Maha Buddhavamsa - SEEING THE FOUR GREAT OMENS

Maha Buddhavamsa
The Great Chronicle of The Buddhas
by Tipitakadhara Mingun Sayadaw

Edited and Translated by
U Ko Lay and U Tin Lwin

CHAPTER THREE

SEEING THE FOUR GREAT OMENS

Visiting the Royal Garden

      In this matter, the Bodhisatta Prince Siddhattha became the reigning king of Kapilavatthu at the age of sixteen; when he attained the age of twenty-nine, after having enjoyed the comfort and luxury of Universal Monarch, attended upon by a retinue of forty thousand Princesses headed by the Chief Queen Yasodhara, he became desirous one day of visiting the Royal Garden. And so, he sent for the charioteer and ordered him: "Charioteer, have the chariot ready! I will go out to visit the Royal Garden." "Very well, replied the charioteer and had the royal chariot, excellent and fit only for noble personages, adorned with Ornaments and to it were harnessed four thoroughbreds pure white like the full moon or kumuda lotus flower, and fast as the wind or Garuda, king of birds. When informed by the charioteer that the chariot was ready, the Bodhisatta Prince rode in the chariot which was gorgeous like a celestial mansion and headed for the royal garden in a grand procession.

(1) Seeing the omen of an old man

      When thus the Bodhisatta Prince had covered some distance on his way to the royal garden, the Devas conferred; "The time for Prince Siddhattha to become a Buddha is drawing near. Let us show him omens which will cause him to renounce the world and become a recluse." They asked a Deva to assume the appearance of an aged man, having gray hair, no teeth, stooping back, and trembling with a walking stick in his hand. This omen of an old man created by the Deva could be seen by no one but the Bodhisatta and the charioteer.
      On seeing the old man, the Bodhisatta Prince asked the charioteer, "O charioteer, the hair of that man is not like that of others; his hair is totally white. His body is also not like that of others: the teeth are gone; there is little flesh (on his body); with a stooping back, he is trembling all over. By what name is he known?" The charioteer replied: Your Majesty, he is called an old man.
      The Bodhisatta Prince, who had never even heard before the word old man, much less seeing one, again asked the charioteer, "O charioteer, never before have I seen any one of such nature, whose hair is white, who has no teeth, who is emaciated and trembling with a stooping back. What is meant by an old man?" The charioteer replied, "Your Majesty, one who cannot live longer is known as an old man (an old man is one who has a short time left to live for)"
      The Bodhisatta then asked: "O charioteer, how is that? Am I also subject to old age? Am I also one who cannot overcome the nature of ageing?" When the charioteer replied, "Your Majesty, all of us including Your Majesty as well as I are prone to old age; there is no one who can overcome the nature of ageing, the Bodhisatta Prince said, "O charioteer, if all human beings, each and every one of them, cannot overcome the nature of old age, I, being prone to old age, desire no more to go to the royal garden and enjoy the pleasures therein. Turn back even from this place where the old man is seen and drive back to the palace. "Very, well, Your Majesty," replied the charioteer who, instead of proceeding to the royal garden, turned the chariot round at the very place where the old man was seen and drove it back to the golden palace.

The Bodhisatta's samvega

      It is the nature of lions, when shot with an arrow, not to seek primarily to remove the arrow which is the effect, but to seek the hostile hunter who has shot the arrow and who is the prime cause of the coming of the arrow. Of the two phenomena, of cause and effect, Buddhas also do not seek to eliminate the effect which is like the arrow, but they seek and find out through intelligence the cause which is like the enemy hunter who shoots the arrow. Therefore, the Buddhas are like the lions. The charioteer had merely explained worldly nature of decay and old age (jara) as far as he understood but the Bodhisatta Prince as befitting one who desires to become a Buddha knew distinctly on reflection that birth (jati) was the prime cause of the process of ageing (jara). After coming back to the golden palace, the Bodhisatta Prince reflected with penetrative samvega, "Oh, birth is detestable indeed. To whomever birth is evident, to him ageing is also evident." Having reflected thus, he became cheerless and morose; he remained gloomy and dejected.

