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The ''Buddhavaṃsa'' (also known as the ''Chronicle of Buddhas'') is a hagiographical Buddhist text which describes the life of 
The chronicle of twenty-four Buddhas
by
Gautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),*
*
*
was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
and of the twenty-four Buddhas who preceded him and prophesied his attainment of Buddhahood
In Buddhism, Buddha (, which in classic Indo-Aryan languages, Indic languages means "awakened one") is a title for those who are Enlightenment in Buddhism, spiritually awake or enlightened, and have thus attained the Buddhist paths to liberat ...
. It is the fourteenth book of the ''Khuddaka Nikāya
The ''Khuddaka Nikāya'' () is the last of the five Nikāyas, or collections, in the Sutta Pitaka, which is one of the "three baskets" that compose the Pali Tipitaka, the sacred scriptures of Theravada Buddhism. This nikaya consists of fifte ...
'', which in turn is the fifth and last division of the ''Sutta Piṭaka
The ''Sutta Piṭaka'' (also referred to as ''Sūtra Piṭaka'' or ''Suttanta Piṭaka''; English: ''Basket of Discourse'') is the second of the three division of the Pali Tripitaka, the definitive canonical collection of scripture of Therava ...
''. The ''Sutta Piṭaka'' is one of three ''piṭakas'' (main sections) which together constitute the '' Tipiṭaka'', or ''Pāli Canon
The Pāḷi Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhism, Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant Early Buddhist texts, early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from t ...
'' of Theravāda Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
.
Along with the '' Apadāna'' and the ''Cariyāpiṭaka
The Cariyapitaka (; where ''cariya'' is Pali for "conduct" or "proper conduct" and ''pitaka'' is usually translated as "basket"; abbrev. Cp) is a Buddhist scripture, part of the Pali Canon of Theravada Buddhism. It is included there in the Sut ...
'', the ''Buddhavaṃsa'' is considered by most scholars to have been written during the 1st and 2nd century BCE, and is therefore a late addition to the Pāli Canon.A textual and Historical Analysis of the Khuddaka Nikaya – Oliver Abeynayake Ph. D. , Colombo, First Edition – 1984, p. 113.
Summary
The first chapter tells howGautama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),*
*
*
was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...
, to demonstrate his supernormal knowledge, creates a jewelled walkway in the sky. In seeing this display, Sāriputta asks the Buddha:
:"Of what kind, great hero, supreme among men, was your resolve? At what time, wise one, was supreme Awakening aspired to by you? ... Of what kind, wise one, leader of the world, were your ten perfections? How were the higher perfections fulfilled, how the ultimate perfections?"
In response, the Buddha relays the remainder of the Buddhavaṃsa.
In the second chapter Gautama tells how in a distant past life as layman named Sumedha, he received a prediction from Dīpankara Buddha
Dipankara (Pali: ''Dīpaṅkara''; Sanskrit: ', "Lamp bearer") or Dipankara Buddha is one of the Buddhas of the past. He is said to have lived on Earth four asankheyyas and one hundred thousand kalpas ago. According to Buddhists, Dipankara wa ...
that "In the next era you will become a buddha named Gotama.", and told him the ten perfections he would need to practice.
Chapters 3 through 26 are accounts of the twenty-four historical Buddhas who achieved Buddhahood between Dīpankara and Gautama, and the acts of merit that Gautama performed towards them in his previous lives.
Chapter 27 is an account of the life of Gautama Buddha.
Chapter 28 mentions three Buddhas that preceded Dīpankara, as well as the future Buddha, Maitreya
Maitreya (Sanskrit) or Metteyya (Pali), is a bodhisattva who is regarded as the future Buddhahood, Buddha of this world in all schools of Buddhism, prophesied to become Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha.Williams, Paul. ''Mahayana Buddhism: Th ...
.
Chapter 29 tells of the distribution of Gautama Buddha's relics after his death.
Translations
* * * * *See also
* Cariyapitaka *Jataka tales
The ''Jātaka'' (Sanskrit for "Birth-Related" or "Birth Stories") are a voluminous body of literature native to the Indian subcontinent which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Jataka stories we ...
* Pāramitā
''Pāramitā'' (Sanskrit, Pali: पारमिता) or ''pāramī'' (Pāli: पारमी) is a Buddhist term often translated as "perfection". It is described in Buddhist commentaries as a noble character quality generally associated with ...
Notes
References
* *External links
The chronicle of twenty-four Buddhas
by
Mingun Sayadaw
The Venerable Mingun Sayadaw U Vicittasārābhivaṃsa (, ; 1 November 1911 – 9 February 1993) was a Burma, Burmese Theravāda Buddhist monk, best known for his memory skills and his role in the Sixth Buddhist Council.Khuddaka Nikaya
Buddhist hagiography
Life of Gautama Buddha