Could the Buddha have touched goal and gems in the 7 weeks after enlightenment
Upvote:1
Essentially what you are asking is can / will a Buddha do something in contradiction to the Vinaya.
In the olden days the King is not under the law he imposes. Likewise, after forbidding miracles, the Buddha announced the he will perform the Twin Miracle. A King asked you just put a rule not to display miracles and you are just going to perform one. Then the Buddha pointed out like the King being exempt from his own rules the Buddha is exempt from the Vinaya rules, i.e., Vinaya rules are only for the disciples.
Assuming you are from Sri Lanka, this is there in the old syllabus Buddhism curriculum (which was in effect in the school leaving year of 1997). I forget what year, and the exact details, but likely year 10 text book.
In this context, though a monk cannot be in a chamber of gems the Buddha can. Having said this, the chamber of gems is also not real, as it is mind made through psychic powers. In such a case I do not think there is an issue for a monk prior to the forbidding of psychic power display. As in this case there were not witnesses hence, if a does this, in private it will still not break the rule of touching gold (it is not real - it is just a mind projected image). This is just my opinion, there might be other vinaya rules in play.
In addition this is not the traditional account:
The stone chamber and the stone seat (length 6.5 feet width 3 feet) made and offered to Buddha by King Muchalinda using the highest technology prevailed to that date are still exist there. Earlier it was called Ruwan Geya
More orthodox account of it is:
The Golden Bridge
In the third week, the Buddha saw through his mindβs eye that the devas in the heavens were not sure whether he had attained enlightenment or not. To prove his enlightenment the Buddha created a golden bridge in the air and walked up and down it for a whole week.
The Jewelled Chamber
In the fourth week, he created a beautiful jewelled chamber and sitting inside it meditated on what was later known as the "Detailed Teaching" (Abhidhamma). His mind and body were so purified that six coloured rays came out of his body β blue, yellow, red, white, orange and a mixture of these five. Today these six colours make up the Buddhist flag. Each colour represented one noble quality of the Buddha: yellow for holiness, white for purity, blue for confidence, red for wisdom and orange for desirelessness. The mixed colour represented all these noble qualities.
...
The Mucalinda Tree
The Buddha then went and meditated at the foot of a mucalinda tree. It began to rain heavily and a huge king cobra came out and coiled his body seven times around the Buddha to keep him warm and placed his hood over the Buddhaβs head to protect him from the rain. After seven days the rain stopped and the snake changed into a young man who paid his respects to the Buddha. The Buddha then said:
"Happy are they who are contented. Happiness is for those who hear and know the truth. Happy are they who have good will in this world towards all sentient beings. Happy are they who have no attachments and have passed beyond sense-desires. The disappearance of the word "I AM " is indeed the highest happiness."
Life of the Buddha - Chapter 18: Seven Weeks After Enlightenment
The Jewelle Chamber is separate from the time under the Mucalinda Tree.
More post
- π Why do Sotapannas need faith?
- π Monks and politics
- π Why did Buddha continue jhΔna after enlightenment?
- π Expaining The Holocaust & karma to a non-Buddhist
- π Are Amitabha and Sakyamuni the same?
- π Do ALL thoughts with lobha (craving), dosa (aversion) and moha (ignorance) create bad karma?
- π If anatta is a reality, then how do you explain Volition or Will?
- π Deep emptiness (nothingness) while meditating
- π Should we believe we have no enlightenment whatsoever?
- π Why buddhists love staying in hills?
- π What is the logic behind visualization meditation
- π Is it demerit to give donations to sick non-Buddhists?
- π Symbols of mercy in Buddhism?
- π How to let go during meditation?
- π In which ways do anagamis still experience ignorance?
- π Stop influence on mind
- π Is shame and remorse unskillful?
- π How to develop fortitude?
- π Brahmas at formless realms are unable to hear the teachings of the Buddha
- π Would zen Buddhists agree with this quote from Chih-I?
- π How should I view others sufferings I cannot affect?
- π Do Buddhist texts record or comment on the then-prevalent varna or caste systems?
- π Metaphors in and out Buddhism
- π What (spiritual/religious) terms did the Buddha redefine?
- π How was my performance in the Fifth precept
- π What do you say to share your deeds after you have donated something?
- π "The number of dust on the earth could be counted..."
- π Mindfulness of the world - its being OK
- π Were the oldest Buddhists evangelical?
- π Given that Buddhism could accommodate people's prior religious beliefs, why is Buddhism itself now described as a religion?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- π Could the Buddha have touched goal and gems in the 7 weeks after enlightenment
- π What interaction did the Buddha have with his family after leaving?
- π Does every Buddha have knowledge of the past, present and future?
- π How could the Buddha know that he had attained enlightenment when he didn't know what it was?
- π Does the Buddha have any practices for groups and societies that would lead society to less suffering, prosperity, not decay?
- π What is the meaning of the Zen quote: "Before Enlightenment chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment chop wood, carry water"?
- π Attachment is a poison. Why is attachment to the Buddha and to Buddhist philosophy not a problem?
- π Can a person live by the Dhamma and have another religion as well?
- π Where is the Buddha originally quoted as saying "On heaven and earth, I alone am honored"?
- π What are any and all of the exceptions to eating after noon if you've taken 8 precepts?
- π Why did physical representations of the Buddha only start to appear a few centuries after his death?
- π Did the Buddha make any reference to Krishna and Gita?
- π Did the Buddha have advice about dealing with social anxiety?
- π Does Pure Land Buddhism ever have a Buddha other than AmitΔbha as the object of devotion?
- π What is the sutra where the Buddha emits fire and water from his body?
- π Sleep, references to the buddha and other arhats
- π Did the Buddha have more advice for the lay follower than is typically supposed?
- π Was Gautama Buddha a believer of the religious beliefs prevalent in his time and in his cultural context?
- π Iconography in Buddhism - from the Greeks? And why isn't the Buddha bald?
- π After Enlightenment - 7 Weeks (Sath Sathiya)
- π Did the Buddha state that there is only one way, and state/imply that any other path (such as those practiced by yogis) was futile?
- π The Buddha and the Gods realm
- π Did the Buddha have long ears?
- π Does Mahayana Buddhism discourage attaining enlightenment under the Gautama Buddha Sasana?
- π Who are the Buddhas Yet to Come and what Information do we have about them as per Theravada standpoint?
- π Anesthesia, being knocked out, unconsciousness...what does the Buddha have to say about it?
- π buddha and the fear?
- π How did the Buddha subdue fear and terror while standing, sitting, etc.?
- π The Buddha is said to have rediscovered the ancient path. Why was it lost to begin with?
- π How can the Buddha (after he was enlightened) reflect that he was not at ease and then became at ease in seclusion?