24: The 6th Rains Retreat (Miracles) – 842
hands raised and heads bowed in adoration and with minds filled with
overwhelming wonder and devotion. They uttered verses in praise of the
splendours and glories of the Buddha and spoke words of exuberant joy and
happiness.
All these strange phenomena, such as the twin miracle, the six radiations from
the body of the Buddha and witnessing the 10,000 world-element could be seen
by all the people on this earth, caused much delight and reverential faith.
The Miraculous Display of Six Colours
The Buddha, who had demonstrated the twin miracles, had caused, by virtue of
the twin miracle (
yamaka-pāṭihariya-ñāṇa
), the following radiations from his
body:
1. Dark blue (
nīla
) radiation emanated from where the hair and the beard
grew and from the iris of the eye, with the result that the whole sky
appeared to have been sprinkled and scattered with powder of
antimony or covered by the butterfly pea and blue lotus flowers; it
resembled a moving fan made of bluish-green rubies; the whole sky was
flooded with sapphire blue light.
2. Yellow (
pīta
) radiation emanated from the skin and the sockets of the
eyes and all the golden parts of the Buddha. The entire environs were
brightened by a golden colour as though the whole area was poured
over with liquid gold or covered by a garment of gold, or as if saffron
was sprinkled and golden silk cotton flowers strewn over it.
3. Red (
lohita
) radiation emanated from the flesh and blood and certain
parts of the eyes and other red parts of the body. The entire environs
was brightened by the red light as though dyed with vermilion or coated
over with red lac, or covered with red velvet, or as if cloaked with noon
flowers (
Pentapeters phonecea
), and Indian coral was strewn over it.
The whole area was strangely and beautifully brightened by this
radiation.
4. White (
odata
) radiation emanated from the bones, teeth and the eye-
tooth of the Buddha, and from the whites of the eyes. The whole area
looked as though covered with milk flowing constantly from silver pots,
or with a silver ceiling hung with silver leaves and plates laid out layer
upon layer, or a silver fan in motion, or as if wild jasmine, white lores,