The Chapter on Medicines
Chapter Eleven
- Palgyi Lhünpo
- Sarvajñādeva
- Vidyākaraprabha
- Dharmākara
- Paltsek

Toh 1-6
Degé Kangyur vol. 1 (’dul ba, ka), folios 277.b–311.a; vol. 2 (’dul ba, kha), folios 1.a–317.a; and vol. 3 (’dul ba, ga), folios 1.a–50.a
Translated by the Bhaiṣajyavastu Translation Team
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2021
Current version v 1.0.21 (2023)
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Bhaiṣajyavastu, “The Chapter on Medicines,” is a part of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, the corpus of monastic law of one of the most influential Buddhist schools in India. This chapter deals with monastic regulations about medicines. At the same time, it also includes various elements not restricted to such rules: stories of the Buddha and his disciples, a lengthy story of the Buddha’s journey for the purpose of quelling an epidemic and converting a nāga, a number of stories of the Buddha’s former lives narrated by the Buddha himself, and a series of verses recited by the Buddha and his disciples about their former lives. Thus, this chapter preserves not only interesting information about medical knowledge shared by ancient Indian Buddhist monastics but also an abundance of Buddhist narrative literature.
Acknowledgements
This text was translated by the Bhaiṣajyavastu Translation Team. Fumi Yao translated the Tibetan text into English and prepared the ancillary materials. Shayne Clarke proofread the translation and ancillary materials.
The translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
We gratefully acknowledge the generous sponsorship of Leo Tong Chen and his family; Zhang Wei, Li Mo, Zhang Mo Tong and Zhang Mo Lin; (Chi Xian Ren) Mao Gui Rong and Chi Mei; and Joseph Tse 謝偉傑, Patricia Tse 鄒碧玲 and family, in dedication to all eczema sufferers. Their support has helped make the work on this translation possible.
Chapter Eleven
I. The Drink Offered by Kaineya Was Received1126
A. The Conversion of Kaineya and Śaila (Prose)
1. The Sermon to the Four Great Kings1127
At that time, the ṛṣi Kaineya had his dwelling place in Ādumā and was spending the day on the bank of Mandākinī Lotus Pond.
The Blessed One asked himself, “Where should I preach the Dharma to the Four Protectors of the World in order to convert the ṛṣi Kaineya with little effort?” Then the Blessed One understood, “If I preach the Dharma on the bank of Mandākinī Lotus Pond, there he will be converted.”
Thereupon the Blessed One entertained mundane thoughts. It naturally occurs that when the buddhas, the blessed ones, entertain mundane thoughts, Śakra, Brahmā, and other gods understand the Blessed One’s thoughts. Great King Vaiśravaṇa asked himself, [F.35.b] “For the sake of what did the Blessed One entertain mundane thoughts?” He then realized, “He wishes to preach the Dharma to us, the Four Protectors of the World.” Having realized this, he ordered Pāñcika,1128 the great general of the yakṣas, “Pāñcika, go and prepare a seat for the Blessed One on the bank of Mandākinī Lotus Pond. Install a guard for the ṛṣi Kaineya so that no one will spoil his luster when there is a large assemblage.”
Having installed a guard for the ṛṣi Kaineya on the bank of Mandākinī Lotus Pond, he was preparing a seat for the Blessed One when the sound of many people arose. Because of the noise, the ṛṣi Kaineya stood up and asked the guard, “What is this noise?”
“They are preparing a seat,” he answered.
“Is that for me?”
“It is not for you, but for the Buddha, the Blessed One.”
“Why are you here?”
“To guard none but you.”
“Why?”
“Because there will be a large assemblage.”1129
“Who could guard that Blessed One?” answered the guard. “The Blessed One himself is the guard of the world including gods.”
When he heard this, the ṛṣi Kaineya remained silent.
The Blessed One then dressed in the morning, took his bowl and his robe, and entered Ādumā for alms. After having begged for food, he had his meal. Afterward he returned, settled his mind, and entered a state of meditation by which he disappeared from Ādumā with the community of monks and appeared on the bank of Mandākinī Lotus Pond. The Blessed One then sat on the seat prepared for him in front of the community of monks.
