Tathāgata
Person仏陀が自身を指して用いた称号で、注釈書は八種以上の説明を挙げるが一致は見ない。この語は仏教以前から存在し、仏陀に限らずいかなる阿羅漢にも適用しうると指摘される。
An epithet of the Buddha, used by the Buddha in referring to himself.
The Commentaries (DA.i.59-67; AA.i.58-63; MA.39-43; UdA.128 ff, etc.) give eight (sometimes expanded to sixteen) explanations of the word, which shows that there was probably no fixed tradition on the point.
The explanations indicate that the name can be used for any Arahant, and not necessarily only for a Buddha.
The term was evidently pre-Buddhistic, though it has not yet been found in any pre-Buddhistic work.
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