List of the named Buddhas

"The Seven Buddhas", at Sanchi (1st century BCE/CE). Six Buddhas of the past are represented, together with the current Buddha, Gautama Buddha, with his Bodhi Tree (at the extreme right). In the central section are three stupas alternating with four trees with thrones in front of them, adored by figures both human and divine. These represent six Buddhas of the past (namely: Vipassī Buddha, Sikhī Buddha, Vessabhū Buddha, Kakusandha Buddha, Koṇāgamana Buddha and Kassapa Buddha) with the current Buddha, Gautama Buddha. Three are symbolized by their stupas, and four by the trees under which each respectively attained enlightenment. The tree on the extreme right is the pipal tree of Gautama Buddha and the one next to it is the banyan tree of Kassapa Buddha. The identification of the others is less certain.[1] Buddhist men at the Sule Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, paying homage to the 29 Buddhas described in Chapter 27 of the Buddhavamsa Sumedha, the youth who would after many reincarnations become Gautama Buddha, receiving his niyatha vivarana (prediction of future Buddhahood) from Dīpankara Buddha

In countries where Theravāda Buddhism is practiced by the majority of people, such as Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, it is customary for Buddhists to hold elaborate festivals, especially during the fair weather season, paying homage to the 29 Buddhas described in the Buddhavamsa. The Buddhavamsa is a text which describes the life of Gautama Buddha and the 27 Buddhas who preceded him, along with the future Metteyya Buddha.[2] The Buddhavamsa is part of the Khuddaka Nikāya, which in turn is part of the Sutta Piṭaka. The Sutta Piṭaka is one of three main sections of the Pāli Canon of Theravāda Buddhism.

The first three of these Buddhas—Taṇhaṅkara, Medhaṅkara, and Saraṇaṅkara—lived before the time of Dīpankara Buddha. The fourth Buddha, Dīpankara, is especially important, as he was the Buddha who gave niyatha vivarana (prediction of future Buddhahood) to the Brahmin youth who would in the distant future become the bodhisattva Gautama Buddha.[3] After Dīpankara, 25 more noble people (ariya-puggala) would attain enlightenment before Gautama, the historical Buddha.

Many Buddhists also pay homage to the future (and 29th) Buddha, Maitreya. According to Buddhist scripture, Maitreya will be a successor of Gautama who will appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure Dharma. The prophecy of the arrival of Maitreya is found in the canonical literature of all Buddhist sects (Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana), and is accepted by most Buddhists as a statement about an event that will take place when the Dharma will have been forgotten on Jambudvipa (the terrestrial realm, where ordinary human beings live).

Maitreya Buddha from the 2nd century Gandharan Art Period

## Contents

* 1 The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity
* 2 Historical mentions of previous Buddhas
* 2.1 Koṇāgamana (the second Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
* 2.2 Gautama Buddha (Sakyamuni, the fourth and present Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
* 3 The 29 named Buddhas
* 4 See also
* 5 Notes
* 6 Footnotes
* 7 References
* 8 Further reading
* 9 External links

## The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity

In the earliest strata of Pali Buddhist texts, especially in the first four Nikayas, only the following seven Buddhas, The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity (Saptatathāgata), are explicitly mentioned and named:

1. Vipassī
2. Sikhī
3. Vessabhū
4. Kakusandha
5. Koṇāgamana
6. Kassapa
7. Gautama

One sutta called Cakkavatti-Sīhanāda Sutta from an early Buddhist text called the Digha Nikaya also mentions that following the Seven Buddhas of Antiquity, a Buddha named Maitreya is predicted to arise in the world.[4]

However, according to a text in the Theravada Buddhist tradition from a later strata (between 1st and 2nd century BCE) called the Buddhavamsa, twenty-one more Buddhas were added to the list of seven names in the early texts[5][6]. Other later Buddhist texts hold that each kalpa has 1,000, and Metteya to be the fifth and future Buddha of the bhadrakalpa.[7] The previous kalpa was the vyuhakalpa (Glorious aeon), and the present kalpa is called the bhadrakalpa (Auspicious aeon). Just as the Theravada tradition adds the names of 21 Buddhas to this initial list of seven Buddhas, Mahayana Buddhism adds even more names of Buddhas, sometimes claiming that there has been, is, and/or will be infinite number of Buddhas.

