THE GREAT CHRONICLE OF BUDDHAS-4

THE GREAT CHRONICLE OF BUDDHAS

Volume 4
TRANSLATOR’S PREFACE

This is an English translation of the Fourth Volume of The Great Chronicle of Buddhas by the Most Venerable Mingun Sayadaw Bhaddanta Vicittasārābhivaṃsa.

As my elderly mentor, Sayagyi U Ko Lay, has said in the Preface of his translation of the Third Volume of the Chronicle “ We have decided to work separately ”, one independently of the other just to quicken our work, for discussions between us proved to be rather time-consuming while working together on the previous volumes.

Accordingly, the manuscript of an English translation of the volume concerned was virtually thrusted into my hand so that I might edit it. It was done by one U Aye Maung. I do not know him personally nor do I know what he is or was. After running through a few pages of the manuscript, I had a mixed feeling: I was delighted to see U Aye Maung’s English highly commendable, and I was reluctant to edit his translation at the same time because of my conscience: if I am to be named the sole translator, I should do the translation all by myself, good or bad, but not the editing which would have been certainly much easier to do.

I therefore put his manuscript aside and tried to translate singlehanded throughout and clumsily at times.

When I had covered three-fourths of the work I was told by the originator of the translation project, Dr. Tha Hla, that my work in book form would be presented to the Patron Abbots of the Tipiṭaka Nikāya Organization at our late lamented author’s birth-day anniversary ceremony some time in November. My teaching duties at the Yangon University and the State Pariyatti Sāsana University ( Yangon ) made me unable to concentrate fully on the translation venture which abounded in pitfalls. I was therefore compelled to consult U Aye Maung’s translation from the story of Baka Brahma onwards. Even then I must say that it was not a plain sailing. I had to rush through my work against my will. Now I only crave for the reader’s understanding and forgiveness for whatever is slipshod which I am aware occurs now and then owing not only to my clumsiness but also to some funny performances of the computer that have eluded correction. I quietly but fervently hope that some day somebody will come up to set things aright and improve my translation thereby.

I owe Sayagyis U Ko Lay and Dr. Tha Hla a debt of gratitude for encouraging and reminding me to complete my work in time. I am also grateful to U Aye Maung, whom I have never seen, for facilitating my work, so to speak. Last but not least, my thanks go to my friend Ko Tin Than and my son Maung Win Myint for helping me very patiently with their computer assignments.

Yangon, 27 October 1996 Tin Lwin

(Full-moon day of Thadingyut 1358 ME)

VOLUME_4
PART_
CHAPTER_28

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THE BUDDHA'S VISIT TO BĀLAKALOṆAKA VILLAGE.

[ 1 ] Bālakalokaṇaka was the feudal village of the wealthy Upāli. (According to the Sinhalese MSS, it was also called Bālakalokaṇaka.) The Buddha went to that village without telling either Chief Disciple or any Great Disciple, or the Venerable Ānanda in the least. Like a bull elephant that leaves his herd, he went there all by himself, taking his bowl and robe.

For there would be no living being, whom the Buddha was to enlighten during the coming tenth vassa; his lone departure from Kosambī city was a device to admonish the contentious and quarrelsome monks, He set off to Pālileyyaka forest and (on his way) as he wanted to gladden and bolster up Bhagu Thera who was then staying in solitude in a forest-dwelling with Bālakaloṇaka village as the resort for alms.

[ 2 ] Five hundred monks told Ānanda about their desire to follow the Buddha.

When the Buddha thus went alone, five hundred monks said to Ānanda Thera, "Venerable Ānanda, the Buddha has set out by himself. Let us follow him!" Ānanda then replied, "Brethren, when the Exalted One packs up his bedding, takes his bowl and robe and sets out alone without any attendant monk and without asking the Saṃgha for leave, then it is his wish to go unaccompanied. A disciple should act in accordance with the will of his teacher. Therefore, these days you should not follow the Master." Thus the Venerable Ānanda did not let them go, nor did he himself follow the Master, knowing the Buddha's wish.

When Bhagu Thera saw from afar the Buddha coming alone to Bālakaloṇaka village, he prepared the seat, kept the water ready for the Buddha to wash his feet, and the board to wash his feet on and the potsherd to rub them with. He welcomed the Buddha and took bowl and robe. Sitting on the seat prepared by the Thera, the Buddha washed his feet and asked him, who was seated in a reverent posture at a suitable place, "Are you fit and well, monk? Do you have enough food? Do you get alms without hardship?" "Venerable Sir, I am all right. I have enough food. I get alms without hardship." The Buddha then gave a talk on the benefit of living in solitude and proceeded to the eastern bamboo grove.

The Buddha's arrival at the eastern bamboo grove.

At that time the three Theras--Anuruddha, Nandiya and Kimila were living in the eastern bamboo grove. When the watchman of the grove saw from a distance the Buddha approaching, he mistook him for an ordinary monk and tried to block the way saying:

Monk, do not enter this grove. Three noble clansmen having a bent for their welfare reside in this grove. Do not make discomforts to them.

[ 3 ] (Note. Just as a hungry man longs for food, a thirsty man longs for drinking water, a man oppressed by cold longs for heat, a man oppressed by heat longs for cold, or a sad man longs for happiness, even so the Buddha, being weary of the disunited and contentious Kosambī' monks, pondered as to who the virtuous men living there could be; while so doing there appeared in his vision these three noble clansmen. Wishing to encourage the three noble individuals he considered thus: "If I do so, this practice would mean a good way to admonish the Kosambī monks forever." Hence his visit to the eastern bamboo grove, the abode of the said three good ones.

(The grove where Anuruddha Thera and others were dwelling was fenced, guarded and conserved by its owners so that the fruit, flowers, gum and wooden buildings in it might be safe from depredation by all sorts of people.

(When the watchman saw from afar the Buddha coming, he thought, "Here in this grove are the three worthy people still living in harmony. Quarrels and disputes tend to arise at any place where another person comes. Such a person might move about, attacking and destroying like a wild bull with sharp horns; and such destruction could bring about dissension that make it impossible for two persons to go together along the same road. This visiting big monk might create discord at one time or another and destroy the united and happy stay of the three noble people. He seems impressive, has golden colour and looks like one who is fond of good food. From the time he arrives here, by praising his lay followers, who would offer him good meals, and by doing this and that, he might undermine the mindful monastic life led by the three good men.")

("Besides, there is accommodation only for the three: there are only three lodges, three walks, three day-retreats, three couches and three boards. There is nothing extra. This big monk, a newcomer, has a bulky body; perhaps he could be a recluse of long standing. He might displace the present [ 4 ] occupants at an improper time, thereby making them unhappy in every respect. Thus thinking, he forbade the Buddha's entry into the grove saying, "Do not disturb their comfort!" as he totally did not want the unhappiness of the worthy personages.)

(It may be questioned: Did the watchman try to stop the Master knowing that he was the Buddha or did he do so unknowingly? The answer is: he did so unknowingly. Explanation: When the Buddha went about with the splendour of a Buddha in the company of monks, everybody recognized him without asking, "Who is this man?" But now as he went to the eastern bamboo grove wishing, "Let nobody know of my being a Buddha", he covered his rays and other Buddha-glories by means of his supernormal powers as if he had hidden them all under a drapery; and he moved along incognito as the big full moon that is covered by clouds, personally taking his bowl and robe. The watchman stopped the Buddha because of his ignorance of the state of an Enlightened One.)

While staying at his day-retreat, Anuruddha Thera overheard the watchman's word, "Monk, do not enter this grove!" and thought to himself," Only we three are dwelling in this grove; there is no other resident here. The watchman was speaking as though he were communicating with a monk. Who could that man be? "He then rose; standing at the door, he looked over the road and saw the Buddha.

On the part of the Buddha, as soon as he caught a glimpse of Anuruddha Thera, he emitted the rays of his body. Splendid with the various major and minor marks, the body gave out light that was glorious like a strip of golden cloth spread out. Then it occurred to the Thera, "Like a man who stretches his hand to grasp by the neck a cobra with its hood erected, the poor man does not know that it is the Buddha though he is dealing with the foremost personality in the world. He speaks as if he were dealing with an insignificant monk." So he commanded his man saying, "Watchman, do not stop the Buddha! Here comes our Master, the Exalted One!"

[ 5 ] Welcome extended in unison by the Theras to the Buddha.

Anuruddha Thera did not welcome the Buddha alone, for he considered, "We three are staying in harmony at present. If I alone were to welcome the Buddha, it would not make our harmonious living. I will bring my friends and do the welcoming only together with them. My friends too adore the Buddha just as I do." Wishing to meet the Buddha with his two pals, he went to their day retreats and called them. "Come, brethren! Come, brethren! Our Master, the Exalted One, has arrived!" Then the three Theras extended their welcome to the Buddha in unison, one taking the Buddha's bowl and robe, another preparing the seat and the third keeping the water board and the potsherd ready so that the Buddha might wash his feet.

Sitting on the prepared seat, the Buddha did the washing of the feet.

(Herein with his hands red like a newly blossomed Padumā lotus, the Buddha took some crystal-clear water and poured it over his golden coloured insteps and washed his feet rubbing one with the other.

It may be asked: Why did the Buddha wash his feet even though his body was free from dust and dirt? The answer is: He washed his feet in order to cool his body as well as to gladden the three Theras. To make the latter reason more explicit: by thus washing his feet, the Buddha could make the Theras immensely delighted with the thought, "With the water brought by us did the Master cleanse his feet and thus make use of it." Hence the Buddha's washing of the feet despite the fact that his body had no stains whatever.)

After respectfully doing obeisance to the Buddha, the three Theras took their proper seats. Then asked the Buddha, How are you, my dear sons, Anuruddha and all? Are you all fit and well? Are you all right with your postures? Are you free from hardship in getting food?"

[ 6 ] Anuruddha Thera replied, "Exalted One, we are fit and well. We are all right with our postures. It is not hard for us to get food."

(Herein of the three Theras, Anuruddha was the most senior. If honour be shown to Anuruddha, the senior-most Thera, it follows that honour was shown to the juniors as well. That was why the Buddha addressed Anuruddha by name. Alternatively, in the Pāḷi Text the name Anuruddha has a plural case-ending literally meaning "My dear sons, Anuruddhas"; in his address the Buddha used [what is known as] the virūpekasesa (elliptical) method covering also the remaining two Theras.)

Again, the Buddha asked: "In living together, do you have harmony and happiness, Anuruddha and all, without dispute, and like milk and water do you mix well, seeing one another with amiable eyes?" "We really have harmony and happiness, knowing no disputes", Anuruddha answered. "And we mix well like milk and water, seeing one another with eyes of amity." "How do you manage to do so, Anuruddha?" the Buddha asked further. This the Thera Anuruddha explained:

Exalted One, living in this grove, I consider myself thus: Great indeed is my gain! I have attained a great fortune, for I am sharing this dwelling with these co-residents of such nature! Exalted One, towards these two pals I perform physical acts with mettā (loving-kindness), verbal acts with mettā, and mental acts with mettā both in their presence as well as in their absence, Exalted One. Thinking that 'It would be if I would practise, setting aside my will, but according to theirs,' do I practise giving priority to their will over my own. Exalted One, though we three are of different bodies, we are, as it were, of the one and the same mentality."

Thereafter Nandiya Thera and Kimila Thera told the Buddha in the same way as Anuruddha Thera did.

(Herein with reference to the words said of the performance of physical, verbal and mental acts with mettā [ 7 ] whether in the presence or in the absence of others, the physical and the verbal acts in the others' presence took place while living together; the same two acts in the others' absence took place while living apart; the mental acts, however, happened while living together or while living apart.

(To elaborate: When a fellow monk saw a couch, a board, a wooden article or an earthenware misplaced by another monk, he did not ask insolently, "Who has used this?"; instead he picked it up and restored it [to its proper place] as though he himself had misplaced it; (moreover), he cleaned any place that needed cleaning. Thus the physical act performed by one was that performed with mettā in the presence of others.)

(When one of the co-resident monks went away, either of the remaining monks similarly restored the monastic articles left behind in disorder by the departed monk; he cleaned any place that needed cleaning. The physical act thus performed was that performed with mettā in the absence of others.)

(Living together with other Theras, one spoke with them sweet and delightful words, appealing words, words worthy of lifelong remembrance, words of the Dhamma; one gave an audible talk on the Dhamma, discussed the Dhamma, and put questions and gave answers to them; any of these varied verbal acts and others of his, was that performed with mettā in the presence of others.)

(When the others left for another place, the remaining monk [Anuruddha Thera, for instance] extolled their virtues saying, "My dear friend Nandiya Thera [or Kimila Thera] is endowed with such moral virtues and practical virtues." His verbal act of this kind was that performed with mettā in the absence of others.)

("May my friend Nandiya Thera [or Kimila Thera] be free from harm! May he be free from hatred and ill-will that are perverse and destructive! May he be happy both physically and [ 8 ] mentally!" His such mental act focusing his thoughts of goodwill on others in their presence as well as in their absence was that performed with mettā on both occasions.)

(How did each of the three Theras put aside his idea and act in accordance with that of the others? Suppose one's bowl should show wear, another's robe should get dirty and the third's meditation cell should be in a litter and be cleaned out, while these three things should happen simultaneously, if the owner of the bowl said first, "My bowl has been worn; I have to make a new bowl by baking", then the others would not say, "My robe is dirty and I have to wash it" or "I have to remove the litter from my meditation cell"; Instead, they would enter the forest and the other two would lend a hand in baking the bowl; only after finishing the task of baking would they wash the robe or clean out the cell. If the second monk said first "I have to wash my robe" or the third said first "I have to remove the litter", the others would similarly attend to it and only after getting it done would they turn to their own business. This was the way how one fulfilled the others' wishes, leaving aside one's own.)

Having thus asked about the value of unity (sāmaggī-rasa) of the three persons and having known thus of the full value of their unity, the Buddha desired again to question on the signs of their mindfulness (appamāda-lakkhaṇa) and asked, "Anuruddha and all, how is it; do you abide having a bent for Nibbāna by putting great efforts without negligence?" "Exalted One," answered Anuruddha Thera, "we do indeed abide having a bent for Nibbāna by putting great efforts without negligence." Again the Buddha asked, "How do you abide having a bent for Nibbāna by putting great efforts without negligence?" Anuruddha Thera replied:

"Exalted One, one of us residents in this grove, after comingback before others from the alms-round in the village, prepares seats, keeps the water and board ready for washing the feet and places the potsherds for rubbing them with; he sets the vessel [ 9 ] ready for putting the first portions of food; he fetches the water for drinking and the water for other purposes.

The monk, who returns later from the alms-round in the village, partakes of the remaining food, in case he desires. If he does not, he disposes of it at a place where there is no green grass or plant; or he throws it into the water that has no small creatures; he folds up the seat; he restores the water, the board and potsherds to their proper places; he does so with regard to the vessel after washing it; he stows away the water pot for drinking and that for other purposes: he sweeps the mess-room."

If he finds any water pot empty, whether for drinking, or for general use or for the bath room, he fills it. If it proves to be heavy he calls another monk by giving him a signal with his hand and the two carry it with their joined hands. Exalted One, we do not utter a word for the purpose of carrying the waterpot. Exalted One, once in every five days we pass the time fruitfully by discussing the Dhamma throughout the night.

Exalted One, in the aforesaid manner do we abide having a bent for Nibbāna by putting great efforts without negligence.

(Herein, an adorable and remarkable thing was that these Theras did not go together on alms-round; as they delighted phala-samāpatti, they rose, did early ablution, fulfilled their duties, retired to their respective meditation cells and engaged in phala-samāpatti for a certain resolved period.

(Of the three Theras, the one, who had engaged phalasamāpatti for the resolved period before others, went out ahead of them for alms. On his return he came to know that "Those two are late; I have come back early." He then covered his bowl, prepared the seat and did other things; if he had food in his bowl just enough for him he simply sat down and ate it. If the, food was more than enough he put the first portion into the vessel, covered it and ate his portion. Having eaten he washed [ 10 ] the bowl, made it dry, put it into its bag and, taking his bowl and robe, he went to his day-retreat.

When a second monk came to the mess-room he perceived: "One has gone ahead of me; the other is still after me." If he saw enough food in his bowl, he simply sat down and ate it. If the food was less than enough, he took some (left behind by the first monk) from the vessel. If the food in his bowl was more, he first put the surplus portion into the vessel and ate his meal just to sustain himself and, like the earlier monk, went to his day-retreat.

When the third one came to the mess-room he understood: "The other two have come and gone before me, I am the last". And he partook of his meal in the manner of the second one; after finishing his meal, he washed the bowl, dried it and put it into its bag and stowed the seat away. He threw away the remaining water from the drinking water pot and also that from the pot for general use and kept the pots upside down; should there be any left-over food in the vessel, he discarded it on the ground where there was no green grass or into the water free from tiny living creatures and washed the bowl and stowed it away. After sweeping the mess-room, he removed the dust and kept the broom at a place free from termites and, taking the bowl with him, he retired to his day-retreat. Such was the daily routine for the Theras at the mess-room outside the dwelling in the forest.

Fetching water for drinking and for general purpose was a duty done in the dwelling place. If one of the three noble Theras saw some water pot empty, he carried the pot to the pond, washed it both inside and out, filled it with water through a filter, and (if the pot proved too heavy for him) he placed it near the pond and called another person by gesture. In seeking a helping hand, he never made a sound mentioning or without mentioning that person's name.

[ 11 ] Because if he were to cry for help by mentioning somebody else's name, it would be a disturbance to the meditation of the monk concerned. That was why he never cried out the name. Should he make a sound calling somebody without mentioning his name, both monks would come out from their meditation cells, vying each other to get to the caller first. In that case, since it was a job that could be done only by two, the third one would find himself unwanted and his meditation engagement would only be unnecessarily interrupted. For this reason the caller did not make a sound even without mentioning the name.

If he were not to make a sound, how did he try to get a helper? After filling the pot through a filter, he approached the day-retreat of another monk, making no sound of his footsteps; seeing him he called him by a hand gesture, that attracted him. Thereafter the two monks joined their hands, carried the pot together and kept the water for drinking or for general use.

With reference to the words, "once in every five days we would pass the time fruitfully by discussing the Dhamma throughout the night", the fourteenth, the fifteenth, and the eighth of the bright or the dark fortnight, these three days served as the three occasions on which the Dhamma was usually heard. Without disrupting these three days of Dhamma talks, once in every five days, did both Theras, Nandiya and Kimila, bathe not long after noon, and went to the Thera Anuruddha. At his place they met and made questions and answers on any of the three Piṭakas. While they were thus doing, the day just dawned.

Thus far did the Thera Anuruddha, who was asked by the Buddha as to the signs of mindfulness, replied that they were not negligent even on the occasions that normally cause negligence (to others). Explanation: For other monks, the time of their going alms-round, leaving the dwelling for alms, adjusting the [ 12 ] lower garment, putting on the upper robe, making a round, preaching the Dhamma, expressing their appreciation [of almsgiving], partaking of alms-food on return from the town or the village, washing the bowl, putting the bowl into the bag, and stowing away the bowl and robe, these were the (eleven) occasions on which they prolonged their talks that had nothing to do with mindfulness and thereby they became negligent of their meditation duties. Anuruddha Thera therefore meant to say, "As for us even on these occasions which cause others to indulge in loose talks as opposed to meditation, never have we done such a thing as prolongation of speech that is opposed to meditation and that is outside meditation (those we may be physically free from engagement as practical meditation (vihāra-samāpatti) was uncalled for on these occasions.)", he thereby explained the signs of their mindfulness at its height even at times when others were negligent.

(By these words, he further meant to indicate that there was no negligence at all on their part by not being absorbed in practical meditation on the occasions other than the aforesaid eleven.)

End of the Buddha's sojourn at the eastern bamboo grove.

The Buddha's visit to Pālileyyaka.

As has been said above the Buddha, having explained the advantage of living in solitude to the Thera Bhagu at the village of Bālakaloṇaka for half the day and the whole night: entered the village of Bālakaloṇaka for alms the following day with Bhagu Thera as his companion; after sending him back from that very place, the Buddha went alone to the eastern bamboo grove with the idea "I shall meet the three clansmen who are living in harmony". He talked to the Theras Anuruddha, Nandiya and Kimila, about the benefit of living in harmony, [ 13 ] and having asked them to remain there at the bamboo grove, he proceeded alone and arrived at Pālileyyaka village.

The villagers then welcomed the Buddha and made offerings to him; having constructed a dwelling for the Buddha in the forest named Rakkhita near the village, they requested the Buddha: "May the Exalted One stay here at this Rakkhita forest-dwelling."

In the Rakkhita forest there was a huge sāla tree named Bhadda-sāla near the Buddha's dwelling place. The Buddha stayed about that tree near his dwelling in the forest with Pālileyyaka village as his almsresort. Then it occurred to the Buddha who was staying in solitude:

I could not live at ease, being mixed up with the Kosambī monks who indulge in disputes under my eyes or in my absence and created quarrels in the Saṃgha. Now that I am alone and unaccompanied, away from those disputing and quarreling monks, my stay is happy.

Story of Pā1ileyyaka elephant.

At that time there was a certain full grown male-elephant, the leader of a herd, living still with young males, females, courting males and sucklings. Living in this manner he had to feed on the grass without the tender tips; all the branches and twigs brought down from the trees by him were eaten up by other elephants. He also had to drink muddy water. Besides, when he rose from the ford, females went past by pushing him.

Then it occurred to him thus: "Living with such members of my herd compels me to eat the grass; the tender tips of which are gone as have been eaten earlier by others. Whatever I have brought down from the trees are devoured by them. It is the turbid water that I have to drink. Female elephants jostle my body when I come up from the water. Were it well if I would live away from the herd!" So thinking, he left the [ 14 ] herd and happened to come to the Buddha near the huge sāla tree in the Pālileyyaka Rakkhita forest.

(Herein Pālileyyaka was originally the name of the village. The original name of the forest was Rakkhita. Since the Rakkhita forest was near the village of Pālileyyaka, it was also called Pālileyyaka, by "way of its nearness (samīpūpacāra)". The elephant that had come to that forest was also referred to as Pālileyyaka elephant-king.)

Service rendered by Pālileyyaka Elephant to the Buddha.

When the elephant, being sick of living with the herd and entering the forest he saw the Buddha seated at the foot of the sāla tree; on seeing him he felt calm like a man who has his grief allayed by the water from a thousand pots; with devotion in his heart, he was attached to the Buddha and stood near him. From that time onwards, as his daily routine, he swept the ground around the Bhaddasāla tree and the Buddha's dwelling place with a twig so that the ground might be cleared of grass and plants; he brought water to the Buddha for washing the face; he fetched water for his bathing; he offered a small twig to be used as a tooth-cleaner; he brought sweet, delicious fruit of different sizes and offered them to the Buddha, who took them for food.

(With his trunk the elephant brought firewood. By rubbing the fire sticks with one another he produced fire, into which he put stones to bake them; when the stones became hot, he rolled them down into a stone basin by means of a stick; then he tried to ascertain whether the water was hot enough or not; if he knew it was, he approached the Buddha and stood near him. Perceiving that "the elephant wanted me to bathe", the Buddha went to the stone basin and bathed. In the same way did the elephant also keep drinking water. (What should be taken as remarkable from this is that the Buddha drank boiled water that had [ 15 ] been cooled.) (All this is an extract from the Vinaya Mahāvagga Aṭṭhakathā and the Sāratthadīpanī Ṭīkā.)

(The following is the narrative from the Kosambaka Story of the Dhammapada Commentary, Volume One.)

When the Buddha entered the village for alms-food, Pālileyyaka elephant carried the Buddha's bowl and robe on his head and went along with him. When the Buddha reached the edge of the village, he said to the elephant: "Pālileyyaka, it is not fit for you to follow me beyond this point. Get me my bowl and robe!"; thus he let the elephant put down his requisites from the head, and, carrying them by himself, he moved into the village.

The elephant stayed only at that very spot till the Buddha's return and when the latter came back, he greeted him and in the previous manner he took the bowl and robe. On arriving home in the forest dwelling he placed them in their proper place; and waiting on the Master, he fanned him with a twig. When night fell, intending, "I will give protection to the Buddha", he held a big stick with his trunk and roamed in the forest till dawn to ward off any danger from lions, tigers and leopards.

N.B. From that time onwards the huge forest came to be known as Pālileyyaka Rakkhita Forest, for it was guarded by Pālileyyaka elephant.

He performed in like manner all his duties beginning with offering of the water for the Buddha to wash the face at day-break.

In this way the Buddha spent the tenth vassa-period in the Pālileyyaka forest receiving service rendered by Pālileyyaka elephant.

[ 16 ] Things going on in the city of Kosambī.

While the Buddha was thus spending the vassa in the Pālileyyaka forest, the wealthy Ghosaka and other lay devotees and donors, residents of Kosambī, went to the Ghositārāma monastery and not seeing the Buddha they inquired, "Venerable sirs, where is the Master staying?" To this the monks gave a sad answer saying, "Donors, the Master has gone to the Pālileyyaka forest." "Why?" asked the lay devotees. "The Master tried to restore unity to us as we were disunited," said the monks. "But (having developed hatred among ourselves) we refused to be united. (Hence the Master's departure to the Pālileyyaka forest.)" "How is it, sirs?" asked the lay people. "Despite your ordination from the Buddha's hand, and despite his attempt to restore your unity, do you remain disunited?" The monks admitted that it was true.

Many male and female lay devotees, citizens of Kosambī, agreed saying among themselves, "These Kosambī monks who have been ordained by the Exalted One are not united in spite of his effort to unite them. On account of them, we have long been deprived of the chance to behold the Master. We will give no seats to them, nor will we pay respects!" From that time onwards, the quarrelsome and contentious monks of Kosambī were no longer treated with respects. (much less with the four requisites).

Because of the scarcity of food and starvation, the monks became emaciated day by day and came to their senses after a few days. They confessed their faults and apologized to one another with salutations; they also begged the laity's pardon, saying, "We have become united, donors, please treat us as before!" "Have you tendered apology to the Master?" asked the lay people. "No, donors, not yet." "Then you had better do so. After your so doing will we treat you, sirs, as before," replied the lay people tactfully. Since it was a vassa-period the monks did not dare to visit the Buddha and had to pass the three months of vassa miserably.

[ 17 ] The Monkey inspired by Pālileyyaka elephant.

Enjoying the service of Pālileyyaka elephant (as has been said before), the Buddha stayed happily in the Pālileyyaka forest for the three vassa months.

At that time a monkey, seeing daily duties performed actively and energetically by Pālileyyaka elephant, became inspired and thought to himself, "I too will do some act of merit towards the Master." One day while roaming about he found a tree-branch with a honeycomb devoid of bees, broke it and brought it with the broken branch to the Buddha: he then cut a plantain leaf on which he placed the honeycomb and offered it to the Buddha. The Buddha accepted it.

The monkey watched to see whether the Buddha would enjoy it or not, and he saw him remaining in his seat and just holding the honeycomb without eating it. The monkey investigated; wondering why, he took the honeycomb by its edge and turned it round only to see the bee-eggs, which he slowly and gently removed and offered it again to the Buddha. Then only did the Buddha eat it.

So elated was the monkey that he joyously danced moving from one tree branch to another; while so doing both the branch he was holding with his hand and that he was treading on broke off and he fell on a tree stump. With his body pierced by the stump but with his mind devoted to the Buddha, he died and was reborn in a golden mansion measuring thirty yojanas in the Deva abode of Tāvatiṃsā. He was known as Makkaṭa Deva (monkey god) having a thousand female celestials as his retinue.

[ 18 ] Pālileyyaka's thought and the Buddha's udāna.

To Pālileyyaka elephant, who had been fulfilling his daily duties to the Buddha in the aforesaid manner, it occurred thus:

Associated with young males, females, courting males and sucklings, I could not live in peace formerly. I had to feed on the grass without their sprouts; all the branches and twigs brought down from trees were devoured by all others. It is the unclean water that I had to drink. What is more, female elephants showed no regard for me as I was rudely jostled by them when I came up from the water. Now that I have departed from them all I can live alone in peace.

Knowing by himself his own peaceful life away from his companions and knowing also the thought of Pālileyyaka elephant, the Buddha breathed forth this udāna, 'solemn utterance':

Etaṃ nāgassa nāgena
īsādantassa hatthino
sameti cittaṃ cittena
yadeko ramatī vane.

Being alone in this forest named Rikkhita, I the Buddha, the Teacher of the three classes of beings (Brahmās, Devas and human beings), take delight. In the same way this elephant called Pālileyyaka delights being alone in this very forest. Therefore the thought of Pālileyyaka elephant, who possesses the pole-like tusks is the same as mine. I who have been named Buddha-nāga, the elephant-like Buddha, am living in the forest seclusion.

Ānanda's entreaty to the Buddha.

The life of the Buddha observing vassa in the forest of Pālileyyaka enjoying the service rendered by Pālileyyaka elephant became well known throughout the whole Jambūdīpa. The wealthy Anāthapiṇḍika, [ 19 ] the monastery-donor Visākhā and other high-born residents of Sāvatthi sent their message to the Thera Ānanda saying, "Venerable Sir, kindly help us have an opportunity to behold the Exalted One!"

Five hundred bhikkhus who had been staying all over the places approached Ānanda at the end of vassa and made a request to him with these words, "Friend Ānanda, it has been long since we heard last the sermon from the Master. Friend Ānanda, we beg you. We would like to have a chance again to listen to the Exalted One."

Then Ānanda Thera went to the Pālileyyaka forest leading the five hundred monks but he thought that it would not be nice to draw near the Buddha together with such a large crowd as the Buddha had been living a solitary life for the whole vassa. He therefore left the monks somewhere else and approached the Buddha by himself.

On seeing the Venerable Ānanda, Pālileyyaka elephant rushed to him carrying a stick in the grip of his trunk (for he mistook him for an enemy). When the Buddha saw this he stopped the elephant saying, "Go away, Pālileyyaka, go away! Do not block his way. This monk is my attendant." The elephant then dropped the stick and made a gesture to express his desire to take the Thera's bowl and robe but the Thera refused to hand them.

Then the elephant thought, "If this monk were conversant with the rules of an attendant he would not put his requisites on the stone slab which is the seat of the Master." The Thera Ānanda laid down his bowl and robe on the ground. (Never does a well conducted person or a man versed in duties place his belongings on the seat or the bed of the respected teacher.)

After paying obeisance to the Buddha, Ānanda Thera sat down in a blameless place. "Dear son, Ānanda, did you come alone?" asked the Buddha. When informed that the Thera came together with five hundred monks, the Buddha inquired further, "Where are those five hundred monks now?" "I came having left them somewhere else as I [ 20 ] did not know the inclination of the Exalted One", replied the Venerable Ānanda. "Bring them in, dear Ānanda," the Buddha ordered.

As had been ordered by the Buddha, the Thera Ānanda called the five hundred monks who came and paid obeisance to the Buddha and took their appropriate seats. When the Buddha had exchanged friendly greetings with them, the monks said to the Buddha, "You, Exalted One, are gentle partly because you have become a Buddha and partly because you have come of an aristocratic family. You have done a difficult thing by living all by yourself for the whole vassa. It seems that you have no one to attend to your needs, nobody to bring you the water for washing your face and so on." "Monks," addressed the Buddha, "Pālileyyaka elephant has fulfilled all the duties due to me. In fact, one who has a good companion of such nature should live with that companion. In the absence of such a companion only a solitary life is praiseworthy. He then gave the following three verses which are preserved in the Nāga-Vagga (of the Dhammapada.)

Sace labhetha nipakaṃ sahāyaṃ
Saddhiṃ caraṃ sādhuvihari dhīraṃ
abhibhuyya sabbāni parissayāni
careyya tenattamano satīmā.

No ce labhetha nipakaṃ sahāyaṃ
saddhiṃ caraṃ sādhuvihāri dhīraṃ
rājāva raṭṭhaṃ vijitaṃ pahāya
eko care mātaṅgaraññeva nāgo.

Ekassa caritaṃ seyyo
n'atthi bāle sahāyatā
eko care na ca pāpāni kayirā
appossukko mātaṅgaraññeva nāgo.

(The meaning of these three verses has been given in the 27th chapter of the Third Volume; see pp.) At the end of the verses the five hundred monks became established in the Arahatta phala.

[ 21 ] Then the Thera Ānanda gave the message from the wealthy Anāthapiṇḍika and the monastery donor Visākhā and all, saying "Exalted One, the five crores of noble donors, lay men and women, citizens of Sāvatthi, headed by Anāthapiṇḍika the merchant, are waiting in great hopes for your coming." .... "In that case, dear Ānanda, bring my bowl and robe," so saying the Buddha set out from the Pālileyyaka forest.

At that time Pālileyyaka elephant came and lay across the path that was to be taken by the Buddha and his assembly of bhikkhus. When the bhikkhus asked, "Exalted One, what is the elephant doing?" the Buddha replied, "Monks, the elephant is desirous of offering alms food to you dear sons. In fact, this elephant has specially rendered service to me for a long time for which I am grateful. He ought not to be disappointed. Let us turn back, monks!" With these words, the Buddha turned back, leading the monks.

Pālileyyaka went into the forest and gathered various edible fruits such as Jack fruit, bananas and so on; he brought them, kept them in heaps for offering to the monks the following day. The five hundred monks could not eat up all.

When the eating was over the Buddha had his bowl and robe brought and left the forest. Pālileyyaka elephant made his way through the monks and stood across right in front of the Buddha again. "Exalted One, what is the matter with the elephant?" the monks asked. "The elephant wants me to turn back and to send you dear sons away," answered the Buddha, who also said to the elephant, "This time I am going positively without turning back. With this body of yours it is not possible for you to attain Jhānā, Insight, the Path and Fruition, Stay behind!" On hearing these words, the elephant, putting his trunk into his mouth and weeping, followed the assembly of monks headed by the Buddha. Indeed, if he were able to make the Buddha return for life would he serve the Master only in the previous manner.

[ 22 ] On reaching the outskirts of the Pālileyyaka village the Buddha addressed his last words to the elephant: "Pālileyyaka, beyond this point is no habitat of yours. A human abode is dangerous. You had better remain here!" The elephant stood lamenting there with his eyes set on the Buddha as far as he could see, when he lost sight of the Buddha he died of a broken-heart at that very place. By virtue of his meritorious state of devotion to the Buddha he was reborn a god with a retinue of a thousand celestials in a golden mansion thirty yojanas wide; he bore the famous name of Pālileyyaka Deva.

Here ends the story of Pālileyyaka elephant.

Visit paid by Kosambī monks to apologize to the Buddha.

The Buddha journeyed on and arrived in due course at Jetavana monastery in Sāvatthi. Getting the news that "the Exalted One has come to Sāvatthi", the monks of Kosambī headed for Sāvatthi to apologize to the Buddha. (What has been narrated is from the Dhammapada Commentary.)

Talks on the eighteen means of knowing the righteous (Dhammavādi) and on the eighteen means of knowing the unrighteous (Adhammavādi).

(The following is from the Vinaya Mahāvagga Pāḷi:) At that time Sāriputta Mahāthera, the General of the Dhamma, hearing of the arrival of the Kosambī monks, approached the Buddha, paid obeisance to him and sat down in a faultless place. He then said to the Buddha:

It is said, Exalted Buddha, that the quarrelsome and contentious Kosambī monks are coming to Sāvatthi. Exalted Buddha, how should we deal with them? The Buddha replied, "Dear son Sāriputta, in that case you should abide by the Dhamma." "How could we know, Exalted Buddha, what is the Dhamma and what is not?" asked the [ 23 ] Venerable Sāriputta. This led to the Buddha's instruction of the following the eighteen characteristics of unrighteousness (Adhamma) and the other eighteen characteristics of righteousness (Dhamma).

[ 24 ] Eighteen characteristics of unrighteousness (Adhamma-vatthu).

"Dear son Sāriputta, an unrighteous person should be known by the eighteen characteristics. Here in this dispensation, a monk indicates

1. what is no Dhamma as Dhamma,
2. what is Dhamma as no Dhamma,
3. what is no Vinaya as Vinaya,
4. what is Vinaya as no Vinaya,
5. what the Buddha teaches not as the teaching of Buddha,
6. what the Buddha teaches as no teaching of the Buddha,
7. what the Buddha practises not as the practice of the Buddha,
8. what the Buddha practises as no practice of the Buddha,
9. what the Buddha prescribes not as the rule of the Buddha,
10. what the Buddha prescribes as no rule of the Buddha,
11. no offence as offence,
12. offence as no offence,
13. minor offence as major,
14. major offence as minor,
15. expiable offence as inexpiable,
16. inexpiable offence as expiable,
17. gross offence as no gross, and
18. no gross offence as gross.

Dear son Sāriputta, by these eighteen characteristics should an unrighteous person be known."

Eighteen characteristics of righteousness (Dhamma-vatthu).

"My son Sāriputta, a righteous person should be known by the eighteen characteristics. Here in this dispensation, a monk indicates

1. what is no Dhamma as no Dhamma,
2. what is Dhamma as Dhamma,
3. what is no Vinaya as no Vinaya,
4. what is Vinaya as Vinaya,
5. what the Buddha teaches not as no teaching of the Buddha,
6. what the Buddha teaches as the teaching of the Buddha,
7. what the Buddha practises not as no practice of the Buddha,
8. what the Buddha practises as the practice of the Buddha,
9. what the Buddha prescribes not as no rule of the Buddha,
10. what the Buddha prescribes as the rule of the Buddha.,
11. no offence as no offence,
12. offence as offence,
13. minor offence as minor,
14. major offence as major,
15. expiable offence as expiable,
16. inexpiable offence as inexpiable,
17. gross offence as gross, and
18. no gross offence as no gross,

Dear son Sāriputta, by these eighteen characteristics should a righteous person be known. Thus taught the Buddha."

(Herein this is an instruction given by using the method of teaching with reference to individuals (puggalā-diṭṭhāna Dhamma-desanā); the eighteen items such as (1) indication of what is no Dhamma as Dhamma, (2) indication of what is Dhamma as no Dhamma, ... (17) indication of gross offence as no gross, and (18) indication of no gross offence as gross, are called the eighteen characteristics of unrighteousness (Adhamma-vatthu). They are also called the eighteen causes of schism in the Saṃgha (Bhedakaravatthu). He who possesses [ 25 ] any of these eighteen characteristics is to be known as an unrighteous person (Adhammavādī).

Similarly, on the side of righteousness the eighteen items such as (1) indication of what is no Dhamma as no Dhamma, (2) indication of what is Dhamma as Dhamma ...(17) indication of gross offence as gross, and (18) indication of no gross offence as no gross, are called the eighteen characteristics of righteousness (Dhamma-vatthu). He who possesses any of these characteristics is to be known as a righteous person (Dhamma-vādi). Thus the purport of the Buddha's instruction should be understood briefly.

(Distinction between positive and negative items).

Of these [two sets of ] eighteen items, by way of Suttanta, the ten wholesome actions (Kusalakamma patha) are the Dhamma; the ten unwholesome actions (Akusalakamma patha) are no Dhamma. Likewise. the thirty-seven constituents of enlightenment (Bodhipakkhiya-dhamma), namely, the four foundations of mindfulness (Satipaṭṭhāna), the four right efforts (Sammappadhāna), etc., are Dhamma. (The wrongly enumerated aggregates of the above constituents, namely,) the three foundations of mindfulness, the three right efforts, the three bases of psychic powers (Iddhipāda), the six faculties (Indriya), the six mental powers (Bala), the eight factors of enlightenment (Bojjhaṅga), the nine constituents of the path (Maggaṅga) as well as the four attachments (Upādāna), the five hindrances (Nīvaraṇa), the seven latent desires (Anusaya) and the eight wrong views (Micchādiṭṭhi), these and other aggregates are no Dhamma.

If someone after taking any of these false aggregates which are no Dhamma, and after discussing with others and coming to an agreement with them saying "We shall indicate and speak of [ 26 ] this stock of what is no Dhamma as Dhamma, if we do so, we shall belong to the higher class of teaching families and we ourselves shall become well-known in society", declares "This indeed is Dhamma!", (1) he indicates what is no Dhamma as Dhamma.

Likewise, if he, taking any of these true aggregates, declares, "This indeed is no Dhamma", (2) he indicates what is Dhamma as no Dhamma.

[ 27 ] In terms of Vinaya, if a person questions another's offence, makes him realize it and takes action correctly in accordance with the latter's confession, that is a righteous action (Dhammakamma). If a person, without questioning, without making him realize it and without bringing about his confession, takes action incorrectly, that is an unrighteous action (Adhamma-kamma). If one speaks of a righteous action as unrighteous, then one indicates Dhamma as no Dhamma 'To speak of means to indicate.'

By way of Suttanta, elimination of lust (rāga) elimination of hate (dosa) elimination of delusion (moha), the fivefold restraint (saṃvara), namely , restraint by precepts (sīla saṃvara), restraint by mindfulness (sati saṃvara), restraint by wisdom (ñāṇa saṃvara), restraint by forbearance (khantī saṃvara) restraint by energy (vīriya saṃvara); the fivefold rejection (pahāna), namely, rejection of evil by right view (tadaṅga pahāna), rejection by mental concentration (samādhi pahāna), rejection by destruction (samuccheda pahāna), rejection by being peaceful (paṭippassaddhi pahāna), and rejection by attainment of Nibbāna (nissaraṇa pahāna), and reflection so that there can be no happening of lust, hate and delusion. These aggregates of elimination, restraint, rejection and reflection form discipline; reversibly, the aggregates of non-elimination, non-restraint [non-rejection], and non-reflection of lust, etc., form no discipline.

In terms of Vinaya, completeness of the five factors, namely, candidate (vatthu), ordination-house (sīma), assembly (parisa), declaration (ñatti), and text for deeds (kamma-vāca) is discipline; incompleteness or defectiveness of these five is no discipline.

By way of Suttanta, the four foundations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, the four bases of psychic powers, the five faculties, and the eight constituents of the path, these doctrinal aggregates are what the Buddha teaches; never does the Buddha teach that there are three foundations of mindfulness, three right efforts, three bases of psychic powers, six faculties, six psychic powers, eight factors of Enlightenment, and nine constituents of the Path.

In terms of Vinaya, there are four Pārājika¹ rules, thirteen Saṃghādisesa² rules, two Aniyata³ rules, thirty Nissaggiya⁴ [ 28 ] rules, etc., are taught by the Buddha; never does the Buddha teach that there are three Pārājika rules, fourteen Saṃghādisesa rules, two Aniyata rules, thirty-one Nissaggiya rules, etc., (The set of rules taught implies the set of rules prescribed.)

By way of Suttanta, everyday absorption in attainment of Fruition (Phala-samāpatti), absorption in attainment of Great Compassion (Mahākaruṇā-samāpatti), survey of the world of sentient beings through the Buddha-Eye (Buddha-cakkhu) consisting in both Āsayānusaya Ñāṇa⁵ and Indriya-Paropariyatti Ñāṇa⁶, delivery of relevant discourses and relation of pertinent stories as demanded by occasion, these doings form the practice of the Buddha. No absorption in Attainment of Fruition, No absorption in Attainment of Great Compassion, etc., form no practice of his.

In terms of Vinaya, observance of vassa-residence in a certain town or a village at the request of the devotees concerned, journey at the end of the vassa-period after informing the devotees concerned or after performing Pavāraṇā, greeting addressed to the visiting monks with the words, "Are you keeping fit, dear sons? Are you faring well?" and so on; doings of these and other things form the practice of the Buddha. No doings of such things form no practice of his.

In certain Vinaya rules, there are such lines as "He who unknowingly commits is not guilty; he who commits without intent to steal is not guilty; he who commits without intent to cause [ 29 ] death is not guilty and so on; the set of rules like these is the collocation of no offences. "He who knowingly commits is guilty; he who commits with intent to steal is guilty; he who commits with intent to cause death is guilty" and so on, the set of rules like these is the set of offences.

Of the seven kinds of offences, namely, Pārājika offences, Saṃghādisesa offences, Thullaccaya offences, Pācittiya offences, Pāṭidesaniya offences, Dukkaṭa offences and Dubbhāsī offences, the latter five are minor and no gross while the former two (Pārājika and Saṃghādisesa offences) are major and gross.

Of these seven kinds of offences, the last six are expiable (Sāvasesa āpatti) as the offender's monkhood still remains. (That is to say, if he commits any of the latter six kinds, his state of a monk is still valid even though he is guilty. The Pārājika offence is inexpiable. (This is to say, if he violates a Pārājika rule he totally loses that validity leaving no traces whatever of monkhood in him.)

In this way the nine pairs of Dhamma and no Dhamma, etc., should be particularly understood. This explanation is taken from the exposition of the Saṃgha bhedakakkhandhaka, Vinaya Cūḷa-Vagga Commentary.

Like Sāriputta Thera, the Theras Mahā Moggalāna, Mahā Kassapa, Mahā Kaccāyana, Mahā Koṭṭhika, Mahā Kappina, Mahā Cunda, Anuruddha, Revata, Upāli, Ānanda and Rāhula also heard of the coming of the Kosambī monks to Sāvatthi, approached the Buddha and asked him as Sāriputta Mahā Thera did. Then also did the Buddha teach them the eighteen items of righteousness and the eighteen items of unrighteousness the way he taught the Thera Sāriputta.

So did the Buddha's aunt, Mahāpajāpati Gotamī Therī learn the coming of the Kosambī monks and visited the Buddha: she paid him obeisance, stood at a proper place and put the same question as [ 30 ] Sāriputta Thera's. The Buddha then told Mahāpajāpati Gotamī Therī thus:

In that case, Gotamī, listen to the sayings of both groups of monks. Having listened, you should prefer the view, wish, liking, and acceptance of the righteous of the two parties. All that is to be expected from the Community of Bhikkhus by the Community of Bhikkhunīs should be desirable only from the righteous.
On receiving the news, the wealthy Anāthapiṇḍika, donor of the Jetavana monastery and Visākhā, the donor of the Pubbārāma monastery, too went to the Buddha and reported the matter. To them as well the Buddha said:

Anāthapiṇḍika, (Visākhā), in that case give alms to both parties! Having given alms, listen to the sermons from both! Having listened, you should prefer the view, wish, liking and acceptance of the righteous monks! (This is an extract from the Vinaya Mahāvagga Text, its Commentary and SubCommentary.)

(The following, however, is from the Dhammapada Commentary). On hearing the news that "the quarrelsome Kosambī monks are coming to the city of Sāvatthi," King Pasenadī Kosala approached the Buddha and said, "Exalted One, I would not like to grant permission to those Kosambī monks to enter my kingdom." To this the Buddha replied, "Your Majesty, those Kosambī Monks are virtuous. It was only on account of dispute that they took no heed of what I said. Now they are coming to apologize to me. Let them come!"

Exalted One, I would not like to let them come into the monastery, said the king. As the Buddha rejected his desire as before the king only kept quiet.

[ 31 ] When the Kosambī monks arrived in Sāvatthi, the Buddha made special effort to keep the monks quiet and to provide them with accommodation at the outlying parts of the monastery. Not only other monks shunned company with them but all visiting monks of modesty asked the Buddha, "Who are the quarrelsome and contentious Kosambī bhikkhus, Exalted One?" The Buddha pointed out the monks, saying, "These are they!" As the virtuous visitors said, "We are told that the quarrelsome and contentious Kosambī monks are they: we are told that the Kosambī monks who defy the Buddha's words are they!" and pointed their fingers at them, the Kosambī monks felt so ashamed that they dared not raise their heads but threw themselves at the feet of the Buddha and begged his pardon. Then the Buddha said:

"Monks, you became bhikkhus under an Omniscient Buddha like me and although I myself tried to bring about harmony, you disobey me which was indeed a grave mistake on your part.

