THE GREAT CHRONICLE OF BUDDHAS
1686
promulgation.
(Again, an extract is given by the author from the MahÈsula KÈrÊ MaghÈ Deva
La~kÈ concerning the four
yugas
and the rise of the Buddha in the year 2,570 of
Kali-yuga
.)
Ref: 28. The Mark of The Voice having Eight Qualities as A BrahmÈ
The Sweetness of The Voice of The Karavika Bird and The Story of AsandhimittÈ
King DhammÈsoka's wife, AsandhimittÈ, asked the Sangha (with reference to the
sweetness of the Buddha's voice): ‚Is there any one in this world whose voice is similar to
the Buddha's?‛ The answer given by the Sangha was: "There is the voice of a
karavika
bird
which is like the Buddha's.‛ Again, the Queen asked: ‚Where do these birds live?‛ The
Sangha replied: ‚They live in the Himavanta.‛
The Queen then said to King Asoka: ‚I would like to see a
karavika
bird, Lord.‛ The
King sent a golden cage with the command: ‚A
karavika
bird shall come in to this cage!‛
The cage flew and stopped before a
karavika
bird. Considering: ‚This cage came with the
command of the King, I am not in a position to remain here against the King's command,‛
the bird entered the cage, which flew back and stood in the King's presence.
Although they now had the bird, nobody was able to make it cry. The King asked: ‚O
men, how could we make it cry?‛ The ministers replied: ‚These
karavika
birds cry, Great
King, when they see their fellow birds.‛ Asoka accordingly had mirrors placed around the
bird.
When the bird saw its own image in the mirrors, thinking that his relations had come, it
uttered a sweet cry slowly and pleasantly like the music note that came out from a ruby
flute. As if intoxicated by the
karavika
bird-king's voice, Queen Asandhimitta and the
citizens of PÈÔaliputta were wildly pleased. They revelled as though they were to start
dancing.
Then the Queen reflected: ‚Even the voice of this
karavika
bird, which is just an animal,
is so sweet. What would be the voice of the Buddha, highest in glory, like? There could
have been no limit to its sweetness!‛
Visualizing the Buddha, the Queen became filled with joy (
pÊti
). Without giving up that
joy, she developed VipassanÈ Insight, stage by stage, and together with her seven hundred
ladies-in-waiting, she attained
sotÈpatti
fruition.
Ref: Explanations of The Thirty-two Major Marks, Chapter One
Causal Deeds for The Thirty-two Marks
Since it is said in the JinÈla~kÈra ®ikÈ that only the explanation that deals with the four
points, namely, (1)
kamma
, (2)
kamma-sarikkhaka
, (3)
lakkhaÓa
, and (4)
lakkhaÓÈnisamsa
,
of each of the aforesaid thirty-two marks of a Great Man is a well-defined one, the
meaning of each of these four points will be briefly given first.
Of these four points, (1)
kamma
means the element of meritorious deed done in the past
with an intention to attain of Buddhahood, bringing about the major mark concerned; (2)
kamma-sarikkhaka
means the power or ability of the mark that appears in accordance with
the kamma; (3)
lakkhaÓa
means any of the thirty-two major marks, such as level soles, the
hundred and eight sole-figures, etc. acquired in the present life on account of the relevant
past meritorious deeds; (4)
lakkhaÓÈnisamsa
means the remote or subsequent effect of the
past meritorious deeds which cause the appearance of the mark.
(For example, the Bodhisatta accumulates merit during his former lives, so firmly and
resolutely that nobody else can check and destroy them. On account of that accumulation
of merit, he enjoys divine bliss which excel others in the ten respects. When he is reborn as
a human being, he wins the mark of his level feet resembling golden footwear. As he has
won that mark, he is able to stand up and walk on steadfastly; nobody else, whether a
human or a deva or BrahmÈ, can move him or make him unsteady. The merits also give
him the subsequent effect: he is unshaken by such internal defiling enemies as greed, hate