|
Homage to you, king of the
Śākya-s
Whose form is radiant as a mountain of gold
Who took birth in the Śākya clan with skillful compassion
And vanquished the demon horde which others could not
Introduction
The Buddha Sakyamuni, the prince who renounced his kingdom to attain perfect
awakening for the benefit of all beings in the ‘dark age’ of the present
world-system, is generally thought to have lived in the 5th-6th centuries B.C.E.,
although traditional Tibetan calculations tended to fix the date much earlier.
The Sakya kingdom to which he was heir lay in the sub-Himalayan Terai plain of
north India, in an area bisected by the southern border of modern Nepal.
The depiction of the lives of supreme spiritual
masters as an enumeration of great deeds is a time-honored convention in Tibetan
tradition, with antecedents in Indian civilisation. The designs used for this
painting have been adapted from the definitive series of nine xylographed wood
blocks commissioned for and formerly kept in the great printing house at Derge
Gon-chen in east Tibet. These blocks were copied from drawings by the
master-artist Drupa-tsang Purbu Tsering of Chamdo, a famous exponent of the ‘New
Menri’ style, whose career spanned the turn of the 20th century. Like so many
other Tibetan artefacts, they are assumed to have perished after the communist
invasion of the 1950s, but copies were reproduced in exile by the great eighth
Khamtrul Rinpoche Don-gyu Nyima, in the late 1960s.
The verses of praise, which are well-known in all
schools of Tibetan Buddhism, are attributed to the founder of the Drikung kahgyu
tradition Je Jikten Sumgon Rinchen Pel (1143-1217). (Note that the ‘descent from
Trayatrimsa’ is not usually considered as one of the twelve deeds, so there is
no corresponding verse). The commentary has been summarised from a number of
similar accounts in classical Tibetan histories. [View
Image no. 1: Scenes depicting the twelve deeds of Lord Buddha]
1. The Vow to manifest as a guide of the
sentient beings of the dark age
Praise to you who first
conceived the aspiration for awakening then perfected the dual accumulation of
merit and transcendent wisdom and performed the great deed of becoming the
saviour of beings in the present age
Before the Buddha was born into this world as
Sakyamuni, he was a Bodhisattva in the Tusita heaven, named Svetaketu. Before
that, in the age when human lifespan was 20,000 years, he had been a Brahmin
disciple of the Buddha Kasyapa, perfect in conduct. Kasyapa prophesied that in
future his disciple world return to the Jambudvipa continent, the southern
quarter of this world-system, in final, degenerate age of the present aeon, and
attain perfect awakening for the benefit of all beings. Re-born in Tusita, he
perfected the ten stages of the Bodhisattva path in accordance with the
aspirations and prophecies made in previous lives, and was enthroned as the
Dharma-guru of the divine beings in that realm. Once, Svetaketu heard some
verses of music in the heavenly palace which reminded him of the prophecies made
about him by the past Buddha-s Dipankara and Kasyapa, and he nobly resolved to
take re-birth, attain perfect awakening, refute heretics and spread the Dharma
in the dark age of the human world.
Svetaketu is depicted here making that vow in the presence of the Buddha-s of
the ten directions and the Bodhisattva-s and gods and goddesses of Tusita,
holding a lotus flower to symbolise the purity of his intention. He represents
the Sambhogakaya (immanent) aspect of Buddha Sakyamuni, and Prajnaparamita, the
mother of all the Buddha-s, sits above his head, representing the Dharmakaya
(ultimate) aspect. [View Image no. 2:
Svetaketu
Bodhisattva in Tusita Heaven ready to take birth as prince Siddhartha]
2. The Choice of a suitable and timely birth in
the human realm
Homage to you who knew the
time had come to impose spiritual discipline on heavenly and earthly beings who
chose a lineage and descended like an elephant from the heavens, into the womb
of queen Mayadevi
In his wisdom, Svetaketu saw that heavenly beings
make little progress in renunciation and spiritual growth because they lack
motivation, their lives are comfortable, enjoyable and long. But in the present
aeon-ending Kali-yuga, he saw that by the time human lifespan has decreased to
less than one hundred years, and people are increasingly tormented by poverty
and strife, they are better prepared to grasp the truths of impermanence and
dependent arising, and more receptive to the teachings of spiritual liberation.