A good wise Bodhisatta of ancient times once listened to the advice of his parents, who were about to be killed and following their advice, secured kingship of two great countries later on though the parents had been put to death."

The Buddha then related the Kosambaka Jātaka (the story of Dīghāvu) in detail. The Buddha added:

In this way monks, although his parents were killed, the Bodhisatta Prince Dīghāvu, gave heed to the advice of his parents and eventually won the daughter of King Brahmadatta and became ruler of the two great kingdoms of Kāsi and Kosala. You dear sons, however, did not follow my word and committed so great a wrongdoing.

The Buddha then uttered the following stanza.

Pare ca na vijānanti, mayamettha yamāmase.
Ye ca tattha vijānanti, tato sammantimedhagā.

[ 32 ] "Here in the midst of the crowded assembly of monks, those who are foolish and quarrelsome, do not realize that "We are drawing near the King of Death every minute" as they lack the eye of wisdom. In that very assembly the wise monks who are brilliant, however, realize that they are approaching Death from moment to moment. On account of that realization do quarrels and disputes completely cease through right practice."

At the end of the verse the monks who had assembled there became established in Sotāpattiphala and higher states.

By means of these sermons did the Buddha save and convert human beings, Devas and Brahmās (in the Pālileyyaka forest for the whole period beginning from the end of the tenth vassa up to the beginning of the eleventh).

Here ends Chapter Twenty-Eight

1. Pārājika:"Any transgressor of these rules is defeated in his purpose in becoming a bhikkhu." The four offence of this kind are: (1) indulgence iṅ sexual intercourse, (2) taking with intenti

2. Saṃghādisesa: An offence of this kind entails formal meeting of the Saṃgha to decide the case and the action to be taken against the offender of the rule. The first of the 13 Saṃghādisesa offences is engagement in bodily contact with a woman through immoral thoughts.

3. Aniyata: The nature of such offence is to be determined whether it is Pārājika, Saṃghādisesa or not so grave Pācittiya as in the case of a monk who sits in a place secluded, unseen and convenient for an immoral purpose. The other case is when he does so in a place seen and inconvenient for an immoral purpose but convenient for talking immorally to the woman.

4. Nissaggiya: Offences of this kind involve forfeit and repentance, the first of them occurs when a bhikkhu keeps more than permissible number of robes: he has then to surrender the extra ones and confess his offence. See U Ko Lay, Guide to Tipiṭaka, pp. 11-12, Burma Piṭaka Association Rangoon. 1986.

5. Āsayānusaya Ñāṇa: The knowledge of inclinations and the latent tendencies.

6. Indriyaparopariyatti Ñāṇa: The knowledge of the dullness and keenness of faculties such as confidence, mindfulness, concentration, energy and wisdom. Nārada Mahāthera, The Buddha and His Teaching, Buddhist Publication Society, Kandy 1980.

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THE BUDDHA'S ELEVENTH VASSA AT BRAHMIN VILLAGE OF NĀḶA.

[ 33 ] As has been said before, after staying at Jetavana monastery in Sāvatthi as long as there remained beings to be converted, the Buddha journeyed again and in due course reached the Brahmin village called Ekanāḷa in the district of Dakkhiṇāgir

While dwelling thus at the monastery called Dakkhiṇāgiri, the Buddha did as usual two series of doings: (1) morning doings (pure-bhatta kicca, lit. before-meal doings) and (2) after-meal doings (pacchā-bhatta kicca). Having finished the morning doings, he did the after-meal doings which were of four series; at the end of the fourth series, the Buddha surveyed the world of sentient beings through the Buddha Eye (Buddha-cakkhu,) that consists of Āsayānusaya Ñāṇa and Indriya-paropariyatti Ñāṇa, and saw in his vision the Brahmin Kasibhāradvāja who had the potentials for Arahantship because of his past meritorious deeds. The Buddha also came to know thus:

On my visit to the Brahmin's cultivation site my conversation with him will take place. When the conversation is over, the Brahmin, having listened to my discourse, will attain Arahantship.

The Buddha therefore went to the Brahmin's farm and conversed with him and gave him a discourse called Kasibhāradvāja Sutta.

(The Kasibhāradvāja Sutta is contained in the Saṃyutta Nikāya. In this Chronicle the Sutta Nipāta and its Commentary will be based for my narration.)

[ 34 ] Five series of the Buddha's doings.

With reference to the Buddha's doings the Saṃyutta Nikāya Commentary and others enumerate five series whereas the Sutta Nipāta Commentary, combining the latter four, gives only two, namely, the morning series and the after-meal series. The idea, however, is the same. Hence two series according to the Sutta Nipāta Commentary and five series according to other Commentaries, namely, the doings in the first watch of the night (purima-yāma kicca), the doings in the middle watch (majjhima-yāma kicca), the doings in the last watch (pacchimayāma kicca). These five series of doings will be described in serial order so that readers might develop their devotion.

(1) The Buddha's morning doings (Pure-bhatta Buddha-kicca).

The Buddha rose early and, in order to honour his attendant monk with merit as well as to see to his own physical well-being, cleaned his body by washing his face first and spent the time by engaging in Phalasamāpatti in quietude till the time of going on alms-round. When that time came he adjusted his lower garment, girded his waist, put on his robe, took his bowl and entered the village sometimes alone and at other times in the company of monks. His entry into the village took place sometimes in a natural manner and at other times attended by miracles. For instance:

When the Buddha went to collect food, gentle breezes blew cleaning the ground before him. Clouds repeatedly sprayed water, putting the dust to rest along the way, and followed the Buddha like a canopy above him. The winds too blew bringing the blossoms from all the places and scattering them to make a bed of flowers all the way down. The natural high ground lowered itself and became even. So did the natural low ground become high and level with other parts of the ground automatically. Stones, pebbles, potsherds, stumps and thorns moved away of their own accord.

[ 35 ] When the Buddha put down his foot on the ground, the surface became even; or the lotus flowers, which were as big as carriagewheels and which provided a delightful touch, arose under the feet for ready support.

As soon as the Buddha laid his right foot on the threshold at the entrance to a town or a village, the six-hued rays streamed out from his body. As though they poured liquid of gold on edifices including square-roofed and pinnacled houses, or as though they covered them with exquisite drapery, the rays rushed from place to place making them all luminous with brilliant lights; horses, elephants, birds and other animals made agreeable sounds while remaining in their respective places; similarly, drums, harps and other musical instruments produced pleasant music without players. Ornaments such as necklaces, earrings, bangles, arm-bands, etc., worn by people, sounded sweet automatically. From these signs they knew "Today comes the Blessed One into our town (or village) for alms-food!"

Well-dressed and well-robed people came out of their houses with scents, flowers and other offerings in their hands. They gathered on the main road in the town-centre and paid obeisance with their offerings respectfully. They asked for monks as many as they could afford to feed, saying, "Venerable Sirs, give us ten monks," "Give us twenty", "Give us a hundred", and so on. They also took the alms-bowl of the Buddha and placed the seats and treated the monks to meals.

After partaking of his food, the Buddha instructed the devotees according to their inclinations so that some might be established in the three refuges, others in the five precepts, still others in one of the Fruitions of Sotāpatti, Sakadāgāmi and Anāgāmi and the rest in monkhood and Arahantship. In this way he uplifted the multitudes spiritually by teaching them the Dhamma and returned to the monastery.

On arrival at the monastery, the Exalted One took his Buddha seat readily made in the round flagrant pavillion and waited till the monks [ 36 ] had eaten their meals. When their eating was finished, the attendant monk informed the Buddha of this. Then only did the Buddha go into the scented chamber.

(All this was the Buddha's series of doings in the morning There were still others done in detail but not described here. These may be taken as recorded in the Brahmāyu Sutta of the Majjhima Paṇṇāsa Pāḷi.)

(2) The Buddha's after meal doings (Pacchā-bhatta Buddha-kicca).

As the meal business was over the Buddha sat down in the seat prepared by the attendant monk near the scented chamber (at the meeting place of the monks) and washed his feet. Then standing on the washing-board he exhorted the monks thus:

Monks, work out your completion of the threefold training by mindfulness. Hard indeed is to live in the time of the appearance of a Buddha in the world. Hard indeed is to have human life. Hard indeed is to have faith. Hard indeed is to have monkhood. Hard indeed is to hear (i.e., to have an opportunity of listening to) the True Law.

At such meetings some monks asked the Buddha about meditation. To them the Buddha gave meditation (methods) according to their inclinations. They all then paid obeisance to the Buddha respectfully and retired to their respective day-resorts or night-resorts, some going to the forest, some to the foot of a tree, some to certain places up in the hills while others to the celestial abodes of Catumahārājikā, Tāvatiṃsā, Yāmā, Tusitā, Nimmānaratī or Paranimmita Vasavattī.

Thereafter the Buddha entered the fragrant chamber and lay down on his right side if he wished for a moment without abandoning mindfulness. With his body eased he rose and surveyed the world of [ 37 ] sentient beings during the second portion (of the day). During the third period, however, as he was to live depending upon the village-resort for alms, residents of towns or villages, who had given morning alms, nicely dressed and robed, gathered in the monastery, bearing scents and flowers and other offerings, to listen to the Buddha's sermon in the afternoon. Then came the Buddha in a miraculous way agreeable to the audience and sat down in his sacred Buddha seat prepared in the Dhamma Hall (the round pavilion where sermons were delivered) there he gave a talk on the Dhamma appropriate to the length of the time available and dismissed the audience when he knew the time was up. The people, having saluted the Buddha, left the place.

[ 38 ] (All this was the Buddha's daytime series of doings after the meal.)

(3) The Buddha's doings in the first watch of the night (Purima-yāma Buddha-kicca).

Having finished his daytime doings after the meal the Buddha, if he wanted to bathe, rose from his Buddha seat and went to the place where the attendant monk had fetched the water for his bathing, taking the bath robe from the attendant's hand, he entered the bathroom.

While the Buddha was thus bathing, the attendant monk brought a seat for the Buddha and placed it somewhere in the fragrant chamber. Having bathed, the Buddha put on well-dyed and doubly folded robe, girding his waist, with his upper robe under the right arm and over the left shoulder, he then sat alone in the Buddha seat prepared in the fragrant chamber for a moment of recreation.

After a while the monks came from their respective day-resorts and night-resorts to wait upon the Buddha. At such meetings some monks presented their problems, some asked about meditation subjects, while others made requests for a discourse. To them all the Buddha gave his help by fulfilling thier wishes and spending early hours of the night.

(All this was the Buddha's series of doings in the first watch of the night.)

(4) The Buddha's doings in the middle watch of the night (Majjhima-yāma Buddha-kicca).

When the monks departed after paying their salutations to the Buddha as that series of the Buddha's doings was over. Devas and Brahmās from all over the ten thousand world systems took the opportunity of approaching the Buddha to ask their questions that had cropped up in their thoughts; they even raised queries that contained at least four syllables. The Buddha tackled their problems and all, leaving nothing unanswered. Thus he let the hours around midnight pass.

(All this was the Buddha's series of doings in the middle watch.)

(5) The Buddha's doings in the last watch of the night (Pacchima-yāma Buddha-kicca).

The last watch of the night (or the daybreak) was divided into three parts: the first part was used for walking up and down in order to ease his person that had been strained by his sitting posture since dawn; the second part was taken up by his lying down on his right without losing his mindfulness in the fragrant chamber; in the third part he rose from lying, sat cross-legged, surveying the world of sentient beings through his twofold Buddha-Eye, namely, Āsayānusaya Ñāṇa and Indriyaparopariyatti Ñāṇa, to find out individuals clearly, who had done in their past lives principal (adhikāra) meritorious deeds such as Dāna, Sīla, etc., in the presence of former Buddhas. This is the exposition given in the Saṃyutta Commentary, Sīlakkhandha Commentary and other works.

The exposition of the Sutta Nipāta Commentary, reads as follows:

[ 39 ] The morning time was divided into four periods: in the first period the Buddha walked to and fro; in the second period he lay down on his right side in the fragrant chamber without losing mindfulness, which was noble lying. The third period was spent by engaging in the Jhāna of Arahatta-phala-samāpatti. The fourth period saw his absorption in the Jhāna of Mahākaruṇā-samāpatti and his survey of the world of sentient beings by the aforesaid twofold Buddha-Eye so that he could see what beings were of less 'dust' in their eyes, what beings were of more 'dust' and so on.

(All this was Buddha's series of doings in the last watch of the night.)

Here ends the account of the five series of the Buddha's doings.

Thus it was customary for the Buddha to carry out diligently the five series of his doings each day wherever he stayed. In accordance with that custom, when the Buddha was now dwelling during the eleventh vassa at the Dakkhiṇāgiri Monastery too, he performed his duties; one day when he did "the survey of the world of sentient beings through his Buddha-Eye", which was one of his doings during the last watch of the night, he saw in his vision by his Omniscience the Brahmin Kasibhāradvāja who was endowed with adhikāra merit that would contribute to his attainment of Arahantship. On further reflection he foresaw thus: "The Brahmin will today hold the ploughing ceremony. When I get to his ploughing field my conversation with him will take place. At the end of my conversation, on listening to my discourse, he will don the robe and become an Arahant." The Buddha then remained at Dakkhiṇāgiri Monastery waiting for an opportune moment.

[ 40 ] Kasibhāradvāja's Ploughing Ceremony.

That day witnessed the ploughing ceremony of Kasibhāradvāja Brahmin, a native of Ekanāḷa village, (the Brahmin was so named because he belonged to the clan of Bhāradvāja and his occupation was farming). The Brahmin's programme for the first day of the festive ploughing and sowing was as follows:

Three thousand bulls of draught were kept in readiness. All their horns were dressed beautifully in gold sheaths and so were their hoofs in silver sheaths. All of them were adorned with white flowers and the scented prints of the five fingers. They all possessed the mark of best breed each with splendid head and four legs. Some had dark brown colour of colyrium stones, some had crystal white colour, some coral red while others were splotchy like masāragalla precious stone.

Likewise five hundred farm workers were completely in white garments and bedecked with fragrant flowers, their right shoulder bearing large floral wreaths, they were shining as they were besmeared with orpiment and realgar all over their bodies. When they set forth they did so in groups each having ten ploughs. The front of the ploughs, the yokes and the goads were covered with gold plates. Of the five hundred ploughs, the very first had eight bullocks harnessed to it; each of the remaining ones had four bullocks. The rest of the bullocks were brought as reserves to replace those tired. To each group of ten ploughs was attached a cartload of seeds. The ploughing was done by each farm-worker in turn. So was the sowing accomplished.

The landlord Kasibhāradvāja Brahmin himself had his beard and moustache groomed early, he had also bathed, applied paste of great fragrance to his body, put on his garment worth five hundred pieces and placed an upper robe worth a thousand on his left shoulder, each of his fingers had two rings, thus making twenty rings all together, his two ears wore ear-plugs with the design of the lion's mouth; his head was in a turban like that of the Brahma, a gold ornament with a pattern of [ 41 ] flowers was worn at his neck. Surrounded by a host of Brahmins, he supervised the work.

Thereafter the Brahmin lady, the housewife had many pots of milkfood cooked and brought by carts. She bathed with scented water, fully dressed herself and went to the work site in the company of Brahmin women.

In the Brahmin's house, too, every place was perfumed. Parched rice was strewned everywhere. Pots filled with water, banana-trees, flags, banners and streamers were used for decoration; and with scents, flowers etc., worship was done. In the field, flags cylinder-shaped and flat, were hoisted everywhere. Assistants, workers and those who assembled there numbered two thousand and five hundred; everybody was in new clothes and milk-food had been prepared for the two thousand five hundred people.

When everything was ready for the occcasion at the site, the Brahmin had his golden bowl, which was normally used for his eating, cleansed and filled with milk-food flavoured with butter, honey and molasses; he then had it offered in sacrifice to the god of the plough. The Brahmin lady had bowls of gold, silver, white copper and red copper distributed among the five hundred farm workers, and she herself fed them by pouring the milk-food into the bowls one after another with a cup-like ladle. After finishing the sacrifice to deities, however wearing iris sandals with red straps and holding a red walkingstick of gold, the Brahmin went from place to place to oversee as required, and to say, "Pour milk-food into this man's bowl! Put butter into this man's! Ladle out molasses into his!"

This was how the ploughing ceremony of the Brahmin landlord Kasibhāradvāja was held.

[ 42 ] The Buddha's visit to the ploughing ceremony.

At that time, while staying at the fragrant chamber, the Buddha knew that the feast of milk-food was going on and decided that "The time has come for me to exhort the Brahmin!"; accordingly he adjusted his lower robe, girded his waist, put on his upper robe, took his almsbowl, and went alone from the fragrant chamber to the place where the ploughing ceremony was taking place in full swing,

(Herein whenever the Buddha wished to collect alms-food, the stone alms-bowl in Inda-nīla blue (that had been presented by the four Guardian Deities) appeared automatically in the middle of the Buddha's two hands; it was not necessary for him to go elsewhere and bring it. As the bee comes to the place of a variety of flowers so the bowl presented itself to the Buddha.

(Herein one may ask: "Why did not the monks follow the Buddha? The answer is: When the Buddha was desirous of going alone, he entered the fragrant chamber at the time of collecting food in the morning and remained there after closing the door. From that hint the monks know "Today the Master wants to go alone into the town or the village. Surely the Master must have seen in vision somebody to convert." Knowing thus they took their respective alms-bowls and went on their rounds after circumambulating the fragrant chamber. On that day for the conversion of Kasibhāradvāja, too, the Buddha did in the manner already mentioned. That was the reason for the monks not going after the Buddha. This is the answer. )

At the time of the Buddha's visit, the Brahmin Kasibhāradvāja was still presiding the feast of milk-food for the members of his retinue. The Buddha then reached the-site of the feast and stood at a suitable place.

[ 43 ] Herein the Buddha's going to and standing on the feasting ground was just to grant his blessing to the Brahmin. In fact, he went there not because he wanted to partake of his share like a destitute. To elaborate: The Buddha had relatives numbering one hundred and sixty thousand, eighty thousand being maternal and eighty thousand paternal. These relatives could.afford to provide permanent sustenance by their wealth. Indeed the Buddha donned the robe not for food. Truly, he became an ascetic with the determination: "For countless aeons will I give the five great gifts and fulfil the Perfections. Thereafter, having liberated myself from saṃsāra, will I liberate conversion-worthy beings as much as I am liberated; having tamed myself with the restraint of the six senses, will I tame conversion-worthy beings as much as I am tamed; having calmed myself with the extinction of all the heat of moral defilements, will I calm conversion-worthy beings as much as I am calm; having attained myself the element of peace with regard to the body and defilements, will I make conversion-worthy beings attain as much as I do." Therefore it was because he wanted to liberate these beings as much as he had liberated himself from saṃsāra; it was because he wanted to tame those beings as much as he had tamed himself with the restraint of the six senses; it was because he wanted to calm those beings as much as he had calmed himself with the extinction of all the heat of the defilements; it was because he wanted to attain the element of peace with regard to the body and moral defilements that the Buddha wandered about the world; in his present wandering he went and stood there on the ground, where the feast of milkfood was in full swing, in order to show his favour to the Brahmin Kasibhāradvāja)

The Buddha, having stood at a place high enough for him to be seen and to be heard by Kasibhāradvāja, emitted his body-rays in the colour called pīta as though it were a mixture of gold liquid and yellow orpiment. Far brighter than the light of a thousand suns and a thousand [ 44 ] moons, the rays reached up to the distance of eighty cubits. Enveloped on all sides by the Buddha's body light, the walls of the Brahmin's workshop, the trees around and the lumps of turned-over earth and other objects looked like solid gold.

At that time the people who were helping themselves to the milkfood saw the peerless Buddha with the glowing Buddha-splendour. Accordingly they washed their hands and feet and, with their joined hands raised in adoration, they stood surrounding the Buddha. When the Brahmin beheld the Buddha thus surrounded by the people he became unhappy with the thought, "My work has been purposely disrupted!" Noticing the marks major and minor, the Brahmin wrongly remarked: "This monk Gotama, only if he were to work for his material progress he would have achieved something like the ruby hairpin worn on their heads by all the people in the whole Jambudīpa: He could have accomplished any sort of well-being! Yet, being lazy, he does nothing but eats the food that he gets at ploughing ceremonies and other functions; he goes about giving priority to the maintenance of his physical fitness." Because of his unhappiness and misapprehension, the Brahmin said to the Buddha contemptuously as follows:

O monk, I do the ploughing and sowing. Doing so I make a living. (Though I possess no marks like yours, my work is not adversely affected.) O Monk, you too should plough and sow like me. By so doing, live a happy life as I do. (To you who are endowed with the signs of greatness, what benefit will fail to accrue?)

(The Brahmin had already learnt that "The glorious Prince Siddhattha has come into being at the palace of the Sakyans in the city of Kapilavatthu! That prince has become an ascetic after renouncing the luxurious life of a Universal Monarch!" He therefore recognized that Prince Siddhattha was this monk. He said to the Buddha in the above manner because he meant to censure him, saying "Having given up the luxuries of a World King, should you (who have become a monk) now feel weary? Or as the-Brahmin was of sharp intelligence, he [ 45 ] said so not because he wanted to denounce him but because as he personally had witnessed the Buddha's attractive frame, desired to extol his wisdom and lead him into a dialogue.)

Then as he (the Brahmin Kasibhāradvāja), somebody worthy of conversation, was a farmer, the Buddha wanted to instruct him in accordance with his inclinations. In order to give a Dhamma-talk, revealing himself as the top ranking cultivator in the world of sentient beings with the Devas and Brahmas, the Buddha said:

O Brahmin, like you I too plough the field and sow the seeds and live happily thereby.

Then it occurred to Kasibhāradvāja, "This monk Gotama says 'I too plough the field and sow the seeds,' but I do not see his implements such as yoke, goad, etc., Is he telling me a lie or is he not?" Then the Brahmin looked at the Buddha and examined him from the feet to the top hair and saw clearly that the Buddha was fully endowed with the marks of a great man. He therefore pondered, "There is no reason for a man endowed with these marks to say what is untrue." At that moment there arose in him sense of adoration for the Buddha. Accordingly he abandoned such a rude mode of address as "Samaṇa (Monk)", and called him by his clan name and said:

We do not see the Venerable Gotama's yoke, plough, ploughshare, goad and bullocks. Even then you asserted, saying, Brahmin, like you I too plough the field and saw the seeds and live happily thereby."

The Brahmin then asked in verse:
Kassako paṭijānāsi
na ca passāma te kasiṃ.
Kasiṃ no pucchito brūhi
yathā jānemu te kasiṃ. (1)

[ 46 ] "(O Gotama,) you declare that you are a farmer. But I do not see your implements, (say, yoke, plough and others) that are required for farming. As you are now asked, please tell us in such a way that we might know all the implements (of yours, Gotama,) for farming."

To the complete question put forth by the Brahmin, the Buddha gave a complete reply in four verses, three containing the answers themselves and the fourth the conclusion. The text of the verses and their translations are as follows:

Answer in verse (1)

Saddhā bījaṃ tapo vuṭṭhi
paññā me yuga-naṅgalaṃ.
Hirī īsā mano yottaṃ
sati me phālapācanaṃ (2)

("O Brahmin of Bhāradvāja clan!) My faith is the seeds, the faith which is of four kinds: āgama¹ adhigama², okappana³ and pasāda⁴. (For these four, see the Pāthika-vagga Commentary and others works.) (a)

"My restraint of the six senses is the rainfall that contributes to the development of the plants. (b)

My Insight-Wisdom (Vipassanā-Paññā) and the fourfold Path-Wisdom (Magga-Paññā) are the yoke and the log of the harrow. (c)"

"My shame (hirī) and fear (ottappa) of evil deeds are the twin shafts of the harrow. (d)

[ 47 ] My mind generating concentration (samādhi) is the ropes which are of three kinds, one for tying, another for harnessing and a third for linking. (e)"

My mindfulness (sati) accompanied by Insight-Wisdom and that accompanied by Path-Wisdom are the harrow teeth and the goad. (f)

(N.B. The Brahmin asked exclusively about the yoke, harrow and other implements. But the Buddha answered by adding essential facts (though they were omitted in the question); he did so because of the analogy between the two root-causes [of faith and seeds]. Such a way of teaching is an asset of every Enlightened One. The Buddha, desirous of teaching by disclosing that asset, and by supplying the other required factors of the same analogy, said that his faith formed the seeds.

(Herein what is meant by "the anology between the two root-causes"? Did not the Brahmin ask only with reference to the implements such as yoke, harrow and the like? Then why did the Buddha talk about his faith by comparing it to the seeds and by bringing it into his answer though not mentioned in the Brahmin's question? If an answer contains something not asked about, is not it impertinent to the questions? (Although the Brahmin confined his questions to farm implements such as the yoke, harrow and the like, why did the Buddha touch upon extra things as well in his answers such as faith equalling the seeds and so on? Did not this render his answer irrelevant? Such queries might crop up.

(The answer is: Never did the Buddha speak without relevance. It was customary for the Buddhas to teach by introducing new facts by way of anoiogy.

(Here references should be noted as follows: The Brahmin Kasibhāradvāja asked about farming with reference to the yoke, plough and other implements. But the Buddha who was thus [ 48 ] asked did not leave out anything at all from his answer saying "Oh, this is not questioned by the Brahmin". Such regard on the part of the Buddha meant his care taken for the Brahmin out of compassion. Being desirous of speaking of farming from the very beginning so that the Brahmin might know the whole business together with the four points of (1) root-cause (mūla), (2)support (upakāra), (3) accumulation (sambhāra), and (4) result (phala) that were excluded from his questions. (Though the Brahmin failed to ask fully because his knowledge and wisdom was not deep enough, the Buddha tackled all the unasked but essential points as well in his answer because so great was his compassion.

(Further explanation: Seeds are the basic requirement for farming. No seeds, no farming. The quantity of seeds determines the amount of farm work. There is no farm work done more than what is demanded by the seeds. Hence the seeds are the principal root-cause of farming. On account of this, the Buddha desired to describe the task of farming beginning from that root-cause. Because the seed as the rootcause of secular farming, the theme of the Brahmin's question was analogous to the root-cause of spiritual farming of the Buddha, he also wished to add the very analogy. Hence his saying: "My faith is the seeds." (As has been said above, 'the analogy between the root-cause of secular farming, i.e. seeds and the root-cause of spititual farming, i.e. faith.' Thus the profound significance of this statement should be understood.)

(Again, it may be argued: "What the Brahmin asked should have been answered first. Yet, why did the Buddha answer first but not later what was not asked by the Brahmin?"

(The answer in brief. (1) Though the seed-like faith should be answered later, the Buddha answered it first because it would benefit the Brahmin much. (2) The rainfall-like sense-restraint and the seed-like faith are related to each other as [ 49 ] cause and effect; hence the rainfall-like sense-restraint was spoken of immediately after the seed-like faith though it should have been done so later on.

(The answer expanded: (1) The Brahmin was intelligent. But as he was born in a family of wrong views, his faith was very weak. One who is strong in intelligence but weak in faith does not believe others (not his teachers in the least); he does not practise what should be practised and is likely to fail thereby to attain the extraordinary Path and Fruition. In the person of this Kasibhāradvāja faith free from mental defilement was weak (because of his birth in a family of wrong views.) Therefore his weak faith combined with strong intelligence could not earn him the Path and Fruition. The combination is somewhat like a bullock yoked together with an elephant. It was the faith that would lead the Brahmin to that spiritual attainment. Therefore, in order to establish him in faith (which was required) did the Buddha, incomparably clever in teaching, taught faith first though it should come later.

(2) Rainfall is immensely beneficial to the seeds. The relationship between cause and effect could be fully appreciated only if the Buddha spoke of rainfall immediately after his reference to the seeds; hence the Buddha's answer concerning rainfall, which should have followed later, was given earlier (i.e., next to the answer concerning the seed-like faith.) (Not only the rainfall but also the shafts of the harrow, ropes, etc., the Buddha spoke of at their respective appropriate places in the sequence.) (The characteristics and other particulars of faith may be learned from the texts concerned.)

(The analogy between faith and seeds is this: The natural seeds, the basic cause of the secular farming of the Brahmin, did two, things: (1) shooting roots downwards, and (2) developing sprouts upwards. Similarly, the seed-like faith, the basic cause of the spiritual farming by the Buddha, performed two things:

[ 50 ] (1) shooting the roots of morality (sīla) downwards and (2) developing the sprouts of Tranquility (Samatha) and Insight (Vipassanā) upwards.

(Just as the natural seeds absorb the nutritious elements of the soil as well as of the water through the roots and grow up to bring maturity to the crop through their stems even so the seed-like faith absorbs the elements of Tranquility and Insight through the roots of morality and grows up to bring maturity to the crop of Noble Fruition (Ariya-phala) through the stem of Noble Path (Ariya-Magga).

Just as the natural seeds that lie in fertile soil attain development with their roots, sprouts, stems and ears, producing sap and paddy crop full of grains, even so the seedlike faith that lies in the fertile soil of the mental process attain development with moral Purity (Sīla-Visuddhi), producing the sap of the Noble Path (Ariya-Magga) and the crop of Arahantship full of Analytical Knowledge (Paṭisambhidā) and Higher Psychic Power (Abhiññā). Hence the Buddha's saying "My faith is the seeds".

With reference to the saying, "My restraint of the six senses is the rainfall": Just as the Brahmin's paddy seeds and the paddy-plants that had come out from the seeds always grew abundantly without withering because they received the help of the rainfall, even so the Buddha's morality (sīla), concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (paññā), that had their immediate cause in the seed-like faith constantly develop without weakening,

By this saying the Buddha pointed out the profound meaning as follows: "Brahmin, if it rains after you have sown the seeds, that is all right. If not, you have to provide water by yourself. As for me, I attach the yoke and plough of Insight Wisdom (Vipassanā-Paññā) and Path-Wisdom (Magga-Paññā) to the plough of shame (hirī) and fear (ottappa) by [ 51 ] means of the rope of concentration (samādhi); then harnessing the draughtbullocks of energy (vīriya) I prick and drive them with the goad of mindfulness (sati); thus I plough the fertile field of my mental process and sow the seed-like faith. Never has there been a time when the seed-like faith is deprived of rain water. Rain in the form of my restraint of the six senses is always falling on the fertile field of my mental process." (b)

[ 52 ] With reference to the Buddha's saying, "My Insight-Wisdom and Path-Wisdom are the yoke and the harrow": The Brahmin's yoke and harrow are analogous to the Buddha's Insight-Wisdom and Path-Wisdom. The yoke is the support for the harrow shafts. It lies before the latter, to which it is connected. It is also something on which the ropes depend. It serves by making the draught-bullocks move together. Likewise wisdom is the chief support of faultless virtues led by shame and fear. It is also the head and forerunner of faultless virtues. As it cannot exist without the shaft-like shame and fear, the latter should be bound up with the yoke of wisdom. As it is something on which the rope of concentration depends, it gives support to the latter. As wisdom checks both excessive and meagre exertions it serves it by regulating the movement in unison of the draught-bullocks of energy.

When harrowing is done, the log fitted with teeth breaks up the soil. It also destroys big and small roots. Similarly, when the Buddha's log of wisdom fitted with the teeth of mindfulness breaks up the four masses (ghana), namely, the mass of continuity (santati), the mass of composition (samūha), the mass of function (kicca) and the mass of sense-object (ārammaṇa). It also destroys all the big and small roots of mental defilements (kilesa). Hence the Buddha's saying, "My Insight-Wisdom and Path-Wisdom are the yoke and the harrow." (c)

With reference to the saying, "My shame and fear are the twin shafts of the harrow". Shame and fear are born together and exist together. When shame is experienced, fear also is then experienced. Hence the translation "My shame (hirī) and fear (ottappa) of evil are the twin shafts of the harrow."

Just as the Brahmin's harrow shafts hold on the yoke and the log, [ 53 ] even so the Buddha's twin shafts of shame and fear hold on the yoke and the log of Mundane Insight Wisdom (Lokīya Vipassanā Paññā) and Supra-mundane Path Wisdom (Lokuttara Magga Paññā) (as the existence of the two kinds of wisdom depends on that of the two: shame and fear of evil.) The yoke and the log do their respective jobs (as has been mentioned before) only when they are bound up with the shafts. Only then are they neither shaky nor loose (but remain tight and fastened). In the same way the (aforesaid) two kinds of Wisdom perform their respective duties only when they are bound up with the twin shafts ofshame and fear. Only then are they neither slackened nor weakened but remain tight and fastened and unmixed with unwholesome things that may arise from lack of shame (ahirīka) and lack of fear (anottappa): Hence the Buddha's saying: "My shame and fear of evil deeds are the twin shafts of the harrows.' (d)

With reference to the saying, "My mind is the ropes": The head word 'mind' means 'concentration'. Hence the translation "My mind generating my concentration is the ropes, which are of three kinds: one for tying, another for harnessing and the third for linking."

There are three kinds of ropes, one for tying, i.e. tying the shafts and yoke; another for harnessing, i.e. harnessing the draught bullocks to the yoke, and the remaining one for linking, i.e. linking the driver with the bullocks. Just as the Brahmin's three ropes kept the shaft, the yoke and the bullocks together and made them accomplish their respective tasks, even so the Buddha's rope of concentration helped him focus the shafts of shame and fear, the yoke of wisdom and the bullocks of energy on a single sense-object and made all these carry out their respective functions. Hence the Buddha's saying: "My mind generating my concentration is the ropes." (e)

With reference to the saying, "My mindfulness accompanied by Insight Wisdom and that accompanied by Path Wisdom are the harrow-teeth of the harrow and the goad." Just as the natural harrow-teeth guard and lead the harrow log, even so mindfulness guards Wisdom by exploring the perspective of wholesome things and bringing them into focus. In many Pāḷi Texts therefore the Buddha teaches mindfulness to be the protector. By never being negligent, the harrow-teeth of mindfulness precedes the harrow-log of wisdom. Indeed the factors that have been investigated by the preceding mindfulness are penetrated by the following wisdom.

Just as the natural goad, warning the bullocks of the danger of being pricked or beaten, gives them no chance of retreating and stopping, but checks their going astray, even so the goad of mindfulness, warning the bullock-like energy of the danger of falling into woeful states, gives it no chance of idling, retreating and stopping, and checks thereby its mental wandering in undesirable sensual pleasures; fastening it to meditation practice, it also deters the bullock-like energy from following the wrong path. Hence the Buddha's saying: "My mindfulness accompanied by Insight-Wisdom and that accompanied my Path-Wisdom are the harrow-teeth and the goad." (f)

Answer in Verse (2)

Kāyagutto vacīgutto
āhāre udare yato.
Saccaṃ karomi niddānaṃ
soraccaṃ me pamocanaṃ. (3)

[ 54 ] "(O Brahmin of Bhāradvāja clan! Just as you make your field secure by fences, even so) I (the Teacher of the three classes of beings) make the field of my mental process secure by the fences of threefold wholesome physical conduct and fourfold wholesome verbal conduct. (By this is taught Pātimokkha-saṃvara Sīla, Moral restraint under the Pātimokkha Rules. With regard to the use of the four requisites, I restrain myself well to avoid the twenty-one unlawful ways of acquisition. (By this is taught Ājīvapārisuddhi Sīla, Moral practice of living a life of purity. With regard to the stomach, I restrain myself well by eating moderately. (By this is taught Paccaya-sannissita Sīla, Moral practice of depending on requisites, represented by bhojane mattaññutā, knowledge of moderation concerning food,. Through the eightfold noble speech (ariya vohāra) the truthful words, I uproot the weeds of eightfold ignoble speech, (anariya vohāra), the weeds of falsehood. Arahantship, delight in the state called Nibbāna, means the outright removal of the harrow, complete giving up of the field and perpetual retirement belonging to me, the Teacher of the three classes of beings."

(The meaning here is: "Brahmin, just as you make after sowing the seeds a barrier of thorns, a barrier of trees, a barrier of logs or a barrier of bamboos, so that cattle, buffalos and deer could have no access to and destroy the crop, even so I, after sowing the seeds of faith, build the three big walls of Pātimokkha-saṃvara Sīla, Ājivapārisuddhi Sīla and Paccayasannissita Sīla so that cattle, buffalos and deer in the form of unwholesomeness such as passion, hatred, delusion, etc., could have no access to and destroy the crop of various meritorious deeds that I (who am a great farmer ) possess.

(Brahmin, just as you, after doing the external (bāhira) work of secular ploughing, with the hands or with the sickle, pull out and get rid of the weeds, which are damaging to the [ 55 ] crop, even so I, after doing the internal (ajjhattika) work of spiritual ploughing, pull out and get rid of the following eightfold ignoble speech, the weeds of falsehood:

(To say "I see" when seeing not),
(To say "I hear" when hearing not),
(To say "I attain" when attaining not),
(To say "I know" when knowing not),
(To say "I see not" when seeing),
(To say" I hear not" when hearing),
(To say "I attain not" when attaining),
(To say "I know not" when knowing).

(Of this eightfold ignoble speech, the weeds of falsehood, do I perform the pulling out, cutting off and eradicating with the hands or the sickle of eightfold noble speech, the truthful words such as:

(To say "I see not" when seeing not),
(To say "I hear not" when hearing not),
(To say "I attain not" when attaining not),
(To say "I know not" when knowing not),
(To say "I see" when seeing),
(To say "I hear" when hearing),
(To say "I attain" when attaining),
(To say "I know" when knowing).

("Brahmin, your removal of the harrow, your giving up of the field and your retirement is not for ever since you have to do the job of harrowing again in the evening, next day or next year. My removal of the harrow my giving up the field and my retirement is not like yours. Indeed, Brahmin, until my attainment of Arahantship, I knew no such thing as removal of the harrow, giving up of the field and retirement. I will explain further. Brahmin, since the lifetime of Dīpaṅkara Buddha I have not removed the harrow, given up the field and retired until I attained the Wisdom of the Path to Arahantship, Omniscience; for the whole period of four asaṅkhyeyya and a hundred thousand aeons, I had [ 56 ] to do the internal work of spiritual farming by harnessing the four big bullocks of right exertion or glowing energy to the harrow of Wisdom.)

("O Brahmin, after restlessly doing the spiritual farming for the aforesaid period of four asaṅkhyeyya and a hundred thousand aeons, only when I attained Arahantship that is encircled by all the attributes of a Buddha, sitting on the golden throne of Aparājita under the Mahābodhi, which indeed is peace, the end of all worries, did I take off the bullocks of energy from the harrow of Wisdom, give up the field of mental process and retire once and for all by engaging (as long as time permitted) in the Fruition of Arahantship. Now I have nothing at all to do with the work of farming again.")

Answer in verse (3)

Vīriyaṃ me dhuradhorayhaṃ
yogakkhemādhivāhanaṃ.
Gacchati anivattantaṃ
yattha gantvā na socati. (4)

("O Brahmin of Bhāradvāja clan!) My two kinds of energy (vīriya), physical (kāyika) and mental (cetasika), form a pair of draught bullocks that are harnessed to the harrow at the front; (or) my four kinds of fight exertion (sammappadhāna) are the four (two pairs of) draught bullocks. They (that pair of two bullocks of physical and mental energy of mine or those two pairs of bullocks of right exertion of mine) are able to lead me to Nibbāna that is free from the torment caused by the four bonds, namely, the bonds of sensual pleasure (kāma-yoga) and so on. Having gone to Nibbāma where a farmer like me would not grieve at all, to that Nibbāna free from grief, did I attain without returning through the power of Wisdom and Knowledge.

[ 57 ] (Explanation: Just as the Brahmin's harrow-log drew by a pair of draught bullocks harnessed at the front crushed earthmasses and destroyed big and small tree roots, even so the Buddha's log of Wisdom, drew forcefully by the twin bullocks of physical and mental energy crushed the fourfold earth-mass, namely, the mass of continuity (santati), the mass of composition (samūha), the mass of function (kicca) and the mass of sense-object (ārammaṇa), I also got rid of the big and small tree-roots of mental defilements.

(Alternatively, just as there were two pairs of bullocks (four bullocks in all,) for the Brahmin's harrow, one pair attached to the first yoke and the other attached to the next, even so there were at the Buddha's Dhamma-harrow fourfold right exertion corresponding to the Brahmin's two pairs of bullocks (four bullocks in all); just as the Brahmin's two pairs of bullocks attached to his harrow struggle energetically and accomplished two functioins, namely, the function of destroying the weeds that had grown as well as the weeds that would grow, and the function of generating the paddy plants, even so the Buddha's fourfold exertion corresponding to the Brahmin's two pairs of bullocks energeticallly struggled and accomplished two functions, namely, the function of removing unwholesomeness that had arisen as well as unwholesomeness that would arise, and the function of generating wholesomeness.

("O Brahmin, just as your two pairs of draught bullocks move in the direction of east, in the direction of west and so on as you drive them, even so the bullocks, i.e. my two pairs of right exertion of mine move straight to Nibbāna as I drive them in that direction; the difference between your moving and mine is this: when your two pairs of bullocks reach the edge (the ridge) of the field they turn back. But my two pairs of bullocks, i.e. my right exertion has been moving towards Niblāna without turning away since the lifetime of Dīpaṅkara Buddha.

[ 58 ] (Your two pairs of bullocks could not manage to reach the place where a farmer like you are free from sorrow. As for my two pairs of bullocks in the form of right exertion they have managed to reach the place of Nibbāna free from sorrow of a farmer like me.

Conclusion in verse
Eva mesā kasī kaṭṭhā, sā hoti amatapphalā
Etaṃ kasiṃ kasitvāna sabbadukkhā pamuccati. (5)

("O Brahmin of Bhāradvāja clan!) I (the Teacher of the three classes of beings) have done the Dhamma-ploughing in my person without interruption for four asaṅkhyeyya and a hundred thousand aeons. That Dhamma-ploughing of mine bears the fruit of Nibbāna with the rich taste of peace. (It bears that tasty fruit of Nibbāna not only for me, but for any one be he a Brahma, a Deva or a human) when the harnessing of the bullocks of right exertion and the Dhamma-ploughing is done in one's person without interruption one could absolutely be free from all suffering and have Nibbāna for his possession.

In this way did the Buddha, in delivering the sermon to Kasibhāradvāja Brahmin concluded it by fixing it with the pinnacle of Arahantship and leading up to the height of Nibbāna.

Having listened to the profound teaching, Kasibhāradvāja Brahmin came to a good understanding: "Despite my eating of the crop obtained from my ploughing, I feel hungry next day as usual. The Dhammaploughing of the Venerable Gotama, however, produces the fruit of Deathlessness called Nibbāna. Having partaken of that fruit of Deathlessness from the Dhamma-ploughing, one could liberate oneself from suffering once and for all." Thus the Brahmin developed devotion, understood clearly and desirious of doing what every devotee would do: he poured milk-food into the golden bowl meant for his own [ 59 ] use and worth a hundred thousand coins; then he added butter, honey, molasses, etc., to it so that it looked attractive to the palate; finally he covered the golden bowl with a white cloth and took it by himself and offered it respectfully to the Buddha with these words:

May the Venerable Gotama have the milk-food! The Venerable Gotama is indeed a ploughman, for he has done the Dhamma-ploughing which produces the crop of Nibbāna!

Then the Buddha delivered these two stanza to the Brahmin:

Gāthābhigītaṃ me abhojaneyyaṃ
sampassataṃ Brāhmaṇa nesa Dhammo.
Gāthābhigītaṃ panudanti Buddhā
dhamme satī Brāhmaṇa vattiresā.

O Brahmin of Bhāradvāja clan! The food obtained by uttering verses ought not to be enjoyed at all by me. Enjoyment of such food thus obtained is not the custom of Buddhas who observe purity of livelihood. (Therefore) they all reject the food obtained by uttering verses. O Brahmin of Bhāradvāja clan! When one observes purity of livelihood, one seeks the four requisites lawfully without being attached to any family just like stretching one's hand in space. Such is the way of making a living with purity by all Buddhas.

(Herein a question may arise: "Did the Buddha utter the verses to get the milk-food, for mention is made of the food obtained by uttering verses?" The answer is No, the Buddha uttered the verses not to get the food. In fact, he had not got even a ladlefull of food though he had stood near the field since that early morning; yet he uttered the three verses clearly describing how he performed the Dhamma-farming and thereby explaining fully the attributes of a Buddha.. And the food thus got happened to be like something acquired by dancers by dancing and singing. Hence "the food obtained by uttering [ 60 ] verses." Such food is not worth-eating by Buddhas. Hence "it ought not to be enioyed at all."

(The verse contains four lines: the first three lines point out the purity of the discourse by absolving the Buddha from any blame and accusation by the unwise who would say "By singing the song the monk Gotama made the unfaithful and displeased Brahmin desire to give, and thereby accepted the food. This discourse of the monk Gotama was intended to attract the material offering of the food." The fourth line indicates the purity of the Buddha's livelihood.)

When the Buddha uttered thus the Brahmin Bhāradvāja became sad, thinking "The Venerable Gotama has rejected my milk-food. He said it was not worth-eating. I am so unfortunate! I have been deprived of the opportunity of giving alms." He thought further, "If the Venerable Gotama does not accept my milk-food, it were well if he would accept something else from me." Then it occurred thus to the Buddha, who was aware of this: "After setting aside the hour for almsround I came here with the idea that I would arouse faith in the Brahmin within so limited a time. Now the Brahmin is dejected'; should he form a wrong attitude towards me through dejection, he would not be able to attain the penetrative knowledge of supreme Nibbāna." Being desirous of fulfilling the Brahmin's wish so that he would cultivate faith in him, the Buddha uttered the following verse:

Aññena ca kevalinaṃ mahesiṃ
khīṇāsavaṃ kukkucca-vūpasantaṃ
Annena pānena upaṭṭhahassu
khettaṃ hi taṃ puññapekkhassa hoti. (7)

("O Brahmin of Bhāradvāja clan! ) With food and drink other than this attend upon the Arahant, who is free from āsavas, endowed with all the attributes of a Buddha, the habitual seeker of such virtues as higher morality, whose scruples have been quenched. (Though the Buddha tried to arouse the desire in the Brahmin to give, he said only implicity.

[ 61 ] He did not say directly, "Give it to me, bring it to me.") Only a Buddha's dispensation with its eight marvellous characteristics is the excellent great field of fertile soil for you who have a bent on acts of merit."

Then the Brahmin Kasibhāradvāja thought, "I have brought this milk-food for the sake of the Buddha. Therefore I should not give it to somebody else of my own accord", and asked: "Venerable Gotama, in that case, whom should I offer this milk-food?" "O Brahmin," replied the Buddha, "neither in this world of celestial beings together with Devas, Māra and Brahmās nor in the world of human beings with ascetics, and Brahmins, princes and commoners, do I see nobody, apart from me or from my disciples, who can well digest that milk-food when eaten. Therefore, O Brahmin, you should dump it in a place without green grass or in the water without insects."

