This is how Ch’an history is described.

It’s said that there were six Buddhas before Siddhartha Gautama. Actually, it’s said that there were many many Buddhas before him, but for our purposes I will discuss the last six. All of the ones before Vipasyin are neither named nor described.

The purpose of learning about these Buddhas is, I think, to remind us that the Buddha’s teaching isn’t really new. He described it many times as a path he discovered, rather than a path he created. This is important because without this concept the path is limited, we are followers of the way of the Buddha. The truth is that the way is beyond the Buddha. It is the true nature of reality and therefore can’t be limited by being described as the creation of one man, even a really great and enlightened one like Siddhartha Gautama.

The first three are called the Buddhas of the Glorious Aeon. They are said to be the last Buddhas of the Glorious Aeon. It’s said that there were 1000 Buddhas in the Glorious Aeon. After those three were the four Buddhas of the Virtuous Aeon, the last of which is Shakyamuni.

Vipasyin is called the 998^th Buddha of the Glorious Aeon. He transmitted the Dharma to Sikhin.

Sikhin is called the 999^th Buddha of the Glorious Aeon. He transmitted the Dharma to Visvabhu.

Visvabhu is called the 100^th Buddha of the Glorious Aeon. He transmitted the Dharma to Krakucchanda.

Krakucchanda became the first Buddha of the Virtuous Aeon. He transmitted the Dharma to Kanakamuni

Kanakamuni, the second Buddha of the Virtuous Aeon, transmitted the Dharma to Kasyapa

Kasyapa, the third Buddha of the Virtuous Aeon, transmitted the Dharma to Shakyamuni with the following Gatha:

Pure and clean is the nature of all living beings.
Since it never was created, it cannot be destroyed.
Body and mind are from an illusion.
In this changing shadow there is neither weal or woe.

I’ll go through this one line by line.

Pure and clean is the nature of all living beings.

Our true nature is pure and clean. We are enlightened already.

Since it never was created, it cannot be destroyed.

It has been said that mastering Enlightenment is mastering birth and death. This very moment is the only reality. Our true nature is beyond time.

Body and mind are from an illusion.

We have a delusion, not only that separates body and mind, but also separates body and mind from everything else.

In this changing shadow there is neither weal or woe.

In enlightenment, there is neither weal nor woe. It is beyond any kind of positive or negative values that we could put on it.

Siddhartha was the fourth Buddha of the Virtuous Aeon. It’s said that he transmitted the Dharma to Mahakasyapa, the first Patriarch of Ch’an Buddhism.

Are these stories literally true? Probably not. But, like other myths, the point is that they can teach us something.

There is a tendency to put the Buddha on such a high pedestal, to almost come to the point of worshiping him and forget that what’s really important is practicing the Dharma.

The teaching is more important than the teacher.

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Editor: Bryonie Wise

Photo: elephant archives