This is especially so in our Jambudvipa continent, where people are relatively
more intelligent and have fewer resources. Seeing this, he chose the time and
place of his re-birth, in the ‘central land’ of the Ganga river plain in
northern India. He looked for parents of royal caste, as they were more
respected there than the priestly caste, and saw that king Suddhodana of the
Sakya-s was a qualified ruler of excellent lineage, and his queen Mayadevi
possessed all womanly virtues and was fit for the miraculous conception of a
Bodhisattva.
Before leaving Tusita, Svetaketu crowned the
Bodhisattva Maitreya as his regent on the teaching throne, so that Maitreya was
destined to become the next Buddha in this world.
Then he descended to earth in the form of a caparisoned powder-white elephant
with six tusks, a symbol of the highest virtue in the land of his chosen
re-birth. Mayadevi was sleeping alone in her chamber after a purificatory fast
when she saw this auspicious omen in her dream, and as it merged with her body,
she felt inexpressible joy and bliss. Prior to birth, he dwelt in a beautiful
sandalwood pavilion devised by the gods, and stayed there for a full ten months
to demonstrate the certainty of perfecting the ten levels of the Bodhisattva
path. During that time he guided many Bodhisattva-s, Brahma and Indra, and
innumerable Deva-s and Naga-s and Yaksa-s towards liberation.
3. The display of excellent signs at the time
of birth
Homage to you the Sakya prince
born after ten months in the auspicious grove of Lumbini. Brahma and Indra came
to honor you there, ultimate proof that your were born into the family of
awakened conquerors
When his birth was due, there were numerous
miraculous signs in the Lumbini grove, a short distance from the Sakya palace,
all the trees and plants burst into flower, jewelled lotuses bloomed, there were
heavenly lights and music, and visions of celestial palaces. Mayadevi was borne
there in a jewelled chariot attended by the gods Brahma and Indra. She alighted
and walked a few steps into the grove, then reached up with her right arm to
hold on to the branch of a fragrant, medicinal Sala tree for support. At that
moment, the baby prince sprang from his mother’s side in a flash of light,
causing her no pain, and the light spread throughout the three realms,
dispelling the ignorance and suffering of sentient beings. The earth shook, the
sky was filled with auspicious offerings and there was a rain of flowers, trees
and bushes blossomed with flowers and fruits. Gods and goddesses gathered to
rejoice in the birth of a prince in the lineage of awakened conquerors. Brahma
and Indra wrapped him in a soft, jewelled robe, and the kings of the Naga-s
anointed him with perfumed water. Then he stood and took seven paces in each of
the four directions, to signify his dedications to the path of the ‘four
immeasurables’ (love, compassion, joy and equanimity), and dazzling lotus
flowers sprang up from each footprint. [View Image no. 3:
Queen Maha Mayadevi giving birth to prince Siddhartha at the Lumbini Grove.]
At the same time, five hundred sons were born to
noble families, eight hundred maidens including Yasodhara, five hundred servants
including Chandaka, and ten thousand horses including Kanthaka were also born.
The Bodhi tree appeared at the very centre of the Jambudvipa continent,
encircled by five hundred gardens and five hundred treasures. All of the king’s
wishes were fulfilled at once, and thus he named his son ‘Siddhartha’. After
examining the excellent signs and portents of the new-born-prince, the Risi-s of
the Sakya clan declared that if he stayed in the palace and inherited the
kingdom, he would become a triumphant world-ruler, but if he went forth in
search of wisdom, he would surpass all limits and attain perfection. King
Suddhodana resisted this idea, as he wished a strong heir to succeed him, and
saw to it that the prince was shielded as much as possible from the world
outside the palace gates.
