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When used in a generic sense, a Buddha is generally considered to be a person who discovers the true nature of reality through years of spiritual cultivation, investigation of the various religious practices of his time, and meditation. This transformational discovery is called bodhi - literally, "Awakening" (more commonly called "Enlightenment"). Any person who has become awakened from the "sleep of ignorance" by directly realizing the true nature of reality is called a Buddha.

THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
The Buddha taught that life was inherently suffering, that it is caused by craving, but that this condition was curable by following the Noble Eightfold Path. This teaching is called the Catvāry Āryasatyāni, the "Four Noble Truths".Suffering: Birth is suffering, aging is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering; union with what is displeasing is suffering; separation from what is pleasing is suffering; not to get what one wants is suffering; in brief, the five aggregates subject to clinging are suffering.

1. The origin of suffering: The craving which leads to renewed existence (reincarnation).
2. The cessation of suffering: The cessation of craving.
3. The way leading to the cessation of suffering: The Noble Eightfold Path;
4. The Four Noble Truths was the topic of the first sermon given by the Buddha after his enlightenment, which was given to the ascetics with whom he had practiced austerities.

The Four Noble Truths were originally spoken by Buddha, not in the form of a religious or philosophical text, but in the form of a common medical prescription of the time. Buddha also said that followers should use his teachings only if they help. He compared worrying about things such as an afterlife while suffering with a person who has been shot with an arrow worrying about who made the arrow, rather than removing it. As such, there is a strong case for the Buddha's teachings being intended as psychological tools, to ease mental distress, rather than as esoteric teachings for the strongly religious. To attest to this, Buddhist meditation, in particular, is now being scientifically studied in the West, both in laboratory tests, and in real-world, hands-on psychiatry. Many long-term practicing Buddhists, for instance, have been shown to have physically different brain structure, in areas associated with profound joy or spiritual happiness.

THE NOBLE EIGHT FOLD PATH

The Noble Eightfold Path is the way to the cessation of suffering, the fourth part of the Four Noble Truths. In order to fully understand the noble truths and investigate whether they were in fact true, Buddha recommended that a certain path be followed which consists of :

1. Right View - Realizing the Four Noble Truths
2. Right Intention - Commitment to mental and Ethical growth in moderation
3. Right Speech - One speaks in a non hurtful, not exaggerated, truthful way
4. Right Action - Wholesome action, avoiding action that would hurt others
5. Right Livelihood - One's job does not harm in any way oneself or others; directly or indirectly (weapon maker, drug dealer, etc.)
6. Right Effort - One makes an effort to improve
7. Right Mindfulness - Mental ability to see things for what they are with clear consciousness
8. Right Concentration - State where one reaches enlightenment and the ego has disappeared

The word samyak means "turned to one point or against each other, universus or adversus; whole, entire, all; correct, right, true." There are a number of ways to interpret the Eightfold Path. On one hand, the Noble Eightfold Path is spoken of as being a progressive series of stages through which the practitioner moves, the culmination of one leading to the beginning of another, whereas others see it as the states of the 'Path' as requiring simultaneous development. It is also common to categorise into prajñā (wisdom), śīla (virtuous behaviour) and samādhi (concentration).

Courtesy : Wikipedia