法苑珠林 26
English (machine translation) 26
- Language
- English
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Composed by the śramaṇa Shi Daoshi of Ximing Temple
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Chapter 18: Knowledge of Past Lives (This consists of four sections)
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Section on Explaining the Meaning
Section on Citing Evidence
Section on Latent Tendencies
Section on the Five Supernormal Knowledges
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Section on Explaining the Meaning, Part 1
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Now, karmic conduct varies, and the pathways of past conditions are not singular. Lifespans may be long or short, and the principle of clarity or dimness is impermanent. Truly, because karmic causes are wholesome or unwholesome, their retributions entail clarity or obscurity. Some remember many kalpas; some recall multiple generations; some record only a single lifetime; and some know only the present. Therefore, ordinary persons and sages are distinct and separate, and knowledge of past lives may be long or short. Even if one entrusts one's spirit and resonates with the sages, latent tendencies still remain; though one dispels delusion and sees the principle, the playful mind is still present. Unless one's stage reaches the ten grounds and one's practice fulfills three asamphyeya kalpas, how could one permanently sever the causes of latent tendencies and realize this superior retribution?
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Section on Citing Evidence, Part 2
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First, among the deva realm: according to the Vibhāṣā-śāstra, there is also knowledge gained from one's place of rebirth that knows the minds of others, and so on. However, because it is subtle, it is not expounded separately, as it has already been fully expounded above under heavenly retributions, and is likewise described below under the realms of animals and ghosts. Therefore, the Vibhāṣā-śāstra states: 'Why is this? Because it is not a proper vessel of a field. Because it is covered and impaired by superior forms of knowledge such as observing signs and hearing speech, and because it is eclipsed and obscured by the supernormal knowledge of others' minds, knowledge born of aspiration, and so forth.' The judgment states: 'One should explain it thus: knowledge gained from one's place of rebirth among the four destinies each knows all five destinies; this does not contradict reason.'
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Second, Question: In the human destiny there is also an inherent, memory-based cognition arising at birth of this kind, which ought to enable knowing the minds of others and so forth. Why is it not mentioned? Answer: What should have been stated but was not stated—you should know that this principle has further meaning. Furthermore, it is not mentioned because it is rare; that is to say, among the human destiny, those who attain this cognition are extremely rare, and therefore it is not mentioned. As the *Vibhāṣā-śāstra* says, this cognition all arises from karma free of affliction and harm. If there are sentient beings who can guard body and speech and not torment others, when they are in the maternal womb it will certainly be spacious and tolerant, and they will not be distressed by the two contacts of cold and heat or the impure, foul blood of the mother's abdomen. When the time comes to emerge from the womb, they are also not compressed by the birth canal so as to cause their minds to be deranged. Due to these causes and conditions, they are lucid and awake, recollecting and knowing past events. That people at present do not know is truly because they contravene the aforesaid Dharma: because of forgetfulness and confusion, they are unable to know. Question: How many destinies does each destiny know? Answer: Again as the *Vibhāṣā-śāstra* says, devas know the five destinies; humans know four destinies (excluding devas); pretas know three destinies; animals know two destinies; and those in the hells only know the affairs of the hells. Because of superiority, the higher can know the lower; the lower, being inferior, does not know the higher. Question: If because of inferiority they do not know the higher, why do the sūtras say that the nāga-king Supratiṣṭhita, the nāga-king Elāpattra, and others were able to know the thoughts in the mind of the superior human, Śakra? Answer: As the *Vibhāṣā-śāstra* says, these are all inferential knowledge, not direct knowledge. For example, when that Śakra wishes to battle with the asuras, the bones on the back of the nāga-king Supratiṣṭhita spontaneously emit a sound. He then thinks: 'A great sound now issues from the bones of my back. I definitely know that the devas surely wish to battle with those asuras, and they will certainly need me.' Having formed this thought, he immediately goes to the side of that Śakra. Furthermore, when Śakra wishes to disport himself, fragrant hands spontaneously appear on the back of the nāga-king Elāpattra. He then thinks: 'Fragrant hands now appear on my back. I definitely know that Śakra wishes to disport in the parks and groves, and will certainly need me.' Having formed this thought, he immediately transforms his body into an elephant with thirty-two heads, which together with his original head make thirty-three heads in all. Upon each head there appear six tusks; upon each tusk there appear seven great jewel pools; in each pool there appear seven stems of lotus flowers; each lotus flower produces seven petals; upon each petal there appears a seven-jeweled dais; inside each dais is raised a seven-jeweled curtain; inside each curtain are seven devanīs; each devanī has seven attendants; each attendant has seven courtesans; and each courtesan plays celestial music. Having made such transformations, in the time it takes to bend or extend an arm he goes to the front of Śakra's palace and stays there. When Śakra sees him, he immediately ascends upon his usual head along with his retinue, while the other thirty-two celestial ministers each take their retinue and ascend upon the remaining thirty-two heads. Having ascended, he immediately lifts his body into the void and goes swiftly to the place of diversion. Taking this as verification, it is also inferential knowledge, not direct knowledge. By citing these events it is proven that the higher can know the lower, while the lower does not know the higher. However, this principle is not exhaustive: as below, where the wolf knew the woman's mind, killed the child, and departed—this is a case where the lower also knew the higher. Why say that the lower does not know the higher? Here, speaking according to the majority, the higher can know the lower and the lower cannot know the higher. If one investigates in detail, higher and lower mutually know each other, which cannot be cited in full.
