In early Buddhism Buddha meant only Siddhartha Gautama. Later the idea began that there could be many Buddhas: some in the past, some in the present and some in the future. This may have been a re-introduction of the much earlier idea of the solar mythos, as we shall see, or a new concept imported from Hellenism. The idea of an eternal Buddha incarnating perpetually to help suffering beings was introduced in the Lotus Sutra, or the 'Sutra of the Lotus of the Wonderful Law', supposedly the final sermon of Shakyamuni and the epitome of his teaching, held on Vulture Peak, where he was visited by "Many Treasures [or Jewels] Thus Come One Buddha" who had passed into extinction (nirvana) thousands if not millions of kalpas previously. The Lotus Sutra became the most important text in East Asian Buddhism and especially in medieval Japan during the Kamakura Period (1185-1333), which saw the rise of the Soto (Zazen) school under Dogen who used the Lotus Sutra more than any other, and Pure Land schools under Honen, Shinran, and Nichiren, all of whom used the Lotus Sutra exclusively. Much later, Hakuin, founder of the Rinzai (Koan) school attained his fundamental enlightenment after grappling with the Lotus Sutra. His new teaching was that this very world was the Lotus Land of Purity, and this very body the body of the Buddha. While he re-energized Zen, these radical doctrines made him a maverick among the traditional Pure Land schools, who either taught the common people that the Pure Land in the western direction beyond ten billion worlds, or, for the mystically inclined, that it was reachable after death in a realm from where one's eventual enlightenment was assured [in this respect possibly similar to the Sach Khand in the Sant Mat tradition].

Some feel the Lotus Sutra, unique in that it is not an exposition of a metaphysical doctrine, but a vast supernatural, and debatably mythological, epic, with apocalyptic overtones, was nevertheless the primary influence on the separation of Mahayana from Hinayana Buddhism, rather than doctrinal squabbles and the dialectical works of sages like Nagarjuna, etc.. The Pure Land school, whether in its form as trust in the compassionate vow of Amida Buddha as expounded by Honen, or reliance on the "Other-Power" as proclaimed by his disciple Shinran, or chanting the daimoku ('namu myoho renge kyo' - the name of the Lotus Sutra) by Nichiren, had definite parallels with the simple message of faith promoted by Christianity, and could be considered the main Buddhist 'bhakti' path. It de-emphasized monasticism and promoted one practice for all, capable of leading all to enlightenment. For instance, for Dogen, ‘zazen’ became an expession of Buddha-nature itself. For Honen and Shinran, faith in Amida, and for Nichiren, faith in the Lotus Sutra, were direct expressions of Buddha-nature, and not solely a means to it. Nichiren was familiar with and did at times teach about non-dualism, but still felt this single practice was sufficient for all. A few hundred years later an unconventional Zen Master named Ikkyu satirically wrote these verses on the Pure Land:

"Pure Land is far beyond,

Ten billion worlds away,

How can I hope to reach there

With only a pair of sandals?"

The Lotus Sutra never had the influence in Indian or Tibetan Mahayana that it had in Eastern Asia, where its less metaphysical teachings of simple faith had more of a reception. D.T. Suzuki, however, in his book, Shin Buddhism, reminds us that one can not come to an assurance of the delivering power of Amida Buddha or rest in the arms of the ‘Other-Power’ until one has exhausted all of one’s own efforts or ‘self-power’. In this he is reflecting the more traditional Zen viewpoint descending from Hakuin.

Besides the idea of an eternal Bodhisattva Buddha (also similar to the idea of an eternal incarnation of a primal Satguru as taught in some schools of Sant Mat), the Lotus Sutra brought in the concepts of a universally achievable Buddha nature, a teaching of 'One Vehicle' or supreme dharma (although this never was explicitly delineated in the Sutra), and also the coming of a degenerate age after the paranirvana of Shakyamuni. Dates for the composition of the Lotus Sutra are the 1st-2nd centuries A.D., so there is a conceivable link with a historical Jesus.

Since the advent of the Mahayana school, in any case, the Buddha became an "ideal" person, with tradition reaching a notion of 36 ideal features such a great character should possess. Some of those features are clearly visible on statues. Others, like the feature of their foot (lotus sign, etc.), are difficult to represent.