4. The mastery of learning and athletics as a
youth
Homage to you agile youth and
lion among men who proved his skill in an athletic contest routed the arrogant
competitors and performed without rival
Queen Mayadevi passed away seven days after
Siddhartha’s birth, and he was raised by his aunt Mahaprajapati. He excelled in
his schooling and as a youth he easily mastered the sixty-four arts, while in
athletics he was second to none. When his father sought eligible daughters of
the nobility such as Yasodhara to be his bride, Siddhartha had to prove himself
in an athletic contest with the arrogant youths of the Sakya clan. In
particular, his cousins Nanda and Devadatta were jealous of him and wanted him
to lose. In his anger and spite, Devadatta struck out at an elephant which had
been sent to Siddhartha as a gift, and killed it with a single blow. To show his
strength, Nanda lifted the elephant and dropped it outside the palace gates, but
Siddhartha could lift the dead elephant with his big toe and kick it through the
air, over seven boundary walls and seven moats.
Then they competed in swimming and elephant
riding, and Siddhartha showed that he could fly across the water like a swan,
and command an elephant to do anything he wanted. Finally, they challenged him
to an archery contest, to pierce seven palm trees, seven iron walls and seven
cauldrons one after the other with a single arrow. Devadatta pierced three,
Nanda managed to get through five, but Siddhartha’s arrow shot through all
seven. A spring of water of the eight qualities gushed forth on the spot where
his arrow landed.
5. The skillful conduct of worldly affairs
Homage to you who ruled the kingdom adeptly in
unison with a retinue of queens living by worldly convention as a means to
forego the sins of sensual craving
When he came of age and assumed royal duties,
prince Siddhartha had a retinue of sixty thousand queens, principally Yasodhara
Gopa and Mrgaja, each with twenty thousand ladies in waiting. With the
discriminative wisdom of a Bodhisattva, he engaged in the sensual pleasures of
worldly life only to experience them as illusory, and he consorted with his
queens, and fathered a son, while remaining free of any trace of desire, as a
skillful means to benefit his innumerable subjects. He is seen here at court,
with his father next to him, being presented with the seven emblems of royalty.
[View Image no. 4 :
Prince Siddhartha indulging in the
luxuries of the palace specially built for him.]
But Siddhartha never felt satisfied with this
life, and thirsted for knowledge and fulfillment. Once when he was able to slip
out of the palace, he went to explore the city accompanied by his charioteer
Chandaka. For the first time, the prince saw the sufferings of birth, sickness,
old age and death for himself, and realized their meaning. Finally, they came
upon a wandering renunciate with a serene and gentle manner begging alms.
Siddhartha asked who he was, and Chandaka told him, “He is one who has abandoned
worldly life to seek the truth”. Thereupon, the determination for renunciation
grew firm in his mind.
6. The renunciation of worldly life
Homage to you who sought the
spiritual life having perceived the insubstantial nature of worldly affairs who
fled your household flying through the very air to the foot of the ‘Immaculate
Stupa’ where you ordained yourself
That night, Siddhartha, then in his twenty ninth
year, walked out on to the roof of the palace at midnight, and made prostrations
to the Buddha-s of the ten directions, with the aspiration to swiftly attain
awakening for the benefit of all beings of the dark age. The sky filled with
gods and goddesses led by Brahma and Indra, Lokapala-s, Yaksa-s, Gandharva-s,
and Naga-s, praising his noble intention. Suspecting that he might try to escape
and seek the religious life, his father the king had posted armed guards and
briefed sentries at the palace gates and the entrances to the city. But the
mighty Vajrapāni and Vaisravana brought a staircase fashioned by celestial
artisans, and Chandaka led Siddhartha’s horse Kanthaka up on to the roof. He
mounted, and Kanthaka flew into the sky, with the deities of the pure realm
supporting them on one side, the deities of the desire realm on the other, and
Brahma and Indra in the lead. They flew over many towns and countries, and
arrived near the ‘Immaculate Stupa’ just as dawn broke.
