[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Buddhist Sanskrit literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit) › [Avadāna and jātaka literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana) › [Karmaśataka](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka) › [ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo) › [The Hundred Deeds](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000) › 8 # ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ 8 The Hundred Deeds 8 - **Language:** English ### [8.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.1) The Story of Abhaya As the Blessed One was traveling from Śrāvastī to Rājagṛha, he came to a certain place in the wilderness where, under the shade of the trees, he paused to rest a moment before continuing. Up ahead, Venerable Ānanda saw a fork in the path. There was great danger of lions on the path, so he asked the Blessed One, “Lord, the road forks here. One way is direct but dangerous; the other is meandering but safe. Lord, by which path should we proceed?” The Blessed One replied, “Ānanda, wherever the tathāgatas, the arhats, the totally and completely awakened buddhas dwell there is nothing to fear, and no need to be scared or anxious, so lead us down the direct path.” Two children from the village were playing not far from where the Blessed One stood. One of them was holding a tiny drum. The other clasped a bow and arrow. The two of them saw the Blessed One from a distance, graced and resplendent with the thirty-two excellent marks of a great person. They looked at the Blessed Buddha, and the sight of him filled them with happiness. Happily they approached the Blessed One, and when they arrived they touched their heads to the Blessed One’s feet and requested of him, “Lord, though there is great danger of lions on this path, please allow us to escort the Blessed One.” The Blessed One asked, “Children, what will you do if the threat of lions becomes imminent?” The first one replied, “Lord, I’ll scare them with the sound of my drum!”⁷⁰ ### [8.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.2) And the other replied, “I’ll scare them with the sound of my bow and arrow!” The children walked on ahead of the Blessed One, and the Blessed One thought, “These two have already produced roots of virtue.” With this thought, the Blessed One told them, “Children, by your mere happiness the two of you have already escorted me to safety. You may be on your way now,” and the two children departed. At that moment, the Blessed One smiled. Now it is the nature of the blessed buddhas’ smiles that when they smile, colorful beams of blue, yellow, red, and white light radiate from their mouths, with some traveling up and others traveling down. Those that travel down go to the beings in the Reviving Hell, the Black Thread Hell, the Crushing Hell, the Shrieking Hell, the Screaming Hell, the Hot Hell, the Hell of Extreme Heat, the Hell of Ceaseless Agony, the Blistering Hell, the Bursting Blister Hell, the Hell of Chattering Teeth, the Hell of Lamentation, the Cold Whimpering Hell, the Splitting Open Like a Blue Lotus Hell, the Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell, and the Splitting Open Like a Great Lotus Hell, and as they descend they cool the beings in the hot hells, and warm the beings in the cold hells. In this way they soothe the particular injuries of those beings, who wonder, “Have we died and been reborn somewhere other than this place?” Then, to engender faith in them, the blessed ones radiate an emanation, and when the beings see it, they think, “Alas, it is neither that we have died and left this place, nor that we have been born elsewhere. Rather it is because of the unprecedented appearance of this emanation that our particular injuries have been soothed.” They feel real joy toward the emanation, exhausting the deeds that brought them to experience the hells. ### [8.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.3) 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. ### [8.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.4) 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! “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. ### [8.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.5) “It is just as you say, Ānanda. Without the right causes and conditions the tathāgatas, the arhats, the totally and completely awakened buddhas do not smile. Ānanda, did you see those two children who offered to serve me?” “Yes, Lord, I saw them,” said Ānanda. “Ānanda, by the roots of the virtue of these children’s actions, the happiness they felt toward me, and the wholeheartedness of their generosity, they will not fall to the lower realms for thirteen eons. For thirteen eons they will take rebirth among gods and humans. After circling in saṃsāra, in their final rebirth, their final dwelling place, they will take birth as a human being. Then they will go forth and manifest the thirty-seven wings of enlightenment without a teacher or any instruction. One will manifest the enlightenment of a solitary buddha and become the solitary buddha known as Dundubhisvara, and the other will be known as Abhaya. That is what shall come of their act of generosity.” The Story of Lake of Jewels When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a certain householder, prosperous and wealthy, a person of vast and magnificent means, endowed with the wealth of Vaiśravaṇa—with wealth to rival Vaiśravaṇa’s. When the time came for him to marry, he took a wife and they enjoyed themselves and coupled. One day his wife conceived, and when she did she found herself suddenly adorned by all manner of adornments. Parasols, banners, and flags fluttered from the top of the palatial house; different kinds of flowers had been strewn and sundry fragrances sprinkled about; and as she sat upon her bed she found she was surrounded by a retinue of women. “Oh my! Has my wife been possessed ### [8.