Then Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra with many attendants—hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands of them, all of whom were gandharvas—went to the Blessed One, with the front part of his garment filled with divine jewels. [F.36.a] When he arrived, he scattered the divine jewels for the Blessed One, bowed low until his forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, then sat to the east, attending the Blessed One and the community of monks.
Great King Virūḍhaka, too, with many hundreds and thousands—hundreds of thousands—of attendants, all of whom were kumbhāṇḍas, went to the Blessed One, with the front part of his garment filled with divine pearls. When he arrived, he scattered the divine pearls for the Blessed One, bowed low until his forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, then sat to the south, attending the Blessed One and the community of monks.
Great King Virūpākṣa, too, with many hundreds and thousands—hundreds of thousands—of attendants, all of whom were nāgas, went to the Blessed One, with the front part of his garment filled with divine utpala, padma, kumuda, puṇḍarīka, and māndāraka flowers. When he arrived, he scattered the divine utpala, padma, kumuda, puṇḍarīka, and māndāraka flowers for the Blessed One, bowed low until his forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, then sat to the west, attending the Blessed One and the community of monks.
Great King Vaiśravaṇa, too, with many hundreds and thousands—hundreds of thousands—of attendants, all of whom were yakṣas, went to the Blessed One, with the front part of his garment filled with pieces of divine gold. When he arrived, he scattered the pieces of divine gold for the Blessed One, bowed low until his forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, then sat to the north, attending the Blessed One and the community of monks. [F.36.b]
Among those four, those who had their origin in the midlands1130 were two: Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Virūḍhaka; those who had their origin in the borderlands1131 were two: Virūpākṣa and Vaiśravaṇa. Thereupon the Blessed One thought, “If I preach the Dharma in the language of the midlands,1132 only two of them will understand, while the other two will not. If I preach the Dharma in the language of the borderlands,1133 only two of them will understand, while the other two will not. I will now preach the Dharma to two in the language of the midlands and to the other two in the languages of the borderlands.”1134 He said to Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, “Great King, thus the body is destroyed, feelings have become cool, perceptions have ceased, formations have been pacified, and consciousness has disappeared—this is the end of suffering.”1135
While this teaching device of the Dharma was being preached, the Dharma eye, which is free from dust and stain and with which he could observe every phenomenon, was generated in Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, as well as the hundreds of thousands of gandharvas belonging to the same tribe as he.
Thereupon the Blessed One said to Great King Virūḍhaka, “Great King, here, what you see, hear, think, and understand should be only seeing, hearing, thinking, and understanding.”1136
While this teaching device of the Dharma was being preached, the Dharma eye, which is free from dust and stain and with which he could observe every phenomenon, was generated in Great King Virūḍhaka, as well as the hundreds of thousands of kumbhāṇḍas belonging to the same tribe as he.
Thereupon the Blessed One said to Great King Virūpākṣa, “Therefore, Great King, ine mene dapphe daḍapphe.1137 This is the end of suffering.”1138
While this teaching device of the Dharma was being preached, the Dharma eye, which is free from dust and stain and with which he could observe every phenomenon, was generated in Great King Virūpākṣa, as well as the hundreds of thousands of nāgas1139 belonging to the same tribe as he. [F.37.a]
Thereupon the Blessed One said to Great King Vaiśravaṇa,1140 “Therefore, Great King, māśā tuṣā saṃśāmā sarvatra virāḍi.1141 This is the end of suffering.”1142
While this teaching device of the Dharma was being preached, the Dharma eye, which is free from dust and stain and with which he could observe every phenomenon, was generated in Great King Vaiśravaṇa, as well as the hundreds of thousands of yakṣas belonging to the same tribe as he.
Then the Blessed One thought, “Now I am gradually approaching the time to be completely emancipated. To whom should I entrust my teachings before being completely emancipated? If I entrust them to gods, they will not last long, for gods are careless and enjoy much pleasure.1143 But if I entrust them to humans, they will not last long, either, for humans have shorter lives. I will now entrust them to these gods, humans, and the monk Kāśyapa before being completely emancipated.” Having thus thought, he said to Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, “Great King, you should protect my teachings in the east after I am completely emancipated.”
