BUDDHA’S ENLIGHTENMENT: THE BO TREE, BATTLE WITH MARA AND AFTERWARDS

BUDDHA'S ENLIGHTENMENT

20120430-Nirvana Uder teh Tree if Life ind Ex.jpg
Buddha beneath the Bo Tree One night, the Buddha sat under a bodhi tree determined to find an answer to the questions of why there is suffering and death. Although some traditions differ on the exact nature of his enlightenment that night, biographers agree that Gautama Siddhartha achieved the status of a Buddha. He eliminated the ignorance that trapped individuals in the suffering (duhkha) associated with the endless cycle of reincarnation

Siddhartha experienced this "Great Enlightenment" or "The Awakening" at the age of 35 and became a Buddha. He realized that the causes of human suffering lay in the attachment to physical desires of all kinds, and as long as this was so, the karma-laden souls of living creatures were destined to suffer endless rebirths. Only with the complete elimination of worldly attachments could one reach release into a state of eternal selfless bliss, nirvana. [Source: Rajan Thapaliya. Huffington Post, May 24, 2016; Steven M. Kossak and Edith W. Watts, The Art of South, and Southeast Asia, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York]]

Siddhartha meditated under a bodhi tree (Bo tree, fiscus tree, pipal tree) near the Ganges at a place now known as Bodh Gaya ("enlightenment place"). According to some accounts he sat meditating overnight. According to others he was there for days even weeks. When Siddhartha approached the sacred tree "a high ranking serpent, who was as strong as a King elephant" was awakened by "the incomparable sound of his footsteps" and saluted Siddhartha who then seated himself in the lotus cross-legged position and did not move until he had received the enlightenment. Siddhartha's process of enlightenment had begun in his earlier life, for the enlightenment can not be attained in only one life. The scientific name of the bodhi tree is “Ficus religiosa”.

At first Siddhartha’s head was filled with fears and doubts. But after a while he began to relax. Siddhartha continued to sit after his enlightenment, meditating beneath the tree and then standing beside it for a number of weeks. During the fifth or sixth week, he was beset by heavy rains while meditating but was protected by the hood of the serpent king Muchilinda.

Websites and Resources on Buddhism: Buddha Net buddhanet.net/e-learning/basic-guide ; Wikipedia article Wikipedia ; Internet Sacred Texts Archive sacred-texts.com/bud/index ; Introduction to Buddhism webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/buddhaintro ; Early Buddhist texts, translations, and parallels, SuttaCentral suttacentral.net ; East Asian Buddhist Studies: A Reference Guide, UCLA web.archive.org ; View on Buddhism viewonbuddhism.org ; Tricycle: The Buddhist Review tricycle.org ; BBC - Religion: Buddhism bbc.co.uk/religion ; A sketch of the Buddha's Life accesstoinsight.org ; What Was The Buddha Like? by Ven S. Dhammika buddhanet.net ; Jataka Tales (Stories About Buddha) sacred-texts.com ; Illustrated Jataka Tales and Buddhist stories ignca.nic.in/jatak ; Buddhist Tales buddhanet.net ; Arahants, Buddhas and Bodhisattvas by Bhikkhu Bodhi accesstoinsight.org

Siddhartha’s Preparations for The Enlightenment

During the six years after he left his family, Siddhartha quickly mastered meditation with a variety of teachers, but he became frustrated and believed that there must be more to meditation than just temporary trances. As a result, he embarked on a journey with five other shramanas, and together they began a rigorous ascetic lifestyle. Siddhartha dedicated himself to this radical lifestyle for several years, reaching a point where he could meditate for days with minimal food. According to his life story, he was able to survive on a daily diet of just one sesame seed, one grain of rice, or one jujube. [Source: Jacob Kinnard, Worldmark Encyclopedia of Religious Practices, 2018, Encyclopedia.com]

Eventually he reached a state in which he was barely breathing, barely alive: The the Majjhima Nikaya reads: "Because of so little nourishment, all my limbs became like some withered creepers with knotted joints; my buttocks like a buffalo's hoof; my back-bone protruding like a string of balls; my ribs like rafters of a dilapidated shed; the pupils of my eyes appeared sunk deep in their sockets as water appears shining at the bottom of a deep well; my scalp became shriveled and shrunk as a bitter gourd cut unripe becomes shriveled and shrunk by sun and wind … the skin of my belly came to be cleaving to my back-bone; when I wanted to obey the calls of nature, I fell down on my face then and there; when I stroked my limbs with my hand, hairs rotted at the roots fell away from my body"

