List of Buddha claimants
The people described below have:
- claimed to have attained enlightenment and become buddhas
- claimed to be manifestations of bodhisattvas
- identified themselves as Buddha, or
- been honored as buddhas or bodhisattvas due to: being identified as the reincarnation of one such (e.g., the Dalai Lama, the Panchen Lama); popularity; evidence in the form of auspicious signs.
Many people in recent times have also claimed to be Maitreya, the successor of Sakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism.
An asterisk (*) below indicates a significant number of followers, while a double dagger (‡) marks those entries referring to a royal line of deification rather than an individual.
Who
|
Image
|
When
|
What
|
| *Guan Yu |  |
160-219 | Legendary warrior during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period in ancient China. Today, many people, including both police and mafia, consider him to be a divine object of reverence. In certain schools of Taoism and Chinese Buddhism he has been deemed divine or semi-divine. Reverence for him may date back to the Sui dynasty. Many Buddhists accept him as a bodhisattva that guards the Buddhist faith and temples. He is known as Sangharama in Sanskrit. |
| ‡Gung Ye | 901-918 | Korean warlord and king of the short-lived state of Taebong during the 10th century. Claimed to be the living incarnation of Maitreya and ordered his subjects to worship him. His claim was rejected by most Buddhist monks and later he was dethroned and killed by his own servants. | |
| *The Dalai Lamas | 1395-present | In Tibetan Buddhism, the successive Dalai Lamas form a tulku lineage of Gelugpa leaders that began in 1391. Tibetan Buddhists believe the Dalai Lama to be one of innumerable incarnations of Avalokitesvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lama was the head of the Tibetan government, administering a large portion of the country from the capital Lhasa. The Dalai Lama is the supreme head of Tibetan Buddhism, and the leaders of all four schools consider the Dalai Lama to be the highest lama of the Tibetan traditions. The current Dalai Lama is Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th of the lineage. | |
| ‡Nurhaci |  |
1559-1626 | Also known as Emperor Tai Zu. Founder and leader of the Qing Dynasty. Believed he was a manifestation of Manjushri Bodhisattva. |
| *Lu Zhong Yi |  |
1849-1925 | The 17th patriarch of the I-Kuan Tao. Proclaimed himself an incarnation of Maitreya. |
| ‡Wu Zetian | 625-705 | The first and only ruling female emperor in the history of China, and founder of her own dynasty, the Second Zhou dynasty. Ruled under the name Emperor Shengshen. Gained popular support by advocating Buddhism but ruthlessly persecuted her opponents within the royal family and the nobility. Proclaimed herself an incarnation of Maitreya and made Luoyang the "holy capital". | |
| Peter Deunov | 1864-1944 | Also known as Master Beinsa Douno. Spiritual teacher, founder of a teaching and school of Esoteric Christianity. Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian philosopher, identified Master Beinsa Douno as a manifestation of Maitreya in the late 20th century. | |
| *L. Ron Hubbard | 1911-1986 | Founder of the Church of Scientology. Declared himself to be "Metteya" (Maitreya) in the 1955 poem Hymn of Asia. In the book's preface, his editors indicated that Hubbard possessed specific physical characteristics said to be outlined in unnamed sanskrit sources as properties of Maitreya. | |
| Samael Aun Weor | 1917-1977 | Claimed to be an incarnation of Maitreya, as well as the avatar Kalki. | |
| Benjamin Creme | 1922– | Founder of Share International. Proclaims the present existence of a "World Teacher" called Maitreya. | |
| Jim Jones | 1931–1978 | Leader of the Peoples Temple cult. Claimed to be the reincarnation of Jesus, Buddha, Akhenaten, Father Divine and Vladimir Lenin. | |
| Ruth Norman | 1930s | Leading member of the Unarius Academy of Science. Claimed to have had 55 past lives and to be the reincarnation of Buddha, Socrates, King Arthur, Confucius and a king of Atlantis. | |
| *Lu Sheng-yen | 1945- | Founder of the True Buddha School. Professes to be the incarnation of Padmakumara, a deity in Sukhavati, calling himself "Living Buddha Lian Shen". | |
| Raël | 1946– | Claims that, in 1973, he was visited by extra-terrestrial beings who informed him that he was to found a movement which would bring the world to a new enlightenment. Published his first book in 1973, concerning the alleged encounter. The International Raelian Movement currently has approximately 60,000 followers in 86 countries worldwide. Claims to be Maitreya, based on evidence such as the traditional year of Maitreya's arrival, the Buddhist year 3000. There are two calendars in Buddhism, corresponding to the Northern branch (1973 CE = "Northern" Buddhist year 3000) and Southern branch (1973 CE = "Southern" Buddhist year 2417). Other support for Raël's claim includes ancient Buddhist wall carvings allegedly depicting drawings of the arrival of UFOs in the mountains. According to the Raelian Movement, Rael's encounters with extra-terrestrials took place in an inactive volcano which he had previously frequented. | |
| *Ching Hai | 1950s | A meditation master who professes to be an incarnation of God, the Buddha, and the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. Popularly known as Guan Yin, for whom her meditation method is named. | |
| Hogen Fukunaga | 1951- | In 1987, after an alleged spiritual event, claimed to realize he was the reincarnation of Jesus Christ and the Buddha. | |
| *Li Hongzhi | 1951- | Founder of Falun Gong. Said to have proclaimed himself a buddha, though he has denied this. | |
| *Ram Bahadur Bomjon | 1989- | A 15-year old Nepalese Buddhist monk who many have hailed as a new buddha. Some claim to have seen light emanating from his forehead [who?]. Despite his protestations of not having attained enlightenment, many continue to insist he is a buddha. |
See also
- List of bodhisattvas
- List of people considered to be deities
- List of people who have claimed to be Jesus
- List of people considered to be avatars
- List of messiah claimants
Bibliography
- Hogue, John Messiahs: The Visions and Prophecies for the Second Coming (1999) Elements Books ISBN 1-86204-549-6