List of the named Buddhas in the Pali Canon

This article is about Buddhas identified in the Pali Canon. For for a list of Buddhas identified in the Mahayana texts of the Sanskrit tradition, see 1002 buddhas of this Fortunate Aeon.

Sumedha, the youth who would after many reincarnations become Gautama Buddha, receiving his "prediction of future Buddhahood" (niyatha vivarana) from Dīpankara Buddha

There are two well-known lists of buddhas within the Pali Canon. The earlier texts of the canon identify seven buddhas, known as The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity (Saptatathāgata). A later text, the Buddhavamsa, identifies a total of twenty-nine buddhas, including the future buddha Metteyya, who is prophesized to appear on earth as a successor to Gautama Buddha.

The seven buddhas of antiquity

An engraving of "The Seven Buddhas" at the Sanchi pilgrimage site in India.

In the earliest strata of texts in the Pali Canon, especially in the first four Nikayas, only seven buddhas of the past (Saptatathāgata) are explicitly mentioned.

According to tradition, these seven buddhas are a bridge between two eons (kalpas): the "glorious eon" (vyūhakalpa) "fortunate eon" (bhadrakalpa). The first three buddhas in the list are the last buddhas of the "glorious eon," and the next four buddhas are the first buddhas of the "fortunate eon":

1. Vipassī (the 998th Buddha of the vyuhakalpa)
2. Sikhī (the 999th Buddha of the vyuhakalpa)
3. Vessabhū (the 1000th and final Buddha of the vyuhakalpa)
4. Kakusandha (the first Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
5. Koṇāgamana (the second Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
6. Kassapa (the third Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
7. Gautama (the fourth and present Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)

The Cakkavatti-Sīhanāda Sutta from the Digha Nikaya also mentions that following the Seven Buddhas of Antiquity, a Buddha named Metteyya is predicted to arise in the world.

The 29 named Buddhas

The following list identifies the twenty-nine buddhas named in the Buddhavamsa. This list includes, in chronological order:

• the three buddhas who lived before Dīpankara Buddha—Taṇhaṅkara, Medhaṅkara, and Saraṇaṅkara
• Dīpankara Buddha - the Buddha who gave the "prediction of future Buddhahood" (niyatha vivarana) to the Brahmin youth who would become Gautama Buddha.
• Twenty-three more buddhas who appear after Dipanakara and before Gautama Buddha
• Gautama Buddha
• Metteyya Buddha

	Pāli name	Sanskrit name	Bodhi tree	Incarnation of Gautama
1	Taṇhaṅkara	Tṛṣṇaṃkara	Rukkaththana
2	Medhaṅkara	Medhaṃkara	Kaela
3	Saraṇaṅkara	Śaraṇaṃkara	Pulila
4	Dīpaṃkara	Dīpaṃkara	Pipphala	Sumedha (also Sumati or Megha Mānava, a rich Brahman)
5	Koṇḍañña	Kauṇḍinya	Salakalyana	Vijitawi (a Chakravarti in Chandawatinagara of Majjhimadesa)
6	Maṅgala	Maṃgala	a naga	Suruchi (in Siribrahmano)
7	Sumana	Sumanas	a naga	King Atulo, a Naga
8	Revata	Raivata	a naga	A Veda-versed Brahman
9	Sobhita	Śobhita	a naga	Sujata, a Brahman (in Rammavati)
10	Anomadassi	Anavamadarśin	ajjuna	A Yaksha king
11	Paduma	Padma	salala	A lion
12	Nārada	Nārada	sonaka	a tapaso in Himalayas
13	Padumuttara	Padmottara	salala	Jatilo an ascetic
14	Sumedha	Sumedha	nipa	Native of Uttaro
15	Sujāta	Sujāta	welu	a chakravarti
16	Piyadassi	Priyadarśin	kakudha	Kassapa, a Brahmin (at Siriwattanagara)
17	Atthadassi	Arthadarśin	champa	Susino, a Brahman
18	Dhammadassī	Dharmadarśin	bimbajala	Indra, the leader of the gods (devas)
19	Siddhattha	Siddhārtha	kanihani	Mangal, a Brahman
20	Tissa	Tiṣya	assana	King Sujata of Yasawatinagara
21	Phussa	Puṣya	amalaka	Vijitavi
22	Vipassī	Vipaśyin	patali	King Atula
23	Sikhī	Śikhin	pundariko	Arindamo (at Paribhuttanagara)
24	Vessabhū	Viśvabhū	sala	Sadassana (in Sarabhavatinagara)
25	Kakusandha	Krakucchanda	airisa	King Khema
26	Koṇāgamana	Kanakamuni	udumbara	King Pabbata of a mountainous area in Mithila
27	Kassapa	Kāśyapa	nigroda	Jotipala (at Vappulla)
28	Gotama (current)	Gautama (current)	Asatu Bodhi	Gautama, the Buddha
29	Metteyya	Maitreya	Naga Bodhi

For an expanded version of this chart, with additional details, see Chart of the twenty-nine buddhas - expanded.

See also

• 1002 buddhas of this Fortunate Aeon
• Bhadrakalpikasutra
• Buddhist deities
• Thirty-five buddhas of confession
• Five Tathagatas

References

• Beal, S (1875). The romantic legend of Sâkya Buddha: from the Chinese-Sanscrit. London: Trubner & Company, Ludgate Hill. 
• Malalasekera, GP (2007). Dictionary of Pāli proper names. Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. ISBN 978-81-208-3020-2. 
• Buswell Jr., RE; Lopez Jr., DS (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (1st ed.). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 106, 776. ISBN 978-0-691-15786-3. 
• Morris, R, ed. (1882). "XXVII: List of the Buddhas". The Buddhavamsa. London: Pali Text Society. pp. 66–7. 

Further reading

• Law, BC, ed. (1938). "The lineage of the Buddhas". The Minor Anthologies of the Pali Canon: Buddhavaṃsa, the lineage of the Buddhas, and Cariyā-Piṭaka or the collection of ways of conduct (1st ed.). London: Milford. 
• Takin, MV, ed. (1969). "The lineage of the Buddhas". The Genealogy of the Buddhas (1st ed.). Bombay: Bombay University Publications. 
• Vicittasarabivamsa, U (1992). "Chapter IX: The chronicle of twenty-four Buddhas". In Ko Lay, U; Tin Lwin, U. The great chronicle of Buddhas, Volume One, Part Two (PDF) (1st ed.). Yangon, Myanmar: Ti=Ni Publishing Center. pp. 130–321. 

External links

• Buddhavaṁsa, SuttaCentral