[F.2.a] When 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—who was fond of philosophical extremists.

When the time came for him to marry he took a wife, and they enjoyed themselves and coupled. 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, 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.

They reared him on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and he flourished like a lotus in a lake. Once he was able to walk, his father brought home a little puppy for him to play with. Any time the puppy saw philosophical extremists, she would run and bite at them, sometimes tearing their robes. But when she saw Buddhist monastics she would trot up, lick their feet, and circumambulate them clockwise while wagging her tail.

The buddhas, the blessed ones, 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, [F.2.b] 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.

These 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? 27 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?”28

Just as the buddhas, the blessed ones, regard the world with their buddha eyes six times throughout the day and night—three times by day and three times by night—so too the great disciples of the buddhas regard the world with disciples’ eyes six times throughout the day and night—three times by day and three times by night. When Venerable Śāriputra regarded the world with his disciple’s eyes, he knew that the time had come to tame the householder and his retinue. In the morning he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, he went for alms in Śrāvastī. [F.3.a]

As he went for alms, Śāriputra eventually came to the home of that householder. As soon as the dog saw him from a distance, she jumped up and ran right up to Śāriputra, just as she had with the other monks. She very respectfully licked his feet and circumambulated him three times while wagging her tail.

The householder saw all this and thought, “My! This one has fallen so low as to possess the body of a dog. If even she thinks to pay him such esteem, then surely this monk is a great being. I should invite this monk and offer him food.” Reflecting in this way he approached Venerable Śāriputra, bowed down at Śāriputra’s feet, and said, “Lord Śāriputra, whatever food you need, please take it here.” Venerable Śāriputra assented by his silence.

Understanding that by his silence Venerable Śāriputra had given his assent, the householder then prepared a seat for Venerable Śāriputra and said, “Venerable Śāriputra, please sit upon the seat that I have prepared,” whereupon Venerable Śāriputra sat on the seat prepared for him.

Once the householder knew that Venerable Śāriputra was comfortably seated, by his own hand he contented him with many good, wholesome foods, proffering all that he wished. After he had contented him with many different kinds of good, wholesome foods by his own hand, and had proffered all that he wished, once he knew that Venerable Śāriputra had finished eating and that his bowl had been taken away and his hands washed, he sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

Venerable Śāriputra directly apprehended the thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, and nature of the householder and his retinue, and taught them the Dharma accordingly.

When they heard it, the householder and his retinue destroyed with the thunderbolt of wisdom the twenty high peaks of the mountain of views concerning the transitory collection, [F.3.b] and manifested the resultant state of stream entry. Having seen the truths,29 they went for refuge and took the fundamental precepts. After Venerable Śāriputra had instructed, encouraged, inspired, and delighted the householder with a discourse on the Dharma, he rose from his seat and departed.

Having seen the truths, the householder began to give gifts and make merit such that his home became like an open well for those in need. The householder invited Śāriputra to take food at his home again and again. Venerable Śāriputra and the householder would give food to the dog, and the householder would sit before Venerable Śāriputra to listen to the Dharma. The dog too would sit down before Venerable Śāriputra and listen to the Dharma. The householder reflected, “Such good things I have realized, and all on account of this dog!” Realizing this, he took very good care of her.

One day the dog fell ill, and Śāriputra said to her, “And so it is, child: All conditioned things are impermanent. All conditioned things are suffering. All phenomena are selfless. Nirvāṇa is peace. Let your mind be filled with joy at the thought of me, and you may even be released from rebirth in the animal realm.” With that, Venerable Śāriputra departed.

Not long after he had gone, the dog died, filled with joy at the thought of Venerable Śāriputra. After she died, she took rebirth in the same house, in the womb of the householder’s foremost wife.

When the dog died, Venerable Śāriputra returned to the house, where the householder informed him, “Lord Śāriputra, our dog has passed away.”

“Keep the dog’s body in a secluded place,” Venerable Śāriputra instructed, “for those bones will be of benefit to her later on.” [F.4.a]

“As you wish, Lord Śāriputra,” said the householder, and the householder put the dog’s dead body in a place where no one would see it.

After nine or ten months had passed, the householder’s wife 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 her birth they named her according to their clan. They reared her on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and she flourished like a lotus in a lake.

When she had grown, Venerable Śāriputra told her, “Child, sit and listen to the Dharma,” but she had become arrogant on account of her well-proportioned shape and youthfulness, and was so distracted that she was unable to listen to the Dharma. One day Venerable Śāriputra recognized how to uncover her potential. He set the bones of the dog in front of her, and blessed the young woman in such a way that she remembered her former lives.

Recalling her former lives, the young woman was overcome with grief and thought, “Look at the difficult task Noble Śāriputra has done for me! Thanks to him I have been freed from the realms of animal birth.” At this thought she was filled with happiness, and sat before Venerable Śāriputra to listen to the Dharma.

Then Venerable Śāriputra, directly apprehending her thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, and nature, taught her the Dharma accordingly. Hearing it, the young woman 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 she sat.

Having seen the truths, she rose from her seat, drew down the right shoulder of her upper garment, bowed to Venerable Śāriputra with her palms together, [F.4.b] and implored him, “Lord Śāriputra, if permitted, I wish to go forth in the Dharma and Vinaya so well spoken, complete my novitiate, and achieve full ordination. I too wish to practice the holy life in the presence of the Blessed One.”

Venerable Śāriputra told her parents of her faith and then presented her to Mahā­prajāpatī, who led her to go forth as a novice, ordained her, and gave her instruction. Casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, she manifested arhatship. As an arhat, free of the attachments of the three realms, her mind regarded gold no differently than filth, and the palms of her hands as like space itself. She became cool like wet sandalwood. Her insight crushed ignorance like an eggshell. She achieved the insights, superknowledges, and discriminations. She had no regard for worldly profit, passion, or acclaim. She became an object of offering, veneration, and respectful address by Indra, Upendra, and the other gods.

Now an arhat, she remembered Venerable Śāriputra’s previous kindness and approached him again and again, prostrating herself at his feet and saying, “Thanks to Noble Śāriputra, I was freed from the realms of animal birth and achieved great virtues. It is all due to the difficult task the noble one has done for me.”

Many monks overheard her saying this over and over again, and immediately asked Venerable Śāriputra, “Venerable Śāriputra, what is this nun thinking, saying this over and over again?”

“Did you see the puppy at the householder’s home?” Venerable Śāriputra asked.

“Yes, Lord Śāriputra, we did,” they replied.

“The very same one died filled with joy at the thought of me and was reborn in the home of that householder. [F.5.a] Now that she remembers her former lives, she speaks these words to me to acknowledge that previous kindness.”

The monks inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, what was the action this nun performed that ripened into her birth as a dog? What did she do after she died and took rebirth as a human being that she pleased and did not displease the Blessed One, went forth in the Blessed One’s doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship?”

The Blessed One replied, “Monks, it was partly her past actions, and it is partly her present actions as well.”

“Lord, what action did she take in the past?”

“Monks, in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, there lived a certain householder in the city of Vārāṇasī.

“One day a child was born to him who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. As she grew up she gained faith in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and asked her parents if she could go forth. Once she had gone forth, she studied the Tripiṭaka and became a proponent of the Dharma with all the eloquence of her wisdom and freedom.

“Having acquired provisions of clothing, food, bedding, a seat, and medicines for the sick, she thought, ‘How wonderful! With all the profit and acclaim I’ve gained, I can see to the welfare of fellow practitioners of the holy life.’ And she served the twofold saṅgha30 in accordance with the Dharma.

“One day when she was busy, she [F.5.b] asked for help from a group of nuns who were on the paths of learning and no more to learn. They replied, ‘We cannot abandon our virtuous works to accomplish your task.’

“When she heard this she bristled with fury. Seething, the nun shouted at them, ‘You’re like dogs! All I do is look after you and fill your stomachs—can you not help me for even a moment?’

“Thereupon the nuns thought, ‘It’s not right for this emotionally afflicted person, so abased, to circle in saṃsāra and meet with great suffering.’ Reflecting in this way, they thought, ‘We have to help her,’ and asked, ‘Do you know who we are? And do you know who you yourself are?’

“ ‘I know,’ she replied, ‘that you have gone forth, as have I.’

“The nuns responded, ‘Though as your elder sisters we have gone forth as you have, you are an ordinary person, bound by every fetter, whereas we have accomplished our task. So acknowledge your mistake as such. Otherwise you are certain to roam in saṃsāra and meet with great suffering.’

“Hearing their words, the nun was flooded with regret, and with renewed vigor she offered her respectful service to the twofold saṅgha and practiced pure conduct all her life.

“At the time of her death, she prayed, ‘Oh, but by the root of virtue of my having gone forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, my lifetime of practicing pure conduct, and the service I rendered in accord with the Dharma, 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 Uttara, the young brahmin prophesied by the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa to be the next blessed buddha. [F.6.a] Going forth in his doctrine alone, may I cast away all afflictive emotions and manifest arhatship. May I not meet with the results of the act of speaking harshly to those fellow practitioners of the holy life.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that nun then is now this nun. The ripening of the act of speaking harshly to those fellow practitioners of the holy life caused her to be reborn as a dog for five hundred lifetimes. At the time of her death she prayed, ‘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. Going forth in his doctrine alone, may I cast away all afflictive emotions and manifest arhatship.’ And that action ripened such that she was born into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth.

“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 she has pleased me, not displeased me, go forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship. These were her past actions.

“You may ask, ‘What are her present actions?’ Born as a dog, she was filled with joy at the thought of Śāriputra. Because of this she took birth among humans. These are her present actions.”

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī there lived a certain householder, prosperous and wealthy, a person of vast and magnificent means, [F.6.b] 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. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they named him according to their clan.

They reared him on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and once he was able to walk, his father brought home a puppy and gave it to the child to play with. The child taught the puppy how to eat, and when the puppy had grown, he went out to the road and many others fed him as well.

The buddhas, the blessed ones, 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.

These 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, [F.7.a] 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?”

Just as the blessed buddhas regard the world with their buddha eyes six times throughout the day and night—three times by day and three times by night—so too the great listeners regard the world with their listener’s eyes six times throughout the day and night—three times by day and three times by night. When Venerable Śāriputra regarded the world with his listener’s eyes, he knew that the time had come to tame the householder and his retinue.

In the morning he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, he went for alms in Śrāvastī. As he went for alms, Venerable Śāriputra eventually came to the home of that householder. The dog caught sight of Venerable Śāriputra, ran with all his might, bit him, and tore his Dharma robes. The householder saw this and immediately stopped the dog. When he had washed Venerable Śāriputra’s wounds and wrapped them with cloth, he bowed down at his feet and implored him, “Lord Śāriputra, please take your food here.” Venerable Śāriputra assented to the householder by his silence.

Understanding that by his silence Venerable Śāriputra had given his assent, the householder then prepared a seat for him and said, “Venerable Śāriputra, please sit upon the seat that I have prepared,” and Venerable Śāriputra [F.7.b] sat on the seat prepared for him. Once the householder knew that Venerable Śāriputra was comfortably seated, by his own hand he contented him with many good, wholesome foods, proffering all that he wished.

After the householder had contented him with many different kinds of good, wholesome foods by his own hand, and had proffered all that he wished, Venerable Śāriputra partook of the day’s meal and gave his remaining food to the dog. When he had finished eating it, the dog looked up at Venerable Śāriputra’s face. Once the householder knew that Venerable Śāriputra had finished eating and that his bowl had been taken away and his hands washed, he sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

Venerable Śāriputra directly apprehended the thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, and nature of the householder and his retinue, and taught them the Dharma accordingly. After hearing it, the householder and his retinue 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. Having seen the truths, they went for refuge and took the fundamental precepts.

“Lord Śāriputra,” said the householder, “for as long as I live, please accept from me your provisions of clothing, food, bedding, seat, and medicines to cure the sick.”

Śāriputra replied, “There are other householders I must help as well. Please allow me to go.” At this, he rose from his seat and departed.

After the householder had seen the truths, gone for refuge, and taken the fundamental precepts, he began to give gifts and make merit. From time to time he would also extend an invitation to Venerable Śāriputra and make food for him. After eating, Venerable Śāriputra would give the remaining food to the dog.

The dog was very happy with Venerable Śāriputra. He was so happy that whenever Venerable [F.8.a] Śāriputra came to the house, he greeted him, licked his feet, and circumambulated him three times while wagging his tail. Whenever Venerable Śāriputra came to give a Dharma talk and the time came for him to leave, the dog escorted him a little distance, then circumambulated him three times before he went away.

One day Venerable Śāriputra came to the house again, took his food, and gave a Dharma talk to the householder. As he was departing, the dog followed him outside onto the main road, licked his feet, and circumambulated him three times while wagging his tail. As the dog was returning to the house, some other dogs tore him apart, killing him. He died filled with joy at the thought of the elder monk Śāriputra, transmigrated, and took rebirth in the same house, in the womb of the householder’s wife.

Venerable Śāriputra knew just how the dog had been killed by the other dogs after they had parted. He contemplated where the dog would take rebirth, and saw that it would be in the same house, in the womb of the householder’s wife. Upon seeing this, out of love for the dog he went to the householder’s home alone, without attendants.

The householder saw that Venerable Śāriputra was alone, without companions or attendants, and he inquired, “Noble one, why have you come here alone, without companions or attendants? Noble one, is there no one at all who could attend you?”

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

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

“The virtuous [F.8.b] keep their promises,” said Venerable Śāriputra. Having spoken thus, Venerable Śāriputra departed.

After nine or ten months had passed, the householder’s wife gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, though his eyes were small. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they asked, “What name should we give this child?” And they named him, saying, “Since the child’s eyes are small, his name will be Little Eyes.”

They reared young Little Eyes 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;31 and the examination of cloth, jewels, gems, incense, medicine, elephants, horses, and arms and armor. He became skilled in writing, skilled at reading, learned, decisive, industrious, a master of the eight types of examination.

One day Venerable Śāriputra saw that the time had come for Little Eyes to go forth. In the morning he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, he went for alms in Śrāvastī. As he went for alms, he eventually came to the householder’s home, and there sat on the seat prepared for him.

After he had taken his seat, Venerable Śāriputra 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?”

“Yes, noble one, I did make just such a promise,” the householder replied, and he took the child by his two hands, offered him to Venerable Śāriputra, and told him, “Child, before you were born, I offered you to the noble one. [F.9.a] Therefore go, and be an attendant of the noble one.”

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

Venerable Śāriputra brought the child to the monastery, where he led him to go forth as a novice and instructed him. Still in his novitiate, the child cast away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, and 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.

One time after he had attained arhatship, he saw scars on Venerable Śāriputra’s feet as he was anointing them and asked, “Preceptor, how did you get these scars?”

“Child,” Venerable Śāriputra told him, “think on how I got these scars.”

“I see it was I who bit him in a previous life as a dog,” thought the novice. “And I see the life from which I died, transmigrated, and took rebirth as a dog.” He saw that he had died and taken rebirth as that dog, and he also saw that for five hundred lifetimes he had died as a dog, transmigrated, and taken rebirth only as a dog.

He thought, “Had my preceptor not thought of me, where would I have taken rebirth in the future when I died there and transmigrated?” Reflecting in this way, he saw himself taking birth again as that very dog. In the same way he saw himself for five hundred future lives [F.9.b] dying, transmigrating, and taking birth over and over only as a dog.

“It was he who saved me from falling so low!” he thought further. “By establishing me in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa,32 my preceptor undertook a difficult task for me, over and over again. What method is there to repay the kindness of one’s preceptor, other than service and respect? When I take full ordination I won’t be able to offer such service—but oh! By remaining a novice for as long as I live I can continue to serve him respectfully.”

With this in mind, he said to Venerable Śāriputra, “Preceptor, for as long as I live I shall serve my preceptor with respect,” and Śāriputra replied, “Do as you wish, my child.”

One day the monks asked him, “Little Eyes, why don’t you take full ordination?”

“I must repay the kindness of my preceptor,” he told them. “By remaining a novice for as long as I live, I shall be able to serve him respectfully.”

“What particular kindness did your preceptor do for you?” they asked.

He told the monks the story in detail, whereupon the monks inquired of the Blessed Buddha, “Lord, what action did Little Eyes take that ripened into his birth as a dog, such that, if Venerable Śāriputra had not thought of him, he would have taken rebirth only as a dog for five hundred lifetimes, and what action did he take that once he had died as a dog he transmigrated and took birth once again as a human into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth? What action did he take that he pleased the Blessed One, did not displease him, went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship? What action did he take that ripened into his having small eyes?”

“Monks,” explained [F.10.a] the Blessed One, “Little Eyes committed and accumulated the actions himself at a previous time. Monks, the actions that he 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 he committed and accumulated, both virtuous and nonvirtuous, ripened into nothing but his own aggregates, sense bases, and constituent elements.

“Monks, in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, there lived in the city of Vārāṇasī 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.

“One day his wife conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. When he grew up he found faith in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, and after asking for his parents’ permission, went forth.

“Once he had gone forth, he studied the Tripiṭaka and became a proponent of the Dharma with all the eloquence of his wisdom and freedom. Having acquired provisions of clothing, food, bedding, a seat, and medicines for the sick, he thought to himself, ‘How wonderful! With all the profit and acclaim I’ve gained, I can see to the welfare of fellow practitioners of the holy life.’ [F.10.b] And he served the twofold saṅgha in accordance with the Dharma.

“One evening, one of his duties, that of serving the evening drink, fell instead to an arhat monk. After distributing the evening drink to the saṅgha, the arhat was weary, so he went to his quarters, crossed his legs, and sat down.

“The evening drink still needed to be served to the benefactors, who began to ask the other monks, ‘Whose turn is it today to serve the evening drink?’

“They replied that today it was the monk so-and-so’s turn. The one who was normally appointed to serve them, seething, closed his eyes as if asleep and said, ‘It’s the one whose eyes are like this—I’ll find him!’

“Having said this, he went to the arhat and said, ‘Lord, for your sake I’ve pleased all our benefactors and patrons, and respectfully served your every need. Now that you’ve enjoyed all I’ve given you in faith, do you come home to sit and sleep like a dog?’

“Thereupon the arhat thought, ‘It’s not right for this emotionally afflicted person, who has become so abased, to circle in saṃsāra and meet with great suffering.’ Reflecting in this way, he thought, ‘I have to help him.’

“With this thought he said to the monk, ‘Lord, do you know who I am? And do you know who you yourself are?’

“ ‘I know that you have gone forth,’ he replied, ‘as have I.’

“ ‘Though we two are like brothers in having gone forth,’ the arhat said, ‘you are an ordinary person, bound by every fetter, whereas I am an arhat, liberated from every fetter. You’ve spoken harshly to me. You must acknowledge your mistake. Otherwise you are certain to roam in saṃsāra and meet with great suffering.’

“Hearing his words, the monk was flooded with great regret. [F.11.a] He bowed down at the monk’s feet, asked his forgiveness, and with renewed vigor offered his respectful service to the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. All his life, he practiced pure conduct and served the saṅgha in accord with the Dharma.

“At the time of his death, he prayed, ‘Oh, but by the root of virtue of my having gone forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, my practice of pure conduct all my life, and the service I rendered in accord with the Dharma, 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. Going forth in his doctrine alone, may I cast away all afflictive emotions and manifest arhatship. May I not meet with the results of the wrongful act of speaking harshly to fellow practitioners of the holy life.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was of service then is now the novice Little Eyes. The act of speaking harshly to the arhat ripened such that for five hundred lifetimes he took rebirth as a dog, and had the monk Śāriputra not thought of him, he would have taken rebirth only as a dog for five hundred more lifetimes.

“The act of becoming angry, closing his eyes in imitation of the arhat, and saying, ‘It’s the one whose eyes are like this—I’ll find him!’ ripened into his birth as a human being whose eyes were just like that. The act of praying at that time, ‘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 [F.11.b] to be the next blessed buddha. Going forth in his doctrine alone, may I cast away all afflictive emotions and manifest arhatship,’ ripened such that he was born into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth.

“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, not displeased me, go forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

When 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. When the time came for him to marry he took a wife, and they enjoyed themselves and coupled. But even though they enjoyed themselves and coupled, they had no children.

They desired a son, so the householder supplicated the gods. He prayed to Paśupati, Varuṇa, Kubera, Śakra, Brahmā, and the rest, and to the deities of the pleasure groves, the forest deities, the deities of the crossroads, the deities of forks in the road, the deities who receive strewn oblations, the deities of his inherited tradition, and the deities who are in constant attendance of righteous persons.

While it is often said that praying to deities can cause a boy or a girl to be born, this is not true. If children could be made just by praying, every family would have them a thousand times over, like a universal monarch. [F.12.a]33 In fact, there are three circumstances that allow for the birth of a child: a child is born when (1) lust arises in the parents and they have intercourse, (2) the mother still has her menstrual cycle and is approached by a gandharva, and (3) the gandharva’s mind is either attached or angry.

Still, the householder remained intent on his prayers, and a great being took birth in his wife’s womb who was well renowned and had gained his final birth, had the good fortune to soon be liberated due to gathering the accumulations, had his sights set on nirvāṇa and had turned away from saṃsāra, had no desire for the states of rebirth in cyclic existence, and who had now assumed his final body.

A woman wise in nature possesses five extraordinary abilities. She knows (1) whether a man is attracted to her, (2) the time of her menstrual cycle, (3) that she has conceived, (4) from whom she has conceived, and (5) whether the child is a boy or a girl, for if it is a baby boy it will stay on the right side of the womb, and if it is a girl it will stay on the left side of the womb.34

When the householder’s wife conceived a child, she was overjoyed and told her husband, “My lord, I have conceived a boy. He is staying on the right side of my womb, so rejoice, for it is sure to be a boy!”

At this the householder too was very happy. He puffed out his chest, put his right hand in the air, and expressed his joy, saying, “I shall see the face of the son for whom I have prayed for so long! May everything be right with my son, may nothing go wrong with him, and may he carry on my work! As I care for him, may he care for me in return! May he enjoy my inheritance! May my lineage endure for a long time! [F.12.b]35 And after our passing, when we die, may he give gifts, be they great or small, and make merit! When he does, may he dedicate the merit thus: ‘Wherever these two are born, may this go to them!’ ”

Now that he knew his wife was pregnant, he ensconced her on the upper levels of their house in order to care for the baby. He provided her with what she needed for winter in the winter, what she needed for summer in the summer, with food that was not too bitter, too sour, too salty, too sweet, too spicy, or too astringent as instructed by the healer, and he served her food that was not bitter, sour, salty, spicy, sweet, or astringent. He draped her body with garlands and strings of precious stones, and he moved her from divan to divan and seat to seat like a goddess through a joyous garden, never letting her descend to the ground, and never letting her hear an unpleasant word even for a moment.

The 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.

These 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? [F.13.a] 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?”

Just as the blessed buddhas regard the world with their buddha eyes six times throughout the day and night—three times by day and three times by night—so too the great listeners regard the world with their listener’s eyes six times throughout the day and night—three times by day and three times by night.

When Venerable Aniruddha regarded the world with his listener’s eyes, he saw a being who was in his final birth taking birth in the home of that householder, and he thought, “Who will tame this being? Will he be tamed by the Buddha, or will he be tamed instead by the listeners?” Then he saw that it was he himself who would tame him and went to the house.

He gave Dharma teachings to the householder from time to time, and that led the householder to remain steadfast in perfect faith, to take refuge, and to maintain the fundamental precepts. He inspired him to give gifts and to share what they had, and in no time at all his home became [F.13.b] like an open well for those in need.

To strengthen the parents’ resolve, one day Venerable Aniruddha went to the house alone, without companions or attendants. The householder saw that Venerable Aniruddha was alone, without companions or attendants, and asked, “Noble one, why have you come here alone, without companions or attendants? Noble one, is there no one at all who could attend you?”

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

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

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

After nine or ten months had passed, the householder’s wife 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 asked, “What name should we give this child?” And the householder named him, saying, “For so long I wondered when I would have a child, and for so long I prayed and prayed. Since this child has fulfilled my wish, his name will be Pūraṇa.”

Baby Pūraṇa had eight nurses—two nurses to hold him in their laps, two wet nurses, two nurses to bathe him, and two nurses to play with him. [F.14.a] They raised him with a protection cord, and the eye of a peacock feather from the hand of Nārāyaṇa. They 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, and arms and armor. He became skilled in writing, skilled at reading, learned, decisive, industrious, a master of the eight types of examination.

One day Venerable Aniruddha saw that the time had come for the child to go forth. In the morning he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, he went for alms in Śrāvastī. As he went for alms, eventually he came to the householder’s home, and there sat on the seat prepared for him.

After he had taken his seat, Venerable Aniruddha 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?”

“Yes, noble one, I did make just such a promise,” the householder replied. Having 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 the noble one’s attendant.”

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

Venerable Aniruddha brought the child to the monastery, where he led him to go forth as a novice, fully ordained him, [F.14.b] and instructed him. But despite his commitment to practice earnestly, foregoing sleep from dusk to dawn, the child did not achieve anything of significance. Then he fell ill.

His parents heard that their child had taken ill, and as soon as they heard this they brought a healer to visit him, and went to the monastery carrying everything he needed. They provided for all his needs, but they could not cure him. They thought, “If we remain here at the monastery we will fall behind on all our work at home. We should bring the child home and care for him there.”

They bowed down at Venerable Aniruddha’s feet and said, “Noble one, please know that if we stay here, we will fall behind on all our duties at home. We request your permission to bring our child back home, so we can tend to him there.”

Venerable Aniruddha thought, “His parents and the people of their house will soon be established in the truths, for this monk will manifest arhatship there in the house.” With this in mind, Venerable Aniruddha said, “Do as you wish.”

As soon as they heard this, the householders brought the monk back to their house and provided for all his needs according to the healer’s instructions. Right there in the house, disillusioned by his illness, the monk cast away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, and manifested arhatship.

As an arhat he directly apprehended the thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, and nature of his two parents and the people of their house, and taught them the Dharma accordingly. Hearing it, the householders and their retinue [F.15.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 right where they sat.

After establishing his parents in the truth, he thought, “I have recollection of my former states—whence I died and transmigrated, and where I have taken rebirth. I see that from life to life I have died as a human being and taken rebirth as a human being, but I am always very ill, and my lifespan very short.

“I have been an ordinary person,” he thought. “That’s why I’m undergoing such agonies. But now that I have done what was before me, what need do I have for such suffering? Let me enter the sphere of peace!”

After reflecting in this way, he made a miraculous display of fire and light, rain and lightning, and passed beyond all sorrow into the realm of nirvāṇa without any remainder of the aggregates.

After he passed into parinirvāṇa, his parents laid his body on a palanquin festooned with blue, yellow, red, and white cloth, but they were unable to lift it. They went and told this to Venerable Aniruddha, who reflected on this, and, knowing that the monk had prayed it would be so, went and informed the Blessed One.

The Blessed One said, “Monks, don your Dharma robes, for we shall go and venerate that monk,” and set out for the householder’s home surrounded and attended by an assembly of monks.

Mahā­prajāpatī Gautamī also heard that such-and-such a householder’s child had go forth and passed into parinirvāṇa, [F.15.b] and that even the Blessed One had gone to venerate and pay homage to him. Knowing this, and remembering the child’s previous states, she also went to the householder’s home with five hundred attendants.

The householder Anāthapiṇḍada and the queen’s attendants, the sages Datta and Purāṇa, also heard this. The lay vow holder Vaiśākhā and the lay vow holder Sujātā also heard that the child of such-and-such a one had go forth and passed into parinirvāṇa, and that even the Blessed One had gone to venerate and pay homage to him. Hearing this, they too went there with their attendants, bowed down at the feet of the Blessed One, and said, “We shall build the monk’s funeral pyre. The Blessed One need not trouble himself.” The Blessed One assented by his silence.

Then householder Anāthapiṇḍada and the other lay vow holders, carrying the monk upon the palanquin, walked to the charnel grounds. The Blessed One and the other monks followed them, along with the many lay vow holders performing ritual veneration and eulogy. They bore the palanquin into the charnel ground, heaped together various types of incense, and lit the fire. They later extinguished the fire with milk, gathered up his bones, placed them in vessels, and built a reliquary stūpa there in the same place. They performed a great offering ritual at the stūpa and then sat before the Buddha to listen to the Dharma. The Blessed One gave a discourse on impermanence to all four retinues, then returned to the monastery.

Then the monks inquired of the Blessed One, “What action did the monk Pūraṇa take that ripened into his birth into a family of great means, [F.16.a] prosperity, and wealth, and such that he became very ill?”

“Monks,” explained the Blessed One, “Pūraṇa committed and accumulated the actions himself at a previous time. Monks, the actions that Pūraṇa committed and accumulated did not ripen into the external element of earth, the element of water, the element of fire, or the element of wind. The actions he committed and accumulated, both virtuous and nonvirtuous, ripened into nothing but his own aggregates, sense bases, and constituent elements.

“Monks, in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as forty thousand years, in the royal palace Śobhāvatī there was a brahmin named Agnidatta who was King Śobha’s minister. Agnidatta had two sons, one of whom, upon witnessing old age, sickness, and death, had gone to live in the forest. There, contemplating the thirty-seven wings of enlightenment, he attained unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, and as the totally and completely awakened Buddha Krakucchanda, he acted for the benefit of beings by thrice turning the wheel of the Dharma in its twelve aspects. The other son indulged his desires. He became heedless, committed adultery with36 the wives of others, and killed beings. He would go hunting and kill many thousands of beings.

“One day the totally and completely awakened Buddha Krakucchanda traveled to Śobhāvatī, and father and son were reunited. During his stay in Śobhāvatī he acted for the benefit of beings. He turned his younger brother [F.16.b] away from sin and established him in refuge and the fundamental precepts.

“The brother went on to build a monastery that was complete in every respect. He offered it to Buddha Krakucchanda and the rest of the saṅgha of monks, provided for all their needs, and at the time of his death prayed, ‘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 a great teacher such as this one. Going forth in his doctrine alone, may I cast away all afflictive emotions and manifest arhatship.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that young brahmin then is this very Pūraṇa. The act of massacring thousands of beings ripened such that wherever he was born, he was very ill and his life was very short. The act of building a monastery that was complete in every respect, offering it to Buddha Krakucchanda and the rest of the saṅgha of monks, providing for all their needs, and praying at the time of his death, ‘Wherever I am born, may it be into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth. May I please and not displease a teacher such as this one. May I achieve such great virtues as his!’ ripened such that wherever he was born, it was into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth, and such that he was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful.

“So it is, monks, now that I myself have become the very equal of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Krakucchanda—equal in strength, equal in deeds, and equal in skillful means—that he has pleased me, [F.17.a] not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

“What action ripened into his passing into nirvāṇa, and caused him to be venerated by the four retinues?”

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

“When did he make these prayers?”

“Monks, in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, there lived a certain householder in Vārāṇasī.

“One day his wife conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. When he grew up he found faith in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, and, having made the request to his parents, went forth in the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa’s doctrine. He cast away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, and manifested arhatship.

“After he attained arhatship, he thought, ‘I have done what was before me with this saṃsāric body. Let me enter the sphere of peace!’ Reflecting in this way, he made a miraculous display of fire and light, rain and lightning, and passed beyond all sorrow into the realm of nirvāṇa without any remainder of the aggregates.

“His preceptor informed his parents, and his [F.17.b] parents and the preceptor performed an elaborate ritual veneration of his remains. His preceptor prayed, ‘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. May I achieve such great virtues. When I pass into nirvāṇa, may the Blessed One and all the four retinues venerate me.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that monk then is none other than this very Pūraṇa. The act of performing an elaborate ritual veneration of that arhat and praying ripened such that wherever he was born, it was into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth.

“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, not displeased me, go forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship, and when he passed into nirvāṇa, all the four retinues venerated him.” [B2]37

When the Blessed One was in Rājagṛha, Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja,39 who had cast away all afflictions and manifested arhatship, thought, “The Blessed One has dispelled so many kinds of suffering and anguish, brought me many kinds of happiness and bliss, cleared away so many of my sins and nonvirtues, and secured for me such virtues. How could I repay the Blessed One’s kindness?”

Then it occurred to him, “Anytime a buddha arises in the world, it is only to benefit beings. There’s no doubt that I too should act for the benefit of beings!” With this in mind, he wondered, “Whom might I tame?”

He saw that he could tame many in Kauśāmbī, so after staying in Rājagṛha for as long as he liked, he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went to Kauśāmbī for alms. He eventually arrived at Kauśāmbī, where he stayed in the garden of the householder Ghoṣila.

Now this monk was also a person of great merit, and was widely known for having gone from being a son of the royal family priest to being a monk. Many people in Kauśāmbī had heard that Noble Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja was traveling through the countryside and had now come to the city of Kauśāmbī, where he was staying in the garden of the householder Ghoṣila. Upon hearing this they gathered—group after group and elder after elder—and convened in Kauśāmbī.

They approached Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja, and upon their arrival [F.24.b] they gathered together, bowed down at Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja’s feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma. Then Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja, directly apprehending their thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperaments, and natures, taught them the Dharma accordingly.

As soon as they heard it, some of the inhabitants of Kauśāmbī who had gathered there generated heat. Some generated the peak, or generated the patience in accord with the truths, or generated the highest worldly dharma, or generated the attainment of seeing, right where they sat.

Some manifested the resultant state of stream entry. Some manifested the resultant state of once-return. Some manifested the resultant state of non-return. Some went forth and manifested arhatship. Some sowed the seeds to become universal monarchs, some to become great universal monarchs, some to become Indra, some to become Brahmā, some for the enlightenment of the listeners, some for the enlightenment of the solitary buddhas, and some for unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment. Among the assembled, most found themselves drawn to the Buddha, intent on the Dharma, and favoring the Saṅgha.

Having seen the truths, they rose from their seats, drew down the right shoulder of their upper garments, bowed toward Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja with palms pressed together, and beseeched him, “After we entrusted ourselves to you, noble one, you lifted us up from among the hell beings, animals, and anguished spirits. Leading us to live among the gods and humans, you dried up the ocean of blood and tears and led us over the mountain pass of bones to cast away all the afflictive emotions to which we have been accustomed since beginningless time. [F.25.a] Noble one, for as long as we live, please accept from us your provisions of clothing, food, bedding, a seat, and medicines for the sick.”

“Friends,” replied Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja, “there are other householders I must help as well. Please allow me to go.” The inhabitants of Kauśāmbī who had gathered there rejoiced at what Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja had said to them, touched their heads to Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja’s feet, and departed.