He said to Great King Vaiśravaṇa, “Great King, you also should protect them in the north.”
Then the Four Great Kings, their minds pleased, said to the Blessed One, “May everything be as the Blessed One has said! O Blessed One, we will protect them.”
Having thus spoken and seen the truths before the Blessed One, they bowed low until their foreheads touched the Blessed One’s feet, and then departed from the Blessed One’s presence. The Blessed One entrusted all his teachings to the venerable Mahākāśyapa and [F.37.b] said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, you also should exert yourself in carrying out your duties in accordance with the teachings.”
2. The Former Lives of the Four Great Kings1144
The monks, feeling doubtful, inquired of the Buddha, the Blessed One, the one who severs all doubts, “O Honored One, what karma did the Four Great Kings create that matured to cause them to become the Four Great Kings and see the truths in the presence of the Blessed One?”
“Monks,” replied the Blessed One, “the actions were performed and accumulated by these ones themselves in other lives, accruing a heap of karma, whose conditions have ripened . . . .
“Monks, at a certain point in this fortunate eon, when people’s lifespans were twenty thousand years long, there appeared in the world a teacher named Kāśyapa, who was … a teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, and a blessed one. At that time, there lived in the great ocean two nāgas named Śvāsa and Mahāśvāsa. There were two garuḍas named Aṭṭeśvara and Cūḍeśvara on a kūṭaśālmalī tree. Whenever these two attacked Śvāsa and Mahāśvāsa, the two nāgas escaped underground. Later, after Śvāsa and Mahāśvāsa had sought refuge in the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa and accepted the rules of training, the garuḍas again began to attack these two, but they were obstructed and repulsed, just as wind and water are obstructed and repulsed by Mount Sumeru. The two garuḍas then inquired of them, ‘Sirs, when we attacked you before, you used to escape underground. Why, when we meet you now, are we obstructed and repulsed, just as wind and water are obstructed and repulsed by Mount Sumeru? What is the cause of this?’
“Śvāsa and Mahāśvāsa [F.38.a] answered, ‘We sought refuge in the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa and accepted the rules of training.’
“ ‘If that is the case, we will do so, too,’ said the two garuḍas.
“The two garuḍas then went to the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa with the two nāgas. When they arrived, they saw the Four Protectors of the World depart after they had heard the Dharma in the presence of the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa. The two garuḍas asked the two nāgas, Śvāsa and Mahāśvāsa, ‘Who are those ones departing?’
“The two nāgas explained about this in detail, and the two garuḍas replied, ‘If that is the case, we will also seek refuge in the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa, accept the rules of training, and make aspirations.’ The two garuḍas then did seek refuge in the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa and accept the rules of training. Śvāsa and Mahāśvāsa had already accepted them before. Then they together threw themselves at the feet of the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa and made these aspirations: ‘Just as these Four Protectors of the World, after having heard the Dharma in the presence of the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa, saw the truths and departed for their residences, may we also, by this root of merit, become the Four Protectors of the World! May that Blessed One, whom a young brahmin called Uttara was predicted to become1145 by the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa—“Young brahmin, you will become a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened one called Śākyamuni when people’s lifespans are a hundred years long”—preach the Dharma for us on the bank of Mandākinī Lotus Pond! May we, too, after having heard the Dharma, see the truths and depart for our residences just as they did!’ [F.38.b]
“What do you think, monks? The ones who were those four—the nāgas and garuḍas—are indeed these Four Protectors of the World. That one who was Śvāsa at that time, on that occasion, is indeed this Dhṛtarāṣṭra. That one who was Mahāśvāsa is indeed this Virūḍhaka. That one who was Aṭṭeśvara is indeed this Virūpākṣa. That one who was Cūḍeśvara is indeed this Vaiśravaṇa. Because of the maturation of that karma, namely, their seeking refuge in the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa, accepting the rules of training, and making aspirations at that time, on that occasion, they became the Four Protectors of the World, saw the truths in my presence, and departed for their residences.”
