Part II: It's Been a Long Time (sutra)

Maurice O'C. Walshe, "Great Discourse on the Lineage" (DN 14); Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly

Future Buddha, Thiksey Temple, Ladakh, Himalayan India (Ragg Burns Imaging/flickr.com)

  
CONTINUED FROM PART I

"It is the rule that when a Bodhisattva [a Buddha-to be in his final rebirth] has entered the mother’s womb, four devas come to protect him from the four quarters [of space, the four cardinal directions in the sky], saying:
  
"Let no person, no non-human being, no thing whatsoever harm this bodhisattva or this bodhisattva's mother!" That is the rule.

   

"It is the rule that when a Bodhisattva has entered his mother’s womb, his mother becomes by nature virtuous, refraining from taking life, from taking what is not given, from sexual misconduct [and so a "virgin" just in this sense of the word, someone refraining from misconduct], from false speech, and from strong drink and sloth producing drugs. That is the rule.

   

"It is the rule that when a Bodhisattva has entered his mother’s womb, she has no sensual thoughts connected with a man, and she cannot be overcome by any man with lustful thoughts. That is the rule.

   

"It is the rule that when a Bodhisattva has entered his mother’s womb she enjoys the fivefold pleasures of the [five] senses and takes delight, being endowed and possessed of them. That is the rule.

   

"It is the rule that when a Bodhisattva has entered his mother’s womb, she has no sickness of any kind. She is at ease and without fatigue of body, and she can see the Bodhisattva inside her womb, complete with all his members and faculties. 

   

"Disciples, it is as if a gem, a beryl, pure, excellent, well cut into eight facets, clear, bright, flawless, and perfect in every respect, were strung on a blue, yellow, red, white, or orange cord. And a person with good eyesight, taking it in hand would describe it as such. Thus does the Bodhisattva’s mother, with no sickness, see him, complete with all his members and faculties. That is the rule.

   

"It is the rule that when a Bodhisattva’s mother dies seven days after his birth she is reborn in the Tusita world. That is the rule.

   

"It is the rule that whereas other women carry the child in their womb for nine or ten [lunar] months before giving birth, it is not so with the Bodhisattva’s mother, who carries him for exactly ten months before giving birth. That is the rule.

• NOTE: Whereas average human gestation is 9 months (9 x  30 =) or 270 days, the Buddha is saying that a buddha-to-be takes 10 extra days: 10 lunar months (10 x 28 =) or 280 days. 

It is the rule that whereas other women give birth sitting or lying down, it is not so with the Bodhisattva’s mother, who gives birth standing up [which is the natural way to do it so that gravity assists rather than fights against the process]. That is the rule.

The Buddha under the Bodhi tree (Magalie L'Abbe, magtravels/flickr.com)

     

It is the rule that when the Bodhisattva issues forth from his mother's womb, devas [subtle unseen beings of light] welcome him first then humans. That is the rule.

   

It is the rule that when the Bodhisattva issues forth from his mother's womb, he does not touch the earth. Four devas receive him and place him before his mother, saying, "Rejoice, your majesty, a mighty son has been born to you!" That is the rule.

   

"It is the rule that when the Bodhisattva issues from his mother's womb, he issues forth stainless, that is, not covered by water [amniotic fluid], mucus, blood, or any stain, pure and spotless. Just as when a jewel is laid on fine cloth [Kasi muslin, a famously high grade of cloth from Benares], the jewel does not stain the muslin, or the muslin the jewel. Why not? Because of the purity of both.

  

"In the same way the Bodhisattva issues forth stainless, not stained by water, mucus, blood, or any stain, pure and spotless. [One of the 80 "marks of a great person" in Vedic literature, which are attributed to the Buddha, is that dust and grime does not adhere to his skin.] That is the rule.

   

"It is the rule that when the Bodhisattva issues forth from his mother's womb, two streams of water appear from the sky, one cold, the other warm, with which they [the angelic devas] ritually wash the bodhisattva and his mother. That is the rule.

   

"It is the rule that as soon as he is born the Bodhisattva takes a firm stance on both feet, facing north, then takes seven strides, and then under a white sunshade he scans the four quarters [where the devas came from], and then declares with a bull-like voice, "I am chief in the world, supreme in the world, eldest in the world. This is my last birth. There will be no more again-becoming [rebirth]. That is the rule.

• NOTE: This feat seems preposterous and unlikely, a product of great faith making the Buddha out to be more divine (deva) than human. He does not know if he will succeed in that lifetime. He is not born knowing that he will even set off on the path to enlightenment. There is a chance he will become a world monarch (chakravartin). It is not "the rule" that he has to strive in a particular life. Moreover, it would seem to be something those present would have made a big deal about. They would have told the king, who then would not have been surprised that his child set off on the path of an ascetic rather than a king. One also sees in this embroidery that what was true for the historical Buddha was extrapolated to previous ones.