[View Image no. 5 : Prince Siddhartha cutting his topknot near the Stupa to
perform Cudakarma]
There were three such Stupa-s in the world,
marking the places where the three past Buddhas had been ordained into the monk
hood with a hair-cutting ceremony. Removing his golden ornaments, Siddhartha
handed them to his companion, and bade him return with them to his father’s
palace. Chandaka wept, and asked his master who would look after him now, all
alone in the forest, he replied, “All beings of this world are born alone, and
must die alone, and meanwhile endure their sufferings alone. Truly, there is no
friend who can carry that burden for us.” Then, since there was no one to
perform the ordination ceremony for him, he cut off his long hair by himself and
threw it up into the air. It was collected by Indra, who carried it up to the
Trāyatrimśa heaven, where it was placed in a Stupa to be worshipped by the gods.
As he cast off his fine silk gown, the king of the gods brought him a saffron
robe to wear which had been dedicated for that purpose by the clairvoyant Rsi-s
of the past. Then he proceeded alone, without friends or possessions, seeking
alms as he went, on the path of spiritual perfection. Feeling that he was not
yet far enough away from his homeland, he crossed the Gangā river into the land
of Magadha.
7. The Six years of austerities
Homage to you who labored for
six years performing austerities by the banks of the Nairanjana river intent
upon reaching enlightenment through hardship you attained perfect meditative
concentration
At Vaisali and Rajagrha, he studied the philosophy
of Nihilism and the four concentrations leading to re-birth in the Brahma-loka
with the greatest masters of the day, and soon equaled their realization, but
seeing that those contemplations could not lead to deliverance from cyclic
existence, he moved on. When the young king Bimbisara of Rajagrha came upon him
meditating in the forest, he was overwhelmed with faith, and offered Siddhartha
half his kingdom to join him at court as his advisor, but Siddhartha was bound
to refuse. Still believing that self mortification led to the extinction of the
self, and ultimate realization, he settled down under a pipal tree (ficus
religisia) on the east bank of the Nairanjana river in the company of five
like-minded ascetics, and remained there for the next six years in meditative
concentration. He ate a single grain of rice for each of the first two years,
drank a single drop of water for each of the second two years, and took nothing
at all during the last two. In this sense, three impetuous shepherd boys come
across the fasting ascetic and try in vain to break his concentration. They
represent the three mental poisons: desire, anger and ignorance.
Finally, as the Buddha-s of the ten directions and
hosts of Bodhisattva-s and Deva-s appeared, praising him and calling on him to a
rise, it dawned on Siddhartha that physical austerity is one of two extremes,
and that the ‘Middle Way’ between these two extremes leads to the perfect
awakening of Buddha-hood. He slowly rose, and went to bathe in the river. He
crossed over to the far bank, and after drying his robe, started to walk into
the forest, when he met a village girl named Sujata who had come to offer him a
bowl of cream curdled from the milk of five hundred red cows. It was the first
food he had accepted in years, and it instantly restored his body to lustrous
good health. Sujata’s offering was the fruit of aspirations made through many
previous lives, and brought her an incalculable store of merit. When his five
companions saw that he had wantonly abandoned his fast, they felt betrayed and
went elsewhere.
For the past six years, the Caturmaharaja protectors had been keeping watch over
the fasting Siddhartha in the four directions, and now they appeared to him and
offered him a stone alms bowl from the heavens, Accepting it, Siddhartha
predicted that they would become the guardians of his teaching. After walking a
little further into the forest, he met a buffalo herder named Svasti who had
been cutting long feather grass, as soft and silky as a peacock’s throat, and
respectfully offered him a bundle of it. Siddhartha spread the grass for his
seat beneath a great pipal tree in the forest, and vowed to remain there until
he attained perfect awakening.
