The Author’s Introduction
Namo Buddhāya Siddhaṁ
Brief History
In 1954,
This compilation entitled “The Great Chronicles of the Buddhas,” resulting in six volumes in eight books, was commenced in 1956 and ended in 1969. The work, being the author’s magnum opus and a colossal contribution to Myanmar Buddhist literature, has been received with enthusiastic acclaim by members of the Saṅgha and the laity alike.
This Chronicle made its appearance after the convening of the Sixth Buddhist Council. It was subsequently translated into English by Myanmar scholars for the benefit of the English-speaking readers and has recently been revised to bring it more in line with English usage and presentation.
The Chronicle vividly describes, for the benefit of those who are virtuous devotees of Buddhism, how the Buddha, the true friend of the three classes of beings, had performed unique, meritorious deeds beginning from his existence as the recluse Sumedha.
Sumedha met Buddha Dīpaṅkara and obtained assurance from hiim that he would, in time to come, gain Supreme Awakening as Buddha Gotama, which is during our present aeon. In his quest for Awakening in the cycle of births and deaths, the Bodhisatta met the past 24 Buddhas, which are described in detail.
This book retells the Buddha Gotama’s story and also the lives of his prominent disciples, and the book will appeal not only to the causal reader but also to the serious student of Buddhism.
Kīdiso te Mahā-vīra, abhinīhāro naruttama,
kamhi kāle tayā dhīra, patthitā Bodhim-uttamā?
O Buddha, who is endowed with the four kinds of right exertion, who is the highest among men and higher than Devas and Brahmas, and who is thus chief of these three categories of beings! How should we comprehend your resolve to become a Buddha with great glory that pervades the whole universe extending from the bottom realm of intense suffering to the top realm of the Brahmas. Since when has your mind become inclined to achieve the highest laurel of Perfect Self-Awakening, which surpasses the Awakening of an Independent Buddha and the Awakening of a Disciple?
The four right exertions (sammappadhāna) are: 1) The endeavour to prevent the arising of evil which has not yet arisen; 2) the endeavour to put away evil that has arisen; 3) the endeavour to bring about the arising of good which has not yet arisen; and 4) the endeavour to further develop the good that has arisen.
[This is the text and a translation of Bv 1.75. As can be seen, this is a very long translation of what is just two lines in Pāḷi, an expansive form of translation the author uses throughout the text. Although not common in English, this form of translation is very common in Buddhist countries.]
This enquiring note of acclamation was sounded in the sky over the city of Kapilavatthu on the first waning moon of May (Vesākha), in the year 527 BCE. [The text has Kason here, the Myanmar name for the month; and the date was given from the time of the Great Era. I have converted all such references to the Pāḷi and English names, with Common Era equivalents.] The background story, in brief, of this question is narrated below.
The Buddha, the omniscient one and Lord of the Three Worlds, observed the first Rains Retreat (Vassa) in the Deer Park of Isipatana, Bārāṇasī, in the year 528 BCE. During this retreat, he converted the Group-of-Five ascetics and the group of 54 friends headed by Yasa, the son of a wealthy man, leading them to Awakening. When the retreat was over, he asked them to disseminate the Dhamma, which is excellent in all three aspects – the beginning, the middle and the end – with no two of them going in the same direction. He himself went alone towards the forest of Uruvelā to convert the three ascetic Kassapa brothers and their followers, numbering 1,000.
On the way to Uruvelā, on reaching the Kappāsika cotton grove, the Buddha met with the group of 30 auspicious (bhadda-vaggiya) men who were searching for a woman who had run away from their party. He established them in the lower paths and fruitions and made them monastics by summoning them to come forth (ehi-bhikkhu). Then he proceeded alone to Uruvelā, where he liberated the eldest brother, Uruvelā Kassapa and his 500 followers, from heretical views. He did the same for Nadī Kassapa and his 300 followers and Gayā Kassapa and his 200 followers. Finally, he taught to all 1,000 ascetics the Instruction about Burning (Āditta-pariyāya-sutta, SN 35.235) [I have added in references.] on the stone slab at Gayāsīsa and thereby established them in the fruition of Arahantship. And, together with the 1,000 newly accomplished Arahats, the Buddha set out on a journey to the city of Rājagaha.
