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161-544: The title of "Buddha" is most commonly used for Gautama Buddha , the historical founder of Buddhism, who is often simply known as "the Buddha". The title is also used for other beings who have achieved awakening and liberation (or vimoksha ), such as the other human Buddhas who achieved enlightenment before Gautama; members of the Five Buddha Families such as Amitabha ; and the bodhisattva Maitreya , known as

322-548: A Sangha which maintains the teaching even after the Nirmāṇakāya has manifested nirvana . However, this is not always the case, and a Nirmāṇakāya may perform unusual acts, like teaching non-Buddhist teachings or appearing as an animal (as in the Jatakas ) for example, if this is the skilful means that is required to teach certain beings. Historically, the form body of the Buddha was also associated with specific stupas , where

483-571: A Vietnamese Buddhist monk in the Zen tradition, who states that "Buddha was not a god. He was a human being like you and me, and he suffered just as we do." In a similar fashion, Jack Maguire, a Western monk of the Mountains and Rivers Order in New York, writes that Buddha is inspirational based on his humanness: A fundamental part of Buddhism's appeal to billions of people over the past two and

644-434: A perfection of wisdom , and all their kleśas have completely ceased and ended so that the buddhas have attained purity. Therefore, all buddha qualities are contained within the true nature and the wisdom of the true nature. The Dharma body embodies the true nature of Buddhahood itself and all its inconceivable powers and qualities. It is generally understood as impersonal, without concept, words or thought. Even thought it

805-561: A white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side, and ten months later Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother Queen Maya became pregnant, she left Kapilavastu for her father's kingdom to give birth. Her son is said to have been born on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a sal tree . The earliest Buddhist sources state that the Buddha was born to an aristocratic Kshatriya (Pali: khattiya ) family called Gotama (Sanskrit: Gautama), who were part of

966-414: A Buddha is considered to be a transcendent being, who is all-knowing , immeasurably powerful , with an eternal lifespan. His wisdom light is said to pervade the cosmos, and his great compassion and skillful means are limitless. This transcendent being is not understood as having a normal physical human body, instead, Mahayana defends a kind of docetism , in which the Buddha's life on earth (as Shakyamuni)

1127-399: A Buddha is fully awakened and has completely purified his mind of the three poisons of craving , aversion and ignorance . A Buddha is no longer bound by saṃsāra , and has ended the suffering which unawakened people experience in life. Most schools of Buddhism have also held that the Buddha was omniscient . However, the early texts contain explicit repudiations of making this claim of

1288-596: A Buddha that appealed to them, by eliding one that did not". The dates of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Within the Eastern Buddhist tradition of China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan, the traditional date for Buddha's death was 949 BCE, but according to the Ka-tan system of the Kalachakra tradition, Buddha's death was about 833 BCE. Buddhist texts present two chronologies which have been used to date

1449-527: A Buddha. The Mahayana tradition generally follows the list of "Twelve Great Buddha Acts" (Skt. dvadaśabuddhakārya ). These are: The Pali suttas do not have such a list, but the Theravada commentarial tradition lists 30 obligatory acts of a Buddha. Various Mahayana sutras and treatises contain explanations of the nature of a Buddha and the various attributes which Buddhas are said to have. These attributes are significantly different and more exalted than

1610-404: A Buddha; [the qualities] principally because of which a person is called "Buddha"; [the qualities] by obtaining which he understands all, thereby becoming a Buddha. What are those qualities? Ksayajñana [knowledge of the destruction of the passions], etc., together with their attendants. According to Yasomitra's commentary some of the key qualities include ksayajñana (knowledge of the destruction of

1771-494: A claim to being omniscient, instead he claimed to have the "higher knowledges" ( abhijñā ). The earliest biographical material from the Pali Nikayas focuses on the Buddha's life as a śramaṇa, his search for enlightenment under various teachers such as Alara Kalama and his forty-five-year career as a teacher. Traditional biographies of Gautama often include numerous miracles, omens, and supernatural events. The character of

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1932-404: A classic list of " supernormal knowledges " (Skt. abhijñā , Pali : abhiññā ) that a Buddha has attained through spiritual practice. There is an ancient list of "six classes of superknowledge" (Pali: chalabhiññā, Skt. ṣaḍabhijña) that Buddhas have which are found in various Buddhist sources. These are: Buddhist texts include numerous stories of the Buddha's miracles , which include displays of

2093-634: A clearer picture of what Gautama may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of the culture and daily life of ancient India which can be corroborated from the Jain scriptures , and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in Indian history for which significant accounts exist. British author Karen Armstrong writes that although there is very little information that can be considered historically sound, we can be reasonably confident that Siddhārtha Gautama did exist as

2254-513: A dramatic narrative about the life of the young Gotama as a prince and his existential troubles. They depict his father Śuddhodana as a hereditary monarch of the Suryavansha (Solar dynasty) of Ikṣvāku (Pāli: Okkāka). This is unlikely, as many scholars think that Śuddhodana was merely a Shakya aristocrat ( khattiya ), and that the Shakya republic was not a hereditary monarchy. The more egalitarian gaṇasaṅgha form of government, as

2415-428: A flower)", "one who has awakened from the deep sleep of ignorance and opened his consciousness to encompass all objects of knowledge". It is not a personal name, but a title for those who have attained bodhi (awakening, enlightenment). Buddhi , the power to "form and retain concepts, reason, discern, judge, comprehend, understand", is the faculty which discerns truth ( satya ) from falsehood. The name of his clan

2576-416: A half millennia is the fact that the central figure, commonly referred to by the title "Buddha", was not a god, or a special kind of spiritual being, or even a prophet or an emissary of one. On the contrary, he was a human being like the rest of us who quite simply woke up to full aliveness. The various Buddhist schools hold some varying interpretations on the nature of Buddha. All Buddhist traditions hold that

2737-593: A historical figure. Michael Carrithers goes further, stating that the most general outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true. Legendary biographies like the Pali Buddhavaṃsa and the Sanskrit Jātakamālā depict the Buddha's (referred to as " bodhisattva " before his awakening) career as spanning hundreds of lifetimes before his last birth as Gautama. Many of these previous lives are narrated in

2898-417: A land", in other words all these buddhas becomes the condition "which causes the person to be converted (or instructed) to see such a body of emanation." Nirmāṇakāyas often appear in a world to turn the wheel of Dharma (i.e. teach Buddhism) and to display the twelve great acts of a Buddha (such as miraculous birth, renunciation, defeating Mara , enlightenment under a bodhi tree, etc) and they also may found

3059-482: A later stratum (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. Theravada tradition maintains that there can be up to five Buddhas in a kalpa or world age and that the current kalpa has had four Buddhas, with the current Buddha, Gotama, being the fourth and the future Buddha Metteyya being the fifth and final Buddha of

3220-532: A political alternative to Indian monarchies, may have influenced the development of the śramanic Jain and Buddhist sanghas , where monarchies tended toward Vedic Brahmanism . The day of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death is widely celebrated in Theravada countries as Vesak and the day he got conceived as Poson . Buddha's Birthday is called Buddha Purnima in Nepal, Bangladesh, and India as he

3381-548: A question, and always in meditation ( samādhi ). A doctrine ascribed to the Mahāsāṃghikas is, "The power of the tathāgatas is unlimited, and the life of the buddhas is unlimited." According to Guang Xing, two main aspects of the Buddha can be seen in Mahāsāṃghika teachings: the true Buddha who is omniscient and immeasurably powerful, and the manifested forms through which he liberates sentient beings through skillful means. For

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3542-565: A single state of Buddhahood. The Trikāya doctrine explains how a Buddha can simultaneously exist in multiple realms and embody a spectrum of qualities and forms, while also seeming to appear in the world with a human body that gets old and dies (though this is merely an appearance). It is also used to explain the Mahayana doctrine of non-abiding nirvana ( apratiṣṭhita-nirvana ), which sees Buddhahood as both unconstructed ( asaṃskṛta ) and transcendent, as well as constructed, immanent and active in