From time to time those who had seen the truths would visit Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja and listen to the Dharma. One day, as those living in Kauśāmbī were gathering together—group after group and elder after elder—King Udayin of Vatsa arrayed the four divisions of his army40 and set out to hunt deer.

When King Udayin of Vatsa saw the assembly of those living in Kauśāmbī going to the garden of the householder Ghoṣila, he immediately asked his ministers, “Where are these country folk going?”

“Deva,” the ministers replied, “the child of your family priest, the one called Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja, has cast aside the royal concerns of home and crown and gone forth. He has now made his way through the countryside to Kauśāmbī, where he is staying in the garden of the householder Ghoṣila. It is him they are traveling to see.”

As soon as he heard this, the king declared, “For a long time he has pleased me and been dear to my heart, and it is my duty to pay tribute to a preceptor. I will also go to see him and pay him respect.”

They went to the householder Ghoṣila’s garden, but the elder monk did not receive the king, nor did he so much as stand. When the king saw this, [F.25.b] he was instantly consumed with fury. Seething with anger, he paid respect to the elder monk and then departed.

He said to his ministers, “Behold the renunciant Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja, the child of the country’s royal family priest! He saw me, but he would not receive me—he wouldn’t so much as stand!”

To this his hateful ministers replied, “Deva, even though he saw you, he did not receive you, nor did he so much as stand! Such behavior is inappropriate.”

The king was heartbroken about this, and it made him extremely unhappy. After hunting deer with his army, he returned to the area of the monastery in anger, thinking, “Now I am going to go see that monk again. When he sees me, if he does not receive me properly—if he does not so much as stand—I shall lop off his head and throw it away!” With this in mind, he entered the householder Ghoṣila’s garden.

Now Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja heard that King Udayin of Vatsa was on the way to see him, and as soon as he did, he thought, “Why is King Udayin coming to see me again?” And he saw that the king was thinking, “If that monk fails to receive me properly upon sight—if he refuses even to stand—I shall lop off his head and toss it to the ground!”

Knowing the king’s thoughts, he rose from meditation and took six steps to receive him. As soon as he did so, the king’s air of splendor disappeared and a fissure appeared in the earth. The king saw this and was immediately afraid.

“This monk is a person of great miracles and great power,” he thought. “As I was approaching him with spiteful thoughts, through his power my splendor disappeared and the earth split open.”

Sure of this, he approached Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja, bowed down at his feet, [F.26.a] and said, “Noble one, please forgive my childish, deluded, uncouth blunder.”

“Great King, I forgive you, but you must ask forgiveness of your own mind,” the elder monk replied.

“Lord, won’t my kingdom fall now? Won’t I lose my life?” asked the king.

“Never fear, Great King, never fear!” replied the elder monk. “Your kingdom will not fall, nor will you lose your life. However, Great King, my taking six steps to receive you will cause you to lose your kingdom for six months. Then, after six months have passed, you will regain your kingdom. Furthermore, Great King, you must feel joy toward me. For as soon as you feel joy toward me, you will prevent your fall into the earth, and your air of splendor will return.”

As soon as he heard this, the king felt joy toward the elder monk, and as soon as he felt this joy, his air of splendor returned and the fissure in the earth closed up. At that moment the king again felt a surge of joy toward the elder monk. Filled with such joy, he touched his head to the elder monk’s feet and departed.

One day King Udayin of Vatsa again arrayed the four divisions of his army and set out to hunt deer. They saw a deer and approached it, with the army on one side and the king on the other. But on his way through the wilderness the king was separated from his army and became disoriented.

He wandered into a cattle pen and, not recognizing anyone or being recognized by anyone, he went mad, and remained there in the cattle pen for six months. His children, ministers, and attendants all went looking for him, but were unable to find him. They returned to the royal palace wondering, “What shall we do now if we don’t find him? Where will we go?” [F.26.b] And they sat in silence.41

Six months later someone recognized the king and asked, “Deva, what are you doing here?”

Coming to his senses, the king related to the cowherds all that had taken place. “Take heart, Deva,” the cowherds told him. “We shall bring you to the royal palace.” The cowherds set out for Kauśāmbī with the king traveling separately behind them.

After six months had passed, a minister named The Son of Enveloped in the Darkness of Logic remembered which direction the king had gone, and thought, “We must search for him. If we find him alive, he will carry on his reign. If not—if something went wrong—then we shall put his child on the throne.”

With this in mind, they organized the four divisions of the army. As they searched the villages, towns, cities, kingdom, and royal palaces, The Son of Enveloped in the Darkness of Logic saw King Udayin of Vatsa from a distance. Delighted to see him, he approached the king, inquired after his health, and asked him, “Deva, where did you go?” whereupon King Udayin of Vatsa related the story in detail.

“Deva,” said The Son of Enveloped in the Darkness of Logic, “it is all just as Noble Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja prophesied.”

Hearing this, the king felt a surge of joy toward the elder monk and thought, “For now let me put off returning to the city. I will go and pay respect to Noble Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja.”

With this in mind he bypassed Kauśāmbī and went to the householder Ghoṣila’s garden. He traveled as far as he could by vehicle, then descended from his vehicle and continued to the garden on foot. There he approached Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja, [F.27.a] bowed down at his feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma. The elder monk taught him a Dharma particularly suited to him.

When Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja had completed his discourse, King Udayin of Vatsa rose from his seat, drew down the right shoulder of his upper garment, bowed toward Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja with his palms together, and implored him, “Noble one, please permit me to request you and the saṅgha of monks to take your food at my house for seven days.”

Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja assented by his silence. Understanding that by his silence Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja had given his assent, King Udayin of Vatsa rose from his seat, bowed down at Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja’s feet, and departed.

Once he had contented Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja and his retinue with many good, wholesome foods for seven days, at the end of the last day he offered each of them a set of robes fashioned from cotton and then sat before them to listen to the Dharma. Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja instructed, encouraged, inspired, and delighted them with a discourse on the Dharma particularly suited to them. After he had instructed, encouraged, inspired, and delighted them, he rose from his seat and departed.

One day the Blessed One, having stayed in Rājagṛha for as long as he liked, donned his Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, set out for Kauśāmbī, surrounded and attended by an assembly of monks. He made his way through the countryside until he arrived in Kauśāmbī, where he stayed in the householder Ghoṣila’s garden. [F.27.b]

King Udayin of Vatsa heard that the Blessed One was traveling through the country of Vatsa42 and had arrived in Kauśāmbī, where he was staying in the householder Ghoṣila’s garden. Hearing this, he approached the Blessed One, touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet, and took a seat at one side.

Once King Udayin of Vatsa had taken a seat at one side, the Blessed One instructed, encouraged, inspired, and delighted him with a discourse on the Dharma. After he had instructed, encouraged, inspired, and delighted him with a discourse on the Dharma, he sat without speaking.

Knowing that the Blessed One had completed his discourse, King Udayin of Vatsa then rose from his seat, drew down the right shoulder of his upper garment, bowed toward the Blessed One with palms pressed together, and said, “Please permit me 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 for the three months of winter.” The Blessed One assented by his silence.

Understanding that by his silence the Blessed One had given his assent, King Udayin of Vatsa then provided for all their needs there in the householder Ghoṣila’s garden. After respectfully providing for all the needs of the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks for three months, he offered the Blessed One very costly food on the last day. Then he offered each of the other monks a set of cotton robes, and they departed.

From time to time he approached the Blessed One to listen to the Dharma. [F.28.a] After hearing the Dharma from the Blessed One, he always made a point of going to offer his respectful service to Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja. When the monks saw him, they became suspicious.

“Why should this king make a point of going to offer such respectful service to Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja?” they wondered.

Then they heard the story in detail. After they heard it, they asked the Blessed One, “Lord, tell us why King Udayin of Vatsa approached Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja with spiteful thoughts, which caused his air of splendor to disappear, and just as he was about to fall into a narrow fissure, his mind again became filled with joy and his splendor returned, and the narrow fissure closed up as well.”

“Not only now, monks,” the Blessed One explained, “but this happened in times past as well, and in the same way, during King Meru’s reign in the city called Flourishing Rice. 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, and he treated the kingdom like a beloved only child.

“When the time came for the king’s family priest to marry, he took a wife, and they enjoyed themselves and coupled. As they enjoyed themselves and coupled, one day his wife conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they named him according to their clan.

“They reared him on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and as he grew up he studied letters, brahminical customs and conduct, the syllables oṁ and bho, [F.28.b] ritual purity, ritual actions, the collection of ashes, the holding of the ritual vase, the Ṛg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sāma Veda, the Atharva Veda, how to perform sacrificial rites, how to lead others in performing sacrificial rites, how to give and receive offerings, recitation, and recitation instruction. Trained in these procedures, he became a master of the six types of brahminical activities, and in time he mastered the eighteen sciences.

“He came to see that his father administrated the affairs of the kingdom both righteously and unrighteously. Recognizing this he thought, ‘After my father dies, I shall rule the kingdom without a crown. Let me then give up living at home and go to live in the forest.’ Reflecting in this way, he asked for his parents’ permission and went to live in the forest. There he generated the four meditative states and the five superknowledges.

“One day he went to the royal palace in the city of Flourishing Rice. Upon his arrival in the park his father fashioned him a hut of branches and leaves, and began to provide for all his needs. Many people would come from time to time to see him and to listen to the Dharma.

“Then one day King Meru arrayed the four divisions of the army and set out to hunt deer. The king saw many people entering the park, and he asked, ‘Where are all these people going?’

“ ‘Deva,’ his ministers replied, ‘the child of the royal family priest not only has gone forth, but is a person of great miracles and great power as well. They are all going to see him.’

“Thereupon the king thought, ‘He pleases me and is dear to my heart, and it is my duty to pay tribute to a preceptor. I will also go and see him.’ The king went to see the sage. But upon seeing the king, the sage did not receive him, nor did he so much as stand.

“When the king saw this, [F.29.a] he was suddenly consumed with fury. ‘This is the child of my family priest! When I arrive, he does not receive me—he does not so much as stand! I shall have his head!’ he thought, and no sooner had he thought this than the air of splendor surrounding the king’s body disappeared, and a fissure appeared in the earth and he began to sink into it.

“Seeing this, the king was suddenly afraid. ‘This sage is a person of great miracles and great power,’ he thought. Reflecting on this, he was filled with great joy, and he bowed down at the sage’s feet and asked his forgiveness.

“ ‘Great King,’ replied the sage, ‘though I forgive you, you must ask forgiveness of your own mind.’

“In fear the king asked the sage, ‘But, sage, won’t my kingdom fall now? Won’t I lose my life?’

“ ‘Never fear, Great King, never fear!’ said the sage. ‘Your kingdom will not fall, and you will not lose your life. However, Great King, it is because of your spiteful thoughts toward me that your air of splendor disappeared and the earth cracked open. Great King, as soon as you again feel joy toward me, your air of splendor will return.’ As soon as he heard this, the king felt joy toward the sage, and as soon as he felt this joy, his air of splendor returned and the crack in the earth closed up.

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was the sage then is none other than Venerable Piṇḍola­bhāradvāja. The one who was King Meru then is none other than King Udayin of Vatsa. At that time, as soon as he had spiteful thoughts toward the elder monk, his air of splendor disappeared and the earth cracked open, and as soon as he felt joy toward him, his aura of splendor returned and the fissure in the earth closed up. And again, recently he had spiteful thoughts toward him, his splendor disappeared, [F.29.b] and the earth cracked open. But no sooner did he feel joy toward him then his aura of splendor returned, and the crack in the earth closed up.”

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī there was a king named Brahmadatta who reigned in the city of Vārāṇasī. His 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, and he treated the kingdom like a beloved only child.

One day the queen conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. At the elaborate feast celebrating her birth they asked, “What name should we give this child?” And they named her, saying, “Since she is both the child of the king of Kāśi and very beautiful, her name will be Kāśisundarī (Beauty of Kāśi).”

Kāśisundarī had eight nurses—two nurses to hold her in their laps, two wet nurses, two nurses to bathe her, and two nurses to play with her. These eight nurses reared her on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and she flourished like a lotus in a lake. As she grew up she became versed in the arts. She found faith in the doctrine of the Blessed One, and having asked for her parents’ permission, she offered her service to the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha.

When she had grown people said, “This daughter of the king of Kāśi is well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful—in all the world there’s none like her,” and her fame spread far and wide.

Now there were six neighboring kings who were shot with arrows of lust upon hearing this, [F.30.a] and they all sent envoys to Brahmadatta, the king of Kāśi, bearing the message, “Please give your daughter to me.”

When he heard this, King Brahmadatta immediately sat and reflected. “If I give my daughter to one of them,” he thought, “the others will become my enemies. To whom then should I give her?” In light of this he did not want to give her to anyone.

One day the six neighboring kings thought, “He will not give his daughter to any of us of his own free will. Therefore we must go and take her away by force.” With this in mind, on the same day they all armored the four divisions of their armies and went to Vārāṇasī, where they surrounded the entire perimeter of the city.

Then King Brahmadatta, realizing that the enemy armies were a threat to him, climbed to the roof of the palace. There he sat and brooded with his cheek resting on his palm, wondering, “What shall I do now?” Kāśisundarī came to the roof of the palace, where she found her father sitting with his cheek resting on his palm, and asked him, “Father, why have you come to the roof of the palace to brood with your cheek resting on your palm?”

“It is because of you, my child,” said the king.

“Is my appearance so poor, father?” the young woman asked. “Why should my father sit and brood because of me?”

“My child,” replied the king, “it is because your every limb is endowed with beauty that I sit and brood, and it is because of you that the six quarreling neighboring kings have arrayed the four divisions of their armies and advanced on Vārāṇasī, surrounding the city in siege.”

“Can a daughter not choose a spouse for herself, father?” Kāśisundarī wondered.

“A daughter may choose,” said the king.

“Father,” the young woman said, [F.30.b] “please permit me to choose my own spouse.”

“Oh child,” he replied, “please wait for me to inform the neighboring kings.”

King Brahmadatta told the neighboring kings, “Kāśisundarī shall make her own choice regarding a spouse. Therefore I ask that you accept her decision.”

At this they all thought, “Kāśisundarī will not forsake one such as me to choose another,” and replied, “She will not err—let her choose her husband!”

The envoys went and relayed this to King Brahmadatta, and he was very pleased to hear it. After he had replied to each in turn, they cut their thumbs and swore an oath. Then on a wide and suitable place, they all built multistory structures in a long row, in which each of them sat, surrounded by their retinues, on highly ornamented lion thrones.

Kāśisundarī—astride a fine mount, attended by a band of young women, and hoisting a victory banner of colored cloth—emerged from Vārāṇasī into their midst. Then she faced Ṛṣivadana, cast her bridal bouquet in the direction of the Blessed One, and crying out, “I take refuge in the Blessed Buddha!” she oriented her chariot toward Ṛṣivadana.

The kings and everyone in the great crowd realized to their astonishment that they had never seen so desirable a form as the fine one before them, and they trailed behind her, saying, “Let’s see what she does!”

Kāśisundarī rode as far toward Ṛṣivadana as she could by vehicle, then descended from her vehicle and continued to the garden on foot. There she approached the Blessed One, touched her head to the feet of the Blessed One, [F.31.a] drew down the right shoulder of her 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.” The Blessed One called Mahā­prajāpatī Gautamī, and Mahā­prajāpatī Gautamī led her to go forth as a novice, conferred on her full ordination, and instructed her.

Casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, she manifested arhatship. As an arhat, free from the attachments of the three realms, her mind regarded gold no differently than filth, and the palms of her hands as like space itself. She became cool like wet sandalwood. Her insight crushed ignorance like an eggshell. She achieved the insights, superknowledges, and discriminations. She had no regard for worldly profit, passion, or acclaim. She became an object of offering, veneration, and respectful address by Indra, Upendra, and the other gods.

The entire crowd of people was astonished, and all of them approached the Blessed One, touched their heads to the Blessed One’s feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma. The Blessed One taught them the Dharma particularly suited to them, and after they heard the Dharma from the Blessed One, each of them returned home.

“Blessed One,” the monks asked, “what action did Kāśisundarī take that ripened into her birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth; that she was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful—an unmatched figure; [F.31.b] and that she pleased and did not displease the Blessed One, went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship?”

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

“Lord, where did she make these prayers?”

“Monks,” explained the Blessed One, “in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, there lived in the city of Vārāṇasī 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 they enjoyed themselves and coupled. As they enjoyed themselves and coupled, one day his wife conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. At the elaborate feast celebrating her birth they named her according to their clan. They reared her on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and she flourished like a lotus in a lake.

“When she grew up, she found faith in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa. She asked for her parents’ permission, built a monastery that was complete in every respect, offered it to Buddha Kāśyapa and the rest of the saṅgha of monks, and provided for all their needs. Then she made another request of her parents and went forth as a novice in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa. Once she had gone forth, she studied the Tripiṭaka [F.32.a] and became a proponent of the Dharma with all the eloquence of her wisdom and freedom.

“Thereupon she thought, ‘I have completed my studies. Now I will put my effort into meditation.’ She received instructions for contemplation, and through her earnest practice, foregoing sleep from dusk to dawn, she developed meditative stabilization on love and there practiced pure conduct all her life.

“At the time of her death she prayed, ‘I have given gifts, made merit, gone forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, and practiced pure conduct all my life. By this root of 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—an unmatched figure. 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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who went forth as a nun in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa then is now Kāśisundarī. At that time she gave gifts, made merit, went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, and practiced pure conduct all her life.

“At the time of her death she prayed, ‘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—an unmatched figure. 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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions and [F.32.b] manifest arhatship.’ Those acts ripened such that she was born into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth and was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful—an unmatched figure.

“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 she has pleased me, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship. And her development of meditative stabilization on love ripened such that wherever she was born, her beauty was unmatched.” [B3]

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, King Prasenajit reigned in the city of Śrāvastī and King Brahmadatta reigned in Vārāṇasī. The two did not agree with one another, and from time to time a great many people were killed. One day King Brahmadatta arrayed the four divisions of his army and advanced on the kingdom of Kośala, where they made camp and stayed on the banks of the Ajiravatī River.

King Prasenajit heard that King Brahmadatta had arrayed the four divisions of his army and come to the city gates to wage war, so he arrayed the four divisions of his army too and set out to wage war against Brahmadatta, King of Kāśi. They too made camp and hunkered down on the banks of the Ajiravatī River. Many on each side were slaughtered while the two armies were stationed there. Both sides were formidable and resistant to assault, and so it continued, with neither side able to defeat the other.

One day as they were hunkered down there, [F.33.a] a daughter was born to King Prasenajit who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. A son who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful had also been born to King Brahmadatta of Kāśi, so celebratory music resounded from both of their camps.

Hearing the music coming from both sides, the kings asked, “What is all this celebratory music?”

King Brahmadatta’s ministers replied, “It is for the birth of King Prasenajit’s daughter, and for you, Deva, upon the arrival of your son,” and King Prasenajit’s ministers replied, “It is for you, Deva, upon the arrival of your daughter, and for the birth of King Brahmadatta’s son.”

When they heard this, both were in good spirits, and thought, “We should not treat each other as enemies now that we have the means to become kin!”

King Brahmadatta sent an envoy to King Prasenajit with the message, “Please give your newborn daughter to my son in marriage.”

King Prasenajit thought, “This will be a way to make friends with King Brahmadatta for the rest of my life,” and sent an envoy to King Brahmadatta with the response, “I shall comply with your wish.” The two asked forgiveness of one another and made friends. One sent a great wealth of clothing and finery for the girl, and the other sent much clothing and finery for the boy. As friends, the two now departed the region with their arms around each other’s shoulders.

King Prasenajit thought, “Since the birth of my daughter, I am happy with King Brahmadatta,” so he named her Kṣemā (She Who Brings Happiness) at the elaborate feast celebrating her birth. They reared her on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and she flourished like a lotus in a lake. When she grew up she found faith in the doctrine of the Blessed Buddha, went for refuge and took the fundamental precepts, [F.33.b] made merit, and went continually to the nunnery to listen to the Dharma.

So it was that one day she manifested the resultant state of non-return and attained miraculous powers. Endowed with great power and magical abilities, she achieved concentration on the eight liberations. She demonstrated the miracle of her magical abilities for her parents, and said, “Mother, Father, now that I have achieved these things, I cannot engage in sexual relations, so I am asking for your kind permission to go forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One.”

“My child, we cannot allow this,” her parents said, “for we betrothed you as soon as you were born. We have already sent our word and set aside our dispute, but still—when the wedding party comes for you, you can make your request to the groom and go forth, should he agree.”

Then King Prasenajit sent an envoy to King Brahmadatta with the message, “Our daughter Kṣemā wishes to go forth. We cannot stop her. Do not delay in making her a bride.”

King Brahmadatta likewise sent an envoy with the response, “I shall come on such-and-such a date. Start making preparations for her to be sent away as a bride.”

When King Prasenajit heard this, he began making preparations to send her away as a bride. King Brahmadatta then sent his son with great riches and a great show of force, whereupon King Prasenajit respectfully led the delegation into Śrāvastī.

Once the wedding delegation had been led in, an altar was erected and decorated with ornaments, and many people gathered there. They clad the young woman in every type of adornment and led her to her place at the decorated altar. Then the young man too was led to the decorated altar, and he turned and beckoned to young Kṣemā. Suddenly she rose up into the sky [F.34.a] and gave a miraculous display of fire and light, rain and lightning.

When the young man and the many others saw this they experienced a surge of tremendous joy toward Kṣemā, and the young man thought, “How could she engage in sexual relations with me, now that she has attained such great virtues?”

He called out to her, “Fine woman, come down! I’ll let you decide as you please!”

Kṣemā told him, “Lord, I cannot engage in sexual relations with you—please give your consent to my going forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One.”

“Given,” the young man replied. Young Kṣemā immediately descended and gave a Dharma teaching to the people. Then she asked for her parents’ permission, went to the garden of Prince Jeta, approached the Blessed One, touched her head to the Blessed One’s feet, 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.” Thereupon the Blessed One presented her to Mahā­prajāpatī.

Mahā­prajāpatī led her to go forth as a novice, conferred on her full ordination, and instructed her. Casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, she manifested arhatship. As an arhat, free from the attachments of the three realms, her mind regarded gold no differently than filth, and the palms of her hands as like space itself. She became cool like wet sandalwood. Her insight crushed ignorance like an eggshell. She achieved the insights, superknowledges, and discriminations. She had no regard for worldly profit, passion, or acclaim. Her state was such that Indra, [F.34.b] Upendra, and the other gods worshiped and venerated her and addressed her with respect, and the Blessed One commended her as foremost among the wise.

After Kṣemā had gone forth in this way, the king’s son thought, “If even a woman can have such realizations of the Dharma, surely I can go forth in the Blessed One’s doctrine as well.” With this thought, he likewise asked for his parents’ permission, and, casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, he manifested arhatship.

The monks asked the Blessed One, “Lord, what actions did young Kṣemā and the king’s son take that ripened into their births into families of great means, prosperity, and wealth; that they pleased and did not displease the Blessed One; and that they went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship?”

“This happened due to the power of their prayers,” the Blessed One replied.

“Lord, where did they make these prayers?”

“Monks,” explained the Blessed One, “in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, there lived in the city of Vārāṇasī 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 they enjoyed themselves and coupled. Then one day they both found faith in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and [F.35.a] said to one another, ‘Good spouse, seeing as we have neither sons nor daughters, after we die all that we have will become property of the king. So while we yet live, let us carry only that which we can take with us into the next life.’

“The two spouses built a monastery that was complete in every respect, offered it to the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and the rest of the saṅgha of monks, provided for all their needs, and served them with respect.

“One day they had an idea and said, ‘Let us give up living at home to go forth in the teaching of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa.’ Casting away household affairs, they gave gifts and made merit, went forth as novices in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, and received full ordination.

“They practiced pure conduct all their lives, and while they may not have attained any great virtues, at the time of their deaths they prayed, ‘While we may not have attained any great virtues, still we have gone forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, given gifts, made merit, and practiced pure conduct all our lives. By this root of virtue, wherever we are born, may it be into families of great means, prosperity, and wealth, and may we be well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. 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.’

“O monks, what do you think? The two who were married then [F.35.b] are none other than Kṣemā and the king’s son. The acts of giving gifts, making merit, practicing pure conduct all their lives, and praying at the time of their deaths ripened such that wherever they were born, it was into families of great means, prosperity, and wealth, and they were well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful.

“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.”

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī there was a young god named Maṇiprabha, who had hoops in his ears and necklaces around his neck, and whose body was graced with strings of precious stones. He had a luminous celestial mansion of exquisite, divine jewels. This exalted being of light filled the front of his long shirt with divine flowers—lotus, blue lotus, white water lily, and white lotus flowers—and when night had fallen he went to the garden of Prince Jeta in Śrāvastī to see the Blessed One. Upon his arrival, he scattered the divine blue lotus, lotus, white water lily, white lotus, and mandārava flowers over the Blessed One, touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

The Blessed One directly apprehended his thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, and nature, and taught him the Dharma accordingly. Hearing it, the young god destroyed the twenty high peaks of the mountain of views concerning the transitory collection with the thunderbolt of wisdom, and manifested the resultant state of stream entry right where he sat. Having seen the truths, [F.36.a] he touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet, circumambulated him three times, and disappeared on the spot.

When that happened, the monks, who were making continued, earnest, and sleepless efforts at dusk and dawn, noticed that the garden of Prince Jeta was suffused with a great light and wondered, “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?”

Thinking this, they asked the Blessed One, “Lord, last night, did Sahāṃpati Brahmā, or Śakra, King of the Gods—or perhaps the four great kings—come to see the Blessed One?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One replied, “last night it was neither Sahāṃpati Brahmā, nor Śakra, King of the Gods, nor the four great kings who came to see me, but rather a young god named Maṇiprabha, a very exalted being of light with a luminous celestial mansion of exquisite, divine jewels, who came to see me and to offer his respect. I taught him the Dharma, and after he heard the Dharma from me he manifested the resultant state of stream entry. Having seen the truths, he went back to where he belongs.”

“Lord, what action did Maṇiprabha take that ripened into his birth as a god, that he attained a luminous celestial mansion of exquisite, divine jewels, and that he pleased the Blessed One, and did not displease him?”

“Monks,” explained the Blessed One, “Maṇiprabha committed and accumulated the actions himself at a previous time. The actions he 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 he committed and accumulated, both virtuous and nonvirtuous, [F.36.b] ripened into nothing but his own aggregates, sense bases, and constituent elements.

“Monks, in times past, in this fortunate age when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, there lived in Vārāṇasī 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.

“That householder constructed a stūpa enshrining the hair and nail relics of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, and a monastery that was complete in every respect, and he provided for all the monastery’s needs. Even the rain gutters of the stūpa dangled with jewels, such that the monastery associated with it shone night and day. He offered the monastery to the Blessed Buddha Kāśyapa and the rest of the saṅgha of monks. He also offered his respectful service to the monks, and provided for all their needs. After going for refuge and maintaining the fundamental precepts all his life, he took birth among the gods, where he obtained a celestial mansion of exquisite jewels.

“O monks, what do you think? The householder who at that time built the reliquary stūpa enshrining the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and his teachings, and the monastery associated with it, and who hung jewels on the stūpa, is none other than the young god Maṇiprabha. The acts of building the reliquary stūpa and the associated monastery, complete in every respect, [F.37.a] offering them to the Blessed Buddha Kāśyapa and the rest of the saṅgha of monks, and hanging jewels on the stūpa ripened into his taking birth among the gods.

“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.”

When 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. When the time came for him to marry he took a wife, and they enjoyed themselves and coupled.

The householder had no heir and desired a son, so he supplicated the gods. He prayed to Paśupati, Varuṇa, Kubera, Śakra, Brahmā, and the rest, and to the deities of the pleasure groves, the forest deities, the deities of the crossroads, the deities of forks in the road, the deities who receive strewn oblations, the deities of his inherited tradition, and the deities who are in constant attendance of righteous persons.

While it is often said that praying to deities can cause a boy or girl to be born, this is not true. If children could be made just by praying, every family would have them a thousand times over, like a universal monarch. In fact, there are three circumstances that allow for the birth of a child: a child is born when (1) lust arises in the parents and they have intercourse, (2) the mother still has her menstrual cycle and is approached by a gandharva, and (3) the gandharva’s mind is either attached or angry.

Nevertheless, he remained intent on his prayers, and a great being [F.37.b] took birth in his wife’s womb who was well renowned and had gained his final birth, had the good fortune to soon be liberated due to gathering the accumulations, had his sights set on nirvāṇa and had turned away from saṃsāra, had no desire for the states of rebirth in cyclic existence, and who had now assumed his final body.

A woman wise in nature possesses five extraordinary qualities. She knows (1) whether a man is attracted to her, (2) the time of her menstrual cycle, (3) that she has conceived, (4) from whom she has conceived, and (5) whether the child is a boy or a girl, for if it is a baby boy it will stay on the right side of the womb, and if it is a girl it will stay on the left side of the womb.

When the householder’s wife conceived a child, she was overjoyed and told her husband, “My Lord, I have conceived a boy. He is staying on the right side of my womb, so rejoice, for it is sure to be a boy!”

At this the householder too was very happy. He puffed out his chest, put his right hand in the air, and expressed his joy, saying, “I shall see the face of the son for whom I have prayed for so long! May everything be right with my son, may nothing go wrong with him, and may he carry on my work! As I care for him, may he care for me in return! May he enjoy my inheritance! May my lineage endure for a long time! And after our passing, when we die, may he give gifts, be they great or small, and make merit! When he does, may he dedicate the merit thus: ‘Wherever these two are born, may this go to them!’

Now that he knew his wife was pregnant, he ensconced her on the upper levels of their house in order to care for the baby. He provided her with what she needed for winter in the winter, what she needed for summer in the summer, with food that was [F.38.a] not too bitter, too sour, too salty, too sweet, too spicy, or too astringent as instructed by the healer, and he served her food that was not bitter, sour, salty, sweet, spicy, or astringent. He draped her body with garlands and strings of precious stones, and he moved her from divan to divan and seat to seat like a goddess through a joyous garden, never letting her descend to the ground, never letting her hear an unpleasant word even for a moment.

The 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.

These 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? [F.38.b] 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?”

Just as the blessed buddhas regard the world with their buddha eyes six times throughout the day and night—three times by day and three times by night—so too the great listeners regard the world with their listener’s eyes six times throughout the day and night—three times by day and three times by night.

When Venerable Aniruddha regarded the world with his listener’s eyes, he saw a being who was in his final birth taking birth in the home of that householder, and thought, “Who will tame this being? Will he be tamed by the Buddha, or will he be tamed instead by the listeners?” Then he saw that it was he himself who would tame him, and since he was already43 a spiritual friend of the house, to strengthen the householder’s resolve, he went to the householder’s home alone, without companions or attendants.

The householder saw that Venerable Aniruddha was alone, without companions or attendants, and he asked, “Noble one, why have you come here alone, without companions or attendants? Noble one, is there no one at all who could attend you?”

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

“Noble one,” said the householder, “my wife has conceived, so if we have a son, [F.39.a] I shall offer him to you as an attendant.” Venerable Aniruddha said, “The virtuous keep their promises,” and having spoken thus, he departed.

After nine or ten months had passed, the householder’s wife gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, and from all over whose body the fragrance of jasmine flowers arose, suffusing the entire house with the scent of jasmine. A rain of jasmine flowers fell all about the house as the child entered his mother’s womb and again at the time of his birth.

At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth, when they were asked, “What name should we give this child?” they named him, saying, “Since a rain of jasmine flowers fell all about the house as the child entered his mother’s womb and again at the time of his birth, his name will be Jasmine.” They reared young Jasmine 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, and arms and armor. He became skilled in writing, skilled at reading, learned, decisive, and industrious, a master of the eight types of examination.

One day Venerable Aniruddha saw that the time had come for the child to go forth. He went to the householder’s home and reminded him by saying, “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?”

“Yes, noble one,” the householder replied, “I did make just such a promise.” After he said this, he took the child by his hands, [F.39.b] offered him to Venerable Aniruddha, and told him, “My child, before you were born, I offered you to the noble one. Therefore go, and be an attendant of the noble one.”

The child said, “This will be of benefit to me,” and with those words he followed Venerable Aniruddha away. After Venerable Aniruddha had instructed, encouraged, inspired, and delighted the householder with a discourse on the Dharma, he rose from his seat and departed.

Having brought the child to the monastery, Venerable Aniruddha 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.

He also achieved miraculous abilities and great power, such that he reached the concentrations, liberations, meditative stabilizations, and attainments. He could enter and emerge from equipoise quickly, passing from one meditation to the next in the time it takes to thread a needle, and re-emerging just as quickly.

One day Venerable Jasmine thought, “The Blessed One has dispelled so many kinds of suffering and anguish, brought me many kinds of happiness and bliss, cleared away so many of my sins and nonvirtues, and secured for me such virtues. [F.40.a] How could I repay the Blessed One’s kindness? Anytime a buddha arises in the world, it is only to benefit beings, so surely I too should act for the benefit of beings!”

Reflecting in this way, he wondered, “Whom might I tame?” He looked out, and right away he saw his two parents. Upon seeing them he thought, “But by what method can I tame them?” and he realized he could tame them with a display of miracles. So he disappeared from the garden of Prince Jeta and reappeared at his parents’ house, floating in midair before them. He made a miraculous display of fire and light, rain and lightning, then descended and took a seat.

He taught his parents the Dharma particularly suited to them. Hearing it, the householders and their retinue 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. He led them to go for refuge and maintain the fundamental precepts. Having seen the truths, they gave gifts and made merit.

The monks inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, what action did Venerable Jasmine take that ripened into his birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth; that he was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful; that at his birth, the scent of jasmine flowers arose from all over his body; that as he entered the womb, a rain of jasmine flowers fell all about the house; and that he pleased the Blessed One, did not displease him, went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship? [F.40.b] And his parents—what action did they take that, entrusting themselves to him completely, they pleased the Blessed One, and did not displease him?”

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

“Lord, where did they make these prayers?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One explained, “in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, there lived in Vārāṇasī 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.

“As he grew up he found faith in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa. He asked for his parents’ permission and went forth. After going forth, he studied the Tripiṭaka and became a proponent of the Dharma with all the eloquence of his wisdom and freedom. He led his parents to live a life of perfect faith, and to go for refuge and maintain the fundamental precepts, and he inspired them to give gifts and to share what they had.