(Herein why could nobody among the Devas and human beings digest this milk-food? It could not be digested because this coarse human food was mixed with the soft and delicate food (ambrosia) of Devas. When the Brahmin was pouring the food intended for the Buddha, the Devas added ambrosia to it. (It could have been digestible if it were only pure ambrosia and eaten by Devas, and so would have been the unmixed milk-food eaten by men.)

(The milk-food being coarse, even though mixed with the soft ambrosia, Devas could not digest it, for Devas had delicate bodies and the food was indigestible for them. So was it for men because it contained ambrosia and men had coarse bodies.

(As for the Buddha, he could digest the milk-food mixed with ambrosia by virtue of his natural metabolism (Some Pitāka teachers attribute this ability to the Buddha's physical and mental powers.) For the Arahants (disciples of the Buddhas), too, the food was digestible because of their power of concentration and their knowledge of how to eat it in [ 62 ] moderation. This was not possible for others, not even for those with psychic powers. Or this should not be a matter for speculation. It concerns only Buddhas.)

The Brahmin Kasibhāradvāja floated the milk-food in the insect-free water. It at once made a sizzling sound and there arose much vapour from all sides just as a ploughshare (an iron bar) that has been baked the whole day sizzles and produces much vapour all round when it is dumped into water.

Thereupon the Brahmin Kasibhāradvāja became afraid with his hair standing on end, and approached the Exalted One; touching the feet of the Exalted One (with his head), he said:

"O Venerable Gotama! Very delightful indeed is your teaching! Just as an object lying prone is turned upside down, or a covered object is uncovered, or a man who has lost his way is shown the right way, or a torch is lighted in darkness in order that people with eyes may see different objects, so also the Venerable Gotama has clearly preached the Dhamma to me in many ways. O Venerable Gotama! I seek refuge in you, in the Dhamma and in the Saṃgha!

O Venerable Gotama! Let me be initiated! Let me be ordained under you!"""

The Brahmin Kasibhāradvāja became a monk under the Exalted One and not long after his ordination, the Venerable Kasibhāradvāja retired alone to a quiet place. There he practised the Dhamma, exerting his effort vigilantly and vigorously with his mind bent on Nibbāna. At last he attained Arahantship and became an Arahant.

(This account of the Brahmin Kasibhāradvāja is based on Kasibhāradvāja Sutta, the first volume of the Commentary on the Sutta Nipāta.)

Here ends Chapter Twenty-Nine.

1. Āgama-saddhā (āgamana-saddhā), faith inspired by the determination to become a Buddha.

2. Adhigama-saddhā (adhigamana-saddhā), faith inspired by the attainment of the Path and Fruition.

3. Okappana-saddhā, faith inspired by the understanding of the attributes of the Triple Gem.

4. Pasāda-saddhā, faith inspired by the sight and sound of what is pleasing to the heart.

VOLUME_4
PART_
CHAPTER_30

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THE BUDDHA'S TWELFTH VASSA IN VERANJĀ CITY.

[ 63 ] Having thus spent the eleventh vassva at the Brahmin village of Ekanāḷa, giving discourses such as Kasibhāradvāja Sutta and others to those who were worthy of conversion including Kasibhāradvāja, the Buddha set out from the village at the en

The Brahmin Verañjā's visit to the Buddha.

Then the Brahmin Verañjā heard the good news (as follows) "Friends, the Monk Gotama, the Sakyan prince who has become an ascetic, is staying together with five hundred highly virtuous monks near the neem tree occupied by the demon Naḷeru near this city, Verañjā of ours. The good reputation of the Venerable Gotama goes up to Bhavagga, overwhelmingly spreading all over thus:

"That Buddha is called Arahaṃ because he is worthy of special honour;
He is called Sammāsambuddha because he understands all phenomena perfectly by himself;"
"He is called Vijjācaraṇa-sampanna because he is endowed with wisdom and practice;
He is called Sugata because he speaks good words;"
"He is called Lokavidū because he knows the three worlds analytically;
[ 64 ] He is called Anuttaro purisa-dammasārathi because he is an incomparable tamer of those who ought to be tamed;"
"He is called Satthā deva-manussānaṃ because he is Teacher of Devas and men;
He is called Buddha because he realizes the Four Truths by himself and let others realize them;"
"He is called Bhagavā because he is endowed with the sixfold glory.
That Exalted One comprehends the world of space (okāsa-loka)with its Devas, Māra and Brahmās as well as the world of beings (satta1oka) with its monks and Brahmins, princes and commoners, through his peculiar wisdom, and teaches them."
The Exalted One proclaims the Dhamma that is good in all its three phases, the beginning, the middle and the end, and that is also complete with the letter and the spirit. (Nothing new is to be added.) He taught the noble practice that is perfect and pure all round. (There is no flaw to be taken out.) The sight of such a sage, Arahant, is indeed wonderfu Thus learned the Brahmin.

Thus the Brahmin Verañjā visited the Buddha and exchanged words of joy with him. Having thus exchanged words of joy and wordsworthy of remembrance, the Brahmin took his seat free from the sixfold fault; thereafter he began to censure the Buddha:

O Venerable Gotama, I have heard that the Monk Gotama neither bows down-nor gives a welcome nor extends an invitation to seats to old, aged, mature Brahmins of previous generations nearing the end of their lives; O Venerable Gotama, what I have heard happens to be true. Indeed you, Venerable Gotama, neither bow down no give a welcome nor extend an invitation to seats to old, aged, mature Brahmins of previous generations nearing the end of their lives. O Venerable Gotama, doing no reverential act such as bowing, etc., is indeed outright unfair.

[ 65 ] Being untainted with the two defects of exalting oneself (att'ukkaṃsana) and humiliating others (paravambhana) but with his calm heart sprinkled with the clear water of great compassion (mahākaruṇā), and desiring to dispel the Brahmin's ignorance and to point out fairness on his part, the Buddha said:

O Brahmin, in the world of space with its Devas, Māra and Brahmas and in the world of beings with its monks and Brahmins, princes and commoners, I see nobody who deserves my respect, my welcome, or my invitation to seats; should I even casually pay respect, give a welcome or extend an invitation to seats to somebody, then his head will break off and fall to the ground.

Despite such a reply made by the Buddha, Verañjā, being unwise did not grasp that the Buddha was the greatest in the world; instead he became irritated at the words rightly uttered by the Buddha; so he charged.

(1)"The Venerable Gotama is a man of tasteless nature".

In order to soften the Brahmin's heart, the Buddha did not give a directly opposite answer; and in order to show that there was reason for him to be called in a way 'a man of tasteless nature', he said:

O Brahmin, there is reason for speaking of me, 'The Monk Gotama is a man of tasteless nature' (The reason is this:). O Brahmin, pleasure in forms, pleasure in sounds, pleasure in odours, pleasure in tastes, and pelasure in touch - all these pleasures I have rejected. O Brahmin, for this reason, let one speak of me if one so desires, 'The Monk Gotama is a man of tasteless nature'. But we Buddhas do not absolutely have the kind of reason meant by you.

(Herein what the Brahmin meant was: "bowing, welcoming, raising folded palms and paying respect in the world are styled [ 66 ] sāmaggī-rasa. (the taste that creates harmony between one another). That sāmaggī-rasa was totally absent in the Venerable Gotama. That was why he accused the Buddha saying, The Venerable Gotama is a man of tasteless nature, i.e. he is entirely devoid of sāmaggī-rasa."

(On the other hand, the Buddha meant that pleasure in forms, pleasure in sounds, pleasure in odours, pleasure in tastes, pleasure in touch, each of these five can be called sāmaggī-rasa, for each comes into being only when such factors as object, sense, etc., combine harmoniously. As all this sāmaggīrasa had been uprooted by him, he was free from all these five kinds of sāmaggī-rasa. With that meaning in mind, one might label him a tasteless man if one so desires, but he declared "We Buddhas do not absolutely have the kind of reason meant by you."

(In this connection, "Why did the Buddha assert "We Buddhas do not absolutely have the kind of reason meant by you.? Did not this amount to acknowledging the supposition that the Buddha should observe sāmaggī-rasa (such as bowing, etc.) as meant by the Brahmin?" Such a question may arise.

(The answer is that it did not. Explanation: He who should but did not observe sāmaggī-rasa (bowing, etc.) meant by the Brahmin, deserved the label, 'a man without good taste', for he showed no sāmaggī-rasa though he was required to do so. As for the Buddha, he even had nothing whatsoever to do with sāmaggī-rasa (bowing, etc.) meant by the Brahmin (for he was the greatest in the three worlds). Therefore, in order to point out the fact clearly that he was above such an observance, the Buddha declared "We do not absolutely have the kind of reason meant by you.")

[ 67 ] Being unable to put the blame on the Buddha thus for his lack of sāmaggī-rasa demanded by him, the Brahmin, willing to make another charge, said:

(2) "The Venerable Gotama is a useless person".

In order to show that there was different reason for him to be called as such, the Buddha said:

O Brahmin! There is reason for speaking of me, 'The Monk Gotama is useless.' (The reason is this:) O Brahmin, use (paribhoga) of forms, use of sounds, use of odours, use of tastes and use of touch, with lust and greed, all these uses I have rejected. O Brahmin, for this reason (absence of paribhoga, use of the five sense-objects with lust and greed) let one speak of me if one so desires. 'The Monk Gotama is a useless person.' But we Buddhas do not absolutely have the kind of reason meant by you.

(Herein what the Brahmin meant was: "Bowing and other acts of respect shown to one's elders are recognized in the world as sāmaggī-paribhoga, use for harmony; as there was no making of such use on the part of the Buddha, he was accused, saying, 'The Monk Gotama is a useless man.'

(According to the Buddha, he had done away with use of the five sense-objects, namely, forms, sounds, odours, tastes and touch with lust and greed; he was thus free from such enjoyment. He approved therefore that, with that meaning in mind, one might speak of him as a useless man. )

Being also unable to put the blame on the Buddha thus, the Brahmin, willing to bring another charge, said again:

[ 68 ] (3) "The Venerable Gotama is a believer in non-action (akiriya-vāda)".

In order to show as before that there was different reason for him to be called as such, the Buddha said:

O Brahmin! There is reason for speaking of me, 'The monk Gotama is a believer in non-action!' (The reason is this:) O Brahmin, I declare that the three physical evils, the four verbal evils, the three mental evils, and all the remaining unwholesome deeds should not be done. For this reason (of my declaration that evil deeds should not be done, which is belief in nonaction), let one speak of me if one so desires, 'The Monk Gotama is a believer in non-action' But we Buddhas do not absolutely have the kind of reason meant by you.

(Herein what the Brahmin meant was: All the people in the world practise kuda-cāritta, the practice of clansmen, such as bowing before one's elders and so on. As the Buddha did not practise that he was labelled 'a believer in non-action.'

(The Buddha, however, meant that he taught that evil deeds should not be committed, which might be taken as akiriya-vāda. He approved therefore that, with that meaning in mind, one might speak of him as 'a believer in non-action.'

Being also unable to blame the Buddha thus, the Brahmin, willing to bring another charge, said again:

[ 69 ] (4) "The Venerable Gotama is a believer in annihilationism (uccheda-vāda)."

In order to soften the Brahmin's heart the Buddha desired as in the previous cases to show that there was different reason for him to be called as such and said:

O Brahmin, there is reason for speaking of me, 'The Monk Gotama is a believer in annihilationism' (The reason is this:) O Brahmin, I give instruction to annihilate passion (rāga), to annihilate hatred (dosa), to annihilate delusion (moha), (and also) to annihilate other evil deeds. O Brahmin, for this reason (instruction as to the annihilation of passion, hatred, delusion and other evil deeds, which is annihilationism), one may speak of me if one so desires, 'The Monk Gotama is a believer in annihilationism' But we Buddhas do not absolutely have the kind of reason meant by you.

(Herein as the Brahmin did not see the Bdddha's act of respect such as bowing, etc., shown to old people, he thought "The worldly tradition of paying respect had been destroyed on account of the Monk Gotama" and labelled him 'an annihilationist.')

(The Buddha, however, taught people to do away with greed, hatred and delusion and other evil acts by means of their respective kinds of Path-knowledge. He approved therefore that, with that meaning in mind, one might speak of him as an annihilationist.')

Being also unable to put the blame on the Buddha thus, the Brahmin willing to bring another charge, said again:

[ 70 ] (5) "The Venerable Gotama is a man having the nature of loathing".

In order to show as before that there was different reason for him to be called as such, the Buddha said:

O Brahmin, there is reason for speaking of me, 'The Monk Gotama is a man having the nature of loathing' (The reason is this:) O Brahmin, I loathe the three physical evils, the four verbal evils, the three mental evils, and other evil deeds. O Brahmin, for this reason, (loathing of the evil deeds) one may speak of me if one so desired, 'The Monk Gotama is a man having the nature of loathing.' But we Buddhas do not absolutely have the kind of reason meant by you."

(Herein the Brahmin thought that the Buddha did not follow the practice of clansmen, kula-cāritta, such as bowing before one's elders and so on, only because he loathed them. Therefore the Brahmin labelled him, 'a man having the nature of loathing.'

(The Buddha, however, meant that he loathed the evil deeds and approved therefore that, with that meaning in mind one might speak of him as 'a man having the nature of loathing.')

Being also unable to put the blame on the Buddha thus, the Brahmin willing to bring another charge, said again:

(6) "The Venerable Gotama is a destroyer".

In order to show as before that there was different reason for him to be called as such, the Buddha said:

O Brahmin, there is reason for speaking of me, 'The Monk Gotama is a destroyer' (The reason is this:) O Brahmin, I give instruction to destroy passion, to destroy hatred, to destroy [ 71 ] delusion, (and also) to destroy other evil deeds. O Brahmin, for this reason, (instruction as to the destruction of passion, hatred, delusion and other evil deeds,) let one speak of me if one so desires, 'The Monk Gotama is a destroyer.' But we Buddhas do not absolutely have the kind of reason meant by you.

(Herein as the Brahmin did not see the Buddha's act of respect such as bowing, etc., shown to old people, he thought the Buddha was a great destroyer of this greatest practice of paying respect to an elder, vuddhapacāyana, and labelled him a destroyer.

The Buddha, however, taught people to remove and eliminate passion, hatred, delusion, (and the remaining) evil deeds. He approved therefore that, with that meaning in mind, one might speak of him as 'a destroyer'.

Being also unable to put the blame on the Buddha thus, the Brahmin, willing to bring another charge as before, said again:

(7) "The Venerable Gotama is a tormentor".

In order to show as before that there was different reason for him to be called as such, the Buddha said:

O Brahmin, there is reason for speaking of me, 'The Monk Gotama is a tapassī, eliminator of tormenting things. (The reason is this:) O Brahmin, I proclaim that the three physical evils, the four verbal evils, the three mental evils, and all (the remaining) unwholesome deeds are tormenting things tapanīya dhammas (things causing sorrow to all humans and other beings). Brahmin, I declare that one who has eliminated those evil deeds is a tormentor of tormenting factors. O Brahmin, I, who am a good wayfarer like former Buddhas, have eliminated those evil deeds. O Brahmin, for this reason (of eliminating the [ 72 ] tormenting evil deeds called tapa), let one speak of me if one so desires that 'The Monk Gotama is a tormentor.' But we Buddhas do not absolutely have the kind of reason meant by you.

(Herein what the Brahmin meant was this: Those who perform an act of respect such as bowing, etc., delighted old people. Those, who did not, tormented the hearts of the latter. The Buddha did not perform that. Therefore the Brahmin thought the Monk Gotama was a tormentor to the aged and labelled him as such.

(The Buddha, however, called evil deeds tormenting factors, tapa dhammas, because they tend to torment the world of beings. The elimination of these evil deeds had been done on his part. "He who has done away with evil deeds is a tapassī," so goes a definition ("Tape assī ti tapassī''). He therefore approved the label given to him: 'an eliminator of tormentors', or rather 'a tormentor of all evils' known as tapa.)

Being also unable to put the blame on the buddha thus, the Brahmin willing to bring another charge, said finally:

(8) "The Venerable Gotama is a man far from rebirth in the Deva world".

As the buddha had got rid of all four forms of future rebirth, he desired to show in a different manner that he was free of rebirth, apagabbha, and said:

O Brahmin, there is reason for speaking of me, 'The Monk Gotama is far from rebirth.' (That reason is;) O Brahmin I proclaim that one (an arahant) who has rejected the four ways of birth that would take place in future is an apagabbha person, one beyond rebirth. O Brahmin, I, who am a good wayfarer like [ 73 ] former Buddhas, have utterly destroyed all these four ways of rebirth. O Brahmin; for this reason (of having uprooted all means of birth in future), one may speak of me if one so desires that 'The Monk Gotama is an apagabbha person, a man beyond rebirth. But we Buddhas do not absolutely have the kind of reason meant by you.

(Herein what the Brahmin meant was this: paying respect to one's elder such as bowing, etc., was a meritorious act that was conducive to rebirth in the divine abode. Believing thus he labelled the Buddha "a man far from rebirth in the Deva world!", for he saw him doing nothing of that respectful gestures. Therefore the Buddha had no chance to attain the celestial realm; instead he would abide in the womb of a mother in the human world in future which was disgusting.)

(The Buddha, however, meant that he had no future birth whatsoever; he therefore approved the label given to him: 'a man away from rebirth.')

Though the Brahmin Verañja had thus condemned the Buddha with the eight charges such as 'a man of tasteless nature', and so on, from the outset of his meeting, the latter, the Buddha set his both eyes on him with tranquility out of compassion. Just as the round full moon rises in the cloudless sky, just as the sun shines high in autumn, even so the Buddha, being Omniscient, became desirous of dispelling the darkness of ignorance that lay in the Brahmin's heart. Thus he 'had turned those charges made by the Brahmin-into words of honour to him.

Now the Buddha was to show the magnificence of his compassion and the earth-like mind that was unshaken by the eight conditions of the world and the calm heart undisturbed however much others would abuse him; he reflected:

This Brahmin thoughtlessly believes that he is senior (to me, the Buddha) only on account of the conventional marks of his [ 74 ] old age such as grey hair, broken teeth, wrinkles of the skin, and the like. He knows not even a bit that he is being followed closely by the danger of rebirth, besieged by the danger of old age, overwhelmed by the danger of ill health, threatened by the danger of death; nor does he realize that as a stump in saṃsāra he would die today and would become a child (a messenger of the King of Death) lying on its back tomorrow. However, he came to me with great effort. Let his visit to me be a beneficial one

In order to make clear that he was peerless, eldest, and foremost among beings, the Buddha elaborately delivered his discourse in the following manner:

O Brahmin, suppose a hen has eight eggs, (or) ten, (or) twelve. 'Suppose the hen does her three jobs: she sits well on the eggs, provides them well with heat, and imbues them well with her odour. (Of all the chicks that lie in the eggs so treated) one comes out first with ease after breaking the shell with its claws and beak. Would you call it senior or junior? asked the Buddha. "O Venerable Gotama, it should be called senior. Of all the chicks, the little one (that has come out first after breaking the shell) is the oldest (as its making of appearance is the earliest)," answered the Brahmin.

Then the Buddha said: "O Brahmin, in the same way, of all beings lying in the shell of ignorance (avijjā) and being wrapped up all round by the shell of ignorance, I alone in the world have realized first the unmatched, supreme Path Knowledge of Arahatship and Omniscience after breaking through the shell of ignorance. O Brahmin, I (therefore) am the oldest of all existing in the world of sentient beings.

(Herein an explanation of the simile may be made as follows. Now with reference to the part of the upamāna, the second part of the comparison, which is the little chicks: the eggs do not rot because the mother-hen treats them in three ways, namely, by sitting on them, by providing heat to them and by imbueing [ 75 ] them with her odour. The wet outer membranes then dry up. The egg-shells also become thinner and thinner day by day. The claws and the beak of the chicks grow bigger and harder. The little birds get stronger. Since the shells become thinner and thinnet as days go by, the light outside the shells penetrates them. Then the chicks think, "For a long time we have stayed in the confinement with our legs and wings cramped. The light appears outside. We shall live outside comfortably where the light is." Desirous of coming outside, they kick the shells with their legs. They also forcefully stretch out their necks. Therefore the eggs are broken into halves. The chicks then emerge from the shells, flapping their small wings and chirping for the moment. Of all these chicks the one that comes out first should be styled seniormost.

With reference to the upameyya, the first member of the comparison which is the Buddha (it will be explained not separately but in relation to the upamāna): The three forms of the hen's treatment, namely, sitting, heating and imbueing with her odour, may be likened to the Buddha's three acts of contemplation (anupassanā) on impermanence (anicca), suffering (dukkha) and non-self (anatta) under the Great Bodhi Tree while as a Bodhisatta. The egg's being unrotten due to the hen's threefold treatment may be likened to the non-shrinkage of the Bodhisatta's Insight Wisdom (Vipassanā Ñāṇa) due to his threefold contemplation. The drying up of the wet outer membrane of the egg due to the hen's threefold treatment may be likened to the cessation of the Bodhisatta's craving (nikanta taṇhā) for the three existences due to his threefold contemplation. The shells' gradual thinning day after day due to the hen's threefold treatment may be likened to the thinning of the shell of ignorance step by step on the part of the Bodhisatta due to his threefold contemplation. The growing bigger and harder of the claws and the beaks of the chicks due to the hen's threefold treatment may be likened to the growing sharper, firmer, clearer and more confident of the Bodhisatta's Insight-Wisdom due to his threefold contemplation. The time of the growth of the chick's claws and beak due to the hen's threefold treatment may be likened to the time of maturity, the time of development and the time of perfection of the Bodhisatta's Insight [ 76 ] Wisdom which was due to his threefold contemplation. The moment of the happy emergence of the chick flapping its small wings after kicking the shell with its legs and striking the shell with its beak and thus breaking open the shell which was due to the hen's threefold treatment may be likened to the moment of the Bodhisatta's realization of the attributes of a Buddha with ease after attaining the Insight-Wisdom and breaking open the shell of ignorance by means of the Path of Arahatship won in due course and flapping the wings of Psychic Powers-all this being due to his threefold contemplation.)

Therefore, in order to continue to show that "By this practical means have I attained the stage of incomparable supremacy", the Buddha elaborately related how he endeavoured in meditation through the fourfold diligence at the Mahābodhi Maṇḍala; how he gained as a result mundane (lokiya) Jhānas; how he acquired the Psychic Power (Abhiññā) of remembrance of his former existences (Pubbenivāsañāṇa) as a result of meditation based on the mundane Jhānas in the first watch (of the full moon of Vesakha, in the year 103 Mahā Era) and was born first by noble birth (ariya-jāti) after, with the beak-like Psychic Powers, breaking open the shell of ignorance that had concealed the series of his past bodies; how he had acquired the Psychic Power of the Divine Eye (Dibba-cakkhu) in the middle watch of that night and was born for a second time by noble birth after, with the beak-like Psychic Powers, breaking open the shell of the ignorance that had concealed his rebirths after death (cuti-paṭisandhi); how he had acquired the Path Knowledge of Arahantship (the third enlightening Knowledge) named Āsavakkhaya in the last watch of the same night and was born for a third time by noble birth after, with the beak-like Psychic Powers, breaking open the shell of ignorance that had concealed the Four Noble Truths. (A more detailed account may be [ 77 ] read in the Myanma translation of the Pārājikakaṇḍa Pāḷi where the life of Verañja is dealt with)

Verañja's taking of refuge.

In this way, when the Buddha, out of great compassion for the Brahmin Verañja, had thus related his being great by noble birth through the discourse, clearly describing the threefold Knowledge, the Brahmin became rapturous both physically and mentally, came to know the greatness of the Buddha and reproached himself" I have wrongly accused the Omniscient Buddha, who is thus supreme among the three worlds of individuals and endowed with all virtues, by saying that 'he has failed to show respect to old people!' Ignorance, friends, is disgusting indeed!" Being convinced that "this Gotama is the foremost, for he was born first by noble birth in the world; unique in all virtues he is also the best", the Brahmin supplicated to the Buddha as follows:

The greatest in the world indeed is the Venerable Gotama! The best in the world indeed is the Venerable Gotama! It is very delightful indeed, O Venerable Gotama! It is very delightful indeed, O Venerable Gotama! To use a worldly simile, just as what was turned upside down has been turned upside up; just as what was covered has been uncovered; just as one following the wrong path has been told the right path; just as a torch has been lighted in the dark so that those who have eyes will see a variety of things; even so the Venerable Gotama has taught me the Dhamma in many ways I approach, O Venerable Gotama, and recognize the Venerable Gotama, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha, as my shield, shelter and refuge. From today onwards, O Venerable Gotama, kindly take me as a lay devotee (upāsaka) established in the threefold refuge for life!

Having taken refuge, the Brahmin begged saying: "May the Venerable Gotama observe the vassa together with the community of [ 78 ] monks in Verañja as an act of grace done to me!" Keeping silent the Buddha agreed to do as requested by the Brahmin. Clever in behavioral studies, the Brahmin reflected, "If the Venerable Gotama does not accept my word, he should have rejected it by deed or by word, now that he assumes no appearance of refusal, but of consent, he must have accepted it in his heart." Having known the Buddha's acceptance he stood up from his seat and paid obeisance to the Buddha from the four quarters and encircled the Buddha three times, keeping him at his right. Though he had blamed the Buddha since his arrival before him for showing no signs of reverence to elders, he was not content at all in repeatedly doing homage to the Buddha in all three manners-physically, verbally and mentally now that he had analytically understood the Buddha's virtues; placing his folded hands on his head and facing in the direction of the Buddha as far as he could see, he withdrew, walking backward; it was only at the point where he lost sight of the Buddha that he finally made obeisance to his heart's content and departed.

At the request of the Brahmin Verañjā the Buddha observed the twelfth vassa in the city of Verañja with the five hundred monks.

Famine in Verañjā City.

At that time Verañjā was short of food. It was hard to make a living there. There were white bones all over the city. People had to draw lots for their living. (Therefore) it was not easy for the monks to get enough food by going round with alms-bowl in their hands. Horse-merchants of the Uttarāpatha Northern Region were then staying with five hundred horses in Verañja to take shelter from showers of rain during the rainy season. At the horse-yards the merchants made a regular donation of one pattha of barley to each monk. When the monks entered the city in the morning for alms-food and did not get any, they went to the horseyards and each received one pattha of barley which they brought to the monastery and pounded in small mortars and had it.

[ 79 ] N.B. Travelling was impossible on account of heavy rains during the four months of the rainy season in Verañjā. Hence the horse-merchants' stay there to take shelter from the rains. They had lodges and stables built and enclosures made on unflooded grounds outside the city for such a stay. These sites of the horse-merchants were known as horse-yards.

(They brought the barley which they had steamed to make it last long and free from worm-holes and which they had husked so that they might use it as horse-food where grass and such fodder were not available. These merchants (of the Uttarāpatha) were not faithless like the people of the Dakkhiṇāpatha. They had faith and cherished the Triple Gem. One morning when they went into the city on business they found the monks in groups of seven or eight going about for alms but getting nothing; and they discussed among themselves: "These good monks are observing the vassa depending on this Verañja City. But there is famine here. Not getting a bit of food they are immensely troubled. Since we are visitors we are not capable of providing them with rice gruel and food daily. But our horses get food twice a day, once at night and once in daytime. It will be good to take one pattha of barley out of the morning fodder of each horse and give it to each monk. If we do so the good monks will not be hard pressed; and the horses will still have enough food." They then went to the monks and reported the matter; they also requested them saying "Venerable Sirs, please accept one pattha of barley and make it food in a befitting way and have it." Hence their regular offering of one pattha of barley to each monk every day.

(When the monks entered Verañja in the morning for almsfood and went round the whole city they did not get in the least a word of excuse, let alone food; it was only when they reached the horse-yards ouside the city that each of them get one pattha of barley and brought it to the monastery. Since there were no [ 80 ] lay attendants to make gruel or food for them and as it was not proper to do the cooking by themselves, they formed groups of eight or ten and pounded the barley in small mortars; each consumed his share after adding whter to it, for they thought "In this way we shall have light livelihood (sallahukavutti) and be free from the wrongdoing of cooking by oneself (sāmāpāka-dukkaṭa āpatti). After consumption did they engage in ascetic practices without worry.)

For the-Buddha, however, the horse-merchants donated one pattha of barley and the proportionate amount of butter, honey and molasses. The Venerable Ānanda brought the offerings and ground (the barley) on a stone slab. Anything prepared by a man of merit and intelligence is naturally delightful. Having ground the barley, he mixed it with butter, etc., and offered it to the Buddha. Then Devas put ambrosia into the ground barley. That same ground barley the Buddha partook of and spent the time by engaging in Phala-samāpatti. Since the arrival of famine the Buddha had not moved about for alms.

(Herein it may be asked whether the Venerable Ānanda was an attendant (upaṭṭhāka) to the Buddha during the vassa period in Verañja. Answer: He was, but he had not held the post yet. Explanation: During the first Bodhi period (the first twenty years of his ministry) the Buddha had no permanent personal attendant. Sometimes he was served by Nāgasamāla Thera, sometimes by Nāgita Thera, sometimes by Meghiya Thera, sometimes by Upavāna Thera, sometimes by Sāgata Thera, sometimes by Sunakkhatta, a Licchavī prince before his ordination. These monks waited upon the Buddha of their own accord and left him when they so desired.

When the aforesaid monks were serving, the Venerable Ānanda remained unconcerned, and he personally performed all his duties big and small on their departure. The Buddha also accepted him, for he thought, "This worthy relative of mine, Ānanda, is the best to serve me in all these matters of such [ 81 ] nature though he has not secured the post of my personal attendant." Hence the Venerable Ānanda's preparation and offering of the barley mixed with butter, honey and molasses as there were no other attendants in Verañja during the vassa, and the Buddha's engagement in Phala-samāpatti took place after partaking of the food. In this connection, the following questions and answers should particularly be noted:

Question: Is not it true that people normally tend to struggle much to do deeds of merit at a time when food is scarce? Is not it true that they think they themselves should not enjoy things but give them to monks in charity? Why then none of these people offered even a ladleful of food while the Buddha was keeping vassa in Verañja? Why did the Brahmin Verañja was not mindful of the Buddha's presence though he had very earnestly requested the Buddha to spend the rainy season there?

Answer: The negligence on the part of the people and the Brahmin was due to Māra's magical control and deception of them. Explanation: Māra made the Brahmin possessed as soon as he left the Buddha; he also did the same thing to the citizens of Verañja and the people in the environs of the city, the environs covering a distance of one yojana within which the monks on their morning alms-round could move about, going and coming; Māra confused all these people and made them forgetful of the Buddha and his community of monks and went away. Nobody therefore remembered even to show respect to the Buddha.

Question: Did the Buddha keep the vassa without anticipating Māra's magical control?

Answer: No, not without anticipating: he kept it though he foresaw Māra's act of magic.

[ 82 ] Question: Despite his knowledge of the same in anticipation, why did the Buddha keep the vassa only in Verañja, but not in Campā, Sāvatthi, Rājagaha, or in any other city?

Answer: In that very year, in that very period, even if the Buddha stayed in the Northern Continent of Uttara-kuru or in the Tāvatiṃsa Abode of Devas, the possession by Māra would take place all the same, let alone in Campā, Sāvatthi, Rājagaha or anywhere else. In that year Māra was overwhelmed with malice, ill will and hatred against the Buddha. In the city of Verañja, however, it is also foreseen by the Buddha that the horse-merchants would come to the monks' honour and relief. Hence his vassa-observance only in Verañja.

Question: Let me put another question: Was Māra not able to control the horse-merchants magically?

Answers: Yes, Māra was able to do so. But it was only after his attempt to control and deceive the citizens by magic that they arrived in Verañjā.

Question: Though they arrived only after Māra's attempt, why did not he come back and exercise his magical influence on the merchants?

Answer: He did not because he was powerless to do so.

Explanation: By no means can Māra do harm to three things meant for the Buddha: (1) the meal cooked and brought as an offering; (2) the offering of food decided to be a constant duty by those who think "we shall give the Buddha throughout such and such period," and (3) an object brought to the monastery and offered by word of mouth saying, "This is a thing for the Buddha's use as part of the four requisites"

(Further explanation: The following are the four things that nobody can do harm: (1) the food that is brought and about to [ 83 ] be offered and the four requisites intended to be permanent offering and deposited for the Buddha; (2) the life of the Buddha that usually is four-fifths of the human life-span of the period in which he appears (that is to say that no one could disrupt the life of our Buddha Gotama before he was eighty which was four-fifths of a hundred, the normal life-span of people in his period); (3) the Buddha's major and minor marks and his body-light; in fact, the light of the moon, the sun, Devas or Brahmas disappears on coming to the place where the Buddha's marks and light shine; and (4) the Buddha's Omniscience. Therefore it may be taken that the barley to which harm could not be done by Māra was consumed by the Buddha and his five hundred monk disciples.)

The Buddha's past kamma that caused him to meet with famine.

The Buddha's past kamma causing him to meet with such famine along with the five hundred monks in Verañjā was this: ninety-two kappas ago, during the dispensation of the Buddha Phussa, the Bodhisatta became a man of bad character on account of his association with wicked friends; he then wrongfully uttered to Phussa Buddha's disciples such unwholesome words as "You had better bite coarse barley food; eat it; but do not eat good sāli rice!" That evil past kamma was the reason for his encounter with famine as he was keeping vassa in Verañjā. (In the Apadāna Pāḷi the story is directly told.)

The Buddha's bestowal of blessing.

The Buddha heard the pounding in small mortars.

Buddhas ask though they know.

They know and do not ask. (There is nothing that they do not know).

[ 84 ] They know opportune time and ask.
They know opportune time and do not ask.

They ask what is connected with benefit; they do not ask what is not connected with benefit. (They do not ask what will be beneficial and they do not ask what will not be beneficial.)

What is not connected with benefit, they do away with through the Path-Knowledge.

They ask monks for two reasons, either to give a discourse or to lay down a rule for disciples.

The Buddha then asked the Venerable Ānanda .... "What does, dear son Ānanda, the sound from the small mortars mean?" The Venerable Ānanda replied, stating what has been told above. At that moment the Buddha uttered:

Excellent, Ānanda excellent! You, Ānanda, who are of good moral character, have overcome sāli rice cooked with meat (by not yielding to scarcity of food, by not wanting and by not at all letting yourself to be led astray by evil desires). "The meaty rice that you have thus overcome will also be looked down upon by future generations."

Moggalāna Thera's bold words.

The Venerable Moggalāna was one who reached the height of his perfection of knowledge as a disciple on the seventh day after he had become a monk. He was also placed by the Buddha foremost among those who possessed supernatural powers. Depending on his supernatural powers he thought, "Food is scarce in Verañjā now. Monks are having much trouble. What if I were to turn over the earth and give for food the essence of the earth form the bottom layer. "Then he continued to reflect: "As I am staying in the presence of the Master, [ 85 ] it does not befit me to do so without seeking his permission. Such an action would be tantamount to rivalry." So he went up to the Buddha and bowed low before him and took his seat at an appropriate place. Then he addressed the Buddha thus:

Exalted Buddha, Verañjā is short of food now. It is hard to make a living. There are white bones all over the city. Lots are drawn for making a living. It is not easy to get enough food by going round with alms-bowls in hands. The bottom layer of the earth is pleasant for its sweetness like honey that is free from bees and bee-eggs. Pray, Exalted Buddha let me turn up the soil of this great earth so that the monks may enjoy its essence from the bottom layer.

Then the Buddha asked: "Dear son Moggalāna, how would you treat the beings living on the earth?" The Venerable Moggalāna answered:

Exalted Buddha, I will change my one hand into something like the earth. Then I will transfer the beings, from the natural earth on the the hand that is changed into the earth. With the other hand I will turn up this natural earth.

Then the Buddha uttered words of rejection; "No, dear son Moggalāna, it not proper. Do not wish to turn up the earth. It may lead to misunderstanding among living beings."

(Herein what should be noted with regard to the word "It may lead to misunderstanding among living beings" is this: Famine occurs not only now. It will occur also in future. From where can monks get a fellow monk endowed with supernatural power like you then? Though future monks may be Sotāpanna, Sakadāgamī, Anāgamī, 'dry-visioned'. (Sukkha-vipassaka) Arahants, only those who have attained Jhānas (but not Psychic powers) and even Arahants of Analytical Knowledge, yet as they lack supernatural powers, they will approach the house of their lay devotee for food. The it may occur to the devotees thus:

[ 86 ] "Monks during the dispensation of the Buddha are accomplished in the threefold training. In that Buddha's lifetime, they had the benefits of their Abhiññā and when there was famine they could turn up the earth and enjoyed the earth's essence. Nowadays there are no monks who have fully taken the threefold training. If there were such monks, they would do the same (as did those of the Buddha's time). They would not let us eat anything that is raw or cooked. (They will give us only the earth's essence.)" This thought will make them misunderstand about the Noble Ones themselves that "there are no Noble Ones!." Those who condemn the Noble Ones on account of their misunderstanding will be reborn in woeful states. Hence the Buddha prohibited the turning up of the earth's soil.)

At that time, as the Venerable Moggalāna failed to get permission, he desired to change his request and said:

Pray, Exalted Buddha, let all monks go to the Northern Continent!

The Buddha again uttered forbidding words as before: "Dear son Moggalāna, it is not proper. Do not desire to make them all go to the Northern Continent!"

(Herein though it was not said directly that "It may lead to misunderstanding among living beings", it should be known that the Buddha rejected the idea of going on alms-round in the Northern Continent on the very grounds, for it had been explained before. Note should be taken as in the previous manner.)

(How would have he done if the Buddha were to give him permission? Through his supernatural powers he would have turned .the great ocean into a small ditch that could be crossed over by a single stride and paved a new road straight from [ 87 ] Naḷeru Neem tree to the Northern Continent; he would also have created the Continent like any village, which they have frequented for food, with streets for going and coming so that monks could be in and out conveniently.)

This indeed was the bold words of the Venerable Moggalāna.

The Venerable Sāriputta's request to lay down disciplinary rules.

At that time the Venerable Sāriputta, who was alone in seclusion, wondered: "Whose dispensations among Exalted Buddhas did not last long and whose dispensations did?" With this query he emerged from his seclusion in the evening and approached the Buddha and bowed low before him and took his seat at an appropriate place. Then he asked the Buddha:

Exalted Buddha, while I was staying in seclusion, I wondered 'Whose dispensations among Exalted Buddhas did not last long and whose dispensations did?'

(Herein it may be argued, "Was not the Venerable Sāriputta able to answer his own questions?" Answer: "He was able to do so in some cases and unable to do so in others." Explanation: He could decide "The dispensation of these Buddhas did not last long and the dispensations of these Buddhas did." But he could not decide, "They did not last long for these reasons and they lasted long for these."

(Mahā Paduma Thera, however, states: "It was not difficult for the Chief Disciple, who had reached the height of the sixteenfold wisdom and knowledge, to decide the reasons. But deciding by himself though he was living with the Buddha would be like discarding the balance and weighing something by the hand. Hence his question put to the Buddha. ")

[ 88 ] At that time, being desirous of answering Sāriputta Thera's question, the Buddha said: "Dear son Sāriputta, the dispensations of the Buddhas Vipassī, Sikhī and Vessabhū did not last long (through successive generations of disciples). Dear son Sāriputta, those of the Buddhas Kakusandha. Koṇāgamana, and Kassapa lasted long (through successive generations of disciples)"

Then the Venerable Sāriputta continued to ask:

"Exalted Buddha, why did not the dispensations of the Buddhas Vipassī, Sikhī and Vessabhū last long?

The Buddha answered:

Dear son Sāriputta, the Buddhas Vipassī, Sikhī and Vessabhū did not bother to give discourses to their disciples elaborately. Their teachings of nine divisions such as Sutta, Geyya, etc., were so few. Nor did they prescribe disciplinary rules for them. Nor did they recite the (Authoritative) Pātimokkha rules. When they passed away and when their immediate disciples passed away, the later generations of disciples, who were of diverse names, clans and births, let the dispensations become extinct rapidly."

Dear son Sāriputta, just as flowers of different kinds placed on a wooden board without being strung are scattered, blown away and destroyed by the wind for the very reason that they are not strung; even so, dear son Sāriputta. when those Buddhas and their immediate disciples passed away, their teachings were caused to disappear fast by later disciples of diverse names, clans and births.

Dear son Sāriputta, the other (three) Buddhas, knowing the intentions of their disciples with their minds, bothered to exhort them.

[ 89 ] "Dear son Sāriputta, there took place an incident in former times. In a certain terrible forest Vessabhū Buddha knew the minds of his thousand monks with his mind and exhorted them:

Cultivate these three wholesome thoughts: the thought of renunciation (nekkhamma vitakka), etc., Do not cultivate these unwholesome thoughts: the thought of sensual pleasure (kāma vitakka), etc., Bear in mind that they are impermanent (anicca), miserable (dukkha), unsubstantial (anatta) and unpleasant (asubha). Do not bear in mind that they are permanent (nicca), happy (sukha); substantial (atta) and pleasant (subha). Abandon the unwholesome thoughts! Abide developing the wholesome thoughts!.

Dear son Sāriputta, the thousand monks who had thus been exhorted by Vessabhū Buddha became Arahants, free from āsavas. The minds of these thousand monks therefore were entirely cut off from grasping of anything through craving and wrong view that This am I, this is mine!'. They were totally emancipated from āsavas that had now come to complete cessation, (cessation in the sense of not arising again). 'With regard to the terrible forest, the terror of the forest was such that those who were not free from passion generally had gooseflesh upon entering it.

Dear son Sāriputta, what has been said is the reason for the short-lived dispensations of the Buddhas Vipassī, Sikhī and Vessabhū.

(N.B. With reference to the statement that the three Buddhas "did not bother to give discourses to their disciples elaborately", they did not do so not because they were idle. In fact, there is no such thing as indolence or lack of industry on the part of Buddhas. Explanation: When Buddhas teach they do so with the same degree of effort whether they are to teach a single person or two persons, or the whole universe full of beings.

[ 90 ] They do not reduce their energy, seeing that the audience is small; nor do they increase their effort seeing that the audience is big. Just as the lion, king of animals, goes out in search of food after seven days (spent in the den), chases and catches his preys with the same speed, whether they are big or tiny, because he is resolved that his speed should not be inadequate, even so when Buddhas deliver their sermons to their listeners whether they form a multitude or only an inconsiderable gathering, they do so with equal industry, for they have a noble purpose not to decrease their respect for the Dhamma.

(Unlike our Buddha who taught in detail as though he were to fill the ocean, these three Buddhas, in fact, did not elaborate their teachings. The reason was that in those times beings had little dust of defilement in their eyes of wisdom. Explanation In the lifetimes of these three Buddhas, beings enjoyed longevity, and the amount of dust that covered their eyes of wisdom was also slight. Beings in those days were therefore instantly convened on listening just one stanza connected with the Four Truths: It was therefore not necessary to preach to them elaborately. Hence the teachings of these Buddhas in nine divisions were so meagre.

(In the time of those three Buddhas, since their disciple monks were wholly free from wrongdoings, no Authoritative Disciplinary Rules (Āṇā-Pātimokkha) associated with the seven portions of offences had to be promulgated.

Only the recitation of the Exhortative Pātimokkha Ovada-Pātimokkha) was known to them. Even that Pātimokkha they did not recite fortnightly. (The two kinds of Pātimokkha have been dealt with in detail in the Chapter 16 of the Third Volume.)

(Those long-lived Buddhas had two generations of disciples to follow them: (1) immediate disciples and (2) later disciples [ 91 ] who were monks ordained by those immediate disciples. At the time when later disciples, under the second category emerged, since there had been no disciplinary rules from the outset and since the disciples, who were of diverse names, clans and births, did not feel obliged to protect and preserve the small amount of discourses but remained careless as though they shirked their duty, saying "Such and such Thera will do it, such and such Thera will do it", they did nothing for safeguarding the teachings by holding Councils (Saṃgāyanās). Hence the rapid disappearance of their dispensations.

(With regard to the statement "The dispensations of the longlived Buddhas did not last long", it originally meant to say that their dispensations did not last long for many generations of disciples. The life of Vipassī Buddha, however, was eighty thousand years 1ong; the life-span of his immediate disciples also was eighty thousand years: so was the life-span of the last generation of later disciples who were ordained by the immediate disciples. Therefore the dispensation with the two generations of disciples lasted for one hundred and sixty thousand years after the demise of the Buddha. In terms of generations of disciples, however, there were only two, and this small number of generations was meant in speaking of "the short dispensation"; it was spoken, one should particularly remember, not in terms of years.)

Having heard thus of the reasons for the short-lived dispensations (in terms of generations of disciples) of the three Buddhas, Vipasī, Sikhī and Vessabhū, the Noble Thera Sāriputta, being desirous of hearing the reasons for the long-lived dispensations of the other three Buddhas, Kakusandha, Koṇāgamana and Kassapa, continued to ask the Buddha:

Exalted Buddha, why did the dispensations of the Buddhas Kakusandha, Koṇāgamana and Kassapa last long?

[ 92 ] The Buddha answered:

"Dear son Sāriputta, the Buddhas Kakusandha, Koṇāgamana and Kassapa cared to give elaborate discourses to their disciples. Their teachings of nine divisions such as Sutta, Geyya, etc., were numerous. They prescribed disciplinary rules for them. They recited the (Authoritative) Pāṭimokkha. When they passed away and when their immediate disciples passed away, therefore, the generations of their later disciples, who were of diverse names, clans and births, caused the dispensations to last long.

Dear son Sāriputta, just as flowers of different kinds put on a string and placed on a wooden board cannot be dispersed, blown away and destroyed by the wind (for the very reason that they are strung) even so, dear son Sāriputta, when these Buddhas and their immediate disciples passed away, their teachings were caused to last long by later (generations of) disciples of diverse names, clans and births."

Dear son Sāriputta, the aforesaid factors (elaborate teaching, large number of discourses, promulgation of disciplinary rules and recitation of the Pāṭimokkha) together formed the reason for the long existence of the teachings of the three Buddhas, Kakusandha, Koṇāgamana and Kassapa.

("Herein with regard to the long existence of the dispensations of those three Buddhas, the lengthy duration in terms of both life-span and generations of disciples should be noted. Explanation' The life-span of Kakusandha Buddha was forty thousand years; that of Koṇāgamana Buddha thirty thousand; that of Kassapa Buddha twenty thousand. The lifespans of their immediate disciples were the same as theirs respectively. Many generations, one after another, of those immediate disciples nurtured and carried the dispensation. In [ 93 ] this way the teachings of those three Buddhas long endured in terms of both life-spans and generations of disciples.)

(As for our Inestimable Chief of the three worlds, he should have been born when the life-span was ten thousand years, which was half that of Kassapa Buddha; if not, he should have been born in the period of five thousand years' life-span, one thousand years' or five hundred years' life-span. But his wisdom was not mature enough until then; it attained maturity only when the life-span became one hundred, which is very short indeed. Therefore it should be stated that though the dispensation of our Buddha lasted long in terms of generations of disciples it did not last long as did the dispensations of those former Buddhas in terms of years.)

