Mahapadanasutta 1: Chapter 1
Mahapadana Sutta (Dialogues of the Buddha) 1
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Contents
- 1.32 — 16 parts
Chapter 1
1.1
Thus have I heard. The Exalted One was once staying at Savatthi, in Anatha Pindika's pleasaunce in the Jeta Wood, at the Kareri-tree cottage 1 Now among many bhikkhus who had returned from their alms-tour and were assembled, sitting- together after their meal, in the pavilion in the Kareri grounds 2, a religious conversation bearing on previous births arose, to the effect that thus and thus were previous births 3.
1.2
And the Exalted One, with clear and Heavenly Ear surpassing the hearing of men, overheard this conversation among the bhikkhus 4. And arising from
1 Kareri, according to Childers, is Capparis trifoliata. The Cy. states that this tree which stood by the entrance to the cottage was a Varuwa-tree, suggestive, if true, of the superseded tree-cult into which Varuwa-worship had declined. See Rhys Davids's 'Buddhist India,' p. 235; Jat. IV, 8. There were four principal buildings in the Jeta Wood: the cottage or chamber in question, the Kosamba-tree cottage, a perfumed chamber, and the fir-tree house (sala/a = sarala-ghara). According to the commentator each cost 100,000 [? kahapawas] to build, but the ancient bas-relief on the Bharahat Tope shows clearly cottages, and apparently cottages of only one room each. In § 12 below this cottage is called a vihara; and the latter word, in the ancient texts, always means a single room or lodging-place. Anatha-pindika had built the first three, King Pasenadi the last.
2 Ma/o. Buddhaghosa describes this as a nisidana-sa la, or sitting- room, built near the cottage. At the time when this Suttanta was composed it meant a thatched roof supported by wooden pillars. There were no walls to it.
3 According to the Cy. only religious teachers, religious disciples, Pacceka-Buddhas, and the Saviour Buddhas could recall their own or other previous lives, and, of the first, only those who taught Karma. Except the memories of the great Buddhas, which have no limit what- ever, a limit is given in the case of each of these classes, past which they could not recall. This systematizing of a popular belief seems to indicate that, when Buddhaghosa lived, no claim to such transcendent memory was actually made among his contemporaries.
4 Buddhaghosa distinguishes between the ' omniscient knowledge ' by which the Buddha realizes the drift of the talk in the Brahmajala Suttanta (' Dialogues,' I, 2), and the divine hearing, as by a finer sense, operating here.
his seat he came to the pavilion in the Kareri grounds, and took his seat on the mat spread out for him. And when he had sat down he said to the brethren: — 'What is the talk on which you are engaged sitting here, and what is the subject of conversation between you? ' [And they told him all.]
1.3
Then he said: — ' Do you not wish, brethren, to hear some religious talk on the subject of former lives? ' ' Now is the time, O Exalted One, now is the time, Welcome One, for the Exalted One to give us a religious discourse on the subject of former lives. When the brethren have heard it from the Exalted One they will bear it in mind.' ' Wherefore then, brethren, hearken well to me, and I will speak.' ' So be it, lord,' replied the brethren. And the Exalted One said: —
1.4
' It is now ninety-one aeons ago, brethren, since Vipassi, the Exalted One, Arahant, Buddha Supreme, arose in the world. It is now thirty-one aeons ago, brethren, since Sikhi, the Exalted One, Arahant, Buddha Supreme, arose in the world. It was in that same thirty-first aeon, brethren, that Vessabhu, the Exalted One, Arahant, Buddha Supreme, arose in the world. It was in this present auspicious aeon, brethren, that Kakusandha, the Exalted One, Arahant, Buddha Supreme, arose in the world. It was in this auspicious aeon, brethren, that Konagamana, the Exalted One, Arahant, Buddha Supreme, arose in the world. It was in this auspicious aeon, brethren, that Kassapa, the Exalted One, Arahant, Buddha Supreme, arose in the world. It is in this auspicious aeon, brethren, that now I, an Arahant, Buddha Supreme, have arisen in the world.'
