List of the named Buddhas in the Pali Canon

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).[1] A later text, the Buddhavamsa, identifies a total of twenty-eight buddhas.
Other texts identify the future buddha Metteyya, who will appear on earth as a successor to Gautama Buddha. Thus, a total of twenty-nine buddhas are identified in traditional Pali texts.
The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity

In the earliest strata of texts in the Pali Canon, especially in the first four Nikayas, only the seven buddhas are explicitly mentioned and named. These seven are called The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity (Saptatathāgata). They are:
According to tradition, these seven buddhas are a bridge between two kalpas: the vyūhakalpa ("glorious eon") and the bhadrakalpa ("fortunate eon"). The first three buddhas in the list are the last buddhas of the vyūhakalpa, and the next four buddhas are the first buddhas of the bhadrakalpa:[2]
- Vipassī (the 998th Buddha of the vyuhakalpa)
- Sikhī (the 999th Buddha of the vyuhakalpa)
- Vessabhū (the 1000th and final Buddha of the vyuhakalpa)
- Kakusandha (the first Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
- Koṇāgamana (the second Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
- Kassapa (the third Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
- 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.[3]
The Buddhavamsa
The Buddhavamsa includes brief biographies of twenty-five buddhas: Gauatama Buddha and the twenty-four buddhas who preceded him. This text also names three other buddhas who proceded the group of twenty-five--thus, identifying a total of twenty-eight.
In countries where Theravāda Buddhism is practiced by the majority of people (such as Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Thailand), it is customary for Buddhists to hold elaborate festivals, especially during the fair weather season, paying homage to the 28 buddhas described in the Buddhavamsa.
The 29 named Buddhas
The following list of twenty-nine buddhas includes the 28 buddhas identified in the Buddhavamsa plus the future buddha, Metteyya. Thus, this list includes:
- 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.[4]
- Twenty-three more buddhas who appear after Dipanakara and before Gautama Buddha
- Gautama Buddha
- Metteyya Buddha
Pāli name[5][6][7] | Sanskrit name | Caste[6][7] | Birthplace[6][7] | Parents[6][7] | Bodhi tree[8][6][7][9] | Incarnation of Gautama[7] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Taṇhaṅkara | Tṛṣṇaṃkara | Kshatriya | Popphavadi | King Sunandha, and Queen Sunandhaa | Rukkaththana | ||
2 | Medhaṅkara | Medhaṃkara | Yaghara | Sudheva, and Yasodhara | Kaela | |||
3 | Saraṇaṅkara | Śaraṇaṃkara | Vipula | Sumangala, and Yasawathi | Pulila | |||
4 | Dīpaṃkara | Dīpaṃkara | Brahmin | Rammawatinagara | Sudheva, and Sumedhaya | Pipphala | Sumedha (also Sumati or Megha Mānava, a rich Brahman)[10] | |
5 | Koṇḍañña | Kauṇḍinya | Kshatriya | Rammawatinagara | Sunanda, and Sujata | Salakalyana | Vijitawi (a Chakravarti in Chandawatinagara of Majjhimadesa) | |
6 | Maṅgala | Maṃgala | Brahmin[11] | Uttaranagara (Majhimmadesa) | Uttara, and Uttara | a naga | Suruchi (in Siribrahmano) | |
7 | Sumana | Sumanas | Kshatriya[11] | Mekhalanagara | Sudassana and Sirima | a naga | King Atulo, a Naga | |
8 | Revata[12] | Raivata | Brahmin[11] | Sudhannawatinagara | Vipala and Vipula | a naga | A Veda-versed Brahman | |
9 | Sobhita | Śobhita | Kshatriya[11] | Sudhammanagara | Sudhammanagara (father) and Sudhammanagara (mother) | a naga | Sujata, a Brahman (in Rammavati) | |
10 | Anomadassi | Anavamadarśin | Brahmin[11] | Chandawatinagara | Yasava and Yasodara | ajjuna | A Yaksha king | |
11 | Paduma[13] | Padma | Kshatriya[11] | Champayanagara | Asama, and Asama | salala | A lion | |
12 | Nārada | Nārada | Dhammawatinagara | King Sudheva and Anopama | sonaka | a tapaso in Himalayas | ||
13 | Padumuttara[14] | Padmottara | Kshatriya | Hansawatinagara | Anurula, and Sujata | salala | Jatilo an ascetic | |
14 | Sumedha | Sumedha | Kshatriya | Sudasananagara | Sumedha (father), and Sumedha (mother) | nipa | Native of Uttaro | |
15 | Sujāta | Sujāta | Sumangalanagara | Uggata, and Pabbavati | welu | a chakravarti | ||
16 | Piyadassi[15] | Priyadarśin | Sudannanagara | Sudata, and Subaddha | kakudha | Kassapa, a Brahmin (at Siriwattanagara) | ||