The day the Buddha arrived in Rājagaha, he helped King Bimbisāra and the Brahmin householders with his teaching to reach Stream-entry (Sotāpatti-phala), 110,000 in all, and another 10,000 Brahmin householders were established in the three refuges (tisaraṇa). The following day, the Buddha accepted the Veḷuvana monastery which was generously donated by King Bimbisāra in support of his ministry. It was the first monastery he had ever accepted, and the occasion of his acceptance of the monastery was marked by a great earthquake. From that time onwards, he taught all those worthy of
While the Buddha was thus busily engaging himself, his father, King Suddhodana, sent nine ministers, one after another, each with 1,000 men, on a mission to invite him to return to Kapilavatthu. Instead, they became Arahats and neither conveyed the king’s message to the Buddha, nor sent back any information to the king. So the Buddha’s playmate, the minister Kāḷudāyī, was sent as the tenth envoy, also with 1,000 men. Kāḷudāyī and his men became Arahats also and spent time enjoying the bliss of their spiritual attainment. When the cold season was over and spring arrived, Kāḷudāyī made a humble request to the Buddha, in 64 verses, persuading him to return to the home of his kinsmen. The Buddha then journeyed to the city of Kapilavatthu on the first day after the full moon of March (Phagguṇa) travelling slowly, covering only one league a day, and arrived at Kapilavatthu on the first day after the full moon of May (Vesākha) in the year 527 BCE.
On the same day, the Sakyan princes welcomed the Buddha and his host of monastics in a great ceremony and took them to Nigrodhārāma monastery as arranged beforehand. On arrival at the monastery, the Buddha sat in the seat specially prepared for him and remained quiet, surrounded by 20,000 Arahats. The Sakyans, who took too great a pride in their high birth, thought to themselves: “This Prince Siddhattha is younger than us. He is only a young brother, or a young nephew, or a young grandson of ours,” and puffed up with conceit, they urged their younger kinsmen: “You bow in homage to the Buddha; we shall, however, stand behind you.”
The Buddha knew the inner minds of the Sakyan princes were full of pride at their birth and thought to himself: “These proud kinsfolk of mine do not realize that they have grown old without accomplishing anything beneficial for themselves. They know nothing about the nature of a Buddha. They know nothing about the power of a Buddha. Thinking: “What if I were to display a Buddha’s might by performing the twin miracle of water and fire; I will make a jewelled walk in the sky, a platform as broad as the 10,000 world-element and I will walk to and fro on it and pour forth a shower of teachings to suit the temperaments of all those who come to me.” No sooner had he resolved on this, than the Brahmas and Devas shouted out their joyous approval.
Then the Buddha entered upon the fourth absorption (jhāna) taking the colour white as his object of concentration. On arising from that absorption, he made a firm resolve that light should spread all over the 10,000 world-element. Immediately after that resolution, all the universes were flooded with light to the great delight of humans, Devas and Brahmas. While they were rejoicing, the Buddha rose up into the sky by developing the supernormal power through exercise of the fourth absorption.
Then he proceeded to perform the twin miracle (yamaka-pāṭihāriya), which consisted of the appearance of flames of fire and streams of water emitted alternatively from: 1) The top and bottom of the body; 2) the front and the back; 3) the eyes; 4) the ears; 5) the nose; 6) the shoulders; 7) the hands; 8) the sides; 9) the feet; 10) the fingers, toes and from between one finger and another, as well as from between one toe and another; 11) from each hair of the body; and 12) from every pore of the body.
The fire-sparks emitted and water-sprays fell amidst the crowds of human and celestial beings as though the Buddha was letting the dust fall from his feet onto their heads. This exhibition of the twin miracle with the emission of fire and water alternately from the body of the Buddha created a marvellous spectacle of great splendour which inspired all the Sakyan princes with awe and reverence, moving them to utter words of resounding praise.
After the performance of the twin miracle, the Buddha created a jewelled walk of great brilliance which extended from east to west reaching even beyond the 10,000 world-element. He then walked up and down the jewelled walk and delivered several discourses to Devas and humans according to their mental dispositions.
