法苑珠林 58

English (machine translation) 58

Language: English

58.1

Compiled by Śramaṇa Shi Daoshi of Ximing Temple

58.2

Chapter 67: Scheming and Slander (this has five sections)

58.3

1. Expressing the Intention
2. Curses and Imprecations
3. Slander
4. Avoiding Ridicule
5. Past Obstacles

The mind is the source of all ailments; the mouth is the root of praise and blame. Stemming from the same origin under different names, calamity and fortune branch off in divergent streams. Thus we know that the three karmas of body and speech are nothing other than the causes that concoct calamity; the six feelings of eyes and ears are all the leaders that summon guilt. They cause people to plot against and slander the noble and the ordinary, and to unjustly oppress the good and the virtuous, so that they suffer unfounded groundless accusations and are permanently separated from the seven assemblies. Yet life and death are fated, and wealth and honor are determined by karma. Even if one administers poisonous venom, the poison cannot harm them; even if heterodox paths concoct conspiracies, their schemes cannot injure them. In vain do they raise thoughts of slander, and uselessly do they offer prayers and sacrifices. Therefore Ban Jieyu said: 'When cultivating goodness one still does not receive blessings, what can one hope for by committing evil desires? If ghosts and spirits possess consciousness, they will not accept complaints from the flattering and deceitful; if they lack consciousness, what benefit is there in complaining to them?' Indeed, the herbs of the Snow Mountains have true and false varieties that can hardly be distinguished; the fruits of the mango are difficult to tell apart as raw or ripe. Therefore, even when the Tathāgata was in the world, he still could not avoid slander. How much more so is it for today's ordinary mortals—how could they escape such blame? This blame is past misfortune; when the time comes, it must be borne. This is also one's own affair; how could one resent others? However, with the sin of making false slander, one plunges oneself into misery. For the lips and mouth are the bow, the deliberations of the mind are the string, and the vocal sounds are the arrows. Discharging them in vain throughout the long night only defiles one's body and mouth. One must especially examine oneself, seal one's mouth, and guard one's mind.

58.6

Section 2: Curses and Imprecations

58.7

As the *Mahāvaipulya Dhāraṇī Sūtra* states, the Buddha said: 'Good sons, after the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, if there is a Dharma master who skillfully preaches the Dharma to people in accordance with their inclinations and joys, and is able to cause bodhisattvas studying the Mahāyāna and the great assemblies to give rise to a single hair's breadth of joy, or even to shed a single tear momentarily, you should know that all of this is due to the Buddha's supernatural power. If there is a foolish person who is not actually a bodhisattva but falsely claims to be a bodhisattva, slandering a true bodhisattva and the Dharma they practice, and furthermore saying: "What does he know? What does he understand?" If both sides are harmonious, they can maintain and circulate my Dharma; if both sides dispute and quarrel, the saddharma will not be practiced. This person who slanders the Dharma incurs extremely grave karmic offenses, falling into the three evil destinies from which it is difficult to escape. If there is a foolish person who does not believe and accept what the Buddha has preached, even though he reads and recites a thousand Mahāyāna texts, explains them for people, and attains the four dhyānas, because of slandering others he will undergo great anguish for seventy kalpas. How much more so for that foolish person who actually knows nothing yet is haughty and arrogant, even slandering a single four-line verse! You should know that this karma definitely leads to falling into hell, never seeing the Buddha. Because he looked at someone who had generated the bodhicitta with an evil eye, he receives the retribution of having no eyes. Because he slandered someone who had generated the bodhicitta with an evil mouth, he receives the retribution of having no tongue.'

