How many buddhas are there?

Question

Buddhas names

Answer 1

The following are the names of 28 Buddhas:

Sanskrit name Pāli name
1 Tṛṣṇaṃkara Taṇhaṃkara
2 Medhaṃkara Medhaṃkara
3 Śaraṇaṃkara Saraṇaṃkara
4 Dīpaṃkara Dīpaṃkara
5 Kauṇḍinya Koṇḍañña
6 Maṃgala Maṃgala
7 Sumanas Sumana
8 Raivata Revata
9 Śobhita Sobhita
10 Anavamadarśin Anomadassi
11 Padma Paduma
12 Nārada Nārada
13 Padmottara Padumuttara
14 Sumedha Sumedha
15 Sujāta Sujāta
16 Priyadarśin Piyadassi
17 Arthadarśin Atthadassi
18 Dharmadarśin Dhammadassi
19 Siddhārtha Siddhatta
20 Tiṣya Tissa
21 Puṣya Phussa
22 Vipaśyin Vipassi
23 Viśvabhū Vessabhū
24 Śikhin Sikhi
25 Krakucchanda Kakusandha
26 Kanakamuni Koṇāgamana
27 Kāśyapa Kassapa
28 Gautama Gotama

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_the_28_Buddhas"

Generally, Buddhists do not consider Siddhartha Gautama to have been the only Buddha. In the Pali Canon there is a mention of Gautama Buddha as being the 28th Buddha (see List of the 28 Buddhas). A common buddhist belief is that the next Buddha will be one named Maitreya.

Answer 2

The one referred to as The Buddha, the Historical Buddha, is Siddhartha Gautama, the Shakyamuni Buddha, the Lord Buddha. But the Pali canon states that he is the twenty-eighth Buddha; most Theravada countries honor twenty-eight Buddhas.

The following are the names of 28 Buddhas:

Tanhankara
Medhankara
Saranankara
Dipankara
Kondnna
Managala
Sumana
Revata
Sobhita
Anomadassi
Paduma
Narada
Padumuttara
Sumedha
Sujata
Piyadassi
Atthadassi
Dhammadassi
Siddhatta
Tissa
Phussa
Vipassi
Sikhi
Vessabhu
Kakusandha
Konagamana
Kassapa
Siddhartha Gautama

And Meitreyya Buddha is "the future Buddha to be".

There are two (or three) types of Buddha:

Samyaksambuddha (Sammasambuddha): attains Buddhahood and decides to teach others the truth that he has discovered. They lead others to awakening by teaching the Dharma in a time or world where it has been forgotten or has not been taught before. Siddhartha Gautama is considered a samyak-sambuddah.

and

Pratyekabuddha (Paccekabuddha): are similar to Samyaksambuddhas in that they attain Nirvana and acquire the same powers as a Sammasambuddha does, but they choose not to teach what they have discovered.

There are also Shravakabuddhas (also known as Savakas or Arahants), which are enlightened disciples of a Sammasambuddha.

In metta.

Answer 3

There are as many Buddhas in world as there are sands in the Ganges River, and within each sand there are the same number of Buddhas within as well... meaning as limitless as space itself.

Buddhists believe that existence has arisen and been destroyed since beginingless time, In our present world system, Sakyamuni/ Gautama Buddha ( historical buddha ) is the 4th. that has appeared. In previous world systems as well, there have been Buddhas. In ours, iIt is believed when 1000 of such Buddhas appear, then this world system will be destroyed again, only to begin anew, sort of like waves of the sea.


p/s: Zen highway... pls refer me to where I can read about the 28 Buddhas because in the Sutras it is stated only 4, Sakyamuni being the present, Kasyapa Buddha being the 3rd, Krakuchandda Buddha the 2nd and Dimpakara Buddha the 1st of this world present world system. Interesting.. we learn new things everyday, how wonderful. thx

Answer 4

Only one Buddha

Answer 5

Buddha means The enlightened One All who are realised souls can be referd to as Buddha

Answer 6

There are potentially an infinite number of Buddhas.

Answer 7

If you see Buddha on the road, kill him.

Buddha is a title.

Answer 8

If you're talking about the chinese buddist...


The laughing buddha, the thousand hands buddha, the virture fighting buddha(monkey god), boddhavista.......can't think of anymore...

Answer 9

Who is Buddha?

As mentioned above Buddha can refer to the historical Buddha Shakyamuni or to anyone who has attained full enlightenment. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso explains in Introduction to Buddhism:

In general, 'Buddha' means 'Awakened One', someone who has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and sees things as they really are. A Buddha is a person who is completely free from all faults and mental obstructions. There are many people who have become Buddhas in the past, and many people will become Buddhas in the future….There is nothing that Buddha does not know. Because he has awakened from the sleep of ignorance and has removed all obstructions from his mind, he knows everything of the past, present, and future, directly and simultaneously. Moreover, Buddha has great compassion which is completely impartial, embracing all living beings without discrimination. He benefits all living beings without exception by emanating various forms throughout the universe, and by bestowing his blessings on their minds. Through receiving Buddha's blessings, all being, even the lowliest animals, sometimes develop peaceful and virtuous states of mind. Eventually, through meeting an emanation of Buddha in the form of a Spiritual Guide, everyone will have the opportunity to enter the path to liberation and enlightenment. As the great Indian Buddhist scholar Nagarjuna said, there is no one who has not received help from Buddha.

It is impossible to describe all the good qualities of a Buddha. A Buddha's compassion, wisdom, and power are completely beyond conception. With nothing left to obscure his mind, he sees all phenomena throughout the universe as clearly as he sees a jewel held in the palm of his hand. Through the force of his or her compassion, a Buddha spontaneously does whatever is appropriate to benefit others. He has no need to think about what is the best way to help living beings - he naturally and effortlessly acts in the most beneficial way. Just as the sun does not need to motivate itself to radiate light and heat but does so simply because light and heat are its very nature, so a Buddha does not need to motivate himself to benefit others but does so simply because being beneficial is his very nature.

Like the reflections of the moon that effortlessly appear in any body of still water, a Buddha's emanations spontaneously appear wherever living beings' minds are capable of perceiving them. Buddhas can emanate in any form whatsoever to help living beings. Sometimes they manifest as Buddhists and sometimes as non-Buddhists. They can manifest as women or men, monarchs or tramps, law-abiding citizens or criminals. They can even manifest as animals, as wind or rain, or as mountains or islands. Unless we are a Buddha ourself we cannot possibly say who or what is an emanation of a Buddha.

Of all the ways in which a Buddha helps living beings, the supreme way is by emanation as a Spiritual Guide. Through his or her teachings and immaculate example, an authentic Spiritual Guide leas his or her disciples along the spiritual path to liberation and enlightenment. If we meet a qualified Mahayana Spiritual Guide and put into practice everything he or she teaches, we shall definitely attain full enlightenment and become a Conqueror Buddha. We shall then be in a position to repay the kindness of all living beings by liberating them from the sufferings of samsara and leading them to the supreme bliss of Buddhahood.




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All quotations from Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's books © Geshe Kelsang Gyatso and New Kadampa Tradition. All rights reserved

Answer 10

Some Muslims believe that Muhammad is the promised Maitreya.