Intergalactic Buddha: if Buddha was an alien from another planet, galaxy or dimension — or alternate reality — what would he be like? Compassionate and wise, regardless of illusory appearances.
In the Lotus Sutra (chapter 25) Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva can take any shape, personality or manifestation — whatever is most suited to the beings to be helped. In the Flower Garland Sutra, Buddha teaches that there are unlimited universes, dimensions, and realities — and a Buddha in each one of them. If we let our imagination run wild — what would a Buddha in an alien world or dimension be like? We know one thing — s/he’d use skillful means, s/he wouldn’t necessarily be a “he” and whatever the manifestation, s/he’d be compassionate and wise.
So, if Buddha was an alien, what would that mean about “form?” That it’s even more illusory than we thought? Or, that Buddha’s can manifest in any form in the relative worlds (Nirmanakaya emanations of Buddha).
Of course, we’re treading on the light side, here — but it does make you think, doesn’t it? 🙂
If Buddha was an alien
No doubt, considering the vastness of the multiverse and the endless nature of time, there have been countless Enlightened Beings. In Buddhist Doctrine, all beings — and this would include aliens from other world systems — have Buddha Nature.
The great Stephen Hawking — at a press conference announcing a $100 billion dollar project to fund search for alien life — once said:
“We believe that life arose spontaneously on Earth. So in an infinite universe, there must be other occurrences of life.” [1]
What a Buddha looks like is immaterial (pun intended: form is emptiness.) What makes a Buddha is: Compassion, Wisdom and Enlightened Activities. If he appears as a five headed, tentacled, nitrogen-breathing, unisex alien, is irrelevant. What matters is wisdom, compassion and Enlightened Activities.
Even on Earth we have countless forms
Even on “earth” we have 108 forms (plus) of Avalokiteshvara, 21 and 108 forms of Tara, and Shakyamuni Buddha himself manifested in countless forms: wrathful, many-armed, peaceful, magnetizing. Why manifest in these ways? He might appear in an angry, zombie-like form to help us focus on our own anger. He might appear in a glowing, white form to pacify our illnesses. Whatever works for our own minds, needs, karmas and issues.
Likewise, an alien Buddha could take any form — and would most likely take the form of the natives of a given world-system. He/she would be whatever is most helpful to sentient beings in that world system.
Buddha spoke on countless universes
Since we know Buddha spoke of countless world systems and an endless stream of time (no beginning, no end) it is safe assumption that Buddhas manifested in other world systems.
In the Avatamsaka Sutra — often described as the Buddha’s highest teaching — the Buddha describes a vast and infinitely- interconnected cosmos that consists of an infinite number of buddha realms.
These buddha realms are not just parallel universes — they are also interconnected, with each realm containing an infinite number of other realms. Furthermore, each plane contains an infinite number of beings, and each being includes an endless number of buddha realms. In other words, everything is connected to everything else, and reality — as we think we perceive it — is ultimately beyond our current understanding.
So, with each plane “containing an infinite number of beings,” there is no question of the need for countless forms of Buddhas.
There’s a “Buddha out there…”
So, if you’re ever feeling lost in the vastness of the cosmos, remember that there’s a Buddha out there — somewhere — who knows exactly what you’re going through and is ready and willing to help. To some extent, we already connect with this way of thinking. Many of us meditate on the Enlightened Buddha in a wrathful form, with a body like a Raksha (sort of a super-zombie) or a body with a hundred arms, or a sky-dancing Dakini. We can think of this as skillful meditation using visual symbols and metaphor — or as real emanations of Wisdom and Compassion in our relative universes.
What matters in terms of connecting with the Buddha is connecting with the universal Compassion, Wisdom and Enlightened Activities.
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