English (machine translation)
Translation of 分別功德論
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- pramana-mt · Machine translation by Gemini 3.8 Flash (2026-10-21) of in.bauddha.taisho.1507 · Machine output without human authorship: no copyright is claimed (CC0 1.0). The original text keeps its own…
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Text
1.1
The translator's name is lost; appended to the Later Han record.
1.2
Where the introductory verse says that Kāśyapa reflected on the source of the true Dharma, it means that he reflected on the tremendous quantity of the teachings of the scriptures and Dharma. How is this known? Kāśyapa then used a comparison to clarify its quantity. The method of comparison begins with ten donkeys: it says that the strength of ten donkeys is not equal to the strength of one ordinary camel; the strength of ten ordinary camels is not equal to the strength of one ordinary elephant; ten ordinary elephants are not equal to the strength of one slender-legged elephant; ten slender-legged elephants are not equal to the strength of one food-stealing elephant; ten food-stealing elephants are not equal to the strength of one lotus elephant; ten lotus elephants are not equal to the strength of one blue-lotus elephant; ten blue-lotus elephants are not equal to the strength of one red-lotus elephant; ten red-lotus elephants are not equal to the strength of one white-lotus elephant; ten white-lotus elephants are not equal to the strength of one Snow Mountain elephant; ten Snow Mountain elephants are not equal to the strength of one fragrant elephant (gandhahastin). From the donkey to the fragrant elephant constitutes one stage. In this manner, eighty-four thousand fragrant elephants, comparing the outer skin and inner flesh, would carry scriptures written out to fill the load carried by that number of fragrant elephants. The matters heard and known by Ānanda can roughly be compared to know the great number; if one wished to expound their words one by one, throughout an entire lifetime one could not exhaust them.
1.3
He reflected that the scripture and Dharma were exceedingly vast: how could they be caused to circulate through the world so that living beings for a thousand generations might receive the moistening of the Dharma? Reflecting deeply on the ultimate principle, who could compile the Dharma? Only Ānanda could assemble it. Kāśyapa immediately struck the gaṇḍī to assemble the congregation. At that time, eighty-four thousand arhats soon obeyed the summons and came to assemble; all these anāsrava [beings] were ubhayatobhāgavimuktas. The reason he summoned these worthy and noble ones was that they were all able to enter the nirodhasamāpatti. Those who enter the nirodhasamāpatti are able to cause living beings to obtain merit in the present life and rescue them from their suffering and distress. The number of such unattached ones in the great chiliocosm is difficult to calculate; excluding those of the three paths, each is doubled. Now he only recorded those with sharp faculties who were ubhayatobhāgavimuktas, who through the nirodhasamāpatti could deliver living beings; for this reason they are called fields of merit. How is this made clear? Formerly, when the merit of Śakra Devānām Indra was exhausted and his life was coming to an end, the five omens of death were due to arrive; his mind was immediately terrified and he wished to seek protection. Just as he wished to go to the Buddha's place to seek help, he thought that the Buddha's grace is broad and unhurried, and he feared it would not resolve the emergency of his life. He thought of Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and the others, but also feared they could not save his life. Only Mahākāśyapa, through the power of the nirodhasamāpatti, could swiftly rescue him in critical danger; so he immediately went to Kāśyapa's dwelling. At that time Kāśyapa was just about to go to a poor household to save them by bestowing merit. [Śakra] carefully considered that if he were to manifest his divine body, he feared [Kāśyapa] would not accept his offering. Thereupon midway on the road he manifested a grass hut, lying within it emaciated and sick. Kāśyapa begged from him, and the sick person immediately extended his hands to bestow food. Kāśyapa received it in his bowl, and it transformed into amṛta. He returned to manifesting his divine body in the sky. Kāśyapa said: "Why have you spoken falsely and deceived me?" The deva replied: "I did not speak falsely; I gave with utmost sincerity. I am the heavenly lord. As the five omens have arrived and my life is about to end, I have therefore come to seek a wish. I wish that you would rescue my life." Kāśyapa then silently assented. The deva went to the Buddha's place to listen to the Dharma, and in a moment fell asleep; upon sleeping, he immediately awoke. The Buddha said to the heavenly lord: "A moment ago you had already died. Now you have already come back to life, and your life will no longer end." He returned to his original body. This was brought about by the power of Kāśyapa's nirodhasamāpatti. The reason Kāśyapa was supreme in employing the power of the nirodhasamāpatti was that Kāśyapa was originally a pratyekabuddha. As for the way of a pratyekabuddha, they do not preach the Dharma to convert others, but solely use ṛddhi to move others and samādhi to manifest transformations. Although Mahākāśyapa had attained realization as an arhat, his original consciousness still remained. The assembly of eighty-four thousand recorded above had powers of response and merit equal to Kāśyapa.
1.4
An objection asks: Kāśyapa was proclaimed supreme because he was originally a pratyekabuddha. Were these arhats also pratyekabuddhas? The reply says: Although they were not pratyekabuddhas, they had thoroughly practiced the nirodhasamāpatti, and their power was identical. For this reason it is said that Kāśyapa and the saṅgha are fields of merit for living beings.
1.5
The verse says: "All attained the arhat's cetovimukti"—this refers to ubhayatobhāgavimuktas.
1.6
The verse says: "Having escaped bondage and attachment, they abide as fields of merit"—this means that the eighty-four thousand assembled by Kāśyapa all attained ubhayatobhāgavimukta status, and through the nirodhasamāpatti they could cause living beings to escape suffering in this life and later attain nirvāṇa; hence it is said, "abide as fields of merit."