8. The defeat of Mara
Homage to you who became fully enlightened beneath
the Bodhi tree in Magadha who manifested Buddha-hood in immoveable lotus posture
and brought the efforts of countless former lives to fruition
The tree which sheltered him was the ‘tree of
Bodhi’, awakening, and the earth he sat upon was ‘Vajrasana’, the diamond
throne, the world centre, where Buddha-s of past, present and future manifest
their enlightenment. Absorbed in the concentration of defeating Mara’s demon
horde, he caused the brilliance of the Buddha-fields to illuminate the three
lower realms of cyclic existence, liberating innumerable beings from their
suffering, and there were many miraculous signs. At that, Mara appeared before
him in the guise of a hunter, and challenged his claim to perfect realisation,
demanding to know if he had witness. Siddhartha pressed down on the earth with
the middle fingers of his right hand, and declared, “This earth bears witness to
all beings, she is impartial to animate and inanimate alike”, and sthāvara
goddess of the earth, appeared there in person. “Even I cannot calculate how
many bodies this noble Bodhisattva has discarded during his quest for
omniscience”, she affirmed, “and now his time has come to claim victory”, and
Mara retreated in disgrace. Then Mara sent his seven glamorous daughters, who
attempted to seduce the Bodhisattva with sensual distractions, but he didn’t
flinch. When he turned them into seven old hags through the force of his
realization of impermanence, they pleaded with him helplessly to restore their
youth. As night fell, Mara started to unleash his full fury, and mustered a
demon army one thousand trillion strong. But having perfect realization of the
illusory nature of phenomena, Siddhartha was unafraid. Absorbed in concentration
on loving kindness, the demon horde were unable to harm him, all the fearsome
missiles they fired at him fell to the ground as flower petals, and eventually
they scattered in confusion. [View Image no. 6 :
Prince
Siddhartha defeating Mara’s demon horde]
During the last quarter of the night, his residual
cognitive veils and obstacles to clairvoyance dissipated, and as the morning
star appeared on the full moon of the forth month, the day of his birth,
Siddhartha king of the Sakya-s attained Buddha-hood. The earth shook six times,
the sky filled with rainbows, perfume and flowers, and a brilliant glow radiated
from his body, illuminating the lower realms and liberating beings from
sufferings.
9. The turning of the Dharma-cakra
Homage to you who then looked
on sentient beings with compassion and turned the wheel of Dharma at Varanasi
and other holy places establishing all those who received the teaching in one of
the three vehicles of accomplishment
In the first weeks after his enlightenment, the
Buddha remained in meditation at Vajrasana, fearing that three was no use in
trying to explain to others the profound truths he had realized. Seeing this,
Brahma came to remind him of his previous vow, and urged him to beat the drum
and blow the conch shell of the Dharma. Indra praised him, saying, “Your mind is
liberated like the full moon released from the grasp of Rahu”, and implored him
to “Dispel the darkness of the world with the light of awareness”. Even this he
refused, but on the third approach, Brahma presented him with a thousand-spoked
golden wheel, and hesitantly, the Buddha agreed that he could at least teach
people of Magadha who were attentive, faithful, discriminating and gentle. The
word that he was going to turn the wheel of Dharma instantly spread across the
divine realms, and the Deva-s started to assemble and amass their offerings.
Knowing that his five former companions had gone to Varanasi, he went in that
direction, and found them in the deer park of Rsipatana, outside the city, a
holy place where the three Buddha-s of the past had all preached the Dharma. It
was the fourth day of the sixth lunar month. [View Image
no. 7 : Turning the first wheel of dharma at Sarnath]
The five ascetics had agreed among themselves to
ignore their lapsed companion, but when they saw him in the perfect form of an
enlightened one they were amazed, and asked him all at once what special powers
he had obtained. He declared to them that he had attained the ultimate
perfection of a Tathagata, one ‘thus gone beyond’. One thousand jewelled
teaching thrones then appeared in the deer park. The Buddha made three
prostrations before the thrones of the three past Buddhas, and took his seat
upon the forth, whereupon the others disappeared. For the benefit of the five
ascetics and the eighty thousand Deva-s, and the Gandharva-s, Yaksa-s, Naga-s
and others gathered there, he turned the wheel of the teaching on the ‘Middle
Way’ between extremes. He explained the four Noble Truths three times and in
twelve ways, and the Noble Eight fold Path. After listening to his teaching, the
five ascetics requested ordination, and became the first members of a great
monastic community. That was the first wheel, corresponding with the
Vinaya-pitaka. He turned the second wheel, the Sutra-pitaka, on the ‘vulture’s
peak’ in Rajgrha, for Sariputra, Maudgalyayana and five thousand Arhat-s,
Prajapati and five hundred nuns Anathapindaka, Visakha and a host of lay-men and
lay-women, and a multitude of Deva-s, Naga-s and Gandharva-s, and the third
wheel, the Abhidharma-pitaka, for an assembly of great Bodhisattva-s at Mount
Malaya, and other places.