Having thus learnt the reason for the long existence of the dispensations of the Buddhas Kakusandha, Koṇāgamana and Kassapa, the Venerable Sāriputta made a conclusion that "Only the laying down of rules is the main cause for the perpetuity of the dispensation of a Buddha." Wishing to ensure the perpetuity of the dispensation of the present Buddha, he rose from his seat, adjusted his robe, covering the left shoulder, and raised his hands in adoration towards the Buddhas; therefore, he emphatically requested the Master with these words:

May the Exalted Buddha lay down disciplinary rules so that this dispensation may last long? May he recite the Pātimokkha! Glorious Buddha, it is time to promulgate rules vital to the long standing of the teaching, and to recite the Pātimokkha! Exalted Buddha of good speech, the time has come to lay down rules and to bring about the Pātimokkha noted for the lasting endurance of the dispensation!

Being desirous of telling that "the time is not ripe yet for laying down rules". the Buddha said: "Wait. dear Sāriputta! Wait, dear Sāriputta! Only the Buddha shall know the proper time (for promulgating rules and reciting the Pātimokkha)!

[ 94 ] "Dear Sāriputta, as long as there do not take place in the Saṃgha some wrongdoings which are the basis of āsavas in this dispensation, the Buddha does not lay down rules for the disciples nor does he proclaim the (Authoritative) Pātimokkha. Dear Sāriputta, when there take place some wrongdoings in the Saṃgha which are the basis of āsavas in this dispensation, does he lay down the rules and proclaim the (Authoritative) Pātimokkha only for the benefit of eliminating those wrongdoings. (1)

"Dear Sāriputta, as long as the Saṃgha does not have a large number of monks of long standing, there do not take place yet in it some wrongdoings which are the basis of āsavas in this dispensation. Dear Sāriputta, when the Saṃgha has a large number of monks of long standing, however, there take place in it some wrongdoings which are the basis of āsavas in this dispensation. Then only for the benefit of eliminating those wrongdoings which are the basis of āsavas does the Buddha lay down rules and proclaim the (Authoritative) Pātimokkha. (2)

Dear Sāriputta, as long as the Saṃgha does not thrive, there do not take place yet in it some wrongdoings which are the basis of āsavas in this dispensation. Dear Sāriputta, when the Saṃgha thrives, however, there take place in it some wrongdoings which are the basis of āsavas in this dispensation. Then only for the benefit of eliminating these wrongdoings does the Buddha lay down rules and proclaim the (Authoritative) Pātimokkha. (3)"

"Dear Sāriputta, as long as the Saṃgha does not know many gains there do not take place yet in it some wrongdoings which are the basis of āsavas in this dispensation. Dear Sāriputta, when the Saṃgha knows many gains, however, there take place in it some wrongdoings which are the basis of āsavas in this dispensation. Then only for the benefit of eliminating those some wrongdoings does the Buddha lay down rules and proclaim (Authoritative) Pātimokkha. (4)

[ 95 ] Dear Sāriputta, as long as the Saṃgha does not have much knowledge, there do not take place yet in it, some wrongdoings which are the basis of āsavas in this dispensation. Dear Sāriputta, when the Saṃgha has much knowledge, however, there take place in it some wrongdoings which are the basis of āsavas in this dispensation. Then only for the benefit of eliminating those some wrongdoings does the Buddha lay down rules and proclaim the (Authoritative) Pātimokkha. (5)"

Dear Sāriputta, now the Saṃgha is free from foams (in the form of immoral persons), free from blemishes, free from impurities, clean, and stands (in the essence of such virtues as morality and the like). Dear Sāriputta, of these five hundred monks the lowest is a Sotāpanna, whose assured destination is the three higher stages of the Path, for he will never land in woeful abodes.

(Herein by āsavas is meant moral defilement and suffering such as accusation, killing, imprisonment, etc., by others in this life and suffering of rebirth in the woeful states hereafter. Since such wrongdoings as sexual intercourse, stealing, killing human beings, etc., form the ground for āsavas, they are called āsavaṭṭhānīya, basis of āsavas.

(At the time when Sāriputta Thera made the request for laying down rules, transgression had not occurred at all. Had the rules such as the four Pārājikas and others been laid down long before the actual taking place of transgressions, such an action would not have escaped private abuse and blame and public censure. How would such an action would not have escaped?

(If rules were to be laid down in advance, all the necessary rules would have been done so, saying "If a monk commits sexual intercourse..." and so on. Laying down the rules before seeing the transgression, others would abuse and blame privately and censure publicly as follows:

[ 96 ] ("Why does the Monk Gotama bind us to these rules, taking for granted that the Order of monks adheres to him and follows his words? Why did he lay down the Pārājika rules? Have not these clansmen become monks after renouncing their great luxury, vast circles of relatives and princely wealth that they had in their possession? Are not they content with what is just enough for their food and what is just enough for their clothing, and do not they abide with extreme respect in the threefold training and without regard for their bodies and lives? Among such good men, who would indulge in such earthly practices (loka-āmisa) as sexual intercourse, stealing another's property, taking another's life, earning his living by falsely telling of his virtues. Even if the four Pātimokkha rules were not laid down, has not it been made clear that sexual intercourse, stealing, etc., are not proper, not practicable, for even while as a novice one keeps the precepts, saying 'I take upon myself the rule of staying away from taking life"' and so on? Such would have been private abuse and blame and public censure.

(Moreover, probably the Buddha's talent would not have been known to beings. The rules that had been laid down would have been destroyed. They would not have lasted. To use a worldly simile, an unclever medical doctor sends for a man who has no ulcer yet but who would soon suffer from an ulcer) and said, "Come man, on this part of your body there will appear an ulcer, bringing no benefit but threatening your life. Get it treated early!" "Very well, sir. You yourself give treatment to it?" Saying thus the man submits himself to the doctor, who then gives surgical treatment to that part of the man's body without an ulcer and caused the skin to become normal by taking out the blood, applying the medicine, dressing, cleaning, and so on; thereafter he asks the man saying, "I have cured your ulcer. Give me the cost of the medicine!"

[ 97 ] (The man who has been medically treated may then privately abuse and blame and openly censure the unclever surgeon in his presence, saying: "What is this foolish doctor talking about? Which disease of mine has been cured by this foolish doctor? As a matter of fact, has not the stupid surgeon caused trouble to me? Has not he made my blood gone?" The man may not feel grateful to the doctor.

(In the same way, had the Buddha laid down the rules for his disciples before the actual wrongdoings cropped up, he would not have escaped private abuse, etc., His talent might not have been known to beings. The rules that had been laid down would have been destroyed. They would not have lasted. Hence the Buddha's words in the negative: "Dear Sāriputta, as long as there do not take place wrongdoings in the Saṃgha a Buddha does not lay down rules for the disciples", and so on.

(Herein the time when wrongdoings have not taken place means the time which was not ripe yet for laying down rules. The time when wrongdoings have taken place means the time which is ripe for doing so. Laying down of rules in an inopportune time might bring about the aforesaid blame and censure. The same action taken as required by the cropping up of wrongdoings may be likened to a clever medical doctor who gives the ulcer, that has appeared curative treatment by operating on it, applying medicine, dressing, cleaning and so on and cause the recovery of the ulcer and the normalcy of the skin; the Buddha may be linkened to him who is not abused but honoured for his distinguished service in his medical profession, for the Buddha was similarly not abused and blamed privately or otherwise but honoured for his distinguished efficiency in the matter of his Omniscience. The rules laid down would not then be impaired but would stand intact for long.

(By the words in [ 98 ] the first-statement is shown opportune time and inopportune time for laying down rules. By the words in the second, third, fourth and fifth statements is shown the time when wrongdoings cropped up. The elaborate meaning of these words may be taken from the Verañjā section of the Pārājika Kaṇḍa Commentary.)

Taking leave at the end of the vassa.

After the Buddha had thus explained in detail the question of laying down the disciplinary rules to Sāriputta Thera, the General of the Dhamma, he spent the whole vassa at Verañja and performed pavāraṇā on the Mahāpavaraṇā Day, the full moon of Assayuja, at the end of vassa; then he called Ānanda Thera and said: "Dear Ānanda, when the Buddhas have observed vassa at the request of others, it is not their custom to depart without asking them for leave (or they are to depart only after informing them). Come, Ānanda, let us go and seek permission from Brahmin Verañjā." After finishing his meal, the Buddha with Ānanda Thera as his companion visited Verñjā's place in the afternoon, illuminating the city gates and all the roads and streets with his body rays.

When the Buddha stood at the door of the Brahmin's house, the Brahmin's men, seeing the Buddha, reminded their master; (only then did Verañjā regained a sense of his responsibilities and got up from his seat excitedly to prepare a seat worthy of the Noble One; he then welcomed and invited him respectfully saying, "Please come this way, Exalted Buddha!" The Buddha walked along as had been invited by the Brahmin and sat down in the prepared seat. (It was the time when Māra had withdrawn his spell.)

Brahmin, we have observed the vassa at your invitation. Now we inform you that we want to go elsewhere!

[ 99 ] Veranja replied to the Buddha:

Right, Venerable Gotama. You have observed the vassa at our invitation. But I have not given alms yet. (The reason for that is) not because we have nothing to give, not because we do not want to give. People of household life have too many things to do. Where can they have a chance to give? May the Venerable Gotama accept together with the company of monks my food, my act of merit, tomorrow

(The Brahmin did not know about the magical influence of Māra. He thought his absent-mindedness was due to the affairs and drawbacks of household life. Hence his supplication to the Buddha.)

It occurred then to the Buddha: "If l do not accept the Brahmin's invitation, demerit will develop to him, and to all the Verañjā citizens as well for that matter, who would think: The Monk Gotama seems to be angry because he receives no alms for the whole period of the three vassa months. Therefore he rejects even a single meal despite my request. The Monk Gotama has no patience. He is not an Omniscient One!' Let there be no development of demerit to them!" Out of compassion did the Buddha accept the invitation by keeping silent. Thereafter he made the Brahmin know the futility of being occupied with the domestic affairs and drawbacks. With a Dhamma-talk appropriate to that moment, the Buddha showed the two benefits; one for this life and the other for the next; he also made him dedicated to good deeds, and enthusiastic about and happy with them. Then he rose from his seat and departed.

Veranja's great alms-giving.

After the departure of the Buddha, the Brahmin Verañjā summoned all his family members and other inmates of the house to a meeting, at which he said: "Dear ones, I have offered not a single day's meal to the Buddha though I invited him to stay here for the three months of [ 100 ] vassa. Let us now manage to offer alms meant for the three months long vassa period in a day tomorrow." Having given instructions thus, the Brahmin had excellent food cooked, and next morning he had his place decorated and seats worthy of Noble Ones prepared. After also setting up exquisite offerings of perfumes and flowers, he sent for the Buddha with the word "It is meal time now, Venerable Gotama, the food is ready!"

Accompanied by the hundred monks, the Buddha arrived at Verañjā's house and sat down together with them on the seats prepared. Verañjā personally served the Order of monks, headed by the Buddha, with delicious meals until they were satisfied and refused to take more. As the Buddha removed his hand from the alms-bowl after finishing the meal, Verañja offered him a set of three robes worth three thousand. (Each robe cost a thousand. Hence three thousand as the cost of the set of three.) To each monk too he offered a set of two pieces of cloth to make robes. (The value of each robe of cloth was five hundred. Hence the amount of his donation made to the monks was five hundred thousand. Only this much comes from the Pāḷi Text. The Commentarial account is as follows.)

As he was not satisfied with this much of his offering (of robes worth five hundred thousand), the Brahmin Verañjā offered again a large number of rugs, bolts of cloth made in Paṭṭuṇṇa country, each costing seven or eight thousand, so that they might be cut and made into garments of double layers, shoulder coverings, waistbands, water strainers, etc.

He also gave each monk jugs and bottles filled with medicinal ointment heated a hundred or thousand times and worth one thousand. There was nothing left out from the four requisites he presented for their use. He gave away in charity all the necessaries to the monks.

Having done such a great alms-giving, the Brahmin sat down together with his wife and children, respectfully doing obeisance to the Buddha. Owing to Māra's magic, he had lost the opportunity of [ 101 ] enjoying the taste of immortality in the form of a discourse throughout the vassa; in order to make up the Brahmin's loss and to fulfill his wish, the Buddha let the rain of immortality fall heavily in a single day, he preached the double advantage for the present life and the next and established him in meritorious deeds; finally the Buddha made Verañja zealous and delighted in good deeds, and left the place.

Together with his wife, Verañjā respectfully raised his hands in adoration towards the Buddha and his assembly of monks and followed them to see them off, requesting, "Exalted Buddha, kindly do another fayour by visiting us once again!" Then the Brahmin returned with tears trickling from his eyes.

After staying in Verañjā as long as he wished, the Buddha left the city. Being desirous of reducing the great circular journey, he led the monks, who had been so tired and fatigued because of the scarcity of food during the whole vassa, along the direct route, bypassing Soreyya, Saṅkassa, and Kaṇṇakujja cities. On arriving at the port of Payāga the Buddha crossed the Gaṅgā and reached Vārāṇasī. At this city too he stayed as long as he wished, and headed from there for Vesālī in due course. Having got to Vesālī the Buddha sojourned at Kūtāgāra (a monastery with the gable) in the forest of Mahāvana.

Here ends Chapter Thirty.

VOLUME_4
PART_
CHAPTER_31

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THE MONK SUDINNA THE SON OF THE KALANDA MERCHANT.

[ 103 ] At that time in the village of Kalanda near the city of Vesālī there was the merchant Kalanda's son named Sudinna. Accompanied by many friends Sudinna the merchant's son came to Vesālī on some business.

(The village was named Kalanda because it abounded in black squirrels. The Kalanda merchant owned a wealth of forty crores; he was therefore a man of riches recognized by the king. His son Sudinna came to Vesālī to transact business, to collect debts, and to make appointments among other things.)

(Some scholars say that he was in Vesālī to have fun in the festival of the constellation Kyattikā (Pleiades). The Buddha indeed came to Velāsī in the bright fortnight of the month of Kyattikā (October-November). The festivity of Kyattikā in Vesālī attracted large crowds of people. For the sake of this festive gathering did Sudinna the merchant's son come.)

On seeing the people who went out from Vesālī after breakfast, wearing clean clothes and carrying flowers, perfumes and unguent, to see the Buddha and to listen to his sermon, the Kalanda merchant's son Sudinna asked them where they were going and came to know of their purpose; thinking, "I too should go along with them," he joined the crowd that flocked to hear the Buddha, who in the midst of the audience composed of four classes of devotees, was delivering a discourse in a voice resembling that of a Brahmā. Inspired by the Buddha's pleasing manner and stirred by his past wholesome kamma, he thought to himself: "How well it would be if I too could listen to the discourse!" But since the audience was so great he was unable to go [ 104 ] near the Buddha and had to take a suitable seat at the edge of the assembly, paying attention to the Buddha's talk.

While he was thus paying attention to the Buddha's talk on the threefold training of sīla, samādhi and panññā, he got a good idea:

When I ponder in many ways the Buddha's discourse, I come to the conclusion that it is not easy indeed for a householder to practise such a noble practice (of the threefold training) which is so pure and perfect like a newly polished conch. How wonderful it would be if I left household life for monkhood, having shaved my head and beard and donned the dyed robe!

Thereafter the Kalanda merchant's son Sudinna went along with the moving crowd for a short distance, for in the crowd were many of his relatives and friends, who might be in his way if they would forcibly take him away by the arm, saying "You are the only son of your parents. You must not be given permission to become a monk." Hence his short distance of departure together with the crowd. Then pretending that he had to wash his hands, he turned back and approached the Buddha with these words of request.

Exalted Buddha, when I pondered your discourse in many ways, I came to the conclusion that it was not easy indeed for a householder to practise such a noble practice (of the threefold training), which is pure and perfect like a newly polished conch. Exalted Buddha, I wish to have monkhood, having shaved my head and beard and donned the dyed robe. Exalted Buddha, kindly make me a monk!

As the Buddha had denied monkhood to those who were not permitted by the parents since the initiation of Prince Rāhula, the Buddha asked Sudinna, "Have your parents, Sudinna, permitted you to leave household life for monkhood?" "No, Exalted Buddha, they have not yet permitted me to do so," replied Sudinna. Then said the Buddha, "Sudinna, Buddhas do not ordain a man who has not got [ 105 ] permission from his parents." "Exalted Buddha," said Sudinna, "I shall seek permission from my parents."

Then the merchant's son Sudinna finished his business in Vesālī and approached his parents at Kalanda village with these words:

Dear parents, when I pondered the Buddha's discourse in many ways, I came to the conclusion that it was not easy indeed for a householder to practise such a noble practice (of the threefold training), which is pure and perfect like a newly polished conch. I wish to leave household life for monkhood, having shaved my head and beard and donned the dyed robe! Please give me permission to do so.

The parents then rejected Sudinna's request, saying:

Our son Sudinna, you are our only son whom we love so dearly. You are the child whom we have brought up and nurtured in happiness. Dear Sudinna, you know no discomforts whatever. Let us be separated from you against our wish only when you die. How can we permit you to leave household life for monkhood while you are living?

The son requested as before for the second time. The parents similarly rejected for the second time. He did so for the third time. And they too did reject for the third time.

Knowing then that "my parents will not permit me (by any means) to renounce my household life", and lying down on the bare ground, the very spot on which he made the request, he said: "This place will see either my death or my renunciation." He refused to eat his meal once twice, three times, four, five, six and seven times and demonstrated his great meritorious desire (by fasting).

Then the parents said to their son:

[ 106 ] "Dear son Sudinna, you are our only child, whom we love so dearly. You are the one whom we have brought up and nurtured in happiness. Dear Sudinna, you know no discomfort whatever. Only your death will separate us from you against our wish. How can we permit you to leave household life and take up monkhood while you are alive? Rise, dear Sudinna, eat, drink and have fun. Feel delight in doing good deeds while eating, drinking and having fun. However, we will never give you our permission (by any means) for your renunciation."

Sudinna kept quiet while they were saying so. He remained silent even when his parents said so a second time and a third time.

Not getting even verbal response from their son though they had appealed to him threetimes, the parents sent for his friends and urged them saying, "Your friend Sudinna is desirous of becoming a monk. Please prevent him from doing so!" The friends went up to Sudinna and tried to prevent him three times as they had been told by his parents. To the friends as well, Sudinna gave no answer but kept his mouth shut.

Then the friends reflected and discussed among themselves: "If this Sudinna were to die for not getting permission to become a monk, no benefit would accrue from his death. If he were to become a monk his parents could see him at will and so could we. Monkhood is very burdensome. The monk goes on alms-round carrying an earthen bowl daily. He sleeps alone and eats a single morning meal. Such a noble practice is so difficult to follow. And Sudinna is a delicate urbanite. By no means can he devote himself to the noble practice that requires one to sleep alone and to eat a single morning meal. He will definitely come back home. Well, we shall ask his parents to permit him," Thereafter they approached Suddina's parents and said to them with some advice:

Dear elders, Sudinna is lying down on the bare ground, saying 'this place will see either my death or my renunciation.

[ 107 ] If you do not give him permission to renounce the world and enter upon monkhood, he will die at that very place (where he is lying down). Suppose you grant him permission for his monkhood, you can have a chance to see him as a monk. After becoming a monk, if he is not happy with ascetic life, where will he go except his parents' house? He will come back to this house of yours. You had better permit Sudinna to go forth and live an ascetic life.!"

Then Sudinna's parents replied, "Dear boys, we grant him our permission for his renunciation and entering upon monkhood," and the friends went up to Sudinna and said: "Get up, friend Sudinna, permission has been granted to you by your parents!"

So happy and elated with the news that he had been permitted to become a monk, Sudinna got up, dusting his body with his hands, and tried to regain his strength for one or two days; thereafter he approached the Buddha, bowed his head in adoration, sat down at a suitable place and requested:

Exalted Buddha, permission has been granted to me by my parents. May the Exalted Buddha make me a monk!

The Buddha asked a nearby monk who was practising piṇḍapāta dhutaṅga, "Monk, as has been requested by Sudinna thus, you, dear son, grant him ordination as a novice and then ordination as a monk!" "Very well, Exalted Buddha," replied the dhutaṅga practicing monk, and taking Sudinna, his co-residential (saddhivihārika) pupil entrusted by the Buddha, he made him a novice and then a monk.

Soon after becoming a monk, the Venerable Sudinna engaged in the following dhutaṅga practices, the means of shaking off mental defilements: āraññika-dhutaṅga, dwelling in a forest monastery piṇḍapātika-dhutaṅga, eating food obtained by going on alms-round, paṃsukūlika-dhutaṅga, putting on robes made of rags, [ 108 ] sapadānacārika-dhutaṅga, collecting food from houses serially. Thus he dwelt with an unknown small village as his resort for food.

At that time the country of Vajjī was short of food. It was hard to make a living. There were white bones. People had to live by food tickets. It was not easy for monks to get enough food going round with alms-bowls in their hands. Then it occurred to the Venerable Sudinna.

Now Vajjī country was short of food. It was hard to make a living. There were white bones: Lots had to be drawn for making a living. It was not easy for monks to get enough food by going round with alms-bowls in their hands. I have a large number of relatives in the city of Vesālī who are prosperous (with wealth), who possess plenty of (hidden) treasures, who are endowed with abundance of riches, abundance of gold and silver, abundance of delightful articles and gems (for daily use) and a large quantity fo goods and grains (for trading and exchange). What if I were to live, depending on my relatives. On account of me they would make offerings and do things of merit. And material gains will accrue to monks.Monks, I too will not be troubled by food.

Having got the idea, the Venerable Sudinna packed his bedding and headed for Vesālī, taking his bowl and robe; on his arrival in Vesālī in due course, he stayed at a monastery with a peaked roof (kūṭagāra) in Mahāvana (Great Forest) near Vesālī.

Getting the news that "the Kalanda merchant's son Sudinna is said to have been in Vesālī, his relatives sent sixty pots of food as offering to him. (Each pot contained food for ten monks.) Then (according to his previous plan) he offered the sixty pots to (six hundred) monks, and (as for himself), being an observer of piṇḍapāta-dhutaṅga of the highest kind, he adjusted his garment, took his bowl and robe and entered the village of Kalanda for food. While going round and stopping in front of [ 109 ] the houses, one after another he happened to have approached the gate of the house beloging to his father, the (Kalanda) merchant.

(N.B. The events after his return from the country of Vajjī began to take place only in his eighth year as a bhikkhu (i.e. when the Buddha was in the twentieth year of his ministry). Here the events are told continuously in order to keep the sequence of the events uninterrupted.)

At that moment, a female slave to kinsmen of Sudinna was coming out from the house to throw away barley cakes that had become stale for having been kept overnight, (so stale that it was impossible for male slaves, workers and cattle to eat). Then Sudinna said to her: "Sister, if you are to throw away those cakes, please put them into my bowl. !"

While she was putting the cakes, stale for having been kept overnight, into the Venerable Sudinna's bowl, she could not recognize him as the son of her master, for Sudinna had been away for eight years; but taking note of the features of his hands and feet and also his voice, she went to Sudinna's mother and said: "You know, O madam, your son Sudinna has returned!" Sudinna's mother replied: "O woman, if you have told me the truth, I will set you free from slavery!"

Meanwhile the Venerable Sudinna was leaning against the base of the wall (in a eating house in Kalanda) and enjoying the stale food with relish.

(Some homes of donors in certain regions had eating houses built. In these houses seats were readily arranged. (Jars of) water for drinking and use was placed; vinegar was also provided. After receiving food monks sat down and had it in these houses. If need be, they took offerings placed there by donors. Therefore the base of the wall here means the bottom of the wall of a refactory erected by donors. Monks never eat sitting at an unseemly place, unlike destitutes. See the Commentary.)

[ 110 ] When Sudinna's wealthy father came back from work and saw him enjoying the stale food with relish, he went nearer and reproved, saying:

O dear, my beloved son Sudinna! it is a pity that you should be eating the stale barley cakes! In fact, should not you come home?

The Venerable Sudinna then replied, I have been to your house donor. And I got the stale barley cakes from there! The father grasped Sudinna's arm and said: "Come, dear Sudinna. Let us go home?" An obedient son having love for his father, Sudinna went along to his father's house and took the prepared seat.

The wealthy father asked him: "Help yourself son!" "Enough, father," replied the Venerable Sudinna, "I have eaten for the day." When the father invited him, saying, "Please accept my offering of meal for tomorrow", though he was committed to the highest kind of piṇḍapāta-dhutaṅga, Sudinna accepted it by keeping silent, he then rose from his seat and departed. for he thought "If I reject their single meal, it will be a great distress to my parents and kinsmen."

When the night was over, the Venerable Sudinna's mother had the ground plastered with wet cow-dung, and two heaps of treasures made, one of gold and the other of silver. The treasure heaps were so great that a man standing on one side could not see another standing on the other side. So great and high were the piles of treasures. Having caused them to be covered by mats, and a seat prepared in the middle and screens set up: then she called in Sudinna's ex-wife andsaid: "Dear daughter, I would like to ask you to put on the clothes that would please my son Sudinna." "Yes, mother," replied the ex-wife to Sudinna's mother.

When morning came, the Venerable Sudinna, having adjusted his robe and carrying his bowl and robe, approached his parent's house, and [ 111 ] sat down on the prepared seat (between the two treasure heaps). The father came to Sudinna and had the heaps uncovered and said:

Dear son Sudinna, this gold and silver is the treasure that has come down from the side of your mother's mother. This much is just for the use of feminine things. (This is the cost of powder and flowers.) There is yet the treasure from me. The treasures from your grandfather and great grandfather are also kept separately. Dear son, they are available for you to live in luxury and perform meritorious deeds when you leave monkhood. Come, dear Sudinna, enjoy your wealth and do good works.

I cannot become a lay man, donor, replied Sudinna, "I am very happy following the noble practice (of the threefold training)."

The father said as before for the second time, and the Venerable Sudinna replied similarly. When the father said for the third time, however, Sudinna replied (differently), saying: "If you, donor, show no anger, I would like to say something." Thinking that "my son would tell me favourably", the father said delightedly: "Go ahead, son." Then the Venerable Sudinna utterred determinedly to his father, the wealthy merchant:

Father, in that case have fibre bags made and fill them with gold and silver, take them in cans and drop them in the middle of the Ganges! Because, donor, on account of the possession of this gold and silver, you will have fear, trembling, gooseflesh and need protection. No possession means no fear and other forms of trouble. That is why.

This caused sadness to the father who wondered. "Why does my son Sudinna have the heart to say so?"

[ 112 ] Lure Through the Wife.

Being unable to lure the Venerable Sudinna to return to household life by showing him the riches, the father thought, "There is now no fetter like a woman for a man", he called in the ex-wife of Sudinna and sent her, saying: "I pray you, dear daughter. My son Sudinna loves you, he is fond of you. He may listen to you." Accordingly, the ex-wife grasped Sudinna's legs in her arms and said:

You have followed the noble practice, my lord, for the sake of getting celestial damsels. How do they look like?

(Explanation: In those days many princes, sons of Brahmins, and sons of merchants renounced their untold luxuries and became ascetics; seeing them, those who were ignorant of the benefits of an ascetic life used to ask, "Why do these people became ascetics?" And the answers they got from those who pretended to know was: "Because they want to have celestial damsels and dancers." The questions and answers of these unknowledgeable people widespread. Acting on that reply, the ex-wife of the Venerable Sudinna asked as mentioned above.)

The Venerable Sudinna replied: "I do not, sister, practise the noble practice for celesial damsels." This prompted the ex-wife to think thus: "My lord Sudinna has now called me 'sister'. He no longer wants me now. Not wanting me who am his partner in life, and his own wife, he takes me as his own sister, born of the same mother." Her thought brought about grief and caused her to fall down in faintness at that very place.

Then the Venerable Sudinna said to his father: "If you are to give food, donor, do so. Do not trouble us with your display of wealth and woman. Enticement with such a display means torment to monks!" Thereafter did the parents personally offer excellent food to the Venerable Sudinna until he was satisfied and until he stopped their feeding.

[ 113 ] Request for Procreative Seed.

When the feeding was done, the mother of the Venerable Sudinna said to him:

Dear son Sudinna, our family is rich. We have a great hidden wealth. There are abundant luxuries and things for daily use. There are many delightful articles and treasures. So are there countless goods and grains for trading and exchange. Come, dear-Sudinna, return to lay life and enjoy the riches. And do good works.

Sudinna rejected his mother's words by giving the same answer as that given to his father: "I cannot become a lay man, mother. I dare not do so. I am very happily engaging in the noble practice (of the threefold training)." The mother said as before for the second time and the Venerable Sudinna replied the same. On the third time, however, Sudinna's mother asked for procreative seed by saying:

Dear son Sudinna, our family is rich. We have a great hidden wealth. There are abundant luxuries and things for daily use. There are many delightful articles and treasures. So are there countless goods and grains for trading and exchange. Dear Sudinna, in that case (if you find happiness so much in the Buddha's dispensation), give the seed for procreation. Let not the Licchavī princes take over the possessions of ours as we have no sons to inherit.

Then Sudinna reflected: "I am the only heir to the wealth of my father and mother. There is nobody else. (As long as I do not give the seed) they will constantly follow me for protection of the wealth. If they do so, I will not have a chance to devote myself to asceticism free of worries. My parents will give up following me only when they get a son as an heir. Then only will I be able to perform my duties as a monk in comfort and happiness." And he replied, "Mother, I can, [ 114 ] however, do something to provide the seed for procreation" (without knowing that he would be guilty for doing so).

Again, the mother asked: "Where are you staying now, dear Sudinna?" "In the Mahāvana,, mother", so replying the Venerable Sudinna rose from his seat and departed.

Then Sudinna's mother called in her son's ex-wife and said: "Dear daughter, let me make a request for getting a son. Tell me when your period comes and menstruation occurs to you." "Very well, madam," replied Sudinna's ex-wife.

Provision of the Seed for Procreation.

Before long, the period came and menstruation occurred to the ex-wife of the Venerable Sudinna, and she informed Sudinna's mother of the matter. "In that case, dear daughter, dress up in the clothes which used to have appeal for my son," said the mother. "Very well, madam", so saying Sudinna's ex-wife did as she had been told.

Taking Sudinna's ex-wife, the mother, the wife of the wealthy merchant, went to Mahāvana and told Sudinna two times as before to come out from monkhood and enjoy the riches and do acts of merit. Sudinna refused to do so by saying as before that he could not become a lay man and that he dared not do so; he added that he was happy in pursuing (the noble practice of the threefold training). On the third time, however, the mother asked for the seed of procreation. Saying "This is something I can do.", he caught hold the woman's arm had entered the Mahāvana; as it was a time when the first Pārājika rule had not been laid down yet, he did not see sexual intercourse as an offence; accordingly, there in the forest he successfully indulged three times in the sex practice with his wife. As a result the ex-wife became pregnant.

[ 115 ] Eight Causes of Pregnancy.

Women can become pregnant.
(1) by copulating,
(2) by coming into physical contact,
(3) by inserting man's loin cloth (into the vagina),
(4) by swallowing the semen,
(5) by stroking the navel,
(6) by seeing the male's appearance,
(7) by hearing the male's sound, and
(8) by getting the male's odour.

Of these,

(1) pregnancy througedcopulation is explicit. (Sudinna's exwife had pregancy by this means. )

(2) Some women developing strong sexual feeling when the monthly period comes, pull men's hand and hair-knot, stroke limbs big and small and take pleasure thereby, which makes her pregnant. Thus through the physical contact pregnancy happens.

(3) During the lifetime of the Buddha, the monk Udāyī gazed at the private part of his ex-wife and had a discharge of semen; he asked her to wash the soiled robe. She swallowed part of the semen and put part of it together with the robe into her organ. By so doing she became pregnant. Thus through the insertion of men's loin cloth into the vagina, pregnancy takes place.

(4) A Jātaka story tells of a doe, the mother of Migasiṅga the hermit. When she was in heat she came to the place where the old hermit, Migasiṅga's father, urinated, and took the urine together with the semen. By so doing she became pregnant and [ 116 ] gave birth to the baby Migasiṅga. Thus through the swallowing of semen pregnancy occurs.

(5) In the Suvaṇṇasāma Jātaka, the Sakka, foreseeing that the Bodhisatta's parents would become blind, and wanting them to have a son, asked the wise hermit Dukūla whether sexual intercourse was permissible to them hermits. When the reply was "Whether it is permissible or not, we became ascetic because we do not want to do it." the Sakku told him to stroke Pārikā's navel during menstruation. Dukūla did as he was told and Pārikā became pregnant and gave birth to the Bodhisatta Suvaṇṇasāma. Thus stroking of a women's navel is another cause for pregnancy.

Similarly, while menstruation was occurring to a rich man's daughter Diṭṭhamaṅgalikā, the Bodhisatta hermit Mātaṅga stroke her navel which made her pregnant and her son Maṇḍavya was born. The mother of Prince Caṇḍa Pajjota, during the period, felt a scorpion's walking across her navel pleasant, became pregnant and produced the prince.

Being deprived of copulation with men, some women in this world who eye men lustfully while in the period and even staying at home can become pregnant. (In Ceylon there was a court lady, to whom the same thing happened.) Thus through the sight of the male's appearance pregnancy happens.

(7) No male is known among the pond herons. When they hear thunder when in heat they become pregnant. Sometimes pregnancy occurs to hens on hearing the crowing of a cock. Similarly, pregnancy happens to cows as they hear the bellowing of a bull. Thus through the hearing of the male's sound pregnancy takes place.

(8) Sometimes cows conceive when they get the smell of a bull. Thus through the male's odour pregnancy takes place.

[ 117 ] These eight causes for pregnancy should particularly be noted. (From the Vinaya Parajikakaṇḍa, Vol. I.)

Tumultous Denunciation of Devas and Brahmās.

(There is no hidden place in the world for a man who commits evil. In fact, he who does evil is the first to know his evil. Then his guardian spirit and the guardian spirits of forests know it. Then other Devas and Brahmās come to know successively. Therefore when Sudinna copulated with his ex-wife, the terrestrial spirit living all over the entire Mahāvana saw the offence and transmitted by shouting so that higher Devas and Brahmās might hear:

"Friends, the Saṃgha of bhikkhus (in the past) was indeed free from the thieves of immorality (dussīla)! It was indeed free from the blemishes of immorality (dussīla)! But now the Kalanda merchant's son Sudinna has caused theft which is immorality (dussīla)! He has caused the blemishes of immorality (dussīla)!

On hearing the voice of the terrestrial spirits the celestial spirits such as Catumahārājika Devas, Tāvatiṃsa Devas, Yāma Devas, Tusīta Devas, Nimmānarati Devas, Paranimmitavasavattī Devas, and Brahmās shouted in the same way successively. Thus in a moment the roars of condemnation spread and rose up to the world of Brahmās.

When her pregnancy became mature Sudinna's ex-wife gave birth to a son. Then Sudinna's friends named him Bījaka but not otherwise (as it was well known that the baby's grandmother made the request saying Bījakampi dehi, give us then the procreative seed."") Sudinna's ex-wife also came to be known as Bījaka-mata, (Bījaka's mother), and Sudinna Bījaka-pitā.( Bījaka's father)."

[ 118 ] Seven or eight years later the son and the mother, Bījaka and Bījakamāta went forth from household life and joined the monastic Order; respectively as a monk and a nun. They attained Arahantship through the help of good teachers and friends.

In this way the monastic life of the son and the mother was that of benefit. The father (the Venerable Sudinna) was, however, severely tormented by grief.

(In this connection, the Commentary says: "pitā pana vippaṭisārātbhibhūto-vihāsi, the father (Sudinna Thera), however, lived being overcome by great sorrow"; it should therefore, be assumed that for the Venerable Sudinna it was totally impossible to attain Arahantship in that life (or existence). Sārattha Ṭīkā.

Though it is said in the Commentary that the (former) Sudinna, the Kalanda merchant's son, while going to listen to the discourse, was bhabba kulaputta, 'the clansman worthy of the Path and Fruition.' Though he was a man endowed with merits leading to such higher attainments, a check on the Path and Fruition would occur to him as in the case of King Ajātasattu and that check actually occurred as he was in great torment on account of his evil (sexual intercourse with his exwife), teachers say so.

(A question may arise here: "Was such a check possible to occur to one, who is endowed with the potentials for higher attainments, even in the lifetime of a Buddha?"

(The answer is: "Yes, it was." But the check did not derive from the Buddha. In fact, Buddhas are those who endeavour to help others attain the Path and Fruition; they constantly put efforts for the spiritual uplift of others. Therefore no check can come from them to those who are possessed of merits of the past.

[ 119 ] (In reality, a check on spiritual progress is due to (1) inadequacy of performance, and (2) association with bad friends. Of these two (1) inadequacy of performance is of two kinds: (a) the lack of (teaching effort conductive to the Path and Fruition on the part of the teacher, and (b) the lack of practice conductive to the Path and Fruition on the part of the student who is endowed with the merits of the past.

(Of these, (a) indequacy of performance on the part of the teacher means that on the part of a Buddha's Disciple only, and not on the part of Buddhas. Explanation: (In the Brāhmaṇa Vagga of the Majjhima Paṇṇāsa, Majjhima Nikāya, there is a discourse called Dhanañjāni Sutta. It says that while the Brahmin Dhanañjāni was dying, Sāriputta Thera taught him the doctrine of the four Brahmavihāras that could lead one to the Brahmā abode. When the Brahmin died, he was reborn on that very plane of existence. Details should be taken from the Sutta.) If the Thera Sāriputta, the General of the Dhamma, had known of the latent qualifications of the Brahmin and if the Thera had taught him accordingly, he would have become a Sotāpanna. But now the teaching was different and the Brahmin's attainment was short of the noble status. Inadequacy of performance on the part of the teacher thus can cause the danger of failure to reach the Path and Fruition.

(b) An example of indequacy of performance on the part of the student who has qualifications may be seen thus (in the Kandaraka Sutta, Gahapati Vagga, Majjhima Paṇṇāsa, Majjhima Nikāya. According to this Sutta, a wandering ascetic named Kandaraka and an elephant trainer's son named Pessa came once to the Buddha, who taught them on the four individuals, the first being attantapa, one who worries oneself. When the Buddha finished just an outline of the discourse, and before he could go on to deal with it in detail, Pessa the elephant trainer's son departed in satisfaction. If he had listened [ 120 ] to the discourse in detail, Pessa would have become a Sotāpanna. As he left after hearing the discourse in brief, he had only two advantages: his becoming faithful to the Saṃgha and a new method of practising the foundations of mindfulness. (Details should be taken from the translation of the Sutta.) Had he waited a little longer to hear the elaborate teaching on the four individuals, he would have reached the first stage on his way to Arahantship. His impatience now caused his failure to do so. Inadequacy of performance on the part of the student with qualifications for higher attainments is a cause of his loss.

((2) Check on the Path and Fruition due to association with bad friends may be understood from the following: If King Ajatasattu, an associate of Devadatta and a follower of his advice, had not killed his father, he would have become a Sotāpanna the day he listened to the Buddha's delivery of the Sāmaññaphala Sutta. Now that he adhered to the advice of his evil friend and wronged by murdering his father, he did not become one. Association with a wicked companion creates a check on the Path and the Fruition.

(Here also it should be taken that Sudinna suffered the same loss because of his company with a bad friend. If he had not followed his parents' counsel and kept away from the sex practice with his ex-wife, there would not have occurred a sudden stop to his good prospects of attainments, the stop that was brought about by his grief. The grief was so great and tormenting that he met with failure in achieving Arahantship. Sārattha Dīpanī Tīka, Volume II.)

Sudinna's Thera's Remorse.

At that time a fit of remorse occurred to Sudinna Thera: "I have failed to make achievements such as Jhānas, etc., My gain of monkhood has been worthless! I have ill-gotten the Teaching! The Buddha's dispensation has come to me not in a good manner! (Because) I have [ 121 ] thus been incapable of practising in perfection and purity for life the noble practice of the threefold training after receiving ordination in the dispensation of the Dhamma and Vinaya taught so well!" So great was his remorse that he became emaciated day by day, and with poor and dry skin, his good appearance deteriorated and his complexion became pale like a withered leaf. His body had sinews that were like a cast net; his distress was hidden in him and his introverted thoughts developed gradually; tormented by his physical and mental unhappiness, he remained in pensive mood.

Then Sudinna's friends said to him: "Though formerly you were handsome, your sense-faculties were alert, your facial colour was clear, and your complexion was especially clean, now you are emaciated day by day, and with poor and dry skin, your good appearance deteriorates and your complexion becomes pale like a withered leaf. Your body had sinews that are like a cast net; your distress is hidden in you and your introverted thoughts developed gradually: tormented by your physical and mental unhappiness, you remain in pensive mood. Why, friend Sudinna? Are you practising the noble practice of the threefold training with unhappiness in the Buddha's dispensation'?"

Sudinna Thera replied s follows:

Friends, I am practising the noble practice of the threefold training in the Buddha's dispensation not with unhappiness. There is one evil deed done by me though. I have committed sexual conduct with my ex-wife, for which I feel remorseful, thinking, 'I have failed to make achievements such as Jhānas, etc.!, My gain of monkhood has been worthless! I have illgotten the Teaching! The Buddha's dispensation has come to me not in a good manner!' (Because) I have thus been incapable of practising in perfection in purity for life the noble practice of the threefold training after receiviag ordination in the dispensation of the Dhamma and Vinaya taught so well!

Then his friends blamed him by citing a large number of instances:

[ 122 ] "Friend Sudinna, since you are thus incapable of practising in perfection and purity for life the noble practice of the threefold training after receiving ordination in the dispensation of the Dhamma and the Vinaya taught so well, you should be remorseful.

"Friend Sudinna, does not the Master teach us in various ways to separate from lust but not to combine with lust? Does not he teach us to dissociate from sensuality but not to associate with sensuality? Does not he teach us to be detached through craving and wrong view but not to be attached through craving and wrong view? Friend Sudinna, despite the Master's teaching to separate from lust you have striven to combine with lust. Despite the Master's teaching to dissociate from sensuality you have striven to associate with sensuality. Despite the Master's teaching to be detached through craving and wrong view you have striven to be attached through craving and wrong view.

Friend, does not the Master teach us in various ways to separate from lust, to give up conceit, to remove hunger or thirst that is moral defilement, to eliminate attachment that is lingering of craving, to cut the source of suffering, to cease craving, to have no passionate desires, to stop craving and to extinguish moral defilements?"

"Friend, does not the Master teach us in various ways the removal of sensuality? Does not he teach us the analytical knowledge of perception concerning sensuality? Does not he teach us the elimination of craving that is hunger or thirst for sensuality? Does not he teach us the cutting off of thoughts connected with sensuality? Does not he teach us the cooling of the heat that is sensuality?

Friend, the evil deed you have done cannot cause the faithless to become faithful; nor can it cause the faithful to become more faithful. In fact, friend, the evil deed of yours will [ 123 ] make the faithless remain faithless and will lead to the destruction of the faith of the faithful."""

Then they reported the matter to the Buddha.

On account of this incident the Buddha held a meeting of the Saṃgha and asked the Thera Sudinna, "Is it true, Sudinna, that you have committed sexual conduct with your ex-wife?" When he replied, "Yes, Venerable Sir," the Buddha rebuked Sudinna in the following manner:

"You empty man (mogha purisa), who have failed to attain the Path and Fruition, achieving nothing! It (i.e. what you have now done) is not befitting a monk! It is no practice of a monk. It is improper. It should not be done! You, good for nothing! Why are you incapable of practising in perfection and purity for life the noble practice of the threefold training alter receiving ordination in the dispensation the Dhamma and the Vinaya proclaimed so well?

You empty man, do not I teach you in various ways to separate from lust, but not to combine with lust? Do not I teach to dissociate from sensuality but not to associate with sensuality? Do not I teach you to be detached through craving and wrong view but not to be attached through craving and wrong view. Though I teach you to separate from lust, you have striven to combine with lust! Though I teach you to dissociate from sensuality you have striven to associate with sensuality! Though I teach you to be detached through craving and wrong view you have striven to be attached through craving and wrong view."

"You empty man, do not I teach you in various ways to be free from lust, not to be intoxicated with conceit, to remove hunger or thirst that is defilement, to cut off attachment tinged with craving, to eliminate the roots of the round of suffering, to [ 124 ] cease craving, to reject desires, to stop craving and to extinguish defilement.

You empty man, do not I teach you in various ways the removal of sensual pleasures? Do not I teach you the analytical knowledge of perception concerning sensual pleasure? Do not I teach you the removal of craving for sensual pleasure? Do not I teach you the cutting off of thoughts concerning sensual pleasure? Do not I teach you the extinguishing of the heat of sensual pleasure?"

"You empty man, it is rather better to put your male organ into the mouth of a highly poisonous, severely poisonous snake! But it is no good to put it into the female organ!

You empty man, it is better to put your male organ into the mouth of a cobra! But it is no good to put it into the female organ!"

"You empty man, it is better to put your male organ into a heap of embers with glowing and blazing flames that illuminate all around! But it is no good to put it into the female organ!

Because, empty man, by putting the male organ into the snake's mouth or into the heap of embers, you will just come to death or you will just suffer almost dying. By putting the male organ into the snake's mouth or into the heap of embers, you cannot go to the four woeful states of long suffering, of animals, of departed spirits and Asurakāyas on destruction of your body. But by so doing with regard to the female organ, empty man, you may go to those woeful states on destruction of your body!

You empty man, even then you have committed sexual intercourse which is not the practice of noble persons, which is the practice of villagers, which is a crude act that ends in [ 125 ] washing, which is done only in a secluded place (because of its unseemly sight), which is done by the couple of man and woman. You empty man you are the pioneer in the sense that you engage in unwholesomeness ahead of others!"

You empty man, what you have done now cannot cause the faithless to become faithful; nor can it cause the faithful to become more faithful. In fact, empty man, the evil deed of yours will make the faithless remain faithless and lead to the destruction of the faith of the faithful.

Then the Buddha censured Sudinna Thera in many ways and taught the disadvantages of such unseemly things as difficult self-maintenance, difficult maintenance by others, greediness, discontent, fondness of companions, and indolence; he also taught the advantages of such seemly things as easy self maintenance, easy maintenance by others, little want, easy content, decrease in defilement, the shaking off of defilement, assuming pleasant appearance, the destruction of defilement, and industriousness; the Buddha also gave the monks a talk appropriate to that incident and addressed them as follows:

Ten Objectives for Laying Down Disciplinary Rules.

"Monks, in that case I will lay down disciplinary rules with ten objectives:
(1) for the acknowledgement of its goodness and observance by the Saṃgha,
(2) for the welfare of the Saṃgha,
(3) for suppressing those who violate morality.
(4) for the happy life of monks who cherish morality,
(5) for barring out peculiar suffering in the present life,
(6) for removing peculiar suffering that may arise in future,
(7) for causing the faithles, to become faithful,
(8) for causing the faithful to become more faithful,
[ 126 ] (9) for the perpetuation of the threefold dispensation, the three divisions of the True Law, and
(10) for the sanctification of disciplinary rules.

Monks let it be proclaimed thus:"

A monk who commits sexual intercourse suffers loss in the dispensation (which amounts to Pārājika¹). There should no longer be his association with moral bhikkhus in performing various monastic acts. Let it thus be proclaimed."

In this manner did the Buddha lay down the first Pārājika rule.

Here ends the story of Sudinna the Kalandaka merchant's son.

The Vālodaka Jātaka Told by the Buddha on His Arrival in Sāvatthi.

