佛所行讚 3
Buddhacarita: In Praise of Buddha's Acts 3
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but the determination of the Crown Prince remained firm, as immovable as Sumeru.
The Reply to King Bimbisāra
1. After King Bimbisāra had urged [the prince] in a courteous and comforting way, the Crown Prince respectfully expressed his appreciation, deeply moved by the words addressed to him.
2. “You have worldly propriety! Your exposition is not baseless. As a descendant of the famous Haryaṅka family, you are a virtuous friend. With righteousness in your heart and false thoughts completely ended, you have spoken thus, as is your duty.
3. “The common [people] in the world cannot dwell in kindness and righteousness. Having few qualities, they approach the facts with foolishness. How would they comprehend anything famous and excellent!
4. “But carrying on your excellent ancestral tradition, you revere propriety and practice respectful deference. In the middle of hardship you can bring rescue for all, without abandoning anyone. This is the characteristic of a true virtuous friend in the world!
5. “When the riches of a good friend bring relief for all, that person is called a secure treasure. When one is parsimonious and hoards one’s own profits, they will certainly quickly disappear!
6. “The riches of the land are an impermanent treasure. Generosity is a meritorious action. If one is also generous toward one’s virtuous friends, one will not have any regrets later, even after they have been scattered.
7. “Because I know that you are generous in your heart, I will not argue against you. I shall tell you now with all my heart what I have seen.
8. “I am afraid of birth, old age, illness, and death, and I wish to seek true deliverance. I have given up my relatives and left my loved ones. Why would I return to indulging in the five desires?
9. “I am not afraid of venomous snakes, freezing hail, or fierce fires, yet I am afraid of the objects of the five desires. As they proceed, they weary my mind.
10. “The thieves of impermanence, the five desires, steal one’s finest
precious things. They are deceitful, fake and unreal, just like apparitions.
They make a man deluded when he considers them even for a while. All the
more so when one constantly dwells in them!
11. “The five desires are a considerable hindrance, always impeding the
Law of tranquility. When even celestial happiness is impossible, how much
more so when one dwells in human desires?
12. “The five desires bring about a thirst that will never know a moment
of satisfaction, just like a fierce fire in the wind. One may throw on firewood
but it will not be enough!
13. “Of all meaningless things in the world, none surpasses the objects
of the five desires. Because beings are foolish and covetous, they are attached
to them and do not realize it. A wise one is afraid of the five desires and does
not fall into their meaninglessness.
14. “Even if one would rule [everywhere] within the four seas, one would
still strive for more beyond them. Desire is like the great ocean. It never has
a moment of satiety.
15. “As for the wheel-turning king Māndhātṛ, the wide heavens rained
gold and he ruled the four worlds, but he further strove for Trāyastriṃśa
Heaven, sharing Lord Śakra’s throne. His intentions caused his life to end.
16. “Nahuṣa practiced asceticism and ruled over the thirty-three gods.
Indulging in his desire, his mind became haughty and [he had] seers draw
his chariot. Because of this negligent behavior, he immediately fell among
the serpents.
17. “The wheel-turning king Aiḷa went out to Trāyastriṃśa Heaven.
He chose a celestial maiden as his queen and he demanded gold from the
seers. The anger of the seers was like a curse. His country was destroyed and
his life ended.
18. “Bali and the great Lord Śakra, the great Lord Śakra and Nahuṣa,
from Nahuṣa back to Lord Śakra—how could a celestial ruler know perma-
nence? His land is not firm, even though great power may dwell there.
19. “Wearing a garment of herbs, eating fruit, and drinking from a stream;
having long hair, as if hanging down to the ground; remaining silent, with-
out any aspiration.
20. “Practicing asceticism in this way, one may be destroyed by desire
in the end. Know that the objects of the five desires are the enemies of one who is practicing the path!
21. “The very powerful king with a thousand arms was valiant and hard to confront, but he was killed by the seer Rāma, also because of his desire.
22. “How much less would I, from a kṣatriya lineage, not be led by desire! Desire for tasteless objects and a lasting increase in posterity are detested by the wise. Who would partake of the poison of desire?
23. “Through all kinds of suffering one seeks benefit, all caused by covetousness. If one is without desire, hardship does not arise. A wise one sees that suffering is wrong while dispelling desire.
24. “The world may think it is good, but in any case it is a bad way. That which is coveted by beings brings every reason for negligence, and the negligent hurt themselves. When dead, they will fall into a woeful destination.
25. “[The objects of desire] are obtained by diligent effort and guarded with effort. Without diligence they are naturally lost, but it is not the case that through effort one can detain them. They are like borrowed objects, and a wise one is not attached to them.
26. “When desire is sought for through hardship, once obtained it increases attachment. When scattered by impermanence, it increases suffering more and more. Holding its torch, one may yet burn oneself. A wise one is unattached.
27. “A foolish and mean person burns his mind with the poison of stinginess. Throughout his whole life he experiences lasting suffering and never obtains happiness. Covetousness and hatred are like the poison of a snake. Why would a wise one approach them?
28. “In hardship one may chew on a dry bone, but it has no flavor and one is not nourished. One wears out one’s teeth in vain. A wise one does not try to taste it.
29. “Kings and robbers are different, like water and fire, but evil sons equally share in the riches, which are like a putrid piece of meat fought over by a gathering flock of birds. The same applies when coveting riches. A wise one does not feel joy for that.
30. “A place where riches are accumulated often raises enmity. Night and day one guards it, as if in fear of a great enemy.
31. “An execution underneath a banner in the eastern marketplace,
one detests this. The long banners of covetousness, hatred, and delusion—
a wise one always keeps away from them.
32. “When entering a mountain forest, rivers, or seas, one has little ease
and is often destroyed. If, for instance, one wants to pick the fruit of the high-
est branch of a tree, most often one will fall to one’s death. The same applies
in case of the object of desire. One may see it, but it is hard to grasp.
33. “One may earnestly apply oneself to the search for riches, but they
are hard to accumulate and easy to scatter, as if obtained in a dream. Why
would a wise one protect them?
34. “If one deceivingly covers over a fiery pit, he who steps on it will
certainly be burned to death. The same applies to the fire of desire. A wise
one does not wander there.
35. “In the cases of the Kauravas, the Vṛṣṇis, the Andhakas, the Mekha-
las, and the Daṇḍakas, the appearance of their desire was just like the knives
and [cutting] block of the butcher. A wise one does not behave like that.