3. Kaineya Offers Drinks to the Blessed One
Having heard that Dharma preached, the ṛṣi Kaineya felt greatly pleased and was filled with faith in the Blessed One. The Blessed One knew his thinking, proclivity, disposition, and nature and preached the Dharma, through which the ṛṣi Kaineya penetrated the four truths of the noble ones and actualized the fruit of a never-returner.
Thereupon, having acquired faith founded in knowledge, he went to the Blessed One, bringing eight kinds of drinks: namely, coconut drink, banana drink, kola drink, aśvattha drink, udumbara drink, paruṣaka drink, kharjūra drink, and grape drink.1146 When he arrived, he said to the Blessed One, “O Honored One, since these eight kinds of drinks are praised and extolled by ancient ṛṣis, may the Blessed One have compassion and accept them.”
The Blessed One did have compassion for the ṛṣi Kaineya and accepted the eight kinds of drinks. Having accepted them, he said to the monks, [F.39.a] “Monks, if these eight kinds of drinks have been accepted at the appropriate time (i.e., in the morning), squeezed at the appropriate time, and strained at the appropriate time, and if their formal possession has been taken at the appropriate time, they may be consumed at either the appropriate time or an inappropriate time (i.e., after noon), but they should not be consumed after the first watch of the night has passed.
“If these eight kinds of drinks have been accepted at the appropriate time, but squeezed at an inappropriate time, and strained at an inappropriate time, and if their formal possession has been taken at an inappropriate time, they should not be consumed.
“If these eight kinds of drinks have been accepted at the appropriate time, squeezed at the appropriate time, but strained at an inappropriate time, and if their formal possession has been taken at an inappropriate time, they should not be consumed.
4. Śaila and Kaineya Go Forth
Thereupon the ṛṣi Kaineya rose from his seat, draped his upper robe over one shoulder, made the gesture of supplication to the Blessed One, and said to him, “May the Blessed One together with the community of monks assent to my offer of a meal tomorrow.”
The Blessed One assented to the ṛṣi Kaineya by remaining silent. Then the ṛṣi Kaineya, knowing that the Blessed One had assented by remaining silent, rose from his seat and departed. The Blessed One also disappeared from the bank of Mandākinī Lotus Pond and went to Ādumā with the community of monks.
The ṛṣi Kaineya rose before dawn and said to his family, “Noble ones, get up! Sirs, get up! Cut firewood! Light a fire! Distribute khādyaka!1148 Clean the dining halls!”
At that time, a ṛṣi named Śaila, who was a nephew of the ṛṣi Kaineya, was staying in that very house. When the ṛṣi Śaila heard the ṛṣi Kaineya rise before dawn [F.39.b] and speak to his family, he asked the ṛṣi Kaineya, “O ṛṣi, have you invited your fellow ṛṣis? Have you invited King Śreṇya Bimbisāra of Magadha or people dwelling around the palace? Or is there any accomplishment of ṛṣis’ dharma that is desired?”
“Śaila,” he replied, “I have not invited my fellow ṛṣis. I have not invited King Śreṇya Bimbisāra of Magadha or people dwelling around the palace. This is not any accomplishment of ṛṣis’ dharma that is desired, either. But I have invited the community of monks headed by the Buddha for a meal.”
When Śaila heard the sound buddha, a sound he had never heard before, the hair on his entire body stood on end.1149 He asked respectfully, “O ṛṣi, who is the Buddha?”
“Śaila, there is a son of the Śākyans called śramaṇa Gautama, one who went forth from the Śākyan family into homelessness in true faith, having shaved off his hair and beard and donned saffron robes. He was awakened to complete and supreme awakening. Śaila, he is the Buddha.”
