分別功德論 4.42

4.42

The reason why Bakkula is proclaimed foremost in having an extremely long lifespan is that in the distant past he made offerings to sixty thousand buddhas and constantly practiced loving-kindness toward all buddhas; toward all kinds of embodied life, whether flying insects or wriggling worms, he constantly extended benevolence and pity, without the slightest thought of harming or killing. Due to this merit of loving-kindness, he now received this retribution. The Buddha said to Ānanda: 'As my bodily complexion today is pure, none surpasses me—like a lotus untouched by mud and water—yet my lifespan is exactly eighty years. It does not match Bakkula’s lifespan of one hundred and sixty. This is because the Tathāgata conforms to the worldly desires of sentient beings and does not display anything anomalous; hence his lifespan is eighty. Bakkula received the merit of his past loving-kindness, and therefore obtained the retribution of a doubled lifespan.' One may ask: Did he obtain such a lifespan solely by means of loving-kindness, or was there anything else? The answer is: There was. Long ago, when Vipaśyin Tathāgata appeared in the world, there were 168,000 monks wandering to teach and transform. At that time, there was an eminent gṛhapati of pure and chaste conduct, endowed with a modest nature, who disliked drinking alcohol. At an annual festival, through mutual encouragement, he drank a little. Relying on the boldness from the alcohol, he went to the World-Honoured One, bowed, inquired after him, and invited the Buddha and the disciples: 'I wish that you accept my invitation for ninety days. Any monk who is ill may come to my house to obtain medicine, and whenever anything is needed, come and take it.' Having said this, he returned home and instructed his household: 'I have invited the Buddha and the disciples for the four requirements; everything must be prepared.' Having given his instructions, he went to sleep. After sleeping a long time, he awoke. His wife said: 'You previously gave orders to make preparations, but now you are silent. Why is this so?' The gṛhapati was alarmed and asked: 'What did I say earlier?' The wife said: 'Before you slept, did you not say anything?' He said: 'I do not recall saying anything.' The wife said: 'You said before: “I have invited the Buddha and the disciples to supply their needs for ninety days.” Did you not speak these words?' The gṛhapati reflected: 'Alcohol leads men astray even to this extent!' Having come to this, he was full of shame and thought he must immediately proceed with the invitation. Early the next morning, he burned incense in his house and invited the World-Honoured One from afar. A monk came seeking medicine. The gṛhapati asked: 'What is your affliction?' He answered: 'I suffer from a headache.' The gṛhapati said: 'There must be fluid above your diaphragm rising up to attack your head, which causes this headache.' He then gave him a harītakī fruit, [saying]: 'Just taking this medicine will suffice to eliminate this ailment.' The monk took the medicine and his illness was cured at once. As a karmic reward for this, for ninety-one kalpas he never suffered illness. He was born into the family of a gṛhapati, lived to the age of eighty, went forth to practice the Path for eighty years, the total of his lay and monastic years being one hundred and sixty. While still a householder, he once wrestled an ox and suffered a headache for a brief moment, which immediately healed. From then on, he was always free of illness. For this reason, Bakkula is foremost in long life. That he added sixty years to a hundred-year lifespan is most extraordinary among the lifespans of the five corruptions—comparable to a lotus flower growing amid foul filth. Ānanda asked Bakkula: 'Why do you not preach the Dharma to others? Is it because you lack the four analytical knowledges, or lack wisdom, that you do not preach the Dharma?' He replied: 'I am by no means deficient in the four analytical knowledges and swift wisdom; I simply delight in quietude and dislike clamour, which is why I do not preach the Dharma.' Objection: If Bakkula had a long life, why was he not born in the other three continents? Answer: The reason why buddhas are not born there is that the people of those lands are difficult to transform. The sentient beings of this land have sharp faculties and swift minds; though extremely fierce in their wickedness, they attain the Path without difficulty. Therefore the past buddhas were all born here. Bakkula was destined to attain the Path here, and therefore was not born in the other three continents.