Part Four

The Story of Maitrībala

4.2When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, the following took place‍—providing a statement additional to the life story of Wealth’s Delight in explaining how the events of The Sūtra of the Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Dharma came about.

4.3The monks requested him, “Lord, tell us why the Blessed One sated the group of five monks with a taste of the holy Dharma, establishing them in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.”

4.4“Not only now,” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, I sated them with my own flesh and blood, and set them on the path of the ten virtuous actions. Listen well!

4.5“Monks, in times past a king named Maitrībala reigned in the city of Vārāṇasī. During his reign, the kingdom was prosperous, flourishing, happy, and well populated. The harvest was good. Quarreling and arguments had ceased, there was no fighting or infighting, and there were no robbers, thieves, illness, or famine. Rice, sugarcane, cattle, and buffalo were plentiful. His was a reign in accord with the Dharma. He ruled the kingdom gently and mercifully, as a parent cares for a beloved only child.

4.6“This king was the epitome of love, was extremely compassionate, loved beings, and delighted in giving. He gave gifts and made merit. He provided for the ascetics, the brahmins, the indigent, the bereft, and the poor. He prepared a great deal of food and drink and made gifts of it to the creatures who flew through the sky, dwelt in the water, or made their homes in the fields. He cultivated love for the people of his country. The minds of all the people of his country [F.177.b] were filled with love, and due to its power no one could do them any harm.

4.7“One day, five life-draining yakṣas absconded from the prison of King Vaiśravaṇa . Draining the life out of many people, they made their way to Vārāṇasī, but as they introduced their pestilence there, they were unable to drain even the least bit of life from any being, not even the animals. They wondered, ‘Why is it that in this country we are unable to drain even the least bit of life from any being, even the animals? We should ask whose great power this is.’ They asked the shepherds and the other animal herders, ‘Why is it that we cannot harm anyone in this land in the least? Whose power is causing this?’

4.8“ ‘Our king is the epitome of love,’ they replied. ‘The minds of all the people of his country are filled with so much love that no one can do them any harm. Because of him, in this land no one can do us even the least bit of harm.’

4.9“ ‘This king is a person of merit,’ the yakṣas thought. ‘He’s well known as the epitome of love and for being quite compassionate, with a love for beings. He’ll surely be able to fill our stomachs!’ So they transformed their appearances into those of brahmins, approached King Maitrībala, and said, ‘O great compassionate one, we are famished! Please feed us.’

4.10“ ‘With what manner of food shall I feed you?’ asked the king.

“ ‘Please feed us with freshly drawn blood,’ they said.

4.11“At that the king thought, ‘Oh my! Though they dress one way, their food is another thing entirely! They’re not like human beings. But even if they’re not human, I shall do for them as I have promised. Still, I can’t harm others for the sake of feeding them, [F.178.a] yet without harming others I cannot get freshly drawn blood. If they can use my blood for food, then I will give them my own flesh and blood.’ So he asked the yakṣas, ‘My friends, could you perhaps use my blood for food?’

“ ‘Yes, Deva, we could!’ they replied.

4.12“When he heard this, without delay King Maitrībala arrayed the yakṣas before him and then summoned his healers and made his request, saying, ‘Find five points on my body from which to drain me, and I shall feed these beings with my blood.’

“ ‘But Deva,’ the healers pleaded, ‘we could never pierce your body with a weapon!’

4.13“ ‘They do not wish to be parted from me,’ he thought. ‘Very well, I will extract my own blood.’ Bodhisattvas have mastery of all manner of arts and professions, so he took up a mirror himself, pierced five points on his body, and offered one to each of the yakṣas, thinking, ‘I shall not stop letting my own blood until they are satisfied.’

4.14“At this Śakra, King of the Gods, thought, ‘Bodhisattvas keep their promises, and this bodhisattva has undertaken a magnificent austerity. It wouldn’t be right for the bodhisattva to suffer too much hardship.’ He decided, ‘I will fortify the life in his body!’

4.15“So Śakra, King of the Gods, fortified the bodhisattva’s body with divine life force, and even miraculously accomplished much of the bloodletting. After the bodhisattva had sated all five of the life-draining yakṣas with no difficulty at all, he prayed for unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, saying, ‘By this root of virtue, may I become a buddha to serve as a protector for the world’s blind without a guide, [F.178.b] without any guide at all, without anyone to show them the way, to rescue those who have not found their way across, to deliver those who have not been delivered, to relieve the anxiety of those frozen with fear, and to place in nirvāṇa all those who have not transcended suffering.

4.17“After the yakṣas had had their fill and were sated, their senses contented, they asked the bodhisattva, ‘Great compassionate one, what do you hope to accomplish by these efforts?’

“ ‘I will attain unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment,’ the bodhisattva replied.

“ ‘If that’s so,’ they said, ‘when you awaken and manifest the unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment of a buddha, satiating living beings with nectar, then may we become your very first disciples.’

4.18“ ‘How can I make you into my very first disciples,’ the bodhisattva asked, ‘when you are cutting short others’ lives, draining others’ life force?’

“ ‘Great compassionate one, what advice can you give us?’ they asked.

“ ‘Adopt and maintain the path of the ten virtuous actions,’ said the bodhisattva.

4.19“The yakṣas heeded him, immediately adopting the path of the ten virtuous actions and praying, ‘By this root of virtue, when this one awakens into unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, may we become his very first disciples.’

4.20“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was King Maitrībala then, and lived the life of a bodhisattva. Those who were the five yakṣas draining the life of others are none other than the group of five monks. At that time, I fed them with my own flesh and blood and set them on the path of the ten virtuous actions. Now as well I have sated them with a taste of the holy Dharma and established them in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.” [F.179.a]

The Dark Storm

4.21When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, five hundred merchants in Śrāvastī took up their goods and set out for another country. They traveled and traveled until eventually they came to a great, dark forest. In that forest lived a fierce, terrifying yakṣa who drained the life of others. He sent forth a great, dark storm that overtook the merchants. The merchants became desperate and had no idea what they should do. Terrified, they began making supplications to every possible deity.

4.22One of the leaders among them was a lay vow holder, and when he saw that the merchants had no idea what to do, he said, “What is the use of seeking refuge in these deities who are not a refuge? Take refuge in the Blessed One. He will protect you from suffering, despair, and misfortune.”

4.23No sooner had the merchants heard this than they took refuge in the Blessed One, saying, “We bow to the Blessed One, the tathāgata, the arhat, the totally and completely awakened buddha. Lord, Blessed One, if there is nothing past, present, or future that you do not see, know, or directly perceive, then heed us now, Blessed One. Protect us from suffering, despair, and misfortune, and save our precious lives!”

4.24The blessed buddhas, teachers of the one path to be traversed, with mastery over wisdom and the two types of knowable objects, in command of the three kinds of sterling equanimity, fearless by means of the fourfold fearlessness, freed from migration through the five destinies, keen in the six sense bases, practiced in the seven limbs of enlightenment, focused on the eight liberations, [F.179.b] absorbed in the nine successive meditative absorptions, possessing all ten of the ten powers, whose proclamations are the great roaring of a perfect lion, by nature regard the world with their buddha eyes six times throughout the day and night‍—three times by day and three times by night.

4.25These are their thoughts as they look out in wisdom: “Who is in decline? Who will flourish? Who is destitute? Who is in a dreadful state? Who is being harmed? Who is destitute, in a dreadful state, and being harmed? Who is veering toward the lower realms? Who is descending through the lower realms? Who has descended to the lower realms? Whom shall I pull up from the lower realms, and establish in the resultant state of heaven and liberation? Whom, mired in misdeeds, shall I lift up by the hand? Whom, lacking the seven jewels of the noble ones, shall I lead to command of the seven jewels of the noble ones? Whom, not having produced roots of virtue, shall I lead to produce them? Whom, having already produced roots of virtue, shall I lead to ripen their roots of virtue? Whom, having already ripened their roots of virtue, shall I slice open with the blade of wisdom? For whom shall I cause this world, adorned with a buddha’s presence, to be fruitful?”

4.27When the Blessed One focused his mind, he directly apprehended that the time had come to tame the five hundred merchants. He stretched out his arm like an elephant’s trunk and lifted up all five hundred merchants and their packs out of the dark forest and set them down not too far from Śrāvastī. The five hundred merchants recognized that they were near Śrāvastī and thought, “The Blessed One has rescued us!” They were elated, and because of this they thought, [F.180.a] “Let us give up living at home to go forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, in order to ford the floodwaters and completely escape our fetters with diligence, practice, and effort.”

4.28So they went to Śrāvastī, gave up household affairs, and gave gifts and made merit. They entered the garden of Prince Jeta, where they went to see the Blessed One, touched their heads to the Blessed One’s feet, pressed their lips to his feet, and said to him, “Blessed One, what a difficult task you have done for us! You saved our precious lives.” Then they sat before the Blessed One to listen to the Dharma.

4.29The Blessed One directly apprehended their thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperaments, capacities, and natures, and taught them the Dharma accordingly. Hearing it, all five hundred merchants destroyed with the thunderbolt of wisdom the twenty high peaks of the mountain of views concerning the transitory collection, and manifested the resultant state of stream entry right where they sat.

4.30Having seen the truths, they rose from their seats, drew down the right shoulder of their upper garments, bowed toward the Blessed One with palms pressed together, and requested of the Blessed One, “Lord, if permitted we wish to go forth in the Dharma and Vinaya so well spoken, complete our novitiates, and achieve full ordination. In the presence of the Blessed One, we too wish to practice the holy life.”

