Part 5 - The Week at Ajapāla Banyan Tree

After spending the four weeks (twenty-eight days) near the Mahābodhi tree and on the fifth week, the Buddha proceeded to the foot of Ajapāla banyan tree, situated to the east of the Mahābodhi tree and stayed for seven full days at the foot of this tree reflecting on the Dhamma and absorbed in phala-samāpatti. (The banyan tree was called Ajapāla because it was there that goatherds gathered together. Ajapāla nigrodha, the banyan tree under the shade of which goatherds took shelter.)

At that time, a brahmin of unknown clan and name, one seemingly violent and haughty by nature, approached the Buddha and had a pleasant and joyful conversation with Him. Having finished the pleasant and joyful conversation, worthy of life-long remembrance, the (haughty) brahmin stood at a suitable place and asked the Buddha:

“Venerable Gotama, what virtues make a true Brāhmaṇa in this world? What does it take to become a Noble One?”

Here, the haughty brahmin would not penetrate the four Truths even if the Buddha made him a listener and taught him. True, those who heard the Buddha’s utterance of Dhamma verses prior to His teaching of the Dhammacakka sermon would get benefit only as impression on the mind, like the taking of refuges by the merchant brothers, Tapussa and Bhallika, who would never realize the Path and Fruition through the penetration of the four Truths. Such is a dhammatā, natural thing (Sārattha Dīpanī Ṭikā). Since the haughty brahmin could not absorb the Dhamma (not being a person capable of discerning the four Truths), the Buddha did not make him listener of His Dhamma. But being aware of the meaning of the brahmin’s question, the Buddha breathed forth this udāna verse:

Yo brahmaṇo bāhitapāpadhammo
nihuṅhutṅko nikkasāvo yatatto
vedantagū vusitabrahmacariyo
dhammena so brahmavādaṃ vadeyya
yass'ussadā n'athi kuhiṅci loke.

An arahat, called a Brahmin, is he who has rid himself of all that is evil. He is free from violence and haughtiness; he is free from the stains of defilements; he is intent on developing meditation, or he has the heart restrained with morality; or he has reached Nibbāna, the true cessation of mental formations by realising it through the fourfold Magga-ñāṇa;or he has reached the stage of arahatta-phala, the climax of the fourfold Magga-ñāṇa. He has accomplished the noble practice of the Path which leads to Nibbāna. In this world, where things rise and fall, there is absolutely nothing of the five evil things of prominence (ussada) in any of his sense object, namely, prominence of passion (rag'ussada), prominence of hate (dos'ussada), prominence of delusion (moh'ussada), prominence of conceit (mān'ussada) and prominence of (wrong) view (diṭṭh'ussada). That arahat, who is called a brāhmaṇa, should fearlessly declare, properly and correctly: “I am indeed a true brāhmana?”

(What is meant here is this: A brāhmana is one who is endowed with seven virtues, namely, (1) riddance of evils; (2) therefore freedom from violence and haughtiness; (3) freedom from stains of defilements; (4) restraint of heart through morality; (5) realization of Nibbāna; (6) completion of the noble practice of the Path thereby; and (7) nonoccurrence of the five evils of prominence (ussada).

Māra’s Concession of Defeat

Māra had been following the Buddha for seven years to get a chance of finding fault with Him, but had not come across the slightest opportunity to do so. He therefore approached the Buddha who was thus remaining at the foot of Ajapāla banyan tree and said in verse:

“O Ascetic Gotama, are you brooding over here in this forest because you are overwhelmed by grief? Have you incurred loss of property worth hundreds and thousands? Or, are you brooding over here because you want to have property worth hundreds and thousands? Or, are you brooding over here, in this forest, because you have committed a serious wrong deed in a village or a town and do not dare to face others? Why do you not make friends with the people? You have absolutely no friendship with anybody!”

