First words of Buddha after enligghtenment

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Tao
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First words of Buddha after enligghtenment

Post by Tao »

I have been looking for the origin of the idea that the first words after Buddha enlightenment were:

“When the morning star appeared, I and the sentient beings of earth simultaneously attained enlightenment."

The first writing I found with this sentence is the Shobogenzo (by Dogen)

Do you know the origen of the sentence? is it previous to Dogen? any record of it previously?

The Pali Canon afirms that Buddha said a completly different thing...

Many thanks :namaste:
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Losal Samten
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Re: First words of Buddha after enligghtenment

Post by Losal Samten »

The first Mahayana sutra taught by the Buddha after he displayed his enlightenment was the Avatamsaka, so maybe have a look in there.
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Astus
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Re: First words of Buddha after enligghtenment

Post by Astus »

It is a Zen saying. I've done a little search on the topic.

The morning star is mentioned in relation to the time of the Buddha's birth:

T185 太子瑞應本起經 (A.D. 222-228) - 到四月八日夜明星出時,化從右脇生墮地,即行七步,舉右手住而言:『天上天下,唯我為尊。三界皆苦,何可樂者?』 (They arrived on the night of the eighth day of the fourth month when the star comes out, and he was born from the right side and fell to the ground, immediately walked seven steps, raised his right hand and said, "Above and under heaven, only I am honourable. The three worlds are suffering, who can be happy?"

In relation to enlightenment:

T457 彌勒來時經 Maitreyavyākaraṇa(sūtra) (A.D. 317-420) - 彌勒到樹下坐,用四月八日明星出時得佛道。(Maitreya arrives at a tree and sits under it, then on the eighth day of the fourth month when the (morning) star comes out attains the Buddha way.)

Then in the Jingde Chuandeng Lu, the first major collection of Zen stories, simply quotes a text I could not identify, but the star is still only an indicator of time:

T2076 景德傳燈錄 (AD 1004) 故普集經云。菩薩於二月八日明星出時。成佛號天人師。 (As the Universal Vinaya Sutra says, "The bodhisattva on the eighth day of the second month when the star comes out became buddha and the teacher of men and gods.)

It is here in Dahui's (1089–1163) writing that a connection is given between seeing the star and enlightenment:

T1998A 大慧普覺禪師語録 (12th c.) 因見明星忽然悟道。便見自己本來面目。 (Because he had seen the star he suddenly awoke to the way. That is, he has seen his own original face.)

There are numerous results for the expression 見明星悟道 (see the star and attain the way), including Dogen's Shobogenzo, but mostly in late texts and those not included in the Taisho Tripitaka, i.e. mainly works of Chinese origin.
1 Myriad dharmas are only mind.
Mind is unobtainable.
What is there to seek?

2 If the Buddha-Nature is seen,
there will be no seeing of a nature in any thing.

3 Neither cultivation nor seated meditation —
this is the pure Chan of Tathagata.

4 With sudden enlightenment to Tathagata Chan,
the six paramitas and myriad means
are complete within that essence.


1 Huangbo, T2012Ap381c1 2 Nirvana Sutra, T374p521b3; tr. Yamamoto 3 Mazu, X1321p3b23; tr. J. Jia 4 Yongjia, T2014p395c14; tr. from "The Sword of Wisdom"
Malcolm
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Re: First words of Buddha after enligghtenment

Post by Malcolm »

The first words of the Buddha after awakening are reported in the Lalitavistara Sūtra:

  • The ambrosial Dharma I obtained is
    profound, immaculate, luminous, and unconditioned.
    Even if I explain it, no one will understand.
    I think I shall remain silent in the forest.
    That which is free from words cannot be understood through words,
    likewise, the nature of phenomena is like space,
    totally free of the movements of mind and intellect.
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Tao
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Re: First words of Buddha after enligghtenment

Post by Tao »

You all have been very helpful.

Thank you very much, my friends.

:namaste:
Giri
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Re: First words of Buddha after enligghtenment

Post by Giri »

MOD NOTE - this post resurrects a long dormant thread. We generally frown on "necroing" old threads. -QQ
Buddha's first word was "I am Awake". Yes. After the enlightenment Buddha was coming down from the hill and a lady looks at him with mesmerizing eyes and now down to him asking How are you? And, Buddha replied "I am Awake" so officially those were the first words.
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Re: First words of Buddha after enligghtenment

Post by Bristollad »

Giri wrote: Mon Dec 02, 2019 3:55 am so officially those were the first words.
According to which scripture of which tradition?
The antidote—to be free from the suffering of samsara—you need to be free from delusion and karma; you need to be free from ignorance, the root of samsara. So you need to meditate on emptiness. That is what you need. Lama Zopa Rinpoche
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Re: First words of Buddha after enligghtenment

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