A friend once asked Qiye Jun, “Why is the Lantern Buddha called the ‘Ancestor of Ten Thousand Buddhas’? Has he no Buddha before?” This question is very interesting. It involves two aspects: First, is there an origin in the Buddhist worldview? Who is the first Buddha? 2? What is the inheritance mode of all Buddhas? That is to say, does the Buddha have to have a founder, “who was taught by the former Buddha”? Let’s discuss it together.
1? Is there any origin in Buddhism’s world outlook?
We know that Buddhism has no “theory of creation”, and Buddha is not the creator. In the Great Compassion Sutra, the Buddha explicitly denied the status of Brahman as the “Creator”. Since Buddha denied the creation of the world, how did the world come from? Is there an origin or origin in the world? Is there an end to time?
In the Miscellaneous Treasures Sutra, the Buddha said to Mobosun that he became the Great Demon King because he had a meal to feed the Buddha in his previous life and built another temple, so that he could be reincarnated as the Great Demon King. And the Buddha himself? I repaired the time of three monks robbing. How long does it take to kill a monk for about 1.344 billion years.
The Great Convenience Buddha Praise Sutra says, “All the Buddhas do is to rob and practice Bodhisattvas.” Not only does Sakyamuni Buddha have to practice for so long, but all Buddhas have to practice for so long.
Then, what about the Buddha who lights lanterns? According to the Records of Prince Ruiying’s Origin, Sakyamuni Buddha offered five stems of lotus flowers to the Lantern Buddha, who gave the record. After the Ninety First Catastrophe, he became a Buddha for Sakyamuni. That is to say, the era of the Lantern Buddha is 91 years ago.
There are endless years before the Lantern Buddha. Is there no Buddha? If there is Buddha, who is the true “ancestor of ten thousand Buddhas”? According to the statement of Thousand Buddhas, thousands of Buddhas will be born in every calamity. If there is no end to time, there will be immeasurable thousand Buddhas. How can there be “the ancestor of ten thousand Buddhas”, that is, the first Buddha?
2? What is the inheritance mode of all Buddhas?
Why should Buddha recognize such a “ancestor” when he abandons the five virtues in the world? To put it another way, does the Buddha have to have a founder and be “taught by the former Buddha”?
As we know, Sakyamuni has to learn from the Light Buddha to become a Buddha in this world. After that, Maitreya Bodhisattva was taught by Buddha again and will become the next Buddha in this Saha world. In addition, there is a corresponding record of Buddha’s teaching when Qianfo or even any Bodhisattva becomes a Buddha.
So, who taught the ancient Buddha to burn lanterns? According to the “Sage and Fool Sutra”, 91 times ago, when the Lantern Buddha was burning, he was a monk named “Arimira”. He used to burn the lamp every day to make offerings that he could become a Buddha of Light. Therefore, “Being able to be a Buddha of Light” is taught as “Fixing the Light Buddha”. Because when he was born, everything around him was as bright as a lamp, so he was called “Burning a Lamp Buddha”. That is to say, there was Buddha before the Lantern Buddha, and he was not the first Buddha in ancient times.
So how did the name of the Lantern Buddha “the ancestor of ten thousand Buddhas” come from? The Great Vipassa Theory says, “The Buddha met only seventy-seven thousand Buddhas in the third monk, the first of which is the Lantern Buddha.” It is clearly recorded that the Lantern Buddha is not the “ancestor of ten thousand Buddhas”, but the leader of the third monk Sakyamuni Buddha has seen who only robbed seventy-seven thousand Buddhas. Disclaimer: The above content comes from the network, and the copyright belongs to the original author. If it infringes your original copyright, please inform us, and we will delete the relevant content as soon as possible.