Karmashataka 32: Bam po 32

having [abandoned...], he actualized arhatship. Since both his parents and those relatives also made a praṇidhāna there, based solely on this even now, they have pleased me and not displeased me.

The Hundred Deeds, Thirty-second viśrāma.
As for the one called 'The Strife': The nidāna was in Śrāvastī. At that time, on the border between the country of Kośala and the country of Magadha, there lived two mighty and ferocious lions. Because they lived there, they harmed many people and cut off travel. Since the two of them blocked the road, no one was able to travel that road. The Buddha, the Bhagavān, who shows the singular path, who has mastered the two kinds of knowables and wisdom, whose unconfused application of mindfulness

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.

The Blessed Buddha saw the time had come to tame the two lions. He spoke to Venerable Ānanda, instructing him, “Ānanda, go and give the message to the monks that the Tathāgata will travel to Magadha. Inform them that those who wish to travel with the Tathāgata should prepare their robes.”

After having stayed there during the rains, the Blessed One then set out for Rājagṛha, surrounded and escorted by an assembly of monks. In going for alms they eventually came to the lions’ forest den. The two lions were ranging about in search of food, and when they happened upon the monks, they prepared to attack.

Out of compassion for them both, the Blessed One took his place in front of them. The lions saw the Blessed One from a distance, and upon seeing him their fury disappeared and they felt a surge of joy toward the Blessed One. They approached the Blessed One, touched their heads to his feet, and sat gazing at his countenance. Then the Blessed One spoke to them, saying, “My friends, you have taken birth in the lower realms because of your past wrongful ways. Even now you are creating nothing but such causes.

“So it is, my friends: all compounded things are impermanent. All phenomena are selfless. Nirvāṇa is peace.¹⁹⁵ Let your mind be filled with joy at the thought of me, and you may even be released from rebirth in the animal realm.” Having spoken thus, the Blessed One departed.

Upon hearing this Dharma from the Blessed One, the two lions were pleased. Those who take birth in the animal realms are predisposed to feelings of warmth, so when they passed away, filled with joy at the thought of the Blessed One, they took rebirth among the god realms.

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.

They saw that when they had died as animals, filled with joy at the thought of the Blessed One, they transmigrated and took rebirth as gods. Then they

thought, “It’s been a whole day since we approached the Blessed One and offered him our respect. This isn’t proper of us. Not a day should pass without our seeing the Blessed One.”

So the young gods who formerly were lions decorated themselves with earrings, garlands, and strings of precious stones, put on crowns decorated with various types of precious jewels, and perfumed their bodies with saffron, tamala, spṛka, and other herbs. That night they filled the front of their long shirts with divine blue lotus, lotus, white water lily, white lotus, and mandārava flowers. Then, appearing amid a great light in the garden of Prince Jeta, they scattered the flowers over the Blessed One, touched their heads to the Blessed One’s feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

Then the Blessed One taught them the Dharma particularly suited to them, and upon hearing the Dharma they saw the truths. After they had seen the truths they went back to where they belonged.

The monks, having noticed the great rays of light spreading forth from the garden of Prince Jeta, inquired of the Blessed One, “Blessed One, what was this? Last night, did Sahāṃpati Brahmā, or Śakra, King of the Gods—or perhaps the four great kings, or some other young god of great miracles and great power—come to offer respect to the Blessed One?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One told them, “last night it was neither Sahāṃpati Brahmā, nor Śakra, King of the Gods, nor the four great kings, nor some other young god of great miracles and great power who came to see me. Monks, did you see the two lions who attacked us from that deep forest den?”

“Yes, Lord, we saw them,” they replied.

The Blessed One then explained, “I taught them the Dharma, and upon hearing the Dharma from me they were pleased, whereupon they died, transmigrated, and took rebirth among the gods. As gods they came to me and I taught them the Dharma. Having heard the Dharma from me they saw the truths, and having seen the truths they went back to where they belonged.”

“Lord,” the monks requested of the Blessed Buddha, “tell us why the Blessed One purified the hostility of those two lions and led them to attain the god realms and liberation, dispelling the fears of two countries.”