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Furthermore, the new *Vibhāṣā-śāstra* says: Within Rājagṛha there was a butcher named Ghaṭa, who was a childhood friend of King Ajātaśatru. He once said to the crown prince: 'When you ascend the throne, what wish will you grant me?' The prince told him: 'I will grant whatever you ask.' Later, Ajātaśatru killed his father and set himself up. Ghaṭa then begged a boon from the king, and the king said to him: 'Ask as you please.' Ghaṭa said: 'May the king allow me alone to practice butchery throughout Rājagṛha.' The king then told him: 'Why do you now make such an evil request? Are you not afraid of future suffering?' The butcher told the king: 'All good and evil actions have no fruit whatsoever; what is there to fear?' The king then said to him: 'How do you know this?' Ghaṭa told the king: 'I remember six past lives, constantly practicing butchery within this city of Rājagṛha. In the final life, I was born among the Trāyastriṃśa devas, experiencing much joy. Departing from that heaven, I came to be born here, and was able to be a friend of the king from childhood. Therefore, I know that good and evil certainly have no fruit.' When the king heard this, he became doubtful and went to report it to the Buddha. The Buddha told the king: 'This matter is not false. However, that butcher once offered a single meal to a pratyekabuddha and made a wrong vow, saying: "May I always practice butchery alone within Rājagṛha, and afterward be born in heaven!" Due to that superior karmic cause, the fruit fulfilled his vow. That previous superior karma and its fruit are exhausted today; after seven days his life will certainly end and he will be born in the Raurava Hell, experiencing sequentially the bitter fruits of his previous butchery karma. Therefore, this cognition knows at most seven lives.' Still others say that this can at most recollect the events of five hundred lives. That is to say, there was a monk who recalled on his own that during five hundred past lives he had fallen into the preta destiny; when remembering the suffering of hunger and thirst experienced there, sweat flowed over his whole body and his mind was deeply terrified; he ceased all business, his vigor blazing, and after a long time attained the fruit of stream-entry (srotāpanna). Furthermore, there was a monk who recalled on his own that during five hundred past lives he had fallen into the hell destiny; when remembering the suffering of hell experienced there, blood flowed throughout all his pores, and his body and garments were extraordinarily foul; every day he went to the water to bathe and wash his clothes, so that the multitude thought he regarded water as purification.
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Furthermore, the *Sarvāstivāda-śāstra* states: Question: What is the difference between aspirational cognition (praṇidhi-jñāna) and the cognition of past lives (pūrvanivāsānusmṛti-jñāna)? Answer: Cognition of past lives knows the past; aspirational cognition knows the three times. Cognition of past lives knows what has outflows; aspirational cognition knows both together. Cognition of past lives knows past states of one's own body; aspirational cognition knows both oneself and others. Cognition of past lives knows sequentially one life, two lives, and so on; aspirational cognition surpasses this in a single thought-moment to know hundreds of kalpas. Why were animals in ancient times able to speak, whereas animals in present times cannot speak? At the beginning of the kalpa, there were first humans and devas, and there were not yet the three evil destinies; [the animals] all came from among humans and devas, and because their past habituation was recent, they were able to speak. Animals in present times mostly come from within the three evil destinies, and therefore do not speak. Furthermore, the *Vibhāṣā-śāstra* says: This refers to inherently being able to know past lives and knowing others' minds at the place of birth; at that place of birth, without relying on cultivating causes, one knows inherently. This cognition extends generally through all five destinies, yet it has degrees of strength and weakness. In the three wretched paths and among devas, within these four destinies its function is strong. If in the human destiny, its function is feeble and weak. Why is this so? Because in the human destiny there are cognitions of judging signs and speech, cognitions produced from cultivating dhyāna, and even cognitions of the minds of others and so forth; it is obscured by such cognitions as these. Therefore, although it exists, its function is subtle, hidden, and unmanifest.
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As the new *Vibhāṣā-śāstra* says: 'If we speak of sentient beings: seeing precipitous and narrow places, they repair them so that they are wide and spacious, causing travelers to have no difficulties. By the power of that karma, inside the mother's womb
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they have no suffering of constriction, and therefore they attain this cognition. Or others say: if sentient beings give others various large amounts of exquisite food and drink, by the power of that karma it can induce this cognition. If sentient beings do not create karma that torments or harms others, but constantly perform matters that benefit others, by this karma, while in the mother's womb they are not oppressed by wind, heat, phlegm, cold, and other diseases; when they later emerge from the womb, they have no suffering of constriction. Therefore they are able to remember past life events. Hence it is said: if sentient beings dwelling in the mother's womb and emerging from the womb do not experience the sufferings of numerous diseases and constriction, they should all be able to remember past life events; it is only because of the mother's diseases and the suffering of constriction that they forget them all.'
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Third, in the preta destiny, there is also cognition attained at birth that knows others' minds and so forth. How is this known to be so? In the past there was a woman possessed by a preta, emaciated and near death. A sorcerer asked the preta: 'Why are you now troubling this woman?' The preta then replied: 'In five hundred past lives this woman constantly took my life, and in five hundred past lives I also constantly took her life. Resentment has repaid resentment, and down to the present it has not ceased. If she can relinquish it, I too will relinquish it.' The sorcerer accordingly told that woman: 'If you spare your life, you should relinquish your resentful mind.' The woman replied: 'I have already relinquished it.' The preta examined the woman's mind and saw that she had not relinquished her resentment at all; fearing her life would not be preserved, she falsely claimed to have relinquished it. Thereupon the preta ended her life, left her, and departed.