During meditation, Siddhartha recalled a moment from his childhood when he experienced a state of calmness and balance while watching a plough turn the earth. This simple vision made him realize that he needed to find a middle path between the extreme asceticism he had been practicing (which only leads to more suffering) and the sensual indulgence of his former life in the palace. After being abandoned by his fellow shramanas, who cursed and denounced him as weak-willed, Siddhartha received a simple gift from a passing woman named Sujata: a bowl of rice gruel. With this modest nourishment, he sat down beneath the famous Bo tree near the town of Gaya (now known as Bodh Gaya, the site of the Buddha's enlightenment) and made rapid progress.

Buddha Settles Down Beneath the Bo Tree

According to a Jataka biography of The Buddha The Future Buddha took his noonday rest on the banks of the river, in a grove of sal-trees in full bloom. And at nightfall, at the time the flowers droop on their stalks, he rose up, like a lion when he bestirs himself, and went towards the Bo-tree, along a road which the gods had decked, and which was eight usabhas wide. The snakes, the fairies, the birds, and other classes of beings did him homage with celestial perfumes, flowers, and other offerings, and celestial choruses poured forth heavenly music; so that the ten thousand worlds were filled with these perfumes, garlands, and shouts of acclaim. [Source: Translated from the Introduction to the Jataka (i.685), Internet Indian History Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu

Just then there came from the opposite direction a grass-cutter named Sotthiya, and he was carrying grass. And when he saw the Great Being, that he was a holy man, he gave him eight handfuls of grass. The Future Buddha took the grass, and ascending the throne of wisdom, stood on the southern side and faced the north. Instantly the southern half of the world sank, until it seemed to touch the Avici hell, while the northern half rose to the highest of the heavens.

"Methinks," said the Future Buddha, "this cannot be the place for the attainment of the supreme wisdom;" and walking round the tree with his right side towards it, he came to the western side and faced the east...."Methinks," said the Future Buddha, "this also cannot be the place for the attainment of supreme wisdom;" and walking round the tree with his right side towards it, he came to the eastern side and faced the west. Now it is on the eastern side of their Bo-trees that all The Buddhas have sat cross-legged, and that side neither trembles nor quakes.

Then the Great Being, saying to himself, "This is the immovable spot on which all The Buddhas have planted themselves! This is the place for destroying passion's net!" took hold of his handful of grass by one end, and shook it out there. And straightway the blades of grass formed themselves into a seat fourteen cubits long, of such symmetry of shape as not even the most skilful painter or carver could design.

Then the Future Buddha turned his back to the trunk of the Bo-tree and faced the east. And making the mighty resolution, "Let my skin, and sinews, and bones become dry, and welcome! and let all the flesh and blood in my body dry up! but never from this seat will I stir, until I have attained the supreme and absolute wisdom!" he sat himself down cross-legged in an unconquerable position, from which not even the descent of a hundred thunder-bolts at once could have dislodged him...

Now deities throughout the ten thousand worlds were busy singing the praises of the Great Being. Sakka, the king of the gods, was blowing the conch-shell Vijayuttara. (This conch, they say, was a hundred and twenty cubits long, and when once it had been filled with wind, it would sound for four months before it stopped). The great black snake-king sang more than a hundred laudatory verses. And Maha-Brahma stood holding aloft the white umbrella

Buddha’s Battle with Mara

During his long meditation, Siddhartha was tempted by the demon Mara, Lord of Passions, and his three devilish sons (Furry, Gaiety, and Sullen Pride) and three voluptuous daughters (Discontent, Delight and Thirst) and a host of other demons. Mara didn’t want the Buddha to teach others how to receive nirvana. He tempted The Buddha with his daughters, flung a discus capable of slicing mountains in two, and tried to scare him by unleashing hurricanes and showers of burning rocks which Buddha turned to lotus petals when they approached him.

battle with Mara

According to a biography of The Buddha in the Jatakas At this point the god Mara, exclaiming, "Prince Siddhattha is desirous of passing beyond my control, but I will never allow it!" went and announced the news to his army, and sounding the Mara war-cry, drew out for battle. Now Mara's army extended in front of him for twelve leagues, and to the right and to the left for twelve leagues, and in the rear as far as to the confines of the world, and it was nine leagues high. And when it shouted, it made an earthquake-like roaring and rumbling over a space of a thousand leagues. And the god Mara, mounting his elephant, which was a hundred and fifty leagues high, and had the name "Girded-with-mountains," caused a thousand arms to appear on his body, and with these he grasped a variety of weapons. Also in the remainder of that army, no two persons carried the same weapon; and diverse also in their appearances and countenances, the host swept on like a flood to overwhelm the Great Being. [Source: Translated from the Introduction to the Jataka (i.685), Internet Indian History Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu

