Buddhism in India and Nepal....
[p. 2] This section outlines the following
three topics: (1) the appearance of the Buddha in this world, (2) the formation
of the system of his precious teachings and (3) the rise of the masters who
cherished those teachings.
The Buddha’s appearance in this world
World
systems are formed through the aspiration prayers of a Buddha or the karmic
deeds of sentient beings. Of these two, our world system was formed due to the
aspiration prayers of a Buddha. Long ago, during the great aeon Dzinpa and in the space where our world
is there was a king called Tsibkyi Muchud (Parnemi) who ruled over four
continents and 84,000 provinces and had 1000 sons and a Brahmin advisor called
Gyatshoi Dul. The advisor had 1000 Brahmin disciples including his eighty sons,
the eldest of whom was Gyatshoi Nyingpo.
Gyatshoi Nyingpo attained enlightenment and became known as the Tathagata
Rinchen Nyingpo. The Tathagata miraculously created myriads of worlds and for
seven years made the king and his entourage choose the worlds where they would
each like to attain Buddhahood. The Brahmin advisor and his 999 disciples chose
this world of ours. Moreover, the Brahmin advisor, who was to become our
Buddha, chose the age of five degenerates, which others abandoned. For this
reason, he has excelled all other Buddhas in showing affection for the
spiritually impoverished beings. As each of them will be attaining Buddhahood
in this aeon, there will be a thousand Buddhas appearing in this world.
[p. 3]
During
the aeon Zepar Nangwa, there was a Buddha known as Yonten Thaye Rinchen Natsho
Kodpai Gyalpo and a universal monarch Yulkhor Srung who had 700,000 queens and
one thousand sons. In this period, two boys called Choelo and Choesem were also
born miraculously on the lap of the two queens Mamedma and Pemedma. The king
venerated the Buddha and his disciples with all kinds of offerings for an
entire period of ten million years. He then thought to himself: “As all of my
children have entered the path of enlightenment, who would make it first to
Buddhahood?” Wishing to find this out, he wrote down their names and put them
in the vase made of precious jewels. After making offerings in front of the
vase, he took out the names in the presence of his sons. The first name to come
out was that of Nampar Dagpai Lodro. The earth shook with a thunderous sound
and he was prophesied to become the Buddha Khorwa Jig [the first Buddha of the
fortunate aeon].
The
second to come out was Nampar Gyalwa, who was to become Buddha Serthub then
Wangpo Zhiwa to become Buddha Odsung, Donthamcad Drubpa as our teacher [Buddha
Shakyamuni], Karagchen as the Buddha Maitreya and so on until Lothaye Drag as
the Buddha Moepa. Choesem was prophesied to become Lagna Dorji, the guardian of
their secret doctrine, and Choelo to be the great Brahma Tsugphudcan, who would
beseech them to turn the Wheel of Dharma. Their father, the king, was to become
the Buddha Marmezed.
When
this aeon began and there was the formation of oceans, a thousand golden
lotuses appeared. [p. 4] The gods took this as a sign of the appearance of a
thousand Buddhas in this world system. They named the aeon Kalpa Zangpo or
Fortunate Aeon and the world Mijed Jigten or World of Endurance. In the phase
of the long beginning[1] when human
life span was 40,000 years, the Buddha Khorwa Jig (Krakucchanda) came to this
world. The Buddha Serthub (Kanakamuni) came when human life span was 30,000,
the Buddha Odzung (Kashyapa) when life span was 20,000 and Shakya Thubpa (Śakyamuni)
when it was 100 years. Jampa (Maitreya) will come at the descending phase of
intermediate aeon when human life span again reaches 80,000. The others are to
come in the same fashion as Abhidharmakośa states:
In the declining phase,
Until
[human life span reaches] hundred years, they (Buddhas) will come.[2]
As for the life of our
teacher Buddha Śakyamuni,
who appeared when human life span was a hundred years, there are several versions
as to how he initially generated the altruistic mind, then accumulated merits
for three countless aeons and finally attained perfect enlightenment. These
differences are due to the varying experiences of the inferior, middling and superior
kinds of beings to be tamed. I will present the story here in accordance with
the perception of inferior commoners such as the Śravakas (auditors).