5-12. [And in like manner the rest of the statements in the following table are given in similar paragraphs.]
Name of Buddha · Kappa, Aeon. · Jati, Social rank. · Gotta, Family · Length of life at that epoch. · Tree under which he became enlightened. · Names of two chief diciples · Number of Arahants present at assemblies · Name of usual attendant Bhikkhu. · Father. · Mother. · Birth-place.
Vipassi · 91st from now · Noble · Kondanna · 80000 · Patali · Khanda, Tissa · 68 lacs, 100000, 80000 · Asoka · Bandhuma · Bandhumati · Bandhumati
. Sikhi · 31st from now · do. · do. · 70000 · Pundarika · Abhibhu, Sambhava · 100000, 80000, 70000 · Khemahkura · Aruna · Pabhavati · Pabhavati
Vessabhu · do. · do. · do. · 60000 · Sala · Sona, Uttara · 80000, 70000, 60000 · Upasannaka · Suppatita · Yasavati · Anopama
Kakusandha · In this aeon · Brahmin · Kassapa · 40000 · Sirisa · Vidhura, Sanjiva · 40000 · Buddhija · Aggidatta · Visakha · Khemavati
Konagamana · do. · do. · do. · 30000 · Udumbara · Bhiyyosa, Uttara · 30000 · Sotthija · Yannadatta · Uttara · Sobhavati
Kassapa · do. · do. · do. · 20000 · Nigrodha · Tissa, Bharadvaja · 20000 · Sabbamitta · Brahmadatta · Dhanavati · Baranasi
Gotama · do. · Noble · Gotama · 100 · Assattha · Sariputta, Moggallana · 1250 · Ananda · Suddhodana · Maya · Kapilav
1.13
Now not long after he had gone out, this talk arose amonor the brethren: — 'How wonderful a thing, brethren, and how strange is the great genius, the master mind of the Tathagata, that he should remember the Buddhas of old, who attained final completion, who cut off obstacles, who cut down barriers, who have ended the cycle, who have escaped from all sorrow — that he should remember of these that such was their rank, such were their personal names, such were their family names, such the span of their lives, such their pair of disciples, and such the number of the congregations of their disciples, telling us: — " Of such was the birth of those Exalted Ones, such were their names, and their clans; such were their morals, their doctrines, their wisdom; thus did they live, and thus they gained emancipation." Now, what think you, brother? Has this principle of truth been clearly discerned by the Tathagata, so that by his discernment of it he remembers [all those facts] about the Buddhas of the past? Or have gods revealed this matter to the Tathagata, so that thereby he remembers? '
1.14
Now such was the trend of the talk that was going on among the brethren when the Exalted One, rousing himself at eventide from meditation, went to the pavilion in the Kareri grounds, and took his seat on the mat spread out for him. And when he had sat down, he said to the brethren: — ' What is the talk on which you are engaged, brethren, as ye sit
here, and what was the subject of conversation between you? ' [And they told him all.]
1.15
'It is through his clear discernment of a principle of the truth, brethren, that the Tathagata is able to remember [all those facts about the Buddhas of old 1]. And gods also have revealed these matters to him, enabling him to remember [all those things]. Do ye not wish, brethren, to hear yet further religious discourse bearing on former lives? '
‘ Now, O Exalted One, is the time, now, O Welcome One, is the time! Whatsoever the Exalted
1 In the text is a full repetition of the reminiscence given in § 13.
One may tell us further bearing on former lives, the brethren will listen to it and bear it in mind.'
' Wherefore, brethren, hearken and attend well, andI will speak.'