1.7
The verse says: "assembled the four classes"—this is an abbreviation. In principle there should be four classes, but outwardly there are further eight classes. Among humans and devas: kṣatriyas, brāhmaṇas, gṛhapatis, and śramaṇas; the Four Heavenly Kings, the Thirty-Three Devas, the Māra King, and the Brahmā King: these make eight classes. In all there are twelve classes; stating "four classes" merely broadly indicates the essential ones.
1.8
"All dharmas are extremely profound" refers to the twelvefold conditioned origination. The Buddha explained the twelvefold conditioned origination to Ānanda as extremely profound and subtle. Ānanda said: "What is profound or subtle about these causes and conditions?" The Buddha said to Ānanda: "Do not say it is not profound and subtle. In a past life you also said it was not profound. Long ago there was an asura king whose body was eight thousand yojanas tall, and the distance between his upper and lower lips was one thousand yojanas. The king had a young son. He was always fond of this son and held him on his lap. The ocean was three million three hundred and sixty thousand li deep, and when the asura stood in it, it reached exactly to his navel. The son, seeing his father, thought the ocean was shallow and wanted to enter the water. The father said: 'You must not. The ocean is deep and will drown you.' Still wanting to enter, the father then let him go; he sank to the bottom of the ocean, terrified and crying out. The father immediately extended his hand, brought him back out of the water, and said to him: 'I told you not to, but you did not believe me. How is it now?' The king at that time was myself. The son was you. In the past you did not believe it was profound, and today you still do not believe it. When you cannot even fully understand that ignorance conditions formations, how much less could you understand the thirty-seven factors of awakening?"
1.9
The Tathāgata spoke of the four incomprehensibles. What are the four? Living beings are incomprehensible; the world is incomprehensible; nāgas are incomprehensible; the Buddha is incomprehensible. As for why the world is incomprehensible: formerly, Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra engaged in debate with a brahmacārin. The brahmacārin said of himself: "I once went to a pond to meditate, and saw a fourfold army come and enter inside the hollow of a lotus stem. I was immediately astonished, not knowing whether my eyes were playing tricks on me or if this really existed. When I spoke of it to others, no one believed me. I then went to the Buddha's place and described what I saw in this manner. The Buddha said: 'This is a real occurrence, not a falsehood. The asuras raised a fourfold army to fight with the devas; the asuras were defeated and retreated into the hollow of this lotus stem to conceal themselves.'" This is beyond the reach of thinking and deliberation; hence it is said that the world is incomprehensible. Regarding the world, some say it was created by Brahmā, and some say it was created by the six heavens. The brahmacārin further asked: "Who created Brahmā?" Some say Brahmā has a father, and some say he created himself. Those who say he has a father say his father is the lotus. Some say: whence did the lotus emerge? They say: it emerged from Udayana's navel. Whence did Udayana emerge? They say: he emerged from King Sañjaya. Again they ask: what caste was King Sañjaya born from? They say: the kṣatriya lineage. Again they say: Brahmā is of the brāhmaṇa lineage; now you say he arose from a kṣatriya? What sort of talk is this? Furthermore, it is said that at the time of kalpa destruction by fire, distinctions can roughly be made. Why is this said? They say: at the time of kalpa destruction by fire, from the level of the earth up to the fifteenth heaven, all is swept away and scorched clean. It seems as though it could be known. Yet there still exist the sixteenth heaven and above, up to the thirty-three heavens; although this place is burned, other worlds remain. Stated in this way, it is again unknowable. This is why the world is incomprehensible.
1.10
What is meant by living beings being incomprehensible? Some say that after the kalpa destruction by fire, water replenishes the place of fire, and the vairambha wind blows to create palaces; after this is completed, below there is the earth essence. The devas of the Ābhāsvara Heaven, roaming playfully down to the earth, gradually tasted the earth essence, and thereupon their bodies grew heavy so that they could not return. Those who ate much transformed into women. Gradually this diminished to thin cakes and non-glutinous rice, they lost their ṛddhi and radiance, and reverted to being human beings. Virtuous conduct leads to rebirth in the heavens, while evil conduct leads to the three destinies; transmigrating through the five realms, there is no fixed rule. Even if one wished to trace to the very bottom the origin of a single person, one still could not know it; how much less could all living beings be conceived? This is why living beings are incomprehensible.
1.11
What is meant by nāgas being incomprehensible? Whenever clouds are raised and rain is brought forth, it is entirely due to nāgas raining it down, issuing from the nāga's eyes, ears, nose, or mouth. Does it come from the body, or does it come from the mind? Dwelling dependent on Mount Sumeru there are five classes of devas who can also make rain fall. How does one distinguish the rain of nāgas from the rain of devas? As for the rain of devas, that which falls as fine mist is it; that which falls coarsely is the rain of nāgas. What are the five classes of devas? First, the Crooked-Legged Devas; second, the Summit Devas; third, the Indolent Devas; fourth, the Abundant-Power Devas; fifth, the Four Heavenly Kings. When the asuras raise troops to go up to the heavens to fight, they first fight with the Crooked-Legged Devas. Gaining victory, they then proceed next to the Summit, next to the Indolent, and to the Four Heavenly Kings, up to the Thirty-Three Devas. When the lower four heavens wish to fight, they repel the enemy with rain, having no other weapons. There are two kinds of rain: there is joyous rain, and there is angry rain. Harmonious and gentle rainfall is joyous; thunder, hail, and lightning bolts are angry. Asuras also send down rain, devas also drop rain, and nāgas also send down rain. Each brings forth rain, and the principle cannot be definitively fixed. Therefore it is said that the rain of nāgas is incomprehensible.