At that time, Venerable Sāriputta, who was residing at Gijjhakūṭa Hill in Rājagaha, through his supernormal power saw the whole event taking place at Kapilavatthu and
Kīdiso te Mahā-vīra, abhinīhāro naruttama,
kamhi kāle tayā dhīra, patthitā Bodhim-uttamā?
which was mentioned above, thereby asking the Buddha to elaborate on how he had received the definite prophecy from the former Buddhas and how he had fulfilled the ten perfections, which extend to thirty in all, for the Bodhisattas. Then the Buddha, who was still on the walkway, responded with two verses (Bv 1.80-81):
Pīti-pāmojja-jananaṁ, soka-salla-vinodanaṁ,
sabba-sampatti-paṭilābhaṁ, cittī-katvā suṇātha me.
Mada-nimmadanaṁ sokanudaṁ, Saṁsāra-parimocanaṁ,
sabba-dukkhakkhayaṁ maggaṁ, sakkaccaṁ paṭipajjatha.
Listen to the Chronicles of the Buddhas (Buddha-vaṁsa) which will give you joy and happiness, remove the thorns of sorrow and bestow upon you the three kinds of bliss: human existence, divine existence and Nibbāna. Having thus listened, try to follow and practise the path, as will be explained in this discourse that will dispel conceit, eradicate sorrow, liberate you from Saṁsāra and put an end to all suffering.
Thus, the Buddha, out of compassion, urged all humans, Devas and Brahmas reciting the verses numbering four recital sections (bhāṇavāra) or approximately 1080 verses. [One bhāṇavāra is equal to 250 Siloka verses, each of four lines, or 32 syllables.]
The Chronicles of the Buddhas (Buddha-vaṁsa) is included in the Collection of the Supplementary Texts (Khuddaka-nikāya), which was recited at the first, second and third councils by Arahats. The commentary on it, entitled the Clarifier of the Sweet Meaning (Madhu-rattha-vilāsinī), consisting of 26 bhāṇavāra (approx 200,000 syllables) was authored by Ven. Buddhadatta, a resident of the Port monastery of Kāvīrapaṭṭana of the Coḷa Country in South India.
The Great Chronicles of the Buddha’s Story
During the reign of King Bagyidaw (A.D.1819-37), the fourth founder of the city of Ratanapūra, the first Ngakhon Sayādaw, recipient of the title of Ādiccavaṁsābhidhaja Mahādhammarājādhirājaguru, wrote the Chronicles of the Buddhas (Buddha-vaṁsa) story in prose. He combined the text and its commentary, interspersed with certain Pāḷi verses and their word-for-word translations, for the benefits of joy, the end of sorrow, etc., by young men and women of good families, but he did not translate the whole text word for word, as there already existed well-known translations in that style called nissaya, or word-by-word translations.
That Chronicles of the Buddhas (Buddha-vaṁsa) in Myanmar prose was published in 1935 by Zambumeitswe Piṭaka Press, Yangon, in three volumes, with the title: “The Great Chronicles of the Buddhas Story.”
Sudhammavatī Buddha-vaṁsa
Not long after the Great Chronicles of the Buddhas Story was published, the Chronicles of the Buddhas endowed with the True Dhamma (Sudhammavatī Buddha-vaṁsa) appeared in one volume of poetical prose, written by editor U Htun Sein.
The State Buddhasāsana Council’s Version
After the founding of the newly independent country of the Union of Myanmar, the people, both the Saṅgha and the laity, were busy assiduously making preparations and arrangements, shouldering their respective responsibilities for holding the Sixth Buddhist Council. The Prime Minister U Nu, seeing their dedicated activities, was inspired by the profound thought of bringing out a new version of the Chronicles of the Buddhas (Buddha-vaṁsa) and its commentary, a version that should include everything that is connected with the Buddhas. Accordingly, he requested me, in his house, on the occasion of a “Countless births” (Aneka-jāti) ceremony [This is a ceremony performed for the deceased in Myanmar. One of the verses chanted during the ceremony is the Aneka-jāti verse, Dhp 153.] and inauguration of his shrine-room, to write such a story of the Buddhas in commemoration of the great event of the Buddhist Council.
