Chapter 12: The Bliss of Omniscience
(1) At that time, a thought arose in the minds of certain deities. They wondered, “Perhaps the task of Prince Siddhattha is only this much, for he shows no desire to leave the jeweled throne.” The Blessed One, knowing the thoughts of the deities, levitated into the air and performed a miracle to cut off their doubts. The miracle he displayed was the emission of pairs of phenomena: he displayed heaps of fire and streams of water proceeding in pairs. Fire would issue from the upper part of his body while streams of water issued from the lower part, and so on, until fire issued from the fingers of his hand and streams of water issued from between his fingers, as the final part of the display.
(2) Thus the Blessed One, having displayed the Twin Miracle, which is unique and cannot be performed by disciples or solitary Buddhas, descended from the air and went to sit in the northeastern quarter. He thought to himself, “It was on this jeweled throne that the Tathāgata attained omniscience.” He then gazed at that jeweled throne with unblinking eyes without blinking for seven days. That place was named the Animissaka Cetiyatthana (The Shrine of the Unblinking Gaze).
(3) Then, in order from the throne and the place where He stood, the Blessed One created a jeweled cloister walk, long and extending from east to west, in the space between the jeweled throne and the spot where He had stood. The Blessed One paced upon that jeweled cloister walk, experiencing the bliss of liberation for another seven days. That place was named the Ratanacankama Cetiya (The Jeweled Cloister Shrine).
(4) In the fourth week, after seven days, making it the fourth time, the devas created a jeweled house in the northwest direction from the Bodhi tree. The Blessed One went and sat cross-legged inside that jeweled house. He contemplated the Abhidhamma Pitaka, with its endless methods, specifically the profound Patthana, for seven days. The monks who uphold the Abhidhamma explain that there was no physical jeweled house; rather, the place where the Lord Buddha contemplated the seven treatises of the Abhidhamma was named the Ratanagharatthana (The Jeweled House Place) for that reason.
The components were: the ground, which is the four foundations of mindfulness (Satipatthana); the pillars planted, which are the four bases of spiritual power (Iddhipada); the walls raised, which are the Vinaya Pitaka; the roof frame placed on top, which is the four right exertions (Sammappadhana); the jewels and surface, which are the eight attainments (Samapatti); the arrangement of the roof above, which is the Suttanta Pitaka; and the roofing material, which is the Abhidhamma Pitaka. The Blessed One’s jeweled house was a manifestation of the entire sublime Dhamma. The wise should know that this jeweled house was the place where the Blessed One contemplated the three Pitakas, comprising five Nikayas, nine Angas, and adorned with 84,000 Dhammakkhandhas. The Blessed One contemplated the Vinaya Pitaka, the Suttanta Pitaka, and the Abhidhamma Pitaka with his omniscient wisdom. Then, six-colored rays—blue, yellow, red, white, crimson, and brilliant (mixed)—emanated from his body, spreading in all directions. He contemplated in this manner for seven days. That place was named the Ratanaghara Cetiyatthana (The Shrine of the Jeweled House).
(5) In the fifth week, after seven days, making it the fifth time, the Blessed One emerged from the Jeweled House and went to the Ajapala (Goatherd’s) Banyan Tree.
Upon arriving, the Blessed One sat and contemplated the sublime Dhamma that He had attained, considering how to make it intricate through many aspects. For there are six types of individuals whom the Buddha should tame, according to the six kinds of temperaments, beginning with the lustful temperament (rāga-carita) and ending with the speculative temperament (vitakka-carita). There are also three kinds of beings, categorized by their capacity to understand: the ugghatitaññū (who understand upon hearing a topic), the vipacitaññū (who understand upon detailed explanation), and the neyya (who require guidance and practice). The Blessed One contemplated and clearly understood beings in this way. He then contemplated the intricate Dhamma He had attained, experiencing the bliss of liberation while sitting under that banyan tree. At that moment, Mara, the son of a deva, who seeks for faults, approached and invited the Blessed One to enter Parinibbāna. The Blessed One replied, “O Mara, the disciples of the Tathagata do not yet exist. If the Tathagata’s disciples existed and had perfected the practice of the holy life, the Tathagata would still not yet enter Parinibbāna.” When the Blessed One did not consent, Mara was displeased, filled with sorrow, he went and sat on the main road, drawing sixteen lines on the ground, pondering various things, such as the perfections of giving that he had not fulfilled. Then, Mara’s three daughters—Taṇhā (Craving), Aratī (Discontentment), and Rāgā (Lust)—descended to their father. Seeing him grieving, they promised to go and entice the Blessed One. When their father forbade them, they stubbornly refused to listen and went anyway. Upon arrival, they transformed themselves into various forms to tempt him, but their wiles were defeated, and they returned to the deva realm. The Blessed One sat there, enjoying the bliss of liberation for seven days.