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Fourth, in the animal destiny, how is it known that there is the cognition of past lives? Answer: As in the *Vibhāṣā-śāstra*, in the past there was a woman who placed her child on the ground and went elsewhere on business. At that time a wolf carried off her child. When the mother saw this, she chased it and said: 'Why are you, wolf, taking my child?' The wolf replied: 'You are my enemy. In five hundred lives you constantly ate my children; now I in turn wish to kill your child in five hundred lives. This is enmity repaying enmity; according to principle, this is the natural order. Why become angry?' Having given this reply, it spoke further: 'If you can relinquish your wish to harm out of enmity, I will release your child.' The child's mother replied: 'I relinquish my resentful mind.' At that time the wolf sat down and reflected; examining that woman's mind, it knew that she had not relinquished it. It spoke to her again: 'Although your mouth speaks it, your mind has still not relinquished it.' Having spoken these words, it ended her child's life and departed. This is knowing its own past lives and also knowing that woman's mind, which serves as sound verification. As for the rest, the preta and deva destinies both know past lives and know others' minds; this is fully explained in the sūtras and śāstras of the earlier and later sections, so there is no need to repeat it. However, these two cognitions are not omniscient cognition (sarvākārajñatā). Treatises explain that the two kinds of cognition—of others' minds and of past lives—are attained only on the basis of dhyāna and samādhi; these [instances here] are retribution-born and operate within a distracted mind, and thus we know they are not the same.
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Fifth, in the hell destiny, how can there arise innate cognition of past lives? Answer: As in the *Nirvāṇa-sūtra*, when the five hundred brahmins were killed by King Seniya and arrived in the hells, they generated three wholesome thoughts and remembered what they had originally done—this is its verification. Furthermore, as the treatises say, sentient beings in the hells are also able to remember and know the minds of the hell wardens and so forth, which is also its verification.
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Section 3: Past Habituation
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As the Buddha spoke in the Sūtra on the Past Life of Siṃhacandra Buddha: The Buddha was in Rājagṛha, at the Kalandaka Bamboo Grove, together with a great assembly of bhikṣus numbering one thousand two hundred and fifty bhikṣus and one hundred bodhisattvas. At that time, among the assembly there was a bodhisattva bhikṣu named Vasumitra. He wandered among the bamboo groves, clambering up and down the trees, with a voice like a monkey, or he would set up three bells and perform acrobatics. Then the elders and wayfarers vied with one another to gather and watch him. When the crowd gathered, he would rise into the air, leap to the tops of trees, and make monkey calls. Eighty-four thousand golden monkeys from Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa gathered at the bodhisattva's place. The bodhisattva again performed various transformations to make them rejoice. Then the great multitude each spoke these words: 'The sons of the Śākya śramaṇa are like jugglers, deluding the crowd. Their evil deeds are trusted by no one, and they even engage in unlawful behavior with birds and beasts.' Such ill reports spread throughout Rājagṛha. A brāhmaṇa went up and reported this to the great king. King Bimbisāra, hearing these words, was displeased with the sons of the Śākya. He immediately commanded the elder Kalandaka, saying, 'These sons of the Śākya are gathering many monkeys in your grove. What are they doing? Does the Tathāgata know or not?' The elder reported to the king, 'Vasumitra performs transformations to cause the monkeys all to rejoice at once, and the devas rain down flowers to make offerings. What they are doing, your servant does not know.' Then the great king, led and escorted before and behind, went to the Buddha's place. From afar he saw the World-Honoured One, his body emitting radiance like a mountain of purple gold, causing the entire assembly to take on the same golden color. The venerable Mitra and the eighty-four thousand monkeys likewise became golden. Then, seeing the great king come, the monkeys performed various transformations; among them were those who picked flowers and offered them to the great king. Having seen this, the great king went with the great multitude to the Buddha's place, made obeisance to the Buddha, circumambulated him thrice to the right, sat to one side, and addressed the Buddha, saying: 'What past merit do these monkeys have that their bodies are golden? And what guilt do they have that they are born among animals? What merit did the venerable Mitra cultivate in past lives to be born in an elder's family, leave household life, and study the Path? And what guilt does he have that, though born among humans with all faculties complete, he does not maintain the precepts and conduct, but makes companions of monkeys, singing and speaking entirely like a monkey, making the non-Buddhists laugh? We pray only that the Heavenly Honoured One explain it for me and bring me understanding.' The Buddha told the great king: 'Listen attentively and reflect well on it; I will explain it for you. Boundless kotis of kalpas ago in the past, there was a Buddha who appeared in the world named Dīpaṅkara. After that Buddha's passing, there were bhikṣus who cultivated the Buddha-Dharma in the mountains and marshes, firmly upholding the prohibitive precepts as a person guards their eyes. Because of this, they attained arhatship. At that time in the deserted marsh, there was a monkey who came to an arhat's place. Seeing the arhat sitting in meditation and entering samādhi, he took the arhat's sitting mat, wrapped it around himself as a kāṣāya, in accordance with the rule of a śramaṇa, bared his right