The Great Enlightenment of the Buddha

[Guest guest]

Shankaram Siva Shankaram

 

 

> " Bhikkhu Samahita " <bhikkhu_ekamuni

> Happy Wesak Greetings... !!!

>

> Friends:

>

> The Great Enlightenment of the Buddha:

>

> On this full moon night of May, 2533 years ago the Buddha Awakened...!!!

> May all beings gain advantage & bliss by Celebrating this very Wesak Day!

>

> So indeed it happened as later told by the blessed lord Buddha Himself...

> Source: The Story of The Sakyamuni Gotama Buddha. Well translated by

> Professor N.A. Jayawickrama.

> http://www.pariyatti.com/book.cgi?prod_id==132935

>

> At that time a girl named Sujata Senani lived in Uruvela. When adult,

> she prayed before a certain Banyan tree, that she might get a husband

> equal to herself in caste and that her firstborn may be a son. If so, she

> promised to offer the perceived tree deity the value of 100.000 yearly.

> Her prayer was successful since so indeed did it happen.

> Six years after the Buddha-to-be had started his severe asceticism, she

> desired to pay back the perceived tree deity on the full moon day of the

> month of Vesak. First she put 1000 cows on good grass in the forest.

> The milk from them she fed to 500 cows and the milk from these 500 cows

> she gave to 250 and so on down to feeding such ultra pure milk from

> 16 cows to 8 cows. This process called " Working the milk in & in " made

> the milk more sweet, thick, protein rich & nutritious.

> At the full moon day of Vesak month she rose at early dawn & made the

> cows to be milked. As soon as new buckets were placed under the cows,

> their milk poured forth in streams spontaneously all by itself. Seeing

> this

> miracle Sujata collected the milk herself in a new pot and began to cook

> milk-rice (Kiribath). Seeing the milk boil immediately while rotating

> right

> with large bubbles yet not spilling over & the fire burn without trace of

> smoke, she knew something special was going on.

> When Sujata saw so many miracles appear, she said to her servant girl

> Punna: " Punna, dear girl, the tree deity is very well disposed

> towards us today. Never have I seen so many wonders. Run quickly to

> the Holy tree and get everything clean, neat & ready. " Yes, my lady, "

> answered the girl and ran in hot haste to the foot of the tree.

> Now at that very night the Future Buddha had 5 specific dreams

> that made him conclude after thorough consideration: " Certainly,

> without doubt, today is the very day, I will reach Enlightenment! "

> When the night had passed, he cleaned himself and came early

> before down to that very tree and sat down facing east, to await

> the suitable time for going the begging round. His 5 colored radiance

> illuminated the whole tree.

> Then Punna came. When she saw the streaming radiance from his

> body lighten up the whole tree in a golden color, she became highly

> excited and said to herself: " Our deity, methinks, have come down

> from the tree and has seated himself in order to receive our offering

> with his own hands! " . So she ran in great speed back to Sujata & told

> all about it.

> When Sujata heard this news, she became both thrilled & jubilant! So

> elated, she rewarded the slave Punna by saying: " From this very day

> you may be here as my eldest daughter, " and gave Punna all such

> jewellery appropriate for that position.

> Since all Buddhas on the day of Buddhahood receive their food on a

> golden dish, the idea occurred to Sujata to put the milk-rice & a golden

> plate worth 100.000. The milk-rice poured out from the pot as water

> from a lotus leaf & filled exactly the golden dish. Covering it with

> another golden dish and wrapping it in a white cloth, she adorned herself

> with all her ornaments and proceeded with the dish on her head to

> the foot of the Banyan tree. As soon as she caught sight of the

> Future Buddha, she became exceedingly overjoyed & ecstatic.

> Expecting him to be the tree deity, she approached while constantly

> bowing. She took down the golden dish from her head & uncovered

> it. Advancing close to the Buddha-to-be she put down a golden vase

> with flower scented water.

> Sujata then placed the golden plate in the hands of the Great Being.

