[gregmcal]

The Buddha remembered past dwellings (not past lives)...

Deshy is Sri Lankan and I am not sure what these terms mean in Singalese, which has a strong influence on Buddhism.

The term for 'past lives' is 'pubbenivāsā', which literally means 'past homes'. Example:

Kasturi Nivasa (Kannada: ಕಸ್ತೂರಿ ನಿವಾಸ, House of Fragrance) is a 1971 Kannada drama film. It is the story of an extremely generous man, who succumbs to his intention of being generous no matter what happens. The film stars Rajkumar, Jayanthi, K. S. Ashwath and Aarathi. This movie is often referred as one of the greatest Kannada movies of all time.

Wikipedia The passages in the scriptures where 'pubbenivāsā' is mentioned also include the word 'jati', translated as 'birth'.

But somehow, somewhere, over time, in Buddhism, these words where given materialistic/physical meanings where as, in India, their meanings were always related to social identity, as follows:

Jāti (in Devanagari: जाति Tamil:சாதி) (the word literally means 'thus born') is the term used to denote the thousands of clans, tribes, communities and sub-communities in India. It is a term used across religions. Each jāti typically has an association with a traditional job function or tribe, although religious beliefs (e.g. Sri Vaishnavism or Veera Shaivism) or linguistic groupings may define some jatis. A person's surname typically reflects a community (jati) association: thus Gandhi = perfume seller, Dhobi = washerman, Srivastava = military scribe, etc. In any given location in India 500 or more jatis may co-exist, although the exact composition will differ from district to district.

Wikipedia For Buddha, spiritually, rather than socially, they related to 'self-identity', as follows:

'Self-identification, self-identification,' it is said, lady. Which self-identification is described by the Blessed One?

This clinging to (appropriating) these five aggregates, friend Visakha: form as a clung-to-aggregate, feeling as a clung-to-aggregate, perception as a clung-to-aggregate, fabrications as a clung-to-aggregate, consciousness as a clung-to-aggregate. This clinging to these five aggregates is the self-identification described by the Blessed One.

MN 44 Even in non-Indian cultures, the word 'nivasa' (home) is used as a source of identity. For example, if i meet Lebanese people and tell them my name, they say: "You are from the house of XYZ". Or the British aristrocacy are identified as 'The House of Windsor'.

In short, during the night of his enlightenment, all of the past identity attachments, locked away in the Buddha's memory banks, unravelled & lost their grip.