A Buddha is a being who has completely abandoned all delusions and their imprints. In general, ‘Buddha’ means ‘Awakened One’, someone who has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and sees things as they really are. A Buddha is a person who is completely free from all faults and mental obstructions.

Their boundless and all-encompassing compassion gives Buddhas the energy to work without interruption for the sake of others. They understand the real causes of happiness and suffering, and they know exactly how to help living beings in accordance with their individual needs and inclinations. Buddhas have the power to bless the minds of all living beings, causing them to experience inner peace; and they also have the ability to emanate innumerable forms for the benefit of others.

Of all the ways in which Buddhas help living beings, the most effective is to teach them how to control their minds and follow the spiritual path to liberation and enlightenment.

Read more in Introduction to Buddhism

Yes, Buddha was a real person. He was born into a royal Shakya family in the year 624 BCE and named Siddhartha.  He was born in a place called Lumbini, in what is now Nepal and lived for 81 years until his death in Kushinagar. 

For those with pure karma Buddha looked like this image.  

To ordinary people he appeared as a humble monk.  

Buddha smiles gently, his clear eyes gazing at us with the love of a father for his dearest child. Buddha has great compassion that is completely impartial, embracing all living beings without discrimination. His appearance in general reminds us of all the good qualities of his enlightened mind.  

Read more in The Bodhisattva Vow

There are countless Buddhas who have already attained enlightenment, although only one who originally revealed the teachings in 589 BCE.  In fact every living being has the potential to become a Buddha, someone who has completely purified his or her mind of all faults and limitations and has brought all good qualities to perfection. 

In the Tantras Buddha said: Thus finally all living beings without exception will attain the supreme state of enlightenment, Buddhahood.

We can also understand that Buddhas appear in many different aspects to benefit living beings. For example, the compassion of all Buddhas appears as Buddha Avalokiteshvara, the wisdom of all Buddhas appears as Buddha Manjushri and the spiritual power of all Buddhas appears as Vajrapani.

Learn about other Buddhist Deities

Yes, anyone can become a Buddha.

Buddha said, “If you realise your own mind you will become a Buddha, you should not seek Buddhahood elsewhere.” 

Our mind is like a cloudy sky, in essence clear and pure but overcast by the clouds of delusions. Just as the thickest clouds eventually disperse, so too even the heaviest delusions can be removed from our mind. Delusions such as hatred, greed and ignorance are not an intrinsic part of the mind. If we apply the appropriate methods they can be completely eliminated, and we will experience the supreme happiness of full enlightenment.

Read more in The New Eight Steps to Happiness

Buddha was born over 2600 years ago.  He was born in 624 BCE and lived for 81 years.  

Buddha lived and taught in what is present day Nepal and India. 

Prince Siddhartha had a continuous wish to leave the palace and to attain enlightenment, but to fulfill his father’s wishes and to bring temporary benefit to the Shakya people, he agreed to marry Yasodhara. Together they had a son. 

When he was twenty-nine years old, the prince had a vision in which all the Buddhas of the ten directions appeared to him and spoke in unison saying, “Previously you resolved to become a Conqueror Buddha so that you could help all living beings trapped in the cycle of suffering. Now is the time for you to accomplish this.”

The prince went immediately to his parents and told them of his intention: “I wish to retire to a peaceful place in the forest where I can engage in deep meditation and quickly attain full enlightenment. Once I have attained enlightenment I shall be able to repay the kindness of all living beings, and especially the great kindness that you have shown me. Therefore I request your permission to leave the palace.”

When his parents heard this they were shocked, and the king refused to grant his permission. Prince Siddhartha said to his father “Father, if you can give me permanent freedom from the sufferings of birth, sickness, aging and death I shall stay in the palace; but if you cannot I must leave and make my human life meaningful.”

The king tried all means to prevent his son from leaving the palace. In the hope that the prince might change his mind, he surrounded him with a retinue of beautiful women, dancers, singers and musicians, who day and night used their charms to please him; and in case the prince might attempt a secret escape he posted guards around the palace walls.

However, the prince’s determination to leave the palace and enter a life of meditation could not be shaken. One night he used his miracle powers to send the guards and attendants into a deep sleep while he made his escape from the palace with the help of a trusted aide.

After they had traveled about six miles, the prince dismounted from his horse and bade farewell to his aide. He then cut off his hair and threw it into the sky, where it was caught by the gods of the Land of the Thirty-three Heavens. One of the gods then offered the prince the saffron robes of a religious mendicant. The prince accepted these and gave his royal garments to the god in exchange. In this way he ordained himself as a monk. Introduction to Buddhism

Buddha attained enlightenment in Bodh Gaya in India in 589 BCE seated beneath the Bodhi tree in the meditation posture.  

Buddha left the royal palace and life as a Prince at the age of 29. In 589 BCE, after training in meditation for six years he attained Enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree at the age of 35.

Buddha showed the manner of passing away at the age of eighty-one in Kushinagar, India.  He did not die like an ordinary being, but attained Parinirvana, which means passing away to a state-beyond-sorrow, in BCE 544.  

Just before Buddha died he gave his last teaching saying “Do not be so sad. All things are impermanent. With birth there is death, with arising there is dissolving, with coming together there is separation. Be diligent in your efforts to attain liberation!”

Buddha promised that after he passed away, he would continue to emanate in this world to help all living beings, both Buddhists and non-Buddhists - in particular as a Spiritual Guide. 

Buddhism is the practice of Buddha’s teachings, also called ‘Dharma’, which means ‘protection’. By practicing Buddha’s teachings, living beings are permanently protected from suffering. 

Today we can see many different forms of Buddhism.  All these different aspects are practices of Buddha’s teachings, and all are equally precious; they are just different presentations.

In the Hinayana teachings, Buddha explains how to attain liberation from suffering for oneself alone, which leads us to nirvana.  In the Mahayana teachings, he explains how to attain full enlightenment, or Buddhahood for the sake of others.  Both traditions flourished in Asia, at first in India and then gradually in other surrounding countries, including Tibet.  Now they are beginning to flourish in countries throughout the world. 

Read more in Introduction to Buddhism 

Just seeing an image or statue of Buddha will leave a virtuous imprint on our mind that is the cause of attaining liberation in the future. So yes, it is very beneficial for our future happiness even for non-Buddhists to see images of Buddha or to have a Buddha statue in their home. 

For people who have faith in Buddha seeing a Buddha image makes them feel peaceful.  Those who practice meditation find it can be very beneficial to set up a shrine with representations of Buddha’s body, speech and mind.  A Shrine provides a focus for our faith and a continual reminder of our practice. 

Read more in The New Eight Steps to Happiness

The practice of prostration has many benefits and was taught by Buddha.  It helps us to purify negative karma, to have a humble, receptive mind and creates the cause to attain the form body of a Buddha. 

Read more in Joyful Path of Good Fortune

With our present, ordinary state of mind we cannot perceive the actual body, speech and mind of Buddha; but if we regard the image of Buddha as an actual Buddha and make prostrations, offerings and requests to it, our actions will have the same merit or value as if we had performed them in the presence of the living Buddha.  Making offerings empowers our mind with the positive energy needed to attain full enlightenment for the sake of all living beings.  We can make actual offerings or we can use our imagination to make offerings.

Read more in Joyful Path of Good Fortune