Chapter 1
of these words is ‚...like
si~gÊnikkha
gold...‛. This is due to the fact that the word
‘si~gÊnikkha savaÓÓo’
meaning ‘having the colour of
si~gÊnikkha
pure gold’ is
contained in the
gÈthÈs
uttered by Sakka in the guise of a youth, when the
Bodhisatta entered the city of RÈjagaha for alms-food, and also due to the fact that
singÊ
stands out as the best kind of gold. Among the different kinds of gold used by
people,
rasaviddha
gold is superior to
yuttika
gold,
ÈkaruppaÒÒÈ
gold is superior to
rasaviddha
gold, the gold used by devas is superior to
ÈkaruppaÒÒÈ
gold, among
the variety of gold used by devas,
sÈtakumbha
gold is superior to
cÈmÊkara
gold;
jambunada
gold is superior to
sÈtakumbha
gold; and finally
singÊ
gold is superior
to that
jambunada
gold. It is said so in the exposition of the PaÔhama PÊÔha in the
VimÈnavatthu Commentary, and the exposition of the chapter on
BimbisÈrasamÈgama, MahÈkhandhaka of the Vinaya MahÈvagga, TerasakaÓÉa
Tika.)
(12) The mark of the smooth skin (so smooth that no dust can cling to it).
The skin of the Noble One is so soft and smooth in texture that both fine and gross dust
cannot cling to it. Just as a drop of water, which falls on a lotus leaf, cannot stay on it but
falls away, even so all the dust that touches a Bodhisatta slips off instantly.
If he is thus dust-free and clean, why does he wash his legs and hands or bathe? He does
so for the purpose of adjusting himself to the temperature of the moment, for the purpose
of enhancing the merit of the donors, and for the purpose of setting an example by entering
the monastery after cleansing himself as required by the disciplinary rules so that his
disciples might follow.
(13) The mark of the body-hairs, one in each pore of the skin.
Other people have two, three or more body-hairs growing in each pore. But this is
different in the case of a Bodhisatta, only a single hair grows in each pore.
(14) The mark of the body-hairs with their tips curling upwards, as if they were looking up
at the Bodhisatta's face in devotion.
The Bodhisatta's body-hairs, one in each pore, are blue like the colour of a collyrium
stone. These hairs curl upwards clockwise three times as if they were paying homage by
looking up at the Bodhisatta's face, fresh and graceful like a new paduma lotus bloom.
(15) The mark of the upright body like a BrahmÈ's.
Just as a BrahmÈ's body which never inclines forward or backward or sideways even
slightly but assumes an upright attitude, so is the Bodhisatta's body which is perfectly
straight upwards. He has a body which is tender and beautiful, as though it were cast in
si~gÊnikkha gold.
As for ordinary people, their bodies generally lean or bend in one way or the other at one
of these three places, viz., the nape, the waist and the knees. If bent at the waist, the body
leans backwards and if bent at the nape and the knees, the body stoops forwards. Some
very tall people tend to lean sideways, either left or right. Those who lean backwards, have
their faces turned upwards, as if they were observing and counting the constellations in the
sky; those who bend down, have their faces turned downwards, as if they were studying the
characteristics of the earth. Some people are lean and emaciated like spikes or sticks
because they have not sufficient blood and flesh.
Bodhisattas, however, are not like this, as they have upright bodies, they resemble a
golden post of the arched gateway erected at the entrance to a celestial city.
In this matter, such features as an upright body like a BrahmÈ's and some other
characteristics of a Great Man are not yet fully manifest during his infancy as an
ordinary person of average intelligence. But, by examining the marks, features, and
conditions as they existed at the time of his birth, the learned Brahmins, because of
their expert knowledge in the Vedayita Mantras of the SuddhÈvÈsa BrahmÈs, have
come to believe: ‚When the Prince grows older with greater intelligence, the
characteristics of his body, such as being upright like a BrahmÈ's and so forth, will