58.8

Furthermore, the *Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish* states: In the past, when the Buddha was in the world, there was the bhikṣuṇī Sukṣmā who attained the fruit of an arhat. Together with the assembly of nuns, she herself spoke of the retributions for the good and evil karmic deeds she had performed in the past. She said to the nuns: 'Long ago in the past, there was an elder whose household was exceedingly wealthy, but he had no sons. He took a secondary wife whom he loved and cherished deeply. Later, she gave birth to a boy, and husband and wife revered and loved him without weariness. The primary wife was jealous at heart and secretly thought to herself: "If this child grows up, he will take over the family estate. What benefit is there in all my vain and diligent toil to amass wealth? It would be better to kill him." She then took an iron needle and pierced the child's jaw, and he subsequently died. The secondary wife suspected the primary wife of killing him and directly said to her: "You killed my son!" At that time, the primary wife thought that there was no sin or merit and no calamity of karmic retribution, so she swore an oath with an imprecation: "If I killed your son, may my husband in lifetime after lifetime be bitten by a snake, may the sons I bear be swept away by water and eaten by wolves, may I myself eat my own children's flesh, may my body be buried alive in this life, and may my parents' household die in a fire!" Having made this oath, she later died. Due to having killed the child, she fell into hell and underwent immeasurable suffering. When her hell retribution was completed, she was born among humans as the daughter of a brāhmaṇa. Gradually growing up, she was married into a husband's household and gave birth to a son. Later she became pregnant again, and when her months were full and she was about to give birth, husband and wife set out together toward her parents' house. On the road, her abdomen pained her and she gave birth. At night they lodged under a tree, and her husband slept separately. All the oaths she had previously sworn she now received: at that time, a venomous snake bit and killed her husband. Seeing her husband dead, the woman fainted away, only reviving later. When dawn arrived, she took the older child on her shoulders, held the younger one in her arms, and proceeded on the road weeping. On the road was a river, both deep and wide. She left the older child on this bank, first held the younger one, crossed, and placed him on the other bank. As she returned to fetch the older child, the child saw his mother coming, entered the water, and went toward his mother; the water immediately swept him away. His mother gave chase, but her strength could not save him; in an instant, he suddenly drowned and died. When she returned toward the younger child, a wolf had come and finished devouring him; she saw only blood scattered in disorder on the ground. The mother swooned away and only revived after a long while. She then proceeded along the road and encountered a brāhmaṇa who was a friend of her father. She then recounted her hardships in full to the brāhmaṇa. The brāhmaṇa took pity on her and wept facing her. She then asked whether her family was safe. The brāhmaṇa replied: "Recently, all your parents and relatives, great and small, perished all at once in a fire." Hearing this, she was overcome with anguish and died, then revived again. The brāhmaṇa brought her home and provided for her like a daughter. Later she was married again, and became pregnant and was about to give birth. Her husband went out drinking wine and returned only at dusk. In the dark, the woman closed the door and sat alone inside. In a moment, the woman gave birth. Her husband called at the door, but the birth was not finished and there was no one to open it. The husband broke down the door, entered, seized the woman, and beat her severely. The woman explained the reason of the childbirth, but because the husband was furious, he immediately took the child, killed it, boiled it in clarified butter, and forced the woman to eat it. After eating her child, the woman's heart was filled with grief and distress. She reflected on her meager fortune to have met such a man, so she abandoned him, fled to Vārāṇasī, and sat to rest under a tree in a park. There was an elder's son whose wife had recently died; every day he would come to the tomb, longing and weeping. Seeing this woman sitting alone under the tree, he questioned her, and they subsequently became husband and wife. After several days, the husband suddenly died. According to the law of that country, if husband and wife loved each other during life, when the husband died, the wife was to be buried alive with him. At that time, a band of thieves came and opened the tomb. The chief of the thieves saw that the woman's face was beautiful and fair, so he took her as his wife. After several tens of days, the husband raided another tomb and was killed by its owner. The thief's companions brought the corpse, handed it over to the wife, and buried her alive with him again. After three days, foxes and wolves opened the tomb, and she was thereby able to escape. She reproached herself, saying: "What past sin do I have that within tens of days I encounter such disasters and calamities, dying and reviving again? Where can I go now to preserve the remainder of my life?" Hearing that Śākyamuni Buddha was in the Jetavana, she went to the Buddha's place, pleaded for pity, and went forth as a renunciant. Because of the power of her past vow made when giving food to a pratyekabuddha, she was now able to meet the Buddha, go forth as a renunciant, cultivate the path, and attain arhatship. She completely understood that her past karma of taking life and her swearing of oaths caused her to fall into hell and in the present undergo such bitter and evil retributions, with no one to take her place.' Sukṣmā herself said: 'The primary wife of the past was my very self. Although I have attained arhatship, a hot iron needle constantly enters through the crown of my head and exits from the soles of my feet; day and night I suffer from this and can bear it no longer. Calamities and misfortunes are like this; in the end they never decay or perish.'