4.31With the words “Come, join me, monks!” the Blessed One led them to go forth as novices, conferred on them full ordination, and instructed them. Casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, they manifested arhatship.

4.32As arhats, free from the attachments of the three realms, [F.180.b] their minds regarded gold no differently than filth, and the palms of their hands as like space itself. They became cool like wet sandalwood. Their insight crushed ignorance like an eggshell. They achieved the insights, superknowledges, and discriminations. They had no regard for worldly profit, passion, or acclaim. They became objects of offering, veneration, and respectful address by Indra, Upendra, and the other gods.

4.33The monks inquired of the Blessed Buddha, “Lord, tell us why the Blessed One protected all five hundred merchants, rescued them from great danger, and established them in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.”

4.34“Not only now,” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, I rescued these five hundred merchants from great danger and placed them in the four meditative states and the five superknowledges. Listen well!

4.35“Monks, in times gone by, some five hundred merchants took up their goods and set out for another country. They traveled and traveled until eventually they came to a great, dark forest. In that forest lived a fierce, terrifying yakṣa who drained the life of others. He sent forth a great, dark storm that overtook the merchants. The merchants became desperate and had no idea what they should do. Terrified, they began making supplications to every possible deity.

4.36“At that time there lived a certain sage who had all the five superknowledges, a person of great miracles and great power, and he saw the suffering of the five hundred merchants. As soon as he did, he lifted all five hundred merchants and their packs up out of the dark forest and set them back down whence they came. The merchants [F.181.a] thought, ‘Regardless of how it happened, it is all because of this sage that we are still alive. In his presence let us give up living at home, and go forth to practice pure conduct.’ So in his presence they went forth, and all five hundred merchants generated the four meditative states and the five superknowledges.

4.37“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was that sage then. Those who were the five hundred merchants then are none other than these five hundred merchants. At that time I rescued them from great danger and placed them in the four meditative states and five superknowledges, and now as well I have rescued them from great danger, and established them in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.

4.38“At that time they also went forth in the teaching of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, and after they went forth, they practiced pure conduct all their lives. At the time of their deaths, they prayed, ‘May we please and not displease Uttara, the young brahmin prophesied by the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa to be the next blessed buddha. May we go forth in his doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

4.39“O monks, what do you think? The five hundred monks who went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Kāśyapa then are none other than these five hundred merchants. At that time they went forth, practiced pure conduct all their lives, and at the time of their deaths, they prayed, ‘May we please and not displease Uttara, the young brahmin prophesied by the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa to be the next blessed buddha. May we go forth in his doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’ [F.181.b]

4.40“So it is, monks, now that I myself have become the very equal of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa‍—equal in strength, equal in deeds, and equal in skillful means‍—that they have pleased me, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

Ants: Two Stories

The First “Ant” Story

4.41When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, Venerable All-Knowing Kauṇḍinya saw the truths, and when that happened eighty thousand gods saw the truths as well. The monks inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, tell us why the Blessed One sated Kauṇḍinya and eighty thousand gods with a taste of the holy Dharma, establishing them in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.”

4.42“Not only now,” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, I sated Kauṇḍinya and these eighty thousand gods with my own flesh and blood and saved their precious lives. Listen well!

4.43“Monks, in times gone by, on the banks of a certain river there lived a turtle who was compassionate, had a loving nature, and loved beings. Sometimes he walked on dry land, and sometimes he swam in the water.

4.44“One day he emerged from the water onto dry land, and fell asleep there. An ant emerged from an anthill and approached the turtle. He saw the turtle asleep there on dry land, [F.182.a] and then returned to the nest to inform the other ants. The eighty thousand other ants in that anthill heard from the first ant that the turtle was there and came streaming out of the anthill to crawl into the turtle’s shell. As they all began to feed on him, he awoke and saw that his body was covered in ants.

4.45“Now even when bodhisattvas take a lower birth with their bodies, their minds do not descend to lower realms. So the bodhisattva thought, ‘I could go back into the water, but all these living beings’ lives would be lost. Since I strive to benefit beings, it wouldn’t be right for me to take so many lives. Better to sacrifice my own instead.’ With this in mind, he took the hardship upon himself and kept silent.

4.46“As the eighty thousand ants consumed him, he prayed, ‘Oh, by this root of virtue, may I become a tathāgata, an arhat, a totally and completely awakened buddha, endowed with perfect knowledge and perfect conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, a tamer of persons, a charioteer, an unsurpassed one, a teacher of humans and gods‍—a blessed buddha‍—to serve as a protector for the world’s blind without a guide, without any guide at all, without anyone to show them the way, to rescue those who have not found their way across, to deliver those who have not been delivered, to relieve the anxiety of those frozen with fear, and to place in nirvāṇa all those who have not transcended suffering.

4.47“ ‘In the same way that I have now sated them with my own flesh and blood, saving their precious lives, when I perfectly and completely awaken into unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, may I sate them with a taste of the holy Dharma, establishing them in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.’

4.48“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was that turtle then, [F.182.b] and lived the life of a bodhisattva. Those who were the eighty thousand ants then are none other than these eighty thousand gods. At that time I sated them with my own flesh and blood, saving their precious lives, and now as well I have sated them with a taste of the holy Dharma, establishing them in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.”

The Second “Ant” Story

4.49Herein is an additional episode as it appears in the life story of Wealth’s Delight .

4.50When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, when Venerable All-Knowing Kauṇḍinya saw the truths, eighty thousand gods saw the truths as well. The monks inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, tell us why the Blessed One sated Kauṇḍinya and eighty thousand gods with a taste of the holy Dharma, establishing them in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.”

4.51“Not only now,” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, I sated Kauṇḍinya and these eighty thousand gods with my own flesh and blood and saved their precious lives. Listen well!

4.52“Monks, in times gone by, not far from a certain mountainside was a small hole. In that hole lived a lizard who was quite compassionate, the epitome of love, and who loved beings. The iguana subsisted only on roots and fruit and did not wish any being harm.

4.53“One day, as the lizard went out looking for something to eat, a hunter spotted him and caught him alive. After he had skinned him, he let him go, picked up the skin, and continued on his way. The lizard, unable to withstand the pain, went to a riverbank and lay down in a cool place.

4.54Not so far from there [F.183.a] stood an anthill, and in that anthill lived eighty thousand ants. One ant emerged from the anthill and went up to the lizard to have a look. The ant, seeing that the lizard had no skin, returned to the nest to inform the others, and all eighty thousand ants came streaming out of the anthill to crawl onto the lizard’s body. As they all began to feed on the lizard he awoke and saw that his body was covered in ants.

4.55“Now even when bodhisattvas take a lower birth with their bodies, their minds do not descend to lower realms. So the bodhisattva thought, ‘I could save myself, but all these living beings’ lives would be lost. Since I strive to benefit beings, it wouldn’t be right for me to take so many lives. Better to sacrifice my own instead. While it is certain that this harm alone is enough to kill me, if I ask myself, “What is my duty?” it is my duty to give up my body for the sake of beings. I have a responsibility to them.’ With this in mind, he took the hardship upon himself and kept silent.

4.56“Then the lizard prayed for unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, saying, ‘By this root of virtue, may I become a tathāgata, an arhat, a totally and completely awakened Buddha, endowed with perfect knowledge and perfect conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, a tamer of persons, a charioteer, an unsurpassed one, a teacher of humans and gods‍—a blessed buddha‍—to serve as a protector for the world’s blind without a guide, without any guide at all, without anyone to show them the way, to rescue those who have not found their way across, to deliver those who have not been delivered, to relieve the anxiety of those frozen with fear, and to place in nirvāṇa all those who have not transcended suffering.

4.57“ ‘In the same way that I have now sated them [F.183.b] with my own flesh and blood, saving their precious lives, when I perfectly and completely awaken into unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, may I sate them with a taste of the holy Dharma, establishing them in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.’

4.58“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was that lizard then, and lived the life of a bodhisattva. Those who were the eighty thousand ants then are none other than these eighty thousand gods. At that time I sated them with my own flesh and blood, saving their precious lives, and now as well I have sated them with a taste of the holy Dharma, establishing them in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.”

The Lay of the Land

4.59When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there were two times of year when it was customary for the disciples of the Blessed Buddha to convene: in the middle of the summer months when the time came for the summer retreat, and on the full moon of the last month of autumn. When the time came in the middle of the summer months for the monks to enter retreat, they would receive special instructions to ponder, and then retreat to mountain ravines, mountain caves, reed huts, plains, charnel grounds, and forests, and settle there for the duration of the rainy season. On the full moon of the last month of autumn they would all return, give an account of all that they had realized, and put questions to their superiors regarding all that they still did not understand.

4.60There was a certain monk who, having spent that period in the countryside, made his way through the countryside, traveling and traveling until he arrived in Śrāvastī, where he put down his alms bowl and holy robes. In the morning he donned his lower garment and holy robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went for alms in Śrāvastī. He was a newcomer, having never been there before, so he was unfamiliar with the area and had very little knowledge of the lay of the land.

4.61He had come to Śrāvastī very late, [F.184.a] and seeing that the other monks had already gone carrying their alms bowls filled, he thought, “I will ask where I should go to quickly get some alms.” So he went to see Upananda and asked him, “Lord Upananda, I don’t know my way around Śrāvastī. Can you please show me where to go to quickly get some alms?”