3703-495: A teacher to point out the dharma. A samyaksambuddha re-discovers the truths and the path to awakening on their own, and then teaches these to others after his awakening. A pratyekabuddha also reaches nirvana through his own efforts, but is unable or unwilling to teach the dharma to others. An arhat needs to follow the teaching of a Buddha to attain Nirvana, and may also preach the dharma after attaining nirvana. In one instance

3864-473: Is the natural luminosity of the mind (cittam prakṛtiśprabhāsvaram ) According to the commentary to the Dharma-dharmatā-vibhāga: "although there has been a "fundamental transformation" ( āśraya-parāvṛtti ) [at full enlightenment], nothing has undergone an actual change" This innate nature is then compared to the sky, which is always pure, but can be covered by clouds which are only adventitious. It

4025-458: Is "endowed with real, permanent qualities", and is permanent, blissful, sovereign, pure, infinite and all pervasive ("extends everywhere"). Xuanzang also states that the svabhāvikakāya "is common to all tathagatas" and that it is "realized in the same way by all the tathagatas" since there is "no difference possible between the self-nature body of one buddha and that of the other buddhas". The Saṃbhogakāya (Ch: 報身, 受用身; Tib. longs sku) refers to

4186-462: Is a fundamental Mahayana Buddhist doctrine that explains the multidimensional nature of Buddhahood . As such, the Trikāya is the basic theory of Mahayana Buddhist Buddhology (i.e. the theology of Buddhahood). This concept posits that a Buddha has three distinct "bodies", aspects, or ways of being, each representing a different facet or embodiment of Buddhahood and ultimate reality . The three are

4347-495: Is a reflection of the Saṃbhogakāya, one of the myriad magical manifestations created by the Saṃbhogakāya. It is also called rūpa -kaya, the "form body" or "physical body". The Nirmāṇakāya generally refers to a Buddha's human-like appearance in imperfect worlds like ours, which appear for limited periods of time and seemingly die in paranirvana . It is usually associated with "historical" Buddha figures, like Shakyamuni Buddha . It

4508-399: Is agreed, its activity ( karman ) is uninterrupted for as long as cyclic existence last... (AA 8.33) Manifestation bodies allow Buddhas to interact with and teach sentient beings in a more direct and human manner. They typically appear as male monastics in most Mahayana sutras, though later they encompassed all sorts of bodies. This earthly embodiment serves as a bridge between the divine and

4669-457: Is all pervasive. This view can be found in numerous Mahāyāna sources, like the Avatamsaka sutra . Mahāyāna buddhology mainly understands the Buddha through the "three bodies" ( trikaya ) framework. In this framework, the historical Buddha or other Buddhas who appear human are understood docetically as magical "transformation bodies" ( nirmanakaya ). Meanwhile, the real or ultimate Buddha

4830-589: Is also associated with the "body of the teachings", that is to say, the Buddhadharma , the teachings of the Buddha, and by association, with the nature of reality itself (i.e. the Dharma and the nature of the dharmas - all phenomena), which the teachings point to and are in accord with. In several Mahayana sources, the Dharma body is the primary and ultimate Buddha body, as well as "the foundation and basis for

4991-485: Is also compared to water, which may get muddy, but its nature remains clear and pure. However, "when the [innate luminosity] is freed from those [obstructions], it appears." As such, the dharmakaya is never generated or created, and is thus permanent (nitya). The Yogācāra also sees the Dharmabody as equivalent to the dharmadhātu (the totality of the cosmos) in its ultimate sense, in other words "the intrinsic body of

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5152-537: 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. The Buddha Siddhartha Gautama , most commonly referred to as

5313-535: Is an element of Buddhahood which is transcendent, free from all worldly conditions and quiescent (dharmakaya), there is also an element which compassionately manifests for the good of all beings and thus is engaged in worldly conditions (the other two bodies). This transcendent and immanent character is described in the Buddhabhūmi-sūtra as follows: In space, there appear the arising and ceasing of diverse forms. Yet space neither arises nor ceases. Likewise, within

5474-443: Is believed to have been born on a full moon day. According to later biographical legends, during the birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita journeyed from his mountain abode, analyzed the child for the "32 marks of a great man" and then announced that he would either become a great king ( chakravartin ) or a great religious leader. Suddhodana held a naming ceremony on the fifth day and invited eight Brahmin scholars to read

5635-460: Is commonly seen together in canonical texts and depicts some of his perfected qualities: The Pali Canon also contains numerous other titles and epithets for the Buddha, including: All-seeing, All-transcending sage, Bull among men, The Caravan leader, Dispeller of darkness, The Eye, Foremost of charioteers, Foremost of those who can cross, King of the Dharma ( Dharmaraja ), Kinsman of the Sun, Helper of

5796-485: Is disagreement among scholars regarding this issue, as well on the general relationship between Buddhism and theism . Since Buddhas remain accessible, a Mahāyānist can direct prayers to them, as well as experience visions and revelations from them. This has been very influential in the history of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Furthermore, a Mahāyāna devotee can also aspire to be reborn in a Buddha's Pure Land or Buddha field ( buddhakṣetra ), where they can strive towards Buddhahood in

5957-671: Is more prominent in Southeast and East Asia. According to Donald Lopez Jr., "... he tended to be known as either Buddha or Sakyamuni in China, Korea, Japan, and Tibet, and as either Gotama Buddha or Samana Gotama ('the ascetic Gotama') in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia." Buddha , "Awakened One" or "Enlightened One", is the masculine form of budh (बुध् ), "to wake, be awake, observe, heed, attend, learn, become aware of, to know, be conscious again", "to awaken" " 'to open up' (as does

6118-555: Is my actual body. Monks, you should perceive me through the full realization of the body which is dharma (Dharmakāya)." And one should see that this, the [actual] body of the Tathāgatas, is brought about by the limit of reality (Bhūtakoṭiḥ), i.e., the perfection of wisdom (Prajñāpāramitā). In another passage, the Aṣṭasāhasrikā identifies the Buddha with the real nature, dharmataya , which is unmoving, non-arising ( anutpada ), emptiness,

6279-577: Is now Bihar (the location of Pataliputra )". The Ganges basin was densely forested, and the population grew when new areas were deforestated and cultivated. The society of the middle Ganges basin lay on "the outer fringe of Aryan cultural influence", and differed significantly from the Aryan society of the western Ganges basin. According to Stein and Burton, "[t]he gods of the brahmanical sacrificial cult were not rejected so much as ignored by Buddhists and their contemporaries." Jainism and Buddhism opposed

6440-538: Is now India . The Buddha then wandered through the lower Indo-Gangetic Plain , teaching and building a monastic order . Buddhist tradition holds he died in Kushinagar and reached parinirvana ("final release from conditioned existence"). According to Buddhist tradition, the Buddha taught a Middle Way between sensual indulgence and severe asceticism, leading to freedom from ignorance , craving , rebirth, and suffering . His core teachings are summarized in

6601-517: Is revealed nonduality. What is nonduality? In the Dharma body, there are neither characteristics nor the basis for characteristics, and so there is neither existence nor nonexistence; the Dharma body is neither single nor diverse; it is neither a number nor numberless; and it is neither light nor darkness. According to Paul Williams, the Hymn to the Ultimate ( Paramārthastava ) by Nagarjuna describes

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6762-523: Is singular (appearing as one form, as one being), the enjoyment body is multiple since "it has many forms in accord with the aspirations of beings". Furthermore, the Dharma body is to be understood as neither singular or multiple, "neither the same nor different". The Trikāyasūtra preserved in the Tibetan canon contains the following simile for the three bodies: the dharmakāya of the Tathāgata consists in

6923-614: Is the Dharmakaya , the body of ultimate reality. Thus, the Ratnagotravibhāga ( Analysis of the Jeweled Lineage ), a key Mahāyāna treatise, defines the Buddha as "the uncompounded (asamskrta), and spontaneous (anabhoga) Dharmakaya" and as "self-enlightened and self-arisen wisdom (jñana), compassion and power for the benefit of others." This ultimate awakened reality is understood and interpreted in numerous different ways by

