The Meaning of the Mysterious Events in Buddha’s Historic Birth

"The Bodhisattva was born standing still, balancing on two legs, facing north, walking seven steps, a white parasol above the head. He looked in every direction, raised His voice like a Buffalo King, uttering as follow, "I’m the Supreme One! I’m the Honored One in life! This is the last life, there will be no more rebirth…" "

The history of Sakyamuni is the history of a human being, thanks to self-cultivation, becoming the Enlightened One. During 45 years of propagation of faith, He became the greatest man to be born ever. Such a great life has brought his legend of being born into mankind's consciousness as a sacred mystical factor, thus creating spiritual marks, since man set off on the way to the Pure Land.

Therefore, Buddhists on this planet joyfully welcomed Vesak Festival with respect. The last purpose is to depict the entire picture of the Buddha's birth through mystical elements of legendary incarnation originated from Sutra Pitaka, considered Buddhism literary works. It is the pattern of the Buddha's birth that Buddhists present with the image of His riding on a white six-tusk elephant from Dau Suat Sky appearing in Maya Queen's dream. Later on, He appeared in real life when His Mother raised her hand to lean on an Udumbara branch in the Lumbini Garden and right after that took seven steps on a miraculous seven-layer lotus. He sedately declared it as a saving message with a resounding sound that shook the Earth and Sky, 'I’m the monolatry one in this world.'

It is apparent that the historical elements derived from legends in Sutra 'Acchariya-abbhùtadhamma Sutta' as well as 'MAHÃPADÃNASUTTA -Nikaya' have turned the history of his birth from a normal person into an extraordinary man. With an unchangeable pure faith in the Buddha, such an extraordinary man like Him lives in everyone's mind forever.

It seems that literary sutras have sticked to the legend. After all, legend is a source of extremely precious documentaries in human beings' memory. Legend obviously becomes collective unconsciousness via forms, at that rate deeply ingraining into readers' mind and then passing on different generations. Old composers implicitly used legendary elements, first as a symbol, a metaphor to convey the meaning of the works behind a linguistic system expressed through a layer of specific words and images with quite dynamic details. Therefore, the legend is used in order to enter the dreams and consciousness of the characters that perform exceptionally. From then on, legendary elements are closely connected to create an ostensibly perfect association among the works, helping people though living in different cultures to be able to understand each other, as a general message of the mankind. However, the old composers can transform and turn the legends into historic myths, depending on characteristics of the works during the composing process for more artistic values.

There is no doubt about Queen Ma Da's dream and pregnancy until the day she gave birth of Him. The six-tusk elephant is a symbol of the restful Bodhisattva with inner wishes to save the world. The elephant symbolizes the imposing power of heading towards all the time. Six tusks are more special because there is in reality no elephant with six tusks, but these manifest the Bodhisattva's achievement of 'Six Paramitas'. That is why the white elephant is also the symbol of the Buddha's incarnation. He is Prabhmala Bodhisattva fromTushitaSky, riding on a six-tusk white elephant and appearing in Queen Maya's dream. Afterwards, She was pregnant and gave birth to Him. Unlike any other normal humans, when born, He was incarnated in a surrealist but extremely vivid image as described in ''Acchariya-abbhùtadhamma Sutta' ':

It is apparent that the surreal image of Buddha’s birth for reality. He was born and grew up in life. Each of His single steps was the step performing His wish of Wisdom and Compassion to bring about happiness and love to all living creatures. Therefore, sutras usually describe Him as a lotus grown in mud, growing up in mud, yet unstained with mud. Sakyamuni was also born, growing up, yet unpolluted with life's smell. That is why the lotus symbolizes His image. The Buddha is a lotus, and the lotus is the Buddha. The image of His being born, walking on seven layers of the lotus manifests the path to enlightenment through seven cultivation stages, which are 'Smrti-Upasthana Samyakpramhana, Rddhipada, Pancendriyani (five organs of senses0), Pancapala (five mental forces), Saptaboddhyanga (seven characteristics of bodhi), The eightfold Path. In general, those are 37 assistant tools. This is the way that takes Him to achieve 'The Supreme Bodhisattva'. The seven layers of the lotus also represent seven Buddhas existing to educate living beings.

The declaration 'I am the Only Supreme among the Sky and Earth' is a real evidence justifying that self-cultivation, self-practice, self-enlightenment and Nirvana-reaching processes are the most noble ones that Sakyamuni gained. A human if not acquiring the supreme knowledge and Nirvana liberation, will be after all influenced by inevitable changes according to the 'Impermanence Rule', left with nothing noble. Only the truth enlightenment is the most elated to be possibly governed by no life rule. Based on Dharma, whoever acquires the supreme knowledge and mercy is the 'Only Honored One'. Because the Buddha was that type of human, His announcement as followed, 'I am the "Supreme One" in the world', was the obvious truth.

Moreover, the Buddha was born when Brahmanism philosophical theory prevailed in the India society. Only Brahmanism was noble, and the Creator gave rise to all beings. All living beings were born thanks to 'Pham Thien', the Brahmanism founder. The sages were, too. Sakyamuni's being born was to reject the misleading traditional point of view that had been deep-rooted in Indians' faith at that time. Above all, His existence evidenced His being born was neither from 'Pham Thien' nor any Brahmanism, but He was born as a result of a combination of good deeds and virtues built up for many lives, many reincarnations in the attempt to cultivate for Nirvana achievement. The event in which the Buddha was born was performed in the setting of halo shining miraculously, and the fact that ten thousand worlds shook was to justify a real escaping world. Its great influence was to convert all beings' consciousness wherever they were, shaking the world where there were those that made an effort to cultivate themselves into Buddhas. Therefore, He declared, 'I am the "Supreme One" '.

Buddhism is it! See it to cultivate yourself! Cultivate yourself to become a Buddha. The Buddha

born today was the Buddha born in our hearts when we cite the Sutra, lead a Dharma-based life, blossom step by step like a lotus and head for the Pure Land.

Translated into English by Nguyen Minh Thuy Tien