Karmashataka 15: Bam po 15

awakening, and some generated the seeds for unexcelled, completely perfect awakening. Most among that retinue were established in devotion to the Buddha, entering into the Dharma, and taking refuge in the Saṅgha. / The Hundred Deeds, viśrāma fifteen.

Morsel

Once, when the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, he said to the monks, “Monks, if all beings came to understand the fruits of giving and the karmic ripening of the fruits of each portion given just as I understand the fruits of giving and know the karmic ripening of the fruits of each portion given, then those who received offerings would not eat even the tiniest remnant of a single morsel unless they had given of it or portioned it out.

“If beings’ minds do not change but rather remain ensnared by miserliness, they do not understand the fruits of giving or know the karmic ripening of the fruits of each portion given the way that I understand the fruits of giving and know the karmic ripening of the fruits of each portion given. That is why their minds clutch at everything, they fail to give, they eat without sharing any portion, and their minds are ensnared by miserliness.” Thus spoke the Blessed One.

After the Sugata had said such, he, our Founder, continued:

“If sentient beings only knew
What it is the sages teach—
The ripening of each portion given
And just how great it will become—

“Then their minds would not be filled with greed;
And not having shared, they would not eat;
And the grasping that pervades their minds
Would never appear again.

“Unaware, the naive are veiled
In darkness, and so they grasp at
Everything. They never think
To share, though they eat and eat.
Thus their greed, born of mind,
Keeps them bound.”

“Lord,” the monks requested of the Blessed One, “tell us why the Blessed One has spoken in praise of giving and of the portion given.”

“Not only now,” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, I commended giving and of the portion given. Listen well!

“Monks, in times past King Candraprabha 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.

“This king’s nature was loving and compassionate, with a love for beings and a delight in giving. He gave gifts and made merit. To those who wished for food he gave food. To those who wished for something to drink he gave something to drink. To those who wished for clothes he gave clothes. To those who wished for incense, flower garlands, and fragrant ointments he gave incense, flower garlands, and fragrant ointments. To the sick and to the homes for the sick he provided everything that was needed. He served the lowly, the hungry, the poor, and the orphaned. He prepared a great deal of food and drink and made gifts of it to the creatures who flew through the sky, dwelt in the water, or made their homes in the fields.

“One day a drought befell Kāśi. The brahmin augurs read the portents and announced that for twelve years there would be no rain. Because no rain fell, a famine broke out, and people became uncertain what to do.

“King Candraprabha made a proclamation: ‘Let those among you remain here who have food enough for twelve years. Let those who are without travel to another land, and return when harvests are good.

For to your country you may return, but to this life you cannot.’

“No sooner did they hear this than some among the assembled traveled to other lands and settled there. Others, attached to their homeland, simply remained. When those of them with food had consumed it all and were sick with hunger, they approached the king and said, ‘Deva, we are famished. Please, give us something to sustain us.’

“When he heard this, right away the king thought, ‘All of these people need provisioning that will last for a long time.’ With this thought, he said, ‘Wait here awhile, all of you, while I speak to the grain keepers. Then I shall take action.’

“ ‘Do we have enough food for me and all those who remain in the country to last for twelve years?’ he asked.

“ ‘Deva, let us take an account of the granaries and make allocations,’ the grain keepers replied.

“The grain keepers examined the granaries and made allocations, and then began to tally the people remaining in the country. Then they calculated the shares to be distributed over twelve years, reckoning that every day, each person could receive a single morsel, and the king, two.

“They said to the king, ‘Deva, for twelve years each of the country’s inhabitants can receive a single morsel per day, and your share, Deva, will be two.’

“As soon as the king heard this, he announced, ‘Every day one morsel will be distributed to each person living in the country.’ All the people upheld the virtuous path, and thereafter, all who died there took birth among the gods. As they were born there, they began to fill all the gods’ residences.

“Then Śakra, King of the Gods, thought, ‘There are but two reasons

that the gods’ residences fill up—the appearance of a tathāgata, or the appearance of a universal monarch. Has then a universal monarch now appeared in the world, or has a tathāgata appeared?’ But when he looked, he saw that it was not so. Again he wondered, ‘Well then, because of whom have the gods’ residences become full?’

“Then he looked, realized that it was because of King Candraprabha, and thought, ‘What—is he to become like Śakra, or perhaps Brahmā?’ When he looked, he saw that King Candraprabha was practicing to attain unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment. So Śakra, King of the Gods, said, ‘I will go for a time and see for myself whether he is of firm resolve. If this being’s resolve is firm, I shall worship him. If his resolve is not firm, I shall steady him.’

With this in mind, he transformed his appearance into that of a brahmin and said, ‘Deva, I am famished. Please, give me something to sustain me.’

“ ‘If I cut off someone else and give to him,’ the king thought, ‘I’ll be taking one life to protect another, so I will eat just one morsel of food, and give the other to him!’ The king handed the morsel to the brahmin, but just as he thought, ‘Now I will eat the other,’ the brahmin said, ‘Deva, I can’t survive on just one morsel.’ Right away the king thought, ‘If I don’t give the second morsel to this brahmin, he will starve. He might even die. Since I am committed to the welfare of beings, I’m capable of protecting the life of another even at the cost of my own.’