4.62Upananda, intending him harm, pointed at the home of a certain brahmin, a faithless man irritated by all things virtuous, auspicious, and well mannered, and said, “Go to that house there‍—that’s where you’ll get your alms.” With that, Upananda departed.

4.63As the monk approached the house, the brahmin, who was just heading out to another village on an errand, decided that it was a bad omen for this shaven-headed, colored-cloth-wearing man to cross his path. The brahmin grabbed hold of him, pummeled him, and stomped on him. After the brahmin let him go, the monk emerged from the house with his head gashed open, shirt and robes torn, alms bowl smashed, and walking staff in pieces, and thought, “Better to go without food.” When he came to the garden of Prince Jeta during his fast, the monks saw him and asked, “Lord, what is this? You weren’t overcome by bandits, were you?”

“No, I wasn’t overcome by bandits. Rather, Upananda thought to do me harm,” he replied.

4.64When the monks heard the story, they asked the Blessed One about it, and the Blessed One declared, “Let one monk not point another in the wrong direction. And should a monk see others who don’t understand where they are headed, let him stop them. It is good to stop someone in such a way. Not to stop them will be an infraction.” [F.184.b]

4.65Then the monks requested the Blessed One, “Lord, tell us why Upananda pointed this monk in the wrong direction and the monk went there and met with great harm.”

4.66“Not only now,” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, Upananda pointed this monk in the wrong direction, and when he went there, he met with great harm. Listen well!

“Monks, in times gone by, there lived a turtle in a certain lotus pond. A fox that was tormented by thirst had come to that pond thinking that he would drink some water. He entered the lotus pond and saw the turtle there. He took him in his teeth and was about to eat him, but the turtle said to him, ‘Friend, please don’t kill me. I am but a morsel to you. If you release me alive, I shall lead you to a great deal of food.’

4.67“As soon as the fox heard this he let the turtle go and said, ‘Show me where I can get that food!’

“ ‘Oh friend,’ replied the turtle, ‘in such-and-such a region in a certain cave live a mother lizard and her offspring, eight of them in all. Go kill and eat them.’ In truth, there was a lioness living in that cave that had just given birth to two lion cubs. In order to protect them she would not leave the cave. But when the fox heard what the turtle had said, he hurried to an entrance at one side of the cave. Another fox saw him and said, ‘Where are you off to, friend?’

4.68“ ‘In this cave live a mother lizard and her offspring, eight of them in all. I am going to kill and eat them.’

“ ‘Look here, my friend,’ warned the other, ‘if you go in there you’ll surely meet with suffering.’

“But the first fox said to him in verse, [F.185.a]

4.70“That fox did not heed the other’s words, and just as he was entering the cave, one lion cub caught him by the ear and the other caught him by the tail. Their mother said, ‘My sons, don’t kill that scavenger. What’s the use?’

4.71“Obeying their mother’s words, the first tore off his ear, the other tore off his tail, and then they tossed him aside. The other fox saw what happened from the mouth of the cave and spoke the following verse:

4.73“Said the first fox to the other, ‘It’s not the turtle’s fault. That I heeded and believed its words is my own fault.’ And he said in verse,

4.75“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that turtle then is none other than Upananda. The one who was the fox then is none other than this monk. At that time the former pointed the latter in the wrong direction, and when he went there, he met with great suffering. Now as well he has pointed him in the wrong direction, and when the monk went there, he met with great suffering.”

The Story of Āraṇyaka

4.76When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a certain householder, prosperous and wealthy, a person of vast and magnificent means, endowed with the wealth of Vaiśravaṇa‍—with wealth to rival Vaiśravaṇa’s. He took a wife of the same caste, and as they [F.185.b] enjoyed themselves and coupled, one day his wife conceived. Now, that being was in its final existence. The spiritual friend of the house was Venerable Aniruddha, and he looked and saw that a being in its final existence had taken rebirth in their house.

4.77One day, to strengthen the parents’ resolve, Venerable Aniruddha went to their house alone, without companions or attendants. Upon seeing Venerable Aniruddha, the householder said, “Noble one, why have you come here alone, without companions or attendants?”

4.78“Where shall we find attendants,” Venerable Aniruddha replied, “if one such as yourself does not grant them to us?”

“Noble one,” the householder said, “my wife has conceived, so if we have a son, noble one, I shall offer him to you as an attendant.”

Venerable Aniruddha said, “The virtuous keep their promises.” Having spoken thus, Venerable Aniruddha departed.

4.79After the householder’s wife conceived, she went to a very isolated place and stayed there, for she was perpetually unhappy in the company of others. The householder thought, “Has my wife been possessed by some sort of spirit?” and he brought her to the soothsayers.

“No,” the soothsayers assured him, “she has not been possessed by a spirit. All this has taken place on account of the being in her womb. That being is happy to be by himself.”

4.80Then, after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, with glowing, golden skin and a well-rounded head, long arms, a broad brow, and a nose fine and prominent. [F.186.a] At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they asked, “What name should we give this child?” And they named him, saying, “Since it was predicted before he was born that he would be happy to be by himself, his name will be Āraṇyaka.”

4.81They reared young Āraṇyaka on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and once he was able to walk, he naturally began to recall his former lives. When he looked, he saw that he had been circling in saṃsāra, where, caught up in socializing, he met with great suffering. Recognizing this, he was happy to stay by himself in isolated places and avoid such socializing distractions.

4.82One day Venerable Aniruddha knew that the time had come for the child to go forth, so he reminded the householder, “Householder, before this child was born you granted him to me as an attendant. The virtuous keep their promises, do they not? Didn’t you yourself make such a promise?”

4.83“Yes, noble one, I did make just such a promise,” the householder replied, and as he said this, he took the child by his two hands, offered him to Venerable Aniruddha, and told him, “Child, before you were born, I offered you to the noble one. Therefore go, and be an attendant of the noble one.”

“This will be of benefit to me,” the child said, and with those words he followed Venerable Aniruddha away.

4.84Venerable Aniruddha explained the Dharma to the householder and then brought the child to the monastery. There he led him to go forth as a novice, conferred on him full ordination, and instructed him. Casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, he manifested arhatship.

4.85As an arhat, free from the attachments of the three realms, his mind regarded gold no differently than filth, and the palms of his hands as like space itself. [F.186.b] He became cool like wet sandalwood. His insight crushed ignorance like an eggshell. He achieved the insights, superknowledges, and discriminations. He had no regard for worldly profit, passion, or acclaim. He became an object of offering, veneration, and respectful address by Indra, Upendra, and the other gods.

“By staying in seclusion‍—in hermitages, in forests, and in remote places‍—I shall not come into contact with anyone,” he thought.

4.86The monks inquired of the Blessed Buddha, “Lord, what action did Āraṇyaka take that ripened into his birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth; that he pleased the Blessed One, and did not displease him; and that he went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship? What fault did he recognize that even as a child he rid himself of such socializing, and was happy to be by himself?”

4.87“Monks,” the Blessed One explained, “he began to naturally recall his former lives and saw that he had been circling in saṃsāra, where caught up in socializing he met with great suffering. Recollecting this suffering, he was happy to be by himself.”

4.88“Lord, where did he become caught up in socializing?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One recounted, “in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty thousand years, and the totally and completely awakened buddha possessed of insight and perfect conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the tamer of persons, the charioteer, the unsurpassed one, the teacher of humans and gods, the blessed buddha known as Kāśyapa was in the world, he went forth in his doctrine.

4.89“Serving as steward the monk became caught up in socializing. Because he became caught up in socializing, he [F.187.a] forsook his morality, and when he forsook his morality he took all the donations for the saṅgha, the donations to the stūpa, their regular support, and the donations for the saṅgha of the four directions, and, indulging himself as he pleased, also gave them to others.

4.90“O monks, what do you think? The one who was serving as steward then is none other than this monk. At that time he went forth, but he took all the donations for the saṅgha, the donations to the stūpa, their regular support, and the donations for the saṅgha of the four directions, and, indulging himself as he pleased, also gave them to others. The act of tossing virtue aside ripened such that for five hundred lifetimes he took rebirth as an anguished spirit, and underwent great suffering.

4.91“Once he recalled his previous sufferings, he was happy to be by himself. At that time he practiced pure conduct all his life, his faculties ripened, and now he has pleased me, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship. What little service he did offer in accord with the Dharma ripened into his birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth.” [B16]

The Elephant

4.92When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī he held his summer rains retreat there. After the three months of rain had passed, he prepared his Dharma robes, put them on, and, carrying his alms bowl, set out from Śrāvastī for Rājagṛha. He traveled and traveled until he eventually came to the foot of a mountain. At that time there was a certain forest elephant who was afraid of lions and had driven his herd up onto the mountain, where he looked after them. After he ascended the mountain, the elephant bull saw the Blessed One approaching in the distance.

4.93No sooner had the elephant bull seen him [F.187.b] than a feeling of joy toward the Blessed One surged within him and he descended the mountain. Bearing banyan branches, he went to the Blessed One, and, after bowing to the Blessed One and circumambulating him, he held the banyan branches aloft so that the bright sun would not torment his body, and followed him. He escorted him until they came to the next village, and on his way back a lion, the king of beasts, killed him. After he died he transmigrated and took rebirth among the gods.