36. “If one ties up oneself and throws oneself into water or fire, or if
one throws oneself from a high cliff to seek celestial happiness, one suffers
in vain and does not obtain any benefit.
37. “The asura brothers Sunda and Upasunda lived together and held
each other dear, but they destroyed each other because of their desire. They
perished and their names were both destroyed, all because of desire.
38. “Desire causes one to steal, and one suffers when lashed by the whip
and the stick. Desire brings low expectations, and for a long time body and
spirit are wearied.
39. “Deer die while coveting songs, birds on the wing follow their cov-
etousness for beauty, and fishes in the deep covet bait. They all suffer from
their desire.
40. “When one observes the provisions one depends on, they are not
sovereign ways. With food one cures the ailment of hunger, and one drinks
water to do away with thirst.
41. “Covered in clothes, one withstands the cold wind. One remedies
sleepiness by lying down. Because it is tiresome to walk, one wishes for a
conveyance. Tired of standing up, one wishes for bedding and a seat. One
bathes to do away with impurity. This is all to put a stop to suffering.
42. “Therefore, one should know that the five desires are not sovereign.
For example, if someone falls ill with fever, he asks for a cooling medicine.
43. “When he wants to stop suffering, a fool thinks he is a sovereign, yet the provisions he depends on certainly will not stop his suffering. They still may let the way of suffering increase. Therefore, these are no sovereign ways.
44. “Warm clothes are no constant happiness. As the season passes, they may yet bring suffering. Moonlight is cool in summer, but in winter it increases the suffering of the cold.
45. “Up to the eight worldly factors, none are characterized by certainty. The painful and pleasant characteristics are not certain. Slavery and kingship, why would they be separate?
46. “His instructions are accepted by all, and one considers a king to be someone superior, but giving instructions means suffering, as when one bears the heavy burden of responsibility. He must always gauge the weight of the world. All suffering is concentrated in him.
47. “As a king one has many enemies. Even those dear to him may
become a calamity. Without any dear ones, he stands alone. What joy is there in this?
48. “Even if he rules the four worlds, what he enjoys is in any case not more than one part. He may manage to help in ten thousand matters, but how would great suffering benefit him?
49. “It is better to stop wanting. Appeasement means great contentment. Dwelling in kingship, the five desires may mean happiness; but when not ruling, solitude means joy. As joy and happiness are of the same kind, what is the use of having a royal position?
50. “Do not make any effort to lead me into the five desires! What I in fact wish for is a cool and open road. If you want to bring me any benefit, help me accomplish my aspiration!
51. “I am not afraid of an enemy, and I do not seek the happiness of rebirth in heaven. My heart does not cherish common profit, and I have given up a celestial crown. Therefore I must go against your feelings. I cannot follow your proposal.
52. “If one has avoided the mouth of a venomous snake, why would one go back and take hold of it? If one holds a torch and burns oneself, how could one not quickly drop it?
53. “When someone who has eyes envies a blind person, when one is set free but wishes to be bound again, when a rich person wishes to be poor,
and when a wise one indulges in foolishness—when there are people like
this in the world, then I will find happiness in my country.
54. “If one wants to cross birth, old age, and death; restrains oneself and
goes begging for alms; has little desire and keeps one’s seclusion; and if one
avoids a woeful destination in the later world, one is content in two worlds.
Do not grieve for me now!
55. “Grieve for him who is king! His thoughts are constantly craving in
vain. He does not obtain contentment in the present world, and in the later
world he will experience a painful retribution.
56. “You have attended to me with your generous feelings, with the pro-
priety and righteousness of the great men of your family, and you would like
me to share in your worldly pleasures. I should recompense your virtue yet.
I urge you to share in my benefits.
57. “If one indulges in the three happinesses, he is called a man of the
world. This is not yet meaningful, because one is constantly seeking with-
out any satisfaction. If one is free from birth, old age, and death, then one
may be called a great man.
58. “You have said that one is unsettled when young, and that one may
go forth when old. But I see that the strength of someone of advanced age
is weak, unfit for anything. It is better that one’s decision is made when one’s
determination is fierce, when one is healthy.
59. “The thief of death follows one with a sword in his hand, constantly
looking for his opportunity. Why would he allow one to reach old age to ful-
fill one’s determination and go forth?
60. “Impermanence is a hunter. Old age is his bow and illnesses are his
sharp arrows. He is constantly on the lookout for deer—living beings in the
wilderness of birth and death. Getting his opportunity, he puts a stop to their
lives. Who would be allowed to live out his lifetime?
61. “In a person’s behavior concerning the matter of birth or extinction,
young, old, or middle-aged, all should diligently apply themselves!
62. “One holds a large gathering when one offers sacrifices. This is all
because of foolishness. One should respect the Right Law and oppose any
killing to offer sacrifices to heaven! When one seeks good fortune by injur-
ing the living, he is an unkind person.
63. “Even if the fruition were permanent when one injures the living, still one should not kill! How much less when one injures the living and offers sacrifices seeking for an impermanent [fruition]?
64. “Even if one practices meditation and quietude without any morality, learning, or wisdom, one should not comply with the world and arrange for a large gathering to offer sacrifices!
65. “Even if he might obtain happiness in the present by killing the living, a wise one should not kill! How much less would he seek good fortune in a later world by killing beings?
66. “I do not find happiness in any conditioned fruition of the three realms. The fluidity of the destinations [of sentient existence] is just like grass tossed about by wind and water.
67. “So I have come far to seek true deliverance. I have heard of one called Ārāḍa, who explains the path of deliverance well.
68. “I shall now go to him, to the place of the muni, the great seer. May your suffering be allayed by my sincere words! I apologize to you now.
69. “I wish that your country be safe. Protect it well, just like Lord Śakra! May the light of your wisdom shine in the world, like abundant sunlight!
70. “Excellent ruler of the great earth, protect your life with an upright mind! May the right changes protect your son, ruling the world according to the Law!
71. “Ice and snow take fire to be the enemy. Because of fire, the ban-
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ner of smoke arises. The banner of smoke becomes a floating cloud, and the floating cloud brings heavy rain. There are birds in the sky that drink from the rain, but it has not rained for them.
