Gayā Sutta

Preached at Gayāsīsa. The Buddha describes to the monks some of the stages through which he passed before reaching Enlightenment. At first he could only sec the light from the bodies of the devas; later, through conscious striving, he could distinguish their forms, talk with them, discover how they came to be born in their different spheres; then he was able to read their past births, and at last he attained to supreme knowledge. A.iv.302ff

Dictionary of Pali Proper Names, G P Malalasekera (1899-1973), which is available as printed version from