13. The Chronicle of Buddha Piyadassī
When the aeon in which Buddha Sujāta appeared had come to an end and 1,800 aeons had elapsed, in a certain noble (vara) aeon there appeared three Buddhas: Piyadassī, Atthadassī and Dhammadassī.
The story of Piyadassī, the first of these three, is as follows: On completion of his fulfilment of the perfections, Bodhisatta Piyadassī was reborn in Tusita which was a practice common to all Bodhisattas. Having agreed to the entreaties of Devas and Brahmas to become a Buddha, he descended to the human world to be conceived in the womb of Queen Candā, Queen of King Sudatta, in the city of Sudhaññavatī. When ten months had elapsed, the Bodhisatta was born in the garden, named Varuṇa. The Bodhisatta was given the name of Piyadassī as delightful miracles were manifest to multitudes of people on his naming day.
Early Life
When the Bodhisatta came of age, he lived in three palaces: Sunimmala, Vimala and Giriguhā. Being entertained and served by Princess Vimalā and her 33,000 maids of honour for 9,000 years, he enjoyed a divine-like royal household life.
After seeing the four omens, and after Princess Vimalā had given birth to a son, named Kañcanaveḷa, he went forth in a chariot drawn by thoroughbred steeds. 10 million men were inspired and became recluses themselves.
Awakening
With that 10 million recluses, Bodhisatta Piyadassī practised the austerities for six months. On the full-moon day of May (Vesākha), the day of his Awakening, he partook of the milk rice offered by the daughter of Brahmin Vasabha, a resident of the Brahmin village of Varuṇa and spent the daytime in the local Sāla grove. He went alone to the Mahā Bodhi tree in the evening. On the way, he accepted eight handfuls of grass offered by Sujāta the Ājīvaka. As soon as he spread the grass under the Kakudha Bodhi tree, there appeared the unconquered seat, which was 53 cubits. Sitting cross-legged on it, and mustering his energy at four levels, he drove away Māra’s forces and attained omniscience, Perfectly Self-Awakened Buddhahood and the state of the Lord of the Three Worlds.
Three Occasions of the Buddha’s Teaching
1. After his Awakening, Buddha Piyadassī stayed in the neighbourhood of the Mahā Bodhi tree for 49 days, just as previous Buddhas did. He discerned that the 10 million of recluses, who had renounced the world with him, were endowed with the merits of their past deeds which lead to the attainment of the paths and fruitions. He then, by psychic power, immediately appeared in the royal garden, which was named after the nearby city of Usabhavatī. Being surrounded by the 10 million of recluses, he taught the Dhamma Wheel (Dhamma-cakka) discourse, which was also taught by previous Buddhas, to Devas and Brahmas who had gathered there to listen to him.
2. The Buddha’s second teaching took place on the mountain of Sudassana, near Usabhavatī city. Sudassana, the Yakkha King of the mountain, was then holding to a wrong view. People living in Jambudīpa annually brought food costing 100,000 pieces of money to offer to him, who, sitting side by side with the human King of Usabhavatī, was honoured by the whole continent as a god.
Things offered to gods or kings are called bali in Pāḷi; offering bali to gods is said to be “feeding bali to gods”; giving it to kings is known as “paying taxes.”
At that time, thinking that he would remove Sudassana’s wrong view, Buddha Piyadassī went to his mansion, while he was away at a meeting of Yakkhas. He sat on Sudassana’s splendid couch and stayed there emitting his radiance of six colours, like the sun appearing at the top of Mount Yugandhara in the month of November (Kattikā), in autumn. Sudassana’s retinue of Yakkhas, surrounding him, honoured the Buddha with flowers, scents, unguents, etc.
On his return from the Yakkhas’ meeting, Sudassana saw the radiance of six colours coming out from his mansion, and thought to himself: “Never have I seen before such splendour of diverse brilliant colours. Who could be the person occupying my place? Is it a human being? Or, is it a divine being?” On surveying, he saw the Buddha with a network of radiance of six colours like the autumnal sun rising from Mount Yugandhara. “This shaven-headed monk is sitting on my luxurious bed and is surrounded by members of my retinue,” said Sudassana to himself, with his heart tormented by anger. “Well, I shall display my physical
Having done so, he inspected it, wondering “whether the shaven-headed monk has become ashes in the flames,” but he saw the Buddha with a serene face and a glorious body emitting brilliant lights because of the network of diverse radiance. “This monk can withstand even the burning fire,” he thought. “Well, I will drown him in a huge flood of water.” He then caused an immense mass of water to rush into the mansion at high speed. Though the Buddha remained in the mansion flooded with water, not even a single thread of his robe nor a single hair of his body got wet.
