Bodhi Kathā
- Awakening -
[bodhi: awakening]
Right after coming to
enlightenment, still seated under the Bodhi tree,
the Buddha explores the chain of causation that constitutes the essence of the
conditioning of existence.
At that time, the Bhagavā resided
in Uruvelā, at the edge of the Nerañjarā river, at the foot of
the Bodhi tree (tree of wisdom), just after he had become
a Sambuddha . There, the Bhagavā sat
cross-legged, at the foot of the Bodhi tree,
continuously for seven days, enjoying the bliss of emancipation. Then
the Bhagavā (at the end of these seven days), during the
first part of the night, fixed its mind on the chain of causation, {3} in
the direct direction and in the opposite direction: From ignorance arise the
sankhāras; sankhāras arises consciousness; from consciousness arises
the spirit-matter; from the spirit-matter arise the six sense
organs; from the six sense organs arises contact (with sense
objects); from contact arises sensation; from the sensation arises
the appetite (thirst, greed); from appetite arises attachment; from
attachment arises existence; from birth comes birth; from birth
arises aging and death, sorrow, lamentation, discomfort, depression and
despair. So is the genesis of all this mass of suffering. By the destruction
of ignorance, which consists in the complete destruction of the palatability,
the sankhāras are totally destroyed; by the destruction of the sankhāras,
the consciousness is destroyed; by the destruction of consciousness, the
matter spirit is destroyed; by the destruction of the spirit-matter, the
six sense organs are destroyed; by the destruction of the six sense
organs, contact is destroyed; by the destruction of the contact, the
sensation is destroyed; by the destruction of sensation, the palatability
is destroyed; by the destruction of palatability, attachment is
destroyed; by the destruction of attachment, existence is
destroyed; by the destruction of existence, birth is destroyed; by
the destruction of birth, aging and death, grief, lamentation, discomfort,
depression and despair are destroyed. So is the cessation of all this mass
of discomfort.
Knowing this, the Bhagavā ,
on this occasion, made this solemn declaration:
- When the real nature of things becomes clear to the meditating Brahmin
(practicing jhānas ) ardently, then all his doubts vanish because he
realizes what this real is nature and what is its cause. Then the Bhagavā ,
during the second part of the night, fixed its mind on the chain of causality,
in the direct direction and in the opposite direction ...
Knowing that, the Bhagavā ,
on this occasion, made this solemn declaration:
- When the real nature of things becomes clear to the brahmin ardently
practicing the jhānas, then all his doubts vanish because he understood the
cessation of causation.
Then the Bhagavā , during the third part of the night, fixed its
mind on the chain of causation, in the direct direction and in the opposite
direction ...
Knowing that, the Bhagavā ,
on this occasion, made this solemn declaration:
- When the real nature of things becomes clear to the brahmin ardently
practicing the jhānas , he stands up, driving out the hordes of Māra ,
as the sun illuminates the sky (and drives out the darkness). Here ends the
story of what happened under the Bodhi tree.
Ajapāla
Kathā
-
At the foot of the Ajapāla ficus tree -
After his Awakening, the Buddha
spends a second week in meditation, and is approached by a Brahmin (by birth)
who asks him what defines a Brahmin.
And
the Bhagavā , at the end of these seven days, emerged from its state
of meditation, then went from the foot of the Bodhi tree to
the foot of an Ajapāla ficus tree. When he reached it, he sat
cross-legged continuously for seven days, enjoying the bliss of emancipation.
A
certain brahmin, of haughty temperament, went to the place where the Bhagava
was . Approaching him, he exchanged greetings with him; having
exchanged pleasant greetings and words with him, he placed himself near
him; then, having placed himself near him, the Brahmin spoke to him thus:-
How, Gotama, does a person become a Brahmin, and what are the characteristics
that make that person a Brahmin?
The Bhagavā ,
having heard it, proclaimed on this occasion this solemn declaration:
- A Brahmin is someone who has eliminated (in himself) all traces of bad deeds,
who has freed himself from pride, from impurities, who is retained, who is an
accomplished master in knowledge, who has fulfilled the duties of
holiness. Such a person, whose behavior is equal towards all things in the
world, can rightly say of himself that he is a Brahmin.
