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| In the center of this image Amida sits on a glorious lotus-throne and His hands are in the mudra of Dharmacakra-pravartana (mudra of turning the Wheel of Dharma). Source of image: http://web.mit.edu/stclair/www/horai/large-ex.htm |
“The Buddha said
to Ananda, ‘The number of Sravakas at the first teaching assembly of that Buddha was
incalculable;
so was the number of Bodhisattvas. Even if an immeasurable and
countless number of humans multiplied by millions of koṭis should all become like Mahamaudgalyayana and
together reckon their number during innumerable nayutas of kalpas, or even until
they attain Nirvana, they still could not know that number. Let us suppose that
there is a great ocean, infinitely deep and wide, and that one takes a drop of
water out of it with a one-hundredth part of a split hair. How would you
compare that drop of water with the rest of the ocean?’
Ananda replied,
‘When the drop of water is compared with the great ocean, it is impossible even
for one skilled in astronomy or mathematics to know the proportion, or for
anyone to describe it by any rhetorical or metaphorical expression.’
The Buddha said
to Ananda, ‘Even if people like
Mahamaudgalyayana were to count for millions of koṭis of kalpas, the number of
the Sravakas and Bodhisattvas at the first teaching assembly
who could be counted would be like a drop of water, and the number of sages yet
to be counted would be like the rest of the ocean.’”
The time when a
Buddha first teaches the Dharma in a universe is called “the first turning of the Wheel of Dharma” and His first audience
is called “the first teaching assembly”.
When Shakyamuni, the historical Buddha, first taught the Dharma in the Deer
Park at Sarnath[1],
only five human disciples were present. However, I am sure other invisible beings
were there too, like anytime when He taught something.
The first
turning of the Wheel of Dharma by Amida Buddha (after Dharmakara became Amida
and established the Pure Land) and His “first
teaching assembly” were very different.
First of all, it
took place not in a samsaric realm, like Shakyamuni’s, but in the Pure Land!
Second, those who attended were perfectly Enlightened or very close to perfect
Enlightenment. In this section of the sutra the term “sravaka” was not used in
the sense of a disciple of Amida already Enlightened in His Pure Land (like in section 12th), but of a person in the spiritual state of aspiring
for personal freedom from birth and death, and who, after hearing Amida’s sermon,
he awoke the aspiration for attaining perfect Buddhahood for all beings (not
only for himself like before), entrusted to Him and was thus able to advance to
the level of a perfect Buddha capable to save everybody.
Also, the term
bodhisattva here refers to bodhisattvas in aspiration, who were still unenlightened
but very close to Enlightenment, and who were thus able to attain Buddhahood in
the Pure Land after hearing Amida’s teaching, and to Enlightened Bodhisattvas (Buddhas manifesting as Bodhisattvas) who simply wished to see Amida and be present
there out of respect for Him and to encourage others, including their disciples, to entrust to Him.
The number of
these sravakas and Bodhisattvas is incalculable and Shakyamuni uses again complicated
analogies to make us understand how impossible it is to count them. Mahamaudgalyayana
was renowned among Shakyamuni’s disciples for his great supernatural powers,
but even if all humans become like him it would still be impossible to
calculate the number of those gathered to hear the Dharma from Amida at His first
turning of the Wheel of Dharma and His first teaching assembly.
Certainly, during that meeting, all participants attained
perfect Enlightenment in His Pure Land and became its first inhabitants,
still working even now to assist Amida in the salvation of all beings. Also, the
already Enlightened Ones (Buddhas who manifest as Bodhisattvas) who attended it,
praised His Name and His method of salvation and promised to encourage all
beings directly or indirectly to entrust to Him, say His Name in faith and wish
to be born there. It is my firm belief that not only some Buddhas attended that
first assembly, but ALL Buddhas from the ten directions were present as this
would be very much in agreement with Amida’s 17th Vow.
What a wonderful
cosmic event that was!
to be continued
[1] It seems that the first sutra taught by
Shakyamuni was the Dhammacakkappavattana
Sutta where He explained the Four Noble Truths.
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