58.9

Furthermore, the *Old Avadāna Sūtra* states: When the Buddha was in the world, there was a prominent family who always took pleasure in giving. Later they gave birth to a boy who had no hands or feet, and whose bodily form resembled a fish; he was named Fish Body. When his parents died, he inherited and managed the family estate, lying in the inner bedchamber so that no one saw him. At that time, there was a strongman who ate at the royal kitchen; he was constantly hungry and impoverished. Alone he hauled sixteen carts of firewood to sell to support himself, yet his body was constantly unprovided for. Fish Body requested to meet with him and showed him his physical form. The strongman reflected to himself: 'My strength is like this, yet I am inferior to a man without hands or feet.' He went to the Buddha's place and asked about what he doubted. The Buddha said: 'Long ago, in the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, Fish Body and this king together offered a meal to the Buddha. At that time, you were poor and helped serve them. Whatever Fish Body prepared, he had the king perform it, but he said to the king: "Today I have affairs to attend to and cannot go together with you. If I were to go, it would be no different from severing my hands and feet." The one who went at that time is the present king; the one who did not go and spoke those words is Fish Body; the one who assisted them at that time is your own self.' The strongman's mind was awakened; he immediately became a śramaṇa and attained the path of an arhat. Furthermore, the *Sūtra of the Hundred Avadānas* states: When the Buddha was in the world, in the city of Śrāvastī there was an elder whose wealth and treasures were immeasurable and incalculable. His wife gave birth to a boy who was limbless and had no hands. Upon being born, he was immediately able to speak, and cried out: 'Hands such as these are extremely difficult to obtain!' He gave rise to deep cherishing of them. His parents thought it extraordinary, and thus gave him the name Handless. Gradually growing up, he saw the Buddha, heard the Dharma, attained the fruit of a srotāpanna, and requested the Buddha to go forth as a renunciant. The Buddha told him, 'Welcome!' His hair and beard fell away naturally, kāṣāya robes draped over his body, and he became a śramaṇa. Diligently cultivating and practicing, he attained the fruit of an arhat, revered and looked up to by gods and mortals. At that time, the bhikṣus requested the Buddha to explain his past cause and condition. The Buddha told the bhikṣus: 'In this Bhadrakalpa, in the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, there were two bhikṣus: one was an arhat, and the other was an ordinary person who was a Dharma-reciting master. At that time, the people competed to invite them, and the Dharma master was always led along to accept the dānapatis' invitations. Later, on one day, the Dharma master was away, so he took another person along. In anger, [the Dharma master] scolded him, saying: "I have always served you, and now you go together with someone else! From now on, if I ever serve you again, may I be without hands!" Having spoken these words, each departed, ceasing to travel together. Due to this karmic cause, he received this retribution for five hundred lifetimes. Therefore, he cried out: "Hands such as these are extremely difficult to obtain!" Because he served a holy person at that time, he has now been able to meet me, go forth as a renunciant, and attain the path.' Having heard this, the bhikṣus rejoiced and practiced accordingly.