Buddha:

“O Mara, I have uprooted and destroyed all the cause of grief. I have not even an iota of evil. Being completely free from worry, I remain absorbed in two jhānas. I have cut off desire for existence (bhava-taṇhā). I have no attachment whatever. I remain blissfully in the two forms of jhāna. (Contrary to what you think, I am not brooding over here because of grief over loss of property, or on account of my greed for it.)”

Mara:

“O Ascetic Gotama, in this world, some men and some recluses are attached to their utility objects, such as gold and silver, etc., and their requisites, such as robes, etc., saying: ‘This is mine.’ If your mind is attached, like these men, these recluses, to that gold and silver, etc., and to that robe, etc., you will never escape from my domain of three existences.”

Buddha:

“O Mara, I have no attachment at all to the utility objects, such as gold, silver, etc., nor to the requisites, such as robes, etc., saying: ‘This is mine.’ Unlike others, I am not the one who says: ‘This is mine.’ O Mara, take Me as such a one! Since I have abandoned the three existences, you will never see my path in your domains, such as the three existences (bhavas), the four ways of rebirth (yonis), the five courses (gatis), the seven consciousness states (viññāṇa-ṭhitis), and the nine abodes of sentient beings.”

Mara:

“O Ascetic Gotama, if you know the good secure path leading to Nibbāna, go alone. Why do you want to teach others and convert them?”

Buddha:

“O Māra, (however much you try to hinder Me) I shall keep on teaching them the correct noble Path leading to Nibbāna, if I am asked about the good Path and Nibbāna, which is free from death, by devas, humans and Brahmās, who are desirous of reaching Nibbāna, the other shore of existence.”

When thus said, Māra, being at his wit’s end, like a crab whose thumb had been broken by village children, uttered the two following verses (to concede his defeat):

Medāvaṇṇaṅ ca pāsānaṃ, vāyaso anuparrigā
apettha muduṃ vindema, api assādanā siyā.

Aladdha tattha assādaṃ. vāyasetto apakkame
kāko'va selamasajja nibbijjāpema Gotama.

“Buddha, Gotama by name, a descendent of the great elected Monarch (Mahāsammata)! (A simile goes that) a starving foolish crow jumped about in the eight directions, encircling a stone that has the semblance of a lump of fat and tearing it apart by piercing with its beak, for he thought that be would get a soft piece of fat together with some flesh out of it and that its taste would be really delicious and pervading his whole body.

“Failing to get the delicious taste from that stone, the foolish crow left it. Like that foolish crow, having failed to relish the slightest taste, though it had tried to tear apart the stone resembling a lump of fat, departed from it, we give up, feeling sad and despondent almost to the point of heart break, being unable to accomplish anything desired after annoying, offending and deterring you, Lord.”

The Daughters of Māra came to entice The Buddha

Thereafter Māra mused thus: “Though I have all along followed the Buddha to find fault with Him, yet I could not find even a slightest amount of wrongdoing which is worthy of blame. Now, this Prince Siddhattha has escaped from my domain of three worlds.” Thus he brooded and was so dejected that he sat, squatting alone on the main road not far from the Buddha and scratched sixteen lines on the ground pondering over sixteen events. The sixteen lines meant:

(1) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Perfection of Generosity in my former existences. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Māra drew the first line.

(2) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Perfection of Morality in my former existences. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Māra drew the second line.

(3) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Perfection of Renunciation in my former existences. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Māra drew the third line.

(4) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Perfection of Wisdom in my former existences. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Māra drew the fourth line.

(5) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Perfection of Energy in my former existences. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Māra drew the fifth line.

(6) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Perfection of Forbearance in my former existences. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Mara drew the sixth line.

(7) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Perfection of Truthfulness in my former existences. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Mara drew the seventh line.

(8) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Perfection of Resolution in my former existences. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Mara drew the eighth line.

(9) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Perfection of Loving-kindness in my former existences. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Mara drew the ninth line.

(10) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Perfection of Equanimity in my former existences. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Mara drew the tenth line.

(11) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Ten Perfections in my former existences to acquire the knowledge of thoughts and intentions of others (indriyaparopariyatti-ñāṇa) which is not common to many. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Māra drew the eleventh line.