After that the Yakkha King Sudassana contemplated another method by which he hoped the Buddha would be suffocated and killed. He brought the mass of water close to the Buddha, who appeared glorious in the greenish blue waters with the network of radiance like the bright moon on the full-moon night of November (Kattikā) and sitting surrounded by Sudassana’s courtiers. Unable to control his anger and thinking: “I shall put the great monk to death by all means,” he caused a rain of nine kinds of weapons to fall on the Buddha. Because of the Buddha’s great physic power, all these weapons turned into various beautiful and fragrant clusters and garlands of flowers and fell at his feet.
Seeing that miraculous phenomenon, Sudassana became much more resentful and violent instead of getting awed with faith. He caught hold of the Buddha by the legs with his two hands and lifted him up. Then passing over the great ocean, he rushed to the mountain ranges that mark the end of the Cakkavāḷa, for he wanted to rid his abode of the Buddha.
“How is he? Is he dead or alive?” Thinking thus, he looked at the Buddha and, as though in a dream, saw that he remained seated in the mansion. It then occurred to him thus: “Ah, this great monk is so powerful, I was not able to drag him out of my place. If somebody comes to know of what I am doing now, it will be a disgrace to me. Therefore, before anyone sees, I shall go away, abandoning both the monk and the mansion.”
At that moment, the Buddha, knowing Sudassana’s thoughts, resolved so that Devas and humans could see him holding his legs. In accordance with this resolve, Sudassana was unable to leave his abode as he had planned but remained there holding the Buddha’s legs with both of his hands.
That was the day when 101 kings of the whole of Jambudīpa gathered together to honour the Yakkha King with offerings (bali). The 101 kings saw Sudassana holding the Buddha’s legs and marvelled at what they saw, exclaiming: “Our King of Yakkhas is massaging the legs of the king of recluses! Oh, Buddhas should be indeed marvelled at with a snapping of the fingers. With the snapping of the fingers: equivalent to an expression of praise or approval with clapping of the hands. Oh, their attributes are indeed wonderful!” With their hearts inclined towards the Buddha they paid homage to the Buddha with their clasped hands placed on their heads.
At that gathering, Buddha Piyadassī gave Dhamma instructions to the audience with Sudassana at its head. Then 900 billion Devas and humans became Arahats.
3. At another time, in the city of Kumuda, which was nine leagues in extent, its area being nine leagues, the wicked monk Soṇa, opponent of Buddha Piyadassī and the counterpart of Devadatta in the lifetime of our Buddha Gotama, after consulting with the king’s son, Prince Mahā Paduma, incited him to kill his father. After various attempts to have Buddha Piyadassī killed proved futile, he enticed the driver of the royal elephant, Doṇamukha by name, to whom he gave instructions, saying: “When Buddha Piyadassī enters the city on alms round, kill him by driving Doṇamukha towards him.”
Since the elephant-driver was not so intelligent to judge what was beneficial and what was not, he thought thus: “This monk Soṇa is an intimate friend of the king. If he does not
As soon as he was let out, Doṇamukha crushed elephants, horses, buffaloes, bulls, men and women whom he encountered on the way, destroyed all buildings that were in his way, and like a cannibal-demon, he devoured all the flesh of its prey in the noisy company of eagles, kites, crows and vultures. And finally, as soon as he saw the Buddha from a distance, he rushed towards him at high speed.
The hearts of the citizens, almost burst open with fear and anxiety, took to house-tops, walls, stone parapets, brick parapets, trees, etc., and on seeing the elephant, who was rushing towards the Buddha, they called out, and some of them even tried to stop the elephant in various ways. Seeing Doṇamukha, the king of elephants rushing towards him, the “Elephant of a Buddha,” with his tranquil heart, diffusing intense compassion, permeated it with sublime loving-kindness.
Noble ones such as Buddhas and Arahats are sometimes figuratively likened to such noble animals as elephants, lions, bulls, etc. in Buddhist literature. For instance in the Dhamma Verses (Dhammapada), there is a chapter named the Chapter about the Elephant (Nāga-vagga), the verses of which described the qualities of an elephant (nāga). That may be compared to those of a sage in the Questions of King Milinda (Milinda-pañha), where the epithet Buddha-nāga is conspicuously mentioned.
Then Doṇamukha, his heart made tender with the permeation of the Buddha’s loving-kindness, realized his wrong-doing and became so ashamed that he could not stand in a natural manner before the Buddha but lay down with his head at the Buddha’s feet as though he was about to sink into the earth.
Watching the event, the citizens were filled with joy and shouted in acclaim, like the roar of a lion. They also honoured the elephant in various ways, with highly fragrant flowers, sandalwood powder, ornaments and so on. They even threw up their turbans and garments, and celestial drums were beaten in the sky.
