I: Salutation and Intention – 20
Having paid respects to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha, I shall now
write in a language neither too brief nor too elaborate, neither too simple nor
too difficult, and relying mainly on the canonical texts of the Chronicles of the
Buddhas (
Buddha-vaṁsa
)
11
and its commentary, but also taking relevant
materials from other texts and commentaries, the Great Chronicles of the
Buddhas (
Mahā-buddha-vaṁsa
), a book on the lives of the 25 Awakened Ones
from out of innumerable past Buddhas, whose number is far greater than that of
the grains of sand of the Ganges,
12
beginning with the account of the exalted
Dīpaṅkara, from whom the future Gotama, as the ascetic Sumedha, received the
definite prophecy that he would
[8]
become a Perfectly Self-Awakened One.
Receiving of the definite prophecy (
nīyata-vyākaraṇa
) is an important
feature in the spiritual evolution of a Bodhisatta. We shall see more about
it when we come to the story of Sumedha.
May those virtuous people, who are desirous of seeking merit and knowledge;
who, with abiding faith, have established a firm foundation of refuge in the
Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha; and who are properly and uprightly
cultivating the threefold practice of morality (
sīla
), concentration (
samādhi
) and
wisdom (
paññā
), easily attain the paths, fruitions and Nibbāna.
[9]
After the word Buddha, the author adds an adjectival clause reading:
“Whose supremacy in the three worlds is like the ruby-studded pinnacle of
a palace.” The three worlds here are the three realms of sensuality (
kāma
),
form (
rūpa
) and the formless (
arūpa
). The first corresponds to the realm
of the five senses, comprising the four woeful states (
apāya
), the human
world and the six celestial worlds. The form and formless worlds belong to
the Brahmas.
10
These are the first and second of the attributes of the Saṅgha.
11
The fourteenth book of the Collection of the Supplementary Texts (
Khuddaka-nikāya
).
12
Cp.
Appakā vālukā Gaṅgā, anantā nibbutā jinā
, “few are the sands of the Ganges,
innumerable are the conquerors who have entered Nirvana ….” This is from U Pe
Maung Tin’s translation of the popular Pāli verse
beginning with the word
Sambuddhe
.