> He gazed at her & she perceived that he was a Holy Man. Doing a

> reverential obeisance she said: " Lord, please accept my donation &

> take it wherever you see fit. " Adding " May your wishes come through

> like mine. " she raised and departed as disinterested in her golden plate

> as had it been a withered leaf.

> The Future Buddha then raised and circulating the tree right-wise he

> proceeded down to the Neranjara river and descended into its waters

> just as many thousands of Future Buddhas before him had here bathed

> on the day of their complete enlightenment. This place is even today a

> pilgrimage called Suppatitthita. Coming out of the water he dressed

> in the simple hempen dress of Saint-ship also common to all the Noble

> Bodhisattvas before him. Sitting down on the bank he then rolled the

> entire dish of thick sweet milk-rice into 49 small pellets and ate them.

> Thereafter he took no further food in the 49 days of the 7 weeks he

> spent enraptured in the bliss of Awakening. During all that time the

> Buddha neither bathed, rinsed his mouth nor eased himself but was

> fully absorbed into the ecstasy of the trance of Arahatship.

> When he had consumed the milk-rice he took the golden dish and said:

> " If I am to become a Buddha today, let this golden dish go up-stream. "

> He then threw it into the water, and cleaving the stream as a fleet

> horse it went up-stream in the middle of the river for 160 meters.

> Then it dived into a whirlpool & sank into the submerged palace of

> the black Snake King where it hit " Click! Clack! " against the top of the

> stack of golden dishes, used by the 3 prior Buddhas of this Eon.

> When the black Snake King heard this particular sound he exclaimed:

>

> " Yesterday another Buddha lived.

> Today a new One has been born! "

>

> repeating several hundred admiring verses. As the time from yesterday

> did this immense time lapse between two Buddhas appear to him.

> At these rare occasions his body raised up into the air to several km.

> Then the Future Buddha rested at the riverbank between Sal trees

> in full bloom. At nightfall when the flowers closed, he raised like a lion

>

> & went towards the Bo tree along a path prepared by the deities.

> Just then a grass-cutter came going with his harvest from the other side.

> He offered the Great Being 8 handfuls of Kusa grass, when he saw that

> this Sage was a Holy Man. The Future Buddha accepted the grass and

> proceeded to the foot of the Bo-tree. There, the Expert of worlds

> surveyed the site standing on the Southern side. This instantly sank

> down while the opposite side raised up. " This cannot be the site for the

> attainment of supreme wisdom " . So he went around the tree to the

> Western & Northern sides, but also there did the ground sink down.

> Reaching the imperturbable Eastern side, where all Buddhas take

> their seat, he sat down saying to himself: " This is indeed the immovable

> spot where all the Buddhas have planted themselves! This is the very

> place for destroying the net of passion! " Shaking out the grass it

> spontaneously arranged itself into a suitable & symmetric seat.

> Then the Future Buddha turned his back to the trunk and faced East.

> Right there he then made this mighty decision:

>

> " Let blood & flesh of this body dry up & let skin &

> the sinews fall from the bones. I will not leave this seat

> before having attained the absolute supreme Wisdom! "

>

> So determined did he seat himself in this unconquerable seat, which not

> a 100 strikes of lightning could make him waver from.

> At this very moment the rebel deity Mara -the Evil One- raised exclaiming:

> " Prince Siddhattha will pass beyond my power, but I will never allow it! "

> and sounding the Mara's war shout, he prepared his army & went out for

> battle. The sound of it was like the rumbling roar of an earthquake.

> Mara mounted his enormous Elephant carrying many different weapons.

> Not two in his army carried the same weapon & this immense mass of

> warriors swept forward as a flood to overwhelm the Blessed Bhagava.

> There Deities of the 10 thousands worlds of this galaxy were singing the

> praises of the Great Being. Maha-Brahma was holding a white umbrella.

> But when Mara's army came close, no one dared stay put. They all fled

> trembling like a caught rabbit. The black Naga King dived into the earth &

> reaching his hidden home, he covered his face with both hands & lay down.

> Sakka threw the conch right over his shoulder & took up a safe position

> at the rim of the world. Maha-Brahma left the white umbrella at the end

> of this world & fled into his fine-material plane. Not a single deity was

> able to stand his ground, so they all left the Great Being sitting calmly

> all alone only protected by the consummation of his perfections.

