Kassapa Buddha
Encyclopedia
In Buddhist
tradition, Kassapa (Pāli
) is the name of a Buddha
, the third of the five Buddhas of the present kalpa (the Bhaddakappa or 'Fortunate Aeon'), and the sixth of the six Buddhas prior to the historical Buddha
mentioned in the earlier parts of the Pali Canon
(D.ii.7). In the Buddhist texts in Sanskrit, this Buddha is known as Kāśyapa.
s Brahmadatta and Dhanavatī, of the Kassapagotta.
According to legend, his body was twenty cubit
s high, and he lived for two thousand years in three different palaces. They are Hamsa, Yasa, and Sirinanda. (The BuA.217 calls the first two palaces Hamsavā and Yasavā). His chief wife was Sunandā, who bore him a son named Vijitasena.
Kassapa gave up his worldly life traveling in his palace (pāsāda). He practiced austerities for only seven days. Just before attaining enlightenment
, he accepted a meal of milk-rice
from his wife and grass for his seat from a yavapālaka named Soma
. His bodhi
(the tree under which he attained enlightenment) was a banyan tree
, and he preached his first sermon at Isipatana to an assembly of monks who had renounced the world in his company.
Kassapa performed the Twin Miracle at the foot of an asana tree
outside Sundar Nagar, India. He held only one assembly of his disciples; among his most famous conversions was that of Nāradeva, a Yaksha
. His chief disciples among monks were Tissa
and Bhāradvāja, and among nun
s were Anulā and Uruvelā, his constant attendant being Sabbamitta. Among his patrons, the most eminent were Sumangala
and Ghattīkāra, Vijitasenā, and Bhaddā.
Kassapa died at the age of forty thousand years, in the city of Kashi
, in the Kasi Kingdom (now known as Varanasi
, in the modern-day Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
. Over his relics was raised a thūpa
one league
in height, each brick of which was worth one crore
(ten million) rupee
s.
, requesting money from the people for the completion of the stupa. He sent the money as he received it, and on hearing that the work was completed, he set out to go and worship the stupa. However, he was seized by robbers and murdered in the forest, which later came to be known as the Andhavana.
Upavāna, in a previous birth, became the guardian deity of the stupa, hence his great majesty in his last life (DA.ii.580; for another story of the building of the shrine see DhA.iii.29).
Among the thirty-seven goddesses noticed by Guttila when he visited heaven was one who had offered a scented five-spray at the stupa (J.ii.256). Alāta offered āneja-flowers and obtained a happy rebirth (J.vi.227).
The cause of Mahā-Kaccāna's golden complexion was his gift of a golden brick to the building of Kassapa's shrine (AA.i.116).
At the same stupa, Anuruddha, who was then a householder in Benares, offered butter and molasses in bowls of brass, which were placed without any interval around the stupa (AA.i.105).
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
tradition, Kassapa (Pāli
Páli
- External links :* *...
) is the name of a Buddha
Buddhahood
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
, the third of the five Buddhas of the present kalpa (the Bhaddakappa or 'Fortunate Aeon'), and the sixth of the six Buddhas prior to the historical Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
mentioned in the earlier parts of the Pali Canon
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
(D.ii.7). In the Buddhist texts in Sanskrit, this Buddha is known as Kāśyapa.
Life
Kassapa was born in Nepal. His parents were the BrahminBrahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
s Brahmadatta and Dhanavatī, of the Kassapagotta.
According to legend, his body was twenty cubit
Cubit
The cubit is a traditional unit of length, based on the length of the forearm. Cubits of various lengths were employed in many parts of the world in Antiquity, in the Middle Ages and into Early Modern Times....
s high, and he lived for two thousand years in three different palaces. They are Hamsa, Yasa, and Sirinanda. (The BuA.217 calls the first two palaces Hamsavā and Yasavā). His chief wife was Sunandā, who bore him a son named Vijitasena.
Kassapa gave up his worldly life traveling in his palace (pāsāda). He practiced austerities for only seven days. Just before attaining enlightenment
Bodhi
Bodhi is both a Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English with the word "enlightenment", but which means awakened. In Buddhism it is the knowledge possessed by a Buddha into the nature of things...
, he accepted a meal of milk-rice
Kiribath
Kiribath is a traditional Sri Lankan dish made from rice. The word is a compound with a transparent meaning in the Sinhala language, where kiri means "milk" and bath means "rice". The dish is prepared by cooking rice with coconut milk, whence this name. In Tamil, the dish is called paacor...
from his wife and grass for his seat from a yavapālaka named Soma
Soma
Soma , or Haoma , from Proto-Indo-Iranian *sauma-, was a ritual drink of importance among the early Indo-Iranians, and the subsequent Vedic and greater Persian cultures. It is frequently mentioned in the Rigveda, whose Soma Mandala contains 114 hymns, many praising its energizing qualities...