7084-472: Is the central sun which holds all, illumines all. The Dharma-body is often described in apophatic terms (especially in Madhyamaka sources), as formless, thought-less and beyond all concepts, language and ideas - including any idea of existence ( bhava ) or non-existence (abhava), or eternalism (śāśvata-dṛṣṭi) and annihilation (ucchedavāda). The Golden Light Sutra says: Noble one, the Dharma body

7245-405: Is the dharmakāya. That which is seen from the perspective of the bodhisattvas is the saṃbhogakāya. That which is seen from the perspective of ordinary beings who conduct themselves devotedly is the nirmāṇakāya. The Buddhabhūmi - vyākhyāna also explains the bodies through the various types of beings who have access to them in the same way. Only Buddhas see the dharma body, only bodhisattvas see

7406-587: Is the object of popular Buddhist devotion in Mahayana Buddhism, it is the Buddha as an omniscient transcendent being with immense powers, animated only by universal compassion for all living things. The Buddha's enjoyment body also has a very unique appearance, made up of the 32 major marks of great man. These characteristics include such unusual features as dharma wheels on the soles of his feet, glowing golden skin, unnaturally long tongue and arms which extend to his knees, and unique facial features like

7567-523: Is thus the most historic, temporally and spatially contingent, and humanistic aspect of the three bodies. According to the Golden Light sutra , the Buddhas know the aspirations, conduct, nature and needs of all beings, and thus they "they teach the appropriate Dharma in accordance with the time and with those types of conduct". To do this, they manifest various types of bodies, and these are called

7728-517: Is unknown. It may have been either Piprahwa , Uttar Pradesh, in present-day India, or Tilaurakot , in present-day Nepal. Both places belonged to the Sakya territory, and are located only 24 kilometres (15 mi) apart. In the mid-3rd century BCE the Emperor Ashoka determined that Lumbini was Gautama's birthplace and thus installed a pillar there with the inscription: "...this is where

7889-399: Is without any intention or thought, it accomplishes all Dharma activities spontaneously. Indeed, various Mahayana sources describe the Buddha bodies are being without thought or cognition. The Golden Light Sutra uses the analogy of the sun, moon, water, mirrors and light, which are without thought and yet they cause reflections to appear: "in the same way that through a combination of factors

8050-649: The Dharmakāya ( Sanskrit ; Dharma body, the ultimate reality , the Buddha nature of all things), the Sambhogakāya (the body of self-enjoyment, a blissful divine body with infinite forms and powers) and the Nirmāṇakāya (manifestation body, the body which appears in the everyday world and presents the semblance of a human body ). It is widely accepted in Mahayana that these three bodies are not separate realities, but functions, modes or "fluctuations" (Sanskrit: vṛṭṭis) of

8211-731: The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra : Dharmata-Buddha is Buddhahood in its self-nature of perfect oneness in whom absolute tranquillity prevails. As Noble Wisdom, Dharmata-Buddha transcends all differentiated knowledge, is the goal of intuitive self-realisation, and is the self-nature of the Tathagatas. As Noble Wisdom, Dharmata-Buddha is inscrutable, ineffable, unconditioned. Dharmata-Buddha is the Ultimate Principle of Reality from which all things derive their being and truthfulness, but which in itself transcends all predicates. Dharmata-Buddha

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8372-543: The Madhyāntavibhāga , the non-duality of a Buddha's nirvana also means that Buddhahood is both conditioned and unconditioned at the same time. Thus, the Madhyāntavibhāga says of Buddhahood "Its operation is nondual (advaya vṛtti) because of its abiding neither in saṃsāra nor in nirvāṇa (saṃsāra-nirvāṇa-apratiṣṭhitatvāt), through its being both conditioned and unconditioned (saṃskṛta-asaṃskṛtatvena)." Thus, while there

8533-467: The Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sūtra , and various Chinese translations of this date between the 3rd and 6th century CE. The Nidānakathā is from the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka and was composed in the 5th century by Buddhaghoṣa . Scholars are hesitant to make claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most of them accept that the Buddha lived, taught, and founded a monastic order during

8694-522: The Acchariyābbhūtasutta of the Majjhimanikāya along with its Chinese Madhyamāgama parallel is the most ancient source for the Mahāsāṃghika view. The sutra mentions various miracles performed by the Buddha before his birth and after. The Chinese version even calls him Bhagavan , which suggests the idea that the Buddha was already awakened before descending down to earth to be born. Similarly,

8855-866: The Ariyapariyesana Sutta ( MN 26), the Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta ( DN 16), the Mahāsaccaka-sutta (MN 36), the Mahapadana Sutta (DN 14), and the Achariyabhuta Sutta (MN 123), which include selective accounts that may be older, but are not full biographies. The Jātaka tales retell previous lives of Gautama as a bodhisattva , and the first collection of these can be dated among the earliest Buddhist texts. The Mahāpadāna Sutta and Achariyabhuta Sutta both recount miraculous events surrounding Gautama's birth, such as

9016-693: The Bodhi tree , with the inscription Bhagavato Sakamunino Bodho ("The illumination of the Blessed Sakamuni"). The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts are the Gandhāran Buddhist texts , found in Gandhara (corresponding to modern northwestern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan) and written in Gāndhārī , they date from the first century BCE to the third century CE. Early canonical sources include

9177-735: The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path , a training of the mind that includes ethical training and kindness toward others , and meditative practices such as sense restraint , mindfulness , dhyana (meditation proper). Another key element of his teachings are the concepts of the five skandhas and dependent origination , describing how all dharmas (both mental states and concrete 'things') come into being, and cease to be, depending on other dharmas , lacking an existence on their own svabhava ). A couple of centuries after his death, he came to be known by

9338-683: The Jatakas , which consists of 547 stories. The format of a Jataka typically begins by telling a story in the present which is then explained by a story of someone's previous life. Besides imbuing the pre-Buddhist past with a deep karmic history, the Jatakas also serve to explain the bodhisattva's (the Buddha-to-be) path to Buddhahood. In biographies like the Buddhavaṃsa , this path is described as long and arduous, taking "four incalculable ages" ( asamkheyyas ). In these legendary biographies,

9499-628: The Mahajanapada , and during the reign of Bimbisara (his friend, protector, and ruler of the Magadha empire); and died during the early years of the reign of Ajatashatru (who was the successor of Bimbisara), thus making him a younger contemporary of Mahavira , the Jain tirthankara . There is less consensus on the veracity of many details contained in traditional biographies, as "Buddhist scholars [...] have mostly given up trying to understand

9660-648: The Nirmāṇakāyas. Similarly the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra states that the Nirmana Buddhas appear as skillful means for the liberation of all beings. According to the Abhisamayālaṅkāra: [The embodiment of the Sage] in his manifestation(s) ( nairmāṇikakāya ) is that through which he impartially carries out diverse benefits for the world. It is uninterrupted for as long as the existence [of the world]. Likewise, it

9821-582: The Pāli Canon . The exact meaning of the term is unknown, but it is often thought to mean either "one who has thus gone" ( tathā-gata ), "one who has thus come" ( tathā-āgata ), or sometimes "one who has thus not gone" ( tathā-agata ). This is interpreted as signifying that the Tathāgata is beyond all coming and going – beyond all transitory phenomena . A tathāgata is "immeasurable", "inscrutable", "hard to fathom", and "not apprehended". A list of other epithets

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9982-524: The Shakyas , a tribe of rice-farmers living near the modern border of India and Nepal. His father Śuddhodana was "an elected chief of the Shakya clan ", whose capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed by the growing Kingdom of Kosala during the Buddha's lifetime. The early Buddhist texts contain very little information about the birth and youth of Gotama Buddha. Later biographies developed

