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Expert: - 12/16/2008


Question
1]How can you differentiate between Gautama Buddha from Amitabah Buddha?......as there are so many images of them.

2]How would you discribe between historical buddha, Gautama
Buddha form future buddha, Maitreya Buddha?.....and how or at what stage do you discribe Amitabah Buddha?.....Similarly, there are many more Buddhas before Gautama Buddha; how do you describe them and why are there not "popularly" mention about?

3]What do it means that Maitreya Buddha is yet to arrive and in Mayahana Buddhism it kept reference to Budai Luohan as Maitreya Buddha?

Answer
Hi Chen,

Thank you for asking me.

1.First you have to differentiate the different schools of Buddhism.  Theravada text (the Tipitaka) does not mention Amitabha Buddha.  It is only found in the Mahayana text.

If you are asking about how to differentiate the Buddha images, Then I would say images are created by the craftsmen.  From my point of view, I usually notice similar Buddha images but with different names on them.  

2. (I don't quite understand your question here)
The historical Buddha is Gautama Buddha (Gotama Buddha).  The next Buddha to appear will be Maitreya Buddha.  That's all I could say.

According to Theravada text, the Buddha revealed 27 past Buddhas and Maitreya Buddha as the next Buddha to appear.  There is no beginning and no end.  There were countless Buddhas in the past, and will be countless Buddhas in the future. In Theravada, the monks often chant the sutta on the 28 Buddhas.

3.Mitreya Buddha is yet to arrive means he has not arrived yet; for he is the future Buddha.  As for the term "Budai Luohan", I really don't know.  To me "Budai" may be a misnomer for Buddha, and "luohan" is Bodhisatta.

Hope this helps.

Justin Choo.
[I like to invite you to visit my blog:]
http://lifeislikethat999.blogspot.com/

[And these sites by Rev. Dhammika:]
http://sdhammika.blogspot.com/
http://www.buddhismatoz.com/

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Justin Choo

Expertise

When in doubt seek it out. All your questions will be answered, and you may not have to agree with the answers. Such is the beauty of Buddhism. You are free to decide. I follow the Theravada tradition, and have been studying Buddhism for more than 40 years. Please view my profile for more details. I have answered more than 1500 questions since joining this category. You may like to give me the honor to answer your question.

Experience

I was brought up in the 50's as a Buddhist. For the past 40 years I have read numerous books on Buddhism and listened to numerous talks on Buddhism by well-respected and learned monks and lay teachers. I conduct Buddhist classes for parents of Sunday School children in a Theravada Buddhist Temple. My teacher was the late Chief Reverend, The Ven. K Sri Dhammananda of The Brickfields Buddhist Mahavihara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. You can view the relevent website in memory of my revered late teacher @ http://www.ksridhammananda.com

Organizations
I am a life member of the Buddhist Missionary Society Malaysia.

Publications
YOU ARE INVITED TO VISIT MY BLOG @ http://lifeislikethat999.blogspot.com/ Published a book called "The Rainbow And The Treasure". It is a compilation of extracts from various sources to introduce Buddhism to beginners. (Currently out of print)

Education/Credentials
Bachelor of Commerce And Administration, Victoria University Of Wellington, NZ.(1974)

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