(12) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Ten Perfections in my former existences to acquire the knowledge of inclinations and disposition of others (āsayānusaya-ñaṇa) which is not common to many. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Māra drew the twelfth line.

(13) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Ten Perfections in my former existences to acquire the knowledge of the attainment of great compassion (mahākaruṇā-samāpatti-ñāṇa) which is not common to many. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Mira drew the thirteenth line.

(14) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Ten Perfections in my former existences to acquire the knowledge of the performance of the Twin Miracle (yamaka-pāṭihāriya-ñāṇa) which is not common to many. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Māra drew the fourteenth line.

(15) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Ten Perfections in my former existences to acquire the knowledge of unobstruction (anāvaraṇa-ñāṇa) which is not common to many. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Māra drew the fifteenth line.

(16) “Unlike this Prince Siddhattha, I have not fulfilled the Ten Perfections in my former existences to acquire Omniscience (sabbaññutā-ñāṇa) which is not common to many. On this account, I cannot be the equal of the Prince.” With this thought Māra drew the sixteenth line.

At that time, Māra’s three daughters, Taṇhā, Arati and Ragā, looked around, thinking: “We have not seen our father (Māra). Where is he now?” and they saw him brooding, squatting and scratching lines on the ground. So they approached him quickly and asked: “Father, why do you look so sad and dejected?” “Dear daughters,” replied Māra, “this Ascetic Gotama has escaped my domain of three worlds. Though I have been shadowing Him for this period of seven years to find faults with Him, yet I could not find the least chance to blame Him for His wrong. Therefore, I am so sad and dejected.” “Father, please do not get worried at all. We shall entice this Ascetic Gotama and bring Him to your presence,” promised the three daughters.

Then Māra said: “Dear daughters, nobody in the world is able to entice this Ascetic Gotama. He is well established in His unshaken faith.” “Father, we are womenfolk. We shall get him bound in the snares etc., of passion and bring him to you quickly. Please do not get disappointed and worried.” Saying thus, the three female deities approached the Buddha and said to Him enticingly: “Venerable Recluse, permit us to attend on you, sitting respectfully at your feet and satisfying all your needs.” The Buddha, however, ignored them, and remained enjoying the bliss of Nibbāna, absorbed in phala-samāpatti without opening His eyes.

The three daughters of Mara discussed among themselves: “Menfolk have different tastes. Some love young and tender females, others like women in the first phase of life. Still others prefer those of the middle phase. So let us assume various ages and allure this Recluse.” Accordingly, each of them created one hundred ladies (1) under the guise of young women, (2) under the guise of prenatal ladies, (3) under the guise of those having given birth but once, (4) under the guise of those having given birth twice, (5) under the guise of middle-aged women, and (6) under the guise of well grown-up ladies; each and every one of them was made beautiful. Then they approached the Buddha six times and said alluringly as before: “Venerable Recluse, permit us to attend on you, sitting respectfully at your feet and satisfying all your needs.” As on the previous occasion, the Buddha ignored them and remained enjoying the bliss of Nibbāna, absorbed in phalasamāpatti without opening His eyes.

Thereafter the Buddha said: “Go away, deities. What benefit did you try to tempt Me like this? Such a thing should be done to those who are not free yet from passion (rāga), hate (dosa) and delusion (moha). As for Me, I have absolutely done away with passion; I have absolutely done away with hate; I have absolutely done away with delusion.” Then the Buddha uttered the following two verses as mentioned in the Dhammapada:

Yassa jitam nāvajīyati
Jitamassa no yāti kosi loke
tam Buddhaṃananta gocaraṃ
apadam kena padena nessatha.

Yassa jālinī visattikā
taṇhā natthi kuhin ci netave
tam Buddhaṃananta gocaraṃ
apadam kena padena nessatha.

