He
commanded his kinsfolk, within and without the palace, to repair with
her to that garden shade; and now the queen Maya knew that her time for
child-bearing was come. She rested calmly on a beautiful couch,
surrounded by a hundred thousand female attendants; it was the eighth
day of the fourth moon, a season of serene and agreeable character.
Whilst she thus religiously observed the rules of a pure discipline,
Bodhisattva was born from her right side, come to deliver the world,
constrained by great pity, without causing his mother pain or anguish.
As king Yu-liu was born from the thigh, as King Pi-t'au was born from
the hand, as King Man-to was born from the top of the head, as King
Kia-k'ha was born from the arm-pit, so also was Bodhisattva on the day
of his birth produced from the right side; gradually emerging from the
womb, he shed in every direction the rays of his glory. As one born from
recumbent space, and not through the gates of life, through countless
kalpas, practising virtue, self-conscious he came forth to life, without
confusion. Calm and collected, not falling headlong was he born,
gloriously manifested, perfectly adorned, sparkling with light he came
from the womb, as when the sun first rises from the East.
Men indeed regarded his exceeding great glory, yet their sight remained
uninjured: he allowed them to gaze, the brightness of his person
concealed for the time, as when we look upon the moon in the heavens.
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