As Mara's army gradually drew near to the throne of wisdom, not one of these gods was able to stand his ground, but each fled straight before him. The black snake-king dived into the ground, and coming to the snake-abode, Manjerika, which was five hundred leagues in extent, he covered his face with both hands and lay down. Sakka slung his conch-shell Vijayuttara over his back, and took up his position on the rim of the world. Maha-Brahma left the white umbrella at the end of the world, and fled to his Brahma-abode. Not a single deity was able to stand his ground, and the Great Being was left sitting alone.

Then said Mara to his followers, "My friends, Siddhattha, the son of Suddhodana, is far greater than any other man, and we shall never be able to fight him in front. We will attack him from behind." All the gods had now disappeared, and the Great Being looked around on three sides, and said to himself, "There is no one here." Then looking to the north, he perceived Mara's army coming on like a flood, and said,

"Here is this multitude exerting all their strength and power against me alone. My mother and father are not here, nor my brother, nor any other relative. But I have these Ten Perfections, like old retainers long cherished at my board. It therefore behooves me to make the Ten Perfections my shield and my sword, and to strike a blow with them that shall destroy this strong array." And he remained sitting, and reflected on the Ten Perfections.

Mara Unfurls Nine Great Storms Upon The Buddha

According to a biography of The Buddha in the Jatakas: 1) Thereupon the god Mara caused a whirlwind, thinking, "By this will I drive away Siddhattha." Straightway the east wind and all the other different winds began to blow; but although these winds could have torn their way through mountain-peaks half a league, or two leagues, or three leagues high, or have uprooted forest-shrubs and trees, or have educed to powder and scattered in all directions, villages and towns, yet when they reached the Future Buddha, such was the energy of the Great Being's merit, they lost all power and were not able to cause so much as a fluttering of the edge of his priestly robe.

2) Then he caused a great rain-storm, saying, "With water will I overwhelm and drown him." And through his mighty power, clouds of a hundred strata, and clouds of a thousand strata arose, and also the other different kinds. And these rained down, until the earth became gullied by the torrents of water which fell, and until the floods had risen over the tops of every forest-tree. But on coming to the Great Being, this mighty inundation was not able to wet his priestly robes as much as a dew-drop would have done.

3) Then he caused a shower of rocks, in which immense mountain-peaks flew smoking and flaming through the sky. But on reaching the Future Buddha they became celestial bouquets of flowers. 4) Then he caused a shower of weapons, in which single-edged, and double-edged swords, spears, and arrows flew smoking and flaming through the sky. But on reaching the Future Buddha they became celestial flowers. 5) Then he caused a shower of live coals, in which live coals as red as kimsuka flowers flew through the sky. But they scattered themselves at the Future Buddha's feet as a shower of celestial flowers.

6) Then he caused a shower of hot ashes, in which ashes that glowed like fire flew through the sky. But they fell at the Future Buddha's feet as sandal-wood powder. 7) Then he caused a shower of sand, in which very fine sand flew smoking and flaming through the sky. But it fell at the Future Buddha's feet as celestial flowers. 8) Then he caused a shower of mud, in which mud flew smoking and flaming through the sky. But it fell at the Future Buddha's feet as celestial ointment. 9) Then he caused a darkness, thinking, "By this will I frighten Siddhattha, and drive him away." And the darkness became fourfold, and very dense. But on reaching the Future Buddha it disappeared like darkness before the light of the sun.

Buddha Defeats Mara

According to a biography of The Buddha in the Jatakas Mara, being thus unable with these nine storms of wind, rain, rocks, weapons, live coals, hot ashes, sand, mud, and darkness, to drive away the Future Buddha, gave command to his followers, "Look ye now! Why stand ye still! Seize, kill, drive away this prince!" And, arming himself with a discus, and seated upon the shoulders of the elephant "Girded-with-mountains," he drew near the Future Buddha, and said,

"Siddhattha, arise from this seat! It does not belong to you, but to me. When the Great Being heard this he said, "Mara, you have not fulfilled the Ten Perfections in any of their three grades; nor have you made the five great donations;1 nor have you striven for knowledge, nor for the welfare of the world, nor for enlightenment. This seat does not belong to you, but to me."