shoulder, held an incense burner, and walked around the bhikṣu. Then the bhikṣu, having awakened from samādhi, saw that this monkey had an auspicious, good heart. He snapped his fingers and said to the monkey: "Child of the Dharma, you should now give rise to the mind of the unsurpassed Path." Hearing this, the monkey danced with joy, threw his five limbs to the ground, and reverently paid homage to the bhikṣu. Getting up, he picked flowers and scattered them over the bhikṣu. Then the bhikṣu spoke the three refuges for the monkey. The monkey then stood up, joined his palms, and said: "Venerable One, I now wish to take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṃgha." After the bhikṣu gave him the three refuges, [he said,] "Next, you must repent and recount your sinful deeds in full. Having attained arhatship, I can remove the boundless heavy sins of sentient beings." Having earnestly repented three times in this way, he said to the monkey: "Child of the Dharma, you are now pure; this is called being a bodhisattva. You should now receive the five precepts for the rest of your life and seek anuttarasaṃbodhi." The monkey, having received them according to the teaching and completed his vows, danced with joy, ran up a high mountain, clambered up a tree, fell, and died. Because of receiving the five precepts, which destroyed his animal karma, he was immediately born in the Tuṣita Heaven, where he met a bodhisattva in his last bodily existence before buddhahood, who taught him the mind of the unsurpassed Path. He then took heavenly flowers and descended into the deserted marsh to make offerings to the arhat. When the arhat saw him, he smiled and said: "Deva King, the retribution of good and evil follows like a shadow following the form, never departing from one another." And he spoke a verse:'
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'Karma can adorn the body, / following along as one takes rebirth everywhere. / It is unfailing like a contract deed; / karma is like a debtor. / Your present birth in heaven / is due to the karma of the five precepts; / falling as a monkey in your former life / arose from breaking the precepts. / Upholding precepts is a ladder to heaven; / breaking precepts leads to caldrons of boiling water. / I see the person who upholds precepts: / their body is adorned with radiance; / [they abide in] wonderful terraces and pavilions of seven treasures, / with devas as their attendants, / various jewels as beds and curtains, / and mani flowers and necklaces; / meeting future Buddhas, / enjoying themselves as they speak the supreme Dharma. / I see the person who breaks precepts: / falling into Niraya, / iron plows plow their tongue, / they lie on iron beds, / molten copper flows on four sides, / burning and boiling, destroying their body; / or they abide in the mountain of knives, / the forest of swords, and boiling excrement, / the river of ashes, and the hell of cold ice, / swallowing iron pellets and drinking molten copper. / Sufferings such as these / are constantly their bodily necklaces. / If you wish to escape the many tribulations / and not fall into the three evil destinies, / but wander the path of heaven / and transcend to attain nirvāṇa, / you should diligently uphold the pure precepts, / practice dāna, and cultivate a pure livelihood.'
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When the arhat had finished speaking this verse, he became silent. The monkey devaputra said: 'Venerable One, what sinful karma did I commit in my past life to be born among monkeys? And what merit do I have that I met the Venerable One and was freed from being an animal to be born in heaven?' The arhat answered, saying: 'Far in the past, a Buddha appeared in this Jambudvīpa named Ratnamati Tathāgata. After his nirvāṇa, during the Semblance Dharma, there was a bhikṣu named Padmagarbha. He made friends with many kings, elders, and householders, lived by wrong livelihood, was flattering and crooked, and did not uphold the precepts and conduct. When his body broke up and life ended, he fell into the Avīci hell like a lotus opening. Filling the eighteen compartments, he experienced all sufferings fully, with a lifespan of one kalpa. When the kalpa ended, he was reborn again, thus passing through all the great hells for a full eighty-four thousand kalpas. Emerging from the hells, he fell among hungry ghosts, swallowing and drinking molten copper for eighty-four thousand years. Emerging from the hungry ghosts, he again fell among cattle, pigs, dogs, and monkeys, for five hundred lifetimes each. Because of having previously made offerings to a precept-holding bhikṣu and making serious vows, now you have met me again and were born in heaven. The precept-holding bhikṣu was my very body; the negligent bhikṣu was your very body.' Hearing these words, the monkey devaputra's heart was terrified and his hair stood on end. Repenting his former sins, he returned to heaven.
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The Buddha told the great king: 'Though that monkey was an animal, upon once seeing the arhat he received and upheld the three refuges and the five precepts. By virtue of this former merit, he bypassed a thousand kalpas of extremely heavy evil karma, was born in heaven, and met a bodhisattva in his last bodily existence before buddhahood. From then on, he met countless Buddhas, purely cultivated the holy life, fulfilled the six pāramitās, and dwelt on the stage of non-retrogression. In his final body, subsequent to Maitreya, he will attain anuttarasaṃbodhi; his Buddha title will be Siṃhacandra Tathāgata.'
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The Buddha told the great king: 'If you wish to know who that Siṃhacandra Buddha is, he is none other than the bhikṣu Vasumitra in this present assembly.' Hearing this, the king stood up, joined his palms, and broke out in sweat all over his body. Weeping tears of sorrow, he repented and reproached himself. Turning toward Vasumitra, he touched his head and face to the ground, touched his feet in obeisance, and repented his former transgressions.