“Śaila,” the ṛṣi Kaineya replied, “among the sons of kṣatriya families, there are those who went forth from their home into homelessness in true faith, having shaved off their hair and beards and donned saffron robes. Among the sons of brahmin families, vaiśya families, and śūdra families, too, there are those who went forth … following the Blessed One, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the Perfectly Awakened One, who had gone forth. Śaila, these are the community. Śaila, I have invited this community and the Buddha that I already mentioned, [F.40.a] namely, ‘the community of monks headed by the Buddha,’ for a meal.”
Thereupon, being mindful of the Buddha, the ṛṣi Śaila rose early in the morning and went to the Blessed One with his five hundred attendants. When he arrived, he bowed low until his forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, and then he sat down to one side. Having sat down to one side, the ṛṣi Śaila said to the Blessed One, “O Honored One, I wish to go forth and be ordained a monk in the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya. I will lead the pure life in the presence of the Blessed One.” The ṛṣi Śaila and his five hundred attendants then attained monkhood, which belongs to those who have gone forth and have been ordained in the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya. [B59]
Thereupon the ṛṣi Kaineya prepared a pure and fine meal during the night … served and satisfied them . . . . When he served the community of monks headed by the Buddha with a meal, he saw Śaila, who had gone forth. He asked him, “Śaila, did you go forth?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Well done! Well done, indeed! I will go forth, too, after I have finished serving the meal to the community of monks headed by the Buddha.”
Then the ṛṣi Kaineya, with his own hands and in a variety of ways, served and satisfied the community of monks headed by the Buddha with a pure and fine meal. Knowing the Blessed One had finished his meal and washed his hands and his bowl, he took a low seat and sat before the Blessed One in order to hear the Dharma. Then the Blessed One assigned the rewards of the offerings to him, gave a sermon, and departed.
Thereupon the ṛṣi Kaineya, having thrown off everything unnecessary, [F.40.b] went to the Blessed One with his five hundred attendants. When he arrived, he bowed low until his forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, and then he sat down to one side. Having sat down to one side, the ṛṣi Kaineya said to the Blessed One, “O Honored One, I wish to go forth and be ordained a monk in the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya. I will lead the pure life in the presence of the Blessed One.” The ṛṣi Kaineya with his five hundred attendants then attained monkhood, which belongs to those who have gone forth and have been ordained in the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya.1150
5. The Instruction by Three Disciples of the Buddha
Thereupon the Blessed One undertook the rainy-season retreat in the Parasol mango grove on the bank of the river Prabhadrikā with those thousand monks who had newly gone forth and had been ordained.
There, the Blessed One entrusted five hundred monks to the venerable Brāhmaṇakapphiṇa, two hundred and fifty to the venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana, and two hundred and fifty to the venerable Śāriputra. Those who were instructed by the venerable Brāhmaṇakapphiṇa abandoned all the defilements and actualized the state of an arhat, those by the venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana the fruit of once-returners,1151 and those by the venerable Śāriputra the fruit of stream-entry.
6. The Former Lives of the Three Disciples
The monks, feeling doubtful, inquired of the Buddha, the Blessed One, the one who severs all doubts, “How is it, O Honored One, that, although the Blessed One has praised the venerable Śāriputra as the best of those who have great wisdom, and the venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana as the best of those who have great power and great magical power, those who were instructed by the venerable Brāhmaṇakapphiṇa actualized the state of an arhat, those by the venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana the fruit of once-returners,1152 and those by the venerable Śāriputra [F.41.a] the fruit of stream-entry?”
“Listen, monks,” the Blessed One replied, “how, not only in the present but also in the past, those who were instructed by Brāhmaṇakapphiṇa were established in the formless realm, those by Maudgalyāyana in the form realm, and those by Śāriputra in the five kinds of supernormal knowledge.
“Monks, there once lived two ṛṣis in the wilderness, each of whom had five hundred attendants. One day, one of those two died. His young brahmins, tormented by pain and despair over parting from their teacher, wandered here and there and came to the other ṛṣi. When he saw them with their eyes full of tears, he asked them, ‘Young brahmins, where did your teacher go?’
“ ‘He died.’
