116. Q. When our Bōdhisattva became Buddha, what did he see was the cause of human misery? Tell me in one word. A. Ignorance (Avidyā). - Henry Steel Olcott

12. Q. Was Buddha his name? A. No. It is the name of a condition or state of mind, of the mind after it has reached the culmination of development.

32. Q. But have not many men given up all earthly blessings, and even life itself, for the sake of their fellow-men? A. Certainly. But we believe that this surpassing unselfishness and love for humanity showed themselves in his renouncing the bliss of Nirvāna countless ages ago, when he was born as the Brāhmana Sumedha, in the time of Dīpānkara Buddha: he had then reached the stage where he might have entered Nirvāna, had he not loved mankind more than himself. This renunciation implied his voluntarily enduring the miseries of earthly lives until he became Buddha, for the sake of teaching all beings the way to emancipation and to give rest to the world.

125. Q. How may we gain such a conquest? A. By following the Noble Eight-fold Path which the Buddha discovered and pointed out.