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The Buddha told the great king: 'If you wish to know who these eighty-four thousand golden monkeys are: in the past, during the time of Krakucchanda Buddha, in the two kingdoms of Vārāṇasī and Kauśāmbī, there were a total of eighty-four thousand bhikṣuṇīs who committed various unlawful acts and violated the heavy prohibitions. Mad, foolish, and devoid of wisdom like silly monkeys, when they saw a good bhikṣu they regarded him as a thief. At that time, there was an arhat bhikṣuṇī named Śubhakṣemā. Even when she expounded the Dharma fully for them, they harbored resentment. When the arhat nun saw that these evil people did not generate good thoughts, she gave rise to compassion, rose into the air, and performed eighteen transformations. When the evil people saw these transformations, they each took off their golden armlets and scattered them over the arhat nun, [vowing,] "May our bodies be golden in life after life! We now repent all the evils we committed before." When those evil people's bodies broke up and their lives ended, they fell into the Avīci hell, passing through it in succession; for ninety-two kalpas they constantly remained in the hells. Emerging from the hells, they were constantly hungry ghosts for five hundred lifetimes. Emerging from the hungry ghosts, they were constantly monkeys for one thousand lifetimes, with bodies of gold. Great King, you should know that the eighty-four thousand precept-breaking nuns who reviled the arhat nun at that time are the eighty-four thousand golden monkeys in this assembly today. The one who made offerings to those evil bhikṣuṇīs at that time is you, Great King, today. Because of past habits, these monkeys hold flowers and incense to make offerings to the Great King. Those who defiled those bhikṣuṇīs at that time are Kokālika and the king's five hundred eunuchs today. The Buddha told the great king: 'One cannot but be cautious regarding the karma of body, speech, and mind.'
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At that time, the king, hearing the Buddha's words, repented before the Buddha, feeling ashamed and reproaching himself. His mind suddenly opened in comprehension and he became an anāgāmin. The eight thousand people led by the king sought the king's permission to leave the household life and all became arhats. The remaining sixteen thousand people all resolved upon bodhicitta. Eighty thousand devas also resolved their minds together. The eighty-four thousand golden monkeys, hearing of their past causes and conditions, were ashamed and reproached themselves, circumambulated the Buddha a thousand times, and repented before the Buddha. Each gave rise to the mind of unsurpassed bodhi. According to the length of their lives, after their lives end, they will be born in the Tuṣita Heaven, meet Maitreya, and attain non-retrogression. Passing further through a hundred thousand kotis of nayutas of asaṃkhyeyas of Ganges-sands of kalpas, they will attain buddhahood, eighty-four thousand appearing successively in the world in the same kalpa. The kalpa will be named Great Radiance, and they will all be named Samantasuvarṇaprabhāsarāja Tathāgata.
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Furthermore, the Various Sūtra states: The Buddha said: 'There is Gavāmpati, who has already attained the arhat path, yet still chews the cud like an ox.' The disciples asked the Buddha, 'Why is this?' The Buddha said, 'In his past life, this bhikṣu was an ox for seven hundred lifetimes. In this life he attained the Path, but because his residual habits are not exhausted, he chews the cud when eating.' According to the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-śāstra: Question: 'Why was he an ox?' Answer: 'Because in a past life, when passing through another's grain field, he took five or six grains of millet into his mouth to taste them and spat them on the ground. Because he damaged another's millet, he was reborn as this ox. Because he was an ox for many lifetimes, he has ox feet and chews the cud.'
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Section 4: Five Supernormal Powers
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As the Pusa chutai jing states: At that time, Bodhisattva Miaosheng addressed the Buddha, saying, "World-Honoured One, through cultivating what dharmas do the bodhisattvas of five superknowledges attain the path of supernatural powers?" The Buddha told Miaosheng, "In this desire realm, there are good men and good women who, without needing the divine eye, are able from birth to see clearly throughout one Jambudvīpa the various kinds of sentient beings, whether coarse or fine, beautiful or ugly, as well as the city walls and groves of trees. Or there are some people whose eyes can view two, three, or four continents; without needing the divine eye, they can observe and see them from birth. Or there are some people who, without needing the divine eye or divine ear, hear clearly throughout one continent all sounds—men's voices, women's voices, and all other sounds—and can discern and know them immediately; without ever cultivating the divine ear, they understand each and every one clearly. Or there are some people who, without training or study, spontaneously know their past lives: 'I came from such-and-such a place to be born here,' and can fully discern and know their parents, clan, names, and surnames. Or there are some people who, without cultivating supernatural powers, know the mental conduct of other people, their good and bad destinations, and their places of rebirth, whether sentient beings with whom they have karmic affinity or those without karmic affinity—they know them all. Or there are some people whose bodies can fly, circle around, and come and go; without cultivating the supernatural power of the body, their bodies can fly without hindrance, walking on the empty sky as on the ground and walking on the ground as on the empty sky. The Buddha said: 'Good men and good women cultivate the noble power of the divine eye, eliminate form and cut off defilements, and through the doors of the three concentrations on emptiness they can then see one thousand continents, two thousand continents, or three thousand great thousand continents. Or some hear all the sounds in one thousand continents, two thousand continents, or three thousand great thousand continents, and can clearly understand the good and evil of the six destinies. Or some people eliminate the defilements of consciousness, being flawless inside and out; obtaining the noble power of mind, they spontaneously know past lives—one life, two lives, up to countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas—the places from which they came, their parents, relatives, and whether the lands were pure, knowing all of these. Or some people cultivate the ten supernatural powers, understand the nature of phenomena, and have strong memories without forgetting; they can then know the thoughts of others' minds, over one life, two lives, up to countless asaṃkhyeya kalpas, the places from which they came, their parents, relatives, the purity of the lands, names, surnames, and clans, knowing them all. Or some people contemplate the discernment of phenomena, maintaining the body with the mind and maintaining the mind with the body; whether sleeping or awake, their mental thoughts are like empty space, and they can then raise their entire body across one continent, two continents, up to a three-thousand-great-thousand world realm, entering the earth as if it were empty space, unobstructed by mountains, rivers, rocks, or walls. Or some people, when approaching the attainment of buddhahood, eliminate the defilements of sentient beings by the power of wisdom; sitting under the king of trees, they do not rise from their seat, and thus attain buddhahood with the six superknowledges clear and pure.' At that time, the World-Honoured One spoke a verse, saying:
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"The superknowledges attained by ordinary mortals
are just like those of flying birds:
some are near and some are far,
not leaving the path of birth and death.