4.94Now when young gods and goddesses are born they possess three different types of innate knowledge. They know, (1) whence they have died and transmigrated, (2) where they have been born, and (3) why they have taken birth there.

4.95The young god who formerly was the elephant saw that when he died from his life as an animal, filled with joy at the thought of the Blessed One, he transmigrated and took rebirth in a higher state as a god in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Then he thought, “It’s been a whole day since I approached the Blessed One and offered him my respect. This isn’t proper of me. Not a day should pass without my seeing the Blessed One.”

4.96So the young god who formerly was the elephant decorated himself with earrings, garlands, and strings of precious stones, put on a crown decorated with various types of precious jewels, and perfumed his body with saffron, tamala, spṛka, and other herbs. That night he filled the front of his long shirt with divine blue lotus, lotus, white water lily, white lotus, and mandārava flowers. Then, appearing amid a great light in the garden of Prince Jeta, he approached the Blessed One, scattered the divine blue lotus, lotus, white water lily, white lotus, and mandārava flowers over the Blessed One, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

4.97The Blessed One directly apprehended the thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, and nature of the young god who formerly was the elephant, and taught him the Dharma in such a way that he realized the noble truths of noble beings. Hearing it, the young god who formerly was the elephant [F.188.a] destroyed with the thunderbolt of wisdom the twenty high peaks of the mountain of views concerning the transitory collection, and manifested the resultant state of stream entry.

4.98Having seen the truths, he expressed his joy three times, saying, “Lord, Blessed One, when you dried up the ocean of my blood and tears, led me over the mountain pass of bones, slammed shut the doors to lower births, and swung wide the doors to heaven and liberation, you established me among gods and human beings, which no one has ever done for me‍—which neither my father and mother, nor a sovereign, nor deities, nor my relatives and all my friends, nor my ancestors before me could do, and that neither the ascetics nor the brahmins could do.”

He continued:

4.103When the young god who was formerly the elephant returned to where he belongs, the rewards of having met the Blessed One were like the profits of a merchant, the success of a farmer in the field, the victory of a national hero, and the liberation at last of the sick from any illness.

4.104At that time, the monks who were committed to earnest practice, foregoing sleep from dusk to dawn, noticed all the great rays of light spreading forth from where the Blessed One was. They were bewildered at the sight, and inquired of the Blessed Buddha, [F.188.b] “Lord, what was this? Last night, did Sahāṃpati Brahmā, or Śakra, King of the Gods‍—or perhaps the four great kings‍—come to offer respect to the Blessed One?”

4.105“Monks,” the Blessed One replied, “it was neither Sahāṃpati Brahmā, nor Śakra, King of the Gods, nor the four great kings who came to see me. Did you see the elephant bull who held the banyan branches as the Tathāgata was walking on the road?”

“Yes, Lord, we saw him.”

4.106“Monks, on the way back he was killed by a lion. Having felt such joy toward me, he took rebirth among the gods and came here to see me. I taught the Dharma to that young god, and, having seen the truths, he returned to where he belongs.”

4.107“Lord,” the monks inquired of the Blessed Buddha, “what action did he take that ripened into his birth among the gods, and that he pleased the Blessed One, and did not displease him?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One replied, “it was partly due to his past actions, and it is partly due to his present actions as well.

4.108“As for his past actions, monks, in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty thousand years, and the totally and completely awakened buddha possessed of insight and perfect conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the tamer of persons, the charioteer, the unsurpassed one, the teacher of humans and gods, the blessed buddha known as Kāśyapa was in the world, he went forth in his teaching.

4.109“As a monk, he had no respect for his training and became caught up in distractions. He did much that violated the fundamental precepts, both lesser and greater. Still, he maintained some of the fundamental precepts, and at the time of his death [F.189.a] he prayed, ‘By this root of virtue, may I please and not displease Uttara, the young brahmin prophesied by the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa to be the next blessed buddha.’

4.110“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that monk then is none other than this elephant. The act of failing to maintain both the lesser and greater fundamental precepts ripened into his birth among the animals. Since he protected some of the fundamental precepts, at the time of his death he prayed, ‘By this root of virtue, may I please and not displease Uttara, the young brahmin prophesied by the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa to be the next blessed buddha.’

4.111“So it is monks, now that I myself have become the very equal of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa‍—equal in strength, equal in deeds, and equal in skillful means‍—that he has pleased me and not displeased me. These were his past actions.

“As for his present actions, the monk became an elephant who offered me his respectful service with a mind full of joy, so he took birth among the gods. These were his present actions.”

The Nāga (1)

4.112When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, a nāga king called Vasu lived in the great ocean. When the time came for him to marry he took a nāga wife, and they enjoyed themselves and coupled. One day she gave birth to a child, and at the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they asked, “What name should we give this child?” And they named him, saying, “Since this is Vasu’s child, his name will be Vasubhadra.” Young Vasubhadra was reared on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and he grew up, and learned to get around. [F.189.b]

4.113Now it is characteristic of the nāgas that three times each day and three times each night the nāga sands rain down on their bodies. This causes them to undergo dreadful suffering and extreme, excruciating, unbearable agony. Until the day the child came into his own, the nāga sands never rained down on his body. But once he had grown and come into his own, the nāga sands rained down on him too and caused him dreadful suffering and extreme, excruciating, unbearable agony, so he asked his parents, “Mother, Father, how long must I undergo such suffering?”

His parents replied, “For as long as it is destined to you, son, you will undergo these sufferings.”

4.114The young nāga looked and saw that the nāga sands didn’t rain down on the bodies of other nāgas. Seeing this he asked his parents, “Mother, Father, I think we have fallen into a lower realm. For if the nāga sands don’t rain down on those high nāgas there, why do they rain down on our bodies?”

“Those high nāgas are of great renown,” his parents replied. “It’s because of their great renown that they aren’t rained down upon.”

4.115Then he looked and saw that in the great ocean there were some nāgas who were even more wretched than they were, but nāga sand wasn’t raining down on their bodies. Seeing this, he asked his parents, “Mother, Father, are you telling me that these are all nāgas of great renown, and that because of their great renown nāga sand isn’t raining down on their bodies? For there are some here who are even more wretched than we are. Why then, if nāga sand isn’t raining down on their bodies, is it still raining down on ours?”

“Though they are more wretched than we are,” explained his parents, “nonetheless they take refuge and maintain the fundamental precepts. That’s why nāga sand doesn’t rain down on their bodies.”

4.116When he heard this, he surged with joy. “Mother, Father,” he asked, “how is that they came to take refuge and the fundamental precepts?” [F.190.a]

“A buddha has arisen here, in this central land,” they said. “He has let fall a rain of nectar, and so they have come to take refuge and the fundamental precepts.”

“Mother, Father,” the young nāga requested, “please, permit me to go take refuge and maintain the fundamental precepts, by whose power nāga sand will no longer rain down on my body.”

4.117“Do not take them, son,” cautioned his parents. “Though the sufferings of the sands are innate to us, they are minor. If you take refuge and the fundamental precepts but do not maintain them, it will be the basis of your taking rebirth as a hell being, an animal, or an anguished spirit, where you will undergo great suffering, compared to which your current sufferings are not even a fraction’s worth‍—not even a hundredth, not even a thousandth, not even a hundred thousandth.”

4.118“Mother, Father,” said the young nāga, “I shall maintain them to the best of my ability, if only to assuage the sufferings of the sands innate to us.” With those words the young nāga filled up the front of his long shirt with divine blue lotus, lotus, white water lily, white lotus, and mandārava flowers, disappeared from beneath the great ocean, and traveled to the garden of Prince Jeta, where the Blessed One sat teaching the Dharma amid a company of hundreds. The young nāga saw the Blessed Buddha, resplendent and agreeable, in the distance. His senses were tamed, his heart was at peace, and his mind was tame and absolutely serene. He was graced with a supreme tranquility, shining and radiant like a golden pillar.

4.119He saw the Blessed Buddha, and the sight of him filled him with supreme joy. Full of such joy he approached the Blessed One, and when he arrived he scattered the divine blue lotus, lotus, white water lily, and white lotus flowers over the Blessed One. Then he touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet, took refuge in the Blessed One, received the fundamental precepts, [F.190.b] and sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

4.120Now that the nāga sands affected him no more, he thought, “The Blessed One has dispelled many kinds of suffering and unhappiness, and brought me many kinds of happiness and bliss. How could I repay the Blessed One? If the Blessed One will permit it, for as long as I live, I will respectfully serve the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks with all their needs.”

4.121He rose from his seat, drew down the right shoulder of his upper garment, bowed toward the Blessed One with palms pressed together, and implored him, “Blessed One, for as long as I live please permit me to provide the Buddha and the entire saṅgha of monks with provisions of clothing, food, bedding, seats, and medicines for the sick. Blessed One, please permit me to do so.”

“Young man,” the Blessed One replied, “please let me go, for there are others who also need my help.”

4.122After the Blessed One remained in retreat in Śrāvastī during the rains, he instructed Venerable Ānanda, saying, “Ānanda, go and give this message to the monks: tell them that the Tathāgata will travel through the countryside to Magadha. Inform them that those who wish to travel through the countryside with the Tathāgata should prepare their robes.” Then, after staying in Śrāvastī for as long as he liked, the Blessed One traveled to Rājagṛha.

