good point. I was on staff at an Org. I read "Hymn of Asia" as did other staff. There were a couple of opinions that LRH said he was "THE" Buddha in a past life. When I read the "Hymn of Asia" I did not get that at all. I felt he was saying he was "Mettaya" (by the way , that is an equally gross concept so please don't think I am making Hubbard right - not the case). My understanding on "Mettaya" (please make me eat humble pie as I am okay with that) was that he was "A" buddha (or enlightened being) who was "carrying on and completing" the previous work initiated by "THE" Buddha. So as much as LRH was full of shit on many levels I don't feel he was saying he was "THE" Buddha. This is not a make wrong on my behalf. I just wanted to open it up. "A" Buddha is different to "The" Buddha. I have this reference from Wikipedia (yes I know it is not the ultimate, but it is a reference). As follows:
"
What is a Buddha?
Buddha is a word in the very old Indian languages
Pāli and
Sanskrit which means
"Enlightened one". The word "Buddha" often means the historical Buddha named Buddha Shakyamuni (
Siddhartha Gautama),
[6] but "Buddha" does not mean just one man who lived at a certain time. It is used for a type of person, the equivalent of a
prophet, and Buddhists believe there have been many - that there were Buddhas a very long time ago and there will be for a long time in the future.
Buddhists do not believe that a Buddha is a god, but that he is a human being who has woken up and can see the true way the world works. They believe this knowledge totally changes the person. Some say this puts them beyond birth, death, and rebirth. Others think this represents the final extinction of desire. This person can help others become
enlightened too.
Who was the first Buddha?
According to Buddhism, there were countless Buddhas before Gautama Buddha and there will be many Buddhas after him.
In short, he is not the first, nor will he be the last.
However, counting from the present
kalpa (the beginning of our present universe) Buddha Gautama is considered the fourth Buddha. The first is Kakusandho Buddha, second Konakamano Buddha and the third Kassapo Buddha.
The last Buddha of this kalpa will be Mettaya Buddha. Then the universe will renew itself and from then begins a new
kalpa."