King Suddhodana increased the strength of the guards

      King Suddhodana sent for the charioteer and asked him: "O charioteer, why did my son return in a hurry without proceeding to the garden?" The charioteer replied: "Your Majesty, your son has seen an old man so he came back in haste." King Suddhodana mused: "My son should become a ruler over this country. He must not renounce the world and become a recluse. The prediction of the court Brahmins that he would renounce the world and become a recluse must be proved wrong. O courtiers, why did you spoil my plans? Arrange quickly more palace attendants than before; then with more female attendants and dancing girls surrounding him, my son, while enjoying the five sensual pleasures, will no longer think of becoming a recluse." So saying, he ordered to increase the number of guards in the surrounding places at every half yojana distance (two gavutas) in all the four directions.

(When the Bodhisatta Prince came out to the royal garden for enjoyment, he was accompanied by a contingent of troops half a yojana in extent; as the chariot reached a place where it forged ahead, leaving the forces behind in the procession, the great Arahat Brahmas of the Suddhavasa abode, by dint of supernatural power, created the form of an old man in front of the chariot, to be visible only to the prince and the charioteer. The Arahat Brahmas of the Suddhavasa abode, considering, "The Bodhisatta prince is now being mired in the slough of five sensual pleasures like the bull elephant getting swamped in a quagmire. We should let him regain the sense of mindfulness" showed him the form of an old man. The other omens which would appear later should also be understood in the same manner. This account is from the Commentary on the Mahapadana Sutta.)

(2) Seeing the omen of a sick man

      Deceived and distracted by the five pleasures of the senses increasingly provided and arranged by his father King Suddhodana to deter him from renouncing the world and becoming a recluse, Prince Siddhattha spent his time enjoying the pleasures and luxuries of the palace life; his sense of religious urgency, generated by the detestation of the nature of birth and old age, became slightly diminished.
      When four months had passed after living such a life of luxury, the Bodhisatta Prince again rode out to the royal garden in the chariot drawn by the thoroughbreds as before. On the way, the Prince saw the form of a sick man created a second time by Devas; the man was in great pain being oppressed by disease, and could sit up or lie down only when helped by others; he was helplessly lying in bed covered with his own filth.
      Thereupon, the Prince asked the charioteer: "O charioteer, the eyes of that man are not like the eyes of others, they are weak and unsteady. His voice is also unlike that of others; he keeps on crying with an unbearable shrill. His body is also not like the bodies of others. It appears much worn out and exhausted. By what name is he known?" The charioteer replied, "Your Majesty, he is known by the name of 'sick man'."
      The Bodhisatta, who had never before seen a sick man or even heard of the word sick man" asked the charioteer again, "O charioteer, I have never come cross such a person, who sits up and lies down only with the help of others, who sleeps mired in his own filth and keeps on shrieking unbearably. What is meant by a sick man?" Explain the nature of this sick man to me." The charioteer replied: "Your Majesty, a sick man is one who knows not whether he will or will not recover from the illness afflicting him now."
      The Bodhisatta then asked: "O charioteer, how is that? Am I also prone to illness? Am I also one who cannot overcome the nature of ailment?" When the charioteer replied, "Your Majesty, all of us including Your Majesty as well as I are subject to illness; there is no one who can overcome the nature of ailment." the Bodhisatta Prince said, "O charioteer, if all human beings, each and every one of them, cannot overcome the nature of ailment, I, being prone to illness, desire no more to go to the royal garden and enjoy the pleasures therein. Turn back even from this place where the sick man is seen and drive back to the palace." "Very well, Your Majesty", replied the charioteer who, instead of proceeding to the royal garden, turned the chariot round at the very place where the sick man was seen and drove it back to the golden palace.

The Bodhisatta's samvega

      As has been said above, although the charioteer merely explained the painful, unbearable, oppressive worldly nature of illness (vyadhi), as far as he understood, the Bodhisatta, like the lion king and befitting one who desires to become a Buddha, knew distinctly on reflection that birth was the prime cause of illness, and of the above-mentioned old age. Back at the golden palace, the Bodhisatta Prince reflected with penetrative samvega: "Oh, birth is detestable indeed! To whomever birth has become evident, to him ageing is bound to become evident; illness is bound to become evident." Having reflected thus, he became cheerless and morose; he remained gloomy and dejected.

