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Story Of VisakhaPart II
Part II
Now when a Supreme Buddha teaches the Doctrine, those in front, and
those behind, and those beyond a hundred or a thousand worlds, and those,
even, who inhabit the abode of the Sublime Gods, exclaim: "The Teacher is
looking at me; The Teacher is teaching the Doctrine to me." To each one it
seems as if The Teacher were beholding and addressing him alone. The
Buddhas, they say, resemble the moon: as the moon in the midst of the
heavens appears to every living being as if over his head, so The Buddhas
appear to every one as if standing in front of him. This gift is said to be
their reward for liberality in previous existences, when, for the benefit
of others, they cut off their own garlanded heads, gouged out their own
eyes, tore out their own hearts, and gave away to be slaves sons such as
Jali, daughters such as Kanhajina, and wives such as Maddi.
And Migara the treasurer, as he sat outside the curtain, and turned
over and over in his mind the teaching of The Tathagata, became established
in the thousandfold ornamented fruit of conversion, and acquired an immovable
and unquestioning faith in the three refuges. Then, raising the curtain, he
approached his daughter-in-law, and taking her breast in his hand, he said:
"From this day forth you are my mother," thus giving her the position of
mother. And henceforth she was known as "Migara`s mother"; and when, later
on, she had a son, she named him Migara.
The great treasurer then let go his daughter-in-law`s breast, and went
and fell at the feet of The Blessed One, and stroking them with his hands,
and kissing them with his lips, he three times proclaimed his own name,
"Reverend Sir, I am Migara."
"Reverend Sir," continued he, "all this time have I been without
knowing that on you should one bestow alms to obtain great reward. But now
I have learnt it, thanks to my daughter-in-law, and am released from all
danger of being reborn in a lower state of existence. Truly, it was for my
advantage and for my welfare that my daughter-in-law came to my house."
So saying, he pronounced the following stanza:
"Now have I learnt where rich reward
Will surely follow every gift!
Truly a happy day for me,
When first my daughter sought my home!"
Visakha invited The Teacher again for the next day on her own account,
and on the day after her mother-in-law also attained to the fruit of
conversion. And henceforth that house kept open doors for the religion of
The Buddha.
Then thought the treasurer, "My daughter-in-law is a great benefactress
to me; I must make her a present. And, truly, her present parure is too
heavy for every-day wear. I will have a very light one made, which she can
wear both by day and by night in all the four postures."
And he had made what is called a highly polished parure, worth a
thousand pieces of money: and when it was finished, he invited The Buddha,
and the congregation of the priests, and assiduously waited on them at
breakfast. And causing Visakha to bathe herself with sixteen pitcherfuls
of perfumed water, he placed her in front of The Teacher, and putting her
parure upon her, he had her do obeisance. Then The Teacher, after giving
thanks for the repast, returned to the monastery.
And Visakha continued to give alms, and do other deeds of merit, and she
received the eight boons from The Teacher. And as the crescent of the moon
waxes great in the sky, so did she increase in sons and daughters. They say
she had ten sons and ten daughters, and of these each had ten sons and ten
daughters, and of these also each had ten sons and ten daughters. Thus the
children and children`s children which had sprung from her numbered eight
thousand and four hundred and twenty persons.
She lived to be a hundred and twenty years old, but there was not a
single gray hair on her head,-always she appeared as if about sixteen. When
people saw her on her way to the monastery, surrounded by her children and
children`s children, there were always those who inquired: "Which of these is
Visakha?" Those who saw her as she walked would think: "I hope she will walk a
little further; our lady looks well when she walks." And those who was her
stand, or sit, or lie, would think: "I hope she will lie a little longer now;
our lady looks well when she is lying down." Thus in respect of the four
postures, it could not be charged against her that there was any one posture
in which she did not look well.
Moreover, she was as strong as five elephants. And the king, hearing that
Visakha was currently reported to be as strong as five elephants, was desirous
of testing her strength; and one day, as she was on her way back from the
monastery where she had been to hear a sermon, he let loose an elephant
against her. The elephant, lifting his trunk, came on to meet Visakha. Of her
five hundred attendant women, some fled away, while others threw their arms
about her. And when she asked what the matter was, they replied: "They say the
king is desirous of testing your iron strength, and has let loose an elephant
against you." When Visakha saw the elephant, she thought, "What is the need of
my running away? It is only a question how I shall take hold of him." And,
being afraid that if she seized him roughly it might kill him, she took hold
of his trunk with two fingers, and pressed him back. The elephant was unable
either to resist or to keep his feet, and fell back on his haunches in the
royal court. Thereupon the crowd shouted "Bravo!" and she and her attendants
reached home in safety.
