དཔལ་གྱ་སྡའ་རྟགས་པ་བརྗད་པ 20

20

and seeking to change his mind, he bowed down at his feet and said, ‘Lord, this is not possible. If your body is cut by a saw, you will certainly die. If you die, you will become a useless corpse. A useless corpse is no good to this brahmin. Giving your life to him is pointless. Cutting one person’s limb off and attaching it to another does not work. Your divine efforts will be in vain. Please, be patient. Do not kill yourself in vain. Do not give up your life.’

“Consoling the great minister Mahāmati, the bodhisattva replied, ‘Mahāmati, leave it be, leave it be. At some point, I hope to attain unsurpassed, perfect awakening and liberate saṃsāra’s beings. Do not hinder my awakening. It is the nature of our existence that we must all separate, even from those who have been very dear to us for a long time, like our children.’ Having said this, he glanced once again at the saw and said, ‘This saw is an incomparable object that will direct my merit toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening.’ This is how he thought of it, and again he said to his minister, ‘Cut off the lower half of my body as soon as you can, before the brahmin dies. Otherwise, my intent will be fruitless.’

“Mahāmati, the great minister, knew then that the bodhisattva was determined to give away his body. He held the bodhisattva’s feet in both his hands and kissed them. As tears flowed down his face like rain, he despaired and, overwhelmed with compassion, said to the bodhisattva, ‘Alas, the force of impermanence will strike the lord today. The lord takes care of all of Jambudvīpa, he is the compassionate one, he has innumerable qualities, and he pleases and is affectionate to all sentient beings.