6.
Commentary on the Lineage of the Buddha Sumana
Thus, having made the ten-thousandfold world system one mass of darkness all at once, when that Blessed One had attained final nibbāna, in the period after him, when human beings had a lifespan of ninety thousand years, having gradually declined, when they had a lifespan of ten years, having increased again, having gradually become those of incalculable lifespan, having declined again, when they had a lifespan of ninety thousand years, the Bodhisatta named Sumana, having fulfilled the perfections, having been reborn in the Tusita city, having passed away from there, took conception in the womb of a queen named Sirimā in the family of a king named Sudatta in the city of Mekhalā. The wonders were in the manner already stated before.
He, having gradually come of age, being entertained by sixty-three hundred thousand dancing women in three mansions named Sirivaḍḍhana, Somavaḍḍhana, and Iddhivaḍḍhana, being attended upon by divine young women, like a divine prince, experiencing sensual happiness similar to divine happiness for nine thousand years, having begotten an incomparable son named Anupama by a queen named Vaṭaṃsikā, having seen the four signs, having departed by elephant vehicle, he went forth. But when he was going forth, thirty crores went forth following him.
He, surrounded by them, having practised the practice of striving for ten months, on the full moon day of Vesākha, having eaten the milk-rice into which divine nutriment had been placed, given by one named Anupamā, the daughter of the millionaire Anoma in the town of Anoma, having spent the day residence in a sal grove, having taken eight handfuls of grass given by a naked ascetic named Anupama, having approached the Nāga Bodhi tree, having circumambulated it, having made a grass mat thirty cubits wide with eight handfuls of grass, there having folded his legs crosswise, he sat down. Thereupon, having scattered the forces of Māra, having penetrated the knowledge of omniscience - "Through the round of many births, etc. it has reached the elimination of cravings" - he uttered an inspired utterance. Therefore it was said -
1.
Matchless in all qualities, the highest of all beings."
Therein, "after Maṅgala" means afterwards, in the later period of the Blessed One Maṅgala. "Matchless in all qualities" means matchless, incomparable in all qualities of morality, concentration, and wisdom.
Sumana, it is said, the Blessed One, having spent seven weeks in the very vicinity of the Bodhi tree, having accepted Brahmā's request for the purpose of teaching the Teaching - while reflecting "To whom indeed should I first teach the Teaching?" having seen thirty crores who had gone forth together with him, and his own youngest brother, the half-brother Prince Saraṇa, and the chaplain's son, the young man Bhāvitatta, as accomplished with decisive support - having thought "I should teach the Teaching to these first," like a king of swans, through the sky-path, having descended into the Mekhala Park, having sent the park keeper, having had his own youngest brother, Prince Saraṇa, the chaplain's son, and Prince Bhāvitatta summoned, to thirty-seven crores who constituted their retinue, thirty crores who had gone forth together with him, and many other crores of gods and humans - thus to a hundred thousand crores, by the setting in motion of the Wheel of the Teaching, he gave the nectar of the Teaching to drink. Therefore it was said -
2.
The ninefold Conqueror's Dispensation, conjoined with the conch of the Teaching."
Therein, "the drum of the Deathless" means the drum for the achievement of the Deathless, for the achievement of Nibbāna. "Beat" means sounded; he taught the Teaching - this is the meaning. This "drum of the Deathless" is a name for the ninefold word of the Buddha having the Deathless as its final goal. Therefore he said - "The ninefold Conqueror's Dispensation, conjoined with the conch of the Teaching." Therein, "conjoined with the conch of the Teaching" means conjoined with the excellent conch of the talk on the Teaching of the four truths.
Now Sumana, the leader of the world, having attained the highest enlightenment, proceeding along the practice in accordance with his acknowledgment, for the purpose of liberating the public from the bondage of existence, for the protection of the jewel of wholesomeness being plundered by the thieves of defilements, built the excellent city of the Deathless, with the extensive wall of morality, surrounded by the moat of concentration, with the door of insight knowledge, with the firm door panels of mindfulness and full awareness, adorned with pavilions and the like of meditative attainments, and crowded with the people of the qualities conducive to enlightenment. Therefore it was said -
3.
The Teacher built a city, the best and highest city of the Good Teaching."
Therein, "having conquered" means having vanquished, having overcome, having destroyed the mental defilements, the volitional activities, and the Māras of the sons of gods - this is the meaning. "He" means he, the glad-minded Blessed One. "Having vanquished the defilements indeed" is also a reading. Therein, the syllable "hi" is an indeclinable particle used merely as an expletive. "Having attained" means having realised. "Patto" is also a reading. "City" means the city of Nibbāna. "The best and highest city of the Good Teaching" means the highest, the foremost, the principal among the excellent cities reckoned as the Good Teaching. Or, the highest among the excellent and noble cities made of the Good Teaching is "the best and highest city of the Good Teaching." In the former alternative meaning, "city" should be understood as a synonym for that very thing. Nibbāna is called "city" in the sense of being the resort and dwelling, the support of the noble persons - trainees and those beyond training - who have penetrated the intrinsic nature of phenomena. But in that excellent city of the Good Teaching, that Teacher built a great highway made of the establishments of mindfulness, uninterrupted, not crooked, straight, and broad and wide. Therefore it was said -
4.
