The Buddha From Babylon

by Harvey Kraft

  The wealthy father, understanding the self-deprecating mind of his lost son, devised a tactful method for enticing him back. Dressed like poor laborers, he sent two of his messengers to offer him work at the wealthy man's estate stating that he was currently offering double the wages for dirt laborers to till and fertilize soil. Working by his side, the two messengers saw that he was diligent in his job and reported this to his father. The son was promoted and over time given increasingly more authority. Because the missing son consistently showed humility, forthrightness, and diligence, eventually the wealthy man told him: "You are like the son I always wished for. I will take you under my wing."

  When the landowner advanced into old age, he turned to his most trustworthy, but still unaware son to take over management of his property and treasury. The responsibility helped the son gain confidence, and, as a result, his sense of inferiority dissipated. Knowing that the end of his lifetime was nearing, one day the father called together community leaders, family members, and his staff to assemble around his bed. In front of them all, he told the story of his long-lost son, and then pointing to him, he announced: "This is my natural born son, and I am his real father. Now I bequeath all of my wealth to him, my rightful heir."

  Overjoyed by his unexpected inheritance, the son said: "Without seeking it or making efforts on my part, I received treasures I could never have imagined."

  The son in this story represented the disciples who received their predictions of future Buddhahood, which they had believed to be impossible. Sakamuni's aging followers explained the implications of the parable as follows:

  We are so old and worn that when the Buddha asked us to preach the virtues of Supreme Awakening230 that awaited Bodhisattvas, we did so, even though we did not find the thought of pursuing it to be credible . . . Now that the Buddha expounds only the One Vehicle . . . though originally we had no hope for or expectation of it, now the great treasure [of Deliverance], the King of All Dharma, [the One Vehicle] has been made available to us. Since the Buddha, our father, has bequeathed the brightest of precious gems to all his children, we have all inherited it.231

  Many disciples had followed him for decades and were "old and worn" by the time he made this unexpected revelation. After he predicted their future Buddhahood, through this story they expressed their joy at the news that they would "inherit" the Eye of a Buddha with which to see the Buddha-land.

  From a wider perspective, the "children of the Buddha" represented all of humanity. The parable declared that the Buddha wanted to share his Lotus Cosmology universally in order to restore to all a consciousness of their True Self. To display his compassion for all beings, the Buddha lifted the audience to a higher perspective from where they may appreciate more fully his equal compassion for them.

  Subtly, the scene changed, without any attendees being aware of this happening. In this vision the entire audience saw an endless landscape covered in green. Then, Sakamuni, in his cosmic aspect as the Declarer of Truth, assumed the form of a colossal dense cloud. The Great Raincloud rained the Buddha-Dharma equally upon the trees, shrubs, and herbal plants covering the entire Great Three-Thousand-fold Universe. The onlookers understood that the mythic Great Raincloud was the All- Encompassing Compassion of the Declarer of Truth, making clear that he bequeathed universal deliverance upon all. Using various types of flora as a metaphor, the Tathagata then explained that people of various kinds and conditions would be able to make use of the One Vehicle of Deliverance according to their appetite for and capacity to grow.

  A dense cloud, spreading over and everywhere covering the whole Great Three-Thousand-fold Universe, Pours down [its rain] equally at the same time. Its universal moisture nourishes forests, trees, plants, thickets, and medicinal herbs. [All] receive their share. From the rain of the one cloud [each plant] according to the nature of its kind acquires its development, opening its blossoms and bearing its fruit . . .

  The Declarer of Truth (Tathagata-Buddha) is also like this; he manifests like the rising of a great cloud . . . [saying] I am the Declarer of Truth, the World-honored One, the Buddha . . . I know the present world and worlds to come as they really are . . .

  I look upon all [living beings]

  I regard people everywhere [with] impartial [eyes]

  Whether their minds are occupied with love or hate,

  I have no prejudices [or show any favoritism].

  Evermore I [continue to] preach the

  [all-encompassing] cosmology equally to all beings.

  As [I preach] it to one person,

  So [I preach] to all . . .

