勅修百丈清規 5.49

5.49

of two merchants in northern India, Dilifu[suo] (Trapuṣa) and Balijia (Bhal-

lika) by name, who one day offered the World-honored One almsfood made

of wheat flour, butter, and honey. The World-honored One recollected that

the Buddhas of the past all invariably carried their respective bowls to receive

alms, and wondered to himself what kind of receptacle he should use now in

order to receive alms from the two merchants. At that moment, the four guardian

gods of the heaven at once brought four golden vessels before him. The Worldhonored One, however, did not accept them, because no person who had renounced the world could keep such precious items. Thereupon, the guardian kings of the heavens tried to cause him to accept their gifts of four bowls, each set made of silver, glass, lapis lazuli, ruby, agate, and juqu, but the Buddha would not accept any of these.

In the meantime, Vaiśravaṇa, the guardian king of the northern heaven, spoke to the other three, saying: “As I recollect, a long time ago, the guardian generals of the blue sky brought us four stone-carved vessels that can be used to receive food. At that moment, a god, Vairocana by name, reminded them that they should not use these stone-carved bowls for receiving food but exclusively for offering alms to the Perfectly Enlightened One. In this period of ours, a perfected being (Tathāgata), Śākyamuni by name, has appeared in this world. It should be best that these four stone-carved vessels should be presented to that Tathāgata.” As instructed, the guardian kings of the four corners of heaven presented the four stone-carved bowls to the Buddha. The World-honored One thought to himself that since these kings had given him the four bowls with genuine devotion, if he had accepted only one without accepting the other three, a sense of unfairness might result in the minds of the other three kings, creating an impression of partiality on his part. Thus he decided to accept all four and make a single bowl out of them by merging them into one. He stacked them one upon another on his left palm and compressed them from above with his right hand, thereby producing a single bowl with four corners for touching the mouth. Then, the World-honored One exhorted the listeners in the following verse:

Meritorious conduct of my past lives produced many results,

Whereby the mind of compassion and purity has arisen within me.

Because of this, the four guardian kings of the heavens,

Immaculate and steadfast, had come to offer me the bowl I need.

7. The Staff Topped by Pewter Rings

This item is called khakkhara in Sanskrit and xizhang, or “a pewter-topped staff,” in Chinese. According to the Pewter Staff Sutra (Dedaotichengxizhangjing), the Buddha is said to have told his disciples that they should

keep a staff topped by pewter because all the Buddhas of the past, present,

and future have kept and will keep [such a staff]. The staff in question is also

called a “wisdom staff” or “staff of virtue,” because it symbolizes the source

of insight and practice and their merit. Mahākāśyapa asked the Buddha,

“Why does the cane have pewter rings on top?” The Buddha replied, “Xi

(“pewter-top”) symbolizes lightness. Relying on this staff, its holder can

remove his defilements and escape from this triple world. Xi symbolizes

insight. Because it helps its holder to realize wisdom and insight, xi sym-

bolizes awakening. Because it awakens its holder to the ultimate nature of

the triple world as suffering and empty, xi symbolizes separation. That is to

say, its holder is to be freed from the five kinds of desires.”

The pewter-topped staff equipped with two edges, each holding three

rings, is said to have been produced by Kāśyapa Buddha, while a staff

equipped with four edges holding twelve rings is said to have been inno-

vated by Śākyamuni Buddha.

8. The Walking Stick

According to the Vinaya in Ten Chapters, the Buddha is said to have permitted

his disciples to keep a walking stick (zhuzhang). The tip of this stick is protected

by an iron point in order to make it durable. The same Vinaya scripture also says

that the Buddha permitted the use of the stick for two reasons: 1) it aids the eld-

erly of little physical strength; and 2) it helps the sick with a frail body.