Now at that time Visakha, Migara`s mother, lived at Savatthi, and had
many children and many children`s children, and the children were free from
disease, and the children`s children were free from disease, and she was
considered to bring good luck. Among her thousands of children and children`s
children not one had died. And when the inhabitants of Savatthi had their
festivals and holidays, Visakha was always the first to be invited, and the
first to be feasted.
Now on a certain day of merry-making, the populace were going in their
fine clothes and ornaments to the monastery to listen to the Doctrine. And
Visakha, having come from a place of entertainment, and wearing the great
creeper parure, was likewise proceeding with the populace to the monastery.
There she took off her ornaments, and gave them to her slave-girl. Concerning
which it is said,
"Now at that time there was a merry-making at Savatthi; and the people
in gorgeous array went to the park. Visakha, also, Migara`s mother, in
gorgeous array went to the monastery. Then Visakha, Migara`s mother, took off
her ornaments, and tying them up in a bundle in her cloak, gave them to her
slave-girl, saying, `Here, take this bundle.`"
It would appear that she thought it not seemly to enter the monastery
wearing such an extremely costly and showy parure,- a decoration which, when
put on, adorned her from head to foot. Thus it was that, as she was proceeding
to the monastery, she took it off, and made of it a bundle, and gave it to a
slave-girl, who had been born with the strength of five elephants as the
result of former good deeds, and hence was able to carry it. Thus her mistress
could say to her, "Dear girl, take this parure. I will put it on when I return
from The Teacher."
Having put on her highly polished parure, she drew near The Teacher, and
listened to the Doctrine. And at the close of the sermon she rose, did
obeisance to The Blessed One, and went forth from his presence. The
slave-girl, however, forgot the parure. Now it was the custom of Ananda the
elder, when the assembly had listened to the Doctrine, and had departed, to
put away anything that had been forgotten. And so this day he noticed the
great creeper parure, and announced to The Teacher,
"Reverend Sir, Visakha has gone forgetting her parure."
"Lay it aside, Ananda."
The elder lifted it up, and hung it on the side of the staircase.
And Visakha, in company with her friend Suppiya, wandered about the
monastery to see what could be done for the in-coming, for the out-going, for
the sick, and others. Now it was the custom of the young priests and novices,
when they saw the devout ladies bringing clarified butter, honey, oil, and
other medicaments, to draw near with basins of various kinds. And on that day
also they did so.
Thereupon Suppiya saw a certain sick priest, and asked him,
"Sir, of what do you stand in need?"
"Meat broth," was the reply.
"Very well, sir; I will send you some.
But as she failed on the next day to obtain any suitable meat, she made
the preparation with flesh from her own thigh; and afterwards by the favor of
The Teacher her body was made whole.
When Visakha had attended to the sick and to the young priests, she
issued forth from the monastery. But before she had gone far, she stopped and
said,
"Dear girl, bring me the parure; I will put it on."
Instantly the slave-girl remembered that she had forgotten it, and had
left it behind. And she said,
"Mistress, I forgot it."
"Go, then, and get it, and bring it hither. But if my master, Ananda the
elder, has taken it up and laid it away anywhere, then do not fetch it. It is
a present to my master." It appears she knew that the elder was in the habit
of putting away valuables which highborn personages had forgotten; and this
was why she spoke as she did.
When the elder saw the slave-girl, he said to her,
"Why have you returned?"
"I went away forgetting my mistress` parure," said she.
"I have put it by the staircase," said the elder; "go and get it."
"My lord," said the slave-girl, "an article which has been touched by
your hand is not to be reclaimed by my mistress." And so she returned
empty-handed.
"How was it, dear girl?" said Visakha. And she told her.
"Dear girl, never will I wear an article which my master has touched. I
make him a present of it. Nevertheless, it would be troublesome for my masters
to take care of it. It will sell it, and give them things which are more
suitable. Go fetch it."
And the slave-girl went and fetched it.
Visakha did not put it on, but sent for some goldsmiths and had it
appraised.
"It is worth ninety millions," said they; "and the workmanship is worth
a hundred thousand."
"Then put the parure in a wagon," said Visakha, "and sell it."
"There is no one who is able to take it at such a price, and a woman
worthy to wear such a parure is difficult to find. For in all the circuit of
the earth only three women have the great creeper parure: Visakha, the great
female lay disciple; the wife of Bandhula, the general of the Mallas; and
Mallika, daughter of a treasurer of Benares."
So Visakha paid the price herself; and, putting ninety millions and a
hundred thousand into a cart, she took the amount to the monastery.