“Not only now,” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well I purged them of hostility and placed them in the four meditative states and the five superknowledges, dispelling the fears of two countries. Listen well!

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

“One day they arrayed the four divisions of their armies, and, wishing to wage war, they hunkered down at the border of their two countries. A certain sage who had all the five superknowledges and was a person of great miracles and great power lived in a place devoted to austerities near where they were hunkered down. Out of compassion for both of the kings, he traveled through the sky to sit between them on the border. Upon seeing the sage, their fury disappeared, and instead they were filled with the greatest admiration for the sage. In joy they asked the sage, ‘Sage, what advice can you grant us?’

“The sage said to them, ‘You must purge all your hostility.’

“The two kings replied,

‘As you wish, sage,’ and, coming to an agreement, they bowed down at the sage’s feet and sat before him to listen to the Dharma. Then the sage taught them the Dharma particularly suited to them, and the kings ceded their thrones to their children, went forth in the presence of that very sage, and generated the four meditative states and the five superknowledges.

“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was that sage then, and lived the life of a bodhisattva. Those who were King Brahmadatta of Kāśi and King Mahendrasena of Videha are none other than those two lions. At that time I rid them of hostility and placed them in the four meditative states and the five superknowledges. Now as well I have rid them of hostility and led them to the god realms and liberation.”

“Lord,” the monks inquired, “what action did they take that ripened into their birth as lions? What action did they take that, after they died, they transmigrated and took rebirth among the gods, and that they pleased the Blessed One, and did not displease him?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One replied, “it was partly their past actions, and it is partly their present actions as well. What were their past actions? As lay vow holders in the teaching of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa, lacking discernment they spoke in anger to many people, calling them animals. Then, after going for refuge and keeping the fundamental precepts all their lives, at the time of their deaths they 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.’

“O monks, what do you think? The ones who were the lay vow holders then are none other than these lions. The act of calling many people animals ripened into their births as animals. Then they went for refuge and maintained the fundamental precepts, and said that prayer at the time of their deaths.

“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 and not displeased me. These were their past actions.

“What are their present actions? As lions, because they were filled with joy at the thought of me, they took birth among the gods. These are their present actions.”

Trapped

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there were certain hunters in the forests of Śrāvastī who had set out many nets, machine traps, and pit traps¹⁹⁶ to hunt deer, and managed to catch a great number of deer. In the morning they rose and went to the forest, and when they saw the deer they had caught, they began to shoot and kill them with arrows, until only a few remained.

At that time the Blessed One was traveling through the region, and the deer and the hunters all saw the Blessed One from a distance. Upon seeing him they experienced a surge of joy toward the Blessed One. In their joy the hunters approached the Blessed One, and upon their arrival they 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, capacities, and natures,

taught them the Dharma accordingly, and the hunters manifested the resultant state of stream entry right where they sat. After they saw the truths, they requested 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. They cast away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, and manifested arhatship.

Then, filled with joy at the thought of the Blessed One, the deer died, transmigrated, and took rebirth among 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.

They saw that when they had died as animals, filled with joy at the thought of the Blessed One, they had transmigrated and taken rebirth as gods. Thereupon they thought, “It’s been a whole day since we went to see the Blessed One. This isn’t proper of us. Not a day should pass without our seeing the Blessed One.”

So the young gods who formerly were animals decorated themselves with earrings, garlands, and strings of precious stones, put on crowns decorated with various types of precious jewels, and perfumed their bodies with saffron, tamala, spṛka, and other herbs. That night they filled the front of their long shirts with divine blue lotus, lotus, white water lily, white lotus, and mandārava flowers, and they approached the Blessed One, scattered the divine flowers over the Blessed One,

touched their heads to his feet, and sat before him to listen to the Dharma. The Blessed One taught them the Dharma particularly suited to them, and upon hearing the Dharma they saw the truths. Having seen the truths, they went back to where they belonged.