10143-474: The Simpsapa sutta states that the Buddha had way more knowledge than what he taught to his disciples. The Mahāsāṃghikas took this further and argued that the Buddha knew the dharmas of innumerable other Buddhas of the ten directions. Mahāyāna Buddhism generally follows the Mahāsāṃghika ideal of the Buddha being a transcendent and all-knowing (sarvajña) being with unlimited spiritual powers. Guang Xing describes

10304-491: The abhiññās, healings, elemental magic (such as manipulating fire and water), and various other supernatural phenomena, traveling to higher realms of Buddhist cosmology , and others. One of the most famous of these miracles was the Twin Miracle at Sāvatthī , in which the Buddha emitted fire from the top of his body and water from his lower body simultaneously, before alternating them and then expanding them to illuminate

10465-482: The dharmas of the countless buddhas of the ten directions." It is also stated, "All buddhas have one body, the body of the Dharma." The concept of many bodhisattvas simultaneously working toward Buddhahood is also found among the Mahāsāṃghika tradition, and further evidence of this is given in the Samayabhedoparacanacakra , which describes the doctrines of the Mahāsāṃghikas. Guang Xing writes that

10626-479: The kalpa . This would make the current aeon a bhadrakalpa (fortunate aeon). In some Sanskrit and northern Buddhist traditions however, a bhadrakalpa has up to 1,000 Buddhas, with the Buddhas Gotama and Metteyya also being the fourth and fifth Buddhas of the kalpa respectively. The Koṇāgamana Buddha , is mentioned in a 3rd-century BCE inscription by Ashoka at Nigali Sagar , in today's Nepal . There

10787-595: The relics of the historical Buddha's body were believed to have been located. The concept of two Buddha bodies - physical and Dharma body, appears in non-Mahayana Buddhist sources, like the Early Buddhist texts , and the works of the Sarvastivada school. In this non-Mahayana context, Dharmakāya referred to the "body of the teachings", the teachings of the Buddha in the Tripitaka and their final intent,

10948-486: The uṣṇīṣa (a fleshly dome on top of his head) and ūrṇākośa (circle of hair between his eyebrows). Some Yogācāra sources, like Xuanzang’s Chengweishilun and Bandhuprabha's commentary to the Buddhabhūmi-sūtra , describe the enjoyment body as having two aspects: a private aspect which is experienced by Buddhas themselves "for their own enjoyment" (自受用身) and an aspect manifested for the sake of others' benefit (他受用身). Xuanzang explains these as follows: In other words,

11109-449: The "Buddha of the future who will attain awakening at a future time." In Theravada Buddhism , a Buddha is commonly understood as a being with the deepest spiritual wisdom about the nature of reality who has transcended rebirth and all suffering . He is also seen as having many miraculous and magical powers . However, a living Buddha has the limitations of a physical body, will feel pain, get old and die. In Mahayana Buddhism however,

11270-409: The "fivefold dharmakaya" is also found in other sources, like in the Ekottaragama , which also mentions a dharmakaya composed of discipline, samadhi, wisdom, liberation and "the vision of knowledge and liberation" (vimukti-jñana-darshana). Early Mahayana sutras like the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā (c. 1st century BCE) and the Lotus sutra , also mostly follow this basic model of two bodies:

11431-497: The Buddha ( lit.   ' the awakened one ' ), was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia , during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism . According to Buddhist legends, he was born in Lumbini , in what is now Nepal , to royal parents of the Shakya clan, but renounced his home life to live as a wandering ascetic. After leading a life of mendicancy , asceticism , and meditation, he attained nirvana at Bodh Gaya in what

11592-414: The Buddha as a supreme person who is neither a God in the theistic sense, nor a deva , nor a regular human . Thus, the Buddha is seen as a very special and unique class of persons called a "great person" (mahāpurisa). Andrew Skilton writes that the Buddha was never historically regarded by Buddhist traditions as being merely human. Instead, he is seen as having many supranormal powers ( siddhi ), such as

11753-695: The Buddha as having ten characteristics (Ch./Jp. 十號). These characteristics are frequently mentioned in the Pāli Canon as well as in other early Buddhist sources as well as in Mahayana texts , and are chanted daily in many Buddhist monasteries. The ten epithets are: The tenth epithet is sometimes listed as "The World Honored Enlightened One" (Skt. Buddha-Lokanatha ) or "The Blessed Enlightened One" (Skt. Buddha-Bhagavan ). According to various Buddhist texts, upon reaching Buddhahood each Buddha performs various acts ( buddhacarita ) during his life to complete his duty as

11914-502: The Buddha in Mahāyāna as an omnipotent and almighty divinity "endowed with numerous supernatural attributes and qualities". Mahāyāna cosmology also includes innumerable Buddhas who reside in innumerable buddha fields ( buddha kshetra ). The Mahāyāna Lotus Sutra , for example, says the lifespan of the Buddha is immeasurable. It also says that the Buddha actually achieved Buddhahood countless eons ( kalpas ) ago and has already been teaching

12075-458: The Buddha in negative terms. Buddha is thus beyond all dualities, "neither nonbeing nor being, neither annihilation nor permanence, not noneternal, not eternal." He is without color, size, location, and so on. Because of this negative buddhology that is often used to describe the Dharmakaya, it is often depicted with impersonal symbols, like the letter A , some other mantric seed syllable ,

12236-475: The Buddha in these traditional biographies is often that of a fully transcendent (Skt. lokottara ) and perfected being who is unencumbered by the mundane world. In the Mahāvastu , over the course of many lives, Gautama is said to have developed supramundane abilities including: a painless birth conceived without intercourse; no need for sleep, food, medicine, or bathing, although engaging in such "in conformity with

12397-489: The Buddha is equipped with the following supernatural qualities: transcendence ( lokottara ), lack of defilements, all of his utterances preaching his teaching , expounding all his teachings in a single utterance, all of his sayings being true, his physical body being limitless, his power ( prabhāva ) being limitless, the length of his life being limitless, never tiring of enlightening sentient beings and awakening pure faith in them, having no sleep or dreams, no pause in answering

12558-411: The Buddha is the intrinsic or fundamental dimension of the cosmos". According to Yogācāra, on this ultimate level, there is no distinction between different Buddhas, there is only the same non-dual reality beyond all concepts including singularity and multiplicity. This also means that a Buddha's knowledge is all pervasive. Since Buddha's knowledge knows the true nature of all things and is conjoined with

12719-556: The Buddha's birthplace, calling him the Buddha Shakyamuni ‍ ( Brahmi script : 𑀩𑀼𑀥 𑀲𑀓𑁆𑀬𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀻 Bu-dha Sa-kya-mu-nī , "Buddha, Sage of the Shakyas"). Śākyamuni, Sakyamuni, or Shakyamuni ( Sanskrit : शाक्यमुनि , [ɕaːkjɐmʊnɪ] ) means "Sage of the Shakyas ". Tathāgata ( Pali ; Pali: [tɐˈtʰaːɡɐtɐ] ) is a term the Buddha commonly used when referring to himself or other Buddhas in

12880-415: The Buddha's lifespan even later as 448 – 368 BCE. Most historians in the early 20th century use the earlier dates of 563 – 483 BCE, differing from the long chronology based on Greek evidence by just three years. More recently, there are attempts to put his death midway between the long chronology's 480s BCE and the short chronology's 360s BCE, so circa 410 BCE. At a symposium on this question held in 1988,

13041-638: The Buddha's lifetime is accepted (but he also points out that such a text was originally intended more as hagiography than as an exact historical record of events). John S. Strong sees certain biographical fragments in the canonical texts preserved in Pāli, as well as Chinese, Tibetan and Sanskrit as the earliest material. These include texts such as the "Discourse on the Noble Quest" ( Ariyapariyesanā-sutta ) and its parallels in other languages. No written records about Gautama were found from his lifetime or from

