Thus have I heard—At one time, the Blessed One was dwelling in Sāvatthi, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍika’s Park.
Then, after their meal, when many bhikkhus had returned from their alms round and were seated together in the assembly hall, this conversation arose among them:
“It is wonderful, friends, it is marvelous, the great psychic power and great might of the |Tathāgata::one who has arrived at the truth, an epithet of the Buddha [tathāgata]|! For he is able to know about the Buddhas of the past — who attained to final |Nibbāna::complete cooling, letting go of everything, deathless, freedom from calamity, the non-disintegrating [nibbāna]|, cut [the tangle of] proliferation, cut off 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 virtue was thus, their state [of collectedness] was thus, their wisdom was thus, their abiding [in attainments] was thus, their liberation was thus.”
When this was said, the venerable Ānanda told the bhikkhus: “Friends, Tathāgatas are wonderful and have wonderful qualities. Tathāgatas are marvelous and have marvelous qualities.” And this conversation among those bhikkhus was left unfinished—
For the Blessed One rose from |seclusion::solitude, privacy [paṭisallāna]| when it was evening, went to the assembly hall, and sat down on a seat made ready. Then he addressed the bhikkhus thus: “Bhikkhus, for what discussion are you sitting together here now? And what was your discussion that was left unfinished?”
“Here, venerable sir, after our meal, having returned from our alms round, while sitting together in the assembly hall, this conversation arose among us: ‘It is wonderful, friends, it is marvelous, the great psychic power and great might of the Tathāgata! For he is able to know about the Buddhas of the past — who attained to final Nibbāna, cut [the tangle of] proliferation, cut off 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 virtue was thus, their state [of collectedness] was thus, their wisdom was thus, their abiding [in attainments] was thus, their liberation was thus.’ When this was said, venerable sir, the venerable Ānanda told us: ‘Friends, Tathāgatas are wonderful and have wonderful qualities. Tathāgatas are marvelous and have marvelous qualities.’ And this, venerable sir, was our conversation that was left unfinished when the Blessed One arrived.” Then the Blessed One addressed the venerable Ānanda: “That being so, Ānanda, let even more of the Tathāgata’s wonderful and marvelous qualities occur to you.”
I heard and learned this, venerable sir, from the Blessed One’s own lips: ‘Mindful and fully aware, Ānanda, the |bodhisatta::Buddha before his awakening, aspirant Buddha [bodhisatta]| took birth in the Tusita heaven.’ That the Bodhisatta, mindful and fully aware, took rebirth in the Tusita heaven — this too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.
I heard and learned this, venerable sir, from the Blessed One’s own lips: ‘Mindful and fully aware, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta dwelt in the Tusita heaven.’ That the Bodhisatta, mindful and fully aware, dwelt in the Tusita heaven—this too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.
I heard and learned this, venerable sir, from the Blessed One’s own lips: ‘For his entire lifespan, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta dwelt in the Tusita heaven.’ That the Bodhisatta, for his entire lifespan dwelt in the Tusita heaven—this too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.
I heard and learned this, venerable sir, from the Blessed One’s own lips: ‘Mindful and fully aware, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta, having passed away from the Tusita heaven, entered his mother’s womb.’ That the Bodhisatta, mindful and fully aware, having passed away from the Tusita heaven, entered his mother’s womb—this too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.
I heard and learned this, venerable sir, from the Blessed One’s own lips: ‘When, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta, having passed away from the Tusita heaven, enters his mother’s womb, then in this world with its deities, |Māras::demons, tempters, beings of delusion|, |Brahmas::Gods; celestial beings residing in the Brahmā realms, often considered to be highly refined and long-lived deities. [brahmā]|, with its generation of ascetics and brahmins, kings and commoners, an immeasurable and glorious light appears in the world, surpassing the splendor of the deities. Even in those spaces between the worlds—abysmal, gloomy, and shrouded in utter darkness—where the sun and moon, though so powerful and mighty, do not cast their light, there too an immeasurable and glorious light appears in the world, surpassing the splendor of the deities. And the beings reborn there recognize one another by that light, thinking: “There are other beings reborn here too.” And this ten-thousandfold world system shudders, quakes, and trembles, and an immeasurable and glorious light appears in the world, surpassing the splendor of the deities.’ That when the Bodhisatta, having passed away from the Tusita heaven, enters his mother’s womb, such a light appears—this too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.
I heard and learned this, venerable sir, from the Blessed One’s own lips: ‘When, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta has entered his mother’s womb, four young deities came to guard him at the four quarters so that no humans or non-humans or anyone at all could harm the Bodhisatta or his mother’—this too this I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.
