1"Bhikkhus, before his enlightenment, while he was just a bodhisatta, not fully enlightened, five great dreams appeared to the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One. What five?

(1) "Before his enlightenment, while he was just a bodhisatta, not fully enlightened, the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One dreamt that this mighty earth was his bedstead; the Himālaya, king of mountains, was his pillow; his left hand rested on the eastern sea, his right hand on the western sea, and his two feet on the southern sea. This was the first great dream that appeared to the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One before his enlightenment, while he was just a bodhisatta, not fully enlightened.

2(2) "Again, before his enlightenment … the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One dreamt that a kind of grass called tiriyā rose up from his navel and stood touching the sky. This was the second great dream that appeared to the Tathāgata … while he was just a bodhisatta, not fully enlightened.

3(3) "Again, before his enlightenment … the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One dreamt that white worms with black heads crawled from his feet up to his knees and covered them. This was the third great dream that appeared to the Tathāgata … while he was just a bodhisatta, not fully enlightened.

4(4) "Again, before his enlightenment … the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One dreamt that four birds of different colors came from the four quarters, fell at his feet, and turned all white. This was the fourth great dream that appeared to the Tathāgata … while he was just a bodhisatta, not fully enlightened.

5(5) "Again, before his enlightenment … the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One dreamt that he climbed up a huge mountain of dung without being soiled by it. This was the fifth great dream that appeared to the Tathāgata … while he was just a bodhisatta, not fully enlightened.

6(1) "Now, bhikkhus, when the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One—before his enlightenment, while just a bodhisatta, not fully enlightened—dreamt that this mighty earth was his bedstead and the Himālaya, king of mountains, his pillow; that his left hand rested on the eastern sea, his right hand on the western sea, and his two feet on the southern sea, this was a foretoken that he would awaken to the unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment. [n.1200] I have added "this was a foretoken" in compliance with Mp's use of the word pubbanimitta to characterize the significance of the dreams. Brahmāli suggests: "(the dream) … represented his awakening to the unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment," with a parallel construction for the corresponding sections below. This first great dream appeared to him as a sign that his awakening was imminent. [n.1201] Tassa abhisambodhāya ayaṁ paṭhamo mahāsupino pāturahosi. Brahmāli suggests here: "This was the first great dream that was beneficial for his awakening," again with a parallel construction for the corresponding sections below. The sentence as it stands is perplexing; yet Mp does not comment and there is no Chinese parallel. Ce and Be read tassā for tassa (the Ee reading). Tassā would have to represent sammā sambodhi in the previous sentence, but the question would then arise what abhisambodhāya relates to in §§2–4, where sammā sambodhi does not occur. I find the sentence is more intelligible if we read tassa (as in the following sections), taking it to mean "to him," that is, to the future Buddha. We can then see the whole sentence as affirming that the dream was indicative of his imminent awakening.

7(2) "When the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One … dreamt that tiriyā grass rose up from his navel and stood touching the sky, this was a foretoken that he would awaken to the noble eightfold path and would proclaim it well among devas and humans. This second great dream appeared to him as a sign that his awakening was imminent.

8(3) "When the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One … dreamt that white worms with black heads crawled from his feet up to his knees and covered them, this was a foretoken that many white-robed householders would go for lifelong refuge to the Tathāgata. This third great dream appeared to him as a sign that his awakening was imminent.

9(4) "When the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One … dreamt that four birds of different colors came from the four quarters, fell at his feet, and turned all white, this was a foretoken that members of the four classes—khattiyas, brahmins, vessas, and suddas—would go forth from the household life into homelessness in the Dhamma and discipline proclaimed by the Tathāgata and realize unsurpassed liberation. This fourth great dream appeared to him as a sign that his awakening was imminent.

10(5) "When the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One … dreamt that he climbed up a huge mountain of dung without being soiled by it, this was a foretoken that he would receive robes, almsfood, dwellings, and medicines and provisions for the sick, and he would use them without being tied to them, infatuated with them, and blindly absorbed in them, seeing the danger and knowing the escape. This fifth great dream appeared to him as a sign that his awakening was imminent.

11"These, bhikkhus, were the five great dreams that appeared to the Tathāgata, the Arahant, the Perfectly Enlightened One, before his enlightenment, while he was just a bodhisatta, not fully enlightened."

1"Tathāgatassa, bhikkhave, arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato pañca mahāsupinā pāturahesuṁ. Katame pañca?