13202-568: The Buddha's omniscience (along with an increasing tendency to deify him and his biography) are found only later, in the Mahayana sutras and later Pali commentaries or texts such as the Mahāvastu . In the Sandaka Sutta , the Buddha's disciple Ananda outlines an argument against the claims of teachers who say they are all knowing while in the Tevijjavacchagotta Sutta the Buddha himself states that he has never made

13363-554: The Buddha's teachings were "also a response to the historical changes of the time, among which were the emergence of the state and the growth of urban centres". While the Buddhist mendicants renounced society, they lived close to the villages and cities, depending for alms-givings on lay supporters. According to Dyson, the Ganges basin was settled from the north-west and the south-east, as well as from within, "[coming] together in what

13524-541: The Buddha's teachings. For the Sarvastivada school and its associated northern Abhidharma traditions, this "body of dharmas" (Buddha's teachings and buddha-qualities) was the highest and true refuge , which does not pass away like the Buddha's physical body. Thus, the Abhidharmakośa says: One who goes to the Buddha for refuge goes for refuge to the fully accomplished qualities (asaiksa dharmah) that make him

13685-527: The Buddha, collections of stories about his past lives known as Jataka tales , and additional discourses, i.e., the Mahayana sutras . Buddhism spread beyond the Indian subcontinent, evolving into a variety of traditions and practices, represented by Theravada and Mahayana. While Buddhism declined in India, and mostly disappeared after the 8th century CE due to a lack of popular and economic support, Buddhism

13846-648: The Buddha, sage of the Śākyas ( Śākyamuni ), was born." According to later biographies such as the Mahavastu and the Lalitavistara , his mother, Maya (Māyādevī), Suddhodana's wife, was a princess from Devdaha , the ancient capital of the Koliya Kingdom (what is now the Rupandehi District of Nepal ). Legend has it that, on the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that

14007-409: The Buddha. Mahāyāna buddhology expands the powers of a Buddha exponentially, seeing them as having unlimited lifespan and all-pervasive omniscient wisdom, as omnipotent, and as able to produce an infinite number of magical manifestations (nirmanakayas) as well as being able to produce pure lands (heaven-like realms for bodhisattvas). The Early Buddhist texts (and other later sources as well) contain

14168-519: The Dharma body in positive terms as well, using various terms for it including: "the pure field of experience and pure wisdom", "the nature of the tathāgatas, "the essence of the tathāgatas". The Sutra also describes it using the perfections used to describe Buddha nature in other sources: eternal ( nitya ), self ( ātman ), bliss ( sukha ), and purity ( śuddha) . In the Xuanzang's Chengweishilun ( Treatise Demonstrating Consciousness-only ) ,

14329-431: The Dharma through his numerous manifestations ( nirmana ) for eons. In spite of this transcendent nature, Mahāyāna also affirms the immanent nature of Buddhahood in all beings (through the doctrine of Buddha-nature , which is seen as something that all beings have). This view of an immanent Buddha essence in all normal human beings is common throughout East Asian Buddhism . The myriad Buddhas are also seen as active in

14490-477: The Dharmakaya (also called here the vimuktikaya, body of liberation) is described as what is adorned with the great Buddha qualities (mahāguṇa), which are conditioned and unconditioned, immeasurable, and infinite. It also describes the dharmakaya-svabhāvikakāya as the real nature of the Buddhas and all dharmas, "the real pure dharmadhatu", the "immutable support" of the two other bodies, which is peaceful, beyond all prapañca , neither matter (rupa) nor mind (citta). It

14651-504: The Dharmakāya as the support or basis of all dharmas, and as being a self-contained nature ( svabhāva ) which lacks anything contingent or adventitious. It is thus "the intrinsic nature of the Buddhas, the ultimate, the purified Thusness or Suchness " and "the true nature of things taken as a body", a non-dual, pure and immaculate wisdom. A related term used to describe Buddhahood in Yogācāra

14812-584: The Mahāsaṃghikas, the historical Gautama Buddha was one of these transformation bodies (Skt. nirmāṇakāya ), while the essential real Buddha is equated with the Dharmakāya . As in Mahāyāna traditions, the Mahāsāṃghikas held the doctrine of the existence of many contemporaneous buddhas throughout the ten directions. In the Mahāsāṃghika Lokānuvartana Sūtra , it is stated, "The Buddha knows all

14973-758: The Pali Jataka Commentary ( Jātakaṭṭhakathā ) and the Sanskrit Jātakamālā is how the Buddha-to-be had to practice several "perfections" ( pāramitā ) to reach Buddhahood. The Jatakas also sometimes depict negative actions done in previous lives by the bodhisattva, which explain difficulties he experienced in his final life as Gautama. According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in Lumbini , now in modern-day Nepal, and raised in Kapilavastu . The exact site of ancient Kapilavastu

15134-551: The Pāli suttas have retained very archaic place-names, syntax, and historical data from close to the Buddha's lifetime, including the Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta which contains a detailed account of the Buddha's final days. Hinüber proposes a composition date of no later than 350–320 BCE for this text, which would allow for a "true historical memory" of the events approximately 60 years prior if the Short Chronology for

15295-569: The Shakyas"). Another one of his edicts ( Minor Rock Edict No. 3 ) mentions the titles of several Dhamma texts (in Buddhism, "dhamma" is another word for "dharma"), establishing the existence of a written Buddhist tradition at least by the time of the Maurya era . These texts may be the precursor of the Pāli Canon . "Sakamuni" is also mentioned in a relief of Bharhut , dated to c.  100 BCE , in relation with his illumination and

15456-482: The Tathagatas (=dharmakaya), which is the purified dharma realm (dharmadhātuviśuddha), is undivided. However, because it functions as distinguished into three embodiments, it is said to have functional divisions." In Yogācāra literature, the whole unified reality which includes all three embodiments is termed "the purified Dharma-real" (Dharmadhātuviśuddhi), which is the totality of all phenomena as seen by Buddha knowledge. Furthermore, according to Yogācāra sources like

15617-552: The World ( Lokanatha ), Lion ( Siha ), Lord of the Dhamma, Of excellent wisdom ( Varapañña ), Radiant One, Torchbearer of mankind, Unsurpassed doctor and surgeon, Victor in battle, and Wielder of power. Another epithet, used at inscriptions throughout South and Southeast Asia, is Maha sramana , "great sramana " (ascetic, renunciate). On the basis of philological evidence, Indologist and Pāli expert Oskar von Hinüber says that some of

15778-458: The best possible conditions. This practice is the central element of East Asian Pure Land Buddhism . Some modern Buddhists have argued that the Buddha was just a human being, albeit a very wise one. This is a common view in Buddhist modernism , which sought to teach a form of Buddhism that was modern , rational and scientific . One figure who sees Buddha as mainly human is Thích Nhất Hạnh ,

15939-429: The bodhisattva goes through many different births (animal and human), is inspired by his meeting of past Buddhas , and then makes a series of resolves or vows ( pranidhana ) to become a Buddha himself. Then he begins to receive predictions by past Buddhas. One of the most popular of these stories is his meeting with Dipankara Buddha , who gives the bodhisattva a prediction of future Buddhahood. Another theme found in

16100-667: The bodhisattva's descent from the Tuṣita Heaven into his mother's womb. The sources which present a complete picture of the life of Siddhārtha Gautama are a variety of different, and sometimes conflicting, traditional biographies from a later date. These include the Buddhacarita , Lalitavistara Sūtra , Mahāvastu , and the Nidānakathā . Of these, the Buddhacarita is the earliest full biography, an epic poem written by

16261-480: The body of Dharma and the form body ( rūpa -kaya). According to the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā , only fools think of the Buddha as being his physical body, since their real body is the dharmakaya. Thus, while the Buddha's physical body died, the body of Dharma never dies, it is imperishable. This referred to both his teachings as well as the ultimate natural law of reality, dependent arising , which

16422-416: The circles of assembly." The term is usually associated with more supramundane, cosmic or otherworldly Buddhas. For example, Sthiramati names Vairocana , Amitabha and Samantabhadra as Saṃbhogakāya Buddhas. While this aspect of Buddhahood does appear to have a kind of form, it is a form that transcends the three worlds and all material existence. As such, only advanced bodhisattvas and beings in