' So be it, lord,' replied the brethren. The Exalted One said: —
1.16
' I have told you, brethren, when Vipassi, the Exalted One, Arahant, Buddha Supreme, arose in the world, into what rank and family he was born, how long he lived, where he became a Buddha, the names of his leading disciples, the number of his disciples, the name of his ministering bhikkhu, of his father, his mother, and of their place of residence 1.
1.17
' Now Vipassi, brethren, when, as Bodhisat, he ceased to belong to the hosts of the heaven of Delight, descended into his mother's womb mindful and self-possessed 2. That, in such a case, is the rule? '.
1 The text repeats verbatim all that was said above of Vipassi.
2 This and following paragraphs (to § 30 inclusive) recur in the Acchariyabbhutadhamma Sutta (M. Ill, pp. 119-24). The notes appended by Dr. Neumann to his translation of that Sutta, giving parallels from Christian archaeology, are of great interest. [Reden
Gotamo Buddho's Majjhimanikayo, III, pp. 253 ft.) How the Birth- legend had developed in the fifth century a. d. may be seen in the Nidanakatha, translated in Rhys Davids's 'Buddhist Birth Stories,' pp. 62 ff.
This state of mind in Rule the first, according to a voluminous comment by Buddhaghosa, refers more to the termination of the Bodhisat's life in the Tusita heaven, than to any miraculous embryonic commencement. He is depicted as being fully aware, with his angelic
neighbours, of the imminent culminating career awaiting him, and to have selected country, region, town, father and mother, on the eve of his 'fall' from heaven. He is further said to be conscious that he was qua god deceased: — ' Thus fallen (or deceased) he knows ' I fall.' But he is not aware of his cuti-cittarh, or dying thought. As to when there is awareness of re-conception, the Buddhist fathers were not agreed. But they admit that, in its content, the dawning idea was either the first, or the fifth of the eight types of 'good thought' enumerated in Dhamma-Sangam (pp. 1, 39 of the translation). But we learn, under § 21, that there was no consciousness by way of the five senses before birth.
3 Dhammata, i.e. says the Cy. in the nature, or order of things. The five old-world order of things is the Order of Karma, of the Seasons, of Life-germs, of Mind, and of the Dhamma. The last
named is here implicated.
' It is the rule, brethren, that, when the Bodhisat ceases to belong to the hosts of the heaven of Delight, and enters a mother's womb, there is made manifest throughout the universe — including the worlds above of the gods, the Maras and the Brahmas, and the world below with its recluses and brahmins, its princes and peoples — an infinite and splendid radiance, passing the glory of the gods. Even in those spaces which are between the worlds, baseless \ murky and dark, and where even moon and sun, so wondrous and mighty, cannot prevail to give light, even there is made mani- fest this infinite and splendid radiance, passing the glory of the gods. And those beings who happen to be existing there 2, perceiving each other by that radiance, say: — " Verily there be other beings living here! " And the ten thousand worlds of the universe tremble and shudder and quake. And that this infinite splendid radiance is made manifest in the world, pass- ing the glory of the gods — that, in such a case, is the rule.
17 a. ' It is the rule, brethren, that, when the Bodhisat is descending into a mother's womb, four sons of the gods go toward the four quarters to protect him, say- ing: — " Let no one, be he human, or non-human, or whatsoever he be, work harm to the Bodhisat or to the mother of the Bodhisat! " That, in such a case, is the rule.
1.18
'It is the rule, brethren, that, when the Bodhisat is descending into a mother's womb, the mother of the Bodhisat is a woman virtuous through her own nature: — averse from taking life, averse from taking what is not given, averse from unchastity, averse from lying speech, averse from indulgence in strong drinks.
That, in such a case, is the rule.
1 Asarhvuta. Cy. — not supported from beneath.
2 In the Great Inter-world Hell. They would be undergoing purgatory for karma of grievous offences against parents and the religious world, and of cruelty to animals. Very long in body and with bats' nails, they were condemned to crawl up the Cakkava/a rock,
till finding no food, they turned back and fell into the river of brine flowing round the world. Cy.