4.123The young nāga thought, “Even though the Blessed One would not permit me to respectfully serve them with provisions of clothing, food, bedding, seats, and medicines for the sick for as long as I live, while they are on this road I can provide the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks with all their needs.” He drew down the right shoulder of his upper garment, bowed toward the Blessed One with palms pressed together, [F.191.a] and implored the Blessed One again, “I would like to provide the Blessed One and the rest of the saṅgha of monks with provisions of clothing, food, bedding, seats, and medicines for the sick as we travel from Śrāvastī to Rājagṛha. Blessed One, please permit me to do so.” The Blessed One assented by his silence.

4.124Understanding that by his silence the Blessed One had given his assent, straightaway the young nāga cleared the road from Śrāvastī to Rājagṛha of stones, pebbles, and gravel, cleaned the roadside ditches, and swept away mud, filth, twigs, and dung until there was no more. Then he covered the ground with green grass and sprinkled it with fragrant water to settle the dust. All along either side he laid branches of fruits and flowers, as if it were a courtyard, and it resounded with singing parrots, peacocks, mountain birds, and cakravāka birds. He filled the ponds, pools, and reservoirs with lotus, blue lotus, white water lily, and white lotus flowers, and he magically manifested honking swans and geese and quacking ducks.

4.125He filled the length of the road with vases and lined the sides with banana trees and marvelous garlands. He set up parasols, banners, and flags, decorated them with various colored fabrics, and set out yak-tail whisks. On the right and on the left he arrayed blue, yellow, red, and white platforms, overlaid with sashed canopies, and decorated with moons, crescents, and mirrors.

4.126He decorated himself with bangles around the neck and wrists, armlets, garlands of ornaments, and strings of precious stones. He magically manifested cascading bouquets of flowers in elaborate arrangements, and he magically manifested crowds of people as well. Some held hundred-ribbed parasols over the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks. [F.191.b] Some held canopies aloft. Some waved fans with golden handles, others waved fans with bejeweled handles, and some scattered lotus, blue lotus, white water lily, and white lotus flowers.

4.127The young nāga followed close behind the Blessed One, worshiping him with flowers, and burning sticks of incense, incense powder, and incense cones. Whenever and wherever the Blessed One paused in repose, then and there he magically manifested a seat. He contented the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks with a blend of molasses, sugarcane juice, and refined sugar. Whenever and wherever the Blessed One made camp for the night, then and there he would magically manifest a monastery that was complete in every respect. He also offered scented water for the monks to wash their feet and fragrant sesame oil to anoint them. Then the following day, once he had contented the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks with many good and wholesome foods, he would again accompany the Buddha, venerating him, treating him as his guru, and offering him honor and worship.

4.128The Blessed One traveled and traveled until eventually he arrived in Rājagṛha, where he stayed in the Kalandakanivāsa, in Bamboo Grove. There the young nāga drew down the right shoulder of his upper garment, bowed toward the Blessed One with palms pressed together, and requested the Blessed One, “I would like to provide the Blessed One and the rest of the saṅgha of monks for three months with provisions of clothing, food, bedding, seats, and medicines for the sick here in Bamboo Grove. Blessed One, please permit me to do so.” The Blessed One assented to the young nāga by his silence.

4.129Understanding that by his silence the Blessed One [F.192.a] had given his assent, the young nāga then prepared everything they would need for three months there in Bamboo Grove. Once he had provided for all the needs of the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks for three months, on the last day he contented them with foods of a hundred flavors and to the Blessed One he offered a very costly robe. To each of the other monks he also offered everything that was needed. Then he took a seat at the head of the row with thoughts of faith, and at that moment the Blessed One smiled.

Now it is the nature of the blessed buddhas’ smiles that when they smile, colorful beams of blue, yellow, red, and white light radiate from their mouths, with some traveling up and others traveling down.

4.130Those that travel down go to the beings in the Reviving Hell, the Black Thread Hell , the Crushing Hell, the Shrieking Hell, the Screaming Hell, the Hot Hell, the Hell of Extreme Heat, the Hell of Ceaseless Agony, the Blistering Hell, the Bursting Blister Hell, the Hell of Chattering Teeth, the Hell of Lamentation, the Cold Whimpering Hell, the Splitting Open Like a Blue Lotus Hell, the Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell, and the Splitting Open Like a Great Lotus Hell, and as they descend they cool the beings in the hot hells, and warm the beings in the cold hells.

4.131In this way they soothe the particular injuries of those beings, who wonder, “Have we died and been reborn somewhere other than this place?” Then, to engender faith in them, the blessed ones radiate an emanation, and when the beings see it, they think, “Alas, it is neither that we have died and left this place, nor that we have been born elsewhere. Rather it is because of the unprecedented appearance [F.192.b] of this emanation that our particular injuries have been soothed.” They feel real joy toward the emanation, exhausting the deeds that brought them to experience the hells. Now, as fit vessels of the truths, they take rebirth among the gods and humans.

4.132The rays of light that travel up go to the following gods: those of the Abodes of the Four Great Kings, the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the Strifeless Heaven, Tuṣita Heaven, the Delighting in Creation Heaven, the Heaven of the Masters of Others’ Creations, and the Heaven of Brahmā’s Assembly; those of the realms called Brahmin Priests, Great Brahmā, Limited Splendor, Immeasurable Splendor, Radiant Heaven, Lesser Virtue, Immeasurable Virtue, Extensive Virtue, and the Cloudless Heaven; and those of the realms called Increasing Merit, Great Result , None Greater, Sorrowless, Sublime Vision, Great Vision, and Supreme . There they sound a cry of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and selflessness, and they echo the following two verses:

4.135Then the rays of light circle through the trichiliocosm and come back to the blessed ones. Should the blessed one wish to make a revelation about past deeds, they will disappear into the blessed one’s back. Should he wish to foretell the future, they will disappear into the chest. [F.193.a] Should he wish to prophesy about a hell birth, they will disappear into the soles of the feet. Should he wish to prophesy about an animal birth, they will disappear into the heels. Should he wish to prophesy about birth as an anguished spirit, they will disappear into the big toe. Should he wish to prophesy about a human birth, they will disappear into the knees.

4.136Should he wish to prophesy about someone’s becoming a great universal monarch, they will disappear into the palm of the left hand. Should he wish to prophesy about someone’s becoming a universal monarch, they will disappear into the palm of the right hand. Should he wish to prophesy about a god birth, they will disappear into the navel. Should he wish to prophesy about the enlightenment of the listeners, they will disappear into the mouth. Should he wish to prophesy about the enlightenment of the solitary buddhas, they will disappear into the hair between the eyebrows. Should he wish to prophesy about an unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, they will disappear into the crown of the head.

4.137After these particular rays of light had circled the Blessed One three times, they disappeared into the hair between the Blessed One’s eyebrows. Then Venerable Ānanda joined his palms in reverence and praised the Blessed One with the following verse:

4.139He then supplicated him with the following verses:

4.143“Lord, if in the absence of the right causes and conditions the tathāgatas, the arhats, the totally and completely awakened buddhas do not smile, what are the causes and conditions that make them smile?”

4.144“Ānanda, so it is,” replied the Blessed One. “It is just as you say, Ānanda. Without the right causes and conditions the tathāgatas, the arhats, the totally and completely awakened buddhas do not smile. Ānanda, did you see the young nāga who provided for the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks, both on the road and here in Rājagṛha?”

“Yes, Lord, I saw him.”

4.145“Ānanda, by the root of virtue of this nāga’s act, he will not fall to the lower realms for one hundred eons. For one hundred eons he will take rebirth among gods and humans. After circling in saṃsāra, in his final rebirth, his final dwelling place, he will take birth as a human being. Then he will go forth and manifest the thirty-seven wings of enlightenment without a teacher or any instruction. He will manifest the enlightenment of a solitary buddha and become the solitary buddha known as Aspiration Well Sown.”

The Story of Siṃha

4.146When the Blessed One was in Vaiśālī, as a certain army chief named Siṃha and his wife enjoyed themselves and coupled, his wife conceived, and immediately her entire body began to smell of excrement. What’s more, she also had the urge to eat excrement.

4.147She explained all of this to her husband, Siṃha the army chief. “Alas!” army chief Siṃha thought, “one of those rotting spirits has assumed control of my wife,” and he brought her to the soothsayers.

4.148“No, she has not been possessed by a rotten spirit,” the soothsayers assured him. [F.194.a] “All this has taken place on account of the being in her womb. Once that being is born there will be no more trouble.”

4.149Then after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child that was ugly in eighteen different ways. No sooner was the child born than the house was suffused with the smell of excrement. The women laid him out on the bed and applied all different kinds of perfumes, but still could not remove the smell of filth from his body. The army chief Siṃha’s wife did not wish to show the child to him, but one of the other women informed him, “Sir, though indeed you have a son, he is ugly in eighteen different ways, the smell of excrement pervades his body, and the whole house is filling up with the smell.”

4.150The army chief Siṃha was stricken to hear this and thought, “Though a son has finally been born to me, since he’s disfigured, what use is he to me? When night falls, I’ll toss him out to the dogs.”

4.151Now in the meantime the army chief Siṃha’s spiritual advisor had met the Blessed One and seen the truths. Having seen the truths, he thought, “This being was born due to his past actions. Since he was born in a body like this due to his nonvirtuous actions, they should raise this pitiable creature. When he is grown, they should introduce him to respectful service to the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. Then at the very least he will not take birth in such a body in his next life.”