17 | Atthadassi | Arthadarśin | Kshatriya | Sonanagara | Sagara and Sudassana | champa | Susino, a Brahman | |
18 | Dhammadassī | Dharmadarśin | Kshatriya | Surananagara | Suranamaha, and Sunanada | bimbajala | Indra, the leader of the gods (devas) | |
19 | Siddhattha | Siddhārtha | Vibharanagara | Udeni, and Suphasa | kanihani | Mangal, a Brahman | ||
20 | Tissa | Tiṣya | Khemanagara | Janasando, and Paduma | assana | King Sujata of Yasawatinagara | ||
21 | Phussa[16] | Puṣya | Kshatriya | Kāśi | Jayasena, and Siremaya | amalaka | Vijitavi | |
22 | Vipassī | Vipaśyin | Kshatriya | Bandhuvatinagara | Vipassi (father), and Vipassi (mother) | patali | King Atula | |
23 | Sikhī | Śikhin | Kshatriya | Arunavattinagara | Arunavatti, and Paphavatti | pundariko | Arindamo (at Paribhuttanagara) | |
24 | Vessabhū | Viśvabhū | Kshatriya | Anupamanagara | Suppalittha, and Yashavati | sala | Sadassana (in Sarabhavatinagara) | |
25 | Kakusandha | Krakucchanda | Brahmin | Khemavatinagara | Agidatta the purohitta Brahman of King Khema, and Visakha | airisa | King Khema[17] | |
26 | Koṇāgamana | Kanakamuni | Brahmin[18] | Sobhavatinagara | Yannadatta the Brahman, and Uttara | udumbara | King Pabbata of a mountainous area in Mithila | |
27 | Kassapa[19] | Kāśyapa | Brahmin | Baranasinagara | Brahmadatta a Brahman, and Dhanavati | nigroda | Jotipala (at Vappulla) | |
28 | Gotama (current) | Gautama (current) | Kshatriya | Lumbini | King Suddhodana, and Maya | Asatu Bodhi | Gautama, the Buddha | |
29 | Metteyya | Maitreya | Brahmin[20] | Ketumatī[21] | Subrahma and Brahmavati[21] | Naga Bodhi |
See also
- 1002 buddhas of this Fortunate Aeon
- Bhadrakalpikasutra
- Buddhist deities
- Thirty-five buddhas of confession
- Five Tathagatas
Notes
- ↑ Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. Saptatathāgata
- ↑ Robert E. Buswell Jr., Donald S. Lopez Jr., The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (Princeton: 2014), s.v. bhadrakalpa
- ↑ "Cakkavatti Sutta: The Wheel-turning Emperor". Access To Insight.
- ↑ "Life of the Buddha: Dīpankara's Prediction of Enlightenment". The Huntington Archive - The Ohio State University. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
- ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Buddha, pp. 294-305
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Davids, TWR; Davids, R (1878). "The successive bodhisats in the times of the previous Buddhas". Buddhist birth-stories; Jataka tales. The commentarial introduction entitled Nidana-Katha; the story of the lineage. London: George Routledge & Sons. pp. 115–44.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Horner, IB, ed. (1975). The minor anthologies of the Pali canon. Volume III: Buddhavaṁsa (Chronicle of Buddhas) and Cariyāpiṭaka (Basket of Conduct). London: Pali Text Society. ISBN 0-86013-072-X.
- ↑ Skt. Bodhirukka (tree of enlightenment)
- ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Bodhirukka, p. 319
- ↑ Ghosh, B (1987). "Buddha Dīpankara: twentyfourth predecessor of Gautama" (PDF). Bulletin of Tibetology. 11 (new series) (2): 33–8. ISSN 0525-1516.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Beal (1875), Beal S, Chapter III: Exciting to religious sentiment, pp. 10-17
- ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Revata, pp. 754-5
- ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Paduma, p. 131
- ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Padumuttara, pp. 136-7
- ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Piyadassi, p. 207
- ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Phussa, p. 257
- ↑ Prophecies of Kakusandha Buddha, Konagamana Buddha and Kassapa Buddha Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Barua, A (2008). Dīgha-Nikāya: romanize Pāli text with English translation. 2 (1st ed.). Delhi, India: New Bharatiya Book Corporation. p. 6. ISBN 81-8315-096-9.
- ↑ Cunningham, A (1880). "XVIII: Tandwa". Report of Tours in the Gangetic Provinces from Badaon to Bihar, in 1875-76 and 1877-78. Calcutta, India: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing. pp. 70–8.
- ↑ "Cakkavatti Sutta: The Wheel-turning Emperor". www.accesstoinsight.org.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 Vipassana.info, Pali Proper Names Dictionary: Metteyya
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
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