How many Buddhas?

By Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

Not how many Buddhas but some authorities have even questioned, in the past, whether the Buddha was an actual person. Of course, there is more than enough archaeological evidence to prove that indeed He was. Born a Sakhya prince and named Siddhartha, with the family name Gautama, the year of His birth has been a bone of contention for a long time, variously quoted as 563 BCE or 480 BCE. The work of the British archaeologist, Prof Robin Coningham of Durham University, has finally established the correct era. After a three-year dig on the site of the Maya Devi Temple at Lumbini, in Nepal, Coningham and his team of 40 archaeologists discovered a tree shrine that predates all known Buddhist sites by at least three centuries. The timber structure revealed by archaeologists has been radio-carbon-dated to the sixth century BCE. Lumbini, which lay hidden under the jungle until it was excavated in 1896, was identified as the Buddha’s birthplace because of a sandstone pillar that bore an inscription documenting the visit of Emperor Ashoka. Though the UNESCO website states that the Buddha was born in Lumbini, in 623 BCE, it is more likely the year of birth is 563 BCE, in the sixth century BCE as indicated by radio-carbon-dating.

Prince Siddhartha renounced worldly life at the age of 29, attained Buddhahood after an arduous search for six years and traversed, on foot, around a vast area of India for 45 years, disseminating the truths he discovered. He is known variously as Gautama Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, Shakyamuni or simply as The Buddha. My concept of the Buddha is that He is the only Buddha, an ordinary human being with an extraordinary intellect who discovered the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. However, most traditional Buddhists may not agree with me as they believe in many Buddhas in the past and to be born in the future. Interestingly, they say that all these Buddhas preach the same thing! This, to me, is an act of devaluing the great achievements of the Buddha.

Maybe, I am looking at this with my scientific background which tells me that, there is no possibility of more than one Buddha during the period humans have inhabited this earth. Notwithstanding, many Buddhists believe that Gautama Buddha was the fourth Buddha of this eon, Kakusandha, Konagamana and Kashyapa being the predecessors with the fifth Buddha, Maitreya, to be born in this extended eon. According to Theravada tradition, there have been 27 Buddhas before Gautama Buddha and they have been named as: Taṇhaṅkara Buddha, Medhaṅkara Buddha, Saraṇkara Buddha, Dīpankara Buddha, Koṇdañña Buddha, Maṅgala Buddha, Sumana Buddha, Revata Buddha, Sobhita Buddha, Anomadassi Buddha, Paduma Buddha, Nārada Buddha, Padumuttara Buddha, Sumedha Buddha, Sujāta Buddha, Piyadassi Buddha, Atthadassi Buddha, Dhammadassī Buddha, Siddhattha Buddha, Tissa Buddha, Phussa Buddha, Vipassī Buddha, Sikhī Buddha, Vessabhū Buddha, Kakusandha Buddha, Koṇāgamana Buddha, Kassapa Buddha. Not only they are named, their birth castes, names of parents, birthplaces and under which Bodhirukkha they attained enlightenment are listed. Interestingly, they are all born in India and wonder whether they all received the same treatment as Gautama Buddha did: Forgotten in the land of birth! Whatever it is, there is no scientific basis for these assumptions.

Interestingly, Mahayana has a different approach. Mahayana Buddhists venerate numerous Buddhas, not found in early Buddhism or in Theravada Buddhism. They are generally seen as living in other realms, known as Buddhafields or Pure Lands. They are sometimes called “celestial Buddhas”, since they are not from this earth. Some of the key Mahayana Buddhas are: Akshobhya, Amitabha, Amoghasiddhi, Bahisajyaguru, Ratnasambhava, Vairochana, Prabhutaratna, Samantabhadra and Lokeshwararaja. Perhaps, this concept is more plausible as they are supposed to exist in other planes, beyond our perception.

What can we say about other Buddhas, if any, when we can only imagine what Gautama Buddha was like as no one has left a detailed description of what the Buddha looked like? The Buddha was represented by signs initially, in spite of the building of Stupas, and the first statues of the Buddha were not carved till about four centuries after Parinibbana. Therefore, it is very likely they will have imaginary features and, in fact, most of the surviving early statues show Greek influence. Among the surviving early statues are:

The Standing Buddha Statue, a remarkable example of Greco-Buddhist Statuary which was built in Gandhara, which resides in the Tokyo National Museum and is dated around 1st or 2nd Century CE. It is referred to as “the most beautiful, and probably the most ancient of the Buddhas”

The Seated Buddha from Gandhara, one of the early Buddha statues built in second or third century, which was discovered at the site of Jamal Garhi in ancient Gandhara, shows the Buddha in Dharmachakra Mudra. This resides in the British Museum.

It was reported in 2017, that a centuries-old “sleeping Buddha” statue has been unearthed during excavations near Bhamala Stupa in Haripur district of Pakistan’s Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa region. This 48-feet-long statue built in the third century is considered the oldest statue in the sleeping position.

Collecting the scant data available from various sources, Bhante Dhammika of Australia described some features of the Buddha, in his very interesting article “What Did the Buddha Look Like” (Sunday Island, 6 March). Prolific writer, Mr G. A. D. Sirimal objected to this title stating: “This title should have read ‘What did Buddha Gautama Look Like?’, for the word ‘Buddha’ is a title similar in some respects to Doctor, Professor, etc. One should not forget there were 23 enlightened ones called Buddha.” (The Island, 10 March)

He seems convinced that there were previous Buddhas but seems to have got the number wrong; it is 28 as I stated previously with names, not 23. Further, he seems to suggest a new style of referring to the Buddha; Buddha Gautama whereas the Buddha is usually referred to as Gautama Buddha. In any case, when one refers to the Buddha it is meant to be Gautama Buddha. Anyway, for me there is only one Buddha!

Perhaps, the most important thing is not to count the number of Buddhas who may have been there or what Gautama Buddha looked like but to follow the path our Buddha discovered, not wait for a future Maitreya Buddha! Afterall, when He was asked who should be the successor, the Buddha replied that it would be the Dhamma.