> Then Mara said to his militia: " This Siddhattha, son of king Suddhodana,

> is far greater than any other man, so we will never succeed to fight him

> up front. We will therefore attack him from behind. "

> Looking towards the North the Kinsman of the sun perceived that Mara's

> Army was approaching like a great flood and noted:

> " Here come this mighty gang putting up all their forceful power against

> me alone. Neither my parents, family nor friends are here. But I have

> these great accumulated perfections at my side. These will be my

> shield and the force that will crush this mighty evil & armed gathering.

> And so he remained all still inwardly focusing on the 10 great

> perfections.

> Wanting to drive away the Future Buddha Mara then whirled up a great

> storm, which could tear away mountain peaks, uproot trees and pulverize

> entire cities into scattered powder. Yet when this immense energy reached

> the Future Buddha it could not even make the corner of his robe flutter.

> Such was the power of the Great Being's long accumulated merit.

> Intending then to drown this Bull among Seers Mara caused a great rain to

> pour down until the wild torrents of water flooded even the treetops.

> But on reaching the Future Buddha this immense flood could not even wet

> his robe to the extent of a dewdrop.

> Infuriated, Mara, yielding power over even the creation of others, then

> caused a showering bombardment of flaming rocks & smoking boulders.

> Yet these turned into celestial flowers reaching the Great Being. So also

> did a veritable assault by a cascade of burning spears, swords, arrows

> & axes hurling through the air. Enraged, Mara then whirled forth an attack

> of burning red coals. These also however feel gently as flowers at the

> feet of the Foremost of all humans. Seething mad, Mara then tried white

> ashes & sand glowing like fire but this fell as sandal wood powder at

> the feet of the Caravan leader. A shower of boiling mud became a

> delighting balm. Feverishly attempting to frighten the Great Seer,

> Mara then caused a dense fourfold darkness to spread out, but reaching

> the Dispeller of darkness it disappeared like darkness is lighted up in

> the radiance of the sun. Frustrated, being unable even to touch the

> Wielder

> of power with these nine mighty hurricanes of wind, rain, rocks, weapons,

> red coals, hot ashes, sand, mud, & darkness Mara somewhat in panic

> commanded his army:

> " Why do you stand still? Seize, kill & drive away this prince " . Armed

> with a discus he drew near the Future Buddha on his elephant &

> yelled: " Siddhattha, leave this seat. It is not yours but mine! "

> Hearing this the Well-gone One replied:

> " Mara, neither have you fulfilled the 10 perfections to the third degree

> nor have you given the 5 great donations*. Neither has you striven

> for insight, for the welfare of the world, nor for enlightenment!

> Therefore does this seat not belong to you, but indeed to me. "

> Unable to control his fury the enraged Mara hurled his discus which

> could cut stone pillars like bamboo shoots. But as the Great Being

> reflected on the perfections, it changed into a canopy of flowers,

> which remained suspended over his head. Mara's army then

> threw enormous mountain like boulders saying: " This will make

> him get up & flee! " but they also fell to the ground as flowers.

> Meanwhile the gods were standing on the rim of the world &

> craning their necks to see, they mumbled: " Oohh what a day.

> This handsome prince will certainly be smashed! What will he do

> to save himself? "

> The Conqueror then confidently continued:

> " Mara, who is your witness to have given the great donations ? "

> Mara responded: " As many as you see here! " and instantly all in

> his army roared " I am his witness, I am his witness " as with one

> voice. Mara then asked the Great Being:

> " Siddhattha, who is your witness to have given the great donations ? "

> The Future Buddha answered: " You have alive witnesses at your side

> while I have none. However the great seven-hundred-fold donation,

> which I gave at my existence as Vessantara, shall now be testified

> by this great earth how inanimate she may be. And at the exact moment

> he touched the earth with his hand, it erupted into a tremulous

> earthquake.