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.6) by a ghost?” the householder wondered, and he brought her to the soothsayers. “No,” the soothsayers told him, “she has not been possessed by a ghost. All this has taken place on account of the being in her womb.” Then after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, beautiful, and decorated with adornments, who bore no trace of the womb, or of the placenta, or of blood. Every time the women wanted to bathe him and would remove one of his adornments, another would appear. When they so much as loosened one and moved it aside, another would appear in its place. “These adornments have arisen as a result of his merit,” his mother told them. “Don’t remove them. Just wash him with the adornments on.” So the nurses bathed him with the adornments on. When they placed him on his bed it disappeared and a celestial bed appeared in its place. Also, in place of their palatial home, there appeared a multistoried celestial palace, with fluttering parasols, banners, and flags, and different kinds of flowers and fragrances strewn and sprinkled all about. In that multistoried palace, on the pillows of his celestial bed, a divine pillar appeared as well, made of gold inlaid with precious stones. In front of the pillar four great treasures appeared, brimming with jewels that never seemed to increase or decrease, even if hundreds or thousands of them were removed. When his parents saw all this they were ecstatic. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they asked, “What name should we give this child?” And they named him, saying, “Since the house filled up like a lake of jewels when this child was born, his name will be Lake of Jewels.” Young Lake of Jewels was brought up by eight nurses—two nurses to hold him in their laps, two wet nurses, two nurses to bathe him, and two nurses to play with him. ### [8.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.7) They reared him on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids. They raised him with a protection cord and the eye of a female peacock feather, and he flourished like a lotus in a lake. Wherever he walked, nonhuman spirits unfurled great lengths of new, untouched cloth and strewed different kinds of flowers on the ground before him. As he grew up, he studied letters, tallying, and arithmetic; the study of seals, lending, deposits, and commerce; and the examination of cloth, jewels, gems, incense, medicine, elephants, horses, and arms and armor. He became skilled in writing, skilled at reading, learned, decisive, and industrious, a master of the eight types of examination. The houses and gardens that his father had prepared for them to live in during winter, spring, and summer all also became celestial gardens with parasols, banners, and flags, and different kinds of flowers and fragrances strewn and sprinkled about. When he was old enough for sensual pleasures, divine goddesses appeared. If he went to sit on the roof of the house, women came and played music for him, and all of the enjoyment and coupling in which he partook was the ripening of his own merit. Then, after some time, he began to deeply admire the Buddha, deeply admire the Dharma, and deeply admire the Saṅgha. He thought, “I have experienced every pleasure, human and divine. I must go forth in the Dharma and Vinaya so well spoken, in order to ford the floodwaters and completely escape my fetters with diligence, practice, and effort!” ### [8.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.8) He gave gifts and made merit, and after he had made many poor people wealthy, he went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One. After his going forth, wherever he traveled, there celestial beds would appear. Wherever he walked, nonhuman beings unfurled great lengths of new, untouched cloth and strewed different kinds of flowers on the ground before him. He found all this very embarrassing, so the Blessed One told him, “If you sincerely stop being concerned with them, they will go away.” As soon as he heard this, he stopped being so concerned with them, and they went away. Then, casting away all afflictive emotions through diligence, practice, and effort, he manifested arhatship. As an arhat, free from the attachments of the three realms, his mind regarded gold no differently than filth, and the palms of his hands as like space itself. He became cool like wet sandalwood. His insight crushed ignorance like an eggshell. He achieved the insights, superknowledges, and discriminations. He had no regard for worldly profit, passion, or acclaim. He became an object of offering, veneration, and respectful address by Indra, Upendra, and the other gods. The monks asked the Blessed One, “Lord, what action did Lake of Jewels take that ripened into his birth into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth, and that he was of good form, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, adorned with every type of adornment, and born without any trace of the womb, or of the placenta, or of blood; that upon his birth a multistoried celestial mansion, a celestial bed, and a divine pillar appeared; that wherever he walked, ### [8.