{"id":190,"date":"2025-12-29T06:12:39","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T06:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/?p=190"},"modified":"2026-01-01T10:19:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T10:19:25","slug":"life-of-the-buddha-1-9","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/?p=190","title":{"rendered":"Life of the Buddha 1.9"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Chapter 9: Offerings to the Buddha-to-be<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

(1)\u00a0At that time, in the land of Uruvel\u0101,<\/strong>\u00a0there was a village named Sen\u0101nigama. A young woman named Suj\u0101t\u0101, the daughter of the village headman lived in that land. When she came of age, she made a vow at a certain banyan tree, saying, “If I find a husband of equal social standing and have a first-born son, I will make an offering of 100,000\u00a0kah\u0101pa<\/em>\u1e47as<\/em>\u00a0to the deity every year.” In time, Suj\u0101t\u0101\u2019s wish was completely fulfilled.<\/p>\n\n

(2)\u00a0During the time the Great Being was practicing austerities for six years,<\/strong>\u00a0Suj\u0101t\u0101 wished to make an offering to the deity. She ordered her servants to bring 1,000 cows and let them graze freely in the forest. In the evening, she had them collect the milk from 500 of those cows into 500 vessels and feed it to the other 500 cows from whom milk had not been taken. Suj\u0101t\u0101 continued this process of halving the number of cows until only eight remained. She did this to ensure the milk would be exceptionally sweet.<\/p>\n\n

(3)\u00a0On the morning of the Vis\u0101kha full moon day,<\/strong>\u00a0Suj\u0101t\u0101 thought, “Tomorrow morning is the full moon day of Vis\u0101kha. I will make my offering to the deity of the banyan tree.” The next morning, she had the eight cows milked. As the vessels were brought near the cows’ udders, the milk flowed out on its own. Seeing this miracle, Suj\u0101t\u0101 took the milk with her own hands, poured it into a new pot, lit a fire herself, and began to cook the milk-rice (madhup\u0101y\u0101sa<\/em>). The foam swirled in a clockwise direction around the pot and did not spill over the edge.<\/p>\n\n

(4)\u00a0At that moment, the Four Great Kings<\/strong>\u00a0descended to help guard the stove. The great Brahm\u0101 held a white parasol over it. The great Indra came to tend the fire. The deities throughout the cosmos infused the milk-rice with divine essence through their own power. Suj\u0101t\u0101, witnessing this miracle, called her servant girl Pu\u1e47\u1e47\u0101 and said to her, \u201cPu\u1e47\u1e47\u0101, today the deity is exceedingly pleased with us. I have never seen such a miracle. Go and sweep the ground clean under the banyan tree, the dwelling place of the deity.\u201d The servant girl Pu\u1e47\u1e47\u0101 obeyed Suj\u0101t\u0101\u2019s command.<\/p>\n\n

(5)\u00a0As that night passed,<\/strong>\u00a0the future Buddha, having attended to his bodily needs, sat waiting for the time for the alms-round. He then went and sat at the foot of that same banyan tree. Shortly thereafter, the servant girl Pu\u1e47\u1e47\u0101 went there and saw the Bodhisattva sitting, gazing out at the world, facing east. A radiant light emanated from his body, his complexion like gold. She concluded, \u201cToday our deity has descended from the banyan tree to wait to receive the offering with his own hands.\u201d She was filled with joy and returned to report this to her mistress Suj\u0101t\u0101.<\/p>\n\n

(6)\u00a0Upon hearing Pu<\/strong>\u1e47\u1e47\u0101\u2019s words,<\/strong>\u00a0Suj\u0101t\u0101 was filled with joy and replied, \u201cIf this is true, from this day forward, you shall hold the position of my daughter.\u201d Suj\u0101t\u0101 then gave all manner of appropriate adornments to Pu\u1e47\u1e47\u0101. She had the milk-rice placed in a golden bowl worth 100,000, covered it with another golden vessel, and wrapped it in a white cloth. Suj\u0101t\u0101 dressed herself and had Pu\u1e47\u1e47\u0101 carry the vessel on her head, following behind her to the banyan tree. There, she saw the Bodhisattva sitting under the tree and brought the milk-rice forward to offer it to him. The clay bowl that the great Brahm\u0101 Gha\u1e6dik\u0101ra had given him had vanished. The Bodhisattva looked for the bowl but could not find it.<\/p>\n\n

