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(Majjhima Nikāya, Sutta 123.)
BY ALBERT J. EDMUNDS.
PREFATORY NOTE.
 THERE are two canonical accounts of the wonderful
circumstances attending the birth of Gotama, viz., the Nālaka Sutta in
the Sutta Nipāta, which was translated by Dr. Fausböll in 1881 (Sacred
Books of the East, Vol. X., part 2, p.
124) and the Dialogue in the Middling Collection, now translated for the
first time. This was first pointed out by Oldenberg in 1881, in his Life of
Buddha, where he gave us one or two details concerning it (Oldenberg's Buddha,
English translation, 1882, p. 417). In 1894, Chalmers gave an account of it in
the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, and the Pāli text was printed by
him in the same learned Journal for October, 1895. It is from this text that
our translation is made, except that in some doubtful readings I have compared
the version of the King of Siam, which has lately been distributed throughout
the United States.
An uncanonical account of Gotama's birth (apart from the
inevitable
commentary on our present text) is to be found in the Commentary on
the Birth Stories. This account has been twice translated: by Rhys Davids in
1880 (Buddhist Birth Stories), and by Henry C. Warren in 1896 (Buddhism
in Translations, p.
38). It is based upon our present Sutta and the one in the Sutta Nipāta.
The portion based upon the latter is given by Warren at p.
48. As in the case of the Haggadah of the Hebrews, it was reckoned quite
fair among the ancient Hindus, to add embellishments to a narrative in the
form of commentary. It will be seen, however, that not even in the commentary
do the Buddhists
p. 486 claim for
their master a virginal nativity, but only a birth attended with marvels. The
idea that Gotama remembered being born and remembered also a pre-existent
state is derived from the familiar doctrine of transmigration.
All other accounts of the Buddha's nativity, such as
those translated from the Sanskrit or Chinese, of which we have a specimen in Sacred
Books of the East, Vols. XIX. and XLIX.,1
are late patristic poems, on an entirely different footing from the canonical
Pāli texts. There is no doubt that these last have come down to us from the
men who knew Gotama. Our present Sutta is quoted in a work as old as the
Christian era (the Questions of King Milinda); and the chain of
transmission is strong.
DIALOGUE ON WONDERS AND MARVELS.
(Majjhima Nikāya, Sutta 123.)
THUS HAVE I HEARD. On one occasion the Blessed One was
staying at Sāvatthi in the Jetavana cloister-garden of Anāthap.n.dika. Now a
number of monks, after returning from the quest of alms, and having eaten
their meal, were sitting assembled in the room of state, when the following
conversation arose:
"Wonderful, O brother! marvellous, O brother! is the
occult power and magical might of the2
Tathāgata: when, for instance, upon the decease of the former Buddha, who has
broken down obstacles and avenues, exhausted his transmigrations and passed
beyond all pain, the Tathāgata perceives: 'Such were the families of the
Blessed Ones, such were the names of the Blessed Ones; their clans were
so-and-so; such were their moral codes, such their doctrines, their knowledges,
their dwellings, and those whom they delivered.'"
After such talk as this, the venerable Ānanda addressed
the monks and said: "Wonderful, brethren, are the Tathāgatas, and
endowed with wonderful qualities; marvellous, brethren! are the Tathāgatas,
and endowed with marvellous qualities."
Such was the course of conversation among the monks when
it was broken off. Now, the Blessed One, having arisen from retirement at
eventide, came into the room of state and sat down upon the seat prepared for
him. While sitting there the Blessed One addressed the monks and said:
"Monks! What now is the subject of your conversation while sitting
together? And what,
p. 487 moreover,
was the course of your conversation which you just broke off?
[They answered]: "Here, Lord, having returned from
the quest of alms and having eaten our meal, we have been sitting assembled in
the room of state, when the following conversation arose: 'Wonderful, O
brother! marvellous, O brother! is the occult power and magical might of the
Tathāgata,' (etc., repeated from above, down to the end of Ānanda's speech).
"This, Lord, was the course of conversation which was broken off. Just
then the Blessed One arrived."
