The Buddhist Cosmos
Page 50
Some modern writers have seen the gandhabbas as “the male counterpart to the accharas,”644 but another detail of Pañcasikha’s story demonstrates that this is too simplistic. There are female gandhabbas. We know this because Pañcasikha was in love with Bhaddā Suriyavaccasā, a gandhabba maiden and the daughter of Timbaru, a chieftain of the gandhabbas. He had a rival for her affections in Sikhadi, the son of Mātali the charioteer of the devas. When Sakka and the other devas of the Thirty-Three went to visit the Buddha at the Indasāla Cave, they found him rapt in meditation. In order to attract the Blessed One’s attention, they sent in Pañcasikha, who sang the song he had composed for Bhaddā Suriyavaccasā. The text describes this as a song about “the Buddha, the Dhamma, the arahants and love (kāma)” (DN 21), but really it is mostly about the latter:
Greetings to your noble father Timbaru, sunny one,645
He who sired the fair one who is the source of my joy,
Like a breeze to one who sweats, or a drink to one who thirsts,
You of radiant limbs, you are as dear to me as Dhamma is to the arahants.
Like medicine to the sick, like food to the starving,
Quench (parinibbāpaya) me dear one, be water for my flame.
Into a cool pond, fragrant with blossoms and pollen,
The elephant tortured by heat plunges.
So would I plunge between your breasts.
Like a wild elephant subdued by goad and spear,
I know not what I do, intoxicated by the shape of your thighs.
The desire646 for you makes my mind spin around.
I cannot escape, like a fish that has swallowed the hook.
Embrace me, dear, with your lovely thighs.
Hold me in your dreamy eyes.
To be embraced by you, lovely one, is always my wish.
Small was my desire, curly-headed one,
But it grew little by little, like the gifts of the arahants.
Whatever merit I have made serving the arahants,
May it bear the fruit of being with you, beautiful in every limb.
Whatever merit I have made in the circle of the world (pathavimaṇḍale)
May it bear the fruit of being with you, beautiful in every limb.
Just as the Sakyan’s son,647 by meditating, clever and mindful,
Seeks the deathless, so do I seek you, my sunny one.
Just as the sage would delight in attaining sambodhi (Buddhahood),
So it would be my delight, lovely one, to couple with you.
If Sakka, the lord of Tāvatiṃsa, would grant me a boon,
It is you, dear, that I would ask for, so great is my passion.
Your father, so wise, like a Sāl tree in full blossom,
Him I venerate on account of his pure offspring. (DN 21)
The Buddha’s response to this inappropriate interruption was to courteously compliment Pañcasikha on the technical quality of his music: “Pañcasikha, your lute-playing harmonizes very well with your singing, neither overpowers the other.” It seems that the Buddha was well aware of the short-comings of Pañcasikha. In another sutta, Pañcasikha asks the Buddha why it is that some beings attain nibbāna in this very life, while others do not. The Buddha replies that if one seeks out sense pleasures, takes delight in them, and remains attached to them, then because of that clinging, he cannot find release from them.648 It is relevant to note that unlike Sakka, Vessavaṇa and some others among the non-human beings, we never hear of Pañcasikha attaining to the state of a sotāpanna.
After Sakka’s audience with the Buddha he rewarded Pañcasikha by giving him Bhaddā Suriyavaccasā to wed, as well as making him king of the gandhabbas (DN 21).
We see another aspect of Pañcasikha in the Sudhābhojana Jātaka where along with Sakka and several other devas, Pañcasikha travels to the human world and assumes the form of a brahmin to teach a miser a lesson:
Maccharikosiya was a very great miser. Although he owned eighty crores of gold, he would not share so much as a spoonful of porridge if he could avoid it. Nor would he spend money on himself, but lived dressed in rags and eating coarse unhusked rice. One day he had a craving for some sweet porridge made with ghee and honey, so he had a pot prepared and stole away to eat it in solitude in the forest, for fear that someone would ask him for a bite.
