SuttaCentral
Hi everyone,
I was wondering if there were any references to the Buddha’s past lives besides the ones said in Jatakas. The reason I ask this is because the Jatakas are not EBT’s. Also was there any EBT verse where the Buddha ever said that all his past lives where either as Brahmin or Kshatriya ?
The most ‘down to earth’ reference to a past life is when the Buddha said he had been a chariot maker in a past life (AN3.15).
“Now, mendicants, you might think ‘Surely that chariot-maker must have been someone else at that time? But you should not see it like that. I myself was the chariot-maker at that time. Then I was skilled in the crooks, flaws, and defects of wood.”
Ānanda, you might think: ‘Surely the brahmin student Jotipāla must have been someone else at that time?’ But you should not see it like this. I myself was the student Jotipāla at that time.”
https://index.readingfaithfully.org/#Bodhisatta
Most entries are for his last human birth before his enlightenment. But there are several besides the chariot maker.
https://suttacentral.net/search?query=I%20myself%20was%20the
There’s a few entries early before the jatakas. 