Anala

20.1Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, remembered the succession of his kalyāṇamitras. He thought about the gateways of their instructions. He was content in his mind, thinking, “I have been accepted as a pupil by the kalyāṇamitras.” He observed in his mind, “I am under the protection of the kalyāṇamitras, and I will never regress in my progress toward the highest, complete enlightenment.” Thinking this, his mind was happy, his mind was serene, his mind was pleased, his mind was gladdened, his mind was delighted, his mind was joyful, his mind was strong, his mind was soothed, his mind was vast, his mind was adorned, his mind was unimpeded, his mind was unobscured, his mind was clear, his mind was composed, his mind had power, his mind had supremacy, his mind comprehended the Dharma, his mind pervaded the realms, his mind was adorned by the vision of the buddhas, and his mind never stopped focusing on the ten strengths.

20.2Sudhana went from land to land, town to town, district to district, and eventually he reached the town of Tāladhvaja.

He asked, “Where is King Anala?”

20.3People told him, “Noble one, King Anala sits on the lion throne here performing the activities of a king in order to accomplish the duties of a king. He rules the realm. He penalizes those who deserve to be penalized. He favors those who should be favored. He condemns criminals to punishment. [F.23.a] He makes the decisions on legal disputes. He brings relief to those who are low. He humbles the arrogant. He turns the people away from killing. He dissuades them from theft. He causes them to cease yearning for those who belong to others. He makes them turn away from lying. He makes them desist from slander. He makes them cease speaking harshly. He makes them avoid idle talk. He causes their minds to be free from craving. He makes them dispel malice. He makes them disengage from false views.”

20.4Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, went to where King Anala was. He saw King Anala seated on a great lion throne that was beautified by various powerful diamond jewels. It had legs that shone with countless and various kinds of jewels. It had a beautiful form adorned and beautified by numerous jewels. It was perfectly covered with a network of gold threads. It was illuminated by numerous precious lamps. It had a center of lotuses made from the precious jewels called the king of power. It had many layers of beautiful cushions made of precious divine materials. It was perfumed by the aroma of the various divine incenses arranged around it. It was made magnificent by a hundred thousand erected precious banners. It was beautified by a hundred thousand raised precious flags. It was beautified by arrangements of clusters of precious flowers. It was covered from above by various canopies made of precious divine materials.

20.5King Anala was a youth who had reached adulthood. He was handsome and attractive. His hair was deep black and curled to the right. His head was like a parasol, with an uṣṇīṣa on the crown of his head. He had a broad forehead and wide, deep black eyes. [F.23.b] His eyelashes were like the eyelashes of a cow. His nose was lovely, high and prominent. His lips were the beautiful color of vermilion and perfectly proportioned. His teeth were even, without gaps, very white, and a full forty in number. He had jaws like a lion. His cheeks were full and wide. His eyebrows were long, beautiful, and curved like a bow. He had the mark of the ūrṇā hair the color of the moon. His earlobes were long and hung loosely. His face was bright and beautiful like the full moon. His throat was round and as beautiful as a conch. His heart area was adorned by the śrīvatsa. His upper body was like the upper body of a lion. The flesh between his shoulder blades was muscular. His shoulders were bulky and rounded. His arms were long. His fingers were webbed. His hands and feet were adorned by wheels. His hands and feet were soft, young, and thick. He had the seven prominences. His waist was slim like a vajra’s. His body was big and straight. His thighs were round. His penis was retracted into his body. His calves were like the calves of a female blackbuck. His fingers were long. The heels of his feet were wide. He had a halo a fathom in width. He was golden in color. Each of his body hairs was curled upward to the right. He had the circular symmetry of a king banyan tree. He was adorned by the signs and features of a superior being.

20.6He wore a precious wish-fulfilling jewel as his topknot crest. His forehead was adorned by the adornment of a crescent moon made from Jambu River gold. Stainless sapphire jewel earrings hung from his ears. He had a wide, stainless upper body. His arms were beautified by armlets and bracelets made of sublime divine jewels.

20.7Held above him was a precious great parasol with a stainless precious handle of beryl; [F.24.a] with a covering made of Jambu River gold; with a pure, large, precious asteria jewel in the center; and with a string of precious little bells from which came sweet, pleasant sounds; the light from its precious jewels shone in all directions.

20.8He had attained the majesty and sovereignty of a king who could not be harmed by enemy armies. He had such power that he had no fear of enemy armies. He had an entourage of ten thousand ministers dedicated to accomplishing whatever the king required.