The Buddha's superknowledge is an unobstructed dharma,
truly free from defilement and filth.
With a thought, it reaches the ten directions,
going and returning without exhaustion.
Because of compassion for sentient beings,
he attains superknowledges without hindrance.
The wisdom of the five superknowledges of the ṛṣis
regresses and does not reach completion.
My superknowledges are firm dharmas
that surely enter the gate of nirvāṇa."
26.28
At that time, there was a bodhisattva in the assembly named Puguang. He stepped forward and addressed the Buddha, saying: "It is not yet understood whether the dharmas of consciousness in the six superknowledges are one or many. If consciousness is a single dharma, when the Tathāgata's golden body, through the supernatural power of teleportation, roams the Buddha-lands from the bodhimanda, does consciousness bring the body, or does the body bring consciousness? If the body brings consciousness, then there are no six superknowledges. If consciousness brings the body, this is called a single dharma, and there is neither body nor consciousness. I only pray that the World-Honoured One will explain this meaning to me." The Buddha told Bodhisattva Puguang: "Is the meaning you ask about asked from the perspective of ultimate truth, or is it asked from the perspective of conventional truth? If asked from conventional truth, the dharmas of consciousness are multiple and have no fixed characteristics. If asked from ultimate truth, then there is neither body nor consciousness. Why is this? When discerning the dharmas of consciousness, their intrinsic nature is empty and tranquil; there is no coming and no going, nor is there defiling attachment. You ask about the golden body—this is a conditioned dharma, accomplished through the five aggregates; it is not an unconditioned dharma, nor is it the ultimate truth. I will now explain for you the dharmas of consciousness and thought: the bodhisattva's six superknowledges, body, and consciousness occur together; consciousness is not prior to the body, nor is the body prior to consciousness. Why is this? The characteristics of phenomena are spontaneous: consciousness does not separate from the body, and the body does not separate from consciousness. It is like two oxen sharing a single yoke: if the black ox is ahead and the white ox behind, the plowing will not be successful; if the white ox is ahead and the black ox behind, the plowing will also not be successful. When neither the black ox is ahead of the white ox nor the white ox ahead of the black ox, the plowing is successful. The fruit of the path of the supernatural power of teleportation is also like this: body and consciousness occur together, with no before, after, or intermediate state. That the Tathāgata's physical form has a before, after, and intermediate state is a conventional truth, not the ultimate truth. In the empty and tranquil Dharma, there are no multiple [characteristics]."
26.29
The verse says:
26.30
"Good and evil, perfumed from past lives,
bring retributions that vary in each realm.
One was once a ghost harmed by an enemy,
or became a wolf seeking vengeance with disaster.
The butcher remembers his slaughtering karma;
Sumati played in the home of monkeys.
Those whose past blessings dispel distress
roam in heavenly halls wherever they are.
Meeting different categories, pure occasions arise;
gazing upon them, both are completely forgotten.
Mortals and sages revere the fine assembly;
worthy and foolish rejoice in enduring fragrance.
The four modes of birth practice good karma;
the six destinies are moved by divine light.
Although suffering and pleasure are different,
all alike know the brevity or length of life."
26.31
Circumstances of Sympathetic Resonance (briefly citing nine verifications):
26.32
Grand Tutor Yang of the Jin
Wang Lian of the Jin
Xiang Jing of the Jin
Shi Tandi of the Song
Shi Chengshi of the Wei
Prefect Cui Yanwu of the Sui
Shi Daochuo of the Tang
Liu Shanjing of the Tang
Śramaṇa Xuangao of the Tang
26.33
Grand Tutor Yang You of the Jin, whose courtesy name was Shuzi, was a man of Taishan. As a famous minister of the Western Jin, his reputation was foremost in the land. When he was five years old, he once had his wet nurse fetch a ring he used to play with. The wet nurse said, "You never had this originally. Where should I fetch it from?" You said, "In the past, I played with it by the eastern wall and dropped it inside a mulberry tree." The wet nurse said, "You may look for it yourself." You said, "This is not my former residence; as a child, I do not know where it is." Later, going out the gate to look around, he walked eastward into the distance, and the wet nurse followed him. Reaching the household of the Li clan, he went in to the tree by the eastern wall, reached in, and found the small ring. The Li family was astonished and said, "Our son in the past had this ring and always loved playing with it. He died suddenly at the age of seven. After he died, we did not know where the ring was. This is our deceased boy's possession. Why are you carrying it away?" You ran off holding the ring, and the Li family pursued and questioned him. When the wet nurse recounted You's words, the Li family felt both sorrow and joy, and wished to seek You to be their son again. Only after the villagers reasoned with them did they stop. When You grew up, he often suffered from head wind. A physician wanted to treat it, but You said, "When I was three days old, my head faced the northern window, and I felt the wind blowing on my crown, causing great distress in my mind; I just could not speak. Since the root of the illness is so old, it cannot be treated." Later, when You served as Area Commander of Jingzhou stationed in Xiangyang, he supplied Wudang Temple far more than other monasteries. Someone asked him the reason, and You was silent. Later, in the course of repentance, he related the cause and effect, saying, "In a former life, I had accumulated various offenses; relying on the building of this temple, I obtained relief. Therefore, my sentiments of making offerings are especially earnest and deep."