Long ago, when our teacher
only possessed the inclination for MahŒyŒna, he was born as
giant cartman on the burning iron ground in the hell realm due to the force of
his karma. At that time, his partner, who was very weak, could not pull the
cart and was repeatedly beaten by the hell guard with a goad. Out of intense empathy
for his partner, he said: “Please do not beat him. I will pull his share as
well.” The hell guard got infuriated by this and stuck him with the goad. He
died instantly and was reborn as god [owing to the power of his empathy].
When he was born as the king
Rabsel, he heard the name of a Buddha from his mahout and generated the thought
of enlightenment. Then he cultivated the mind of enlightenment before the Buddha
ŚŒkya
Thubpa Chenpo and thus began his accumulation of merits for three countless
eons, the duration which he took to become a Buddha. By the time he worshiped
Tathagata Rinchen Tsugtor, he finished the first of the three countless aeons
and attained the first Bodhisattva stage.
[1] The Buddhist cosmology talks about four stages
of the formation, existence, destruction and absence of world systems, each
lasting the same duration. The stage of existence begins with ‘the long
beginning’ which starts with a human life span of 1054 years and gradually decreases at
the rate of two years every hundred years. When the life span reaches a minimum
of 10 years, the process reverses taking it back up 80,000 years and then drops
again until it is 10 years. This cycle beginning with the rise from 10 years
and ending with a drop to 10 years is known as ‘an intermediate aeon’. After 18
such cycles, the life span climbs back to 1054 years gradually during a period known as ‘the long end’.
These 18 cycles and the long beginning and end are equal in duration. After the
long end, the world system begins the process of destruction, which takes the
same time scale as existence. After complete destruction, the world remains
absent with nothing but empty space where the world system used to be.
[2] Abhidharmakosha, chapter III/…..
[page no. 5]
Then he attained the
seventh stage by end of the second countless aeon. After this, he was born as a
Brahmin boy called Trin. He studied the Vedas from an esteemed Brahmin master.
In order to find fees for the master, he went to the cities of central India
and arrived at the market place of Pemochen, the palace city of the king
Drathul.
At that time, the Buddha
Marme Zad came to this world and the son of the Brahmin Marmei Dagpo watched
him sitting with the gods in the sky offering him flowers, music and melodious
songs. Trin asked the Brhamin boy: “What are you doing here?” “Don’t you know
that the Buddha Marme Zad is here?” he replied. Trin was instantly awe struck.
“Alas, it is very rare for a Buddha to appear in the world. I will offer these
five hundred silver coins to the Buddha and pay my master later on”, he thought
to himself.
Then he made the Brahmin
girl Zanglendan sell him five blue lotus flowers promising to be her husband in
all of their successive rebirths. He threw the flowers to the Buddha as
offering, spread his spotted antelope skin and entreated the Buddha: “May the
all-seeing Tathagata Marme Zad see my pure intent and may he place his feet on
this antelope skin.” He laid out his golden tresses as a mat and entreated with
a strong resolve: “If the all-seeing Marme Zad do not place his feet here and
prophesy my future, I shall let my body dry up right here”. The Buddha placed
his feet on Trin’s tresses and declared, “Oh monks!
[page no. 6]
Do not place your feet on
the hair of this boy because he is the object of worship even for the gods. He
will become in the future the [Buddha] Sakyamuni.” Thus being prophesied, Trin
was overcome with joy and he rose about the height of seven palm trees above
the ground and also actualized hundreds and thousands of states of samadhi. In
this way, he attained the eighth ground.
It was thus said [by ŚŒkyamuni]:
For throwing five blue
lotus flowers as offering,
And spreading my own tresses
as a mat for the Buddha Marme Zad,
I attained the confidence
in the non-arising dharma
And I was prophesied to
become the King of ŚŒkyas.
