In the long history of Dharma (Buddhist Teaching) there have been over forty recognised Buddhas. The man, Gautama Siddhartha, was the latest of the currently recognised Buddhas and is usually the one to whom people refer when they say "the Buddha". A 'Buddha' is any Self-realised man or woman. Any one of us can become a Buddha in his lifetime.

Self-realisation is God-realisation. It unfolds as we break down the conditioned barriers of delusion that seemingly separate the created from the creator. The delusion that is conditioned by the many false doctrines that lead mankind to believe that it is somehow apart from the Source of all life, consciousness and energy. Such doctrines have led us into a feeling of sinfulness and powerlessness, and that we have to be 'saved' by the grace or intercession of some outside agent. Realisation comes at that 'day of at-one-ment' wherein we experience that "I am in the Father, you are in me and I am in thee". It is a direct, personal experience, as opposed to an intellectual concept, philosophy or belief.

In the East, the layperson virtually surrendered all expectation of enlightenment the moment the Brotherhood of monks (the Sangha) turned the Dharma into a religion and started to worship Gautama; even though the Buddha saw through the man-made concepts of personalised gods and taught against it.

Nowadays, in the 'orthodox' Theravadan tradition, the lay-Buddhist supports the Sangha so that, hopefully, one of the monks, through intense meditation and the strict observance of the two hundred and twenty-seven rules of the Sangha, will achieve Buddha-hood and help his brothers and sisters do the same. The 227 rules are little more than a reduction and absurdum of Ahimsa (Harmlessness) in word and deed; if not in thought.

Islam, though a very violent religion, is one of the few world religions that has had the uncommon good sense not to deify its prophet/teacher. "There is only one God, and Muhammad is God's prophet." Unfortunately Islam, like the other 'children of the book' personalised God with the label 'Allah', but happily managed to resist deifying their prophet. Buddhism and Christianity have both turned their prophet/teachers into the one God.

It should never be forgotten that the 'holy' books were written by men. If we were wise enough to say, "The Prophet so and so is reported to have said (by whom)...." instead of, "God said..." We might dare to question man's distortions of the original truths.