1.12
As for the Buddha being incomprehensible: formerly, when the Buddha was in a quiet chamber, Brahmā devas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges came to the Buddha's place, wishing to know what samādhi the Buddha was in, yet they could not know which meditative absorption or samādhi he was in. Secret matters of ṛddhi transformations like this cannot be comprehended even by the two vehicles, how much less by ordinary mortals.
1.13
Ānanda deferred to Kāśyapa, saying: "The venerable elder is competent to expound the Dharma for the assembly. Why is this so? The revered elder has practiced of old, knows much, and is someone entrusted by the World-Honoured One; for the sake of future sentient beings, and wishing to cause the true Dharma to abide long in the world, the Tathāgata shared half his seat to summon you. Since the noble elder is the senior monk among the saṅgha and his wisdom is all-encompassing, we pray that you graciously bestow your compassion and expound the jewel of the Dharma in due season." A foreign master said: The reason Kāśyapa did not preach the Dharma is that among the four kinds of eloquence, he lacked eloquence of phrasing. It is also said that he was originally a pratyekabuddha who merely manifested transformations through ṛddhi and never preached the Dharma from the start. Kāśyapa declined with humility, saying that he was decayed with age, his mind was dim, and he forgot much. [Ānanda] replied: "How could the true Dharma of the four truths decay or perish? It is like vajra, which cannot be damaged; only the four great elements of birth and death have increase and decrease." The Sarvāstivāda school also says: Among the nine kinds of arhats, there are those who fall back. Due to how many causes do they fall back? There are four causes: advancing in age and decay, affliction by the suffering of illness, fondness for traveling to distant places, and taking medicine improperly. Only due to these four causes are there mistakes and forgetfulness. How could the wonderful wisdom of the ultimate truth ever be forgotten? Kāśyapa exhorted Ānanda, saying: "You are now in your prime; moreover, you possess the wisdom of hearing and conventional wisdom, and have dhāraṇī and a powerful memory. Whenever the Buddha preached sūtras, he always entrusted them to you. For this reason, you should proclaim the sūtras and Dharma." How is it known that Ānanda possessed conventional wisdom? In the past, east of the city of Śrāvastī, there was a large nyagrodha tree whose shade covered five hundred carriages. In the city was a brahmacārin skilled in arithmetic, foremost among the ninety-five kinds [of heterodox teachers]. Encountering Ānanda beneath this tree, he said to Ānanda: "People say: 'The disciples of Gautama are foremost in wisdom.' Is there any truth to this?" [Ānanda] replied: "What I know is modest." [The brahmacārin] said: "I wish to ask one small question. How many stems, nodes, branches, and leaves are there in total on this tree?" Ānanda lifted his head, looked at the tree, and immediately answered him: "This tree has such-and-such number of stems, nodes, branches, and leaves respectively." He then departed. Behind him, the brahmacārin thought: "This śramaṇa definitely did not know the number, yet answered me so readily. Now I shall test him." He then picked sixty leaves from various places and hid them in the ground. When Ānanda returned from begging for food, [the brahmacārin] asked again: "Just now I forgot the count; tell me once more." Ānanda lifted his head, looked at it twice, and replied: "Why are the leaves of this tree fewer?" [The brahmacārin] asked: "Fewer by how many?" [Ānanda] replied: "Fewer by sixty leaves." The brahmacārin immediately pressed his palms together, thanked him, and said: "Unprecedented!" He also asked: "Are you an arhat?" [Ānanda] replied: "No." "Are you an anāgāmin or a sakṛdāgāmin?" [Ānanda] said: "No." "Are you a srotāpanna?" [Ānanda] said: "Why do you ask?" [The brahmacārin] also asked: "Do you have a master?" [Ānanda] replied: "I do. The prince of King Śuddhodana went forth from the household life and became a Buddha; he is my master." [The brahmacārin] thought: "This is borrowing his master's wisdom; it is not his own knowledge." He immediately followed him to where the Buddha was, sought to become a śramaṇa, and attained arhatship. From this it is known that Ānanda possessed conventional wisdom.
1.14
The reason Ānanda deferred to Kāśyapa was that [Kāśyapa] was both the senior elder and one he revered. In the past, for five hundred lifetimes, [Kāśyapa] had continually been his father; having known him from past lives, his reverence, admiration, and reliance were profound. The reason Kāśyapa was earnest toward Ānanda was that in the past they had accumulated deep conditions, and [Ānanda] inherited his kindness as a later successor; moreover, [Ānanda's] wisdom from hearing, conventional wisdom, and powerful memory were supreme among the assembly. When it came to compiling the eighty thousand bequeathed scriptures, none was ahead of him. The two needed each other, just as the blind and the lame depend on one another. They brought mutual benefit to each other. It is like two men suddenly coming upon a thousand-pound lump of gold: if they wish to lift it together, their strength is insufficient; if they wish to cut and divide it, tools cannot be applied. Thereupon they confer together, combine their strength, and carry it home, ultimately achieving great utility. They may be called mutually wise; Kāśyapa and Ānanda were just like this metaphor. When the two accord in unison, the jewel of the Dharma abides long.