Thus, by the time he worshiped
the Buddha Nampar Zig, he completed the three countless aeons and perfected the
ten Bodhisattva stages. It is said [in the …]:
The Buddhas Nampar Zig,
Marme Zead and Rinchen Tsugtor
Appeared at the end of
each countless [aeon].
ŚŒkya Thubchen was the first [Buddha our
Buddha encountered].
The auditors assert that
all of these happened while the Buddha was on the Path of the Accumulation.
They acclaim the teacher (the Buddha) and the rhino-like solitary realizers
reach enlightenment in thirty-four instances after attaining the Heat level on
the Path of Preparation as per the following statement:
The Teacher (the Buddha)
and the rhino (-like solitary realizers)
Achieve all stages in one
session of samadhi.
As for the calculation of the three aeons, it is stated
in The Compendium of Vehicles:
Through righteousness and the power of aspirations,
Through the stability of the mind and proceeding
for better
A Bodhisattva sets on [his career for]
Three countless aeons.
“Whenever the Bodhisattva
[page no. 7]
engages in equality of
[all] phenomena, from then on one must calculate the number of aeons, not from
the time when he initially generated the mind of enlightenment.”
Whenever righteousness,
[that is to say] the powerful foundation of virtues, the power of the
aspirations, the stability of the mind, [i.e. its] irreversibility and the
proceeding for better [which means to] become discontent with meagre qualities,
when these begin to arise, from then on until the attainment of Buddhahood, one
must calculate the three countless aeons.
One must also classify accumulations which a Bodhisattva must accumulate
into the accumulations of merit and wisdom or the six perfections. Our teacher
has attained Buddhahood swiftly. Some take thirty-two countless aeons and
others take innumerable countless aeons depending on when they realize their
aspirations, like Ma–ju§ri and
Samantabhadra.
Finally, as for the manner
in which he attained Buddhahood, it is stated in The Supreme Tantra:
Taking rebirth in the
higher realms,
Transmigrating from the
Tushita heaven,
Entering the mother’s womb
and taking birth,
Becoming skilled in the
field of arts,
Enjoying the retinue of
his consorts,
Renouncing the world and
undergoing penance,
Reaching the seat of
enlightenment,
Destroying the host of
Maras and attaining perfect enlightenment,
Turning the wheel of
dharma,
And entering the nirvana;
these are the acts [of the Buddha].
The first act takes place after our Buddha, who are was born as Dampa Togkarpo,
was installed as the regent of the heavenly realm of Gadan by the Buddha
Odsrung when Odsrung left Gadan. Dampa Togkarpo taught dharma to the gods in
Gadan and towards the end of his regency, due to the power of his merits and the
blessings of the Buddhas, he heard from the musical instruments of the gods
verses such as the following:
[page no. 8]
O you with vast merits,
possessor of virtues and realizer of mindfulness,
Who holds unlimited
intelligence and shine with wisdom
Who has matchless power
and is protean in artistic skills,
Please remember the
prophecy of the Buddha Marme Zad.
Inspired by such
exhortation, he placed his jewel crown on Maphampa (Maitreya), whom he
appointed regent and announced, “O friends! I will go to the continent of Zambuling
to attain Buddhahood. Maitreya will give you teachings.” The celestial
followers entreated: “This is not the right time to go there as the Zambuling
world is corrupted by the eighteen kinds of heretical doctrines.” To this, he
replied: “Like the rays of the sun over other rays, I can outshine them.” Having
said thus, in accordance with the Vedic tradition of the Brahmins, he descended
from heaven in the form of an elephant and entered into his mother’s womb
through her right rib cage after the winter has passed, on the 15th
day of the Saga (Vaishaka) month, the last month of the spring, coinciding with
the constellation Gyal and when his mother was observing a purificatory fast.
Hence it is stated in the
verses [by his mother Mayadevi]:
I felt a supreme elephant
Finely wrapped in golden
trappings,
And bearing a red crown,
an ash-white colour and six tusks
With a hue like that of a conch
shell, snow or silver enter me.
As it entered me, my body
and mind
Were enraptured by a
magnificent bliss,
Which has never been
heard, seen or felt before.
It was like being in a
deep meditative absorption.
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