Buddha means “the awakened one”.
B = like an 8, the endless daily cycle of samsara: birth/death/sleep/birth… Each daily cycle reinforces our self-identity.
Buddha awakens us from this cycle, showing us how samsara is created by the self.
Bud = a flower awakens.
d = it emerges from the cycle and points to the eternal heavens.
ha = the laughter of realization — awakening is complicated to describe yet naturally easy to know by observing.
Bu (boo) = the sound one makes to startle or awaken another.
ddha (duh!) = awakening is so obvious, it’s funny most don’t get it.
Awakening is a natural process.
Just observe and allow it to happen.
Upon awakening, we look up at the sun and dark sky — the universe — and realize that if our infinitesimal self thinks it’s not the universe, our self is delusional. We are, because we can only be, the universe.
Buddha is our awakening, freedom from the self.