1.19
' It is the rule, brethren, that, when the Bodhisat is descending into a mother's womb, that mother has no mind for indulgence in the pleasures of sense with men, and is incapable of transgression with any man whatever who may be enamoured of her. That, in such a case, is the rule.
1.20
'It is the rule, brethren, that, when the Bodhisat is descending into a mother's womb, that mother is living in the enjoyment yielded by the five senses, is addicted to it, possessed of it, surrounded by it. That, in such a case, is the rule.
1.21
' It is the rule, brethren, that, when the Bodhisat is descending into a mother's womb, no ailment what- soever befalls that mother; at ease is she and un- afflicted in body; and within her womb she sees the Bodhisat complete in the endowment of all his organs and his limbs. Just as if, brethren, there were a beau- tiful cat's-eye gem 1, of purest water, octangular, cut
with supreme skill, translucent and flawless, excellent in every way. And through it were strung a thread, blue or orange, red, white, or yellow. If a man who had eyes to see were to take it into his hand, he would clearly perceive how the one was strung on the other. Even so, brethren, when the Bodhisat is descending into a mother's womb, no ailment whatever befalls that
mother; at ease is she and unaffected in body; and within her womb she sees the Bodhisat complete in the endowment of all his organs and his limbs. That, in such a case, is the rule.
1.22
' It is the rule, brethren, that, on the seventh day after the birth of a Bodhisat, the mother of the Bodhisat dies, and rises again in the heaven of Delight. That, in such a case, is the rule.
1 This simile, occurring in a similar connexion in M. Ill, 121, is elsewhere (' Dialogues,' I, 87; M. II, 17) applied to self-knowledge, i. e. of one's body and mind and their interdependence. The point of the simile is not the perfection of the jewel, but the clarity of vision. The myth of the visible embryo recurs in mediaeval Christian art. See Neumann, op. cit.; and ' Buddhist Birth Stories,' p. 65 n.
1.23
'It is the rule, brethren, that, whereas other women bring forth after bearing either nine or ten months 1 the mother of a Bodhisat brings not forth till she has borne the child ten months. That, in such a case, is the rule.
1.24
'It is the rule, brethren, that, whereas other women bring forth sitting or reclining, the mother of a Bodhisat brings forth not so, but standing. That, in such a case, is the rule.'
1.25
' It is the rule, brethren, that, when a Bodhisat issues from his mother's womb, gods receive him first, afterwards men 2. That, in such a case, is the rule.
1.26
'It is the rule, brethren, that, when a Bodhisat issues from his mother's womb, and has not yet touched the earth, for four sons of the gods to receive him, and present him to the mother, saying: — " Rejoice, lady, for Mighty is the son that is born to thee! " That, in such a case, is the rule.
1.27
'It is the rule, brethren, that, when a Bodhisat issues from his mother's womb, he comes forth stain-less, undefiled by watery matter, undefiled by mucus, undefiled by blood, undefiled by any uncleanness whatever, pure, spotless. Just as if, brethren, a jewel were laid down on Benares muslin; the jewel is not stained by the muslin, nor is the muslin stained by it; and why is that? Because of the purity of both. Even so, brethren, is it at the birth of a Bodhisat. That, in such a case, is the rule.
1.28
' It is the rule, brethren, that, when a Bodhisat issues from his mother's womb, two showers of
1 The Cy. holds that these disjunctives may be understood to include a term of from seven to twelve months. Seven months' embryos, it adds, live, but cannot endure heat or cold; eight months' babes do not live — a midwife tradition that, we fancy, is still current here and now.
2 Cf. the account of the birth of Gotama, ' Buddhist Birth Stories,' p. 66, and of the /bur, not three, adoring kings in some early Christian bas-reliefs, Neumann, op. cit.
water appear from the sky, one of cold, the other of warm water, wherewith they do the needful bathing of the Bodhisat and of his mother. That, in such a case, is the rule.
