The Prince Siddhattha, after enjoying the luxurious pleasures of the King for 13 years, came to the age of twenty-nine. He used to go to the royal garden together with his retinue. On his way to the royal garden, he saw the four great omens, namely an old man, a sick man, a dead man and a recluse. Each of them was created by devas (gods) after an interval of four months. The royal father Suddhodana took measures to prevent the Bodhisatta from seeing these miserable sights with the help of his guards, because he was worried that the Bodhisatta might renounce the worldly life. So the Bodhisatta had never seen the aged, the sick, the dead and the recluse till then. When he saw the four great omens consecutively, he was shocked and remorseful. An idea flashed upon his mind: “I shall also, one day, become old, sick and die.” He could not bring himself to enjoy the luxury and pleasure of the palace. Therefore, he was determined:

         ”I shall renounce the worldly pleasure today to become a recluse like the one whom I had seen.” While he was staying in the royal garden, he was informed that his chief queen Yasodara had given birth to a son and he was startled, thinking; “There appears one more fetter.” And he decided, “I shall renounce the world tonight.”

          He murmured: “This son will hinder me. from renouncing the world just like the Devil Rahu seizing the moon.” That is why the royal son was named Rahula.

Renunciation

          When he got to the palace from the royal garden, he went to bed early, because he did not want to enjoy the royal entertainment as usual. The lady-attendants fell asleep in the light of scented oil-lamps. They were all asleep - some with their thighs or calves exposed, some with saliva oozing from the corners of their lips, some opening their mouths wide, some snoring and some rolling, turning and talking in their sleep. When the Bodhisatta woke up at midnight, he felt that the sleeping lady-attendants were corpses and he himself were in a cemetery. So he decided to leave the palace at once

PRACTISING AUSTERITIES

Devas Thought that Siddhattha was dead

         The Bodhisatta left for the groves not far from the southern part of Rajagaha. He placed himself under the guidance of the two ascetic leaders, Alara and Udaka, and practised for Jhana (concentration). He soon gained the mundane jhanic ecstasy. Knowing his capability, the two ascetic leaders made him leader as themselves. But he did not accept their proposals. He decided that the power of his jhanic ecstasy was not the way to attain the omniscience. Thus he proceeded to the Uruvela grove.

          In those days, there prevailed an ideology among the ascetics that one can attain enlightenment only by means of practising strenuous and severe austerities. Hence the Bodhisatta practised them in the Uruvela grove for six years. He took food very sparingly. He undertook the difficult practice very severely, having just a fruit for the whole day. Some times he took no food at all. His flesh and blood dried up because of the severe effort. The thirty-two special bodily marks disappeared and the bright golden complexion became gray also. The skin of the belly stuck to the spinal-cord. His sacred body was reduced to a skeleton. Indeed, he was nearly dying. The skin of the head wrinkled and withered like a little tender gourd dried up in the sun. As he was very frail, he fell down and fainted while walking with the contemplation of breathing-out and breathing-in. Some devasthought that Siddhattha was dead.

Sujata’s Offering of Milk-Rice

Sujata offers the Milk Rice to Siddhatta before his Enlightenment

Lady Sujata Offers Milk Rice to Siddhatta Bodhisatta

          There was a market town called Sena near Uruvela Grove. Sujata, the daughter of a wealthy man there offered food in oblation to the deva of a banyan tree on the fullmoon day of Kason yearly as all her wishes were fulfilled. On the fullmoon day of Kason of that year, Sujata offered milk-rice together with the gold cup to the Bodhisatta, who was sitting magnificently under the banyan tree. She thought that the guardian deva himself was sitting to receive her offering.

From the day the Great Being had gone forth from the household life until the day depicted in this picture, six years had elapsed. Here he has resumed eating normal food and his body has returned to a normal state. This day was the fifteenth of the waxing moon of the sixth lunar month, 45 years before the Buddha’s passing away [parinibbana]. The lady offering things to the Great Being in the picture is Sujata. She was the daughter of a householder in a village in Uruvela Senanigama. She is offering a dish of Rice Gruel with Milk [madhupayasa], rice cooked with pure cow’s milk. It was a vegetarian food, containing no meat or fish, used especially as an offering to deities.

The Pathamasambodhi states that Sujata had made a prayer to the deity of a certain banyan tree for a husband of equal status and for a son by him. When she had obtained what she wished for, she cooked the milk rice as an offering in thanks. Before the day she was to cook the rice, Sujata had some of her servants lead the herd of 1,000 cows to a forest of licorice grass so that the cows could eat their fill. Then she divided them into two herds of 500 head each, and milked the 500 cows of one herd and fed that milk to the 500 cows of the other herd. She then continued to divide that herd and feed half on the milk of the other half until there were only eight cows left. She then took the milk from those eight cows to make her milk rice.

