Chapter II
balaÒÈÓa
), etc. The Noble Person who has thus attained Enlightenment is called a Private
Buddha or a Minor Buddha (
Pacceka Buddha
).
After fulfilling the necessary Perfections for one
asa~khyeyya
and a hundred thousand
aeons, if he is a future Chief Disciple, or a hundred thousand aeons, if he is a future Great
Disciple, or a hundred aeons or a thousand aeons or any smaller number of aeons, if he is a
future Ordinary Disciple, a future Disciple attains Enlightenment consisting of the Insight-
Knowledge of the Path, which is understanding of the Four Noble Truths (
SÈvaka-Bodhi-
ÒÈÓa
), with the help of a teacher who is a Buddha. The Noble Person who has thus attained
Enlightenment of a Disciple (
SÈvaka-Bodhi-ÒÈÓa
) is called an Enlightened Disciple
(
SÈvaka-Buddha
); he may have the status of a Chief Disciple, a Great Disciple or an
Ordinary Disciple.
4. Buddha-kicca
Among these great personages, namely, Omniscient Buddhas, Private Buddhas and
Enlightened Disciples, Omniscient Buddhas are called TÈrayitu
49
beings, the Most Supreme
Ones, who, having themselves crossed the ocean of
saÑsÈra
50
, save others from their
perils.
Private Buddhas are called Tarita
51
beings, the Noble Ones who have crossed over the
ocean of
saÑsÈra
on their own, but are unable to save others from its perils. To elaborate:
Private Buddhas do not appear in an age when an Omniscient Buddha makes His
appearance. They appear only in the intervening period between the lifetime of two
Buddhas. An Omniscient Buddha realises for himself the Four Noble Truths without
guidance and has the ability to teach and make others understand them. A Private Buddha
also realises the Four Noble Truths on His own, but He is in no way able to teach and
make others understand them. Having realised the Path, Fruition and NibbÈna
(
PaÔivedha
52
), He is unable to recount His personal experiences of these attainments
because He lacks possession of appropriate terminology for these supramundane doctrines.
Therefore, a Private Buddha's knowledge of the Four Truths (
DhammÈbhisamaya
53
) is
compared by the commentators to a dumb person's dream or an ignorant peasant's
experience of a city life for which he has no words to express. Private Buddhas (
Tarita
beings) are thus those who have gone across
saÑsÈra
on their own, but who are in no
position to help others cross.
Private Buddhas may bestow monkhood on those who wish to become monks, and they
may give them training in special practices of the holy life (
ÈbhisamÈcÈrika
54
) thus: ‚In this
calm manner, you should step forward, step backward, you should see, you should say,‛
(6)
Indriya paropariyatta
ÒÈÓa
, knowledge of the lower and higher faculties of beings, (7)
JhÈnÈdi Samkilesa VodÈnavuÔÔhÈna
ÒÈÓa
, knowledge of the defilements, purity and rising with
regard to
jhÈna
, concentration, attainments etc. (8)
Pubbenivasa
ÒÈÓa
, knowledge of
remembering many former births, (9)
Cut|apÈta
ÒÈÓa
, or
Dibbacakkhu
ÒÈÓa
, knowledge of
perceiving with the divine eye how beings vanish and re-appear according to their actions
(
kamma
), and (10)
Œsavakkhaya
ÒÈÓa
, knowledge of the extinction of all moral intoxicants
(impurities that befuddle the mind) i.e.
Arahantta-magga
ÒÈÓa
.
49.
TÈrayitu
, literally, ‚one who makes other cross‛ and helps them through.
50.
SamsÈra
, literally, moving about continuously from one life to another i.e. cycle of births.
51.
Tarita
, Grammatically speaking, it is a Past Participle form of
taratÊ
meaning to cross or to pass
over.
52.
Pativedha
, literally, penetration. It is one of the three aspects of the Buddha's Teaching, the first
two being
pariyatti
and
patipatti
, learning of the scriptures and engagement in practices
respectively.
53.
DhammÈbhisamaya
, literally, truth-realisation, which is penetration of the Four Noble Truths
according to the commentaries.
54.
ŒbhisamÈcÈrika
‚belonging to the practice of the lesser ethics, according to PED; ‚the minor
precept,‛ according to CPD.