Overview
Immediately following his full enlightenment on the full moon of Vesākha, the Buddha remained in the immediate vicinity of the Bodhi tree for exactly seven weeks (Satta Sattāhāni). He spent these 49 days experiencing the bliss of liberation (vimuttisukha) and systematically formulating the philosophical architecture of the Dhamma and Abhidhamma.
The List
- Pallanka-sattāha: Spent the first week sitting entirely cross-legged directly under the Bodhi tree, experiencing the absolute bliss of defilement destruction.
- Animisa-sattāha: Week of the Unblinking Gaze. He stood a short distance away, gazing back at the Bodhi tree for seven days without once blinking his eyes, expressing silent gratitude to the tree that shielded his striving.
- Caṅkamana-sattāha: Week of the Walk. He created a golden jeweled walkway suspended in the air, pacing back and forth for seven days to demonstrate his psychic mastery to doubting deities.
- Ratanaghara-sattāha: Week of the Jeweled House. Sitting inside a conceptual house of elements, he mentally formulated the entire multi-volume matrix of the Abhidhamma Paṭṭhāna. The sheer purity of his thought caused his body to emit six-colored rays of light.
- Ajapāla-nigrodha-sattāha: Week under the Banyan Tree. He sat under the shepherd’s banyan tree, where he vanquished the three daughters of Māra (Craving, Discontent, Passion) and declared the true definition of a Brahmin to a haughty priest.
- Mucalinda-sattāha: Week under the Mucalinda Tree. A violent, unseasonal rainstorm raged all week. The mighty snake-king Mucalinda emerged, coiled his body seven times around the Buddha, and unfurled his massive hood like an umbrella to shield him from the cold wind.
- Rājāyatana-sattāha: Week under the Rājāyatana Tree. Spent completing his fast, at the conclusion of which two merchant brothers, Tapussa and Bhallika, approached to offer rice cakes, becoming the very first lay followers in the world.