Unable to restrain his fury, the enraged Mara now hurled his discus. But the Great Being reflected on the Ten Perfections, and the discus changed into a canopy of flowers, and remained suspended over his head. Yet they say that this keen-edged discus, when at other times Mara hurled it in anger, would cut through solid stone pillars as if they had been the tips of bamboo shoots. But on this occasion it became a canopy of flowers. Then the followers of Mara began hurling immense mountain-crags, saying, "This will make him get up from his seat and flee." But the Great Being kept his thoughts on the Ten Perfections, and the crags also became wreaths of flowers, and then fell to the ground.

Buddha's enlightenment, AD 2nd to early 3rd century, Kushan dynasty, Gandhara

Mara stepped up his efforts when he realized that Siddhartha was close to enlightenment, tempted him with his beautiful daughters and threatened him with a powerful army. But Siddhartha touched the ground with his right hand, calling the Earth to witness his resolve to achieve enlightenment and thereby vanquishing Mara. After making a few final attempts to sidetrack Siddhartha from his quest, the demons realized they were dealing with a true Buddha, and they quickly fled in panic. Siddhartha then, "free from the dust of passion, victorious over darkness gloom" fell into a deep trance. When Siddhartha arose, he had become the Buddha.This episode is similar to Jesus's encounter with the devil on the Mount of Temptation.

Mara to the Great Being, "Siddhattha, who is witness to your having given donations?" Your witnesses," replied the Great Being, "are animate beings, and I have no animate witnesses present. However, not to mention the donations which I gave in other existences, the great seven-hundred-fold donation which I gave in my Vessantara existence shall now be testified to by the solid earth, inanimate though she be." And drawing forth his right hand from beneath his priestly robe, he stretched it out towards the mighty earth, and said, "Are you witness, or are you not, to my having given a great seven-hundred-fold donation in my Vessantara existence?"

And the mighty earth thundered, "I bear you witness!" with a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand roars, as if to overwhelm the army of Mara. Now while the Great Being was thus calling to mind the donation he gave in his Vessantara existence, and saying to himself, "Siddhattha, that was a great and excellent donation which you gave," the hundred-and-fifty-league-high elephant "Girded-with-mountains" fell upon his knees before the Great Being. And the followers of Mara fled away in all directions. No two went the same way, but leaving their head-ornaments and their cloaks behind, they fled straight before them.

Then the hosts of the gods, when they saw the army of Mara flee, cried out, "Mara is defeated! Prince Siddhattha has conquered! Let us go celebrate the victory!" And the snakes egging on the snakes, the birds the birds, the deities the deities, and the Brahma-angels the Brahma-angels, they came with perfumes, garlands, and other offerings in their hands to the Great Being on the throne of wisdom. And as they came,

"The victory now hath this illustrious Buddha won! The Wicked One, the Slayer, hath defeated been!" Thus round the throne of wisdom shouted joyously The bands of snakes their songs of victory for the Sage; The victory now hath this illustrious Buddha won! The Wicked One, the Slayer, hath defeated been!" Thus round the throne of wisdom shouted joyously The flocks of birds their songs of victory for the Sage; The victory now hath this illustrious Buddha won! The Wicked One, the Slayer, hath defeated been!" Thus round the throne of wisdom shouted joyously The bands of gods their songs of victory for the Sage;

Buddha Attains Enlightenment

Mara threw at Siddhartha temptations of all kinds and also tried to distract him with fear, delusion, and the fear of death. In defeating Mara, Siddhartha metaphorically overcame all such obstacles and quickly attained enlightenment, or bodhi (awakening). Siddhartha is said to have experienced the Enlightenment when he learned that the way to escape hardship was to renounce all desires. At that moment “the heavens felt exceedingly joyous, the herd of beasts, as well as birds, made no noise at all, and even the trees ceased to rustle when struck by the wind." From 6:00pm to 10:00pm on the first night of the enlightenment Siddhartha recalled his former lives and the thousands of births and deaths he had experienced. He saw that life was "as unsubstantiated as the pith of a plantain tree" and concluded that "this world is unprotected and helpless, and like a wheel it turns round and round."

