Who was Dipamkara Buddha in stories of Gautama Buddha’s previous lives?

In the traditional accounts of the Buddha’s previous lives, Dipamkara was a buddha who lived many aeons before the historical Gautama Buddha.1

The encounter between them occurred when the future Buddha, then a hermit named Sumedha, recognized Dipamkara and was overcome with joy upon hearing the word "buddha". In an act of profound devotion, Sumedha laid his own body across a muddy path to provide a dry passage for Dipamkara.1

Recognizing Sumedha’s potential, Dipamkara prophesied that the hermit would eventually attain buddhahood himself, specifically naming him Gautama and detailing the circumstances of his future enlightenment. This pivotal moment marked the beginning of the bodhisattva’s long journey, as Sumedha chose to delay his own immediate liberation to pursue the path of a buddha, aiming to eventually lead all beings across the ocean of suffering. Over subsequent aeons, the bodhisattva continued to renew this vow before other buddhas, accumulating the merit necessary to become the historical Shakyamuni.1