Miscellaneous Topics – 2346
attributes, is not liable to be assailed by anyone, either against his life or
against the all-knowing wisdom.
The above remarks about the eighteen Buddha-attributes are true indeed. I pay
homage to the Buddha who is possessed of these attributes. May this meritorious
verbal action bring
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fulfilment of all my aspirations both for the present
and for the hereafter.
In conclusion, the analytic knowledges (
paṭisambhidā-ñāṇa
), the unshared
knowledges (
asādhāraṇa-ñāṇa
) and the ten powers (
dasa-bala-ñāṇa
), etc., are
merely samples of the greatness of the Buddha’s knowledge. Just as a drop of the
sea water verifies the salty taste of the sea, so also the above special attributes
are merely indicative of the profundity of the Buddha’s knowledge and noble
attributes which we have not yet mentioned in this work.
On 1: The Birth of the Bodhisatta
Five Uproars
An uproar (
kolāhala
) means a verbal agitation started by some people who say:
“Thus will it happen,” before the predicted event actually takes place. It arises
among people who are
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brought together and speak of the impending
matter in the same language and in the same voice.
That is to say, an uproar is created with excitement by people at large as an
omen before the actual occurrence of something. It does not mean a nonsensical
commotion that prevails in towns and villages, falsely predicting an impossible
thing, such as: “Prince Setkya is about to come back!”
The name is spelt ‘Tsakyamen’ by Burney, British Resident at Ava (In-wa)
during the reign of King Bagyidaw (1819-37). Tsakyamen or Prince Setkya,
as the only son of the king, was heir-apparent. He was executed, according
to the British, by Bagyidaw’s brother, King Tharrawaddy, who usurped the
throne in 1837, and the execution took place in April 1838. But tradition
has it that Queen Mai Nu, Bagyidaw’s wife and the prince’s step mother,
was instrumental in the execution. No matter who did it, it was true that
the people’s feelings were ‘those of regret and indignation.’
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The latter
version is dramatized and popularized by theatrical troupes, which thereby
344
History of the British Residency in Burma 1826-1840 by W.S. Desai, p. 335.