4.152So they reared him on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and when he had grown, his father said to him, “Son, you have a body like this on account of your nonvirtuous past actions. [F.194.b] Right now the Blessed One is a rich field of merit for all humanity. Even doing him some small service will bring a great result and benefit you greatly. Offer him your service, make good prayers, and perhaps the burden of your past deeds will be lighter.”

4.153Heeding his father’s words, he began to respectfully serve the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. One day, at the young man’s behest, his parents extended an invitation to the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks, and he contented them with many good, wholesome foods, proffering all that they wished. Once he knew that their bowls had been taken away and their hands washed, he brought in a very low seat and sat before the Blessed One to listen to the Dharma.

4.154The Blessed One directly apprehended his thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, capacity, and nature, and taught him the Dharma accordingly. Hearing it, the young man destroyed with the thunderbolt of wisdom the twenty high peaks of the mountain of views concerning the transitory collection, and manifested the resultant state of stream entry right where he sat.

4.155Having seen the truths, he thought, “If my body weren’t like this, I too would go forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, in order to ford the floodwaters and completely escape my fetters with diligence, practice, and effort.” No sooner had he thought this than his ugly features and the unpleasant smell disappeared, and he was filled with exceptional joy toward the Blessed One.

4.156Full of such joy, he pressed his palms together, bowed toward the Blessed One, and requested, [F.195.a] “Lord, if permitted I wish to go forth in the Dharma and Vinaya so well spoken, complete my novitiate, and achieve full ordination. In the presence of the Blessed One, I too wish to practice the holy life.”

4.157With the words “Come, join me, monk! Practice the holy life,” the Blessed One led him to go forth as a novice, conferred on him full ordination, and instructed him. Casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, he manifested arhatship. As an arhat, free from the attachments of the three realms, his mind regarded gold no differently than filth, and the palms of his hands as like space itself. He became cool like wet sandalwood. His insight crushed ignorance like an eggshell. He achieved the insights, superknowledges, and discriminations. He had no regard for worldly profit, passion, or acclaim. He became an object of offering, veneration, and respectful address by Indra, Upendra, and the other gods.

4.158The monks inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, what action did this monk take that ripened into his being ugly in eighteen different ways, and that the smell of excrement arose from all over his body? What action did he take that, as soon as he felt a sense of renunciation, his ugliness disappeared and he became good looking; that he pleased the Blessed One, did not displease him; and that he went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship?”

4.159“Monks,” the Blessed One explained, “such are the actions that he committed and accumulated:

“Monks, in times gone by, in a mountain village there lived a brahmin who was well proportioned, [F.195.b] pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. Arrogant about his good looks and youthfulness, he was contemptuous toward many ascetics and brahmins. One day he went to the roof of his house and sat there surrounded by young brahmins.

4.160“In times when a blessed one has not arisen in the world, out of compassion for the destitute and suffering the solitary buddhas appear, taking up residence in remote places. Solitary as the rhinoceros, in all the world they alone are worthy of offerings.

4.161“So it was that a solitary buddha was going for alms in that mountain town, where he received very good food and drink. He was carrying it when the brahmin spotted him striding away from the front door of the brahmin’s house and proceeding to the main road. There was a pot full of excrement on the rooftop in front of the brahmin. Intending the solitary buddha harm, he kicked the pot down on top of him and it soiled the sage’s clothes, body, and alms bowl. The solitary buddha looked up as the brahmin’s face turned from gleeful to hideous, degraded by the actions of his own body.

4.162“Then the solitary buddha thought, ‘This emotionally afflicted person has become so abased! I have to help him.’ With this thought he rose up into the sky, making a miraculous display of fire and light, rain and lightning.

“Ordinary people are quickly brought to faith through miracles, so when the brahmin saw all this, he bowed down at the sage’s feet like a tree felled by a saw, saying, ‘O great fortunate one, please, please come down! I’m mired in misdeeds! Please reach down and lift me up!’ Out of compassion for him, the solitary buddha descended. The brahmin invited him inside, carried away his garments, anointed his body with fragrance, bathed him in scented water, [F.196.a] and offered him a new Dharma robe.

4.163“Then, after he had contented him with many good, wholesome foods, proffering all that he wished, he touched his head to his feet, asked his forgiveness, and prayed, ‘May no portion of the act of having done harm to this supreme object of worship ripen unto me. By the root of virtue of having paid homage to him, wherever I am born, may it be into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth. May I be well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. May I please and not displease a teacher even more exalted than this. May I achieve such great virtues. Should it be the case that this nonvirtue must certainly bear fruit, then as soon as I feel a sense of renunciation, may my ugliness disappear, and may I become good looking.’

4.164“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that brahmin then is now Siṃha’s very own son. At that time, the act of doing harm to that solitary buddha ripened such that wherever he was born, he was ugly in eighteen different ways, and his entire body emitted a smell of excrement. Later, he paid homage to him and prayed, ‘By this root of the virtue, wherever I am born, may it be into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth. May I be well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. May I please and not displease a teacher even more exalted than this. May I achieve such great virtues. Should it be the case that this nonvirtue must certainly bear fruit, then as soon as I feel a sense of renunciation, may my ugliness disappear and may I become good looking.’

4.165“Monks, I am more exalted [F.196.b] than even a hundred thousand solitary buddhas, and he has pleased me, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, manifested arhatship, and as soon as he felt a sense of renunciation, his ugliness disappeared and he became good looking.”

“Lord,” the monks asked the Blessed One, “what action did the army chief take that ripened into his birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth, and that he pleased the Blessed One, and did not displease him?”

4.166The Blessed One replied, “He became a lay vow holder in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa. Then, he gave gifts and made merit, took refuge, and maintained the fundamental precepts all his life. At the time of his death he prayed, ‘Oh, by this root of virtue, wherever I am born, may it be into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth. May I please and not displease Uttara, the young brahmin prophesied by the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa to be the next blessed buddha.’

4.167“O monks, what do you think? The one who was a lay vow holder in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa then is none other than the army chief Siṃha. There he gave gifts and made merit, took refuge and maintained the fundamental precepts, and prayed at the time of his death. Those acts ripened such that wherever he was born, it was into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth.

4.168“So it is, monks, now that I myself have become the very equal of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa‍—equal in strength, equal in deeds, and equal in skillful means‍—that [F.197.a] he has pleased me, and not displeased me.”

The Schism in the Saṅgha

4.169When the Blessed One was in Rājagṛha, there was a famine of such severity and duration that beggars did not receive any food. After all, if parents could not hope to provide even their own children with food, what need is there to speak of beggars.

4.170The Blessed One addressed the monks, saying, “Monks, I would very much like to spend three months in meditative seclusion. During that period let no monk approach the Blessed One except on the fifteenth day for the poṣadha purification ceremony or to bring food.” Having spoken thus, the Blessed One spent three months in secluded meditation, and the monks agreed among themselves that none of them would go to see the Blessed One except on the fifteenth day for the poṣadha purification ceremony or to bring food.

4.171At this Devadatta thought, “The time has come for me to cause a schism in the saṅgha of the ascetic Gautama’s disciples‍—to cause a schism in his circle.” So he said to the monks, “Lords, behold how the ascetic Gautama treats his disciples! Just when he ought to provide for all the monks’ needs, he remains in secluded meditation. Come, monks! Stay with me and I shall provide for all your needs.”

4.172Some five hundred monks heeded his words and decided to disregard the Blessed One. They went to meet with Devadatta, who gathered those monks around him and declared the following:

“Since the ascetic Gautama stays in a remote hermitage, we will stay in the village. Why? Because, monks, there are many disadvantages to staying in a remote hermitage. [F.197.b]

4.173“Since the ascetic Gautama permits the eating of meat, we will not eat it. Why? On the grounds that beings will be killed.

“Since the ascetic Gautama eats salt, we will not eat it. Why? Because it comes from salt water.

4.174“Since the ascetic Gautama drinks milk, we will not drink it. Why? On the grounds that it causes the calves distress.

“Since the ascetic Gautama dons fringed robes, we will not wear them. Why? Because they are a waste of people’s earnings.

4.175“Whoever wishes to take these five vows as the basis of his conduct and to accept and receive them, and wishes to part now from the ascetic Gautama, to follow another, and to sever himself from the ascetic Gautama, let him take a tally stick.” He distributed the tally sticks among the saṅgha, and five hundred monks took them. After the sticks had been handed out, Devadatta led the monks make the following supplication:

4.176‘Lord, please heed this saṅgha:

‘Since the ascetic Gautama stays in a remote hermitage, we will stay in the village. Why? Because, monks, there are many disadvantages to remaining in the monastery.

“If the ascetic Gautama permits the eating of meat, we will not eat it. Why? On the grounds that beings will be killed.

“If the ascetic Gautama eats salt, we will not eat it. Why? Because it comes from salt water.

4.177“If the ascetic Gautama drinks milk, we will not drink it. Why? On the grounds that it causes the calves distress.

“If the ascetic Gautama dons fringed robes, we will not wear them. Why? Because they are a waste of people’s earnings.

“With your consent, if the time is right, we, your saṅgha, request to take these five vows as [F.198.a] the foundation of our conduct.”

