3.4.14

Lesson 3.4.14 Buddhānussatikathā—sugato – Which Speech Does a Buddha Utter?

In the history of the Buddha’s teaching the yearning of his disciples to express the unsurpassed qualities of a Fully Enlightened One gave rise to a number of epithets in and beyond the virtues stressed in "bhagavā arahaṃ sammāsambuddho vijjācaraṇasampanno sugato lokavidū…". For instance, tathāgata ("having gone thus" or "having come thus") signifies his complete journey along the path to enlightenment. He is called jina (conqueror) for vanquishing craving, ignorance, and delusion, while pāragū (having gone beyond) highlights his abandonment of all misery. The epithet mahāpurisa (great person) acknowledges his exceptional qualities, and aṅgīrasa (radiant one) mirrors the Buddha's bodily features that emit various hues from his body, also connecting him to the aṅgīrasa tribe of ancient India. This lesson's text specifically focuses on sugato, an epithet with a dual meaning. It can be understood as sobhaṇagamana (the manner of going which is good) or su-gacchati (gone rightly), meaning he has "gone rightly," "gone well," or "gone thoroughly" from the beginning to the end of the path. Alternatively, sugato can relate to gada (speech), emphasizing "well-spoken words" or "well-expressed speech." This latter interpretation directly connects to the lesson's title, "Which Speech Does a Buddha Utter?"