From 10:00pm to 2:00am he attained "the perfectly pure heavenly eye" and saw that rebirth of beings depended on the merit of their deeds, but "he found nothing substantial in the world of becoming, just as no core of heartwood is found in a plantain tree when its layers are peeled off one by one." In the third watch of his first night, from 2:00am to 6:00pm he saw how greed, delusion and ignorance produced evil and kept mankind from escaping the cycle of rebirth. After a night of spiritual searching, Siddhartha reached a transcendent state where everything was clear. "From the summit of the world downwards he could detect no self anymore."

Immediately afterwards Mara approached him again, this time to try and convince The Buddha to return to the enlightened state. Mara tried to appeal to Buddha's sense of frustration that the revelations he had experience were too profound and beyond words and reason for people to understand and no one would be able to understand him. The Buddha refused him again.

Sakyamuni Buddha, the moment he reached enlightenment, here from Tawang Gompa in Arunachal Pradesh, India

According to a biography of The Buddha in the Jatakas Now while he was musing on the twelve terms of Dependent Origination, forwards and backwards, round and back again, the ten thousand worlds quaked twelve times, as far as to their ocean boundaries. And when the Great Being, at the dawning of the day, had thus made the ten thousand worlds thunder with his attainment of omniscience, all these worlds became most gloriously adorned. Flags and banners erected on the eastern rim of the world let their streamers fly to the western rim of the world; likewise those erected on the western rim of the world, to the eastern rim of the world; those erected on the northern rim of the world, to the southern rim of the world; and those erected on the southern rim of the world, to the northern rim of the world while those erected on the level of the earth let theirs fly until they beat against the Brahma-world; and those of the Brahma-world let theirs hang down to the level of the earth. Throughout the ten thousand worlds the flowering trees bloomed; the fruit trees were weighted down by their burden of fruit; trunk-lotuses bloomed on the trunks of trees; branch-lotuses on the branches of trees; vine-lotuses on the vines; hanging-lotuses in the sky; and stalk-lotuses burst through the rocks and came up by sevens. The system of ten thousand worlds was like a bouquet of flowers sent whirling through the air, or like a thick carpet of flowers; in the intermundane spaces the eight-thousand-league-long hells, which not even the light of seven suns had formerly been able to illumine, were now flooded with radiance; the eighty-four-thousand-league-deep ocean became sweet to the taste; the rivers checked their flowing; the blind from birth received their sight; the deaf from birth their hearing; the cripples from birth the use of their limbs; and the bonds and fetters of captives broke and fell off.

When thus he had attained to ominiscience, and was the centre of such unparalleled glory and homage, and so many prodigies were happening about him, he breathed forth that solemn utterance which has never been omitted by any of The Buddhas: "Through birth and rebirth's endless round, Seeking in vain, I hastened on, To find who framed this edifice. What misery! - birth incessantly! "O builder! I've discovered thee! This fabric thou shalt ne'er rebuild! Thy rafters all are broken now, And pointed roof demolition lies! This mind has demolished reached, And seen the last of all desire!" The period of time, therefore, from the existence in the Tusita Heaven to this attainment of omniscience on the throne of wisdom, constitutes the Intermediate Epoch.

After the Enlightenment the Buddha Proclaims 'I Am the Holy One in this World, I Am the Highest Teacher'

According to 'Mahavagga,' I, 7-9: “Now Upaka, a man belonging to. the Ajivaka sect (i.e. the sect of naked ascetics), saw the Blessed One travelling on the road, between Gayd and the Bodhi tree; and when he saw him, he said to the Blessed One: 'Your countenance, friend, is serene; your complexion is pure and bright. In whose name, friend, have you retired from the world? Who is your teacher? Whose doctrine do you profess?' [Source: T. W. -Rhys Davids and Hermann Oldenberg, Vinaya Texts, part I, in Sacred Books of the East, XIII, (Oxford, 1881), pp. 90-1, Eliade Page website]

“When Upaka the Ajivaka had spoken thus, the Blessed One addressed him in the following stanzas: 'I have overcome all foes; I am all-wise; I am free from stains in every way; I have left everything; and have obtained emancipation by the destruction of desire. Having myself gained knowledge, whom should I call my master? I have no teacher; no one is equal to me; in the world of men and of gods no being is like me. I am the holy One in this world, I am the highest teacher, I alone am the Absolute Sambuddha; I have gained coolness (by the extinction of all passion) and have obtained Nirvana. To found the Kingdom of Truth I go to the city of the Kasis (Benares), I will beat the drum of the Immortal in the darkness of this world.'