1.15
At that time, the sūtras spoken by Ānanda were immeasurable; who could completely compile them into a single collection? (That the sūtras are immeasurable means that the twelve divisions of scripture are vast and numerous; they were spoken according to the occasion without regard to sequence, or spoken about a single matter.) Or it spoke of ten matters; or it spoke of ten matters and then discussed two matters; or it spoke of three matters and then spoke of eleven matters; being inconsistent from top to bottom, they could not be made into a single collection. Or someone said: When the Tathāgata preached the Dharma, he sometimes spoke of instructions, sometimes spoke of severing fetters, and sometimes spoke of rebirth among devas or humans. Stated in this way, they again could not be made into a single collection. Ānanda thought: "One should follow one, two should follow two, three, four, five, six, up to ten; let each category of matter be connected to its kind." But someone said: "In principle it cannot be so; according to the words of the Buddha, they cannot be ordered in this sequence." Ānanda again thought: "The sūtras and Dharma are vast; they should be divided into three collections." As Ānanda alone gave rise to this thought, a deva of the Śuddhāvāsa secretly told Ānanda: "They should indeed be made into three divisions." Thereupon, according to what the deva told him, he divided them into three parts: the first part is the sūtras; the second part is the vinaya; the third part is the abhidharma. The sūtras are the Dharma spoken by the Buddha. Whether for devas, kings, or heterodox practitioners of other teachings, he distinguished matters according to the situation, so that each attained awakening. "Sūtra" (qì) is like a thread; it connects and orders principles so that they become practices of the Dharma; hence it is called "sūtra". The vinaya consists of the prohibitive rules. Spoken for the two assemblies of monastics to examine wrongdoing and rectify faults, whether two hundred and fifty or five hundred rules, it adduces the Dharma to guard against transgressions. It is like a king's secret treasury, not governed by external officials; hence it is called the inner treasury. This repository of precepts is also like this: it is not something that śrāmaṇeras or pure laymen and laywomen may hear or see; hence it is called the vinaya basket. The abhidharma is the great Dharma. The reason it is called great is that the great wisdom of the four truths is the foremost banner of all dharmas, severing all wrong views and the vast ignorance of delusion; hence it is called the great Dharma. It is also called the peerless Dharma. The eight knowledges, the ten wisdoms, and anāsrava right view surpass the obstacles of the three realms, with nothing equal to them; hence it is called the peerless Dharma. Kātyāyanīputra compiled the various sūtras, extracted the essential wisdom, and presented it to the Buddha for endorsement; hence it is called the repository of the great Dharma.
1.16
Ānanda again thought: "The meanings of these three baskets correspond to the three liberations. How so? The wonderful wisdom of the sūtras accords in principle with emptiness; the vinaya's restraining of evil subtly aligns with signlessness; the right view of the great Dharma traces the same path as wishlessness." Therefore it is said that the three baskets and the three liberations obscurely trace and profoundly unite. Ānanda again thought: "The great root of the sūtras is divided in meaning into four sections. How so? The texts and meanings are mixed together; it is appropriate that matters and principles follow one another, and large and small be arranged in order. The first is Ekottarika; next is Madhyama; the third is Dīrgha; the fourth is Saṃyukta. Taking one as the base and proceeding up to ten, one, two, three increasing according to the matters; hence it is called Ekottarika. 'Madhyama' means neither large nor small, neither long nor short, the matters being moderate and fitting; hence it is called Madhyama. 'Dīrgha' speaks of ancient matters continuing through kalpas without end, their origins and development, extending through the seven Buddhas and the seven treasures of a cakravartin; hence it is called Dīrgha. 'Saṃyukta' consists of the various sūtras severing fetters, difficult to recite and difficult to remember, the matters being mostly diverse and fragmented, easily causing people to forget; hence it is called Saṃyukta."
1.17
When Ānanda finished compiling the three baskets, he recorded ten sūtras as one verse. The reason for this was that, fearing that future reciters and learners would forget or make errors, seeing the title they would remember the original text, contemplate it, and awaken themselves; therefore ten sūtras were made into one verse.
1.18
The so-called miscellaneous collection was not spoken by one person: it was spoken either by the Buddha, or by disciples, or in praises and verses by devas, or it spoke of past conditions and the births of the bodhisattva through the three asaṃkhyeya [kalpas]. Its texts and meanings are manifold, exceeding the three baskets; hence it is called the miscellaneous collection. When the Buddha was in the world, King Ajātaśatru asked the Buddha about the practices of a bodhisattva. The Tathāgata preached the Dharma for him in full. Suppose the king asked the Buddha: "What is meant by the Dharma?" The reply was: "The Dharma is the Bodhisattva Pitaka. The various vaipulya correct sūtras are all matters within the Bodhisattva Pitaka." Formerly, when the Buddha was in the world, it was already called the Great Being's Pitaka. What Ānanda compiled is indeed the present four pitakas. Taken together, they make five pitakas.
