batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l4043-l4161
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l4043-l4161
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 4043-4161
start: '4043'
end: '4161'
translation: Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage describes Sumedha beholding and resolving to fulfill the perfections
of Good-will and Equanimity, realizing that the ten Perfections reside in his
own heart, mastering them in ordered sequence and as graded sacrifices, and causing
the earth of ten thousand worlds to quake. The frightened people of Ramma approach
Dīpankara, who explains that the quake is caused by Sumedha’s investigation of
the Buddha-conditions.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Good-will is presented as the ninth Perfection practiced by former Buddhas,
and Sumedha is instructed to be friendly alike toward evil and good persons.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Water is used as an analogy for Good-will because it cools good and bad alike
and carries off impurity.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Sumedha considers that further conditions are needed, beholds the tenth Perfection
of Equanimity, and resolves to remain equal-minded in prosperity and adversity.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Earth is used as an analogy for Equanimity because it is indifferent to pure
and impure things cast upon it.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The passage states that the ten Perfections are the only conditions that bring
Buddhaship to perfection and that they reside in Sumedha’s heart of flesh.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Sumedha repeatedly masters the ten Perfections forwards, backwards, from the
middle to both ends, and from both ends to the middle.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The Perfections are described in graded terms as sacrifice of limbs, property,
and life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: Mount Meru and the great Cakkavāla ocean appear in a simile for Sumedha’s
mastery of the Perfections.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:9
text: By the power of Sumedha’s piety, the earth of ten thousand worlds trembles,
shakes, thunders, and turns like wheels or mill machinery.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: The people of Ramma fall swooning, vessels strike together and break, and
the multitudes ask the Teacher whether the turmoil is caused by dragons, demons,
ogres, or celestial beings and whether it portends good or evil.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Dīpankara tells the frightened multitude not to fear, saying that Sumedha,
whom he predicted would become the Buddha Gotama, is mastering and investigating
the Perfections.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Wise Sumedha
description: The aspirant who beholds, resolves to fulfill, and masters the Perfections;
Dīpankara says he has been predicted to become a Buddha named Gotama.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Former Buddhas
description: Prior Buddhas who practiced and followed the Perfections or Conditions
that Sumedha investigates.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Dīpankara / the Teacher / the Blessed One / the Great Sage
description: The Buddha addressed by the frightened multitude; he explains the earthquake
as the effect of Sumedha’s mastery of the Perfections.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: People and multitudes of Ramma
description: The witnesses who are terrified by the earthquake, fall swooning, and
approach the Teacher for an explanation.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Buddha-to-be mastering the Perfections
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sumedha is described as beholding, resolving upon, and mastering the Perfections,
and as one predicted to become the Buddha Gotama.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:2
label: Precedent Buddhas
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Good-will and Equanimity Perfections are said to have been practiced
and followed by former Buddhas.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: Teacher and interpreter of the cosmic disturbance
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The multitude approaches the Teacher, and Dīpankara tells them not to fear
and identifies Sumedha’s investigation as the cause.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: Terrified witnesses and petitioners
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The people are unable to endure the trembling, fall swooning, and ask the
Buddha to explain the event.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Water as impartial cooling and purification
literal_form: Water filling good and bad alike with coolness and carrying off impurity
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: Earth as impartial receptacle
literal_form: Earth indifferent to pure and impure things cast upon it
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: Heart of flesh as seat of the Perfections
literal_form: Sumedha’s heart of flesh containing the ten Perfections
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: Graded sacrifice
literal_form: Sacrifice of limbs, property, and life as descriptions of the Perfections
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: Mount Meru as churning-rod
literal_form: Mount Meru used as a churning-rod in a simile
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
- cosmic_mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: Great Cakkavāla ocean
literal_form: The great Cakkavāla ocean churned in the same simile
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:7
label: Earthquake of ten thousand worlds
literal_form: The earth of ten thousand worlds shaking and thundering
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:8
label: Broken water-pots and jars
literal_form: Water-pots and jars revolving, striking together, and being crushed
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Instruction in Good-will
summary: The ninth Perfection of Good-will is identified as a practice of former
Buddhas, and Sumedha is instructed to cultivate kindness toward both evil and
good, like water cooling and cleansing all alike.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Discovery of Equanimity
summary: Sumedha seeks further conditions, finds the tenth Perfection of Equanimity,
and resolves to be equally balanced in prosperity and adversity, like the earth
toward pure and impure things.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Internalization and mastery of the ten Perfections
summary: Sumedha realizes that the ten Perfections are the only conditions for Buddhahood
and that they reside in his heart; he masters them repeatedly and formulates them
as graded sacrifices.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Cosmic quake from Sumedha’s piety
summary: As Sumedha grasps the Perfections, the earth of ten thousand worlds trembles,
thunders, and spins in a series of mechanical and wheel-like comparisons.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Frightened multitudes seek explanation
summary: The people of Ramma swoon, vessels break, and the terrified crowd asks
the Teacher whether the event comes from powerful beings and whether it means
good or evil.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Dīpankara explains the disturbance
summary: Dīpankara reassures the multitude and says the earthquake is caused by
Sumedha’s mastery and investigation of the time-honoured Conditions followed by
Buddhas.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Ten Perfections as the necessary conditions for Buddhahood
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage states that the ten Perfections are all the conditions that bring
Buddhaship to perfection and that Sumedha investigates and masters them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage is specifically about Buddhist
perfections rather than a generic wisdom quest.