I said to the Prime Minister then: “I have been assigned to participate as a Bearer of the Three Baskets (Tipiṭaka-dhara) in the Sixth Buddhist Council, which is to be held soon, and I still have to work hard to become qualified for the title.” With this excuse, I declined to comply with his request. Indeed, at that time, I had just passed the written examination in the Basket of Discipline (Vinaya-piṭaka) and was about to sit for another one on the Basket of the Abstract Teaching (Abhidhamma-piṭaka).
Succession of Compilers
Undaunted by my refusal of his request, the Prime Minister persisted in his earnest effort to produce the proposed book by approaching other scholars, and the compilation was started first under the supervision of Medhāvī Sayagyi U Saing. Some months later, when only a portion had been done, the work was interrupted until Mahāpaññābala Paṭhamagyaw Sayagyi U Kyee Pe took over as supervisor. In the same way, the compilation again passed on to Aggamahāpaṇḍita Sayagyi U Lin, M.A. After one and a half years, he could finish compiling only the first volume of the series, from the story of Sumedha up to the end of the story of Buddha Kassapa. Then U Lin passed away to our great regret, leaving only the fame of his learning.
The Assignment
It was on the 11th day of the waxing moon on December 6, 1954, that Sayagyi U Lin passed away. Four days later, the sponsor of my ordination and spiritual father, the wealthy Sir U Thwin, Thadosirī Sudhamma, Chairman of the State Buddhasāsana Council and Patron of the Sixth Buddhist Council, came to see me at the request of the Prime Minister and asked me not to refuse should the Prime Minister make a request for writing a Chronicles of the Buddhas (Buddha-vaṁsa). On the full moon day of January 8th 1955, the Prime Minister himself came to see me at my temporary residence at the Saṅgha Yeiktha Meditation Centre and made a formal request as follows:
1. Please supervise the compilation of a treatise on the lives of the Buddhas. In so doing, please include everything about the Buddhas, not leaving out even minor details. If one volume is not enough, make it two; if two is not enough, make it four, eight and so on. It is important that the work should be exhaustive.
2. The writing should be intelligible and interesting to all, young and old, even to non-Buddhists who wish to know about the lives of the Buddhas.
3. Should the Ven. Sayādaw undertake the task of writing the Great Chronicles of the Buddhas (Mahā-buddha-vaṁsa) in Myanmar, it will be welcomed by all, both the Saṅgha and the laity alike.
The request had been made repeatedly, the first time in 1951, the second time in 1953, and now in 1954, by my spiritual father, and finally by the Prime Minister himself. I therefore felt that I should no longer refuse to comply with their request. Accordingly, I gave my consent firmly, saying: “Very well, Dāyakagyi, when the proceedings of the Council are over, I will take charge of the compilation and supervise the work to the best of my ability without sparing my energy.”
After the Prime Minister left, I reminded myself of the following dictum (Thag 226):
Yañ-hi kayirā tañ-hi vade; yaṁ na kayirā na taṁ vade,
akarontaṁ bhāsamānaṁ, parijānanti paṇḍitā.
One should say what one would do; one should not say what one does not do. He who says but does not do is subject to blame by the wise.
Request by the State Buddhasāsana Council
Not long after I had made a promise to the Prime Minister, the State Buddhasāsana Council also made its own request. In reply to it, I stipulated the following three terms for carrying out the work: 1) The work would be done voluntarily without acceptance of any honorarium; 2) I would have nothing to do with office administrative work; and 3) I would only take charge of the literary matters in which I feel competent. I added that if these three conditions were agreeable to the State Buddhasāsana Council, it would mean that I had accepted the assignment.
Some days later, three officials from the State Buddhasāsana Council, namely, Chief Editor U Ba Hmi and Editors Saya Htun and Saya U Ba Than, approached me with the favourable reply that the State Buddhasāsana Council had agreed to all the points raised by me.
Then, in accepting the compilation work, I said to Saya Htun and Saya U Ba Than: “Subject to failure is a work without a leader, so is a work with too many leaders. I accept the work as its supervisor so that the compilation of the Chronicles of the Buddhas (Buddha-vaṁsa) may not fail. You carry on with the assignment as has been planned since the time of Sayagyi U Lin. I shall attend to the editing work when the proceedings of the Council come to an end.”
