question regarding Buddhas

Lookingformyway

So, I will make this quick question:

The Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha, is the "great Buddha". However, I understand there are lots of buddhas. Now are they at the same level as Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha, Or are they "lower" Buddhas? If not, and all Buddhas, even Buddhas of today are as equally enlightened as Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha, then why is emphasis only placed on learning and becomeing like Siddhārtha Gautama Buddha, rather than all the Buddhas, especially the ones alive today, who we can meet, see in person and who we could learn from in person, to get a clear understanding of what they are saying, rather than text, which can be misconstrude.

thanks

Love

Me

Dakini

Very good question. I've never understood the pantheon of Buddhas. For a long time, I thought there was only one, the "historical" Buddha. I'm looking forward to reading the answers here.

bodhipunk

There have been many Buddhas in the past, and there will be more to come in the future. However, there are essentially three types of Buddhas. There are the Sammasam Buddhas (Skt: Samyaksam Buddhas), such as Siddartha Gautama, who attain Buddhahood and then decide to teach others what they have discovered. There is actually only one Sammsam Buddha for any given world cycle, because they basically "rediscover" the Dharma at a time when it has been completely forgotten. The next Sammasam Buddha will be Maitreya, who will appear when the teachings of Siddartha Gautama have been completely lost and forgotten.

Then there are also what are called the solitary or silent Buddhas, known as Pacceka Buddhas (Skt: Pratyeka Buddhas), who do not teach the Dharma to others for they do not even have the desire to do so. Finally, there are the disciples of a Buddha who realize enlightenment and Nirvana called Savaka Buddhas (Skt: Sravaka Buddhas) which basically means "Hearer Buddha". Any present day Buddha would fall into one of the latter two categories, as the teachings of Siddartha Buddha are still obviously around - meaning he is still the current Sammasam Buddha of this era. This is why the emphasis is laid on Siddartha Gautama, because it is still his teachings which lead other beings to awakening.

B5C

Remember "Buddha" basically means "enlightened one" if I am correct. There were a lot of "Buddhas" after and before Siddartha Gautama.

Heck even Jesus, Plato, Marcus Aurelius and etc could be Buddhas as well.

WallyB

...essentially three types of Buddhas.

There are the Sammasam Buddhas (Skt: Samyaksam Buddhas), such as Siddartha Gautama, who attain Buddhahood and then decide to teach others what they have discovered. There is actually only one Sammsam Buddha for any given world cycle, because they basically "rediscover" the Dharma at a time when it has been completely forgotten.

Then there are also what are called the solitary or silent Buddhas, known as Pacceka Buddhas (Skt: Pratyeka Buddhas), who do not teach the Dharma to others for they do not even have the desire to do so.

Finally, there are the disciples of a Buddha who realize enlightenment and Nirvana called Savaka Buddhas (Skt: Sravaka Buddhas) which basically means "Hearer Buddha".

Any present day Buddha would fall into one of the latter two categories, as the teachings of Siddartha Buddha are still obviously around - meaning he is still the current Sammasam Buddha of this era. This is why the emphasis is laid on Siddartha Gautama, because it is still his teachings which lead other beings to awakening.

thank you for your clear explanation

He understands : 'It is impossible, it cannot happen that two Accomplished Ones, Fully Enlightened Ones [Sammasambuddha], could arise contemporaneously in one world-system - there is no such possibility.'

And he understands: 'It is possible that one Accomplished One, a Fully Enlightened One, might arise in one world-system - there is such a possibility.

http://www.dhammasukha.org/Study/Talks/Transcripts/MN-115-SUM03-TS.htm

person

@bodhipunk is right. Further, from a Mahayana aspect only, a sammasambuddha like Shakyamuni Buddha is someone who in the past developed bodhicitta (the mind of enlightenment) and then progressed along the bodhisattva path purifying all his negativities and even any subtle imprints of those and perfecting the 6 paramitas.

There is some confusion when talking about enlightenment as they aren't all the same. There is enlightenment with a lower case e, which is a direct perception into the nature of the self and reality. Then there is Enlightenment with an upper case E, which is the complete enlightenment or Buddhahood.

Dakini

There is some confusion when talking about enlightenment as they aren't all the same. There is enlightenment with a lower case e, which is a direct perception into the nature of the self and reality. Then there is Enlightenment with an upper case E, which is the complete enlightenment or Buddhahood.

Expand on this, please.

Tosh

I'm sure I read somewhere that a Buddha was a person who directly realised the ultimate nature of reality, without having been taught/shown how to do so. Or am I confusing this with a self-realiser? And am I confusing Mahayana with Therevadan?

Ignore me!

Dakini

I'm sure I read somewhere that a Buddha was a person who directly realised the ultimate nature of reality, without having been taught/shown how to do so. Or am I confusing this with a self-realiser? And am I confusing Mahayana with Therevadan?

Ignore me!

Confusion can be good, sometimes. It raises questions that help us to clarify or improve our knowledge. Don't be shy.

person

There is some confusion when talking about enlightenment as they aren't all the same. There is enlightenment with a lower case e, which is a direct perception into the nature of the self and reality. Then there is Enlightenment with an upper case E, which is the complete enlightenment or Buddhahood.

Expand on this, please.

Not sure what else to say. I guess, at least the explanation I've heard is that a Buddha is someone who has progressed through the 10 bodhisattva bhumis and purified all their obstructions to knowledge and negative defilements and developed infinite compassion for all beings. When a bodhisattva finally comes to the point where they have completed the path to enlightenment they then fully awaken and become a samyaksambuddha or wheel turning Buddha that teacheds the dharma anew. The term enlightenment gets used alot but there can be the teachings of only one samyaksambuddha at a time so I think when the term enlightenment gets use for others it refers to them seeing the empty nature of reality. That realization along with bodhicitta is only the beginning of the bhumis. I'm not really that well versed in this aspect maybe try searching for some stuff on the definition of a Buddha in Mahayana.

Here's one little Wiki something.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahayana#Doctrine

person

I'm sure I read somewhere that a Buddha was a person who directly realised the ultimate nature of reality, without having been taught/shown how to do so. Or am I confusing this with a self-realiser? And am I confusing Mahayana with Therevadan?

Ignore me!

No that's right, its just not quite the whole story, at least from a Mahayana perspective. A self realizer and a Buddha both have that in common, the difference is a Buddha has the ability to teach the Dharma. Mahayana and Theravada have quite different takes on what a Buddha is so it can be confusing.

Invincible_summer

The primary reason why Gautama Buddha is at the forefront of Buddhist practice is because he's the Buddha that's "closest to our time."