Hereupon the Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda:
"And so, Ānanda, the wonderful and marvellous qualities of the Tathāgata
become more and more apparent."
[Ananda replied]: "In my presence, Lord, was it
heard [from the lips] of the Blessed One, and in my presence received: 'Ānanda,
the Bodhisat is mindful and conscious of being born when he is born with the
Tusita body.' This fact, Lord, that the Bodhisat was mindful and conscious
when he was born with the Tusita body, I hold to be a wonderful and marvellous
quality of the Blessed One."
2. "'Ānanda, the Bodhisat abode for a lifetime in
the Tusita body.1
3. "'Ānanda, the Bodhisat is mindful and
conscious when he leaves the Tusita body and descends into his mother's womb.
[These words occur identically in the Pāli, in slightly different order, in
the Book of the Great Decease III. 15. Sacred Books of the East, Vol.
XI., p. 46.]
4. "'Ānanda, when the Bodhisat leaves the Tusita
body and descends into his mother's womb, then in the world of the devas,
together with those of Māra and Brahma, and unto the race of sama.nas and
brahmans, devas, and mortals, there appears a splendor limitless and eminent,
surpassing the might of the devas. And even in the boundless realms of space,
with their darkness upon darkness, where yonder sun and moon, so magical, so
mighty, are felt not in the sky, there too appears the splendor limitless and
eminent, surpassing the very might of the devas, so that beings who are born
there observe among themselves by reason of that splendor: "Friend,
indeed there are other beings born here, and this ten-thousand world-system
rocks and quakes and tremendously trembles: a splendor limitless and eminent
appears in the universe surpassing even the might of the devas."
p. 488
5. "'Ānanda, when the Bodhisat descends into his
mothers womb, the four sons of the devas who keep watch over the four quarters
approach him and say: "Let neither mortals nor demons do harm unto the
Bodhisat or the Bodhisat's mother!"
6. "'Ānanda, when the Bodhisat is descending into
his mother's womb, she is pure from sexuality,1
has abstained from taking life, from theft, from lusts, from evil conduct,
from lying, and from all kinds of wine and strong drink, which are a cause of
irreligion.
7. "'Ānanda, when the Bodhisat is descending into
his mother's womb, among the attendants around her no lustful thought arises,
and she is unsurpassed by any shining attendant of the night.
8. "'Ānanda, when the Bodhisat is descending into
his mother's womb, she is possessed of the five qualities of pleasure; she is
surrounded by, established in, and endowed with the five qualities of
pleasure.
9. "'Ānanda, . . . the Bodhisat's mother has no
sickness at all, but is happy in a body free from pain, and sees the Bodhisat
transparently in the womb (literally, gone across the womb) in full possession
of all his limbs and faculties. Even as a gem or precious stone, Ānanda,
being radiant, fine, octagonal, and well wrought, is therefore strung upon a
dark-blue string or upon a tawny or a red or a white or a yellow string, so
that any man with eyes, upon taking it in his hand, may reflect: "This
gem or precious stone, being radiant (etc. . . . . .) is therefore strung upon
this dark-blue string, or . . . yellow string,"--even so, Ānanda, when
the Bodhisat descends into his mother's womb, his mother has no sickness at
all, but is happy in a body free from pain, and sees the Bodhisat
transparently in the womb in full possession of all his limbs and faculties.
10. "'Ānanda, seven days after the birth of the
Bodhisat, his mother departed this life, and was born with the Tusita body.
11. "'Moreover, Ānanda, while other women bring
forth after a gestation of nine or ten months, the Bodhisat's mother does not
p. 489 act in the
usual way with the Bodhisat: just ten months does she carry the Bodhisat
before she brings him forth.
12. "'Moreover, Ānanda, while other women bring
forth when sitting or lying down, the Bodhisat's mother does not bring forth
the Bodhisat in the usual way: she actually brings him forth standing.
13. "'Ānanda, when the Bodhisat leaves his mother's
womb, devas are the first to receive him, and mortals afterwards.
