Is Sakyamuni a "higher power"?
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The Dharma is the higher power, not the Buddha Shakyamuni, who is a Nirmanakaya.
Out of the three treasures, Dharma is primary, because it remains operative regardless of appearance or not appearance of Buddha and Sangha.
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Yes, to some extent: I think this answer ("Homage to Amida Buddha") is an example of that.
Obviously there are (other) ways in which the Buddha is not "like the Abrahamic God".
I'm not sure that the term Higher Power was used before AA, in the 1930s (except in mathematics).
One of AA's definitions (exphasis mine), from Wikipedia:
In current twelve-step program usage a higher power can be anything at all that the member believes is adequate. Reported examples include their twelve-step group, nature, consciousness, existential freedom, God, science, and Buddha. It is frequently stipulated that as long as a higher power is "greater" than the individual, then the only condition is that it should also be loving and caring.
I think that the Buddha's being a "spiritual friend", in person to his contemporaries, and more generally as an example (an exemplar) or role model, means that he may fit that kind of definition.
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Yes. The Buddha is a higher power in Buddhism. He is a type of higher being that is the only one who is truly awake in this world AND is capable of teaching gods and men, guiding them towards the end of suffering.
Also, anyone who "sees" the Buddha, "sees" the Dhamma (his teachings). Anyone who "sees" the Dhamma, "sees" the Buddha. So, the Buddha's Dhamma too carries this higher power, even after he has passed away.
According to the Dona Sutta:
"When asked, 'Are you a deva?' you answer, 'No, brahman, I am not a deva.' When asked, 'Are you a gandhabba?' you answer, 'No, brahman, I am not a gandhabba.' When asked, 'Are you a yakkha?' you answer, 'No, brahman, I am not a yakkha.' When asked, 'Are you a human being?' you answer, 'No, brahman, I am not a human being.' Then what sort of being are you?"
"Brahman, the fermentations by which — if they were not abandoned — I would be a deva: Those are abandoned by me, their root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising. The fermentations by which — if they were not abandoned — I would be a gandhabba... a yakkha... a human being: Those are abandoned by me, their root destroyed, made like a palmyra stump, deprived of the conditions of development, not destined for future arising.
"Just like a red, blue, or white lotus — born in the water, grown in the water, rising up above the water — stands unsmeared by the water, in the same way I — born in the world, grown in the world, having overcome the world — live unsmeared by the world. Remember me, brahman, as 'awakened.'
"The fermentations by which I would go
to a deva-state,
or become a gandhabba in the sky,
or go to a yakkha-state & human-state:
Those have been destroyed by me,
ruined, their stems removed.
Like a blue lotus, rising up,
unsmeared by water,
unsmeared am I by the world,
and so, brahman,
I'm awake."
According to the Dhajagga Sutta:
'Such Indeed is the Blessed One, arahant (Consummate One), supremely enlightened, endowed with knowledge and virtue, welcome being, knower of worlds, the peerless trainer of persons, teacher of gods and men, the Buddha, the Blessed One.'
According to the Vakkali Sutta:
"For a long time, Lord, I have wanted to come and set eyes on the Blessed One, but I had not the strength in this body to come and see the Blessed One."
"Enough, Vakkali! What is there to see in this vile body? He who sees Dhamma, Vakkali, sees me; he who sees me sees Dhamma. Truly seeing Dhamma, one sees me; seeing me one sees Dhamma."
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