- id: motif:2
label: Impartial virtue modeled on natural elements
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Good-will is compared to water cooling and cleansing all alike, and Equanimity
is compared to earth receiving pure and impure things without anger or favor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is an ethical analogy within the passage, not an independent narrative
episode.
- id: motif:3
label: Spiritual perfection as graded sacrifice
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: The passage explicitly identifies the Perfections with sacrifice of limbs,
property, and life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the sacrifices as a doctrinal classification, not
as enacted sacrifices in this scene.
- id: motif:4
label: Cosmic disturbance caused by spiritual mastery
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Sumedha’s mastery and investigation of the Perfections causes the earth of
ten thousand worlds to quake and thunder, frightening the multitude.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The event is explained within the passage as an effect of piety; no external
comparison is asserted.
- id: motif:5
label: Cosmic mountain and ocean churning imagery
taxonomy_refs:
- cosmic_mountain
basis: Sumedha’s mastering of the Perfections is compared to one using Mount Meru
as a churning-rod to churn the great Cakkavāla ocean.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The image appears as a simile rather than as an action performed in the
narrative.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly presents Sumedha’s Perfections as the same functional
Buddha-conditions practiced by former Buddhas and followed in the time-honoured
path of Buddhas.
claim_level: same_function
target: Former Buddhas’ Conditions or Perfections for attaining Buddhaship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This comparison is internal to the passage and does not establish historical
contact or a comparison with another tradition.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4043-4050
quote_or_summary: Good-will is named as the ninth Perfection practiced by former
Buddhas; Sumedha is urged to become unrivalled in kindness and to look with friendship
on evil and good alike, as water cools and removes impurity from all alike.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 4051-4068
quote_or_summary: Sumedha seeks another condition, beholds Equanimity, resolves
to be equal-minded in prosperity and adversity, and is told to be balanced in
joy and grief as earth is indifferent to pure and impure things.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 4069-4087
quote_or_summary: Sumedha concludes that the ten Perfections alone are the conditions
for Buddhahood, finds them in his heart, masters them in repeated orders, calls
them sacrifices of limbs, property, and life, and is compared to one churning
the Cakkavāla ocean with Mount Meru.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 4087-4095
quote_or_summary: By the power of Sumedha’s piety, the earth, described on a vast
scale and later as the earth of ten thousand worlds, roars, trembles, shakes,
quakes, and turns like wheels or mills.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 4096-4115
quote_or_summary: The people of Ramma cannot endure the trembling, fall swooning,
water-pots and vessels break, and the frightened multitudes ask the Teacher whether
dragons, demons, ogres, or celestial beings caused the event and whether it portends
good or evil.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 4115-4132
quote_or_summary: The Teacher tells them not to fear; he says wise Sumedha, predicted
that day to become the Buddha Gotama, is mastering the Perfections, and that his
piety causes the ten thousand worlds to quake and thunder.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 4133-4161
quote_or_summary: Verses recap that the attending multitude swooned, jars were crushed,
the frightened crowd approached the Buddha, and Dīpankara explained that the predicted
future Buddha was investigating the time-honoured Conditions followed by Buddhas,
causing the earth of ten thousand worlds to shake.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is explicit about figures, actions, perfections, analogies, and
the cause of the earthquake. Motif taxonomy assignments are cautious because several
elements are doctrinal or simile-based rather than full narrative episodes.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
No external material was used. Dragons, demons, ogres, and celestial beings are recorded only as suspected causes named by the frightened crowd, not as active figures in the scene.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l4043-l4161
passage_sha256=bfe0313667de69263f6677ec5a738b2802aa6fec2c755d531159c6494e52731b