San Lo Mvu 86The Sūtra of Many Buddhas

Commentary on the Sūtra of Many Buddhas (San Lo Mvu 86)

Background

The Sūtra of Many Buddhas is recorded in the Vinaya Piṭaka, one of the precious repositories of the Theravāda Buddhist tradition. This sūtra belongs to the Samantapāsādikā section, or the stories related to the disciplined and ethical practice of bhikkhus and bhikkhunīs.

The historical context of the sūtra arises from the time of the Buddha Śākyamuni, when he was still living and teaching his disciples about discipline. Although the sūtra is called "Many Buddhas," it is not a Jātaka, a former-life story, nor an Avadāna, a story of actual deeds. Rather, it is an important document of realization for understanding how the Buddha and former Buddhas practiced and maintained basic ethical principles.

In the Theravāda tradition, the Sūtra of Many Buddhas emphasizes the continuity of the Teaching through many cosmic cycles, showing that the ethical principles taught by the Buddha Śākyamuni were not new, but had been confirmed and practiced by Buddhas of the past.

Main Content

The Sūtra of Many Buddhas tells of Buddhas who appeared before the Buddha Śākyamuni in this era (Bhadda Kappa). These Buddhas, such as Vipassī, Sikhī, Vesabhū, and others, all followed the same path of practice and attained the same experience of awakening (Bodhi).

The specific content of this sūtra focuses on describing how these Buddhas gave examples of ethics, discipline, and meditative practice. The sūtra emphasizes that whatever the age, whatever the Buddha, the foundations of the Teaching (Dhamma) do not change: the Five Precepts (Pañcasīla), the Eight Purifying Precepts (Aṣṭa Śīla), meditative absorption (jhāna), and wisdom (paññā).

Through images of the subtle practice of Buddhas of the past, the sūtra shows that observing the discipline is not coercion or limitation, but a voluntary path leading to liberation.