The Great Chronicle of Buddhas
by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw | 1990 | 1,044,401 words
This page describes The Mark of the Voice having Eight Qualities as a Brahma contained within the book called the Great Chronicle of Buddhas (maha-buddha-vamsa), a large compilation of stories revolving around the Buddhas and Buddhist disciples. This page is part of the series known as the Story of Sataketu Deva, The Future Buddha. This great chronicle of Buddhas was compiled by Ven. Mingun Sayadaw who had a thorough understanding of the thousands and thousands of Buddhist teachings (suttas).
(Mark 28): The Mark of the Voice having Eight Qualities as a Brahmā
[Reference: The Treatise on the Marks of a Great Man]
Summary: The Sweetness of The Voice of The Karavika Bird and The Story of Asandhimittā.
King Dhammāsoka’s wife, Asandhimittā, asked the Sangha (with reference to the sweetness of the Buddha’s voice): “Is there any one in this world whose voice is similar to the Buddha’s?” The answer given by the Sangha was: "There is the voice of a karavika bird which is like the Buddha’s.” Again, the Queen asked: “Where do these birds live?” The Sangha replied: “They live in the Himavanta.”
The Queen then said to King Asoka: “I would like to see a karavika bird, Lord.” The King sent a golden cage with the command: “A karavika bird shall come in to this cage!” The cage flew and stopped before a karavika bird. Considering: “This cage came with the command of the King, I am not in a position to remain here against the King’s command,” the bird entered the cage, which flew back and stood in the King’s presence.
Although they now had the bird, nobody was able to make it cry. The King asked: “O men, how could we make it cry?” The ministers replied: “These karavika birds cry, Great King, when they see their fellow birds.” Asoka accordingly had mirrors placed around the bird.
When the bird saw its own image in the mirrors, thinking that his relations had come, it uttered a sweet cry slowly and pleasantly like the music note that came out from a ruby flute. As if intoxicated by the karavika bird-king’s voice, Queen Asandhimitta and the citizens of Pāṭaliputta were wildly pleased. They revelled as though they were to start dancing.
Then the Queen reflected: “Even the voice of this karavika bird, which is just an animal, is so sweet. What would be the voice of the Buddha, highest in glory, like? There could have been no limit to its sweetness!”
Visualizing the Buddha, the Queen became filled with joy (pīti). Without giving up that joy, she developed Vipassanā Insight, stage by stage, and together with her seven hundred ladies-in-waiting, she attained sotāpatti fruition.