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.9) nonhuman beings unfurled great lengths of new, untouched cloth and strewed different kinds of flowers on the ground before him; that when he grew up, there came to him glories both human and divine; and that he pleased the Blessed One, did not displease him, went forth in the doctrine of the Blessed One, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship?” “It came about by the power of his prayers,” the Blessed One replied. “Lord, where did he make these prayers?” “Monks,” the Blessed One explained, “in times past, in this fortunate eon, when people lived as long as twenty thousand years and the tathāgata, the arhat, the totally and completely awakened buddha possessed of insight and perfect conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the tamer of persons, the charioteer, the unsurpassed one, the teacher of humans and gods, the blessed buddha known as Kāśyapa was in the world, there lived in Śrāvastī a certain householder, prosperous and wealthy, a person of vast and magnificent means, endowed with the wealth of Vaiśravaṇa—with wealth to rival Vaiśravaṇa’s. “He began to deeply admire the Buddha, deeply admire the Dharma, and deeply admire the Saṅgha, so he built a monastery complete in every respect and invited the Blessed Kāśyapa and the rest of the saṅgha of monks to that very temple for food and to take their baths. “That night he prepared everything that was needed for the baths and set forth foods of a hundred flavors, and after inviting the Blessed Kāśyapa and the rest of the saṅgha of monks to take their baths, he contented them with the foods of a hundred flavors. ### [8.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.10) He then brought the hair and nails of the Blessed One into the monastery, and commissioned that a reliquary stūpa containing the hair and nails of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa be built there. Assembling the workers, he had the stūpa built without delay, complete in every respect. “One day he looked and saw that the stūpa had been defiled by birds, so to cover it he built a tall, arched enclosure with open windows and screened windows.⁷¹ Then he covered it with a canopy and put up parasols, victory banners, and flags. “On the grounds inside and on the floor of the stūpa itself he laid flowers, burning sticks of incense, incense powders, and incense cones;⁷² performed veneration with music; and prayed, ‘By this root of virtue, wherever I am born, may it be into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth. May I be well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, and be born covered with adornments and without any trace of the womb, or of the placenta, or of blood. Upon my birth, may there appear a multistoried celestial mansion, a celestial bed, and a divine pillar made of gold inlaid with precious stones. In front of the pillar may great treasures appear, brimming with jewels that never seem to increase or decrease, even if hundreds or thousands of them are removed. When I am grown, may there come to me glories both human and divine. May I please and not displease Uttara, the young brahmin prophesied by the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa to be the next blessed buddha. Going forth in his doctrine alone may I cast away all afflictive emotions and manifest arhatship.’ ### [8.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.11) “O monks, what do you think? The one who was that householder then is none other than Lake of Jewels. The acts of venerating the Blessed Kāśyapa and the others in the saṅgha of his disciples, building a reliquary stūpa containing the Buddha’s hair and nails that was complete in every respect, and praying, ripened such that wherever he was born, it was into a family of great means, prosperity, and wealth, and he was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, decorated with every ornament, and born without any trace of the womb, or of the placenta, or of blood. Upon his birth a multistoried celestial mansion, a celestial bed, and a divine pillar appeared, and when he grew up there came to him glories both human and divine. “So it is, monks, now that I myself have become the very equal of the totally and completely awakened Buddha Kāśyapa—equal in strength, equal in deeds, and equal in skillful means—that he has pleased me, not displeased me, gone forth in my very doctrine, cast away all afflictive emotions, and manifested arhatship.” The Story of Wealth’s Delight As the Blessed One was making his way through the countryside in Kāśi, he came to Vārāṇasī. At that time, the group of five monks were staying in Vārāṇasī, in the Ṛṣivadana.⁷³ Now the group of five monks saw the Blessed One from a distance. Seeing him, they gathered together and made an agreement among themselves, saying “My, how the ascetic Gautama has become so lazy and so indolent, no longer keeping his fast. How much food he eats now—cooked rice and milled grains! He anoints his body with ghee and sesame oil and bathes with warm water. He’s coming toward us! Let us say to him, ‘Hello, Gautama. There are seats here, so ### [8.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.12) go ahead and sit if you want to,’ but let’s not address him respectfully, nor bow to him, nor rise from our seats to greet him.” But as the Blessed One got closer to the group of five monks they were overwhelmed by his radiant glory until they found themselves incapable of treating him with disrespect. One of them rose from his seat and set out a cushion for him. Another readied cool water for him to wash his feet and positioned a footrest for him. A third stood up and held the edge of his robe. “This way, Gautama—if you please! Welcome, Gautama! O Gautama, please have a seat on this cushion we have prepared for you,” they said. Then the Blessed One thought, “It seems these foolish persons have forgotten the agreement they made among themselves,” and he sat on the seat they had prepared for him. The group of five monks began to address the Blessed One merely by his given name, or by his surname, or as an ordinary monk. Thereupon the Blessed One told the group of five monks, “Monks, do not address the Tathāgata merely by his given name, nor by his surname, nor as an ordinary monk. If you do so, harm will befall you for a long time, and you will not benefit, but suffer. The reason for this, monks, is that harm comes to those who address the Tathāgata, the arhat, the totally and completely awakened buddha merely by his given name, or by his surname, or as an ordinary monk, and they do not benefit, but suffer.” “Gautama,” they said, “your bearing, conduct, and previous mortifications were all superhuman, and indeed it is possible that you have achieved perfection, the wisdom particular to the noble ones, or that you live amid a feeling of bliss. ### [8.