Why do some English-language texts refer to the Buddha as "Lord"? I often see this word online, especially in Sutras translated into English. Does the original Sutra written in Pali or Sanskrit mentioned it like this?
The meaning of &quot;Lord&quot; as per wikipedia is I think quite a contradiction with Buddha:

Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting like a master, a chief, or a ruler.

In Wikipedia it mentioned that Gautama Buddha &quot;is often called Lord Buddha&quot;. I believe it's a misconception?
Compassion and Peacefulness are always the fundament of Buddhism -- if the &quot;Lord&quot; title can be changed to &quot;Teacher&quot;, which is the truth and can make billions of people happy, then isn't that a good karma?
The reason i am asking this is because &quot;some&quot; people of other religions may see this word and feel very discomforted.
Compassion -&gt; If words being changed from &quot;Lord&quot; to &quot;Teacher&quot;, then many would rather practice instead worshipping. Many do not know who is Buddha, but claimed to be Buddhist like I did before. Many would go to temple to worship for more power, money, desiring higher quality of living, bigger house, etc which is contradictory with Buddhism teaching. It would make other non-Buddhists comfortable too.
Post note base on comments:
It sounds that base on the written statement, Buddha is dhammassāmī or lord of the dhamma but bhante &quot;venerable sir&quot; sound more decent or less offensive for others especially those non Buddhist (low EQ one).
The first definition of wikipedia ...

&quot;Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting like a master, a chief, or a ruler&quot;

... is wrong or inapplicable, because none of that wording matches, except &quot;Buddha is a person&quot;.
It contradicts with the 10 percepts of Buddhism -&gt; Not to use false words and speech, or encourage others to do so.
Wikipedia is impermanence and Buddhism is not bases on written truth -- can somebody who has higher knowledge/wisdom request them to change it?
This is the first Sutra that lead me to Buddhism and it's one of the most common Sutra used in south China and South East Asia. 世尊 or bhagavā is commonly used. dhammassāmī or Lord is never been used. But 神(God in direct translation) is commonly used which lead to misconception. If you would ask me the 神(God) wording should be revised for Buddhism because the 神(God) in Buddhism is totally different from Christian/Muslim conception yet it's a very sensitive wording.
http://www.drbachinese.org/online_reading_simplified/sutra_explanation/EarthStore/EarthStoreSutra.htm
Let me know if I am also making any false words and speech, I am kinda learning here too.
In ancient Pali and Sanskrit texts the most common title for the Buddha is Bhagavan, which means someone rich and/or important (like e.g. Bill Gates or the president etc). This is how the Buddha is often called in the third person (i.e. Bhagavan raised from his seat and said...)
The way the Buddha is usually addressed in the second person (i.e. when you say &quot;yes, sir, I'll do as you say sir&quot;) - is &quot;bhante&quot;. This is understood to be a Pali version of the Sanskrit &quot;bhavantaḥ&quot; which means &quot;all of you&quot; or &quot;[plural] you&quot; or &quot;the big/important you&quot;.
Another common reference is Sugata, which means the lucky one or the successful one.
Finally sometimes he's called Jina which means the victor or the winner (in a battle).
Lord is a common English translation of the first title, Bhagavan, and sometimes of the second one, Bhante.