14. "'Ānanda, when the Bodhisat leaves his mother's
womb, he does not touch the ground: four sons of the devas stand before his
mother and receive him. "Be thou a blessed goddess," they say:
"unto thee is born an eminent son."1
15. "'Ānanda, when the Bodhisat leaves his mother's
womb, he leaves it quite clean, undefiled with matter or blood, but pure,
clean, and undefiled by any impurity. As in the case of a gem or a jewel, Ānanda,
laid in Benāres cloth, the gem or jewel does not defile the shining2
cloth at all, nor the Benāres cloth the jewel or the gem (and why?--because
they both are pure): even so, Ānanda, when the Bodhisat leaves his mother's
womb, he leaves it quite clean, undefiled with matter or blood, but pure,
clean, and undefiled by any impurity.
16. "'Ānanda, . . . there come two showers of water
from the sky, one of cool water and the other of warm, to supply the needed
water for the Bodhisat and his mother.
17. "'Ānanda, the new-born Bodhisat stands sheer
upright on his feet, walks northwards with a seven-paced stride, holding3
over himself a white canopy, and looking forth in all directions utters the
bull-like speech: "I am the chief of the universe, I am the best in the
universe, I am the eldest in the universe. This is my last existence: I shall
now be born no more!"
18. "'Ānanda, when the Bodhisat leaves his mother's
womb, then in the world of devas, together with those of Māra and Brahma, and
unto the race of sama.nas and brahmans, devas, and mortals, there appears a
splendor limitless and eminent, surpassing the might of the devas; and even in
the boundless realms of space, with their darkness upon darkness, where yonder
sun and moon, so magical, so mighty, are felt not in the sky, there too
appears
p. 490 the splendor
limitless and eminent, surpassing the very might of the devas, so that beings
who are born there consider1
among themselves by reason of that splendor: "Friend, indeed there are
other beings born here, and this ten-thousand world-system rocks and quakes
and tremendously trembles: a splendor limitless and eminent appears in the
universe surpassing even the might of the devas."
"'Therefore, Ānanda, do thou hold this also to be a
wonderful and marvellous quality of the Tathāgata. In this world, Ānanda,
the sensations of the Tathāgata are known when they arise, are known when
they continue, are known when they decline. Known are the phases of his
consciousness when they arise; his reflections are known when they arise and
known when they decline. Therefore, Ānanda, do thou hold this also to be a
wonderful and marvellous quality of the Tathāgata.'
"This fact also, Lord, that the sensations of the
Blessed One are known when they arise, are known when they continue, are known
when they decline; that his phases of consciousness are known when they arise;
that his reflections are known when they arise, known when they continue, and
known when they decline,--this also, Lord, I hold to be a wonderful and
marvellous quality of the Blessed One."
Thus spoke the venerable Ānanda. The Master assented,
and the monks were rapt and rejoiced at the discourse of the venerable Ānanda.
[Here ends] the Dialogue on Wonders and Marvels, third
[in a particular subdivision of the Middling Collection].
{the following note appears in the November, 1898
issue, Vol. XII., No. 11}
p. 701
THE ANTIQUITY OF THE BUDDHIST NATIVITY SUTTA.
An eminent New Testament scholar has asked me to give
proof of the antiquity of this document, which I translated in The Open
Court for August last. Pending a longer article, I will briefly say that
the title of Sutta 611
of the Majjhima Nikāya is graven on the Bairāt Rock in India, among other
canonical titles. This inscription, by the Emperor Asoka, dates from the third
century before Christ. Other inscriptions of the same date speak of reciters
of the Pitakas, reciters of the Suttas, and reciters of the Five Nikāyas,
whereof the Majjhima is one. Moreover, on Asoka's stūpa at Bharhut there is a
picture of Gotama's mother's dream of his descent into her womb. This dream is
not in the canonical text, but in the commentaries. Now if the commentary was
used in the third century before Christ, ą fortiori the text was.
In the preface to my translation, I said that "our
present Sutta" was quoted in Milinda. This was a mistake, into
which I was led by want of access to the Pāli of Milinda. I should
have said "our present Nikāya," whereof the Nativity Sutta is an
integral part.
ALBERT J. EDMUNDS.