“He thought, ‘After my death, my young brahmins will be in the same situation as these ones. I will now accept them.’ He then encouraged them and accepted them.
“Later, one day, this ṛṣi also became sick. He had three best pupils, and he entrusted five hundred young brahmins to the first one, two hundred and fifty to the second one, and another two hundred and fifty to the third one. Then, he passed away.
“At that point, the one who was entrusted with five hundred instructed them so that they were established in the formless realm; the second who was entrusted with two hundred and fifty instructed them so that they were established in the form realm; and the third who was assigned two hundred and fifty instructed them so that they were established in the five supernormal powers.
“What do you think, monks? That ṛṣi who established five hundred young brahmins in the formless realm at that time, on that occasion, [F.41.b] was indeed this monk Kapphiṇa. The one who established two hundred and fifty in the form realm was indeed this monk Maudgalyāyana. The other one who established two hundred and fifty in the five kinds of supernormal knowledge was indeed this monk Śāriputra.
“However, monks, those who were instructed by Kapphiṇa are of keen faculties, those by Maudgalyāyana are of mediocre faculties, and those by Śāriputra are of dull faculties. If they had not been instructed by Śāriputra, they would not even have attained the stage of warmth.”
B. The Conversion of Kaineya and Śaila (Verse)1153
II. The Town of Kāśi, Barley Porridge
Thereupon the Blessed One, traveling through the country of Kāśi, went to the town of Kāśi.1173 In the town of Kāśi, there were a father and son who had originally been barbers1174 but had gone forth. The son said, “Father,1175 the Blessed One has come to the monastery, having traveled in the country of Kāśi with the community of his disciples. Since the Blessed One and the community of monks are fatigued, let us now invite the Blessed One and the community of his disciples for a meal of barley porridge.1176 And so, will you prepare rice soup1177 or invite the community of monks?”
“You should go and invite the community of monks,” said the father. “I will prepare rice soup.”
The son then invited the community of monks. The father went to the market, carrying a mirror with him. There he saw the head of a guild, who had long hair and a long beard. When he showed him the mirror, he asked, “O noble one, do you have such a skill?” [F.46.b]
“Yes, I do,” he answered.
“If you do, please shave me.”
When he began to shave him, the householder fell asleep and woke up when the shaving was done. “O noble one,” he asked, “have you finished shaving?”
“Yes, householder, I have.”
He was delighted and said, “O noble one, as I am quite completely satisfied, I will offer you what you most wish.”
He replied, “Since I have invited the community of monks headed by the Buddha for a meal of barley porridge, give me barley porridge.”
“Noble one, is such a thing as barley porridge suitable for you?” the householder asked. “I will offer you a fine meal. Go and invite them!”
Having saluted him, he departed.
Then the householder prepared a pure and fine meal … the Blessed One sat on the seat prepared for him in front of the community of monks. When the fine meal was distributed there, the monks wondered, “Since we have been invited for plain food, how can we accept this fine meal?” They did not accept it. When the monks reported this matter to the Blessed One, the Blessed One said, “If one is invited for plain food and obtains a fine meal, one can consume it. You should not have any doubts about this.”
The Blessed One thought, “The fault that occurred in this case was that monks retain tools related to their families. Thus, a monk should not demonstrate his skill. He should not keep tools related to his family, either. If he keeps them, he becomes guilty of an offense. There are exceptions: a former physician keeping a box of scalpels, a former scribe keeping an ink bottle, and a tailor keeping a needle case.”1178
III. Khādyaka in Pāpā
The Blessed One, traveling through the country of Malla, arrived at Pāpā and stayed in the dense forest of Jalūkā near Pāpā. There lived a maternal uncle of the venerable Ānanda, who was a high official of the Mallas named Roca. He was not very pious. When the Mallas in Pāpā1179 heard that the Blessed One, traveling through the country of Malla, had arrived at Pāpā and was staying in the dense forest of Jalūkā near Pāpā, [F.47.a] they began to talk among themselves: “Sirs, we have heard that the Blessed One, traveling through the country of Malla, has arrived at Pāpā and is staying in the dense forest of Jalūkā near Pāpā. Since if each of us offers a meal to the community of monks headed by the Buddha, the others will not have any opportunity, let us make an agreement so that none of us will by himself offer a meal to the community of monks headed by the Buddha, but we will offer a meal together. If one of us offers a meal by himself, a fine of sixty kārṣāpaṇas shall be imposed on him by our community.”