4.178Led by Devadatta, the five hundred monks strode into Kurkuṭārāma Gardens. The foremost of his monks‍—Kokālika, Khaṇḍadravya, Kaṭamorakatiṣya, and Samudradatta‍—organized them into seated rows on the right and on the left. Devadatta took a seat in the middle of the group, and felt like a masterful Dharma teacher. The idea had come to him, “Now I have finished creating a schism in the ascetic Gautama’s saṅgha of monks. I have finished creating a schism in his retinue,” and, sitting in the middle of the group, he felt like a masterful Dharma teacher.

4.179Because of the schism in the saṅgha, the monks did not practice, contemplate, give any precepts or instruction, or recite. They did not recollect the sūtras, nor did they recollect the vinaya, nor did they recollect the abhidharma. There were obstacles to every virtuous endeavor.

4.180“Lord,” the monks asked the Blessed One, “what activities did the Blessed One undertake that ripened into a division of the saṅgha?”

“It was I myself,” the Blessed One replied, “who, in previous lifetimes, put the conditions in place and accumulated the causes for this. It was as inevitable as the tides. If I alone committed and accumulated these actions, which are certain to return, who else could come to experience them?

4.181“Monks, the actions that I committed and accumulated did not ripen into the external element of earth. They did not ripen into the element of water, nor the element of fire, nor the element of wind. The actions I committed and accumulated, both virtuous and nonvirtuous, ripened into nothing but my own aggregates, sense bases, and constituent elements.

4.183“Monks, it took place in times gone by, during King Brahmadatta’s reign in the city of Vārāṇasī. At that time in Vārāṇasī, in one of the sages’ dwellings there lived a certain sage who was clairvoyant [F.198.b] and supported by five hundred of his disciples.

4.184“One day a brahmin came from the south with five hundred disciples and established himself near the sage’s dwelling. There he began to teach his five hundred young brahmins the secret mantras of the brahmins. That brahmin was also a master of the eighteen sciences. When some disciples of the first brahmin sage who had already been living there heard about the brahmin, they went to see him, saying, ‘Teacher, work your benefit upon us as well!’

4.185“ ‘How, then, am I to benefit you?’ the brahmin asked.

“The young brahmins said, ‘We request that you benefit us by teaching recitation.’

“ ‘I don’t teach the disciples of others,’ the brahmin said.

4.186“The disciples of the first brahmin thought, ‘Our preceptor may have attracted us with food and clothes, but he is not capable of instructing us in recitation. Let us abandon that one and entrust ourselves to this brahmin instead. Let’s get together and learn recitation.’ So they said to the second brahmin, ‘We are abandoning our teacher. We shall entrust ourselves to you alone.’

4.187“ ‘If that’s the case,’ the brahmin said, ‘let me help you by providing you with food and clothes, and by teaching you recitation.’

“No sooner had they heard this than the young brahmins left the sage friendless and all alone and entrusted themselves to the brahmin, who gathered them around him by providing them with food and clothes and by teaching them recitation.

4.188“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was that brahmin then, and lived the life of a bodhisattva. The action of causing a schism in that sage’s retinue ripened such that for hundreds upon hundreds and thousands upon thousands of years I took rebirth as a hell being and was cooked. Then when I died from there and transmigrated, wherever I was born I underwent separation from my disciples up until this very day, when, due to the ripening of that action, Devadatta has divided my circle.” [B17] [F.199.a]

The Dark Forest

4.189When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there was a certain very dark forest, and in that forest was a certain place where spring water pooled. Some five hundred sages lived at the spring and practiced austerities. All of them were in their final existence, like ripe fruit ready to burst at the touch of a blade.

4.190The blessed buddhas, teachers of the one path to be traversed, with mastery over wisdom and the two types of knowable objects, in command of the three kinds of sterling equanimity, fearless by means of the fourfold fearlessness, freed from migration through the five destinies, keen in the six sense bases, practiced in the seven limbs of enlightenment, focused on the eight liberations, absorbed in the nine successive meditative absorptions, possessing all ten of the ten powers, whose proclamations are the great roaring of a perfect lion, by nature regard the world with their buddha eyes six times throughout the day and night‍—three times by day and three times by night.

4.191These are their thoughts as they look out in wisdom: “Who is in decline? Who will flourish? Who is destitute? Who is in a dreadful state? Who is being harmed? Who is destitute, in a dreadful state, and being harmed? Who is veering toward the lower realms? Who is descending through the lower realms? Who has descended to the lower realms? Whom shall I pull up from the lower realms, and establish in the resultant state of heaven and liberation? Whom, mired in misdeeds, shall I lift up by the hand? Whom, lacking the seven jewels of the noble ones, shall I lead to command of the seven jewels of the noble ones? Whom, not having produced roots of virtue, shall I lead to produce them? Whom, having already produced roots of virtue, shall I lead to ripen their roots of virtue? Whom, having already ripened their roots of virtue, shall I slice open with the blade of wisdom? For whom shall I cause this world, adorned with a buddha’s presence, to be fruitful?”

4.193The Blessed One thought, “The time has come to tame those five hundred sages.” He disappeared from Śrāvastī and traveled to the dark forest. The five hundred sages saw the Blessed One from a distance, and when they saw him they said to one another, “Oh no! Here comes the ascetic Gautama, who has taken on many distractions and given up begging for his livelihood. When he gets here, let us not speak to him at all but only indicate the huts with a hand gesture.”

4.194So all five hundred sages hunkered down and said nothing at all. As the Blessed One, lord of taming actions, stepped before them and addressed them, they did not answer the Blessed One at all, but only indicated the huts with a hand gesture. The Blessed One entered a hut and took his place on a grass seat. Then, in order to set right the five hundred sages, the Blessed One performed a miracle that dried up the pool of spring water. When the five hundred sages saw that there was no more water in the pool, they suffered greatly and began making supplications to their deity, but still no water came from the spring.

4.195Then, in order to engender faith in them, the deity revealed his bodily form to the five hundred sages and said, “What is the use of fasting and going thirsty, my friends? The Blessed One is a person of great miracles and great power. Go, take refuge in the Blessed One. By the power of the Blessed One, the pool will again be as it was.” Hearing the deity’s advice, the five hundred sages were elated. In their joy they went to see the Blessed One, and upon their arrival they implored the Blessed One for his forgiveness and sat before him to listen to the Dharma. [F.200.a]

4.196The Blessed One directly apprehended their thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperaments, capacities, and natures, and taught them the Dharma accordingly. Hearing it, they destroyed with the thunderbolt of wisdom the twenty high peaks of the mountain of views concerning the transitory collection, and manifested the resultant state of non-return right where they sat, Having seen the truths, they rose from their seats, drew down the right shoulder of their upper garments, bowed toward the Blessed One with palms pressed together, and made this request of the Blessed One: “Lord, if permitted we wish to go forth in the Dharma and Vinaya so well spoken, complete our novitiates, and achieve full ordination. In the presence of the Blessed One, we too wish to practice the holy life.”

4.197With the words “Come, join me, monks!” the Blessed One led them to go forth as novices, conferred on them full ordination, and instructed them. Casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, they manifested arhatship. As arhats, free from the attachments of the three realms, their minds regarded gold no differently than filth, and the palms of their hands as like space itself. They became cool like wet sandalwood. Their insight crushed ignorance like an eggshell. They achieved the insights, superknowledges, and discriminations. They had no regard for worldly profit, passion, or acclaim. They became objects of offering, veneration, and respectful address by Indra, Upendra, and the other gods. After the Blessed One had led them to go forth and ordained them, he disappeared from the forest and traveled to the garden of Prince Jeta.

4.198In the meantime, the brahmins and householders of faith had heard that five hundred monks had taken up residence in the forest, so they built a monastery in the forest that was complete in every respect [F.200.b] and offered it to the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks.

4.199The monks inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, what action did the five hundred monks take that ripened into their pleasing the Blessed One and not displeasing him, and that they went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship?”

“It came about by the power of their prayers,” the Blessed One replied.

4.200“Lord, where did they make these prayers?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One recounted, “in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty thousand years, and the totally and completely awakened buddha possessed of insight and perfect conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the tamer of persons, the charioteer, the unsurpassed one, the teacher of humans and gods, the blessed buddha known as Kāśyapa was in the world, they went forth in his doctrine and practiced pure conduct all their lives.

4.201“At the time of their deaths they prayed, ‘While we may not have attained any great virtues, still we have gone forth in the teaching of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and practiced pure conduct all our lives. By this root of virtue, may we please and not displease Uttara, the young brahmin prophesied by the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa to be the next blessed buddha. May we go forth in his doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

4.202“O monks, what do you think? The five hundred monks who went forth then are none other than these five hundred monks. At that time they practiced pure conduct all their lives, and at the time of their deaths they prayed, [F.201.a] ‘May we please and not displease Uttara, the young brahmin prophesied by the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa to be the next blessed buddha. May we go forth in his doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

4.203“So it is, monks, now that I myself have become the very equal of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa‍—equal in strength, equal in deeds, and equal in skillful means‍—that they have pleased me, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

The One Who Heard

4.204When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there was a certain householder, prosperous and wealthy, a person of vast and magnificent means, endowed with the wealth of Vaiśravaṇa‍—with wealth to rival Vaiśravaṇa’s. When the time came for him to marry he took a wife, and as they enjoyed themselves and coupled, one day his wife conceived. After nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, with glowing, golden skin and a well-rounded head, long arms, a broad brow, a fine and prominent nose, and eyebrows that met. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they named him according to their clan.