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.13) But how can we know if this is true, for now you have become so lazy and so indolent, no longer keeping your fast. You eat so much—cooked rice and milled grains! And you anoint your body with ghee and sesame oil and bathe with warm water.” The Blessed One asked the group of five monks, “Monks, do you see that now the Tathāgata’s complexion and faculties are not the same as they were before?” “Yes, Gautama, we see,” they replied. The Blessed One continued,⁷⁴ “Monks, there are two extremes toward which renunciants should not tend. You should not draw near to nor even approach them. What are they? They are the tendency toward seductive luxuries, which for city dwellers have become customary and for ordinary people a habit, and the tendency toward self-inflicted hardships, which are a form of suffering, do not belong to the noble Dharma, and are in fact harmful. For those who keep their distance from these two extremes, there is a middle way that fully enlightens, passes beyond all sorrow, gives rise to the eye of wisdom, and brings true peace. What is this middle way? It is the eightfold path: right view, right understanding, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditation.” The Blessed One instructed the group of five monks as follows. In the morning, the Blessed One gave a teaching to two of the five monks while the other three went for alms in the village. The six of them then prepared a meal of whatever food those three brought back. In the evening, the Blessed One instructed the three monks while the other two went for alms in the village. ### [8.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.14) Only the group of five monks prepared a meal of whatever food those two brought back, since the Blessed One had already taken his food in the morning. That evening the Blessed One addressed the group of five monks: “Monks, regarding things not previously heard,⁷⁵ when I had reflected thoroughly, vision arose, and insight, knowledge, and understanding arose, as I thought, ‘This is suffering, the truth of noble beings.’⁷⁶ “Monks, regarding things not previously heard, when I had reflected thoroughly, vision arose, and insight, knowledge, and understanding arose, as I thought, ‘This is the origin of suffering, this is the cessation of suffering, and this is the path that leads to the cessation of suffering—the truths of noble beings.’ “Monks, regarding things not previously heard, when I had reflected thoroughly, vision arose, and insight, knowledge, and understanding arose, as I thought, ‘With higher knowledge I should comprehend suffering, that truth of noble beings.’ “Monks, regarding things not previously heard, when I had reflected thoroughly, vision arose, and insight, knowledge, and understanding arose, as I thought, ‘With higher knowledge I should relinquish the origin of suffering, that truth of noble beings.’ “Monks, regarding things not previously heard, when I had reflected thoroughly, vision arose, and insight, knowledge, and understanding arose, as I thought, ‘With higher knowledge I should actualize the cessation of suffering, that truth of noble beings.’ “Monks, regarding things not previously heard, when I had reflected thoroughly, vision arose, and insight, knowledge, and understanding arose, as I thought, ‘With higher knowledge I should cultivate the path that leads to the cessation of suffering, that truth of noble beings.’ “Monks, regarding things not previously heard, when I had reflected thoroughly, vision arose, and insight, knowledge, and understanding arose, as I thought, ‘With higher knowledge I have comprehended suffering, that truth of noble beings.’ ### [8.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.15) “Monks, regarding things not previously heard, when I had reflected thoroughly, vision arose, and insight, knowledge, and understanding arose, as I thought, ‘With higher knowledge I have relinquished the origin of suffering, that truth of noble beings.’ “Monks, regarding things not previously heard, when I had reflected thoroughly, vision arose, and insight, knowledge, and understanding arose, as I thought, ‘With higher knowledge I have actualized the cessation of suffering, that truth of noble beings.’ “Monks, regarding things not previously heard, when I had reflected thoroughly, vision arose, and insight, knowledge, and understanding arose, as I thought, ‘With higher knowledge I have cultivated the path that leads to the cessation of suffering, that truth of noble beings.’ “Monks, as long as I had not achieved the vision, insight, knowledge, and understanding of the four truths of noble beings in their three phases and twelve aspects, I had not been freed from the world of devas, māras, and brahmās, from its living beings including mendicants and brahmins, from its living beings including humans and gods. I had not escaped from it, severed ties with it, or been delivered from it. Nor did I dwell fully with a mind free from error. Monks, I did not have the understanding that I had fully awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. “Monks, once I had achieved the vision, insight, knowledge, and understanding of the four truths of noble beings in their three phases and twelve aspects, I was freed from the world of devas, māras, and brahmās, from its living beings including mendicants and brahmins, from its living beings including humans and gods. I had escaped from it, severed ties with it, and been delivered from it. I dwelled fully with a mind free from error. ### [8.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.16) Monks, then I had the understanding that I had fully awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood.” When the Blessed One had given this Dharma teaching, Venerable Kauṇḍinya achieved the Dharma vision that is free from dust and stainless with regard to phenomena. The Blessed One now asked Venerable Kauṇḍinya, “Kauṇḍinya, have you understood the Dharma?” “Yes, Blessed One, I have.” “Kauṇḍinya, have you understood the Dharma? Have you understood?” “Yes, Sugata, I have understood it. I understand.” “Because Venerable Kauṇḍinya has understood the Dharma, he shall be called Ājñāta­kauṇḍinya.”⁷⁷ When this Dharma teaching had been explained, the terrestrial yakṣas began to chatter and sing, “Friends, in Vārāṇasī, in the woods of the deer park at Ṛṣivadana, for the great benefit of many, to the delight of many, out of compassion for this transient world, for the well-being and benefit of gods and human beings, in accord with the Dharma, the Blessed One has turned the wheel of the Dharma in its three phases and twelve aspects. In all the world, no one has turned such a wheel of Dharma in its three phases and twelve aspects—neither ascetics, brahmins, gods, māras, Brahmā himself, nor anyone else. Its turning will swell the ranks of those in the realm of the gods and diminish the number of those in the realm of the demigods.” When they heard the terrestrial yakṣas, all the celestial yakṣas and the gods in the Abodes of the Four Great Kings, the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the Strifeless Heaven, the Tuṣita Heaven, the Delighting in Creation Heaven, and the Heaven of the Masters of Others’ Creations also began to chatter and sing, and what they said immediately thundered throughout Brahmāloka. The gods of Brahmāloka also began to chatter and sing, saying, “Friends, in Vārāṇasī, ### [8.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.17) in the woods of the deer park at Ṛṣivadana, for the great benefit of many, to the delight of many, out of compassion for this transient world, for the well-being and benefit of gods and human beings, in accord with the Dharma, the Blessed One has turned the wheel of the Dharma in its three phases and twelve aspects. “In all the world, no one has turned such a wheel of Dharma in its three phases and twelve aspects—neither ascetics, brahmins, gods, māras, Brahmā himself, nor anyone else. Its turning will swell the ranks of those in the realm of the gods and diminish the number of those in the realm of the demigods.” In Vārāṇasī, in the woods of the deer park at Ṛṣivadana, in accord with the Dharma, the Blessed One has turned the wheel of the Dharma in its three phases and twelve aspects. That is why this Dharma discourse is known as Turning the Wheel of the Dharma. The Blessed One addressed the group of five monks a second time: “Monks, these are the four truths of noble beings: the truth of noble beings that is suffering, the truth of noble beings that is the origin of suffering, the truth of noble beings that is the cessation of suffering, and the truth of noble beings that is the path leading to the cessation of suffering. “What is the truth of noble beings that is suffering? It is the suffering of birth, the suffering of aging, the suffering of sickness, and the suffering of death. It is the suffering of not having what you want, the suffering of getting what you do not want, and the suffering of seeking what you desire and not finding it. In short, it is the suffering of the five aggregates for appropriation. This is known as the truth of the noble ones that is suffering. In order to comprehend it one should cultivate the noble eightfold path: right view, right understanding, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and the eighth, right meditative concentration. “What is the truth of the noble ones that is the origin of suffering? It is what causes you to take rebirth. It is the arising of delight that is bound up with attachment. ### [8.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.18) It is craving that is captivated by this and that. This is what we call the truth of the noble ones that is the origin of suffering. In order to relinquish it, one should cultivate the noble eightfold path: right view, right understanding, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and the eighth, right meditative concentration. “What is the truth of the noble ones that is the cessation of suffering? It is the complete casting away, tossing aside, clearing out, exhaustion, removal, cessation, alleviation, and disappearance of any and every single thing that causes you to take rebirth; the disappearance of delight that is bound up with attachment; and the disappearance of craving that is captivated by this and that. This is what we call the truth of the noble ones that is the cessation of suffering. In order to actualize it, one should cultivate the noble eightfold path: right view, right understanding, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and the eighth, right meditative concentration. “What is the noble truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering? It is the noble eightfold path. One should thus cultivate right view, right understanding, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and the eighth, right meditative concentration.” When this Dharma teaching had been explained, Venerable Ājñāta­kauṇḍinya’s mind was freed from the defilements, without any further appropriation. The others among the five monks achieved the Dharma vision that is free from dust and stainless with regard to phenomena. At that moment the first arhat came into the world. Including the Blessed One, now there were two. The Blessed One then addressed the other monks in the group of five: “Monks, form is not the self. Monks, ### [8.