So 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 sugata, a knower of the world, a tamer of persons, a charioteer, an unsurpassed one, a teacher of humans and gods, a blessed buddha.’ Then he spoke this verse:

“ ‘By this vast gift, may I become
A self-arisen buddha in the triple world.
And when I do, may I liberate those not freed
By the mighty victors who came before me.’¹⁰⁷

“With that, he handed the morsel to Śakra, King of the Gods, who was in the guise of a brahmin. At this Śakra, King of the Gods, thought, ‘This bodhisattva has performed a magnificent austerity.’ His brahmin guise disappeared and he assumed his natural form and asked, ‘What will you accomplish by these efforts?’

“ ‘I shall attain unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment,’ was his reply.

“Śakra said, ‘With a mind and mental states like these, you are certain to fully awaken to unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment. When you do, please remember me.’ With that, Śakra, King of the Gods, let fall a mighty downpour of rain. All the grains began to sprout into a great harvest, and Kāśi was restored.

“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was King Candraprabha then, and lived the life of a bodhisattva. At that time I also commended giving and the portion given. Why then, having manifested the fruits of giving, would the Tathāgata now not commend giving and the portion given?”

Part Four

1. The Story of Maitrībala
2. The Dark Storm
3. Ants: Two Stories

4. The Lay of the Land¹⁰⁸
5. The Story of Āraṇyaka
6. The Elephant
7. The Nāga (1)
8. The Story of Siṃha
9. The Schism in the Saṅgha
10. The Dark Forest
11. The One Who Heard

The Story of Maitrībala

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, the following took place—providing a statement additional to the life story of Wealth’s Delight in explaining how the events of The Sūtra of the Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Dharma came about.¹⁰⁹

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

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

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

“This king was the epitome of love, was extremely compassionate, loved beings, and delighted in giving. He gave gifts and made merit. He provided for the ascetics, the brahmins, the indigent, the bereft, and the poor. He prepared a great deal of food and drink and made gifts of it to the creatures who flew through the sky, dwelt in the water, or made their homes in the fields. He cultivated love for the people of his country. The minds of all the people of his country

were filled with love, and due to its power no one could do them any harm.

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

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

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

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

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

“At that the king thought, ‘Oh my! Though they dress one way, their food is another thing entirely! They’re not like human beings. But even if they’re not human, I shall do for them as I have promised. Still, I can’t harm others for the sake of feeding them,

yet without harming others I cannot get freshly drawn blood. If they can use my blood for food, then I will give them my own flesh and blood.’ So he asked the yakṣas, ‘My friends, could you perhaps use my blood for food?’

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

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

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

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

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

“So Śakra, King of the Gods, fortified the bodhisattva’s body with divine life force, and even miraculously accomplished much of the bloodletting. After the bodhisattva had sated all five of the life-draining yakṣas with no difficulty at all, he prayed for unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, saying, ‘By this root of virtue, may I become a buddha to serve as a protector for the world’s blind without a guide,

without any guide at all, without anyone to show them the way, to rescue those who have not found their way across, to deliver those who have not been delivered, to relieve the anxiety of those frozen with fear, and to place in nirvāṇa all those who have not transcended suffering.

“ ‘By this great gift may I become
For wandering beings a self-arisen enlightened one.
May I pull from the waters of this life those who were
Not freed by the mighty victors who came before me.’¹¹⁰

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Dark Storm

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

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

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

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, 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 ocean, home of creatures fierce,
Could fail to send its tides on time.
But when the time has come to tame
Their offspring, buddhas never fail.

When the Blessed One focused his mind, he directly apprehended that the time had come to tame the five hundred merchants. He stretched out his arm like an elephant’s trunk and lifted up all five hundred merchants and their packs out of the dark forest and set them down not too far from Śrāvastī. The five hundred merchants recognized that they were near Śrāvastī and thought, “The Blessed One has rescued us!” They were elated, and because of this they thought,

“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.”

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

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

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 requested of the Blessed One, “Lord, if permitted we wish to go forth in the Dharma and Vinaya so well spoken, complete our novitiates, and achieve full ordination. In the presence of the Blessed One, we too wish to practice the holy life.”

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

As arhats, free from the attachments of the three realms,

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

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

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

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

“At that time there lived a certain sage who had all the five superknowledges, a person of great miracles and great power, and he saw the suffering of the five hundred merchants. As soon as he did, he lifted all five hundred merchants and their packs up out of the dark forest and set them back down whence they came. The merchants

thought, ‘Regardless of how it happened, it is all because of this sage that we are still alive. In his presence let us give up living at home, and go forth to practice pure conduct.’ So in his presence they went forth, and all five hundred merchants generated the four meditative states and the five superknowledges.

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

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

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

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

Ants: Two Stories

The First “Ant” Story

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

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

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

“One day he emerged from the water onto dry land, and fell asleep there. An ant emerged from an anthill and approached the turtle. He saw the turtle asleep there on dry land,

and then returned to the nest to inform the other ants. The eighty thousand other ants in that anthill heard from the first ant that the turtle was there and came streaming out of the anthill to crawl into the turtle’s shell. As they all began to feed on him, he awoke and saw that his body was covered in ants.

“Now even when bodhisattvas take a lower birth with their bodies, their minds do not descend to lower realms. So the bodhisattva thought, ‘I could go back into the water, but all these living beings’ lives would be lost. Since I strive to benefit beings, it wouldn’t be right for me to take so many lives. Better¹¹¹ to sacrifice my own instead.’ With this in mind, he took the hardship upon himself and kept silent.

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

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

“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was that turtle then,