Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1
Religion
Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1
Jataka stories, English
And in order to make her offering, on the full-moon day of the month of
May, in the sixth year of the Great Being’s penance, she had driven in
front of her a thousand cows into a meadow of rich grass. With their
milk she had fed five hundred cows, with theirs two hundred and fifty,
and so on down to eight. Thus aspiring after quantity, and sweetness,
and strength, she did what is called, “Working the milk in and in.”
And early on the full-moon day in the month of May, thinking, “Now I
will make the offering,” she rose up in the morning early and milked
those eight cows. Of their own accord the calves kept away from the
cows’ udders, and as soon as the new vessels were placed ready,
streams of milk poured into them. Seeing this miracle, Sujātā, with
her own hands, took the milk and poured it into new pans; and with
her own hands made the fire and began to cook it. When that rice-milk
was boiling, huge bubbles rising, turned to the right and ran round
together; not a drop fell or was lost; not the least smoke rose from
the fireplace.
At that time the four guardian angels of the world came from the
four points of the compass, and kept watch by the fireplace. The
archangel Brahma held over it a canopy of state. The archangel Sakka
put the sticks together and lighted the fire. By their divine power
the gods, gathering so much of the Sap of life as would suffice for
the support of all the men and angels of the four continents, and
their circumjacent two thousand isles--as easily as a man crushing the
honey-comb formed round a stick would take the honey--they infused
it into the milk-rice. At other times the gods infused the Sap of
life into each mouthful of rice as he took it; but on the day of his
Buddhahood, and on the day of his Death, they infused it into the very
vessel-full of rice itself.
Sujātā, seeing that so many wonders appeared to her on this one day,
said to her slave-girl Puṇṇā, “Friend Puṇṇā! Very gracious is our god
to-day! Never before have I seen such a wonder. Go at once and keep
watch by the holy place.” “Very good, my lady,” replied she; and ran
and hastened to the foot of the tree.
Now the Bodisat had seen that night five dreams, and on considering
their purport he had drawn the conclusion, “Verily this day I shall
become a Buddha.” And at the end of the night he washed and dressed
himself, and waiting till the time should come to go round begging his
food, he went early, and sat at the foot of that tree, lighting it all
up with his glory.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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