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.19) if form were the self, then it would not be logical that form is subject to injury and suffering, and it would be logical for one to be able to say, with respect to form, ‘May my form be like this,’ or ‘May it not be like this.’ However, monks, form is subject to injury and suffering, and one is not able to say, ‘May my form be like this,’ or ‘May it not be like this,’ because form is not the self. “Monks, sensations, perceptions, formations, and consciousness are not the self. Monks, if consciousness were the self, then it would not be logical that it is subject to injury and suffering, and it would be logical for one to have the ability with respect to consciousness to say, ‘May my consciousness be like this,’ or ‘May it not be like this.’ However, monks, consciousness is subject to injury and suffering, and one does not have the ability with respect to consciousness to say, ‘May my consciousness be like this,’ or ‘May it not be like this,’ because consciousness is not the self. “O monks, what do you think—is form permanent, or is it impermanent?” “It is impermanent, Lord.” “And is something that is impermanent suffering, or is it not suffering?” “It is suffering, Lord.” “Regarding those things that are impermanent and, therefore, suffering—do noble listeners who are educated in the teachings grasp at a self, thinking, ‘This is mine,’ ‘This is the self,’ or ‘This is the nature of the self’?” “No, Lord, they do not.” “O monks, what do you think—are sensations, perceptions, formations, and consciousness permanent or impermanent?” “They are impermanent, Lord.” “And is something that is impermanent ### [8.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.20) suffering or not suffering?” “It is suffering, Lord.” “Regarding those things that are impermanent and, therefore, suffering—do noble listeners who are educated in the teachings grasp at a self, thinking, ‘This is mine,’ ‘This is the self,’ or ‘This is the nature of the self’?” “No, Lord, they do not.” “Monks, that is why whatever the form—whether it arose in the past, present, or future, or whether it is internal or external, gross or subtle, bad or good, near or far away—one should view all of these with perfect wisdom, thinking, ‘This is not mine,’ ‘This is not the self,’ and ‘This is not the nature of the self.’ “Monks, that is why whatever the sensation, perception, formation, and consciousness—whether it arose in the past, present, or future, or whether it is internal or external, gross or subtle, bad or good, near or far away—one should view all of these with perfect wisdom, thinking, ‘This is not mine,’ ‘This is not the self,’ and ‘This is not the nature of the self.’ “Monks, this is why noble listeners who are educated in the teachings see perfectly that these five aggregates for appropriation are not ‘mine,’ are not the self, and are not the nature of the self. Since they see this so perfectly, they do not grasp at any worldly thing. Since they do not grasp, they experience absolutely no discontentment. Because they have no discontentment, they bring an end to their own rebirth. With the thought, ‘I have lived the conduct leading to liberation. I have done what was before me. I shall know no other existence,’ they pass into parinirvāṇa.” When he explained this Dharma teaching, the minds of the others among the group of five monks were freed from the defilements, without any further appropriation. As of that moment, five arhats had come into the world. Including the Blessed One, ### [8.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.21) now there were six. Thereupon the monks requested of the Blessed One, “Lord, tell us why the Blessed One has delivered our group of five monks from the ocean of saṃsāra, given us the great fortune of power, strength, and the precious limbs of enlightenment, and established us in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.” “Not only now, monks” the Blessed One explained, “but in times past as well, and in the same way, I risked my life to deliver your group of five monks from the ocean of defilements and granted you a magnificent fortune of precious jewels. Listen well! “Monks, in times past there was a king named King Brahmadatta who reigned in the city of Vārāṇasī. His kingdom was prosperous, flourishing, happy, and well populated. The harvest was good. Quarreling and arguments had ceased, there was no fighting or infighting, and there were no robbers, thieves, illness, or famine. Rice, sugarcane, cattle, and buffalo were plentiful. His was a reign in accord with the Dharma. He ruled the kingdom gently and mercifully, as a parent cares for a beloved only child. “At that time in Vārāṇasī there lived a certain sea captain by the name of Wealth. He was prosperous and wealthy, a person of vast and magnificent means, endowed with the wealth of Vaiśravaṇa—with wealth to rival Vaiśravaṇa’s. When the time came for him to marry he took a wife, and they enjoyed themselves and coupled. As they enjoyed themselves and coupled, one day his wife conceived. After nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, with glowing, golden skin and a well-rounded head, long arms, a broad brow, a fine and prominent nose, and eyebrows that met. “At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they asked, ‘What name should we give this child?’ And they named him, saying, ‘Since this is the child of Wealth, his name will be Wealth’s Delight.’ ### [8.22](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.22) They reared young Wealth’s Delight on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids, and he flourished like a lotus in a lake. “As he grew up he studied letters, tallying, and arithmetic; the study of seals, lending, deposits, and commerce; and the examination of cloth, jewels, gems, incense, medicine, elephants, horses, and arms and armor. He became skilled in writing, skilled at reading, learned, decisive, and industrious, a master of the eight types of examination. “The child had a loving nature, was compassionate, loved beings, and took delight in being generous. He asked for his parents’ permission and began to make merit and give gifts to ascetics, brahmins, practitioners, mendicants, the poor, and the bereft. “One day the captain, Wealth’s Delight’s father, fell ill, and although he was treated with medicinal roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits, he could not be cured, and died. He was laid on a palanquin festooned with blue, yellow, red, and white cloth, and after the ceremonial veneration of his bones, a brief funeral watch was held for him. Afterward, King Brahmadatta appointed the son, Wealth’s Delight, to be captain, who with his father’s wealth carried on business with many merchants, and who after his father’s death also began to engage in extraordinary acts of generosity. “One day the thought occurred to him, ‘Others might take issue with my giving gifts and making merit, using the wealth accumulated by my father. People will say, “What’s so great about making merit by giving away stuff somebody else piled up?” ’ ‘In that case,’ he decided, ‘I will make my own fortune! ### [8.23](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.23) Make no mistake, once I’ve earned my own income, then I’ll really give gifts and make merit!’ “After that he made an announcement: ‘Any merchant who wishes to set sail on the great ocean with Captain Wealth’s Delight will trade duty-free, exempt from all taxes on earnings, ship fares, and convoy payments! Prepare your wares!’ “As soon as they heard this, five hundred merchants gathered, bringing camels, cows, and donkeys laden with goods. They made their way through the villages, towns, cities, forest settlements, and outlying districts until they arrived on the shores of the great ocean. After a ship had been hired with five hundred gold coins, they enlisted five types of personnel: cooks, solicitors, advisors, sweepers, and navigators. The cooks prepared whatever food and drink there was on board. The solicitors settled any disputes that arose. The advisors advised them about their wealth. The sweepers swabbed the decks. And the navigators observed the movements of the stars. “Now, when they saw the great ocean, the merchants became afraid and did not want to board the ship. So the captain said to the navigators, ‘Tell them just how wonderful the great ocean is!’ “The navigators made an announcement, saying, ‘Pay heed, merchants of Jambudvīpa! Upon this great ocean are jewels beyond price—gemstones, pearls, blue beryls, conches, precious stones, coral, silver, gold, emeralds, cat’s eyes, rubies, and conches with clockwise whorls!⁷⁸ Let those among you who wish for such precious jewels set out upon this great ocean, so you might satiate yourself and your parents, children, spouses, servants both female and male, laborers, other paid help, friends, ministers, and relatives both young and old, and so you might ### [8.24](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.24) be able to approach the ascetics and brahmins from time to time with offerings that bequeath good fortune, ripen into happiness, and cause you to be reborn in heaven in the next life!’ At that, the worldly people who wished for wealth—which was almost everyone—climbed aboard the ship, until the ship was not able to hold them all. “Then the captain wondered, ‘What’s going to happen now if I send them away?’ With this in mind, he said to the navigators, ‘Tell them the ways in which the great ocean is not so wonderful.’ “And the navigators announced, ‘Pay heed, merchants of Jambudvīpa! Upon this great ocean lurk such terrors as these: fearsome fish, fearsome timiṅgila fish that might swallow you, fearsome timiṅgilagila fish that could swallow you whole, terrifying waves, terrifying expanses, terrifying kumbhīra sea monsters, terrifying śiśumāra sea monsters, as well as the threat of wrecking into mountains beneath the water, and black winds most treacherous!⁷⁹ Then there are pirates garbed in blue and black who come to plunder your wealth and butcher those who try to escape them! So let those among you set out upon this great ocean who are willing to give up their parents, children, and spouses; their servants both male and female; and their laborers, other paid help, friends, ministers, and relatives both young and old!’ Since there were few brave people and many cowards most of them fled, so the boats were able to hold those who remained. “The navigators cried out three times and the first anchor was loosed, then the second, and then the third. Then, the ship was carried forth by powerful winds caught by the head navigator and set sail like a great cloud. It proceeded with excellent wind conditions and arrived at Ratnadvīpa. ### [8.25](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.25) “The navigators instructed them, ‘Merchants of Jambudvīpa! On Ratnadvīpa, the isle of precious stones, there are all manner of semi-precious stones that look like precious jewels. You must examine well before taking them, or you will regret it when you return to Jambudvīpa. On this isle of precious stones also dwell sirens⁸⁰ who lure men by any means they can, causing them ruin and suffering. On this isle of precious stones are intoxicating fruits, and anyone who eats them falls unconscious for seven days. You should not partake of these while you are there. On this isle of precious stones dwell nonhuman spirits as well. They will tolerate your presence for seven days, but if your aims, whatever they may be, have not been accomplished after seven days have passed, then a gale will come with such force as to carry the boat away.’ “Having heard this, the merchants remained focused and attentive. Carefully they searched for precious jewels, filling the boat with them as if filling it with sesame, rice paddy, badara fruit, beans, and the like. Then they set sail, running directly downwind to Jambudvīpa. In this way they completed six such ocean voyages, and upon their return to Vārāṇasī they began to give gifts and make merit. “Now at that time there were five other cities in which lived five other captains. Though they set out, their boats were destroyed,⁸¹ and they thought, ‘Just one being, famed for great deeds, has the power to bring happiness to so many. Now the great Captain Wealth’s Delight is famed for his great deeds. He has completed six ocean voyages. If we can get him to agree, with his support we’ll be able to make a fortune.’ ### [8.26](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.26) They banded together and traveled to Vārāṇasī, where they met with Captain Wealth’s Delight. “ ‘Captain,’ they said, ‘though we set out, our treasure-boats were destroyed.⁸² You are famed for your great deeds, so have compassion for us and set sail with us on the great ocean, so that with your support we can make our fortunes.’ Captain Wealth’s Delight replied, “ ‘By the code of the mighty sea— A seventh voyage there should not be. “ ‘Never before has anyone completed a seventh ocean voyage. However, so you can fulfill your intention and solely out of compassion for you all, I shall set sail on the ocean a seventh time.’ “The great Captain Wealth’s Delight set out with the other five captains. They crossed the great ocean and arrived at the isle of precious stones where they gathered their jewels before sailing forth again, steering their ship in the direction of Jambudvīpa. “As the great Captain Wealth’s Delight sailed upon the ocean, he thought, ‘It is not clear that those of us who have set out upon the great ocean can avert tragedy and safely reach the other shore, so I will fill these sacks with precious gems and tie them to my waist.’ So he filled up all the small bags with precious gems. When he had tied them to his waist, he told the merchants, ‘Pay heed! If the ship is destroyed, grab hold of my body.’ “Later, when the ship crashed into a mountain beneath the water, the five captains grabbed hold of Captain Wealth’s Delight’s body. Then Captain Wealth’s Delight thought, ‘As long as I am alive, I won’t be able to cross this great ocean to deliver them. But it is not possible for a dead body to stay sunk in the great ocean for long, so that won’t happen. Since that is not going to happen, I will die but my corpse will be able to cross the great ocean with speed.’ “With this thought he said to the captains, ### [8.27](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8.27) ‘Be resolute, and take heart! We shall avert tragedy and cross the great ocean with ease. Don’t let go of my body, not even once you have crossed the great ocean, for I have filled these sacks with precious gems and tied them to my waist. Take them and divide them up among you. They are enough to sustain the lives of those on both sides of your families for seven generations.’ “After he said this, he prayed for unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, saying, ‘By this root of virtue, may I become a protector for the world’s blind who are without a guide, without any guide at all, without anyone to show them the way—an arhat, a totally and completely awakened buddha endowed with perfect knowledge and perfect conduct, a blessed one, a knower of the world, a tamer of persons, a charioteer, an unsurpassed one, a teacher of humans and gods—a blessed buddha.’ Having set his aspiration for unexcelled, total, and complete enlightenment, he took up a sharp knife and slit his own throat. “It is not possible for a dead body to stay sunk in the great ocean for long, and that didn’t happen. When it didn’t, some very fastidious nāgas brought the body to the seashore and cast it onto dry land. The five captains removed the jewels from his dead body and divided them among themselves, venerated his bones, and departed. “O monks, what do you think? I am the one who was Wealth’s Delight then, and lived the life of a bodhisattva. The five who were those five captains then are none other than this group of five monks. There I gave my life to deliver them from the waters of the great ocean, bestowed upon them a fortune of precious jewels, and placed them unharmed in a state of happiness. Now as well I have delivered you from the ocean of saṃsāra, given you this great fortune of power, strength, and the precious limbs of enlightenment, ## Linked texts (1) - [ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ་པ](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo.8.1) — Classical Tibetan --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.karmasataka*bo~en-84000.8) · Pramāṇa