Buddhist Philosophy in India and Ceylon c24.s9.4

c24.s9.4

The idea of colleagues is a sufficient sign of divergence between the Hīnayāna and the new view. That school contended that two Buddhas could not coexist in the same universe, perhaps not even in different systems;⁴ only six earlier Buddhas appear in the Nikāyas; even at the close of the Pali Canon no more than twenty-four prior Buddhas had been enumerated.⁵ But speculations on cosmic ages are already known to the Canon; the plurality of worlds was accepted, and it was no difficult step to draw the conclusion that Buddhas might coexist, as well as to carry back to infinity the line of Buddhas. Hence we attain the result achieved already in the *Mahāvastu* and the *Lalitavistara*, which regards Buddhas as coexisting in countless numbers in time and space.¹ The advantages of such a view are obvious; space is given for the development of a complete pantheon and for the gratification of varied tastes in divinity.