(The previous account of Sudinna the merchant's son contains the events from the close of the Buddha's vassa at Verañja up to his ordination when the Buddha arrived in Vesālī in due course. The events leading to the laying down of the first Pārājika rule took place in the eighth year after Sudinna's ordination. This should be noted carefully by readers.)

Having stayed thus in Mahāvana, Vesālī, preaching to those worthy of cononversion, he left that city and arrived in Sāvatthi in due course and stayed at Jetavana monastery.

An event then happened, leading to the relation of the story of Vālodaka Jātaka by the Buddha: Five hundred lay devotees in the city of Sāvatthi left their domestic undertakings, wandered in one group with their wives from place to place, listening to the discourses of the [ 127 ] Buddha. Among them some were Sotāpannas, some were Sakadāgāmīs and the rest Anāgāmīs. There was not a single worldling (puthujjana). Those who extended invitation to the Buddha included the five hundred lay devotees in the list of invited monks.

There lived also five hundred young attendants who, while waiting upon the five hundred devotees, ate what was left over. After eating the left-over food as breakfast they slept as they had nothing more to do, and when they got up they went to the river Aciravatī and wrestled among themselves on the banks of the river, shouting roaringly. Their masters, the five hundred lay devotees, however, did not shout at all but kept quiet and engaged in phalasamāpatti in solitude.

When the Buddha heard the loud noises of the five hundred eaters of leftover food, he asked the Venerable Ānanda, "What are these noises, Ānanda?" "These noises belong to the five hundred eaters of leftover food, Exalted Buddha", replied the Thera Ānanda.

Then the Buddha said: "Ānanda, not only now do they eat leftover food and shout roaringly, but in former times too did they do the same thing. Not only now do these five hundred devotees remain quiet but in former times too did they do so." As requested by Ānanda Thera, the Buddha related the past story as follows:

In ancient times when King Brahmadatta was reigning in Bārāṇasī, the Bodhisatta was born into the family of a noble man and when he came of age he became a counsellor to the king.

One day, hearing of a rebellion in a border area, he harnessed five hundred horses of Sindhava breed and went to the border with the fourfold army; after restoring peace there he returned to Bārāṇasī and asked his officers to give the horses the syrup made of grapes, saying; "These horses are fatigued. Let them have grape drink." The officers did as they were told by the king.

[ 128 ] The five hundred horses then took the flavoured tasty grape-drinks and went to their stables and stayed quietly in their respective places.

After giving the syrup to the horses there were a lot of the remains of the grapes without flavour and taste. The officers asked the king, "What shall we do with the remains of the grapes?" "Comrades," said the king, "knead them in water and filter them with pieces of coarse cloth made of fibres from marsh date palms and give the water to the mules that carry the food for the horses". The officers acted as they were ordered by the king.

The mules that were the carriers of the food-loads took the filtered secondary juice became intoxicated with pride and they frolicked braying, jumping and running in the courtyard. The king opened the palace window, and looking at the courtyard, he desired to ask the Bodhisatta, the counsellor: "Look, O wise man, after drinking the secondary grape juice these five hundred mules are intoxicated with pride and frolicked, braying, jumping and running. But the Sindhava horses, after drinking the flavoured and delicious syrup of grapes made no sound: not showing their frolicsome behaviour, they keep quiet. What is the reason? So he put forth the question in the following verse:

Vālodakaṃ apparasaṃ nihīnaṃ
pitvā mado jāyati gadrabhānaṃ
Imaṃ ca pitvāna rasaṃ paṇītaṃ
mado na sañjāyati sindhayānaṃ. (1)

(Wise man!) To the mules that have taken the secondary grape syrup of less taste and poor quality and filtered with a piece of cloth made of fibres from marsh date palms, the intoxication with pride occurred to the mules. Such intoxication does not happened to the Sindhava horses though they have taken the delicious grape juice. (What is the reason?)

In order to give his answer to the king he uttered the following verse:

[ 129 ] Appaṃ pivitvāna nihīnajacco
so majjatī tena janinda phuṭṭho
Dhorayhasīlī ca kulamhi jāto
na majjatī aggarasaṃ pivitvā. (2)

Your Majesty! The lowly born mule that has been effected by its insignificant birth becomes intoxicated after drinking an inconsiderable amount of secondary grape syrup. The Sindhava horses that strenuously renders service to the country, though he had taken the sweetest taste of the juice extracted from fresh grapes, is not intoxicated because of his birth in a high family.

(What the verse means to say is that because the mules are inferior by birth, they become intoxicated after drinking less tasty secondary juice. On the contrary the Sindhava steeds, on account of their superiority by birth, do not show conceit or are not intoxicated with conceit though they have taken the primary juice of top taste.)

On hearing the Bodhisatta's saying, the king had the mules driven out from the courtyard. Taking the Bodhisatta's advice the king performed meritorious deeds beginning with alms-giving and passed away to another existence according to his kamma.

Having delivered this sermon of the Vālodaka Jātaka, the Buddha concluded the story thus: "The five hundred mules then have now become the five hundred eaters of left-over food. The five hundred Sindhava horses then have now become the five hundred noble lay devotees. The king of Bārāṇasī then is now Ānanda. The wise counsellor then is now I."

Here ends the Buddhas relation of the Vālodaka Jātaka.

[ 130 ]Delivery of the Mahā Rāhulovada Sutta to Rāhula.

While the Buddha was staying at Jetavana monastery, Sāvatthi, the Buddha's son Rāhula was a novice of eighteen years of age. He had now reached the eleventh year as a sāmaṇera.

One day the Buddha entered the city of Sāvatthi in the morning for alms-food. The Sāmaṇera Rāhula followed the Buddha closely.

When the Buddha and Rāhula were thus walking, the latter close behind the former, the Buddha was as splendid looking as a grand bull elephant that marches out of a jungle to come upon the pleasant ground in a grove of sāla trees in full bloom. Rāhula too was as splendid looking as a young elephant that comes close behind the bull elephant. The Buddha was as splendid looking as the lion-king that marches out of his ruby cave to look for food in the evening. Rāhula too was as splendid as a young lion that comes close behind the great lion king. The Buddha was as splendid as the tiger king that marches out of his forest resembling a jade cave. Rāhula too was as splendid as a young tiger that comes close behind the tiger king.

The Buddha was as splendid as the garuḍa-bird king that emerges out of a forest of cotton trees while Rāhula was as splendid as a young garuḍa that comes close behind the garuḍa king. The Buddha was as splendid as the golden haṃsa king that flies up to the sky from Cittakūṭa Mount while Rāhula was as splendid as a young golden haṃsa that comes close behind the haṃsa-king. The Buddha was as splendid as a large golden boat that sails in Lake Chaddanta while Rāhula was as splendid as a smaller golden boat that comes behind the larger one. The Buddha was as splendid as the Universal Monarch that roams in space by the power of his Wheel-Treasure while Rāhula was as splendid as the eldest royal son that comes close behind the Monarch. The Buddha was as splendid as the moon, the lord of stars that roams in the cloudless sky while Rāhula was as splendid as the morning star that comes behind the moon.

[ 131 ] The Buddha was born in the lineage of King Okkāka, a descendent from the Mahāsammata. So was the Sāmaṇera Rāhula. The Buddha belonged to the Khattiya birth that was as pure as the milk poured into a conch. So was Rāhula. The Buddha's body was adorned with the thirty two marks of a great person and was attractive to the hearts of others as a jewel gate-post well erected at the gate of a celestial city or as a Pārichattaka tree in full bloom. So was Rāhula's body.

In this manner the two Super-Men, Noble Ones, who had realized their unique aspirations of the past, who had become ascetics from the ruling class, who had possessed royal gentleness, who had golden complexion, and who had borne the marks of a Great Man, walked along the same road, being resplendent as though they were to overcome by means of their own splendour the splendour of two moons, two suns, and each pair of such deities as Sakka, Suyāma, Santusita, Sunimmita, Vasavattī, Mahā-Brahmā, and others.

While they were thus resplendent, the Venerable Rāhula, closely following the Buddha from behind, watched his father carefully from the surface of the soles up to the tip of the hair and saw his father's resplendence generated by the glory of a Buddha. Wonder-struck, he thought thus:

"As his body frame is exquisite with the thirty-two major marks and surrounded by body lustre, he is resplendent as though he were amidst gold dust drizzled all over, as a golden mountain encircled by streaks of lightening, as a golden gatepost exquisite with seven kinds of gems that are strung on mechanical threads, as a golden mountain screened by red rugs though he is attired in dark-red rag-robes, as a golden gate-post inlaid and adorned with coral creeps, as a golden shrine honoured with vermilion powder, as a golden sacrificial post painted with liquid of lac, as the moon that rises all of a sudden from between red clouds. The Buddha's possession of splendour, that is effected by the power of his Perfections thirty in all, is amazing endlessly!

[ 132 ] Thereafter he looked at his own self and developed craving associated with household life on account of his own frame: I am of beauty, too. If the Buddha were a Universal Monarch, Lord of the four continents, he would have appointed me pro-leader (pari-nāyaka), the position reserved for the eldest son. In that case, the whole of Jambudipa would become splendid."

While the Buddha was walking ahead it occurred to him thus: "Now the body of my son Rāhula has grown with flesh and blood. It is a time when one's mind restlessly wanders about all attractive objects such as sights, etc., I wonder by what thoughts he is being occupied in passing away time!" While the Buddha was thus reflecting, he found out clearly his son's thoughts that were accompanied by greedy inclinations towards household life (gehassita taṇhālobha), he found out Rāhula's thoughts as though he saw the moving fish in the clear water, and as though he saw his own image in the round mirror. This led him to decide as follows: "While following behind me my son, the Sāmaṇera Rāhula, had developed craving for household life on account of his own body, thinking, I am beautiful. My appearance is pure and clean. Landing not at a right port and following a wrong path, he directs his mind to the unworthy sense-objects. Like a travelling man who has lost his way, he is heading for a place which is not worth-visiting. If the arising defilement of greed, were to stay in him and allowed to grow, this would not give him a chance to see clearly the welfare of oneself as well as that of another in their true perspective. This will lead him to the four woeful states of purgatory, animals, petas, and asurakāyas, and also to conception in the mother's cramped womb. Thus will he be thrown into the wheel of saṃsāra that knows no beginning (anamatagga); in fact,

This greed produces what is fruitless, it destroys the meritorious consciousness. Owing to it, a terrible danger may occur in one's mental continuum. This is not seen by men.

[ 133 ] One who craves does not see cause and its effect clearly. When a being is overwhelmed by greed, complete darkness reigns.

A big mechanized boat fully loaded with treasures is not to be neglected even for a moment if water is seeping in through the breakage of the planks. As the breakage should be blocked up quickly, so the Sāmaṇera Rāhula should not be negligently left aside. Before the defilement of greed does not destroy the treasures of the virtuous such as morality and the like that have accrued to him, I shall subdue those moral defilements of his."

In such an event the Buddha used to look back by turning round his whole body like a bull elephant which is called nāga-vilokana, 'an elephant's looking'. The Buddha stood after turning his whole body as though a golden statue turned mechanically, and he addressed Rāhula:

Rāhula, there is matter (rūpa) of the past, matter of the future, and matter of the present (3) matter inside the body and matter outside the body (2), matter rough and matter soft (2), matter bad and matter good, (2) matter far and matter near (2), All this matter of eleven kinds is not mine; it is not I; it is not my self; thus must matter be contemplated as it really is through Vipassanā Knowledge and Wisdom.

When Rāhula asked, "Exalted Buddha, must only matter be (thus) contemplated? Speaker of Good Words, must only matter be (thus) contemplated? the Buddha answered, "Matter must be (thus) contemplated, Rāhula; sensation (vedanā) must be (thus) contemplated; perception (saññā) must be (thus) contemplated; mental formations (saṅkhāra) must be (thus) contemplated; consciousness (viññāṇa) must be (thus) contemplated"

(Herein the reason for Rāhula's question, "must only matter be (thus) contemplated?", was as follows:

[ 134 ] (On hearing the Buddha's instruction that' 'All this matter of eleven kinds is not mine; it is not I; it is not my self: thus must matter be contemplated as it really is through Vipassanā Knowledge and Wisdom, it occurred to Rāhula, who developed skill in application of methods (nayakusala-ñāṇa), thus: "The Exalted One said, 'All matter must be thus contemplated through Vipassanā Knowledge and Wisdom"; how must the remaining four aggregates such as sensation, etc., be contemplated? It should follow that they must also be contemplated as in the case of the aggregate of matter!" Hence his question on the basis of his skill in application of methods (nayakusula-ñāṇa).

("Indeed, the Venerable Rāhula possessed nayakusala-ñāṇa (a high degree of intelligence). When taught just one thing saying "This should not be done", he would then ponder this too should not be done; this too should not be done" and penetratingly proceeded in hundreds of thousands of ways. Similarly, when instructed just one thing saying, "This should be done", he would then ponder, "This too should be done; this too should be done", he was able to penetrate by hundreds of thousands of means.

(Besides, Venerable Rāhula cherished the threefold training. Early in the morning in the precints of the Buddha's Scented Chamber he would scatter daily a pattha² of grains of sand and utter "May I today get from the Exalted One or from my preceptor Sāriputtara Thera words of advice as much as this sand (He put forward his questions because he wished to practise fully as he possessed nayakusala intelligence and cherished the three training.)

[ 135 ] On receiving the Buddha's reply the Venerable Rāhula considered thus:

After knowing the craving that has its base in my body, the Exalted One did not admonish me indirectly saying to the effect that, A monk should not have such an idea!' Neither did he send a messenger to me saying, "Go, monk, ask him not to have such an idea!" In fact, he stood face to face with me and gave me a Buddha's instruction presently as though he seized a thief together with the stolen property, catching hold of his top knot. Hard is to get a Buddha's advice even in the long duration asaṅkhyeyya aeons! Who on getting the instruction of a Buddha in person would care to enter a town or a village for food if he were truly wise?"

Accordingly, Rāhula gave up his alms-food business and turned back from the spot where he heard the Buddha's exhortation (without following the Buddha further) and sat down at the foot of a tree.

Though the Buddha saw Rāhula's turning back, he did not forbid saying, "Rāhula, do not go back yet. This is the time for you to go on alms-round," for he had conceived an idea: 'Let Rāhula take the food of immortality the kāyagatā-sati, body-related mindfulness, meditation, for the day!"

Duties of Sāriputta Thera.

The duties of Sāriputta Thera while staying alone were different from the duties while staying together with the Buddha.

Explanation: While the two Chief Disciples were staying alone they would sweep their residential ground early in the morning, wash themselves, engage in Jhāna attainment, sitting quietly, and go on alms-round, each according to his wish. While they were staying with [ 136 ] the Buddha the two Mahā-Theras (Chief Disciples) would not do so. Citation: While they were thus staying with the Buddha, the Buddha in the company of monks, first went for alms-food. When the Buddha had left thus for alms, the Venerable Sāriputta would come out from his cell, and being aware that "a residence of monks is a place which can sometimes be made pleasant by themselves or which cannot be done so at other times", he would go round the precints and sweep the place that had not been swept, dispose of the rubbish that had not been disposed of, keep a drinking water pot at a suitable place where there was none. Visiting a sick monk, he would ask, "Friend, what food shall I bring for you? Which food do you want to have ?" He would also go to those who had not observed even a single vassa and advise them, "Friends, be happy in the Buddha's dispensation! But do not be indolent! The Buddha's Teaching contains practice as its essence!" Having done all this would he go on alms-round following all others.

For example when the Universal Monarch, the Lord of the Four Continents, desired to go to a certain place he marched out first with the fourfold army, his eldest son, the Vice-Chief, followed him supervising the troops; in the same way, the Exalted One, the Universal Monarch of the True Law, who set in motion the Wheel of the Dhamma, went in the company of monks first; the Mahā Thera Sāriputta, the Buddha's eldest son and the Vice Chief, the General of the Dhamma, went on alms-round following all other bhikkhus after performing all his duties mentioned above.

When the Venerable Sāriputta as the last person went out for alms after finishing his job in Jetavana Monastery on that very day, he saw the Venerable Rāhula seated cross-legged with his body upright, cultivating mindfulness and urged him with encouraging words to develop ānāpānassati-bhāvanā (meditation on mindfulness of in-breath and out-breath):

Rāhula, develop ānāpānassati-bhāvanā! When ānāpānassati-bhāvanā is developed, when it is repeatedly developed, it will be of great benefit.

[ 137 ] (Herein it may be questioned as to why Sāriputta Thera urged and encouraged Rāhula to develop ānāpānassati-bhāvanā.)

(Answer: Because ānāpānassati-bhāvanā was agreeable to Rāhula's disposition. Explanation: Not being aware of the fact that the Buddha had taught Rāhula meditation on matter, he noticed that the way Rāhula was seated motionless would go best with ānāpānassati meditation. Hence his drive and encouraging words.

(With reference to the words, "When ānāpānassati-bhāvanā is repeatedly developed, it will be of great benefit", the way the benefit accrues is as follows:

A bhikkhu who develops ānāpānassati-bhāvanā can attain Arahantship in one sitting; even if he cannot attain Arahantship, he can became a Samasīsī Arahant when nearing his death; if not, during his rebirth in a celestial abode he can attain Arahantship after listening to the Dhamma from a Deva; if not, he can become a Pacceka Buddha at a time when there is no Perfect Buddha; if not, he can become an Arahant of Khippabhiññā (Quick Intelligence) like Bāhiya Dāruciya Thera in the lifetime of a later Buddha. In this way ānāpānassati-bhāvanā is of great benefit.

(Discerning the great benefit thus, the Venerable Sāriputta urged and encouraged Rāhula, who had taken him as preceptor and who was his co-resident pupil (saddhivihārika), to practise ānāpānassati meditation.)

In this way, the Buddha and the Thera Sāriputta gave Rāhula meditation on matter and meditation on ānāpānassatti respectively and went away. Rāhula remained at the monastery.

Although knowing that Rāhula was left behind, the Buddha did not personally bring food (for him), nor did he send food through the [ 138 ] Venerable Ānanda nor did he inform his male and female donors such as King Pasenadī, Anāthapiṇḍika the wealthy merchant, etc., of the matter. (Had they known of this, they would have pots of food conveyed by means of a carrying pole indeed.)

Like the Buddha the Thera Sāriputta did nothing: For that very day the Venerable Rāhula received no food at all and had none whatever. Despite his being deprived of provisions thus, he did not mind a bit thinking, "Though the Exalted One knows that I have been left behind at the monastery, he does not bring in person the food he obtained, nor does he send through somebody else, nor does he tell lay people of the matter. Though my preceptor also knows that I have remained, he too does nothing for me." How could there be low or high opinion (contempt or admiration) in him on account of that? There was neither. In the morning as well as and in the daytime he engaged in meditation on the element of matter taught by the Buddha:

It is true that matter is impermanent for such and such a reason, it is true that matter is miserable for such and such a reason; it is true that matter is unpleasant for such and such a reason; it is true that matter is insubstantial for such and such a reason.

He reflected thus incessantly like a man who urgently kindles a fire, and in the evening he pondered, "I have been instructed by my preceptor to develop ānāpānassati. I will take up his instruction. In fact, one who does not follow the advice of one's preceptor is one who is hard to exhort (dubbaca). There is no worse oppression for me than a censure by my fellow-monks saying, "Rāhula is hard to exhort; he does not even follow his preceptor's advice!" Desirous of asking about the engagement in anāpānassati-bhāvanā, he came out from his cell, and approached the Buddha; paying obeisance most respectfully, he sat down on a blameless place, and asked;

[ 139 ] "Exalted Buddha, how is ānāpānassati-bhāvanā developed? How is it repeatedly developed so that it becomes to be of great benefit?"

Then the Buddha explained Rāhula in detail:

(1) How to develop meditation.
(a) on twenty portions (koṭṭhāsa) of earth element,
(b) on twelve portions (koṭṭhāsa) water element,
(c) on four portions (koṭṭhāsa) of fire element,
(d) on six portions (koṭṭhāsa) of wind element which are all Mahā-bhūta (Great Elements),
(e) on space element which is dependent matter (upādā-rūpa);

(2) how to develop meditation on tādibhāva-lakkhaṇa, the characteristics of which are similar to those of the five elements of earth, water, fire, wind and space;

(3) on mettā, loving-kindness;

(4) on karuṇā, compassion;

(5) on muditā, altruistic joy;

(6) on upekkhā, equanimity;

(7) on asubha, unpleasantness;

(8) on anicca-saññā, perception of impermanence; the Buddha gave a discourse (which included the advantages), urging him to practise all these forms of meditation.

(9) on ānāpānassati, which formed the original question put forth by Rāhula; the Buddha explained it in detail, showing the benefit derived therefrom. (The Buddha's elaborate saying may be read in the Majjhima Paṇṇāsa of the Majjhima Nikāya.)

[ 140 ] Discourses Delivered by the Buddha with Reference to the Venerable Rāhula.

Several discourses were delivered to the Venerable Rāhula by the Buddha: (1) The Sāmaṇera-pañhā, "Questions for a novice"; (2) the Rāhula-saṃyutta, "saying connected with Rāhula", (3) the MahāRāhulovāda Sutta, "Greater Discourse as Advice to Rāhula", (4) the Cūla Rāhulovāda Sutta, "Lesser Discourse as Advice to Rāhula", and (5) the Ambalaṭṭhika Rāhulovāda Sutta, "Advice to Rāhula given in Ambalaṭṭhika Park".

Gists of these Suttas: At the time when the Buddha visited the palace at Kapilavatthu for the first time and met Prince Rāhula who was then seven years old, the Prince asked for his inheritance, grasping the edge of the Buddha's robe: "Father, you whose defilements have all been put away! Please grant me your inheritance!" Accordingly the Buddha handed him over to the Venerable Sāriputta to ordain him as a novice.

(1) Thereafter the Buddha decided to make some exhortations to Rāhula, for he thought, "Children tend to speak of all kinds of things, proper as well as improper." He then summoned his son and said, "Rāhula, a sāmaṇera should not indulge in tiracchāna-kathā, "animal talks" such as those about princes and rulers and the like, which are not conducive to the Path and Fruition. Dear son, if you wish to talk, talk about such and such Dhamma." And the Buddha gave Rāhula a sermon, Sāmaṇera-pañhā by name, containing ten questions and fiftyfive answers that are never to be left out by all Buddhas from their teaching (Khuddaka-pāṭha, the first book of the Khuddaka Nikāya.)

(5) Again the Buddha considered: "Children are fond of telling lies. They are likely to say "I see" when they do not; or "I do not see", when they do. Therefore I shall exhort Rāhula in advance." Hence he delivered the Ambalaṭṭhika Rāhulovāda which enumerates seven examples in order: first, the four examples of water cups which can be easily seen by the eye, the two examples of an elephant in warfare, and [ 141 ] one example of a mirror. (Ambalaṭṭhika-Rāhulovāda Sutta, Bhikkhu-Vagga, Majjhima-Paṇṇāsa, Mājjhima Nikāyā.)

Besides, the Buddha taught Rāhula another Sutta which forbade the arising of craving for the four requisites, which removed desire, greed and craving for the five sensual pleasures, and explained the significant advamages of association with good friends. (Sutta-Nipāta I, this particular Sutta is called Abhiṇha Rāhulovāda Sutta.)

(2) The Rāhula Saṃyutta teaches not to develop craving and desire for the three kinds of existence wherever one is born. (Saṃyutta Nikāya., etc.)

(3) The Mahā-Rāhulovāda Sutta was delivered in order not to cultivate gehassita chandarāga, thinking 'I am beautiful, my look is clean and serene' with reference to one's body. (Majjhima Paṇṇāsa, Majjhima Nikāyā.)

(4) After that when the Buddha was in his fourteenth year as an Enlightened One (when Rāhula-was newly ordained as a bhikkhu but had not yet completed a vassa), the Cūla Rāhulovāda was taught so that Rāhula might attain Arahantship right away (Upari-Paṇṇāsa, Majjhima Nikāya.)

Of the above discourses,

(1) nothing can be said of the date of the deliverance of the Rāhula Sutta (Abhiññā Rāhulovda Sutta). In fact, it was taught by the Buddha off and on

(2) The Rāhula Saṃyutta was given occasionally during the period between Rāhula's novitiation that commenced when he was seven and his ordination as a young bhikkhu who had not yet observed even a single vassa.

(3) The teaching of the Mahā-Rāhulovāda took place when Rāhula was eighteen.

[ 142 ] (4) The teaching of the Cūla-Rāhulorāda took place when Rāhula had just become a bhikkhu with no experience even for a vassa

(1 & 5) The Sāmaṇera Pañhā and the Ambalaṭṭhika Rāhulovāda Sutta were delivered when Rāhula was a young sāmaṇera of seven.

Among these Discourses, the Rāhula Sutta (Abhiṇha Rāhulovāda Sutta) was given in order to exhort Rāhula incessantly; (2) the Rāhula Saṃyutta was given in order to let Rāhula Thera receive the doctrine concerning Vipassanā-Knowledge; (3)The Mahā Rāhulovāda was taught in order to eradicate gehassita chanda-rāga (the five sensual pleasures, the craving and greed for household life): (4) the Cūla Rāhulovāda Sutta was sermonized in order to make Rāhula attain Arahantship when the fifteen vimutti-paripācanīya characteristics reached maturity: (as he was' then just a freshman in the community of bhikkhus). With reference to this point, the Venerable Rāhula, desirous of extolling the Buddha's virtues, spoke in the midst of bhikkhus as follows:

Kikī va bījaṃ rakkheyya, camarī vālamuttamaṃ,
nipako sī1asampanno, mamaṃ rakkhi tathāgato.

As a female pheasant protects her egg, as a yak safeguards his precious tail, so did the Exalted One, my father, the apple of the eye to the three classes of beings, has sheltered me, his own flesh and blood, the manner of which being comparable to that adopted by the pheasant or the yak, so that I might attain Arahantship.

[ 143 ] (1) The Sāmaṇera Pañhā was preached to make Rāhula avoid talking about improper things. (5) The Ambalaṭṭhika Rāhulovāda Sutta was to instruct him not to tell lies knowingly.

In this way many discourses were delivered by the Buddha in connection with the Venerable Rāhula.

Here ends Chapter Thirty-One.

1. Pārājika: The first category of offences, considered to be grave and irremediable; it entails the removal of the offender from the bhikkhuhood.

2 Pattha: a certain measure of capacity. Grains of rice measuring eight times (of a condensed milk tin) is a pattha in Pāḷi and pyi in the Myanma Language.

VOLUME_4
PART_
CHAPTER_32

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THE BUDDHA'S THIRTEEN VASSA ON CĀLIKA HILL.

[ 145 ] After staying at the Jetavana monastery in Sāvatthi during the period after the twelfth vassa and converting and exhorting such beings as humans, Devas and Brahmās through the Mahā-Rāhulovāda Sutta and other Discourses, the Buddha arrived i

(Herein there was moving marshy soil all around the town except in the area of the town-gate. As the marshland was unsteady. the town in the middle of that land gave the impression of being shaky to those who viewed it from afar; therefore the town was called Cālika.)

(There stood a hill near the town. As the entire hill was white, it too looked shaky to those who saw it during the uposatha days of the dark fortnight. Hence its name also was Cālika.)

(On the top of the hill was a big monastery built for the Buddha by his male and female donors. The Buddha spent the thirteenth vassa at the Cālika monastery on the Cālika Hill.)

The Buddha's Discourse given to his temporary attendant Meghiya Thera.

While the Buddha was thus observing the thirteenth vassa at the big monastery on the Cālika Hill, Meghiya was the temporary attendant fulfilling his major and minor duties to the Buddha.

[ 146 ] Explanation: The Buddha had no permanent attendant (upaṭṭhāka) during the first twenty vassa called the First Enlightenment (paṭhama Bodhi). Sometimes Nāgasamāla Thera, sometimes Nāgita Thera, sometimes Upavāna Thera, sometimes the monk Sunakkhatta, a former Licchavī prince, sometimes Cunda Thera (younger brother of the Venerable Sāriputta), sometimes Sāgata Thera, and sometimes Meghiya Thera waited upon the Buddha. During the Buddha's thirteenth vassa at the big monastery on the Cālika Hill it was the Venerable Meghiya who was serving the Buddha temporarily.

Then one day Meghiya Thera approached the Buddha, and fell at his feet in veneration. Then while standing he said "Exalted Buddha, I would like to enter the village of Jantu on alms-round." "Meghiya," replied the Buddha, "now you know the time for your going" i.e., "You may go as you wish."

So Meghiya Thera entered the village of Jantu on alms-round and after finishing his meal, he left Jantu for the bank of the river Kimikāḷā where he took a walk up and down for recreation: while he was so doing, he saw a mango grove appealing with its trees standing not very far from one another in green foliage, pleasant with its dark shade and excellent landscape, and delightful as it amused the hearts of those who happened to enter it. Seeing thus he got an idea as follows:

This mango grove is appealing pleasant and delightful. It is a proper place for those clansmen who are desirous of practising meditation. If the Exalted Buddha were to permit me, I should come back here for meditation practice.

(That mange grove was the place where he, as a monarch, had enjoyed kingly pleasures when he was reborn in his five hundred [ 147 ] former existences successively. That was why the desire to stay there arose in him as soon as he saw the grove.)

Then Meghiya Thera returned to the Buddha and paid homage to him, while sitting he reported the matter in detail beginning from his entry into the village for alms-food down to the occurrence of his idea to revisit the mango grove for meditation practice. He added his request: "Exalted Buddha, provided you give me permission, I would like to go back to the mango grove to meditate there."

Being requested thus the Buddha replied only to prohibit his going there: "Wait, dear Meghiya! At the moment I am alone, so wait till someone else comes!"

(Herein as requested by Meghiya, the Buddha pondered and came to know that "This Meghiya's intelligence has not attained maturity yet." That was the reason for his prohibition. He said, "At the moment I am alone", because he thought, "If I tell him thus, and if his meditation ends in failure in the mango grove, he will come back entirely without embarrassment, but with love for me." The Buddha said so in order to soften his mind.)

For the second time Meghiya made the request. "Exalted Buddha, as you have accomplished the sixteenfold task of the Path, you have nothing else to accomplish, nor have you to develop what has been accomplished. As for me, Exalted Buddha, I have to accomplish (the sixteenfold task of the Path) seriously. Also do I have yet to develop further what has been accomplished. If the Exalted Buddha give me permission, I would like to go to the mango grove to meditate there." For the second time too the Buddha rejected Meghiya's request saying (as before): "Wait, dear Meghiya! At the moment I am alone: so wait till someone else comes!"

[ 148 ] For the third time Meghiya made the request. This time the Buddha did not bar him but said: "Dear Meghiya, how can we Buddhas prevent somebody who is asking for meditation? Dear Meghiya, do now as you think fit."

Then the Venerable Meghiya rose from his seat, made obeisance to the Buddha and went to the mango grove; having entered the grove he sat down at the foot of a tree to spent the day.

Arising of unwholesome thoughts in Meghiya Thera.

The stone slab at the foot of the tree where Meghiya was now sitting on was the same one he had used as a seat happily surrounded by various dancers when he was a ruler in his five hundred successive existences in the past.

While he was sitting thus it appeared as though his monkhood slipped away the moment he took the seat: he felt (as in a dream) that he had assumed kingship, being accompanied by dancers and sitting under a white umbrella and on the throne worthy of noble personages.

Then with his attachment to royal luxuries, there gradually arose in him unwholesome thoughts of sensuality (kāma-vitakka) connected with sensual objects (vatthu-kāma).

At that moment he saw (as in a dream) two thieves who had been caught red-handed were brought and placed before him. Thoughts of malice (vyāpāda-vitakka) gradually occurred to him as though he were to pass a sentence to execute one of the thieves. Thoughts of violence (vihiṃsā-vitakka) gradually took place in him as though he were to pass a sentence to imprison the other one.

[ 149 ] In this way the three kinds of unwholesome thoughts, namely, the sensual thoughts, the malicious thoughts and the violent thoughts, besieged Meghiya, giving him no chance to escape, as a tree overwhelmingly entangled by creepers or as a honey-gathering man overpoweringly stung by bees.

Then Meghiya Thera reflected: "Oh, how strange it is! Oh, how unusual it is! We are the ones who have renounced the world and joined the Order through faith (saddhā). Yet we are overcome by the three wicked, unwholesome thoughts of sensuality, malice and violence!"

As the Venerable Meghiya was thus seized by the three unwholesome thoughts from all sides, he was not able to do what was proper to meditation: "Certainly, it was only after foreseeing this that the farsighted Exalted One had prohibited me," he remembered, and thinking "I must report this to the Master", he rose from his seat and went to the Cālika Hill where the Buddha was; having paid his respect he sat down at a proper place and related what had happened to him:

Exalted Buddha, the three wicked unwholesome thoughts of sensuality, malice, and violence had repeatedly arose in me as I was staying in that mango grove. (As these thoughts repeatedly arose in me) I reflected, 'Oh, how strange it is! Oh, how unusual it is! We are the ones who have renounced the world and joined the Order through faith (saddha). Yet we are overcome by the three wicked, unwholesome thoughts of sensuality, illwill and violence!

(Herein it may be asked, "Why did the Buddha permit the Venerable Meghiya to go to the mango grove?" Because the Buddha knew Meghiya would go there even without his [ 150 ] permission, leaving him alone anyway. If he were prevented, he would think wrongly and misunderstand, saying to himself, 'The Buddha does not permit me because he desires just one thing which is my service.' The Buddha was also aware thus: "If Meghiya had this misunderstanding, it would have been for lasting loss and long suffering to him." Hence the Buddha's permission.)

When the Thera Meghiya had finished relating what had happened to him, he sat down, and while he was sitting down the Buddha, being desirous of giving him an appropriate Dhamma-talk, uttered (according to the Text) "Aparipakkāya Meghiya ceto vimuttiyā pañca dhammā paripākāya saṃvattanti", "Meghiya, there are five factors that would lead the mind's liberation from defilements to maturity", and so on. (The full text of the Dhamma-talk may be read in the Udāna. Here in this Chronicle, however, only a gist of it will be given.)

"Dear Meghiya, the (following) five factors are to make immature mental liberation mature. These five are:

(1) association with good friends,
(2) having morality,
(3) listening to and reflection on the ten kinds of speech: (a) speech connected with less desire, (b) speech connected with contentment, (c) speech connected with quietude, (d) speech connected with aloofness, (e) speech connected with energy, (f) speech connected with morality, (g) speech connected with concentration, (h) speech connected with wisdom, (i) speech connected with the Path, Fruition and Nibbāna and (j) speech connected with reflective knowledge,
(4) having developed energy;
(5) having wisdom as to the arising and falling nature of things.

[ 151 ] These are the five.

Only when one is associated with a good friend, which forms the first factor, can one acquire the remaining four"

Dear Meghiya, having established himself in the said five factors, a yogāvacara (an earnest practising) bhikkhu must go to the next stage for developing four things: (a) he must develop notions of loathsomeness of things (asubha) to eradicate lust (rāga), (b) he must develop mindfulness of breathing in and out (ānāpānassati) to eradicate distracting thoughts (vitakka), and (d) he must develop perception of impermanence (anicca-saññā) to eradicate egoistic conceit (māna). True, Meghiya, to the perceptionist of impermanence perception of non-self (anatta-aññā) manifests, the perceptionist of non-self can sheet his egoistic conceit and realize Nibbāna even in the present life

Knowing this the Buddha breathed forth the following two verses of solemn utterances:

(1) Khuddā vitakkā sukhumā vittakkā
anugatā manaso uppilāvā:
Ete avidvā manaso vitakke
hurā huraṃ dhāvati bhantacitto.

Inferior thoughts and subtle thoughts follow the mind and make it frisky. He who does not understand these thoughts is not stable mentally and runs from one sense-object to another.

(2) Ete ca vidvā manaso vitakke
ātāpiyo saṃvaratī satīmā.
Anugate manaso uppilāve
asesamete pajahāsi Buddho.

[ 152 ] Understanding these thoughts, the Noble Disciple (Sutabuddhu), endowed with energy that can burn up mental defilements and with mindfulness, is able to block up the thoughts that follow the mind and make it frisky. The Noble Disciple, who understands the four truths, is able to abandon the thoughts of sensuality and others, completely.

(The exposition of the Dhammapada Commentary is as follows:)

To Meghiya Thera, who had returned to the Buddha as he was entangled by the three wicked and unwholesome thoughts and could not meditate in that mango grove, the Buddha said:

You have done something seriously wrong, for you left me alone although I begged you saying, Wait, dear Meghiya! At the moment I am alone; so wait till someone else comes!" A bhikkhu should not yield to the desire of the mind. The mind is light and quick. One should try only to keep it under one's control."

Then the Buddha uttered the following two verses:

Phandanaṃ capalaṃ cittaṃ, dūrakkhaṃ dunnivārayaṃ.
Ujuṃ karoti medhāvī, usukāro'va tejanaṃ

[ 153 ] (Dear Meghiya,) just as a proud brave fletcher makes the curve arrow straight to his satisfaction by scorching it, (even so) a man with penetrative knowledge can make the mind upright by scorching it by means of energy, both physical and mental, the mind which is exciteable by the six sense-objects such as form (rupa), sound (sadda), etc., which is not stable but tickles in a single sense-object, which cannot be fixed on a proper sense object and is thus difficult to control, which can hardly be prevented from wandering about improper sense-objects.

Vārijova thale khitto, okamokata ubbhato,
Paripphandatidaṃ cittaṃ, māradheyyaṃ pahātave.

(Dear Meghiya,)just as the fish born in water, when taken out of its watery abode and thrown on land, restlessly jumps about, (even so) the mind in pursuit of enjoyment in the five sense-objects, (when taken out from the vast watery expanse of sensual pleasure and kept on the land of Vipassanā meditation.) in order to abandon the evil defilement within oneself in the manner of samuccheda pahāna (relinquishing through extermination) restlessly hops about almost to death as it is away from the five water-like sense-objects and heated by the four kinds of energy in the from of strenuous meditation.

At the end of these Dhamma-verses, the Venerable Meghiya was established in the Fruition of Sotāpatti. Many other persons also became Sotāpanna or nobler ones.

End of the Discourse given to Meghiya Thera.

THE BUDDHA'S FOURTEENTH VASSA AT SĀVATTHI.

After observing the thirteenth vassa at the big monastery on Cālika Hill near Cālikā Town and converting the worthy beings by means of the Dhamma-talks such as Meghiya Sutta, etc., as has been said above and after remaining there for the post-vassa period as long as there existed beings to convert, the Buddha set out from there, administering the cool water of elixir to humans, Devas and Brahmas, in due course he arrived in Sāvatthi and stayed at the Jetavana monastery to observe the fourteenth vassa.

[ 154 ] Story of Sāriputta Thera.

At that time the Venerable Sāriputta came with his follower-monks to a certain big monastery in the district and spent the rainy season. The people of the district visited the Mahā Thera and promised him to give a large number of robes for the vassa.

Having performed the Pavāraṇā ceremony at the end of the vassa, the Thera, being desirous of visiting the Buddha even before the vassarobes had not come fully, said to the monks: "Friends, when the lay devotees bring vassa-robes for the young monks and novices, accept them and send them to me. Or store them well and give the message to me." Having said thus, the Thera set out to visit the Buddha.

When he arrived in Sāvatthi many monks whispered among themselves, saying, "Friends, still the Thera Sāriputta appears to have greed? That was why he came to the Exalted One only after saying to the monks, remaining there: 'When the lay devotees bring vassa-robes for the young monks and novices, accept them and send them to me. Or store them well and give the message to me."

When the Buddha came to the assembly of monks, he asked, "Monks, what are you talking about?" When the monks replied that they were talking about such and such a matter, the Buddha said: "Monks, in the person of my eldest son Sāriputta there is not the slightest amount of greed. Indeed, he left the word with his disciples because he thought to himself thus: 'Let the meritorious deeds of the devotees not decrease! Let the righteous acquisition of robes for the young monks and novices not decrease!" Thereafter he uttered the following verse:

Āsā yassa na vijjanti, asmiṃ loke paramhi ca.
Nirāsāsaṃ visaṃyuttaṃ tamahaṃ brūmi brāhmaṇaṃ.

[ 155 ] (O my dear sons, my dear monks!)" In the (mental) continuum of an Arahant, whose āsavas are gone, craving that clings to things does not exist, not even the minutest part of it in the present world as well as in the next as it has been broken and uprooted through the fourfold Path Knowledge in the manner of samuccheda-pahāna. The Arahant, whose āsavas are gone, who has been totally emancipated from a hundred-and eightfold craving and who is dissociated from every kind of mental defilement, him naturally do I declare a true Brāhmaṇa!

At the end of the Dhamma-talk a large number of people attained the Fruition of Sotāpatti and so on.

This is the story of Sāriputta Thera (contained in the Brāhmaṇa Vagga of the Dhammapada Commentary).

As the Venerable Sāriputta was misunderstood by the monks who said that the Thera seemed to have greed, so was the Venerable Moggalāna once misunderstood. And his story is also somewhat similar to the Thera Sāriputta's. What was different in the case of Moggalāna was, after asserting that there was no greed in him, the Buddha gave another verse as follows:

Yassālayā na vijjanti aññāya akathaṃ kathī
Amatogadhamanuppattaṃ, tamahaṃ brūmi brāhmaṇaṃ.

(O my dear sons. my clear monks!) In the (mental) continuum of an Arahant whose āsavas are gone, craving that clings to things does not exist, not even the slightest part of it, as it has been broken and uprooted through the fourfold knowledge in the manner of samuccheda-pahāna. Having analytically understood the Triple Gem, the Triple Training and the Paticcasamuppada Wheel in their true nature, he is free from [ 156 ] doubt. The Arahant whose āsavas are gone -who has plunged wisely into the deathless Nibbāna and attained Arahantship straight away, him naturally do I declare a true Brāhmaṇa.

At the end of the Dhamma-talk a large number of people attained the Fruition of Sotāpatti and so on. (Dhammapada.)

Establishment of Rāhula in Arahantship through the Cūla-Rāhulovāda Sutta.

The Buddha was still staying at Jetavana, Sāvatthi, having observed the fourteenth vassa in that city. At that time Rāhula had completed twenty years of age and had become a newly ordained monk, a young one without a year's standing yet as a bhikkhu.

One day at daybreak when the Buddha surveyed the world of beings an idea struck him thus: "The fifteen factors leading to Arahantship (Vimutti-paripācanīya-Dhamma) have now ripened in Rāhula. What if I were to exhort and convert him so that he would take a step further to the attainment of the Path-and Fruition of Arahantship!"

Herein the the fifteen factors of leading-to Arahantship are:

(1) dissociation from faithless persons,

(2) association with faithful persons,

(3) reflection on discourses causing faith, (three factors with reference to saddhā);

(4) dissociation from lazy-persons,

(5) association with energetic persons,

(6) reflection on discourses causing energy, (three factors with reference to vīriya),

(7) dissociation from unmindful persons,

[ 157 ] (8) association with mindful persons,

(9) reflection on discourses causing the foundation of mindfulness. (three factors with reference to sati),

(10) dissociation from persons of unconcentrated mind,

(11) association with persons of concentrated mind.

(12) reflection on discourses dealing with Jhāna and Vimokkha (Emancipation), (three factors with reference to samādhi);

(13) dissociation from unwise persons,

(14) association with wise persons, and

(15) retlection on profound discourses, (three factors with reference to paññā.)

These are the fifteen factors.

Besides, the five factors (indriya), namely, faith (saddhā), energy (vīriya), mindfulness (sati), concentration (samādhi) and wisdom (paññā); the five perceptions of weariness (nibbedhabhāgiya-saññā), namely, the perception of impermanence (anicca-saññā), the perception of suffering (dukkha-saññā), the perception of non-soul (anatta-saññā), the perception of abandonment (pahāna-saññā), and the perception of freedom from lust (virāga-saññā), the five factors as contained in the Sutta given to Meghiya, namely, association with good friends, having morality, listening to and reflection on the ten kinds of speech, having developed energy, and having wisdom as the arising and falling nature of things (udayabbaya saññā); these also make the fifteen factors of Vimutti.)

[ 158 ] Having conceived this idea the Buddha entered Sāvatthi City in the morning for alms and after finishing his meal he departed from the alms-resort and said to Rāhula, "Bring the mat to sit on, Rāhula, and let us go to the Andha grove to spend the day there" "Very well, Exalted Buddha", answered the Venerable Rāhula and followed the Buddha closely carrying the mat'.

At that time several thousands of Devas and Brahmas (who had resolved to have certain spiritual attainments together with Palita the Nāga king, who was to become Rāhula, in the presence of the Buddha Padumuttara a hundred thousand aeons ago) also followed the Buddha in close succession with the belief that "the Exalted One would exhort and convert Rāhula so that he would take a step further to the attaimnent of the Path and Fruition of Arahantship".

(Herein those several thousands of Devas and Brahmās who resolved spiritually a hundred thousand aeons ago had been waiting asking among themselves, "When will the Exalted One's exhortation and conversion will take place so that Rāhula would attain Arahantship as a further step?" When the Buddha thought of exhorting and converting Rāhula as his faculties such as faith, etc had finally grown those several thousands of celestial beings, who had been longing all the time for that opportune moment of the Buddha's thinking, for they all had shared the desire for spiritual growth, assembled only in the Andha grove knowing that conditions were thus becoming favourable to them as well.

[ 159 ] The Andha Grove.

Herein a short account of the Andha Grove near Sāvatthi City will be reproduced from the exposition on the Vammika Sutta of the second volume of the Mūlapaṇṇāsa:

The grove was widely known as Andhavana in the times of the two Buddhas: Buddha Kassapa and our Buddha. Explanation: The body relics of the Buddhas who are of short span of life do not become one mass. In accordance with their resolution they are disintegrated. Therefore, our Buddha (who was of short life) considered thus: "I shall not exist long. As my life-span is short only a small number of beings will be able to see me. There are far more beings who have no chance to do so. They will carry my relics to different places to worship and attain celestial abodes." Consequently, the Buddha resolved immediately before his Parinibbāna "May my body relics be disintegrated!" (Hence the breaking up of the relics of our Buddha.)

The body relics of the long-lived Buddhas, however, remain as a mass like solid gold. As the Buddha Kassapa (who appeared at a time when the people's span of life was twenty thousand years) was long-lived, his relic remained, taking a solid form. Then the people discussed among themselves: "The relic remains as a solid form. It cannot be broken up. What shall we do with it?" After discussions they agreed upon the construction of a solid cetiya (which was the only monument). They decided unanimously that its size should be one yojana in height as well as in circumference. When they discussed the bricks and cement, they made decisions to lay bricks of gold, each costing a hundred thousand, on the outer side bricks of [ 160 ] gold, each costing fifty thousand, on the inner side; to use cement of realgar and orpiment powder and oil for the liquid matter. There must be four gates, of which (1) one was the king's undertaking, (2) another Prince Pathavindhara's, (3) still another the undertaking of the officials led by the general, (4) the final one being that of the people led by the chief merchant.

Of these four groups, the first three were men of wealth; so they took their own gold and started their work at their respective gates.

But there was delay in the work assigned to the last group as its members had no sufficient wealth. Then a lay devotee who was well-versed in the three Piṭakas and who was an Anāgāmī named Yasorata, knowing the delay, prepared five hundred carts and went round the country, crying out to the citizens and urging them to participate in the act of merit.