"Reverend Sir," said she, when she had made her obeisance to The Teacher,
"my master, Ananda the elder, has touched with his hand my parure, and from
the time he has touched it, it is impossible for me to wear it again. I have
endeavored to sell it, thinking that with the amount I should get for it, I
would give things suitable for priests. But when I saw there was no one else
able to buy it, I made up the price myself, and have now brought the money
with me. Reverend Sir, which one of the four reliances shall I give?"
"Visakha, a dwelling-place at the east gate for the congregation of the
priests would be fitting."
"The very thing, Reverend Sir!"
And Visakha, with a joyous mind, bought a site for ninety millions,
and with another ninety millions she began constructing a monastery.
Now one day, as The Teacher at dawn was gazing over the world, he
perceived that a son, Bhaddiya, had been born from heaven into the family of
a treasurer of the city of Bhaddiya, and was competent to attain to salvation.
And after taking breakfast at the house of Anathapindika, he directed his
steps towards the north gate of the city. Now it was the custom of The
Teacher, if he took alms at the house of Visakha, to issue forth from the city
by the south gate and lodge at Jetavana monastery. If he took alms at the
house of Anathapindika, he would issue forth by the east gate, and lodge in
Eastern Park; but if The Blessed One was perceived at sunrise making his way
to the north gate, then people knew that he was setting out on his travels.
So when Visakha heard on that day that he had gone in the direction of
the north gate, she hastened to him, and making an obeisance, said, "Reverend
Sir, are you desirous of going traveling?"
"Yes, Visakha."
"Reverend Sir, at this vast expense am I having a monastery built for
you. Reverend Sir, turn back."
"Visakha, this journey admits not of my turning back."
"Assuredly," thought Visakha, "The Blessed One has some special reason in
all this." Then she said, "Reverend Sir, in that case, before you go, command
some priest to stay behind who will know how the work should be done."
"Visakha, take the bowl of any one you wish."
Then Visakha, though fond of Ananda, thought of the magical power of the
elder, Moggallana the Great, and how swiftly the work would progress with him
to assist, and took his bowl.
The elder then looked at The Teacher.
"Moggallana," said The Teacher, "take five hundred priests in your train
and turn back."
And he did so: and by his supernatural power they would go a distance of
fifty or sixty leagues for logs and stones; and having secured logs and stones
of tremendous size, they would bring them home on the same day. And they who
placed the logs and stones on the carts were not exhausted, nor did the axles
break. And in no long time they had erected a two-story building on high
foundations and approached by steps. The building contained a thousand
apartments,-five hundred apartments being in the lower story, and the same
number in the upper.
After traveling about for nine months, The Teacher came again to
Savatthi; and in these nine months Visakha had put up her building, and was
now at work on the peak, which was intended to hold the water-pots, and was
finished in solid, beaten, red gold.
And Visakha, hearing that The Teacher was proceeding towards Jetavana
monastery, went to meet him; and, conducting him to her monastery, she exacted
of him a promise:
"Reverend Sir, dwell here for four months with the congregation of the
priests, and I will have the building completed."
The Teacher consented; and thenceforth she gave alms to The Buddha, and
to the congregation of the priests in the monastery.
And it came to pass that a certain female friend of Visakha came to her
with a piece of stuff that was worth a thousand pieces of money.
"Dear friend," said she, "I want to replace some of the floor covering in
your pavilion, and spread this instead. Tell me a place in which to spread
it."
"Dear friend, if I were to tell you there was no place left, you would
think, `She does not want to let me have a place.` But look through the two
floors of the pavilion and the thousand apartments yourself, and find a place
in which to spread it."
Then the other took the piece of stuff worth a thousand pieces of money,
and went through the building; but finding no stuff there of less value than
hers, she was overcome with grief; for she thought: "I shall have no share in
the merit of this building." And stopping still, she wept.
And Ananda the elder happened to see her, and said, "Why do you weep?"
And she told him the matter.
"Let not that trouble you," said the elder; "I will tell you a place in
which to spread it. Make a door-mat of it, and spread it between the place for
washing the feet and the staircase. The priests, after washing their feet,
will wipe them upon the mat before they enter the building: thus will your
reward be great." This spot, it appears, had been overlooked by Visakha.
For four months did Visakha give alms in her monastery to The Buddha and
to the congregation which followed him; and at the end of that time she
presented the congregation of the priests with stuff for robes, and even that
received by the novices was worth a thousand pieces of money. And of
medicines, she gave the fill of every man`s bowl. Ninety millions were spent
in this donation. Thus ninety millions went for the site of the monastery,
ninety for the construction of the monastery, and ninety for the festival at
the opening of the monastery, making two hundred and seventy millions in all
that were expended by her on the religion of The Buddha. No other woman in the
world was as liberal as this one who lived in the house of a heretic.
