Dewbambun Lyrics by Sanuka Wickramasinghe

An invitation.. (ah…)
an invitation.. (ah…)
the gods and brahmas made an invitation..

The gods and brahmas made an invitation,
the gods and brahmas made an invitation,
while in the palace of the Santhusita realm
the Bodhisatta was enjoying celestial bliss in the Tusita heaven //

To the great being (great being), the Bodhisatta (Bodhisatta),
thinking to uplift all beings,
the gods and brahmas made their invitation

The gods and brahmas gathered,
they judged the time and held a discourse,
seeking a path to still the suffering of samsara,
to show the Dhamma that dispels the darkness,
they made the invitation for him to become the Buddha

He accepted this invitation, our great being,
he accepted this invitation, our great being,
weighing the five great considerations,
he rose up in joy,
he accepted this invitation,
our Bodhisatta

To the great being (great being), the Bodhisatta (Bodhisatta),
thinking to uplift all beings,
the gods and brahmas made their invitation

The gods and brahmas made an invitation,
the gods and brahmas made an invitation,
while in the palace of the Santhusita realm
the Bodhisatta was enjoying celestial bliss in the Tusita heaven //

To the great being (great being), the Bodhisatta (Bodhisatta),
thinking to uplift all beings,
the gods and brahmas made their invitation

the gods and brahmas made an invitation///

This is a Buddhist devotional song that tells one of the best loved episodes in the story of the Buddha: the divine invitation. Before his final birth, the Bodhisatta dwelt in the Tusita heaven, the Santhusita realm, enjoying celestial bliss, and the song’s refrain is that there the dew bambun, the devas and brahmas, the gods and high heavenly beings, came to make an araadhana, a formal request, to him.

It explains why they came. Wishing to uplift all beings, the gods gathered, judged that the time was right, and held a discourse together, searching for a way to still the endless suffering of samsara. The one who could show the Dhamma that dispels the darkness was the Bodhisatta, and so they invited him to be born and become the Buddha.

The last verse is the acceptance. Our great being, our Bodhisatta, received the invitation, and having weighed the pas maha belum, the five great considerations a Bodhisatta makes before his final birth, the right time, land, region, family, and mother, he rose up in joy and agreed. It is sung worship that carries a piece of Buddhist teaching within it, retelling the sacred moment that set the Buddha’s last life in motion.