(Upaka replied): 'You profess then, friend, to be the holy, absolute Jina [a Buddha-like figure in Jainism. Buddha said]: 'Like me are all Jinas who have reached extinction of the Asavas; I have overcome all states of sinfulness; therefore, Upaka, am I the Jina.' When he had spoken thus, Upaka, the Ajivaka replied: 'It may be so, friend': shook his head, took another road, and went away.

Image of minfulness and wisdom: The Abhayamudra hand pose shown here where the hands (or right hand) are held upright with the palm facing outwards is meant to dispel fear and bring divine protection and bliss to the devotee; It is the first mudra after Buddha's enlightenment (the gesture is found in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain iconography and practice)

First Events After Buddha’s Enlightenment

After his Enlightenment, The Maha-Vagga reads: “The Buddha, The Blessed One, was dwelling at Uruvela at the foot of the Bo-tree on the banks of the river Neranjara, having just attained the Buddhaship. Then The Blessed One sat cross-legged for seven days together at the foot of the Bo-tree experiencing the bliss of emancipation. [Source: Translated from the Maha-Vagga, and constituting the opening sections. Hail to that Blessed One, that Saint, and Supreme Buddha! Internet Indian History Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu

Then The Blessed One, during the first watch of the night, thought over Dependent Origination both forward and back: On ignorance depends karma; On karma depends consciousness; On consciousness depend name and form; On name and form depend the six organs of sense; On the six organs of sense depends contact; On contact depends sensation; On sensation depends desire; On desire depends attachment; On attachment depends existence; On existence depends birth; On birth depend old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief, and despair.

Thus does this entire aggregation of misery arise. But on the complete fading out and cessation of ignorance ceases karma; on the cessation of karma ceases consciousness; on the cessation of consciousness cease name and form; on the cessation of name and form cease the six organs of sense; on the cessation of the six organs of sense ceases contact; on the cessation of contact ceases sensation; on the cessation of sensation ceases desire; on the cessation of desire ceases attachment; on the cessation of attachment ceases existence; on the cessation of existence ceases birth; on the cessation of birth cease old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief, and despair. Thus does this entire aggregation of misery cease. Then The Blessed One, concerning this, on that occasion, breathed forth this solemn utterance, "When to the strenuous, meditative Brahman There come to light the elements of being, Then vanish all his doubts and eager questions, What time he knows The Elements have Causes."

Then The Blessed One, during the middle watch of the night, thought over Dependent Origination both forward and back: - On ignorance depends karma. . . . Thus does this entire aggregation of misery arise. But on the complete fading out and cessation of ignorance ceases karma. . . . Thus does this entire aggregation of misery cease. Then The Blessed One, concerning this, on that occasion, breathed forth this solemn utterance, "When to the strenuous, meditative Brahman There come to light the elements of being, Then vanish all his doubts and eager questions, What time he knows How Causes have an Ending."

Then The Blessed One, during the last watch of the night, thought over Dependent Origination both forward and back: - On ignorance depends karma. . . . Thus does this entire aggregation of misery arise. But on the complete fading out and cessation of ignorance ceases karma. . . . Thus does this entire aggregation of misery cease. Then The Blessed One, concerning this, on that occasion, breathed forth this solemn utterance, "When to the strenuous, meditative Brahman There come to light the elements of being, Then scattereth he the hordes of Mara's army; Like to the sun that lightens all the heavens."

Buddha Ponders: Must I Now Preach What I So Hardly Won?

'Majjhima-.nikaya,' XXVI from the 'Ariya-pariyesana-sutta' reads: “I have attained, thought I, to this Doctrine profound, recondite, hard to comprehend, serene, excellent, beyond dialectic, abstruse, and only to be perceived by the learned. But mankind delights, takes delight, and is happy in what it clings on to, so that for it, being thus minded it is hard to understand causal relations and the chain of causation, hard to understand the stilling of all artificial forces, or the renunciation of all worldly ties, the extirpation of craving, passionlessness, peace and Nirvana. Were I to preach the Doctrine, and were others not to understand it, that would be labour and annoyance to me ! [Source: Translation by Lord Chalmers, Further Dialogues of the Buddha, I (London, 1926), pp. 118-119, Eliade Page website]

Tibetan Buddhist parable of the Arhats

Yes, and on the instant there flashed across my mind these verses, which no man had heard before:
Must I now preach what I so hardly won?
Men sunk in sin and lusts would find it hard
to plumb this Doctrine,-up stream all the way,
abstruse, profound, most subtle, hard to grasp.
Dear lusts will blind them that they shall not see,
-in densest mists of ignorance befogged.