The Prime Minister’s Request
As though “to drive in a nail where it is already firm, or to strap on an iron belt where it is already tight,” the Prime Minister’s formal request in writing came. The letter was dated the December 28, 1955. The translation of the letter is omitted here [by the translators, that is].
Sayagyi U Lin’s Great Learning
When the Sixth Buddhist Council and the ceremonies commemorating the 2500th year of Buddhism in 1956 came to an end, in compliance with the Prime Minister’s request and in fulfilment of my promise, I started editing the manuscripts so far prepared on the Great Chronicles of the Buddhas (Mahā-buddha-vaṁsa). I found them running to over 700 pages and they were full of noteworthy facts with profound meanings, covering a wide field but not easy to be grasped by ordinary people. In preparing these manuscripts, it looked as if the Sayagyi was making a final display of his great genius of learning.
When Sayagyi U Lin first planned the compilation of the Great Chronicles of the Buddhas (Mahā-buddha-vaṁsa), he had in mind to write it only briefly and did so accordingly. But the Prime Minister U Nu earnestly urged him, saying: “Let it be as elaborate as possible, Sayagyi. Write all there is to know about the Buddhas; there cannot be anything that is too insignificant to be left out. Please write to the best of your ability for the benefit of the coming generations.” Sayagyi then put aside all that had been written before briefly and worked afresh keeping his mind steadfastly on the subject of the Chronicles of the Buddhas (Buddha-vaṁsa) all the time. When he began working, on arrival at his office, he would put both his arms on the desk and start dictating to his stenographer, giving him no rest, sometimes making a clicking sound with his tongue, at other times, clenching the fists, closing the eyes and gnashing the teeth to concentrate his energy. All this was known from the information given by Saya Htun.
A New Plan for the Work
Such a very ambitious literary work, which was full of noteworthy doctrinal points with their deep meanings, like a treasure house of knowledge presented by the Sayagyi as if “he
1. The main subject of the Chronicles of the Buddhas (Buddha-vaṁsa) should be treated separately.
2. Chapter II on “The Rare Appearance of a Buddha” should be re-written and confirmed by other learned Sayādaws.
3. A new chapter, now chapters VII and VIII, on miscellaneous matters concerning duties which should be comprehended and performed by every aspirant of Buddhahood, should be added. [This is now The First Treatise on the Perfections in the Further Explanations.]
4. Explanatory notes and interpretations should be given fully in a separate chapter, entitled the Further Explanations, to serve as a supplement to the first part of the first volume.
5. Difficult usages should be made easy by replacing them with simple ones.
When the manuscripts of the Great Chronicles of the Buddhas (Mahā-buddha-vaṁsa) finally went to the press of the State Buddhasāsana Council, Sayagyi Saya Nyan, Mahāpaññābala, Professor of Pāḷi, acted as chief proof reader.
Exhortation to Readers
This version of the Great Chronicles of the Buddhas (Mahā-buddha-vaṁsa) contains the same material with the same meaning as that preserved in the original Chronicles of the Buddhas (Buddha-vaṁsa) text and its commentary, etc. The only difference between the original works and this lies in the medium employed, the former in Pāḷi and the latter in Myanman.
Here, of course, translated into English. It should be said that the Great Chronicles of the Buddhas contains far more than just the original Chronicles of the Buddhas, including much information about Buddha Gotama, which is greatly expanded on and now forms the bulk of the work, and his disciples, which is entirely absent from the original work.
Since a Chronicles of the Buddhas (Buddha-vaṁsa) can truly confer upon its worthy readers such benefits as: 1) Joy and happiness, 2) an end of sorrow, and 3) the three attainments of human existence, divine existence and Nibbāna, as has been pronounced by the Buddha, this Introduction is concluded with an exhortation in verse so that each reader might enjoy his or her share of welfare.
Pātubhūto Mahā-buddha-vaṁso Buddhattha-dīpako,
Buddha-vādīnam-atthāya taṁ nisāmetha sādhavo.