1.19
Or there is a principle of a single dharma that is also profound, difficult to hold, difficult to recite, and impossible to remember (the single dharma is the dharma of emptiness, formless and without image, which cannot be guarded or held); quiet without sound, without mind and without thought, still without perception, it is the foremost emptiness, for its meaning has no duality. Because it has no appearance that can be measured, it is called difficult to hold; because it has no words that can be answered, it is called difficult to recite; because it has no thought that can be conceived, it is said to be impossible to remember. What is called the profound meaning is like this. Furthermore, a single dharma is the root of all numbers. One is the beginning of numbers, and ten is the end of numbers. Ending at ten, it begins again from one. Even reaching thousands of myriads, it always begins with one. In this way, all the ones cannot be exhausted. In the various sūtras, whether one meaning, one dharma, one practice, or one matter, each follows its kind without losing the thread; hence it is said that each follows one another without losing the thread.
1.20
Two dharmas associate with two: whether spoken of as good and evil, or spoken of as śamatha and vipaśyanā, or spoken of as name and form. Śamatha is empty; vipaśyanā is real. Śamatha is the concentration of samādhi, still with thoughts extinguished, obscure with concerns forgotten; hence it is called empty. The reason vipaśyanā is called real is that it distinguishes active formations, clearly discerning right from wrong, good from bad, with the mind unconfused; hence it is called real.
1.21
Three dharmas associate with three: the three are giving, merit, and reflection. These three practices are worldly dharmas for rebirth in heaven, and the practices of the three gates of liberation are dharmas leading to nirvāṇa. All three dharmas—the three practices, the three merits, the three parts of the dharmakāya—follow one another in threes, like a string of pearls. Four dharmas associate with four; five is also like this. Five dharmas are followed by six, six is followed by seven, the meanings of eight dharmas are broad, nine is followed by ten. Dharmas go from ten to eleven; in this way all numbers follow their kinds in the manner of two and three.
1.22
Ānanda immediately ascended the seat. The seat was a lion seat. The reason the sūtra uses the metaphor of a lion seat is that the lion is the king among beasts, always residing on high ground and never dwelling in low places; hence it is compared to a high seat. Furthermore, it is taken from its fearlessness: Ānanda had immeasurable vast learning, walking alone without fear among the śrāvakas; hence it is called the seat of fearlessness. (Ānanda's ascending the high seat was like this.) Maitreya praised it as excellent, a delightful exposition! (The reason Maitreya came down was that he feared Ānanda would merge the bodhisattva teachings into the three baskets, so that the Mahāyāna and Hīnayāna would not be distinguished), like brass and gold strung on the same cord. For this reason he earnestly exhorted and requested him to divide them into sections. In the past, the great heavenly cakravartin possessed the four brahma-vihāras, transmitting them successively down to eighty-four thousand kings who all possessed brahma-vihāras. Only the great heavenly king alone was a Great Being; all the rest had small aspirations. Stated in this way, the Great Vehicle is difficult to explain, and many tend toward the śrāvaka path. Maitreya also knew that Ānanda would divide the three baskets, yet still feared that later students would exclusively practice the teachings of emptiness, severing fetters and attaining realization; therefore he proclaimed the Great Vehicle and divided it into a separate pitaka. Hence he spoke of the various practices of the six perfections, the essential principles for a Great Being.
1.23
It is said that giving is of two kinds: there is giving out of faith, and there is giving out of fear. Establishing roots and attaining endurance is called giving out of faith. When forced by awe-inspiring power not from one's original mind, it is called giving out of fear. Faith accomplishes deliverance, while fear seeks merit; the distinction between the sacred and the worldly differentiates itself without awaiting words. That person said: Giving of head and eyes belongs to the seventh stage and above; giving of wealth belongs to the sixth stage and below. Those who fall back from this do not fall into birth and death, but will definitely reach nirvāṇa. How is this made clear? The Original Non-existence [chapter] of the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra states in the middle that sixty bodhisattvas attained the way of an arhat; this is the matter.
1.24
"Morality like a diamond" refers to the morality of the Great Vehicle. "Morality like an unbaked pot" refers to the morality of the Lesser Vehicle. Why is this? A diamond cannot be destroyed. In the past, there was a bodhisattva-monk who was incomparably handsome. When he went out begging for food, he met a beautiful woman on the road. Seeing the bodhisattva, the woman was seized with lustful desire and wished to become his wife. She then reflected further: "This is impossible to obtain. But if he would merely sit with me, I will generate the unsurpassed intention [for awakening]." Knowing the woman's thought, the bodhisattva went forward and sat with her. After a while she came forward and pulled at him, but the monk remained silent and did not respond. She drew near to him again, but as before he remained tranquil. The monk then explained the teaching of emptiness to her: "From where did the eye originally come, and where will it go? If you want to say it came from your parents, before their union this eye did not exist. When it is later destroyed, where will it go again? For this reason, the eye is completely non-existent. The five sense organs are also like this." She suddenly understood emptiness and attained stream-entry (srotāpanna). He should have spoken to her of existence, yet instead spoke of emptiness; the bodhisattva method is to enter existence and speak of emptiness, and so her original intention was not completely realized. Ānanda at that time saw this monk sitting with the woman, which violated the decorum of a monk. He immediately returned and reported to the Buddha: "Just now I saw a monk sitting with a woman." Since the Buddha already knew, he remained silent. The monk knew that Ānanda had informed the World-Honoured One, and said: "I reflect that if I do not go, I fear those who slandered me will fall into guilt." He wanted to display miraculous transformations, but the Buddha did not permit it; he simply flew straight to the Buddha's place. The Buddha said to Ānanda: "The monk whom you just saw violating the Vinaya is this monk who has now flown here. Have you ever seen someone who has committed lustful transgression able to fly? Just now when this monk sat with the woman, the woman thought: 'If this monk sits with me, I shall generate the unsurpassed intention.' Knowing the woman's thought, this monk sat with her. He then explained the teaching of emptiness to her, analyzing the emptiness of the eye, and the five sense organs are also like this. The woman then became terrified, and thereby attained the path-trace (srotāpanna). Because fearful thoughts arose in her and she feared birth and death, she attained the Lesser Vehicle. If this monk had previously spoken to her of practices concerning existence, she would have fulfilled her original intention." From this matter it is known that this bodhisattva had not yet reached non-retrogression and was not yet fully skilled in observing the minds of others; this is what is called diamond-like morality.
