Mahāsaccakasutta (MN 36)

When I read Mahāsaccaka Sutta (MN 36), I came across this sentence:

When my mind had immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—I extended it toward recollection of past lives.

It said “I extended”, did it means The Buddha DELIBERATELY EXTEND his mind toward recollection of his past lives?

If it is deliberately, then The Buddha do it to achieve something, isn’t it? Is that a want?

I think it’s important question that I also need to know…

I’m also wanna ask, buddha said don’t bring up the past, but why he told about his past life. Right know, i see so many of practitioner said about their history (how their childhood life until they become pabbajita). It’s good or bad? because sometimes, I think it will become misunderstanding. Because if I’m in their position. I will never said about my history before I reach the ability to remember the past and full of wisdom. Because I’m not capable to remember detail about the past moment, although I can remember but I can’t tell it with proper word. With this two of weakness, If I’m tell them about my past moment, It will become misunderstanding and loss to all.

Just now, i remember about one sutta, it tell us about someone who think he is the first being in his world. And when he died from that world and live in the other world. He think that he is someone who create everything. I don’t remember what sutta is it.

I think, The Enlightment One told Dhamma is just for add the other knowledge about something. While someone have knowledge, their wisdom and beliefe will increased. So, It’s not a want like tanha. It’s a wisdom because he know the benefit of what he said.

Like in Mahāpadānasutta, The Enlightment One-Gotama told about his past life. And in Acchariyaabbhutasutta, he told Ananda to Taught the other Bhikkhus about the amazing quality of The Enlightment One-related to his past life.

In Mahapadanasutta Ananda said:
“Now is the time, Blessed One! Now is the time, Holy One! Let the Buddha give a Dhamma talk on the subject of past lives. The mendicants will listen and remember it.”

Beside of he want to teach to the other. He tried to remember the past life especially of the other Enlightment One’s past life, maybe because he want to see contemplated about what he doing now is it right or not according to the other Enlightment One. I think it’s wisdom not a want like ‘tanha’.

Chanda not taṇhā

See Skillful Desires by Ajahn Jayasaro, for example.

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This describes the period before the Buddha’s awakening. He was investigating to realize deeper insights and wisdom. The wish to do this for the sake of liberation, as @Khemarato.bhikkhu wrote, while still conditional, is not the same as the craving that fetters the mind, obstructing one’s progress on the Path.
This type of desire, for the sake of liberation, is an important aspect of practice, MN24.

Regarding the line in MN36: “When my mind had immersed in samādhi like this—purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable—I extended it toward knowledge of the death and rebirth of sentient beings.”
So evaṁ samāhite citte parisuddhe pariyodāte anaṅgaṇe vigatūpakkilese mudubhūte kammaniye ṭhite āneñjappatte sattānaṁ cutūpapātañāṇāya cittaṁ abhininnāmesiṁ.

I’m not sure, but in this case I’m supposing this is a context in which samādhi may not mean jhana, as is usually the case. There is no willing or thought or inclinations while in jhana, (indeed, a number of Venerables on this site and others teach that there can be no movement of the mind whatsoever in these states, although some other teachers claim otherwise).
On the other hand, the rest of the sentence reads like a description of the qualities of a mind in jhana: “purified, bright, flawless, rid of corruptions, pliable, workable, steady, and imperturbable.”

On the other hand, abhininnāmesiṁ is the plural of abhininnameti, the singular for “directing towards”, clearly a movement and inclining of the mind.

So, this particular point – whether the Buddha was in jhana or not as he directed his mind – is a unclear. Would anyone – also asking the Venerables – care to clarify this?

Desire and craving for skillful qualities are necessary. The first stage of the path is dealing skillfully with conditioned phenomena, harnessing them for desired outcomes. Here the Buddha is addressing a layperson (carpenter), so speaks with accent on the conditioned path. Use the personnel in a sutta to determine its level, and avoid confusion by studying suttas appropriate to the western lay level, those involving laypeople and junior monks and nuns:

“There is the case where a monk generates desire…for the sake of the non-arising of evil, unskillful qualities that have not yet arisen…for the sake of the abandoning of evil, unskillful qualities that have arisen…for the sake of the arising of skillful qualities that have not yet arisen…(and) for the…development & culmination of skillful qualities that have arisen.”

—Majjhima Nikaya 78