You worthy men of gentle mind, seeking your own interest and that of others! This book of the Great Chronicles of the Buddhas, a version commissioned by the State Buddhasāsana Council, which has made its appearance in commemoration of the convening of the Sixth Buddhist Council, resembles a plot of land on which virtuous Buddhists may sow the seeds of the Dhamma. It vividly describes, for the benefits of those who are virtuous devotees of Buddhism, how the Buddha, the friend of the three classes of beings, performed unique, meritorious deeds beginning from his existence as Sumedha. Therefore, you all who aspire after the fourfold knowledge of the path, the true Awakening, should study it carefully with an eye of wisdom, fully confident that you will gain the fruits of joy and happiness, an end of sorrow, and the three attainments of human existence, divine existence and Nibbāna.
U Vicittasārābhivaṁsa,
Tipiṭakadhara Dhammabhaṇḍāgārika,
The 7th waxing moon of July (Āsāḷha), 1969.
[The printed translation gave the date as 1399, Myanmar era, but there must be some mistake here, as 1399 corresponds to 2037 CE, which cannot be right. It says in the Introduction that the author started the work in 1956 and completed it in 1969. I have therefore dated it at the year of completion.]
The Bodhisatta [This title has been added in, as there was no overall descriptive title for this section.]
I: Salutation and Intention The original word in Pāli is Paṭiññā, which literally means ‘promise’ or ‘vow.’
Namo Tassa Bhagavato Arahato Sammā-sambuddhassa!
This Pāḷi sentence is a formula of great honour paid to the Buddha which may be translated: “Honour to him, the Fortunate One, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One.” A Buddhist literary work usually begins with this to show the author’s devotion and obeisance.
With
Malalasekera says there are eight differences (aṭṭha-vemattāni), in which “the eight particulars in which the Buddha differ from each other.” His rendering of these eight are: “Length of life in the epoch in which each is born, the height of his body, his social rank, some are born as nobles (khattiya), others as Brahmins, the length of his austerities, the aura of his body, Thus in the case of Maṅgala, his aura spread throughout the ten thousand world-elements, while that of Gotama extended only one fathom. the conveyance in which he makes his renunciation, the tree under which he attains Enlightenment, and the size of the seat (pallaṅka) under the Bodhi tree.” See the Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names, under Buddha (DPPN II, p. 296). [Also see the discussion in the Supplement in the Further Explanations.]
With most respectful adoration, I pay obeisance to the Dhamma, which, through his omniscience and out of profound compassion for all beings, has been well taught This is the first attribute of the Dhamma. by the Buddha, and which has been held in high esteem.
With most respectful adoration, I pay obeisance to the Saṅgha, the community of noble ones, who have become true sons of the master by their proper and upright practice These are the first and second of the attributes of the Sangha. of the Dhamma.
Having paid respects to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha, I shall now write in a language neither too brief nor too elaborate, neither too simple nor too difficult, and relying mainly on the canonical texts of the Chronicles of the Buddhas (Buddha-vaṁsa) The fourteenth book of the Khuddaka-nikāya. and its commentary, but also taking relevant materials from other texts and commentaries, the Great Chronicles of the Buddhas (Mahā-buddha-vaṁsa), a book on the lives of the 25 Awakened Ones from out of innumerable past Buddhas, whose number is far greater than that of the grains of sand of the Ganges, Cp. Appakā vālukā Gaṅgā, anantā nibbutā jinā, “few are the sands of the Ganges, innumerable are the conquerors, who have entered Nirvana ….” This is from U Pe Maung Tin’s translation of the popular Pāli verse beginning with the word Sambuddhe. beginning with the account of the exalted Dīpaṅkara, from whom the future Gotama, as the ascetic Sumedha, received the definite prophecy that he would
Receiving of the definite prophecy (nīyata-vyākaraṇa) is an important feature in the spiritual evolution of a Bodhisatta. We shall see more about it when we come to the story of Sumedha.
May those virtuous people, who are desirous of seeking merit and knowledge; who, with abiding faith, have established a firm foundation of refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha, and who are properly and uprightly cultivating the threefold practice of morality (sīla), concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (paññā), easily attain the paths, fruitions and Nibbāna.
After the word Buddha the author adds an adjectival clause reading: “Whose supremacy in the three worlds is like the ruby-studded pinnacle of a palace.” The three worlds here are the three realms of sensuality (kāma), form (rūpa) and the formless (arūpa). The first corresponds to the realm of the five senses, comprising the four woeful states (apāya), the human world and the six celestial worlds. The form and formless worlds belong to the Brahmas.