I heard and learned this, venerable sir, from the Blessed One’s own lips: ‘When, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta had descended into his mother’s womb, she became intrinsically virtuous, abstaining from killing living beings, from taking what is not given, from misconduct in sensual pleasures, from false speech, and from |intoxicants::liquor, wine, spirits, drugs, caffeine; substances that promote dwelling without regard for diligence|’—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: ‘When, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta had descended into his mother’s womb, no thought concerning sexual pleasure arose in her concerning men, and she was inaccessible to any man having a lustful intent’—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: ‘When, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta had descended into his mother’s womb, she obtained the five cords of sensual pleasure, and endowed and provided with them, she enjoyed herself with them’—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: ‘When, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta had descended into his mother’s womb, no kind of affliction arose in her; she was at ease and free from bodily fatigue. She saw the Bodhisatta inside her womb with all his limbs and lacking no faculty. Suppose a blue, yellow, red, white, or brown thread were strung through a beautiful, eight-faceted beryl gem of excellent workmanship and a man with good sight were to take it in his hand and see it clearly thus: “This is a beautiful, eight-faceted beryl gem of excellent workmanship and through it is strung a blue, yellow, red, white, or brown thread”; so too, Ānanda, when the Bodhisatta had descended into his mother’s womb, no kind of affliction arose in her; she was at ease and free from bodily fatigue. She saw the Bodhisatta inside her womb with all his limbs and lacking no faculty’—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: ‘When the Bodhisatta was seven days old, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta’s mother passed away and was reborn 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: ‘While other women carry the fetus in the womb for nine or ten months and then give birth, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta’s mother gave birth to the Bodhisatta after carrying him in her womb for exactly ten months’—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: ‘While other women give birth sitting or lying down, Ānanda, but that was not so in the case of the Bodhisatta’s mother. The Bodhisatta’s mother gave birth to the Bodhisatta while standing’—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: ‘When, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta emerged from his mother’s womb, first deities received him, then human beings’—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: ‘When, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta came forth from his mother’s womb, he did not touch the ground. The four young deities received him and set him before his mother saying: “Rejoice, O queen, a son of great power has been born to you”’—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: ‘When, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta came forth from his mother’s womb, he came forth clean, unsmeared by water, unsmeared by phlegm, unsmeared by blood, unsmeared by any kind of impurity, pure, and clean. Suppose there were a gem placed on Kāsi 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 clean, unsmeared by water, unsmeared by phlegm, unsmeared by blood, unsmeared by any kind of impurity, pure, and clean’—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: ‘When, Ānanda, 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’—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: ‘As soon as the Bodhisatta was born, Ānanda, he stood firmly on his feet, then facing north, he took seven steps with a white parasol held over him, he surveyed each quarter, and uttered the words of the Leader of the Herd: “I am the best in the world; I am the eldest in the world; I am the foremost in the world. This is my last birth; now there is no more |renewed existence::future life [punabbhava]| for me”’—this too I remember as a wonderful and marvellous quality of the Blessed One.
I heard and learned this from the Blessed One’s own lips: ‘When, Ānanda, the Bodhisatta emerges from his mother’s womb, then in this world with its deities, Māras, Brahmas, with its generation of ascetics and brahmins, kings and commoners, an immeasurable and glorious light appears in the world, surpassing the splendor of the deities. Even in those spaces between the worlds—abysmal, gloomy, and shrouded in utter darkness—where the sun and moon, though so powerful and mighty, do not cast their light, there too an immeasurable and glorious light appears in the world, surpassing the splendor of the deities. And the beings reborn there recognize one another by that light, thinking: “There are other beings reborn here too.” And this ten-thousandfold world system shudders, quakes, and trembles, and an immeasurable and glorious light appears in the world, surpassing the splendor of the deities.’ That when the Bodhisatta emerges from his mother’s womb, such a light appears—this too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.”
“That being so, Ānanda, you should also remember this as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Tathāgata: Here, Ānanda, for the Tathāgata, |feelings::pleasant, neutral or painful sensation, the felt experience, second of the five aggregates [vedanā]| are known as they arise, as they are present, and as they pass away; |perceptions::interpretation and recognition of oneself, of things. It can involve concepts, labels, and judgments; third of the five aggregates [saññā]| are known as they arise, as they persist, and as they pass away; |thoughts::reflections, mental considerations [vitakkā]| are known as they arise, as they persist, and as they pass away. You should remember this too, Ānanda, as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Tathāgata.”
“Venerable sir, that for the Blessed One, feelings are known as they arise, as they are present, and as they pass away; perceptions are known as they arise, as they are present, and as they pass away; thoughts are known as they arise, as they are present, and as they pass away”—this too I remember as a wonderful and marvelous quality of the Blessed One.
Thus spoke Venerable Ānanda. The Teacher approved; and the bhikkhus were satisfied and rejoiced in Venerable Ānanda’s words.