Birth of the Bodhisatta
The Bodhisatta (the Buddha to be), who was Prince Siddhatta Gotama, was born on the full-moon-day of the month of May. This is the reason for the celebration of Vesak.
The question that arose in minds of Indian people during the time of the Buddha was not the question: “How can we thank the Creator for the nice and comfortable world He created for us;” but: “Where is the Creator of this unpleasant world full of suffering?” Their question was humanistic as well as realistic, rather than optimistic but unilateral. Their thinking ran thus: “Who ever created the world has created only suffering, for to be born is to grow old, fall sick and die; and to meet the unpleasant, and part from the pleasant; and even be always unable to get what we want, how we want, and when we want. Pleasures are all evanescent, and not easily obtained. So how can we helpless humans find freedom from this insecurity and suffering of life?” This is the problem of life that all humans are attempting to solve in one way or another, all the time.
This fact is clearly expressed in the statement supposed to be of the Buddha, immediately after the Awakening.
“Many a life in this tour of lives
I ran in search of the Creator unknown
Never did I ever meet him though
So painful is repeated birth and death”
Why he searched for the creator is quite clear. To put an end to suffering of course, not only for him, but for all beings that die. The birth of the Bodhisatta was not an ordinary birth. It was the final birth of a being who has been struggling in “samsara” for an infinite number of lives, strenuously qualifying himself for the task of becoming a Buddha. This has been beautifully expressed in the story of the birth of Prince Siddhatta.
After a long preparation, lasting four hundred thousand infinite eons, the Bodhisatta was waiting in the Tusita Heaven, as Santhusita, the Ruler of the Heaven of Contentment, the Heir to the Glorious Status of Buddhahood, awaiting the final birth in the human world, to become the Buddha, for the benefit of beings suffering in samsara, to free them by discovering the way to freedom, through his own effort. A stupendous task which no being in heaven or earth could perform, other than a Bodhisatta, who has especially prepared himself for this task, through an incalculable number of lives in samsara, by perfecting the Ten Qualifications (paramita), including innumerable sacrifices such as the sacrifice of eyes, head, flesh, blood and even lives.
The Bodhisatta descended from the Tusita heaven, into the mother’s womb, when the mother was observing the “Divine discipline” brahmachariya, including sexual abstinence. No impure thoughts were present in the mother’s mind, at the time of descending. It was an “immaculate conception” for this reason. (It is important to note here that rebirth does not take place at the moment of sexual intercourse, but very much later).
Many wonderful happenings have been recorded about the birth of the Bodhisatta. They all represent the greatness of the extra-ordinary individual who was born. They are the impressive wrappings of an extra-ordinary product. The proper consideration is not whether such descriptions are true or false, but what meaning they attempt to convey to the reader. It is important to note that some wrappings address the emotions rather than the intellect. It is only the ignorance, or the intellectual snobbery, of some skeptical critics that refuses to recognize the importance and usefulness of metaphor and allegory.
The sacred scriptures say that the mother was able to see the developing fetus inside the womb as if through a glass case. The fetus was said to remain in the womb for the full term of gestation. The delivery was painless and it occurred while the mother was standing. The Holy infant was first received in the hands of celestial beings, before humans touched it. Two jets of water poured from the sky, one warm and one cold, to bathe the Holy infant. Then the Holy infant walked seven steps on the earth, while seven lotuses sprang up from earth to receive the tender feet. At the seventh step the infant Bodhisatta spoke, introducing himself to the world. He sang in beautiful verse:
“Highest in the world am I
Oldest in the world am I
Greatest in the world am I
This is my final birth
Never will I come into being again”
A critique might comment: “There go the words of a conceited ego.”An“ego” He certainly was, but not one conceited. This was a statement of fact, according to the Buddhist faith. In fact, these words point to an important Buddhist concept – the concept of “Bodhisatta”. This is only the self-introduction of a Bodhisatta, who is still an “ego” but who is destined to eradicate the “ego” in this very life. It reveals the distinctive character of this extra-ordinary being, through His own words, by the only one who knows.