26.34
Wang Lian of the Jin, whose courtesy name was Xuanming, was a man of Langye. Under the Song, he was Palace Attendant. His father Min, whose courtesy name was Jiyan, was Director of the Secretariat under the Jin. An Indian monk known to him was always deeply respectful and pleased whenever he observed Min's style and demeanor; he would always say to his fellow students, "If in a future life I can become this man's son, it will suffice for my immediate wish." Min heard of this and teased him, saying, "The Master's talent and conduct would indeed be suitable to be my disciple's son." Shortly after, the śramaṇa fell ill and died. More than a year after his death, Lian was born. From the moment he could speak as a newborn, he understood foreign languages, and when shown rare treasures, bronze vessels, and cowrie pearls from distant lands that he had never seen in this life and whose names he had never heard, he immediately named them and knew their places of origin. Furthermore, he was naturally fond of Indians more than Chinese people. Everyone said that the śramaṇa had truly been his former life; therefore, Min gave him the style name Alian, which eventually became his primary name.
26.35
Xiang Jing of the Jin, whose courtesy name was Fengren, was a man of Henan. In Wuxing Commandery, he lost a daughter who was several years old. When the girl first fell ill, she was playing with a small knife; her mother snatched it from her and would not give it to her, cutting the mother's hand. One year after her death, the mother gave birth to another girl. When the girl was four years old, she said to her mother, "Where is the knife from before?" The mother said, "There is none." The girl said, "In the past, we fought over the knife and thus cut Mother's hand. Why do you say there is none?" The mother was extremely astonished and reported everything to Jing. Jing said, "Is the former knife still around or not?" The mother said, "Grieving deeply for the former daughter, I did not keep track of it." Jing said, "You can find several more knives and place them all together to let the girl choose for herself." When the girl saw them, she was delighted, immediately picked up the original one, and said, "This is mine." Parents, old and young, then knew that the former daughter was truly her previous life. (The above three verifications are from the Mingxiang ji.)
26.36
During the Song dynasty, at Mount Kunlun, there was Shi Tandi, surnamed Kang. His ancestors were people of Kangju who, during the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han, migrated and submitted to China. During the disturbances at the end of Emperor Xian's reign, they moved to Wuxing. Di's father, Rong, once served as Attendant Officer of Jizhou. His mother, Lady Huang, was taking a midday nap and dreamed that she saw a monk calling Huang "Mother," leaving with her a fly-whisk and two iron-carved paperweights. Upon waking, she saw that both items were present. Consequently, she became pregnant and gave birth to Di. When Di was five years old, his mother showed him the fly-whisk and other items; Di said, "They were given by the King of Qin." The mother said, "Where did you put them?" He replied, "I do not remember." At the age of ten, he left the household; in his study, he did not follow a teacher, but his awakening arose naturally. Later, accompanying his father to Fan and Deng, he happened to meet the monk Qiao Daoren from Guanzhong. Suddenly he called out Qiao's name. Qiao said, "Why does a child call an elder by name?" Di said, "Just now I spoke without thinking: Ashang was Di's novice monk; while gathering vegetables for the saṃgha, he was injured by a wild boar. Without realising it, I blurted it out." Qiao had previously been a disciple of Dharma Master Hongjue; while gathering vegetables for the monks, he was injured by a wild boar. Qiao initially did not remember this, so he went to Di's father. Di's father related the whole story from beginning to end and showed him the paperweights, fly-whisk, and other objects. Qiao then realized it, wept, and said, "You are indeed my late master, Dharma Master Hongjue! The Master once lectured on the Lotus Sūtra for Yao Chang, and I served as the reciter (dujiang). Yao Chang presented two items to the Master, which are now here!" Calculating back to when Hongjue passed away, it was precisely the day the objects were left behind. Remembering also the matter of gathering vegetables, his grief and veneration grew even deeper. Later, whenever Di looked over scriptures and books, he remembered whatever met his eyes. In his later years, he entered Huqiu Temple in Wu, where he lectured on the Rites, the Changes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals seven times each, and the Lotus Sūtra, the Mahāprajñāpāramitā-sūtra, and the Vimalakīrti-nirdeśa fifteen times each. He was also skilled in literature, and a collection of six fascicles circulated in the world. By nature, he loved woods and springs. Later, he returned to Wuxing and entered Mount Kunlun in Guzhang, living in leisure and drinking from mountain streams for more than twenty years. At the end of the Yuanjia era of the Song, he died at his mountain dwelling at the age of over sixty. (The above one verification is from the Liang Gaoseng zhuan.)