> When he gladdened remembered his prior great donation, Mara's elephant

> crouched down before him on its knees. Suddenly overpowered by fear

> Mara's followers fled helter-skelter in all directions. Not two went the

> same way, but leaving their weapons in a chaos all behind, they fled

> terrified by panic. Seeing them flee, the great assembly of deities

> triumphantly shouted: " Mara is defeated. Prince Siddhattha has Won!

> Let us celebrate the Victory! "

> The snakes then urged the snakes, the birds urged the birds,

> the deities urged the deities, the Brahmas urged the brahmas and

> they all approached the great wisdom seat of the Supreme Teacher

> carrying perfumes, flowers, garlands, and offerings, while they sang:

>

> " The Victory has this illustrious Buddha Won.

> The Evil One, The End-maker is defeated & done.

> Thus they jubilantly circled the wisdom throne,

> the band of snakes singing their praises of the Seer,

> the flocks of birds singing their praises of the Sage,

> the assembly of Deities singing their praises of the Conqueror,

> the group of Brahmas singing their praises of the Worthy One. "

>

> It was before the sun had set that the Tathagata thus

> conquered Mara & defeated his army. Then at the same night,

> while the Bo tree rained red sprigs on his robe, the Consummate One

> acquired knowledge of previous existences in the first watch of the night:

> " With the mind thus concentrated, purified, bright, fixed, unified,

> focused,

> tractable, compliant, steady & imperturbable, I directed it to remembrance

>

> of my past lives. I recollected numerous past lives, i.e., one birth,

> two...five, ten...fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand,

> many eons of cosmic contraction, many eons of cosmic expansion,

> many eons of cosmic contraction & expansion:

> 'There I had such a name, belonged to such a clan & species, had such

> a body. Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure & pain,

> such the end of my life. Passing away from that state, I re-arose there.

> There I had such name, belonged to such a sort & family, had such a form.

> Such was my food, such my experience of pleasure & pain, such the

> end of my life. Passing away from that state, I re-arose here. Thus I

> remembered my various past lives in all their various modes & details.

> This was the first knowledge I attained in the first watch of the night.

> Ignorance was destroyed; knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed;

> light arose -- as happens in one who is mindful, keen, & determined.

> But the pleasant feeling that arose in this way did not invade my mind

> nor remain. With the mind thus still concentrated, purified, bright,

> intact,

> pliant, malleable, steady, & imperturbable, I directed it to the knowledge

>

> of the passing away & reappearance of beings. I saw by means of the divine

>

> eye, purified & surpassing the human eye I saw beings passing away &

> re-appearing, and I realized how & why they are high & low, beautiful &

> ugly, fortunate & unfortunate all in accordance with the kamma of their

> prior actions: 'These beings -- who were endowed with bad behavior of

> body, speech, & mind, who reviled the Noble Ones, held wrong views and

> acted under the influence of wrong views, with the break-up of the body,

> after death, have re-appeared in the plane of misery, the bad destination,

>

> the lower realms, even in hell.

> But these beings who were gifted with good behavior of body, speech &

> mind, who did not revile the Noble Ones, who held right views and acted

> under the influence of right views -- with the break-up of the body, after

>

> death, have re-appeared in happy destinations, even in a divine world.'

> Thus -- by means of the divine eye, purified & surpassing the human --

> I saw beings passing away & re-appearing, and I differentiated why they

> are high & low, beautiful & ugly, fortunate & unfortunate all in

> accordance

> with their particular mixture of good & bad kamma.

> " This was the second knowledge I attained in the second watch of the

> night.

> Ignorance was destroyed; knowledge arose; darkness was destroyed;

> light arose -- as happens in one who is mindful, keen, & determined.

> But the satisfaction that arose in this way did not invade my mind nor

> remain. With the mind thus concentrated, absorbed, bright, purified,

> pliant, malleable, steady, & attained to imperturbability, I directed it

> to the knowledge of the ending of the mental fermentations. I realized

> how it actually comes to be, that:

>

> Caused by Ignorance, Mental Construction emerges.

> Ceasing of Ignorance therefore ceases Mental Construction.

> Caused by Mental Construction, Consciousness emerges.

> Ceasing of Mental Construction therefore ceases Consciousness.