16583-432: The common Theravada goal of individual liberation, or arhatship . Buddhahood is the state of an awakened being, who, having found the path of cessation of dukkha ("suffering", as created by attachment to desires and distorted perception and thinking) is in the state of "no-more-Learning". There is a broad spectrum of opinion on the nature of Buddhahood, its universality, and the method of attaining Buddhahood among

16744-589: The cosmos. Mahayana sutras contain even more extensive miracles. In the Vimalakirti Sutra , the Buddha display the true pure nature of his " buddha field " to everyone on earth, who suddenly beholds the world as a perfect world filled with jewels and other majestic features. Likewise, in the Lotus Sutra , the Buddha shakes the earth and shines a beam of light which illuminates thousands of "buddha-fields". Some Buddhists meditate on (or contemplate)

16905-613: The current kalpa (Pali: kappa, meaning eon or "age") called the good eon ( bhaddakappa ) and three are from past eons. One sutta called Chakkavatti-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. However, according to a text in the Theravada Buddhist tradition from

17066-588: The defilements), anutpadajñana ("knowledge of the non-arising" of defilements), samyagdrsti (right view), and the five undefiled aggregates: sila (virtue), samadhi (concentration), prajña (discernment), vimukti (liberation), and vimuktijñanadarsana (the vision of the knowledge of liberation). Furthermore, in Abhidharma texts like the Abhidharmakośa and the Mahāvibhāṣa Śāstra , dharmakaya also includes

17227-601: The different Mahayana schools. The Buddha-nature doctrines of Mahayana Buddhism also consider Buddhahood to be a universal and innate property which is immanent in all beings. Most Buddhists do not consider Gautama Buddha to have been the only Buddha. The Pāli Canon refers to many previous ones (see list of the named Buddhas ), while the Mahayana tradition additionally has many Buddhas of celestial origin (see Amitābha or Vairocana as examples. For lists of many thousands of Buddha names see Taishō Tripiṭaka numbers 439–448). The Theravada Buddhist tradition generally sees

17388-698: The disk of the moon or sun, space (Sanskrit: ākāśa ), or the sky (gagana). However, iconic representations of the Dharmakaya are also common, as with the depiction of the Buddha Mahavairocana in East Asian esoteric Buddhism and the Buddha Vajradhara or Samatabhadra in Tibetan Buddhism. In Indian Yogācāra school sources, the Dharmakāya is sometimes described in more positive ways. According to Williams, Yogācāra sees

17549-512: The divine magical bodies of the Buddhas which manifest for the benefit of noble bodhisattvas. It can be rendered as "co-enjoyment body", and "communal bliss body" (when reading the prefix saṃ- to refer to ‘together with’ or ‘mutual’) or as "complete reward body", "total enjoyment body" (reading saṃ- as "complete", "thoroughness"). The Saṃbhogakāya is described by the Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra as that which "brings enjoyment of dharma to

17710-420: The eighteen special qualities of a Buddha (āveṇikadharmaḥ), which are: the ten powers, four forms of fearlessness, great compassion, and the three mindful equanimities. The Abhidharmakośa lists even more qualities, such as: the four pratisamvid (analytical knowledges), the six abhijñas (supernatural knowledges), the four dhyanas (meditative absorptions), the four arupyasamapattis (formless meditative states),

17871-411: The emanation body as the method used by Buddhas through their knowledge of accomplishing actions (kṛṭya-anuṣṭhāna-jñāna) to create "innmumerable and varied" transformations "which inhabit pure or impure lands". This is for the benefit of bodhisattvas who have not yet attained the bodhisattva stages , for followers of the two vehicles , and for ordinary people. These bodies are varied and take into account

18032-442: The enjoyment bodies themselves, as well as with all the numerous emanations which are manifested by the saṃbhogakāya as a skillful means to guide different types of beings. It is considered a skillful manifestation that arises as a result of fulfilling vows and commitments on the long bodhisattva spiritual journey. The Nirmāṇakāya (Ch: 化身, 應身; Tib. sprul sku; the body of transformation, emanation, manifestation or appearance)

18193-429: The enjoyment body, and sentient beings are able see the manifestations. The Golden Light sutra also associates different kinds of wisdom to each body and with the different elements of the eight consciousnesses . The Dharma body is the mirror-like wisdom (ādarśajñāna), the pure state of the "basis-of-all" (alaya); the enjoyment body is discriminating wisdom (pratyavekṣaṇā­jñāna), the pure state of mental cognition; while

18354-409: The fact that he has no nature, just like the sky. His saṃbhogakāya consists in the fact that he comes forth, just like a cloud. His nirmāṇakāya consists in the activity of all the buddhas, the fact that it soaks everything, just like rain. Furthermore, this sutra explains that the three bodies can be understood as relative to those who see them: That which is seen from the perspective of the Tathāgata

18515-405: The fallibility of arhats. Of the 48 special theses attributed by the Indian scholar Vasumitra to the Mahāsāṃghika sects of Ekavyāvahārika , Lokottaravāda , and Kukkuṭika , 20 points concern the supramundane nature of buddhas and bodhisattvas. According to Vasumitra, these four groups held that the Buddha is able to know all dharmas in a single moment of the mind. Yao Zhihua writes: In their view,

18676-419: The flourish of Brahminism, as Greater Magadha . The Buddha's tribe of origin, the Shakyas, seems to have had non-Vedic religious practices which persist in Buddhism, such as the veneration of trees and sacred groves, and the worship of tree spirits (yakkhas) and serpent beings (nagas). They also seem to have built burial mounds called stupas. Tree veneration remains important in Buddhism today, particularly in

18837-501: The four apramanas (measureless thoughts), the eight vimoksas (liberations), the eight abhibhvayatanas (bases of overcoming), the thirty-seven bodhipaksas (factors that foster enlightenment) and more. All these various qualities would later be adopted into the Mahayana understanding of a Buddha's qualities and they regularly appear in various listings found in Mahayana sutras like the Prajñāpāramitā sutras . The concept of two bodies

18998-544: The future. All gave similar predictions. Kondañña , the youngest, and later to be the first arhat other than the Buddha, was reputed to be the only one who unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha would become a Buddha . Trikaya The Trikāya ( Sanskrit : त्रिकाय , lit. "three bodies"; Chinese : 三身 ; pinyin : sānshēn ; Japanese pronunciation : sanjin, sanshin ; Korean pronunciation : samsin ; Vietnamese : tam thân , Tibetan : སྐུ་གསུམ , Wylie : sku gsum )

19159-623: The gods (devas) and humans since he has attained the highest liberation, whereas the gods are still subject to anger, fear, and sorrow. In the Madhupindika Sutta (MN 18), Buddha is described in powerful terms as the Lord of the Dhamma and the bestower of immortality. Similarly, in the Anuradha Sutta (SN 44.2), Gautama Buddha is described as the "supreme man" and the "attainer of the superlative attainment". Because he has attained

19320-579: The highest spiritual knowledge, the Buddha is also identified with the Dhamma (the most fundamental reality) In the Vakkali Sutta (SN 22.87). In the early Buddhist schools , the Mahāsāṃghika branch regarded the buddhas as being characterized primarily by their supramundane ( lokottara ) nature. The Mahāsāṃghikas advocated the transcendental and supramundane nature of the buddhas and bodhisattvas and

19481-479: The historical person." The earliest versions of Buddhist biographical texts that we have already contain many supernatural, mythical, or legendary elements. In the 19th century, some scholars simply omitted these from their accounts of the life, so that "the image projected was of a Buddha who was a rational, socratic teacher—a great person perhaps, but a more or less ordinary human being". More recent scholars tend to see such demythologisers as remythologisers, "creating