“One day he thought, ‘I have completed whatever educational duties were before me. Now let me serve the saṅgha!’ With this thought he called upon his parents, the brahmins, and others of faith, and they offered the saṅgha cooked rice, soup, drink, porridge, [F.41.a] and provisions such as clothing, food, bedding, seats, and medicines for the sick, and they offered them residences as well.

“He anointed all the stūpas containing hair and nail relics with an unguent of sesame oil and fragrant ointments; offered rows of butter lamps, garlands of jasmine flowers, and parasols; and scattered loose jasmine petals over them.

“Then he prayed, ‘By this root of 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. From all over my body may the fragrance of jasmine flowers arise. As I enter my mother’s womb, may a rain of jasmine flowers also fall all about the house. 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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions and manifest arhatship.

“ ‘May I have a sharp intellect. May I attain the concentrations, liberations, meditative stabilization, and attainments. May I enter and emerge from equipoise quickly, passing from one meditation to the next in the time it takes to thread a needle, and re-emerging just as quickly.’

As they saw him sitting there praying his parents asked, ‘Child, what prayers are you making?’

“ ‘I prayed like this . . .’ he told them, and related it all in detail.

His parents said, ‘May you alone again become our son. May the two of us again become your parents. Entrusting ourselves to you completely, may we please and not displease the Blessed Buddha.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one [F.41.b] who was that monk then is none other than Jasmine now. At that time he went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and rendered service in accord with the Dharma. He served the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha with respect, and the act of praying ripened such that wherever he was born it was into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth; he was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful; from all over his body the fragrance of jasmine flowers arose; and a rain of flowers fell all about the house as he entered his mother’s womb, and again at the time of his birth.

“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, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship; that his intellect became sharp; that that he reached the concentrations, liberations, meditative stabilizations, and attainments; and that he can enter and emerge from equipoise quickly, passing from one meditation to the next in the time it takes to thread a needle, and re-emerging just as quickly.

“The ones who were his parents then are none other than his parents now. At that time they prayed, ‘Entrusting ourselves to you completely, may we please and not displease the king of the Śākyas,’ and now, entrusting themselves to him completely, they have pleased me, and not displeased me.”

One morning when the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went for alms. [F.42.a] A little brahmin child stood not far from the Blessed One and watched as a householder offered a laḍḍū treat of a hundred flavors, big enough to fill his stomach.

When the brahmin child saw the laḍḍū treat, great craving arose in him for it, and he approached the Blessed One and said, “Hey Gautama, gimme that laḍḍū!”

The Blessed One answered the brahmin child, “Child, if you say, ‘I don’t need that laḍḍū treat,’ I’ll hand it over.”

So he said to Gautama, “Hey Gautama, I don’t need that laḍḍū treat,” and the Blessed One handed the laḍḍū treat to him.

At that time, not far from the Blessed One was sitting the householder Anāthapiṇḍada, who thought, “It won’t be possible for the Blessed One to take alms again today. There’s nowhere else, no other opportunity.”

Realizing that there was no other place and no other opportunity for the Blessed One to take alms, he pulled the brahmin child aside and said, “Little brahmin, give that laḍḍū treat back to the Blessed One and I’ll give you five hundred gold coins.”

“As you wish, householder,” the brahmin child said, and he put the laḍḍū treat back into the Blessed One’s alms bowl. The Blessed One finished his alms round and returned to the monastery. Meanwhile, the householder Anāthapiṇḍada brought the brahmin child home, gave him something to eat, and handed him the five hundred gold coins.

The monks inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, tell us why the Blessed One would not give the brahmin child the laḍḍū treat when he begged the Blessed One for it, but the Blessed One gave the laḍḍū treat to him after the child said, ‘Hey Gautama, I don’t need that laḍḍū treat,’ [F.42.b] .”

“Monks,” explained the Blessed One, “for many thousands of lifetimes, that brahmin child frequently indulged, became addicted, and ended up wanting more. Thus I’ve lured him with a laḍḍū treat to turn him away from his preoccupation with acquiring things; that will be the sole cause of his going forth and giving up his aggregates.”

“Lord, when will this brahmin child give up his aggregates?”

“Monks, in the future a totally and completely awakened Buddha named Mountain, who will far surpass the listeners and solitary buddhas, will emerge in the world. It is in his doctrine alone that, having obtained a human birth, he will go forth, cast away the afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.” [B4]

When the Blessed One was in Rājagṛha, there was a king named Padmagarbha who reigned in Takṣaśīla. His 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, and he treated the kingdom like a beloved only child.

As he and the queen enjoyed themselves and coupled, the queen conceived, and her mind became filled with thoughts like, “If only I could debate the scriptural exegetes!” and other fervent wishes of that sort. When the king heard of this, he took her to the soothsayers.

“Deva,” the soothsayers said, “she has such fervent wishes in her mind because the being in her womb [F.43.a] will understand all the treatises and defeat all scriptural exegetes.”

“Wise ones, what will happen if we can’t get this wish out of her mind?” asked the king.

“The heir born to you will have missing limbs,” the soothsayers replied.

The king thought, “I can’t bear for my child to be born with missing limbs!” So he sat the queen behind a curtain, assembled all the scriptural exegetes, and, after appointing impartial observers, had them debate the scriptures with her.

Once she had defeated all of the scriptural exegetes, her fervent desire subsided. After nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. At the elaborate feast celebrating her birth they asked, “What name should we give this child?” And they named her, saying, “Since her mother defeated all the other scriptural exegetes before a great gathering of people, the child’s name will be She Who Gathers.”

Young She Who Gathers was raised by eight nurses—two nurses to hold her in their laps, two wet nurses, two nurses to bathe her, and two nurses to play with her. They raised her with a protection cord, and the eye of a peacock feather from the hand of Nārāyaṇa. They reared her on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and she flourished like a lotus in a lake.

As she grew up, she sat behind a curtain in the royal palace and studied letters on her own. She perfected her reading skills, studied all the treatises on her own, and defeated all the scriptural exegetes in Takṣaśīla from behind the curtain.

One day the king asked the young woman, “To whom should I give you in marriage?”

“Award me to any with the skill to defeat me in scriptural debate,” the young woman replied. [F.43.b]

When the king heard this he thought, “She has such an ability to speak. I must not give her to one who is merely good looking, or of high caste, or great influence, but to one who can defeat her in debate, and none other.” After that, word spread quickly. As soon as they heard, all the scriptural exegetes from neighboring lands began to arrive, and the young woman defeated them all.

In the south there lived a scriptural exegete named Riu who feared no text. He was well educated and knowledgeable, well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, beautiful, and had an excellent complexion. He heard that in Takṣaśīla, King Padmagarbha’s daughter had defeated all the scriptural exegetes, and he heard as well about the promise her father had made to them.

Astounded to hear all this, he thought, “Let me go there and see for myself.” So with a retinue of five hundred he made his way through the villages, towns, forest settlements, and cities small and large, defeating all the other scriptural exegetes as he went, until eventually he arrived in Takṣaśīla.

There he approached King Padmagarbha and said, “I heard that you, Deva, have a daughter who has defeated all the scriptural exegetes. As I have studied treatises under great masters myself, I too would like to converse with her.”

“As you wish,” the king replied.

The king called together the scriptural exegetes, placed each of their philosophical texts before them, and the young woman took her place behind the curtain. But as soon as the young woman saw the scriptural exegete Riu—who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, beautiful, and excellently complected—an arrow of lust shot through her, and she thought, “I won’t find a spouse like this anywhere. He alone should be my [F.44.a] spouse. I want no one else,” and she allowed him to defeat her.

Thereupon the king thought, “I promised that I would give my daughter to a capable debater—not to one who is merely good looking, of high caste, or of great influence, but to one who can defeat her in debate, and none other. This man is not only capable in debate, but he is also well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. I shall not find one better than him, nor will I find a more excellent scriptural exegete. I will not give her to anyone but him!” With this thought, he undertook all that custom required of him. The king gave the young woman to the man and appointed him to a great lordship.

She Who Gathers and Riu enjoyed themselves and coupled. One day the young woman conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they asked, “What name should we give this child?” And they named him, saying, “Since the name of his clan is Kātyāyana, and he is the child of She Who Gathers, his name will be Kātyāyana Who Gathers.”

They reared young Kātyāyana on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and he flourished like a lotus in a lake. As he grew up he studied letters, brahminical customs and conduct, the syllables oṃ and bho, ritual purity, ritual actions, the collection of ashes, holding the ritual vase, the Ṛg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sāma Veda, the Atharva Veda, how to perform sacrificial rites, how to lead others in performing sacrificial rites, how to give and receive offerings, recitation, and recitation instruction.

Trained in these procedures, he became a master of the six types of brahminical activities, [F.44.b] and in time he mastered the eighteen sciences. At age sixteen he understood all the treatises and defeated all the scriptural exegetes. He started to feel arrogant and thought that in all Jambudvīpa not even one person was his equal, much less his superior, and this made him despise everyone.

One day a lay vow holder said to him, “Child, don’t be haughty, arrogantly thinking that not even one person is your equal, much less your superior. Child, there was a young Śākya born in Magadha, about whom the brahmin soothsayers and augurs made this prediction:

“ ‘If he remains here at home, he will become a universal monarch, but if he shaves his head and face and dons the colorful religious robes, and if he goes forth from home to live as a mendicant with nothing short of perfect faith, he will be renowned throughout the world as a tathāgata, an arhat, a totally and completely awakened buddha.’

“Compared to the one who, as prophesied, shaved his head and face, donned the colorful religious robes, and with nothing short of perfect faith went forth from home to live as a mendicant—the Buddha, who has fully and completely awakened unto unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment—your form and wisdom are not even a thousandth, not even a hundred thousandth, not even a millionth or a billionth, not even an incalculably small fraction of his.”

When the young man heard the name Buddha, a sound unlike any he had heard before, it gave him goosebumps, and he was eager to see him. So he asked for his parents’ permission, saying, “Mother, Father, I ask for your kind permission to travel to Magadha and practice the holy life in the presence of the Blessed One.”

His parents thought, “We will not be able to stop him,” and knowing this to be the case, they said, “Join us. We both want to give up our householder duties and go with you to practice the holy life in the presence of the Blessed One.” [F.45.a] Having said this, they gave up their householder duties, gave gifts, made merit, and set out for Magadha.

When they finally arrived in Rājagṛha and went to see the Blessed One, the young man and his parents saw him from a distance. 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.

The sight of the Blessed One filled them with supreme joy, for beings who have gathered the roots of virtue to see a buddha for the first time experience such rapture as is not to be had even by those who practice calm abiding meditation for twelve years. Seeing the Blessed Buddha in this way, they were filled with supreme joy, and they approached the Blessed One, touched their heads to his feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

The Blessed One directly apprehended their thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperaments, 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 stream entry 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: “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, [F.45.b] we too wish to practice the holy life.”

The Blessed One led the father and son to go forth by saying “Come, monks!” and, conferring on them full ordination, 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 that the Blessed One called Mahā­prajāpatī Gautamī. She led She Who Gathers to go forth as a novice, conferred on her full ordination and instructed her. Casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, she manifested arhatship.

The monks asked the Blessed One, “Lord, what action did Kātyāyana Who Gathers take that ripened into his birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth; that he was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful; that he understood all the treatises, and defeated all the other scriptural exegetes; that he pleased the Blessed One and did not displease him; that he went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away the afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship; that his parents also became superior scriptural exegetes; and that, entrusting themselves to him, they pleased the Blessed One and did not displease him, went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and [F.46.a] manifested arhatship?”

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

“Lord, where did they make these prayers?”

“Monks, in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, there lived a certain brahmin in the city of Vārāṇasī.

“When the time came for him to marry he took a wife. One day his wife conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. They reared him on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and he flourished like a lotus in a lake.

“When he grew up he found faith in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and asked for his parents’ permission, saying ‘Mother, Father, I ask for your kind permission to go forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One.’

“His parents replied, ‘Son, you are the only child we have—beloved, delightful, dear, and agreeable—so there is no way we can allow this.’ But since they had no way to stop him, his parents consented, and he went forth as a novice in the teaching of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, and then received full ordination.

“He studied the Tripiṭaka and became a proponent of the Dharma with all the eloquence of his wisdom and freedom. He acquired provisions of clothing, food, bedding, a seat, and medicines for the sick. He led his parents to live a life of perfect faith, as well as to go for refuge [F.46.b] and maintain the fundamental precepts, and he inspired them to give gifts and to share what they had.

“One day he thought, ‘I have completed whatever duties were before me in terms of my education. Now I will serve the saṅgha in accord with the Dharma!’ With this thought he called together his parents and patrons and other donors, and after offering food to the Blessed Kāśyapa and the rest of the saṅgha of monks, he venerated a stūpa containing hair and nail relics, and prayed, ‘By this root of 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.’

“Since the preceptor who had led him to go forth had himself understood all the treatises at sixteen years of age and defeated all the other scriptural exegetes, and since both his parents had likewise been supreme scriptural exegetes and defeated all the other scriptural exegetes, he also prayed, ‘Just as my preceptor understood all the treatises at sixteen years of age and defeated all the other scriptural exegetes, and just as both my parents were likewise supreme scriptural exegetes and defeated all the other scriptural exegetes, may I too understand all the treatises at sixteen years of age and defeat all the other scriptural exegetes, and may both my parents likewise become supreme scriptural exegetes.

“ ‘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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“When his parents saw him sitting there praying, they asked, ‘Child, [F.47.a] what prayers are you making?’ and he told them what kind of prayers he was making, relating all in detail.

“His parents said, ‘May you alone be our son. May the two of us be your parents. Entrusting ourselves to you completely, may we please and not displease the Blessed Buddha. May we go forth in his doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa then is none other than Kātyāyana Who Gathers. Those who were his parents then are none other than his parents now. The act of giving gifts, making merit, and praying at that time ripened such that wherever he was born, it was into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth; that he was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful; and that he understood all the treatises and defeated all the other scriptural exegetes.

“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, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.

“At that time his parents prayed, ‘As your parents, may the two of us become supreme scriptural exegetes. Entrusting ourselves to you, may we please and not displease the Blessed Buddha,’ and so it is that those two have now become supreme scriptural exegetes, and entrusting themselves to him, they have pleased me and not [F.47.b] displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a certain householder. One day the householder’s wife conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was paraplegic and unable to walk. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they asked, “What name should we give this child?” And they named him, saying, “Since the child is one who moves about by crawling, his name will be Paṅgu.”44

They reared young Paṅgu on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and when he had grown, his father thought, “What kind of work could my child perform while seated? Let me train him as a craftsman so he can earn his livelihood.” Then he thought, “Aha! My son should train as a tailor. Then he can earn his livelihood.” With this in mind he had his child learn tailoring, and indeed the young man became a great master of the trade.

Meanwhile, another householder borrowed clothing and jewelry from another house for his wife to wear to a festival. When he brought them home, his wife put them on, got herself ready for the festival, and departed. Out of carelessness, she tore the fabric at its hem. She was afraid of her husband, so she didn’t let anyone see what she had done. By the time she returned home from the festival her husband had gone to another village and while he was gone, she brought the tailor to their house, latched the door so that no one would see him, and had him mend the torn hem.

While the tailor was still in the house, her husband came home and began to call out and knock on the door. His wife recognized his voice and was scared stiff—not only because she had brought the tailor inside their house, but also on account of the torn hem. Terrified, she explained everything to the tailor, [F.48.a] stuck him in a basket, sealed it, and left him there. She opened the door and the householder entered. She fawned over him, brought him things, and then lay down with him.

As they lay there, thieves broke into the house. Upon entering the upper level of the house, the first thing they picked up was the basket, and they thought, “This basket is sealed so tightly and is so heavy—it must be full of precious jewels! This will last us for seven generations. This alone will suffice; we won’t need anything else.”

With this thought, they took only the basket and carried it off deep into the forest. As they were traveling, the moon rose and the man sitting inside the basket started to urinate. The urine seeped through the basket and began to leak out. The thieves thought, “As the moon rises, water drips from within—there must be a magic water crystal inside! We’re sure of it!” They were ecstatic.

Supporting the basket with the last of their strength, they arrived at their destination deep in the forest, where the leader of the bandits and others among them asked, “What have you brought here in that basket?”

“Be glad, boss,” they replied, “for today we bring an end to our poverty! Be glad, for today we have come upon a basket full of jewels!” The leader and the rest of the bandits likewise grew ecstatic and said, “Open the basket—let’s see what kinds of jewels are in there!” Unlatching the lid of the basket, they opened it and looked inside.

There sat Paṅgu in the basket, just as he had been left. At the sight of him they thought, “We walked and walked, lugging this basket—this paṅgu made the whole night miserable.” They were anguished. Those who had stayed behind broke into hysterics, laughing at the bandits who had traveled through the night and saying, [F.48.b] “Oh, such misery! How miserable!”

At about this time the householder’s wife awoke. When she got up, she walked through the house and saw that it had been broken into and the basket stolen. But the sight also gladdened her, and she spoke in verse, saying,

The thieves who had stolen the basket grumbled angrily, saying, “So what if the paraplegic made us unhappy? Since we have to make a sacrifice to the yakṣa at any rate, we’ll just have to sacrifice him!” They spread a circle of cow dung before the yakṣa and set forth pots brimming with burning incense, flowers, and ritual offerings. Then they took up long, sharp knives, and set the man before the yakṣa to begin the ritual.

The tailor realized that he was about to be sacrificed to a yakṣa. Terrified at the thought, he wondered, “To whom could I go for refuge, other than the Blessed One? Who else could save my precious life?” Thinking this, he made a silent prayer to the Blessed One: “Lord, Blessed One, if there is nothing past, present, or future that you do not see, know, or directly perceive, then heed me now, Blessed One, for I am in distress, desolate, and bereft. Protect me! Please save my precious life!”

The 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, [F.49.a] 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.

These 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?”

When the Blessed One looked, he directly apprehended that the time had come to tame the paraplegic and the five hundred bandits, so he appeared there in divine dress in the form of the very deity they were propitiating.

The five hundred bandits marveled, “Our god has appeared to us in bodily form!” Their hair stood on end, and with their palms pressed together they hunkered down around him, saying, “Blessed One, what advice can you grant us?”

The Blessed One replied, “I do not require human sacrifice, therefore give it up. If you wish for Dharma, give up your sacrifices and supplications, gather round, and I shall teach you the Dharma.” [F.49.b]

“We will do as you wish,” they said, and they and abandoned their sacrifice, touched their heads to the Blessed One’s feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

The Blessed One directly apprehended the thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, and nature of Paṅgu and the bandits, and taught them the Dharma accordingly. Hearing it, the five hundred bandits 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. Paṅgu also manifested the resultant state of non-return.

Once they had seen the truths, the Blessed One made his divine dress disappear, and sat before them in his own natural body. They beheld the Blessed One and were ecstatic. Full of joy, 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: “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.”

The Blessed One replied to the bandits, saying, “Come, join me, monks! Practice the holy life.” As soon as the Blessed One had finished speaking there they stood, alms bowl and water pitcher in hand, with a week’s worth of hair and beard, and with the deportment of a monk who had been ordained for one hundred years. As it is stated,

Then the Blessed One instructed them, and casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, they manifested arhatship. [F.50.a] 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.

Paṅgu thought, “If my body weren’t like this,45 I too would go forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, in order to ford the floodwaters46 and escape my fetters with diligence, practice, and effort.” No sooner had he thought this than every facet of his body was completely whole and manifest,47 and he was especially filled with joy toward the Blessed One.

Joyfully, he rose from his seat, drew down the right shoulder of his upper garment, and made this request of the Blessed One: “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.”

The Blessed One led him to go forth as a novice by saying, “Come, monk! Practice the holy life,” then conferred on him full ordination and instructed him. Casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, he manifested arhatship.

The monks asked the Blessed One, “Lord, what action did Paṅgu take that ripened into his becoming paraplegic? What action did he take that he pleased the Blessed One, did not displease him, went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One explained, [F.50.b] “such are the actions that he committed and accumulated:

“Monks, in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty thousand years, and the totally and completely awakened Buddha endowed with perfect knowledge 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, there lived a certain two householders in Vārāṇasī who were brothers.

“One of them, upon hearing the Dharma from the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, manifested the resultant state of non-return, gave up his unwholesome ways, and devoted himself single-mindedly to wholesome activities.

“His younger brother worked in the fields, and thought, ‘I have to deal with cold in winter and heat all summer, while he’s snug at home, enjoying his bliss.’ Irate, he spoke harshly to the non-returner: ‘While I have to deal with cold in winter and heat all summer and handle all the work, you spend your time at home like some paraplegic! Don’t you want to do anything at all?’

“Then the non-returner thought, ‘My little brother is speaking so harshly to me. Let me be of help to him so that it doesn’t ruin him for good.’ With this thought, he made a display of miracles before him and said, ‘You must confess the mistake you’ve made by speaking harshly to me. Otherwise you are certain to roam in saṃsāra and meet with great suffering.’

“As soon as he heard this, the younger brother was seized with regret. He bowed down at his brother’s feet, asked his forgiveness, and said, ‘I will give up living at home to go forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa.’

“The non-returner told him, ‘Give up household affairs, and both of us will go forth.’

“ ‘Let’s do that,’ the brother replied. They gave up their household affairs and [F.51.a] both of them went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa.

“After the non-returner went forth, he cast away all afflictive emotions and manifested arhatship. The other brother went forth, and after practicing pure conduct all his life, at the time of his death, he prayed, ‘May I not meet with the results of the act of speaking harshly to such a pure being. Should it happen that the results of that action ripen to me, may I then feel a sense of renunciation, may that misfortune vanish, and may I be fortunate instead. While I may not have attained any great virtues, still I have gone forth and practiced pure conduct all my life. Therefore, 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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and became a monk then is none other than Paṅgu. At that time he spoke harshly to his elder brother, and wherever he was born, he was paraplegic. He felt regret, went forth, and after practicing the conduct leading to liberation all his life, at the time of his death prayed, ‘May I not meet with the results of the act of speaking harshly to such a pure being. Should that action ripen to me, then as soon as I feel a sense of renunciation, may that misfortune immediately vanish and may I be fortunate instead.’

“Now he has felt a sense of renunciation, and immediately all his limbs have become complete. At that time he prayed, ‘May I please and not displease Uttara, the young brahmin prophesied [F.51.b] by the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa to be the next blessed buddha. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“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, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

The monks requested the Blessed One, “Lord, tell us why, after the five hundred bandits met the paraplegic tailor, they went forth, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

“Not only now, monks” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, these five hundred bandits met this selfsame paraplegic tailor, went forth, and generated the four meditative states and the five superknowledges. Listen well!

“Monks, in times past there were five hundred bandits who lived deep in the forest. They ransacked the mountain villages, carrying off much of their food and wealth. There was also a man who lived and dwelled deep in that forest, and the bandits captured him to sacrifice him to their yakṣa. There in the forest they spread a circle of cow dung before the yakṣa, and set forth offering pots and the man himself. Then they took up long, sharp knives and seated themselves before the yakṣa to begin the ritual.

“Thereupon the man thought, ‘After they kill me, they are going to offer me as a sacrifice to the yakṣa.’ Terrified at the thought, he wondered, ‘To whom can I go for refuge? Who can save my precious life?’

“Not far from there, on the mountain in an ascetic hermitage [F.52.a] there lived a certain sage. At that very moment the man thought of the sage, and with a faithful mind began praying to him: ‘Blessed One, if there is nothing past, present, or future that you do not see, know, or directly perceive, then heed me now, Blessed One, for I am in distress, desolate, and bereft. Protect me! Please save my precious life! Please, lift this burden from me!’ A god who was fond of the sage heard those thoughts and alerted him. As soon as he heard, the sage disappeared from his hermitage and arrived before the bandits.

“When they saw the sage, the bandits were overcome with joy. Full of joy they said, ‘Sage, what advice can you grant us?’

“ ‘Release the man and sit before me, and I shall teach you the Dharma,’ said the sage.

“ ‘We will do as the sage wishes,’ the bandits replied, and they released the man, bowed down at the sage’s feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma. After the sage taught the Dharma to them, both the man and the five hundred bandits went forth in his very presence, and generated the four meditative states and the five superknowledges.

“O monks, what do you think? I myself was that sage then, and lived the life of a bodhisattva. The one who was that man then is this paraplegic tailor now. Those who were those five hundred bandits then are none other than these five hundred bandits. At that time, because of that man, they went forth and generated the four meditative states and the five superknowledges, and now too, because of this paraplegic tailor they have gone forth, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there was a certain being who was reborn as a blind hell being. The entirety of his immense body was covered by a continuous mass of sores, and worms bored into him from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet. Unable to tolerate his condition, he ran to and fro.

When he fled to the plains, there were iron-fanged lions, tigers, leopards, and bears that tore into his flesh over and over again and fed on him.

When he submerged himself in the water, there were crocodiles with fangs of iron that tore into his flesh over and over again and fed on him.

When he fled into the sky above there were crows, vultures, and woodpeckers with beaks of iron that tore into his flesh over and over again and fed on him.

When he fled into the dense forest, [F.60.a] there were sword-leafed śālmali trees, and swords, spears, lances, single-tipped vajras, and flat-bladed spears that rose up on the wind and hailed down on him.

When he tried to flee behind walls or into mountain ravines or into any kind of shelter there were human beings who were there because of their past actions that took up swords, spears, lances, single-tipped vajras, and flat-bladed spears, and struck, cut, and sliced his entire body. This caused him dreadful suffering and extreme, unbearable, excruciating agony, and he wept and wailed in torment.

The 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.

These 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? [F.60.b] 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?”

When the Blessed One focused his mind48 and the time had come to tame the inhabitants of Śrāvastī, he considered whether they would be tamed by subjugation, or whether they would be tamed by praise, or whether they would be tamed by disillusionment with saṃsāra. When the Blessed One saw that they would be tamed by disillusionment with saṃsāra, he miraculously summoned that same being to engender their disenchantment.

He set him down on the bank of the Ajiravatī River, and there as well he was unable to tolerate his condition and ran to and fro.

When he fled to the plains, there were iron-fanged lions, tigers, leopards, and bears that tore into his flesh over and over again and fed on him.

When he submerged himself in the water, there were crocodiles with fangs of iron that tore into his flesh over and over again and fed on him.

When he fled into the sky above there were crows, vultures, and woodpeckers with beaks of iron that tore into his flesh over and over again and fed on him.

When he fled into the dense forest, there were sword-leafed śālmali trees, and swords, spears, lances, single-tipped vajras, and flat-bladed spears that rose up on the wind and hailed down on him.

When he tried to flee behind walls [F.61.a] or into mountain ravines or into any kind of shelter there were human beings who were there because of their past actions that took up swords, spears, lances, single-tipped vajras, and flat-bladed spears, and struck, cut, and sliced his entire body. This caused him dreadful suffering and extreme, unbearable, excruciating agony, and he wept and wailed in torment.

All of Śrāvastī was filled with his cries. The people of Śrāvastī heard these dreadful sounds and thousands upon thousands of people emerged from Śrāvastī and headed toward the source of the cries by the Ajiravatī River. From a distance the people caught sight of the being that was in the throes of such agony, and when they saw him they wondered, “Who is this being in the throes of such agony?”

Naturally, from time to time, to sustain themselves, the blessed buddhas make their way through the monasteries, charnel grounds, mountains, and rivers. This is why the Blessed One, who wanted to visit the river, said to Venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, go and give a message to the monks that the Tathāgata will visit the river. Inform them that those who wish to travel with the Tathāgata should prepare their robes.” After he gave him these instructions and the monks were thus informed, the Blessed One set out for the Ajiravatī River surrounded and attended on by an assembly of monks.

When the people gathered there saw the Blessed One in the distance, those without faith said, “They say the mendicant Gautama takes no joy in spectacles, [F.61.b] but such a spectacle as this lures even him.”

Those with faith replied, “This being will surely be instrumental in49 an extraordinary Dharma teaching by the Blessed One.” They prepared a seat for the Blessed One, saying, “This way, Blessed One—if you please! Welcome, Blessed One, very good! O Blessed One, please have a seat on this cushion we have prepared for you!”

The Blessed One took his place on the seat prepared for him, and thought, “The best thing will be for me to enter into a meditation such that this being can remember his former lives and converse with me in a human tongue.” So the Blessed One entered into a meditation such that that being remembered his former lives and could converse with him in a human tongue.

Then the Blessed One addressed him, saying, “My friend, are you Earnest?”

“Yes, Blessed One, I am Earnest.”

“My friend, are you Earnest?”

“O Sugata, I am Earnest.”

“Are you now experiencing the repercussions of your misconduct of body, speech, and mind?”

“Indeed I am, Blessed One.”

“Are the repercussions of your misconduct of body, speech, and mind hideous?”

“Yes, Blessed One, they are.”

“Who guided you to such nonvirtue?”

“My own mind,” he replied.

Now, hearing this, the people wondered, “Who is this being who remembers his former lives and converses with the Blessed One in a human tongue?”

The ears of the blessed buddhas are difficult to reach, so since they were not able to put their question to the Blessed One they inquired of Venerable Ānanda, “Lord [F.62.a] Ānanda, who is this being who remembers his former lives and converses with the Blessed One in a human tongue?”

“Put your question to the Blessed One,” Venerable Ānanda replied.

“The ears of the blessed buddhas are difficult to reach, and his presence is overwhelming. We cannot ask the Blessed Buddha ourselves,” they said.

Venerable Ānanda replied, “Though the ears of the blessed buddhas are difficult to reach for me as well, out of compassion for you I shall ask.”

Venerable Ānanda drew down the right shoulder of his upper garment, bowed toward the Blessed One with palms pressed together, and inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, who is this being who remembers his former lives and converses with the Blessed One in a human tongue?”

At that, the Blessed One spoke to Venerable Ānanda, saying, “Ānanda, this being is one who committed nonvirtuous actions over and over again. The nonvirtuous actions he committed were manifold.

“Ānanda, in times past when the one who transcended the levels of the listeners and solitary buddhas, the totally and completely awakened buddha, the blessed one, the tathāgata, the arhat, the totally and completely awakened buddha50 possessed of insight and perfect conduct, 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 Prabhāvan51 was in the world, there was a certain arhat who, as he made his way through the countryside with a group of five hundred arhats, came to the royal palace, where they entered the royal gardens.

“One by one, according to age, they spread grass beneath a different tree, crossed their legs, and knew bliss as they entered states of concentration, liberation, meditation, and equipoise. [F.62.b]

“Now at this time, a certain King Earnest reigned in that very palace. The king rose early in the morning and went to the garden, attended by his harem. Arriving there he seated himself at one side as the women, hearts set on flowers and fruit, wandered about here and there. They happened upon the five hundred monks sitting beneath the trees as if asleep, legs crossed, their bodies drawn up like nāga kings. Delighted to have found them, they paid homage at their feet, and the eldest among them sat before the arhats to listen to the Dharma.

“When the king heard a man’s voice out in the gardens, he laid a sharp sword across his shoulders and went to where the monks were, spotting all five hundred monks from a distance. Seeing them he thought, ‘No monk should lay an eye on my harem!’ Consumed with fury at the sight of the monks, the king summoned the royal guard and commanded them, ‘Lash these monks!’ and they lashed the monks with whips for some time, until their bodies were like raw meat.

“Once the king had slaked his passion by beating the monks, he handed them over to the executioners, saying, ‘Go now, take these ascetics. Impale some of them on stakes, and run them through with swords, spears, lances, single-tipped vajras, and flat-bladed spears while they yet live! Feed others alive to the dogs! Chop the rest into six pieces and scatter them in every direction!’

“The king’s men replied, ‘As you wish,’ and they impaled some of the five hundred monks on stakes [F.63.a] and pierced them with swords, spears, lances, single-tipped vajras, and flat-bladed spears while they yet lived. Others they fed alive to the dogs. They chopped the bodies of the rest into six pieces and scattered them in every direction.

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that king then is none other than this being now. The act of murdering the five hundred arhats ripened into his birth as a being in the Hell of Ceaseless Agony.

“The act of looking upon the monks with a feeling of hatred ripened into his taking birth as a blind person, and the act of lashing the monks with whips ripened into his entire body being covered by a continuous mass of sores, with worms boring into him from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet.

“After he handed the monks over to their executioners, some of them were impaled on stakes and pierced with swords, spears, lances, single-tipped vajras, and flat-bladed spears while they yet lived. Others were fed alive to the dogs. The rest had their bodies chopped into six pieces while they were still alive and scattered in every direction.

“Those actions ripened such that when he fled to the plains, there were iron-fanged lions, tigers, leopards, and bears that tore into his flesh over and over again and fed on him.

“When he submerged himself in the water, there were crocodiles with fangs of iron that tore into his flesh over and over again and fed on him.

“When he fled into the sky above there were crows, vultures, and woodpeckers with beaks of iron that tore into his flesh over and over again and fed on him.

“When he fled into the dense forest, there were sword-leafed śālmali trees, and swords, spears, lances, single-tipped vajras, and flat-bladed spears that rose up on the wind [F.63.b] and hailed down on him.

“When he tried to flee behind walls or into mountain ravines or into any kind of shelter there were human beings who were there because of their past actions that took up swords, spears, lances, single-tipped vajras, and flat-bladed spears, and struck, cut, and sliced his entire body. This caused him dreadful suffering and extreme, unbearable, excruciating agony, and he wept and wailed in torment. Monks, from the time of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Prabhāvan until the present he has died as a hell being and transmigrated only to take rebirth as a hell being, and has known only suffering.”

“Lord, when will this being be freed from these sufferings?”

“This being will die as a hell being only to take rebirth as a hell being and know only suffering until five hundred buddhas have appeared in this fortunate eon. After that, once he has exhausted his sufferings as a hell being, he will take rebirth as a human being into a low caste household. When he is grown he will set out to hunt deer, and so doing will venture into a grove of perfect shade, full of perfect fruits and flowers. When he gets there he will think, ‘The deer must gather in places like this,’ and begin to set up mechanical traps, deadfall traps, and different types of snares.