As thus I pondered, my heart inclined to rest quiet and not to preach my Doctrine. But, Brahma Sahampati's mind came to know what thoughts were passing within my mind, and he thought to himself: The world is undone, quite undone, inasmuch as the heart of the Truth-finder inclines to rest quiet and not to preach his Doctrine I Hereupon, as swiftly as a strong man might stretch out his arm or might draw back his outstretched arm, Brahma Sahampati vanished from the Brahma-world and appeared before me. Towards me he came with his right shoulder bared, and with his clasped hands stretched out to me in reverence, saying:-May it please the Lord, may it please the Blessed One, to preach his doctrine ! Beings there are whose vision is but little dimmed, who are perishing because they do not hear the Doctrine;-these will understand it !

Buddha Remembers His Earlier Existences

The 'Majjhima-nikaya,' IV in the 'Bhaya-bherava-sutta reads: “With heart thus steadfast, thus clarified and purified, clean and cleansed of things impure, tempered and apt to serve, established and immutable,-it was thus that I applied my heart to the knowledge which recalled my earlier existences. I called to mind my divers existences in the past,-a single birth, then two . . . [and so on to] . . . a hundred thousand births, many an aeon of disintegration of the world, many an aeon of its reintegration, and again many an aeon both of its disintegration and of its reintegration. In this or that former existence, I remembered, such and such was my name, my sect, my class, my diet, my joys and sorrows, and my term of life. When I passed thence, I came by such and such subsequent existence, wherein such and such was my name and so forth. Thence I passed to my life here. Thus did I call to mind my divers existences of the past in all their details and features.-This, brahmin, was the first knowledge attained by me, in the first watch of that night,-ignorance dispelled and knowledge won, darkness dispelled and illumination won, as befitted my strenuous and ardent life, purged of self. [Source: Translation by Lord Chalmers, Further Dialogues of the Buddha, I (London, 1926), pp. 15-17, Eliade Page website]

That same steadfast heart I now applied to knowledge of the passage hence, and re-appearance elsewhere, of other beings. With the Eye Celestial, which is pure and far surpasses the human eye, I saw things in the act of passing hence and of re-appearing elsewhere,-being high and low, fair or foul to view, in bliss or woe; I saw them all faring according to their past. Here were beings given over to evil in act, word and thought, who decried the Noble and had a wrong outlook and became what results from such wrong outlook;-these, at the body's dissolution after death, made their appearance in states of suffering, misery and tribulation and in purgatory. Here again were beings given to good in act, word and thought, who did not decry the Noble, who had the right outlook and became what results from right outlook;-these, at the body's dissolution after death, made their appearance in states of bliss in heaven. All this did I see with the Eye Celestial; and this, brahmin, was the second knowledge attained by me, in the second watch of that night,-ignorance dispelled and knowledge won, darkness dispelled and illumination won, as befitted my strenuous and ardent life, purged of self.

That same steadfast heart I next applied to knowledge of the eradication of Cankers. I comprehended, aright and to the full, the origin of Ill (sickness) , the cessation of Ill, and the course that leads to the cessation of Ill. I comprehend, aright and to the full, what the Cankers were, with their origin, cessation, and the course that leads to their cessation. When I knew this and when I saw this, then my heart was delivered from the Canker of sensuous pleasure, from the Canker of continuing existence, and from the Canker of ignorance; and to me thus delivered came the knowledge of my Deliverance in the conviction-Rebirth is no more; I have lived the highest life; my task is done; and now for me there is no more of what I have been. This, Brahmin, was the third knowledge attained by me, in the third watch of that night,-ignorance dispelled and knowledge won, darkness dispelled and illumination won, as befitted my strenuous and ardent life, purged of self.