4.205They reared him on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and he flourished like a lotus in a lake. As he grew up he studied letters, tallying, and arithmetic; the study of seals, lending, deposits, and commerce; and the examination of cloth, jewels, gems, incense, medicine, elephants, horses, [F.201.b] and arms and armor. He became skilled in writing, skilled at reading, learned, decisive, and industrious, a master of the eight types of examination.

4.206His father built three houses for him‍—one for summer, one for winter, and one for spring‍—with three different gardens, and the son married three wives, a primary wife, a middling wife, and a lesser wife. He would stay up on the roofs of his palatial homes in the company of the women, reaping the fruits of his merit as they played music, enjoyed themselves, and coupled.

4.207One day in the spring, when many trees were in bloom and the parrots, mountain birds, cuckoos, peacocks, and jīvaṃjīva birds began to call out, he strode into his garden grove with his attendants, and they began to enjoy themselves and couple amid a flourish of cymbals.

4.208The blessed buddhas, teachers of the one path to be traversed, with mastery over wisdom and the two types of knowable objects, in command of the three kinds of sterling equanimity, fearless by means of the fourfold fearlessness, freed from migration through the five destinies, keen in the six sense bases, practiced in the seven limbs of enlightenment, focused on the eight liberations, absorbed in the nine successive meditative absorptions, possessing all ten of the ten powers, whose proclamations are the great roaring of a perfect lion, by nature regard the world with their buddha eyes six times throughout the day and night‍—three times by day and three times by night.

4.209These are their thoughts as they look out in wisdom: “Who is in decline? Who will flourish? Who is destitute? Who is in a dreadful state? Who is being harmed? Who is destitute, in a dreadful state, and being harmed? Who is veering toward the lower realms? Who is descending through the lower realms? Who has descended to the lower realms? Whom shall I pull up from the lower realms, and establish in the resultant state of heaven and liberation? Whom, mired in misdeeds, shall I lift up by the hand? Whom, [F.202.a] lacking the seven jewels of the noble ones, shall I lead to command of the seven jewels of the noble ones? Whom, not having produced roots of virtue, shall I lead to produce them? Whom, having already produced roots of virtue, shall I lead to ripen their roots of virtue? Whom, having already ripened their roots of virtue, shall I slice open with the blade of wisdom? For whom shall I cause this world, adorned with a buddha’s presence, to be fruitful?”

4.211The Blessed One knew that the time had come to tame the householder’s son, so he emanated another garden nearby, and in that garden he began teaching the Dharma to a great crowd of people with a voice like Brahmā. The householder’s son heard the Blessed One’s voice ringing out in the garden, and thought, “I have never heard a human voice like this before.” He found it marvelous. “I will go and find out who could have such a voice,” he thought.

4.212Following the sound into the next garden, the householder’s son and his servants saw the Blessed Buddha. His body, graced and resplendent with the thirty-two signs of a great person, looked like it was on fire, like flames stoked with ghee, like a lamp set in a golden vessel, and like a pillar adorned with all manner of jewels. He was immaculate, clear-minded, and pure of heart.

4.213He saw the Blessed Buddha, and the sight of him filled him with supreme joy, for beings who have gathered the roots of virtue to see a buddha for the first time experience such rapture [F.202.b] as is not to be had even by those who practice calm abiding meditation for twelve years.

4.214Seeing the Blessed Buddha in this way, the householder’s son felt a surge of joy toward the Blessed One. In his joy he went to see the Blessed One, touched the top of his head to the Blessed One’s feet, and took a seat at one side. The Blessed One directly apprehended the thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, and nature of the householder’s son, and taught him the Dharma accordingly.

4.215When he heard it, the householder’s son destroyed with the thunderbolt of wisdom the twenty high peaks of the mountain of views concerning the transitory collection, and manifested the resultant state of stream entry right where he sat. Having seen the truths, he rose from his seat, drew down the right shoulder of his upper garment, bowed toward the Blessed One with palms pressed together, and requested, “Lord, if permitted I wish to go forth in the Dharma and Vinaya so well spoken, complete my novitiate, and achieve full ordination. In the presence of the Blessed One, I too wish to practice the holy life.”

4.216“Have you informed your parents?” the Blessed One asked.

“I have not, Lord.”

“Young man,” the Blessed One said, “the buddhas and their disciples neither lead novices to go forth nor confer full ordination on young persons without their parents’ permission. Go and ask your parents, then come back here. This will make things easier for you later on.”

4.217“I shall do as the Blessed One has instructed,” said the young man, and he heeded the Blessed One’s advice and approached his parents. “Mother, Father,” he said, “I ask for your kind permission to go forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One.”

“We shall not be able to stop him,” thought his parents, so they told him, “You have our permission, child. [F.203.a] And should you achieve any special attainments, please come see us.”

“I shall,” he replied.

4.218Then the young man returned to see the Blessed One. Upon his arrival he touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet, drew down the right shoulder of his upper garment, bowed toward the Blessed One with palms pressed together, and requested him again, “Lord, now that my parents have given me their consent, if permitted I wish to go forth in the Dharma and Vinaya so well spoken, complete my novitiate, and achieve full ordination. In the presence of the Blessed One, I too wish to practice the holy life.”

4.219With the words “Come, join me, monk! Practice the holy life,” the Blessed One led the householder’s son to go forth as a novice, conferred on him full ordination, and instructed him. Casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, he manifested arhatship. As an arhat, free from the attachments of the three realms, his mind regarded gold no differently than filth, and the palms of his hands as like space itself. He became cool like wet sandalwood. His insight crushed ignorance like an eggshell. He achieved the insights, superknowledges, and discriminations. He had no regard for worldly profit, passion, or acclaim. He became an object of offering, veneration, and respectful address by Indra, Upendra, and the other gods.

4.220After he attained arhatship he established his parents in the truths. He inspired them to give gifts and to share what they had, until their home became like an open well for those in need.

4.221“Lord,” the monks asked the Blessed One, “what action did this householder’s son take that ripened into his birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth; that he pleased the Blessed One, and did not displease him; [F.203.b] that he went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship; and that by entrusting themselves to him, the people of his house pleased the Blessed One, and did not displease him?”

“It came about by the power of his prayers,” the Blessed One replied.

4.222“Lord, where did he make these prayers?”

“Monks, in times past, in the ninety-first eon, when people lived as long as eighty thousand years and the tathāgata, the arhat, the totally and completely awakened buddha possessed of insight and perfect conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the tamer of persons, the charioteer, the unsurpassed one, the teacher of humans and gods, the blessed buddha known as Vipaśyin was in the world, he performed all of the deeds of a buddha and then passed beyond all sorrow into the realm of nirvāṇa without any remainder of the aggregates, like a fire when all the wood is gone.

4.223“The king of the city of Bandhumatī built a reliquary stūpa and was preparing to raise the life pillar when a great crowd gathered. So the king exhorted them, ‘Whoever generates the most wealth on behalf of this stūpa will raise the stūpa’s life pillar.’

4.224“A certain householder’s son in that region heard of the king’s declaration, and an idea came to him, ‘If I can generate a lot of wealth on behalf of the stūpa, I shall get to raise the life pillar. I’m not that wealthy, but I will go see my family and generate some wealth.’

4.225“The householder’s son went to his family, and they said, ‘Be strong. You have to believe. Whatever wealth you generate, we will match.’ When he heard this, the young man immediately began to generate greater sums than the king, generating 600 million in gold all together. [F.204.a]

4.226“The king was not pleased about this. ‘How can I harm this boy?’ he thought, and sat there, unhappy. His officer said to him, ‘Deva, I implore you, remain committed. You must believe. We shall offer our wealth to you, Deva.’

4.227“Many of the young man’s relatives tried to stop him. ‘Take care not to upset the king,’ they cautioned him. ‘One should not vie with a king.’ And the young man immediately relented.

4.228“The king was very pleased about this, for the life pillar of the stūpa would have been raised based on the donations given to the young man. In no time at all the stūpa was completed in every respect, and people made offerings to the stūpa of flowers, and burning sticks of incense, incense powders, and incense cones, and prepared for the traditional stūpa festival.

4.229“The householder’s son thought, ‘This 600 million in gold was donated for the stūpa. I don’t dare use it for myself. I shall offer all of it to the stūpa.’ So the young man and his relatives made a large offering to the stūpa, and the young man prayed, ‘By this root of virtue, wherever we are born, may it be into families of great means, prosperity, and wealth. May we be well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. May we please and not displease a teacher just like this one. May we go forth in his doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

4.230“ ‘Child,’ his relatives asked him, ‘what prayers are you making?’

“He told them what kind of prayers he was making, relating everything in detail, and as soon as they heard him they prayed in the same way, saying, ‘Entrusting ourselves to you alone, may we please and not displease a teacher just like this one.’ [F.204.b]

4.231“O monks, what do you think? The one who was the householder’s son then is this young man. The act of venerating the stūpa and praying ripened such that he was born into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth, and that he was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful.

4.232“So it is, monks, now that I myself have become the very equal of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Vipaśyin‍—equal in strength, equal in deeds, and equal in skillful means‍—that he has pleased me, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.

4.233“Those who were his relatives then are none other than these relatives of his. At that time they prayed, ‘Entrusting ourselves to you alone, may we please and not displease the Blessed One. May we go forth in his doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“So it is, monks, that they have pleased me and not displeased me.”

4.234This concludes Part Four of The Hundred Deeds.