20.9Sudhana saw that in front of King Anala there were those who carried out his punishments. They resembled the guardians in the hells. They wore terrifying clothing like the servants of Yama. They were ferocious, horrible, and greatly terrifying. Their eyes were red, and they were biting their lower lips. Their faces had the threefold lines of frowning wrathfully. They were holding weapons and tools such as swords, axes, spears, short spears, clubs, long spears, and so on. They had ugly, terrifying faces. They were like a black cloud, emitting horrible, dreadful shouts of rage, unbearable to look at, inspiring great terror, and bringing fear into the hearts of a hundred thousand beings, and they were dedicated to punishing those deserving of punishment.

20.10He saw many hundreds of thousands of individuals who had committed various crimes, each bound tightly with five ropes, brought before King Anala. There were thieves; those who had seized others’ property; those who had destroyed the property of others; those who had robbed travelers; those who had burned down villages, towns, and markets; those who had slain families; those who were burglars; those who had injured; those who had poisoned; those who had rioted; those who had murdered; those who had seduced the wives of others; those with a bad way of life; those with evil intentions; and those who were covetous. [F.24.b]

20.11Sudhana saw King Anala have them punished in various ways.

Sudhana saw, according to King Anala’s commands, some having their hands and feet cut off, some their ears and noses cut off, some their eyes gouged out, and some their limbs and all the smaller parts of the bodies cut off. Some were decapitated, some were burned alive, some had their skin destroyed by boiling salt water being poured over their bodies, and there were various other punishments that were horrible, harsh, cruel, dreadful, and deadly.

20.12Sudhana saw that at the site of the executions there was a mound of the feet, hands, ears, eyes, noses, heads, limbs, and smaller parts of the bodies of those who had been executed that was as large as Sumeru .

20.13He saw a lake of blood that was three yojanas deep and many yojanas wide.

He saw there many hundreds of thousands of the skeletons of the dead, missing their limbs, smaller parts, and heads. The place was filled with many wolves, jackals, dogs, ravens, vultures, buzzards, and eagles.

20.14He saw that some bodies were darkened to black, some were rotting, some were bloated, and some were filled with maggots, loathsome and terrifying.

20.15He heard the sounds of the loud, horrible screams of pain, the pitiful wailing being emitted by those being executed, being slain, and being slaughtered in various ways; the sounds of their horror and distress were like those of the beings in the great Saṃghāta hell.

20.16When Sudhana saw this dreadful and terrifying violence, he thought, “I am set on the highest, complete enlightenment and am dedicated to seeking the bodhisattva conduct in order to benefit and bring happiness to all beings. The kalyāṇamitras always ask, ‘What good actions has a bodhisattva done? What bad actions have been avoided?’ But this King Anala is devoid of the qualities of good actions. [F.25.a] He is engaged in great transgressive acts. He has wicked thoughts in his mind. He is engaged in taking the lives of others. He is dedicated to harming other beings. He has no concern for his next life. He is at the edge of the precipice of the lower realms. What bodhisattva conduct could I hear from him?”

20.17While Sudhana, who was motivated to protect the entire realm of beings, whose mind had developed great compassion, was thinking and contemplating in that way, devas who were up in the sky above him addressed him in this way: “Noble one, do you not remember the instructions of the kalyāṇamitra ṛṣi Jayoṣmāyatana?”

Sudhana looked up into the realm of the sky and answered, “Yes, I remember.”

20.18The devas said, “Noble one, do not doubt in this way the instruction of the kalyāṇamitra! Noble one, the kalyāṇamitras give correct guidance and never do so incorrectly. Noble one, the wisdom of the bodhisattvas in practicing skillful methods is inconceivable. Their wisdom in gathering beings as pupils is inconceivable. Their wisdom in benefiting beings is inconceivable. Their wisdom in subjugating beings is inconceivable. Their wisdom in inspiring beings is inconceivable. Their wisdom in purifying beings is inconceivable. Their wisdom in protecting beings is inconceivable. Their wisdom in leading beings to understanding is inconceivable. Their wisdom in ripening beings is inconceivable. Their wisdom in guiding beings is inconceivable.

“Noble one, go and ask him about bodhisattva conduct!”

20.19Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, listened to what the devas had said [F.25.b] and approached the king. When he had reached him, Sudhana bowed his head to the feet of King Anala, circumambulated him, keeping him to his right, many hundreds of thousands of times, and then sat before him and with palms together and said, “Ārya, I have developed the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment, but I do not know how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and in what way they should practice it.

20.20“Ārya, I have heard that you give instruction and teachings to bodhisattvas! I pray that you explain to me how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and how they should practice it!”