Here
ends the story of what happened under the Ajapāla tree.
Mucalinda Kathā
-
Mucalinda's intervention -
Third week after
Awakening. A storm is raging, and the king of snakes appears to protect
the Buddha.
And
the Bhagavā , at the end of these seven days, came out of its state
of meditation, then went from the foot of the Ajapāla tree to the Mucalinda
tree. When he reached it, he sat cross-legged continuously for seven days,
enjoying the bliss of emancipation.
At that time, a large cloud appeared, although it was not the season, and it
began to rain for seven days, to be cold, there were storms and it was
dark. The king of the Nāgas (snakes), Mucalinda, came out of his
home, and encircled the body of the Bhagavā seven times in his
rings and developed his large cape over the head of the Bhagavā ,
thinking: ", that I do not touch the Bhagava ! Let no bite
of a horsefly or mosquito, no storm or heat of the sun, no reptile bother the Bhagavā !
And at the end of the seven days, when the king of the nāgas Mucalinda
saw the cloudless open sky, he loosened his rings from the body of the Bhagavā ,
he disintegrated his appearance, appeared in the form of a young man and placed
himself opposite from Bhagavā , raised his joined hands and paid him
homage.
Seeing this, the Bhagavā , on this occasion, proclaimed this solemn
declaration:
- Happy is the loneliness of the one who is full of joy who learned the truth,
who sees (the truth). Happy is the liberation from malice in this world,
the restraint towards all living beings. Happy is the liberation from
desire for the world, the state beyond desires; the abandonment of the
pride that arises from the thought "I am!". This is in truth the
highest happiness.
Here
ends the story of what happened under the Mucalinda tree.
Rājāyatana
Kathā- At the foot of the Rājāyatana tree -
First
meeting with human beings, during the fourth week after
the sambodhi . These are two merchants who make a food offering
to the Buddha. The devas come to serve the Buddha.
And
the Bhagavā, at the end of these seven days, came out of its state of
meditation, then went from the foot of the tree of Mucalinda to the tree of
Rājāyatana. When he reached it, he sat cross-legged continuously for seven
days, enjoying the bliss of emancipation.
Then Tapussa and Bhallikā, two merchants travelling from Ukkalā (in Orissa),
arrived at this place. A deva, who had been (in a previous life) a
member of the family of the two merchants Tapussa and Bhallikā, addressed them
as follows:- Here, my friends, at the foot of the Rājāyatana tree, stands
the Bhagavā , who has just become Sambuddha. Go and pay
homage to him, the Bhagavā , by offering him rice cakes with
honey. This will be good and a blessing for you for a long time.
Then
the merchants Tapussa and Bhallikā took the rice cakes and the honey, and went
to the place where the Bhagavā was; Approaching him and having
respectfully greeted him, they stood near him; they addressed him thus: -
May Bhante , the Bhagavā accept from us these rice cakes
with honey, so that it can be for us a good and a blessing for a long time.
Then the Bhagavā thought: 'The Tathāgatas do not accept (food)
with their hands. Now, what should I accept these honey rice cakes with?
' Then the four great deva kings , understanding by the
power of their spirit the reflection which had appeared in the spirit of
the Bhagavā , offered to the Bhagavā , from the four
corners (of the horizon), four stone bowls, (saying):- May, Bhante, the Bhagavā accept
in these bowls the rice cakes with honey.
The Bhagavā then accepted the rice cakes with honey and, having
received them, he ate them.
So Tapussa and Bhallikā, when they saw that the Bhagavā had cleaned his
bowl and his hands, bowed in reverence at the foot of the Bhagavā, and
addressed him thus:
- We take refuge, Bhante , in the Bhagavā and in the Dhamma; may
the Bhagavā receive us as disciples who, from this day and as long as
our life lasts, have taken refuge (in him).
They were the first in the world to become lay disciples (of the Buddha), by
the formula which contained only a dyad.
Here
ends the story of what happened under the Rājāyatana tree.
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