Buddha in his past lives

Visiting Places of the Buddha's Enlightenment in the 4th Century

Faxian (A.D. 337– 422 ), a Chinese Buddhist monk who traveled on foot to India, wrote in “A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms": “From this place, after travelling to the west for four yojanas, (the pilgrims) came to the city of Gaya [an ancient city, now second largest city in Bihar after Patna]; but inside the city all was emptiness and desolation. Going on again to the south for twenty le, they arrived at the place where the Bodhisattva for six years practised with himself painful austerities. All around was forest. Three le west from here they came to the place where, when Buddha had gone into the water to bathe, a deva bent down the branch of a tree, by means of which he succeeded in getting out of the pool. [Source: “A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms” by Fa-Hsien (Faxian) of his Travels in India and Ceylon (A.D. 399-414), Translated James Legge, 1886, gutenberg.org/ /]

“Two le north from this was the place where the Gramika girls presented to Buddha the rice-gruel made with milk; and two le north from this (again) was the place where, seated on a rock under a great tree, and facing the east, he ate (the gruel). The tree and the rock are there at the present day. The rock may be six cubits in breadth and length, and rather more than two cubits in height. In Central India the cold and heat are so equally tempered that trees will live in it for several thousand and even for ten thousand years. /

“Half a yojana from this place to the north-east there was a cavern in the rocks, into which the Bodhisattva entered, and sat cross-legged with his face to the west. (As he did so), he said to himself, "If I am to attain to perfect wisdom (and become Buddha), let there be a supernatural attestation of it." On the wall of the rock there appeared immediately the shadow of a Buddha, rather more than three feet in length, which is still bright at the present day. At this moment heaven and earth were greatly moved, and devas in the air spoke plainly, "This is not the place where any Buddha of the past, or he that is to come, has attained, or will attain, to perfect Wisdom. Less than half a yojana from this to the south-west will bring you to the patra tree, where all past Buddhas have attained, and all to come must attain, to perfect Wisdom." When they had spoken these words, they immediately led the way forwards to the place, singing as they did so. As they thus went away, the Bodhisattva arose and walked (after them). At a distance of thirty paces from the tree, a deva gave him the grass of lucky omen, which he received and went on. After (he had proceeded) fifteen paces, 500 green birds came flying towards him, went round him thrice, and disappeared. The Bodhisattva went forward to the patra tree, placed the kusa grass at the foot of it, and sat down with his face to the east. Then king Mara sent three beautiful young ladies, who came from the north, to tempt him, while he himself came from the south to do the same. The Bodhisattva put his toes down on the ground, and the demon soldiers retired and dispersed, and the three young ladies were changed into old (grand-)mothers. At the place mentioned above of the six years' painful austerities, and at all these other places, men subsequently reared stupas and set up images, which all exist at the present day. /

“Where Buddha, after attaining to perfect wisdom, for seven days contemplated the tree, and experienced the joy of vimukti; where, under the patra tree, he walked backwards and forwards from west to east for seven days; where the devas made a hall appear, composed of the seven precious substances, and presented offerings to him for seven days; where the blind dragon Muchilinda encircled him for seven days; where he sat under the nyagrodha tree, on a square rock, with his face to the east, and Brahma-deva came and made his request to him; where the four deva kings brought to him their alms-bowls; where the 500 merchants presented to him the roasted flour and honey; and where he converted the brothers Kasyapa and their thousand disciples;—at all these places stupas were reared. /

“At the place where Buddha attained to perfect Wisdom, there are three monasteries, in all of which there are monks residing. The families of their people around supply the societies of these monks with an abundant sufficiency of what they require, so that there is no lack or stint. The disciplinary rules are strictly observed by them. The laws regulating their demeanour in sitting, rising, and entering when the others are assembled, are those which have been practised by all the saints since Buddha was in the world down to the present day. The places of the four great stupas have been fixed, and handed down without break, since Buddha attained to nirvana. Those four great stupas are those at the places where Buddha was born; where he attained to Wisdom; where he (began to) move the wheel of his Law; and where he attained to pari-nirvana.” /

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: East Asia History Sourcebook sourcebooks.fordham.edu , “Topics in Japanese Cultural History” by Gregory Smits, Penn State University figal-sensei.org, Asia for Educators, Columbia University; Asia Society Museum “The Essence of Buddhism” Edited by E. Haldeman-Julius, 1922, Project Gutenberg, Virtual Library Sri Lanka; “World Religions” edited by Geoffrey Parrinder (Facts on File Publications, New York); “Encyclopedia of the World's Religions” edited by R.C. Zaehner (Barnes & Noble Books, 1959); “Encyclopedia of the World Cultures: Volume 5 East and Southeast Asia” edited by Paul Hockings (G.K. Hall & Company, New York, 1993); BBC, Wikipedia, National Geographic, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Reuters, AP, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides and various books and other publications.

Last updated March 2024