Who is Shakyamuni Buddha?

Dear Sensei Tony- What does the Buddha Shakyamuni mean to you? This is Samuel.

Thank you for this question. Wow. It’s a big one! Well, there isn’t really enough room in this exchange to tell you everything he means to me because he literally has been a central figure in my entire life. My devotion to his teachings and legacy are so intertwined with my own, that I really can’t separate them. That being said, let me outline what some scholars have written:

‘The Buddha was considered an extraordinary human being, in whom ultimate reality was embodied, and who was an incarnation of the mythical figure of the tathagata; The Buddha's disciples were attracted to his spiritual charisma and supernatural authority; Nirvana was conceived as the attainment of a "persisting immortality", and the gaining of a deathless sphere from which there would be no falling back (acyuta pada), which is the pinnacle of reality, the supreme point of the dharmadhatu. This nirvana, as a transmundane reality or state, an "eternal vijñana" and is incarnated in the person of the Buddha. The more radical anatman doctrine does not apply to this but to the skandhic self. And Nirvana can be reached because it already dwells as the inmost "consciousness" of the human being. It is a consciousness which is not subject to birth and death. ‘

Now, how about that! I know these statements above may go against what some say and who feel it is imperative to talk about him as just a great teacher. But, I’m sorry for them, because if this was all he really was, then his character and career on earth would not have made such a huge and I mean huge, much bigger than many realize, impact on the history of humanity. It’s like when folks try to whittle down the figure of Christ in a similar manner. They are, in my opinion, projecting their own limiting beliefs onto him instead of just simply saying what those who walked with him or were directly inspired by him, knew. In today’s secular world, this may seem helpful, and you certainly don’t have to believe anything specific about him to benefit from his teachings. And we could explore the word, Buddha, as a title, or representing a cosmic principle or consciousness. But to say less than this is contrary what the history of the faith tradition shows and what the spiritual community that flowed from his life has become and it is just false to say otherwise. What I will say is that one of the most appealing things that I found was that he didn’t want to be worshiped as some unattainable perfection. He wanted you to realize that you are destined to become the same as him. You may not have his particular personal historical path in this world but in the end you are no different in essence. And that’s one of most beautiful things he means to me. As we say in our Sangha Sutra, The One Body of the Buddha (please see my book, Mere Buddhismhttps://www.amazon.com/Mere-Buddhism-One-Body-Buddha/dp/B0D2HQ59BS?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER), “As he was, we will become.” Believe you me, I could go on for hours about how the Buddha Dharma has liberated my life, but I hope that this short snapshot was helpful.