The Buddha, having overcome the defilements, has nothing to conquer again. No defilement that has been conquered follows the Buddha. That Buddha, who has infinite range of sense perception through all-embracing wisdom, who is devoid of such factor as passion (rāga), by which way will you take Him away.

The Buddha is devoid of such factors as carving (taṇhā), which like a net would ensnare Him back to any existence, which has the nature of a violent poison; or which is particularly able to cling or adhere to things. The Buddha, who has an infinite range of sense perception through all-embracing wisdom, who is devoid of such factors as passion, by which way will you take Him away.

After saying in praise of the Buddha among themselves: “Our father has told us the truth. This Recluse Gotama, being endowed with such attributes as Arahaṃ and Sugata, cannot be easily enticed by means of passion,” they returned to their father, Māra.

The Buddha’s Intention to live honouring The Dhamma

While the Buddha was staying during the week at Ajapāla, He pondered: “It is miserable indeed to live without showing respects to others (with nobody to respect). Whom should be approached and held by Me in high esteem. One who has rid himself of all defilements, who has removed evils?” Then He continued to ponder thus: “I should live near someone who is superior to Me in morality, concentration, wisdom and emancipation so that My morality, concentration, wisdom and emancipation which are still incomplete and inadequate will become complete and adequate.” Then He made a survey with His omniscience to find someone superior to Him in morality, concentration, wisdom and emancipation. Seeing no such person in the three worlds, He thought: “It will be good if I live paying respects only to the Dhamma that I have penetrated.”

At that moment, knowing the Buddha’s intention, Sahampati Brahmā arrived instantly in the presence of the Buddha and having put his shawl on his left shoulder and touched the ground with his right knee, he raised his folded hands in adoration and said: “Glorious Buddha, what you have thought of is correct. Blessed One, those Buddhas, who appeared in the past, lived honouring only the Dhamma. Those Buddhas, who will appear in the future, will also live honouring only the Dhamma. Glorious Buddha, You, appearing as a present Buddha, should live honouring only the Dhamma.” He also added the following three verses:

Ye ca atītā Sambuddhā, ye ca Buddhā anāgatā,
yo ce tarahi Sambuddho, bahīnaṃ sokanāsano.
Sabbe saddhammagaruno vihaṃsu vihāranti ca,
atho pi viharissanti esā Buddhāna dhammatā.
tasmā hi attakāmena mahāttaṃ abhikahkhitā,
saddhammo garukātabbo saraṃ Buddhāna sāsanaṃ.

Lord, glorious, there exist those Buddhas who appeared in the past, those who will appear in the future, and He, who is appearing now, who removes or destroys the thorn of worry of many devas, humans and Brahmās.

All these Buddhas, of the three phases of time, lived paying respects to the Dhamma, are living and will live in the same manner. Such a living with respects paid to the Dhamma is a custom of Omniscient Buddhas.

Therefore, he, who wishes to gain benefits and who is desirous of being a highly honoured person, should pay respects, day and night, to the Dhammajewel which is the property of the virtuous, bearing in mind the three aspects of the Teaching.

After uttering these three verses, Sahampati Brahmā saluted the Buddha respectfully, circumambulated Him and disappeared from that very place and appeared at his Brahmā abode. Then knowing thoroughly that the request made by Sahampati Brahmā was quite appropriate for Him, the Buddha lived paying respect only to the Dhamma that He had realized.

(Later on the Sangha became complete with the four greatness in number (mahatta), namely, (1) greatness in number of elders (rattaññu-mahatta), (2) greatness in number of members of Sangha (vepulla-mahatta), (3) greatness in number of teachings (brahmacariya-mahatta) and (4) greatness in number of material gains (lābhagga-mahatta). At that time, the Buddha showed respects to the Sangha also. For that reason, when His aunt Mahā Pajāpati Gotamī offered Him a pair of cloth meant to be robes, the Buddha said: “Dear aunt, give it to the Sangha. Giving the Sangha would mean giving Me as well as the Sangha.” Thus the Buddha clearly displayed His respects and adoration to the Sangha.)