Sakka, Mātali, Suriya, Canda and Pañcasikha approached him one by one in the guise of earthly brahmins and each begged for some food. The miser with great reluctance consented to give them a small portion each. As they were all eating, Pañcasikha took the form of a dog and began to urinate. The brahmins covered their bowls with leaves, but one drop splashed on Maccharikosiya’s hand. When he went to fetch water for washing, the dog filled his pot of porridge to the brim with his urine. Enraged, the miser came at the dog with a stick but Pañcasikha changed form again and became a noble horse and began to chase after Maccharikosiya, all the while changing form: now he was dark, now white, now golden-coloured. He became spotted, he grew large, and he grew small. The miser fled in terror for his life and when he had been driven around back to where the brahmins sat, they had cast off their disguises and stood in the air to admonish him. (Jāt 535)
We are told at the end of this Jātaka that at that time Pañcasikha was a previous birth of Anuruddha. In another similar story, Pañcasikha was a birth of Ānanda. This would indicate that like many other deity-names, Pañcasikha is more the title of an office than a proper name. There is always a Pañcasikha and when one dies, another is born to take his place.
Mātali, the charioteer of the Tāvatiṃsa devas, is also probably to be identified as a gandhabba. His son, Sikhadi, was Pañcasikha’s rival for the affections of the gandhabba maiden Bhaddā Suriyavaccasā which implies that they were all gandhabbas. In one place at least, he is explicitly identified as such,649 although this is contradicted by another text which lists Mātali as one of the great yakkha chiefs.650 We have already seen that once we get down to individual cases these classifications are often fuzzier than a neat summary would imply. It may be that gandhabba, at least when referring to those dwelling in the saggas, implies more a kind of class status, as a semi-servile deity, rather than a clear distinction of race. In any case, Mātali does not seem to share the general gandhabba characteristic of being a musician, but rather serves his master, Sakka, as a charioteer.
3:5:24 THE HIGHER SENSUAL HEAVENS
The Tāvatiṃsa realm is the highest sagga which is still in physical contact with the earth, being situated on the summit of Mt Sineru. There are four additional saggas which are located in the space above in “aerial abodes.”651 These are, in order from the lowest to the highest: the realms of Yāma, Tusita, Nimmānaratī and Paranimmitavasavattī. There is much less to be found about them in the Pali sources by way of detailed description, compared to the abundant information about Tāvatiṃsa. We are told that each sagga has its own Nandana Grove.652 From this we may infer that the higher saggas are in some respects translations or reflections of Tāvatiṃsa on a higher plane. The Pali sources are silent about the actual distances of the various saggas above Sineru, but there is a scheme outlined in the Abhidharmakośa in which each succeeding sagga is twice as high above “sea-level” as the preceding one. Thus, as Mt Sineru is 80,000 yojana high, the sagga of the Yāma devas is 80,000 yojana above the mountain’s summit, or 160,000 above sea-level. Going upward, Tusita is 320,000 yojana high, Nimmānarati 640,000 and the Paranimmitavasavatti sagga is 1,280,000 yojana above sea-level (AK 3:5, Eng. p. 467).
3:5:25 YĀMA
The realm of the Yāma devas is the lowest of the celestial saggas. These beings, and those above them, are beyond the troubles of the earthly plane and take no part in the wars against the asuras. They are said to “have arrived at divine bliss” (dibbaṃ sukhaṃ) (Vibh-a 18:6,1). One day in the Yāma world equals 200 human years, there are 360 days in a celestial year, and the life-span of Yāma devas is 2000 such years (AN 8: 42). This is the equivalent of 144,000,000 human years. The kin
g of the Yāma world is named Suyāma, (DN 11) and he is mentioned as attending the Buddha with a yak tail fan at the time of his descent from Tāvatiṃsa after teaching there (Dhp-a 14: 2). This short summary constitutes just about everything we can learn about the Yāma realm from the Pali sources.
We can infer a little more. The Mahāsamaya Sutta (DN 20) contains a long list in verse of various beings that come to pay their respects to the Buddha. Much of this material is cryptic and no doubt includes many archaic elements. The stanza which mentions Yāmas includes a long list of names:
The Khemiyas (“peaceful ones”) Tusitas and Yāmas. The Kaṭṭhakas653 endowed with fame (yasassino).
The Lambītakas and Lāmaseṭṭhas, Jotināmas and Āsavas.
The Nimmānaratas came, and then (atha) also the Paranimmitas.
