Types of Buddhas
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In the Buddhist tradition, a Buddha is a being who has, through individual effort and wisdom, awoken to the Dharma (Pāli Dhamma), seen through appearances, abandoned and overcome anger, desire, and ignorance and attained liberation from suffering (nirvāṇa, Pāli nibbāna).
The three kinds of Buddha
Buddhists in the Nikāya, Mahāyāna, and Vajrayāna traditions consider there to be three types of Buddha:- Samyaksambuddha (Pāli: Sammāsambuddha), often simply referred to as Buddha)
- Pratyekabuddha (Pāli: Paccekabuddha),
- Śrāvakabuddha (Pāli: Sāvakabuddha), often equated to the more general term Arhat (Pāli: Arahant).
Samyaksambuddha
Samyaksambuddhas (Pali: Sammasambuddha), also known in Mahāyāna as Bodhisattvabuddhas), gain Nirvana by their own efforts, and discuver the Dhamma without having a teacher to point it out. They then lead others to enlightenment by teaching the Dhamma in a time or world where it has been forgotten or has not been taught before, because a Samyaksambuddha does not depend upon a tradition that stretches back to a previous Samyaksambuddha, but instead discovers the path anew. The historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, is considered a Samyaksambuddha.Three variations can be distinguished in the way of achieving Samyaksambuddha-hood. With more wisdom (prajñādhika), with more effort (vīryādhika) or with more faith (śraddhādhika). Śākyamuni was a Prajñādhika (through more wisdom) Buddha. The next Buddha of this world, Maitreya (Pāli: Metteyya) will be a Vīryādhika (through more effort) Buddha.
Pratyekabuddha
Pratyekabuddhas (Pali: Paccekabuddha) are similar to Samyaksambuddhas in that they attain Nirvāṇa without having a teacher. Unlike the Samyaksambuddha however, they do not tech the Dhamma that they have discovered. They do thus also not form a Saṅgha of disciples to carry on the teaching, since they do not teach in the first place. In some works they are referred to as "silent Buddhas". Several comparatively new Buddhist scriptures (of later origin; after the Buddha's demise, like the Jātakas), show Pratyekabuddhas giving teachings. This is however a contradiction since the definition of a Paccekabuddha implies they are not interested in teaching. If they would teach they would automatically be a Sammasambuddha.Śrāvakabuddha
Śrāvakabuddhas (comparable to Arahant) gain Nirvāṇa by hearing the Dharma as passed on from a Samyaksambuddha. Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna teachings hold that, after attaining enlightenment, Śrāvakabuddhas may also lead others to enlightenment, but cannot teach the Dharma in a time or world where it has been forgotten or has not been taught before, because their enlightenment is dependent on a tradition that stretches back to a Samyaksambuddha. The term Samyaksambuddha is only used in Mahayana, however the term is equivalent to the Theravada term Arahant.Teaching and Studying
The types of Buddha do not correspond to a different Dhamma or truth; the truth discovered by them is one and the same. The distinctions are based solely on issues concering studying and teaching. If one has a teacher who points out the Dhamma and one realises this Dhamma for oneself also, one is an Śrāvakabuddha (or Arahant). If one discovers the Dhamma without a teacher, and subsequently chooses to teach, one is a Sammasambuddha. If one discovers the Dhamma without a teacher and chooses not to teach one is a Paccekabuddha.
Within Mahāyāna traditions, the three types of Buddha correspond to different programs of skillful means (upāya) or expedient practices. Notably, chapter 3 of the Mahāyāna Lotus Sutra compares the three types of Buddha to three vehicles, namely a goat cart, a deer cart, and an ox cart. That discussion is followed by the statement about the Buddha that "First he preaches the three vehicles to attract and guide living beings, but later he employs just the Great Vehicle to save them." Mahāyāna sometimes also claims to transcend the three types of Buddha, rather than corresponding to a method for attaining status as one of the types.
Also in Theravada Buddhism one is warned against striving for the purpose of attaining some status, and it is further taught that the same Dhamma (truth or teaching) both attract, guides and saves living beings. No distinction in truths or teachings is being made (as is sometimes common in Mahayana), although not everyone is taught in the same way (people have different characters and inclinations).
References
- [Simile and Parable], chapter 3 of the Lotus Sutra, translated by Burton Watson, 1994, Columbia University Press, online edition courtesy Soka Gakkai International
- [The Bodhisattva Ideal in Theravada], Jeffrey Samuels, Philosophy East and West, v47, n3, July 1997, pp399-415
- [The Ten Perfections], Thanissaro Bhikkhu, 1999; the first paragraph outlines the Theravada understanding of the Three Buddhas
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