法苑珠林 9.12

9.12

Also, according to the Pūrva-caryā Sūtra of the Bodhisattva: At that time, when the Bodhisattva saw his mother standing on the ground grasping the branch of the tree with her hand, he arose from his seat in the womb with right mindfulness. When the mothers of all other sentient beings are about to give birth to a child, their whole bodies ache everywhere and they undergo great anguish, repeatedly sitting down and repeatedly standing up, unable to find comfort. But the Bodhisattva’s mother was joyful and serene, her body experiencing great bliss. At that time, Queen Māyā stood on the ground, grasped the branch of the plakṣa tree with her hand, and then gave birth to the Bodhisattva. This was a marvelous event of the Bodhisattva, an unprecedented phenomenon. It symbolizes that when the Tathāgata achieved buddhahood, he was free from weariness and fatigue, able to uproot the roots of all defilements and sever all fetters of defilements, just as when the crown of a tāla tree is cut off, it ultimately never grows again, being without marks, without form, and without any phenomenon of subsequent birth. This was an auspicious sign prior [to the buddhahood] of the Tathāgata.