Overall Teaching

The Buddha stared at the Bodhi tree for a week while being approached and honoured by gods, who he teaches in verse. After a few other activities Māra and his daughters again attempt to tempt the Buddha, but in vain. The Buddha is protected by the nāgas during inclement weather. The Buddha gives his first brief teaching to humans, who are ascetics. The Buddha then is offered his first meal as the Buddha by the two merchants Trapuṣa and Bhallika, but not until the Buddha gets his appropriate bowl and the merchants get auspicious butter. The Buddha gives his first prediction to Buddhahood to the two merchants.

Summary

1.     The Buddha spent seven days staring at the Bodhi tree, experiencing bliss.[1]

2.     Then gods from the desire realm made various offerings of scented water to the Buddha and the Bodhi tree, having engendered bodhicitta.

a.     The god Samantakusuma asked what the Buddha’s samādhi was for those seven days: the Buddha replied that it is Array of the food of joy.

b.    Samantakusuma then praised the Buddha’s stainlessness and bowed down to his feet.

c.     He then proceeded to extensively praise the Buddha and requested him to teach the Dharma, asking why he was not teaching the Dharma yet.

d.    The Buddha replied by saying that just as a king does not leave where he was consecrated for seven days, similarly Tathāgatas remain where they were awakened. Just like a warrior stares at his vanquished enemies, the Tathāgata stares at the seat of awakening. He noted that here he has destroyed manifold forms of pride, clinging to the aggregates, the non-existence of self, and uprooted all afflictions, delusions, pains, and obscurations. He noted that he has attained wisdom, whose sword has cut through the snares of courses of action and describes many of the other attainments that were listed previously with analogies.

e.     The Buddha then arose from his seat, received ceremonial anointment, and took his seat on a lion throne after which countless gods performed a worship service.

3.     Thus: 

a.     For the first week, he reflected on how he has put an end to birth, old age, and death while staring at the tree.

b.    For the second week, he wondered throughout the trichiliocosm. 

c.     For the third week, he gazed at the seat of awakening noting how it is where he attained liberation. 

d.    For the fourth week, he walked from the eastern to western ocean.

4.     Māra thereupon told the Buddha to enter into parinirvāṇa. 

a.     The Buddha replied that he shall not until his fourfold sangha has become learned, have embarked on the Dharma in their own authentic way and have become masters, and until they can overcome opponents in accord with the Dharma.

b.    Moreover, he would not enter parinirvāṇa until infinite bodhisattvas are prophesied to attain full awakening.

c.     Māra thus became dejected and wrote on the ground that the Buddha has

“gone beyond my range!”

i. Māra’s three daughters asked who it was that dejected him. ii. Māra replied that it was the Buddha who has gone beyond desire and who has gone beyond hid range.

iii.     The girls, even though they already were overcome by him, out of fickleness attempted to bewilder and seduce the Tathāgata again. But being ignored they transformed into decrepit old ladies.

iv.     The girls then returned to Māra and noted that their father was correct about him being beyond their range. Māra noted that he could not transform them back into young women.

v.      Asking the Buddha to transform them back, being penitent and repenting, the Buddha forgave their offence.

1. The Buddha noted that advancement in the Dharma is to understand a fault, confess it, and vow to abstain from it henceforth.

5.     On the fifth week, the Buddha dwelt in the realm of the Nāga king Mucilinda, who, with many other nāga kings, protected the Buddha from the intemperate weather by coiling around him seven times and shielding him with their hoods. After seven days when the weather improved, the nāgas uncoiled, bowed to the Buddha, and returned to their homes.

6.     On the sixth week, the Tathāgata proceeded to a goat herder’s banyan tree, and was spotted by various ascetics by the Nairañjanā River. They asked if he fared happily during the bad weather. 

a.     The Buddha replied that one who has seen the Dharma, is restrained from evil, and is free from desire is truly happy.

b.    He uttered that the world is tormented by the five senses and that beings pursue existence that they crave after, even while frightened of existence.

7.     On the seventh week, the Buddha was sitting at a bodhi tree. When it was approached by two merchants called Trapuṣa and Bhallika, the goddess of the tree made their carts stop moving.

a.     The merchants were shocked but the goddess consoled them and allowed them to move to the Bodhi tree.

b.    When the merchants saw the Buddha they wondered what kind of god it was, but seeing his robes they realised it is a renunciant and decided to offer food to him.

c.     They offered some food but the Buddha but thinking it would not be appropriate for him to eat it out of his hands, the four great kings appeared from the four directions and offered four golden alms bowls. The Buddha didn’t accept that material, and so, after trying other materials, they settled on a stone bowl:

i.        The four great kings noted that a god of the blue realm called Vairocana gave four stone bowls to them and said that it would be for the future Buddha Śākyamuni.

ii.      They then took those four stone bowls to the Buddha and offered them to the Buddha with much ceremony.

iii.     Knowing that four was too many, but not wishing to upset the other three kings, he requested the bowls from each one of the four and then transformed all four into one bowl.

8.     The episode thus far is recounted in verse.

9.     At that time some cow herds milked their cows but they brought forth clarified butter. They asked some gluttonous priests if it was auspicious, and they said it was not, so it should be offered to the priests.

a.     A priest, related to the merchants, called Śikhaṇḍī, told the merchants that in a past life they aspired to offer the Buddha his first meal, and told them that he has now attained awakening and they should offer the clarified butter to him.

b.    The merchants then combined all the clarified butter in a jewel bowl called moon, with honey, and offered it to the Buddha.

c.     The Buddha then accepted and ate the offering, and threw the jewel bowl to the heavens, where the deva Subrahman worships it.

10.  The Buddha then spoke verses to please the merchants, wishing them great success, glory, profit, happiness, and protection from the constellations on their business travels. He names many devas and other auspicious things and wishes they protect them in all directions, and wished their lives be preserved for one hundred autumns.

11.  The Buddha then made his first prophecy, that these two merchants would attain Buddhahood and both be called Madhusaṃbhava (Born of Honey), whereupon they could not fall back from awakening.

12.  The two brothers then took refuge in the Buddha and the Dharma.[2]

[1] From the Upāyakauśalya Sūtra which gives a somewhat alternative answer, “Why did the Tathāgata remain sitting cross-legged, looking up at the bodhi-tree without blinking, for seven days and seven nights? Good man, at that time, some gods in the Realm of Form were cultivating ultimate quiescence. They were very glad to see the Tathāgata sitting cross-legged, and thought, ‘Now, let us try to find out what Śramaṇa Gautama’s mind rests on.’ The gods could not locate a single thought in the Tathāgata’s mind after seven days and seven nights of searching, so they became doubly joyful. Thirty-two thousand of them brought forth supreme bodhicitta and made this vow: ‘We will in a future life achieve such quiescence that we can look up at a bodhi-tree in the same way.’ Hence, after the Tathāgata had attained the path, he remained sitting cross-legged, looking up at the bodhi-tree without blinking for seven days and seven nights. This was the Tathāgata’s skillful means.” (Chang 454)

[2] At this point there are only two refuges as the Sangha had not been established.