Who was Queen Maya and her special vow to all Buddhas?

Shakyamuni Buddha had accumulated Boddhi merits and virtues over countless eons so that in his last life, he became a Perfectly Enlightened Buddha with perfect merits, wisdom, and a vow to rescue sentient beings. Thanks to the extremely great merits he had accumulated, he carefully contemplated all the conditions before descending to the Saha world, including a mother who aligned with his karma and merits. Among countless people, there was only one person fit to be his mother.  

So who was his mother? And how special was she?

Let's read the article below, which shares the teachings of Thay Thich Truc Thai Minh.

Who was Queen Maya?

In Buddhist history, more than 2,600 years ago, Queen Maya was the wife of King Suddhodana of the Kapilavatsu kingdom and the mother of Prince Siddhartha (being Prabhapala Bodhisattva in his previous life and later becoming Shakyamuni Buddha).

The Milindapanha sutta (Questions of King Milinda sutta) says that Bodhisattva Prabhapala in Tusita Heaven was an Ekajātipratibaddha Bodhisattva who was only one lifetime away from reaching enlightenment. Before descending into this world, he contemplated the world and saw that Queen Maya was the only woman who had enough 32 virtues to be his mother. Thus, he chose her to be his mother.

At that time, King Suddhodana and Queen Maya did not have a son yet despite their old age. Therefore, longing for a Crown Prince, they wholeheartedly prayed to gods, often did good deeds, and helped the people in need.

After one ceremony, Queen Maya returned to the palace, rested, and dreamt of a snow-white elephant with six tusks holding a beautiful lotus in its trunk. From the sky, the elephant flew down on a cloud and entered her womb through her right side. After that dream, she knew that she was pregnant. The King invited some soothsayers to interpret the dream of Queen Maya and knew that the Queen conceived an extraordinary one who would conduct great things in the future.

Special things about Queen Maya as the mother of the Buddha

As the mother of a Bodhisattva who has only one lifetime before enlightenment, during the time of pregnancy and birth delivery, Queen Maya experienced many miraculous and extraordinary things in comparison with normal women.

1. Her mind was always peaceful, happy, and pure during pregnancy

In the Mahapadana sutta (The Great Discourse on Traces Left Behind sutra), it was recorded that: “Here, Bhikkhus, this is normal that when a Bodhisattva is conceived in his mother's womb, the mother cannot be ill. She is happy and free of body fatigue. And she sees the Bodhisattva in her womb, complete with all his organs and body parts.”

A pregnant woman normally has a hard time with changes in her body, for example, loss of appetite, insomnia, and decrease in health, but the mind and the body of Queen Maya were always comfortable and healthy. She also saw the child in her womb. She recognized that she became more compassionate and loved all the children as her own.

During her pregnancy, she almost did not eat the flesh and blood of other beings. She also observed the five precepts (the same five precepts followed by lay Buddhists). In Mahapadana sutta, the Buddha taught that: “Here, Bhikkhus, this is normal that a Bodhisattva is conceived in his mother's womb, she naturally observes precepts. She refrains from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and alcohol drinks. This is normal in such a case.”

Moreover, her mind was pure, and she no longer had sexual desire. In the Mahapadana sutta, the Buddha taught: “Here, Bhikkhus, this is normal that when a Bodhisattva is conceived in his mother's womb, she no longer feels sexual desire for men, and she cannot be violated by a man of lustful intent. This is normal in such a case.” 

Besides, she also experienced many special things, such as she could bestow healing upon the sick through her prayers or perform extraordinary feats. It was explained that those miraculous things were thanks to the virtues, wisdom, and merits of the Bodhisattva whom she conceived.

2. The devas held the Prince and the dragons poured water at the birth of the Prince

Unlike other women with nine months of pregnancy, Queen Maya gave birth after exactly ten months.

In Mahapadana sutta, the Buddha taught that: “Here, Bhikkhus, this is normal that while other women give birth while sitting or lying down, not so the mother of a Bodhisattva; she only gives birth standing up. This is normal in such a case.” It was recorded that when Queen Maya walked past Lumbini Garden, at the moment when she grasped a branch of an ashoka tree, the Prince emerged from her right side. Immediately, four devas received him, not letting him touch the ground.

In the Lalitavistara sutta, it was said that when the Bodhisattva emerged from his mother's womb, there were nine dragons from the sky, pouring water to bathe him—one pouring warm water, one pouring cool water, one pouring flower scent, etc. In the Mahapadana sutta, the Buddha taught that: “Here, Bhikkhus, this is normal that when a Bodhisattva emerges from his mother's womb, two streams of water appear in the sky with one cool and one warm for bathing the Bodhisattva and his mother. This is normal in such a case. Then devas bring cloth from the sky to wrap his body.”

Thus, according to Buddhist scriptures, we know that the event of water bathing the newborn Buddha is real, miraculous, extraordinary, and only appears when noble men and sages are born in the world.

3. Queen Maya was reborn in Tusita Heaven after seven days of birth delivery

In the Mahapadana sutta, the Buddha taught that: “Here, Bhikkhus, this is normal that seven days after the Bodhisattva is born, his mother passes away and is reborn in the Tusita Heaven. This is normal in such a case.” 

Seven days after Prince Siddhartha was born, Queen Maya passed away and was reborn in Tusita Heaven as a male deva. It was explained for some reasons. The first reason was that she had fulfilled her vow of giving birth to a Buddha. 

Secondly, her body became an inviolable and noble shrine thanks to the merits of conceiving the Prince.

Thirdly, her merits of giving birth to a Buddha were so great that her human body could not contain them. Thus, she had to discard her human body and be reborn in Tusita heaven in a male deva's body that could contain those merits.

This phenomenon is the same as when a lay Buddhist attains Arahantship; if he is not ordained on that day, he must enter Nirvana. It is because the secular body of lay people can not contain the great merits and blessings of an Arahant. Only the appearance of a monk can contain such merits. This is the principle of this universe.

Thus, we know that Prince Siddhartha (or Shakyamuni Buddha) was a Supreme Blessed One. If his merits and sacrifices for sentient beings are countless, then the merits of his parents can almost be equally countless. Both King Suddohana and Queen Maya are Great Sages with boundless merits and sacrifices for all sentient beings.

Queen Maya - The one with a vow to be the mother of all Buddhas

Not only was she the mother of Shakyamuni Buddha, Queen Maya was also the mother of all Buddhas in the past as well as the mother of all Buddhas in the future. Later on, when Maitreya Bodhisattva descends into this world to attain Buddhahood, she will also be his mother.

In Buddhist scriptures and commentaries, it is recorded that Queen Maya vowed to conceive the being with the intent to be a Buddha from hundreds of thousands of great kalpas ago. In a previous Buddha's time, she was a woman who came to a sermon. As soon as she saw that Buddha had a dignified and beautiful appearance, she made a vow in front of him that she would conceive a child as perfect as him in her future life. For her sincere vow, the Buddha immediately affirmed that she would have enough opportunities to fulfill her wish. Thanks to that, in this life, true to her vows, she conceived Prince Siddhartha, who later became Shakyamuni Buddha.

From what Thay Thich Truc Thai Minh shared, we hope that you will understand more about Queen Maya - the great mother of Shakyamuni Buddha. From that, may we develop gratitude for the great merits of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya for giving birth to the Buddha so that nowadays, Buddhism is propagated all over the world, bringing peace and happiness to sentient beings.