Date: 03/16/2024 03/17/2024
Location: Star River Meditation Center
Teacher: Yunquan Huang
Dharma Knowledge
Who Is the Buddha
The word “Buddha” means “the Awakened One.” It does not refer to a god, a savior, or a creator of the universe, but to a human being who fully awakened to the true nature of life. The historical Buddha was Siddhartha Gautama, a prince born in ancient India. He was not called a Buddha because of his birth, but because of his awakening. For this reason, the significance of the Buddha extends far beyond Buddhism itself and belongs to the shared spiritual heritage of humanity.
Born into privilege and comfort, Siddhartha was nonetheless deeply troubled after encountering the realities of aging, illness, and death. These experiences awakened in him a profound question: Is human life inevitably bound to suffering and impermanence, or is there a way beyond it? Driven by this inquiry, he renounced his royal life and devoted himself to spiritual practice. After years of severe asceticism, he realized that neither indulgence nor self-mortification leads to liberation. Sitting in deep contemplation beneath the Bodhi tree, he turned inward and directly perceived the truths of dependent arising, impermanence, non-self, and liberation. With this realization, Siddhartha became the Buddha.
The Buddha’s awakening was not the acquisition of supernatural power, but a clear insight into how life actually functions. He saw that all phenomena arise due to causes and conditions, that there is no permanent, independent self, and that suffering originates from ignorance and attachment. He also saw that suffering can cease when these causes are understood and relinquished. From this insight arose the teachings of the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path—practical guidance for recognizing suffering, understanding its causes, and cultivating freedom from it. Importantly, the Buddha never demanded belief in himself; instead, he invited people to verify the truth through their own experience.
One of the Buddha’s most distinctive contributions is his insistence that awakening is accessible to all. He did not claim exclusive authority or present himself as the only savior. On the contrary, he emphasized that all beings possess the potential for awakening, obscured only by ignorance. Therefore, he urged his followers to rely on the Dharma rather than on any individual person, including himself. The Buddha stands as a teacher and a guide—a beacon for those walking the path—rather than an object of blind worship.
In character, the Buddha embodied the unity of wisdom and compassion. He understood the depth of suffering in the world and responded with profound empathy and clarity. Kings and beggars, monks and householders, the respected and the outcast—all were met with the same equanimity and care. His compassion was not sentimental weakness, but a strength grounded in insight; his wisdom was not detached intellect, but a living force that alleviated suffering and restored dignity.
After the Buddha’s passing, he left no centralized authority or dogma, but a path that could be practiced, tested, and transmitted across generations. More than two thousand years later, people continue to draw inspiration from his life and teachings—not because he was elevated as a divine figure, but because the truths he realized speak directly to the human condition. Who is the Buddha? He is a human being who faced suffering honestly, awakened completely, and offered the world a timeless invitation: to see clearly, to let go, and to be free.