58.10

Furthermore, the *Sūtra of the Hundred Avadānas* states: When the Buddha was at the Kalandaka Bamboo Grove in Rājagṛha, the Venerable Naradatta donned his robes, held his bowl, and entered the city to beg for food. Returning to his original dwelling, he saw from afar that the Jetavana was as red as blood. Wondering at the reason, he immediately went to look and saw a hungry ghost whose flesh was completely wasted away, with bones protruding from its joints. In a single day and night, it gave birth to five hundred children; it was emaciated and feeble, devoid of strength and breath. At the time of giving birth, it fell into a stupor and collapsed; its joints disjointed, and it was intensely tormented by hunger and thirst. As soon as it gave birth, it devoured them, yet never attained satiety. At that time, Naradatta stepped forward and asked: 'What karma did you perform to receive this retribution now?' The hungry ghost replied: 'You may now ask the Buddha, the World-Honoured One, yourself; he will explain it for you.' At that time, Naradatta immediately went to the Buddha's place and asked in full about this retribution. The Buddha told Naradatta: 'In this Bhadrakalpa, in the country of Vārāṇasī, there was an elder whose gold, silver, precious jewels, male and female servants, elephants, horses, cattle, and sheep were incalculable. He had only one wife and no sons. She prayed and sacrificed to spirits and deities seeking a son, but could not obtain one at all. At that time, that elder then took another woman of good clan. Before long, she realized she was pregnant. When the primary wife saw that she was pregnant, she gave rise to jealousy, and secretly gave her poison to cause her to miscarry. Her sisters and relatives immediately went to her dwelling, fiercely quarreled with that primary wife, and subsequently beat her with clubs to question her about the truth. That primary wife wished to speak the truth, but feared being strangled to death; she wished not to speak, but the pain was unspeakable. Pressed acutely, she made an imprecation: "If I truly caused your fetus to miscarry, may I abandon my body and be born among the hungry ghosts, giving birth to five hundred children in a single day and night, and upon giving birth, immediately devour them, never attaining satiety!" Having made this oath, she was immediately released. The Buddha told Naradatta: 'If you wish to know who the primary wife of that time was, she is this hungry ghost now.' When the Buddha spoke this, the bhikṣus all abandoned their evil minds and attained the four fruits of a śramaṇa; some gave rise to the unsurpassed bodhicitta, and rejoiced and practiced accordingly.

58.11

Also, the Dharmapada-avadāna-sūtra says: King Virūḍhaka accepted the treasonous schemes of flatterers such as Asāta. Ascending the hall, he subsequently led troops towards Jetavana. Unable to return to the palace, he fought with the king's ministers and officials. At night, the king and his lady reached Rājagṛha. Hungry along the way within the kingdom, he ate radish roots; his belly swelled and he died. Thereupon, Virūḍhaka drew his sword, entered the Eastern Palace, and hacked to death his elder brother Jeta. Jeta knew impermanence and his mind harboured no fear; before his life was extinguished, spontaneous music within the palace welcomed his conscious spirit. Furthermore, because Virūḍhaka slaughtered the Śākya clan, both the Buddha's prophecy and the Grand Astrologer's record foretold that after seven days he would be burned and killed by the fires of hell.

58.12

Also, in the *Mahāyānāvatāra-śāstra*, Bodhisattva Sthiramati speaks in verse:

58.13

Those who slander the Great Vehicle Dharma
Will determinately head for the evil destinies;
Burning with intense suffering and pain,
Such indeed are karmic retribution and guilt.
If they emerge from the hells,
They will still undergo other evil retributions:
Their faculties will ever be deficient and wretched,
Never will they hear the voice of the Dharma;
Even if they manage to hear it,
They will again give rise to slander of the Dharma;
Due to the causes and conditions of slandering the Dharma,
They will fall back down into the hells.

58.14

When sentient beings who slander the Dharma hear such an explanation, they then give rise to doubt regarding the Great Vehicle, as in the verse spoken by the Venerable Āryadeva:

58.15

A person of meager merit
Does not give rise to doubt;
One who can give rise to doubt
Will surely shatter all existence.

58.16

A verse in the *Mahākāruṇika-puṇḍarīka-sūtra* says:

58.17

Sentient beings, through old age, sickness, and death,
Sink into the oceanic stream of craving;
Dwelling in the prison of the three realms,
Bound fast by myriad sufferings,
Drinking poison-blood and harming one another,
Since beginningless time they have been burned and boiled.
Blind with delusion, they lose the wholesome path
And cannot see the correct way.
Heavy is the foolish darkness of birth and death,
All arising from attachment to wrong views;
Revolving through the five destinies,
Just like the turning of a cart-wheel.

58.18

Section 3: Slander

58.19

As the *Sūtra on Inspiring the Pure Mind* says: At that time, there were sixty bodhisattvas who had newly generated the resolve [for awakening]. Together they went to the Buddha's place, cast their five limbs to the ground, and bowed to the Buddha's feet. Not yet rising from the ground, weeping bitterly with tears falling like rain, they joined their palms toward the Buddha and said: "Excellent, World-Honoured One! We pray that you will explain our karmic hindrances in detail, so that we may purify our own minds and never commit them again."

