Friday, March 06, 2020

Three Lesser Known Trees

After spending 7 days to consolidate enlightenment, he went from the Bodhi tree to the Ajapala Nigrodha, in which a column symbolizes this tree,


Then he went to the Mucalinda Tree after 7 days.


The naga supposedly wrapped his body around the Buddha and he meditated for 7 days like that (p. 33 of The Life of the Buddha)

Then he went to the Rajayatana Tree and sat for 7 days feeling the bliss of deliverance. A Brahman came along and asked him an abstruse metaphysical question and he says you can't call yourself a Brahman until you've attained something.  


Then 2 merchants named Tapussa and Bahalika, who are considered his first lay disciples. They brought rice cakes and honey. They took refuge in the 2 jewels, though they didn't include the sangha  jewel, which they were the first two to join.

Then he went back to the Ajapala Nigrodha tree, where he came up with the 5 spiritual faculties. He was visited by Brahma Sahampati. Then he comes up with the 4 foundations of mindfulness: body, feelings, consciousness, mental objects. Mara confronts him and the Buddha realizes who he is and that causes him to lose his influence. He wonders if he should teach the teachings, maybe he could just enjoy himself meditating under trees the rest of his life. But Brahma Sahampati urges him to share the vision with the world because there are being with little dust in their eyes.

He wants to teach his old teachers, but they have passed away. So he decides to teach the 5 ascetics who attended him when he almost starved himself to death. They were in Benares, in Deer Park at Isipatana, the Resort of the Seers.

He continues meditating for a while now that he's decided to go, and then when he goes he runs across Upaka. He senses great spiritual attainment and the Buddha pronounces his attainment, and Upaka who is a monk, says, "May it be so, friend."

This provokes the question, would you know if you met a Buddha that they were a Buddha?

When he gets to the 5 ascetics, they accuse him up giving up the quest. He says he didn't, and he succeeded. They accuse him again. Again he asserts he didn't quit the quest and that he succeeded. Then he asks them if he ever talked like this before. Then you get the first famous sermon, the first turning of the wheel of the dharma (of which there are 3). I think it is captured in this sutta, which ends,

"Then the Blessed One exclaimed: "So you really know, Kondañña? So you really know?" And that is how Ven. Kondañña acquired the name Añña-Kondañña — Kondañña who knows."

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