Introduction

The term Buddha, meaning “awakened one,” denotes an individual who has attained bodhi (awakening) and consequently transcended the cycle of birth and death (saṃsāra). While many spiritual beings in Buddhist tradition achieve liberation, the title Buddha is reserved for those rare beings who discover and teach the path to awakening independently, without relying on an existing tradition. A Buddha not only realizes nirvāṇa, but also establishes a religious dispensation, revealing the forgotten dharma and guiding others on the path to liberation.

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Buddhas in Historical and Doctrinal Context

Definition and Role

A Buddha is distinguished by several key features:

• Independent Awakening: Unlike arhats, who reach enlightenment under the guidance of a Buddha, and pratyekabuddhas, who attain awakening but do not teach, a Buddha rediscovers the path to enlightenment on their own and chooses to transmit it to others.
• Religious Founder: A Buddha establishes the saṅgha (monastic community) and revives the forgotten truths of the dharma.
• Paradigmatic Life: The life of the Buddha is seen as a model, including the celestial descent, miraculous birth, renunciation, enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, teaching career, and parinirvāṇa.

Buddhas of the Past

Seven Buddhas of Antiquity

One of the earliest canonical lists features the “Seven Buddhas of the Past,” including:

• Vipasyin
• Sikhin
• Viśvabhū
• Krakucchanda
• Kanakamuni
• Kāśyapa
• Śākyamuni (the historical Buddha)

These figures appear in both textual and artistic traditions. Their life stories follow a uniform pattern, emphasizing the archetypal nature of Buddhahood. Each one is said to have descended from the Tuṣita heaven, been born into a royal family, renounced the world, attained enlightenment, taught the dharma, and entered final nirvāṇa.

Extended Lists

Later texts expanded these lists significantly:

• The Buddhavaṃsa (Theravāda tradition) lists 25 Buddhas, beginning with Dīpaṃkara.
• The Mahāvastu of the Mahāsaṃghika school speaks of four billion Buddhas, using repetitive naming schemes.
• The Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition claims that Śākyamuni worshipped tens of thousands of Buddhas during prior lives as a bodhisattva.

Dīpaṃkara Buddha

Dīpaṃkara holds particular importance, especially in early bodhisattva literature, as it is in his presence that Śākyamuni is said to have first vowed to become a Buddha.

Buddhas of the Future

Maitreya

Maitreya (Metteyya in Pāli) is regarded as the next Buddha destined to appear in this world. Currently residing in the Tuṣita heaven, he awaits the proper time to be reborn and renew the dharma. This idea gave rise to future-oriented practices aiming either for rebirth in Tuṣita or visionary encounters with Maitreya.

Lists of Future Buddhas

Some Mahāyāna texts present expansive lists:

• Five Buddhas of the Fortunate Eon (bhadrakalpa): Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, Kāśyapa, Śākyamuni, and Maitreya.
• One Thousand Buddhas of the Bhadrakalpa: An even more expansive cosmology listing numerous future Buddhas who will appear sequentially in this world.

Buddhas of the Present

Mahāyāna cosmology introduced the idea of multiple Buddhas residing simultaneously in countless world systems across the ten directions. This idea underpins the emergence of celestial Buddhas and Pure Lands.

Celestial Buddhas

These Buddhas preside over pure, ideal realms and engage in salvific activities:

• Amitābha (Amitāyus): Residing in Sukhāvatī, the western Pure Land, Amitābha is central to devotional traditions like Pure Land Buddhism.
• Akṣobhya: Presides over the eastern realm of Abhirati, described in the Akṣobhyavyūha Sūtra.

These celestial Buddhas are not considered immortal, but their extremely long life spans serve practical and theological purposes, such as accommodating believers’ aspirations to be reborn in their realms.

Mythic and Doctrinal Dimensions

Dharmakāya and Multiplicity

Later Mahāyāna and tantric traditions reframe Buddhas not merely as historical individuals but as manifestations of an eternal dharmakāya—the “body of truth” or “reality.” In this conception:

• All Buddhas are expressions of a single, timeless enlightened essence.
• Śākyamuni’s appearance is understood as a skillful manifestation of this eternal presence.

Iconography and Cultic Practice

Pilgrimage sites, stūpas, and images linked to historical and celestial Buddhas reflect both devotion and cosmological beliefs. Kāśyapa, for example, is often associated with specific sites and relics, indicating ongoing cultic importance.

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Bibliography

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