How many Buddhas were in past

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c_vajira
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How many Buddhas were in past

Post by c_vajira »

I have read that Gautama Buddha himself told that there were many buddhas were in past and there will be many in future (as many as grains of sands in Ganges river) from a book(Traveling to the Other Shore: Buddha's Stories on the Six Perfections, page 182). According to that book, the Brahman realized he missed all those previous opportunities to attain Nibbana and so cannot guarantee he will have a chance to listen, practice and attain Nibbana in future life( by listening to dhamma from a future Buddha). Thus it is better to practice right now.

But the book didn't referenced any of Sutta. If some one know the reference from Sutta, please let me know. I would like to read the original sutta. I know the book I mentioned not in Theravada tradition. So I want a reference from Theravada tradition, specifically from sutta if it possible. If it not mentioned in Threvada let me know that too.
santa100
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Re: How many Buddhas were in past

Post by santa100 »

c_vajira wrote:I have read that Gautama Buddha himself told that there were many buddhas were in past and there will be many in future (as many as grains of sands in Ganges river) from a book(Traveling to the Other Shore: Buddha's Stories on the Six Perfections, page 182).
There were and there will be many Buddhas because Samsara is unfathomably long. It is without any discernable beginning nor end. For references on several historical Buddhas and Gautama Buddha see SN 12 starting from SN 12.4. For an even bigger list, see the KN's Buddhavamsa
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cappuccino
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Re: How many Buddhas were in past

Post by cappuccino »

In the far past, the Buddha Vipassī reflected on how the world had fallen into suffering, and became awakened by understanding dependent origination.
c_vajira
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Re: How many Buddhas were in past

Post by c_vajira »

I really appreciate two answers given above but it is not answering my question. In this question, what I really wanted to know is a reference from sutta which shows that Buddha mentioning that there have been so many Buddhas past and there will be many in future.

Given that Buddha mentioned there is no beginning to samsara and there is no end to it (unless someone stop the cause of rebirth), I know it is obvious there were many and there will be many Buddha. But what I wanted is direct reference from Sutta rather than indirect implications.
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2_Extremes
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Re: How many Buddhas were in past

Post by 2_Extremes »

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of ... ed_Buddhas 28 Buddhas are mentioned (Including Gautama Buddha) but as you said we do not know the beginning of samsara so there could have been many more Buddhas before.
Ontheway
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Re: How many Buddhas were in past

Post by Ontheway »

Mahasamaya Sutta. Indirect reference.
Hiriottappasampannā,
sukkadhammasamāhitā;
Santo sappurisā loke,
devadhammāti vuccare.

https://suttacentral.net/ja6/en/chalmer ... ight=false
Stephen010mt
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Re: How many Buddhas were in past

Post by Stephen010mt »

There have been literally countless Buddhas in the past, but it is not an infinite number.
User13866
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Re: How many Buddhas were in past

Post by User13866 »

This is a good one
Nālandasutta—Bhikkhu Bodhi
Saṁyutta Nikāya
Connected Discourses on the Establishments of Mindfulness
47.12. Nalanda
On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Nalanda in Pavarika’s Mango Grove. Then the Venerable Sāriputta approached the Blessed One, paid homage to him, sat down to one side, and said to him:

“Venerable sir, I have such confidence in the Blessed One that I believe there has not been nor ever will be nor exists at present another ascetic or brahmin more knowledgeable than the Blessed One with respect to enlightenment.”

“Lofty indeed is this bellowing utterance of yours, Sāriputta, you have roared a definitive, categorical lion’s roar: ‘Venerable sir, I have such confidence in the Blessed One that I believe there has not been nor ever will be nor exists at present another ascetic or brahmin more knowledgeable than the Blessed One with respect to enlightenment.’ Have you now, Sāriputta, encompassed with your mind the minds of all the Arahants, the Perfectly Enlightened Ones, arisen in the past and known thus: ‘Those Blessed Ones were of such virtue, or of such qualities, or of such wisdom, or of such dwellings, or of such liberation’?”