  [But] beings, according to their nature,

  Receive it differently,

  Just as among plants and trees

  Each takes a varying supply [of water].232

  In the "Parable of the Great Raincloud and Green Plants," the Declarer of Truth took the role of a Supreme Overseer, but his compassionate intentions were in sharp contrast to the authoritarian high and mighty Sky God of earlier traditions. His role was closer to that of Enki, the Sumerian God of Waters and primordial father of Marduk. Celebrated in the Esagila Temple courtyard, the site of the peaceful pond of Abzu, the Water Dragon (Skt. Nagas) of Fresh Waters, Enki represented the taming of the world's drinking water.

  The Buddha-Raincloud also personified water as the symbol of nurturing life.

  The Buddha-Raincloud equated with the compassion and universality of his Lotus Teachings. The rain, reflecting his All-Encompassing Compassionate Mind, expressed an egalitarian tone never heard from divine powers: "To rain blessings equally upon all, for each to nourish their growth according to their appetite, capacity, and aspiration."

  Through this parable Sakamuni Buddha proclaimed his mission as follows:

  The Tathagata produces infinite blessings . . .

  The Tathagata is the King of the Dharma.

  Nothing he teaches is empty . . .

  He understands the inner workings of human beings . . .

  He reveals his all-encompassing wisdom to human beings.233

  Some 2,000 years earlier the Sumerian clergy of Kish had authored the Tree of Life myth to represent the cosmic nervous system through which Heaven animated living beings on Earth. They proposed that the union of Mother Earth's fertile ground and the God of Water produced Three Great Universal Gifts, including the Universal Gift of Life, the Universal Gift of Consciousness, and the Universal Gift of Health. Echoing that myth, the Tathagata's "Parable of the Great Raincloud and Green Plants" provided the Lotus Sutra audience with an alternative suite of Three Great Universal Gifts: the Gift of Universal Scope, the Gift of Universal Nature, and the Gift of Universal Essence. The first gift of cosmic scope was illustrated through the impartial coverage of his rain; the second symbolized various natures of human beings through the thirst of the plants; and, the third gift referred to the essence of life represented by pure water. Together, the Three Universal Gifts expressed in the Great Raincloud Parable conveyed that the One Vehicle Teaching made the essence, nature and scope of Perfect Enlightenment universally accessible.

  The impartiality of the Great Raincloud represented the Buddha's Dharma as emanating from a vast, unprejudiced and nourishing compassion— without judgment as to it's recipient's past, current condition, or purpose. The water also symbolized the single flavor of Perfect Enlightenment, while, the diversity of kinds and sizes of plants meant that Perfect Enlightenment manifested in a myriad of ways. As a result, the parable suggested, the One Vehicle of Perfect Enlightenment manifested in myriad forms, expressed differently according to each individual's makeup, nature, and "spiritual thirst."

  Just as thirst for water caused a plant to grow in its own way to fulfill its purpose, the desire to thirstily drink in Perfect Enlightenment would cause Buddhahood to blossom naturally. The Buddha called upon his followers to put their Faith-Desire into the Lotus Sutra, something he had never directly asked of them in any of his previous Teachings. Drinking in the Lotus Sutra would be the
same as consuming the Perfect Enlightenment of the Buddha, even a few drops might quench.

  Impressed by his exalted outward appearance, and knowing only one Buddha, Sakamuni's followers viewed him as the singular model for any Buddha. But this parable corrected that notion by proposing that Buddhahood could manifest in innumerable forms. Perfect Enlightenment—like the force of life itself—was at once universal and diverse, revealed in a myriad of unique forms, variations, expressions and intensities.

  The cosmology preached by the Buddha

  is comparable to a great cloud.

  With a single-flavored rain,

  it moistens human flowers

  so that each is able to bear fruit.234

  The parable advised those who were poised to enter the Lotus Cosmology to do so like thirsty plants. The greater their thirst, or Faith-Desire, the more they could nourish on life's mysterious and cosmic illumination.