"It is the rule that when the Bodhisattva issues from his mother's womb there appears in this world with its devas, maras, and brahmas, its ascetics and Brahmins, princes and people an immeasurable, splendid light surpassing the glory of the most powerful devas. This is the rule.

   

"Disciples, when Prince Vipassi was born, they showed him to King Bandhuma and said, ‘Your majesty, a son has been born to you. Deign, sire, to look at him." 

   

"The king looked at the prince then said to the Brahmins skilled in reading signs: ‘You gentlemen are skilled in signs. Examine the prince.'

   

"The Brahmins examined the prince and said to King Bandhuma, ‘Sire, rejoice, for a mighty son has been born to you. It is a gain for you sire, it is a great profit for you, sire, that such a son has been born into your family. Sire, this prince is endowed with the 32 [major] marks of a great person [of which there are 80 in full, which he has].
  
"To such a person, only two courses in life are open. If he lives the household life, he will become a ruler, a wheel-turning righteous monarch who rules by dharma [righteousness], a conqueror of the four quarters who has established the security of his realm and is possessed of the seven treasures. These treasures are: the Wheel Treasure [which seems to refer to armed flying disk craft, "wheels within wheels" turning in effortless flight], the Elephant Treasure, the Horse Treasure, the Jewel Treasure, the Woman Treasure, the Householder Treasure and, as seventh, the Counselor Treasure. He has more than a thousand sons who are heroes, of heroic stature, conquerors of the hostile army. He dwells having conquered this sea-girt land [Greater India surrounded by seas] without stick or sword, but by dharma. But if he goes forth from the household life into homelessness [as a spiritual seeker], he will become an arhat, a fully-enlightened one, one who draws back the veil [of ignorance] from the world.

 
The Marks of a Great Person
"And what, sire, are these 32 marks of a great person?

1. He has feet with level tread.
2. On the soles of his feet are wheels with a thousand spokes.
3. He has projecting heels.
4. He has long fingers and toes.
5. He has soft and tender hands and feet.
6. His hands and feet are net-like (webbed).
7. He has high raised ankles.
8. His legs are like an antelope's.
9. Standing and without bending, he can touch and rub his knees with either hand.
10. His male organs are enclosed in a sheath.
11. His complexion is bright, the color of gold.
12. His skin is delicate and so smooth that no dust adheres to it.
13. His body hairs are separate, one to each pore.
14. They grow upwards, bluish-black like collyruim, growing in rings to the right.
15. His body is divinely straight.
16. He has the seven convex surfaces.
17. The front part of his body is like a lion’s.
18. There is no hollow between his shoulders.
19. He is proportioned like a banyan-tree: his height is as the span of his arms.
20. His bust is evenly rounded.
21. He has a perfect sense of taste.
22. He has jaws like a lion's.
23. He has 40 teeth.
24. His teeth are even.
25. There are no spaces between his teeth.
26. His canine teeth are very bright.
27. His tongue is very long.
28. He has a Brahma-like voice, like that of the [Himalayan] Karavika-bird.
29. His eyes are deep blue.
30. He has eyelashes like a cow’s.
31. The hair between his eyebrows is white and soft like cotton down.
32. His head is like a royal turban....

"Then the Bodhisattva, having retired to a secluded spot, had this thought: ‘It is not proper for me to live with a crowd like this. I must live alone, withdrawn from this crowd.’ So after a while he left the crowd and dwelled alone. The 84,000 ["a very large number" not an actual quantity] citizens went one way, and the Bodhisattva another.
  
"Then, when the Bodhisattva had entered his dwelling alone, in a secluded spot, he thought: 'This world, alas, is in a sorry state: There is birth and decay. There is death and falling into other [miserable and uncertain] states of being reborn [again and again]. And no one knows any way of escape from this suffering [disappointment], this aging and this death. When will deliverance be found from this suffering, this aging and death?"
  
"And then, disciples, the Bodhisattva thought, "With what being present does aging and death occur? What conditions [serves as the basis for] aging and death?" And then, disciples, as a result of wisdom born of profound consideration the realization dawned on him:

1. "Birth being present, aging and death occur; birth conditions aging and death."
2. "Then he thought, "What conditions birth?" 
3. And the realization dawned on him, "Becoming conditions birth"…
4. "What conditions becoming?"… "Clinging conditions becoming."…
5. "Craving conditions clinging"…
6. "Feeling conditions craving."…
7. "Contact conditions feeling"…
8. "The six sense bases condition contact"…
9. "Mind and body condition the six sense bases"…
10. "Consciousness conditions mind and body"…
11. And then the Bodhisattva Vipassi thought, "With what being present does consciousness occur? What conditions consciousness?"
12. And then, as a result of the wisdom born of profound consideration, the realization dawned on him, "Mind and body conditions consciousness.’"

