According to
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school ...
Buddhism's
Pali canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school.
During ...
's
Buddhavamsa and its commentary, Sujāta Buddha is the fifteenth of twenty-seven Buddhas who preceded the historical
Gotama Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, 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 tradition, he was born in Lu ...
. He was also the second Buddha of the Maṇḍa
kalpa
Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Olvi Areena.
Team history
Established in 1929 as ''Sortavalan Palloseura'' in Sortavala, the club relocated to Kuop ...
.
The
Buddhavamsa describes his appearance as:
He has a chin of a lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...
and shoulders of an ox. He is the most unique being and no one dared to approach him. With no dirt, his complexion shines like a clear moon or like a shining sun for eternity.[ Buddhavamsa]
Sujāta Buddha was 50
cubits
The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding No ...
, or 75 feet tall and his stupa was 3
leagues, or about 15.36192 kilometres high.
Biography
From birth to Enlightenment
Sujāta Buddha was born in Sumaṅgala. His parents were King Uggata and Queen Aggamahesī Pabhāvedi. He got his name from the people being peaceful and calm when he was born.
He was married to princess Sīrinandādevi and reigned for 9,000 years. After his son, Upasena was born, he decided to go practise
asceticism
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
. He went away with his horse, Hanvesa and ten million men followed him to become ascetics. He practised asceticism for nine months. After nine months, he began to practise alone and become enlightened under the Maha Bhodi tree in the next morning.
Gotama Buddha's wish
At Sujāta Buddha's time, Gotama Buddha was a
Chakravarti, or a universal ruler. After hearing the enlightenment of Sujāta Buddha, he went to pay homage to him. He also gave away his possessions to become an ascetic. When he told his wish, Sujāta Buddha said "This king will become a Buddha named Gotama in the Bhadda-Kalpa which will appear after 30,000 kalpas".The incarnation of Gotama Buddha, having his wish granted, extended his practices and became a god at Brahma realm ().
Parinirvana
Sujāta Buddha lived for 90,000 years, liberating many living beings. He attained parinibbāna and died at Sīlārama monastery. His death is described as:
Disciples
The right-hand and left-hand chief disciples of Sujāta Buddha were Shin Sudassana and Shin Sudeva. His primary attendant was Shin Nāyada. The female disciples were Shin Manāgā and Shin Manāgasamālā. The human disciples were the wealthy men, Sudatta and Citta, and the women, Subhadā and Padumā.
References
{{Buddhism topics
Buddhas