72. “If you make your abode having killed your serious enemies, the serious enemies in your residence are done away with. But if there is someone who kills your serious enemy, you should hide him now so that he may go free, as if it had not rained on him when he took a drink.”
73. The king then held his palms together [respectfully]. He respected [the Bodhisattva’s] virtue and was joyful in his heart. “I wish that your result may quickly be accomplished, just as you want. But once you have accomplished a result, you should quickly return and accept me!”
74. The Bodhisattva made the promise in his heart: “I agree to comply with your wish!” He took leave and followed his way. He went to Ārāḍa.
75. The king and his retinue held their palms together [respectfully] and saw him off. They all thought it was amazing, and returned to the city of Rājagṛha.
Visits to Ārāḍa and Udraka
1. When the moonlight descendant of Ikṣvāku arrived in that quiet grove, he respectfully went to the muni, the great seer Ārāḍa.
2. When the adept son of the Kālāma family saw the Bodhisattva coming from afar, he praised him from the distance in a loud voice. He comforted him and said, “Welcome!”
3. Holding their palms together, they exchanged reverences and asked after one another’s well-being. After they had made mutual inquiries about their troubles, they sat down in a dignified way.
4. When the brahman saw the Crown Prince, his appearance and his careful deportment, washing [his feet] he bowed down to his virtue, as if he were thirstily drinking the nectar of immortality.
5. He raised his hand and said to the Crown Prince, “I have known that you have gone forth for a long time. You have broken with the bonds of your beloved ones, like an elephant who has shaken off his hobbles. Your profound knowledge, your insight, and your wisdom are bright, capable of avoiding this poisonous fruition.
6. “The bright excellent kings of the past gave up their thrones and handed them over to their sons, just as someone wearing a garland discards it when it is withered. It is still better not to desire the position of a noble king when you are in your prime.
7. “I see that your determination is very firm. You are fit to be a receptacle of the Right Law. You will board the ship of knowledge and cross the sea of birth and death!
8. “When a common person is enticed to come and study, I only teach him after I have investigated his ability. I now know your firm and resolute determination. Just study as you wish! I will never conceal anything from you!”
9. When the Crown Prince heard these instructions, he was glad and responded, “You may instruct me well with an impartial mind, without any love or hate! Just accept me with an open mind, and my wish will be fulfilled!
10. “When one obtains a torchlight while walking at night, when some-
one who has lost his direction receives guidance, or when one obtains a light
boat when crossing the sea, the same applies to me now.
11. “I have now received your merciful permission, and I dare ask you
about my inner doubts. The calamities of birth, old age, illness, and death—
how can one avoid them?”
12. When Ārāḍa had heard the Crown Prince’s question, he briefly gave
his explanation, using scriptural texts:
13. “You are an ingenious gentleman, the highest among the intelligent.
Now, listen to my explanation of birth and death, the meaning of origina-
tion and extinction!
14. “Nature, change, birth, old age, and death—these five are [the con-
stituents of] sentient beings. Nature is a pure [state]; and, as for change, fac-
ulties and objects secondary to the five great elements, to self, to intellec-
tion, and to seeing are called change.
15. “Matter, sound, smell, taste, and the tactile—these are called objec-
tive elements. Hands, feet, speech, and the two paths [of excretory func-
tions]—these are called the five faculties of action.
16. “Eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body—these are called faculties of intel-
lection. For the faculty of mind the two meanings are combined: both action
and that called intellection. Nature and change are a cause, and the knower
of the cause is the self.
17. “The seer Kapila and his retinue of disciples studied the important
meaning of this self and obtained deliverance. That Kapila is Prajāpati now.
18. “That which knows birth, old age, and death is called the seen. The
opposite of the above is called the unseen.
19. “Foolishness, action, and desire are said to turn the wheel [of exis-
tence]. If one dwells in these three, one is not free from [existence as a] sen-
tient being.
20. “Non-confidence, self, doubt, random, non-distinction, absence of
means, profound attachment to objective elements, being bound to what is
mine.
21. “Non-confidence proceeds when turning things upside down. One both
acts and understands differently. ‘I explain and I know. I come and go, and I
stay.’ Such counting on a self is called the process of the activity of a self.
22. “Being doubtful about the nature of things, and not obtaining the truth about right or wrong—such uncertainty is called doubt.
23. “If one says that the right way is the self, and that [the self] is nothing but mind, saying that it is intellection and action, and if one says that fate is further called the self,
24. “such non-distinction is called random. Not understanding foolish or clever, nature and change, is called non-distinction.
25. “One may do homage and recite the scriptures, kill living beings and sacrifice them to heaven, consider water and fire as purifications, and have the notion that these things mean deliverance—such views are called absence of means.
26. “When mind, speech, intellection, and action are attached to foolishness, and also to the objective elements, this is called attachment.
27. “‘Everything is mine.’ This is called grasping. Such eight kinds of delusion engulf one in birth and death.
28. “The fools in every world are in the grasp of five nodes: darkness, delusion, great delusion, anger, and fear.
29. “Laziness is called darkness. Birth and death are called delusion. Desire is called great delusion, because even a great person may be misled by it. Resentment is called anger. Mental distress is called fear.
30. “The foolish common person is attached to the five desires, the basis of the great suffering of birth and death. As the wheel turns, he is reborn in five destinations.
31. “He keeps turning in rebirth, [thinking]: ‘I have seen and heard, and I know that I am caused.’ Because of this counting on a self, he follows the flow of birth and death.
32. “This cause is not his nature, and the result is not the possession of his nature either. He namely considers correctly when four factors direct him
toward deliverance: the clever and the foolish, the seen, and the unseen.
33. “If he knows these four factors, he can be free from birth, old age, and death. When birth, old age, and death have ended, he has reached a place without end.
34. “All brahmans in the world practice their pure conduct relying on the meaningfulness of this, and they have widely explained it to the people.”
35. When the Crown Prince heard this explanation, he further asked
Ārāḍa, “What are the means of application, and what place does one finally
reach?
36. “What pure conduct should one practice, and further, for how long?
Why would one practice pure conduct, and what place will one reach in this
way? Do fully explain such important things to me!”
37. “Ārāḍa then gave an explanation according to his scriptural texts.
With his wisdom and means he briefly made further distinctions for [the
Crown Prince].
38. “First, one leaves the common and goes forth, relying on alms. Exten-
sively concentrated on dignified demeanor, he keeps his right morality.
