Buddha ?

[Xue Sheng]

Yes, I know almost nothing about Buddhism. On a good day I can spell it correctly (only recently learned there is an "h" in it).

I had assumed that a statue of "Buddha" was a statue of "the" guy whose name was Buddha.

I now understand that Buddha, apparently is not the name of a single person, but, a title given to anyone who has attained a certain level of understanding, thus there are many Buddhas. Which explains why the statues look different.

My error. Not from any malevolent intent, but a high level of ignorance (low level of ignorance?). Please accept my apologies. And thank you for educating me.

Clarification: High level of ignorance equals low level of knowledge.

No apology necessary you don't know unless you ask

 

[Monkey Turned Wolf]

Yes, I know almost nothing about Buddhism. On a good day I can spell it correctly (only recently learned there is an "h" in it).

I had assumed that a statue of "Buddha" was a statue of "the" guy whose name was Buddha.

I now understand that Buddha, apparently is not the name of a single person, but, a title given to anyone who has attained a certain level of understanding, thus there are many Buddhas. Which explains why the statues look different.

My error. Not from any malevolent intent, but a high level of ignorance (low level of ignorance?). Please accept my apologies. And thank you for educating me.

Nothing here to apologize for. I had a feeling that was the cause of miscommunication, and because you asked here. You learned. Buddhism is a fascinating religion (that I may spend some time delving into again, thanks to this post. It's been a long minute)

 

[Buka]

Buddha knows.

 

[Stuarto]

Can you point out which part of that disagrees? Because unless I'm missing something, none of that goes against what I stated. A Buddhist figure does not mean it has to be buddha, just like a Christian figure is not necessarily christ. and if I'm reading/understanding the Maitreya part correctly, that's referring to a separate bodhisattva then Siddhartha, indicating that they would in fact be a separate person.

From the link you shared, it also directly references Bodai:
"Based on an eccentric Chinese Ch'an monk from the 9th century, the laughing Buddha has become an inseparable and significant part of Buddhism. He was a native of Fenghua in China, and his Buddhist name was Qieci. He was always taken as a man of loving and cheerful character"

I was under that same impression that the "laughing Buddha" was a Chinese monk who was always happy. Supposedly he would hand out candy to children.

 

[Same Trick]

Yes, I know almost nothing about Buddhism. On a good day I can spell it correctly (only recently learned there is an "h" in it).

I had assumed that a statue of "Buddha" was a statue of "the" guy whose name was Buddha.

I now understand that Buddha, apparently is not the name of a single person, but, a title given to anyone who has attained a certain level of understanding, thus there are many Buddhas. Which explains why the statues look different.

My error. Not from any malevolent intent, but a high level of ignorance (low level of ignorance?). Please accept my apologies. And thank you for educating me.

I too thought “Buddha” was the one and only, not several. “Buddhahood” I thought it was called for those who reached the enlightenment similar to the Buddha

 

[Xue Sheng]

I too thought “Buddha” was the one and only, not several. “Buddhahood” I thought it was called for those who reached the enlightenment similar to the Buddha

How Many Buddhas Are There?

How Many Buddhas Are There? Asia-wide Buddhists are getting ready to commemorate the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who subsequently took the name Gautama Buddha and served as Buddhism's founder.In what is now Nepal, the Buddha is thought to have been born some 2,500 years ago.Asian...

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