He built that great highway, the best and highest establishment of mindfulness.
Therein, "continuous" means continuous because of the uninterrupted nature of the movement of wholesome impulsions. "Not crooked" means not crooked because of being free from the fault that causes crookedness. "Straight" means straight precisely because of being not crooked. This expression is merely an elucidation of the meaning of the preceding term. "Extensive and wide" means broad and wide in length and in breadth; the state of being broad and wide should be understood by way of mundane and supramundane establishments of mindfulness. "Great highway" means the main road. "The best and highest establishment of mindfulness" means it is an establishment of mindfulness and it is the highest among the excellent, thus it is the best and highest establishment of mindfulness. Or else, the meaning is the highest highway made of the excellent establishment of mindfulness.
Now, on that street of the establishments of mindfulness of that great city of Nibbāna, he spread out on both sides in the shops of the Teaching these very costly jewels, namely the four fruits of asceticism, the four analytical knowledges, the six direct knowledges, and the eight attainments. Therefore it was said -
5.
The six higher knowledges and the eight attainments, he spread out there on the street.
Now, the Blessed One, showing the means of carrying away those jewels - that those who are heedful, mindful, wise, endowed with shame, moral fear, energy, and so on, they take up these precious goods -
6.
They take up these excellent qualities as they wish." He said;
Therein, "those who" (ye) is a synopsis without specifying. "Heedful" (appamattā) means endowed with diligence, which is the counterpart of negligence, having the characteristic of continuous presence of mindfulness. "Free from barrenness" (akhilā) means free from the five mental rigidities. "Endowed with shame and energy" (hirivīriyehupāgatā) means one is ashamed of bodily misconduct and so on, thus "shame" (hirī); this is a designation for moral shame. The state of a hero is energy (vīriya); that has the characteristic of endeavour. Endowed with, possessed of those shame and energy, are capable persons. "They" (te) is a specifying synopsis of the previously unspecified synopsis. Again, "they" (te) means those sons of good family take up, obtain, attain the distinguished jewels of qualities of the aforementioned kind - this is the meaning. But the Blessed One Sumana, having understood the minds of all, having beaten the drum of the Teaching, having established the city of the Teaching, by this method at the very first awakened a hundred thousand crores. Therefore it was said -
7.
The Teacher first awakened a hundred thousand crores."
Therein, "lifting up" means lifting up from the ocean of wandering in the round of rebirths by the boat of the noble path. "A hundred thousand crores" means a hundred thousand crores is the meaning. It is stated in reverse order.
But when Sumana, the leader of the world, having performed the Twin Miracle - the crushing of the vanity and conceit of the sectarians - at the foot of a mango tree in the city of Sunandavatī, gave the nectar of the Teaching to drink to a thousand crores of beings. This was the second full realisation. Therefore it was said -
8.
Ten million thousand fully realised, at the second teaching of the Dhamma."
Therein, "the groups of sectarians" means groups that had become sectarians, or groups of sectarians. Some read "subduing the sectarians, the Buddha taught the Dhamma."
But when deities from the ten thousand world-circles, having assembled in this world-circle, and humans raised up a discussion on cessation - "How do they attain cessation, how are they attained to cessation, how do they emerge from cessation?" Thus, being unable to make a judgement regarding attainment, determination, emergence and so on, together with humans, the gods in the six sensual-sphere heavenly worlds and the Brahmās in the nine Brahmā worlds were in a state of wavering, divided in two. Thereupon, together with the king named Arindama the Beautiful among Men, in the evening time, they approached Sumana, the One of Ten Powers, the protector of the entire world; Having approached, King Arindama asked the Blessed One the question about cessation. Thereupon, when the question about cessation was answered by the Blessed One, there was the full realisation of the teaching for ninety thousand ten million living beings. This was the third full realisation. Therefore it was said -
9.
Asked the question about cessation, and also the doubt in their minds.
10.
For ninety thousand ten million, there was the third full realisation."
9-10.
Now, the Blessed One Sumana had three assemblies of disciples.
Therein, at the first assembly, having dwelt for the rains retreat in dependence on the city of Mekhala, at the first invitation ceremony, the Blessed One celebrated the pavāraṇā together with a thousand koṭis of Worthy Ones who had gone forth by the "Come, monk" ordination. This was the first assembly.