Having noticed the great rays of light spreading forth from the garden of Prince Jeta, the monks inquired of the Blessed One, “Blessed One, what was this? Last night, did Sahāṃpati Brahmā, or Śakra, King of the Gods—or perhaps the four great kings, or some other young god of great miracles and great power—come to offer respect to the Blessed One?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One explained, “last night it was neither Sahāṃpati Brahmā, nor Śakra, King of the Gods, nor the four great kings who came to see me, nor some other young god of great miracles and great power. Monks, did you see the five hundred deer shot and killed with arrows in that deep hollow of the forest?”

“Yes, Blessed One, we saw them,” they replied.

“They died filled with joy at the thought of me, transmigrated, and took rebirth among the gods,” said the Blessed One. “As gods they came to see me and I taught them the Dharma. After they had heard the Dharma from me they saw the truths, and having seen the truths they went back to where they belonged.”

The monks inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, what actions did the hunters take that ripened into their births as persons of low class? What actions did the deer take that ripened into their births as deer, and that they pleased the Blessed One and did not displease him?”

“All of them went forth in the teaching of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa,” the Blessed One explained.

“As monks they were nothing but quarrelsome, and lacking discernment they called many other monks low class. Others among them called them animals. Those who called them animals took rebirth as animals. Those who called them low class were born as persons of low class. After that they practiced pure conduct all their lives, their faculties ripened, and now they have been liberated.”

The Partridge

Once, as the Blessed One was traveling through the countryside with a saṅgha of 1,250 monks, as well as with five hundred merchants and five hundred beggars, they cleared a path in the forest. After the Blessed One had passed through the forest, a great fire began to blaze there, terrifying many. They shouted, “We’re as good as burned! There’s no way we’ll survive!”

The Blessed One saw that many had become terrified, and he approached the travelers and spoke in verse, saying:

“May the strength of all the buddhas,
May the strength possessed by the arhats,
May the light of the Buddha-Jewel
Make this pathway free from fire.

“May the strength of all the buddhas,
May the strength possessed by the arhats,
May the light of the Dharma-Jewel
Make this pathway free from fire.

“May the strength of all the buddhas,
May the strength possessed by the arhats,
May the light of the Saṅgha-Jewel
Make this pathway free from fire.”

No sooner had the Blessed One spoken these words than the fire subsided.

The merchants felt a surge of joy toward the Blessed One, and in their joy they sat before the Blessed One to listen to the Dharma.

The Blessed One taught them the Dharma perfectly suited to them, 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. 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.

“Lord,” the monks requested of the Blessed One, “tell us why the Blessed One saved many from perishing in the fire 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 saved many animals from perishing in a fire and delivered them to safety. Listen well!

“Monks, in times gone by, in a certain forest there lived a great number of birds. In that forest two dry sticks scraped against one another and a fire arose. Those birds

that were able to, fled. Their eggs, and those birds that were not able to flee, were left behind.

“At that time there was a bodhisattva who had taken birth as a partridge, and from a distance the bodhisattva saw the approach of the blazing fire. He felt compassion for those living beings and thought, ‘If I make no effort to deliver these beings as they face suffering, how can I lead them from saṃsāra?’ So the bodhisattva wet his wings with water, and as he circled in the sky above the great fire, he shook his wings and said in verse:

“ ‘Though they have wings
They cannot fly.
Though they have feet
They cannot run.

“ ‘Their parents, flown away, are gone.
Stay put, fire. Stir not.

“ ‘If it is true and a true statement
That I have perfectly
Cultivated kindness,
Then stay put, fire. Stir not.’

“Then Śakra, King of the Gods, saw that the bodhisattva was disheartened and remained there for the benefit of beings. When he saw this he thought, ‘This is the bodhisattva of our own fortunate eon, who is disheartened and remains there for the benefit of beings. I will help him!’ Then Śakra, King of the Gods, let fall a great rain to quell the fire, and rescued all the beings from the threat of fire.

“O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was the partridge then and lived the life of a bodhisattva. Those who were the beings of the forest then are none other than these many persons. At that time I rescued them from the threat of fire and delivered them to safety. Now as well I have rescued them from the threat of fire

and established them in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.

“They also went forth in the teaching of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa. Some became monks. Some became lay vow holders. After practicing pure conduct all their lives then, their faculties ripened, and now they have been liberated.”

