Dipankara Buddha's Prophecy

Bhadrakalpika Sutra (kalpa zangpo'i do), a teaching given by Shakyamuni Buddha in Vaishali (yangpachen) at the request of Pramunditaraja (mahokga gyalpo), explains when the world at the end of the previous kalpa was submerged in a great deluge, one thousand golden lotus flowers emerged from the flood which was perceived by the heavenly beings (deva) as the auspicious harbinger of one thousand Buddhas due to appear in the coming kalpa. At this discourse, Shakyamuni Buddha gave the prophecy (vyakarana) of the one thousand Bodhisattvas (chang chub sempa) who will become Buddhas in this Fortunate Aeon. It is said that only after a bodhisattva has attained the accomplishment of the eight bhumi (miyowa) would he be verified as a coming Buddha by a fully realised Buddha not dissimilar to the prophecy made by Dipankara Buddha (marmé dzé) proclaiming Shakyamuni Buddha as a coming Buddha in the Sutra Of the Six Paramitas (parol tu chinpa druk do).

In the Sutra of the Six Paramitas, there is an account of the Dipankara Buddha’s prediction of Shakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment as told by Shakyamuni Buddha to Shariputra (sha ri bu).

- Extract of an article from the Pathgate feature Chronicle of the Buddha, Bodhisattva and Deity. Click here to see the full list of articles available.

• Prev
• Next