(7)\u00a0Understanding the Bodhisattva\u2019s gesture,<\/strong>\u00a0Suj\u0101t\u0101 offered the vessel as well, saying, “My wish has been fulfilled. I offer this milk-rice along with this golden vessel.” She then respectfully departed.<\/p>\n\n

As for the Great Being, he rose from his seat, circumambulated the banyan tree three times to the right, and took the golden vessel. He proceeded to the Nera\u00f1jar\u0101 River. Upon arriving, he placed the vessel on the riverbank, then descended to bathe in the river. After bathing, he donned his three robes and sat facing the eastern direction. He formed the milk-rice into balls the size of palmyra palm seeds, making a total of forty-nine portions.<\/p>\n\n

(8)\u00a0When he had finished eating all of it,<\/strong>\u00a0the future Buddha took the golden vessel and made a solemn vow: “If I am to truly attain Buddhahood today, may this golden vessel float upstream against the current.” He then released it into the river. The vessel as if with a mind of its own, floated upstream against the current, a sign of his impending omniscience. After floating upstream for a distance of eighty cubits, it sank down into a whirlpool near the realm of the N\u0101ga king K\u0101la, striking the bowls of the three previous Buddhas. A “krik krik” sound was heard as it settled underneath the other three vessels.<\/p>\n\n

(9)\u00a0The N\u0101ga king K\u0101la, hearing the sound of the striking vessels,<\/strong>\u00a0awoke and thought, “Yesterday a Buddha attained enlightenment, and today another Buddha has attained enlightenment.” He then approached the golden vessel and spoke in praise of the Buddha’s virtues.<\/p>\n\n

As for the Bodhisattva, he rested his body in a s\u0101l tree grove near the riverbank. When evening came, he departed from the grove. Multitudes of deities made offerings with celestial flowers. The trees and vines on both sides of the path blossomed in worship. The multitudes of deities in the ten thousand world systems offered praises and flowers in homage. The Prince proceeded towards the Bodhi Tree.<\/p>\n\n

(10)\u00a0At that time,<\/strong>\u00a0a grass-cutter named Sotthiya saw the Bodhisattva and offered him grass.([1]<\/a>)<\/sup> The Bodhisattva proceeded to the Bodhi Tree, circumambulated it, and sat facing it from the south, then the west, then the north. When he did so, the world systems in those directions trembled, as if to say, “This is not the place where the jeweled throne of enlightenment arises.” The Prince, understanding this, moved to the eastern side and sat facing west. The ground there did not tremble. He then concluded, “This is the place where the throne of enlightenment arises.” He then spread the grass according to custom. The grass itself, however, would not become the jeweled throne. Instead, a Diamond Throne (Vajr\u0101sana<\/em>), made of diamond and fourteen cubits high, erupted from the earth at that moment.<\/p>\n\n

(11)\u00a0The Bodhisattva, seeing the jeweled throne,<\/strong>\u00a0ascended and sat upon it. He then made a vow of exertion, endowed with four resolutions: “May my skin, sinews, bones, and blood dry up. If I do not attain enlightenment, I will not rise from this jeweled throne.” Having made this solemn vow, he turned his back to the trunk of the Bodhi Tree, which was fifty cubits high. At that time, the god-king Sakka brought forth his conch shell and blew it in homage. The\u00a0gandhabba<\/em>\u00a0god brought a lute to play. The god Suy\u0101ma brought a celestial fan to wave. The Brahm\u0101 Sahampati held up a white parasol. The great N\u0101ga king K\u0101la brought his maiden daughters to dance in offering. The deities in the ten thousand world systems brought celestial flowers as offerings, shouting praises to the future Buddha, and stood there in attendance.<\/p>\n\n

(End of the Chapter on Offerings to the Buddha-to-be, Chapter 9)<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

[1]<\/a> It was previously translated as kusa grass. But since B.E. 2493, when the Supreme Patriarch (Chuon Nath) visited India, he observed that the material was\u00a0sotthiya<\/em>\u00a0grass.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Chapter 9: Offerings to the Buddha-to-be (1)\u00a0At that time, in the land of Uruvel\u0101,\u00a0there was a village named Sen\u0101nigama. A young woman named Suj\u0101t\u0101, the daughter of the village headman…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":191,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8],"class_list":["post-190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-buddhism","tag-pandit-chhim-sumn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=190"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":396,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190\/revisions\/396"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gatewaytoinsight.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}