According to the Theravada tradition, the seven Buddhas named in the early Buddhist texts are said to be of the following number in the specified kalpa, bridging the vyuhakalpa and the bhadrakalpa:

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)

## Historical mentions of previous Buddhas

### Koṇāgamana (the second Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)

The Koṇāgamana Buddha, second Buddha of the bhadrakalpa, is mentioned in a 3rd-century BCE inscription by Ashoka at Nigali Sagar, in today's Nepal. There is an Ashoka pillar at the site today. Ashoka's inscription in the Brahmi script is on the fragment of the pillar still partly buried in the ground. The inscription made when Emperor Asoka at Nigali Sagar in 249 BCE records his visit, the enlargement of a stupa dedicated to the Kanakamuni Buddha, and the erection of a pillar:

> "Devanam piyena piyadasin lajina- chodasavasa bhisitena Budhasa Konakamanasa thube-dutyam vadhite Visativa sabhisitena –cha atana-agacha-mahiyite silathabe-cha usa papite"
>  “His Majesty King Priyadarsin in the 14th year of his reign enlarged for the second time the stupa of the Buddha Kanakamuni and in the 20th year of his reign, having come in person, paid reverence and set up a stone pillar”.[8][9]

"Budha-sa Konākamana-sa" ("Of the Kanakamuni Buddha") inscription in the Brahmi Script, at Nigali Sagar, 250 BCE

According to Xuanzang, Koṇāgamana's relics were held in a stupa in Nigali Sagar, in what is now Kapilvastu District in southern Nepal.[10]

### Gautama Buddha (Sakyamuni, the fourth and present Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)

The historical Buddha, Gautama, also called Sakyamuni ("Sage of the Shakyas), is mentioned epigraphically on the Pillar of Ashoka at Rummindei (Lumbini in modern Nepal). The Brahmi script inscription on the pillar gives evidence that Ashoka, emperor of the Maurya Empire, visited the place in 3rd-century BCE and identified it as the birth-place of the Buddha.[11][note 1]

The words "Bu-dhe" and "Sa-kya-mu-nī" in Brahmi script, on the Rummindei pillar of Ashoka.

> When King Devandmpriya Priyadarsin had been anointed twenty years, he came himself and worshipped (this spot) because the Buddha Shakyamuni was born here. (He) both caused to be made a stone bearing a horse (?) and caused a stone pillar to be set up, (in order to show) that the Blessed One was born here. (He) made the village of Lummini free of taxes, and paying (only) an eighth share (of the produce).

> --The Rummindei Edict, one of the Minor Pillar Edicts of Ashoka.[14]

## The 29 named Buddhas

| Pāli name[15][16][17] | Sanskrit name  | Class(Varṇa)[16][17] | Birthplace[16][17] | Parents[16][17] | Bodhirukka (tree of enlightenment)[16][17][18] | Incarnation of Gautama[17]

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

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)[19]
5  | Koṇḍañña  | Kauṇḍinya  | Kshatriya  | Rammawatinagara  | Sunanda and Sujata  | Salakalyana  | Vijitawi (a Chakravarti in Chandawatinagara of Majjhimadesa)
6  | Maṅgala  | Maṃgala  | Brahmin[20] | Uttaranagara (Majhimmadesa)  | Uttara (father) and Uttara (mother)  | A naga  | Suruchi (in Siribrahmano)
7  | Sumana  | Sumanas  | Kshatriya[20] | Mekhalanagara  | Sudassana and Sirima  | A naga  | King Atulo, a Naga
8  | Revata[21] | Raivata  | Brahmin[20] | Sudhannawatinagara  | Vipala and Vipula  | A naga  | A Veda-versed Brahman
9  | Sobhita  | Śobhita  | Kshatriya[20] | Sudhammanagara  | Sudhammanagara (father) and Sudhammanagara (mother)  | A naga  | Sujata, a Brahman (in Rammavati)
10  | Anomadassi | Anavamadarśin  | Brahmin[20] | Chandawatinagara  | Yasava and Yasodara  | Ajjuna  | A Yaksha king
11  | Paduma[22] | Padma  | Kshatriya[20] | Champayanagara  | Asama (father) and Asama (mother)  | Salala  | A lion
12  | Nārada  | Nārada  |  | Dhammawatinagara  | King Sudheva and Anopama  | Sonaka  | A tapaso in Himalayas
13  | Padumuttara[23] | 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[24] | 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[25] | Puṣya  | Kshatriya  | Kāśi  | Jayasena and Siremaya  | Amalaka  | Vijitavi
22  | Vipassī | Vipaśyin  | Kshatriya  | Bandhuvatinagara  | Vipassi (father) and Vipassi (mother)  | Pāṭalī (Stereospermum chelonoides)  | King Atula
23  | Sikhī | Śikhin  | Kshatriya  | Arunavattinagara  | Arunavatti and Paphavatti  | Puṇḍarīka (Mangifera indica)  | Arindamo (at Paribhuttanagara)
24  | Vessabhū | Viśvabhū  | Kshatriya  | Anupamanagara  | Suppalittha and Yashavati  | Sāla (Shorea robusta)  | Sadassana (in Sarabhavatinagara)
25  | Kakusandha | Krakucchanda  | Brahmin  | Khemavatinagara  | Aggidatta, the purohita Brahman of King Khema, and Visakha  | Sirīsa (Albizia lebbeck)  | King Khema[26]
26  | Koṇāgamana | Kanakamuni  | Brahmin[27] | Sobhavatinagara  | Yaññadatta, a Brahman, and Uttara  | Udumbara (Ficus racemosa)  | King Pabbata of a mountainous area in Mithila
27  | Kassapa[28] | Kāśyapa  | Brahmin  | Baranasinagara  | Brahmadatta, a Brahman, and Dhanavati  | Nigrodha (Ficus benghalensis)  | Jotipala (at Vappulla)
28  | Gotama (current)  | Gautama (current)  | Kshatriya  | Lumbini  | King Suddhodana and Māyā  | Assattha (Ficus religiosa)  | Gautama, the Buddha
29  | Metteyya  | Maitreya | Brahmin[29] | Ketumatī[30] | Subrahma and Brahmavati[30] | Nāga (Mesua ferrea)  |