O people, countrymen! Kassapa Buddha has now attained Parinibbāna after existing like a great golden mountain for twenty thousand years. The great jewelled cetiya, one yojana in measurement, to house the only body relic of that Buddha, is under construction. Please contribute whatever material you can afford whether gold, silver, gems of seven kinds, realgar or orpiment.

The people gave in charity gold, silver and other materials as much as they could. Those who could not afford participated in the act of merit by giving rice, oil and the like.

The Anāgāmī lay devotee, Yasorata, had rice, oil, pulses, etc., sent as provisions for the workers. He bought gold with the remaining things on the barter system and had it sent. In this [ 161 ] way, roaming all over the Jambudipa, he received donations and had them handed over.

When the construction was done, executive elders from the work site of the cetiya gave a letter to him saying. "The construction of the cetiya has been finished. Please, master, come and pay homage to it!" The lay devotee also had to send a letter with the message reading, "I have urged and made the whole Jambudipa established in the meritorious act. Try to complete the cetiya-monument by using whatever is available." 'The two letters crossed midway. But the letter from the worksite reached the devotee earlier.

Having read the letter, the devotee thought, "I would pay homage to the cetiya" and set out to it alone. On the way five hundred robbers were terrorizing in a forest grove. Some of them saw the devotee and told others, "This elderly man had collected gold and silver from the entire Jambudipa. Pots of gold have come now rolling on and on", and they seized him.

The lay devotee's fate.

Then the devotee asked:"Young, men, why did you seize me?" The robbers replied: "You have collected all the gold and silver from the entire Jambudipa. You must give us a little each out of that gold and silver."

Do you know, young men, that Kassapa Buddha has attained Parinibbāna? A great cetiya of one yojana in size for enshrining the body relic of that Buddha is being built. For that great edifice I have tried to get the people involved in the act of [ 162 ] merit, but not for me. And whatever I receive I send to the work site from the place of donation. I have nothing, not a single thing that is worth a farthing, other than the clothes on my body. Then some robbers said: "What the gentleman told us is true. So let us set him free." But others asserted: "This man is honoured by the king as well as by the ministers. On seeing any of us in a street at town-centre, he would disclose the matter to them and bring misfortune to us"; thus they spoke, representing those who did not want to free him.

Yasorata the Anāgāmī lay devotee assured them saying, "Young men, I will not create trouble for you". (He said so out of compassion for the robbers, but not because he had attachment for his life.) Then a dispute arose among them, one side willing to continue his detention and the other willing to let him go. Finally, the former faction won more votes and the lay devotee was slain.

At that very moment, as they had committed a grove crime to the extent of slaying a highly virtuous man, an Anāgāmī, the eyes of the robbers suddenly went blind as the flame of an oil lamp is extinguished. When the five hundred robbers moved about touching this and that with their hands and each wailing, "Where are my eyes, men, where are my eyes?", some (who had relatives) were taken by their relatives to their respective homes. Others who had no kinsfolk had to live there miserably in leaf-roofed huts under the trees in the forest.

People who came to the forest took pity on the blind robbers and gave rice, meal packets and other kinds of food to them (as much as they could). Those who went there for gathering vegetables were asked on their return, "Friends, where have you [ 163 ] been?", and they answered, "We have been to the Forest of the blind (Andha-vana).

In this way, the forest came to be known far and wide as Andha-vana during the dispensations of the two Buddhas. What was peculiar about it was its location near a deserted district during the Buddha Kassapa's ministry. During the ministry of our Buddha, however, it stood at the back of the Jetavana monastery near the city of Sāvatthi like a meditation centre where clansmen, wanting the calm of the five sense-objects stay. This is an account of the Forest of the Blind.

The Buddha then entered the Andha-vana and sat down on the seat prepared under a certain tree by the Venerable Rāhula, who having done obeisance respectfully to the Buddha took a proper seat. To Rāhula who had thus taken his seat the Buddha gave the following Dhamma-talk.

The discourse on the cha-pañcaka.

Buddha:" My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now? Is the sensitive matter called 'eye' permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent, Venerable Sir. Buddha: "Is the impermanent sensitive matter called 'eye' unsatisfactory or satisfactory?" Rāhula: "Unsatisfactory, Venerable Sir." Buddha: "Should the impermanent, unsatisfactory and changeable sensitive matter called 'eye' be taken falsely (through craving) as 'mine' (etaṃ mama), (through conceit) as 'I' (esohamasmi), and (through wrong view); as 'my self' (eso me attā)?" Rāhula: "No, Venerable Sir." (1)

[ 164 ] Buddha: "My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now? Is this or that form called 'object' permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent, Venerable Sir," Buddha: "Is this impermanent form called object unsatisfactory or satisfactory?" Rāhula: "Unsatisfactory, Venerable Sir." Buddha: "Should this or that impermanent, unsatisfactory and changeable form called 'object' be taken falsely (through craving) as 'mine', (through conceit) as 'I', and (through wrong view): as 'my self'?" Rāhula: "No, Venerable Sir." (2)

Buddha: "My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now? Is eye consciousness or consciousness depending on the eye (cakkhu viññāṇa) (the element of seeing) permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent, Venerable Sir," Buddha: "Is the impermanent eye-consciousness unsatisfactory or satisfactory?" Rāhula: "Unsatisfactory, Venerable Sir." Buddha: "Should the impermanent, unsatisfactory and changeable consciousness depending on the eye be taken falsely (through craving) as 'mine', (through conceit) as 'I', and (through wrong view) as 'my self?." Rāhula," No, Venerable Sir." (3)

Buddha: "My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now? Is eye contact or contact depending on the eye (cakkhu-samphassa) permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent, Venerable Sir," Buddha: "Is the impermanent eyecontact unsatisfactory or satisfactory?" Rāhula: "Unsatisfactory, Venerable Sir." Buddha: "Should the impermanent, unsatisfactory and changeable eye contact be taken falsely (through craving) as 'mine', (through conceit) as 'I', and (through wrong view) as 'my self'?" Rāhula: "No, Venerable Sir." (4)

Buddha: "My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now? Are the four mental aggregates feeling (vedanā), [ 165 ] perception (saññā), mental formations (saṅkhāra) and particular consciousness (viññāṇa), depending on the contact of the eye, permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent. Venerable Sir" Buddha: Should the four impermanent, unsatisfactory and changeable mental elements be taken falsely (through craving) as 'mine', (through conceit) as 'I', and (through wrong view): as 'my self?" Rāhula. "No, Venerable Sir." (5) This is the teaching on the five items concerning the eve (cakkhu-pañcaka).

Buddha: "My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now? Is the sensitive matter called 'ear' permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent, Venerable Sir?" This is the teaching on the five items concerning the ear (sota-pañcaka).

Buddha: "My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now? Is the sensitive matter called 'nose' permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent, Venerable Sir?" This is the teaching on the five items concerning the nose (ghāna pañcaka).

Buddha: "My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now? Is the sensitive matter called 'tongue' permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent, Venerable Sir?" This is the teaching on the five items concerning the tongue (jivhā-pañcaka).

Buddha: "My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now? Is the sensitive matter called 'body' permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent, Venerable Sir?" This is the teaching on the five items concerning the body (kāya-pañcaka).

Buddha: "My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now? Is the sensitive matter called 'mind' permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent, Venerable Sir?" Buddha: "Is the impermanent sensitive element called 'mind' unsatisfactory or [ 166 ] satisfactory?" Rāhula: "Unsatisfactory, Venerable Sir." Buddha. "Should the impermanent, unsatisfactory and changeable sensitive element called 'mind' be taken falsely (through craving) as 'mine', (through conceit) as 'I' and (through wrong view) as 'my self'?" Rāhula:" No, Venerable Sir,."(l)

Buddha: "My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now? Is mind and matter called 'object of ideas' (dhammā rammaṇa) permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent, Venerable Sir?" Buddha: "Is the impermanent mind and matter called 'object of ideas' unsatisfactory or satisfactory?" Rāhula: "Unsatisfactory, Venerable Sir." Buddha: "Should the impermanent, unsatisfactory and changeable mind and matter called 'object of ideation' be taken falsely (through craving) as 'mine', (through conceit) as T and (through wrong view) as 'my self'?" Rāhula: "No, Venerable Sir."(2)

Buddha: "My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now?" Is mind-consciousness (mana-viññāṇa) permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent, Venerable Sir." Buddha: "Is the impermanent mind consciousness unsatisfactory or satisfactory?" Rāhula: "Unsatisfactory, Venerable Sir." Buddha: "Should the impermanent, unsatisfactory and changeable mind consciousness be taken falsely (through craving) as 'mine', (through conceit) as 'I', and (through wrong view) 'my self"? Rāhula: "No, Venerable Sir." (3)

Buddha: "My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now? Is mind contact or contact depending on the mind (mano-samphassa) permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent, Venerable Sir." Buddha: "Is the impermanent mind contact unsatisfactory or satisfactory?" Rāhula: "Unsatisfactory, Venerable Sir." Buddha: "Should the impermanent, unsatisfactory and [ 167 ] changeable mind-contact be taken falsely (through craving) as 'mine', (through conceit) as T, and (through wrong view) as 'my self'?" Rāhula: "No, Venerable Sir." (4)

Buddha: "My dear son Rāhula, how do you think of what I am going to ask you now? Are the four mental aggregates such as sensation (vedana), perception (saññā), mental formations (saṅkhāra) and consciousness (viññāṇa) arising from mind-contact (mano-samphassa) permanent or impermanent?" Rāhula: "Impermanent, Venerable Sir." Buddha: "Are the four impermanent mental aggregates unsatisfactory or satisfactory?" Rāhula: ":Unsatisfactory, Venerable Sir." Buddha: "Should the four impermanent, unsatisfactory and changeable mental aggregates be taken falsely (through craving) as 'mine', (through conceit) as 'I', and (through wrong view) as 'my self'?" Rāhula: "No, Venerable Sir." (5) This is the teaching on the five items concerning the mind (mano-pañcaka).

(Such a discourse delivered by asking three times so that the three points of impermanence, unsatisfactoriness and non-self might become clear is called "Teparivaṭṭa Dhamma Desanā".)

(Conclusion) "My dear son Rāhula, when a knowledgeable disciple of mine views thus, he becomes weary of the sensitive matter called 'eye'; he becomes weary of various forms and objects of seeing; he becomes weary of eye-consciousness, he becomes weary of eyecontact, he becomes weary of the four mental aggregates such as sensation, perception, mental formation and consciousness arising from eye-contact. He becomes weary of the sensitive matter called 'ear'; he becomes weary of various sounds and objects of hearing; He becomes weary of the sensitive matter called 'nose'; he becomes weary of various odours and objects of smelling; He becomes weary of the sensitive matter called 'tongue'; he becomes weary of various tastes and objects of savouring; He becomes weary of the sensitive matter [ 168 ] called 'body' he becomes weary of various contacts and objects of touching. He becomes weary of the sensitive element called mind; he becomes weary of the objects of ideation; He becomes weary of cognition; he becomes weary of mind-contact; he becomes weary of the four mental aggregates such as sensation, perception, mental formations and conciousness arising from mind-contact. On becoming weary he is free from attachment, on being free from attachment, he is liberated from mental defilements; on being liberated from mental defilements, he knows by reflection that be is liberated from mental defilements. He gains knowledge through successive reflections thus: 'Rebirth for me is over'. The noble practice has been finished. The task (for the Path) has been carried out. There is nothing more to be done (for the Path). When the Buddha has delivered this Cūla Rāhulovāda Sutta, the Venerable Rāhula became established in Arahantship. Among thousands of Devas and Brahmas, some become Sotāpanna, some Sagadāgāmī, and the rest Anāgāmī and some Arahants (According to their Pāramīs).

(Then follow the themes for meditation given in Pāḷi prose & Myanmar verse which we propose to leave out from our translation as they are helpful only to Myanmar meditators.)

Māra's threat to Rāhula.

One day when night fell a large number of theras went into the Jetavana monastery, visited the Venerable Rāhula's place and took their seats. As Rāhula was just a junior monk he could not prevent senior theras from taking seats at his place, he then looked for another place and, finding none, had to lie down at the entrance to the Fragrant Chamber of the Buddha. At that time the young Rāhula had just attained Arahatship but he had not completed a vassa yet as a bhikkhu.

[ 169 ] From the celestial abode of Vasavattī, his residence, Māra saw the Venerable Rāhula lying at the entrance of the Fragrant Chamber and got an idea thus:

The Monk Gotama's small finger (meaning Rāhula) that will suffer when hurt is sleeping outside the Fragrant Chamber. The Monk Gotama himself was sleeping inside. If I hurt the small finger it would mean that I hurt the Monk Gotama as well.

So he assumed the appearance of a huge elephant, approached Rāhula and embraced Rāhula's head with his trunk; moreover he made a heron-like sound at a high pitch.

Even while sitting in the Fragrant Chamber the Buddha knew it was Māra and said:

Hey Māra, even a hundred thousand Māras; let alone you are incapable of frightening my son Rāhula. In fact, my son has no fear at all. He is free from craving, very energetic and highly intelligent.

In order to stamp his word with the seal of Dhamma, the Buddha uttered the following two verses:

Niṭṭhaṅgato asamtāsī
vītataṇho anaṅgaṇo
Acchindi bhavasallāni
antimo'yaṃ samussayo

("Hey Māra, a disturbing one! My beloved son) Rāhula is one who has realized his goal that is Arahantship called Brahmacariya pariyosāna. He is absolutely free from fear, he is purified of the hundred and eight kinds of real craving; he is devoid of the one thousand and five hundred mental [ 170 ] defilements; he has uprooted the thorns and spikes of all existences such as sensual (kāma), material (rūpa) and immaterial (arūpa). The body (of my son Rāhula) in the present existence is his last body.

Vītataṇho anādāno
niruttipadakovido
Akkharānaṃ sannipātaṃ
jaññā pubbāparāni ca.
Sa ve antimasārīro
mahāpañño mahāpuriso ti vuccuti:

(He who is) purified of the hundred and eight kinds of real craving, has no attachment at all; does not grasp the five aggregates of the body and the mind as 'I', 'mine' and 'my self" is clever in respect of the fourfold analytical knowledge of meaning, truth, wit and analysis; sees the combinations of letters known as natural speech (sabhāva-nirutti) as they really are (if one knowing no natural speech says 'phusso' wrongly with reference to the mental concomitant of phassa: he knows it is 'phasso', the correct word of the natural speech.) He clearly knows the preceding syllable from the following and the following syllable from the preceding. (Of the three syllabic word cetanā, for instance, if the initial syllable alone is distinct, from it he correctly knows the indistinct middle anti final ones: if the middle syllable alone is distinct, from it he correctly knows the indistinct initial and final in like manner if the final syllable alone is distinct, from it he correctly knows the indistinct initial and middle in like manner. That person having his final is indeed to be spoken of as a man of great wisdom, a superman free from one thousand and five hundred moral defilements."

[ 171 ] At the end of the discourse many attained Sotāpatti-phala and so on.

Aware of the fact that the Buddha came to know his identity, Māra disappeared from that very place.

Here ends Māra's threat to Rāhula.

Delivery of the Sūciloma Sutta.

(The Sūciloma Sutta is contained in the Sutta Nipāta and the Sagāthā Vagga of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Here in this Chronicle the Sutta will be reproduced according to the Commentary.)

One day when the Buddha emerged from the Mahākaruṇā Samāpatti immediately before dawn and surveyed the world of sentient beings with his Buddha-Eye (consisting in the Āsayānusaya Ñāṇa and Indriya paropariyatti Ñāṇa), he saw the past acts of merit belonging to the two ogre friends, namely, Suciloma and Kharaloma, that would bring about their attainment of Sotāpatti Fruition. Accordingly, he took his bowl and robe and set out even at dawn and sat on the lithic couch called Ṭaṃkita at the mansion of Sūciloma near the village of Gayā.

(Ṭaṃkita lithic couch was a stone slab placed on four stones; it served as a seat).

At that time the two ogre friends went out in search of food, wandering about the place somewhat near the Buddha

[ 172 ] Story of Kharaloma the ogre.

Of the two ogres one in his past life happened to have smeared his body with the oil belonging to the Saṃgha without seeking its permission. For that unwholesome act he suffered in hell and was reborn in an ogre family near the bank of the lake at Gayā. As a result of his wrong his limbs big and small were frighteningly distorted. His skin was like a tiled roof (with his tile-skin resembling scales of a fish) and terribly rough to touch.

When he frightened others he had his skin (or scales) bloated. As he had a rough body contact he was called Khara the ogre.

Story of Sūciloma the ogre.

The other ogre was a supporting lay devotee during the lifetime of the Buddha Kassapa. He used to go to the monastery and listened to the sermon on every sermon-day, eight days a month. One day when the invitation for attendance to the sermon was being announced he heard the announcement from his farm where he was cleaning it. Without taking a bath lest it should take time, he entered the uposatha hall with his dirty body and lay on a very costly rug on the ground, showing no care for it

Because of this and other acts he suffered in niraya and became a member of an ogre family near the lake at Gayā. As a subsequent result of his bad deeds he had a terribly ugly look. His body hair was sharp-pointed and pricking like needles. When he frightened other beings he did so as though he were piercing them with needles. Because he had needle-like hair he was given the name Sūciloma.

[ 173 ] Getting out of their abode to look for food the two ogre friends walked on for some time and came back the same way; while visiting another place they happened to reach a place that was somewhat close to the Buddha.

Then Kharaloma said to Sūciloma what he honestly thought: "That man is a monk!" Sūciloma replied: "That man is not a true monk; he is only a false one. I will investigate to know for certain whether he is a true monk or not."

(Herein on seeing the appearance of a monk, Kharaloma honestly said: "That man is a monk!" Sūciloma was of opinion that "if the man fears, he is not a true monk; he is only a false one," and wrongly thinking that the Buddha would be frightened, he hastily said, "That man is not a true monk; he is only a false one." Then he became desirous of making an investigation. Hence he added: "I will investigate to know for certain whether he is a true monk or not.")

Thereafter Sūciloma went up to the Buddha and bent his big ugly, bristled body towards the Buddha. The Buddha suddenly moved his body to the other side. This prompted Sūciloma to ask: "Are you frightened by me, Monk?" "Dear ogre," answered the Buddha, "I am not frightened by you. Your body contact is indeed rough and vile (though)!"

Seeing the Buddha without the slightest trace of fear, Sūciloma thought: "Despite his experience of my body-touch that was so rough, this man, though a real human, is not afraid. Now I shall present to him some problems worthy of an Omniscient Buddha's sphere of wisdom (Buddha-visaya). He will not be able to tackle them fully. Then shall I torment him such and such a way." So he said rudely: "Monk, I shall [ 174 ] ask you some questions. If you cannot give me a thorough answer, I shall make you mad. Or, I shall burst open your heart. Or, I shall throw you to the other bank of the river by catching hold of your legs."

Then the Buddha with his face gladdened by his great compassion said: "Friend ogre, the celestial world with Devas, Māra and Brahmās, and the terrestrial world with monks, Brahmins and princes -in either of these two worlds I see none who is able to make me mad, or to burst open my heart, or to throw me to the other bank of the river by catching hold of my two legs. Be that as it may, friend ogre, ask me whatever questions you want. (l shall answer your questions without leaving anything)." When the Buddha invited the ogre's questions the way an Omniscient Buddha would, Sūciloma put his question thus in verse:

Rāgo ca doso ca kutonidānā
aratī ratī lomahaṃso kutojā
Kuto samuṭṭhāya mano vitakkā
kumārakā dhaṅkamivossajanti.

(Monk!) Where do lust and hate have their source? Displeasure in the wholesome things of a quiet forest monastery, pleasure in the five sense objects, and goose flesh (cittutrāsa dhamma, sign of a terrified mind), from what do these (three kinds of emotion) arise? As village children throw up a crow for fun (after tying its feet with a rope), from what do the ninefold thought appear and overthrow the wholesome consciousness?" (1)

Then the Buddha gave his answer and preached to Sūciloma ogre by the following verses:

Rāgo ca doso ca itonidānā
aratī ratī lomahaṃso itojā.

[ 175 ] Ito samuṭṭhāya mano vitakkā
kumārakā dhaṅkamivossajanti.

(Dear ogre!) Lust and hate have their source in this body (These three kinds of emotion, namely,) displeasure in the wholesome things of a quiet forest monastery, pleasure in the five sense-objects, and goose flesh arise from this body. As village children throw up a crow for fun (after tying its feet with a rope), so the ninefold thought appear from this very body and overthrow the wholesome consciousness. (2)

Snehajā attasambhūtā
nigrodhass'eva khandhajā.
Puthū visattā kāmesu
māluvā va vitatā vane.

(Friend ogre!) As shoots of a banyan tree appear on its trunk, so do lust, hate and the like caused by the sap of craving appear on this very body. As creepers in the forest wrap up the tree that they cling around, so innumerable moral defilements attach themselves in a strange manner to the sense-objects and pleasures. (3)

Ye naṃ pajānanti yato nidānaṃ
te naṃ vinodenti suṇohi yakkha.
Te duttaraṃ oghamimaṃ taranti
atiṇṇapubbaṃ apunabbhavāya.

Listen, friend ogre! Certain persons know thoroughly that the physical frame, which is the embodiment of the five aggregates, and which forms the Truth of suffering, has its source in craving and greed, which form the Truth of the cause [of suffering]; they drive away that craving and greed, the Truth of the cause of suffering, by means of the Truth of the Eightfold Path [leading to the cessation of suffering]. These Noble Ones, who [ 176 ] have thus driven away craving and greed, the cause of suffering, cross over this fourfold torrential flood of moral defilements, the flood which is difficult to overcome, which has not been crossed over in the past existences in saṃsāra, even not in a dream, for the non-arising of rebirth, i.e. the Truth of the Cessation [of Suffering]. (4)

When the two ogre friends had thus heard these Dhamma-verses, both of them attained Sotāpatti-phala as the verses came to an end.

No sooner had the two friends become noble Sotāpanna than their original ugliness and bad looks disappeared; with bright golden complexion and bedecked in Deva ornaments, they assumed an appearance, that was pleasant to beholders.

Here ends the delivery of the Sūciloma Sutta.

End of Chapter Thirty-Two.

VOLUME_4
PART_
CHAPTER_33

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THE BUDDHA'S FIFTEENTH VASSA AT KAPILAVATTHU.

[ 177 ] After staying in Sāvatthi for the fourteenth vassa as has been said before, the Buddha remained there in that city after the end of the vassa as long as there were beings worthy of conversion; thereafter he set out to administer the medicin

Preaching to the Sakyan Prince Mahānāma as to what makes a lay devotee (upāsaka).

While the Buddha was thus staying there at Nigrodhārāma of Kapilavatthu in the country of Sakka, the Sakyan prince Mahānāma paid a visit to him, did obeisance and sat down at a proper place. Then the prince asked the Buddha:

By doing what, Exalted, Buddha, does one become a lay devotee (upāsaka)?

The Buddha gave his answer to Mahānāma:

"Mahānāma, (1) taking refuge (Saraṇa-gamaṇa) in the Buddha; (2) taking refuge in the Dhamma, and (3) taking refuge in the Saṃgha. By doing so. Mahānāma, one becomes a lay devotee. (That is to say, taking refuge in the Triple Gem makes one a lay devotee.) (1)

Again, Mahānāma asked the Buddha:

By doing what, Exalted Buddha, is a lay devotee endowed with morality (sīla), ?"" The Buddha's answer was:"

[ 178 ] "Mahānāma, abstaining from taking life. (2) abstaining from taking what is not given, (3) abstaining from wrong sexual acts. (4) abstaining from telling lies. and (5) abstaining from taking strong drink, a cause for unmindfulness. By doing so, Mahānāma, a lay devotee is endowed with morality." (That is to say, taking the Triple Refuge and keeping the five precepts makes one a lay devotee of morality.) (2)

Again, Mahānāma asked the Buddha:

By doing what, Exalted Buddha. is a lay devotee endowed with faith (saddhā)?

The Buddha answered:

In this dispensation, Mahānāma, a lay devotee believes that the Buddha is an Arahant (Arahaṃ) because he is worthy of extraordinary homage; .... that he is a Bhagavā because he has great glory in the sense of Enlightenment. By believing so, Mahānāma, a lay devotee is endowed with faith (Herein talking only about the nine attributes of the Buddha is just an elliptical way (upalakkhaṇa-nava) of preaching, A lay devotee who believes in the nine attributes of the Buddha also believes in the six attributes of the Dhamma and in the nine attributes of the Saṃgha. Therefore, it means to say that a lay devotee who is convinced of the attributes or the Triple Gem is endowed with faith." (3)

Again, Mahānāma asked the Buddha:

By doing what, Exalted Buddha, is a lay devotee endowed with generosity (cāga)?

The Buddha answered:

In this dispensation, Mahānāma, a lay devotee abides at home with his mind freed from the impurity of stinginess (macchera): he gives away with full detachment; he washes his hand to give with (his hand is wet); he takes delight in giving; he is befitting to alms-seekers as he shuns wearing a grim [ 179 ] face; he is delighted in offering and distributing things. By doing so, Mahānāma, a lay devotee is endowed with generosity. (4)

Again Mahānāma asked the Buddha:

By what, Exalted Buddha, is a lay devotee endowed with wisdom (paññā)?

The Buddha answered:

In this dispensation, Mahānāma a lay devotee is (wise; he has wisdom which is pure and noble, which destroys moral defilement, which leads to Nibbāna, the end of suffering, and which helps him understand the rise and fall (udayabbaya ñāṇa) of mind and matter. All this makes him endowed with wisdom" (5) (Mahāvagga Saṃyutta Pāḷi) (Details of this Mahānāma the Sakyan prince will be given in the portion of the Jewel of the Saṃgha.)

Sakyan Prince Suppabuddha, swallowed up by the earth.

While staying at Nigrodhārāma, Kapilavatthu in the country of Sakka, the Buddha delivered a discourse beginning with "Na antalikkhe na samuddamajjhe" in connection with his uncle and father-in-law Suppabuddha, a Sakyan prince.

Elaboration: The Buddha's uncle, Prince Suppabuddha bore a grudge against the Buddha for two reasons: he thought "This nephew and son-in-law of mine, Prince Siddhattha, Gotama Buddha, has abandoned my daughter and renounced the world. And having ordained my son Devadatta into monkhood he treats him as an enemy." One day, thinking "I should not give him a chance to have his meal", he blocked the Buddha's way, having a drinking bout in the middle of the road.

At that time when the Buddha came in a company of monks to that place, the prince's men informed him of the Buddha's visit. "Men", said the prince bitterly, "tell Prince Siddhattha, my nephew Buddha, to take another road. He is not older than I. (Therefore) I cannot make way for him." Despite his men's repeated plea, the prince said the same and kept on drinking.

[ 180 ] Failing to get permission from his uncle, the Buddha turned back from that place. Suppabuddha then sent a spy with these words: "Go, man, take note of what my nephew has to say, and come back."

While turning back the Buddha smiled and Ānanda Thera questioned the Buddha about the reason for his smile. "Dear Ānanda", the Buddha asked in return. "Did you see my uncle Suppabuddha?" "Yes, Exalted Buddha", replied Ānanda Thera. The Buddha foretold as follows:

Dear Ānanda, my uncle Suppabuddha, who refused to make way for me, has done a very serious mistake. Seven days from now he will enter the earth, (he will be swallowed up by the [ 181 ] earth,) at the bottom of the stairs leading down from the upper terrace.

Having overheard these words, the spy went back to Suppabuddha who asked: "What did my nephew, who has turned back, say?" The man told him of all he had heard. The prince then got an idea thus "What my nephew has said cannot go wrong. Whatever he says comes true. Despite this I will accuse him of falsehood now. He said that I would be swallowed up by the earth on the seventh day. He said not without mentioning the place, but he did say I was to be swallowed by the earth at the foot of the stairs. From now on I shall never go to the foot of the stairs. If I do not go there, I shall not be swallowed by the earth there. On being not swallowed up at the end of seven days, I shall accuse my nephew Buddha, Prince Siddhattha, of false speech."

After getting the idea, Prince Suppabuddha had his belongings taken on to the top and the stairway removed and the doors locked; at each doorway he placed a couple of wrestlers, whom he ordered: "In case I try to descend absentminded, you must check me then." So he remained in his cosy chamber on the seventh and top terrace of his residence.

Hearing of the matter the Buddha said: "Monks, the word of a Buddha is never ambiguous; it is only of one meaning that is truthful no matter whether my uncle Prince Suppabuddha stays only on the terrace, or takes flight and remains in the sky, or comes down and abides in a boat in the ocean, or dwells inside a mountain. On the very spot I have mentioned (i.e. at the foot of the stairs) he will be swallowed up by the earth." Being desirous of preaching by connecting the former speech with the latter, the Buddha uttered the following verse:

Na antalikkhe na samddamajjhe
na pabbatānaṃ vivaraṃ pavissa.
Na vijjatī so jagatippadeso
yattha ṭhitaṃ nappasaheyya maccu.

Monks, he who stands in the air cannot escape from death; nor can he who lies in the middle of the ocean; he who enters a hole or a cleft in a mountain and lives there cannot escape from death: there is no space on the ground, not even that of a hair's breadth, that is not plagued by death.

At the end of the verse innumerable persons attained Sotāpatti-phala and so on.

On the seventh day while the road leading to the palace where the Buddha would take his meal was being blocked, Suppabuddha's state horse (kept) under the mansion got away from the ropes, with which he was tied to a post, kicking the walls around and neighing forcefully. Nobody was able to frighten or capture him. While staying up on the terrace of the mansion, Suppabuddha heard the cries of his state horse and asked what it was all about. His male servants then replied that the prince's charger had broken loose.

As soon as he saw the prince the state horse stood quietly. Then Suppabuddha could not help trying to catch the horse, he then rose from his seat and went up to the door which opened automatically. The stairways that had been removed previously stood at its original place. The wrestlers who were on guard caught hold of the prince by the neck and (instead of getting him into the mansion) threw him down. The doors on all seven floors already became open of their own accord. The stairways were reinstated by themselves. The guards on each floor threw him down successively by catching hold of him by the neck.

After that when he got down to the foot of the stairs leading to the ground, the great earth opened, making a roaring sound, and received Suppabuddha the Sakyan prince. Having entered the earth, the prince reached the Avīci niraya (hell).

[ 182 ] Here ends the swallowing up of Suppabuddha by the earth.

The Buddha's answers to Sakka's four questions.

Having stayed at Nigrodharāmā of Kapilavatthu and observed the fifteenth vassa there as has been said above, the Buddha administered the distribution of the cool water of Dhamma, the elixir of deathlessness to worthy beings; when the fifteenth vassa came to an end, he sat out from Kapilavatthu in accordance with a Buddha's habit and arrived in due course at Jetavana in the good city of Sāvatthi.

While he was staying there, the Buddha delivered a sermon beginning with Sabbadānaṃ Dhammadānaṃ jināti as he was asked by Sakka the king of Devas. The details are as follows:

Once the Devas of Tāvatiṃsa celestial abode met and raised four questions:

(1) What is the best of all gifts?
(2) What is the best of all tastes?
(3) What is the best of all delights? and
(4) Why should Arahantship at the end of craving be called the best?

Not a single Deva was able to answer these four questions. In fact, one Deva asked another, who in his turn asked another and so on. Thus asking among themselves, they roamed about the ten thousand universes for twelve years (without getting the answers).

Knowing nothing of the meaning of these questions though twelve years had passed, the Devas residing in the ten thousand universes assembled and went up to the Four Great Kings. When asked by the Four Great Kings as to why they had thus made a great assembly, the Devas said, "We came up to you as we have raised four questions which we are unable to solve." "What are the four questions, friends?" asked the Deva Kings. "Of innumerable gifts, of innumerable tastes and of innumerable delights, which is the best gift, which is the best taste and which is the best delight? Why is Arahantship, the end of craving, [ 183 ] the best?" told the Devas, "Finding no answers to these questions, we have come up to you."

Then the Four Great Kings said: "We too do not know the meaning of these questions, friends. But our Lord, Sakka, is capable of knowing promptly when he reflects on the significance of the questions that may be forwarded by a thousand persons. Sakka is superior to us in intelligence, wisdom and glory. Come, we shall go to Sakka." When the Four Deva Kings took them to Sakka and when asked by him about such a great assemblage, the Devas explained the matter to him.

Devas!, addressed Sakka, "The significance of these four questions cannot be known by all (except the Buddha). In fact, these four questions are for a Buddha to tackle. Where is the Buddha staying now?" Sakka added: "Come, we shall go to the Exalted Buddha and asked him" Together with all these Devas, Sakka illuminated the whole of Jetavana at night and approached the Buddha, did obeisance to him and stood at a proper place. When the Buddha enquired about their coming in such a great multitude. Sakka replied: "The Devas, Exalted One, have these questions to ask. There is none other than you, Venerable Sir, who will be able to answer them, who could know the significance of questions. Please explain the meaning clearly, to us, Exalted Buddha."

Very well, Sakka!, said the Buddha. "Having fulfilled the Perfections and performed unflinchingly the fivefold generosity, I won Omniscience just to eliminate the doubts of persons like you. The answers to your four questions are as follows:

(1) Of all gifts the gift of Dhamma is the best.
(2) Of all tastes the taste of Dhamma is the best.
(3) Of all delights, the delight in Dhamma is the best.
(4) Arahantship at the end of craving is the best because it is the cessation of all suffering.

Having spoken thus in prose the Buddha uttered the following verse:

[ 184 ] Sabbadānaṃ Dhammadānaṃ jināti.
sabbarassaṃ Dhammaraso jināti.
Sabbaratiṃ Dhammarati jināti,
taṇhakkhayo sabba dukkhaṃ jināti.

(Sakka the king of Devas,) the gift of Dhamma which is the teaching and learning of Dhamma, excels all other gifts overwhelmingly.

The taste of Dhamma, consisting in the thirty-seven factors of Enlightenment and the nine supra-mundane attainments excels all others overwhelmingly.

The delight in Dhamma excels all other delights overwhelmingly.

Arahantship at the end of craving absolutely overcome all suffering.

Explanation of the meaning.

(1) Even if robes as soft as layers of a banana trunk were given to Buddhas, Pacceka Buddhas and Arahants seated up to the abode of Brahmās in a universe with no space between one another, a fourfooted verse delivered in that assembly in appreciation of the gift is far superior. In fact, the value of such a gift of countless robes is not even a two hundred and fifty-sixth part of the value of the Dhamma verse delivered in appreciation of the gift of robes. Hence the excellence of the speaking, teaching and learning of the Dhamma.

Even to those, who put efforts to organize and manage so that the multitude might listen to the Dhamma the benefit accrue immensely.

To the gift of food in bowls, each and every one or them filled with sumptuous meal, to the gift of medicine in bowls, each and every one of them filled with butter, oil and such like, to the gift of hundreds of thousands of dwellings like the Mahāvihāra, to the gift of hundreds of thousands of pinnacled mansions like the Lohapāsāda, even to the various gifts including the Jetavana monastery given by Anāthapiṇḍika and others to Buddhas, Pacceka Buddhas and Arahants seated covering [ 185 ] the whole of the aforesaid universe with no space between one another: to all these gifts, the gift of the Dhamma taught in a four-footed verse least of all in appreciation of a material gift is far superior.

Why? Because those who perform the wholesome act of giving the aforesaid four requisites, namely, robes, food, dwelling and medicine, do so only after hearing the Dhamma, not otherwise. If they had not heard the Dhamma they would not have given even a ladleful of rice gruel or a spoonful of food. For this reason the gift of Dhamma excels all other gifts.

To make the fact more explicit: Leaving out Buddhas and Pacceka Buddhas, even the Venerable Sāriputta and other Noble Ones, who had intelligence that could help them count the rain drops when it rained heavily and endlessly for the whole āyukappa, were unable to make such noble attainments as Sotāpatti-phala and higher stages on their own (without hearing the Dhamma). In fact, it was after hearing the teaching of Assaji Thera and others that they attained Sotāpatti-phala; it was by listening to the Buddha's teaching (of the Dīghanakha Sutta and others) that they attained Discipleship (Sāvaka-pāramī-ñāṇa). "For this reason, too, Sakka, only the gift of the Dhamma (Dhamma-dāna) is more admirable than the gift of requisites (paccaya-dāna)." Hence the Buddha's saying: "The gift of the Dhamma excels all other gifts overwhelmingly."

(2) All kinds of tastes including the taste of fruit, the taste of flowers, the taste of flavour (even the food of the Devas above) are the cause of rebirth in saṃsāra and of falling into suffering. The taste of the ninefold supra-mundane Dhamma together with the thirty-seven factors of Enlightenment and the four pairs of Magga and Phala plus Nibbāna, however, is more praiseworthy than all mundane tastes. Hence the Buddha's saying: "The taste of Dhamma (Dhamma rasa) excels all other tastes overwhelmingly."

(3) All kinds of delights in earthly things such as sons, daughters. riches, women, dancing, singing, music, etc., are the cause of rebirth in saṃsāra and of falling into suffering. Joy (pīti) that arises in one [ 186 ] through one's attention paid to the Dhamma while speaking, teaching or hearing it, causes elation, even tears and gooseflesh. Only such joy that can put an end to suffering in saṃsāra and bring about welfare to the extant of realization of Sotāpatti-phala, is more praiseworthy than all kinds of delight in earthly things. Hence the Buddha's teaching: "The delight in Dhamma (Dhamma-rati) excels all other delights overwhelmingly."

(4) All kinds of craving disappear the moment Arahatta-magga is attained. Arahatta-magga is immediately followed by (its result which is) Arahatta-phala. As Arahatta-phala arises at the end of craving, it is called Taṇhakkhaya (destruction of craving). As Arahatta-phala called Taṇhakkhaya overcomes all suffering, it is the Dhamma that is superior to and more praiseworthy than all other things. Hence the Buddha's saying: "Arahatta-phala," the end of craving, absolutely overcomes all suffering."

Conversion of eighty-four thousand beings.

When the Buddha explained the verse in detail, eighty-four thousand sentient beings realized the Four Truths and were converted.

Having listened to the Buddha's elaborate teaching, Sakka did obeisance to him and made a request:

Exalted Buddha, although the gift of the Dhamma is so great and praiseworthy, why are we not let to share the merit of it? From now on, please make the Saṃgha give our shares of merit from the gift of the Dhamma.

Having heard Sakka's request, the Buddha called a meeting of the Saṃgha and said:

From now on, monks, after giving a Dhamma-speech, be it a grand one, or an ordinary one, or one given to those who visit you, or (at least) one given in appreciation of some alms-giving, share the merit, [ 187 ] which accrue to you from the Dhamma-speech, with all beings. (Dhammapada Commentary)

Here ends the Buddha's answeres to Sakka's four questions.

Taming of Āḷavaka the Ogre.

King Āḷavaka of the city of Āḷavī was in the habit of pursuing pleasurable hunting in a deer forest once a week, leaving behind all his enjoyment at the palace together with female courtiers and dancers in order to ward off the dangers of rebels, foes and thieves, to prevent his contemporary rulers from attacking him and to take a sporting exercise in boosting his kingly might.

One day just before he set out for hunting he had an agreement made with his military officers: "He from whose charge a deer escapes must be responsible for that deer," and when they got to the forest a deer ran away from the king's charge.

As he was quick and strong, the king equipped with a bow immediately followed the deer on foot up to three yojanās. Those (deer) belonging to eṇī family can run continuously only for three yojanās. Therefore when the king had covered that distance, he killed the deer with an arrow that was lying exhausted in a pond. He cut up the animal into two pieces. Though he did not want its flesh, he carried it by means of a pole lest he should be ill-spoken of as "one unable to catch the deer." On his way back he saw a shady banyan tree in new and old foliage at a place that was neither too near nor too far from the city; he approached the foot of the tree to take some rest.

Now Āḷavaka the ogre had been granted a boon by Vessavaṇa the Deva King: whoever came into the vicinity of the banyan tree as far as its shadow fell at noon was his food. (Herein it should not be taken that those who came under the tree only at midday should be eaten by him. The fact was that those who came into the vicinity of the tree [ 188 ] covered by the shadow of the tree at noon should be eaten, whether they came by day or by night.)

When the ogre saw the king coming under his banyan tree, he showed up his person and came up to eat the king. (The king gave the two halves of the deer as he wanted the ogre to set him free. But the ogre did not do so, saying: "Since it came into my hand, has it not been mine? How could you; Great King, seek your freedom by giving me the deer?" This part of the story is given only in some versions.)

Then the king made a promise to the ogre saying: "Set me free! I shall send you each day a man and a pot of cooked rice." Still the ogre refused to release him; he said: "You might forget about it being intoxicated with your kingly luxuries. As for me I cannot eat those who do not come up to my residence nor can I eat those who do not voluntarily give up themselves. How could I live if you were released?" When the king satisfied the ogre by saying. "The day I fail to send you (food) you may devour me," he regained his freedom from the ogre's hand and returned to the city of Āḷavī.

While waiting for the king at the makeshift shelter of branches that they had constructed midway, the officers saw the king coming back; they greeted the king and received him saying, "Why did you try so hard to catch the deer, Great King, fearing loss of dignity?" Relating nothing of the incident, the king came home to the city, had his breakfast, summoned the administrative minister of the city and secretly told him (of the promise which he had given to the ogre).

Have you agreed upon the time, Great King? asked the minister. "No, I have not"; replied the king. "You have made a mistake, Great King," said the minister. "Ogres are to have access only to things limited." As you have not put a limit, the whole district is in danger of a disease. Be that as it may, Great King. Though you have been wrong, do not worry but enjoy your royal comfort. I shall do what is to be done in this matter." The minister rose early and went to the prison and made an announcement to the criminals who had been sentenced to death; he said: "Those who wish to survive may come out."

[ 189 ] He took the convict that came out first and had him bathed and fed, he then sent him saying: "Take this pot of rice to the ogre!" As soon as the convict got into the shade of the banyan tree the ogre assumed a very terrible frame and ate him up as though he were biting lotus stalks and stems.

NB: Through the supernatural power of ogres a human body including its hair, etc., turn into a lump of butter.

Those who escorted the convict and the food for the ogre saw Āḷavaka devouring the man, became frightened and told their intimate friends of the matter. From that time onwards the news that "the king catches thieves and gives them to the ogre", spread and people abstained from stealing.

At a later time as there were no new thieves and old ones were all gone, prisons became empty, then the minister reported the matter to the king, who had his gold and silver dropped on all the main roads of the city, thinking that somebody might want to pick it up. But nobody touched it even with his foot lest they should be accused of theft.

When King Āḷavaka failed to gain new recruit of thieves in this way, he discussed it with his ministers, who advised, saying: "We shall make people send one aged person from each household in serial order. An aged person means one who by himself is about to enter the mouth of death." But the king rejected the advice saying that people would then be terrorized with the thought 'the king has the heart to send my father to the ogre!' or 'He is cruel enough to send my grandfather to the ogre!' "Do not prefer that plan."

Then the ministers presented their alternate idea thus: "In that case Great King, make people send their children lying on their backs in their cradles each day. Such children have no such affection as 'This is my mother' or 'This is my father' ". Upon this the king agreed and let him do so. The minister started doing in that way.

[ 190 ] From the city mothers took their children away, and pregnant women fled. After bringing up their sons in another country, they brought back their young ones to the city.

In this manner the daily feeding of the ogre took place for twelve long years. One day when the royal servants roamed about the city, looking for children they found not a single child. So they reported to the king: "Leaving aside your son Prince Āḷavaka in the palace, there are no children in the city." The king replied: "As I love my son, so do all these people love their respective sons. But in this world there is none more lovable than one's own self. Go, men save my life by giving my son to the ogre!"

At that time the queen, mother of Prince Āḷavaka, had her son bathed with scented water and adorned with ornaments. She was sitting with her son wrapped up in soft white pieces of cloth and placed him at her bosom to let him sleep. Under the command of the king, the royal servants went there, and while the queen and sixteen thousand female attendants were crying, they took away the chief nurse and the prince, declaring that the little prince would become food for the ogre.

The Buddha's visit to Āḷavī.

On that day the Buddha rose early in the morning and engaged in Mahākaruṇā Samāpatti in the Fragrant Chamber inside the Jetavana monastery. And when he surveyed the world by his twofold Buddha eyes, (consisting in Āsayānusaya Ñāṇa and Indriya-paropariyatti Ñāṇa) he saw in his vision three significant things:

(1) the past merit of Prince Āḷavaka that would lead him to Anāgāmi phala,
(2) the past merit of the ogre Āḷavaka that would lead him to Sotāpatti-phala, and
(3) the past merit of eighty-four thousand beings that would lead them to the realization of the Eye of the Dhamma [ 191 ] (Dhamma-cakkhu), the penetration of the Four Truths, at the end of his discourse.

Accordingly at daybreak he performed his morning duty. Before he had finished his afternoon undertakings, at sunset on that new moon day, he set out on foot alone and unaccompanied, taking bowl and robe, on a journey of thirty yojanās from Sāvatthi, and entered the precinct of the ogre's residence.

Now where did the Buddha stay? Did he stay in the ogre's mansion that was invisible to ordinary people and near the banyan tree? Or did he sit down at the foot of the banyan tree? He took his seat in the ogre's mansion. Explanation: As ogres saw their mansions, so did the Buddha see them. Therefore he went up to the ogre's place and stood at its gate.

At that the Āḷavaka was attending a meeting of ogres in the Himavanta. The door keeper of Āḷavaka, the ogre by the name of Gadrabha, approached the Buddha and paid his respects. And a dialogue took place between Gadrabha and Buddha:

Gadrabha: "Glorious Buddha, did you come only at sunset?"
Buddha: "Yes, Gadrabha, I came only at sunset. If it were not a burden to you, I would like to spend the night in Āḷavaka's mansion."
Gadrabha: "Glorious Buddha, it is not a burden to me. But that ogre Āḷavaka is violent. He does not show respect even to his parents. Therefore please do not prefer to stay there."
Buddha: "Gadrabha, I know of Āḷavaka's violence. There would not be a bit of harm to me. I want to stay for the night there in Āḷavaka's mansion if you do not feel my stay burdensome."
Gadrabha: "Glorious Buddha, Āḷavaka is like an iron pan aglow with fire. He is absolutely ignorant of parents, monks, [ 192 ] and Brahmins and the Dhamma. Those who come to this place he is able to drive them mad, or burst open their hearts, or to throw them beyond the ocean or beyond the universe by catching hold of their legs.
Buddha: "Gadrabha, I know all about this. If it were not burdensome to you I would like to stay in Āḷavaka's mansion for the night."
Gadrabha: "Glorious Buddha, it is not burdensome for me. But Āḷavaka might kill me if I were to give you permission without first informing him. Glorious Buddha, let me go to him therefore and tell him of the matter first."
Buddha: "Gadrabha, tell him as you like."
Gadrabha: "Glorious Buddha, please consider then whether you should stay here or not."

Having said thus Gadrabha paid his respect to the Buddha and departed to the Himavanta. The door of Āḷavaka's mansion opened automatically. The Buddha entered the building and took his seat on the divine jewelled throne which Āḷavaka usually sat on important and auspicious days, enjoying divine luxuries. Being seated the Buddha emanated golden yellow (pīta) rays.