58.20

The Buddha told those bodhisattvas: "Good sons! In the past, under the teaching of Krakucchanda Tathāgata, you went forth from the household life to train in the Path. Having gone forth, you dwelt in the prohibitive precepts, yet were indolent regarding the precepts; you dwelt in much learning, yet were indolent regarding much learning; you dwelt in the merits of ascetic practices (dhūta), yet let them all deteriorate. At that time there were two Dharma-master bhikṣus. Regarding them, you made slanders about carnal lust. For the sake of gain and renown, you harboured jealousy, stinginess, and greed toward their families of close donors. Among the close lay patrons of those two Dharma masters, you brought about discord and estrangement, using divisive speech to vilify and humiliate them, causing them to generate doubt and confusion, failing to generate faithful minds or having incomplete faith, speaking of unwholesome deeds. Whatever sentient beings had generated reverence, faith, and compliance toward those two Dharma masters—you caused those people to sever their wholesome roots, creating obstacles for them. Because of these karmic hindrances, you subsequently fell into the great Avīci Hell for 6,200,000 years. Again, for 40,000 years you fell into the Saṃjīva Hell. Again, for 20,000 years you fell into the Kālasūtra Hell. Again, for 800,000 years you fell into the Tapana Hell. Having ended your lives there, you afterwards regained human rebirth, but for five hundred lifetimes you were born blind without eyes. Because of your karmic hindrances, wherever you were born, you were entirely dull-witted and forgot your original resolve; your wholesome roots were blocked and you had little majesty or power. You were abandoned by everyone, constantly deceived and oppressed, hated and loathed by others, reviled and slandered. You were constantly born in remote, poor, and lowly places, in families of inferior caste, with little gain and little renown, neither revered nor supported by others, nor respected, disliked by people, and abhorred by the multitude. After shedding these bodies and lives, in the latter five hundred years when the True Dharma is extinguished, you will again be born in evil lands and among evil people, in families of inferior caste, impoverished and degraded, slandered by others, having forgotten your original resolve, and constantly hindered in your wholesome roots. Even if you briefly encounter the light, you will immediately be obscured by darkness again. Only after those five hundred years will all your karmic hindrances be completely extinguished. Afterwards, you will attain rebirth in the land of Amitābha, the World of Ultimate Bliss. At that time, that Tathāgata will finally confer upon you the prophecy of anuttara-saṃyak-saṃbodhi."

58.21

At that time, when the sixty bodhisattvas heard this, they wiped away their tears in terror, their hair standing on end, and spoke these words: "From this day forward, if we should give rise to the fault of anger and again create karmic hindrances, we now fully repent all of it before the World-Honoured One! In the presence of the World-Honoured One, we make this great vow: toward all beings and situations, we will not give rise to any faults." At that time, the World-Honoured One praised those sixty bodhisattvas, saying: "It is excellent that you have awakened and made such a vow! You will exhaust all karmic hindrances and attain purity of wholesome roots." At that time, the World-Honoured One spoke a verse:

58.22

"Do not look for faults in others,
Do not speak of others' right and wrong;
Do not cling to others' households, but purify your livelihood;
All evil words must be discarded.
Abandon noisy crowds and dwell far apart;
Do not associate with bhikṣus lacking the Dharma.
You should cultivate the aranya praised by the Buddhas;
Because you do not cling to gain, you will attain nirvāṇa."

58.23

Also, the *Nirvāṇa-sūtra* says: When the Buddha was in the world, there was a great elder in the city of Campā who had no heir. Together [with his wife] he served the six teachers to pray for a child. Soon after, his wife became pregnant. When the elder learned of this, he went to the six teachers and asked: "Is it a boy or a girl?" The six teachers replied: "It will definitely be a girl." The elder was distressed. Then an acquaintance said to the elder: "Have you not heard whose disciples the brothers Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa were? If the six teachers were omniscient, why would Kāśyapa abandon them to follow the Buddha?"

