THE GREAT CHRONICLE OF BUDDHAS
410
hard and soft. When they arrive and assemble, if the Great Monk (possessing, as
He was, great psychic power) displays miracles in the midst of those people, they
will show much devotion to Him. Then His gains would increase day by day. As
for myself, (since their faith in me would become less), gifts and offerings will
decline day after day. It will be good if the Great Monk obligingly desist from
coming to my hermitage for His meal the next day.’ ‛
‚O, Kassapa! I, the Buddha, knowing your thought by my
cetopariya-abhiÒÒÈ
,
proceeded yesterday morning to the Northern Continent, Uttarakuru, and, after
gathering alms-food there, I ate it near Anotatta Lake at the Himalayas and passed
the day in the sandalwood grove by the lake.‛ Again UruvelÈ-Kassapa thought
thus:
‚The Great Monk can indeed read my mind. And so, this monk is indeed very
mighty and powerful. But, even though He is so mighty and powerful, He is not yet
an
arahat
like me, whose
Èsava
s have dried up.‛
At that time, although the Buddha was aware of what was in the mind of UruvelÈ-
Kassapa, He restrained himself and remained patient (since the sense faculties (
indriya
) of
the ascetic were not yet mature), awaiting the maturing of the ascetic's sense faculties, and
He stayed on in the wood, accepting and taking the food offered by UruvelÈ-Kassapa.
The Sixth PÈÔihÈriya
One day, when a merchant's slave girl of Sena NigÈma, by the name of
PaÒÒÈ
, died, her
corpse (
utujar|pa
) was wrapped in a hemp fibre cloth and abandoned in the graveyard.
After gently getting rid of a
tumba
1
of maggots, the Buddha picked up the hemp fibre cloth
(to be worn by Him) as robe made of rags taken from a heap of dust (PaÑsu-k|lika)
2
.
The great earth then shook violently with a roaring sound by way of acclaim. The whole
sky also roared with thundering sounds and all the devas and BrahmÈs applauded by
uttering ‘
SÈdhu!
’ The Buddha went back to His dwelling in UruvelÈ forest thinking:
‚Where should I wash this cloth of rags?‛ Sakka, being aware of what the Buddha was
thinking, created (by means of his supernormal power) a four-sided pond by just touching
the earth with his hand and addressed Him: ‚Glorious Buddha! May You wash the
paÑsu-
k|lika
cloth in this pond.‛
The Buddha washed the
paÑsu-k|lika
cloth in the pond created by the Sakka. At that time
also the earth shook, the entire sky roared and all the devas and BrahmÈs applauded by
uttering ‘
SÈdhu!
’ After the Buddha had washed the rags, He considered: ‚Where should I
dye this cloth by treading on it?‛ Sakka, being aware of what the Buddha had in mind,
addressed the Him thus: ‚Glorious Buddha! May You tread the cloth on this stone slab for
dyeing it‛ and he created a large stone slab by his supernatural power and placed it near the
pond.
After the Buddha had dyed the cloth by treading on it on the stone slab created by the
Sakka, He considered: ‚Where shall I hang up this cloth to dry?‛ Then a deity living on a
Kakudha
3
tree near the hermitage being aware of what the Buddha had in mind, addressed
Him: ‚Glorious Buddha! May you hang the
paÑsu-k|lika
cloth to dry on this Kakudha
tree.‛ and caused the branch of the tree to bend down.
After the Buddha had hung up the cloth to dry on the Kakudha branch, He considered:
‚Where should I spread it out to make it flat and even?‛ Sakka, being aware of what the
Buddha had in mind, addressed Him: ‚Glorious Buddha! May you spread out the cloth on
this stone slab to make it flat and even.‛ and he placed a large stone slab.
When the morning came, UruvelÈ-Kassapa approached the Buddha and asked Him: ‚It is
1.
tumba
: a measure of capacity, esp. used for grain. English-PÈli Dictionary. The Burmese word for
it is, one being equal to eight condenced milk tins.
2.
PaÑsuk|lika
rags from a dust heap. Wearing rags robe (
Pamsukulik'anga
) is one of thc thirteen
ascetic practices: read Chapter 17.
3. Kakudha: Terminalia A~una, PED.