39. “He has little desire and knows satisfaction with whatever he obtains,
fine or coarse. Happy to be alone, he practices residing in solitude and dili-
gently studies the scriptural texts.
40. “He sees desire as fearful and renunciation as purification. Con-
trolling the dwellings of his faculties, he puts his mind at ease in quietude.
41. “He renounces desire, evil, and the unwholesome, the afflictions of
the realm of desire. Having renounced, he brings forth joy and happiness,
and he obtains the first trance, with adjusted and discursive thinking.
42. “After he has obtained the happiness of the first trance, and also
adjusted and discursive thinking, he brings forth the notion that this is won-
derful, and in his foolishness his mind is attached to happiness. When he
relies on the happiness of renunciation and his life ends, he is reborn in the
Brahma Heaven.
43. “The wise one is fully conscious that he has expediently produced
adjusted and discursive thinking. He strenuously seeks to advance to what
is associated with the second trance. When he is attached to the flavor of that
joy and happiness, he obtains rebirth in the Ābhāsvara Heaven.
44. “Expediently renouncing joy and happiness, he further develops the
third trance. If he is content and does not seek for excellence, he is reborn
in the Śubhakṛtsna Heaven.
45. “If he gives up that happiness of mind, he reaches the fourth trance.
When both suffering and happiness are stopped, he may give rise to the
notion that he is delivered.
46. “With the retribution of the fourth trance he is reborn in the Bṛhatphala Heaven. Because one has a long life, it is called ‘with extensive fruition.’50
47. “Emerging from that trance, he sees the possession of a body as wrong. While advancing, he develops wisdom and becomes weary of the fourth trance. He decides to advance in his search, and expediently does away with his desire for matter.
48. “He begins with [contemplating] the cavities of his own body and gradually develops an understanding of emptiness. In the end he completely accomplishes the contemplation of solid parts as space.
49. “He cuts short the objective element of his contemplation of space and advances to the contemplation of unlimited consciousness. Skilled in inner quietude, he is free from ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ The observation of nothingness is the sphere of nothingness.
50. “Just as the stalk and sheath of muñja [grass] are separated, and just as a wild bird leaves its cage, his deliverance is like that, free from an objective element.
51. “He is a superior brahman, free from his physical appearance, permanently and without end. The wise one must know that this is true deliverance!
52. “The means you have asked about and the deliverance you seek— these are as I have just explained. If you firmly believe it, you must apply yourself!
53. “The seers Jaigīṣavya and Janaka, Vṛddha Parāśara, and the others who have sought the path have all obtained true deliverance following this path.”
54. When the Crown Prince had heard this explanation, he pondered over its purport. Motivated by his previous causality, he again asked:
55. “I have listened to your excellent wisdom, to the subtle and very fine meaning, but if it does not reject the knower of the cause, it is not the final path.
56. “The knower of the cause, of nature and change, may be said to be delivered, but your contemplation of a self has a way of coming into existence, and it also has a way of being a seed.
57. “You may think that when the self is purified, it is truly delivered. But if it meets with a combination of causes and conditions, it will return to its bonds.
58. “For example, when the proper season, soil, water, fire, and wind
for the seed are separated, its reasons for growth are separated. But when it
meets with the [appropriate] conditions, the seed will grow again.
59. “They may be called freed when ignorance, the cause of action, and
desire are rejected, but beings who maintain a self do not have final deliv-
erance.
60. “One may reject these three everywhere and further obtain three
superiorities, but because the self always exists, it subtly follows.
61. “Because a subtle fault follows, the mind does not apply itself. Life
becomes long-lasting, yet you think that one is truly delivered.
62. “You may say that one is free from any [thought of] ‘mine,’ but if
one were free, then even that would not exist. As you are not free from any
enumeration, how would one be free from any attribute? So, know that
one is not delivered when one has an attribute!
63. “The meanings of a possessor of an attribute and of attribute may
be different, but they are essentially one. If one says that the one is separate
from the other, one will never have the right sphere! If color and heat are
separate from fire, distinct fire cannot be obtained.
64. “For example, before a body there is no possessor of the body. In
the same way, before an attribute there is no possessor of an attribute either.
So, one may have been delivered at first but then one is bound to a body.
65. “Furthermore, when the knower of the cause is without body, he is
either knowing or unknowing. If one says he is knowing, he must have some-
thing to know; and if there is something to be known, he is not delivered.
66. “If one says he is unknowing, then a self is useless! If one is free
from a self but is still knowing, the self then is the same as a log or a rock.
67. “Being in possession of the knowledge of fine and coarse, one may
turn one’s back on the coarse and respect the subtle. But if one is capable of
giving up everything, what may be caused is finished.”
68. Ārāḍa’s explanation could not please [the Bodhisattva’s] mind. He
knew that he was no all-knower and that he should practice and further seek
for excellence. He went to the seer Udraka, but he too relied on an existing self.
69. Although he observed a subtle object, he saw that it was beyond per-
ception and non-perception. Dwelling in the absence of perception and
non-perception, he still did not have the road to escape.
70. “As beings reach that, they will certainly fall back again!” Because the Bodhisattva was seeking to escape, he also rejected the seer Udraka.
71. He searched further for an excellent fine path and ascended Gaja Mountain to the forest of asceticism called Nagarī, where five bhikṣus dwelled.
72. He saw that the five bhikṣus were well in control of their sense faculties. They dwelled in that forest of asceticism, keeping the precepts and practicing austerities.
73. The bank of the Nairañjanā River was quiet and very pleasant. In that very place the Bodhisattva immediately pondered in tranquility.
74. When the five bhikṣus knew that [the Bodhisattva] was seeking deliverance with a fine mind, they wholeheartedly came to worship him, as if paying respect to the god Īśvara.
75. They humbly treated him as their teacher and never left his side, whether going or staying, just as the faculties of a practitioner proceed following the mind.
76. In his diligent application the Bodhisattva had to cross old age, illness, and death. He wholeheartedly practiced asceticism and, restraining himself, he forgot to eat.
77. Purifying his mind, he observed a fast that any practitioner would find unbearable. He meditated in silence for a full six years.
78. He ate one sesame seed and one grain of rice a day, and his body became utterly emaciated. In his search to cross birth and death, his grave delusion became even more serious.
79. “The path will be accomplished through understanding. Not eating will not be the cause!” Although his four limbs were weak, his wise mind became increasingly clear.