  PRECIOUS SEVEN

  The Sumerians associated the seven visible "planets," Mercury, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus, plus the Sun and Moon, with bright, precious stones and metals. Astronomical seers deemed the seven brightest points in the sky to be gates between the terrestrial world and the sacred divine. They imagined that the differing colors of light coming forth from these gates originated in seven different Heavens, each the divine paradise of a great celestial god or goddess. They built seven-tiered ziggurats to emulate the seven Heavens. The stepped facings of the ziggurats, usually glazed in colors of astrological significance, reflected the hues of the luminous celestial bodies.

  Atop a ziggurat tower they placed a temple and a seat welcoming the descent of a divine entity. Among the most worshipped of the celestial deities was the beautiful "Queen of the Stars," associated with the planet Venus. She was depicted as the Sumerian Goddess Innana, the Akkadian Goddess Ishtar, or the Greek Goddess Venus. She personified the passion of nature for diversity and plenty. The divine Queen of the Stars was honored atop the ancient Anu Ziggurat in Uruk, where the legendary King Gilgamesh sought immortality by completing a "Stairway to Heaven"

  The goddess was reputed to be a cosmic femme fatal. Her incomparable beauty compelled the stars in the Heavens to become her admirers or conquests. Associating her with the stars, the clergy of Sumer/Akkad and later the Magi Order of the Babylonian Empire linked Ishtar and the planet Venus with the color and pattern of lapis lazuli.235 The seers used lapis marble stone tablets, their golden flecks embedded in the deep royal blue surface, as cosmic maps to guide their trance travels and the readings of omens in the stars.

  Siddhartha Gautama, the former Magi stargazer, adapted the symbolic language of Babylonian sacred astronomy to paint an exotic picture of cosmic Buddha-lands located among the stars.

  Once Sakamuni predicted the future Buddhahood for hundreds of those present, he said that all who would become Buddhas would establish a Buddha-land of their own. The Buddha-lands marked distant places among the stars where Buddhas successfully transformed populated lands into peaceful, joyful places.

  Whenever Sakamuni spoke of Buddhas anywhere in the Universe, inevitably as they neared the completion phase of their course, they would announce that it was time to teach the One Vehicle Dharma. In every single case, these Buddhas would go on to elucidate the Lotus Cosmology before they would depart the world. In every single case, after passing their disciples would honor them by building a Sacred Tower resplendent with seven gems.

  In the Lotus Sutra all of the Buddha-lands were decorated with seven precious stones and metals and paved with smooth lapis lazuli marble surfaces.

  All the Buddha-lands were adorned with a variety

  of precious stones, such as lapis lazuli . . .

  Residing in the midst of these lapis landscapes were

  The Declarers of Truth, each with a body of gold. 236

  In the creation scene of the Infinite Wisdom Cosmology, the emergence of Universal Radiance Buddha included the appearance of innumerable golden-bodied Buddha-stars. But, by Sakamuni's time on Earth, the Universe had advanced to a stage wherein it was filled with Buddha-beings teaching populations in far-flung star-systems.

  The placement of the Buddha-lands "in the midst of the lapis lazuli" was a metaphor for the star-studded Universe. That the Buddha-lands were paved with lapis lazuli meant that these lands were located among the stars, and, therefore, their inhabitants "walked among the stars."

  While Buddha-lands alluded to world-systems they also expressed the state of mind of a Buddha. As a Buddha's mind was perfectly still and balanced, the level smoothness of the marble surface symbolized the perfection of spiritual balance. Therefore, the Buddha-lands were flat, absent of ups and downs (i.e., no mountains or valleys).

  There, Buddhas attained Perfect Enlightenment under Sacred Trees whose branches burgeoned with precious jewels hung like fruit, each jewel representing a gateway to liberation. Shining, sparkling with precious wisdom, the bejeweled trees indicated that these lands were seats of Enlightenment that can be seen only with the Eye of the Buddha. In prophesying the bejeweled Buddha-lands of Buddhas-to-be, Sakamuni described these far away world-systems as lands of suffering converted into places of joyful living.

  Your Buddha-land . . . will be level and smooth, pure and beautifully adorned, peaceful, bountiful, and happy. Heavenly and human beings will flourish there.