These ten hosts came, in their manifold forms.
The commentary states that the Khemiya and Kaṭṭhaka devas live in the realms of the Yāmas and Tusitas. It is only in the Yāma realm and higher that there is freedom from strife, as manifested in the realms below by the Asura wars.654 Of the ten classes of deva listed here, the second, the third and the last two are the names of the four celestial sensual heavens. The other six are mysterious, being found nowhere else. The commentary is of little help. It only says that the Jotināma devas are “luminous and splendid like a mass of flame” and the Āsavas are “full of desire” (DN-a 20). Lambītaka probably means “excellent ones” and Lāmaseṭṭha “foremost in sensual enjoyment”.655 It is possible that all these six classes of devas are groups within the Yāma world, given their placement in the series and the odd detail that the Yāmas are listed after the Tusitas.
The commentary to the Mahāpadāna Sutta (DN-a 14) talks about the effect on the cosmos when a king is unrighteous (adhammika). The unrighteousness spreads to his ministers, to the city and to the whole country. From there, the devas of the earth and sky become corrupted causing the winds and rain to become unseasonable, and even the sun and moon to go off course. Through their friendship (mitta) with those devas, the Cātumahārājika devas become unrighteous, followed by the Tāvatiṃsa devas. Mentioned last in the chain of unrighteousness are the Yāma devas, which indicates that there is still some connection there to the world below. But too much should not be made of this, because the text goes on to say that every assembly of devas and brahmas (devabrahmaparisa), even to the highest point of existence (evaṃ yāva bhavaggā) becomes unrighteous, saving only those who have attained some degree of liberation, the Noble Ones (ariyasāvaka).
The only story in which the Yāma devas figure even marginally is that of Sirimā the courtesan.
Sirimā was a famous courtesan of Rājagaha. She was so highly sought after that she could command the price of a thousand kahāpaṇas (a unit of money) a day. She had a retinue of five hundred women in her employ:
Uttarā was a pious lay woman married to a wealthy unbeliever. He would not let her go to attend on the Buddha during the rainy season retreat, as she wished. Her father was also a very wealthy man and on her behalf he hired Sirimā to serve as a substitute wife for two weeks so that Uttarā could cook for and serve the bhikkhus. Sirimā came to enjoy the luxury of her temporary home and in her vanity grew jealous of the real wife. One day she threw a ladleful of hot ghee at her. But Uttarā focussed her mind on mettā (“loving-kindness”) and was not burnt. Seeing this, Sirimā had a sudden change of heart and became a lay disciple herself.
In time, Sirimā became a sotāpanna (“stream-enterer”, first stage of awakening) and gave up her life as a courtesan. She was still very beautiful. One day she was making a food offering when a young bhikkhu fell into love-sickness at the sight of her. After that he could neither eat nor sleep nor meditate.
It wasn’t long after this that Sirimā died of a sudden sickness and was reborn as a devī in the Yāma realm, chief queen (devī) of King Suyāma. She had a retinue of five hundred deva maidens (devakaññā). In Rājagaha, the Buddha asked that her body not be cremated immediately, but be left to decay a while first. The king complied and put a guard around her corpse to keep the vultures and jackals away. After a while, the king, at the request of the Buddha, had her corpse displayed in the street. A proclamation was made, “Who will have this body for a thousand kāhapaṇa? For five hundred? For two hundred?” No one would take it even for a kākaṇikā (“farthing”) when previously men had vied with one another to spend a thousand kāhapaṇa on her. This lesson cured the young bhikkhu of his lust.
During the cremation, the devī Sirimā herself, together with her five hundred deva maidens riding in chariots came to witness, surrounding the cremation ground. She there became an anāgāmī (“non-returner” third stage of awakening) as she listened to the Buddha discourse on the impure nature of the body.656
Even this single episode is doubtful. In the Vimānavatthu version of this story there is no mention of Suyāma and Sirimā is said to be reborn in the Nimmānaratī realm.
