8
The Abhidharma
The Higher Teaching
Stories, legends, texts, and authors
It is told by some that after the Buddha gained awakening he
sat beneath the .tree of awakening for seven days contemplating
the Dharma which he had penetrated. Then he got up from his
seat and for. seven days he stood gazing with unblinking eyes at
the seat thinking, 'On this seat I gained knowledge.' At that time
the gods thought that perhaps the Buddha still had something to
accomplish as it appeared he had not abandoned attachment to
the seat of awakening. So the Buddha performed the miracle of
the pairs, emitting streams of fire and water from every pore of
his body. Then for seven days he walked up and down between
the seat of awakening and where he had been standing. Now,
twenty-one days after he had gained awakening, he sat in the
House of Jewels, so called because here, over seven days, he
conceived the seven books of the Abhidharma---the jewels of the
Dharma. On the seventh day, when he began to contemplate
the contents of the seventh book, the Great Book, his body be-
gan to emit rays of six colours: blue, yellow, red, white, maroon,
clear. And as he contemplated this infinite and immeasurable
Dharma, the rays emitted from his body lit up the earth, the waters,
and the skies. They lit up the realms of the gods and flooded beyond
throughout billions of world systems.
The Buddha did not, it seems, immediately teach the Dharma
in this full form in which he had conceived it while seated in the
House of Jewels. Many years later in response to a challenge from
teachers of other schools the Buddha once again performed the
miracle of the pairs, emitting streams of fire and water from every
pore of his body. Having performed this miracle he considered