19642-443: The human realm. It makes the teachings and compassion of a Buddha accessible to beings of impure realms who seek guidance from an awakened being. However, even this more human-like Buddha is not just a normal human body. A Nirmāṇakāya only appears human, in reality it is just a phantom like magic body, a mere docetic appearance, which can perform many magic powers and which only appears to die. Xuanzang's Chengweishilun defines

19803-462: The idea that the lifespan of a Buddha is limitless is also based on ancient ideas, such as the Mahāparinirvānasūtra's statement that the Buddha's lifespan is as long as an eon ( kalpa ) but that he voluntarily allowed his life to end. Another early source for the Mahāsāṃghika view that a Buddha was a transcendent being is the idea of the thirty-two major marks of a Buddha's body. Furthermore,

19964-438: The lifetime of the Buddha. The "long chronology", from Sri Lankese chronicles, states the Buddha was born 298 years before Asoka 's coronation and died 218 years before the coronation, thus a lifespan of about 80 years. According to these chronicles, Asoka was crowned in 326 BCE, which gives Buddha's lifespan as 624 – 544 BCE, and are the accepted dates in Sri Lanka and South-East Asia. Alternatively, most scholars who also accept

20125-492: The long chronology but date Asoka's coronation around 268 BCE (based on Greek evidence) put the Buddha's lifespan later at 566 – 486 BCE. However, the "short chronology", from Indian sources and their Chinese and Tibetan translations, place the Buddha's birth at 180 years before Asoka's coronation and death 100 years before the coronation, still about 80 years. Following the Greek sources of Asoka's coronation as 268 BCE, this dates

20286-473: The majority of those who presented gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death. These alternative chronologies, however, have not been accepted by all historians. The dating of Bimbisara and Ajatashatru also depends on the long or short chronology. In the long chrononology, Bimbisara reigned c.  558  – c.  492 BCE , and died 492 BCE, while Ajatashatru reigned c.  492  – c.  460 BCE . In

20447-543: The manifestation body (a more human and earthly aspect). The term kāya was understood to have multiple meanings simultaneously. The three main ways it was understood by Indian exegetes were: Mahayana sources emphasize that the three bodies are ultimately not separate from other, that is to say, they are non-dual . However, these different embodiments of the same reality can be described in different ways due to their relative functions or activities (vrttis). Thus, Śīlabhadra's Buddhabhūmi - vyākhyāna states ''the body of

20608-567: The names of their house priests. While the term Buddha is used in the Agamas and the Pali Canon, the oldest surviving written records of the term Buddha is from the middle of the 3rd century BCE, when several Edicts of Ashoka (reigned c.  269 –232 BCE) mention the Buddha and Buddhism. Ashoka 's Lumbini pillar inscription commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to Lumbini as

20769-411: The nature of Buddhahood, Buddhist deities and the Buddhist cosmos. The Buddhist triple body theory was also adopted into Daoist philosophy and modified using Daoist concepts. The Trikāya doctrine sees Buddhahood as composed of three bodies, components or collection of elements ( kāya ): the Dharma body (the ultimate aspect of Buddhahood), the body of self-enjoyment (a divine and magical aspect) and

20930-431: The needs of all the different types of beings. He further states that Nirmāṇakāyas "are not real minds ( cittas ) and mental factors ( caittas )", they only appear as having minds. To the question of what happens when someone is devoted to and relies on several Buddhas at the same time, Xuanzang responds that "at the same time and in the same place, each of these buddhas develops as a body of emanation (nirmāṇakāya) and as

21091-589: The nirmāṇakāya is "all-accomplishing wisdom" (kṛtyānuśṭhānajñāna), which is the pure state of the five sense consciousnesses. The Dharmakāya ( Ch : 法身; Tib . chos sku; "Dharma body," "Reality body", "Truth body"; sometimes also called svabhāvikakāya - the intrinsic body) is often described through Buddhist philosophical concepts that describe the Buddhist view of ultimate reality like emptiness , Buddha nature , Dharmata, Suchness ( Tathātā ), Dharmadhatu , Prajñaparamita , Paramartha , non-duality (advaya), and original purity (ādiviśuddhi). The Dharmakāya

21252-424: The one or two centuries thereafter. But from the middle of the 3rd century BCE, several Edicts of Ashoka (reigned c. 268 to 232 BCE) mention the Buddha and Buddhism. Particularly, Ashoka 's Lumbini pillar inscription commemorates the Emperor's pilgrimage to Lumbini as the Buddha's birthplace, calling him the Buddha Shakyamuni ( Brahmi script : 𑀩𑀼𑀥 𑀲𑀓𑁆𑀬𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀻 Bu-dha Sa-kya-mu-nī , "Buddha, Sage of

21413-477: The poet Aśvaghoṣa in the first century CE. The Lalitavistara Sūtra is the next oldest biography, a Mahāyāna / Sarvāstivāda biography dating to the 3rd century CE. The Mahāvastu from the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda tradition is another major biography, composed incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE. The Dharmaguptaka biography of the Buddha is the most exhaustive, and is entitled

21574-490: The practice of venerating Bodhi trees. Likewise, yakkas and nagas have remained important figures in Buddhist religious practices and mythology. The Buddha's lifetime coincided with the flourishing of influential śramaṇa schools of thought like Ājīvika , Cārvāka , Jainism , and Ajñana . The Brahmajala Sutta records sixty-two such schools of thought. In this context, a śramaṇa refers to one who labours, toils or exerts themselves (for some higher or religious purpose). It

21735-531: The private aspect of co-enjoyment is associated with the blissful reward of Buddhahood experienced by Buddhas themselves, also called “the Buddha’s own enjoyment of the dharma-delight”. This embodies the idea of reaping the benefits or rewards of spiritual practice and dwelling in sublime states of realization. The public aspect of "enjoyment for others" is associated with sharing the Dharma with other beings, with divine pure lands (buddha-fields) which are extensions of

21896-486: The pure lands receive teachings directly from the Saṃbhogakāya in standard Mahayana doctrine. As the Golden Light Sutra says, the Saṃbhogakāya "is a body that is seen on the bhūmis." That is to say, one must have entered the bodhisattva stages or the pure lands to see it. Thus, the enjoyment body has a middle position between the more human manifestation body and the totally formless Dharmakaya. This body

22057-472: The purified dharma realm (dharmadhātuviśuddha) of the Tathagatas, there appear the arising and ceasing of awareness, manifestation, and performance of all the activities for sentient beings. Yet the purified dharma realm has neither arising nor ceasing. The longer edition of the Golden Light Sutra , which contains a whole chapter on the triple body theory, states that while the manifestation body

22218-443: The reflections of the sun and moon appear, through a combination of factors the enjoyment bodies and the emanation bodies manifest their appearances to beings who are worthy." The Dharma body is also the true nature of all things (dharmas) and the true nature of all beings, equivalent to the Mahayana concept of emptiness (śūnyatā), the lack of inherent essence in all things. It is permanent, unceasing and unchanging. According to

22379-441: The sceptic. The Pāli canon frequently depicts Buddha engaging in debate with the adherents of rival schools of thought. There is philological evidence to suggest that the two masters, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Rāmaputta , were historical figures and they most probably taught Buddha two different forms of meditative techniques. Thus, Buddha was just one of the many śramaṇa philosophers of that time. In an era where holiness of person

22540-423: The short chronology Bimbisara reigned c.  400 BCE , while Ajatashatru died between c.  380 BCE and 330 BCE. According to historian K. T. S. Sarao , a proponent of the Short Chronology wherein the Buddha's lifespan was c.477–397 BCE, it can be estimated that Bimbisara was reigning c.457–405 BCE, and Ajatashatru was reigning c.405–373 BCE. According to the Buddhist tradition, Shakyamuni Buddha

22701-495: The social stratification of Brahmanism, and their egalitarism prevailed in the cities of the middle Ganges basin. This "allowed Jains and Buddhists to engage in trade more easily than Brahmans, who were forced to follow strict caste prohibitions." In the earliest Buddhist texts, the nikāyas and āgamas , the Buddha is not depicted as possessing omniscience ( sabbaññu ) nor is he depicted as being an eternal transcendent ( lokottara ) being. According to Bhikkhu Analayo , ideas of

