A "Godlike" Buddha

While reading the Introduction to The Dhammapada, I thought it was interesting when Siddhartha was mistaken for a God. On page 37, a beautiful woman with a newborn wanted to give thanks for her son. Her handmaid mistook Buddha for a god and exclaimed, "The radiant god for whom you prayed for a son is sitting under the banyan tree by the side of the river.Why not make your offering for him directly?"

At first I was confused, because I didn't think that Budda was a god. However, during class, Alex explained that the handmaid might have mistaken him for a god because he was giving off a radiant glow.

And it's true. In every picture I can find of Buddha, he has a yellow orb around his head. During his enlightenment, when he finally found nirvana, he was at peace with himself and shined with an inner light. He became "awake." That got me thinking. Why couldn't Buddha be a god? He reminds me of Jesus in a way, for Jesus became enlightened with new teachings and wanted to preach his word to his disciples and beyond as well. And technically speaking, Jesus is God because he is part of the Holy Trinity, which means the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are one and the same. So why not Buddha?


Buddha's Glow: