GAYÂ. ŚÂKYAMUNI’S ATTAINING TO THE BUDDHASHIP; AND OTHER LEGENDS.
From this place, after travelling to the west for four yojanas, (the
pilgrims) came to the city of Gayâ;[1] 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.[2]
Two le north from this was the place where the Grâmika girls presented
to Buddha the rice-gruel made with milk;[3] 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[4] 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,[5] 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 kuśa grass at the foot of it,
and sat down with his face to the east. Then king Mâra 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.[6]
At the place mentioned above of the six years’ painful austerities,
and at all these other places, men subsequently reared topes 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;[7] 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[8] encircled him for
seven days; where he sat under the nyagrodha tree, on a square rock,
with his face to the east, and Brahmâ-deva[9] came and made his
request to him; where the four deva kings brought to him their
alms-bowls;[10] where the 500 merchants[11] presented to him the
roasted flour and honey; and where he converted the brothers Kaśyapa
and their thousand disciples;[12]—at all these places topes were
reared.
[Illustration: V. BUDDHASHIP ATTAINED.]
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.[13] 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 topes have been fixed, and handed down
without break, since Buddha attained to nirvâṇa. Those four great
topes 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-nirvâṇa.
NOTES
[1] Gayâ, a city of Magadha, was north-west of the present Gayah (lat.
24° 47′ N., lon. 85° 1′ E). It was here that Śâkyamuni lived for seven
years, after quitting his family, until he attained to Buddhaship. The
place is still frequented by pilgrims. E. H., p. 41.
[2] This is told so as to make us think that he was in danger of being
drowned; but this does not appear in the only other account of the
incident I have met with,—in ‘The Life of the Buddha,’ p. 31. And
he was not yet Buddha, though he is here called so; unless indeed the
narrative is confused, and the incidents do not follow in the order of
time.
[3] An incident similar to this is told, with many additions, in
Hardy’s M. B., pp. 166–168; ‘The Life of the Buddha,’ p. 30; and the
‘Buddhist Birth Stories,’ pp. 91, 92; but the name of the ministering
girl or girls is different. I take Grâmika from a note in Beal’s
revised version; it seems to me a happy solution of the difficulty
caused by the 彌家 of Fâ-hien.
[4] Called ‘the tree of leaves,’ and ‘the tree of reflection;’ a palm
tree, the borassus flabellifera, described as a tree which never
loses its leaves. It is often confounded with the pippala. E. H., p.
92.
[5] The kuśa grass, mentioned in a previous note.
[6] See the account of this contest with Mâra in M. B., pp. 171–179,
and ‘Buddhist Birth Stories,’ pp. 96–101.
[7] See chap. xiii, note 7.
[8] Called also Mahâ, or the Great Muchilinda. Eitel says: ‘A nâga
king, the tutelary deity of a lake near which Śâkyamuni once sat for
seven days absorbed in meditation, whilst the king guarded him.’ The
account (p. 35) in ‘The Life of the Buddha’ is:—‘Buddha went to where
lived the nâga king Muchilinda, and he, wishing to preserve him from
the sun and rain, wrapped his body seven times round him, and spread
out his hood over his head; and there he remained seven days in
thought.’ So also the Nidâna Kathâ, in ‘Buddhist Birth Stories,’ p.
109.
[9] This was Brahmâ himself, though ‘king’ is omitted. What he
requested of the Buddha was that he would begin the preaching of his
Law. Nidâna Kathâ, p. 111.
[10] See chap. xii, note 10.
[11] The other accounts mention only two; but in M. B., p. 182, and
the Nidâna Kathâ, p. 110, these two have 500 well-laden wagons with
them.
[12] These must not be confounded with Mahâkaśyapa of chap. xvi, note
17. They were three brothers, Uruvilvâ, Gayâ, and Nadî-Kâśyapa, up
to this time holders of ‘erroneous’ views, having 500, 300, and
200 disciples respectively. They became distinguished followers of
Śâkyamuni; and are—each of them—to become Buddha by-and-by. See the
Nidâna Kathâ, pp. 114, 115.
[13] This seems to be the meaning; but I do not wonder that some
understand the sentence of the benevolence of the monkish population
to the travellers.