Dipankara, Buddha of the Past
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Dipankara derives from 'deepa" meaning lamp. He is the most celebrated and the first of the twenty-four Buddhas. Dipavati is the name of his capital city . In a past kalpa, King Arcishtra lived there. Dipankara was a Bodhisattva in Tushita heaven during the same kalpa. When the time came for him to descend he entered the womb of one of the spouses of the king as the king was thought most suitable to be his father. When the queen was in the throes of childbirth she asked the king to send her to a lotus pond. As soon as she reached the spot, an island sprung up in the midst of the pond for the Bodhisattva to take birth. A large number of bright lamps manifested miraculously.
Dipankara Buddha is believed to have lived on this earth for over 100,000 years. He kept on finding someone worthy of hearing the divine truth. Then he decided to convert the world and caused a miracle which appeared in the form of a great city that materialized from his lamp and became stationary in space. Fierce flames emitted from the four walls while the people of Jambudvipa gazed upon the miracle. Their hearts were filled with fear and they looked for Buddha to save them. Dipankara came forth from the burning city, descended, and seated himself on a lion to teach the law.
Like all other Buddhas, Dipankara is typically depicted with short curly hair, ushnisha, urna and long earlobes. Sometimes his right hand is in the abhaya mudra. When in a triad he is typically flanked by two Bodhisattvas.