  The ground will be paved with lapis lazuli, roads will crisscross it in eight directions, and ropes of gold will mark their boundaries. Beside each road will grow rows of seven-jeweled trees, which will constantly flower and bear the fruit of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, coral, crystal, and other such precious things.237

  The "ropes of gold" were streams of golden sunlight marking the boundaries of the Buddha-land properties. The establishment of boundaries had been customarily the role of clergy since ancient Mesopotamia. They used grant stones called kudurru to officially record the borders of a land granted by a king to a vassal. In Sumer/Akkad, Babylonia, and Assyria, an original kudurru stone slab would be stored in a temple and a clay copy would be provided to its legal owner. When building a ziggurat, a kudurru would depict symbols of Celestial Gods related to the astronomical configuration above the area. Engravings on the contract would include curses on those who would break the agreement.

  In the case of a Buddha-land, the golden boundaries indicated a world-system that had evolved to the stage of deliverance, giving "ownership" to its Buddha. The "seven-jeweled trees,"238 each representing a miles-high Sacred Tree of Illumination (Skt. Bodhi), grew in rows alongside the various paths of perfection symbolizing the celestial harmony produced by a Buddha's Teachings. The bejeweled Bodhi trees testified to the grand scope of the Buddha-Dharma. All roads in the Buddha-land led to the One-Vehicle of Perfect Enlightenment, the brightest of all sources of light.

  The description of the Sacred Tree in the Flower Garland Sutra equated Bodhisattvas with its leaves, Buddhas with its fruit, and sentient beings with the roots of the tree. The leaves, roots, and bejeweled fruit of the Sacred Tree constituted the all-encompassing union of Buddhas, celestial Bodhisattva-Mahasattvas, world-systems, and mortal beings into an integrated cosmic system.

  Good strong roots, i.e., virtuous people, made the Cosmic Tree produce beautiful flowers and fruit, but should its roots be destroyed, even a Cosmic Tree of such bountiful magnitude could wither and die. This analogy meant that mortality and enlightenment interacted like a symbiotic pair; neither one could exist without the other. This is why, from the very beginning of his Teachings, Sakamuni equated mortal Existence with the nourishing root of Perfect Enlightenment.

  Again and again, each time he predicted the Buddhahood of a follower, Sakamuni described a future Buddha-land to be established by this Buddha's advent, as follows:

  A majestically adorned realm . . . level and smooth . . . with ground of lapis lazuli, rows of jeweled trees, and ropes of gold to mark the boundaries of the roads . . . where residents lived in high towers on jeweled terraces dotted with bea
utiful flowers.239

  This description of a Buddha-land using the metaphors of brilliant stones and shining metals, fantastic paradise landscapes and towering architecture, echoed the Babylonian fixation with the brightest and most active bodies in the sky, "the seven planets" described in Buddhist mythic language as the "seven jewels."

  Babylonian Magi astronomers viewed the solar system as a harmonic sphere surrounding the Sun. Three axes, two horizontal and one vertical, the essence of the Mondial cosmogony, defined the area of the sphere. The vertical axis was composed of three bodies: the Moon, Sun, and Venus. At the center of the three, the Sun was formed of gold. In astrological terms, it was personified as the lion. At the lowest point in the sky, below the Sun, the Moon with its silver light was presumably cast of silver. Its symbol was the bull. Venus, 240 the brightest point in the sky, was stationed at the apex of the vertical alignment, above the Sun. As this planet served the double duty of morning and evening star, the Mesopotamians deemed her to be the Queen of the Stars, and associated it with lapis lazuli.

  The line of three celestial bodies echoed the two male and one female configuration of Sumerian cosmology. The first three of the "seven jewels"—gold, silver and lapis—defined the vertical axis of the world-system sphere, the axis mundi channel between nadir and zenith.

  The other four planets (Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) were described as precious stones of corresponding color hues as follows: Mercury was made of quartz crystal (or carnelian); Mars was ruby red; Saturn was made of coral; Jupiter reflected amber.

  Sacred Babylonian astronomy and geometry found the positions of the four planets to be of critical importance to the harmony of existence. This configuration acted like a giant cosmic compass. They observed that when the Sun changed direction at the solstice and equinox points, the positions of the four planets corresponded with the four cardinal points, East, West, North, and South.