If I take your memory to the last article we discussed, and as also mentioned in Brahmajala Sutta, we looked at how people describe the Gautama Buddha. But it was argued that those descriptions were made with the mere respect towards the Thatagatha. But isn’t it underestimating the Gautama Buddha?
One who attained Nibbana would not talk about his statues and would not especially boast about himself. And most especially we would never come across the Buddhas boasting about themselves simply because that there is nothing that they expect form that. But if it is to enrich people and to clear doubts of the people, the Buddhas will certainly do explanations about the Buddhahood.
In the present society, a lot of people see the Gautama Buddha as a human. (I can remember sitting for a lecture at one of the Dhamma schools in Sydney where the teacher told the students that the Buddha was a human). Not only within lay community but also within the Sanga, we often see that the Thatagata is taken in a average context. Not only in the present days but about 2500 years ago when the Gautama Buddha was living, there were people who underestimated him. Though the technology changers, the transformation of attitudes of human does not change over generations. There are a lot of both lay and Sanga groups in Sri Lanka who challenge the virtues and the super human qualities of the Thatagatha. I feel that the Gautama Buddha discoursed the Sutta about 2500 years ago simply may be he saw that there will be people who would not realise the virtues of the Buddha in present time. I will get extracts from the suttas to depict the qualities of the Buddha and may this effort will take all the misconceptions of people about the Gautama Buddha. The best example to slam these misconceptions can be found on Majjama Nikaya. This sutta brings out a description about the Gautama Buddha by his own words. Let us taka a look at the “Maha sihanada Sutta” from here on wards for the sake of understanding the virtues and the powers of the Thatagata.
“Thus have I heard. On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Vesali in the grove outside the city to the west.
Now on that occasion Sunakkhatta, son of the Licchavis, had recently left this Dhamma and Discipline.[1] He was making this statement before the Vesali assembly: "The recluse Gotama does not have any superhuman states, any distinction in knowledge and vision worthy of the noble ones.[2] The recluse Gotama teaches a Dhamma (merely) hammered out by reasoning, following his own line of inquiry as it occurs to him, and when he teaches the Dhamma to anyone, it leads him when he practices it to the complete destruction of suffering."
Then, when it was morning, the Venerable Sariputta dressed, and taking his bowl and outer robe, went into Vesali for alms. Then he heard Sunakkhatta, son of the Licchavis, making this statement before the Vesali assembly. When he had wandered for alms in Vesali and had returned from his almsround, after his meal he went to the Blessed One, and after paying homage to him, he sat down at one side and told the Blessed One what Sunakkhatta was saying.
(The Blessed One said:) "Sariputta, the misguided man Sunakkhatta is angry, and his words are spoken out of anger. Thinking to discredit the Tathagata, he actually praises him; [69] for it is a praise of the Tathagata to say of him: 'When he teaches the Dhamma to anyone, it leads him when he practices it to the complete destruction of suffering.'
"Sariputta, this misguided man Sunakkhatta will never infer of me according to Dhamma: 'That Blessed One is accomplished, fully enlightened, perfect in true knowledge and conduct, sublime, knower of worlds, incomparable leader of persons to be tamed, teacher of gods and humans, enlightened, blessed.'
"And he will never infer of me according to Dhamma: 'That Blessed One enjoys the various kinds of supernormal power: having been one, he becomes many; having been many, he becomes one; he appears and vanishes; he goes unhindered through a wall, through an enclosure, through a mountain, as though through space; he dives in and out of the earth as though it were water; he walks on water without sinking as though it were earth; seated cross-legged, he travels in space like a bird; with his hand he touches and strokes the moon and sun so powerful and mighty; he wields bodily mastery even as far as the Brahma-world.'
"And he will never infer of me according to Dhamma: 'With the divine ear element, which is purified and surpasses the human, that Blessed One hears both kinds of sounds, the heavenly and the human, those that are far as well as near.'
"And he will never infer of me according to Dhamma: 'That Blessed One encompasses with his own mind the minds of other beings, other persons. He understands a mind affected by lust as affected by lust and a mind unaffected by lust as unaffected by lust; he understands a mind affected by hate as affected by hate and a mind unaffected by hate as unaffected by hate; he understands a mind affected by delusion as affected by delusion and a mind unaffected by delusion as unaffected by delusion; he understands a contracted mind as contracted and a distracted mind as distracted; he understands an exalted mind as exalted and an unexalted mind as unexalted; he understands a surpassed mind as surpassed and an unsurpassed mind as unsurpassed; he understands a concentrated mind as concentrated and an unconcentrated mind as unconcentrated; he understands a liberated mind as liberated and an unliberated mind as unliberated.”
