ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ 5
The Hundred Deeds 5
- Language
- English
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8. The Cowherds
9. A Band of Friends
10. The Story of Abhaya
11. The Story of Lake of Jewels
12. The Story of Wealth’s Delight
13. The Bear: Two Stories
14. The Story of Small Person with a Curving Spine
15. The Rākṣasa
The Chariot: Four Stories
The First “Chariot” Story
When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a certain brahmin who wished to perform a ritual offering, so he climbed onto his chariot and rode into Śrāvastī. That morning, when the Blessed One donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went for alms in Śrāvastī, the brahmin was filled with joy, circumambulated the Blessed One, 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, 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
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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, 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:
Cultivate renunciation,
Practice the Buddha’s teaching—
Trample the lord of death’s army
Like an elephant in a house of reeds!
Those who mind their way along the path
Of this Dharma and Vinaya
Will abandon the round of rebirth
And put an end to suffering.
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.
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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. 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:
“From your mouth’s great gate spill forth
Scores of thousand-colored spectra.
Like the shining of the sun,
They illumine everything.”
He then supplicated him with the following verses:
“The lords of beings, the buddhas who cast off disconsolation,
Are rid of savagery and pride, and are themselves the cause of all that’s good.
These victors over every rival, in the absence of cause and condition
Do not display their smiles, which are the color of conch and lotus root.
“So if you know it’s time, for your mind never falters,
Then come—ascetic, victor—quell your disciples’ hesitation.
O sage, greatest of the herd, with speech unrivaled, sure, and good,
Reassure those prone to doubt.
“Mountain still, and vast as oceans,
Buddha, fully awakened lord,
Your smile is no mundane event.
Hero, make it manifest so that many might pay heed.
“With speech like a clap of thunder,
Graceful like a royal bull,
Oh tell the fruits awaiting those,
The peerless ones, who praise you!
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“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. “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 brahmin who circumambulated the Tathāgata and departed?”
“Yes, Lord, I saw him,” Ānanda said.
“Ānanda, because of the root of virtue of this brahmin’s action, he will not fall to the lower realms for thirteen eons. For thirteen eons he will take rebirth among gods and humans. After circling in saṃsāra, in his final rebirth, his final dwelling place, he will take birth as a human being. Then he will go forth and manifest the thirty-seven wings of enlightenment without a teacher or any instruction. He will manifest the enlightenment of a solitary buddha and become the solitary buddha known as Circumambulating. That is what shall come of his act of generosity.”
The Second “Chariot” Story
When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī there lived a certain young brahmin who performed his sacrifice, climbed onto his chariot, and, attended by his host of servants, rode into Śrāvastī. As the Blessed One returned from Śrāvastī where he had gone for alms, the young man gazed at the Blessed One joyfully, and 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,
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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, 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
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Supreme. There they sound a cry of impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and selflessness, and they echo the following two verses:
Cultivate renunciation,
Practice the Buddha’s teaching—
Trample the lord of death’s army
Like an elephant in a house of reeds!
Those who mind their way along the path
Of this Dharma and Vinaya
Will abandon the round of rebirth
And put an end to suffering.
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. 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
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joined his palms in reverence and praised the Blessed One with the following verse:
“From your mouth’s great gate spill forth
Scores of thousand-colored spectra.
Like the shining of the sun,
They illumine everything.”
He then supplicated him with the following verses:
“The lords of beings, the buddhas who cast off disconsolation,
Are rid of savagery and pride, and are themselves the cause of all that’s good.
These victors over every rival, in the absence of cause and condition
Do not display their smiles, which are the color of conch and lotus root.
“So if you know it’s time, for your mind never falters,
Then come—ascetic, victor—quell your disciples’ hesitation.
O sage, greatest of the herd, with speech unrivaled, sure, and good,
Reassure those prone to doubt.
“Mountain still, and vast as oceans,
Buddha, fully awakened lord,
Your smile is no mundane event.
Hero, make it manifest so that many might pay heed.
“With speech like a clap of thunder,
Graceful like a royal bull,
Oh tell the fruits awaiting those,
The peerless ones, who praise you!
“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. “It is just as you say, Ānanda. Ānanda, did you see the young brahmin who felt joy as he gazed at the Tathāgata?”
“Yes, Lord, I saw him,” Ānanda said.
“Ānanda, because of the root of virtue of this brahmin’s action, he will not fall to the lower realms for thirteen eons. For thirteen eons he will take rebirth among gods and humans. After circling in saṃsāra, in his final rebirth, his final dwelling place, he will take birth as a human being.
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Then he will go forth and manifest the thirty-seven wings of enlightenment without a teacher or any instruction. He will manifest the enlightenment of a solitary buddha and become the solitary buddha known as Joy. That is what shall come of his act of generosity.”
The Third “Chariot” Story
When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, one morning he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went for alms in Śrāvastī, where there was a certain brahmin who had climbed into his chariot and set out to ride through the country. At first, thinking that the sight of the Blessed One was inauspicious, he rushed on ahead. Out of compassion for him the Blessed One simply stood still, and as the brahmin rode past all four of the city gates, he saw the Blessed One standing before each one.