80. His spirit was empty and his body was shrunken, but his famous virtue became widely renowned. It was like the opening up of a kumuda flower when the moon has just risen. His excellent fame spread all over the land. Men and women rivaled to come and see him.
81. His suffering body was like a dead log for almost six years. Fearful of the suffering of birth and death, he wanted only the cause of right awakening.
82. He thought to himself, “Not through this will I be free from desire
or will quiet contemplation arise. The wonder I previously obtained beneath
the jambū tree is better still. Know that that is the right path!
83. “The path will not be obtained by an exhausted body. It must be
sought after with corporal strength. When food and drink fulfill the facul-
ties, the faculties rejoice, so that the mind is at ease.
84. “When the mind is at ease, it complies with quietude. Tranquility is
the snare for trances. Through meditation one knows the Right Law, and
with the power of the Law one may obtain what is hard to obtain.
85. “In quietude one may leave old age and death, in the highest form
free from any impurity. Such fine ways all come from food and drink.”
86. Having considered the meaningfulness of this, he washed himself on
the bank of the Nairañjanā. After bathing, he wanted to come out of the pond
but he was weak and could not pull himself out. A celestial spirit pressed
down the branch of a tree, and he raised his hand, held on to it, and came out.
87. At the same time, on the other side, beyond the forest, there was a
cowherd chief. The chief’s daughter was called Nandā. A god of the pure
abodes came to tell her, “The Bodhisattva is in the forest. Go and worship
him!”
88. Nandā Balajā happily went to where [the Bodhisattva] was. She
wore bracelets of white shells on her arms, and a garment that was dyed dark
blue. The dark blue and the white reflected one another, just like something
immersed in purifying water.
89. Her trusting mind increased her joy. She bowed at the Bodhisattva’s
feet and respectfully offered fragrant milk-rice, considering that he would
deign to accept it, seeing her concern.
90. The Bodhisattva accepted [the meal] and ate it, and [Nandā] obtained
a present fruition. Having eaten, his faculties rejoiced and he was fit to expe-
rience bodhi.
91. His body became brighter, and the reputation of his virtue became
ever more lofty, just as the hundred rivers increase the sea and the new moon
daily increases its light.
92. When the five bhikṣus saw [the Bodhisattva take food], they were
startled and thought it was contemptible. They thought he had withdrawn
from his spiritual path. They abandoned him and moved to a better dwelling place, just as when one is delivered he is free from all five great elements.
93. The Bodhisattva wandered alone, and went to the auspicious tree. Underneath that tree, he would accomplish the path of perfect awakening. The ground was wide and level, and smooth, with soft grass growing there.
94. With dignity, he walked like a lion, and at every step the earth shook. The movement of the earth moved the dragon Kāla. He rejoiced and his eyes saw clearly.
95. He said, “When I saw the former buddhas, the earth moved just as it does now. Your virtue, muni, is very worthy, unsurpassed on the great earth!
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96. “As your feet tread on the ground, with every step it makes a thundering sound. Your fine light shines in the world, just like the light of the morning sun.
97. “A flock of five hundred blue tits hovers in the sky, making circles to the right. A gentle and cool breeze follows and blows all around.
98. “All these auspicious signs were the same for the buddhas of the past. That is why I know that the Bodhisattva will accomplish the path of right awakening.”
99. From another man who was cutting grass, [the Bodhisattva] obtained pure and soft grass. He spread out the grass underneath the tree and sat down, his body upright. He sat cross-legged and did not move, like the coiling body of a dragon.
100. “I will not rise from this seat until I fully achieve what I have to do!” When he made this true and solemn oath, the gods and dragons all rejoiced.
101. A cool and gentle breeze came up yet the twigs of the bushes and trees did not rustle. All the birds and animals were quiet; none gave a sound. All these were signs that the Bodhisattva would certainly accomplish the path of awakening.
Māra’s Destruction
1. When the great seer of a family of seer kings made his firm solemn oath, beneath the bodhi tree, that he would certainly accomplish the path of deliverance,
2. demons, dragons, and the multitude of gods all greatly rejoiced. But the celestial king Māra, enemy of the Law, alone was sorrowful and did not rejoice.
3. The sovereign king of the five desires was endowed with every skill in battle. Because he detested so-called deliverance, he was called Pāpīyas.
4. King Māra had three daughters. They had a beautiful appearance and fine bearing. Possessing all kinds of wiles to delude people, they were the best among celestial maidens.
5. The first was called Rāgā. The second was called Ratī, and the third was called Tṛṣṇā. The three daughters came forward at the same time, and said to Pāpīyas, their father, “We are wondering why you are sad.”
6. Their father [Māra] fully described the situation according to the facts, and informed his daughters, “In the world there is a great muni. His person bears the armor of his great solemn oath. He holds the bow of his great resolution and the sharp arrow of wisdom.
7. “He wishes to battle and subdue beings, and to destroy my realm. Soon, when the beings come to believe in him, I will not be [the same] as before. When they all turn to his path of deliverance, my land will be empty.
8. “When, for instance, someone offends against morality, his person is then empty. As long as his eye of wisdom is not open, my land is still all right. I must go and destroy [the Bodhisattva’s] determination, break down his bridge!”
9. With bow in hand and five arrows, along with his retinue, both male and female, [Māra] went to that aśvattha grove, wishing beings to be ill at ease.
10. He saw the quietude of the muni, who was about to cross the sea of
the three existences. With his left hand he seized his strong bow, and with
his right hand he made ready to shoot a sharp arrow.
11. And he said to the Bodhisattva, “You, kṣatriya, rise quickly! Death
is very dreadful. You should practice your own duties!
12. “Give up the Law of deliverance! Practice warfare and be generous
to meritorious gatherings! Having subdued all the worldly, you will obtain
the happiness of rebirth in heaven in the end!
13. “This path is very famous, practiced by your excellent ancestors. A
descendant of a great family of seer kings should not be a beggar!
14. “If you do not rise now, make your purpose firm! Beware, do not
give up on your solemn oath! Dare me to let loose my arrow!
15. “At the mere touch of this arrow of mine, the grandson of the moon-
light, Aiḷa, was as if blown away by a storm. His mind became disordered.
16. “When the seer, practicing asceticism in quietude, heard the sound
of my arrow, he immediately became very afraid at heart. He was confused
and lost his basic nature.