58.24

"Furthermore, Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, King Bimbisāra, together with the king's consorts, Queen Mallikā, and the great elders of various countries such as Sudatta—all such people are disciples of the Buddha. The Tathāgata, the World-Honoured One, has unhindered knowledge and vision regarding all dharmas, and therefore is called 'Buddha'. He currently resides nearby. If you wish to know the truth, you should go to the Buddha's place." Thereupon, the elder went to the Buddha's place and asked the Buddha about the matter. The Buddha said: "Elder, that your wife is pregnant with a boy is without doubt; his blessings and virtues are peerless." The elder was delighted. The six teachers were jealous, and mixing poison with an āmra fruit, they gave it to the elder, saying: "When your wife is near her month of delivery, she should take this medicine; the child will be handsome and the mother will have no difficulties in childbirth." The elder received it and gave it to his wife to take. Having taken it, she soon died. The six teachers were delighted and went all around the city proclaiming: "The śramaṇa Gautama prophesied that that elder's wife would bear a son; now before the child is born, the mother has already lost her life!" At that time, the elder also lost faith in me. He immediately placed her in a coffin and cremated it. Seeing this, I wished to go to subdue the heterodox. Seeing the Buddha approaching from afar, the six teachers said to one another: "Has the śramaṇa Gautama come to this graveyard wishing to eat flesh?" Those who had not yet attained the Dharma-eye were filled with shame and fear, and said to the Buddha: "That woman is already dead; please do not go." At that time, Ānanda said to the people: "Wait just a moment! Before long, the Tathāgata will broadly manifest the realm of the Buddhas." When the Buddha arrived at the elder's place, the elder questioned him: "Your words are supposed to be unequivocal. The child's mother has already died; how can a son be born?" I said: "Elder, at that time you did not ask at all whether the mother's life was long or short; you only asked whether she was carrying a boy or a girl. The words uttered by the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, are never dual. Therefore, you should know that you will certainly obtain a son." At that time, as the corpse burned, the belly burst open, and a boy emerged from within, sitting upright in the midst of the fire like on a lotus dais. When the six teachers saw this, they called it an illusionist's trick. Seeing this, the elder was overjoyed and rebuked the six teachers: "If you call it an illusion, why can you not do it?" At that time, I told Jīvaka: "Go into the fire and bring this child out in your arms." Jīvaka stepped forward into the mass of flames as if entering a cool, great river, and brought the child back in his arms. Having received the child, I told the elder: "The lifespan of all sentient beings is unfixed, like a bubble on water. If a sentient being has heavy karmic retribution, neither fire nor poisonous bites can harm him. This was not of my doing. This child was born in the midst of a fierce fire; fire is named Jyotiṣ, hence he is named Jyotiṣka."