1.25
As for the so-called perfection of patience: when seeing oneself cursed or insulted, one accepts it in silence without retaliating. When a bodhisattva practices patience, he constantly employs universal benevolence (maitrī) to equalize self and other. Since self and other are equal, enemy and kin are not two. Therefore a sūtra says: "The benevolence of the Lesser Vehicle is benevolence merely on the flesh and skin; the benevolence of the Great Being penetrates to the marrow of the bone." How is this demonstrated? If someone cuts off the hands and feet of a bodhisattva and they transform into milk, that is the proof of benevolence. The monk Kṣāntivādin is just such an instance. It is like when a woman gives birth to a child, milk immediately flows forth. This is induced by thoughts of benevolence, transforming naturally. The Great Being in this way enters the samādhi of benevolence, and is therefore able to elicit milk. When the practice of benevolence reaches its utmost, even if one holds a bow and arrow, living beings will instead come and attach themselves to oneself. When benevolence does not penetrate, even if one does not hold a stick, all who see one will abandon and flee from one. Because of such proofs, the difference between the Great and the Lesser has its origins.
1.26
"Performing good and bad actions" means vigorously performing all good merits. As for "bad actions", it is like in the past when the youth Uttara reviled Kāśyapa Buddha, saying: "What Way does this bald-headed śramaṇa have? The Way is hard to attain; can he attain the Way?" Because of this, he later suffered six years of bitter toil before finally attaining the Way. In the bequeathed Dharma, the monks are constantly disputing; this is the retribution for speaking words that should not be spoken with the mouth. The six years of austerities were the retribution for practicing what should not be practiced. These are the bodily and verbal bad actions of the bodhisattva.
1.27
In dhyāna meditation one enters quiescence, serene and unmoving.
1.28
Wisdom knows the number of dust motes and the number of sands in rivers, hundreds of millions beyond reckoning; that which is understood by the brilliance of wisdom cannot be exhausted.
1.29
These matters of the six perfections are entirely contained in the Bodhisattva Piṭaka and should not be merged with the Tripiṭaka. Ānanda wished to distinguish the causes and conditions of the Great and the Lesser, [which were such that] they did not know each other. Their principle is intrinsically empty and difficult to understand clearly. When a Great Being doubts emptiness, it is because he does not grasp realization; hence it is called fox-like doubt.
1.30
Treatise Distinguishing Merits, Fascicle One
2.1
Translator's name lost; appended to the Later Han record
2.2
Maitreya praised it as "excellent" because he gathered this great Dharma of the six perfections into one division, which is the Bodhisattva Piṭaka. "Cutting off fetters" means cutting off the fetters and defilements of various speculative views. As for "realizing the fruit of the path", in the Great Vehicle it is such a matter. Why did Ānanda only say "I have heard" and not say "I have seen"? Could it be that he did not see the Tathāgata preach the Dharma? The reason that saying "seen" is improper is that for the sake of the future fourfold assembly, he could not say "seen". Supposing he had said "seen", then later members of the fourfold assembly who again followed Ānanda in saying "seen" would be uttering falsehood. For this reason, he only proclaimed "heard" and did not say "seen".
2.3
He first preached the Dharma to deliver the five men including Ājñātakauṇḍinya, and in Magadha subdued the three Kāśyapas. Śākya is Kapilavastu. If the location where a sūtra was spoken is not obtained, one merely states it was in Śrāvastī, because the Buddha stayed in Śrāvastī for twenty-five years, which, compared to other kingdoms, was the longest. The reason he stayed longest was that this kingdom was the most marvelous and had many rare treasures, its people were flourishing and possessed the highest sense of righteousness, and the Jetavana monastery had extraordinary divine verifications. When the sangha was gathered for a lecture, several thousand monkeys came to observe and listen on both sides in utter silence, and all kinds of flying birds universally gathered. Just as the sangha dispersed and each returned to his dwelling, as soon as the gaṇḍī sounded they assembled again. This was because the kingdom had much benevolence and kindness, so that different species drew near. The Buddha might temporarily go to receive an invitation, or by supernatural power adapt to convert [beings] and quickly return to his original place; therefore, simply stating Śrāvastī is sufficient to know its significance.
