Both 仏 and 釈迦 are defined as "Buddha" in my dictionary. Is there a difference between these words?
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The answer to this question appears to greatly depend on which sect of Buddhism one subscribes to (timeisbunny.hatenablog.com/entry/2015/03/27/213750). Do you want an answer about common usage or technical usage? – virmaior Dec 8 '15 at 12:19
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仏 basically means (lowercase) buddha, that is, past participle of a verb that means to wake in Sanskrit or one who are awaken, not limited to Gautama Buddha. 釈迦 refers to Gautama Siddhartha himself.