Dipankara Sanskrit/Faded Dīpaṃkara , “Carrying lamp” or “That which brings the light”, is one of the Bouddha S of the past. Its reign lasted a hundred and thousand years. It is him which predicted with the future Gautama its destiny of Buddha. Other names: CH: Rándēng Fó 然燈佛; Ti: semi slob; Mo: Jula-yin Jokiyaγči or Dibangkara; Néware: दिपंखा Dipankha.

Worship

Dipankara seems to have been very popular in Central Asia. There nowadays occupies a minor place in the Far East, but remains important with the Nepal, Sri Lanka and in Southeast Asia. It is one of the twenty-four or Twenty-eight Buddhas known of the Hinayana. It is the guard of the travellers; one can thus see his statue on the coasts where it is supposed to guide the boats. In Nepal, he is the owner of the merchants and is in the center of important festivals of the culture Néwar (valley of Katmandou) like Samyak or Pancadan. At the time of these festivals, alms are offered to the monasteries. Dipankara, often represented making the gesture of the gift, is associated with charity.

Iconography

Dipankara is represented sometimes sat, but more often upright, making right hand the Mudra of absence of fear (abhaya) and left that of the gift (varada). It often appears on the Buddhist vestiges of Java accompanied by the Bodhisattva S Manjusri and Vajrapani. With Sri Lanka where the Theravada dominates, Vajrapani, rather related to the Vajrayana, is replaced by Avalokiteshvara. One also finds it represented with Gautama and Maitreya: with them three they symbolize the past, the present and the future. The episode where the ascetic Sumedha, future Gautama, kneels on his passage, is a frequent topic of the Buddhist iconography In Nepal, one finds effigies of gilded copper Dipankara which can be endorsed by a person playing the part of the Buddha at the time of the ritual ones or processions. It could be with the number of the Bouddhas of Bamiyan victims of the Taliban S.

Caption of Dipankara

Its legend, contained inter alia in the Canon faded (comment of the Buddhavamsa ), evokes that of the Buddha. Like, it is to him a prince who has vocation of ascetic and ends up finding the awakening in the shade of a tree.

It was born in Rammavati from king Sudeva and the Sumedha queen. Prince, it has three palates with Hamsa, Konca and Mayura. His wife names Paduma and her Usabhakkhandha son. Having become aware of the impermanency of the phenomena of the existence and pain which is associated there, it leaves on an elephant to be withdrawn like ascetic with Nandarama. Sumangala and Tissa are its two principal male disciples, Sagata (Nanda) its assistant. Nanda and Sunanda are its two principal female disciples. Its principal laic guards are Tapussa and Bhallika (men), Sirima and Sona (women). Pipphala is the name of the tree under which he knew the awakening. It is described like exceptionally large, similar to a pillar of light. After a lapse of one hundred thousand years life, it disappears in a kind of spontaneous combustion.

The contents of the Sanghata Sutra are presented in the form of a teaching delivered by Dipankara to Gautama.

Prophecy relating to Gautama

Buddhism considers that it had before Shakyamuni, and that there will be after him, an infinity of Buddhas, each one reigning over one era. A long time before the existence where it will reach the illumination, the future waked up being makes the wish become a Buddha which will teach with the other beings (samamyaksambuddha). The Buddha of its era identifies it thanks to its gift of prediction and states prophecy concerning its future to him. The prediction relating to Gautama is transcribed in various Buddhist texts Mahayana or theravada.

• an extract drawn from the faded gun ( Buddhasamva ):

“… it will become Buddha in the world. Having left the charming named city Kapila, having made efforts of concentration, having achieved austerities. Having sat down to the foot of a Ajapâla tree, having received rice boiled in milk, Tathâgata will go then at the edge of Nerañjarâ. Having received rice in milk on the edge of Nerañjarâ, this Victorious will go to the foot of the tree of the Awakening by the excellent prepared way. Having then carried out a convolution around the surface of the Awakening, the supreme one of great glory will wake up with the foot of the Assatha tree…”

• a popular version, such as one finds some in the legends of the life of the Buddha

The Shakyamuni future was time of Dipankara a young person Brahmane named Megha (or Sumedha), with the skin gilded like the sun, whose intellectual abilities had attracted an entourage of five hundred other young people, with the number of which the future Maitreya, then called Ratna. Having become aware of the vanity of its existence, it was made wandering ascetic. Afterwards many adventures, it ends up arriving in the town of Amaravati which it found very decorated. It enquit near workmen who repaired the streets; they explained to him why the Dipankara Buddha was awaited in the city where his/her father of time reigned that he was prince. Filled with enthusiasm, Megha decided to go to pay homage to him, but did not find any flower to be bought to offer to him, the king them having requisitioned all for its own offering. However, with its great surprise, arrived on the spot where Dipankara was awaited, Megha saw an young girl holding in her hands seven (or eight) splendid lotuses. It prepared with buying to him, but the young girl, having recognized with the first glance her value, proposed to him to offer to him five of her flowers in exchange of the promise that in all its successive lives it would take it for wife and disciple. It accepted. The legend sees in it a former form of Yashodhara, cousin and woman of Gautama.

When Dikanpara appeared, Megha sincerely wished deeper heart to become with its image. He thought: “If the Tathagata hears me and presses my coat, perhaps am likely I to be Buddha. ”. To its approach, it threw as much others its cape with ground to make him a way, but its clothing seedy character was isolated with anger by members of the assistance and itself was hustled. Unhappy, it remade the wish to be Buddha, thinking: “If Tathagata hears me, it will come to my help. ”. Then Dipankara turned the head in its direction and, with the amazement of all, a muddy depression was formed on the coldly repaired way. While the others hesitated, Megha curved and extended its hair on the ground, making the wish again become Buddha or to be raised never again. The ground trembled six times and Dipankara addressed its prophecy to him. Megha shaved the head and became its disciple.

References

Random links:

Van Beuren Studios | Albres | Wine of ice | Shine Aragonés | Henri Partoes