THE GREAT CHRONICLE OF BUDDHAS
870
YaÑ kiÒci vittaÑ idha vÈ huraÑ vÈ
saggesu vÈ yaÑ ratanaÑ paÓitaÑ
na no samaÑ atthi TathÈgatena;
idam'pi Buddhe ratanaÑ paÓÊtaÑ
etena saccena suvatthi hotu.
Then willing to extol the
Dhamma
-
ratana
, the King wrote its six attributes, namely, ‚The
doctrine of the Buddha is well proclaimed (
svÈkkhÈta
), leading to results discernible in this
very life (
sandiÔÔhika
), beneficial instantly (
akÈlika
), invites beings to ‘come and see’
(
ehipassika
), worthy to be embraced (
opaneyyika
), and worthy to be experienced by the
wise individually (
paccattam-vedittabbo vinnuhi
). The King also mentioned special
attributes such as the thirty-seven constituents of Enlightenment (
Bodhipakkhiya
Dhamma
),
such as the four foundations of mindfulness (
satipatthana
), the four right efforts
(
sammappadhana
), the four paths to supernormal power (
iddhi-pada
), the five faculties
(
indriya
), the five strengths (
bala
), the seven factors of Enlightenment (
bojjha~ga
) and the
eightfold Path (
magganga
).
Then the King described the attributes of the Dhamma partly as follows:
YaÑ buddhaseÔÔho parivannayÊ suciÑ
samÈdhim anantarikaÒÒam Èhu;
SamÈdhinÈ tena samo na vijjati;
idam'pi dhamme ratanaÑ paÓÊtaÑ
etena saccena suvatthi hotu
Then the King willing to extol the
Sangha-ratana
wrote its nine attributes, of which the
first four being that ‚The Disciples of the Buddha possess good conduct (
suppaÔipaÒÒÈtÈ
),
upright conduct (
ujupaÔipaÒÒÈta
), conduct leading to NibbÈna (
ÒÈya-paÔipaÒÒÈta
), conduct
leading to their being worthy of veneration (
sÈmici-paÔippaÒÒÈtÈ
); by possessing which (as
the cause): they are worthy of offering brought from afar (
Èhuneyya
), worthy of offering
meant for guests (
pahuneyya
), worthy of proper offering (
dakkhineyya
), worthy of
veneration (
aÒjali-karaÓÊya
), and being the best field for beings to sow the seeds of good
deeds (
anuttara-puÒÒakkhetta lokassa
). The King continued his writing:
‚Clansmen, who are of good birth and good conduct, hear the words of the Exalted One
and renounce the world to become monks. Some do so, giving up the pleasures of a king,
some the pleasures of a crown-prince, some the post of a supreme commander, and so on.
Having become monks, they lead the noble way of life.‛ After this foreword, with regard
to the noble way of life, the King wrote something about lower morality (
c|la
-
sÊla
),
medium morality (
majjhima
-
sÊla
), higher morality (
mahÈ
-
sÊla
), etc., as contained in the
Brahmajala Sutta. He also wrote, in part, on the restraint of the six senses, cultivation of
mindfulness with intelligence (
satisampajaÒÒa
), contentment with the four requisites of
life, the nine kinds of dwellings suitable for meditation, the overcoming of five hindrances
(
nivarana
), making preparations with certain devices (
kasiÓa
) for mind-training,
development of
jhÈna
and supernormal powers, thirty-eight kinds of meditation, etc., all
leading up to the attainment of arahatship.
After describing in detail the sixteen kinds of mindfulness on breathing (
anapanassati
)
for meditation, the King glorified the Buddha's Disciples in the Sangha:
Ye puggalÈ aÔÔhasataÑ pasaÔÔhÈ
cattari etÈni yugÈni honti;
te dakkhiÓeyya sugatassa sÈvakÈ
etesu dinnÈni mahÈpphalÈni;
idampi Sanghe ratanaÑ paÓÊtaÑ
etena saccena suvatthi hotu.
The King then added: ‚The Teaching of the Exalted One with its threefold training