{the following note appears in the June, 1899 issue,
Vol. XIII., No. 6}
p. 379
A FURTHER NOTE ON THE BUDDHIST NATIVITY SUTTA.
Since writing my note in the November number, I have made
further researches into the sources of this document. I have found large
portions of it in other parts of the Pāli canon, and am convinced that it is
one of the most fundamental narratives, on a footing with the Book of the
Great Decease. Thus, the statement that the mothers of Bodhisats always die a
week after the Nativity is in the Udāna (V. 2). The splendors and earthquakes
at Buddha's descent from heaven and birth in the world, are in the
A.nguttara-Nikāya (IV. 127) and partly also in the Sanskrit Divyāvadāna, p.
204. But, above all, nearly the entire Nativity Sutta (Majjhima 123)
translated by me last August, is embedded in the Dīgha-Nikāya (Mahāpadhāna-Sutta,
No. 14), where it is told of a former Buddha, Vipassī. I made my translation
in March, 1897, and my increasing knowledge of Pāli leads me to correct the
second paragraph, which should run thus:
"Wonderful, O brother! marvellous, O brother! is the
occult power and magical
might of the Tathāgata: when, for example, he has
knowledge of bygone Buddhas who have gone into Nirvāna, have broken down
obstacles and avenues, exhausted their transmigrations and passed beyond all
pain; and the Tathāgata perceives: 'Such were the families of the Blessed
Ones, such were the names of the Blessed Ones; their clans were so-and-so;
such were their moral codes, such their doctrines, their wisdom, their
dwellings, and their manner of release.'"
The Nativity Suttas (including the one in the Sutta-Nipāta)
lie behind the Lalita Vistara and other early poems and commentaries. They
probably constituted one of the ancient Nine Divisions of the canon, called
Marvels. Together with the First Sermon, the Chain of Causation, the
Confessional, the Antinomies of the
p. 380 Schools and
the Book of the Great Decease, they rank among those prime documents of the
religion around which all recensions rally.
Footnotes
p. 485
1. Translated
from the Pāli text of the Middling Collection of the Dialogues of Gotama.
p. 486
1. These two
volumes represent the same work, Vol. XIX. being translated from a Chinese
version, Vol. XLIX. from the Sanskrit original.
2. The
indefinite article may be read here with equal propriety.
p. 487
1. Repetitions
similar to those italicised in the above paragraph occur at the beginning and
end of the eighteen statements which follow. They are here numbered for
convenience.
p. 488
1. Cf. Diogenes
Laėrtius on the birth of Plato: "Then he kept her pure of marriage until
the birth." (Lives of the Philosophers, Bk. 3.)
This abstinence, ascribed to the mother of Plato, we know from the context
to imply a divine paternity, such as that which is the subject of the Ion of
Euripides. The abstinence of Gotama's mother, on the other hand, implies no
such thing, but refers merely to the period of gestation. Such abstinence is
enjoined in the Institutes of Vishnu, LXIX. 17, and was also observed by
Essenes. (Josephus, Wars, II. viii. 13.) It is a familiar practice of Oriental
hygiene. Moreover Gotama is credited with parents. (Milinda, IV. 4. 11, quoted
from some Sutta not known Rhys Davids in 1890.)
p. 489
1. Cf. Luke i.
28.
2.The King of
Siam repeats "Benāres cloth" here: Kāsikavattha.m, instead of Kāsita.m
vattha.m.
3. A participle
in the Middle Voice. The commentary on the Birth Stories says that the god
Brahma held it! Canopy appears to me a more dignified translation than
"parasol" or "umbrella." It is an emblem of royalty.
p. 490
1. This is
practically the only verbal difference in this stereotyped repetition.
p. 701
1. Misprinted 71
in Rhys Davids' Manual, 1894.
ALBERT J. EDMUNDS
Source: A MONTHLY MAGAZINE Devoted to the
Science of Religion, the Religion of Science, and the Extension of the
Religious Parliament Idea. Volume XII CHICAGO THE OPEN COURT
PUBLISHING COMPANY1898 {Scanned and edited by Christopher M. Weimer, April
2002}
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