Father, or The Story of Sudarśana

When¹⁹⁷ the Blessed One was in Rājagṛha, there lived a certain householder named Dhanika. 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 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.

When the great crowd of people saw him just after he was born he was beautiful. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they asked, “What name should we give this child?” and they named him, saying, “Since when the great crowd of people saw him just after his birth he was beautiful, his name will be Sudarśana.” They reared young Sudarśana on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and his fame spread throughout Rājagṛha.

After the Blessed One achieved unexcelled wisdom he began to act for the benefit of those to be tamed and came to Rājagṛha. He stayed in Bamboo Grove,

where he inspired thousands to go for refuge and take the fundamental precepts. From time to time, group after group and elder after elder, one joyful group after another, gathered and went to see the Blessed One. No one came to see young Sudarśana anymore, so one day he asked his parents, “Why is it that many people came to see me before, but no one comes to see me now?”

“Now they go to see the Blessed One,” they replied.

“Who is this Blessed One?” asked the young man.

His parents praised the Blessed One, and as soon as he heard this, he was filled with wonder and thought, “How could he be more pleasing to the eye than I?” Then he said to his parents, “Mother, Father, I wish to go see the Blessed One.”

“Child, we’ll go with you,” his parents replied.

The parents took their child to Bamboo Grove, where the child 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, 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 he saw the Blessed Buddha the sight of him filled him with supreme joy, and he believed himself to be looking at his father.

He cried out, “Father! Father!” and approached the Blessed One. Upon his arrival he touched his head to the feet of the Blessed One, and, believing the Blessed One to be his father, sat at the Blessed One’s feet. His parents likewise touched their heads to the feet of the Blessed One and sat before him to listen to the Dharma.

The Blessed One taught them the Dharma particularly suited to their condition, then sat without speaking.

Knowing that the Blessed One had completed his discourse, the householder Dhanika and his wife then took their son by the hand and prepared to depart, saying, “We are going to go now.” But the young man could not be parted from the Blessed One.

His parents thought, “We can get him home by inviting the Blessed One to our house.” They bowed toward the Blessed One with palms pressed together and requested the Blessed One, “Please permit us to invite the Blessed One to take a meal at our house for seven days,” and the Blessed One assented by his silence.

Understanding that by his silence the Blessed One had given his assent, the householder said to his wife, “Sweet one, go and prepare food for the Blessed One. The boy and I shall stay with the Blessed One here.” The householder and his child slept that night in Bamboo Grove.¹⁹⁸ After preparing many good, wholesome foods that night, in the morning the woman rose, prepared seats, filled the water pots, and set them out. Then she 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.”

In the morning the Blessed One donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, he set out surrounded and escorted by an assembly of monks. They arrived at the householders’ reception room, where the Blessed One took his place on the seat prepared for him amid the saṅgha of monks.

Once the householder knew that the Buddha and the rest of the saṅgha of monks were comfortably seated, by his own hand he contented them with many good, wholesome foods, proffering all that they wished. Once he knew that the Blessed One had finished eating and that his bowl had been taken away and his hands washed, he brought in a very low seat and sat before the Blessed One and his suite of attendants 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, 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.

After seeing the truths, the child asked for his parents’ permission, then 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.”

With the words “Come, join me, monk! Practice the holy life,” the Blessed One 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. His state was such that Indra,

Upendra, and the other gods worshiped and venerated him and addressed him with respect.

The monks remarked to the Blessed One, “Lord, thousands of children have seen the Blessed One, but never has anyone encountered him quite like that.”

“Monks,” the Blessed One explained, “for five hundred lifetimes this young man was my child. It was on the basis of these habitual tendencies that he encountered me so.”

“Lord,” they inquired, “what action did the young man 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; 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 recounted, “in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as forty 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 Krakucchanda was in the world, the totally and the completely awakened Buddha Krakucchanda achieved unexcelled wisdom and then traveled to the royal palace known as Śobhāvatī.

At that time, King Śobha had built a monastery for the totally and completely awakened Buddha Krakucchanda that was complete in every respect, and offered it to the totally and completely awakened Buddha Krakucchanda.