(6) Atha kho bhagavā ajapālanigrodhamūlā uṭṭhāya. Then the Blessed One rose from the root of the Ajapala Banyan Tree and went to the Mucalinda Lake. Upon arrival, he sat near the lake, experiencing the bliss of liberation. A great, unseasonable storm cloud poured rain down upon the world. The Naga king named Mucalinda emerged from the lake, manifested a huge body, and coiled himself around the Blessed One, spreading his hood to cover the Teacher’s head in order to protect him from the wind, rain, and the heat of the sun. The Blessed One sat there, enjoying the bliss of liberation for seven days.
(7) In the seventh week, on the seventh day, completing the seventh cycle, the Blessed One moved from that place to sit under the Rajayatana (Kesa) tree, sitting on a single seat for another seven days to enjoy the bliss of liberation. Counting the days from when He sat under the Bodhi tree until the day He sat under the Rajayatana tree, the total comes to exactly 49 days. After that, Sakka, king of the devas, brought divine myrobalan fruit and offered it to Him. The Teacher accepted and consumed it. As a result of consuming the myrobalan fruit, His body needed to relieve itself. Sakka, king of the devas, then offered a toothpick and water for rinsing the mouth. The Blessed One rinsed His mouth, and after cleaning it, He remained seated under that Rajayatana tree.
(8) Tena kho pana samayena. At that time, there were two merchants, brothers. The elder was named Tapussa, and the younger was named Bhallika. They were leading a caravan of 500 carts loaded with goods to sell in the northern country of Uttarapatha, in the central region. When they reached a forest, a deity who had been a relative of the two merchants in a past life and who resided in that forest, informed them, saying, “O merchants, the Buddha has now attained supreme enlightenment. He is sitting under the Rajayatana tree. You should go into his presence, pay your respects, and offer rice cakes and honey-puffs to the Blessed One. You will gain merit and benefit, leading to happiness for a long time.”
(9) Atha kho tapussabhallikā vāṇijā. Then, the two merchants heard the deity’s words and were filled with faith. They took the provisions and went to offer them to the Blessed One. Upon arriving, they paid homage and said, “Venerable Sir, may the Blessed One accept these provisions from us, for our benefit and happiness for a long, long time.” The Blessed One thought, “The Tathagata’s alms bowl was lost on the day he accepted the milk-rice. It is not proper for the Tathagata to receive alms with His hands. “What vessel shall the Tathagata receive this in?” At that moment, the Four Great Kings knew his thought and brought four stone bowls of blue beryl to offer. The Blessed One did not accept them. The Four Great Kings then offered stone bowls with the color of green gram once more. The Blessed One then accepted them in order to show favor to the four kings. He placed them one on top of the other and willed them to become a single bowl. Then He accepted the rice cakes and honey-puffs and partook of them. After that, the two merchants declared themselves lay followers, taking refuge in the Two Jewels. Those two merchants became the first lay followers in the Buddha’s dispensation.
(10) Atha te vāṇijā. Then, those two merchants requested an object for veneration. The Sammāsambuddha passed his hand over his head, and eight strands of hair came away in his hand. The Blessed One gave them to the two merchants. The merchants received the eight hair relics and took them to their own city. Upon their arrival, they prepared a site on Singuttara Hill and built a cetiya (stupa) to enshrine the relics for veneration, as instructed by the Blessed One. When the merchants were about to enshrine the relics, King Ukkalapa, their patron, performed a wondrous ceremony. The devas, led by Sakka, king of the devas, came to help with the preparations, and the people, led by King Ukkalapa, came to assist with great effort. The hair relics also displayed various miracles. Devas and humans made offerings of things like gold and silver with joyful hearts. That cetiya was named the Singuttara Cetiya. That hill is the place where the requisites of the four Buddhas of this fortunate aeon (Bhadda-kappa) are enshrined: the staff of Buddha Kakusandha, the water filter of Buddha Konāgamana, the robe of Buddha Kassapa, and the eight hair relics of Buddha Gotama.
(End of the Chapter on the Bodhi Tree and Omniscience, Chapter 12)