To learn a few more details about the Yāma world and its inhabitants, we must leave the Pali sources behind and turn to the Abhidharmakośa. That text tells us that the overall dimensions of the Yāma realm are identical to those of Tāvatiṃsa, reinforcing the image of the higher realms as more sublime translations of the lower.657 The height of the individual Yāma devas is cited as three-quarters of a krośa in size. This is a unit of measurement not found in the Pali, but according to the Abhidharmakośa itself, a krośa is one eighth of a yojana.658 This measurement is not compatible with the Theravāda system. The Pali sources often state the height of the Tāvatiṃsa devas as being three-quarters of a yojana, and it would not be likely given the general assumptions of the cosmology, to have a higher class of beings smaller than a lower class.
The passage of time in the higher saggas is not measured by the sun, which does not rise above the height of the Yugandhara Mountains659 but by the singing of birds, the opening of flowers and the natural sleep cycle of the devas.
The Yāma world is still on the plane of sense desire, the beings are divided into genders and they make love with one another. However, as we ascend through the levels the sensuality becomes more refined and sublime. While the devas of the two “terrestrial” saggas copulate much like human beings, except that the males emit no semen, the Yāma devas make love simply by embracing.660
3:5:26 TUSITA
The fourth devaloka is called Tusita, often it is given as Tusitapura, “the City of Tusita.” One day and night in Tusita is the equivalent of 400 human years. The life-span of the beings there is 4000 celestial years, each of three hundred and sixty celestial days. This works out to 576,000,000 human years. The name derives from the verb santussati which means “to be contented, pleased or happy” (PED). The devas there are said to be “satisfied and delighted” (tuṭṭhā pahaṭṭha) (Vibh-a 18:6). Tusita is said to be the most delightful (ramaṇīyo) of the saggas (AN-a 3:34). The king of Tusita is named Santusita and he gained this distinction by exceeding the other devas in morality and generosity (AN 8: 36). In Tusita, the experience of sensuality is more refined and subtle than in the lower saggas. There, the devas make love simply by holding hands.661
3:5:27 THE BODHISATTA IN TUSITA
The reason that Tusita is called “the most delightful” is because of its special place in the cosmos; Bodhisattas always take their penultimate birth there, prior to their final existence as human beings during which they attain Buddhahood. The career of all Bodhisattas follows an archetypical pattern. After initially making the aspiration for Buddhahood in the presence of a living Buddha, who makes a prophecy validating the aspirant, the Bodhisatta spends countless life-times over the course of many kappas arduously perfecting the ten pāramis, qualities of spiritual perfection.662 The last to be completed is always the dānapārami, the perfection of generosity. The Buddha Gotama, the Buddha of our historical period, accomplished this in the Vessantara birth (Jāt 547) when, as King Vessantara, he made a resolution to never refuse a req
uest for a gift and gave away his wealth, lost his kingdom and in the climax of the story, even gave away his wife and children. With the ten pāramis now complete, the Bodhisatta has attained the prerequisite spiritual qualities to become a Buddha. Before that happens he, however, experiences one last blissful existence as a deva of Tusita, as kammic consequence of his many meritorious deeds (Dhp-a 1: 13).
The commentary to the Mahāpadāna Sutta (DN-a 14) describes this process in the case of Vipassī Buddha, who lived ninety-one kappas ago.
All the Bodhisattas experience an existence like Vessantara, and perform a great giving (mahādānāni datvā), upon which the earth quakes seven times. Upon death, the Bodhisatta arises in the next mind moment in Tusita. Vipassī lived there for the full span of fifty-seven koṭi of years plus sixty times one hundred thousand more.663
At last the five signs (pubbanimittā) appeared, heralds of his imminent death. (1) From the moment of his rebirth there, he had been adorned with flower garlands, and for five hundred and seventy-six million years these had remained fresh. But now they withered. (2) Likewise, his richly decorated garments now became wrinkled and soiled. (3) Devas never experience heat or cold, but now for the first time sweat fell drop by drop from his arm-pits. (4) The bodies of devas never experience the ravages of old age, brokenness of teeth and greyness of hair. For their entire existence male devas have bodies like twenty year old youths, and female devīs those of sixteen year old girls. Even now he did not decay like an aged human, but his body grew weary. (5) During their long lives devas do not know even the name of dissatisfaction, but now at the end the Bodhisatta sighed with restlessness and could not get comfortable on his seat.
Thus, the devas know they have but seven days left by human reckoning (manussānaṃ gaṇanāvasena).664