58.25

Also, the *Sūtra of the Wise and the Foolish* says: At that time, in the kingdom of Śrāvastī, there was a brahman named Śikṣita. His household was exceedingly wealthy, but he had no children. He went to the six teachers to ask the reason. The six teachers replied: "Your signs show no children." The husband and wife were grieved and distressed. They went to ask the World-Honoured One. The World-Honoured One told them: "You will have a son, complete with blessings and virtue, who will go forth from the household life when grown." Śikṣita was delighted to hear this and said: "If only I can have a son, what hardship is there in his studying the Path?" He then invited the Buddha and the saṃgha to a meal at his home the next day. At that time, the World-Honoured One silently consented. The next day, when the time arrived, the Buddha and the saṃgha went to his home. Having eaten, they returned. Along the road, they strolled past a marsh with clear, sweet spring water; the Buddha and the bhikṣus went to rest there. At that time, the bhikṣus each washed their bowls. A monkey came and begged Ānanda for his bowl. Fearing it would break, Ānanda did not wish to give it. The Buddha told Ānanda: "Quickly give it to him, do not worry." Following the instruction, he gave it. Having obtained the bowl, the monkey carried it to a honey tree, filled the bowl with honey, and came to offer it to the Buddha. The Buddha told him: "Remove the impurities from it." The monkey immediately picked out the bees and grubs, making it completely pure and clean. The Buddha then told him: "Mix it with water." As instructed, he added water, mixed it thoroughly, and offered it to the World-Honoured One. Having accepted it, the World-Honoured One distributed it among the saṃgha, and they all drank together, with enough for everyone. The monkey leapt and danced for joy, fell into a large pit, and immediately died. His consciousness entered the womb in the home of Śikṣita. The wife then realized she was pregnant. When the months and days were full, she gave birth to a boy, handsome and rare to match. When he was born, the vessels in the home were naturally filled with honey. Śikṣita and his wife were overjoyed beyond measure. They spoke to physiognomists; the physiognomists predicted good fortune, and because honey was an auspicious omen on the day of his birth, he was named Madhuvasiṣṭha. When the boy grew up, he took leave of his father, went forth, and attained the fruit of an arhat. He wandered through human settlements with the bhikṣus; whenever they were thirsty and exhausted, he would toss his bowl into the air, and it would naturally fill with honey, so that the multitude drank together and all were fully satisfied. Ānanda addressed the Buddha: "What were the causes and conditions for his being born among monkeys?" The Buddha told Ānanda: "Long ago in the past, at the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, there was a young bhikṣu who saw another śramaṇa leaping across a ditch and said: 'That person is so agile, he looks just like a monkey!' The śramaṇa said to him: 'I have realized the four fruits and completed everything.' Hearing this, the youth's hair stood on end; throwing his five limbs to the ground, he begged for mercy and repented. Because he repented his fault, he did not fall into hell; because he mocked the appearance of an arhat, he was constantly born as a monkey for five hundred lifetimes. Because he had previously gone forth and maintained the prohibitive precepts, he was now able to meet me, be bathed in pure transformation, and exhaust all suffering."

58.26

Section 4: Avoiding Censure

58.27

As the *Sarvāstivāda-śāstra* says: When the nun Gautamī, the Buddha's maternal aunt, came to see the Buddha, she bowed and did not sit. Because women's reverence and constraint are great, she did not sit. Furthermore, because he did not expound the Dharma extensively for nuns, she did not sit. Moreover, to stop slander, she did not sit. If she had sat to listen to the Dharma, non-Buddhists would have said: 'When the śramaṇa Gautama was in the royal palace, he dwelt together in one place with palace ladies; now that he has gone forth, it is no different from before.' Wishing to extinguish such revilement, she therefore did not sit. Furthermore, women are considered lowly and invite much censure and suspicion; therefore, she did not sit.

58.28

Furthermore, the Mahāyāna Upāyakauśalya Sūtra states: At that time, the Venerable Ānanda addressed the Buddha, saying, 'World-Honoured One, this morning I entered the city of Śrāvastī to beg for food in succession. I saw the Bodhisattva Sarvasattvapriyadarśana sitting on the same couch with a woman.' After Ānanda spoke these words, the great earth immediately shook in six ways. The Bodhisattva Sarvasattvapriyadarśana ascended into the sky amidst the great assembly to the height of a tāla tree, and addressed Ānanda, saying, 'Venerable sir, could one who has committed an offense abide in empty space? You may ask the World-Honoured One about this matter: what constitutes an offense, and what does not?' At that time, Ānanda, filled with sorrow, repented before the Buddha: 'Regarding such a great nāga, I spoke of his committing an offense, and I sought his fault. World-Honoured One, I now repent; I only pray that you will grant your permission.' The Buddha told Ānanda, 'You should not seek faults in a Mahāyāna great being. Ānanda, all you śrāvakas cultivate the concentration of cessation in places free of obstacles; without encountering hindrances, you sever all fetters. The bodhisattva accomplishes the mind of omniscience; though he remains in the palace and disports himself with palace women, he does not give rise to māra's deeds or any hindrances, yet attains bodhi.' The Buddha told Ānanda, 'That woman, in five hundred past lifetimes, was the wife of the Bodhisattva Sarvasattvapriyadarśana. Owing to her past habitual tendencies, upon seeing him, she gave rise to love, attachment, and bondage from which she would not part, [thinking,] "If the Bodhisattva Sarvasattvapriyadarśana can sit on the same couch with me, I will give rise to the mind of anuttarasamyaksaṃbodhi." At that time, the Bodhisattva knew what was in the woman's mind. He immediately entered her house and right then contemplated such a Dharma teaching: "Whether it is the internal earth element or the external earth element, it is all one earth element." In his mind he took the woman's hand and sat on the same couch, and immediately upon the seat spoke a verse:'

58.29

'The Tathāgata does not praise / the desires practiced by ordinary mortals; / only by abandoning desire and craving / does one become a teacher of devas and humans.'

