(5) Isigili Sutta

The Next Sutta is Isigili^[1] —Isigili was one of the five mountains around Rajagaha and one of the beauty-spot of the city. There was, on one side of it, a black stone called the kalasila. This was a favourite haunt of the Buddha and the members of the order. It was also the scene of suicide of Godhika and Vakkali and of the murder of Moggallana by the murder of Moggallana by the brigands.

In the Cula Dukkhakkhandha sutta it is said that a large number of Niganthas lived at Kalasila, never sitting down, undergoing paroxysms of acute pain and agony, following the teachings of Nigantha Nataputta. The Buddha questioned them as to their practices and preached to them the above-mentioned sutta, which he afterwards repeated to Mahanama.

Once when the Buddha was dwelling at Kalasila, he gave Ananda a chance, if he so desired, of asking him to live on for a Kappa; but Ananda did not take his opportunity.

The books refer to several other visits of the Buddha to Isigili. During one of these visits he heard VangIsa's high eulogy of Moggallana.

In the Isigili sutta the Buddha is represented as saying that while the other mountains around Rajagaha-vihara, Pandava, Vepulla and Gijjhakuta had changed their old names, Isigili retained its former name and designation.

Five hundred Pacceka Buddhas once resided in Isigili for a long time; they could be seen entering the mountain, but once entered, there was no more sign of them. Men, observing this, said that the mountain swallowed up the sages and so it came by its name of Isigili [Isigilatti=Isigili]. Buddhaghosa adds that when the Pacceka Buddhas returned from their begging rounds, the rock would open like a folding door to admit them within the rock they had made for themselves cloisters, dwelling-houses, etc.

According to G. P. Malalasekera Isigili sutta is the 116th sutta of the Majjhima Nikaya preached to the monks at Isigili, It explains how Isigili came by its name, and gives a list of the Pacceka Buddhas who once dwelt there.

The Isigili sutta^[2] is the only discourse of the Buddha concerned exclusively with the subject of the Paccekabuddhas.^[3] Although the sutta is comparatively short, it has both metrical and prose sections which Barua takes to be evidence of the sutta being a later work within the Nikayas. It shares the same pattern as recognized later works like the Digha Nikaya and Buddhist Sanskrit texts. In the most general terms, the sutta features an aetiological myth which is intended to explain the origins of the name Mount Isigili, one of the five hills that surround the town of Rajagaha, the capital of Magadha. From a consideration of references to the mountain of Isigili in other parts of the Nikayas it seems it was strongly associated with non-Brahmanical ascetics. In the Majjhima Nikaya it is named as a place where Niganthas (Jain monks) performed their austerities. In the Samyutta Nikaya it features as a site where asceties performed ritual suicide. Elsewhere it is said to be the favourite residence of the Buddha’s chief disciple, Maha-Moggallana, who is distinctive for his possession of powers of magic (iddhi).

This is how the mountain came to acquire the name ‘Isigili’. The people, envi sage the Pacceka Buddha as a seer (p. isi; skt. rsi). The sutta mentions the names of ninety-one of the five hundred paccekabuddhas said to inhabit the mountain listing them and their respective virtues in the form of a hagiology.

The Buddha concludes his discourses with a doxilogical refrain which comprises one of the earliest doctrinal pronouncements on pacceka-buddhas. These and other paceka buddhas are of great power (mahanubhava);

They have stopped the flow of phenomenal existence (bhavanetti-khina). Praise (vandatha), all these immeasurable (appameye), great seers (mahesi) who are freed from all fetters (sanga), completely cooled (parinibbuta).

Listing the names of ascetics in the sutta would seem to imply that paccekabuddhas held or were intended to hold some special significance. It therefore indicates that some form of ‘cults’ must have existed in respect of them. Cooray, who has made a comparative analysis of names of paccekabuddhas listed in the isigili sutta and its commentary as well as in the Apadana commentary to the khaggavisana stanzas, remarks. It is likely, that the original purpose of the list was to include the names of pre-Buddhist sages whom the people held in high esteem, especially in the localities where the cult of pacceka buddhas had its origins. Two facets of information gathered from our reading of later sources supports the nation of a ‘cultuls’. Firstly a paccekabuddha is generally assigned a name whose significance relates to specific nature of his spiritual attainment. In the introductoin we noted that in the Avadanasataka paccekabuddhas come to acquire their names in this way. Every name therefore enshrines within itself a spiritual quality or property and can be used as a focus of inspiration and meditation, secondly, the Isigili sutta itself has been adopted by sinhalese tradition as a text for recital in pirit ceremonies. This goes to show that the pacceka Buddha was seen as a special source of ‘protective’ power.

