THE GREAT CHRONICLE OF BUDDHAS
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C|lasubhaddÈ. The merchant said: ‚But, Glorious Buddha, is not my daughter
CulasubhaddÈ living in Ugga which is one hundred and twenty
yojanas
away from this city
of SÈvatthi?‛
The Buddha replied: ‚You are right, merchant but good people can manifest as if they
were standing before Me even though they may be living in a place that is many
yojanas
away.‛
Then the Buddha uttered the following verse:
D|re santo pakÈsenti
himavaÓto'va pabbato.
Asantettha na dissanti
rattiÑ khittÈ yathÈ sarÈ.
Merchant AnÈthapiÓÉika, donor of Jetavana! Though people, pure at heart
and doers of good deeds, may stay many
yojanas
away, they manifest
themselves to My knowledge as does the Himavanta forest. Though foolish
monks and lay persons, exist near Me, they never manifest themselves in the
neighbourhood of My vision like the arrows shot in the darkness of four
characteristics, namely, midnight, moonless, in the heart of the forest and
under all cloudy sky.
By the end of the discourse, many people attained the Fruition of SotÈpatti.
The Buddha's Journey to Ugga
Knowing that the Buddha had accepted C|lasubhaddÈ's invitation, Sakka told Visukamma
Deva to create five hundred turreted flying vehicles in which the Buddha and His monks
were to be taken to Ugga the next day. The next day, Visukamma stood at the gate of the
Jetavana monastery, after creating five hundred flying vehicles.
The Buddha took the the batch of the five hundred choice
arahats
as His entourage, and
they, one seated in each vehicle, travelled by air to Ugga City.
Looking forward with his followers to the Buddha’s arrival, as instructed by his wise
daughter-in-law C|lasubhaddÈ, Ugga saw the Buddha coming with great glory.
Overwhelmed by devotion, he welcomed and honoured the Buddha with flowers, scents,
etc. After performing alms-giving, he invited the Buddha now and then and repeated his
great offering for seven days.
The Liberation of Ugga and 84000 Beings
The Buddha preached the Dhamma that suited Ugga. As a result, he and his wife,
together with eighty-four thousand beings, realized the Four Truths and became liberated.
In order to show His grace to C|lasubhaddÈ, the Buddha told Thera Anuruddha to stay
behind in Ugga and, Himself and the rest of the
arahats
returned to Savatthi. From that day
onwards the city of Ugga became a great centre of the faith and a city devoted to the Triple
Gem.
—— PakiÓÓaka Vagga, Dhammapada Commentary, Vol. II. ——
The Buddha's Preaching to a Brahmin of Wrong Views
Story of A Certain Brahmin
Once, while residing at Jetavana in SÈvatthi, the Buddha preached a sermon beginning
with ‘
TaÓhÈya jÈyatÊ soko
’, etc. in connection with a certain brahmin. The story in detail is
as follows:
One day, a brahmin, a citizen of SÈvatthi, who held wrong views, was clearing a farm
land near the river Aciravati. The Buddha came to know that he had performed, in the past,
an act that would contribute to his attainment of the Path and Fruition. The brahmin saw
the Buddha but as he was of wrong views, he did not show his respect to the Buddha, not
even talked to Him but kept silent. The Buddha Himself first addressed the brahmin,