. His bodhi
Bodhi
Bodhi is both a Pāli and Sanskrit word traditionally translated into English with the word "enlightenment", but which means awakened. In Buddhism it is the knowledge possessed by a Buddha into the nature of things...
(the tree under which he attained enlightenment) was a banyan tree
Banyan
A banyan is a fig that starts its life as an epiphyte when its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree...
, and he preached his first sermon at Isipatana to an assembly of monks who had renounced the world in his company.
Kassapa performed the Twin Miracle at the foot of an asana tree
Pterocarpus
Pterocarpus is a pantropical genus of trees in the family Fabaceae, most of which yield valuable timber traded as padauk ; other common names are mukwa or narra...
outside Sundar Nagar, India. He held only one assembly of his disciples; among his most famous conversions was that of Nāradeva, a Yaksha
Yaksha
Yaksha is the name of a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, who are caretakers of the natural treasures hidden in the earth and tree roots. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist mythology. The feminine form of the word is ' or Yakshini .In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist mythology,...
. His chief disciples among monks were Tissa
Tissa
Tissa may refer to:*Tissa, a Sri Lankan King that ruled from 454 to 437 BC*Tissa Balasuriya, a Sri Lankan Roman Catholic priest and theologian*Tissa Wijeyeratne, a former Sri Lankan barrister, diplomat and businessman....
and Bhāradvāja, and among nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
s were Anulā and Uruvelā, his constant attendant being Sabbamitta. Among his patrons, the most eminent were Sumangala
Sumangala
Leela Nambudiripad under the pen name of Sumangala, is a popular author of children's literature in Malayalam.- Biography :She was born on 16 May 1934 as the daughter of eminent Sanskrit scholars O M C Narayanan Nambudiripad and Uma Antharjanam in Vellinezhi...
and Ghattīkāra, Vijitasenā, and Bhaddā.
Kassapa died at the age of forty thousand years, in the city of Kashi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
, in the Kasi Kingdom (now known as Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
, in the modern-day Indian state of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. Over his relics was raised a thūpa
Stupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
one league
League (unit)
A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
in height, each brick of which was worth one crore
Crore
A crore is a unit in the Indian number system equal to ten million , or 100 lakhs. It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan....
(ten million) rupee
Rupee
The rupee is the common name for the monetary unit of account in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives, and formerly in Burma, and Afghanistan. Historically, the first currency called "rupee" was introduced in the 16th century...
s.
The Stupa of Kassapa Buddha
There was initially a great difference of opinion on what should be the size of the stupa and of what material it should be built. Construction of the stupa was begun after these issues were finally settled. But then the citizens found they lacked sufficient funds to complete the stupa. An anāgāmī devotee named Sorata travelled throughout JambudipaJambudvipa
Jambudvīpa is the dvipa of the terrestrial world, as envisioned in the cosmologies of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, which is the realm where ordinary human beings live...
, requesting money from the people for the completion of the stupa. He sent the money as he received it, and on hearing that the work was completed, he set out to go and worship the stupa. However, he was seized by robbers and murdered in the forest, which later came to be known as the Andhavana.
Upavāna, in a previous birth, became the guardian deity of the stupa, hence his great majesty in his last life (DA.ii.580; for another story of the building of the shrine see DhA.iii.29).
Among the thirty-seven goddesses noticed by Guttila when he visited heaven was one who had offered a scented five-spray at the stupa (J.ii.256). Alāta offered āneja-flowers and obtained a happy rebirth (J.vi.227).
The cause of Mahā-Kaccāna's golden complexion was his gift of a golden brick to the building of Kassapa's shrine (AA.i.116).
At the same stupa, Anuruddha, who was then a householder in Benares, offered butter and molasses in bowls of brass, which were placed without any interval around the stupa (AA.i.105).
See also
The other four Buddhas of the present kalpa:- Kakusandha Buddha
- Konagamana BuddhaKoṇāgamana BuddhaKoṇāgamana Buddha is one of the Buddhas of the present kalpa. In Buddhist tradition, Koṇāgamana is the name of the twenty-sixth Buddha, the second of the five Buddhas of the present era, and the fifth of the seven ancient Buddhas. In Burma Koṇāgamana is called Koṇāgon or Koṇāgamanan...
- Gautama BuddhaGautama BuddhaSiddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
- Maitreya Buddha
- List of the twenty-eight Buddhas