[134] Bhikkhus, in whatever former birth, former existence, former abode the Tathāgata was formerly a human being, he was a bringer of happiness to many people, a dispeller of alarm, terror, and fear; he arranged righteous protection, shelter, and guard, and gave gifts together with their accessories. Because of having performed, accumulated, heaped up, and made abundant that kamma, with the breakup of the body, after death, he was reborn in a good destination, a heavenly world.
There he surpassed the other devas in ten respects … Passing away from there and coming to this state of existence, he obtained this mark of a Great Man (mahāpurisalakkhaṇa): on the soles of his feet wheels appear, thousand-spoked, with rims and with hubs, complete in every aspect, their intervals well divided. Endowed with that mark, if he dwells in the household life, he becomes a king, a wheel-turning monarch (cakkavatti) … Being a king, what does he obtain? He has a great retinue; great is his following: brahmins and householders, townspeople and countryfolk, finance ministers, officers of the army, gatekeepers, ministers, councillors, kings, fief-holders, and princes. Being a king, this is what he obtains. If he goes forth from the home into homelessness, he becomes an Arahant, a Perfectly Enlightened One (sammāsambuddha), with the veil drawn away in the world. Being a Buddha, what does he obtain? He has a great retinue; great is his following: bhikkhus, bhikkhunīs, laymen, laywomen, devas, humans, asuras, nāgas, and gandhabbas. Being a Buddha, this is what he obtains. The Blessed One spoke this matter. Concerning that, it is said:
English translation from the Pali (Siam Raṭṭha edition) — under review, not for citation.