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2. Bodhisattadhammatā (The Nature of a Bodhisatta)

· 37 min read

The sixteen things that are the nature of a bodhisatta at his conception and birth, told of Vipassī: the radiance, the guardian gods, his mother, the ten months, the standing birth and the newborn's seven strides and lordly words. Translated from the Mahāpadānasutta (7D/1), paragraphs 34–49.

Original text: 7D/1.2 Bodhisattadhammatā 34–49 in the World Tipitaka Edition

The second part of the Mahāpadānasutta: the Bhagavā tells the bhikkhū what is the nature of things for a bodhisatta (Buddha before his awakening), sixteen things that happen at his conception and his birth, from the radiance that fills the world when he passes from the Tusita host into his mother’s womb to the newborn’s seven strides and lordly words, each closed by the refrain “This is the nature of things here.” Vipassī’s conception and birth are told as the pattern that every bodhisatta follows.

flowchart TB
    A["passes away from the Tusita host"] --> B["enters his mother's womb"]
    B --> C["radiance fills the world"]
    B --> D["four young gods guard him"]
    B --> E["the mother: virtuous, free of lust, at ease, sees the child"]
    B --> F["exactly ten months"]
    F --> G["birth, the mother standing"]
    G --> H["gods receive him first, then humans"]
    G --> I["born clean, like a gem on Kāsi cloth"]
    G --> J["two streams of water"]
    G --> K["seven strides and lordly words"]
    G --> L["radiance fills the world"]
    G --> M["the mother dies on the seventh day"]

(17.)

34. Then, Bhikkhave, the bodhisatta (Buddha before his awakening) Vipassī, having passed away from the Tusita host, aware and clearly comprehending, entered his mother’s womb. This is the nature of things here. (1)

(18.)

35. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that when the bodhisatta, having passed away from the Tusita host, enters his mother’s womb — then in the world with its gods, with Māra, with Brahmā, among living beings with their religious practitioners, gods and humans, an immeasurable and excellent radiance appears, surpassing even the divine majesty of the gods. Even those spaces between the worlds, voids, unenclosed, dark, pitch-black, where even this moon and sun, so powerful, so mighty, do not reach with [their] light — there too an immeasurable and excellent radiance appears, surpassing even the divine majesty of the gods. And the beings who have arisen there, they too recognise one another by that radiance: ‘Apparently, Bho, there are other beings too who have arisen here.’ And this ten-thousand-fold world system trembles, shakes and quakes. And an immeasurable and excellent radiance appears in the world, surpassing even the divine majesty of the gods. This is the nature of things here. (2)

(19.)

36. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that when the bodhisatta has entered his mother’s womb, four young gods approach him for protection in the four directions: ‘Let no human or non-human or anyone harm the bodhisatta or the bodhisatta’s mother.’ This is the nature of things here. (3)

(20.)

37. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that when the bodhisatta has entered his mother’s womb, the bodhisatta’s mother is naturally virtuous, abstaining from killing living beings, abstaining from taking what is not given, abstaining from sexual misconduct, abstaining from false speech, abstaining from wine, spirits, drugs and states of intoxication. This is the nature of things here. (4)

(21.)

38. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that when the bodhisatta has entered his mother’s womb, no thought concerned with sexual pleasure arises in the bodhisatta’s mother towards men, and the bodhisatta’s mother is inviolable by any man of lustful intent. This is the nature of things here. (5)

(22.)

39. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that when the bodhisatta has entered his mother’s womb, the bodhisatta’s mother is one who gains the five strands of sensual pleasures. Endowed and furnished with the five strands of sensual pleasures, she amuses herself. This is the nature of things here. (6)

(23.)

40. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that when the bodhisatta has entered his mother’s womb, no illness whatsoever arises in the bodhisatta’s mother. The bodhisatta’s mother is at ease, not physically tired, and the bodhisatta’s mother sees the bodhisatta inside her womb, with all his parts and with faculties not defective. Just as, Bhikkhave, a cat’s-eye jewel is beautiful, genuine, octagonal, of excellent workmanship, clear, bright, not turbid, perfect in every aspect. In it there would be a thread strung, blue or yellow or red or white, or a pale thread. A man with eyes, having placed it in his hand, would reflect on it: ‘This cat’s-eye jewel indeed is beautiful, genuine, octagonal, of excellent workmanship, clear, bright, not turbid, perfect in every aspect. In it this thread is strung, blue or yellow or red or white, or a pale thread.’ In the same way, Bhikkhave, when the bodhisatta has entered his mother’s womb, no illness whatsoever arises in the bodhisatta’s mother; the bodhisatta’s mother is at ease, not physically tired, and the bodhisatta’s mother sees the bodhisatta inside her womb, with all his parts and with faculties not defective. This is the nature of things here. (7)

(24.)

41. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that when the bodhisatta is seven days old, the bodhisatta’s mother dies and reappears in the Tusita host. This is the nature of things here. (8)

(25.)

42. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that whereas other women give birth having carried the embryo in the womb for nine or ten months, the bodhisatta’s mother does not give birth to the bodhisatta thus. The bodhisatta’s mother gives birth to the bodhisatta having carried him in the womb for exactly ten months. This is the nature of things here. (9)

(26.)

43. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that whereas other women give birth seated or lying down, the bodhisatta’s mother does not give birth to the bodhisatta thus. The bodhisatta’s mother gives birth to the bodhisatta only standing. This is the nature of things here. (10)

(27.)

44. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that when the bodhisatta comes out from his mother’s womb, gods receive him first, afterwards humans. This is the nature of things here. (11)

(28.)

45. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that when the bodhisatta comes out from his mother’s womb, before the bodhisatta has reached the ground, four young gods receive him and place him before his mother: ‘Be delighted, your majesty; a son of great influence has been born to you.’ This is the nature of things here. (12)

(29.)

46. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that when the bodhisatta comes out from his mother’s womb, he comes out quite clean, unsmeared with water, unsmeared with phlegm, unsmeared with blood, unsmeared with any impurity, pure and clean. Just as, Bhikkhave, when a precious gem is placed on Kāsi cloth, neither does the precious gem smear the Kāsi cloth, nor does the Kāsi cloth smear the precious gem. For what reason? Because of the purity of both. In the same way, Bhikkhave, when the bodhisatta comes out from his mother’s womb, he comes out quite clean, unsmeared with water, unsmeared with phlegm, unsmeared with blood, unsmeared with any impurity, pure and clean. This is the nature of things here. (13)

(30.)

47. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that when the bodhisatta comes out from his mother’s womb, two streams of water appear from the sky, one of cold and one of hot, with which they perform the ablutions for the bodhisatta and for his mother. This is the nature of things here. (14)

(31.)

48. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that as soon as he is born, the bodhisatta, having stood firmly on even feet, facing north, walks seven strides while a white parasol is held above him, surveys all the directions and speaks lordly words: ‘I am the highest in the world, I am the eldest in the world, I am the best in the world; this is the final birth (of suffering), there is now no more appearing again (of suffering).’ This is the nature of things here. (15)

(32.)

49. It is the nature of things, Bhikkhave, that when the bodhisatta comes out from his mother’s womb, then in the world with its gods, with Māra, with Brahmā, among living beings with their religious practitioners, gods and humans, an immeasurable and excellent radiance appears, surpassing even the divine majesty of the gods. Even those spaces between the worlds, voids, unenclosed, dark, pitch-black, where even this moon and sun, so powerful, so mighty, do not reach with [their] light — there too an immeasurable and excellent radiance appears, surpassing even the divine majesty of the gods. And the beings who have arisen there, they too recognise one another by that radiance: ‘Apparently, Bho, there are other beings too who have arisen here.’ And this ten-thousand-fold world system trembles, shakes and quakes, and an immeasurable and excellent radiance appears in the world, surpassing even the divine majesty of the gods. This is the nature of things here. (16)

  • Sixteen dhammatā items, each closed by “This is the nature of things here.”, make Vipassī’s conception and birth the pattern of every bodhisatta; the same items are told of Gotama in the 11M/3.3 Acchariyaabbhutasutta.
  • Renderings: dhammatā “the nature of things” (DPD “nature”; the textbook’s units of the 17A10/1.1.2 Cetanākaraṇīyasutta have “characteristic”), bodhisatta with the DPD’s “Buddha before his awakening”, devaputta “young gods”, upapajjati “reappears”.
  • The radiance that surpasses the gods and the world system that “trembles, shakes and quakes” are the Dhammacakka’s sentences (Pañcavaggiyakathā), here in the present tense.
  • The newborn’s words end with the liberation formula as worded on https://buddhavacana.github.io/pali-textbook/5-dhammacakka/; whether “(of suffering)” belongs in the infant’s speech is for the author.
  • The wonders of the birth are the narrative’s rhetoric of the bodhisatta’s standing; the reading belongs on the sutta’s index page.

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