26.37
During the Yuan Wei dynasty, there was Chan Master Cheng of Beidai, who constantly upheld the Lotus Sūtra with diligent and unflagging effort. At the end of his life, his intermediate existence (antarābhava) took rebirth in the Xue clan of Hedong as their fifth son. Born able to speak, he related his past karma and did not wish to dwell in worldly life. His father served as Prefect of North Dizhou, and his fifth son accompanied him to his post. Reaching the Qidi Temple in Zhongshan, he sought out and found his disciple from his former life and said to him, "Do you recall crossing the river with me to go to Mount Lang? Chan Master Cheng was none other than myself. The memorial table in my room can be quickly removed." When the disciple heard this proof, he embraced his master, weeping with deep sorrow. The monks and laypeople were astonished, regarding it as a great sign. His parents were reluctant to part with him; fearing that he would leave the household, they arranged a marriage for him. Thereafter, he forgot the affairs of his past life, yet he constantly gave rise to revulsion [toward the world] and ever delighted in quiet dwelling. (The above one verification is from the Tang Gaoseng zhuan.)
26.38
During the Kaihuang era of the Sui dynasty, Cui Yanwu of Boling was the regional inspector of Weizhou. When on an inspection tour he reached a certain village, he was astounded and overjoyed, and said to his attendants, "In a former life I was a wife in this village. Now I recognize where my home was." He then rode his horse in, following the winding alleys until he came to a house, and ordered [someone] to knock on the gate. The master of the house was aged; he hurried out and bowed in greeting. Yanwu entered the house and first went up into the hall. Looking at the eastern wall, six or seven feet from the ground, there was a raised protrusion. The guest said to the master, "The Lotus Sūtra that I used to recite in former days, along with five gold hairpins, are hidden inside this wall, and the sūtra case is there. The text on the last sheet at the end of the seventh roll of that sūtra was burned away by fire. Even now, whenever I recite this sūtra, upon reaching the end of the seventh roll I constantly forget it and cannot remember it." He then had his attendants breach the wall, and indeed they found the sūtra case. When they opened the end of the seventh roll, it, along with the gold hairpins, was entirely as he had said. The master wept and said, "When my wife was alive, she constantly recited this sūtra. The hairpins were also in that place." Yanwu pointed to a locust tree before the courtyard: "When I was about to give birth, I loosened my hair myself and placed it in the hollow of this tree." When they had someone search the tree, they indeed found the hair. Thereupon the master felt sorrow and joy. Yanwu left clothing and goods, generously providing for the master, and departed. Minister Cui Dunli related: "Indeed, years ago I saw Lu Wenli, whose account was mostly the same, only saying it was the regional inspector of Qizhou without getting his name. It was not as complete as Cui's, and thus I have followed Cui's record." (This one piece of evidence is from the Mingbao ji.)
26.39
During the Tang dynasty, at Xuanzhong Temple in Bingzhou, there was the śramaṇa Shi Daochuo. His surname was Wei, and he was a man of Wenshui in Bingzhou. He was pure, restrained, elegant, and simple, with wisdom and awakening opened by Heaven. Inheriting the legacy of Master [Tan]luan, he exclusively revered and cultivated [Pure Land] practice. On the eighth day of the fourth month of the second year of Zhenguan, Daochuo knew his life was about to end and announced the circumstances. Those who heard and hastened there filled the mountain temple. Sympathetically, they saw Master [Tan]luan upon a seven-jeweled boat, telling Daochuo, "Your hall in the Pure Land is completed, but your remaining retribution is not yet exhausted." They also saw transformed Buddhas abiding in the sky and heavenly flowers scattering down. The multitudes of men and women caught them with the folds of their skirts; they were thin, smooth, and lovely. Moreover, lotuses on the dry ground remained fresh and did not wither until seven days had passed. Other auspicious omens cannot be fully recorded. When he reached seventy years of age, his teeth suddenly grew anew as before, with no difference whatsoever, and the power of his retribution increased. Were it not for his practice evoking sympathetic resonance and penetrating [the spiritual realm], how could he have encountered such an auspicious response? (This one piece of evidence is from the Tang Gaoseng zhuan.)
26.40
Liu Shanqing of Xicheng in Fenzhou during the Tang dynasty was orphaned at an early age and reared by his mother. Throughout her life, his mother had constantly practiced and read the Buddhist scriptures with energetic diligence and ascetic discipline. In the twenty-first year of Zhenguan, she passed away. Shanqing was emaciated with grief beyond what the rites required, weeping without cease. The following year, in a trance, Shanqing saw his mother, who said, "Because of cultivating merit during my lifetime, I have obtained a male body. I am now born in the Song household in Shizhao Village to the south of this county. If you wish to see me, you may go there at once." When she finished speaking, she disappeared. Shanqing went as she had said, arriving there in no time. On that day, a boy was born into the Song household. Shanqing then offered clothing and goods, recounting the circumstances in full. This boy is currently alive, and Shanqing constantly serves him with the rites due to a mother. Śramaṇa Shanfu of Xizhou was an old acquaintance of Shanqing; seeing what Shanqing and the villagers said, he recounted it for me.
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Linked texts (1)
- 法苑珠林 — 道世, Classical Chinese