1.29
'It is the rule, brethren, that, when a Bodhisat has come to birth, he stands firm on both feet and, with his face to the north, takes seven strides, the while a white canopy is held over him 1 and, looking around on every side, he utters as with the voice of a bull: — " Chief am I in the world, Eldest am I in the world, Foremost am I in the world! This is the last birth! There is now no more coming to be 2! " That, in such a case, is the rule.
1.30
'It is the rule, brethren, that, when a Bodhisat issues from his mother's womb, there is made manifest throughout the universe — including the worlds above of the gods, the Maras and the Brahmas, and the world below with its recluses and brahmins, its princes and peoples, — an infinite and splendid radiance passing the glory of the gods. Even in those spaces which are between the worlds, baseless, murky and dark, and where even moon and sun, so wondrous and mighty, cannot prevail to give light, even there is manifest this infinite and splendid radiance, passing the glory of the gods. And those beings who happen to be existing there, perceiving each other by that radiance, say: — " Verily there be other beings living here! ': And the ten thousand worlds of the universe tremble and shudder and quake. And this infinite and splendid radiance is made manifest in the world, passing the glory of the gods. This, in such a case, is the rule.'
1 As an emblem of sovereignty, says the Cy., in which case the emblem is usually named, not its bearers. But these were devata, angels or fairies or gods.
2 Each action of the babe had for the later Buddhists its symbolical meaning. Standing on the earth meant obtaining the Four Iddhipadas. Facing the north meant the spiritual conquest of multitudes. The seven strides were the Seven Bojjhangas. The canopy was the umbrella of emancipation. Looking around meant unveiled knowledge. The bull-cry meant the irrevocable turning of the wheel of the Truth or Law. The ' lion-roar ' of ' the last birth ' meant the arahantship he would attain in this life.
1.31
'When the boy Vipassi, brethren, was born, they brought word to Bandhuman the raja saying: — " A son, my lord, is born to you! May it please you to see him?" Now when Bandhuman the raja had seen the babe, he sent for the brahmin soothsayers 1, saying: — " Let the reverend brahmin soothsayers see the child."
Then, brethren, when the brahmin soothsayers had seen the child, they said to Bandhuman the raja: — " Rejoice, lord, for one of the Mighty Ones is born thy son! Fortune is thine, my lord, good fortune is thine, in that in thy family such a son has come to birth! For this babe, my lord, is endowed with the thirty-two marks of the Great Man; and to one so endowed two careers lie open, and none other. If he live the life of the House, he becomes Lord of the Wheel 2, a righteous Lord of the Right 3, ruler of the four quarters, conqueror, guardian of the people's good, owner of the Seven Treasures. His do those seven treasures become, to wit, the Wheel treasure, the Elephant treasure, the Horse treasure, the Gem treasure, the Woman treasure, the Steward treasure, the Eldest Son treasure making seven 4. More than a thousand sons will be his, heroes, vigorous of frame, crushers of the hosts of the enemy. He, when he has conquered this earth to its ocean bounds, is established not by the scourge, not by the sword, but by righteousness. But if such a boy go forth from the life of the House into the Homeless state 5, he becomes an Arahant, a Buddha Supreme, rolling back the veil from the world.
1 Literally, mark-men, or augurs. See 'Dialogues,' I, 16, n. 1.
2 Turner of the Wheel, the now well-known Indian symbol of empire.
3 Dhamma-raja.
4 For details of each of these see below in the Maha-Sudassana Suttanta, No. XVII.
5 This vigorous and picturesque idiom — agarasma anagariyam pabbajati — has been here and elsewhere rendered as literally as possible.
1.32.5
'"And what, my lord, are the thirty-two marks of the ' Great Man 1 wherewith endowed this child hath two careers open to him, and only two: — that of the Lord of the Wheel... that of Buddha Supreme?
