Buddha: His Life, his Doctrine, his Order c8.36

c8.36

What makes a Buddha a Buddha is, as his name indicates, his knowledge. He does not possess this knowledge, like a Christ, by virtue of a metaphysical superiority of his nature, surpassing everything earthly, but he has gained it, or, more strictly speaking, won it by a struggle. The Buddha is at the same time the Jina, *i.e.*, the conqueror. The history of the struggle for the Buddhahood must therefore precede the history of the Buddha.