Beholding the yellow rays, Āḷavaka's female attendants gathered, did obeisance to the Buddha and sat around him. The Buddha gave a miscellaneous Dhamma-talk to them, saying: "Ogresses, as you have in the past given alms and observed morality and honoured those who deserved honour, you attain divine luxuries. Now also do as you have done before. Abide not by jealousy (issā) and stinginess (macchariya)" and so on. Having heard the sweet talk of the Dhamma they gave a thousand cheers and remained sitting and surrounding the Buddha.

Having arrived at the Himavanta, Gadrabha the ogre told Āḷavaka respectfully: "O Āḷavaka, King of ogres, who know no suffering! May [ 193 ] I draw your attention. Please be informed. The Buddha has come and sat in your mansion." Then Āḷavaka made a gesture, meaning to say "Be quiet! (You shut up!) I will go back immediately and do whatever is necessary."

(Herein Āḷavaka was so strong in improper thinking that he took the Buddha's stay in his mansion as a disgrace, and out of pride as an ogre, he hushed up the news, thinking, "Let nobody amidst this assembly of ogres hear of it.")

Then the two noble Devas, Sātāgira and Hemavata, agreed between them to go visit the Buddha at Jetavana before they went to attend the assembly of Devas. Riding different vehicles they set off by air together with their hosts of retinue.

N.B. Routes existed nowhere in the space for the ogres. They only had to find out their way, avoiding celestial mansions standing there.

Āḷavaka's mansion, however, was situated on the ground. It was well secure, surrounded by properly fixed walls, doors, turrets and archways. Above the mansion was spread a net made of white brass. The mansion was like a box. It was three yojanās in height, over which there formed an aerial route used by divine ogres.

When the two friends, the divine ogres Sātāgira and Hemavata, happened to come just above the mansion on their aerial way to visit the Buddha, they were unable to proceed.

In fact, up to Bhavagga above nobody can pass over the place where a Buddha is seated.

Therefore when they thought of the cause for their such inability to go further, they saw the Buddha and descended to the ground as a thrown up stone falls earth-bound. Having did obeisance to the Buddha, they listened to a discourse and circumambulated the Buddha, and asked for his permission to leave: "Glorious Buddha, we have to [ 194 ] attend a meeting of divine ogres." Saying some words in praise of the Three Gems, they headed for the Himavanta, the venue of their meeting.

On seeing the two friends (Noble Devas), Āḷavaka rose from his place and invited them saying, "Please take your seats here."

The fury of Āḷavaka the Ogre.

The two friends informed Āḷavaka: "Friend Āḷavaka, in your mansion is the Exalted One still sitting. You are so fortunate! Go, friend Āḷavaka, wait upon the Exalted Buddha!"

(To a faithless person, the pious word connected with faith is unbearable, so is the word connected with morality to an immoral one; the word connected with knowledge to an ignorant one; the word connected with generosity to a miser; the word connected with wisdom to a fool.)

The word of the two friends encouraging faith with reference to the Buddha was unbearable to Āḷavaka who had no faith; therefore on hearing the word in praise of the Buddha the faithless Āḷavaka the ogre became furious; his heart crackled with rage like lumps of salt thrown into fire; he asked in anger: "What kind of man is the so-called Exalted Buddha seated in my mansion?"

Then the two friends (Noble Devas) said to Āḷavaka; "Friend Āḷavaka, do not you know of our Master, the Exalted One? (He is a very prominent and noble personage.) Even while in the Tusītā abode of Devas, he made five investigations" (and they related the biography of the Buddha up to his delivery of the Dhamma-Cakka Sutta. They also told the ogre fully of the thirty-two portents that took place at the time when the Bodhisatta was conceived, and so on.) "Friend Āḷavaka, have not you seen those marvelous portents?" they asked. Although he had seen them, as he was carried away by anger, Āḷavaka replied, hiding the truth: "No, I have not."

[ 195 ] The two Devas then became unsatisfied and said: "Whether you have seen them or not, what is the use of your seeing or no seeing? Friend, what are you going to do to our Master, the Exalted Buddha? Compared with him (a) you are like a calf that has been born today near a bull with his hump swaying: (b) like a baby elephant that has been born today near a bull elephant in must with his granular secretion flowing from the three parts, namely, the trunk, the tip of the male organ and the ears; (c) an old ugly fox near a lion-king graceful with his round back and shoulders and with long bright mane: and (d) like a young crow with its broken wings near a garuḍa-bird king with his body of a hundred and fifty yojanās in size. Go and do what is to be done." Being furious the ogre got up from his seat, and standing firmly with his left foot placed on the flat rock of red orpiment, he shouted, "Is your Master, the Buddha, powerful? Or, is it I who am powerful? You will see now (who is more powerful)!" So shouting he stamped his right foot on the top of Mount Kelāsa that was of sixty yojanās. Then just as fiery particles fall off from the glowing iron that has been excessively heated in the blacksmith's furnace and that is put on the anvil and hammered, even so Mount Kelasa broke up into layers of rock,

Standing on the mountain top the ogre declared roaringly, "I am Āḷavaka indeed." The roar overwhelmed the whole Jambudipa.

Four great roars.

There have been four great roars that were heard by all Jambūdīpa (1) The roar "I have won! I have won!", made by the ogre general Puṇṇaka, when he beat King Dhanañcaya Korabya in the game of dice as told in the Vidhūra Jātaka; (2) the roar "I will eat up all wicked monks, wicked nuns, wicked male lay devotees and female lay devotees and unrighteous men," made by Visukamma in the guise of a big black dog under the command of Sakka the king of gods when the dispensation of Kassapa Buddha deteriorated: (3) the roar 'King Kusa, the Sihassara; whose voice is bold and penetrating like that of a lion [ 196 ] king, am I!" made by the Bodhisatta Kusa after going out of the city with Princess Pabhāvatī on the back of his elephant when the seven kings desirous of winning the princess's hand in marriage beseiged his city; and (4) the present one, "I am Āḷavaka indeed!" made by the ogre standing on Mount Kelāsa. When those shouts were made it seemed that they appeared before each and every town-gate and village-gate throughout the whole Jambūdīpa.

Becauae of Āḷavaka's power the Himavanta, three thousand yojanās in vastness, trembled.

Thereafter the ogres attacked the Buddha with the nine kinds of missiles (in the way mentioned in the section on the Vanquishing Vasavattī Devaputta Māra, Volume Two). Despite his attack with such missiles, Āḷavaka was unable to make the Buddha flee. Consequently, he marched towards the Buddha, leading a frightening army composed of four divisions: elephants, horses, chariots and foot-soldiers, and mixed up with various forms of ghosts armed with weapons.

The ghosts made all sorts of guises and threats and, shouting "Seize him! Kill him!" they appeared as though they were coming overpoweringly from the sky above the Buddha. But they dared not go close to the Buddha as flies dare not approach a solid piece of hot glowing iron.

Although they dared not go close, they did not retreat in a short time as did Māra and his enormous army turned back immediately after being defeated on the verge of the Bodhisatta's Enlightenment at Mahā Bodhi, instead they, Āḷavaka and his ghosts spent half the night, doing disturbances.

The last attack with the weapon of white divine cloak.

Having failed in his attempt to frighten the Buddha by displaying various terrible objects thus for half the night, he conceived an idea: "It were well if I would fling the weapon of white divine cloak that is invincible!"

[ 197 ] The four great weapons.

There are four most powerful weapons in the world. They are:

(1) Sakka's weapon of thunderbolt,
(2) Vessavaṇa's weapon of iron club,
(3) Yama's weapon of side glance, and
(4) Āḷavaka's weapon of white divine cloak.

Explanation:

(1) If Sakka in his fury were to discharge his weapon of thunderbolt towards Mount Meru, it would pierce the mountain, 168,000 yojanās in height, making a hollow right through it, and come out from the bottom.

(2) Vessavaṇa's weapon of iron club when hauled by him in anger in his earlier days (when he was still a puthujjana) would chop off the heads of thousands of yakkhas and, after returning, would tie in its original position.

(3) When an angry Yama, the King of Hell glances side ways thousands of kumbhaṇḍas are destroyed making a hissing sound like sesame seeds when thrown into the red-hot iron pan.

(4) If Āḷavaka the ogre, flying into a rage, were to throw up his weapon of white divine cloak to the sky there would be a drought for twelve years; if it were thrown upon the earth all the trees and plants and others things would dry up, and the land would be deprived of vegetation for twelve years; if it were thrown into the ocean all the waters in it would be dried up as drops of water would in a red-hot pot. A Meru-like mountain, when flung at by it, would fall down, breaking up into fragments.

These are the four great weapons.

With that idea Āḷavaka took off his white divine cloak, so powerful a weapon, and while standing, he was poised to cast it.

[ 198 ] At that time all the Devas, most of whom belonging to the ten thousand universes, assembled quickly, for they had decided: "Today the Exalted One will tame the violent ogre Āḷavaka. At that taming place shall we listen to the Buddha's teaching." Apart from those willing to listen to the teaching, the Devas who wished to watch the fight also gathered there. In this way the entire vault of heaven was full of celestial beings.

Then Āḷavaka the ogre, rising up and up around the Buddha and roaming about, hurled his weapon of white divine towards the Buddha. Making a terrible sound in the sky like the weapon of thunder and emitting smoke all over and burning with flames, the cloak flew towards the Buddha but on coming near him it turned into a foot-towel and dropped at his feet to destroy the ogre's pride.

On seeing this Āḷavaka became powerless; he felt he had utterly lost his pride like a bull with its horns broken or like a poisonous cobra with its teeth taken out. He then reflected: "The weapon of white cloak has failed to overcome the Monk Gotama. Why?" Then he made a guess: "The Monk Gotama abides with loving-kindness. This must be the reason. Now I will deprive him of loving kindness through an annoying speech." So he said:

O Monk Gotama, without my permission why did you enter my mansion and take the seat amidst female attendants like a householder? Is not it improper for a monk to enjoy what is not given and to mix with females. Therefore, if you abide by the rules of a monk (O Gotama, get out of my mansion at once !

(With reference to Āḷavaka's speech only the essential portion mentioned in the brackets was recited as the text at the Buddhist Coucils; the rest is taken fully from the Commentary.)

The Buddha then accepted the orge's order and went outside the mansion giving a very pleasant reply: "Very well, Friend Āḷavaka." (A hostile man cannot be calmed by hostility. That is true! Just a piece of the bear's gall put into the nostril of a wild furious dog will make it [ 199 ] worse, even so a rude ferocious person, when retaliated with rudeness and ferocity, will become more violent. In fact, such a man should be tamed with gentleness. This natural phenomenon the Buddha understood thoroughly. Hence his mild word and yielding action.)

Then the ogre thought: "Very easy to obey indeed is the Monk Gotama. He went out at my command given but once. Without a cause I have fought against him for the whole night, the Monk Gotama who is so docile to go out." Āḷavaka's heart began to be softened thus.

He continued to ponder: "But I am not certain yet whether his going out was caused by his obedience or by his anger- Now I will make an enquiry." So he asked the Buddha again: "Get in, Monk Gotama!"

The Buddha, in order to make the ogre flexible and feel certain of his docility, said again pleasingly, "Very well, Friend Āḷavaka", and entered the mansion.

In this way the ogre tested the Buddha by his repeated orders to know for sure whether the latter was really obedient, for the second time and the third he said, "Go in", and then "Come out". The Buddha followed the ogre's orders so that he might become more and more soft-minded. (So great was the Buddha's compassion indeed!) If the Buddha were to disobey the ogre, who was violent by nature, his rough heart would become more and more boisterous and be unable to receive the Dhamma. To cite a worldly simile: just as a little son naughty and crying, is helped to become good by giving him something that he wants and by doing something that he likes, even so the Buddha (who was the great mother to the three worlds), acted acccording to his command in order to make Āḷavaka the ogre (the little wild and rough son) who was crying out of anger a mental defilement.

Another simile: just as a wet nurse with a gift and persuasion suckles a naughty baby, who refuses to take milk, even so the Buddha (the great wet nurse to the three worlds) followed whatever the ogre had to say, thereby fulfilling the latter's desire by way of persuasion in order to feed the ogre (the naughty baby) on the sweet milk of the supramundane Dhamma.

[ 200 ] Still another simile: just as a man desirous of filling a glass jar with catumadhu (food or medicine containing four ingredients) cleanses the inside of the jar, even so the Buddha desirous of filling the jar-like heart of the ogre with the catumadhu-like supramundane. Dhamma was to clear the ogre's heart of the dirt-like anger: he therefore obeyed the ogre three times by going out of the mansion and getting into it as he had been ordered by him. (His obedience was not due to fear.)

Thereafter the ogre entertained a wicked desire thus: "The Monk is really docile. When ordered, but once, 'Go in' he went in; when ordered but once, 'Come out! ;' he came out. In this way (ordering him to go in and to come out) I will make him weary during the whole night. Having made him weary thus will I throw him to the other side of the Ganga by holding his two legs." Accordingly, he asked the Buddha for the fourth time, "Come out, O Monk Gotama!"

Then the Buddha knew the ogre's wicked intention; he also foresaw what the ogre would do if he said something to him: Āḷavaka would think of asking some questions to the Buddha, and that would create a golden opportunity for the Buddha to preach.

Therefore he replied: "I know the vicious plan that is in your mind. So I will not get out. Do whatever you like."

Prior to Āḷavaka's encounter with the Buddha in former times too when hermits and wondering ascetics, endowed with higher psychic powers came by air, they visited the mansion out of curiousity to find out whether it was a golden, or a silver, or a ruby one. To these visitors the ogre put questions. If they were unable to give him the answers, he would do harm by driving them mad or by ripping their hearts, or by throwing them by the legs to the other shore of the Ganga.

The following is how ogres do harm: They make a man mad in two ways: (1) by showing him their horrible looks and (2) by gripping and crushing his heart. Knowing that the first way would not effect madness to hermits and wandering ascetics, Āḷavaka did not employ the first method; instead he reduced his body to a delicate frame by his own [ 201 ] supernormal power and entered the persons of those (powerful) ascetics and crumpled their hearts with his grip. Then their mental process could not remain stable and they became out of their senses. He also burst open the hearts of those ascetics who went mad thus. As they could not answer his questions, he would tell them not to come again and would fling them by the two legs to the other side of the Ganga.

So Āḷavka recalled the questions he had asked on previous occasions and thought, "Now I will ask the Monk Gotama in this manner and then if he fails to give me satisfactory answers, I will make him mad, burst open his heart and fling him by the legs beyond the Gaṅgā. Thus will I torment him." So he said rudely:

O Great Monk Gotama, I am going to put some questions to you. If you cannot answer thoroughly I will make you mad, or cause the burst of your heart, or hold you by the legs and throw you across the river.

(From where did Āḷavaka's questions come down? Answer: His parents had learnt the questions numbering eight, together with their answers from Kassapa Buddha, whom they worshipped. The parents taught him all the questions and answers when he was young.)

(As time went by Āḷavaka forgot the answers. He then had the questions put down in orpiment on gold plates, lest they should get lost, and he kept the plates stuck at the entrance of the mansion. In this way Āḷavaka's questions had their source in a Buddha, and they were the ones which only Buddhas could answer as they (belonged to the sphere of Buddhas, Buddhavisaya.)

On hearing the ogre's words, the Buddha wished to show the unique power of Buddhas, unique in the sense that it was not shared by any in the world; for, nobody could do any harm to the four things in their possession; the gains accrued to them, their life, their Omniscience, and their physical rays. So the Buddha said:

[ 202 ] "Friend ogre, all over the dual worlds, the world of divine beings such as Devas, Māra and Brahmas, and the world of human beings such as monks, Brahmins, princes and commoners, I see none who could cause my madness, (or) who could explode my heart, (or) who could fling me over the river." (After barring the cruel intent of the ogre, the Buddha added in order to make him ask:)

Friend ogre, in spite of that, you may put whatever questions you like?

Thus the Buddha extended his invitation, the kind that Omniscient Buddhas adopt.

(Herein there are two kinds of invitation: one made by Omniscient Buddhas and Bodhisattas, and the other made by other individuals. Omniscient Buddhas and Bodhisattas invite questions with full self-confidence "Ask whatever you like. I will answer your questions, leaving nothing untackled." Other individuals do so but with less confidence: "Ask, friend. On hearing your question I will answer if I know.")

Āḷavaka's questions and the Buddha's answers.

When the Buddha made the kind of invitation usually adopted by Omniscient Buddhas thus, Āḷavaka put his questions in verse as follows:

Kiṃ sūdha vittaṃ purisassa seṭṭhaṃ?,
kiṃ Su suciṇṇaṃ sukham āvahāti?
Kiṃ su have sādutaraṃ rasānaṃ?
Kathaṃ jīviṃ jīvitamāhu seṭṭhaṃ? (1)

(O Monk, Gotama by clan!), What is the most praiseworthy property of men in this world? What when practised continuously for days can convey the threefold happiness of humans, Devas and Nibbāna? Of all enjoyable tastes what indeed is by far the best for living beings? How is one's life the [ 203 ] most praiseworthy among living beings as sweetly declared by numerous men of virtue such as Buddhas and others?

In this manner the first question, "What is the most praiseworthy property of men in this world?," is asked by using the term which is of leading nature; such a way of speaking is called ukaṭṭha method; therefore it is to be noted that the term 'men' here represents both male and female. The question means "What is the best thing of all men and women?"

By this verse the following four questions are meant:

(1) What is the best property in the world?
(2) What when practised day by day can lead to the three blissful states human, divine and Nibbanic?
(3) What is the sweetest of all tastes?
(4) By what is living the best?

Then the Buddha, desirous of answering in the same way as Kassapa Buddha did, uttered the following answers in verse:

Saddh 'īdha vittaṃ purisassa seṭṭhaṃ
Dhammo suciṇṇo sukham āvahati.

Saccaṃ have sādutaraṃ rasānaṃ,
Paññājīviṃ jīvitaṃ āhu seṭṭham.

(O friend ogre by the peculiar name of Āḷavaka!) In this world the most praiseworthy property of every man and woman is faith (saddhā) mundane as well as supramundane.

The ten wholesome acts or the three good works of charity, morality and meditation, which practised day and night continuously, can convey the threefold bliss (sukha) of humans, Devas and Nibbāna.

Of all enjoyable tastes, the truth (sacca) significant of Nibbāna, which is the reality in its ultimate sense (paramatthasacca) or the truthful speech of oral auspiciousness [ 204 ] (vacīmaṅgala) achieved by refraining from falsehood (viratī-sacca) indeed is by far the best for all beings.

Men of virtue such as Buddhas and others declare that the life of a being who lives, following the right course of conduct continuously, is the most praiseworthy.

(Herein the meaning, at moderate length should be taken thus: Just as various mundane properties such as gold, silver, etc., though their usefulness bring about both physical happiness (kāyika-sukha) and mental happiness (cetasika-sukha), just as they prevent one from thirst, hunger and other forms of suffering, just as they effect the cessation of poverty, just as they form the cause for gaining pearls, rubies, etc., just as they attract admiration (the state of one's being admired) from others, even so the two kinds of faith (saddha), mundane and supra-mundane, bring about both secular happiness and spiritual happiness; even so faith being the leading virtue of those who take the right course of conduct prevents one from suffering in saṃsāra such as rebirth, old age, and so on; even so it effects the cessation of poverty of virtues; even so it forms the cause for winning the Dhamma-Jewel such as the seven Constituents of Wisdom (Bojjhaṅga) which are Sati-sambojjhaṅga and others.

Saddho sīlena sampanno, yaso bhogasamappito,
Yaṃ yaṃ padesaṃ bhajati, tattha tatth'eva pūjito.

(He who possesses faith (saddha), and morality (sīla), who also has retinue and wealth is honoured wherever he goes. As the Buddha preaches thus (in the story of Cittagahapati, 21 Pakiṇṇaka-vagga of the Dhammapada), a faithful individual is honoured (or praised) by all human and divine beings. Therefore the two kinds of faiths mundane and supramundane, are said by the Buddha to be one's property.

(This property of faith is the cause of the threefold unique happiness of humans, Devas and Nibbāna. Moreover, it is the [ 205 ] cause of gaining such secular treasures as gold, silver and the like. That is true: Only he who is faithful and performs almsgiving can acquire secular treasures. The property of one without faith is just fruitless. Therefore the property of faith is said to be the most praiseworthy possession.)

((2) When the ten wholesome works (alternately, the three acts of charity (dāna), morality (sīla) and meditation (bhāvanā) are performed day after day, they bring human happiness to the performer as they did to Sona, Raṭṭhapāla and other sons of wealthy persons; they bring divine happiness to the preformer as they did to Sakka, King of Devas, and others; they bring the bliss of Nibbāna to him as they did bring to Prince Mahāpaduma and others.

((3) Something to be licked and enjoyed is called taste. Various tastes such as the taste of roots, the taste of stems, etc., and the other parts of a plant contribute to the development of one's body. (But) they can convey only secular happiness. The taste of the truth caused by restraint from falsehood (viratīsacca) and that of the verbal truth (vacī-sacca) contribute to one's mental development through Tranquility (Samatha), and (Vipassanā) meditation and other meditative practices. They lead to spiritual happiness. Arahantship called Vimutti-rasa, the taste of Emancipation, as developed through the taste of the Nibbanic Peace, the Truth in its ultimate sense (paramatthasacca), is sweet and delicious. Therefore these three tastes of paramattha-sacca, viratī-sacca and vacī-sacca are the best of all tastes.

((4) An individual, who lacks both eyes, namely, the eye of intelligence in mundane development and the eye of intelligence in supra-mundane development, is called andha-puggala (an individual whose both eyes are blind). One having only the eye of intelligence in mundane development and lacks the eye of intelligence in the Dhamma, is called eka-cakkhū (one eyed), [ 206 ] one who has both eyes of intelligence is designated dvi-cakkhu puggala (an individual whose both eyes see).

Of these three kinds of individuals, a two-eyed lay devotee lives by doing his domestic tasks, by taking refuge in the Triple Gem, by keeping the precepts, by fasting and by fulfilling other human social duties only through wisdom'. A monk lives by accomplishing his ascetic undertakings such as sīlavisuddhi, (purification of morality), citta-visuddhi (purification of mind) and others through wisdom. "Only the life of one who abides by widsom is praiseworthy", the Noble Ones such as Buddhas, etc., declare. (They do not say that the life of one who lives just by respiration is praiseworthy.) Thus should the meaning at moderate length be noted.

On hearing the Buddha's answer to his four questions Āḷavaka the ogre became very glad, and being desirous of asking the remaining four, he uttered the following verses:

Kathaṃ su taratī oghaṃ,
kathaṃ su tarati aṇṇavaṃ.
Kathaṃ su dukkham acceti,
kathaṃ su parisujjhati.

(Exalted Buddha) how, or by what does one cross over the four rough whirlpools? How, or by what does one cross over the ocean of saṃsāra? How or by what does one overcome the round of suffering? How or by what does one cleanse oneself of mental inpurities?

When the ogre had questioned thus the Buddha uttered the following verse as he wished to answer as before:

Saddhāya taratī oghaṃ,
appamādena aṇṇavaṃ.
Vīriyena dukkham acceti,
paññāya parisujjhati.

(O Friend by the peculiar name of Āḷavaka) By faith (saddhā) one crosses over the four rough whirlpools, by (appamāda), which is repeated performance of the ten wholesome acts, one crosses over the ocean of saṃsāra; by energy (vīriya) one overcomes the round of suffering; by wisdom (paññā) one cleanses oneself of mental impurities.

[ 207 ] (Herein he who crosses over the four whirlpools can also cross over the ocean of saṃsāra can overcome the round of suffering and be aloof from moral impurities; but (1) he who lacks saddhā, as he does not believe in the worthy practice of crossing over the four whirlpools, cannot engage in meditation which is crossing. Therefore he cannot go beyond them (2) He who neglects by indulging in five sensual pleasures, as he holds fast to these very pleasures, cannot get beyond the ocean of saṃsāra. (3) He who is not energetic but indolent, by mixing himself with unwholsome things, lives miserably. (4) A fool, as he does not know the good path of practise leading to the purification of moral impurities, cannot be away from such mental defilements. Hence the Buddha's answer revealing saddhā as opposed to asaddhiya (faithlessness), appamāda as opposed to pamāda (negligence), vīriya, as opposed to kosajja (indolence) and paññā as opposed to moha (ignorance).

Again in this answering verse of four feet faith or the faculty of saddha is the fundamental cause of the four factors of the streams-winning (Sotāpattiyaṅga), namely, (a) sappurisasaṃseva, association with the virtuous, (b) saddhamma-savana, listening to the law of the virtuous, (c) yoniso-manasikāra, proper contemplation, and (d) Dhammānudhamma-paṭipatti, engagement in Tranquility and Insight Meditation in accordance with the ninefold supra-mundane Dhamma. Only the possession of saddhā leads to the development of the four factors of the stream-winning factors, and only the development of these four factors leads to Sotāpatti, the winning of the stream. Hence by the first answer in the verse reading Saddhāya taratī oghaṃ, by faith one crosses over the four whirlpools of rough waters", the Sotāpatti-magga, which is the crossing over of diṭṭh'ogha the whirlpool of wrong beliefs, as well as the noble Sotāpanna, the Stream-Winner, are indicated.

(The noble Sotāpanna, as he has diligence, equivalent to the repeated acts of merit, accomplishes the second Path and is to be reborn but once in the human world; he crosses over the [ 208 ] ocean of saṃsāra, (the feat which has not been performed yet by Sotāpatti-magga) and which has its source in bhav'ogha, the whirlpool of becoming. Hence by the second answer in the verse reading "appamādena aṇṇavaṃ, by diligence one crosses over the ocean of saṃsāra" the Sakadāgāmi-magga, which is the crossing over of bhav'ogha, the whirlpool of becoming, as well as the noble individual Sakadāgāmī, the Once-Returner, are indicated.

(The noble Sakadāgāmī accomplishes the third Path by energy and overcomes the lust-related suffering, which has its source in kām'ogha the whirlpool of sensual pleasures, (the feat which has not been performed yet by Sakadāgāmi-magga). Hence the third answer in the verse reading "vīriyena dukkham acceti, by energy one overcomes the round of suffering", the Anāgāmi-magga, which is the crossing over of kāmo'ogha, the whirlpool of sensual pleasures, as well as the noble individual Anāgāmī the Never-Returner, are indicated.

(The noble Anagamī, as he is free from the mire of sensuality, accomplishes the fourth Path through the pristine pure Insight Wisdom and abandons the extreme impurities of avijja, ignorance, (which has not been eradicated yet by Anāgāmimagga). Hence the fourth answer in the verse reading "paññāya parisujjhati, by wisdom one cleanses oneself of mental impurities", the Arahatta-magga, the crossing over of avijj'ogha, the whirlpool of ignorance, as well as the Arahant are indicated.)

At the end of the verse in answer that was taught with Arahantship as its apex was Āḷavaka the ogre established in the Fruition of Sotāpatti.

Āḷavaka's further questions after his attainment of Sotāpatti.

Now that Āḷavaka the ogre had been impressed by the word paññā, wisdom, that is contained in the fourth answer of the verse. "paññāya parisujjhati". By wisdom is one is cleansed of one's mental impurities", [ 209 ] uttered by the Buddha, the ogre (as he was typically a noble Sotāpanna), became desirous of asking further questions, a mixture of mundane and supra-mundane problems, by his intelligence and uttered the following six lines:

Kathaṃ su labhate paññaṃ ?
Kathaṃ su vindate dhanaṃ?
Kathaṃ su kittiṃ pappoti?
Kathaṃ mittāni ganthati?
Asmā lokā paraṃ lokaṃ.
kathaṃ pecca na socati?

(Exalted Buddha!) How is the twofold wisdom, mundane and supramundane, gained? How is the twofold wealth, mundane and supra-mundane, attained? How is fame arrived at? How are friends associated? By what does not one grieve on passing away from this world to the next?

(By this verse Āḷavaka) the ogre meant to ask on the problems concerning these five:

1. The means to get wisdom,
2. The means to get wealth,
3. The means to get fame,
4. The means to get friends, and
5. The means to get away from sorrow in the next life.

(Being desirous of teaching Āḷavaka properly that there were four things contributing to the acquisition of the twofold wisdom, mundane and supra-mundane, (being desirous of answering the first question), the Buddha delivered the following verse:

Saddahāno Arahantaṃ,
dhammaṃ nibbānapattiyā;
sussūsaṃ labhate paññaṃ,
appamatto vicakkhaṇo.

(Friend by the peculiar name of Āḷavaka!) He who has deep faith in the ten wholesome acts and the thirty-seven constituents of Enlightenment that contribute to the attainment of Nibbāna taught by Buddhas, Paccekka-Buddhas and Ārahats; who respectfully pays attention to the wise; who is mindful and [ 210 ] earnest; and who reflects thoroughly on the two speeches, one well-spoken (subhāsita) and the other ill spoken (dubbhāsita) acquires the twofold wisdom, mundane and supra-mundane.

By this answer the Buddha meant to say that
(1) saddhā, faith,
(2) sussūsā, attention,
(3) appamāda, mindfulness, and
(4) vicakkhaṇā, reflection are the means to have wisdom.

(To make the meaning more explicit: Buddhas, PaccekaBuddhas and Arahants realize Nibbāna through the ten wholesome acts at the beginning and through the thirty-seven constituents of Enlightenment later on. Therefore these ten wholesome acts and the thirty-seven constituents of Enlightenment are to be designated as the means to Nibbāna. Only he who has profound faith, saddhā, can posses both mundane and supra-mundane wisdom.

(The possession of wisdom, however, is not possible just by faith. Only when the faithful individual develops sussūsā by approaching the wise, serving them, by listening to their pious words can he win these two kinds of wisdom. (That is to say, having faith that leads to Nibbāna, he must go to his preceptor (upajjhāya) and fulfills his duties towards them. When the preceptor, being pleased with his fulfillment of duties, teachs him, he must listen carefully. His approach to his preceptors, his service towards him, his listening to his word-all these briefly make up the term sussūsā, respectful obedience. Only one who possesses sussūsā, can realize mundane wisdom as well as supra-mundane.

(Only when the faithful and respectful listener further develops, appamāda (mindfulness), and vicakkhaṇā, (reflection) on subhāsita (well-spoken speech), and, dubbhāsita, (ill-spoken speech), can he realize the twofold [ 211 ] wisdom. He who lacks these four--saddhā, sussūsā, appamāda and vicakkhaṇā-cannot.

(With regard to the interrelation between these four and the supra-mundane wisdom, (1) by saddhā a man takes up the practice leading to wisdom (2) by sussūsā he listens respectfully to the Dhamma leading to paññā; (3) by appamāda he does not forget what he has learnt; (4) by vicakkhaṇā he considers deeply what he has learnt so that it may remain intact and without distortion and widens one's knowledge and wisdom. Or (2) by sussūsā a man respectfully listens to the Dhamma leading to wisdom; (3) by appamāda he bears in mind what he has learnt so that it may not be forgotten, (4) by vicakkhaṇā one ponders the profound significance of what he has borne in mind.) The repeated practice of these four brings to one the ultimate reality of Nibbāna by causing Arahantship. In this manner the development of the supra-mundane wisdom of the Path and that of the Fruition is to be noted.)

After answering the first question thus did the Exalted One, being desirous of answering now the second, third and fourth questions, uttered the following verse:

Patirūpa-kārī dhuravā,
uṭṭhātā vindate dhanaṃ:
saccena kittiṃ pappoti,
dadaṃ mittāni ganthati.

(Friend ogre by the peculiar name of Āḷavaka!) He who performs these two things leading to both worldly and spiritual wealth in harmony with the place and time, who by mental energy does not abandon his duty, and who is physically energetic as well, certainly occupies the two fold wealth (By the first half of the verse does the Buddha answer that the two fold wealth can be attained through three factors: following the practice in harmony with the place and time, leading to wealth, having mental energy and having physical energy.) By auspicious truthful speech does one attain good reputation that "This man is the speaker of truth", [or] by the attainment of ultimate reality of Nibbāna does he reach fame, people would [ 212 ] say, "He is a Buddha," "He is a Pacceka Buddha," or "He is a noble disciple of the Buddha." (By this third foot of the verse the third question is answered.) He who without stinginess but wholeheartedly gives somebody what he or she wants, makes friends. (By this fourth foot the fourth question is answered.)

(Herein the way the worldly wealth is attained through suitable practice, mental energy and physical energy may be noted from the (well-known) Cūḷa-seṭṭhi Jātaka which tells of a man who becomes rich having two hundred thousand within four months by making a dead rat as his capital.

(With reference to the attainment of spiritual wealth, it should be understood from the story of Mahā Tissa Thera. Explanation: The aged elder Mahā Tissa of Ceylon once decided to live only by the three postures of sitting, standing and walking, and he actually did so, fulfilling his duties. Whenever he felt slothful and drowsy he soaked a head pad made of straw [normally used as a cushion to things carried on the head] with water, put it on his head and went into the water throat-deep to remove his sloth and drowsiness (thina-middha). After twelve years, he attained Arahantship)

Having answered thus the first four questions in the way in which the worldly and spiritual things for the lay man and the monk are mixed, the Buddha now wished to tackle the fifth question. Accordingly he uttered the following verse:

Yass'ete caturo dhammā, saddhassa gharaṃ esino.
Saccaṃ dhammo dhīti cāgo, sa ve pecca na socati.

He who is faithful and seeking the benefit of one's home, in whom exist four things, namely, sacca (truthfulness), dhamma (wisdom), dhiti (physical and mental energy), cāga (generosity), indeed does not worry on his departure to the next existence.

After answering the fifth question thus, the Buddha wished to urge the ogre Āḷavaka and uttered this verse:

[ 213 ] Iṅgha aññe'pi pucchassu, puthū samaṇa brāhmaṇe.
Yadi saccā damā cāgā, khantyā bhiyyo'dha vijjati.

(Friend ogre by the peculiar name of Āḷavaka!) In this world if there were any virtue better than sacca (the twofold truthfulness) for the attainment of good reputation, if there were any virtue that is better than damā (taming) through prudence which is part of wise obedience for the attainment of worldly and spiritual wisdom; if there were any virtue that is better than cāga (giving for the making of friends; if there is any virtue better than forbearance (khantī) in the form of physical and mental energy for the making of worldly and spiritual wealth; if there is any virtue better than these four, namely, sacca, dama, cāga and khantī, for the elimination of grief hereafter, or if you think there were any virtues better than these, I pray you, for your satisfaction ask many others, those monks and Brahmins such as Pūraṇa Kassapa, etc., who falsely claim that they are Omniscient Buddhas.

When the Buddha uttered thus, the ogre Āḷavaka said to the Buddha in verse, the first half of which explains that he had already removed his doubt (through his attainment of the Path Knowledge)., the doubt as to whether he should ask Purāṇa Kassapa etc., and the second half explains the reason for his having no intention to ask:

Kathaṃ nu dāni puccheyyaṃ.
puthū samaṇa-brāhmaṇe.
Yo'ham ajja pajānāmi,
yo attho samparāyiko.

(Exalted Buddha!) Now that I (your disciple, Āḷavaka by name,) have cut off all doubts by means of the sword of the Sotāpatti Magga Ñāṇa, why should I ask many monks and Brahmins who unrighteously claim that they are Omniscient Buddhas. (Indeed I should not ask them as I have been free from that endangering defilement of doubt, vicikicchā,) As you have instructed me, I who am your disciple, Āḷavaka by name, come to know personally and clearly on this day all that instruction of yours, regarding the attainment wisdom, the [ 214 ] attainment of wealth, the attainment of fame and the making of friends, and regarding the virtues that lead not to grief hereafter. (Therefore I need not ask other persons for my satisfaction.)

Now the ogre Āḷavaka uttered again the following verse in the order to show that the knowledge he had acquired had its source in the Buddha:

Atthāya vata me Buddho
vāsāy'āḷavim āgamā.
Yo'haṃ ajja pajānāmi,
yattha dinnaṃ mahapphalaṃ.

The Exalted One, Lord of the world omniscient Buddha, has out of compassion come to the city of Āḷavī to spend the whole vassa period for the development of my, worldly and spiritual welfare. The gift faithfully given to the Omniscient Buddha is of great fruits ranging from the bliss of humans and Devas to the bliss of Nibbāna. That Omniscient Buddha who deserves the best gift I have come to know now thoroughly.

Having told in verse that he had now acquired the means to develop his welfare, Āḷavaka now uttered again this verse in order to express his wish properly to do for the welfare of others:

So aham vicarissāmi,
gāmā gāmaṃ purā puraṃ.
Namassamāno sambuddhaṃ,
Dhammasa ca sudhammataṃ.

(Exalted Buddha whose sun of glory, shines bright,) That I, your disciple Āḷavaka (from today onwards the day I met with the Master,) with my joined hands raised to my head in adoration, will wander from one celestial abode to another, from one celestial city to another, proclaiming aloud the countless attributes of the Buddha, the Chief of the three worlds, and the attribute of the Dhamma of the ten constituents, namely, the (four) Maggas, the (four) Phalas, Nibbāna and the entire collection of your Teachings, containing the good means of emancipation from the round of suffering (and the attributes [ 215 ] of the Saṃgha, the eight classes of its members, the Noble Ones who carefully follow the various admirable practices of the threefold Training).

It was the time when the following four events simultaneously took place:

(1) The end of Āḷavaka's verse;
(2) The coming of the daybreak;
(3) The reception of Āḷavaka's verse with wild acclaim; and
(4) The sending of Prince Āḷavaka by his royal servants to the ogre's mansion.

When the king's men [from the city of Āḷavī] heard the tumultuous acclaim, they thought to themselves; "Such a roar could not have occurred about any personages other than the Exalted One. Could it be that the Exalted One has come?" On seeing the body-rays from the Buddha they no longer remained outside the mansion and entered it without fear. There in the ogre's mansion did they encounter the Buddha seated and the ogre Āḷavaka standing with his joined hands in adoration.

After seeing thus the king's men bravely handed the little Prince Āḷavaka over to the Ogre Āḷavaka, saying: "O Great Ogre, we have brought this Prince Āḷavaka to give you in sacrifice. Now you may bite him or eat him if you wish. Do as you please." As Āḷavaka had already become a noble Sotāpanna at that time and (especially) as he was told to be so in front of the Buddha he felt greatly ashamed.

Then Āḷavaka tenderly took over the little prince with his two hands and offered him to the Buddha, saying:

Exalted Buddha, I offer this royal child to you. I give you the boy in charity. Buddhas are kind and protective to the sentient beings for their welfare. Exalted Buddha, please receive him, this Prince Āḷavaka, for his welfare and happiness.

He also uttered this verse:
[ 216 ] lmaṃ kumāraṃ satapuññalakkhaṇaṃ.
sabba'ṅgupetaṃ paripuṇṇavyañjanaṃ. Udaggacitto sumano dadāmi
te paṭiggaha lokahitāya cakkhuma.

Exalted Buddha of the fivefold eye! Being elated and happy, I, (Āḷavaka by name,) faithfully give you the prince named Āḷavaka, who possesses more than a hundred marks owing to his past meritorious deeds, who also has all big and small limbs and a developed physical appearance. Buddhas look after the sentient beings for their benefits. Kindly accept the prince for his own welfare.

The Buddha accepted the little Prince Āḷavaka with his hands. While he was thus accepting, in order to give his blessing for the benefit of long life and good health of the ogre and the prince, the Buddha uttered [three] verses, each omitting a foot (to be filled up by somebody else). That blank in each verse was filled up three times as the fourth foot by the ogre in order to establish the little prince in the Three Refuges. The incomplete verses which were uttered by the Buddha and completed by the ogre are as follows:

Buddha: Dīghāyuko hotu ayaṃ kumāro,
tuvañ ca yakkha sukhito bhavāhi.
Avyādhitā lokahitāya tiṭṭhatha,
Yakkha: ayaṃ kumāro saraṇam upeti Buddhaṃ. (1)
Buddha: Dīghāyuko hotu ayaṃ kumāro
tuvañ ca yakkha sukhito bhavāhi.
Avyādhitā lokahitāya tiṭṭhatha,
Yakkha: ayaṃ kumāro saraṇam upeti Dhammaṃ. (2).
Buddha: Dīghāyuko hotu ayaṃ kumāro
tuvañ ca yakkha sukhito bhavāhi
Avyādhitā lokahitāya tiṭṭhatha,
Yakkha: ayaṃ kumāro saraṇam upeti Saṃghaṃ. (3)

[ 217 ] Buddha: May this Prince Āḷavaka live long! Ogre Āḷavaka, may you also have physical and mental happiness! May you both remain long, being free from the ninety-six diseases, for the welfare of many!
Yakkha: (Exalted Buddha!) This Prince Āḷavaka takes refuge in the Exalted One, Lord of the world, and Omniscient Buddha.(1)
Buddha: May this Prince Āḷavaka live long! Ogre Āḷavaka, may you also have physical and mental happiness! May you both remain long, being free from the ninety-six diseases, for the welfare of many!
Yakkha: (Exalted Buddha!) This Prince Āḷavaka takes refuge in the Dhamma consisting of the ten features such as the four Paths, four Fruitions, Nibbāna and the entire body of Teachings. (2)
Buddha: May this Prince Āḷavaka live long! Ogre Āḷavaka, may you also have physical and mental happiness! May you both remain long, being free from the ninety-six diseases, for the welfare of many!
Yakkha: (Exalted Buddha!) This Prince Āḷavaka takes refuge in the Saṃgha of the Noble Ones in the ultimate sense of the word (Paramattha Ariya). (3)

Then the Buddha entrusted the little prince to the king's officers, ordering "Bring up this royal child and return him to me!"

Naming of the prince: Hatthaka Āḷavaka.

The original name the prince was Āḷavaka. As has been said, the day the ogre was tamed, the prince was passed on step by step from the hands of the royal officers to the ogre's hands, from the ogre's [ 218 ] hands to be the Buddha's hands from the Buddha's hands back to the hands of the officers. Hence he was named Hatthaka Āḷavaka (or Hatthakā-ḷavaka, Āḷavaka who has been handed from person to person').

When the officers, returned, carrying the little prince, they were seen by farmers and foresters and other people; who asked timidly: "How is it? Is it that the ogre does not want to devour the prince because he is too small?" "Friends, do not be afraid," replied the officers, "The Exalted One has made him free from danger", and they related the whole story to them.

Then the entire city of Āḷavī cheered, shouting "sādhu! sādhu!", The people happened to have faced in the direction where the ogre Āḷavaka was in just one roaring "The Exalted One has caused safety! The Exalted One has caused safety!" When it was time for the Buddha to go to town for alms-food, the ogre went along, carrying the Buddha's bowl and robe, half the way down to see Buddha off, then he returned to his mansion.

Mass Conversion (Dhammābhisamaya).

After the Buddha went on alms-round in the city of Āḷavī and when he had finished his meal, he sat down in the splendid seat prepared under a tree in quietude at the city gate. Then came King Āḷavaka with his hosts of ministers and troops joined by the citizens of Āḷavi who did obeisance to the Buddha and sat down around him and asked: "Exalted Buddha, how could you tame such a wild and cruel ogre?"

The Buddha then delivered the afore said Āḷavaka Sutta in twelve verses in which he started his narration with the attack made by the ogre and went on relating in detail: "In this manner did he rain nine kinds of weapons, in this manner did he exhibit horrible things, in this manner did he put questions to me, in this manner did I answer his questions." At the end of the discourse eighty-four thousand sentient beings realized the Four Truths and found emancipation.

[ 219 ] Regular offerings made to the ogre.

Now King Āḷavaka and the citizens of Āḷavī built a shrine for the ogre Āḷavaka near the (original) shrine of Vessavana Deva King. And they regularly made to the ogre offerings worthy of divine beings (Devatābali) such as flowers, perfumes, etc.

When the little prince grew up into an intelligent youth, they sent him to the Buddha with these words: "You, Prince, have secured a new lease of life because of the Exalted One. Go and serve the Master. Serve the Order of monks as well!" The Prince approached the Buddha and the monks and rendered his service to them, practised the Dhamma and was established in the Anāgāmi-phala. He also learned all the teachings of the Three Piṭakas and acquired the retinue of five hundred lay devotees of the Buddha. At a later time the Buddha held a convocation where the devout lay man and Anāgāmī Prince Hatthaka Āḷavaka was placed foremost among, those who lavishly showered upon their audience the four Saṅgaha-vatthus.

Here ends Chapter Thirty-Three.

VOLUME_4
PART_
CHAPTER_34

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THE BUDDHA'S SEVENTEENTH VASSA AT VEḶUVANA.

[ 221 ] As has been said above, after taming and convening the ogre Āḷavaka while observing the sixteenth vassa at Āḷavī city, the Buddha exhorted and converted those beings who were worthy of conversion, when the vassa came to an end he jou

Story of Sirimā the courtesan.

Here a brief account of Sirimā the courtesan should be known in advance as follows: Merchants of Rājagaha who belonged to a trading guild, having personally witnessed the splendour of the city of Vesālī which was due to the courtesan Ambapālī, told King Bimbisāra on their return to Rājagaha that a courtesan should be kept in their city too. When the king granted permission to do so, they appointed a very pretty woman, Sālavatī by name, courtesan with appropriate ceremonial emblems and duly recognized by the king. A fee of a hundred coins was charged for those who want to enjoy her company for one night.

When the courtesan first gave birth to a son, the infant was abandoned on a road but was picked up, adopted and named Jīvaka by Prince Abhaya. On coming of age he went to Takkasīla and studied medicine under a prominent teacher till he became accomplished in that science. He was, in fact, to be famous as physician Jīvaka, and his name is well-known even today.

[ 222 ] During Sālavatī's second confinement a daughter was born. As a daughter could follow her mother's occupation as a courtesan, she was not abandoned (unlike in Jīvaka's case) but nurtured well. The name Sirimā was given to her. On her mother Sālavatī's death she succeeded her and was recognized as courtesan by the king. Those who wished to seek pleasure with her for one night had to pay a thousand coins. This is a brief account of the courtesan Siramā.

The Buddha's Discourse in connection with Sirimā.

While the Buddha was keeping the seventeenth vassa at Veḷuvana in Rājagaha, Sirimā was a lady of great beauty. What was peculiar about her was this: During one rainy season she did something wrong against the Buddha's female lay devotee (ūpāsikā) Uttarā, who was daughter-in-law of the wealthy merchant Puṇṇa, and who was a noble Sotāpanna. In order to beg Uttarā's pardon, she confessed to the Buddha who had finished his meal together with members of the Saṃgha at Uttarās house. On that very day, after listening to the Buddha's discourse given in appreciation of the meal, she attained Sotāpatti-phala when the verse beginning with "Akkodhena jine kodhaṃ" uttered by the Buddha came to a close. (This is just an abridgment. A detailed account will be given when we come to the section on Nandamātā Uttarā Upāsikā in the chronicle of female lay devotees in the Chapter on Saṃgha-Ratana.)

The day after her attainment of Sotāpatti-phala, the courtesan Sirimā invited the Order of bhikkhus with the Buddha at its head and performed alms-giving on a grand scale. From that day onwards she undertook permanent (nibaddha) giving of alms-food to a group of the eight bhikkhus. Beginning from the first day of her invitation eight bhikkhus went in their turn to Sirimā's place constantly for food. Saying respectfully "Please accept butter, Venerable Sirs! Please accept milk, Venerable Sirs!" Sirimā offered by putting her supplies to the brim of [ 223 ] the bowls of the eight monks who came as it was their turn. The food received by a monk (from Sirimā's house) was sufficient for three or four. Sirimā spent sixteen coins each day for offering food.