' " This babe, my lord, has feet with level tread 2. That this is so counts to him as one of the marks of a Great Man.
"'On the soles of the babe's feet wheels appear with a thousand spokes, with tyre and hub, in every way complete. That this is so counts to him as one of the marks of a Great Man.
' " This babe has projecting heels [3 ],
He is long in the fingers and long in the toes 4,
Soft and tender in hands and feet,
With hands and feet like a net 5.
1.32.7
His ankles are like rounded shells 6;
His legs are like an antelope's 7.
1.32.8
Standing and without bending he can touch and rub his knees with either hand.
His male organs are concealed in a sheath.
His complexion is like bronze, the colour of gold.
[is] His skin is so delicately smooth that no dust cleaves to his body 8.
1.32.1
1 Given also at M. II, 136, 137. Comp. the note above Vol. I, p. no. The whole theory is pre-Buddhistic.
2 Suppatthita-pado: literally, 'well-planted feet.' The traditional meaning is, that the whole under-surface touched the ground at once. The Great Man was ' flat-footed,' and did not toe or heel the ground in walking.
3 If the foot of a ' Great Man ' be measured in four parts, two are taken up by the sole and toes, one is under the leg, and one is the heel projecting rearward.
4 And all four, fingers and toes, are of equal length, like a monkey's. Cy.
5 Like a lattice, says the Cy., and explains this to mean that there is no 'webbing' between fingers and toes, but that these are set in right lines, like the meshes of a net.
6 Ensuring the maximum of flexibility. Cy. This is desirable in sitting cross-legged.
7 With protuberant well-modelled joints, like an ear of rice or barley. Cy.
8 Hence the Buddhas only wash as an example to their fol- lowers. Cy.
The down on it grows in single hairs, one to each pore,
The small hairs on his body turn upward, every hair of it, blue-black in colour like eye-paint, in little curling rings, curling to the right.
' " This babe has a frame divinely straight 1.
1.32.2
He has the seven convex surfaces 2.
1.32.3
The front half of his body is like a lion's 3.
1.32.4
There is no furrow between his shoulders 4.
1.32.6
His proportions have the symmetry of the banyan- tree 5: — The length of his body is equal to the compass of his arms, and the compass of his arms is equal to his height.
His bust is equally rounded 6.
1.32.7_2
His taste is supremely acute 7.
1.32.8_2
His jaw is as a lion's 8.
1.32.10
He has forty teeth 9,
Regular teeth.
Continuous,
The eye-teeth very lustrous. His tongue is very long 10.
1.32.131
1 He will not stoop, nor lean backward, as if catching at the stars, nor have a crooked spine, but tower up symmetrically like a golden tower-gate in a city of the gods. Cy.
2 The backs of the four limbs, the shoulders and the trunk are well fleshed. Cy.
3 i. e. proportionately broad and full.
4 Citantararhso, lit. he has the shoulder-interval filled up. The Cy. explains, the two sides of the back have no depression in the middle, nor look separated, but from the small of the back upwards the fleshy covering is as a level golden slab.
5 Literally, he has the banyan circumference. It was believed that a banyan always measured the same, like the diameter of a circle, in height as in width.
6 Samavattakkhandho. According to the Cy. the exterior of the whole vocal apparatus is here meant, rather than the trunk or shoulders only.
7 Rasaggasaggi.
8 That is, with the lower jaw relatively fuller than the upper. Cy.
9 That is, the Great Man at a more adult stage has eight more than the normal thirty-two. How the learned brahmins saw these signs in the babe is not explained.
10 See 'Dialogues,' I, 131.
1.32.1_2
He has a divine voice like the karavika-bird's 1.
1.32.3_2
His eyes are intensely blue 2,
He has the eyelashes of a cow 3.
1.32.4_2
Between the eyebrows appears a hairy mole, white and like soft cotton down.
His head is like a royal turban 4.
1.32.5_2
This too counts to him as one of the marks of a Great Man 5.