Tathāgatassa, bhikkhave, arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato ayaṁ mahāpathavī mahāsayanaṁ ahosi, himavā pabbatarājā bibbohanaṁ ahosi, puratthime samudde vāmo hattho ohito ahosi, pacchime samudde dakkhiṇo hattho ohito ahosi, dakkhiṇe samudde ubho pādā ohitā ahesuṁ. Tathāgatassa, bhikkhave, arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato ayaṁ paṭhamo mahāsupino pāturahosi.

2Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, tathāgatassa arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato tiriyā nāma tiṇajāti nābhiyā uggantvā nabhaṁ āhacca ṭhitā ahosi. Tathāgatassa, bhikkhave, arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato ayaṁ dutiyo mahāsupino pāturahosi.

3Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, tathāgatassa arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato setā kimī kaṇhasīsā pādehi ussakkitvā () yāva jāṇumaṇḍalā paṭicchādesuṁ. Tathāgatassa, bhikkhave, arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato ayaṁ tatiyo mahāsupino pāturahosi.

4Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, tathāgatassa arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato cattāro sakuṇā nānāvaṇṇā catūhi disāhi āgantvā pādamūle nipatitvā sabbasetā sampajjiṁsu. Tathāgatassa, bhikkhave, arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato ayaṁ catuttho mahāsupino pāturahosi.

5Puna caparaṁ, bhikkhave, tathāgato arahaṁ sammāsambuddho pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddho bodhisattova samāno mahato mīḷhapabbatassa uparūpari caṅkamati alippamāno mīḷhena. Tathāgatassa, bhikkhave, arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato ayaṁ pañcamo mahāsupino pāturahosi.

6Yampi, bhikkhave, tathāgatassa arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato ayaṁ mahāpathavī mahāsayanaṁ ahosi, himavā pabbatarājā bibbohanaṁ ahosi, puratthime samudde vāmo hattho ohito ahosi, pacchime samudde dakkhiṇo hattho ohito ahosi, dakkhiṇe samudde ubho pādā ohitā ahesuṁ; tathāgatena, bhikkhave, arahatā sammāsambuddhena anuttarā sammāsambodhi abhisambuddhā. Tassā abhisambodhāya ayaṁ paṭhamo mahāsupino pāturahosi.

7Yampi, bhikkhave, tathāgatassa arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato tiriyā nāma tiṇajāti nābhiyā uggantvā nabhaṁ āhacca ṭhitā ahosi; tathāgatena, bhikkhave, arahatā sammāsambuddhena ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo abhisambujjhitvā yāva devamanussehi suppakāsito. Tassa abhisambodhāya ayaṁ dutiyo mahāsupino pāturahosi.

8Yampi, bhikkhave, tathāgatassa arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato setā kimī kaṇhasīsā pādehi ussakkitvā yāva jāṇumaṇḍalā paṭicchādesuṁ; bahū, bhikkhave, gihī odātavasanā tathāgataṁ pāṇupetā saraṇaṁ gatā. Tassa abhisambodhāya ayaṁ tatiyo mahāsupino pāturahosi.

9Yampi, bhikkhave, tathāgatassa arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato cattāro sakuṇā nānāvaṇṇā catūhi disāhi āgantvā pādamūle nipatitvā sabbasetā sampajjiṁsu; cattārome, bhikkhave, vaṇṇā khattiyā brāhmaṇā vessā suddā te tathāgatappavedite dhammavinaye agārasmā anagāriyaṁ pabbajitvā anuttaraṁ vimuttiṁ sacchikaronti. Tassa abhisambodhāya ayaṁ catuttho mahāsupino pāturahosi.

10Yampi, bhikkhave, tathāgato arahaṁ sammāsambuddho pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddho bodhisattova samāno mahato mīḷhapabbatassa uparūpari caṅkamati alippamāno mīḷhena; lābhī, bhikkhave, tathāgato cīvarapiṇḍapātasenāsanagilānappaccayabhesajjaparikkhārānaṁ, taṁ tathāgato agathito amucchito anajjhosanno ādīnavadassāvī nissaraṇapañño paribhuñjati. Tassa abhisambodhāya ayaṁ pañcamo mahāsupino pāturahosi.

11Tathāgatassa, bhikkhave, arahato sammāsambuddhassa pubbeva sambodhā anabhisambuddhassa bodhisattasseva sato ime pañca mahāsupinā pāturahesun"ti.

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Chaṭṭhaṁ.