddha, 5th century CE.
Seated Buddha, Gupta period.
Seated Buddha at Gal Vihara, Sri Lanka.
Chinese Stele with Sakyamuni and Bodhisattvas, Wei period, 536 CE.
The Shakyamuni Daibutsu Bronze, c. 609, Nara, Japan.
Amaravati style Buddha of Srivijaya period, Palembang, Indonesia, 7th century.
Korean Seokguram Cave Buddha, c. 774 CE.
Seated Buddha Vairocana flanked by Avalokiteshvara and Vajrapani of Mendut temple, Central Java, Indonesia, early 9th century.
Buddha in the exposed stupa of Borobudur mandala, Central Java, Indonesia, c. 825.
Vairocana Buddha of Srivijaya style, Southern Thailand, 9th century.
Cambodian Buddha with Mucalinda Nāga, c. 1100 CE, Banteay Chhmar, Cambodia
15th century Sukhothai Buddha.
15th century Sukhothai Walking Buddha.
Sakyamuni, Lao Tzu, and Confucius, c. from 1368 until 1644.
Chinese depiction of Shakyamuni, 1600.
Shakyamuni Buddha with Avadana Legend Scenes, Tibetan, 19th century
Gautama statue, Shanyuan Temple, Liaoning Province, China.
Burmese style Buddha, Shwedagon pagoda, Yangon.

3. “Chapter 3 Buddhism. Origins and Fundamental Tenets. .” Religions in the Modern World: Traditions and Transformations, section written by Cathy Cantwell & Hiroko Kawanami., Routledge, 2016, pp. 75–78

Buddhism
Basic terms
Three Jewels Four Noble Truths Dukkha Samudaya Nirodha Marga Noble Eightfold Path Buddhahood Enlightenment Nirvana
People
Gautama Buddha Dalai Lama Bodhisattva Sangha
Schools
Theravada Mahayana Zen Vajrayana Nyingma Kagyu Sakya Gelug
Practices
study Dharma Meditation Metta