If the
Buddha is a mere human being
[which he is not],
who was born and died like us,
how can he guide us to become Buddhas,
who are beyond birth and death?
- Stonepeace
According to the Dona Sutra, the brahmin Dona was
walking along when he sighted the Buddha's footprints. Amazed by
their auspicious details of wheels with a thousand spokes, with
rims and hubs, it occurred to him that they could not belong to a
human being. Tracing the footprints, he encountered the Buddha, who
was seated under a tree, radiating and inspiring confidence and
tranquillity mindfully. Curious, he went forth and asked if the
Buddha was a deva, a godly being, to which the Buddha said he was
not. Next, he asked if he was a gandharva, a lesser godly being, to
which the Buddha also replied that he was not. Dona then asked if
he was a yaksha, a demon, to which the Buddha again replied that he
was not. Stumped, Dona finally asked if he was a human being, to
which the Buddha too replied that he was not. Out of further imaginable options, Dona
finally asked, 'Then what sort of being are you?'
The Buddha answered that he had
abandoned fermentations that conditioned rebirth as a deva,
gandharva, yaksha or human being, similar to how a palmyra stump is
totally uprooted. As such, he is no longer any of them or subject
to being any of them again. Just like a lotus flower that blossoms
untainted and stands above muddy defiled water, though he was born
in this world, he overcame its taints to become 'awakened'. This
was when the Buddha defined himself for the first time, when he
said, 'I am awake', or 'I am Buddha'. The word 'Buddha' means an
'awakened one', one who was awakened from the taints of attachment,
aversion and delusion, the muck and mire of
Samsara. Having
described himself to be like a lotus, this is how the lotus became
the symbol of purity in Buddhism, the goal which all Buddhists aspire towards,
away from all fermentations and taints that condition
rebirth.
The Buddha did not state that was not
a mere human being in just one instance. He repeatedly taught that
fully awakened ones cannot be defined as adhering to conditions
which bind beings to the cycles of rebirth. While their minds cling
to those conditions which define them, his mind does not cling to
any of them, just as a lotus flower rises above pure, unconditioned
by the dirt where its roots were. Greater than humans and gods,
both of whom are still bound by rebirth, one of the traditional
titles of the Buddha is 'Teacher of humans and gods', as it is he,
who is free from rebirth, who discerned and walked the path to this
freedom, who is capable of teaching all along this
path. The Buddha
was human when he was still Prince Siddhartha and Ascetic Gautama,
but having evolved spiritually and perfectly in compassion and
wisdom, he joins the 'race' of all other Buddhas, who are equally
supremely enlightened!
Having transcended all constraints,
the Buddha can skilfully manifest as
devas, gandharvas, yakshas, humans or any other beings
to guide them to Buddhahood.