1.33
' " Endowed, my lord, as is this babe with these two-and-thirty marks of the Great Man, two careers and none other are open to him..." [as above, § 31]...
' Thereupon Bandhuman the raja, brethren, let the brahmin soothsayers be invested with new robes and gratified their every desire.
1.34
' And Bandhuman the raja, brethren, engaged nurses for the babe Vipassi. Some suckled him, some washed him, some nursed him, some carried him about on their hip. And a white canopy was held over him day and night, for it was commanded: — " Let not cold or heat or straws or dust or dew annoy him! " And the boy Vipassi, brethren, became the darling and the beloved of the people, even as a blue or red or white lotus is dear to and beloved of all, so that he was literally carried about from lap to lap 6.
1.35
' And when the boy Vipassi was born, brethren, he had a lovelv voice, well modulated and sweet and
1 According to Childers, the Indian cuckoo. The Great Man's voice is very clear and pure-toned, neither worn nor broken nor harsh. Cy. Yoga-culture is to-day held to yield, as one result, a pleasant musical voice.
2 Like flax-blossom. Cy. Perhaps a tradition of Aryan origin.
3 Completely surrounding the eyes, thick like a black cow's; bright and soft like a new-born red calf's. Cy.
4 Unhisa-siso. This expression, says the Cy., refers to the fullness either of the forehead or of the cranium. In either case the rounded highly-developed appearance is meant, giving to the unadorned head the decorative dignified effect of a crested turban, and the smooth symmetry of a water-bubble.
5 In the text this refrain occurs after the naming of each mark.
6 Literally by hip to hip; women passing him from arm to arm, men from one shoulder to another, explains the Cy.
charming, just as the voice of the karavika-bird in the mountains of Himaiaya is lovely and sweetly modulated and charming 1.
1.36
' And when the boy Vipassi was born, brethren, there was manifested in him the Heavenly Eye born of the result of his karma 2, by the which verily he could see as far as a league by day and eke by night.
1.37
' And when the boy Vipassi was born, brethren, he looked forward with unblinking eyes, like the gods in the heaven of Delight. Now it was because of this, people exclaiming " Vipassi, Vipassi " — a Seer, a Seer! — that this became his name 3. And again, brethren, while Bandhuman raja was sitting as judge, he would take the boy on his hip and so lay down the law as to the cases arising till verily the boy, thus seated on his father's hip, and continually considering, would also determine the points of the matter according to justice 4. Then at the thought "It is the babe who is judging cases arieht " ever more and more did that word " a Seer, a Seer" become used as his name.
1.38
'Now Bandhuman raja, brethren, had three palaces built for the boy Vipassi, one for the rains, one for the winter and one for the summer, and he had them fitted with every kind of gratification for the five senses. Thus it came to pass that Vipassi spent
1 The Cy. relates of the bird that it sings a flute-like song after pecking at honey and mangoes, and that the song exercises a sort of Orpheus- spell over every beast that hears it. Asandhimitta, the consort of Asoka, was converted by it. She had inquired of the Order, if it were known what the Buddha's voice was like; and on its being compared to the karavika's song, wished to hear that. Asoka sent for one, which would not sing in its cage, till a mirror was placed by it. Fancying it saw a kinsman, it sang, throwing every one into ecstasies, and so exalting the queen's idea of the Buddha's voice, that she attained 'the fruit of sotapatti.'
2 That is, not by special practice, but as the result of action in former births, as with the fairies' power of vision. Cy.
3 Vipassi refers rather to the inward vision of the seer. Vipassana is insight or intuition.
4 Namely by giving signs of dissatisfaction when a decision was wrong.
the four months of the rainy season in the rains-palace, ministered to by bands of female musicians 1; and not once did he come down (from the upper terrace) into the mansion.'
Here endeth the Birth chapter.
II.
Linked texts (1)
- Mahāpadānasutta — Pāli