Quotation

He who learns must suffer, and, even in our sleep, pain that we cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, and in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God. - Aeschylus

Sunday, December 20, 2015

Fair Questions: Does Buddhism have an infancy narrative?

Particularly during December, additional attention is usually paid to the infancy narratives in the Gospels, as well as traditions, legends, and myths which have either preceded them or developed from them.  Which, in light of my recent work on the Buddha's teachings, brought to mind the question of whether or not there was an equivalent of the infancy narratives in Buddhism, often called the Nativity in Christian circles.

Fortunately, I remembered reading part of the Pali canon which laid out some of the important facets of the Buddha's final rebirth.

"Thus have I heard.   On one occasion the Blessed One was living at Savatthi in Jets's Grove, Anathapindika's Park.  Now a number of monks were sitting in the assembly hall, where they had met together on returning from their almsround, after their meal, when this discussion arose among them: 'It is wonderful, friends, it is marvelous, how mighty and powerful is the Tathagata!  For he is able to know about the Buddhas of the past--who attained final Nibbana, cut [the tangle] of proliferation, broke the cycle, ended the round, and surmounted all suffering--that for those Blessed Ones their birth was thus, their names were thus, their clans were thus, their moral discipline was thus, their qualities [of concentration] were thus, their wisdom was thus, their meditative dwellings were thus, their liberation was thus.'
When this was said, the Venerable Ananda told the monks: 'Friends, Tathagatas are wonderful and have wonderful qualities.  Tathagatas are marvelous and have marvelous qualities.'
However, their discussion was interrupted; for the Blessed One rose from meditation when it was evening, went to the assembly hall, and sat down on a seat made ready."

It is at this point that the Buddha asks the Sangha what they were discussing prior to his return, and Ananda faithfully recounts the content of their discussion presented above.  This makes a great deal of sense; in cultures without widespread literacy and quick methods of travel, people needed to be very good at remembering the exact content of discussions because there was no way to communicate across long distances, no way to travel the distances quickly to ask a person what they said, and probably no written record of the conversation.

These discussions were preserved via oral tradition by monks who memorized the discourses of the Buddha, which were only later recorded in written form in the Pali canon.  And so it is no surprise that Ananda could perform the following recitation of the Buddha's words.

"The the Blessed One addressed the Venerable Ananda: 'That being so, Ananda, explain more fully the Tathagata's wonderful and marvelous qualities.'
'I heard and learned this, venerable sir, from the Blessed One's own lips: "Mindful and clearly comprehending, Ananda, the Bodhisatta appeared in the Tusita heaven."  That mindful and clearly comprehending the Bodhisatta appeared in the Tusita heaven--this I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.'
'I heard and learned this from the Blessed One's own lips: "Mindful and clearly comprehending the Bodhisatta remained in the Tusita heaven."  This too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.'
'I heard and learned this from the Blessed One's own lips: "For the whole of his lifespan the Bodhisatta remained in the Tusita heaven."  This too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.'
'I heard and learned this from the Blessed One's own lips: "Mindful and clearly comprehending the Bodhisatta passed away from the Tusita heaven and descended into his mother's womb."  This too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.'"

Here, we learn that the Buddha remembers choosing to be reborn in the human world after remaining on a heavenly plane until the end of his life there, specifically the Tusita heaven.  This is far from the only bold claim made by the Buddha with regard to his own abilities, and the ability to remember past lives clearly is central to the Buddha's teaching on what it means to be enlightened.

Unlike in Christianity, the Buddha is not the only-begotten Son of the Triune God.  The Buddha is a consciousness, which like all consciousnesses, have the capacity to be enlightened.  In the cosmos of suffering which the Buddha explains to us so that we can escape the cycle of death and rebirth, any of us can eventually ascend to the highest heavenly planes and become divine beings.

'I heard and learned this from the Blessed One's own lips: "When the Bodhisatta passed away from the Tusita heaven and descended into his mother's womb, an immeasurable great radiance surpassing the divine majesty of the devas appeared in the world with its devas, Mara, and Brahma, in this population with its ascetics and brahmins, with its devas and human beings.  And even in those abysmal world intervals of vacancy, gloom, and utter darkness, where the moon and the sun, mighty and powerful as they are, cannot make their light prevail, there too an immeasurable great radiance surpassing the divine majesty of the devas appeared.  And the beings reborn there perceived each other by that light: 'So indeed, there are also other beings reborn here.'  And this ten-thousand-fold world system shook, quaked, and trembled, and again an immeasurable great radiance surpassing the divine majesty of the devas appeared in the world."  This too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.'

The entrance of the Buddha into this world was marked by a great light present in all worlds; even the lower worlds are suddenly radiant on the occasion, quite a miraculous occurrence.  Rather than the mere bright star marking the birthplace of Jesus, the Buddha's birth causes all worlds to be suffused with a light greater than the light of the gods, and it causes the entire cosmos of suffering to quake and tremble.