When the rice was cooked, Sujata sent a servant girl to clean up the area around the banyan tree. The servant girl came back to Sujata with a report that the deity [deva] who was to receive the offerings had materialized, and was already sitting at the foot of the banyan tree. Excited, Sujata lifted the tray of milk rice to her head and carried it to the banyan tree, together with her servant girl. Seeing that it was as her servant had told her, she came forward and proffered the tray of milk rice. The Great Being received it and looked at Sujata. She understood from his look that he had no bowl or any other dish with which to eat the food, and so she made an offering of both the rice and the dish.

Having offered the rice, she walked back to her house, full of happiness, believing that she had made offerings to a deva.

          After the Bodhisatta had cleansed himself in the River Neranjara, he took forty-nine mouthfuls of milk-rice. After he had the food, he placed the gold cup afloat in the river, making the solemn resolution: “If I shall become a Buddha today, may this gold cup float upstream.” The gold cup floated up stream for eighty cubits and then sank down.

Vanquishing the Mara

          Then the Bodhisatta stayed the whole day in the Sal grove near Neranjara, reflecting on the constituent parts of the body. In the evening, on the way to the Bodhi Tree, he accepted eight handfuls of grass offered by Sotthiya, the grass-cutter. The Bodhisatta approached the Bodhi Tree from eastward, went around the tree clockwise three times, and scattered the eight handfuls of grass at the foot of the tree. Thereupon, the magnificent jewelled throne, ‘Aparajita pallanka’ appeared marvelously. He sat cross-legged on it, facing eastward with his back against the trunk of the Bodhi Tree.

          Then he made the solemn resolution: “Let my flesh and blood dry up, and let only my skin, nerves and bones remain! Never shall I unfold this cross-legged position until I attain Buddhahood!” Then the Bodhisatta cultivated mindfulness of breathing-out and breathing-in and remained completely absorbed in the fourth jhanic ecstasy.

          On seeing the Bodhisatta seated with firm and solemn resolution, Mara knew that the Bodhisatta would certainly attain Buddha-hood on that day. So he disturbed and fought him, riding Girimekhala elephant and leading numerous fighting forces armed with various weapons. The Mara attacked the Bodhisatta incessantly by creating violent storms, by shoering weapons and hot ash, etc., as if the world were going to be destroyed. The Bodhisatta, however, vanquished him by virtue of the power of Perfections which he had accomplished through four asankhyeyyas and one hundred-thousand worlds. The Bodhisatta repulsed successfully the force of Mara before the sun-set.

The Attainment of Buddhahood

         Contemplating on mindfulness of breathing-out and breathing-in and remaining absorbed in the fourth Anapana jhanic ecstasy, the Bodhisatta gained the Pubbenivasanussatinana the higher psychic power to remember past existences of himself as well as of others — during the first watch of the night. In the middle watch of the night, he attained Dibbacakkhunana - the power of supernormal vision to see penetratively things, big or small, far or near, fine or gross like the divine eyes. In the last watch of the night. the Bodhisatta contemplated the “Law of Cause and Effect” and practised insight meditation. Then he fully realized the Four Noble Truths and attained Asavekkhaya or Arahattamagganana — the higher psychic power which enables one to eradicate defilements absolutely.

          As soon as the Bodhisatta gained the Arahatta-magga-nana, he also attained the Omniscience, Sabbannuta-nana, the Fully Enlightenment. He attained Buddhahood at the age of 35. It was Wednesday, the fullmoon day of Kason, in the year 103 Maha Era (589 B.C.). When he became the Enlightened One who was worthy of veneration of all living beings — human beings, devas and brahmas – and was incomparable by gaining Omniscience. All devas and brahmas from the ten-thousand worlds came to pay obeisance to the Buddha delightfully and happily. The earth vehemently trembled and resounded with the roll of thunder bursting loudly in the sky. All flowering plants of the whole world bloomed out of season, as if they were paying homage to the Buddha.

The Virtue of Sabbannuta-nana

         The Buddha gained the great Omniscience, Sabbannuta-nana, in his last existence as he had accomplished the Ten Perfections, the Three Noble Practices and the five Great Sacrifices.By the power of Omniscience, the Buddha knew all things that should be known. He fully realized every phenomenon - both the conditioned and the unconditioned.

          Of all that should be known, the Buddha absolutely knew about each and everything from the beginning to the end. Here are the three attributes of the Omniscience:

1. Knowing all things to be known without exception.
2. Knowing the natural tendencies of the person who is going to hear the discourse, and
3. Knowing how to expound the discourse.

After achieving the supreme Enlightenment, the Buddha, rejoicing at his conquest, uttered the following Verse of Victory.

1. Anekajati samsaram sandhavissam anibbisam Gahakaram gavesanto dukkha jati punappunam
2. Gahakarakadittho si Puna geham na kahasi Sabba te phasuka hhagga gahakutam visamkhitam Visankharagatam cittam tanhanam khayam ajjhaga

                  My mind has attained the unconditioned. Achieved is the end of craving.