Then the brahmin thought, “My, the ascetic Gautama is a person with great miracles and great power!” and he was filled with joy toward the Blessed One. In his joy he scattered a handful of flowers upon the Blessed One, and 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,
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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, 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:
Cultivate renunciation,
Practice the Buddha’s teaching—
Trample the lord of death’s army
Like an elephant in a house of reeds!
Those who mind their way along the path
Of this Dharma and Vinaya
Will abandon the round of rebirth
And put an end to suffering.
Then the rays of light circle through the trichiliocosm
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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. 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:
“From your mouth’s great gate spill forth
Scores of thousand-colored spectra.
Like the shining of the sun,
They illumine everything.”
He then supplicated him with the following verses:
“The lords of beings, the buddhas who cast off disconsolation,
Are rid of savagery and pride, and are themselves the cause of all that’s good.
These victors over every rival, in the absence of cause and condition
Do not display their smiles, which are the color of conch and lotus root.
“So if you know it’s time,
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for your mind never falters,
Then come—ascetic, victor—quell your disciples’ hesitation.
O sage, greatest of the herd, with speech unrivaled, sure, and good,
Reassure those prone to doubt.
“Mountain still, and vast as oceans,
Buddha, fully awakened lord,
Your smile is no mundane event.
Hero, make it manifest so that many might pay heed.
“With speech like a clap of thunder,
Graceful like a royal bull,
Oh tell the fruits awaiting those,
The peerless ones, who praise you!
“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. “It is just as you say, Ānanda. Without the right causes and conditions the tathāgatas, arhats, totally and completely awakened buddhas do not smile. Ānanda, did you see the brahmin who scattered flowers on the Tathāgata?”
“Yes, Lord, I saw him,” Ānanda said.
“Ānanda, because of the root of virtue of this brahmin’s action, he will not fall to the lower realms for thirteen eons. For thirteen eons he will take rebirth among gods and humans. After circling in saṃsāra, in his final rebirth, his final dwelling place, he will take birth as a human being. Then he will go forth and manifest the thirty-seven wings of enlightenment without a teacher or any instruction. He will manifest the enlightenment of a solitary buddha and become the solitary buddha known as Flower Guru. That is what shall come of his act of generosity.”
The Fourth “Chariot” Story
One day when the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī and was traveling from Śrāvastī to Rājagṛha, a brahmin riding in a chariot met him along the way. When the brahmin saw the Blessed One
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he climbed down from his chariot and offered him the chariot. Out of compassion for him the Blessed One hovered in the air above the chariot. This delighted the brahmin, and filled with such great delight, he took leave of the Blessed One. 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.
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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:
Cultivate renunciation,
Practice the Buddha’s teaching—
Trample the lord of death’s army
Like an elephant in a house of reeds!
Those who mind their way along the path
Of this Dharma and Vinaya
Will abandon the round of rebirth
And put an end to suffering.
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,
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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:
“From your mouth’s great gate spill forth
Scores of thousand-colored spectra.
Like the shining of the sun,
They illumine everything.”
He then supplicated him with the following verses:
“The lords of beings, the buddhas who cast off disconsolation,
Are rid of savagery and pride, and are themselves the cause of all that’s good.
These victors over every rival, in the absence of cause and condition
Do not display their smiles, which are the color of conch and lotus root.
“So if you know it’s time, for your mind never falters,
Then come—ascetic, victor—quell your disciples’ hesitation.
O sage, greatest of the herd, with speech unrivaled, sure, and good,
Reassure those prone to doubt.
“Mountain still, and vast as oceans,
O Buddha, fully awakened lord,
Your smile is no mundane event.
Hero, make it manifest so that many might pay heed.
“With speech like a clap of thunder,
Graceful like a royal bull,
Oh tell the fruits awaiting those,
The peerless ones, who praise you!
“Lord, if in the absence of the right causes and conditions the tathāgatas, the arhats,
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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. “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 brahmin who proffered his chariot to the Tathāgata?”
“Yes, Lord, I saw him,” Ānanda said.
“Ānanda, because of the root of virtue of this brahmin’s action, he will not fall to the lower realms for thirteen eons. For thirteen eons he will take rebirth among gods and humans. After circling in saṃsāra, in his final rebirth, his final dwelling place, he will take birth as a human being. Then he will go forth and manifest the thirty-seven wings of enlightenment without a teacher or any instruction. He will manifest the enlightenment of a solitary buddha and become the solitary buddha known as He Who Gave a Chariot. That is what shall come of his act of generosity.”
The Story of Earnest
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,
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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?
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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 mind⁴⁷ 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
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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 escorted 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,
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but such a spectacle as this lures even him.”
Those with faith replied, “This being will surely be instrumental in⁴⁸ 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
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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 buddha⁴⁹ 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 Prabhāvan⁵⁰ 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.
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“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
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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
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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,
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‘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
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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.
The Story of Gopā
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
Linked texts (1)
- ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ — Classical Tibetan