King Suddhodana increased the strength of the guards

      King Suddhodana sent for the charioteer and questioned him as before. When the charioteer replied, "Your Majesty, your son came back in a hurry because he has seen a sick man", King Suddhodana thought to himself as before and said in the aforesaid manner, and ordered further increase of guards to be placed every three gavutas in the four directions; he also arranged to appoint more palace attendants and dancing girls.

(3) Seeing the omen of a dead man

      Deceived and distracted by the five pleasures of the senses increasingly provided and arranged by his father King Suddhodana to deter him from renouncing the world and becoming a recluse, Prince Siddhattha spent his time enjoying the pleasures and luxuries of the palace life, and his sense of religious urgency generated by the detestation of the nature of birth, old age and illness became slightly diminished.
      When four month had passed after living such a life of luxury, the Bodhisatta Prince again rode out to the royal garden in the chariot drawn by the thoroughbreds as before. On the way, he saw the omen created and shown by the Devas for the third time, namely, a crowd of people and a stretcher (bier) decorated with multi-coloured cloth. Thereupon, he asked the charioteer: " Charioteer, why are all these people gathering around? Why are they preparing a stretcher decorated with multi-coloured cloth?" The Charioteer replied: "Your Majesty, the people are gathering around and preparing the stretcher because someone has died."

      (He had never seen a bier before; he had seen only a stretcher. He asked, therefore: "Why are all these people gathering around and preparing a stretcher?")

      The Bodhisatta who had never seen a dead person before or even heard of the dead, commanded the charioteer: "O charioteer, if they are assembled and engaged in making a stretcher, drive me to where the dead man lies." The charioteer said. "Very well, Your Majesty", and drove the chariot to where the dead man was lying. When the Bodhisatta saw the dead man, he asked: "O charioteer, of what nature is this dead man?" The charioteer replied: "Your Majesty, when a man dies, his relative will never see him again; nor will see his relatives any longer."
      Thereupon, the Bodhisatta Prince asked further: "O Charioteer, how is that? Am I also subject to death like that man? Am I also one who cannot overcome the nature of death? Will my father, mother and relatives not see me again one day? Will I also not see them again one day?" The charioteer replied: "Your Majesty, all of us including Your Majesty as well as I are subject to death. There is no one who can overcome death. It is certain that one day your royal father, mother and relatives will not see you any more and it is equally certain that one day you will no longer see them."

      (The royal mother in this context refers to Mahapajapati Gotami, the aunt and step-mother.)

      Thereupon, the Bodhisatta Prince said, "O charioteer, if all human beings, each and every one of them, cannot overcome the nature of dying, I, being subject to death, desire no more to go to the royal garden and enjoy the pleasures therein. Turn back even from this place where the dead man is seen and drive back to the royal palace." "Very well Your Majesty", replied the charioteer who, instead of proceeding to the royal garden, turned the chariot round at the very place where the dead man was seen and drove it back to the golden palace.

The Bodhisatta's samvega

     As has been said above, although the charioteer merely explained the worldly nature of death (marana) as far as he understood that when a man died, the relatives who were left behind would never see him again; nor would the man who passed away see again the relatives he had left behind, the Bodhisatta Prince, like the lion king and befitting one who desires to become a Buddha, knew distinctly on reflection that birth was the prime cause of the three phenomena: death, old age, and illness, which he had seen previously. After his return to the golden palace, the Bodhisatta Prince reflected with penetrative samvega, "Oh, birth is detestable indeed! To whomever birth has become evident, to him old age is bound to become evident, illness is bound to become evident, death is bound to become evident." Having reflected thus, he became cheerless and morose; he remained gloomy and dejected.

King Suddhodana increased the strength of the guards

      King Suddhodana sent for the charioteer and questioned him as before. When the charioteer replied, "Your Majesty, the royal son came back in a hurry because he has seen somebody dead", King Suddhodana thought to himself as before and said in the same manner and ordered further strengthening of guards to be placed at every yojana in the four directions; he also arranged to appoint more palace attendants and dancing girls.