20.21King Anala, having concluded his duties as a king, rose from his lion throne, and with his right hand he took hold of Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, and led him into the Tāladhvaja Palace.

20.22When they had entered his residence, the king led Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, into the harem, where he sat upon a throne and said to Sudhana, “Noble one, look around at my home and possessions!”

20.23Sudhana looked around and saw that the building was huge and vast, encircled by walls made of the seven precious materials. It was beautified by a variety of palaces of precious jewels, adorned with many hundreds of thousands of precious kūṭāgāras. It was brilliantly bright with the shining light of countless precious jewels. There were pillars made of red pearls that were beautified by arrangements of a shining variety of different precious jewels. Inside was a beautifully constructed lion throne made of white coral that was adorned with many hundreds of thousands of jewels. There were raised lion banners made of precious asteria jewels. Above the throne was a canopy of shining, precious jewels. The room was covered with nets of strings of various wish-fulfilling precious jewels. [F.26.a] It was adorned by an array of ornamental spires adorned by a countless variety of precious jewels. There were pools made from emeralds that were filled with cool water. It was encircled by trees made of various precious materials.

20.24Sudhana saw that the ten million women of the king’s entourage were beautiful, attractive, and pretty; had the most perfect, magnificent color; had mastered all skills; rose before him and slept after him; had loving minds; did whatever they were told to do; and were obedient.

20.25Then King Anala asked Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, “Noble one, what do you think? Is there this kind of ripening of karma for those who have committed bad actions? Is there this kind of perfect body? Is there this kind of perfect great happiness? Is there this kind of perfect attainment of sovereignty and great power?”

Sudhana replied, “Ārya, there are no such things.”

20.26King Anala said, “Noble one, I have attained the bodhisattva liberation called the attainment of illusions. Noble one, most of the inhabitants of my kingdom kill, steal, practice sexual misconduct, lie, slander, abuse, indulge in idle talk, are avaricious, are malicious, hold false views, commit bad actions, and are fierce, aggressive, and cruel, and they maintain a behavior consisting of all kinds of bad actions.

“There is no other way to instruct them to turn away, to desist, from that sinful behavior.

20.27“Noble one, in order to guide, ripen, control, and benefit these beings, motivated by great compassion I manifest the illusory images of executioners, [F.26.b] through which I execute the illusory images of the condemned. I make the illusions of those who punish and execute in various ways the illusions of those who have followed a path of bad actions. I also emanate those who experience the unendurable sufferings of having their feet, hands, noses, ears, limbs, smaller parts, and heads cut off. When the beings who live in my realm see that, they become distressed, afraid, and terrified. After that, they are careful to avoid committing bad actions.

20.28“Noble one, when in that way I have used that method and see that these beings are distressed, terrified, and alarmed, I then turn them away from the path of the ten bad actions, cause them to possess the path of the ten good actions, and establish them in the path to omniscience, which is the ultimate attainment of joy and happiness and the cessation of all suffering.

20.29“Noble one, I do not cause harm to any being with my body, speech, or mind.

“Noble one, I would wander in the most extreme suffering of the Avīci hell, but I would not even once have arise in my mind the wish to cause harm to even the smallest being, a minute insect seen on the tip of a blade of grass, existing in the realm of stupidity, which is rebirth as an animal, let alone to a human being in my realm, who has the ability to develop the path of good actions.

20.30“Noble one, I do not generate the qualities of a bad action in my dreams, let alone deliberately.

20.31“Noble one, I know only this bodhisattva liberation called the attainment of illusions. How could I know the conduct or describe the qualities of bodhisattvas who have attained the patience of the birthlessness of phenomena, who have realized that all states of existence are illusions, who have given rise to the bodhisattva conduct that is like an illusion, who know that all worlds are like reflections, [F.27.a] who have realized that the nature of phenomena is like a dream, who follow the way of the unimpeded gateway to the realm of the Dharma, who have understood that the net of conduct is like a magical illusion, who have the scope of the range of unobscured wisdom, who have set forth on the path of unobscured samādhi, who have gained the power of retention that has an infinite capacity, and who comprehend the scope of the range of activity of the buddhas?

20.32“Depart, noble one. In this southern region there is a city called Suprabha . There dwells a king by the name of Mahāprabha. Go to him and ask him, ‘How should a bodhisattva train in bodhisattva conduct? How should a bodhisattva practice it?’ ”

20.33Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, bowed his head to the feet of King Anala, circumambulated King Anala many hundreds of thousands of times, keeping him to his right, and, looking back again and again, departed from King Anala.