THE CHRONICLE OF BUDDHA GOTAMA AUTHOR: MINGUN SAYADAW

Volume Two, Part One, 1994; Translated by U Ko Lay and U Tin Lwin

Chapter Seven The Attainment of Buddhahood

The Seven Purifications of a Buddha, continued.

The appearance of many miracles on attainment of Buddhahood.

When the Bodhisatta attained Omniscience and became a genuine Buddha in the three worlds of beings, at day break, thereby causing all the ten thousand world systems to vibrate and resound, the whole of the ten thousand world systems reached the height of beauty with decorations as follows:

The colours of cylindrical streamers set up on the edge of the universe in the east reached the edge of the universe in the west, the colours of cylindrical streamers set up on the edge of universe in the west also reached the edge of the universe in the east. Similarly, the colours of the cylindrical streamers set up on the edge of the universe in the south reached the edge of the universe in the north; and the colours of the cylindrical streamers set up on the edge of the universe in the north reached the edge of the universe in the south. The colours of the cylindrical streamers set up on the surface of the earth reached the Brahma world; and the colours of streamers set up in the Brahma world reached the surface of the earth.

All kinds of flowering trees in the ten thousand world-systems blossomed simultaneously irrespective of the season. All kinds of fruitbearing trees also bore fruit in bunches and clusters simultaneously irrespective of the season. Flowers also blossomed strangely on the trunks, branches and creepers. Bunches of flowers dangled from invisible plants in the sky. Lotus flowers on leafless stems blooming strangely, each in seven layers, came out breaking through big slabs of rock which formed the lower stratum of the earth. This being the case, the ten thousand world-systems of jatikkhetta (the realm of birth of a Bodhisatta), quaked gently at that moment and looked like huge spheres of flowers flown up or like well-arranged flower-beds.

Besides these miracles, the thirty-two Great Omens described in the Chapter on the birth of the Bodhisatta also made themselves manifest.

Making the joyful, solemn utterance (Udana).

The Buddha who had thus attained Omniscience and became endowed with all the attributes and glories of Buddhahood reflected thus:

"I have been emancipated indeed from the enormous suffering of samsara: I have achieved indeed the most exhalted state of perfectly Self-Enligtened One, teacher of the three worlds. I have achieved indeed a great victory. I am one who can liberate all the sentient beings from the fetters of the three worlds by preaching the Dhamma."

When he thus reflected, there arose repeatedly in the mind continuum of the Buddha very exceedingly exulting joy (piti); with the tempo of the joy thus appearing repeatedly, the Buddha uttered forth as was the established custom with all the Omniscient Buddha, after achieving Buddhahood, the following two verses of intense joy:

(1) Anekajatisamsaram, sandhavissam anibbisam gahakaram gavesanto, dukkha jati punappunnam.

Unable to cut off the root of repeated existences in samsara taking conception in four ways* is a great misery, for a body from rebirth is followed and oppressed inexorably by ageing, sickness and death, it is no happiness at all but toilsome and distressing. Therefore, as a Bodhisatta, searching the diligent builder of this house of 'Khanda', and not finding him because I had then not yet acquired the great Sabbannuta Nana which discerns clearly the real culprit, namely, Craving the carpenter as the cause of dukkha, I had to wander restlessly revolving with the wheel of samsara although I had no liking for and was in constant fear of the generator (mill) of dukkha, comprising the five aggregates.

(2) Gahakaraka ditthosi, puna geham na kahasi sabba te phasuka bhagga, gahakutam visankhatam visankharamgatam cittam, tanhanam khayamajjhaga.

You!, Craving the carpenter, the wicked cause of suffering diligently building up the house of five aggregates which are enmeshed in dukkha! Now having become a Buddha and being endowed with Sabbannuta Nana I clearly discem you, Craving the house builder! You shall not build again the house of five aggregates intertwined with dukkha, because, your legs, your hands and your life have been cut off four times with axe of the Magga Nana and you are like an uprooted stump. All the rafters of defilements firmly fixed in your decorated house of aggregates have now been broken to pieces without leaving even a slight trace of past tendencies and inherent inclinations. Ignorance (avijja), the king post of the house, which keeps the Four Truths and Nibbana hidden from view and which keeps them far, far away has been pulverised. My mind which is free from dirt-like defilements has reached Nibbana, the palace of peace, out of the scope of samkhara and all suffering of samsara. I, the Supreme Buddha of the three worlds, have realised the Fourth (Arahatta) Maggaphala, extinction of one hundred and eight forms of craving** to the delight and ecomium of the Devas and Brahmas of the ten thousand world systems.

N.B. There are two kinds of udanas--manasa udana, which is uttered only mentally; and vacasa udana, which is uttered verbally. The udana gatha beginning with 'Anekajatisamsaram etc.,' was recited by the Buddha only mentally and thus should be deemed as manasa udana; the udanas in the Udana Pali Text beginning with 'Yada' have patu bhavanti dhamma, etc., were uttered verbally by the Buddha. So these udanas in the Udana Pali Text should be regarded as vacasa udanas.

(The categories of Dhamma mentioned in this Chapter on the attainment of Buddhahood, namely, the Paticcasamuppada, the four Patisambhida' Nanas, the six Asadharana Nanas, the Dasabala Nanas, the CuddasaBuddha Nana, the eighteen Avenika Gunas, and the four vesarajja Nanas, will be described neither too briefly not too elaborately in the Chapter on the Dhamma jewel, Dhammaratana.)

End of Chapter on Attainment of Buddhahood.

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*. Conception in four ways: Four yonis, four ways of being born, namely, andaja oviparous; jalabuja viviparous; sansedaja moisture-sprung; opapatika spontaneous. (P.E.D)

**. One hundred and eight forms of craving: craving, tanha, is the chief root of suffering and is the cause of ever continuing cycle of rebirths. It is synonymous with greed, lobha or raga. Basically, it is of three aspects; sensual craving, kamatanha; craving for rebirth, especially in higher realms (bhava tanha); craving for annihilation (of self). vibhavatanha. Corresponding to the six sense objects, each of these aspects of tanha multiplies into six forms of craving, viz: craving for visible objects, for sounds, odours, tastes, bodily impressions, mental impressions (r|patanha, sadda-tanha, gandha-tanha, rasa-tanha, photthabbha-tanha, dhamma-tanha), thus totalling eighteen forms of craving. Again, taking into consideration three periods of time, as present, past and future, which apply to each of these eighteen forms of tanha, one can distinguish fifty four different forms of craving. Finally, these fifty-four forms of craving can arise in the mind continuum of one's own or of others; thus one hundred and eight forms of craving are enumerable in all.

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To be continued

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