THE GREAT CHRONICLE OF BUDDHAS
182
At a later time, there took place the meeting of a hundred thousand monks who had put
on the robes after witnessing the Twin Miracle displayed by the Buddha.
(This was the second
sannipÈta
.)
Still at a later time, Buddha VipassÊ's three half-brothers, on their return after crushing an
insurgency at the border, were asked to express their boons by their royal father who was
so delighted with their success. ‚We have been permitted to ask what we want,‛ said the
princes among themselves, ‚We do not need ask any other boon than permission to attend
upon our elder brother.‛ When their request was granted, they invited the Buddha to the
towns and villages under them and attended upon and honour Him. Accordingly, the
Buddha went and accepted the veneration shown to Him. He also gave them a sermon, as a
result of which, eighty thousand people became e
hi-bhikkhus
and attained arahantship.
In the company of these eighty thousand
arahats,
in Khemaka Deer Park, Buddha VipassÊ
recited the
OvÈda PÈÔimokkha
.
(This was the third
sannipÈta
.)
Future Buddha Gotama, as Atula NÈga King, received Prophecy from Buddha VipassÊ.
Meanwhile our future Buddha Gotama was the NÈga-King Atula of great might. In the
company of several crores of
nÈga
who were playing celestial musical instruments, he
approached Buddha VipassÊ, Lord of the three worlds. In order to honour the Buddha and
His
bhikkhus
, he invited the Sangha
,
headed by the Buddha (to his place). He built a great
pavilion which was adorned with seven kinds of gems and were pleasing to the eye, like
the orb of a full moon. He accommodated the Buddha with His Sangha in the pavilion and
performed grand alms-giving to them for seven days. He also offered a golden bench,
which was richly decorated, to the Buddha.
Sitting in the midst of the Sangha, the Buddha taught him a sermon in appreciation of his
alms and, at the conclusion of the sermon, declared prophetically about him, saying: ‚In the
ninety-first
kappa
from the present one, this Atula NÈga-King will indeed become a
Buddha.‛
Having heard the Buddha's prophecy, Bodhisatta Atula NÈga-King was overjoyed, and
determined to fulfil the Perfections even more energetically.
Particulars of Buddha VipassÊ
Buddha VipassÊ's birthplace was BandhumatÊ City. His father was King Bandhuma
and His mother was BandhumatÊ.
He reigned for eight thousand years. His three palaces were Nanda, Sunanda and
SirÊmÈ.
His Chief Consort was SudassanÈ who had one hundred and twenty thousand
maids of honour. His son was Prince Samavattakkhandha.
The vehicle He used after seeing the four omens was a chariot drawn by a
thoroughbred horses. He practised
dukkaracariyÈ
for eight months.
His two male Chief Disciples were Khanda Thera and Tissa Thera. His attendant
was Asoka Thera.
His two female Chief Disciples were CandÈ TherÊ and CandamittÈ TherÊ.
His Bodhi tree was a
pÈtali
.
His noble male lay supporters were the wealthy persons, Punabbasumitta and
NÈga. His female supporters were SirÊmÈ UpÈsikÈ and UttarÈ UpÈsikÈ.
The height of Buddha VipassÊ, Lord of the three worlds, was eighty cubits. His
rays spread as far as seven
yojanas
. (By ‘His rays’ is meant His natural body
lustre.)
The life span during Buddha VipassÊ's time was eighty thousand. Living for four-
fifths of this life span, He rescued devas, humans and BrahmÈs from
saÑsÈric
waters and placed them on NibbÈnic shores.