10. The descent from the
Trayatrimsa heaven
Five years later, when he was forty one, the
Buddha saw that the divine beings of the Trayatrimsa heaven had the potential to
be trained in virtue, and that his mother queen Mayadevi had been re-born
amongst them. Leaving Maudgalyayana as his representative on earth, he journeyed
to that realm and decided to spend the annual rains retreat there. Indra was
dismayed to learn that certain Devaputra-s were destined for re-birth in the
hells, so the Buddha taught him the ritual methods for absolving the beings of
the lower realms, and the Dharani-s of Usnisavijaya. When the gods suffered a
defeat by the Asura armies and Indra came to him in distress, the Buddha taught
him the Dharani-s of the ‘Victory banner pinnacle’, and granted him relief. When
Avalokitesvara built a Stupa in that realm the Buddha taught the ‘essence of
dependent arising’ formula of consecration. When Maitreya requested him to ease
the sufferings of beings in Jambudvipa, he sent forth wrathful emanations to
quell malignant spirits, and taught the Acala tantra. The Buddha spent the three
months of the rains retreat there, together with Ananda, Sariputra, Mahakasyapa,
Subhuti and 8000 Arhat-s, and guided his mother and innumerable other beings on
the path of liberation.
As the summer rains came to an end on earth, king
Bimbisara and the members of the four assemblies of disciples repeatedly put
request to Maudgalyayana to invite the Buddha’s return, pleading that while the
gods were free to descend to earth as they pleased, humans could never reach the
Buddha while he was in the heavens. Maudgalyayana travelled to Trayatrimsa in
instant to convey their fervent wish, and the master assented that after seven
days he would return to earth at Kasi (Varanasi). When king Udrayana heard the
news, he ordered the cleaning of the city and arranged splendid offerings for
the reception. At Indra’s command, the celestial artisan Visvakarma had created
a precious three-tiered staircase, The centre, where the Buddha walked, was made
of Vaidurya, the right side, from where Brahma and the gods of the pure realm
cooled him with fans was made of gold, and the left side, from where Indra and
the gods of the desire realm shaded him with a jewelled parasol, was made of
crystal. On the twenty-second day of the ninth month, the Buddha and his divine
retinue descended to the city of Kasi, and were received by king Udrayana and
the four assemblies of disciples. [View Image no. 8 :
The Descent from Trayatrimsa Heaven]
Trayatrimsa, the ‘heaven of the 33 Deva-s’, is
said to be located on the peak of Mount Meru, The blue south face of Meru,
depicted here, makes the sky blue in the southern continent of Jambudvipa, and
the other three faces are of different colours.
11. The victory in a contest of
miracles
Homage to you who performed
great miracles at Śrāvasti with a prowess unmatched throughout the three worlds
so that gods and men alike adored the Dharma and it was greatly spread
Six evil, heretic teachers led by Puranakasyapa
became mad with resentment and jealousy against the Buddha, and tried to engage
him in a contest of miraculous powers, which Mara had persuaded them they could
win. King Bimbisara laughed them out of court when they petitioned him, but they
persisted, and finally he went to request the Buddha’s participation.
