Nine fold Qualities of the Buddha

We come across a Pāli passage more often than not in Pāli literature that explains the spiritual qualities of Gautama, the Buddha. It seems that contemporary people in India knew about the Buddha with the qualities said herein.

“îti’pi so bhagavA arahaM sammA sambuddho vijjA caraNa sampaNNo sugato lokavIdu anuttaro purisa damma sArathi satthAdevamanussAnaM buddho bhagavA’ti.”

=Thus, that Blessed One is Worthy One, Fully Enlightened One, One who endowed with knowledge and conduct, Well Gone One, Knower of the world, Incomparable Charioteer of taming beings, the Teacher of Gods and men, One who makes other understand and The Blessed One.”

Knowing and understanding these qualities of the Buddha is the initial path to purification, by convincing oneself that the Buddha possessed these spiritual qualities one get the confidence in the Buddhist path that is called the attainment of confidence (saddha sampadA), faculty of confidence (saddhindriya) and power of confidence (saddha bala). The VibhaGgasutta of SN defines the faculty of confidence as follows:

“KatamaJca bhikkhave saddhindriyaM, idha bhikkhave ariyasAvako saddho hoti, saddhahati tathAgatassa bodhiM iti’pi so bhagavA . . .”

=O monks! What is the faculty of confidence? Here, O monks! The noble disciple is confident and holds confidence in the enlightenment of the Thus Gone One as that Blessed One . . .”

This confidence arises from the convincing the nine fold qualities of the Buddha with those qualities the Buddha was famous in His days.

“TaM kho pana bhagavantaM evaM kalyANo kittisaddho abbhugatu iti’pi so bhagavA arahaM . . .”

“Indeed, about that Blessed One a good fame arose like this, thus That Blessed One . . .”