“At that time there will have appeared in the world a certain solitary buddha who dwells in that forest at night. On that day, catching his scent, the deer will not enter the grove. When the hunter approaches and finds nothing more than the solitary buddha alone in the grove, he will think, [F.64.a] ‘Ascetics love places like this! If he is staying here, he will do me harm. I should definitely kill him.’ The hunter will kill the solitary buddha and then take rebirth in the Hell of Ceaseless Agony after his own death. There he will experience the sufferings of the hell beings for thousands upon thousands and hundreds of thousands of years.

“Then, once he has exhausted those actions, he will again achieve a human birth, and the totally and completely awakened Buddha Guru will appear in the world. It is in his doctrine that this one will go forth, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.

“After achieving arhatship he will go to the royal palace and establish a dwelling in the king’s garden, whereupon the king will go to the garden, attended by his harem, and the women, their hearts set on flowers and fruit, will wander here and there in the garden. They will happen upon him and sit before him to listen to the Dharma.

“The king, hearing the voice of a man, will draw near to them. Angry at the sight of the man, the king will lash him with a whip, chop his body into six pieces, impale him, run him through with swords, spears, lances, single-tipped vajras, and flat-bladed spears, and then feed him to the dogs. Only then will his suffering come to an end.”

As soon as they heard this, the people gathered there welled up with grief. “Spiraling through saṃsāra we are sure to experience horrible sufferings such as these,” they thought.

The Blessed One directly apprehended their grief and taught them the Dharma accordingly, and some among those assembled [F.64.b] generated heat right where they sat. Some generated the peak, or generated the patience in accord with the truths, or generated the highest worldly dharma, or generated the attainment of seeing. Some manifested the resultant state of stream entry. Some manifested the resultant state of once-return. Some manifested the resultant state of non-return. Some went forth and manifested arhatship. Some sowed the seeds to become universal monarchs, some to become great universal monarchs, some to become Indra, some to become Brahmā, some for the enlightenment of the listeners, some for the enlightenment of the solitary buddhas, and some for unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment. Among the assembled, most found themselves drawn to the Buddha, intent on the Dharma, and favoring the Saṅgha. Having established them in these states, the Blessed One returned to the monastery. [B6]

When the Blessed One was in Kapilavastu, Devadatta killed Utpalavarṇā and was banished from the country by King Prasenajit. He then withdrew to Kapilavastu, thinking, “I was not able to kill the ascetic Gautama, nor have I achieved a buddha’s skillful means, so now I will go and lay hold of Siddhārtha’s harem and keep company with them. Once I have usurped his kingdom, I shall be king.”

So he sent an envoy to Yaśodharā with the following message:

“Dear Yaśodharā,

Behold the work of one who delights in wrongdoing! What was the use of taking 60,000 women as his wives and calling them ‘beloved’? Why would anyone even bother keeping so many women if he has no interest in enjoying them? Now, if you like, I can become king [F.65.a] and you will be restored to your former glory and fortune.”

When Yaśodharā received the message, she related it to Gopā, saying, “Gopā, Devadatta sent me quite a message.”

Gopā responded, “Let’s trick him into coming here. If we disgrace him and throw him out, he’ll know his place.” So they sent an envoy to Devadatta with the following response:

“Dear Devadatta,

Please come to the royal palace. When you get here we can talk about how to make you king.”

When Devadatta got their message he was very pleased. “Now that the women are excited,” he thought, “the kingdom is within my grasp!”

He traveled to the royal palace, but as he was preparing to sit on the Bodhisattva’s throne, the gods made it vanish. Gopā had taken a seat at the top of the staircase near the side door to the women’s quarters.

“Devadatta, why don’t you have a seat!” she called down. “Come into the women’s quarters where we can talk.”

When he heard this, Devadatta sat down in front of her and interlaced his fingers. Then Gopā took his folded hands into her own and squeezed them so tight that blood ran from his fingers, and Devadatta was helpless with pain as she wrung them out. Gopā led him up the stairs, kicked him in the head, and threw him from the top of the staircase.52 Some of the other women smeared cow dung all over his body. Others poured scalding oil on him.

Then, his body wounded and weak, he went to see Kokālika, Khaṇḍadravya, Kaṭamorakatiṣya, and Samudradatta. When they saw him, they joked, “Ah, Devadatta! It seems you’ve experienced the pleasures of the royal harem!” [F.65.b]

When the monks heard about all this they asked the Blessed One, “Lord, tell us why Devadatta was humiliated by Gopā.”

“Not only now,” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, Devadatta was humiliated by Gopā. Listen well!

“Monks, in times past King Brahmadatta reigned in the city of Vārāṇasī and King Mahendrasena reigned in Videha. The two did not agree with one another, and from time to time a great many people were killed.

“One day King Brahmadatta of Kāśi called together an assembly of his ministers and began a discussion on the topic of women. ‘Who among you has seen a woman who is well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful?’ he asked.

“Those who had seen such women told the king about them as he had requested. Then each of them said in turn, ‘Deva, you can forget them all! How could any woman ever compare to the face and form of the queen of Videha?’

“When the king heard this an arrow of lust shot through him, and he thought, ‘Since I don’t get along with King Mahendrasena, there’s no way for me to have any contact with her. Let me enter into negotiations with him. After that it will be easy.’

“So it was that King Brahmadatta entered into negotiations with the king of Videha, whereupon he sent a messenger to King Mahendrasena’s queen with a message that said, ‘I want you to know that my negotiations with King Mahendrasena are all for your sake, so that you and I might meet face to face.’

“After she received this message Mahendrasena’s queen told the king, ‘Deva, King Brahmadatta is making overtures to me. [F.66.a] Deva, with your permission I wish to humiliate him.’

“ ‘As you wish,’ he replied. ‘But whatever you do, make sure he falls into my hands.’

“ ‘Not to worry, Deva,’ she said. ‘I shall act in accord with your wishes.’

“Then she sent an envoy with the following message:

“ ‘Dear Brahmadatta,

As my king yet lives, I shall not be able to meet you face to face. Dispatch with him! After that, I shall meet with you.’

“Brahmadatta thought, ‘Failing some dispute, I cannot kill him. Let me then fabricate some dispute with him.’ So King Brahmadatta began a dispute with King Mahendrasena. He armed the four divisions of his army and advanced on Videha, where they besieged the city, massacring many of the inhabitants in the siege.

“Thereupon Queen Mahendrasena sent an envoy with the following message:

“ ‘Dear Brahmadatta,

If you have come here and done all this for my sake, then what need have we for so many to die? By disguising yourself as an ordinary person you can come into the city to see me now.’

“Now no sooner had King Brahmadatta of Kāśi heard this than he entered the royal palace by just the method she had suggested. When she saw him there, Queen Mahendrasena seized him, brought him before the king, and said, ‘Deva, here is Brahmadatta. Do with him as you please.’

“King Mahendrasena assembled all his princes and ministers, chiefs of merchandise, aristocrats, and caravan leaders, [F.66.b] and they kicked Brahmadatta, King of Kāśi, in the head.

“ ‘Let’s kill him, so he can never sleep with another man’s wife again!’ they cried.

Then the queen said to King Mahendrasena, ‘Deva, is this humiliation not worse than being killed? What need is there now to kill him? Let him go.’ So they released him and spared his life.

“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was Mahendrasena, King of Videha then, and who lived the life of a bodhisattva. The one who was the queen then is none other than Gopā. The one who was King Brahmadatta of Kāśi then is none other than Devadatta. At that time many people kicked and humiliated him, just as they have now.”

When the Bodhisattva was dwelling in Tuṣita Heaven, King Siṃhahanu reigned in Kapilavastu. As he and the queens enjoyed themselves and coupled, the queens gave birth to four sons named Śuddhodana, Śuklodana, Droṇodana, and Amṛtodana, and four daughters named Śuddhā, Śuklā, Droṇā, and Amṛtā.

At the same time, as King Śākya Suprabuddha and his queens enjoyed themselves and coupled in Vṛji, the queens gave birth to two daughters. One they named Māyā, and the other Mahā­māyā. They reared them on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and they flourished like lotuses in a lake. When the priests versed in reading signs examined them, they predicted that their daughter Māyā would give birth to a child of marvelous character, and that Mahā­māyā would give birth to a universal monarch. Both daughters’ hair grew like a drop of sesame oil poured into water. [F.67.a]

When King Siṃhahanu heard this, he sent an envoy to King Śākya Suprabuddha with a message saying, “Betroth your two daughters to my son. Though the Śākyas have an agreement among themselves that no one may take two wives in marriage, if I can get them to agree to this then you can marry them both.” King Siṃhahanu made a request of all the Śākyas, and, in accord with the tradition among householders, Śuddhodana took both young women as his queens. After marrying them, King Śākya Suprabuddha granted them a young woman named Keśinī to look after their hair.

Seven days after the Bodhisattva’s birth, Mahā­māyā passed away and took rebirth in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Young Keśinī missed her so much that she clutched at strands of Mahā­māyā’s hair and flung herself on the ground in grief, wailing and beating her chest. She was inconsolable.

When the Bodhisattva had grown, upon witnessing old age, sickness, and death, he went to live in the forest, where he practiced austerities for six years until he achieved unexcelled wisdom. His actions for the benefit of those to be tamed eventually led him to stay in Kapilavastu and he led many Śākyas there to go forth, including Mahā­prajāpatī Gautamī. Keśinī too was not only ordained, she also cast away all afflictive emotions and manifested arhatship, and the Blessed One commended her for her superlative efforts.

Afterward, the monks asked the Blessed One, “Lord, what action did Keśinī take that ripened into her birth as a Śākya, into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth? What action did she take that ripened into her becoming a servant of other women?” [F.67.b]

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

“Lord, where did she make these prayers?”

“Monks, in times past, in the ninety-first eon, when 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, after he fully and completely awakened unto unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, he visited the city of Bandhumatī.

“Two women there offered him food, and one of them prayed, ‘May I give birth to one as precious as this. May I please and not displease him,’ while the other prayed, ‘Wherever I am born, may it be as your sibling. May I rear one as precious as this.’

“The young woman who looked after the two sisters’ hair was also there, and she overheard them making their prayers. As soon as she heard them, she began to venerate the totally and completely awakened Buddha Vipaśyin herself, praying, ‘Oh, but by this root of virtue, wherever these two are born, may I again look after their hair and serve them with great respect! May I please and not displease their precious children.’ Such were her prayers.”

“Lord, what action did she take that she pleased the Blessed One, and did not displease him; that she went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship; and that the Blessed One also commended her [F.68.a] for her superlative efforts?”

The Blessed One replied, “She went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, and the preceptor who led her to go forth was also commended for her superlative efforts by the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa.

“Then after practicing pure conduct all her life, at the time of her death she prayed, ‘While I may not have attained any great virtues, still I have gone forth in the teaching of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and practiced pure conduct all my life. Therefore, 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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship. Just as the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa commended my53 preceptor for her superlative efforts, may Buddha Śākyamuni, king of the Śākyas, also commend me for my superlative efforts.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and became a nun then is this very Keśinī. There she practiced pure conduct all her life, and at the time of her death, she prayed, ‘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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship. Just as the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa commended my54 preceptor for her superlative efforts, may Buddha Śākyamuni, [F.68.b] king of the Śākyas, also commend me for my superlative efforts.’

“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 she has pleased me, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship, and that I have now commended her for her superlative efforts.”

Once when the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, Venerable Upasena was making his way through the countryside in the country of Avanti, where in time he came to a mountainside hermitage.

Now at that time in the mountainside hermitage 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.

When the time came for him to marry he took a wife, and they enjoyed themselves and coupled. But even though they enjoyed themselves and coupled, they had no children. Head in hands, the householder sat and brooded, thinking, “My house may be filled with all kinds of riches, but seeing as I have no heir, after I die, all I have will become property of the king.”

The ascetics and brahmins, fortune tellers, his friends, his close family, and his other kin all told him, “You should supplicate a deity.” So, since he had no heir and desired a son, he supplicated the gods.

He prayed to Paśupati, Varuṇa, Kubera, Śakra, Brahmā, and the rest, and to the deities of the pleasure groves, the forest deities, the deities of the crossroads, the deities of forks in the road, the deities who receive strewn oblations, the deities of his inherited tradition, and the deities who are in constant attendance of righteous persons. [F.69.a]

While it is often said that praying to the deities can cause a boy or a girl to be born, this is not true. If children could be made just by praying, every family would have them a thousand times over, like a universal monarch. In fact, there are three circumstances that allow for the birth of a child: a child is born when (1) lust arises in the parents and they have intercourse, (2) the mother still has her menstrual cycle and is approached by a gandharva, and (3) the gandharva’s mind is either attached or angry.

Nevertheless, he remained intent on his prayers, and a great being took birth in his wife’s womb who was well renowned and had gained his final birth, had the good fortune to soon be liberated due to gathering the accumulations, had his sights set on nirvāṇa and had turned away from saṃsāra, had no desire for the states of rebirth in cyclic existence, and who had now assumed his final body.

A woman wise in nature possesses five extraordinary qualities. She knows (1) whether a man is attracted to her, (2) the time of her menstrual cycle, (3) that she has conceived, (4) from whom she has conceived, and (5) whether the child is a boy or a girl, for if it is a baby boy it will stay on the right side of the womb, and if it is a girl it will stay on the left side of the womb.

When the householder’s wife conceived a child she was overjoyed and told her husband, “My Lord, I have conceived a boy. He is staying on the right side of my womb, so rejoice, for it is sure to be a boy!”

At this the householder too was very happy. He puffed out his chest, put his right hand in the air, and expressed his joy, saying, “I shall see the face of the son for whom I have prayed for so long! May everything be right with my son, may nothing go wrong with him, and may he carry on my work! As I care for him, may he care for me in return! May he enjoy my inheritance! May my lineage endure for a long time! And after our passing, when we die, may he give gifts, [F.69.b] be they great or small, and make merit! When he does, may he dedicate the merit thus: ‘Wherever these two are born, may this go to them!’ ”

Now that he knew his wife was pregnant, he ensconced her on the upper levels of their house in order to care for the baby. He provided her with what she needed for winter in the winter, what she needed for summer in the summer, with food that was not too bitter, too sour, too salty, too sweet, too spicy, or too astringent as instructed by the healer, and he served her food that was not bitter, sour, salty, sweet, spicy, or astringent. He draped her body with garlands and strings of precious stones, and he moved her from divan to divan and seat to seat like a goddess through a joyous garden, never letting her descend to the ground, and never letting her hear an unpleasant word even for a moment.

Then after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, with a fine complexion the color of the center of a lotus, 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 asked, “What name should we give this child?” And they named him, saying, “Since this child has a complexion like the color of the center of a lotus, his name will be Lotus Color.”

They reared young Lotus Color 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, [F.70.a] elephants, horses, and arms and armor. He became skilled in writing, skilled at reading, learned, decisive, and industrious, a master of the eight types of examination.

Venerable Upasena was one of the householder’s relatives, and with his support, young Lotus Color found faith in the doctrine of the Blessed One. He asked for his parents’ permission, went forth as a novice, and received full ordination in the presence of Venerable Upasena. One day he left his mountainside hermitage on an errand without notifying his preceptor. He made his way through the countryside and eventually arrived in Mathurā, where he stayed at Donkey Grove. Then Venerable Lotus Color donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went for alms in Mathurā.

Being unfamiliar with the area, he eventually came to the house of a sex worker while going for alms. The sex worker was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, beautiful, and alluring. She saw Venerable Lotus Color in the distance, and an arrow of lust shot through her. Compelled by lust, she rose without delay, went up to Venerable Lotus Color, and said, “Noble one, please have a seat on this cushion.”

And as Venerable Lotus Color sat on the seat, wondering, “Who is this lay vow holder?” the intensity of her lust grew too much for her to bear, and she said to him, “Lord, your young body is in full bloom, and every inch of me is so enticing. Sleep with me.”

As soon as she said this Venerable Lotus Color covered his ears with his hands [F.70.b] and said, “To commit such a sin would be to forsake all the Buddha has taught us. I could not bear it.”

“How dare you spurn me like this!” the woman said. “Why have you come to the house of a sex worker, if not to indulge your desires?”

“I’m new here,” Venerable Lotus Color replied, “and I’m not familiar with the area. That’s why I ended up here. I’m not chasing after desires. It wouldn’t be right for me to do such a thing.”

“If you refuse me, I shall put a spell on you,” she said. “Come to bed.”

At this, Venerable Lotus Color rose from his seat in fear and returned to the monastery55 without taking alms. After all this had taken place and he was gone, the sex worker, searing with lust, sent for a woman of lower caste who had the power to cast spells.

She told her the story in detail and then said, “Bring me together with that monk, and I shall give you a great deal of gold.”

“As you wish,” she replied. Then the woman of lower caste adorned herself, and once she had set up the house as a kind of temple, she spread a circle of cow dung on the floor. After setting forth the ritual incense, flowers, and food, she lit a fire, cast a mantra onto white mustard seeds, and tossed them into the flames.

The venerable monk returned to the house of the sex worker, drawn there by the power of the mantra. When the woman of lower caste saw that Venerable Lotus Color had come to the house, she looked at him and said, “Lord, now that you have returned to this house, you have but two choices. Sleep with this sex worker, or leap into the fire!”

When he heard this, Venerable Lotus Color thought, “If the Tathāgata’s appearance in this world is so rare it can be likened only to the udumbara flower, and if birth as a human [F.71.a] in a central land is also difficult to achieve, then it’s better for me to jump into the fire than to be with this woman.” With this thought he took off his garments and handed them to the woman of lower caste, saying, “Elder sister, take these garments to the monastery and offer them to my fellow practitioners of the holy life.”

“Venerable One, what are you doing?” the woman of lower caste asked.

“Jumping into the fire,” Venerable Lotus Color replied.

When she heard his words, the woman of lower caste was distraught, and thought, “Alas, because of my poverty all I do is cause trouble for those worthy of offerings like him. It’s not my place to make such beings unhappy.” With this thought, she gave up performing all those rituals and prostrated herself at his feet with the greatest respect, saying, “Pure being, please forgive me! I am mired in misdeeds! Please reach down and lift me up!”

“I forgive you,” Venerable Lotus Color said. “But you will not be forgiven by your actions.”

Seeing all this, the sex worker’s lust suddenly gave way, and she felt joy toward him. Full of such joy she prostrated herself at his feet and said, “Fortunate One, driven by my lust I’ve caused you such unhappiness. Please forgive me.”

The young sex worker and the woman of lower caste both sat down in front of Venerable Lotus Color to listen to the Dharma. Venerable Lotus Color taught them the Dharma particularly suited to them, and they manifested the resultant state of stream entry right where they sat. Having seen the truths, they requested, “Lord, if permitted we wish to go forth in 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.”

Venerable Lotus Color [F.71.b] brought them to the nunnery and presented them to the nuns. The nuns 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.

Venerable Lotus Color thought, “So far, I’ve been able to purify the mindstreams of others, but not my own mindstream. The Blessed One tells us, ‘Studying well has five benefits for those who undertake it: knowledge of the aggregates, knowledge of the elements, knowledge of the sense bases, knowledge of dependent arising, and knowledge of the proper and the improper.’ Thus, I too must strive to eliminate afflictive emotions.”

With this thought, he cast away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, and 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. His state was such that Indra, Upendra, and [F.72.a] the other gods worshiped and venerated him and addressed him with respect.

After achieving arhatship and staying long enough in Mathurā, he traveled to Śrāvastī. When he got there, he told the story in detail to the monks. The monks asked the Blessed One, “Lord, tell us why this young sex worker was driven by her lust to make Venerable Lotus Color unhappy, but then with his support went forth, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

“For five hundred lifetimes this young woman was his wife,” the Blessed One explained. “It was on the basis of her previous habitual tendencies that she fell in love with him at first sight.”

“Lord, what action did Venerable Lotus Color take that ripened into his birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth, and that he pleased56 the Blessed One, did not displease him, went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship?”

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

“Lord, where did he make these prayers?”

“Monks, in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, there lived a certain householder in Vārāṇasī who had two wives.

“One day the householder found faith in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, [F.72.b] and told his wives, ‘My dears, I am going to go forth in the doctrine of the Buddha Kāśyapa. You should continue with your duties at home.’

“ ‘Lord, if you are going to go forth, then afterward we will go forth too,’ they said.

“The householder replied, ‘If you also wish to go forth, then let you two go forth first, and I shall go forth after you.’ Having said this, the householder brought both his wives to the nunnery and presented them to the nuns.

“The nuns led them to go forth as novices and conferred on them full ordination. After they had gone forth, the householder gave gifts, made merit, and went forth in the doctrine of the Buddha Kāśyapa. Once he had gone forth, he studied the Tripiṭaka and became a proponent of the Dharma with all the eloquence of his wisdom and freedom. He acquired provisions of clothing, food, bedding, a seat, and medicines for the sick.

“After their going forth, the two women became quarrelsome and abusive. One of them called out to the other nuns, ‘You untouchables!’ and the other shouted ‘You whores!’ at them. The monk soon put a stop to the nuns being so quarrelsome, and he inspired them to give gifts and to share what they had.

“After he had offered food to the Blessed Kāśyapa and the rest of the saṅgha of monks, he venerated the stūpas containing hair and nail relics, and prayed, ‘By this root of 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 Uttara, the young brahmin prophesied by the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa [F.73.a] to be the next blessed buddha. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“When the two nuns saw him sitting there praying, they asked him, ‘Noble one, what kind of prayers are you making?’ He told them in detail, and after they listened, they prayed in the same way: ‘With your support, noble one, may we too please and not displease the Blessed Buddha. May we go forth in only his doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship. May we not meet with the results of the act of speaking harshly to the group of nuns.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that monk then is none other than Lotus Color. Those who were those two nuns then are none other than these two nuns now. The monk’s acts at that time of making offerings to the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks, venerating the stūpas containing hair and nail relics, and praying thus ripened into his birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth.

“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, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.

“Monks, at that time the two nuns prayed, ‘With your support, noble one, may we too please and not displease the Blessed Buddha. [F.73.b] May we go forth in only his doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“So it is that with his support these two have pleased and not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship. But one of them called out to the nuns, ‘You untouchables!’ and the other shouted, ‘You whores!’ so those actions ripened such that one was born into a family of lower caste, and the other became a sex worker.”

“Lord, what action did Lotus Color take that ripened into his birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth, and that he was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, with a complexion the color of the center of a lotus?”

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

“Lord, where did he make these prayers?”

“Monks, in times past the guardian deity of a pleasure grove was dwelling on a mountainside in her57 grove of perfect shade. The grove was full of perfect fruits and flowers and all its perfect ponds teemed with blue lotus, lotus, white water lily, white lotus, and the cries of geese, ducks, and other waterfowl. In times when a blessed buddha has not arisen in the world, the solitary buddhas appear out of compassion for the destitute and suffering and take up residence in remote places. Solitary as the rhinoceros, they are the only ones in the entire world that are worthy of offerings.58 So it was that a solitary buddha had taken up residence in that pleasure grove.

“The guardian deity of the pleasure grove rose early one morning and went into the grove. She happened upon the solitary buddha [F.74.a] sitting beneath a tree as if asleep, legs crossed, his body drawn up like a nāga king, and she was delighted to have found him. Tenderly, she requested that the solitary buddha please take his food in that very pleasure grove and offered him something to eat.

“Then she scattered lotus, blue lotus, white water lily, and white lotus over him, and prayed, ‘By this root of 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 my complexion be the color of the center of a lotus. May I please and not displease a teacher even more exalted than this. May I achieve such great virtues.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was the guardian deity of that pleasure grove then is none other than Lotus Color. The act of venerating that solitary buddha and saying that prayer ripened into his birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth, as one who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, with a complexion the color of the center of a lotus. Monks, I am more exalted than even one hundred billion solitary buddhas, and now he has pleased and not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī there lived a certain butcher, and when the time came for him to marry he took a wife. One day his wife conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. His parents loved and cherished him greatly, and held him dear to their hearts.59 At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they named him according to their clan. [F.74.b] They raised him on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and as he grew up his parents gave him many good, wholesome foods, and prevented him from doing any work.

One day, as his father started to teach him his trade, the young man exclaimed, “Father, I would rather kill myself than take a life!”

The butcher’s wife said, “Lord, please don’t harm the child! We can hire help to do this work,” so the butcher let the young man do as he liked.

Soon after that, their son found faith in the doctrine of the Blessed One, and from time to time he would go to the garden of Prince Jeta to hear the Dharma from the Blessed One. One day the idea came to him to go forth, and he thought, “I will give up living at home to go forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One.”

He asked for his parents’ permission, went forth as a novice in the doctrine of the Blessed One, and then received full ordination. 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.

Then, after achieving arhatship, he wondered, “Whom might I tame?” He looked out and saw that he could tame his two parents. [F.75.a] Recognizing this he went to his parents and gave them a Dharma teaching, turning them away from nonvirtuous actions, establishing them in the truths, and leading them to go for refuge and maintain the fundamental precepts. He inspired them to give gifts and to share what they had, until their home became like an open well for those in need. They supplied their arhat monk son with many good, wholesome foods, and he partook of them himself and shared them with other practitioners of the holy life.

After that, the monks inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, what action did this monk take that ripened into his birth into a butcher’s family, one of great means, prosperity, and wealth; that he did not think to commit nonvirtuous actions; that he pleased the Blessed One, did not displease him, went forth in the doctrine of the Buddha, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship; that after having been a householder, he went forth; and that he received such good, wholesome foods?”

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

“Lord, where did he make these prayers?”

“Monks, in times past, a certain group of butchers was living on a mountainside. They had gone into a grove and set forth many good, wholesome foods when a solitary buddha came into the grove seeking alms, and one of the butchers happened upon him. The butcher was delighted to have found the solitary buddha, and cordially offered good, wholesome foods to him. Great persons teach the Dharma not with their words but through their actions, so the solitary buddha accepted the alms and then rose into the sky.

This delighted the butcher, [F.75.b] and, full of joy, he prayed, ‘By this root of virtue, wherever I am born, may it be into a butcher’s family, one of great means, prosperity, and wealth, where I may enjoy many good, wholesome foods. May I also not perform nonvirtuous actions. May I please and not displease a teacher even more exalted than this. May I achieve such great virtues. Going forth in his doctrine alone, may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that butcher then is none other than this monk. The actions of offering food to the solitary buddha and saying that prayer ripened such that wherever he was born, it was into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth where he could enjoy many good, wholesome foods, and where he was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, and where he did not perform any nonvirtuous actions. Monks, I am more exalted than even one hundred billion solitary buddhas, and now he has pleased me and not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.

“Furthermore, he had gone forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, and after practicing pure conduct all his life, at the time of his death, he prayed, ‘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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“Monks, [F.76.a] the monk who went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa then is none other than this monk. Back then, he practiced pure conduct all his life, and at the time of his death, he prayed, ‘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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“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, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.” [B7]

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a certain man who belonged to a lower caste. When the time came for him to marry he took a wife. One day his wife conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to an exceptionally ugly baby who was ugly in eighteen different ways. As soon as they saw her, her parents were crestfallen.

“A daughter like this is no use to us,” her father said. “When night falls, we’ll toss her out to the dogs!”

“My lord, don’t say such things! Murder is disgraceful. Not only that but this child is our daughter. We can’t just abandon her as soon as she’s born, even if she is ugly in eighteen different ways. Wait until she’s grown—then we’ll throw her out. By that time [F.76.b] she’ll be able to make a living for herself somehow.”

“Very well, that is what we’ll do.”

Her parents raised her in secret and no one knew about her. When she was old enough to walk, she was still so ugly that her parents threw her out of the house and abandoned her. After that she begged for alms and lived where she could on the streets. She lived on the bare ground60 and ate wretched food, and as a result she became leprous and covered in sores. In time she became very sick, and collapsed in the street, near death. It was then that Venerable Ānanda saw her.

As soon as he saw her, Venerable Ānanda was filled with compassion for her, and he went to her and asked, “Sister,61 what happened?”

“Lord Ānanda, I have failed to collect any merit. That’s how I came to be like this. Lord Ānanda,” she pleaded, “please help me put an end to all this nonvirtue, come what may.”

“Don’t worry, sister,” Venerable Ānanda replied. “Take heart. I shall dispel your nonvirtuous actions.”

With this, Venerable Ānanda went to find sesame oil and incense for her. He returned and said to her, “Rise, sister. Go and offer this incense to the stūpas containing the hair and nail relics of the Blessed One.” As she heard this, the young woman was filled with joy, and she rose and followed Venerable Ānanda. Then Ānanda led her to make offerings of sesame oil ointment, blended incense ointment, and saffron ointment to the Tathāgata’s stūpa.

The householder Anāthapiṇḍada had also come to the region, and when he saw Venerable Ānanda, he asked him, “Lord Ānanda, what are you doing here?”

“I am putting an end to this young woman’s poverty,” said Venerable Ānanda.

Anāthapiṇḍada saw her sitting there naked [F.77.a] and gave her clothing.

The Blessed One also came to the region purely out of compassion for that young woman. She saw the Blessed One in the distance and he was beautiful and handsome, his senses were at peace, his heart was at peace, and his mind was perfectly tame. He was graced with tranquility, shining and brilliant like a golden pillar. Upon seeing him, the young woman was overcome with joy and thought, “If one can attain great results from just venerating a stūpa with his hair and nails, then surely I can attain an even greater result if I worship him in person!”

Filled with joy, she took the clothes Anāthapiṇḍada had given her, approached the Blessed One, offered him the clothing, folded her hands, and sat there studying him. She died shortly thereafter with joy toward the Blessed One in her heart, transmigrated, and took rebirth in the womb of the foremost wife of a merchant householder there in Śrāvastī.

After nine or ten months had passed, the wife gave birth to a child with a golden complexion. At the elaborate feast celebrating her birth they asked, “What name should we give this child?” And they named her, saying, “Since this child is well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, beautiful, and has a golden complexion, her name will be Golden Color.” They reared young Golden Color on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids. Seven years after her birth, she found faith in the doctrine of the Blessed One, asked for her parents’ permission, went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship, becoming a person of great miracles and great power.

After she had achieved arhatship she asked herself, “Whence did I die, [F.77.b] that I have taken rebirth here?” She saw that she had previously taken rebirth there in Śrāvastī as a girl of lower caste who was ugly in eighteen different ways and that, with the help of Noble Ānanda, she had given up her births as a woman of lower caste. When she saw all this, she thought, “Look at the difficult task Venerable Ānanda has done for me!” And keeping this in mind, she continually went to venerate him.

The monks asked the Blessed Buddha, “Lord, what action did Golden Color take that ripened into her birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth, and with a golden complexion, and that she pleased and did not displease the Blessed One, went forth in the Blessed One’s doctrine, cast away all her afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship?”

The Blessed One replied, “Did you see, right here in Śrāvastī there was a young woman of lower caste, who was ugly in eighteen different ways?”

“Yes, Blessed One, we saw her.”

“After she died, she transmigrated and took rebirth here. She made offerings of sesame oil ointment, blended incense ointment, saffron ointment, and other incense ointments to a reliquary stūpa. Then she offered me clothing and passed away, filled with joy toward me. Those acts ripened into her birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth, and such that she is now well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, beautiful, and has a golden complexion.”

“Lord, what action did this young woman take that ripened into her birth into a family of lower caste, and that she was ugly in eighteen different ways?”

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

“Monks, in times past [F.78.a] in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty thousand years and the totally and completely awakened buddha, the one endowed with perfect knowledge 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, there lived a certain householder in Vārāṇasī.

“When the time came for him to marry he took a wife, and they enjoyed themselves and coupled. One day his wife conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. At the elaborate feast celebrating her birth they named her according to their clan. They reared her on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and when she grew up, she found faith in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa.

“She asked for her parents’ permission and went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha, but soon she became quarrelsome and abusive. Arrogant about her well-proportioned body, youthfulness, and high caste, she spoke harshly to many nuns on the paths of learning and no more to learn, ridiculing their bodies as ugly and even calling them low class. In time she came to regret this.

“Then after practicing pure conduct all her life, she prayed, ‘While I may not have attained any great virtues, still I have gone forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and practiced pure conduct all my life. Therefore, 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. Going forth in his doctrine alone, may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship. [F.78.b] May I not meet with the results of the wrongful act of speaking harshly to fellow practitioners of the holy life.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and became a nun then is none other than the ugly girl. At that time, out of arrogance about her well-proportioned body, youthfulness, and high caste, she spoke harshly to many nuns, slandering them terribly by calling them ugly and saying they were low class. Those acts ripened such that wherever she was born, it was as a person of lower caste who was ugly in eighteen different ways.

“Then she practiced pure conduct all her life, and at the time of her death, she prayed, ‘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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“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 she has pleased and not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

One time when the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, King Prasenajit hosted the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks for three months in the garden of Prince Jeta and provided for all their needs. The garden of Prince Jeta was close to where the cows and water buffalo were penned, so all the monks [F.79.a] enjoyed the cow and buffalo buttermilk. At the end of three months of respectfully providing for all the needs of the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks, King Prasenajit offered to the saṅgha foods of a hundred flavors and to the Blessed One very costly robes.

After he had provided each of the monks with everything they needed, the king discharged the cow herders and buffalo herders back to their homes and departed. The cowherds thought, “This king is a true sovereign and a consummate ruler. While he goes on giving gifts and making merit, we are but the servants of others, deferential toward them, and subsist by eating their food. Their achievement of such a state is entirely the result of these three things: generosity, self-control, and self-restraint. Oh, but doubtless then we should adopt and adhere to a bit of virtuous Dharma!”

The five hundred cowherds resolved to extend an invitation to the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks. They prepared many good, wholesome foods and in the morning they rose, filled the water pots, and sent a message to the Blessed One reminding him it was time for the midday meal: “Lord, the midday meal is upon us. Know that the time has come, Blessed One, and your presence is requested.”

So that morning the Blessed One donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, he set out surrounded and attended by an assembly of monks. They arrived at the appointed place near the cowherds’ pens and took a seat. Once the cowherds knew that the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks were comfortably seated, [F.79.b] by their own hands they contented them with many good, wholesome foods and with buttermilk from the cows and buffalo, proffering all that they wished. When they knew that they had finished eating and that their bowls had been taken away and their hands washed, the cowherds brought in very low seats and sat before the Blessed One to listen to the Dharma.

The Blessed One directly apprehended the thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, capacity, and nature62 of all five hundred of the cowherds, and taught them the Dharma accordingly. When they heard it, the five hundred cowherds and their families 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.

They saw the truths and implored the Blessed One, “Blessed One, 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.” They appealed to King Prasenajit, handed their herds of cattle over to other cowherds, and bid farewell to everyone at home.