17. “All the more so if you hope to be free from this arrow of mine dur-
ing your last days! If you rise quickly now, you may yet be fortunate and
obtain safety.
18. “This arrow’s poison is fierce. It will cause you to shiver and trem-
ble! If someone relies on his strength to endure my arrow, even his own
safety may be difficult [to obtain]. All the more so if you cannot endure it!
How could you not be frightened?”
19. As Māra explained this fearful matter to intimidate the Bodhisattva,
the Bodhisattva’s mind was complacent. He had no doubts, nor was he afraid.
20. King Māra immediately let loose his arrow, and also brought his
three jade daughters forward. The Bodhisattva did not look at the arrow, and
he did not care for the three daughters either.
21. King Māra stood in awe and became suspicious. He said to himself,
deeply in his heart, “Once I shot at Maheśvara for the maiden of the Snowy
Mountains. I could make his heart change but I cannot move the Bodhisattva.
22. “It is not the case that I can move his heart with this arrow or with my
celestial three jade daughters, so that he may bring about love or hatred. I must
further gather my army and put forceful pressure on him with its strength!”
23. While he was considering thus, Māra’s troops suddenly assembled. They were of all kinds and each had a different appearance. Some grasped a trident or held a sword. Others carried a tree or grasped an iron bolt—all kinds of implements for battle.
24. [They had the] faces of boars, fishes, donkeys, and horses; the appearances of camels, oxen, rhinoceroses, and tigers; and the heads of lions, dragons, and elephants, and other kinds of birds and beasts.
25. Some had one body and many heads. Some had faces each with one eye. Others had many eyes, and some had large bellies and long bodies.
26. Some were weak and emaciated, without a belly, and some had long legs and large knees. Some had large legs and fat calves, and some had long teeth and sharp claws.
27. Some had no head, chest, or face, and some were bipeds but had many bodies. Some had large faces and faces [placed] sideways, and some were of an ash-gray color.
28. Some resembled the light of a bright star, and the bodies of others emitted smoke. Some had the ears of an elephant and were burdened with mountains. Some had disheveled hair and were naked.
29. Some wore leather, and their faces were colored half red and white. Some wore tiger-skin clothes, and others wore snake-skin.
30. Some wore large bells around the waist, and some had twisted locks, or spiral headdresses. Some had disheveled hair covering their bodies, and some sucked in the human vital essence.
31. Some took away men’s lives, and some leaped wildly about, crying out loud. Some hurried in pursuit of others, again and again injuring one another.
32. Some circled in the sky, and some flew up among the trees. Some roared and shouted, their evil voices shaking heaven and earth.
33. Such evil beings surrounded the bodhi tree. Some wanted to rip up [the Bodhisattva’s] body, and others wanted to swallow him.
34. All four sides were ablaze with fire, and the smoking blaze reached to the heavens above. A gale of wind rose violently on the four sides, and the mountain forest shook all around.
35. Through the combination of wind, fire, smoke, and dust, it was dark and one could not see a thing. The gods and humans who loved the Law,
and dragons and spirits, were all angry at Māra’s crowd. In their anger tears
of blood flowed.
36. When the multitude of gods of the pure abodes saw that Māra was
trying to confuse the Bodhisattva, who was free from desire and without
anger, they felt grief and sorrow for him.
37. They all came and saw the Bodhisattva sitting upright, unmoving.
Countless Māras surrounded him, and their evil voices moved heaven and
earth.
38. The Bodhisattva was established in quietude. His bright complex-
ion was without any peculiar sign. He was like a lion king, dwelling among
the herd of animals.
39. They all sighed, crying out, “Ha! Ha! Amazing! Wonderful!” But
Māra lashed his crowds on, and each presented their awful powers.
40. Again and again they pressed each other on to immediately cause
his destruction. Their eyes wide open, they gnashed their teeth. They flew
in disarray and leaped wildly about.
41. The Bodhisattva watched in silence, as if he were watching children
playing. The Māras became more and more angry, and doubled their fight-
ing strength.
42. When they tried to carry a rock, they could not lift it, and those who
could [lift the rock] could not put it down. Flying spears, tridents, and sharp
lances froze in the sky and did not come down.
43. As thunder shook, there was a shower of large hail but it changed
to flowers of five colors. Evil dragon-snakes spat out poison, which changed
to a fragrant breeze.
44. Beings of all shapes tried to injure the Bodhisattva, but they were
unable to make him move and consequently they hurt themselves.
45. King Māra had an elder sister, called Meghakālī. Holding a skull
vessel in her hands, she stood in front of the Bodhisattva. Exhibiting all kinds
of strange deportment, she tried to debauch and confuse the Bodhisattva.
46. Such hosts of Māra wanted to frighten the Bodhisattva with their
various hideous bodies and by raising all kinds of evil voices. But they could
not move one hair. The Māras were all distressed.
47. A spirit in the sky had rendered himself invisible, and he raised
his voice, “I see that the great muni’s mind is without thought of resentment.
48. “Your evil poisonous minds, Māras, try to bring resentment where there is no resentment. Foolish evil Māras, you toil in vain. There is nothing you can do.
49. “Give up your noxious thoughts! Be quiet and stay silent! You cannot blow away Mount Sumeru with your breath.
50. “Fire may become cold and water may become a blaze, the earth’s nature may become evenly soft, but you cannot destroy the Bodhisattva. For eons he has practiced asceticism.
51. “The Bodhisattva practices right consideration, and diligently strives with zeal. His pure wisdom is bright and he is compassionate for all.
52. “No one can affect or break down these four fine qualities, or make difficulties for him to accomplish his path of right awakening, just as the sun shining with its thousandfold light is certain to remove the world’s darkness.
53. “As one obtains fire by rubbing sticks together, and as one obtains water by digging in the earth, he strenuously applies right application. There is nothing he will not obtain in his search.
54. “No one comes to rescue the world; all are affected by the poisons of greed, anger, and delusion. Because he is merciful toward beings, he seeks for the fine medicine of wisdom. He will do away with the suffering of the world. Why do you trouble him?
55. “The deluded in the world are all attached to wrong paths. The Bodhisattva is studying the right road. He wishes to guide beings.
56. “Harassing one’s guide in the world—this is absolutely not done! As if one would deceive the merchant’s guide through the wilderness!