Then at another time, seated on the golden mountain of one yojana in extent, produced by the wholesome power of King Arindama, not far from the city of Saṅkassa - like the sun with its beautiful multitude of rays in the autumn season on the Yugandhara mountain, so too the sun of the excellent sage - having surrounded King Arindama and tamed ninety thousand koṭis of men who had come, having given the going forth to all by the "Come, monk" ordination, surrounded by monks who had attained arahantship on that very day, he recited the Pātimokkha at an assembly possessed of four factors.
This was the second assembly.
But when Sakka, the king of gods, approached for the purpose of seeing the Fortunate One, then the Blessed One Sumana, surrounded by eighty thousand koṭis of Worthy Ones, recited the Pātimokkha. This was the third assembly.
Therefore it was said -
11.
Of those who had eliminated the mental corruptions, spotless ones, of peaceful minds, such ones.
12.
With a hundred thousand koṭis, the Tathāgata celebrated the pavāraṇā.
13.
The second meeting was of ninety thousand koṭis.
14.
The third meeting was of eighty thousand koṭis."
11-14.
Therein, in "abhighuṭṭhe pavāraṇe" a change of gender should be understood; the meaning is "abhighuṭṭhāya pavāraṇāya."
"Tatoparan" means afterwards.
"Kañcanapabbate" means on a mountain made of gold.
"Buddhadassanupāgamī" means he approached for the purpose of seeing the Buddha.
At that time, it is said, our Bodhisatta was a king of serpents named Atula, of great supernormal power and great might.
He, having heard "A Buddha has arisen in the world," surrounded by a company of relatives, having departed from his own dwelling, having made an offering with divine musical instruments to the Blessed One Sumana who was attended by a hundred thousand koṭis of monks, having carried on a great giving, having given separate pairs of garments, became established in the refuges.
That Teacher too declared concerning him "In the future he will become a Buddha."
Therefore it was said -
15.
Atula by name, with an abundant accumulation of wholesome deeds.
16.
With the divine musical instruments of the serpents, I attended upon the Victor together with the Community.
17.
Having given a separate pair of garments, I went for refuge to him.
18.
'Immeasurable cosmic cycles from now, this one will be a Buddha.'
19.
As in the Koṇḍañña Buddha Lineage, thus eight verses should be expanded.
20.
I determined upon further ascetic practice, for the fulfilment of the ten perfections."
15-20.
Now, that Blessed One Sumana's city was named Mekhalā, his father was a king named Sudatta, his mother was a queen named Sirimā, Saraṇa and Bhāvitatta were the two chief disciples, Udena by name was the attendant, Soṇā and Upasoṇā were the two chief female disciples, the iron-wood tree was the Bodhi tree, his body was ninety cubits in height, and the life-span was ninety thousand years only, his chief queen was named Vaṭaṃsikā, his son was named Anūpama, and he departed by elephant vehicle.
The attendant was the King of Aṅga.
He dwelt in the Aṅga park.
Therefore it was said -
21.
The mother was named Sirimā, of the great sage Sumana.
22.
Canda, Sucanda, and Vaṭaṃsa, three excellent mansions.
23.
Vaṭaṃsikā was the name of that woman, Anūpama was her son.
24.
For no less than ten months, the Conqueror strove in striving.
25.
The great hero turned the wheel, at Mekhala, the excellent city.
26.
Udena by name was the attendant of the great sage Sumana.
27.
That Buddha too, of immeasurable fame, was awakened at the foot of a nāga tree.
28.
Cālā and Upacālā were the chief female attendants.
29.
Resembling the radiance of gold, the ten-thousand world-system shines brightly.
30.
Remaining for that long, he helped many people to cross.
31.
The Fully Self-Enlightened One attained final Nibbāna, like the king of stars, he set.
32.
Having shown incomparable radiance, those of great fame were quenched.
33.
All that has disappeared, are not all activities empty?
34.
Right there is the stūpa of the Conqueror, raised up four yojanas.
21-34.
Therein, "resembling a golden festoon" means having the splendour of form similar to a festoon made of gold decorated with various jewels.
"The ten-thousand world-system shines brightly" means by his radiance even the ten-thousand world-system shines brightly. This is the meaning.
"Those to be helped across" means those who should be helped to cross over; when "to help across" is said, the meaning is all those accessible to instruction by a Buddha.
"Like the king of stars" means like the moon.
"Has passed away" means has passed away.
Some read "has gone to passing away."
"Incomparable" means matchless.
"Of great fame" means of great reputation and of great retinue.
"And that knowledge" means and that knowledge of omniscience.
"Incomparable" means unequalled, matchless.
The remainder is clear everywhere.
The commentary on the Lineage of the Buddha Sumana is completed.
The fourth lineage of the Buddha is concluded.