Existence is Dependently Originated
"Then, disciples, the Bodhisattva Vipassi thought:

1. "This consciousness turns back at mind-and-body; it does not go any further.
2. To this extent there is birth and decay, there is death and falling into other states of being reborn, namely:
3. mind-and-body conditions consciousness;
4. consciousness conditions mind-and-body;
5. mind-and-body conditions the six sense bases;
6. the six sense bases condition contact;
7. contact conditions feeling;
8. feeling conditions craving;
9. craving conditions clinging;
10. clinging conditions becoming;
11. becoming conditions birth;
12. birth conditions [suffering manifesting as] aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and distress. And thus this whole mass of suffering has its origin."

And at the thought, "Origin, origin," there arose in the Bodhisattva Vipassi, with insight into things never realized before, knowledge, wisdom, awareness, and light.

  
"Then he thought, "What now being absent does aging and death not occur? With the cessation of what comes the cessation of aging and death?"

 

"Then, as a result of the wisdom born of profound consideration, the realization dawned on him: 'This world, alas, is in a sorry state: there is birth and decay, there is death and falling into other states of being reborn. And no one knows any way of escape from this suffering, this aging and death. When will deliverance be found from this suffering, this aging and death?"

1. "Birth being absent, aging and death does not occur.
2. With the cessation of birth comes the cessation of aging and death...
3. With the cessation of what comes the cessation of birth? ...
4. With the cessation of becoming comes the cessation of birth...
5. With the cessation of clinging comes the cessation of becoming...
6. With the cessation of craving comes the cessation of clinging...
7. With the cessation of feeling comes the cessation of craving...
8. With the cessation of contact comes the cessation of feeling...
9. With the cessation of the six sense bases comes the cessation of contact...
10. With the cessation of mind and body comes the cessation of the six sense bases...
11. With the cessation of consciousness comes the cessation of mind and body...
12. With the cessation of mind and body comes the cessation of consciousness."

TO BE CONTINUED

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It's Been a Long Time (sutra)

Maurice O'C. Walshe, "Great Discourse on the Lineage" (DN 14); Dhr. Seven, Wisdom Quarterly 

The Buddha-to-come (Ragg Burns Imaging)

Thus have I heard. Once the Buddha was staying at Savatthi, in Anathapindika’s Park in Jeta’s Grove, in the Kareri hutment.

   
And among a number of monastics who had gathered together after their meal, after gathering alms, sitting in the Kareri Pavilion, there arose a serious discussion on past lives. They said: "This is how it was in a past life!" "That is how it was!"

   

The Buddha, with his purified divine-ear faculty surpassing that of humans, heard what they were talking about. Getting up from his seat, he went to the Kareri Pavilion, sat down on the prepared seat, and said:
  
"Disciples, what was your conversation as you sat together? What discussion did I interrupt?" and they told him.

Sri Lankan pilgrims in Jeta's Grove, Savatthi, India

  

"Well, disciples, would you like to hear a proper discourse on past lives?"

  

"Venerable sir, it is time for that! Well-Farer, it is time for that! If the Blessed One were to give a proper discourse on past lives, the monastics would listen and remember it!"

   

"Well then, disciples, listen, pay close attention, and I will speak."

   

"Yes, venerable sir" they replied, and the Buddha spoke:

Japan's massive contribution to Bodh Gaya, India (sairamtangirala)

 

The Buddha detailed two dozen previous ones

"Ninety-one aeons ago the Venerable One, the Arhat, the fully enlightened Buddha Vipassi arose in the world. Thirty-one aeons ago, the Buddha Sikhi arose; in the same thirty-first aeon before Buddha Vessabhu arose. And in this present fortunate aeon the Buddhas Kakusandha, Konagamana, and Kassapa arose in the world.
   
"And, disciples, in this present fortunate aeon I, too, have now arisen in the world as the Arhat, the fully enlightened [teaching] Buddha.

   

The Buddha Vipassi was born to the warrior [royal or noble] caste, and arose in a warrior family, and the Buddha Sikhi likewise, and the Buddha Vessabhu likewise. The Buddha Kakusandha was born to the Brahmin caste and arose in a Brahmin family; the Buddha Konagamana likewise, and the Buddha Kassapa likewise. And I, disciples, who am now the Arhat and fully-enlightened Buddha, was born to the warrior caste and arose in a warrior family.

  

"The Buddha Vipassi was of the Kondanna clan; the Buddha Sikhi likewise, and the Buddha Vessabhu likewise. The Buddha Kakusandha was of the Kassapa clan, the Buddha Konagamana likewise, and the Buddha Kassapa likewise. I who am now the Arhat and fully-enlightened Buddha, am of the Gotama [Sanskrit, Gautama] clan.