On the day the monastery was completed, when the shadows of eventide were
lengthening, she walked with her children and her children`s children round
and round the building, delighted with the thought that her prayer of a former
existence had now attained its complete fruition. And with a sweet voice, in
five stanzas, she breathed forth this solemn utterance:-
"`O when shall I a mansion give,
Plastered with mud and stuccoed o`er,
A pleasing monastery-gift?`-
O this my prayer is now fulfilled!
"`O when shall I give household goods,
Benches and stools to sit upon,
And bolsters, pillows for the couch?`-
O this my prayer is now fulfilled!
"`O when shall I provisions give,
The ticket-food so pure and good,
Smothered in broths of various meats?`-
O this my prayer is now fulfilled!
"`O when shall I give priestly robes,
Garments of fine Benares cloth,
And linen, cotton goods as well?`-
O this my prayer is now fulfilled!
"`O when shall I give medicines,
Fresh butter, butter clarified,
And honey, treacle, purest oil?`-
O this my prayer is now fulfilled!"
When the priests heard her, they brought word to The Teacher;
"Reverend Sir, in all this time we have never known Visakha to sing; but
now, surrounded by her children and her children`s children, she walks singing
round and round the building. Pray, is her bile out of order? or has she
become mad?"
"Priests," said The Teacher, "my daughter is not singing; but the desire
of her heart having come to pass, in her delight she breathes forth a solemn
utterance."
"But when was it, Reverend Sir, she made the prayer?"
"Priests, will you listen?"
"Reverend Sir, we will."
Whereupon he related a tale of ancient times-
"Priests, a hundred thousand cycles ago, a Buddha was born into the world
by the name of Padumuttara. His term of life was a hundred thousand years; his
retinue of those in whom depravity had become extinct was a hundred thousand;
his city was Hamsavati; his father, king Sunanda; and his mother, queen
Sujata. The chief benefactress of this Teacher, a lay devotee, had obtained
the eight boons and held the position of mother, and used to provide him with
the four reliances. Every evening and morning she used to wait on him at the
monastery, and a certain female friend constantly accompanied her.
"When this friend saw on what intimate terms she conversed with The
Teacher, and how much she was beloved, she began to consider: `What do people
do to be beloved by The Buddhas?` And she said to The Teacher:
"`Reverend Sir, what is this woman to you?`
"`She is the chief of my benefactresses.`
"`Reverend Sir, by what means does one thus become chief benefactress?`
"`By praying for a hundred thousand world-cycles to become one.`
"`Reverend Sir, could I become one, if I now made my prayer?`
"`Assuredly, you could.`
"`In that case, Reverend Sir, come with your hundred thousand priests and
take alms of me for seven days.`
"The Teacher consented; and for seven days she gave alms of food, and on
the last day stuff for robes. Then she did obeisance to The Teacher, and,
falling at his feet, made her prayer:
"`Reverend Sir, I do not pray for rule among the gods, or any other such
reward as the fruit of this alms-giving; but that from some Buddha like
yourself I may obtain the eight boons, and have the position of mother, and be
chief of those able to provide the four reliances.`
"The Teacher looked into the future for a hundred thousand cycles to see
if her prayer would be fulfilled, and said:
"`At the end of a hundred thousand cycles a Buddha named Gotama shall
arise, and you shall be a female lay disciple of his, and have the name
Visakha. For him you shall obtain the eight boons, and obtain the position of
mother, and become chief of the benefactresses who shall provide the four
reliances.`
"... and after a life of meritorious deeds, she was reborn in the
world of the gods. And continuing to be reborn in the world of the gods and
the world of men, she was born in the time of The Supreme Buddha Kassapa as
the youngest of the seven daughters of Kiki, king of Benares. In this
existence she was called Servant-of-the-Congregation; and having married, and
with her sisters for a long time given alms and done other meritorious deeds,
she fell at the feet of The Supreme Buddha Kassapa, and prayed: `At a future
time may I hold the position of mother to a Buddha such as you, and become
chief of the female givers of the four reliances.` Now, after further rebirths
in the world of the gods and the world of men, she has been born in this
existence as the daughter of Dhananjaya the treasurer, the son of Mendaka the
treasurer, and has done many meritorious deeds for my religion. Thus it is, O
priests, that I say my daughter is not singing, but that, at the realization
of her prayer, she breathes forth a solemn utterance."
And The Teacher continued his instruction, and said,
"Priests, just as a skilful garland-maker, if he obtain a large heap of
various kinds of flowers, will go on and on making all manner of garlands,
even so does the mind of Visakha incline to do all manner of noble deeds."
So saying, he pronounced this stanza:
"As flowers in rich profusion piled
Will many a garland furnish forth;
So all the years of mortal man
Should fruitful be in all good works."
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