CALL OF THE DEITIES

Tusita is one of the six heavenly worlds. It consists of deities and Bodhisattas, or future Buddhas. Once every thousand years, there is a heavenly announcement that a new Buddha should be born on Earth. At that time, the gods gather in Tusita heaven to meet the future Buddha. They invite him to be born as a Buddha, for the sake of saving the world. 

Before he accepts the deities’ invitation, however, the future Buddha makes the five Great Observations. He considers questions of time, place, family, mother, and her lifespan. 

The Bodhisatta decides that now is the right time for him to be born, as humans now have a long enough lifespan to peacefully accept his wisdom, but not so long as to render his teachings worthless. He then decides that he should be born in the “middle country” of India, in the city of Kapilavatthu, where other Buddhas and important people have been born. He decides he should be born into a warrior family; and that King Suddhodana should be his father. He concludes that the good Queen Maya shall be his mother; and that her lifespan should be ten months and seven days. 

After making these decisions, he accepts the deities’ invitation to become a Buddha. 

Surrounded by the gods, he enters the Nandana Grove of the Tusita heaven. The gods assure him that his merits mark the way for ultimate enlightenment and his new existence as a Buddha. While he waits in the grove, he is conceived in the womb of Queen Maya