## See also

* List of Buddhas
* List of bodhisattvas
* Ten Bodhisattas
* Thirty-five Confession Buddhas
* Five Tathagatas
* Praises to the Twenty-One Taras
* Bhadrakalpikasutra
* List of Buddha claimants
* Glossary of Buddhism

## Notes

1. ↑ Several alternative translations have been published.[12][13]

## Footnotes

1. ↑ John Marshall, A Guide to Sanchi, 1918 p.46ff (Public Domain text)
2. ↑ Morris, R, ed (1882). "XXVII: List of the Buddhas". The Buddhavamsa. London: Pali Text Society. pp. 66–7. https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.283044.
3. ↑ "Life of the Buddha: Dīpankara's Prediction of Enlightenment". The Huntington Archive - The Ohio State University. http://huntingtonarchive.osu.edu/studypages/internal/dl/SouthAsia/Buddhist/pgs/u5/DL0208m.htm. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
4. ↑ "Cakkavatti Sutta: The Wheel-turning Emperor". https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.26.0.than.html.
5. ↑ A textual and Historical Analysis of the Khuddaka Nikaya – Oliver Abeynayake Ph. D. , Colombo, First Edition – 1984, p. 113.
6. ↑ 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.
7. ↑ "Chapter 36: The Buddhas in the three periods of time". Buddhism in a Nutshell Archives. Hong Kong: Buddhistdoor International. http://www.buddhistdoor.com/OldWeb/bdoor/archive/nutshell/teach36.htm. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
8. ↑ Basanta Bidari - 2004 Kapilavastu: the world of Siddhartha - Page 87
9. ↑ (in Sanskrit) Inscriptions of Asoka. New Edition by E. Hultzsch. 1925. p. 165. https://archive.org/stream/InscriptionsOfAsoka.NewEditionByE.Hultzsch/HultzschCorpusAsokaSearchable#page/n339.
10. ↑ John S. Strong (2007). Relics of the Buddha. p. 130. https://books.google.com/books/p/princeton?id=_KLAxmR8PZAC.
11. ↑ Paranavitana, S. (Apr. - Jun., 1962). Rummindei Pillar Inscription of Asoka, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 82 (2), 163-167
12. ↑ Weise, Kai (2013) (PDF), The Sacred Garden of Lumbini – Perceptions of Buddha's Birthplace, Paris: UNESCO, pp. 47–48, archived from the original on 2014-08-30, https://web.archive.org/web/20140830011700/http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002239/223986E.pdf
13. ↑ Hultzsch, E. /1925). Inscriptions of Asoka. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 164-165
14. ↑ Hultzsch, E. (1925). Inscriptions of Asoka. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 164-165
15. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Buddha, pp. 294-305
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 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. https://archive.org/stream/buddhistbirth00daviuoft#page/n132/mode/1up.
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 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.
18. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Bodhirukka, p. 319
19. ↑ Ghosh, B (1987). "Buddha Dīpankara: twentyfourth predecessor of Gautama". Bulletin of Tibetology 11 (new series) (2): 33–8. ISSN 0525-1516. http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/bot/pdf/bot_1987_02_03.pdf.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 Beal (1875), Beal S, Chapter III: Exciting to religious sentiment, pp. 10-17
21. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Revata, pp. 754-5
22. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Paduma, p. 131
23. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Padumuttara, pp. 136-7
24. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Piyadassi, p. 207
25. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Phussa, p. 257
26. ↑ Prophecies of Kakusandha Buddha, Konagamana Buddha and Kassapa Buddha
27. ↑ 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.
28. ↑ 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. https://archive.org/stream/reporttoursinga00cunngoog#page/n80/mode/1up.
29. ↑ "Cakkavatti Sutta: The Wheel-turning Emperor". https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.26.0.than.html.
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 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. https://archive.org/stream/cu31924023164209#page/n5/mode/2up.
* Malalasekera, GP (2007). Dictionary of Pāli proper names. Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. ISBN 978-81-208-3020-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=8Au_lIP1ZnQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:"Gunapala+Piyasena+Malalasekera"#v=onepage&q&f=false.
* 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. https://books.google.com/books?id=DXN2AAAAQBAJ&pg=PA106&lpg=PA106&dq=Buddhas+of+the+present+kalpa#v=onepage&q=Buddhas of the present kalpa&f=false.

## 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 (1st ed.). Yangon, Myanmar: Ti=Ni Publishing Center. pp. 130–321. http://www.dhammatalks.net/Books14/Mingun_Sayadaw-The_Great_Chronicle_of_Buddhas_Vol-1_Part-2.pdf.

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