Once more, according to ancient Buddhist tradition, there were countless Buddhas before Gautama and there will be many Buddhas after him. In short, he is not the first, nor will he be the last. Counting from the present kalpa, Buddha Gautama is considered in some traditions the fourth Buddha, and in others the sixth. The first is Gakusandho Buddha, second Gonakamano Buddha and the third Gassapo Buddha. The last Buddha of this kalpa will be Mettaya Buddha.

Old stories say that Siddhartha Gautama was born around the 6th century BCE. He was the one who would become the first Buddha in written history, and was the first person to teach Buddhism directly to the people. This was unique. His birth, life and work are shrouded in legends, however, like the stories in the Buddhavamsa of the Khuddaka-nikâya of many Buddhas before Gautama, the historical or "Shâkyamuni Buddha". According to Buddhist mythology, such as in the Jataka Tales, Shakyamuni himself lived many lives before coming to our present world era. In his many existences during a long, long period of time in the one hundred thousand worlds, the future Buddha had fulfilled the Ten Paramitas, and, in order to save this world, was to be born in our era to become a fully enlightened Buddha. Other accounts have him being enlightened long before his historical birth. This, again, was either an addition of the Mahayana period or was a re-introduction of a much earlier religious point of view.

The “ Order of Nazorean Essenes”, in a very interesting website with a unique point of view, traces the origins of ancient Buddhism, Bonpo & Central Asian Buddhism, and Indian Buddhism, and argues, moreover, that both Jainism and the Bonpo faith of Tibet reject the idea of a historical Gautama as the founder of Buddhism. Despite the reputed historical encounter between Gautama and a Jain and a Samkhaya teacher, after which he found a higher enlightenment under the Bo tree than they could offer him, the Jains feel what became the teachings of early Buddhism were really borrowings from the teachings of Mahavira and even earlier teachings. This Essene group maintains that:

"About 500 years prior to Buddha Sakyamuni coming to the world, which was around 1063 BC, a figure called Lord Shenrab Miwo had reformed the primitive ways of the Shen race. In fact, Miwo was the individual responsible for founding the Tibetan Bon religion. Shenrab reformed the primitive Indo-European faith of Europe and Asia and laid the foundation for all schools of enlightenment from Eastern Lands, such as the Tibetan Nyingma, the Chinese Cha'an, the Indian Jain and Buddhist Faiths, as well as many others. His remarkable achievements and teachings have been erroneously associated with other later teachers......Hindus, Bons, Buddhists, and Jains trace their origins to Mt. Kailash in western Tibet....Mt. Kailash was an ancient hub of a type of Buddhism that eventually became Ch'an, Mahayana and Vajrayana [and supposedly this center would be a migration stop from an even earlier migration out of the Tarim Basin in Mongolia 75,000 years ago after the deluge, as maintained in Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine]. Its multi-buddha worship is in stark contrast to the atheistic branch of Indian Buddhism promoted by Siddhartha. The term "bon" means "dharma" in the Central Asian Iranian language of Sogdian spoken by the Manichaeans. 'Bond-pa' in Tibetan means "to invoke the gods", and Dzogchen means “the Great Perfection”.

Thus, according to them, the Bonpo religion was a forerunner of the Dogzchen practice, a high form of Tibetan Buddhism. Of course, many lesser practices were and are presented leading up to that highest form. Tibetan Buddhism, therefore, was not a simple evolute of Gautama’s teachings but a later admixture of the Bonpo religion and Mahayana Buddhist doctrines imported from India.

Similarly, in the book, Ascetic Figures Before and in Early Buddhism: The Emergence of Gautama the Buddha, by Martin G. Wiltshire, it is argued that the concept of the paccekabuddha existed before Gautama, and was a link between earlier Brahmanic religion and the dharma of Gautama. Wiltshire says there was a continuum from the Vedic and early Brahmanic religion with its sacrificial rituals and goal of attaining svarga loka, followed by a proto-sramana period with reliance on the brahma viharas and the goal of attaining brahma loka, and finally the later sramana period which was early Buddhism of the Buddha and the dhamma with the goal now of nibbana (nirvana). This progression of goals dovetails nicely with the evolutionary ideas of H.P. Blavatsky and Rudolph Steiner. Wiltshire adds, “the early Buddhists derived from other traditions the symbols they used to convey and illustrate the notion of Sakyamuni’s uniqueness. “ (p. 118) .