Buddha literally means the “Awakened One,” and comes from a root that is Widespread and Old in Indo European speech. The reconstructed root in Proto Indo European is *bheudh.

Cognates include Avestan baôδaiti “wake up to, understand,” Vedic bódhati “awake,” Lithuanian bundú “awake,” Gothic ana-biudan “rules to observe, order,” Old English beodan, Old Norse bjóða “inquire, pay attention to, look into.”

We read in the gathas/songs of seer/prophet Zarathustra:

 pará mazé ýáv.aηhö//ahmái né saz.diiái baôd.añtö paitî

“Before the great battle// awaken ye to this revelation, doctrine.”

The “great or magnificent battle” in the sacred poetry of the gathas refers to the final battle between the Immortals of light against demons of gloom, and the final triumph of the new age of eternal spring and progress.

The notion of the final, “majestic battle” is repeated again in Yasna 36.2 mazištái ýáv.aηhãm where the renewal of the worlds comes through illumination and fire of the Mindful lord, Ahûrá Mazdá.

In the gathic doctrine, each soul must hasten the coming of the eternal spring and the Splendid age of the Immortals through “spiritual awakening and enlightenment” to the superb wisdom and doctrine of the wise ahurás. The Titans or Primeval God Powers within must be awakened baôd.añtö, thus the splendid new universe comes about.

The doctrine of 10,000 Bodhisattvas, the “awakened, enlightened ones” who have attained Buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings, and Amitābha “Buddha of Infinite light,” show striking similarities to the 10,000 Immortals of Zoroastrianism, and the “Giants/Mighty Lords of Ages,” the Saöšiiánts of the gathic poetry.

In conclusion, I shall add that the term ārya; Pāli: ariya is a term frequently used in Buddhism that can be translated as “noble, exalted, pure, and is frequently used in sacred texts to designate a spiritual warrior light or virtuous hero.

The “Four Noble Truths” in Buddhism are called the catvāry ārya satyāni (Sanskrit) or cattāri ariya saccāni (Pali.)

Also, the “Noble Eightfold Path” of right vision dhyana, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditative focus are called the ārya mārga (Sanskrit,) ariya magga (Pāli) in the original texts.

ardeshir