The Twin Miracle

The Buddha performs the Twin Miracle, with water pouring from his feet and flames exiting from his shoulders.

The Twin Miracle, also called the Miracle at Savatthi (Pali), or the Miracle at Śrāvastī (Sanskrit), is one of the miracles of Gautama Buddha. There are two major versions of the story that vary in some details. The Pali account of the miracle can be found in the Dhammapadattakatha and the Sanskrit version in the Pratiharya-sutra.[1]: 140–143  Buddhists believe it was performed seven years after the Buddha's enlightenment, in the ancient Indian city of Savatthi.[2][3] According to Buddhist texts, during the miracle the Buddha emitted fire from the top half of his body and water from the bottom half of his body simultaneously, before alternating them and then expanding them to illuminate the cosmos. The miracle was performed during a miracle contest between Gautama Buddha and six rival religious teachers. In the Sanskrit Buddhist tradition, it is considered one of the Ten Indispensable Acts that all Buddhas are to perform during their lives, and one of the "Thirty Great Acts" in the Pali commentarial tradition.[4][1]: 140–143 [5] The miracle itself is said to have been performed twice, with the Buddha performing it once at his home town of Kapilavastu before performing the main miracle at Savatthi.[6][7] It is considered to have been Gautama Buddha's greatest miracle and something that can only be performed by fully enlightened Buddhas.[2][3]

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  2. ^ a b Strong, John (2007). Relics of the Buddha. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 177. ISBN 9788120831391.
  3. ^ a b Shaw, Sarah (18 April 2006). Buddhist Meditation: An Anthology of Texts from the Pali Canon. Routledge. p. 96. ISBN 9781134242030. Archived from the original on 18 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  4. ^ Vogel, Jean Philippe (1995). Indian Serpent-lore: Or, The Nāgas in Hindu Legend and Art. Asian Educational Services. p. 113. ISBN 9788120610712. Archived from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2019.
  5. ^ Howard, Angela; Vignato, Giuseppe (14 November 2014). Archaeological and Visual Sources of Meditation in the Ancient Monasteries of Kuča. BRILL. p. 115. ISBN 9789004279391. Archived from the original on 18 March 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  6. ^ Kawasaki, Ken; Kawasaki, Visakha (15 February 2018). Jātaka Tales of the Buddha: An Anthology. Vol. III. Pariyatti Publishing. p. 422. ISBN 9781681721118. Archived from the original on 6 May 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  7. ^ Young, Richard Fox; Sēnānāyaka, Jī Es Bī (1998). The Carpenter-Heretic: A Collection of Buddhist Stories about Christianity from 18th Century Sri Lanka (1st ed.). Karunaratne & Sons. p. 205. ISBN 9789559098423. Archived from the original on 18 August 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2021.