One Buddha < a few Buddhas?

[BuddhaFollower]

So Theravada is limited to the teachings of one Buddha?

Vajrayana has the teachings of many Buddhas such as the 84 Mahasiddhas, Naropa, Maitripa etc.

[BuddhaFollower]

So does Theravada limit itself to the teachings of one Buddha?

[Wri]

Arguing between which type of Buddhism is better is one of the least Buddhist things to do.

[Dhammanando]

So does Theravada limit itself to the teachings of one Buddha?

Kindly start a new thread if it's your wish to discuss the Theravada's view of Mahayanist buddha-manufacturing.

[alan]

Agree with that, Dhammanando.
Until then, I'd offer an observation. There are some personality types who enjoy complication, who are happiest living in a world that cannot be comprehended, who take satisfaction in the idea that nothing can be known. They tend to choose Vajrayana.

[santa100]

So Theravada is limited to the teachings of one Buddha?

Vajrayana has the teachings of many Buddhas such as the 84 Mahasiddhas, Naropa, Maitripa etc.

Your alias "BuddhaFollower" already explained itself. It's not "BuddhaSFollower" right?
Anyway, you might want to check out this sutta:

It is impossible, it cannot happen that two Accomplished Ones, Fully Enlightened Ones, could arise contemporaneously in one world-system—there is no such possibility.

And Ven. Bodhi's note citing the Commentary:

MA: The arising of another Buddha is impossible from the time a bodhisatta takes his final conception in his mother’s womb until his Dispensation has completely disappeared. The problem is discussed at Miln 236–39.

[ihrjordan]

There are some personality types who enjoy complication, who are happiest living in a world that cannot be comprehended, who take satisfaction in the idea that nothing can be known. They tend to choose Vajrayana.

Based on my personal experience, this is true. It's usually the philosophers that gravitate to vajrayana and will often go out of their way to reference scholarly articles to downplay the "mainstream Hinayana tradition"

[BuddhaFollower]

Your alias "BuddhaFollower" already explained itself. It's not "BuddhaSFollower" right?

Buddhadharma refers to the teachings of all Buddhas, whether Shakyamuni or Virupa.

My username is intended in the same way.

There are some personality types who enjoy complication, who are happiest living in a world that cannot be comprehended, who take satisfaction in the idea that nothing can be known. They tend to choose Vajrayana.

Surely you must know Vajrayana involves direct introduction to the nature of the mind. Thats the most well-known aspect.

Based on my personal experience, this is true. It's usually the philosophers that gravitate to vajrayana and will often go out of their way to reference scholarly articles to downplay the "mainstream Hinayana tradition"

There is nothing mainstream about Hinayana historically speaking.

We have centuries of Vajrayana commentaries from the medieval Indian Buddhist universities, along with records of what they practiced.

[Goofaholix]

So does Theravada limit itself to the teachings of one Buddha?

Yes, one is enough.

[BuddhaFollower]

Kindly start a new thread if it's your wish to discuss the Theravada's view of Mahayanist buddha-manufacturing.

Naropa, Maitripa, Virupa etc. were historical figures just like Shakyamuni.

[tiltbillings]

Kindly start a new thread if it's your wish to discuss the Theravada's view of Mahayanist buddha-manufacturing.

Naropa, Maitripa, Virupa etc. were historical figures just like Shakyamuni.

So they may have been, but this is a Theravada forum, not a Mahayana forum.

[santa100]

Buddhadharma refers to the teachings of all Buddhas, whether Shakyamuni or Virupa.

Have you read MN 115 as suggested in my previous post?
Are you saying Virupa is a Buddha just like Shakyamuni Buddha? Please provide backup reference. I don't know which Virupa you're talking about but I hope you didn't mean the Virupa below:

According to traditional accounts, the lamdré teachings were originally bestowed upon Virūpa, an Indian monk, by the tantric deity Nairātmyā. By practicing the instructions given to him, Virūpa is said to have realized enlightenment.[3] Hagiographical accounts of Virūpa’s exploits record outrageous events, including binge drinking, seducing women, and destroying non-Buddhist (Skt. tīrtika) religious sites. Davidson suggests that this depiction shows the laxity of Buddhist morals during the Indian medieval period,[4] but Wedemeyer suggests that the behavior shown in esoteric Buddhist hagiographies is intentionally scandalous, forming a social commentary on broader issues being discussed in the Indian religious milieu.

[BuddhaFollower]

Are you saying Virupa is a Buddha just like Shakyamuni Buddha?

Yes he is a Buddha. Just like the modern day Khenpo Achö who displayed rainbow body.

[acinteyyo]

[pilgrim]

Isn't the teaching of every Buddha after Sakyamuni redundant?