   

"In the time of the Buddha Vipassi the [ordinary human] lifespan was 80,000 years; in the time of the Buddha Sikhi 70,000; in the time of the Buddha Vessabhu 60,000; in the time of the Buddha Kakusandha 40,000; in the time of the Buddha Konagamana 30,000; in the time of the Buddha Kassapa it was 20,000. In my time [~588 BC] the lifespan is short, limited, and quick to pass: It is seldom that anybody lives to be 100."
  
[There will, however, come a time when it is reduced to 10 years then will increase again to many tens of thousands because these things are cyclical and based on karma.]

 

"The Buddha Vipassi gained full enlightenment at the foot of a trumpet flower tree; the Buddha Sikhi under a white mango tree; the Buddha Vessabhu under a Sal tree; the Buddha Kakusandha under an acacia tree; the Buddha Konagamana under a fig tree; the Buddha Kassapa under a Banyan tree; and I became fully enlightened at the foot of an Assattha tree [presumably another name for the pipal Bodhi tree, a kind of fig known technically as Ficus religiosa]....

Thus the Buddha spoke, and the Well-Farer then rose from his seat and went to his lodging.

   

Remembering past lives

Soon after the Buddha had gone, another discussion arose among the monastic disciples:

   

"It is marvelous, friends! It is wonderful, the Tathagata’s great power and ability -- the way he recalls the past buddhas who have gained ultimate nirvana, having cut off the hindrances, cut off the [otherwise endless] road of craving, put an end to the round of becoming, and overcome all suffering!

 

"He recalls their birth, their name, their clan, their lifespan, the disciples, and assemblies connected with them, ‘Being born thus, these Blessed Ones were such and such, such were their names, their clans, their discipline, their Dharma [Doctrine, Teaching], their wisdom, their liberation.’

 

"Well now, friends, how did the Tathagata come by the penetrative-superknowledge through which he remembers? Did some deva [light being] reveal this knowledge to him?" This was the conversation of those disciples.

  

Then the Buddha, rising from the seclusion of the rest period, went to the Kareri Pavilion, sat down on the prepared seat, and said: "Monastics, what was your conversation as you sat together? What discussion did I interrupt?" And they told him.

   

"The Tathagata understands these things by his own penetration of the principles of the Dharma. And [super long lived] devas have told him, too.
  
Buddhas of the past   

Buddha from Above (JFlybring/flickr.com)

"Well, disciples, do you wish to hear still more about past lives?"
  
"Venerable sir, it is time for that! Well-Farer, it is time for that! If the Blessed One were to give a proper discourse on past lives, the monastics would listen and remember it."

   

"Well then, disciples, listen, pay close attention, and I will speak."

   

"Yes, venerable sir" they replied, and the Buddha said:

   

"Disciples, 91 aeons ago the Buddha, the Arhat, the fully enlightened Buddha Vipassi arose in the world. He was born to the warrior caste, and arose in a warrior family. He was of the Kondanna clan. The span of his life was 80,000 years. He gained full enlightenment at the foot of a trumpet flower tree. He had the pair of noble disciples Khanda and Tissa as his chief [male] followers. He had three assemblies of disciples: one of 6,800,000, one of 100,000, and one of 80,000 monastics, all arhats.

   

His chief personal attendant was the monk Asoka. His father was King Bandhuma, his mother Queen Bandhumati. The king's capital was Bandhumati.

   

"And so, disciples, the Bodhisattva [buddha-to-be] Vipassi descended from the Tusita space world, mindful and clearly aware, into his mother's womb. This, disciples, is the rule.
 

The Rules (niyamas)

"It is the rule, disciples, that when a bodhisattva descends from Tusita into his mother’s womb, there appears in this world with its devas maras, and brahmas [deities, killers, creators], its ascetics (shamanas) and Brahmins (brahmanas), princes and people, an immeasurable and splendid light surpassing the glory of the most powerful devas. 

   

"And whatever dark spaces lay beyond the world's end [in interstitial space between world-systems,  perhaps solar systems or galaxies, which are conceived of as bubble-shaped], chaotic, blind and black, such that they are not even reached by the mighty rays of sun and moon, are yet illumined by this immeasurable and splendid light surpassing the glory of the most powerful devas.

   

"And those beings* who have been reborn there recognize each other by this light and know, ‘Other beings, too, have been born here!’ And this ten-thousandfold world system trembles and quakes and convulses. And this immeasurable and splendid light shines forth. That is the rule." TO BE CONTINUED

• *These beings are categorized as hellions (narakas) in one of the worst hell realms of isolation and total desolation rather than the overt pain of the various tormenting hells (niraya) such as Avici. Such rebirth destinations are said to be reserved for the worst of living beings who have exhausted their time in tormented worlds but whose karma (deeds) were so odious as to leave them cast off in the dark and alone for a long time. No hell is actually eternal no matter how long it lasts.

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