Nāḷāgiri, the elephant during the time of our Buddha Gotama, was similarly tamed, and when it was respectfully lying before the Buddha, people threw on it various ornaments, which covered the whole of its body. From that moment onwards, Nāḷāgiri had been called Dhanapāla, Keeper of Wealth. Thereupon, it walked backwards with respect and when it had entered its shed, it is said in the Short Birth Story about the Golden Goose (Cūḷa-haṁsa-jātaka, Ja 502) commentary, the adornments went back to their respective original owners owing to the Buddha’s resolve. In the same way, when the people threw theirs on Doṇamukha, it should be taken that they were given as a reward to the elephant.
Then the Buddha stroked the head of the elephant who was lying prostrate at his feet and exhorted it with the words that suited his mentally. The elephant that has thus been exhorted regained his conscience and became so tame that he looked like a monk-disciple of the Buddha, disciplined in Vinaya. Having exhorted Doṇamukha the way Buddha Gotama exhorted Dhanapāla, Buddha Piyadassī give a discourse in the midst of the people who had gathered there. At that time, 800 billion people attained the paths and fruitions.
Three Occasions of the Disciples’ Meeting
1. There were three meetings (sannipāta) of the disciples of the Buddha. On the first occasion, when Buddha Piyadassī paid a visit to the city of Sumaṅgala, the two friends, Prince Pālita and the youth, Sabbadassī, son of the king’s Brahmin chaplain, who were his future chief disciples, hearing of the Buddha’s visit to their city, welcomed him together with their 1,000 billion retinue. They listened to his discourse and gave alms for seven days. On the seventh day, at the end of the Buddha’s discourse which was given in appreciation of the meal, both of them, together with their 1,000 billion
2. At another time, at the gathering where the Yakkha Sudassana was tamed, 900 million men put on the robe and became Arahats. Being surrounded by these 900 million monks, the Buddha recited the Advisory Rules.
3. Still at another time, on the occasion of the taming of the elephant Doṇamukha, 800 million men renounced the world and became Arahats. In the midst of these 800 million Arahats, the Buddha recited the Advisory Rules.
The Bodhisatta as Brahmin Kassapa
At that time, our Bodhisatta was a Brahmin youth, Kassapa by name, who was accomplished in the three Vedas. Having listened to the Buddha’s teaching, he cultivated great faith and had a huge monastery built at the cost of 1,000 billion. He then offered it to the Saṅgha headed by the Buddha. Rejoicing in his act of merit, he took refuge in the Three Treasures and kept the five precepts steadfastly, lest he should become heedless.
Remaining in the midst of the Saṅgha, Buddha Piyadassī made the prophecy concerning the youth, Kassapa: “1,800 aeons from the present one, this youth, Kassapa, will become a Buddha indeed.”
Having heard Buddha Piyadassī’s prophecy, the Bodhisatta was extremely happy and determined to fulfil the perfections even more energetically.
Particulars of Buddha Piyadassī
Buddha Piyadassī’s birthplace was Sudhaññavatī city.
His father was King Sudatta and his mother was Queen Candā.
He reigned for 9,000 years.
His three palaces were Sunimmala, Vimala and Giriguhā.
His chief consort was Vimalā, who had 33,000 maids of honour.
His son was Prince Kañcanaveḷa.
The vehicle he used for his going forth, after seeing the four omens, was a chariot drawn by thoroughbred horses.
He practised the austerities for six months.
His two male chief disciples were Ven. Pālita and Ven. Sabbadassī.
His attendant was Ven. Sobhita.
His two female chief disciples were Ven. Sujātā and Ven. Dhammadinnā.
His Bodhi tree was a Kakudha.
His noble male lay-supporters were the wealthy men, Sandhaka and Dhammaka.
His noble female lay-disciples were Visākhā and Dhammadinnā.
Buddha Piyadassī had innumerable followers and good reputation. He was also endowed with the 32 marks of a Great Man. His height was 80 cubits, like a great Sāla tree in full bloom.
There was no torchlight, moonlight or sunlight that could vie with the physical light of the peerless Buddha Piyadassī which surpassed them all.
The lifespan during the time of Buddha Piyadassī was 90,000 years. Living for four-fifths of this lifespan, he rescued many beings, such as humans, Devas and Brahmas, from the currents of Saṁsāra and put them on the shores of Nibbāna.
Buddha Piyadassī, who was to be likened with past peerless Buddhas, and the pair of his peerless chief disciples, etc., have all vanished. Unsubstantial and futile indeed are all conditioned things!
In this way, the noble monk, Buddha Piyadassī attained Parinibbāna in the park of fig trees. In that park, the shrine erected and dedicated to Buddha Piyadassī, as has been stated before for other Buddhas, was three leagues high.