Then they approached the Blessed One, touched their heads to his feet, and made this request: “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.”

The Blessed One replied, “Come, join me, monks!” As soon as the Blessed One had finished speaking there they stood, [F.80.a] alms bowl and water pitcher in hand, with but a week’s worth of hair and beard, and with the deportment of a monk who had been ordained for one hundred years. As it is stated,

The Blessed One conferred on them instruction, and, 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 attaining arhatship they wondered, “Whom might we tame?” They saw they could tame their relatives, and, recognizing this, they went to their relatives and taught them the Dharma. They led them to live lives of perfect faith, to go for refuge, to maintain the fundamental precepts, and inspired them to give gifts and share what they had.

There was one cowherd among their relatives who did not have faith. Since she had not been able to go and see the Blessed One the other cowherds took her and brought her to the Blessed One. The cowherd saw the Blessed Buddha from a distance. 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, [F.80.b] 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. When she saw the Blessed Buddha the sight of him filled her with supreme joy, for beings who have gathered the roots of virtue to see a buddha for the first time experience such rapture as is not to be had even by those who practice calm abiding meditation for twelve years.

Experiencing such delight at the sight of the Blessed One, she looked around wondering, “Where can I get flowers to offer to the Blessed One?” Then she spotted some kośataka flowers not far in the distance. After gathering them up, she went to the Blessed One and scattered the kośataka flowers over him. She then touched her head to the Blessed One’s feet and sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

The Blessed One thought, “This young woman’s life will be very short. It is not long before she will die.” Realizing this, he taught her the Dharma particularly suited to her, and when she had understood all that the Blessed One had said, she took leave of him. Not long after she had gone, her bodily elements fell into disequilibrium. She died with a mind filled with joy toward the Blessed One, transmigrated, and passed on to rebirth in the realm of the gods.

Now 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.

When she saw that she had scattered kośataka flowers over the Blessed One and felt joy toward him in her past life, she 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 and offering him my respect.” [F.81.a]

So she decorated herself with earrings, garlands, and strings of precious stones, put on a crown decorated with various types of precious jewels, and perfumed her body with saffron, tamala, spṛka, and other herbs. Thus nobly attired, that night she filled the front of her long shirt with divine blue lotus, lotus, white water lily, white lotus, and mandārava flowers, and she approached the Blessed One. She scattered the divine blue lotus, lotus, white water lily, white lotus, and mandārava flowers over the Blessed One, touched her head to the Blessed One’s feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

The Blessed One directly apprehended her thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, capacity, and nature, and taught her the Dharma accordingly. When she heard it, the goddess 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 she sat. Having seen the truths, she rose from her seat, touched her head to the Blessed One’s feet, circumambulated the Blessed One three times, and disappeared on the spot.

When she did that, the monks committed to practicing earnestly by foregoing sleep from dusk to dawn noticed many great rays of light spreading forth from the garden of Prince Jeta and wondered, “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?”

They went to the Blessed One, and when they arrived, they touched their heads to his feet, and asked him, “Lord, we monks were maintaining our strict effort not to sleep at dusk and dawn, and [F.81.b] we noticed many great rays of light spreading forth from the garden of Prince Jeta. 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?”

“Monks, last night 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 cowherd who offered me worship with kośataka flowers, touched her head to my feet, heard the Dharma from me, and departed?”

“Yes, Blessed One, we saw her.”

“Not long after she left, filled with joy at the thought of me, she died, transmigrated, and took rebirth as a god in the realm of the gods. Then she came here to see me and I taught the Dharma to her. Hearing the Dharma from me, she saw the truths, and having seen the truths, she went back to where she belongs.”

“Lord, what action did this cowherd take that ripened into her birth into a family of poor cowherds? What action did she take that after she died, she transmigrated and took rebirth in the realm of the gods? What action pleased the Blessed One, and did not displease him?”63

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

“What actions did she commit in the past?”

“After she went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely enlightened Buddha Kāśyapa and became a nun,” recounted the Blessed One, “she became quarrelsome and abusive. In anger she spoke harshly to a group of nuns, calling them cowherds.

“Then after practicing pure conduct all her life, at the time of her death she felt regret, and prayed, ‘While I may not have attained any great virtues, still I have gone forth like this in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and practiced pure conduct all my life. Therefore, [F.82.a] 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. May I not meet with the results of the wrongful act of speaking harshly to fellow practitioners of the holy life.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that nun then is now this selfsame cowherd. At that time she practiced pure conduct all her life, and at the time of her death, she prayed, ‘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.’

“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 she has pleased me and not displeased me. These were her past actions.

“As for her present actions, the one who became that cowherd offered me worship with kośataka flowers, felt joy toward me, and took rebirth in the realm of the gods. Monks, these are her present actions.”

“Lord, what action did the other cowherds commit that ripened into their births into families of poor cowherds? What action did they take that ripened into their pleasing the Blessed One, not displeasing him, going forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, casting away all afflictive emotions, and manifesting arhatship?”

“After they went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa,” recounted the Blessed One, “they became quarrelsome and abusive. In anger they spoke harshly to the other monks, calling them cowherds. Then they [F.82.b] 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. And may we not meet with the results of the act of speaking harshly to those monks.’

“O monks, what do you think? The five hundred monks who went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa then are none other than these five hundred monks who gave up cowherding to go forth. At that time, after they went forth, 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.’

“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. At that time, in anger they spoke harshly to the other monks, calling them cowherds, and they also failed to give gifts. So it is that they became poor cowherds, subsisting on the food of others.”

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a band of five hundred friends. [F.83.a] From time to time when the flowers were blooming, they would walk into the gardens for fun playing music, enjoying themselves, and coupling. Then one day, as the lotus, blue lotus, white water lily, and white lotus flowers were in bloom, to have some fun they clad themselves in every type of adornment; took up garlands of lotus, blue lotus, white water lily, and white lotus flowers; festooned themselves with hats, earrings, and flower arrangements; and, each carrying an arrangement of blue lotuses, left Śrāvastī, and walked to the gardens with a flourish of cymbals.

The Blessed One had come to the region purely out of compassion for them, and in the morning he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went for alms in Śrāvastī. The band of friends saw him from a distance. 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.

When they saw the Blessed Buddha the sight of him filled them with supreme joy. Full of such joy, they approached him, touched their heads to the Blessed One’s feet, scattered lotus, blue lotus, white water lily, and white lotus flowers over him, struck the cymbals, then circumambulated him three times and departed. 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 [F.83.b], with some traveling up and others traveling down.

Those 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.

In 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 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.

The 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, [F.84.a] 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:

Then 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. 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.

Should 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. [F.84.b] 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.

After 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:

He then supplicated him with the following verses:

“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?”

“Ānanda, so it is,” the Blessed One replied. “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 band of friends who were venerating me?”

“Yes, Lord, I saw them,” replied Ānanda.

“Ānanda, because of their [F.85.a] roots of virtue, their states of mind, and the wholeheartedness of their generosity, they will not fall to the lower realms for thirteen eons. For thirteen eons they will take rebirth among gods and humans. After circling in saṃsāra, in their final rebirth, their final dwelling place, they will take birth as human beings. Then they will go forth and manifest the thirty-seven wings of enlightenment without a teacher or any instruction. They will manifest the enlightenment of a solitary buddha and become the solitary buddhas known as The Wishless Ones. That is what shall come of their act of generosity.”

The monks asked the Blessed One, “Lord, what wondrous actions did the Blessed One perform that ripened into the band of five hundred friends venerating him with lotus, blue lotus, white water lily, and white lotus flowers?”

“Monks,” replied the Blessed One, “the Tathāgata committed and accumulated the actions himself at a previous time. The actions I committed and accumulated did not ripen into the element of earth. They did not ripen into the external 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.

“Monks, in times gone by, two incalculable eons ago, the totally and completely awakened buddha possessed of insight and perfect conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, [F.85.b] the tamer of persons, the charioteer, the unsurpassed one, the teacher of humans and gods, the blessed buddha known as Dīpaṃkara was in the world.

“One day as the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara was traveling through the countryside, he came to the royal palace known as Dīpavatī. During King Dīpa’s reign at Dīpavatī, 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.

“King Dīpa invited the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara into the city so that his feet might touch the ground there. In addition to King Dīpa, there was another king named Vāsava. King Dīpa sent him an envoy with a message that stated, ‘I am requesting the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara to come to the city so that his feet might touch the ground here. Come, for we must worship him.’

“King Vāsava had been performing twelve years of ritual offerings, and at the end of them he was to set forth five64 magnificent offerings: a golden staff, a small golden vase, a golden basin, a bed ornamented with four precious gems, five hundred gold coins, and a young woman wearing every type of adornment.

“At the same time there were two young brahmins from another province who were learning Vedic recitation from their teachers. They knew that they were expected to make offerings not only to the preceptor who instructed them in the Dharma, [F.86.a] but also to their spiritual master as well, and they sat wondering how this might be done.

“Then they heard that King Vāsava was to distribute five magnificent offerings at the end of his offering ritual, and that he would be granting them to the brahmin with the greatest mastery of recitation. Because the two of them had studied and memorized so much, they thought that they might go and win the offerings, as well as find out for certain which of them was the best. With all this in mind they set out for the city of King Vāsava.

“The gods informed the king about this, saying, ‘Two young brahmins named Sumati and Mati are coming here. You should make your magnificent offerings to the one called Sumati. Great King, the fruits of making such magnificent offerings to Sumati will be much greater than the fruits of all the ritual offerings you have performed these last twelve years.’

“The king thought, ‘These two young men must truly be great if the gods themselves are informing me about them.’ The king saw the young brahmins from a distance, their faces sweet and beautiful. When they arrived at the ritual offering site, they took their seats in the row reserved for brahmins. When King Vāsava saw the two of them, he thought, ‘No doubt this is the Sumati the gods were telling me about.’

“The king went to the row and asked the young brahmin Sumati, ‘Are you the brahmin Sumati?’

“ ‘I am he,’ he replied.

“Then King Vāsava placed the young brahmin at the head of the row,65 gave him food, and presented him with the five magnificent offerings. The young brahmin Sumati [F.86.b] accepted four of the great gifts: the golden staff, the vase, and so forth. But he left one of the magnificent offerings aside—the only gift he did not accept was that of the young woman. He explained, ‘I am practicing the holy life.’

“The young woman saw that the young brahmin Sumati was well proportioned and beautiful, and she became quite attached to him and fell in love. She said to the young brahmin Sumati, ‘Brahmin Sumati, please, accept me.’

“ ‘It wouldn’t be right for me to do so,’ he said.

“Since the king had set her at liberty, expecting to give her away, and the young brahmin Sumati had refused her as well, the young woman traveled to Dīpavatī, the royal city of King Dīpa. When she got there, she removed all the adornments from her body and handed them to a flower-garland maker.

“ ‘These adornments are very valuable,’ she said, ‘so now, every day, you must give me a blue lotus so that I can worship my deity.’ After handing him the golden adornments just as she had said, she began her veneration of the deity.

“Meanwhile,66 the young brahmin Sumati gathered up all four of the other magnificent offerings and approached his preceptor. When he got there he presented all four of those magnificent offerings to his preceptor. Of those four, the preceptor likewise kept only three and gave the five hundred gold coins back to Sumati.

“That night Sumati had ten different dreams: that he was drinking a great ocean; that he was flying; that he touched the radiant sun and moon and took them up into his arms; that he caused kings to carry a chariot; and that he rode atop a sage, a white elephant, a swan, a lion, and a great boulder.67 He awoke from these dreams, and when he did, he wondered who might prophesy about their significance.

“Not far off there lived a sage who had all the five superknowledges. [F.87.a] The young brahmin Sumati approached the sage to dispel his doubts about his dreams. He made pleasant conversation with him, told him about his dreams, and made his request, saying, ‘Please divine the meaning of these ten dreams.’

“ ‘I cannot divine your dreams,’ the sage told him. ‘You should go to the royal palace of Dīpavatī instead. King Dīpa has invited the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara so that his feet might touch the ground there. He will divine these dreams for you.’

“King Vāsava, heeding King Dīpa’s message, had gone to King Dīpa’s palace with a suite of eighty thousand ministers. After seven days had passed, King Dīpa thought, ‘I shall invite the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara into the city so that his feet might touch the ground here.’ He began to gather all the flowers from the city and the surrounding countryside. Then the day arrived on which King Dīpa had invited the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara to come to the city so that his feet might touch the ground there.

“This was also the same day on which the young brahmin Sumati arrived. The king had already gathered up all the flowers, so when the young woman, thinking to venerate her deity, went to the flower-garland maker and said, ‘One blue lotus, please, for the veneration of my deity,’ the garland maker replied, ‘Today the king has gathered up all the flowers for the Buddha’s arrival.’

“ ‘Go and look in that flower pond, there,’ she replied, ‘for, because of my merit, you may find a blue lotus there that has not been plucked.’

“By the power of Sumati’s merit, seven blue lotuses had indeed appeared in the lotus pond. [F.87.b] The garland maker went there and saw them, and the young woman asked him, ‘Can you pluck those blue lotuses for me?’

The garland maker responded, ‘I cannot pluck them. His Highness will punish me.’

“ ‘You plucked all the flowers before to offer to the king, didn’t you?’ she asked.

“ ‘Yes, I did,’ he replied.

“ ‘Then it is by the power of my merit that these have grown,’ said the young woman, ‘so pluck them, please, and give them to me.’

The garland maker asked her, ‘How will you carry them away from the lake without His Highness seeing you?’

“ ‘They grew by the power of my merit,’ said the young woman, ‘so please pick them. I’ll hide them in my water jug, and carry them that way.’ Reassured, the garland maker plucked the flowers and gave them to the young woman. She took them and put them inside her water jug, then filled the jug with water and set out for the city.

“Sumati had already arrived in the city, and he thought to himself, ‘It’s not right of me to be without an offering for the Blessed One.’ He went around to the homes of all the flower-garland makers, hoping for any kind of flower, but he could not find a single one. When at last he emerged from the western gate of the city, he circled from garden to garden, hoping for any kind of flower, but still he could not find a single one.

“Then, after circling all about, the young brahmin Sumati was walking into a garden just as the young woman was coming out of it and he bumped right into her. By the power of Sumati’s merit, all the blue lotus flowers rose out of the water jar.

“When he saw the flowers, Sumati said to the young woman, ‘I’ll pay you five hundred gold coins [F.88.a] to give me all those blue lotuses.’

“ ‘You wouldn’t accept me before,’ the young woman replied. ‘Now you want my lotuses? I won’t offer them to you.’ But having said this, she asked the young brahmin Sumati, ‘What do you want them for?’

“ ‘To offer to the Blessed One,’ Sumati replied.

The young woman said, ‘I don’t need your gold coins. I want the result of offering you these blue lotuses to be that throughout all our lives I become your queen. I’ll give them to you if you’ll pray, ‘By giving me this gift, in all our lives may she be my wife.’

“ ‘I’m a person who takes joy in giving,’ Sumati said, ‘one who would give away his wife and child. I would even give away my own flesh.’

“ ‘First, pray that it be so,’ the young woman said. ‘After that, you can give me to whomever you please.’ With this, the young woman handed five lotuses to Sumati. She took the remaining two herself and recited the following verse:

“Meanwhile, after having the entire city cleared of stones, pebbles, and gravel, the king ordered that banners and flags be hoisted, archways festooned, silk tassels hung, and fragrant water and incense powder scattered about. And when the stones, pebbles, and gravel had been cleared from the city gates up to the monastery, and banners, [F.88.b] flags, and pediments set in place, silk tassels hung, and fragrant water and incense powder scattered about, the king, carrying a hundred-ribbed parasol, went out to receive the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara.

“The ministers likewise went out to receive him, as did King Vāsava and his ministers. The king touched his head to the feet of the Blessed One and implored him, ‘Blessed One, may it please you to enter the city.’ The Blessed One, accompanied by the saṅgha of monks, turned to face the city, and began to walk, as King Dīpa held the hundred-ribbed parasol steady over the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara.

“The ministers, along with King Vāsava and his ministers, also all held their parasols over him, and the Blessed One emanated himself in such a way that each of them thought, ‘I’m the one holding a parasol over the Blessed One!’ The Blessed One, in all his splendor, came to the city gate, assumed authority, and placed his foot upon the threshold. The moment that the Blessed One placed his foot upon the threshold the earth quaked six different ways: it quivered, shuddered, and jolted; it trembled, shook, and swayed.68

“Whenever the blessed ones assume authority and set foot upon the threshold of a city gate all manner of marvels naturally take place. Persons with psychosis find their minds regain their function. Persons with blindness find their eyes can see. Persons with deafness find their ears can hear. Persons with speech disabilities find themselves able to [F.89.a] speak. Persons with impediments to their mobility find that they can walk. Persons unable to have children find themselves happily bringing forth. Sentient beings who are pilloried, or whose feet are bound or locked in stocks, find themselves liberated from bondage. Persons of lifelong enmity achieve, in an instant, minds of love. Calves break their ropes and go to their mothers. Elephants trumpet. Horses bray. The head of every herd sounds a signal cry. Parrots, mountain birds, cuckoos, and jīvaṃjīva birds each call out their songs.

“Musical instruments resound without being played. Ornaments jingle inside their containers. The highlands sink down and the lowlands rise up. Stones, pebbles, and gravel all disappear. The gods in the sky let fall divine blue lotus, white water lily, and white lotus flowers, and scatter agaru powder, fragrant tagara powder, sandalwood powder, tamala powder, and divine mandārava flowers as well. The east sinks down and the west rises up. The west sinks dow and the east rises up. The south sinks down and the north rises up. The north sinks down and the south rises up. The middle sinks down and the edges rise up. The edges sink down and the middle rises up.

“At the royal palace of Dīpavatī, a crowd of hundreds of thousands of beings worshiped the Blessed One with flowers and burning incense sticks and cones. Sumati, Mati, and the young woman approached the totally and completely awakened Dīpaṃkara carrying their lotuses, but the place was crowded [F.89.b] with worshipers, and they could not join the Blessed One’s audience.

“Thereupon the Blessed One thought, ‘The young brahmin Sumati’s merit will increase more than that of all those in this great crowd,’ and he emanated a strong, gusty rain. After the great crowd of people had their chance, the young brahmin Sumati’s turn finally came.69

“As he beheld the captivating Blessed One he was elated. In his joy he scattered all five of his lotuses over the Blessed One, whereupon the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara performed a miracle of transforming them all into a canopy above him, the size of a chariot wheel, that moved when the Blessed One moved and remained still when he was still.

“When the young woman saw what had taken place, she was also filled with joy. After she scattered her two blue lotuses over the Blessed One, they were also blessed so that they transformed into two canopies the size of chariot wheels over the Blessed One’s ears.

“The strong, gusty rain had turned the whole area to mud, and as the Blessed One started to walk across the muddy area, the young brahmin Sumati spread his hair on the muddy ground before the Blessed One, and said in verse,

“Then the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara placed his feet upon the young brahmin Sumati’s hair.

“Then Mati, who had accompanied the young brahmin Sumati and sat with him, said in anger, ‘See how the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara tramples the hair of this young brahmin as if it were an animal hide!’ [F.90.a] Then the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara issued the following prophecy of the young brahmin Sumati’s awakening:

“The very moment that the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara prophesied of the young brahmin Sumati’s awakening, Sumati rose into the sky to the height of seven palm trees. His old hair fell away, and in its place a halo of new hair appeared. The great crowd saw him hovering in the sky, and they began to pray, ‘When he achieves unexcelled wisdom, may we become his disciples.’ The young woman also recited the following prayer:

“King Dīpa picked up the hair that had fallen away after the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara had prophesied about the young brahmin Sumati’s awakening, and King Vāsava said, ‘Give me that hair.’ King Dīpa gave the hair to him, and King Vāsava took it and counted it. There were eighty thousand strands of hair, so the king’s ministers beseeched him, ‘Deva, we would like to request that you give each of us one strand of hair, for we wish to make stūpas of them.’

“The king gave a strand of hair to each of his ministers, [F.90.b] who returned to their provinces and built stūpas. When the young brahmin Sumati’s unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment was prophesied, King Dīpa, King Vāsava, and the inhabitants of the cities and the countryside, seeing the great good that would come of building the stūpas, provided all that was necessary for the ministers to do so.

“Then Sumati asked the young brahmin Mati, ‘What was going through your mind as he prophesied my unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment?’

“ ‘What I thought wasn’t right,’ he replied.

“ ‘What was so wrong about it?’ asked the young brahmin Sumati.

“ ‘I got angry when the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara stepped70 on your hair, and I said, ‘See how the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara tramples the young brahmin Sumati’s hair with his foot as if it were an animal hide!’

“Sumati replied, ‘Come! Let us go forth in the presence of the Blessed Buddha.’

Sumati and Mati both went forth in the teaching of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Dīpaṃkara. Having gone forth, Sumati studied the Tripiṭaka and gathered disciples in accord with the Dharma. Then the young brahmin Sumati died, transmigrated, and took rebirth in the Tuṣita Heaven. As for the young brahmin Mati, after he died, he transmigrated and took rebirth as a hell being.

“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was the young brahmin Sumati then, and who was established in the bodhisattva practice. The act of my offering blue lotuses to Buddha Dīpaṃkara ripened and caused me to experience great happiness in saṁsāra. That root of virtue became the sole cause, condition, and accumulation of my unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, and up to this day the ripening of that action is the reason that the band of five hundred friends have made offerings to me in the same way.” [F.91.a] [B8]

As the Blessed One was traveling from Śrāvastī to Rājagṛha, he came to a certain place in the wilderness where, under the shade of the trees, he paused to rest a moment before continuing.

Up ahead, Venerable Ānanda saw a fork in the path. There was great danger of lions on the path, so he asked the Blessed One, “Lord, the road forks here. One way is direct but dangerous; the other is meandering but safe. Lord, by which path should we proceed?”

The Blessed One replied, “Ānanda, wherever the tathāgatas, the arhats, the totally and completely awakened buddhas dwell there is nothing to fear, and no need to be scared or anxious, so lead us down the direct path.”

Two children from the village were playing not far from where the Blessed One stood. One of them was holding a tiny drum. The other clasped a bow and arrow. The two of them saw the Blessed One from a distance, graced and resplendent with the thirty-two excellent marks of a great person. They looked at the Blessed Buddha, and the sight of him filled them with happiness. Happily they approached the Blessed One, and when they arrived they touched their heads to the Blessed One’s feet and requested of him, “Lord, though there is great danger of lions on this path, please allow us to escort the Blessed One.”

The Blessed One asked, “Children, what will you do if the threat of lions becomes imminent?”

The first one replied, “Lord, I’ll scare them with the sound of my drum!”71 [F.91.b]

And the other replied, “I’ll scare them with the sound of my bow and arrow!”

The children walked on ahead of the Blessed One, and the Blessed One thought, “These two have already produced roots of virtue.” With this thought, the Blessed One told them, “Children, by your mere happiness the two of you have already escorted me to safety. You may be on your way now,” and the two children departed. 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.

Those 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.

In 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 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. [F.92.a] Now, as fit vessels of the truths, they take rebirth among the gods and humans.

The 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:

Then 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. 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. [F.92.b] Should he wish to prophesy about a human birth, they will disappear into the knees. Should 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.

After 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:

He then supplicated him with the following verses:

“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?”

“Ānanda, so it is,” replied the Blessed One. [F.93.a] “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 those two children who offered to serve me?”

“Yes, Lord, I saw them,” said Ānanda.

“Ānanda, by the roots of the virtue of these children’s actions, the happiness they felt toward me, and the wholeheartedness of their generosity, they will not fall to the lower realms for thirteen eons. For thirteen eons they will take rebirth among gods and humans. After circling in saṃsāra, in their final rebirth, their final dwelling place, they will take birth as a human being. Then they will go forth and manifest the thirty-seven wings of enlightenment without a teacher or any instruction. One will manifest the enlightenment of a solitary buddha and become the solitary buddha known as Dundubhisvara, and the other will be known as Abhaya. That is what shall come of their act of generosity.”

When 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. When the time came for him to marry, he took a wife and they enjoyed themselves and coupled.

One day his wife conceived, and when she did she found herself suddenly adorned by all manner of adornments. Parasols, banners, and flags fluttered from the top of the palatial house; different kinds of flowers had been strewn and sundry fragrances sprinkled about; and as she sat upon her bed she found she was surrounded by a retinue of women.

“Oh my! Has my wife been possessed [F.93.b] by a ghost?” the householder wondered, and he brought her to the soothsayers.

“No,” the soothsayers told him, “she has not been possessed by a ghost. All this has taken place on account of the being in her womb.”

Then after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, beautiful, and decorated with adornments, who bore no trace of the womb, or of the placenta, or of blood.

Every time the women wanted to bathe him and would remove one of his adornments, another would appear. When they so much as loosened one and moved it aside, another would appear in its place.

“These adornments have arisen as a result of his merit,” his mother told them. “Don’t remove them. Just wash him with the adornments on.”

So the nurses bathed him with the adornments on. When they placed him on his bed it disappeared and a celestial bed appeared in its place. Also, in place of their palatial home, there appeared a multistoried celestial palace, with fluttering parasols, banners, and flags, and different kinds of flowers and fragrances strewn and sprinkled all about. In that multistoried palace, on the pillows of his celestial bed, a divine pillar appeared as well, made of gold inlaid with precious stones. In front of the pillar four great treasures appeared, brimming with jewels that never seemed to increase or decrease, even if hundreds or thousands of them were removed.

When his parents saw all this they were ecstatic. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they asked, “What name should we give this child?” And they named him, saying, “Since the house filled up like a lake of jewels when this child was born, his name will be Lake of Jewels.”

Young Lake of Jewels was brought up by eight nurses—two nurses to hold him in their laps, two wet nurses, two nurses to bathe him, and two nurses to play with him. [F.94.a] They reared him on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids. They raised him with a protection cord and the eye of a female peacock feather, and he flourished like a lotus in a lake. Wherever he walked, nonhuman spirits unfurled great lengths of new, untouched cloth and strewed different kinds of flowers on the ground before him.

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, and arms and armor. He became skilled in writing, skilled at reading, learned, decisive, and industrious, a master of the eight types of examination.

The houses and gardens that his father had prepared for them to live in during winter, spring, and summer all also became celestial gardens with parasols, banners, and flags, and different kinds of flowers and fragrances strewn and sprinkled about. When he was old enough for sensual pleasures, divine goddesses appeared. If he went to sit on the roof of the house, women came and played music for him, and all of the enjoyment and coupling in which he partook was the ripening of his own merit.

Then, after some time, he began to deeply admire the Buddha, deeply admire the Dharma, and deeply admire the Saṅgha. He thought, “I have experienced every pleasure, human and divine. I must go forth in the Dharma and Vinaya so well spoken, in order to ford the floodwaters and completely escape my fetters with diligence, practice, and effort!” [F.94.b]

He gave gifts and made merit, and after he had made many poor people wealthy, he went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One. After his going forth, wherever he traveled, there celestial beds would appear. Wherever he walked, nonhuman beings unfurled great lengths of new, untouched cloth and strewed different kinds of flowers on the ground before him. He found all this very embarrassing, so the Blessed One told him, “If you sincerely stop being concerned with them, they will go away.” As soon as he heard this, he stopped being so concerned with them, and they went away.

Then, 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.

The monks asked the Blessed One, “Lord, what action did Lake of Jewels take that ripened into his birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth, and that he was of good form, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, adorned with every type of adornment, and born without any trace of the womb, or of the placenta, or of blood; that upon his birth a multistoried celestial mansion, a celestial bed, and a divine pillar appeared; that wherever he walked, [F.95.a] nonhuman beings unfurled great lengths of new, untouched cloth and strewed different kinds of flowers on the ground before him; that when he grew up, there came to him glories both human and divine; and that he pleased the Blessed One, did not displease him, went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship?”

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

“Lord, where did he make these prayers?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One explained, “in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, there lived in Śrāvastī 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 began to deeply admire the Buddha, deeply admire the Dharma, and deeply admire the Saṅgha, so he built a monastery complete in every respect and invited the Blessed Kāśyapa and the rest of the saṅgha of monks to that very temple for food and to take their baths.

“That night he prepared everything that was needed for the baths and set forth foods of a hundred flavors, and after inviting the Blessed Kāśyapa and the rest of the saṅgha of monks to take their baths, he contented them with the foods of a hundred flavors. [F.95.b] He then brought the hair and nails of the Blessed One into the monastery, and commissioned that a reliquary stūpa containing the hair and nails of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa be built there. Assembling the workers, he had the stūpa built without delay, complete in every respect.

“One day he looked and saw that the stūpa had been defiled by birds, so to cover it he built a tall, arched enclosure with open windows and screened windows.72 Then he covered it with a canopy and put up parasols, victory banners, and flags.

“On the grounds inside and on the floor of the stūpa itself he laid flowers, burning sticks of incense, incense powders, and incense cones;73 performed veneration with music; and prayed, ‘By this root of 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, and be born covered with adornments and without any trace of the womb, or of the placenta, or of blood. Upon my birth, may there appear a multistoried celestial mansion, a celestial bed, and a divine pillar made of gold inlaid with precious stones. In front of the pillar may great treasures appear, brimming with jewels that never seem to increase or decrease, even if hundreds or thousands of them are removed. When I am grown, may there come to me glories both human and divine. 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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions and manifest arhatship.’ [F.96.a]

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that householder then is none other than Lake of Jewels. The acts of venerating the Blessed Kāśyapa and the others in the saṅgha of his disciples, building a reliquary stūpa containing the Buddha’s hair and nails that was complete in every respect, and praying, ripened such that wherever he was born, it was into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth, and he was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, decorated with every ornament, and born without any trace of the womb, or of the placenta, or of blood. Upon his birth a multistoried celestial mansion, a celestial bed, and a divine pillar appeared, and when he grew up there came to him glories both human and divine.

“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, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

As the Blessed One was making his way through the countryside in Kāśi, he came to Vārāṇasī. At that time, the group of five monks were staying in Vārāṇasī, in the Ṛṣivadana.74

Now the group of five monks saw the Blessed One from a distance. Seeing him, they gathered together and made an agreement among themselves, saying “My, how the ascetic Gautama has become so lazy and so indolent, no longer keeping his fast. How much food he eats now—cooked rice and milled grains! He anoints his body with ghee and sesame oil and bathes with warm water. He’s coming toward us! Let us say to him, ‘Hello, Gautama. There are seats here, so [F.96.b] go ahead and sit if you want to,’ but let’s not address him respectfully, nor bow to him, nor rise from our seats to greet him.”

But as the Blessed One got closer to the group of five monks they were overwhelmed by his radiant glory until they found themselves incapable of treating him with disrespect. One of them rose from his seat and set out a cushion for him. Another readied cool water for him to wash his feet and positioned a footrest for him. A third stood up and held the edge of his robe. “This way, Gautama—if you please! Welcome, Gautama! O Gautama, please have a seat on this cushion we have prepared for you,” they said.

Then the Blessed One thought, “It seems these foolish persons have forgotten the agreement they made among themselves,” and he sat on the seat they had prepared for him.

The group of five monks began to address the Blessed One merely by his given name, or by his surname, or as an ordinary monk. Thereupon the Blessed One told the group of five monks, “Monks, do not address the Tathāgata merely by his given name, nor by his surname, nor as an ordinary monk. If you do so, harm will befall you for a long time, and you will not benefit, but suffer. The reason for this, monks, is that harm comes to those who address the Tathāgata, the arhat, the totally and completely awakened buddha merely by his given name, or by his surname, or as an ordinary monk, and they do not benefit, but suffer.”

“Gautama,” they said, “your bearing, conduct, and previous mortifications were all superhuman, and indeed it is possible that you have achieved perfection, the wisdom particular to the noble ones, or that you live amid a feeling of bliss. [F.97.a] But how can we know if this is true, for now you have become so lazy and so indolent, no longer keeping your fast. You eat so much—cooked rice and milled grains! And you anoint your body with ghee and sesame oil and bathe with warm water.”

The Blessed One asked the group of five monks, “Monks, do you see that now the Tathāgata’s complexion and faculties are not the same as they were before?”

“Yes, Gautama, we see,” they replied.

The Blessed One continued,75 “Monks, there are two extremes toward which renunciants should not tend. You should not draw near to nor even approach them. What are they? They are the tendency toward seductive luxuries, which for city dwellers have become customary and for ordinary people a habit, and the tendency toward self-inflicted hardships, which are a form of suffering, do not belong to the noble Dharma, and are in fact harmful. For those who keep their distance from these two extremes, there is a middle way that fully enlightens, passes beyond all sorrow, gives rise to the eye of wisdom, and brings true peace. What is this middle way? It is the eightfold path: right view, right understanding, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditation.”

The Blessed One instructed the group of five monks as follows. In the morning, the Blessed One gave a teaching to two of the five monks while the other three went for alms in the village. The six of them then prepared a meal of whatever food those three brought back. In the evening, the Blessed One instructed the three monks while the other two went for alms in the village. [F.97.b] Only the group of five monks prepared a meal of whatever food those two brought back, since the Blessed One had already taken his food in the morning.

That evening the Blessed One addressed the group of five monks:

“Monks, as I focused my mind correctly on the things that I had not hitherto heard, thinking, ‘This is suffering, a truth of noble beings,’ vision arose; knowledge, apprehension, and understanding arose.76

“Monks, as I focused my mind correctly on the things that I had not hitherto heard, thinking, ‘This is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, and this is the path that leads to the cessation of suffering—the truths of noble beings,’ vision arose; knowledge, apprehension, and understanding arose.”

“Monks, as I focused my mind correctly on the things that I had not hitherto heard, thinking, ‘With higher knowledge I should comprehend suffering, that truth of noble beings,’ vision arose; knowledge, apprehension, and understanding arose.

“Monks, as I focused my mind correctly on the things that I had not hitherto heard, thinking, ‘With higher knowledge I should relinquish the origin of suffering, that truth of noble beings,’ vision arose; knowledge, apprehension, and understanding arose.

“Monks, as I focused my mind correctly on the things that I had not hitherto heard, thinking, ‘With higher knowledge I should actualize the cessation of suffering, that truth of noble beings,’ vision arose; knowledge, apprehension, and understanding arose.

