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PO8U8DAUNG INSCRIPTION.
JANUARY, 1893.]
"May the brahmás, devas, and men of all the lokas, my father, mother, and other relatives share my merit equally with me, and may they rejoice with glad and joyful heart!
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"May all creatures practice liberality and exert themselves for the good of the Religion; and may the people live in happiness, and increase in honour and wealth!"
During 20 asankhéyyas and 100,000 kalpas, the embryo of Gautama Buddha received an assurance of his attaining Buddhahood from each successive Buddha that appeared.
During the cycle of seven asankheyyas, beginning with the one called nanda, 125,000 Buddhas, headed by Brahmadêva, appeared. At the feet of each of these Buddhas, Our Lord, as a Bodhisattva, buoyed up with joy and hope, prayed to be a Buddha. With faith and zeal, which can never be equalled, he performed works of inerit and received from the successive Buddhas of that cycle the assurance of attaining Buddhahood,
During the next cycle of nine asankheyyas, beginning with the one called sabbabhadda, 387,000 Buddhas, headed by Pôrânasakya, appeared. At the feet of each of them, our Bodhisattva repeated his prayer of becoming an Omniscient One and the suzerain of the three lokas. He performed good deeds and followed the precepts inculcated by them.
During the next cycle of four asankheyyas, beginning with the one called séla, 12 Buddhas, headed by Tapbaikara, appeared. After our Bodhisattva had received an assurance of attaining omniscience, nine other Buddhas, headed by Dipankara, appeared. During the dispensation of Dipankara, our Bodhisattva was possessed of merit and the qualifications necessary for the attainment of Buddhahood. One day, he made his body serve as a bridge for Dipankara to step across, and the latter granted him an assurance that he would become a Buddha in the future. This assurance was confirmed by the eight other Buddhas who followed,
During the next 100,000 kalpas, 15 Buddhas, headed by Padumuttara, appeared. Each of these Buddhas confirmed the assurance granted to our Bodhisattva by their predecessors.
Thus, during 20 asankheyyas and 100,000 kalpas, our Bodhisattva received an assurance of his attaining Buddhahood from 512,027 Buddhas. In his last birth, he became the son of Suddhôdana, King of Kapila, by Queen Mâyâ. His birth took place in a delightful grove of sal trees, and when he grew up, he was surrounded by comforts and pleasures befitting a prince. Three palaces were built for him, to be occupied according to the three seasons. His wife was Yasodhara, and he had a number of concubines. At the age of 29 he renounced the world and became an ascetic. After undergoing penance for six years, he, one night, dreamt five dreams. Next morning, he became a Buddha, and received an offering of rice-milk from Sujata, which he, with relish, ate, while sitting cross-legged on the bank of a river (Nêrañjarâ). On the evening of the same day, the dévas directed his steps to the spot where the Bôdhi tree was. This tree had sprouted forth from the earth simultaneously with his birth, and is worthy of veneration by all dévas and men. Here, the grass-cutter Suddhiya presented him with eight handfuls of grass, with which he prepared a seat for himself. While remaining under the Bodhi tree, he was assailed by Måra and his hosts on every side: on his right and his left, behind him, in front of him, and over him. The contest, however, could not last long. On the evening of the same day, he merged forth victorious from the struggle and became free from every passion and tie. At dawn on the following day, he comprehended the Four Sublime Truths and attained Buddhahood. The news of this victory and of this attainment was received by the inhabitants of the three lokas with deafening acclamation.
With a view that future generations might embrace a faith and attain Nirvana, as if they had prayed at his feet, Gautama Buddha promulgated an excellent religion and defined the period of its continuance.
It was the good fortune of the King of Avà to flourish during the dispensation of such a saviour as Gautama Buddha.