> Caused by Consciousness, Name- & -Form emerge.

> Ceasing of Consciousness therefore ceases Name- & -Form.

> Caused by Name- & -Form, the Six Senses emerge.

> Ceasing of Name- & -Form therefore ceases the Six Senses.

> Caused by The six Senses, Contact emerges.

> Ceasing of The six Senses therefore ceases Contact.

> Caused by Contact, Feeling emerges.

> Ceasing of Contact therefore ceases Feeling.

> Caused by Feeling, Craving emerges.

> Ceasing of Feeling therefore ceases Craving.

> Caused by Craving, Clinging emerges.

> Ceasing of Craving therefore ceases Clinging.

> Caused by Clinging, Becoming emerges.

> Ceasing of Clinging therefore ceases Becoming.

> Caused by Becoming, Birth emerges.

> Ceasing of Becoming therefore ceases Birth.

> Caused by Birth, Ageing, Sickness & Death emerge.

> Ceasing of Birth therefore ceases Ageing, Sickness & Death.

> Caused by Ageing, Sickness & Death, Misery emerges.

> Ceasing of Ageing, Sickness & Death therefore ceases all Misery!

>

> So seeing:

>

> Such is Misery...

> Such is the cause of Misery...

> Such is the end of Misery...

> Such is the way leading to the end of Misery...

>

> Such was the mental fermentations...

> Such is the cause of fermentation...

> Such is the end of fermentation...

> Such is the way leading to the end of fermentation.'

>

> When my mind saw that, realized that, it was freed of the fermentation of

> sensuality, released from the fermentation of becoming, unobstructed by

> the fermentation of ignorance. With release, there was the knowledge,

> 'Released.' I realized that 'Birth is ended, this Holy life is fulfilled,

> the mission is completed. There is no further state in this world.'

> " This was the third knowledge I attained in the third watch of the night.

> Ignorance was destroyed; certainty arose; darkness was destroyed;

> light arose -- as it happens to one who is mindful, keen, & determined.

> But the satisfaction that so arose, did not obsess my mind nor remain. "

> At this very moment of attainment of Omniscience, the 10 thousand worlds

> quaked 12 times & became gloriously adorned. Throughout this galaxy

> flowering trees bloomed, lotuses blossomed, and wines & trees bore fruit,

> the dark spaces of the hells and between the worlds became illuminated

> by a flood of radiance surpassing even that of 7 suns.

> Fully & perfectly Enlightened - The Buddha - perceiving this immense glory

>

> spoke these solemn 2 verses, which never has been omitted by any of

> countless thousands of prior Buddhas:

>

> Through this round of countless existences have I searched

> yet failed to find the Creator who framed this formation:

> What Misery! - Endless Birth, Death & Pain !

>

> Now I see that 'the Constructor' of this structure is Craving.

> Never shall this construction be build again as all the rafters

> are shattered and the main beam is busted & broken.

> At the elimination of Craving this mind has reached rest.

>

> Then, friends, I myself a subject birth, ageing, sickness, death, pain,

> sorrow & mental degradation, having fully comprehended the danger

> in all what is subject to birth, ageing, sickness, death, pain, sorrow &

> mental degradation, searching the unborn, unageing, immune, deathless,

> unburning, happy, pleasant & pure supreme security from the oppressing

> bondage of craving, of becoming, of views, and of ignorance, entered this

> unbecome, unborn, uncreated, unconstructed, undiverse, unformed,

> unchangeable, unconditional, unimaginable, undecaying, unageing, unending,

> undeceiving, universal unity, this supremely safe, immune, death &

> painless

> state called Nibbana. This vision of certainty arose in me: " This release

> is irreversible, this is the last birth, this endless reappearance is

> finally

> ended... "

> Further Information about the most important Buddhist Holy day: Wesak:

>

> (*) The Significance of Vesak. Bhikkhu Mahinda

> (*) Visakha Puja. Ajahn Lee Dhammadharo

>

>

> Friendship is the Greatest !

> and the entire Noble Life...

>

> Bhikkhu Samahita, Sri Lanka.