“Monks, as I focused my mind correctly on the things that I had not hitherto heard, thinking, ‘With higher knowledge I should cultivate the path that leads to the cessation of suffering, that truth of noble beings,’ vision arose; knowledge, apprehension, and understanding arose.

“Monks, as I focused my mind correctly on the things that I had not hitherto heard, thinking, ‘With higher knowledge I have comprehended suffering, that truth of noble beings,’ vision arose; [F.98.a] knowledge, apprehension, and understanding arose.

“Monks, as I focused my mind correctly on the things that I had not hitherto heard, thinking, ‘With higher knowledge I have relinquished the origin of suffering, that truth of noble beings,’ vision arose; knowledge, apprehension, and understanding arose.

“Monks, as I focused my mind correctly on the things that I had not hitherto heard, thinking, ‘With higher knowledge I have actualized the cessation of suffering, that truth of noble beings,’ vision arose; knowledge, apprehension, and understanding arose.

“Monks, as I focused my mind correctly on the things that I had not hitherto heard, thinking, ‘With higher knowledge I have cultivated the path that leads to the cessation of suffering, that truth of noble beings,’ vision arose; knowledge, apprehension, and understanding arose.

“Monks, as long as I had not achieved the vision, knowledge, and understanding of the four truths of noble beings in their three phases and twelve aspects, I had not been freed from the world replete with gods, māras, Brahmā, mendicants, brahmins, and humans. I had not escaped from it, severed ties with it, or been delivered from it. Nor did I dwell fully with a mind free from error. Monks, I did not have the understanding that I had fully awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood.

“Monks, once I had achieved the vision, knowledge, and understanding of the four truths of noble beings in their three phases and twelve aspects, I was freed from the world replete with gods, māras, Brahmā, mendicants, brahmins, and humans. I had escaped from it, severed ties with it, and been delivered from it. I dwelled fully with a mind free from error. [F.98.b] Monks, then I had the understanding that I had fully awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood.”

When the Blessed One had given this Dharma teaching, Venerable Kauṇḍinya achieved the Dharma vision that is free from dust and stainless with regard to phenomena.

The Blessed One now asked Venerable Kauṇḍinya, “Kauṇḍinya, have you understood the Dharma?”

“Yes, Blessed One, I have.”

“Kauṇḍinya, have you understood the Dharma? Have you understood?”

“Yes, Sugata, I have understood it. I understand.”

“Because Venerable Kauṇḍinya has understood the Dharma, he shall be called Ājñāta­kauṇḍinya.”77

When this Dharma teaching had been explained, the terrestrial yakṣas began to chatter and sing, “Friends, in Vārāṇasī, in the woods of the deer park at Ṛṣivadana, for the great benefit of many, to the delight of many, out of compassion for this transient world, for the well-being and benefit of gods and human beings, in accord with the Dharma, the Blessed One has turned the wheel of the Dharma in its three phases and twelve aspects. In all the world, no one has turned such a wheel of Dharma in its three phases and twelve aspects—neither ascetics, brahmins, gods, māras, Brahmā himself, nor anyone else. Its turning will swell the ranks of those in the realm of the gods and diminish the number of those in the realm of the demigods.”

When they heard the terrestrial yakṣas, all the celestial yakṣas and the gods in the Abodes of the Four Great Kings, the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the Strifeless Heaven, the Tuṣita Heaven, the Delighting in Creation Heaven, and the Heaven of the Masters of Others’ Creations also began to chatter and sing, and what they said immediately thundered throughout Brahmāloka.

The gods of Brahmāloka also began to chatter and sing, saying, “Friends, in Vārāṇasī, [F.99.a] in the woods of the deer park at Ṛṣivadana, for the great benefit of many, to the delight of many, out of compassion for this transient world, for the well-being and benefit of gods and human beings, in accord with the Dharma, the Blessed One has turned the wheel of the Dharma in its three phases and twelve aspects.

“In all the world, no one has turned such a wheel of Dharma in its three phases and twelve aspects—neither ascetics, brahmins, gods, māras, Brahmā himself, nor anyone else. Its turning will swell the ranks of those in the realm of the gods and diminish the number of those in the realm of the demigods.”

In Vārāṇasī, in the woods of the deer park at Ṛṣivadana, in accord with the Dharma, the Blessed One has turned the wheel of the Dharma in its three phases and twelve aspects. That is why this Dharma discourse is known as Turning the Wheel of the Dharma.

The Blessed One addressed the group of five monks a second time:

“Monks, these are the four truths of noble beings: the truth of noble beings that is suffering, the truth of noble beings that is the origin of suffering, the truth of noble beings that is the cessation of suffering, and the truth of noble beings that is the path leading to the cessation of suffering.

“What is the truth of noble beings that is suffering? It is the suffering of birth, the suffering of aging, the suffering of sickness, and the suffering of death. It is the suffering of not having what you want, the suffering of getting what you don’t want, and the suffering of seeking what you desire and not finding it. In short, it is the suffering of the five aggregates for appropriation. This is known as the truth of the noble ones that is suffering. In order to comprehend it one should cultivate the noble eightfold path: right view, right understanding, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and the eighth, right meditative concentration.

“What is the truth of the noble ones that is the origin of suffering? It is what causes you to take rebirth. It is the arising of delight that is bound up with attachment. [F.99.b] It is craving that is captivated by this and that. This is what we call the truth of the noble ones that is the origin of suffering. In order to relinquish it, one should cultivate the noble eightfold path: right view, right understanding, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and the eighth, right meditative concentration.

“What is the truth of the noble ones that is the cessation of suffering? It is the complete casting away, tossing aside, clearing out, exhaustion, removal, cessation, alleviation, and disappearance of any and every single thing that causes you to take rebirth; the disappearance of delight that is bound up with attachment; and the disappearance of craving that is captivated by this and that. This is what we call the truth of the noble ones that is the cessation of suffering. In order to actualize it, one should cultivate the noble eightfold path: right view, right understanding, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and the eighth, right meditative concentration.

“What is the noble truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering? It is the noble eightfold path. One should thus cultivate right view, right understanding, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and the eighth, right meditative concentration.”

When this Dharma teaching had been explained, Venerable Ājñāta­kauṇḍinya’s mind was freed from the defilements, without any further appropriation. The others among the five monks achieved the Dharma vision that is free from dust and stainless with regard to phenomena. At that moment the first arhat came into the world. Including the Blessed One, now there were two.

The Blessed One then addressed the other monks in the group of five:

“Monks, form is not the self. Monks, [F.100.a] if form were the self, then it would not be logical that form is subject to injury and suffering, and it would be logical for one to be able to say, with respect to form, ‘May my form be like this,’ or ‘May it not be like this.’ However, monks, form is subject to injury and suffering, and one is not able to say, ‘May my form be like this,’ or ‘May it not be like this,’ because form is not the self.

“Monks, sensations, perceptions, formations, and consciousness are not the self. Monks, if consciousness were the self, then it would not be logical that it is subject to injury and suffering, and it would be logical for one to have the ability with respect to consciousness to say, ‘May my consciousness be like this,’ or ‘May it not be like this.’ However, monks, consciousness is subject to injury and suffering, and one does not have the ability with respect to consciousness to say, ‘May my consciousness be like this,’ or ‘May it not be like this,’ because consciousness is not the self.

“O monks, what do you think—is form permanent, or is it impermanent?”

“It is impermanent, Lord.”

“And is something that is impermanent suffering, or is it not suffering?”

“It is suffering, Lord.”

“Regarding those things that are impermanent and, therefore, suffering—do noble listeners who are educated in the teachings grasp at a self, thinking, ‘This is mine,’ ‘This is the self,’ or ‘This is the nature of the self’?”

“No, Lord, they do not.”

“O monks, what do you think—are sensations, perceptions, formations, and consciousness permanent or impermanent?”

“They are impermanent, Lord.”

“And is something that is impermanent [F.100.b] suffering or not suffering?”

“It is suffering, Lord.”

“Regarding those things that are impermanent and, therefore, suffering—do noble listeners who are educated in the teachings grasp at a self, thinking, ‘This is mine,’ ‘This is the self,’ or ‘This is the nature of the self’?”

“No, Lord, they do not.”

“Monks, that is why whatever the form—whether it arose in the past, present, or future, or whether it is internal or external, gross or subtle, bad or good, near or far away—one should view all of these with perfect wisdom, thinking, ‘This is not mine,’ ‘This is not the self,’ and ‘This is not the nature of the self.’

“Monks, that is why whatever the sensation, perception, formation, and consciousness—whether it arose in the past, present, or future, or whether it is internal or external, gross or subtle, bad or good, near or far away—one should view all of these with perfect wisdom, thinking, ‘This is not mine,’ ‘This is not the self,’ and ‘This is not the nature of the self.’

“Monks, this is why noble listeners who are educated in the teachings see perfectly that these five aggregates for appropriation are not ‘mine,’ are not the self, and are not the nature of the self. Since they see this so perfectly, they do not grasp at any worldly thing. Since they do not grasp, they experience absolutely no discontentment. Because they have no discontentment, they bring an end to their own rebirth. With the thought, ‘I have lived the conduct leading to liberation. I have done what was before me. I shall know no other existence,’ they pass into parinirvāṇa.”

When he explained this Dharma teaching, the minds of the others among the group of five monks were freed from the defilements, without any further appropriation. As of that moment, five arhats had come into the world. Including the Blessed One, [F.101.a] now there were six.

Thereupon the monks requested of the Blessed One, “Lord, tell us why the Blessed One has delivered our group of five monks from the ocean of saṃsāra, given us the great fortune of power, strength, and the precious limbs of enlightenment, and established us in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.”

“Not only now, monks” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, I risked my life to deliver your group of five monks from the ocean of defilements and granted you a magnificent fortune of precious jewels. Listen well!

“Monks, in times past there was a king named King Brahmadatta who reigned in the city of Vārāṇasī. His 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.

“At that time in Vārāṇasī there lived a certain sea captain by the name of Wealth. He was 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 they enjoyed themselves and coupled. 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 asked, ‘What name should we give this child?’ And they named him, saying, ‘Since this is the child of Wealth, his name will be Wealth’s Delight.’ [F.101.b] They reared young Wealth’s Delight 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, and arms and armor. He became skilled in writing, skilled at reading, learned, decisive, and industrious, a master of the eight types of examination.

“The child had a loving nature, was compassionate, loved beings, and took delight in being generous. He asked for his parents’ permission and began to make merit and give gifts to ascetics, brahmins, practitioners, mendicants, the poor, and the bereft.

“One day the captain, Wealth’s Delight’s father, fell ill, and although he was treated with medicinal roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits, he could not be cured, and died. He was laid on a palanquin festooned with blue, yellow, red, and white cloth, and after the ceremonial veneration of his bones, a brief funeral watch was held for him. Afterward, King Brahmadatta appointed the son, Wealth’s Delight, to be captain, who with his father’s wealth carried on business with many merchants, and who after his father's death also began to engage in extraordinary acts of generosity.

“One day the thought occurred to him, ‘Others might take issue with my giving gifts and making merit, using the wealth accumulated by my father. People will say, “What’s so great about making merit by giving away stuff somebody else piled up?” ’

‘In that case,’ he decided, ‘I will make my own fortune! [F.102.a] Make no mistake, once I’ve earned my own income, then I’ll really give gifts and make merit!’

“After that he made an announcement: ‘Any merchant who wishes to set sail on the great ocean with Captain Wealth’s Delight will trade duty-free, exempt from all taxes on earnings, ship fares, and convoy payments! Prepare your wares!’

“As soon as they heard this, five hundred merchants gathered, bringing camels, cows, and donkeys laden with goods. They made their way through the villages, towns, cities, forest settlements, and outlying districts until they arrived on the shores of the great ocean. After a ship had been hired with five hundred gold coins, they enlisted five types of personnel: cooks, solicitors, advisors, sweepers, and navigators. The cooks prepared whatever food and drink there was on board. The solicitors settled any disputes that arose. The advisors advised them about their wealth. The sweepers swabbed the decks. And the navigators observed the movements of the stars.

“Now, when they saw the great ocean, the merchants became afraid and did not want to board the ship. So the captain said to the navigators, ‘Tell them just how wonderful the great ocean is!’

“The navigators made an announcement, saying, ‘Pay heed, merchants of Jambudvīpa! Upon this great ocean are jewels beyond price—gemstones, pearls, blue beryls, conches, precious stones, coral, silver, gold, emeralds, cat’s eyes, rubies, and conches with clockwise whorls!78 Let those among you who wish for such precious jewels set out upon this great ocean, so you might satiate yourself and your parents, children, spouses, servants both female and male, laborers, other paid help, friends, ministers, and relatives both young and old, and so you might [F.102.b] be able to approach the ascetics and brahmins from time to time with offerings that bequeath good fortune, ripen into happiness, and cause you to be reborn in heaven in the next life!’ At that, the worldly people who wished for wealth—which was almost everyone—climbed aboard the ship, until the ship was not able to hold them all.

“Then the captain wondered, ‘What’s going to happen now if I send them away?’ With this in mind, he said to the navigators, ‘Tell them the ways in which the great ocean is not so wonderful.’

“And the navigators announced, ‘Pay heed, merchants of Jambudvīpa! Upon this great ocean lurk such terrors as these: fearsome fish, fearsome timiṅgila fish that might swallow you, fearsome timiṅgilagila fish that could swallow you whole, terrifying waves, terrifying expanses, terrifying kumbhīra sea monsters, terrifying śiśumāra sea monsters, as well as the threat of wrecking into mountains beneath the water, and black winds most treacherous!79 Then there are pirates garbed in blue and black who come to plunder your wealth and butcher those who try to escape them! So let those among you set out upon this great ocean who are willing to give up their parents, children, and spouses; their servants both male and female; and their laborers, other paid help, friends, ministers, and relatives both young and old!’ Since there were few brave people and many cowards most of them fled, so the boats were able to hold those who remained.

“The navigators cried out three times and the first anchor was loosed, then the second, and then the third. Then, the ship was carried forth by powerful winds caught by the head navigator and set sail like a great cloud. It proceeded with excellent wind conditions and arrived at Ratnadvīpa. [F.103.a]

“The navigators instructed them, ‘Merchants of Jambudvīpa! On Ratnadvīpa, the isle of precious stones, there are all manner of semi-precious stones that look like precious jewels. You must examine well before taking them, or you will regret it when you return to Jambudvīpa. On this isle of precious stones also dwell sirens80 who lure men by any means they can, causing them ruin and suffering. On this isle of precious stones are intoxicating fruits, and anyone who eats them falls unconscious for seven days. You should not partake of these while you are there. On this isle of precious stones dwell nonhuman spirits as well. They will tolerate your presence for seven days, but if your aims, whatever they may be, have not been accomplished after seven days have passed, then a gale will come with such force as to carry the boat away.’

“Having heard this, the merchants remained focused and attentive. Carefully they searched for precious jewels, filling the boat with them as if filling it with sesame, rice paddy, badara fruit, beans, and the like. Then they set sail, running directly downwind to Jambudvīpa. In this way they completed six such ocean voyages, and upon their return to Vārāṇasī they began to give gifts and make merit.

“Now at that time there were five other cities in which lived five other captains. Though they set out, their boats were destroyed,81 and they thought, ‘Just one being, famed for great deeds, has the power to bring happiness to so many. Now the great Captain Wealth’s Delight is famed for his great deeds. He has completed six ocean voyages. If we can get him to agree, with his support we’ll be able to make a fortune.’ [F.103.b] They banded together and traveled to Vārāṇasī, where they met with Captain Wealth’s Delight.

“ ‘Captain,’ they said, ‘though we set out, our treasure-boats were destroyed.82 You are famed for your great deeds, so have compassion for us and set sail with us on the great ocean, so that with your support we can make our fortunes.’ Captain Wealth’s Delight replied,

“ ‘Never before has anyone completed a seventh ocean voyage. However, so you can fulfill your intention and solely out of compassion for you all, I shall set sail on the ocean a seventh time.’

“The great Captain Wealth’s Delight set out with the other five captains. They crossed the great ocean and arrived at the isle of precious stones where they gathered their jewels before sailing forth again, steering their ship in the direction of Jambudvīpa.

“As the great Captain Wealth’s Delight sailed upon the ocean, he thought, ‘It is not clear that those of us who have set out upon the great ocean can avert tragedy and safely reach the other shore, so I will fill these sacks with precious gems and tie them to my waist.’ So he filled up all the small bags with precious gems. When he had tied them to his waist, he told the merchants, ‘Pay heed! If the ship is destroyed, grab hold of my body.’

“Later, when the ship crashed into a mountain beneath the water, the five captains grabbed hold of Captain Wealth’s Delight’s body. Then Captain Wealth’s Delight thought, ‘As long as I am alive, I won’t be able to cross this great ocean to deliver them. But it is not possible for a dead body to stay sunk in the great ocean for long, so that won’t happen. Since that is not going to happen, I will die but my corpse will be able to cross the great ocean with speed.’

“With this thought he said to the captains, [F.104.a] ‘Be resolute, and take heart! We shall avert tragedy and cross the great ocean with ease. Don’t let go of my body, not even once you have crossed the great ocean, for I have filled these sacks with precious gems and tied them to my waist. Take them and divide them up among you. They are enough to sustain the lives of those on both sides of your families for seven generations.’

“After he said this, he prayed for unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, saying, ‘By this root of virtue, may I become a protector for the world’s blind who are without a guide, without any guide at all, without anyone to show them the way—an arhat, a totally and completely awakened buddha endowed with perfect knowledge and perfect conduct, a blessed one, a knower of the world, a tamer of persons, a charioteer, an unsurpassed one, a teacher of humans and gods—a blessed buddha.’ Having set his aspiration for unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, he took up a sharp knife and slit his own throat.

“It is not possible for a dead body to stay sunk in the great ocean for long, and that didn’t happen. When it didn’t, some very fastidious nāgas brought the body to the seashore and cast it onto dry land. The five captains removed the jewels from his dead body and divided them among themselves, venerated his bones, and departed.

“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was Wealth’s Delight then, and lived the life of a bodhisattva. The five who were those five captains then are none other than this group of five monks. There I gave my life to deliver them from the waters of the great ocean, bestowed upon them a fortune of precious jewels, and placed them unharmed in a state of happiness. Now as well I have delivered you from the ocean of saṃsāra, given you this great fortune of power, strength, and the precious limbs of enlightenment, [F.104.b] and placed you in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.” [B9]

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a certain poor brahmin who was destitute of means and made his living begging for food. One day his wife became pregnant, and after she conceived the brahmin did not receive very much in the way of alms. After nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was gaunt and emaciated and had a poor complexion, an ugly face, and a crooked spine.

They celebrated his birth with whatever they could scrounge together and asked, “What name should we give this child?” And they named him, saying, “Since this child is very small, and has a curved spine, his name will be Small Person with a Curving Spine.” They reared him on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids.

One day, this being’s past actions ripened such that his mother’s breast ran dry. After that his mother nourished him with cow and buffalo milk, but these too proved scarce. Now it is impossible and out of the question for a being in their final existence to die an untimely death. Thus, they could occasionally obtain cow and buffalo milk, and he did receive some modest nourishment.

When he had grown, his father said to him, [F.109.a] “Child, our entire livelihood consists only of begging. We have neither fields to plow, nor any business to conduct. So go now and make your living from whatever food you can beg.”

“As you wish,” the child replied, and he began to beg. But even when he would spend a long time walking all about, he never found more than was enough to barely keep himself alive.

Then at a certain point the young man found faith in the doctrine of the Blessed One, so he approached a monk and asked him, “Lord, if appropriate, 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.”

“Are your parents still alive?” asked the monk.

“They are,” he replied.

“Have you informed your parents about this?”

“I have not, lord.”

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

So Small Person with a Curving Spine heeded the monk’s advice, approached his parents, and said, “Mother, Father, I am asking for your kind permission to go forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One.”

His parents thought, “Until now, his suffering knew no equal. The two of us have also suffered so. All it would take to bring him happiness is for him to go forth. Moreover, he’ll be able to achieve happiness not just in this life but in the next as well.” With these thoughts in mind, they said, “Of course, child. Should you achieve any special attainments, please demonstrate them to us.”

“As you wish,” he replied.

After receiving permission from his parents, Small Person with a Curving Spine went on to the garden of Prince Jeta. There he approached the monk and told him, “Lord, I’ve informed both my parents. Now that my parents have given me their consent to go forth, Lord, if permitted, I wish to go forth in the Dharma and Vinaya so well spoken, [F.109.b] complete my novitiate, and achieve full ordination. In the presence of the Blessed One, I too wish to practice the holy life.”

Great persons do that which is of benefit to others, so the monk led him to go forth as a novice and conferred on him full ordination. The monk provided him with two or three days’ worth of food, and then instructed him, “My child, one deer cannot feed another. Go then for alms to your home region, the country frequented by your father.”

Heeding the words of his preceptor, he would occasionally go begging for alms. Sometimes, however, he would also try to eat food by seating himself in the rows of the saṅgha, but as the food was being distributed, his past actions would ripen such that the food and drink would run out just as it was to be distributed to him, or else some other intervening complication would arise. Even when they then returned, he would be passed over, and the food would be distributed to those behind him. Thus, even while seated there in the rows, sometimes he would get food and other times he would not.

When the monks heard about this, they asked the Blessed One about it. The Blessed One replied, “Monks, let there be a rule established for monks sitting behind. Those sitting behind should not take their food until those in front of them have taken theirs. If for some reason another person is passed over, they should not eat until that person has received a share. If, moreover, one person was not able to receive everything, the others should divide their food with that person. To do so is good. To do otherwise is an infraction. Those who commit such an infraction will take alms in service of others when they go for all alms.”

Then one day Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine swept the Blessed One’s fragrant chamber, and that day [F.110.a] he received good food and drink. He also received good food and drink as he continued sweeping the Blessed One’s fragrant chamber for the next two or three days. As a result, his body became strong, resilient, and capable.87

He cast away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, and 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.

When he achieved arhatship, his past actions ripened such that on that day a different monk swept the Blessed One’s fragrant chamber. He was walking along carrying a broom, thinking, “I’m off to sweep the Blessed One’s fragrant chamber,” and when he saw that another monk had already swept it, he thought, “I may now find myself going hungry.” So in the morning he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, he went for alms in Śrāvastī. But even though he did, he did not receive anything, and that day he went hungry.

On the following day as well Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine was walking along carrying a broom, thinking, “I’m off to sweep the Blessed One’s fragrant chamber,” when he saw that another monk had already swept it. Thinking, “Today I [F.110.b] may go hungry a second time,” he returned to his hut.

There he heard that a householder had invited the Blessed One and the rest of the saṅgha of monks to take their food at his house, and he thought, “What need is there for me to go for alms? Now I can go and take my food at the same house where the Blessed One and the rest of the saṅgha of monks are going to eat.” So he sat down in a cross-legged position and began to meditate.

In the meantime, some important matters came up for the householder, so he invited the Blessed One and the rest of the saṅgha of monks to take the midday meal at his house a bit early, and with his own hand he contented them with many good, wholesome foods. Afterward, the Blessed One gave a Dharma teaching for the people of the house and returned to the monastery.

Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine noticed that the day had become warm,88 so he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and set out carrying his alms bowl. The Blessed One, traveling on one side of the road, entered the garden of Prince Jeta, and Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine, traveling on the other side of the road, went to the householder’s home. When he arrived, he realized that the Blessed One and the rest of the saṅgha of monks had already taken their food and departed. So it was that he went hungry a second day.

The following day another monk swept the Blessed One’s fragrant chamber. Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine was walking along carrying a broom, thinking, “I’m off to sweep the Blessed One’s fragrant chamber,” when he saw that another monk had already swept it. At that the thought occurred to him, “Today I may go hungry a third time,” and he returned to his hut.

After he was home, word reached Venerable Ānanda that Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine had gone hungry for two days already. Hearing this, in concern for him he got in touch with one of their patrons, [F.111.a] then came to Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine and said, “Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine, today you should go and eat at the home of such-and-such a householder.” Thereupon Venerable Ānanda donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went for alms in Śrāvastī.

But, after having waited such a long time, when Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went to the home of that householder, his past actions ripened in such a way that some important matters came up for the householder, who in his distraction left for another village without mentioning anything to the people of his house. Having gone there and not received any food, Venerable Small One with a Curving Spine went hungry a third day.

Word reached Venerable Ānanda that Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine had now gone hungry for three days, and he thought, “I myself will bring alms for him.” He went to Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine and said, “Don’t worry, Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine! Tomorrow I shall have food for you,” and he returned to his hut.

The next day, carrying two alms bowls, he set out for Śrāvastī. After begging alms there, he ate some himself. Intending the rest for Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine, he was carrying them to the garden of Prince Jeta when Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine’s past actions ripened such that dogs appeared along the way, and they stole the food and ate it. Venerable Ānanda thought, “By the time I make it back to Śrāvastī, it will be past noon.” So he returned to the monastery, and on that day Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine went hungry a fourth time.

Then word reached Venerable Maudgalyāyana that Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine had now gone hungry for four days, and he thought, “Tomorrow I shall bring him food,” and he returned to his hut. [F.111.b] The next day, carrying two alms bowls, he went for alms in Śrāvastī. After begging alms there, he ate some himself. Intending the rest for Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine, he was carrying them to the garden of Prince Jeta when Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine’s past actions ripened such that crows appeared along the way, and they stole the food and ate it. Then Venerable Maudgalyāyana thought, “By the time I make it back to Śrāvastī, it will be past noon.” So he returned to the monastery, and on that day Venerable Small One with a Curving Spine went hungry a fifth time.

Then word reached Venerable Śāriputra that Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine had now gone without food for five days, and he thought, “Tomorrow I shall bring him food.” He went to Venerable Small One with a Curving Spine and said, “Don’t worry, Venerable Small One with a Curving Spine! Tomorrow I shall have food for you,” and returned to his hut.

The next day, carrying two alms bowls, he went for alms in Śrāvastī. After begging alms there, he ate some himself. Intending the rest for Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine, he was carrying them to the garden of Prince Jeta when Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine’s past actions ripened such that nonhuman spirits appeared along the way, and they made the food disappear. Then Venerable Śāriputra thought, “By the time I make it back to Śrāvastī, it will be past noon.” So he said nothing, and on that day Venerable Small One with a Curving Spine went without food a sixth time.

Again Venerable Śāriputra thought, “Tomorrow I shall bring him food.” He went to Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine and said, “Don’t worry, Venerable Small One with a Curving Spine! Tomorrow I shall have food for you,” and returned to his hut. The next day, carrying two alms bowls, he set out for Śrāvastī. [F.112.a] After begging alms there, he ate some himself. Intending the rest for Venerable Small One with a Curving Spine, he was carrying them to Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine’s hut when Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine’s past actions ripened such that on the hut neither doors nor windows were to be found.

Then by means of a miracle Venerable Śāriputra manifested a door, went inside, and said, “Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine, rise now and wash your face.”

“I have already washed my face,” he replied. Then Venerable Śāriputra immediately set the alms bowls and water sieve to one side and placed the container of water in Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine’s hands.

After setting out stands for the alms bowls, he took one up in his own hands and said, “Here now, take your alms bowl.”

At that very moment, the bowl plunged down into the earth, descending all the way to the base of the universe. Venerable Śāriputra extended his arm like an elephant’s trunk, drawing up the alms bowl and placing it in his left hand. Then he gave it a blessing with his right hand and said, “Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine, please eat.”

He said, “I shall,” but as he lifted a single morsel of food from the bowl, the morsel actually disappeared. Every morsel of food that he took from the bowl disappeared in just the same way.

Then Venerable Śāriputra took up a morsel in his own right hand and tried to put it in Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine’s mouth and his mouth disappeared—he became like a mound of grass without an opening. Venerable Śāriputra’s miraculous powers could not make his mouth reappear, and it grew to be past noon.

After noontime his mouth became as it was before. Then Venerable Śāriputra asked, “Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine, what is tormenting you so unbearably?”

“Lord Śāriputra,” he replied, “I am tormented by thirst. Please give me some water to drink!”

Venerable Śāriputra filled a alms bowl with water, and Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine picked it up, lifted it to his mouth [F.112.b] and said, “Something to drink!” Then, due to his past actions, human beings appeared and began dumping ashes into the bowl.

When he saw this, he thought, “All that I am experiencing certainly comes from the actions I myself have committed and accumulated. There is no doubting their arrival, for I have put the conditions in place and accumulated the causes. Therefore they cannot ripen or be experienced in the aggregates, elements, or sense bases of another.”

With that he quaffed the ash-gruel, and on that basis he passed into parinirvāṇa amid a miraculous display of fire and light, rain and lightning. Afterward, his fellow practitioners of the holy life venerated his remains. They built a reliquary stūpa and venerated it with flowers, burning sticks of incense, incense powders, and incense cones.

The monks inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, what action did Venerable Small Person with a Curving Spine take that ripened into his being hungry and bereft, that he went hungry for seven days, and that upon eating ash-gruel he passed into parinirvāṇa?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One explained, “in his previous lives he himself collected the causes and put the conditions in place. The actions he committed and accumulated are now returning as certainly as the tides. Since it was he himself who committed and accumulated them, who else is there to experience them?

“Monks, the actions he committed and accumulated did not ripen in 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 he committed and accumulated, both virtuous and nonvirtuous, ripened into nothing but his own aggregates, sense bases, and constituent elements.

“Monks, in times gone by, [F.113.a] in a certain mountain village there lived a 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 they enjoyed themselves and coupled. 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. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they named him according to their clan.

“They reared him on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and 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, and arms and armor. He became skilled in writing, skilled at reading, learned, decisive, and industrious, a master of the eight types of examination.

“That householder delighted in giving. He made merit and gave gifts at his home to ascetics, brahmins, practitioners, mendicants, the poor, and the bereft. Then one day the householder died. After his death, as his wife grieved her spouse, she continued to give gifts as had been their custom. Thereupon her son said to her, ‘Mother, don’t pare our house down to nothing! I won’t be able to run the household as father did.’

“Many times he tried to stop her like this, but it was no use. Finally the young man thought, ‘Whatever I do, it’s no use. I shall kill her!’ So he locked up his mother in the confines of the house and deprived her of food and drink.

“She pleaded with him, ‘My child, please let me go! I won’t share with anyone ever again! I can’t stay in this house forever!’ [F.113.b]

“ ‘While you yet live, I cannot release you,’ the young man replied. So he locked up his mother in the confines of the house, depriving her of food, and kept her barricaded there for seven days until the people of his house told their relatives, and the relatives came and let her go.

“After nearly losing her life in the confines of the house, she begged her son for water. The young man thought, ‘This is sure to kill her,’ and handed her ash-gruel. Her body was very weak, so when she drank the ash-gruel it caused her death.

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that young man then is none other than Small Person with a Curving Spine now. The acts of leaving his mother to go hungry and killing her with ash-gruel ripened into his being cooked by hell beings for hundreds upon hundreds of eons, and ripened such that after he was released from that fate, wherever he was born, he went hungry until he drank ash-gruel and died.

“Now that he had come into what would be his final birth, his final body, his final dwelling place, he continued to go hungry until he achieved arhatship. In the end, the same condition, eating ash-gruel, caused him to pass into parinirvāṇa.

“He committed another act as well, an act that ripened into starvation and great suffering for him.

Monks, in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, there lived a certain householder in Vārāṇasī.

“One day his wife conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to twins. At the elaborate feast celebrating their birth they named them according to their clan. They reared them on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and when they grew up, [F.114.a] they found faith in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, asked for their parents’ permission, and went forth. Having gone forth, they studied the Tripiṭaka and became proponents of the Dharma with all the eloquence of their wisdom and freedom. They were inseparable, sticking together wherever they went.

“One of the two, having acquired provisions of clothing, food, bedding, a seat, and medicines for the sick, thought, ‘How wonderful! With all the profit and acclaim I’ve gained, I can see to the welfare of my fellow practitioners of the conduct leading to liberation. Let me render service to the twofold saṅgha in accord with the Dharma.’ He began to render service to the saṅgha in accord with the Dharma, providing provisions such as clothing, food, bedding, seats, and medicines for the sick for all their needs.

“His brother thought, ‘This is my sibling, my friend. If indeed our virtuous works depend on one another, then his desire to render service to the saṅgha will create obstacles for my own virtuous work.’

“Thinking this, he said to him, ‘Brother, I don’t want to throw away my own virtuous work to provide for the saṅgha.’

“His brother replied, ‘Everything I’ve needed has come to me with almost no trouble at all. Yet my fellow practitioners of pure conduct are sorely lacking things they need. How could I not wish to help them?’ Thus, although he tried to stop his brother from helping many times, it was no use.

“Finally he thought, ‘So long as he yet lives, there will be no stopping this. Oh, but let me devise some means to take him to another country! That will stop him.’ With this in mind, he devised a way to lead his brother to another country, and there they stayed.

“Over time their absence became an obstacle to the livelihood of the other monks, and while they were away, [F.114.b] his brother heard the monks were in dire straits and right away said to his sibling, ‘I shall go there and bring the monks the things they need!’

“To this his brother replied, ‘Brother, those monks are just like anguished spirits, dependent on others for absolutely everything. Will you throw away your own virtuous work, then, to travel there?’

“ ‘You must confess the mistake you’ve made by speaking harshly to me. Otherwise you’re sure to meet with the frightful results of what you’ve done.’

“He was flooded with regret, and after practicing the holy life all his life, at the time of his death, he prayed, ‘May I not meet with the results of the act of speaking harshly to fellow practitioners of the holy life, and of creating obstacles to their livelihood. While I may not have attained any great virtues, still I have been of service to the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and practiced pure conduct all my life. Therefore, 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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that monk then is none other than Small Person with a Curving Spine. The act of speaking harshly to fellow practitioners of the holy life ripened such that for five hundred lifetimes he took rebirth as an anguished spirit. Once he had died and moved on from that state, that same act also ripened such that, wherever he was born, he went hungry and died. Now, having come into what would be his final birth before achieving arhatship, the act of having gone hungry ripened into his passing into parinirvāṇa.

“At that time he prayed, ‘May I please and not displease Uttara, the young brahmin [F.115.a] prophesied by the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa to be the next blessed buddha. Going forth in his doctrine alone, may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“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, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived in the sewage bogs outside Śrāvastī a certain rākṣasa. His head was bald89 like that of a monk. Where any hair should have been, his entire body teemed instead with parasites as tiny as the tip of a needle, each of which fed on him, causing him unbearable pain. He dragged himself back and forth across the sewage bog, tormented by hunger and eating filth. In unbearable pain, he would reel from one side of the bog to the other, stirring up all the filthy sewage.