The Buddha agreed, but stipulated that he would
set the time of the contest. A teaching throne was set up in a large arena at
Rajgrha, but shortly before the proposed contest, the Buddha and all his
followers departed for Vaisali. Seeing this as an admission of defeat, the six
heretic teachers were elated, and rushed after the Buddha, with their ninety
thousand followers, and after them, king Bimbisāra and his entourage. The
heretics urged the Licchavi king to stage the contest there, and the Buddha
again accepted, but said he would set the time. Then he moved on, from one city
to the next, each time giving the same answer, and gathering a new following,
until they came to Sravasti. The heretics soon arrived, and remonstrated with
king Prasenajit not to allow any further postponement, and the Buddha assented
that the time had now come. On the new moon of the first month of spring, he
took his seat on a lion throne in a part outside the city, and was honored with
extensive offerings. Before the kings of all the capitals he had passed through,
the six heretics and their followers, and a huge assembly of gods and humans, he
performed inconceivable miracles for the next fifteen days.
On the first day, he created a bounteous tree, and
on the second, two jewelled mountains. On the third day, he produced a jewel
lake, and on the fourth, voices came from the lake explaining all aspects of the
Dharma. On the fifth, golden light spread from his countenance and filled the
world, purifying the emotional poisons of sentient beings. On the sixth day, he
allowed people to read each others’ thoughts, and on the seventh, he transformed
his benefactors into world-rulers. On the eighth day, the Buddha pressed down on
the throne with the fingers of his right hand, and with a thunderous roar, the
fierce Vajrapani appeared from beneath brandishing a flaming Vajra at the
heretic teachers, and four demons in his retinue scattered them and smashed
their thrones. The heretics were so scared that they leapt into the river and
drowned. Then, the Buddha radiated eighty four thousand rays of light, one from
each pore of his skin, which filled the sky. On the tip of each ray was a lotus,
and on each lotus was a Buddha, with attendants, teaching Dharma, and all were
amazed, and some were liberated by the sight of it. The ninety thousand
followers of the six heretic teachers joined the monkhood, and later became
Arhat-s. That is the miracle depicted here. [View Image
no. 9 : The Lord Buddha displaying the miraculous power for the Tīrthikas]
12. The passage into Parinirvana
Homage to you who passed beyond suffering on
the undefiled ground of Kusinagara who departed your immortal Vajra-like body in
order to quicken the resolve of lazy followers
Although he had the perfect form of a Tathagata who has thoroughly defeated Mara
and gone beyond birth and death, at the age of eighty, the Buddha decided to
manifest the passing away of his physical body into Parinirvana in order to stir
the majority of his followers, who still clung to the illusions of permanence
and the inherent existence of phenomena, out of their complacency. He handed
over the responsibility for protecting the teachings and the four communities of
disciples to Mahakasyapa, and guided his last disciples, the Gandharva Pramoda
and the mendicant Subhadra, to liberation.
He traveled towards Kusinagara, and came to rest
in a grove of Sala trees outside the city. Seated on a lion throne, he announced
his impending departure from the world, and told his followers that if they had
any remaining doubts concerning the doctrine, now was the time to resolve them.
Ananda replied that there were none. Then, the Buddha lifted his robe to expose
his upper body, and said: “Behold, O monks, the body of the Tathagata, a supreme
rarity in this world. It cannot last, just as all compounded phenomena are
subject to dissolution! Apply yourselves with diligence to the attainment of
liberation!” He then reclined on his right side in the lion pose, and passed
into Parinirvana. The earth shook, and shooting stars were seen in the sky.
[View Image no. 10 : The Lord Buddha passing
into Great Parinirvana]
Those monks who had received his teachings felt
ashamed and dejected that they had not striven harder under his guidance, and
those who were too young to have met the Buddha felt miserable at having missed
the opportunity, and as all re-doubled their efforts to master the teaching, the
number of those who attained the Four Transcendental Stages greatly increased.
But it is said that the Buddha’s closest disciple, his kinsman Ananda, could not
contain his sorrow and stood alone in the Sala grove, weeping.
After the cremation, ashes and Sarira relics from the pyre were divided among
the Buddha’s followers, and enshrined at the heart of eight great Stupa-s, which
remained to assist the devotion and merit of the faithful.
By virtue of these brief words
in praise
of the deeds of the Bhagavat,
lord of the teachings
may the conduct of all beings be as one
with the conduct of Sugata-s
|