(4) Seeing the omen of a recluse

      Deceived and distracted by the five pleasures of the senses increasingly provided and arranged by his father King Suddhodana to deter him from renouncing the world and becoming a recluse, Prince Siddhattha spent his time enjoying the pleasures and luxuries of the palace and the sense of religious urgency generated by the detestation of the nature of birth, old age, illness and death became slightly diminished.
      When four months had passed after living such a life of luxury, the Bodhisatta Prince again rode out to the royal garden in the chariot drawn by the thoroughbreds as before. On the way, he saw the omen created by the Devas for the fourth time, a man who had embraced the life of a recluse with a clean shaven head and beard wearing a bark dyed robe. "O charioteer," said the Prince, "This man's head is not like the heads of others; he is with a clean shaven head and also has his beard removed. His clothes are also not like those of others and are bark-dyed. By what name is he known? "The charioteer replied: "Your Majesty, he is known as a recluse."
      The Bodhisatta asked the charioteer again, "O charioteer, what is meant by a "recluse"? Explain the nature of a recluse to me." The charioteer replied: "Your Majesty, a recluse is a person who, bearing in mind that it is good to practise the ten courses of wholesome actions (kusalakammapathas), beginning with generosity (dana, has gone forth from worldly life and put on the bark-dyed clothes; he is a man who, bearing in mind that it is good to practise the ten courses of wholesome actions which are in accord with righteousness, which are free from blemish, which are clean and pure, has gone forth from the worldly life and put on the bark-dyed clothes; he is one who, bearing in mind that it is good to refrain from ill-treating sentient beings, to work for the promotion of their welfare, has gone forth from the worldly life and put on the bark-dyed clothes."
     (Here, although the charioteer had no knowledge of a recluse or his virtues since it was a time prior to the appearance of a Buddha and his Teachings, he said through supernatural powers of the Devas, that the man was a recluse, and explained the virtues of a recluse. This account is taken from the Buddhavamsa (Commentary and JinaIankara Sub-commentary.)
     (Those Bodhisattas with a much longer life-span saw the four great omens one after another with the lapse of a hundred years between one and the next occasion. in the case of our Bodhisatta, however, appearing during a far shorter span of life, intervening period between any two events was four months. According to the Digha Nikaya reciters, however, the Bodhisatta saw all the four great omens in one day. Buddhavamsa Commentary.)
      Thereupon, the Bodhisatta said to the charioteer "This man is truly admirable and noble for having gone forth from the world, bearing in mind that it is good to practise the ten courses of wholesome actions, which are in accord with righteousness, which are free from blemish, and which are clean and pure. That man is admirable and noble for having gone forth from the world bearing in mind that it is good to refrain from ill-treating sentient beings and to work for the promotion of their welfare. Just because he is admirable and noble, charioteer, drive the chariot to the place where that recluse is." Saying, "Very well, Your Majesty", the charioteer drove the chariot to where the recluse was. On reaching there, the Bodhisatta asked the recluse, a creation of the Devas: "0 man, what is that you are doing? Your head is not like the heads of others; your clothes are also not like those of others". When replied by the recluse, a creation of the Devas through their supernormal powers, "Your Majesty, I am known as a recluse ", the Bodhisatta asked him further: "What do you mean by a recluse?" The recluse, actually a supernormal form created by the Devas (iddhirupa,), replied: "Your Majesty, I am one who has gone forth from the household life, having shaved off the hair and beard and wearing the bark-dyed clothes, and bearing in mind that it is good to practise the ten courses of wholesome actions, beginning with generosity, which are also known by four special epithets Dhamma for being righteous, Sama for being in accord with righteousness, Kusala for being blemish- free and Pannafor being pure and clean both as cause and effect; and also bearing in mind that it is good to refrain from ill-treating sentient beings and to work for the promotion of their welfare." Thereupon, the Bodhisatta Prince said in acknowledgment and approval, "You are indeed admirable and noble. You have gone forth from the household life, having shaved off the hair and beard, and wearing the bark-dyed clothes, and bearing in mind that it is good to practise the ten courses of wholesome actions, which have the special epithets of Dhamma, Sama, Kusala and Panna; and also bearing in mind that it is good to refrain from ill-treating sentient beings and to work for the promotion of their welfare."