“No, venerable sir.”

“Then, Sāriputta, have you encompassed with your mind the minds of all the Arahants, the Perfectly Enlightened Ones, who will arise in the future and known thus: ‘Those Blessed Ones will be of such virtue, or of such qualities, or of such wisdom, or of such dwellings, or of such liberation’?”
“No, venerable sir.”

“Then, Sāriputta, have you encompassed with your mind my own mind—I being at present the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One—and known thus: ‘The Blessed One is of such virtue, or of such qualities, or of such wisdom, or of such dwellings, or of such liberation’?”

“No, venerable sir.”

“Sāriputta, when you do not have any knowledge encompassing the minds of the Arahants, the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past, the future, and the present, why do you utter this lofty, bellowing utterance and roar this definitive, categorical lion’s roar: ‘Venerable sir, I have such confidence in the Blessed One that I believe there has not been nor ever will be nor exists at present another ascetic or brahmin more knowledgeable than the Blessed One with respect to enlightenment’?”

“I do not have, venerable sir, any knowledge encompassing the minds of the Arahants, the Perfectly Enlightened Ones of the past, the future, and the present, but still I have understood this by inference from the Dhamma. Suppose, venerable sir, a king had a frontier city with strong ramparts, walls, and arches, and with a single gate. The gatekeeper posted there would be wise, competent, and intelligent; one who keeps out strangers and admits acquaintances. While he is walking along the path that encircles the city he would not see a cleft or an opening in the walls even big enough for a cat to slip through. He might think: ‘Whatever large creatures enter or leave this city, all enter and leave through this one gate.’

“So too, venerable sir, I have understood this by inference from the Dhamma: Whatever Arahants, Perfectly Enlightened Ones arose in the past, all those Blessed Ones had first abandoned the five hindrances, corruptions of the mind and weakeners of wisdom; and then, with their minds well established in the four establishments of mindfulness, they had developed correctly the seven factors of enlightenment; and thereby they had awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. And, venerable sir, whatever Arahants, Perfectly Enlightened Ones will arise in the future, all those Blessed Ones will first abandon the five hindrances, corruptions of the mind and weakeners of wisdom; and then, with their minds well established in the four establishments of mindfulness, they will develop correctly the seven factors of enlightenment; and thereby they will awaken to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. And, venerable sir, the Blessed One, who is at present the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One, first abandoned the five hindrances, corruptions of the mind and weakeners of wisdom; and then, with his mind well established in the four establishments of mindfulness, he developed correctly the seven factors of enlightenment; and thereby he has awakened to the unsurpassed perfect enlightenment.”

“Good, good, Sāriputta! Therefore, Sāriputta, you should repeat this Dhamma exposition frequently to the bhikkhus and the bhikkhunis, to the male lay followers and the female lay followers. Even though some foolish people may have perplexity or uncertainty regarding the Tathagata, when they hear this Dhamma exposition their perplexity or uncertainty regarding the Tathagata will be abandoned.”
https://suttacentral.net/sn47.12/en/bod ... ight=false
Relevant to your question
At Savatthi. There the Blessed One said: "From an inconstruable beginning comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmigrating & wandering on. A being who has not been your mother at one time in the past is not easy to find... A being who has not been your father... your brother... your sister... your son... your daughter at one time in the past is not easy to find.

"Why is that? From an inconstruable beginning comes transmigration. A beginning point is not evident, though beings hindered by ignorance and fettered by craving are transmigrating & wandering on. Long have you thus experienced stress, experienced pain, experienced loss, swelling the cemeteries — enough to become disenchanted with all fabricated things, enough to become dispassionate, enough to be released."
https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitak ... .than.html
wenjaforever
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Re: How many Buddhas were in past

Post by wenjaforever »

Samsara has no beginning so there are countless Buddhas.
money is worthless toilet paper • the tongue has no bone (a person might say one thing but it cannot be further from the truth) • you cannot teach a goat math as in you cannot teach the dhamma to a dumb person
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