When Buddha is saying that you could see the past lives of others, is it from ancestors or connected to the ones living?
Your question pertains to two of the three knowledges (tevijja) the Buddha and some of his awakened disciples attain to. AN10.10 touches on that, as per extract below, but this phrasing is pretty much the same across all occurrences in the Pali Canon.
"When they are faithful, ethical, and educated, a Dhamma speaker, one who frequents assemblies, one who teaches Dhamma to the assembly with assurance, an expert in the training, one who recollects their many kinds of past lives, one who with clairvoyance that surpasses the human sees sentient beings passing away and being reborn, and one who lives having realized the ending of defilements, theyāre complete in that respect.
AN 10.10: VijjÄsuttaāBhikkhu Sujato (suttacentral.net)
Another good reference point is DN2 which lists these two special knowledges or understandings as part of a wider set of attainments.
I guess that means seeing ancestors rebirths then.
Why do you think it has something to do with ancestors?
Because the interconnectedness of everything
Do you mean ancestors as in grandparents greatgrandparents and so on?
I personally think it is meant he saw his own past lives and saw people dying and getting reborn in real time, but I never read somewhere he saw past lives of other people. Is that what your question is about?
Oh it took me until now to realize that I always misunderstood. So itās at the moment of their death. I know now. Since I remember Buddha doing that.
I am not 100% sure but I think I remember reading a few days ago exactly this topic somewhere here and the one who was posting said that in the pali it becomes clear it is not recollecting something from the past but seeing in this life, but I donāt know which topic that was.
There is recollection of once own rebirths but itās what follows I misunderstood in the sutta
I meant what follows in my last post.