Chapter 8 Going to the Temple
Monks, on the very evening of the Bodhisattva’s birth, there were twenty thousand girls born among the ruling class, the priestly class, the merchants, and the householders, such as the landowners. All of them were offered to the Bodhisattva by their parents to serve and honor him. King Śuddhodana also gave twenty thousand girls to the Bodhisattva to serve and honor him. His friends, his ministers, his [118] kinfolk, and his blood relatives also offered twenty thousand girls to serve and honor the Bodhisattva. Finally the members of ministerial assemblies also offered twenty thousand girls to serve and honor the Bodhisattva.
Monks, at that time the male and female elders of the Śākya clan gathered and said to King Śuddhodana, “King, please pay heed. The prince should now worship in the temple.”
King Śuddhodana replied, “Yes, it would be excellent for him to worship in this way. Therefore, let the city be decorated! Ornament the streets, crossroads, intersections, and marketplaces. Send away all the hunchbacks and all the blind, deaf, and mute people, as well as anyone who is deformed or crippled. Gather everything auspicious! Beat the drums of merit and ring the bells of auspiciousness. Ornament the gates of this excellent city. Play the most pleasant instruments, cymbals, and drums. Assemble all the local lords and gather the merchants, householders, ministers, gatekeepers, and all the local people. Prepare chariots for the girls. Procure brimming vases. Gather the priests who are experts in recitation. Ornately decorate the temples.”
Monks, everyone followed the commands issued by the king. Then King Śuddhodana went to his home and spoke to Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī, saying, “The prince is to pray in the temple. Ornament him well.”
Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī replied, “Of course,” and dressed the prince lavishly.
While the prince was being dressed, with a slight smile and no hint of annoyance, he spoke these pleasant words to his maternal aunt: “Mother, where are you taking me?”
She replied, “Son, I am taking you to the temple.”
Monks, once the main streets, crossroads, intersections, and markets had been richly ornamented, with praises and benedictions of all kinds posted around the city, a richly ornamented chariot was prepared for the prince in the inner courtyard. With all auspicious circumstances having been arranged in this manner, King Śuddhodana lifted the prince onto his lap. Surrounded by priests, townspeople, merchants, householders, ministers, local lords, gatekeepers, local people, friends, and kinfolk, they traveled through the richly ornamented roads, intersections, crossroads, and marketplaces, which were enveloped in the fragrant scent of incense and strewn with flower petals, filled with horses, elephants, chariots, and foot soldiers, with parasols, victory banners, and flags held aloft, and resounding with many instruments. At that time a hundred thousand gods led the Bodhisattva’s chariot. Many hundreds of millions of gods and maidens scattered flowers from the sky above and played cymbals.
Monks, King Śuddhodana, accompanied by the great royal procession, splendor, and ceremony, brought the prince to the temple. As soon as the Bodhisattva placed his right foot in the temple, the insentient [120] statues of the gods, such as Śiva, Skanda, Nārāyaṇa, Kubera, Candra, Sūrya, Vaiśravaṇa, Śakra, Brahmā, and the guardians of the world, all stood up from their seats and prostrated at the Bodhisattva’s feet. Right then a hundred thousand gods and humans cried out in amazement and delight. The fine city of Kapilavastu trembled in six ways. A rain of divine flowers fell, and a hundred thousand divine instruments sounded without even being played. Then the various statues in the temple all returned to their seats and spoke these verses:
“Mount Meru, the greatest and best of mountains, would never bow down to a mustard seed;
The great ocean, the nāga king’s abode, would never bow down to a puddle;
The brilliant sun and moon would never bow down before a firefly.
So how could the Noble One, with merit and wisdom, bow down before the gods?
Monks, when the Bodhisattva entered the temple, three million two hundred thousand gods gave rise to the intention to attain unexcelled, perfect, and complete awakening. Monks, these are the circumstances and causes related to the Bodhisattva’s equanimity as he was brought to the temple.
This concludes the eighth chapter, on going to the temple. [121]