The 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. [F.115.b]

These 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?”

Then the Blessed One thought, “The time has come to issue a prophecy of this rākṣasa’s awakening. Through him I shall guide a great many disciples.” With this in mind, in order to guide them the Blessed One transformed Śrāvastī such that it was filled with the terrible stench of the sewage bog.

The people of Śrāvastī were mystified, and, impelled by their previous roots of virtue, they wondered, “Where is that terrible stench coming from?” Thousands upon thousands of them gathered, hoping for a spectacle. The people followed the terrible stench out toward the sewage bog, where they saw the filthy rākṣasa living there, dragging himself back and forth.

Looking at him, they thought, “A being like this! And such suffering! What is all this?”

Thereupon the Blessed One thought, “Every one of my disciples from Śrāvastī [F.116.a] has now gathered,” so in the morning the Blessed One donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, he set out for Śrāvastī accompanied by a group of monks.

When they came to the sewage bog, the people saw the Blessed Buddha in the distance, and, upon seeing him, those without faith said, “They say the mendicant Gautama takes no joy in spectacles, but even he has to stop and stare.”

Those who had faith in him said, “Through this being the Blessed One will give an extraordinary Dharma teaching, no doubt.” They prepared a seat for the Blessed One, saying, “This way, Blessed One—if you please! Welcome, Blessed One, very good! O Blessed One, please have a seat on this cushion we have prepared for you!”

Then the Blessed One took his place on the seat prepared for him, and thought, “The best thing would be for me to enter into a meditation such that this rākṣasa can recall his former lives and converse with me in a human tongue.” So the Blessed One entered into a meditation such that the rākṣasa recalled his former lives and could converse with him in a human tongue.

Then the Blessed One spoke to him, saying, “My friend, have you studied the Tripiṭaka, the ‘three baskets’ of scripture?”

“Yes, Blessed One, I have studied the Tripiṭaka.”

“My friend, are you then a Tripiṭaka master?”

“Yes, Blessed One, I am a Tripiṭaka master.”

“Oh friend, are you a Tripiṭaka master?”

“Yes, Sugata, I am a Tripiṭaka master.”

The Blessed One asked, “Are you now undergoing the repercussions of your misconduct of body, speech, and mind?”

“Blessed One, [F.116.b] this hideous experience is indeed the result that has ripened from my misconduct of body, speech, and mind. Sugata, the experience is hideous.”

“Who guided you to such nonvirtue?”

“My own mind,” he replied.

Now, hearing this, the people wondered, “Who is this being who recalls his former lives and converses with the Blessed One in a human tongue?” Since the ears of the blessed buddhas are difficult to reach, they were not able to put their question to the Blessed One, so they asked Venerable Ānanda, “Lord Ānanda, who is this being that recalls his former lives and converses with the Blessed One in a human tongue?”

“Put your question to the Blessed One,” Venerable Ānanda replied.

“The ears of the blessed buddhas are difficult to reach. We cannot ask the Blessed Buddha ourselves,” they said.

Venerable Ānanda replied, “Though the ears of the blessed buddhas are difficult to reach for me as well, out of compassion for you I shall ask.”

Then Venerable Ānanda drew down the right shoulder of his upper garment, bowed toward the Blessed One with palms together, and asked him, “Lord, who is this being that recalls his former lives, converses with the Blessed One in a human tongue, and suffers in the throes of such agony?”

The Blessed One explained to Venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, this being is one who committed nonvirtuous actions over and over again. The nonvirtuous actions he committed were manifold.

“Ānanda, in times gone by, [F.117.a] when the one who transcended the levels of the listeners and solitary buddhas, 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 Greatest of All was in the world, there was a certain householder who found faith in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Greatest of All, went for refuge, and took the fundamental precepts.

“Then he thought, ‘Let me give up living at home to go forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Greatest of All.’ He gave up household affairs and went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Greatest of All.

“Having gone forth, he studied the Tripiṭaka and became a proponent of the Dharma with all the eloquence of his wisdom and freedom. Having acquired provisions of clothing, food, bedding, a seat, and medicines for the sick, he thought, ‘How wonderful! With all the profit and acclaim I’ve gained, I can see to the welfare of fellow practitioners of the holy life.’ Then he called together all the benefactors and patrons, and began to offer his respectful service to the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha.

“At that time, on Camel’s Hump Mountain, there was a certain saṅgha of seventy-seven thousand on the path of learning and on the path of no more to learn who made pledges to stay there during the rains. ‘We should have chosen a steward before we pledged to come stay here during the rains,’ they thought. ‘Who is there who could support our saṅgha?’ Then the idea came to them, ‘That Tripiṭaka master has great merit, and is widely known to have acquired provisions such as clothing, food, bedding, a seat, and medicines for the sick. Let’s encourage him [F.117.b] to support us in our pledge to remain here during the rains.’

“They went to him and said, ‘Lord, we seventy-seven thousand monks wish to keep our pledge to remain in retreat on Camel’s Hump Mountain during the rains. We would like to encourage you to provide for the saṅgha in accord with the Dharma. With your help we can keep our pledge to stay here during the rains.’

“ ‘Don’t worry,’ the Tripiṭaka master replied. ‘I shall provide for all your needs.’

“Upon hearing this, the monks went up onto the mountain, entrusting that Tripiṭaka master alone to help them keep their pledge to stay there during the rains. Then the Tripiṭaka master thought, ‘I told the monks they needn’t worry. But there’s no reason for me to do anything90 when I can simply call upon all the benefactors and patrons, and they will provide for all the saṅgha’s needs.’ With this in mind, in the morning he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, he set out for local village.

“At that time five hundred merchants were arriving from upon the great ocean, having just completed their voyage. As the merchants were unpacking their wares not far from the mountain, they spotted the monks gathering on top of the mountain, and they were delighted to see them.

“The serving monk approached them, and when they saw him they asked, ‘Lord, where are you going?’

“ ‘We have seventy-seven thousand monks staying on the mountainside,’ the Tripiṭaka master replied. ‘They’re depending on me to help them keep their pledge to stay there during the rains. Thus for their sake I am going to call upon all the benefactors and patrons.’

“ ‘Don’t worry, lord,’ said the merchants. ‘We will provide for all their needs.’ With that they offered him a great deal of gold and silver, and said, ‘Lord, until now you’ve provided for all the monks’ needs. [F.118.a] If all this gold and silver is enough, good. If it’s not sufficient, we will offer as much gold and silver as you need, and after the rains have ended, we will offer provisions then as well.’

“ ‘As you wish,’ the serving monk replied. He returned to the monastery bearing all the gold and silver, but as he looked at all the gold and silver, he began to feel very attached to it. So he hid all the gold and silver, and then supplied the monks with only very poor food and drink.

“One day the monks told the serving monk, ‘Lord, we cannot sustain ourselves on such poor food and drink.’

“ ‘This is all I can do for you,’ he replied. ‘I cannot do any more. If you cannot live from this, you should call upon your benefactors and patrons for your livelihood.’

“After he said this, the monks went to the merchants and asked, ‘Are you able to provide food and drink for seventy-seven thousand monks?’

“The merchants replied, ‘Lords, we have already offered a great deal of gold and silver to the noble one who is to provide for you. We told him, “If it’s enough, then very well. If it is not sufficient, then we shall offer as much gold and silver as you need.” Why then has he been supplying you with such poor food and drink?’

“The merchants went to the Tripiṭaka master and said, ‘Lord, didn’t we say that if this gold and silver was enough, good, and that if it was not enough, we would offer more gold and silver? Why then did you supply the monks with such poor food and drink?’ This embarrassed the serving monk, and he immediately became angry. Never again would he be allowed to act as steward for the monks.

“Then the monks said to him, [F.118.b] ‘Lord, we were depending on you to help us keep our pledge to stay on the mountain during the rains. Why then didn’t you do anything? Don’t you want to help provide other monks with the things they need ever again?’

“In anger he replied, ‘It was only by means of my faith that you were provided for—and now you wish to insult me? You’re better off91 eating excrement in a sewage bog!’

“The monks thought, ‘Even if this emotionally afflicted person, who has become so abased, speaks not another harsh word to us seventy-seven thousand on the paths of learning and no more to learn, still he will only deteriorate and decline. This is not good. Let us therefore say nothing more to him.’ With this thought, they said nothing more to him. In time the Tripiṭaka master came to regret what he had done, and asked forgiveness of the monks.

“ ‘We forgive you,’ they said. ‘But your own actions will not forgive you.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Greatest of All then and became a Tripiṭaka master is none other than this rākṣasa. The act of speaking harshly to the seventy-seven thousand on the paths of learning and no more to learn ripened into his taking birth as an animal.92 Monks, from the time of the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Greatest of All until my own, he has died, transmigrated, and taken rebirth only as an animal, and in every birth he has attained a body just like this one and eaten excrement in a sewage bog.”

“Lord, when will this being be liberated from his suffering?” inquired the monks.

“Monks,” replied the Buddha, “five hundred buddhas will appear in this good eon, and after them, the totally [F.119.a] and completely awakened Buddha Vairocana will be in the world. It is through his teaching that this being will be liberated from rebirth as an animal and achieve a human birth.

“After he goes forth in his teaching, he will commit the five heinous misdeeds. Then, having died, he will transmigrate and take rebirth as a hell being. As a hell being he will undergo suffering for hundreds of thousands of years.

“Once he has exhausted those terrible acts, he will again achieve a human birth. At that time, too, the totally and completely awakened Buddha Vairocana will be in the world. He will go forth in his teaching, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship. Renowned by all and possessed of great merit, he will acquire provisions such as clothes, food, bedding, a seat, and medicines for the sick. There he will become supreme among the exponents of the teachings. After acting for the benefit of many, he will pass beyond all sorrow into the realm of nirvāṇa without any remainder of the aggregates. Then his sufferings will come to an end.”

As soon as they heard this, the people gathered there welled up with grief. The Blessed One directly apprehended their grief, taught them the Dharma accordingly, and among the assembled some generated heat right where they sat. Some generated the peak, or generated the patience in accord with the truths, or generated the highest worldly dharma, or generated the attainment of seeing. Some manifested the resultant state of stream entry. Some manifested the resultant state of once-return. Some manifested the resultant state of non-return. Some went forth and manifested arhatship. Some sowed the seeds to become universal monarchs, [F.119.b] some to become great universal monarchs, some to become Indra, some to become Brahmā, some for the enlightenment of the listeners, some for the enlightenment of the solitary buddhas, and some for unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment. Among the assembled, most found themselves drawn to the Buddha, intent on the Dharma, and favoring the Saṅgha. With this accomplished, the Blessed One returned to the monastery.

When the Blessed One was staying in Otalā Forest in Otalā, one morning he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went for alms in the villages of Otalā. At that time there was a certain woman who had taken a pot and gone out for water. From a distance, she saw that the Blessed One was beautiful, pleasing, his senses were at peace, his heart at peace, and his mind absolutely serene. He was as shining and radiant as a golden pillar.

What is more, she perceived the Blessed One to be her own son. Laying her pot aside, she spread out her hands and approached the Blessed One, saying, “My son! My son!” But as she went to take the Blessed One in her arms, the monks hindered her from doing so. The Blessed One corrected the monks, saying, “Monks, do not hinder this woman. [F.120.a] Monks, if you don’t let this woman take the Tathāgata in her arms, she will spew warm blood from her mouth and die.” The monks did not hinder her any further, and, after holding the Blessed One in her arms, she sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

The Blessed One directly apprehended her thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, and nature, and taught her the Dharma accordingly. Hearing it, the woman 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 she sat.

Having seen the truths, she rose from her seat, drew down the right shoulder of her upper garment, bowed toward the Blessed One with palms together, and implored him, “Blessed One, 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.”

The Blessed One presented her to Mahā­prajāpatī Gautamī, who led her to go forth as a novice, conferred on her full ordination, and instructed her. Casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, she manifested arhatship. As an arhat, free from the attachments of the three realms, her mind regarded gold no differently than filth, and the palms of her hands as like space itself. She became cool like wet sandalwood. Her insight crushed ignorance like an eggshell. She achieved the insights, superknowledges, and discriminations. She had no regard for worldly profit, passion, or acclaim. She became an object of offering, veneration, and respectful address by Indra, Upendra, and the other gods. [F.120.b]

Then the Blessed One spoke of her greatness, saying, “Monks, this is the nun Kacaṅkalā—among my listener nuns, she is foremost of those who interpret the sūtras.”

The monks requested the Blessed One, “Lord, tell us why thousands of women have seen the Blessed One, but never has anyone run to him from a distance like that.”

“Monks,” explained the Blessed One, “Kacaṅkalā was my mother for five hundred lifetimes. She saw me and ran to me because of these habitual tendencies.”

“Lord, if she was the Blessed One’s mother for five hundred lifetimes, why is she not your mother now?”

“Monks, there are two causes and two conditions for her not being my mother now,” the Blessed One replied. “First, Mahā­māyādevī prayed, ‘Oh, but let me become the mother of the Buddha!’ And I myself, in distress, also prayed, ‘May she who is my mother, in the future not be my mother.’ ”

“What distress did she cause the Blessed One?” they asked.

“Monks,” the Blessed One replied, “bodhisattvas delight in renunciation and love to give, and she continually created obstacles to my renunciation and charity. This is why she caused me distress.”

The monks asked the Blessed One, “Lord, what action did the nun Kacaṅkalā take that ripened into her first being poor and then going forth only in her old age?”

“Bodhisattvas delight in renunciation [F.121.a] and love to give,” the Blessed One explained, “and for a certain number of my lives she obstructed my renunciation and charity. That act ripened into her now being poor, and going forth only in her old age.”

“Lord, what action did the nun Kacaṅkalā take that ripened into the Blessed One declaring her the foremost among those who interpret the sūtras, and that she pleased and did not displease the Blessed One, went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship?”

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

“Lord, where did she 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 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, she went forth in his teaching, and the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa commended her preceptor as foremost among those who interpret the sūtras.

“She practiced pure conduct all her life, and at the time of her death she prayed, ‘While I may not have attained any great virtues, still I have gone forth in the teaching of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and practiced pure conduct all my life. 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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship. [F.121.b] Just as he commended my preceptor as foremost among those who interpret the sūtras, may the peerless Śākyamuni, King of the Śākyas, likewise commend me as foremost among those who interpret the sūtras.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that nun then is none other than Kacaṅkalā now. At that time she practiced pure conduct all her life, and at the time of her death she prayed, ‘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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship. Just as he commended my preceptor as foremost among those who interpret the sūtras, may the peerless Śākyamuni, King of the Śākyas, likewise commend me as foremost among those who interpret the sūtras.’

“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 she has pleased me, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship, and that I commended her as foremost among those who interpret the sūtras.”

When the Blessed One was staying at the Domicile of Ghosts in the Adumā region, one morning he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went for alms in Adumā village. After receiving his alms in Adumā village, he ate his meal, [F.122.a] and since he no longer took food in the later part of the day, he washed his feet outside the Domicile of Ghosts, and entered the grounds to meditate. In the meantime there was a thunderstorm, and lightning struck in Adumā. The people there were chattering anxiously about how it killed four bulls and two brothers: one a householder, the other a peasant farmer.

As evening fell, the Blessed One rose from his meditation and emerged from the Domicile of Ghosts and lingered there, walking among the shadows on the grounds of the Domicile of Ghosts. Thereupon one of the great many people there got up and walked toward the Blessed One. After approaching him, he touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet and fell in behind him, that he might also walk where the Blessed One had walked.

The Blessed One asked the man, “My friend! What are the people of Adumā village chattering about so anxiously?”

“Lord,” said the man, “there was a thunderstorm, and lightning struck in Adumā. Everyone is chattering anxiously about how it killed four bulls and two brothers: one a householder, the other a peasant farmer. Did the Blessed One not hear the thunder roar and the lightning strike?”

“No, I didn’t hear it,” the Blessed One replied.

“How is that?” the man asked. “Was the Blessed One sleeping?”

The Blessed One said, “No, I was not asleep at all.”

“If the Blessed One has faculties of perception and wasn’t asleep,” he said, “then how did he not hear the thunder roar and the lightning strike?”

“I have faculties of perception, and I was not sleeping,” the Blessed One replied, “but I did not hear the thunder roar nor the lightning strike.”

Now the man had to think this over. “Hmm,” he thought, “although he has faculties of perception and was not sleeping, still he did not hear the thunder roar nor the lightning strike. How wonderful that the Blessed One can abide so peacefully in meditation.” [F.122.b] This made the man very happy, and in his happiness he made offerings to the Blessed One.

At that time in the forests of the Adumā region there lived a certain sage named Kaineya who was clairvoyant and had a retinue of five hundred. Not far away in another forest lived his sister’s son, a sage by the name of Śaila, who also had a retinue of five hundred. Both sages also spent time on the banks of Lake Mandākinī, traveling there now and again to spend the day.

The 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.

These 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, [F.123.a] 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?”

The Blessed One thought, “If I give a Dharma teaching to the four great kings there, I will tame the sages Kaineya and Śaila, so I will give a Dharma teaching to the four great kings there on the banks of Lake Mandākinī and tame the sages Kaineya and Śaila with little difficulty.” The Blessed One then had a thought about the world:93 “The four great kings can understand my intention, and when they understand it and think, ‘The Blessed One intends to give a Dharma teaching to us on the banks of Lake Mandākinī,’ they will agree to attend.”

And indeed, the four great kings directly apprehended the Blessed One’s intention and dispatched their servants, instructing them, “Go now and prepare a seat on the banks of Lake Mandākinī. Scatter different kinds of flowers on the ground, and sprinkle it with fragrant water. Look after the sages Kaineya and Śaila, for it would not be right if harm came to them at the hands of humans, nonhuman spirits, or rākṣasas.”

“As you wish,” the servants of the four great kings replied, and they traveled to Lake Mandākinī, where they prepared a seat, scattered different kinds of flowers on the ground, and sprinkled it with fragrant water.

Kaineya, seeing that the servants of the four great kings had prepared a seat on the banks of Lake Mandākinī, scattered different kinds of flowers on the ground, and sprinkled it with fragrant water, asked them, “Why are you here making all these preparations?” [F.123.b]

“We are preparing a seat for the Blessed One, for he wishes to teach the Dharma to the four great kings,” they replied.

“What! Can’t I teach them Dharma?” Kaineya asked, to which the servants of the four great kings replied, “The ascetic Gautama will teach them the Dharma, not you.”

“Then why are you following me all about?” he asked.

“A large number of servants and attendants are going to accompany them, so we are looking after you for fear you might be harmed.”

“What? Is it me alone you look after?” Kaineya demanded. “Or do you look after the ascetic Gautama as well?”

The servants of the four great kings replied, “We do not look after the ascetic Gautama. He himself protects the world, including the gods.”

Kaineya thought, “The ascetic Gautama must be a person of great miracles and great power, if even the gods strive to worship him in such a way.”

The Blessed One disappeared from the Adumā region and traveled to the banks of Lake Mandākinī, where he took his place on the seat prepared for him.

The great king Dhṛtarāṣṭra and the thousands upon thousands of gandharvas who serve him then filled the fronts of their long shirts with divine lotus, blue lotus, white water lily, and white lotus flowers and went to see the Blessed One. When they arrived, they touched their heads to the Blessed One’s feet, scattered the divine lotus, blue lotus, white water lily, and white lotus flowers over him, and circumambulated the Blessed One seven times before taking their seats in the east, facing the Blessed One to the west.

Then the great king Virūḍhaka and the thousands upon thousands of kumbhāṇḍas who serve him all filled the fronts of their long shirts with jewels and went to see the Blessed One. When they arrived, they scattered jewels over the Blessed One, [F.124.a] touched their heads to his feet, and took their seats in the south, facing the Blessed One to the north.

Then the great king Virūpākṣa and the thousands upon thousands of nāgas who serve him all filled the fronts of their long shirts with pearls and went to see the Blessed One. When they arrived they scattered pearls over the Blessed One, touched their heads to his feet, and took their seats in the west, facing the Blessed One to the east.

Then the great king Vaiśravaṇa and the thousands upon thousands of yakṣas who serve him all filled the fronts of their long shirts with gold and silver, and went to see the Blessed One. Upon their arrival, they scattered gold and silver over the Blessed One, touched their heads to his feet, and took their seats in the north, facing the Blessed One to the south.

Now since two of the great kings were from barbaric outlying regions, and two were from central lands, the Blessed One thought, “If I give a Dharma teaching in the language of the central lands, two of them will understand what I am saying, and two of them will not, but if I give a Dharma teaching in the language of the barbaric outlying regions, still only two of them will understand what I am saying, and two of them will not. So, I will teach it to each of them individually.”

With this thought he said to the great king Dhṛtarāṣṭra, “Great King, the separation from the body, the abating of sensations, the cessation of perceptions, the allaying of formations, and the disappearance of consciousness is itself the end of suffering.” When he gave this Dharma teaching, the great king Dhṛtarāṣṭra and the many thousands of gods who belong to the same class as him achieved the Dharma vision that is free from dust and stainless with regard to phenomena. [F.124.b]

After that the Blessed One said to the great king Virūḍhaka, “Great King, when you see, you should have the wisdom to merely see. When you listen, you should have the wisdom to merely hear. When your intelligence begins to differentiate, you should have the wisdom to merely differentiate. And regarding consciousness, you should have the wisdom of mere consciousness. This itself is the end of suffering.” When he gave this Dharma teaching, the great king Virūḍhaka and the many thousands of gods who belong to the same class as him achieved the Dharma vision that is free from dust and stainless with regard to phenomena.

Then the Blessed One said to the great king Virūpākṣa, “E ne me ne dab phu da dab phu,” which means precisely, “This itself is the end of suffering.” When he gave this Dharma teaching, the great king Virūpākṣa and the many thousands of gods who belong to the same class as him achieved the Dharma vision that is free from dust and stainless with regard to phenomena.

Then the Blessed One said to the great king Vaiśravaṇa, “Mā śā tu śā sang śāmā sarva datra viratrī,” which means precisely, “This itself is the end of suffering.” When he gave this Dharma teaching the great king Vaiśravaṇa and the many thousands of gods who belong to the same class as him achieved the Dharma vision that is free from dust and stainless with regard to phenomena.

The four great kings perceived the truths,94 discovered the truths, realized the truths, and fathomed the truths to their very depths, overcoming whatever doubt or hesitation they had. Of their own accord, completely unprompted, and fearless on account of the truths their teacher had shown them, they rose from their seats, drew down the right shoulder of their upper garments, bowed toward the Blessed One with palms pressed together, and said, “Lord, we [F.125.a] have been inducted into the Dharma, we have been inducted into the Dharma indeed. We seek refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. We wish to take refuge and the fundamental precepts.”

The Blessed One replied, “My friends, what you have said is very good.” At this the four great kings rejoiced, praised all that the Blessed One had said, touched their heads to his feet, and took leave of the Blessed One.

After they had left the monks asked the Blessed Buddha, “Lord, what actions did these four great kings take that ripened into two of them being renowned as the lords of the central lands, and two of the barbaric outlying regions, and that they pleased the Blessed One, and did not displease him?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One recounted, “in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, there were two nāga kings named Āśvāsa and Mahā­śvāsa who lived on the slopes of Mount Sumeru. Two bird kings lived there as well, the garuḍas Sound and Great Sound.

“Afraid of the two garuḍas, the two nāgas fled, traveling down to the base of the universe, where they remained. The nāga kings Āśvāsa and Mahā­śvāsa liked the doctrine of the totally and completed awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, so both went for refuge and took the fundamental precepts. Having [F.125.b] taken refuge and the fundamental precepts, the nāga kings were no longer vulnerable to the garuḍas, so they emerged from the waters of the great ocean completely at ease.

“The garuḍas Sound and Great Sound saw the two nāga kings emerge from the waters of the great ocean completely at ease. They were overwhelmed at the sight of them and were unable to harm them by force, for striking at them was like smacking into Mount Sumeru. ‘Before you were afraid of us and fled, down to the base of the universe—so how is it that you are now so completely at ease, and that we are unable to harm you?’ they asked them.

“ ‘We’ve taken refuge and the fundamental precepts from the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa,’ the two nāgas replied. ‘That’s why we are no longer vulnerable to you.’

“ ‘Who is this one you call “Buddha”?’ the garuḍas asked. The nāgas described the Buddha to them in detail, and immediately after hearing about him they too were filled with the greatest admiration for the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa. Joyful, they too went to see the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa.

“They took refuge and the fundamental precepts and acted in accord with the nāgas by being friends with them, coexisting with them, and going for refuge and maintaining the fundamental precepts together with them.

“At the time of their deaths they prayed, ‘We have gone forth like this in the teaching of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and practiced pure conduct all our lives. By this root of virtue, wherever we are born, may we be renowned as lords of those regions. May we please and not displease Uttara, the young brahmin prophesied by the totally and completely [F.126.a] awakened Buddha Kāśyapa to be the next blessed buddha. May we go forth in his doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“O monks, what do you think? The ones who were the nāga kings Āśvāsa and Mahā­śvāsa then are none other than the great kings Dhṛtarāṣṭra and Virūḍhaka of the central lands. Those who were the garuḍa kings Sound and Great Sound then are none other than the great kings Virūpākṣa and Vaiśravaṇa of the barbaric outlying regions. At that time they went for refuge and maintained the fundamental precepts all their lives, and at the time of their deaths they prayed, ‘By this root of virtue, wherever we are born, may we be renowned as lords of those regions. 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.’ Those acts ripened into their current renown as lords among the gods of the Abodes of the Four Great Kings.

“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.”

Kaineya was standing nearby as the Blessed One taught the Dharma to the four great kings and told of their past actions, and he could hear every word. As soon he heard it all, he experienced a surge of joy toward the Blessed One, approached him, touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma. The Blessed One [F.126.b] directly apprehended his thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, capacity, and nature, and taught him the Dharma accordingly.

When he heard it, Kaineya 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. After seeing 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 implored him, “I would like to request that the Blessed One and the saṅgha of monks remain here in the region this morning. Please accept the beverages I shall prepare for you when it is no longer proper for you to eat.” The Blessed One assented by his silence.

Understanding that by his silence the Blessed One had given his assent, Kaineya prepared eight different beverages—apple juice, banana juice, juniper juice, fig juice, udumbara juice, wild date palm berry juice, buckwheat juice, and grape juice—and went to present them to the Blessed One. When he arrived he implored the Blessed One, “Lord, the great sages of the past have sung the praises of these eight different beverages, extolling their virtues and speaking highly of them. I implore the Blessed One to please accept them out of compassion for us.” Out of compassion the Blessed One accepted the eight different beverages from Kaineya.

The Blessed One then addressed the monks, saying, “Monks, I permit the monks, nuns, and female and male novices to drink all eight of these different beverages—be they filtered or unfiltered, clear or unclear, turbid or settled, of good color or not of good color— [F.127.a] at the proper times of day, but not at improper times. Of these eight different beverages, those filtered with cloth, clear, good in color, settled, and free of residue may be imbibed at improper times as well.”

The sage Kaineya bowed to the Blessed One with his palms pressed together and beseeched him, “Lord, please allow me to request you and the saṅgha of monks to take your food at my house tomorrow,” and the Blessed One assented by his silence. Understanding that by his silence the Blessed One had given his assent, Kaineya then asked the Blessed One, “In that case, Lord, may I request that you all stay here in the forest tonight?”

The Blessed One replied, “If it pleases you, Kaineya, we shall.” The Blessed One then disappeared from the banks of Lake Mandākinī and appeared seated in the forest with the saṅgha of monks, not far from where Kaineya lived.

Early in the morning, before sunrise, Kaineya called to his young brahmins, “Noble ones, get up! Get up, gentle ones, get up! Attend to your reception room duties—split wood, make a fire, cook up the rice, prepare the vegetables, and make fried bread!” Kaineya was not the only one staying there that night. Śaila was there as well, and he heard Kaineya calling out to the young brahmins early in the morning before sunrise, “Noble ones, get up! Get up, gentle ones, get up! Attend to your reception room duties—split wood, make a fire, cook up the rice, prepare the vegetables, and make fried bread!” [F.127.b]

When he heard this he thought, “What is this sage doing, sending off a bride to be married? Or is he about to receive a bride, perhaps? If not, he must be hosting foreign visitors, or craftsmen, or a group of men, or perhaps the king and his retinue.” Wondering about this, Śaila asked Kaineya, “What are you doing, sage, sending off a bride to be married? Or are you about to receive a bride, perhaps? If not, are you hosting foreign visitors, or craftsmen, or a group of men, or perhaps the king and his retinue?”

“I am neither sending off a bride to be married, nor receiving a bride, nor hosting foreign visitors, craftsmen, or a group of men, nor hosting the king and his retinue,” replied Kaineya. “Rather, today I have invited the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks for a meal.”

When Śaila heard the name Buddha, a sound unlike any he had heard before, it gave him goosebumps, and filled him with joy. Śaila asked Kaineya, “Sage, who is this one you call ‘Buddha’?”

“Sage,” Kaineya replied, “near the Himalayas, on the banks of the Ganges, not far from the dwelling of Kapila, a child was born to the Śākyas. The brahmin soothsayers and augurs made this prediction about him: ‘If he remains here at home, he will become a universal monarch, but if he shaves his head and face and dons the colorful robes of the holy, and if with nothing short of perfect faith he goes forth from home to live as a mendicant, then he will be renowned throughout the world as a tathāgata, an arhat, a totally and completely awakened buddha.’ He shaved his head and face and donned the colorful religious robes, and with nothing short of perfect faith went forth from home to live as a mendicant until he awakened unto unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment. This, O sage, is the one we call Buddha.”

“Sage, who are those you call ‘saṅgha’?”

“O sage, [F.128.a] among them are wise warriors, wise brahmins, wise householders, and wise mendicants as well. They are all those who have gone forth to follow the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the totally and completely awakened Buddha. These, sage, are the ones I call the saṅgha. Today I have invited the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks for a meal.”

Śaila asked Kaineya, “Where is the Blessed One now, sage?”

“In the forests of the Adumā region, sage,” replied Kaineya. “If you wish to see him,

Śaila heeded Kaineya’s advice and went to the forest to see the Blessed One. There he saw the Blessed One from a distance. His body, graced and resplendent with the thirty-two signs of a great person, looked like it was on fire, like tongues of fire 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.

He 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 as is not to be had even by those who practice calm abiding meditation for twelve years.

After he saw the Blessed Buddha in this way, he approached him, touched his head to his feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma. The Blessed One directly apprehended his thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, capacity, and [F.128.b] nature, and taught him the Dharma accordingly. When he heard it, the sage Śaila 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 he sat.

After seeing 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 made this request of the Blessed One: “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.”

“Sage, have you consulted your retinue?” asked the Blessed One.

“No, Lord,” replied Śaila, “I have not.”

The Blessed One replied, “In that case, sage, first consult your retinue. It is only fitting that a person like yourself, renowned by all and possessed of great merit, should do so.”

So Śaila went to see his young brahmins, and when he arrived he informed them, “Young brahmins, I must let you know that I wish to practice the holy life in the presence of the Blessed One. What will you do now?”

“It is with your support, preceptor, that we have sought anything at all,” they replied. “Should the ascetic Gautama lead our preceptor to go forth, we will go forth as well.”

“Young brahmins,” Śaila said, “if you are certain the time is right, then may it be so.”

Then Śaila went to see the Blessed One along with his five hundred devotees. When he arrived he touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet, and then petitioned the Blessed One: “Lord, I have consulted my devotees, [F.129.a] and if permitted, Lord, 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.”

“Come, join me, monks!” the Blessed One replied. “Practice the holy life.”

As soon as the Blessed One had finished speaking there they stood, alms bowl and water pitcher in hand, with but a week’s worth of hair and beard, and with the deportment of a monk who had been ordained for one hundred years. As it is stated,

After preparing many good, wholesome foods that night, Kaineya rose in the morning, prepared seats, filled the water pots, and set them out. Then he sent a message to the Blessed One reminding him it was time for the midday meal: “Lord, the midday meal is upon us. Know that the time has come, Blessed One, and your presence is requested.”

That morning the Blessed One donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, set out surrounded and attended by an assembly of monks, until they arrived at Kaineya’s reception room. There, the Blessed One took his place on the seat prepared for him and Kaineya by his own hand contented the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks with many good, wholesome foods, proffering all that they wished.

Kaineya saw that Śaila and his five hundred devotees had gone forth, and thus were also seated there. Recognizing this, he asked Śaila, “Sage, have you gone forth?” [F.129.b]

“Yes, my friend, I have gone forth.”

“Good!” Sage Kaineya said, “Very good! I too shall go forth after the Blessed One and the rest of the saṅgha of monks have finished eating.”95

After contenting them by his own hand with many different kinds of good, wholesome food, proffering all that they wished, once he knew that the Blessed One had finished eating, his bowl had been taken away, and his hands washed, he 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.”

“Sage, have you consulted your retinue?” asked the Blessed One.

“No, Lord,” replied Kaineya, “I have not.”

“In that case, sage, first consult your retinue. It is only fitting that a person like yourself, renowned by all and possessed of great merit, should do so.”

So Kaineya went to see his young brahmins, and when he arrived he informed them, “Young brahmins, I must let you know that I wish to practice the holy life in the presence of the Blessed One. What will you do now?”

“It is with your support, preceptor, that we have sought anything at all,” they replied. “Should the ascetic Gautama lead our preceptor to go forth, we will go forth as well.”

“Young brahmins,” Kaineya said, “if you are [F.130.a] certain the time is right, then may it be so.”

So Kaineya went to see the Blessed One along with his five hundred devotees, and when he arrived he touched his head to the feet of the Blessed One, and told him, “Lord, I have consulted my devotees, and if permitted, Lord, 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.”

“Come, join me, monks!” replied the Blessed One. “Practice the holy life.”

As soon as the Blessed One had finished speaking there they stood, alms bowl and water pitcher in hand, with but a week’s worth of hair and beard, and with the deportment of a monk who had been ordained for one hundred years. As it is stated,

The Blessed One taught Śaila and Kaineya, and they cast away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, and manifested arhatship. He entrusted five hundred of their monks to Venerable Brāhmaṇa Mahā­kapina, two hundred and fifty to Venerable Śāriputra, and two hundred and fifty to Venerable Maudgalyāyana, and told them, “Give them your spiritual advice, and then instruct them to keep it in mind.”