What are we to understand by the motif in which the paccekabuddhas mysteriously vanish into the mountain? It might simply be a dramatized account of ascetics entering the recesses of mountain caves which were their natural place of residence or retreat. Alternatively, it could be an allusion to ascetics exercising their ‘magic power’ (iddhanubhava). It could refer to any one of a number of ‘forms of magic’ (iddhividha) recognised in the pali canon. For instance, there is the power of making oneself invisible, or going, ‘feeling no obstruction, to the further side of a wall or rampart or hill (pabbata), as if through air’. This utilization of magic appears the most plausible of the two explanations since the disappearance becomes a puzzle to the onlookers’. The mountain ‘swallows’, ‘devours’ the pacceka buddhas and they mysteriously vanish. A naturalistic of explanation is hardly sufficient to account for the dramatic tone of the incident. If, infact, this is the correct construction to place upon the passage, then we already have in the earliest specific mention of pacekabuddhas their representation as ascetics who exercise ‘magic’ (iddhi). This interpretation is further confined by the paccekabuddha’s description as mahanubhava (of great power) in the doxology section of the same sutta.

Conclusion of the Isigili Sutta:

In the Isigili sutta, it relates the names of these Pacceka Buddhas who had long been residents on the Mount Isigili. One of the five hills surrounding Rajagaha, the capital of Magadha.

As an individual Buddha, he is inferior to the Sammasambuddha. He is not omniscient. He has acquired the knowledge necessary to attain Nirvana but he does not preach it to men.

Therefore to deduce further we can say that—

In this chapter we have discussed on the factors of Enlightenment. The Buddha himself delivered the first one when the venerable Maha Kassapa was afficted with an ailmment. The Buddha, while living in the Bamboo Monastery in Rajagaha came to know when. Maha Kassapa was not well during the time he was dwelling in a cave. Then the Buddha approached him and delivered this sermon–At its end, being of a happy mind, the venerable Maha Kasspa got up from his illness. Thus, the illness of the Maha Kassapa was eliminated.

The Second discourse was delivered to the venerable Maha Moggallana while he was suffering from illness at the peak of Gijjhakuta. The Buddha having approached him delivered a sermon and again, at the end of the sermon the venerable also got up from his illness. Then the venerable Maha cunda delivered the third discourse of the Factors of Elightenment while the Buddha himself was ill, grievously ill. Venerable Maha Cunda recited the discourse and at the end of the recitation, Buddha rose up from his illness.

Thereafter, we come across another great discourse. That is the Girimananda sutta, the discourse to the venerable Girimananda. This is one of the most significant discourses for the practitioners of meditation, in which the ten perceptions are vividly explained.

In this discourse, Buddha elaborated various kinds of diseases. He said, “In this body various afflictions arise, i.e., illness of the eyes, illness of the ear, illness of the nose, illness of the tongue, illness of body, illness of the head, illness of the mouth, illness of the teeth, cough, asthma, cataract, heat, fever, illness of the abdomen, fainting, dysentery, acute pain cholera, leprosy, abscesses, cutaneous diseases, consumption, epilepsy, itch, scabs, nail scratch, scabies, affliction through blood, diabetes, paralysis, cancer, ulcers, afflictions arising from bile, from phlegm, wind, from the union of the humors of the body, from changes of seasons, from discrepant attention, from spasmodic afflictions and afflictions arising from the result of kamma, cold, heat, hunger, thirst, excretion and urination.”

At last it can be concluded about this chapter that this therapy of illness is popular now in the world’s so many Buddhist countries. The recent medical research proved that body is ill when secretly mind wants to be ill. So, they try to recover the patient by listening to this chanting. And this therapy is working very well and this therapy is approved by psychologist.

This is known as the Music therapy. Music can cure our diseases if music is prescribed with the medicine, then its seems that the diseases are cured within a short time. That’s why similar to many foreign hospital, music therapy has been started in their hospitals. Music chanting can have a good effect on negative emotions. It can reduced pain. Everything is the effect of chanting music which works like magic. In ancient time greek philosopher Plato and Aristrotal another wise persons also supported that music has a such kind of power which effect our health and nature and can be effective for curing. On the development in both physical and mental condition of patient can be noticed after music theraphy.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

The story connected with these listen names see Dictionary of Pali proper names, G. P. Malalasekera.

[2]:

(M. III. 68-71)

[3]:

five hundred Buddhas–They are Buddhas, who have attained enlightenment in dependent of anothrs’ aid, but lack the faculty of convinaing others.