2.4
The reason for specifically mentioning the names of the two persons, Jetṛ and Anāthapiṇḍada, is that these two had previously passed away and are now in the heavens, where they also gather the devas to teach and preach the Dharma. At that time they thought: "We were originally the dānapatis of the sangha; will our names never again be mentioned?" Wishing to accommodate what they thought, the names of the two persons were separately mentioned. As for stating that "one should cultivate one Dharma", this was also not spoken in sequential order. If based on the preaching of the Dharma upon first attaining awakening, it should begin with preaching the four noble truths in the Deer Park in Vārāṇasī, and next proceed to Magadha to subdue the three Kāśyapas. By taking the opportunity to mention the names of the masters of the monastery, it then says "one should cultivate one Dharma", because the flavor of the principle of this one Dharma and of the four Dharmas is not different. One Dharma also cuts off fetters, and four Dharmas also cut off fetters; both reach nirvāṇa, arriving at the same destination by different paths. In total there are twenty-one fetters, unfolded into thirty-six. Although the numbers expand or contract, all are fetters. In all matters there are one hundred and one, which expanded further become eighty-four thousand; thus one Dharma and tens of thousands are equally paths to the ultimate Way. It is like a lion killing an elephant or killing a rabbit: both are the same single death. Because their principled purport is not different, it begins with one Dharma. Non-negligence (apramāda) is the essence of this one Dharma. Someone may ask: Morality should come first; one should first uphold morality and afterwards be mindful of the Three Jewels. Or it may be said: For beginners, they first be mindful of the Three Jewels—that is, the three refuges—and directing their minds to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, sequentially receive morality. For this reason, morality should be explained fourth, after the cessation of thoughts.
2.5
As for the "mindfulness of the suffering of the body in seclusion", it means contemplating the thirty-six impure substances and foul discharges of the body to awaken oneself, through which the path can be attained. How is this demonstrated? In the past, there was a monk who practiced āraṇyaka conduct and begged for food. He encountered a gṛhapati's daughter and begged food from her. The monk and the woman were both handsome. Seeing the monk, the woman gave rise to lustful thoughts; seeing the woman, the monk also gave rise to lustful thoughts. His mind agitated and his hands trembling, he dropped the food into the bowl, missing it so that it fell onto the ground. The woman smiled in amusement. Seeing the woman's white teeth, the monk immediately awakened to himself, saying: "Inside the woman's mouth there is purely just bone. As the Buddha said: 'In the human body there are three hundred and twenty bones, six hundred joints, seven hundred thousand vessels, and nine hundred thousand pores. One pore enters and nine orifices discharge, leaking impurity, with not one thing worthy of greed.'" Carefully contemplating the thirty-six substances of the woman's body, his hair stood on end with dread; focusing solely on examining himself, he immediately understood the emptiness of the body and attained the path of stream-entry. He then thought to himself: "Because of this woman I have seen the Dharma; she is my spiritual friend. Now I should repay her kindness." He then explained to the woman the contemplation of the body that he had just understood. The woman's mind immediately opened, and she too attained the path of stream-entry. For this reason, mindfulness of the body is superior.
2.6
As for "mindfulness of death", it means being mindful of when a person's merit is exhausted and life ends: seeing the omens of hell, they lose their feces in terror. If they see hungry ghosts or animals, depending on where their actions cause them to fall, all they see is terrifying. Their mind wishes to cast it off and leave, but instead they are dragged by their karmic retribution. If they are to be born as humans, it depends on the union of parents. If taking birth in a male womb, they feel love for that woman; if taking birth in a female womb, they feel love for that man. Removing their sickness and difficulties, when the three conditions do not err, they then enter the womb. Having received it, they further grasp it as their own; changing every seven days, the skillful wind carves and cuts it, until in thirty-eight periods of seven days its form is finally completed. If born in the heavens, heavenly music comes to welcome them, and overcome with joy they immediately lose their urine. These omens of the five destinies each have what is seen. One who should practice this death has already taken it as a clear precept, deeply contemplating impermanence: life is as swift as lightning or a cloud passing through a courtyard, and when old age, sickness, and death arrive, there is none who does not pass away. Constantly being mindful of this transformation to awaken oneself: therefore it is called mindfulness of death.
2.7
The first ten recollections were spoken by the Buddha himself, and because no one had questioned him, they were not explained. Regarding the latter ten recollections, the monks asked, and the Buddha further expounded them, analyzing and explaining each one.
2.8
As for the "venerable disciples", it means that among the five hundred arhats each had their specialty: some were foremost in wisdom, some in ṛddhi, some in eloquence, some in merit, some in keeping the precepts, some in contentment, or some in preaching the Dharma—each held the foremost position. If one wishes to discuss the elder brother coming before the younger brother, Ājñātakauṇḍinya was the eldest and Subhadra was the youngest; this is the broad outline of the hierarchical order in the Buddha's Dharma. If one were to take cleverness, intelligence, and broad erudition as the head, that would merely be the way of the brāhmaṇas.