“Yes, Blessed One,” they agreed. “We will do just as you have instructed.”

Venerable Śāriputra, Venerable Maudgalyāyana, and Venerable Brāhmaṇa Mahā­kapina brought the monks to the banks of the Hiraṇyavatī River, [F.130.b] where they pledged to stay in retreat during the rains. While observing their pledge to stay in retreat during the rains, they were given instructions to ponder. Venerable Brāhmaṇa Kapina established his five hundred monks in arhatship, Venerable Maudgalyāyana established his two hundred and fifty monks in the resultant state of non-return, and Venerable Śāriputra established his two hundred and fifty monks in the resultant state of stream entry.

Now there are two times of year when it is customary for the disciples of the Blessed Buddha to convene—in the middle of the summer months when the time comes for the summer retreat, and on the full moon of the last month of autumn. When the time comes in the middle of the summer months for the monks to enter the rains retreat, the monks receive instructions to ponder, and then they pledge to remain for the duration of the summer in mountain ravines, in mountain caves, in caves of reeds, on the plains, in charnel grounds, or in the forests. Then, when the full moon of the last month of autumn arrives, they give an account of all that they have realized, and they put questions to their superiors regarding all that they still do not understand.

The five hundred in each of Venerable Śāriputra and Venerable Maudgalyāyana’s two retinues and the five hundred of Venerable Brāhmaṇa Mahā­kapina’s retinue all entered summer retreat. When three months had passed and their summer retreat was finished, they donned their lower garments and Dharma robes, and, carrying their alms bowls, they went to see the Blessed One. Upon their arrival they touched their heads to the Blessed One’s feet, and took seats at one side. After they had taken their seats at one side, they gave the Blessed One an account of all that they had realized, and put questions to him regarding all that they still did not understand. The Blessed One gave them more advanced instructions to ponder, and they cast away all afflictive emotions with diligence, practice, and effort, and manifested arhatship.

The monks asked the Blessed One, [F.131.a] “Lord, tell us why Venerable Brāhmaṇa Mahā­kapina, Venerable Maudgalyāyana, and Venerable Śāriputra established five hundred monks in arhatship, in the resultant state of non-return, and in the resultant state of stream entry.”

“Not only now, monks” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, Venerable Brāhmaṇa Mahā­kapina, Venerable Maudgalyāyana, and Venerable Śāriputra, respectively, established their five hundred monks in the four meditative states and five superknowledges, in the formless realm, and in the form realm. Listen well!

“Monks, in times gone by, on a certain mountain there lived two sages, each with five hundred devotees. One sage lived on one side of the mountain with his five hundred devotees, and the other lived on the other side of the mountain with his five hundred devotees. One day, one of the sages passed away. After the young brahmins made offerings to his relics, they went to see the other sage, and the other sage brought them into his retinue. Then the thought occurred to the sage, ‘After I pass away, there will be no one to look after these young men. I must see to their needs while I’m still alive.’

“Now, this sage had three outstanding students, so he entrusted five hundred young brahmins to one of them and entrusted two hundred and fifty to each of the other two. Then he told them, ‘Both while I am living and after my death, you must teach these disciples and see to it that they also ponder the instructions.’ One of the three established his five hundred young brahmins in the four meditative states and five superknowledges, one established his two hundred and fifty in the formless realm, [F.131.b] and one established his two hundred and fifty in the form realm.

“O monks, what do you think? The one who placed those young brahmins in the four meditative states and five superknowledges then is none other than Brāhmaṇa Kapina. The one who placed them in the formless realm then is none other than Maudgalyāyana. And the one who placed them in the form realm then is none other than Śāriputra.

“At that time, one of them placed them in the four meditative states and five superknowledges, one of them placed them in the formless realm, and one of them placed them in the form realm, and so too now one has placed them in arhatship, one has placed them in the resultant state of non-return, and one has placed them in the resultant state of stream entry.

“Furthermore, monks, Brāhmaṇa Kapina’s students have keen intelligence, Maudgalyāyana’s students are of average intelligence, and Śāriputra’s students are less intelligent. Monks, if Śāriputra’s students could not so much as generate heat when handed to Brāhmaṇa Kapina, how then could they have realizations of a higher order?”

The monks asked the Blessed Buddha, “Lord, what actions did the sages Kaineya and Śaila and their devotees take that ripened such that they pleased and did not displease the Blessed One, 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,” replied the Blessed One.

“When did they make these prayers?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One explained, [F.132.a] “in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, there lived two householders in Vārāṇasī who were very close friends.

“One day they found faith in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, gave up household affairs, and went forth. After they went forth, they studied the Tripiṭaka and became proponents of the Dharma with all the eloquence of their wisdom and freedom. They acquired provisions of clothing, food, bedding, a seat, and medicines for the sick. Each of them gathered five hundred students and became a master teacher with his own retinue.

“They both 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.’

“Their students asked them, ‘What kind of prayers are you making?’ They both answered in detail, and then the devotees also prayed, ‘May we too, entrusting ourselves to the two of you, please and not displease the Blessed Buddha. May we go forth in his doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’ [F.132.b]

“O monks, what do you think? Those who were the master teachers of their own retinues then are none other than the sages Kaineya and Śaila. Those who were their students then are none other than these one thousand monks. At that time 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.’

“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.” [B11]

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, it was Venerable Maudgalyāyana’s custom to wander from time to time among the hell beings, to wander among the anguished spirits, to wander among the animals, to wander among the humans, and to wander among the gods.

When he returned, he would relate to people how the hell beings suffer through being cut up, hacked apart, beaten, roasted, and so on. When he returned, [F.148.b] he would also relate to people how the anguished spirits suffer through hunger, thirst, being burned, being incinerated, being cooked, and so on; how animals suffer as they eat one another; how human beings suffer through striving, anger, and exhaustion; and how the gods suffer through dying, falling, disintegrating, and decaying. Those who heard him were filled with sorrow, and from this sorrow they went on to achieve great things.

One day Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana, prepared himself to wander among the anguished spirits, disappeared from Śrāvastī, and traveled to Vindhyācala, to a hollow in the forest where he saw an anguished spirit that was on fire, burning all over, and covered in flames—he was nothing but a single, searing flame. When he fled to the plains, due to his past actions lions, tigers, leopards, bears, and the like, all with fangs of iron, appeared and tore into his flesh over and over again and fed on him. This caused him extreme, excruciating, unbearable agony, and he ran all about.

Seeing him, Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana thought, “What action did this being take that ripened into such suffering?”

When he examined that being’s past lives, he saw that after going forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, the spirit had acted as steward for the monks, but then he used the donations for the saṅgha, the donations to the stūpa, their means of regular support, and the donations for the saṅgha of the four directions to indulge himself as he pleased and to make gifts of it to others.

Thereupon Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana thought, “Though indeed I can see his past actions clearly, still I shall ask the Blessed One about this, so that many might become disillusioned with saṃsāra.” He disappeared from the hollow in the forest at Vindhyācala [F.149.a] and traveled to Śrāvastī, where the Blessed One sat teaching the Dharma amid a company of hundreds. Then Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana, seeing that the Blessed One was teaching the Dharma amid a company of hundreds, thought, “Now is the time to request the Blessed One to explain about that anguished spirit.” He approached the Blessed One, touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet, and took a seat at one side.

Once he had taken a seat at one side, Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, it is my custom to wander from time to time among the hell beings, to wander among the anguished spirits, to wander among the animals, to wander among the humans, and to wander among the gods.

“When I return I relate to people how the hell beings suffer through being cut up, hacked apart, beaten, roasted, and so on. When I return I also relate to people how the anguished spirits suffer through hunger, thirst, being burned, being incinerated, being cooked, and so on; how animals suffer as they eat one another; how human beings suffer through striving, anger, and exhaustion; and how the gods suffer through dying, falling, disintegrating, and decaying. Because of this, the people who hear me are filled with sorrow, and from this sorrow they go on to achieve great things.

“Lord, as I was wandering among the anguished spirits, I disappeared from Śrāvastī, and in Vindhyācala, in a hollow in the forest, Lord, I saw an anguished spirit with an enormous body that was on fire, burning all over, and covered in flames—he was nothing but a single, searing flame. When he fled to the plains, from his past actions lions, tigers, leopards, [F.149.b] bears, and the like, all with fangs of iron, appeared. When he submerged himself in the water, crocodiles with fangs of iron appeared. When he fled into the sky above, woodpeckers with beaks of iron appeared. All these creatures tore into his flesh over and over again and fed on him. This caused him extreme, excruciating, unbearable agony, and he ran all about.

“Lord, what action did this being take that ripened into his meeting with such suffering?”

“Maudgalyāyana,” the Blessed One explained, “that being committed nonvirtuous actions over and over again. He committed many nonvirtuous actions.

“Maudgalyāyana, 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, that being went forth in his doctrine. After that, he acted as steward for the monks, calling upon many benefactors and patrons and accepting donations on behalf of the saṅgha and the stūpa. He took the donations for the saṅgha, the donations to the stūpa, their means of regular support, and the donations for the saṅgha of the four directions, and used it to indulge himself as he pleased and to make gifts of it to others. This act of cutting off the saṅgha from these donations, indulging himself as he pleased, and giving them to others ripened such that he took birth among the anguished spirits, and there was devoured by the creatures that lurk in the sky, in water, and on the plains.”

As soon as they heard this, the people gathered there welled up with grief. The Blessed One directly apprehended their grief, [F.150.a] taught them the Dharma accordingly, and among the assembled some generated heat right where they sat. Some generated the peak, or generated the patience in accord with the truths, or generated the highest worldly dharma, or generated the attainment of seeing. Some manifested the resultant state of stream entry. Some manifested the resultant state of once-return. Some manifested the resultant state of non-return. Some went forth and manifested arhatship. Some sowed the seeds to become universal monarchs, some to become great universal monarchs, some to become Indra, some to become Brahmā, some for the enlightenment of the listeners, some for the enlightenment of the solitary buddhas, and some for unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment. Among the assembled, most found themselves drawn to the Buddha, intent on the Dharma, and favoring the Saṅgha.

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, it was Venerable Nandaka’s custom to wander from time to time among the hell beings, to wander among the anguished spirits, to wander among the animals, to wander among the humans, and to wander among the gods.

When he returned, he would relate to people how the hell beings suffer through being cut up, hacked apart, beaten, roasted, and so on. When he returned, he would also relate to people how the anguished spirits suffer through hunger, thirst, being burned, being incinerated, being cooked, and so on; how animals suffer as they eat one another; how human beings suffer through striving, anger, and exhaustion; and how the gods suffer through dying, falling, disintegrating, and decaying. [F.150.b] Those who heard him were filled with sorrow, and from this sorrow they went on to achieve great things.

One day Venerable Nandaka prepared himself to wander among the anguished spirits, disappeared from Śrāvastī, and traveled to the seashore where he saw an anguished spirit that was completely naked and covered only by the hair of her head. She was covered in flames like a burning log, and completely blind. Worms poured forth from her nose and mouth, and she reeked with a stench that could be smelled for many yojanas. She ran all about, but mottled blue dogs bit her wherever she went. This caused her dreadful suffering and extreme, excruciating, unbearable agony, and she cried out loudly as she ran all about.

Seeing her, Venerable Nandaka asked himself, “What action did this being take?” When he examined that being’s past lives, he saw that after going forth as a nun in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, she was hot-tempered and quarrelsome, slandered many different nuns, and created obstacles to their material well-being.

Venerable Nandaka thought, “Though indeed I can see her past actions clearly, still I shall ask the Blessed One about this, so that many might become disillusioned with saṃsāra.” He disappeared from the seashore and traveled to Śrāvastī, where the Blessed One sat teaching the Dharma amid a company of hundreds. Then Venerable Nandaka, seeing that the Blessed One was teaching the Dharma amid a company of hundreds, thought, “Now is the time to ask the Blessed One to explain about that anguished spirit.” He approached the Blessed One, touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet, and took a seat at one side.

Once he had taken a seat at one side, [F.151.a] Venerable Nandaka inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, it has always been my custom to wander from time to time among the hell beings, to wander among the anguished spirits, to wander among the animals, to wander among the humans, and to wander among the gods.

“When I return I relate to people how the hell beings suffer through being cut up, hacked apart, beaten, roasted, and so on. When I return I also relate to people how the anguished spirits suffer through hunger, thirst, being burned, being incinerated, being cooked, and so on; how animals suffer as they eat one another; how human beings suffer through striving, anger, and exhaustion; and how the gods suffer through dying, falling, disintegrating, and decaying. Because of this, the people who hear me are filled with sorrow, and from this sorrow they go on to achieve great things.

“Lord, after preparing to wander among the anguished spirits, I disappeared from Śrāvastī and stood on the seashore. There, Lord, I saw an anguished spirit that was completely naked and covered only by the hair of her head. She was covered in flames like a burning log, and completely blind. Worms poured forth from her nose and mouth, and she reeked with a stench that could be smelled for many yojanas. She ran all about, but mottled blue dogs bit her wherever she went. This caused her dreadful suffering and extreme, excruciating, unbearable agony, and she cried out loudly as she ran all about.

“Lord, what action did this anguished spirit take that ripened into her meeting with such suffering?”

“Nandaka,” the Blessed One explained, “that anguished spirit committed nonvirtuous actions over and over again. [F.151.b] She committed many nonvirtuous actions.

“Nandaka, 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, there lived in Vārāṇasī 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. 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. At the elaborate feast celebrating her birth they named her according to their clan. They reared her on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and she flourished like a lotus in a lake.

“When she grew up she found faith in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, asked for her parents’ permission, and went forth. After going forth, she studied the Tripiṭaka and became a proponent of the Dharma with all the eloquence of her wisdom and freedom. Having acquired provisions of clothing, food, bedding, a seat, and medicines for the sick, she called upon all the benefactors and patrons to build a stūpa and a monastery associated with it that that was complete in every respect. She made offerings to the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of nuns.

“As she went about providing for the needs of all the nuns, she became arrogant about her well-proportioned shape, youthfulness, and high caste, and was unable to maintain her moral discipline. Then she took all the donations for the saṅgha, the donations to the stūpa, their regular support, and the donations [F.152.a] for the saṅgha of the four directions, and indulged herself as she pleased. When the nuns heard of this, they banished her from the nunnery.

“Consumed with fury and compelled by her anger, she assailed with harsh and hurtful language many nuns on the path of learning and the path of no more to learn. From house to house she slandered them by exclaiming, ‘These nuns violate moral discipline and are sinful!’ She thus created obstacles to their material well-being, disrespected them, and looked upon them with hate.

“Nandaka, what do you think? The one who was that nun then is none other than this anguished spirit. The act of disrespecting and creating obstacles to the material well-being of those nuns on the paths of learning and no more to learn ripened into her birth as an anguished spirit. The act of assailing them with harsh and hurtful language ripened into worms pouring forth from her mouth and nose. The act of slandering them from house to house by exclaiming, ‘These nuns violate moral discipline and are sinful!’ ripened into her reeking with a stench that could be smelled for many yojanas. The act of looking upon the nuns with hate ripened into her becoming completely blind. The act of taking 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 herself as she pleased ripened into her being snapped at by mottled blue dogs. Such were the acts she committed.”

As soon as they heard this, the people gathered there welled up with grief. The Blessed One directly apprehended their grief, taught them the Dharma accordingly, and among the assembled some generated heat. Some generated the peak, or generated the patience in accord with the truths, or generated the highest worldly dharma, or generated the attainment of seeing. Some manifested the resultant state of stream entry. Some [F.152.b] manifested the resultant state of once-return. Some manifested the resultant state of non-return. Some went forth and manifested arhatship. Some sowed the seeds to become universal monarchs, some to become great universal monarchs, some to become Indra, some to become Brahmā, some for the enlightenment of the listeners, some for the enlightenment of the solitary buddhas, and some for unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment. Among the assembled, most found themselves drawn to the Buddha, intent on the Dharma, and favoring the Saṅgha. [B13]

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, it was Venerable Maudgalyāyana’s custom to wander from time to time among the hell beings, to wander among the anguished spirits, to wander among the animals, to wander among the humans, and to wander among the gods.

When he returned, he would relate to people how the hell beings suffer through being cut up, hacked apart, beaten, roasted, and so on. When he returned, he would also relate to people how the anguished spirits suffer through hunger, thirst, being burned, being incinerated, being cooked, and so on; how animals suffer as they eat one another; how human beings suffer through striving, anger, and exhaustion; and how the gods suffer through dying, falling, disintegrating, and decaying. Those who heard him were filled with sorrow, and from this sorrow they went on to achieve great things.

One day Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana prepared himself to wander among the anguished spirits, disappeared from Śrāvastī, and traveled to the seashore. [F.153.a] There he saw one whose flesh was nothing but chunks of meat piled as high as a shrine hall. When he sat on the ground, needle-beaked creatures stood and jabbed him from all sides, intent on eating him, but when he rose up toward the sky, his entire body burst into flames. This caused him dreadful suffering and extreme, excruciating, unbearable agony.

Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana thought, “What action did this being take that ripened into such dreadful suffering?” When he examined that being’s past lives, he saw that after going forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, he had acted as steward for the monks. But then 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 used them himself, gave some to his relatives, and incinerated some out of anger. These were the actions that ripened into his meeting with such suffering.

Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana thought, “Though indeed I can see his past actions clearly, still I shall ask the Blessed One about this, so that many might become disillusioned with saṃsāra.” He disappeared from the seashore and traveled to Śrāvastī, where the Blessed One sat teaching the Dharma amid a company of hundreds. Then Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana thought, “Now is the time to request the Blessed One to explain about that anguished spirit.” He approached the Blessed One, touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet, and took a seat at one side.

Once he had taken a seat at one side, Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, it is my custom to wander from time to time [F.153.b] among the hell beings, to wander among the anguished spirits, to wander among the animals, to wander among the humans, and to wander among the gods.

“When I return I relate to people how the hell beings suffer through being cut up, hacked apart, beaten, roasted, and so on. When I return I also relate to people how the anguished spirits suffer through hunger, thirst, being burned, being incinerated, being cooked, and so on; how animals suffer as they eat one another; how human beings suffer through striving, anger, and exhaustion; and how the gods suffer through dying, falling, disintegrating, and decaying. Because of this, the people who hear me are filled with sorrow, and from this sorrow they go on to achieve great things.

“Lord, after preparing to wander among the anguished spirits, I disappeared from Śrāvastī and traveled to the seashore, Lord, where I saw one whose flesh was nothing but chunks of meat piled as high as a shrine hall. When he sat on the ground, needle-beaked creatures stood and jabbed him from all sides, intent on eating him. But when he rose up toward the sky, his entire body burst into flames. This caused him dreadful suffering and extreme, excruciating, unbearable agony.

“Lord, what action did this anguished spirit take that ripened into his meeting with such suffering?”

“Maudgalyāyana,” the Blessed One explained, “that being committed nonvirtuous actions over and over again. He committed many nonvirtuous actions.

“Maudgalyāyana, in times gone by, after going forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, [F.154.a] that being acted as steward for the monks. But then 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 instead enjoyed some for himself and hoarded the rest. One day, having fallen ill, he handed the riches over to his relatives. The monks saw this and put a stop to it, so he thought, ‘If they’re trying to stop me, then at the very least I shall make it so that none of us will benefit!’ Then in anger he set all the riches on fire.

“After that he died from there and transmigrated, taking rebirth as an anguished spirit. Then the act of taking all the donations for the saṅgha, the donations to the stūpa, their regular support, and the donations for the saṅgha of the four directions ripened into his flesh being nothing but chunks of meat piled as high as a shrine hall and needle-beaked creatures feeding on him. The act of burning the donations for the saṅgha, the donations to the stūpa, their regular support, and the donations for the saṅgha of the four directions ripened such that when he rose up toward the sky, his entire body burst into flames. Such were the actions of that being that ripened into his experiences of such suffering.”

As soon as they heard this, the people gathered there welled up with grief. The Blessed One directly apprehended their grief, taught them the Dharma accordingly, and among the assembled some generated heat. Some generated the peak, or generated the patience in accord with the truths, or generated the highest worldly dharma, or generated the attainment of seeing. Some manifested the resultant state of stream entry. Some manifested the resultant state of once-return. Some manifested the resultant state of non-return. [F.154.b] Some went forth and manifested arhatship. Some sowed the seeds to become universal monarchs, some to become great universal monarchs, some to become Indra, some to become Brahmā, some for the enlightenment of the listeners, some for the enlightenment of the solitary buddhas, and some for unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment. Among the assembled, most found themselves drawn to the Buddha, intent on the Dharma, and favoring the Saṅgha.

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a certain brahmin who was aged and decrepit. He went to the garden of Prince Jeta on an errand, and he saw the Blessed One there teaching the Dharma amid a company of hundreds. Seeing him, the brahmin perceived him to be his own son and he went and put his arms around him. But when the monks saw the brahmin had put his arms around the Blessed One, they sought to hinder him.

The Blessed One spoke to the monks, saying, “Monks, it is out of love for his son that he puts his arms around me. Therefore, do not hinder him. Monks, if you don’t let this brahmin put his arms around me, he will spew warm blood from his mouth and die.” So the brahmin embraced the Blessed One and then sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

The Blessed One directly apprehended his thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, capacity, and nature, and taught him the Dharma accordingly. Hearing it, the brahmin [F.155.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 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 implored him, “Blessed One, 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.”

The Blessed One said to him, “Come, join me, monk! Practice the holy life.”

As soon as the Blessed One had finished speaking there he stood, alms bowl and water pitcher in hand, with but a week’s worth of hair and beard, and with the deportment of a monk who had been ordained for one hundred years. As it is stated,

The Blessed One conferred on him instruction and, 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.

The monks requested the Blessed Buddha, [F.155.b] “Lord, tell us why thousands of men have seen the Blessed One, but no one has ever said with love, ‘I have met my son!’ and then run to put his arms around the Blessed One like that.”

“For five hundred lives this brahmin was my father,” the Blessed One explained. “It is because of these habitual tendencies alone that he said with love, ‘I have met my son!’ and put his arms around me.”

The monks further inquired, “Lord, if he was the Blessed One’s father for five hundred lifetimes, why is he not your father now?”

The Blessed One replied, “Because bodhisattvas want so deeply to renounce and to perform acts of charity, and in all my lives he obstructed my renunciation and charity, I prayed, ‘May he not become my father again.’ Furthermore, Śuddhodana also prayed, ‘Oh, may I become the father of the Buddha.’ ”

The monks then asked him, “Lord, where did Śuddhodana make these prayers?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One replied, “in times past, in the ninety-first eon, when the totally and completely awakened Buddha Vipaśyin was in the world, a certain trader offered a meal and prayed, ‘By this root of virtue, wherever I am born, may it be into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth. May my child be one as precious as this. May I please him and not displease him.’ ”

The monks asked the Blessed Buddha, [F.156.a] “Lord, what action did this brahmin take that ripened such that he grew impoverished and old before going forth?”

“Bodhisattvas want so deeply to renounce and to perform acts of charity,” the Blessed One explained, “and he continually created obstacles to my giving and obstacles to my renunciation. This act of continually creating obstacles to my giving and obstacles to my renunciation ripened into his growing impoverished and old before going forth.”

“Lord,” they asked further, “what action did this brahmin take that ripened such that he pleased the Blessed One, went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship?”

The Blessed One explained, “After going forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, he practiced pure conduct all his life, and at the time of his death, he prayed, ‘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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who went forth in the doctrine of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa then is none other than this brahmin. At that time, he practiced the holy life all his life, and at the time of his death, he prayed, ‘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. [F.156.b] Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“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, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a certain poor brahmin who made his living by farming. The brahmin, being hardworking, took up his plow early one morning and went out into the field. His wife, a brahmanī, likewise went out into the field, carrying the brahmin’s food and drink. When they had both eaten their food, the brahmanī returned home, while the brahmin stayed at work in the field.

The brahmin’s field was not far from the garden of Prince Jeta, and on the way home that afternoon the brahmin and the brahmanī saw the Blessed One and his great disciples one after another emerging from Śrāvastī. They felt a surge of joy toward the Blessed One and his disciples, and in their joy the two of them said to one another, “Whatever sufferings we have now are all on account of not making merit in times past. If we don’t act virtuously now either, when we die from here and transmigrate, still we will only ever be poor.”

“Sweet one,” the brahmin asked, “do we have anything of great value, like the rich use to give gifts and make merit?” [F.157.a]

“Lord, you needn’t worry about such things,” his wife replied. “The ascetic Gautama is a field of merit for all humanity. Even doing him some small service will bring a very great result. Let us offer food to the ascetic Gautama. If we make an offering to him, our poverty will come to an end.”

“As you wish,” the brahmin said. “Go and make many good, wholesome foods. Then early in the morning, when the ascetic Gautama heads for alms in Śrāvastī, we’ll go wait in the field to offer the food.”

“As you wish, lord,” said the brahmanī, who returned home and prepared many good, wholesome foods. They rose early the next morning and went out into the field, where they stood facing the garden of Prince Jeta and waited for the Blessed One.

The 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.

These 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? [F.157.b] 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?”

“Those mired in misdeeds will be lifted up by the hand. Those lacking the seven jewels of the noble ones will command the seven jewels of the noble ones. Those who have not produced roots of virtue will produce them. In those who have already produced them, roots of virtue will ripen. The blade of wisdom will slice open the roots of virtue of those in whom they have already ripened. For them this world, adorned by the presence of a buddha, will be fruitful.”

Then the Blessed One thought, “The time has come to tame both the brahmin and his wife, the brahmanī.” In the morning he donned his lower garment and holy robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went for alms in Śrāvastī. The two brahmins saw the Blessed One from a distance. Seeing him, they approached the Blessed One, and upon their arrival touched their heads to his feet and beseeched him, “Blessed One, here, in this field, please accept this offering of food from us.” The Blessed One assented by his silence.

Understanding that by his silence the Blessed One had given his assent, the brahmin then prepared a seat for him. “Please sit upon the seat that I have prepared,” he requested, and the Blessed One took his place on the seat prepared for him.

Once the two brahmins [F.158.a] knew that the Blessed Buddha was comfortably seated, by their own hands they contented him with many good, wholesome foods, proffering all that he wished. Having by their own hands contented him with many good, wholesome foods, proffering all that he wished, once they knew that he had finished eating and that his bowl had been taken away and his hands washed, they sat before the Blessed One to listen to the Dharma. The Blessed One taught them the Dharma particularly suited to their condition and departed.

As soon as the Blessed One left, the two brahmins began to pray, “By this root of virtue, may our poverty come to an end. May all the sprouts of barley growing in our field turn into sprouts of gold. May it be just so! May it not be otherwise!” No sooner had the two brahmins said these words than they saw that all the sprouts of barley growing in their field were gold.

When she saw this the brahmin’s wife exclaimed, “Lord! Our prayers have been fulfilled! But we cannot make use of this gold without asking the king.”

So her husband went immediately to see King Prasenajit. Upon his arrival he addressed the king: “Deva, sprouts of gold have come up in our barley field. It would only be proper for Deva to take his share.”

“Alas, has this brahmin gone mad?” thought King Prasenajit. But when he looked at him, the king saw that he had a clear mind and a peaceful demeanor. Seeing this he thought, “Might this actually be true?” and so he dispatched his royal servants to investigate. But when they arrived, they saw no golden sprouts. They returned and said to the king, [F.158.b] “If that brahmin hasn’t lost his mind, then where are all the sprouts of gold?”

The brahmin returned and pleaded with King Prasenajit, “Deva, I am certain I see sprouts of gold, so I bid you, please take your share!”

The king thought, “Perhaps this brahmin made merit at some previous time—or perhaps he has only now sowed seeds in a good field.” So the king himself went out into the brahmin’s field, but he didn’t see sprouts of gold either. He said to the brahmin, “Brahmin, if you see gold sprouts, then whatever you’re giving away, give to me.”

Right away the brahmin culled a portion from the field. “These belong to you, Deva,” he said.

No sooner did the king reply, “These are mine,” than he too saw the sprouts of gold. He was astounded to see them, and in his astonishment he asked the brahmin, “Brahmin, what did you do to achieve something so magnificent?”

“Deva, I offered food to the ascetic Gautama,” the brahmin replied.

“Brahmin, you did indeed sow seeds in a good field. Go now, don’t be shy—enjoy them without fear, and give gifts and make merit.” After saying this, the king departed.

The brahmin thought, “Whatever glory I have received, I have received it by entrusting myself to the Blessed One. It is his kindness alone I must repay.” So he put the wealth of his household on extravagant display. After hosting the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks for three months, providing for all their needs, [F.159.a] he offered the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks each a set of robes, and then sat before the Blessed One to listen to the Dharma.

The Blessed One directly apprehended his thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, capacity, and nature, and taught him the Dharma accordingly. Hearing it, the brahmin and the people of his house 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. Having seen the truths, the brahmin thought, “I should give up living at home to 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.” So he gave gifts and generated merit.

He went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, and, casting away all afflictive emotions with 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.

“Lord,” the monks inquired of the Blessed One, “what action did this brahmin take that ripened into his seeing that the sprouts of barley growing in his field were sprouts of gold, and that he pleased the Blessed One, did not displease him, went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship?” [F.159.b]

“Monks,” the Blessed One replied, “it was partly his past actions, and it is partly his present actions as well. As for his past actions, monks, in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty 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 Kāśyapa was in the world, this brahmin went forth in his doctrine.

“He practiced pure conduct all his life, and at the time of his death, he prayed, ‘While I may not have attained any great virtues, still I have gone forth in the teaching of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa and practiced pure conduct all my life. 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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“O monks, what do you think? The one who was that monk then is none other than this brahmin. At that time he practiced pure conduct all his life, and at the time of his death, he prayed, ‘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. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifest arhatship.’

“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— [F.160.a] that he has pleased me, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship. These were his past actions.

“As for his present actions, after offering me food, he prayed, ‘May my poverty immediately come to an end. May all my sprouts of barley turn into sprouts of gold! May it be just so! May it not be otherwise.’ These were his present actions.”

When the Blessed One was in Rājagṛha, there lived in Rājagṛha a certain brahmin. 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. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they named him according to their clan.

They reared him on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and as he grew up he studied letters, brahminical customs and conduct, the syllables oṃ and bho, ritual purity, ritual actions, the collection of ashes, holding the ritual vase, the Ṛg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sāma Veda, the Atharva Veda, how to perform sacrificial rites, how to lead others in performing sacrificial rites, how to give and receive offerings, recitation, and recitation instruction. Trained in these procedures, he became a master of the six types of brahminical activities, and in time he mastered the eighteen sciences.

That brahmin, having found faith in the Buddha, and in the Dharma and the Saṅgha, went for refuge, and took the fundamental precepts. One day he contented the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks with many good, wholesome foods, and then sat before them to listen to the Dharma. [F.160.b] The Blessed One taught him the Dharma particularly suited to him, and departed.

Then one day the brahmin fell ill. Though he was treated with medicinal roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits, he could not be cured, and died. After his death, he transmigrated and took rebirth among the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. The brahmin’s son laid down his father’s remains not far from Vulture Peak Mountain, where they were cremated. In misery he remained there in the charnel ground, suffering, lamenting, and beating his chest, wailing, “My father, my only father!” and roaming all about.

Now 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.

The brahmin saw that when he died as a human being, having offered his respectful service to the Blessed One and the rest of the saṅgha of monks, taken refuge, and maintained the fundamental precepts, he had transmigrated and taken rebirth as a god in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.

The young god who formerly was the brahmin 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 and offering him my respect.” So he 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. Disappearing from among the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, he approached the Blessed One, scattered the divine blue lotus, lotus, white water lily, white lotus, and mandārava flowers over the Blessed One, touched his head to the feet of the Blessed One, [F.161.a] and sat before the Blessed One to listen to the Dharma.

The Blessed One directly apprehended his thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, capacity, and nature, and taught him the Dharma accordingly. Hearing it, the young god who formerly was the brahmin 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 touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet, circumambulated him three times, and disappeared from the Blessed One’s presence.

Just then the young god looked out and saw his son in misery there in the charnel ground, suffering, lamenting, beating his chest, wailing, “My father, my only father!” and roaming all about. Seeing him so, he went to his son and said, “My son, you needn’t mourn for me. Don’t mourn for me so.”

“Who are you?” asked the son.

The young god replied, “I am your father.”

“Where did you take rebirth?” asked the son.

The young god said, “I took birth among the gods.”

“What action did you take to be born there?” asked the son.

“I served the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks,” the young god replied, “and I took refuge and maintained the fundamental precepts. You needn’t mourn for me. Your concern should be for yourself. Take refuge in the Blessed One. From him all good things will come to you.”

Then the young god disappeared from that place and traveled up to be among the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. The brahmin’s son not only obeyed the words of his father and gave up mourning, but in his joy toward the Blessed One he approached the Blessed One, touched his head to the Blessed One’s feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

The Blessed One directly apprehended his thoughts, habitual tendencies, temperament, capacity, and nature, [F.161.b] and taught him the Dharma accordingly. Hearing it, the brahmin’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 of the Blessed One, “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.”

With the words “Come, join me, monk! Practice the holy life,” the Blessed One led him to go forth as a novice and conferred on him full ordination and instructed him. He cast away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, and 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.

The monks inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, tell us why this young brahmin who lacked faith was brought by his father to perfect faith, went forth, pleased the Blessed One, did not displease him, cast all away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.”

“Not only now,” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, this young brahmin who lacked faith was brought by his father to perfect faith, went forth, and practiced pure conduct all his life. Listen well! [F.162.a]

“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, there lived a certain brahmin in Vārāṇasī.

“One day his wife conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child. As he grew up, he studied letters, brahminical customs and conduct, the syllables oṃ and bho, ritual purity, ritual actions, the collection of ashes, holding the ritual vase, the Ṛg Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sāma Veda, the Atharva Veda, how to perform sacrificial rites, how to lead others in performing sacrificial rites, how to give and receive offerings, recitation, and recitation instruction. Trained in these procedures, he became a master of the six types of brahminical activities, and in time he mastered the eighteen sciences.

“One day his father developed a deep admiration for the Buddha, and a deep admiration for the Dharma and the Saṅgha, and he took refuge and maintained the fundamental precepts. Then one day he died, transmigrated, and took rebirth among the gods. In misery the brahmin’s son suffered, lamenting, beating his chest, wailing, ‘My father, my only father!’ and roaming all about.