- Dipankara
Buddha Infobox
name = Dipankara Buddha
img_size = 200px
img_capt = A sculpture of Dipankara Buddha fromGandhara , present dayAfghanistan
landscape =
sanskrit_name = Dipankara
pali_name = Dipamkara
chinese_name = Rándēng Fo
japanese_name =
tibetan_name = mi slob
korean_name =
thai_name =
vietnamese_name =
veneration =Theravada ,Mahayana ,Vajrayana
attributes = Causer of Light
shakti =
preceded_by = Saraṇaṃkara
succeeded_by = KoṇḍaññaDipankara (
Sanskrit andPali "IAST|Dīpaṃkara", "Lamp bearer"; Chinese _zh. 燃燈佛 (pinyin Rándēng Fo); Tibetan "mi slob"; Mongolian "Jula-yin Jokiyaγči", "Dibangkara",Nepal Bhasa : दिपंखा "Dipankha") one of the Buddhas of the past, said to have lived on Earth one hundred thousand years.Theoretically, the number of Buddhas having existed is enormous and they are often collectively known under the name of "Thousand Buddhas". Each was responsible for a life cycle. According to some Buddhist traditions, Dipankara (also Dipamkara) was a Buddha who reached enlightenment eons prior to Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha. Generally, Buddhists believe that there has been a succession of many Buddhas in the distant past and that many more will appear in the future; Dipankara, then, would be one of numerous previous Buddhas, while Shakyamuni was the most recent, and
Maitreya will be the next Buddha in the future.Chinese Buddhism tends to honor Dipankara as one of many Buddhas of the pastFact|date=May 2008, which forms with Shakyamuni (Buddha of the present) andMaitreya (Buddha of the future), the Buddhas of Three Times.Iconography
Dipankara is generally represented as a sitting Buddha, but his depictions as a standing Buddha are common in
China ,Thailand , andNepal ; with the right hand he generally forms a protectionmudra ("abhaya mudra"), and often he forms it with both hands.He is rarely depicted alone; one of the
Buddhas of Bamyan , destroyed by theTaliban government inAfghanistan in 2001, was said to portray Dipankara. Statues of Dipankara can also be found in the Longmen andYungang Grottoes in China.He is generally depicted with two
Bodhisattva s,Manjushri andVajrapani (common inJava ) orAvalokiteshvara and Vajrapani (common inSri Lanka ); or with the Buddhas who come after him, Gautama and Maitreya.Prediction
One story recounts a meeting between Dipankara Buddha and Shakyamuni, many lifetimes before Shakyamuni's eventual enlightenment. When Dipankara told Shakyamuni he would one day become a Buddha, Shakyamuni replied, "I am to become a Buddha, awakened to enlightenment; may you tread with your feet on my hair - on my birth, old age, and death." Dipankara Buddha then said, "Freed from human existence, you will become an effective teacher, for the sake of the world. Born among the
Shakya s, as the epitome of the Triple World, the Lamp of all Beings, you will be known as Gauthama. You will be the son of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya. Shariputta and Moggallana will be your chief disciples. Your caretaker will name as Ananda"In 45 years life of the Buddha, said almost 554 past life stories, "Jaathaka Katha" in Sinhalese of himself. Gauthama Bodisatta, "a person starts the journey to become a Buddha filling 10
Paramita ", was born in the time of Dipankara Buddha, and was rich and gave away all his wealth to become a Monk. It is said that Gauthama Bodisatta received his first "Niyatha Vivarana", definite foresighting by a Buddha, from Dipankara Buddha. This encounter, among many other predictions of Shakyamuni Buddha's future enlightenment, can be found in a Mahayana text named the Sangatha Sutra. [ [http://www.sanghatasutra.net Sanghata Sutra] ] .Veneration
By the 17th century, Dipankara had become a figure of
veneration inNepal ese Buddhist communities. These followers consider him a protector of merchants and associate him with alms-giving.He is also considered the protector of the sailors, and sometimes statues of Dipankara are found on the coastline to guide and protect the ships in their route.
Folk worshipers in Taiwan also revere Dipankara.
ee also
*
Randeng Daoren References
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.