The Gautama Buddha then explained Ten powers of a thatagatha.
(1) "Here, the Tathagata understands as it actually is the possible as possible and the impossible as impossible. And that is a Tathagata's power that the Tathagata has, by virtue of which he claims the herd-leader's place, roars his lion's roar in the assemblies, and sets rolling the Wheel of Brahma.
(2) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is the results of actions undertaken, past, future and present, with possibilities and with causes. That too is a Tathagata's power...
(3) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is the ways leading to all destinations. That too is a Tathagata's power...
(4) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is the world with its many and different elements. That too is a Tathagata's power...
(5) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is how beings have different inclinations. That too is a Tathagata's power...
(6) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is the disposition of the
faculties of other beings, other persons. That too is a Tathagata's power...
(7) "Again, the Tathagata understands as it actually is the defilement, the cleansing and the emergence in regard to the jhanas, liberations, concentrations and attainments. That too is a Tathagata's power...
(8) "Again, the Tathagata recollects his manifold past lives, that is, one birth, two births, three births, four births, five births, ten births, twenty births, thirty births, forty births, fifty births, a hundred births, a thousand births, a hundred thousand births, many aeons of world-contraction, many aeons of world-expansion, many aeons of world-contraction and expansion: 'There I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my nutriment, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life-term; and passing away from there, I reappeared elsewhere; and there too I was so named, of such a clan, with such an appearance, such was my nutriment, such my experience of pleasure and pain, such my life-term; and passing away from there, I reappeared here.' Thus with their aspects and particulars he recollects his manifold past lives. That too is a Tathagata's power...
(9) "Again, with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, the Tathagata sees beings passing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings pass on according to their actions thus: 'These worthy beings who were ill-conducted in body, speech and mind, revilers of noble ones, wrong in their views, giving effect to wrong view in their actions, on the dissolution of the body, after death, have reappeared in a state of deprivation, in a bad destination, in perdition, even in hell; but these worthy beings who were well-conducted in body, speech and mind, not revilers of noble ones, right in their views, giving effect to right view in their actions, on the dissolution of the body, after death, have reappeared in a good destination, even in the heavenly world.' Thus with the divine eye, which is purified and surpasses the human, he sees beings passing away and reappearing, inferior and superior, fair and ugly, fortunate and unfortunate, and he understands how beings pass on according to their actions. That too is a Tathagata's power...
(10) "Again, by realizing it for himself with direct knowledge, the Tathagata here and now enters upon and abides in the deliverance of mind and deliverance by wisdom that are taintless with the destruction of the taints. That too is a Tathagata's power that a Tathagata has, by virtue of which he claims the herd-leader's place, roars his lion's roar in the assemblies, and sets rolling the Wheel of Brahma.
"Sariputta, the Tathagata has these four kinds of intrepidity, possessing which he claims the herd-leader's place, roars his lion's roar in the assemblies, and sets rolling the Wheel of Brahma. What are the four?
"Here, I see no ground on which any recluse or brahman or god or Mara or Brahma or anyone at all in the world could, in accordance with the Dhamma, accuse me thus: 'While you claim full enlightenment, you are not fully enlightened in regard to certain things.' And seeing no ground for that, I abide in safety, fearlessness and intrepidity.
"I see no ground on which any recluse... or anyone at all could accuse me thus: 'While you claim to have destroyed the taints, these taints are undestroyed by you.' And seeing no ground for that, I abide in safety, fearlessness and intrepidity.
"I see no ground on which any recluse... or anyone at all could accuse me thus: 'Those things called obstructions by you are not able to obstruct one who engages in them.' And seeing no ground for that, I abide in safety, fearlessness and intrepidity.
"I see no ground on which any recluse... or anyone at all could accuse me thus: 'When you teach the Dhamma to someone, it does not lead him when he practices it to the complete destruction of suffering.' And seeing no ground for that, I abide in safety, fearlessness and intrepidity.
"A Tathagata has these four kinds of intrepidity, possessing which he claims the herd-leader's place, roars his lion's roar in the assemblies, and sets rolling the Wheel of Brahma.
"Sariputta, when I know and see thus, should anyone say of me... he will wind up in hell.
‘Maha-sihanada Sutta’ clearly depicts the super human qualities of the Gautama Buddha. Let us take this sutta along with a ‘Buddawansa paliya’ in Kuddaka Nikaya in the pali canon where the superhuman qualities of the Buddha can be examined.
When the Gautama Buddha arrived in Kimbulwat, where his home town is, he had to prove to his relatives that he has achieved the Buddhahood. He showed his super human powers that were observed by the beings in the entire universe. The English translation from Pali of the ‘Buddhawansa paliya’ will be added to the next article.
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