58.30

At that time, having heard this verse, the woman was filled with great joy. She immediately arose from her seat, turned toward the Bodhisattva Sarvasattvapriyadarśana, bowed down touching his feet, and spoke this verse:

58.31

'I do not crave sensual desires; / craving and desires are reproached by the Buddha. / By abandoning desire and craving, / one indeed becomes a teacher of devas and humans.'

58.32

Having spoken this verse, [she said,] 'Regarding the evil mind of desire that I previously produced, I will now repent and generate the bodhimind, wishing to benefit all sentient beings.' At that time, the World-Honoured One bestowed a prediction upon that woman: 'Upon the end of this life, she will transform her female body and become a man; in a future lifetime, she will become a Buddha named Stainless Afflictions (Vimalakleśa).'

58.33

'Good son, I recall that in the past, countless kalpas ago, and even surpassing that number, there was a brahmacārin named Jyotis. For 4.2 billion years, he constantly cultivated pure conduct (brahmacarya) in an empty forest. After those years had passed, that brahmacārin emerged from the forest and entered the city of Utmost Joy. He saw a woman. At that time, seeing the brahmacārin’s handsome and dignified appearance, the woman immediately gave rise to desire, went after the brahmacārin, seized him by the hand, and fell prostrate to the ground. Then the brahmacārin addressed the woman, saying, "Sister, what do you seek?" The woman said, "I seek you, brahmacārin." The brahmacārin said, "I do not practice sexual desire." The woman said, "If you do not comply with me, I shall die now." Then the brahmacārin contemplated: "This is not my dharma, nor is it my proper time. For 4.2 billion years I have cultivated pure conduct; how could I now ruin it?" At that time, the brahmacārin dragged himself away by force and managed to separate from her by seven paces. Having moved seven paces away, he gave rise to a mind of pity and contemplated: "Though I violate the precepts and fall into evil destinies, I can endure the suffering of hell; I cannot now bear to see this woman endure such suffering and distress, nor let this woman die on my account." At that time, the brahmacārin returned to the woman, took her with his right hand, and spoke these words: "Sister, arise; do as you desire." At that time, the brahmacārin lived with her as husband and wife for twelve years. When the twelve years had passed, he immediately went forth from the household life again, and forthwith perfected the four immeasurable minds. Having perfected them, at the end of his life he was reborn in the Brahmā heaven. That brahmacārin was none other than myself, and that woman is now Gopikā. Because at that time I momentarily gave rise to a compassionate mind toward that woman's desire, I was immediately able to transcend the suffering of birth and death for ten hundred thousand kalpas.'

58.34

Furthermore, the Sūtra of the Bodhisattva Uttaramati states: 'Formerly, in the time of the Buddha Krakucchanda, there was a monk named Vimala who dwelt in seclusion in a mountain cave in a border country. Not far from there were five immortals. A woman, caught in a heavy rain on the road, entered the monk's cave. When the rain cleared, she went outside. At that time, the five immortals saw her and each said, "The monk is engaged in illicit defilement." When Vimala heard this, he immediately sprang up into the air, four zhang and nine chi above the ground. Seeing him flying in the sky, the immortals each said, "According to the records of our classics, one who is tainted by the dust of desire cannot fly." Thereupon, with their five limbs touching the ground, they bowed down and confessed their erroneous slander. Had the monk not manifested supernatural transformations, those five immortals would have fallen into the great hells. That monk Vimala was none other than the present Bodhisattva Maitreya.'

58.35

Forest of Gems in the Garden of the Dharma, Fascicle 58

Linked texts (1)

法苑珠林 — 道世, Classical Chinese