22862-414: The superknowledges ( abhijna ), the capacity for a very long lifespan, as well as the thirty-two marks of a great man . In the Pāli Canon , the Buddha is depicted as someone between a human and a divine being. He has a human body that decays and dies, and he was born from human parents (though some sources depict this as a miraculous birth). The most important element of a Buddha is that they have attained

23023-461: The supreme spiritual goal: nirvana . This is what makes him supreme and what grants him special powers. This view of the Buddhas a supreme person with many superpowers, but which has a physical body that has many limitations of a human form was also shared by other early Buddhist schools like the Sarvastivada school, and the Dharmaguptaka . In the Pāli Canon, the Buddha is asked whether he

23184-489: The term buddha is also used in Theravada to refer to all who attain Nirvana , using the term sāvakabuddha to designate an arhat, someone who depends on the teachings of a Buddha to attain Nirvana. In this broader sense it is equivalent to the arhat. In Mahāyāna Buddhism meanwhile, a Buddha is seen as a transcendent being who has extensive powers, such as omniscience , omnipotence , and whose awakened wisdom (buddha-jñana)

23345-622: The title Buddha , which means 'Awakened One' or 'Enlightened One'. His teachings were compiled by the Buddhist community in the Vinaya , his codes for monastic practice, and the Sutta Piṭaka , a compilation of teachings based on his discourses. These were passed down in Middle Indo-Aryan dialects through an oral tradition . Later generations composed additional texts, such as systematic treatises known as Abhidharma , biographies of

23506-592: The true nature of all things, it pervades the entire world, and thus its functions are operative throughout the entire cosmos according to beings' needs. The Buddhabhūmi-sūtra compares the omnipresence of the Buddha's knowledge to how space pervades all things. Furthermore, Yogācāra sources indicate that the dharma body is beyond the understanding of any being that is not a Buddha, describing it as inconceivable (acintya), subtle (suksma), difficult to know, "inaccessible to speculative investigation", and "beyond ascertainment by reason." The Golden Light Sutra also describes

23667-457: The two other bodies" according to Gadjin Nagao. For example, the Golden Light sutra states that: The first two bodies are merely designations, while the Dharma body is true and the basis for those two other bodies . Why is that? It is because there is only the true nature of phenomena and nonconceptual wisdom, and there are no other qualities that are separate from all buddhas. All buddhas have

23828-510: The ultimate nature of the dharmas . It could also refer to the set of all dharmas (phenomena, attributes, characteristics) that was possessed by a Buddha, i.e. "those factors (dharmas) the possession of which serves to distinguish a Buddha from one who is not a Buddha." In the earliest Buddhist sources (the Pali suttas , the Agamas ), the term dharmakaya appears rarely and it refers to the body of

23989-480: The various schools of Buddhism. The level to which this manifestation requires ascetic practices varies from none at all to an absolute requirement, dependent on doctrine. While most schools accept the bodhisattva ideal, in which it takes aeons to reach Buddhahood, not all agree that everyone can become a Buddha, or that it must take aeons. In Theravada Buddhism , Buddha refers to one who has reached awakening (bodhi) through their own efforts and insight, without

24150-406: The way a Buddha is understood in non-Mahayana Buddhism. Some of the key attributes of Buddhahood in Mahayana buddhology include: 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 (see for example SN 12.4 to SN 12.10). Four of these are from

24311-469: The world"; omniscience, and the ability to "suppress karma". As noted by Andrew Skilton, the Buddha was often described as being superhuman, including descriptions of him having the 32 major and 80 minor marks of a "great man", and the idea that the Buddha could live for as long as an aeon if he wished (see DN 16). The ancient Indians were generally unconcerned with chronologies, being more focused on philosophy. Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing

24472-564: The world, guiding all sentient beings to Buddhahood. Paul Williams writes that the Buddha in Mahāyāna is "a spiritual king, relating to and caring for the world". This view entails a kind of docetism regarding the "historical" Buddha, Shakyamuni . His life and death were a "mere appearance," like a magic show; in reality, the Buddha still exists and is constantly helping living beings. Because of this transcendental view, Mahāyāna Buddhologies have sometimes been compared to various types of theism (including pantheism ) by different scholars. There

24633-461: The world. This idea was developed in early Yogācāra school sources, like the Mahāyāna-sūtrālamkāra. The doctrine's interpretations vary across different Buddhist traditions, some theories contain extra "bodies", making it a "four body" theory and so on. However, the basic Trikāya theory remains a cornerstone of Mahayana and Vajrayana teachings, providing a comprehensive perspective on

24794-739: Was Gautama (Pali: Gotama). His given name, "Siddhārtha" (the Sanskrit form; the Pali rendering is "Siddhattha"; in Tibetan it is "Don grub"; in Chinese "Xidaduo"; in Japanese "Shiddatta/Shittatta"; in Korean "Siltalta") means "He Who Achieves His Goal". The clan name of Gautama means "descendant of Gotama", "Gotama" meaning "one who has the most light", and comes from the fact that Kshatriya clans adopted

24955-670: Was a Shakya , a sub-Himalayan ethnicity and clan of north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. The Shakya community was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE. The community, though describable as a small republic, was probably an oligarchy , with his father as the elected chieftain or oligarch. The Shakyas were widely considered to be non- Vedic (and, hence impure) in Brahminic texts; their origins remain speculative and debated. Bronkhorst terms this culture, which grew alongside Aryavarta without being affected by

25116-415: Was a deva or a human, and he replies that he had eliminated the deep-rooted unconscious traits that would make him either one, and should instead be called a Buddha: one who had grown up in the world but had now gone beyond it, as a lotus grows from the water but blossoms above it, unsoiled. The Pāli Canon also states that Gautama Buddha is known as being a "teacher of the gods and humans," superior to both

25277-483: Was a magical display which only appeared to have a human body. A being who is on the path to become a Buddha is called a bodhisattva . In Mahayana Buddhism , Buddhahood is the universal goal and all Mahayanists ultimately aim at becoming a Buddha, in order to benefit and liberate all sentient beings. Thus, Buddhahood is the goal for all the various spiritual paths found in the various Mahayana traditions (including Vajrayana , Zen , and Pure land ). This contrasts with

25438-533: Was also adopted by the Southern Theravada school. This can be seen in the works of Buddhaghosa , who writes: That Bhagavat, who is possessed of a beautiful rupakaya, adorned with thirty major and eighty minor marks of a great man, and possessed of a dhammakaya purified in every way and glorified by sila , samadhi , pañña , vimutti and vimutti-ñana-dassana, is full of splendour and virtue, incomparable and fully awakened. This set of five qualities,

25599-474: Was also the age of influential thinkers like Mahavira , Pūraṇa Kassapa , Makkhali Gosāla , Ajita Kesakambalī , Pakudha Kaccāyana , and Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta , as recorded in Samaññaphala Sutta , with whose viewpoints the Buddha must have been acquainted. Śāriputra and Moggallāna , two of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, were formerly the foremost disciples of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta,

25760-525: Was equivalent to emptiness in Mahayana. The Aṣṭasāhasrikā also says that prajñāpāramitā is "the real relic/body of the Tathagatas (Tathāgatanam Śarīram )" and that it is both ultimate reality and the main basis for attaining ultimate reality: As the Bhagavan has said: "The Buddhas, the Bhagavans, are those who have dharma as body (Dharmakāya). But, monks, you should not think that this [physical] body

25921-589: Was judged by their level of asceticism, Buddha was a reformist within the śramaṇa movement, rather than a reactionary against Vedic Brahminism. Coningham and Young note that both Jains and Buddhists used stupas, while tree shrines can be found in both Buddhism and Hinduism. The rise of Buddhism coincided with the Second Urbanisation , in which the Ganges Basin was settled and cities grew, in which egalitarianism prevailed. According to Thapar,

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