Thereupon the Mallas of Pāpā went to the Blessed One together. When they arrived, they bowed low until their foreheads touched the Blessed One’s feet, and then they sat down to one side. When they had sat down to one side, the Blessed One, through talk consistent with the Dharma … delighted the Mallas of Pāpā, and then remained silent.
Thereupon the Mallas of Pāpā rose from their seats, draped their upper robes over one shoulder, made the gesture of supplication to the Blessed One, and said to the Blessed One, “May the Blessed One together with the community of monks assent to our offer of a meal at one of our houses tomorrow.”
The Blessed One assented to the Mallas of Pāpā by remaining silent. Then the Mallas of Pāpā, knowing that the Blessed One had assented by remaining silent, praised and were delighted at the words of the Blessed One, bowed low until their foreheads touched the Blessed One’s feet, rose from their seats, and departed.
Roca, the high official of the Mallas, remained there. The venerable Ānanda asked him, “Roca, [F.47.b] have you become pious?”
“I have not become pious,” he answered, “but our community made an agreement … a fine of sixty kārṣāpaṇas shall be imposed.”
“You came to see the Blessed One for fear of a fine!”
“O honored one, precisely so.”1180
The venerable Ānanda then took Roca, the high official of the Mallas, to the Blessed One. Upon their arrival, he said to the Blessed One, “O Honored One, this Roca, the high official of the Mallas, does not believe in the Buddha, the Dharma, or the community. May the Blessed One preach the Dharma well so that he will believe in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the community.”
The Blessed One assented to the venerable Ānanda by remaining silent. Then the Blessed One preached the Dharma to Roca, the high official of the Mallas, so that after listening to it, he would believe in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the community. Thereupon Roca, the high official of the Mallas, rose from his seat, draped his upper robe over one shoulder, made the gesture of supplication to the Blessed One, and said to the Blessed One, “May the Blessed One together with the community of monks assent to my offer of a meal at my house tomorrow.”
Thereupon Roca, the high official of the Mallas, bowed low until his forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, rose from his seat, departed, and went to see the Mallas of Pāpā. When he arrived, he said to the Mallas of Pāpā, “Sirs, [F.48.a] wait for a while. It will not cause difficulty if I first offer a meal to the Blessed One and the community of monks, and later you also offer a meal to them.”
“We invited the community of monks headed by the Buddha first,” they replied. “We do not consent to this.”
“If you do not allow this,” he countered, “I will distribute khādyaka1181 and drinks respectively.”
Those who were impious there said, “We do not permit this.”
Those who were pious said,1182 “Sirs, since he, being impious, will give offerings to the community, we will give him permission to do so.” Then they did give him permission.
He then called together some cooks. “Sirs,” he instructed them, “I will provide every ingredient, so prepare khādyaka with which one would be fully satisfied.” He gave them ingredients including various fragrant materials, and they cooked khādyaka with various fragrances, each serving of which would fully satisfy each person.
Thereupon the Mallas of Pāpā prepared a pure and fine meal during the night . . . . The Blessed One sat on the seat prepared for him in front of the community of monks. Then Roca, the high official of the Mallas, began to distribute khādyaka and drinks, but the monks did not eat because of some doubts. The Blessed One said, “You should ask for the donor’s consent.”
IV. Doubts
On another day, [F.48.b] when monks went for alms, brahmins and householders said, “O Buddha, please come! O Dharma, please come! O community, please come! Accept this!”
The monks did not accept it because of some doubts. The Blessed One told them, “You should ask, ‘Are you giving it to me or the Blessed One, the best of humans?’ If they say, ‘This is for the Blessed One, the best of humans,’ you should not have it for yourselves. But if they say, ‘Our Buddha is none but you,’ you can accept it. You should not have any regrets about this. Likewise, you should ask, ‘Is this for the Dharma, the best of what is free from desire?’ ‘For the community, the best of assemblies?’ . . . .”