Having brought light to those in darkness, however briefly, and having shaken all the worlds, the Buddha has gained the attention of the mighty ones of the worlds.  The gods themselves attend to the one who came to end suffering and pleasure, to show them the way to liberation from the cycle of death and rebirth to which even divine beings are ultimately subject.

'I  heard and learned this from the Blessed One's own lips: "When the Bodhisatta descended into his mother's womb, four young devas came to guard him at the four quarters so that no humans or nonhumans or anyone at all could harm the Bodhisatta or his mother. ...
When the Bodhisatta descended into his mother's womb, she became intrinsically virtuous, refraining from killing living beings, from taking what is not given, from sexual misconduct, from false speech, and from wines, liquors, and intoxicants, the basis of negligence. ...
Other women give birth after carrying the child for nine or ten months, but not so the Bodhisatta's mother.  The Bodhisatta's mother gave birth to him after carrying the child in the womb for exactly ten months. ...
Other women give birth seated or lying down, but not so the Bodhisatta's mother.  The Bodhisatta's mother gave birth to him standing up.  ...
When the Bodhisatta came forth from his mother's womb, first devas received him, then human beings." This too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.'

Greeted first by the gods, the Buddha's importance was shown in the attention of the mighty ones of the worlds; no mere wise men from the East or shepherds from the fields would be the first visitors for the birth of the great Lion who roars the Dhamma.

And the manner of his birth was of course special, and not just in the amount of time the pregnancy took or the position in which his mother gave birth, but also in the fact that she became all-virtuous simply by carrying him in her womb.  After all, can an impure vessel be proper to bearing the most pure and virtuous Buddha into his final life?

This of course has some strong similarity to the view of Mary in ancient Christian thought; she is called Our All-holy, immaculate, most blessed and glorified Lady, the Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary.  The similarities do not end there.

'I  heard and learned this from the Blessed One's own lips: "When the Bodhisatta came forth from his mother's womb, he did not touch the earth.  The four young devas received him and set him before his mother saying: 'Rejoice, O queen, a son of great power has been born to you.'"  ...
"When the Bodhisatta came forth from his mother's womb, he came forth unsullied, unsmeared by water, humors, blood, or any kind of impurity, clean and unsullied.  Suppose there were a gem placed on a fine cloth, then the gem would not smear the cloth or the cloth the gem.  Why is that?  Because of the purity of both.  So too when the Bodhisatta came forth from his mother's womb, he came forth unsullied, unsmeared by water, humors, blood, or any kind of impurity, clean and unsullied."  This too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.'

Mary, too, is called the Queen of Heaven and the Mother of God.  But very unlike Mary the poor virgin, Queen Maya the mother of the Buddha is believed to have been a queen in the existing political order, married to a king named Suddhodana, with no indication that she was a virgin.

Though his parents were of high standing in the world, the Buddha later abandoned this status and wealth to live a monastic lifestyle, retreating into many years of ascetic discipline before teaching the Dhamma.  Nonetheless, we see yet again that the purity of both the Buddha and his mother is emphasized in their freedom from the normal human bodily functions of birth.  Despite the apparent purity of both Maya and her son the Buddha, they are given an impromptu free shower in which to bathe.

'I  heard and learned this from the Blessed One's own lips: "When the Bodhisatta came forth from his mother's womb, two jets of water appeared to pour from the sky, one cool and one warm, for bathing the Bodhisatta and his mother." ...
"As soon as the Bodhisatta was born, he stood firmly with feet on the ground; then he took seven steps facing north, and with a white parasol held over him, he surveyed each quarter and uttered the words of the leader of the herd: 'I am the highest in the world; I am the best in the world; I am the foremost in the world.  This is my last birth; now there is no renewed existence for me.'"  This too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.'

Even more spectacularly, the Buddha could walk and speak immediately upon his birth, aware of his impending attainment of final Nibbana from the very beginning of his last life.  This is quite an infancy narrative indeed, full of miraculous events and portents of miraculous events to come.

But the discourse is not yet finished; as usual, the Buddha wants to teach something more.

"That being so, Ananda, remember this too as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Tathagata: Here, Ananda, for the Tathagata feelings are known as they arise, as they are present, as they disappear; perceptions are known as they arise, as they are present, as they disappear; thoughts are known as they arise, as they are present, as they disappear.  Remember this too, Ananda, as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Tathagata."
"Venerable sir, since for the Blessed One feelings are known as they arise, as they are present, as they disappear; perceptions are known as they arise, as they are present, as they disappear; thoughts are known as they arise, as they are present, as they disappear--this too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One."  That is what the Venerable Ananda said.  The Teacher approved.  The monks were satisfied and delighted in the Venerable Ananda's words.

As before, Ananda has no trouble remembering the words of the Buddha, keeping in his mind the discourses of the Buddha which would later be recorded from the oral tradition of the Sangha.  This oral tradition is how we get the infancy narrative of the Buddha, an oral tradition which presents us with a miraculous birth, astonishing visitors, and what seem like impossible abilities from  a newborn.


By Unknown - Hutchinson's story of the nations, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=20046432

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