DESCRIPTION
At the beginning of the Third Assembly the Buddha, without leaving the foot of the Bodhi Tree, ascends to the top of Mount Sumeru, to the palace of Śakra-devānām Indra, ruler of the devas of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven (’Thirty-Three Levels’). Śakra’s palace is the hall of wonderful dharma 妙法堂 or 善法堂, situated in the south-west corner of the Trāyastriṃśas heaven, where the thirty-three devas discuss whether affairs are according to law or truth or the contrary.
As the reader ascends to higher heavenly realms in the assemblies of come, it is important to note Śakra’s position as ‘ruler of the Realm of Desire’ within the larger cosmological landscape of Buddhism, as well as his role as interlocutor in other sutras, in particular the 8,000 line Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra.
In this chapter, Śakra sets up a throne for the Buddha within the palace and recites verses in praise of the buddhas of the past who have also entered the palace:
- Kāśyapa
- Kanakamuni
- Krakucchanda
- Viśvabhū
- Śikhin
- Vipaśyin
- Puṣya
- Tiṣya
- Padma
- Dīpaṃkara