V. Foul Foods1184
A. A Story of the Present about the Great Peacock Charm
A certain householder invited the community of monks headed by the Buddha to a steam bath. At that time, a venerable one named Svāti, who was young, junior, and in his youth, who had newly gone forth and newly been ordained, newly come into this Dharma and Vinaya, thought, “The Blessed One said, ‘Those who give a little, those who give much, those who give excellent things, those who do labor with pleasure, those who are satisfied with a pure mind—all of them share merit.’ So, I will now do labor.” He began to chop wood. Then a poisonous snake emerged from a hole in a rotten piece of wood and bit him on the right big toe. He fainted from the poison, fell on the ground, and foamed at the mouth, his face and eyes distorted.
Brahmins and householders saw him suffering in such pain and asked each other, “Sirs, which householder’s son is this?”
Some of them answered, “He is So-and-so’s son.”
They said, “He went forth among those who are helpless, those śramaṇas who are the sons of the Śākyans. [F.49.a] If he had not gone forth, his family would have treated him.”
When the monks reported this matter to the Blessed One, the Blessed One said, “Ask a physician what to do and treat him.”
The monks asked a physician what to do, and he answered, “Noble ones, give him some foul food.”
When the monks reported this to the Blessed One, the Blessed One said, “You can give it to him if the physician prescribed it.”
Because the monks did not know what foul food was, they asked the physician. He answered, “Noble ones, since your Teacher, the Blessed One, is omniscient, one who sees everything, he must know.”
When the monks reported this matter to the Blessed One, the Blessed One said, “Monks, the types of foul food are as follows: excrement, urine, ash, and soil. Among these, excrement is that of newly born calves. Urine is that of them too. Ash is that of five kinds of trees, namely, kāñcana, kapītaka, aśvattha, udumbara, and nyagrodha. The soil is that which is dug out from a depth of four fingers from the surface of the ground. These are the types of foul food.”
Thereupon the monks gave foul food to the venerable Svāti, but his health did not return. When the monks reported this matter to the Blessed One, the Blessed One said, “Ānanda, can you receive the Great Peacock Charm from me, learn it, protect, guard, and defend the monk Svāti, detoxify the poison, remove the harm, counteract the poison, establish a boundary, and bind the ground?”
“May the Blessed One say it. I will do as I hear.” [B60]
Then the Blessed One chanted this Great Peacock Charm: “Homage to the Buddha! [F.49.b] Homage to the Dharma! Homage to the community!
“It is like this: amale vimale nirmale maṅgale hiraṇye hiraṇye garbhe bhadre subhadre samantabhadre śrībhadre sarvārthasādhani paramārthasādhani sarvānarthapraśamani sarvamaṅgalasādhani manasi mānasi mahāmānasi acyute adbhute atyadbhute mukte mocani mokṣaṇi araje viraje amare amṛte amaraṇi brahme brahmāsvare pūrṇe pūrṇamanorathe mukte jīvante,1185 protect Svāti from all harm, fear, and disease, svāhā!”
“Certainly, O Honored One.”
B. Stories of the Buddha’s Former Lives Related to the Great Peacock Charm
The monks, feeling doubtful, asked the Buddha, the Blessed One, the one who severs all doubts, for clarification, saying: “O Blessed One, it is a great wonder that the Blessed One’s Great Peacock Charm is so beneficial1186 and useful.”
“Listen, monks, how, not only in the present but also in the past, when I was one whose body had descended to an unfortunate state of existence, the Great Peacock Charm, the Queen of Charms, was beneficial and useful.
“Monks, there once lived a peacock king named Suvarṇāvabhāsa on the southern slope of the Himalaya, the king of mountains. He gave a blessing to himself with this Great Peacock Charm every morning and spent the day, protected by the blessing, then gave a blessing in the evening and spent the night, protected by the blessing.