the word 'buddha' in the Pāli canon

Dear Pālipīyakā,

A friend of mine has asked a question in relation to some editing work she is engaged in. She asks if the word ‘buddha’ is used in the Pāli canon in a non-religious sense, to mean ‘wise’. This is a claim made in the work she is editing and she wonders if I can provide a reference. My response has been that I don’t believe the word ‘buddha’ is used in the canon in such a non-Buddhist sense. In Monier Williams’ Sanskrit dictionary, the word ‘buddha’ is given as meaning ‘wise’ etc. with a reference to the Mahābhārata, so it may be that the word ‘buddha’ was used in non-Buddhist contexts to mean ‘wise’, but I am not sure if this usage is found in Pāli.

Of course, the word ‘buddha’ is part of the common vocabulary of Buddhism and Jainism. I have read K.R. Norman’s papers on this topic. His conclusion is that ‘Buddha’ was an epithet for Gotama and Mahāvīra in Buddhism and Jainism respectively, alongside other epithets which were just as common, e.g. Bhagavā, Tathāgata, Jina, Sugata. All this is readily observable in the Pāli discourses, as is the use of the word ‘buddha’ not just as an epithet of Gotama but as a word with the same meaning as ‘arahant’ i.e. awakened disciple.

My guess is that the idea that the word ‘buddha’ is used to mean ‘wise’ in a non-Buddhist sense may result from mixing up the fact that ‘buddha’ is used in both early Buddhism and Jainism in a more general way (meaning ‘awakened one’) with the fact that there are certain words like ‘arahant’, ‘muni’, ‘kovida’, ‘medha’, paṇḍita’, which are used both as epithets for the Buddha and his awakened disciples (among the various religious traditions in ancient India), and as words signifying merely ‘wisdom' in a non-specific sense. This latter point is easily shown from the use of these words in the early Pāli texts.

Am I right or do any of my knowledgeable Pāli friends know of any occurrences of ‘buddha’ meaning ‘wise’ in a non-awakened kind of way?

Many thanks,
Dhivan