57. “As beings have fallen into great darkness and no one knows the place to go, he lights the lamp of wisdom for them. Why would you want to extinguish it?
58. “As beings are all tossed about in the great sea of birth and death, he repairs the ferryboat of wisdom for them. Why would you want to let it sink?
59. “Forbearance is a shoot of the Law, and firm determination is the
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root of the Law. The precepts of discipline are the flowers, and the thoughts of awakening are the branches and the trunk.
60. As for the great tree of wisdom, the unsurpassed Law is its fruit. It gives shelter to beings. Why would you want to fell it?
61. The cangue and chains of greed, anger, and delusion are a yoke for
beings. For long eons he has practiced asceticism to deliver beings from their bonds. He will certainly accomplish this in the present, sitting in this exact place.
62. “Just as the buddhas of the past did, he has firmly established his adamantine moment. While in all directions everything is moving, only this earth is tranquil. He is ably experiencing fine concentration. You cannot destroy that.
63. “Just yield in your heart! Do away with haughty intentions! Develop the idea to be a good friend! Practice forbearance and wait upon him!”
64. When Māra heard the voice in the sky and saw that the Bodhisattva remained tranquil, he felt shame and lost his pride. He turned back and returned to his heaven.
65. Māra’s hosts were all in distress. They were defeated and had lost their might. They abandoned their weapons of war, scattered in the wild forest, just as when one has killed the enemy ruler the gangs of enemies are all destroyed.
66. After the Māras had withdrawn, the Bodhisattva’s mind was still. The sunshine doubled its light, and the dusty mist dissipated.
67. The moon was bright and the stars were clear. There was no more darkness. Celestial flowers fell down like rain from the sky to worship the Bodhisattva.
Abhisaṃbodhi
1. After the Bodhisattva had subdued Māra, his determination was firmer and his mind tranquil. The eternal end being most meaningful, he entered the profound and fine trances. Sovereign in the samādhis, he would realize them in due order.
2. During the first watch he entered concentration and remembered his past lives. “From Such-and-such a place, called So-and-so, I came to be reborn here.” That way he completely understood his hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of births and deaths.
3. The births and deaths he had experienced were countless. All kinds of living beings had all been his family once, and he had great compassion in his heart.
4. Having recollected with great compassion, he further observed that living beings revolved in six destinations, and that their births and deaths never ended. [The six destinations] were false and not firm at all, like a plantain tree or an illusion.
5. In the second watch he then obtained the pure divine eye. Seeing all beings, it was as if he observed their images in a mirror.
6. As the beings generated births and deaths, they were noble or low, poor or rich. According to their pure or impure actions they experienced painful or happy retributions.
7. He observed that evildoers would be reborn in woeful destinations, and that those who practiced wholesome actions would be reborn among humans or gods. If they were reborn in hell, they experienced countless kinds of suffering.
8. They [had to] swallow liquid copper, or iron skewers pierced their limbs. [They were] thrown into boiling hot cauldrons, or forced into great masses of fire.
9. Packs of dogs devoured them with their long teeth, or crows with sharp beaks pecked at their brains. Afraid of fire, they went to dense forests, with
leaves that were [as sharp as] swords, cutting their limbs. Sharp knives cut
open their bodies, or sharp axes chopped them up.
10. Experiencing these utterly painful poisons, their actions did not let
them die. They had happily performed unclean actions, but their retribution
was the experience of utter suffering.
11. They had savored their attachments for only an instant, but the painful
retribution lasted for a very long time. Laughing, they had planted the cause
of suffering, but they experienced the punishment in tears.
12. If the beings that do evil were to see their retribution, they would
sever their vital arteries, collapse in fear, and bleed to death.
13. When they performed the actions of animals, their actions were of
several kinds, each one different. After death they fell into the animal des-
tination, with several kinds of bodies, each one different.
14. Some died for their skin and flesh, for their fur, horns, bones, tails, or
feathers. They massacred one another, and their relatives still devoured them.
15. They carried a heavy burden or pulled a yoke. They were lashed and
stabbed with goads and awls. Bloody pus dripped from their wounded limbs.
No one could stop hunger or thirst.
16. As they proceeded they massacred others, and they did not have the
power of autonomy [over their own fates]. In the sky, in water, or on dry
land, they had nowhere to escape from death.
17. Those whose stinginess was great were reborn in the destination of
hungry ghosts. Their huge bodies were like big mountains, but the openings
of their throats were like the eye of a needle. As the fiery poisons of hunger
and thirst were ablaze, they burned themselves.
18. If they had been stingy and had not given to those who asked, or if
they had kept others from being generous, they were reborn among the hun-
gry ghosts. When they asked for food, they could not obtain any. They might
try to eat impurities rejected by others but it was transformed and lost.
19. If one would hear that the painful retribution of stinginess is such,
he would slice his flesh to give it to another, just like King Śibi.
20. Some were reborn in the destination among humans, physically
dwelling in walking latrines. [The body’s] movement was utterly painful,
and as it left the womb, it gave rise to fear. When a soft body touched an
external object, it was as if cut by a sword.
21. As they dwelled in the lot of their previous actions, they did not have a single moment free of death. Suffering hardship, they sought rebirth; and being reborn, they experienced suffering for a long time.
22. If they were reborn in heaven because of their merit, their thirst constantly burned them. When their merit was exhausted and their life was at its end, the five signs of decay and death arrived. Just as the flowers of a tree become pale and withered, they became drawn and lost their brightness.
23. The lot of their retinue was life or death. Suffering in sadness, no one could make them stay. Their palaces became desolate and empty, and the jade ladies all departed. Sitting or lying in the dirt, they wept sadly and longed for them.
24. The living felt grief about their miserable fall, and the dead were sad, longing for life. Through strenuous practice of asceticism one wishes for the happiness of rebirth in heaven, but because one has such suffering, how base is this? What is there to covet?
25. What is obtained through great application will not avoid the suffering of separation. Alas! Gods and humans, tall or short, there is no difference!
26. Practicing asceticism for eons and forever free from desire, one may think one will surely abide a long time, but in the present all miserably fall.
27. In hell one experiences various suffering, and animals kill each other. Hungry ghosts are forced to suffer hunger and thirst, and humans are exhausted from craving.
28. One might mention the happiness of rebirth in heaven, but separa-
tion is a very great suffering. Being misled, one is reborn in the world and does not have any place to rest.