2.9
When it speaks of 'one thousand two hundred and fifty', it cites those who constantly attended [the Buddha]. When it is said 'five hundred people', it was when the Buddha accepted the invitation of Anavatapta: he selected five hundred suitable people to follow him directly to the dragon king's palace. Why? This Lake Anavatapta cannot be reached by those with defiled, obstructed physical forms. When Ānanda brought forth the sūtras, he assembled eighty-four thousand arhats; from this perspective, the number is beyond calculation. This sūtra now brings forth exactly one hundred people; their foremost qualities encompass the four assemblies, and two hundred and twenty are each foremost. How could the remainder be counted? It is said: 'This sūtra originally had one hundred topics, which Ānanda entrusted to Uttara.' Twelve years after the compilation of the Ekottarāgama, Ānanda entered parinirvāṇa. At that time, the monks each practiced seated meditation and no longer recited and practiced [the texts], saying that of the Buddha's three activities, seated meditation is foremost, and thus each neglected chanting and recitation. After twelve years, the monk Uttara also entered parinirvāṇa, and because of this, ninety topics of this sūtra were lost. Foreign masters transmission from master to disciple was by oral transmission, not permitting the recording in written text. What was transmitted at that time was only eleven topics. From then on down through the lineage, there was only the present text. Even so, the Sarvāstivāda school lacks the preface and the last eleven topics; through drifting over a long time, more and more was lost. The reason he specifically entrusted this disciple with the Ekottar[āgama] was that since the time of the seven Buddhas, he had specifically mastered and practiced the Ekottarāgama, and the previous sages had also all entrusted this sūtra [to him]; therefore, Śākyamuni again diligently reached out to this monk. At that time, Uttara's disciple named Kalyāṇabuddhi received and recited the Ekottar[āgama] from his master, obtaining only eleven topics, when Uttara entered parinirvāṇa. What is currently present in the Tripiṭaka abroad was completely transmitted by Kalyāṇabuddhi, handed down from master to disciple until now without interruption. The reason Kāśyapa always called Ānanda a child was because for successive lifetimes, he had treated him with paternal affection. At that time, Ānanda's sister was a nun; hearing Kāśyapa's words, she was deeply resentful: 'Ānanda is intelligent, broadly learned, and looked up to by the masses. How can the Venerable One call him a child?' Kāśyapa said to the nun: 'Elder sister! Ānanda has two shameful matters. What is there to resent? Precisely because Ānanda urged the Buddha to ordain women, he caused the Buddha's Dharma to decrease by a thousand years; this is the first. Ānanda had sixty disciples, and recently thirty monks returned to lay life. In the Buddha's teaching on the method for ordaining disciples, if a householder with faith comes seeking the path, one must test him for seven days. If one from an external teaching comes seeking the path, one must test him for four months. Why are they not equal? Because those from non-Buddhist traditions might come with bad intentions seeking faults, therefore one first tests them to know if they are completely sincere. Otherwise, Ānanda ordaining them as soon as they arrived is the second shameful matter. The reason these thirty monks returned is that they heard Ānanda was foremost in equal knowledge among the ninety-six paths; when seeking ordination from Ānanda, they wished to request equal knowledge. However, Ānanda did not explain equal knowledge to them, and thus it did not match their original intention, whereupon they returned. Upon returning, they will surely slander Ānanda, saying he lacks equal knowledge. Ordaining disciples is like a fish laying billions of eggs: if she keeps her mind on them, they hatch; if she does not keep her mind on them, they rot away. Disciples are also like this: if one attends to teaching them, they are accomplished; if one does not attend to them, they fall back. Is this not shameful!' Because this nun directed anger toward Kāśyapa, she fell into hell in her present body. Because Ānanda had these deficiencies, Kāśyapa merely called him a child. Ānanda himself cited that in the past he had been a cakravartin named Dīrghāyus. Receiving the bequest of his father the great king, he ascended the throne and governed. When he was about to leave household life, he again entrusted Crown Prince Sudarśana, handing over the state governance to him. Transmitted successively, it was never suspended for a moment. Formerly there was succession from father to son; now there is succession from master to disciple. If in the past he did not lose even defiled teachings, how could he lose the supreme, true, wondrous Dharma now? Therefore, he cited his own experience to show that he was certainly capable of receiving the bequeathed scriptures.
2.10
Regarding 'one should mindfully venerate the Dharma': in the verse above, the Tripiṭaka and the four Āgamas have already been distinguished. In the prose it is also said that within a single verse all the dharmas of the Tripiṭaka can be contained, so how could the Ekottar[āgama] not contain all dharmas? Why is there another verse explanation like this? It is because the devaputras had the thought in their minds: 'Can Ānanda not compose verses to expound the Dharma? Why does he again give this casual explanation?' Knowing what was in the minds of the devaputras, Ānanda said to them: 'Even if the sūtras carried by eighty-four thousand elephants were all to be composed into verse, I could compose them all into verse.' How much less could Ānanda be unable to compose this small Dharma? Desiring to suit the wishes of the devas, he again expounded the dharmas in verse, encouraging the devas and sharp-facultied sentient beings who ought to gain understanding upon hearing the verse. The Dharma is precisely that of the previous chapter: 'To avoid all evil, to cultivate all good, to purify one's own mind—this is the teaching of the Buddhas.' It means that this Dharma can accomplish the three vehicles, sever the three bad destinies, fulfill all fruits, and receive retribution in both lives. Because capacities have superior and inferior qualities, he devised methods to guide them forward. The verse says: 'The highest uphold the Tripiṭaka; next are the four Āgamas; or if one can receive the Vinaya Piṭaka, that is the Tathāgata's treasure.' The reason it is called a treasure is like a king having a treasure storehouse that he does not let outsiders know of; only inner ministers who are of one mind with the king are made to manage it. The Vinaya is also like this: only if one can uphold the two hundred and fifty and the five hundred rules is it conferred upon that person; it must not be put on display for external laymen and laywomen to view, hence the comparison to a royal treasure. If one's strength does not reach the two Piṭakas, but one only upholds the Abhidharma, one can subdue non-Buddhists, and of the ninety-six paths none will fail to return to the source. Why? This incomparable, wondrous wisdom can resolve subtle blockages above and make them clear and upright. Even if one abides for a kalpa with five superknowledges, one has not escaped being controlled by the four floods; therefore, those of external teachings dare not pry into it. Ānanda chanting these ten verses of wondrous encouragement was precisely for these thirty thousand devas and humans.
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