Sela untranslated

Sela 01. A king of long ago who, in spite of great sacrifices, could not get beyond the world of the Petas (Pitṛs). Ja.vi.99.

Sela 02. A Brahmin of Aṅguttarāpa. He was a great friend of Keniya, the Jaṭila, and visited him when Keniya was making preparations to entertain the Buddha. Having heard the word “Buddha” from Keniya, Sela was filled with joy and fortitude, and went with his two hundred and fifty pupils to visit the Buddha in the woodland near Āpana. There he observed on the person of the Buddha the thirty-two marks of a Great Being all except two – viz., hidden privates and the long tongue. The Buddha read his thoughts and contrived, by his iddhi power, that Sela should be satisfied on these two points as well (this is referred to at Mil.167; DN­a.i.276, etc.). Sela then praised the Buddha in a series of verses and asked questions of him. At the end of his talk, Sela entered the Saṅgha with his pupils, and, at the end of a week, he attained Arahant-ship (Snp. p.104 ff. = MN.ii.146f).

In the time of Padumuttara Buddha Sela had been the leader of the same guild of three hundred men, and, together with them, had built a pariveṇa for the Buddha and done many good acts. As a result of these they received the “ehi Bhikkhu” pabbajjā in this last life (Snp­a.ii.455; MN­a.ii.782; see also Ap.i.316; Thag.vs.818-41; Th4gA.ii.47f).

Mahā Sela, mentioned as the teacher of Sugandha Thera (Thag­a.i.80f), is probably identical with this Sela. Sela lived to the age of one hundred and twenty (DN­a.ii.413).

According to the Dhammapada Commentary (Dhp­a.i.384; also AN­a.i.219), the Buddha first met Sela on his way to Bhaddiya to convert Visākhā and her kinswomen. Visākhā was then seven years old. The Apadāna says (Ap.i.318) that Sela’s father was a wealthy Brahmin, named Vāseṭṭha.

Sela 03. A mountain in Himavā. Ap­a.i.96.

Sela 04. Son of Atthadassī Buddha in his last lay life. Bv­a.180; but see Sena (15).

Selā 01. A princess, younger sister of Candakumāra (Ja.vi.143). She is identified with Uppalavaṇṇā. Ja.vi.157.

Selā 02. Selā Therī She was born in Āḷavi as daughter of the king: therefore she was also called Āḷavikā. When she was still unmarried the Buddha visited Āḷavi with Āḷavaka, whom he had converted, carrying his begging bowl and robe. On that occasion Sela went with her father to hear the Buddha preach. She became a lay disciple, but later, agitated in mind, she joined the Saṅgha and became an Arahant. After that she lived in Sāvatthī. One day, as she was enjoying her siesta in the Andhavana under a tree, Māra, in the guise of a stranger, approached her and tried to tempt her. But she refuted his statements regarding the attractions of lay life, and Māra had to retire discomfited (SN.i.134; Thīg.vss.57-9).

In the time of Padumuttara Buddha Selā was born in the family of a clansman of Haṁsavatī and was given in marriage. After her husband’s death she devoted herself to the quest of good, and went from ārāma to ārāma and vihāra to vihāra, teaching the Dhamma to followers of the religion. One day she came to the Bodhi-tree of the Buddha and sat down there thinking, “If a Buddha be peerless among men, may this tree show the miracle of Awakening.” Immediately the tree blazed forth, the branches appeared golden, and the sky was all shining. Inspired by the sight, she fell down and worshipped the tree, and sat there for seven days. On the seventh day she performed a great feast of offering and worship to the Buddha (Thīg­a.61f). Her Apadāna verses, quoted in the Therīgāthā Commentary, are, in the Apadāna itself, attributed to a Therī called Pañcadīpikā, and are twice repeated in these verses (Ap.ii.519, repeated at 527f), however, she is mentioned as having attained Arahant-ship at the age of seven, and there is no reference to her life as daughter of the king of Āḷavi. See also Selā (3).

Selā 03. Selā Therī An Arahant. In the time of Kassapa Buddha she belonged to a lay disciple’s family in Sāvatthī. She heard the Buddha preach and learnt the Dhamma. She was born after death in Tāvatiṁsa. In her last life she was the daughter of a seṭṭhi, and hearing the Buddha preach, she entered the Saṅgha and attained Arahant-ship. Ap.ii.614f.