29. Alas! In the sea of birth and death the wheel turns without end. Beings drown in an unceasing current. They are tossed about, without anything to rely upon.
30. Thus [the Bodhisattva] observed the five destinations with his pure divine eye. They were false and not firm, like a plantain tree or like bubbles.
31. Then, during the third watch, he entered profound concentration and observed that the suffering of the turning of the wheel in the world was its specific nature.
32. “One is frequently reborn, grows old, and dies. The number [of rebirths] is countless. Desire and the darkness of delusion—no one knows how to escape them.”
33. In his right mindfulness, he inwardly considered the origination of
birth and death. He knew with certainty that old age and death had to be
brought about by birth. If a person has a body, for that reason physical pain
must follow.
34. He further observed how birth was caused, and he saw that it was
through the action of existence. His divine eye observed that the action of
existence was not produced by the god Īśvara. It had no specific nature and
no self, and neither was it without a cause.
35. If one cuts through the first knot of the bamboo, the other knots then
pose no difficulty. After he had seen the cause of birth and death, he grad-
ually saw the truth.
36. The action of existence was produced by grasping, as when fire con-
sumes firewood. Grasping had craving as its cause, just as a small fire may
set a mountain ablaze.
37. Knowing that craving is produced by experiencing, one understands
unpleasant and pleasant, seeking contentment. Hunger and thirst seek drink
and food. Experiencing produces craving in the same way.
38. Any experiencing has contact as its cause. Its three classes mean
the production of suffering or of happiness. If one works at rubbing sticks,
one may obtain fire and use it.
39. Contact is produced by the six sense faculties, because a blind per-
son does not have clear perception. The six sense faculties originate from
name-and-form, just as a shoot grows into a stalk and [produces] leaves.
40. Name-and-form are produced by consciousness, just as a seed means
the production of the shoot and leaves. But consciousness comes from name-
and-form. Nothing is omitted from such transformation.
41. Because of consciousness, one produces name-and-form; and because
of name-and-form, one produces consciousness. Just as a man and his boat
advance together, there is mutual transportation on water and on dry land.
42. Just as consciousness produces name-and-form, name-and-form pro-
duces the faculties. The faculties produce contact, and contact further pro-
duces experiencing.
43. Experiencing produces craving, and craving produces grasping.
Grasping produces the existence of actions, and existence then produces
birth.
44. Birth produces old age and death. The turning of the wheel is endless for all. The conditioned origination of the beings is completely known in right awakening.
45. [The Bodhisattva’s] right awakening was certain to be completed. The end of birth meant the extinction of old age and death. When existence is extinguished, birth is extinguished. When grasping is extinguished, existence is extinguished.
46. When craving is extinguished, grasping is extinguished. When experiencing is extinguished, craving is extinguished. When contact is extinguished, experiencing is extinguished. When the six sense faculties are extinguished, contact is extinguished.
47. The extinction of all sense faculties comes from the extinction of name-and-form. When consciousness is extinguished, name-and-form is extinguished. When formation is extinguished, consciousness is extinguished.
48. When delusion is extinguished, formation is extinguished. The great seer’s right awakening was accomplished. When right awakening was thus accomplished, the Buddha appeared in the world.
49. The eightfold path—right view, and so on—is a smooth, level, and right road. In the end there is no [“I” or] “mine,” just as fire is extinguished when the firewood is consumed.
50. “What I had to do, is done. I have obtained the path of right awakening of our ancestors.” [The Buddha] had completely achieved the highest meaning and entered the house of the greatest seer.
51. As darkness passed and the light rose, movement and tranquility were both silent. He had reached the Law without end, and his omniscience was clear.
52. The virtue of the great seer was pure, and the earth quaked all around. The whole universe was clear and bright, and gods, dragons, and spirits gathered in great numbers. In the sky they played celestial music to worship the Law.
53. A gentle breeze brought coolness, and celestial clouds brought fragrant rain. Fine flowers blossomed out of season and sweet fruits became ripe in spite of the season.
54. Mahāmāndārava and all kinds of celestial precious flowers came down in profusion, in worship of the worthy muni.
55. Beings of different species all turned to one another with friendly
thoughts. Fear was completely eliminated. There was no longer any thought
of anger or arrogance. All in the entire world accompanied the one whose
impurities had ended.
56. The gods were happy with [the Buddha’s] deliverance, and the woe-
ful destinations were calm for a while. Affliction gradually ceased and the
moon of knowledge gradually increased its light.
57. When the seers of the Ikṣvāku family who were reborn in heaven
saw that the Buddha had appeared in the world, they were filled with joy.
58. In their celestial palace it then rained flowers in worship. The gods,
dragons, and spirits praised the Buddha’s virtue with one voice.
59. When people in the world saw the worship and heard the sounds of
praise, they all rejoiced and they were overcome with joy. Only the celes-
tial king Māra felt great grief in his heart.
60. The Buddha meditated seven days, and his mind was pure. He
observed the bodhi tree, gazing without blinking.
61. “Relying on this place, I have fulfilled my previous wish. I am estab-
lished in the Law without self.” With his buddha eye he observed beings, and
this gave rise to merciful thoughts. He wished to let [beings] obtain purity.
62. “Greed, anger, delusion, and wrong views are floating and sinking
into their minds. Deliverance is very profound and fine. How can I propa-
gate it?” He gave up his diligent application and stayed silent.
63. He thought back to his previous solemn oath. He again thought about
expounding the Law, and observed the strength of the afflictions of living
beings.
64. Brahmadeva knew what was on [the Buddha’s] mind, [and under-
stood] that he should be invited to turn the [wheel of the] Law. Releasing his
pure light all around for the rescue of suffering beings, he came to see the
worthy muni and the signs of a great person who would expound the Law.
65. As the fine meanings were all seen, [the Buddha] was established
in true knowledge. He had abandoned any wrong that would cause difficul-
ties, and was free from any false thought.
66. [Brahmadeva] was reverential and rejoiced in his heart. He held his
palms together and urged him, “How fortunate the world is in meeting you,
worthy one with great compassion!
67. “All kinds of beings are unclean and have impure thoughts. Some have serious afflictions and the afflictions of others are insignificant.
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Translations (1)
- English (machine translation) — English, machine translation
Linked texts (1)
- 佛所行讚 — Classical Chinese