One day one of the eight monks going to Sirimā's place in their turn had his meal and went to another monastery that was more than three yojanās away from Rājagaha. One evening while the visiting monk was sitting at the place reserved for waiting upon the Mahāthera of the monastery, his fellow monks asked him in their speech of welcome (paṭisandhāra), "Friend, where did you have your meal and come over here?" The visiting monk replied, "Friends, I came after having the meal which is the permanent offering made to eight monks by Sirimā." Again the monks inquired, "Friend, did Sirimā make her offering attractive and give it to you?" "Friend, I am not able to praise her food fully. She offered the food to us after preparing it in the best possible manner. The food received by one from her is sufficient for three or four to enjoy. It is particularly fortunate for one to see her beauty rather than to see her offering. That woman Sirimā is indeed one endowed with such and such signs of beauty and fairness of limbs big and small". Thus the visiting monk replied, extolling Sirimā's qualities.

Then one of the monks, after hearing the words in praise of Sirimā's qualities, fell in love with her even without actual seeing. Thinking "I should go and see her", he told the visiting monk his years of standing as a bhikkhu and asked about the order of monks (who were presently due to be at Sirimā's house). "Friend," replied the visiting monk, "if you go now you will be one of those at Sirimā's place tomorrow and receive the aṭṭhakabhatta (the food for the eight)." Hearing the reply, the monk set out at that very moment, taking his bowl and robe. (Though he could not reach Rājagaha that night, he made great effort to continue his journey.) And he arrived in Rājagaha at dawn. When he entered the lot-drawing booth and stood there, the lot came to him, and he joined the group to receive the aṭṭhaka-bhatta at Sirimā's residence.

[ 224 ] But Sirimā had been inflicted with a fatal disease since the previous day when the former monk left after having Sirimā's meal. Therefore she had to take off her ornaments that she usually put on and lay down on her couch. As her female servants saw the eight monks coming according to their lot, they reported to Sirimā. But she was unable to give seats and treat them personally by taking the bowls with her own hands (as in the previous days). So she asked her maids while lying, "Take the bowls from the monks, women. Give them seats and offer the rice-gruel first. Then offer cakes and, when meal time comes fill the bowls with food and give them to the monks."

Yes, madam, said the servants, and after ushering the monks into the house, they gave them rice-gruel first. Then they offered cakes. At meal time they made the bowls full with cooked rice and dishes. When they told her of what they had done, Sirimā said to them, "Women, carry me to the Venerable Ones, I would like to pay my respect to them." When they carried her to the monks, she did obeisance to the monks respectfully with her body trembling as she could not remain steady.

The monk who had became amorous with Sirimā without seeing her previously now gazed upon her and thought, "This Sirimā looks still beautiful despite her illness. How great her glamour would have been when she was in good health and adorned with all ornaments." Then there arose in his person wild lustful passions as though they had accumulated for many crores of years. The monk became unconscious of anything else and could not eat his meal. Taking the bowl he went back to the monastery, covered the bowl and put it at a place. Then he spread out a robe on which he lay down with his body kept straight. No companion monk could request him to eat. He starved himself by entirely cutting off the food.

That evening Sirimā died. King Bimbisāra had the news sent to the Buddha, saying, "Exalted Buddha! Sirimā, the younger sister of the [ 225 ] physician Jīvaka is dead." On hearing the news the Buddha had his message sent back to the king, asking him, "Do not cremate the remains of Sirimā yet. Place her body on its back at the cemetery and guard it against crows, dogs, foxes, etc.," The king did as he was instructed by the Buddha.

In this way three days had passed and on the fourth day, Sirimā's body became swollen. Worms came out profusely from the nine openings of the body. The entire frame burst out and was bloated like a boiling-pot. King Bimisāra sent the drummers all over the city of Rājagaha to announce his orders: "All citizens except children who are to look after their houses must come to the cemetery to watch the remains of Sirimā. Those who fail to do so will be punished with a fine of eight coins each." He also sent an invitation to the Buddha to come and observe Sirimā's body.

The Buddha then asked the monks, "Let us go and see Sirimā's body!" The young passionate monk followed no advice of others but starved himself, lying. The food (kept in the bowl four days ago) had now gone stale. The bowl also had become filthy. Then a friendly monk told the young bhikkhu, "Friend, the Buddha is about to go and see Sirimā's body." Though he was oppressed by hunger severely, the crazy young monk got up as soon as he heard the name Sirimā. "What do you say, friend?" he asked. When the friend replied, "The Buddha, friend, is going to see Sirimā. Are you coming along?" Answering "Yes, I am", he threw away the stale food, washed the bowl, put it in the bag and went along with other monks.

Surrounded by monks, the Buddha stood on one side at the cemetery, There were also groups of nuns (bhikkhunīs), members of the royalty, male and female lay devotees, standing on either side. When all had gathered, the Buddha asked the king, "Great King, who was this woman?" .... "Exalted Buddha, she was a young woman named Sirimā, sister of the physician Jīvaka," answered the king. "Was she [ 226 ] Sirimā', Great King?" the Buddha asked again. When the king affirmed, the Buddha said:

Great king, in that case (if she was Jīvaka's sister) have the announcement made by beating the drum that those who desire Sirimā may take her on the payment of a thousand coins." "

The king did as instructed by the Buddha. But there was no one who would say even 'hey! or 'ho!'. When the king informed the Buddha that "Nobody would like to take her", the Buddha said, "Great king, if there is none to take her for a thousand coins, reduce the price", the king then had it announced that those who would like to take her may do so by paying five hundred. Again none was found desirous of taking her by paying that amount of money. Again the price was reduced to two hundred and fifty, two hundred, one hundred, fifty, twenty-five, five, one coin, half a coin, one fourth of a coin, one sixteenth of a coin, just a gunja seed. But nobody came out to take her body. Finally it was announced that the body might be taken free, without making any payment at all. Still no one muttered even 'hey!' or 'ho!.

The king reported the matter to the Buddha, saying. "Exalted Buddha, there does not exist a single person who would take it free of charge!" The Buddha then sermonized as follows,

You monks, my dear sons! Behold this woman (Sirimā) who had been dear to many. Formerly in this city of Rājagaha one could seek pleasure with her by paying as much as a thousand coins. Now nobody would like to take her by paying nothing at all! The beauty that was so highly valued has now come to destruction. Monk, through your eye of wisdom observe this physical frame that is always intolerably painful!

Then the Buddha uttered the following verse:

[ 227 ] Passa cittakataṃ bimmaṃ, arukāyaṃ samussitaṃ
Āturaṃ bahusaṅkappaṃ, yassa natthi dhuvaṃ ṭhiti.

(O my dear sons, monks!) There is no such thing as nature of firmness or of steadfastness in this body frame, not even the slightest bit. The body frame which is made pleasant and exquisite with dress and ornaments, flowers and perfumes and other forms of cosmetics, which is composed of limbs big and small, beautiful and proportionate, giving a false impression of splendour, which can stand upright because of its three hundred bones, which is constantly painful and intolerable, which is wrongly thought by many blind worldings to be pleasant, befitting and fortunate as they know no truth and have no intelligence, and which is unpleasant as the whole thing is disgustingly full of loathsomeness, trickling down from the sore-like nine openings. With your penetrating eye, have a look at such a body, studying repeatedly!

At the end of the discourse eighty-four thousand beings realized the Four Truths and attained emancipation. The young monk who had loved Sirimā became established in Sotāpatti-phala.

(The above account is extracted from the story of Sirimā, Jarā Vagga, Second Volume of the Dhammapada Commentary.

(In connection with the story of Sirimā, the account contained in the Vijaya Sutta, Uraga Vagga of the first volume of the Sutta Nipāta Commentary, will be reproduced as follows, for it has so much appeal.)

While the young monk was starving himself, Sirimā died and was reborn as Chief Queen to Suyāma Deva of Yāma celestial abode. The Buddha in the company of monks took the young psychopathic monk and went to watch the remains of Sirimā that was not cremated yet but [ 228 ] kept by King Bimbisāra (under the Buddha's instructions) at the cemetery where dead bodies were thrown away. Similarly, the citizens as well as the king himself were present there.

There at the cemetery the people talked among themselves, "Friends, in the past it was hard to get your turn to see and enjoy her even by paying a thousand coins. But now no person would like to do so even for a guñja seed."

The celestial queen Sirimā accompanied by five hundred divine chariots came to the cemetery. To the monks and lay people who had assembled there at the cemetery the Buddha delivered the Vijaya Sutta and to the young monk he uttered in his exhortation the verse beginning with "Passa cittakataṃ bimbaṃ" as preserved in the Dhammapada.

The Vijaya Sutta and its translation.

(l) Caraṃ vā yadi vā tiṭṭham, nisinno udavā sayaṃ
samiñjeti pasāreti, esā kāyassa iñjanā.

Walking or standing, sitting or lying down, bending one's joints or stretching them, all these postures of walking, standing, sitting, lying down, stepping forward, stepping backward, bending and stretching are movements of the body.

By this verse is meant the following:

In this body there is no person who walks, no person who stands .... no person who stretches. In fact, one should

(a) know that it is the mind (consciousness) that desires to walk, stand, sit or lie down;

[ 229 ] (b) know that it is the mind that conditions the wind element that pervades all over the body;

(d) know with intelligence that what walks is no person or self, but it is the matter which does the walking;

(e) know with intelligence that what stands is no person or self, but it is the matter which does the standing;

(f) know with intelligence that what sits is no person or self but it is the matter which does the sitting;

(g) know with intelligence that what lies down is no person or self, but it is the matter which does the lying down;

(h) know with intelligence that what bends is no person or self, but it is the matter which does the bending;

(i) know with intelligence that what stretches it is no person or self, but it is the matter that does the stretching.

In accordance with the above lines, (1) when the mind desires to walk, the wind element conditioned by the mind pervades all over the body. Because of the pervasion of the wind element, there appears the bodily gesture of striding in the desired direction. That is to say peculiar forms of matter come into being in succession by the gesture of striding towards another desired place over there. Because of the striding gesture of these successive forms of matter, such a gesture is called "going" in worldly parlance.

[ 230 ] (2) Similarly, when the mind desires to stand, the wind element conditioned by the mind pervades all over the body. Because of the pervasion of the wind element, there appears the vertically erecting gesture of the body. That is to say peculiar forms of matter come into being in succession by the vertically erecting. Because of the vertically erecting gesture of these successive forms of matter in linking the upper part and the lower part of the body, such a gesture is called "standing" in worldly parlance.

(3) Similarly, when the mind desires to sit, the wind element conditioned by the mind pervades all over the body. Because of the pervasion of the wind element, there appears the bending gesture of the lower part and the erecting gesture of the upper part of the body. That is to say peculiar forms of matter come into being in succession by the bending of the lower part and the erection of the upper part of the body. Because of the partly bending and partly erecting gesture of these successive forms of matter, such a gesture is called "sitting" in worldly parlance.

(4) Similarly, when the mind desires to lie down, the wind element conditioned by the mind pervades all over the body. Because of the pervasion of the wind element, there appears the horizontally stretching gesture of the body. That is to say peculiar forms of matter come into being in succession by the horizontally stretching gesture of the body. Because of the horizontally stretching of these successive forms of matter, such a gesture is called "lying down" in worldly parlance.

In the case of "bending" or "stretching", too, as the mind desires to bend or to stretch, the mind-conditioned wind element pervades the joints. Because of this pervasion of the [ 231 ] wind element, the bending or the stretching gesture appears. That is to say peculiar forms of matter come into being in succession by the bending or the stretching gesture. Because of the bending or the stretching gesture of these successive forms of matter, such a gesture is called "bending" or stretching" in worldly parlance.

Therefore all these gestures of walking, sitting, sleeping, bending or stretching belong to the body. That is to say peculiar forms of matter come into being by their respective gestures. In this body there is no individuality, no entity, no soul, that walks, stands, sits, lies down, bends or stretches. This body is devoid of any individuality, entity any soul, that does the walking, the standing, the sitting, the lying down, the bending or the stretching, what is in reality is:

cittanānattaṃāgamma, nānattaṃ hoti vāyuno
vāyunānattato nānā, hoti kāyassa iñjanā.

On account of the peculiar state of mind, the peculiar state of the wind element arises. On account of the peculiar state of the wind element, the peculiar state of the body's movement arises. This is the ultimate sense of the verse.

By this first verse the Buddha teaches the three characteristics: the characteristic of impermanence (aniccalakkhaṇa), the characteristic of suffering (dukkha-lakkhaṇa) and the characteristic of non-soul (anatta-lakkhaṇa). The way he teaches is as follows:

When one remains long in any of the four postures of walking, standing, sitting and lying down, one becomes painful and uneasy. In order to dispel that pain and uneasiness, one changes one's posture. (The characteristic of suffering is [ 232 ] covered by the posture. In order not to let the characteristic of suffering appear, it is hidden by means of another posture. That is why the wise say, "The posture (iriyāpatha) covers the characteristic of suffering.")

Thus by the three feet (pada) beginning with "caraṃ vā yadi vā tiṭṭhaṃ" the characteristic of suffering covered up by change of posture is taught. (Change of one posture to another is due to body-pain. The cause, which is body-pain, the characteristic of suffering, is known from the aforesaid effect which is change of posture.)

In the same way, as there is no posture of standing, etc., while one walks, the characteristic of impermanence covered by continuity (santati) is taught by the Buddha who says: esā kāyassa iñjanā, all these postures of walking, standing, sitting, lying down, stepping forward, stepping backward, bending and stretching are movements of the body.

Further explanation: The uninterrupted arising of matter and mind is called santati. Because of this santati which is the uninterrupted arising of matter and mind, the cessation and disappearance of matter and mind, i.e. the characteristic of impermanence, is not seen. That is why the wise say, ""Continuity" covers the characteristic of impermanence" By his teaching esā kāyassa iñjanā, the Buddha means to say all these postures of walking, standing, sitting, lying down, stepping forwards, stepping backwards, bending and stretching are movements of the body"

In each posture, an aggregate of mind and matter in harmony with the posture arises uninterruptedly. With the change of each posture, there is change or disappearance of the aggregate of mind and [ 233 ] matter too. Therefore, it is understood that by the fourth and last foot, the Buddha teaches the characteristic of impermanence covered by santati.

As has been said above, in ultimate reality, it is because of the mind that desires to walk, to stand, to sit or to lie down, the mind-conditioned wind element arises. Because the wind element pervades all over the body, peculiar forms of matter such as the gesture of walking, of standing, of sitting or of lying down arise. With reference to these gestures people say, 'one walks', 'one stands', 'one sits', 'one lies down', 'one steps forward', 'one steps backwards', 'one bends' or 'one stretches"

In ultimate reality, however, this is the mere arising of peculiar forms of matter as they are given rise into being by certain combined causes in harmony. That is to say this is the mere arising of peculiar forms of matter by the gestures of walking, standing, etc., as motivated by the combination in harmony of the causes belonging to both the matter and the mind of the body. Those of attavāda (soul theory) who have no profound knowledge of this say, "The soul itself walks, stands, sits or lies down." On the contrary the Buddha declares that it is not the soul that does the walking, standing, sitting and lying down. "Esā kāyassa iñjanā" all these are but movements of the body appearing through their respective gestures accomplished by a number of causes which harmoniously come together.

The four masses (ghana).

Herein there are four masses (ghana), namely, (l) santati (mass of continuity) (2) samūha-ghana (mass of coherence), (3) kicca-ghana (mass of functions) and (4) ārammaṇa-ghana (mass of sense-objects).

[ 234 ] Of these four, (1) the arising of physical and mental elements by uniting, combining and cohering with one another so that they appear as a whole without any gap is santati-ghana

Herein "without any gap" means the cessation of the preceding element coincides with the arising of the following, or as soon as the preceding element ceases the following arises. This is said by Tīkā writers to be "purima-pacchimānaṃ nirantaratā" "the absence of gap between one element and the next." By arising thus without any gap, it seems that the arising elements are more powerful and overwhelming and the ceasing elements less manifest; so people then have a wrong impression that "what we see now is what we saw previously." This is proved by the fact that when a burning stick is turned round and round, it is thought to be a ring of fire. (This indeed is the mass of continuity.)

(2) The arising of mental elements such as phassa (contact), etc., and of physical elements such as pathavī (earth element), etc., by uniting, combining and cohering with one another so that they all give the impression of their being one in reality is samūha-ghana.

When mental and physical elements arise, they do so not as one natural quality (sabhāvasatti). On the mental side there are at least eight elements (such as cakkhu-viññāṇa, eyeconsciousness, and seven sabba-citta-sādhāraṇa-cetasika, mental concomitants dealing with all consciousness); on the physical side too, there are at least eight elements (by which eight material units are referred to). Thus at least eight natural qualities, whether mental or physical, give the impression that they are but one by uniting, combining and cohering with one [ 235 ] another; such is meant by samūha-ghana. (This indeed is the mass of coherence.)

(3) Elements belonging to a mental or physical unit arise, performing their respective functions. When they arise, it is difficult (for those who have no knowledge of Abhidhammā) to understand "this is the function of phassa (contact), this is the function of vedanā (sensation), this is the function of saññā (perception)" and so on. Likewise, it is difficult (for them) to understand "this is the function of pathavī (earth element), this is the function of āpo (water element), this is the function of vayo (wind element), this is the function of tejo (fire element)" and so on. Thus the functions of the elements, being difficult to grasp, make their appearance as a whole by uniting, combining and cohering with one another; such is called kicca-ghana (This indeed is the mass of functions.)

(4) Elements belonging to each mental unit collectively pay attention or elements belonging to each physical unit form a single object for one's attention by uniting, combining and cohering with one another, leading one to the impression that they are just one (natural quality) in reality is ārammaṇa-ghana. (This indeed is the mass of sense-object.)

In short, several physical and mental elements arise as a result (paccayuppanna) of a cause (paccaya); but it is hard to discern their differences in terms of time, nature, function and attention and thus they create the false impression that they are but one unit; they are called respectively santati-ghana, samūha-ghana, kicca-ghana, and arammaṇa-ghana. (This account of the four masses are reproduced from the Dhammasaṅganī Mūla Ṭīkā pg 60 and Anu Ṭikī.pg 66)

[ 236 ] In dealing with ultimate reality the quality of an element is to be discerned. For instance, with regard to a chili seed, the mind is to be focussed only on its taste. Only when the natural quality of an element is discerned with the eye of wisdom can the ultimate reality be penetrated. Only when the ultimate reality is penetrated is the mass (ghana) dissolved. Only when the mass is dissolved is the knowledge of anatta (non-soul) is gained. If the natural quality is not discerned with the eye of wisdom, the ultimate reality cannot be penetrated. If the ultimate reality is not penetrated the mass is not dissolved. If the mass is not dissolved the knowledge of anatta is not gained. That is why the wise say: "The ghana covers up the characteristic of anatta."

By the fourth foot of the first verse the Buddha reveals the characteristic of anatta that is covered up by the masses for he says there, "esā kāyassa iñjanā," all these postures do not belong to a soul or an entity, but they are, in fact, just the movements of the physical and mental elements accomplished in their respective functions." Deep indeed is the teaching. It cannot be understood through the eye of ordinary wisdom.

End of the first verse.

Having thus preached by way of the three characteristics the meditation subject of suññata (void or absence) of permanence (nicca), happiness (sukha), and soul (atta), in order to preach the two kinds of loathsomeness, that of the living (saviññānaka-asubha) and that of lifeless (aviññāṇaka-asubha), the Buddha uttered more verses:

(2) Aṭṭhinahāru-saṃyutto
tacamaṃsāva lepano
chaviyā kāyo paṭicchanno
yathābhūtaṃ na dissati.

[ 237 ] This living body is composed of (three hundred) bones, (nine hundred) tendons that bind the bones and (seven thousand) capillaries that help experience the tastes. It is plastered by the thick inner skin in white and nine hundred lumps of flesh (extremely stinking and disgusting thereby). This living body is covered by the thinner (outer) skin of different colours as the walls of a house are painted brown, etc., therefore the reality of loathsomeness is entirely indiscernable in true perspective to the fools who are blind for lack of wisdom.

(The nature of the body is said to be as follows: Just as in a house beams, purlins, principal rafters and common rafters and other substantial parts are fastened and kept immovable by means of rattan stems, even so (in the body) three hundred and sixty substantial bones are fastened and kept immovable by means of rattan-like nine hundred tendons. Just as walls of bamboo matting are plastered with cowdung and fine earth, even so the bones and the tendons are plastered by nine hundred lumps of flesh. As the walls of the house are finished with cement, so the body is wrapped up by the thicker skin. The aforesaid bones, tendons, lumps of flesh and thicker skin have by nature foul and loathsome smell. But as the walls are painted in different colours such as brown, yellow, green, red, etc., in order to make the house look beautiful, the bones, tendons, lumps of flesh and the thicker skin are covered by the paint-like outer and thinner skin which is flimsy like the wing of a fly in brown, golden, red, or white colour. (so flimsy that when it is taken off from the body and rolled into a ball, its size would be as small as a plum seed) Therefore those without the eye of wisdom cannot see its loathsomeness in its true state.)

[ 238 ] In order to preach that the variety of unpleasant internal organs must be seen by penetrating them with the eye of wisdom--the organs very impure, foul smelling, disgusting and loathsome but which are not obvious to all people because they are thus enveloped by the thicker skin that is again covered by the coloured thinner skin--the Buddha went on to utter these verses:

(3) Antapūro udarapūro
yakanapelassa vatthino,
hadayassa papphāsassa
vakkassa pihakassa ca.

(4) Siṅghāṇikāya kheḷassa
sedassa ca medassa ca,
lohitssa lasikāya
pittassa ca vasāya ca.

This living body is not filled with sandalwood perfume, etc., in fact this body is filled with intestines, filled with newly eaten food, filled with the liver, filled with urine, filled with the heart, filled with the lungs, filled with the kidney and filled with the spleen. (3)

This living body is filled with the mucus of the nose, filled with saliva, filled with sweat, filled with fat, filled with blood, filled with sunovic fluid, filled with the bile, filled with fallow or marrow. (4)

Having preached thus by these two verses that there is not in the body an organic particle that is worth keeping with pleasure like pearls, rubies and so on and that this body is, in fact, full of impurities, the Buddha uttered the following two verses in order to reveal the internal impurities against the external and in order to combine those already enumerated with those not enumerated yet:

[ 239 ] (5) Athassa navahi sotehi
asucī savati sabbadā
Akkhimhā akkhigūthako,
kaṇṇamhā kaṇṇagūthako.

(6) Siṅghāṇikā ca nāsato
mukhena vamatekadā.
Pittaṃ semhañca vamati
kāyamhā sedajallikā.

Besides, from the nine sore openings of the living body ever uncontrollably flow at all times, day and night, filthy and loathsome elements. (How?) From the eyes flow unclean secretion, from the ears flow the unclean wax. (5)

The impure mucus sometimes flow from the nose, sometimes frothy food when vomited comes out through the mouth. Sometimes the bile as organ (baddha) and the bile as fluid (abaddha) and the phlegm come out frothy from the mouth. From the body come out at all times, day and night, sweat, salt, moisture, dirt and other impurities. (6)

(Herein since the flow of excrement from the opening of the rectum and that of urine from the private parts are understood by many and since the Buddha wished to show his regard for the occasion, the individual and the audience concerned, he did not mention them explicitly and as he desired only to say that there were impurities that flow by other means as well, he summarized all in the expression "kāyamhā sedajallikā."

(By these two verses the Buddha gave a simile: just as when rice is cooked, the impure rice water comes up with the scum and overflows the brim of the pot, even so when the food eaten is cooked by means of the digestive fire element generated by [ 240 ] one's past kamma (kammaja tejodhātu), impurities such as secretion of the eye, etc., come up and overflow the body.)

Head is recognized as the most sacred part of the body in the world. Because of the sacredness (or sometimes through conceit) the head is not bowed in showing respect even to those worthy of respect. In order to show that the body was impure and loathsome by the fact that even the head (as the top of the body) was devoid of essense and purity the Buddha uttered this verse:

(7) Athassa susiraṃ sīsam
matthaluṅgassa pūritam.
Subhato naṃ maññatī bālo
avijjāya purakkhato.

Besides, the hollow head of the living body is disgustingly filled with brain. The fool, who is blind (to reality) through craving, conceit and false view because he is enveloped wrongly by ignorance, wrongly takes the body thus; "Beautiful is my body indeed. Beautiful am I indeed. My beauty is permanent!"

Here ends loathsomeness of the living body.

Having thus preached the loathsomeness of the living, now in order to preach the loathsomeness of the lifeless, in other words, having preached that even the body of the Universal Monarch is full of putrid and that even life filled with all kinds of luxury therefore is unpleasant, now in order to preach loathsomeness when life is destroyed, the Buddha uttered this verse:

(8) Yadā ca so mato seti
uddhumāto vinīlako.
Apaviddho susānasmiṃ
anapekkhā honti ñātayo.

[ 241 ] When the body is dead (because of the absense of three factors, namely, life (āyu) Or material and mental life (jīvita) body temperature (usmā) or the fire element generated by the past kamma (kammaja-tejo) and consciousness (viññāṇa), it becomes swollen like a leather bag filled with air, it turns black through loss of the original complexion and it lies in the coffin deserted at the cemetery. Then all relatives and friends have no regard for him thinking, "It is certain that the dead will not come to life again."

(In this verse, by mato, 'dead', is shown 'impermanence'; by seti, 'lies in the coffin', is shown 'lack of vitality.' By both words it is urged that 'the two kinds of conceit, the conceit due to living (jīvita māna) and that due to strength (bala-māna), should be rejected.'

(By uddhumāto 'swollen', 'is shown 'the destruction of shape'; by vinīlako, 'turns black', is shown 'loss of the original complexion'. By both words it is urged that 'the conceit due to beauty and that due to good shape should be rejected.'

(By apaviddho, 'deserted' is shown 'the total absence of what is to be taken back', by susānasmiṃ, 'at the cemetery', is shown 'the loathsomeness that is so intolerable that the body is not worth keeping at home; by both words it is urged that 'the grasping with the thought, 'This is mine', and the impression that 'it is pleasant' should be rejected.'

By the words anapekkhā honti ñātayo, 'all the relatives and friends have no regard for it' is shown that 'those who formerly adored the deceased no longer do so.' By showing thus it is urged that 'the conceit due to having a large number of companions around (parivāra-māna) should be rejected.'

[ 242 ] By this verse the Buddha thus pointed out the lifeless body that has not been disintegrated yet.

Now in order to point out the loathsomeness of the lifeless body that has been disintegrated, the Buddha uttered this verse:

(9) Khādanti naṃ suvānā ca
siṅgālā ca vakā kimī;
kākā gijjhā ca khādanti
ye caññe santi pāṇino.

That discarded body at the cemetery domestic dogs and jackals (wild dogs), wolves and worms, eat up; crows and vultures also eat up, other flesh eating creatures such as leopards, tigers, eagles, kites and the like also devoure it.

End of the section on the loathsomeness of the lifeless body.

In this way the Buddha taught the nature of this body by virtue of the suññata meditation through the first verse beginning with "caraṃ vā yadi vā tiṭṭhaṃ"; by virtue of the loathsomeness of the living body through the six verses beginning with "aṭṭhi nahāru saṃyutto" and by virtue of the loathsomeness of the lifeless body through the two verses beginning with "yadā ca so mato seti" Furthermore the Buddha revealed thereby the state of the fool who thought that the body was pleasant, for he was overcome by ignorance regarding the body that was really devoid of permanency (nicca), pleasantness (subha) and soul (atta). By so doing the Buddha disclosed the fact that the round of suffering (vaṭṭa dukkha) indeed was led by ignorance (avijjā). Now in order to point out the state of the wise man regarding the body of such nature and the fact that the end of suffering (vivaṭṭa) was led by the three phases of thorough understanding (pariñña), the Buddha uttered these verses:

[ 243 ] (10) Sutvāna Buddha-vacanaṃ
bhikkhu paññāṇavā idha
so kho naṃ parijānāti
yathābhūtañ hi passati.

In this dispensation of the Buddha which consists of eight wonders, the bhikkhu, who is a worldling (puthujjana), a learner (sekkha) or a meditator. (yogāvacara), endowed with Vipassanā Wisdom, having heard properly this discourse of the Buddha named Vijaya Sutta (or Kāya-vicchandanika Sutta) sees with the eye of Vipassanā the body in its true nature; he therefore discerns the body clearly through the three phases of understanding (pariññā); namely, knowledge (ñāta), judgment (tīraṇa) and abandonment (pahāna).

The way of discernment of the body by the three phases of pariññā is as follows:

After inspecting carefully a variety of merchandise, a merchant considers: "if I buy it at this price my profit would be this much" Then only he buys the merchandise and sells it at a profit. In the same way, the worldling learning or meditating bhikkhu inspects his body with his eye of wisdom and comes to understand thorougly by ñāta-pariññā: "things that truly constitute the body are merely bones, sinews, etc., (which are directly mentioned in the text) and hair on the head, hair on the body, etc., (which are not directly mentioned in the text). He then reflects and judges the body with the eye of Vipassana Wisdom and comes to understand by tīraṇa-pariññā: "the phenomena that occur in the body are only impermanent (anicca), unsatisfactory (dukkha), and non-soul (anatta). Finally he arrives on the Noble Path (Ariya-Magga) and comes to understand by pahāna-pariññā and abandons his attachment to the body or his desire and passion for the body.

[ 244 ] (Herein because this body which is visible to all would not have been thoroughly understood through the three phases of pariññā should there be no chance to listen to the Buddha's teaching (inspite of the body's visibility), because such thorough understanding is possible only when his teaching is heard, and in order to point out that there is also the way of understanding the characteristics of suññata, etc., through the three phases of pariññā and also to point out that those who are outside the Buddha's dispensation are unable to discern in this manner, the Buddha uttered: Sutvāna Buddha-vacanaṃ idha.

(On account of the Bhikkhuni Nandā Therī and on that of the Bhikkhu whose mind craved for the beauty of Sirimā, the Vijaya Sutta (or the Kāyavicchandanika Sutta) was delivered. Of the four assemblies, the assembly of monks ranks highest it was only that very assembly of monks that was ever close to the Buddha. Anybody, be he a monk or a lay man, who meditates on anicca, dukkha and anatta, can be designated 'bhikkhu'. In order to point out these things, the Buddha uses the term 'bhikkhu'; not because the three phases of pariññā are confined to monks. This import should also be noted in particular.)

Now in order to point out the way of seeing things as they really are in accordance with the word "yathā bhūtañ hi passati" the Buddha uttered this verse:

(11) Yathā idaṃ tathā etaṃ
yathā etaṃ tathā idaṃ.
Ajjhattañca bahiddhā ca
kāye chandam virājaye.

Even as this living body of loathsomeness walks, stands, sits and lies down, (because it is not without the three factors of physical and mental life, (āyu), the kamma-generated [ 245 ] temperature, (usma) and consciousness. viññāna, so was the lifeless body of loathsomeness at the cemetery (which before its death could walk, stand, sit and lie down) as it was then not without those three factors.)

Even as the dead, lifeless body now is (unable to walk, stand, sit or lie down because of the cessation of those three factors), so will this body (of mine) be (unable to walk, stand, sit or lie down because of the cessation of the very three factors.

Thus, the practising wise one who ponders and discerns the events of the body threatened by the danger of saṃsāra) should be able to uproot the attachment to or the desire and passion for the internal body as well as the external by means of the fourfold Path-Knowledge, in the mode of samuccheda pahāna.

(In this verse, by identifying oneself with the lifeless body one abandons the defilement of anger (dosa-kilesa) (that would arise) with regard to the external body as he ponders "yathā idaṃ tathā etaṃ", "even as this living body of mine is, so was that lifeless body of 1oathsomeness in the past."

(By identifying the lifeless body with oneself, one abandons the defilement of passion (rāga-kilesa) (that would arise) in the internal body as he ponders "Yathā etaṃ tathā idaṃ," even as this lifeless body, so will be my living body in future."

(As one knows by one's wisdom the manner of mutual identification of the two internal and external bodies or of the two living and lifeless bodies, one abandons one's defilement of ignorance (moha-kilesa), i.e. ignorance of the nature of both bodies.

[ 246 ] (In this way, even at the earlier moment of the arising of Vipassanā Insight one knows things as they really are and removes the three roots of unwholesomeness, lobba, dosa, and moha: at the later moment of the arising of Vipassana. Insight, through the four stages of the Path, one can abandon all desire and passion, leaving no trace of them, in the mode of samuccheda-pahāna. This import is to be noted.)

Having pointed out the level of learners (sekkha-bhūmi), the Buddha now desired to point out the level of non-learners (asekkha-bhūmi) and uttered this verse:

(12) Chanda-rāga viratto so
bhikkhu paññāṇavā idha.
Ajjhagā amataṃ santiṃ
nibbānaṃ padamaccutaṃ.

In this teaching consisting of eight wonders, or, with regard to this body living or lifeless, within or without, the bhikkhu who has totally abandoned all craving and desire who possess the Path-wisdom of Arahantship, who has reached the Fruition immediately after the Path and become an Arahant, attained Nibbāna that is deathless or excellent like ambrosia, the cessation of all saṅkhāras or the characteristic of peace, the release from craving, the state absolutely free from the nature of falling, the goal that can be attained by the Path-wisdom.

(By this verse the Buddha meant to say that he, who practises in the manner mentioned previously abandoned craving and desire (or all moral defilements led by craving and desire) and secured the two elements of Nibbāna.)

Having taught thus the loathsomeness meditation (asubhakammaṭṭhāna) by means of the living (saviññaṇaka) body and the [ 247 ] lifeless (aviññaṇaka) body together with its culmination in the Path, Fruition and Nibbāna, the Buddha uttered again the two final verses in order to censure by a brief sermon the unmindful living (pamādavihāra) that was dangerous to such greatly fruitful meditation:

(13) Dvipādako'yaṃ asuci
duggandho-parihārati;
Nānākuṇapa-paripūro
vissavanto tato tato.

(14) Etādisena kāyena
yo maññe uṇṇametave.
Paraṃ vā avajāneyya
kimaññatra adassanā.

This human body having two feet, full of impure, disgusting things and foul smelling, has to undergo daily renovation by bathing, perfuming, etc., (Despite such daily renovation) it is filled with numerous kinds of putrid and from the nine openings and the pores on the body flow incessantly such disgusting things as saliva, secretion of the eye, sweat, mucus of the nose, wax of the ear, inspite of repeated attempts to cover them up by applying perfumes and wearing flowers.

(By the body or because of the body which is thus impure and full of disgusting things, the fool, whether male or female, may think through craving that "This is my body!", through conceit that "This am I indeed!", through wrong view that "My body is lasting?" only to enhance his arrogance. (On the other hand) he may despise others for their (lowly) birth, name, clan and the like. (In so exating onself and despising others) what reason can be there other than not discerning the four Truths in their true perspective. (Only due to one's ignorance of the four truths is one's praise of self and contempt of others.)

[ 248 ] At the end of the Discourse eighty-four thousand beings realised the four Truths and were released. The divine queen Sirimā attained Anāgāmi-phala. The bhikkhu enamoured of Sirimā attained Sotāpattiphala.

Translation of the Vijaya Sutta ends.

SUPPLEMENT TO THE TRANSLATION OF THE VIJAYA SUTTA.

The three names of the Sutta.

This Discourse is called by three names: (1) Vijaya Sutta, (2) Kāyavicchandanika Sutta, (3) Nanda Sutta. Their respective reasons are:

(1) It leads to the victory (vijaya) over desire and passion (chandarāga) or craving and greed (taṇhā-lobha) for the body: hence Vijaya Sutta.

(2) It teaches the eradication of desire and passion (craving and greed) for the body; hence Kāya-vicchandanika Sutta or Kāyavicchindanika Sutta.

(3) The story of the courtesan Sirimā was the introduction to the second delivery of the Discourse. This very Discourse was previously given to Janapada Kalyāṇī Nandā Therī in Sāvatthi; hence Nanda Sutta.

Explanation: (1) The Vijaya Sutta was first preached in connection with Janapada Kalyāṇī Therī in Sāvatthi: (2) The same Sutta was preached with reference to the courtesan Sirimā in Rājagaha. The [ 249 ] account of the second preaching has been told. That of the first preaching was as follows:

While visiting the city of Kapilavatthu for the first time (after his attainment of Buddhahood) the Buddha exhorted the Sakyan prince and ordained Prince Nanda and others, afterwards (five years later) when he granted permission for ordination of female folk as bhikkhuni, the three (Sakyan) princesses, namely;

(1) Nanda, sister of the Thera Ānanda,
(2) Abhirūpanandā, daughter of the Sakyan prince Khemaka, and
(3) Janapada-Kalyāṇī Nandā, fiance of Prince Nandā were also ordained.

At the time of their ordination, the Buddha was still staying in Sāvatthi. Of these three princesses Abhirūpanandā was so called because of her great beauty. Janapada Kalyāṇī Nandā too saw nobody else comparable to her in beauty. Since both were highly conceited with their beautiful appearance they never approached the Buddha; never did they want to see him either; for they thought "The Buddha dispraises beauty. In various ways he points out the fault in good looks."

("Why then did they become bhikkhunīs?", it may be asked. The answer is: "Because they had none to depend on in society; hence their becoming of bhikkhunīs.

(Explanation: The husband of the Sakyan princess Abhirūpanandā died on the day they were married. Then the parents made her a bhikkhuni against her will.

[ 250 ] (Janapada Kalyāṇī became a bhikkhunī because she lost her hope to win back her fiance when the later as Nandā Thera attained Arahantship: then she thought, 'My lord Prince Nanda, my mother Mahāpajāpati Gotamī, and other relatives have joined the Order. It is indeed a misery to live without one's kinsmen in the world of householders", and found no solace in living in an organised community of families. Both their ordination took place not out of faith (saddhā).

Knowing the maturity of wisdom of them both, the Buddha gave an order to Mahāpajāpati Gotamī Therī that "All bhikkhunīs are required to come in turn for receiving my exhortation" When their turn came, the Theris sent someone else on their behalf. This prompted the Buddha to issue another order: "Coming in person to me in turn is compulsory. Sending representative not permitted."

Thereafter one day Abhirūpanandā Therī came to the Buddha to receive his exhortation. Then the Buddha stirred her mind by means of his created figure of a woman and by uttering the following verses of exhortation:

Aṭṭhīñam nagaraṃ kataṃ, maṃsalohitalepanaṃ
Yattha jarā ca maccu ca, māno makkho ca ohito.

(Dear daughter Abhirupananda! Just as a typical barn for storing crops is built by fixing timber, by binding it with rattan stems, and by plastering it with earth, even so) the barn-like body has been built by the carpenter-like craving by (fixing) three hundred bones, (by binding it with sinews) and by plastering it with nine hundred lumps of flesh and a pattha of blood. Deposited in it are old age, death, conceit and ingratitude.

This verse belongs to the Dhammapada.

Āturaṃ asuciṃ pūtiṃ
passa nande samussayaṃ.
[ 251 ] Uggharantaṃ paggharantaṃ
bālānaṃ abhipatthitaṃ.

(Dear daughter Abhirūpanandā! Behold carefully with the eye of wisdom the body which is constantly painful impure, stale, having the flow (of putrid) going upwards and downwards. (That body) the fools are highly fond of.

The second half of the verse in the Therī Gāthā reads.

Asubhāya cittaṃ bhāvehi
ekaggaṃ susamāhitaṃ
Which may be translated:

Develop your Jhāna consciousness in the loathsomeness of the living body, the consciousness that has one pointedness by upacara samadhi and that is well concentrated by appana samadhi.

Animittañ ca bhāvehi
mānānusayam ujjaha
Tato mānābhisamayā
upasantā carissasi.

Dear daughter Abhirūpanandā! Develop incessantly your meditation on impermanence (anicca-bhāvanā), your meditation on unsatisfactoriness (dukkha-bhāvanā) and your meditation on non-self (anatta-bhāvanā) which are collectively designated as animitta (thing having no sign of permanence. etc). Uproot the impression of 'I' that has latently come along in saṃsāra of no beginning, By so doing in the mode of samuccheda-pahāna, you dear daughter will live with all the heat of moral defilement quenched.

By giving his exhortation by these verses as mentioned in the Therī Gāthā the Buddha established the Theri Abhirūpanandā in the [ 252 ] Arahatta-phala in due course. (This is the story of Abhirūpanandā Therī.)

Establishment of Janapada Kalyāṇī Nandā Therī in Arahantship.

One day the citizens of Sāvatthi gave alms and observed the precepts in the morning; they also dressed themselves well and went to the Jetavana monastery, carrying unguent and flowers and other offerings to attend to the Buddha's sermon. When the attendance was over they did obeisance to the Buddha and entered again into the city. The bhikkhunis also returned to their manner after listening to the sermon.

In the city of Sāvatthi the lay people as well as the bhikkhunis spoke in praise of the Master as follows:

There is nobody who fails to have devotion on seeing the Buddha in the assembly of Devas and men who are particularly attracted by four things: his rūpa (personality), his ghosa (voice), his lūkha (austerity) and his Dhamma (Sīla, Samādhi, Paññā)

To wit (1) Those who are mainly attracted to personality (rūpappamāṇika) become devoted to the Buddha when they see his splendid beauty with his major and minor signs and rays of light in six colours.

(2) Those who are mainly attracted to fame and voice (ghosappamāṇika) become devoted to the Buddha when they hear his good reputation as a Bodhisatta from numerous Jātakas and his voice as a Buddha that is of eight qualities.

[ 253 ] (3) Those who are attracted to austere use of the four requisites and scarcity of moral defilement (lūkhappamāṇika) become devoted to the Buddha when they know of his few wants of the four requisites and his practice of dukkaracariyā.

(4) Those who are mainly attracted to such virtues as sīla, samādhi and paññā and other attributes (Dhammappamānika) become devoted to the Buddha when they reflect on one of his five attributes such as sīla-guna (morality as an attribute), samādhi-guna (mental concentration as an attribute), paññāguṇa (wisdom as an attribute), vimutti-guṇa (emancipation as an attribute) and vimuti-ñāṇa-dassana (Insight leading to emancipation as an attibute), which are all beyond compare.

In this way words were spoken everywhere in praise of the Buddha, words that incessantly overflow the mouths.

(NB. (1) Two thirds of beings are rupappamanitra 41 (percent.) (2) Four fifths are ghosappamāṇika. (80 percent.)

(3) nine-tenths are lūkhappamāṇika (90 percent). (4) One in a hundred thousand is Dhammappamāṇika.

(However numerous the beings are, they all make four divisions if divided in this way.

(Of these four divisions of beings those who fail to be devoted to the Buddha were very few; far more were those devoted Explanation: (1) To the rūpappamāṇika, there was no beauty more attractive than the Buddha's. (2) To the ghosappamāṇika there was no fame and voice more attractive than the Buddha's. (3) To the lūkhappamāṇika, there was no austerity than that of the Buddha who gave up fine clothes made in the country of Kāsi, gold vessels, the three golden palaces befitting the three seasons and replete with various sensual pleasures, but who put on [ 254 ] rag-robes, used lithic bowl, stayed at the foot of a tree for lodging, etc., (4) To the Dhammapamānika, there was no attribute more attractive in the whole world than the attributes of the Buddha such as morality, etc., In this way, the Buddha held in his grip the entire world of these beings, so to speak, who formed the four categories (catuppamāṅika). The words in these brackets are reproduced from the Abhidhammā, iii, The rest are from the Sutta Nipāta Commentary, Vol. 1.)

When the Therī Jaṅapada Kalyāṇī Nandā got back to her dwelling, she heard various words in praise of the Buddha's attributes, and it occurred to her: "These people are talking about the attributes of my brother (the Buddha) as though their mouths have no capacity to contain them all. If the Buddha were to speak ill of my beauty the whole day long how much could he do so? What if l shall go to the Buddha and pay homage to him and listen to his discourse without showing my person" Thus thinking she told her fellow bhikkhunīs, "I shall come along with you to listen to the discourse" The other bhikkhunīs were glad and went to the monastery taking along Nandā Therī as they thought. "It took Nanda Theri so long to approach the Master! Surely, the Master will discourse marvelously in various exquisite ways."

The Buddha foresaw the visit of the Theri and created by his supernormal power the figure of a very pretty fifteen or sixteen year old young woman and made her fanning him in order to Rūpanandās beauty-pride just as a man removes a thorn with a thorn or a prick with a prick.

Together with other bhikkhunīs, Rūpanandā Therī moved towards the Buddha and paid homage to him, after which she remained amidst her companions, watching the Buddha's splendour from the foot-tip up to the hair top. Then seeing the fanning lady-figure by the side of the Buddha as had been created, Rūpanandā thought "Oh, so fair is this [ 255 ] young lady indeed!" And her thought led her to an extreme fondness of the created beauty and a burning desire to have that very beauty as she lost her pride in her own beauty.

Then the Buddha (while discoursing) changed the age of the created maid to twenty. A maid is highly splendoured indeed only when she is sixteen. Beyond that age she is not so fair (as she was sixteen). Therefore when the age of the created maid was changed, Rūpanandā saw with her own eyes the decrease of the maid's beauty, and her desire and passion (chanda-rāga) became less and less than before.

Thereafter the Buddha increasingly changed the age of the created woman step by step to that of a woman not being yet in labour, to that of aomoman having given birth but once, to that of a middle-aged woman, to that of an aged lady and to that of an old one of a hundred years, unsteady with a walking stick in her hand and with her body freckled all over. While Rūpanandā was watching her, the Buddha caused death to the created old woman, her remains bloated and decomposed and the disgustingly foul smelling for the Theri to see.

On seeing the decaying process of the created figure Janapada Kalyāṇī Rūpanandā Therī reflected on it, "This process I am watching now, all of us beings are commonly subject to." and the perception of impermanence (anicca-saññā); following which the perception of unsatisfactoriness (dukkha-saññā) and the perception of non-soul (anatta-saññā) also occurred to her. The three kinds of existences manifested to her making her helpless like a blazing house.

Then the Buddha coming to know that Nandā Bhikkhunī was engaged in meditation, uttered the following verses that were most appropriate to her:

Āturaṃ asuciṃ pūtiṃ passa Nande samussyaṃ
uggharantaṃ paggharantaṃ, bālānaṃ abhipatthitaṃ.

[ 256 ] Yathā idaṃ tathā etam, yathā etam tathā idam
dhātuto suññato passa, mā lokaṃ punarāgami.
Bhave chandaṃ virājetvā upasanta carissasi

(See the meaning of the first verse).

Dear daughter Nandā, as this internal (i.e your own) body is subject to impermanence etc., so is the external (i.e another person's) body. As that external body you have seen discard all its various stages of old age and come to the state of being swollen etc., so will this internal body of yours discard all its various stages of old age and come to the state of being swollen etc., (You dear daughter!) With the eye of Vipassanā Wisdom see (both the internal and external bodies) as devoid of such elements as earth or self and things associated with self. Do not desire to come again to the world of the five aggregates of attachment Eradicate in the mode of samucheda-pahāna your craving for the three existences of kāma, rūpa and arūpa, or if you have so eradicated you will abide with all the heat of your moral defilement quenched.

At the end of the verse Janapada-Kalyāṇī Nandā Therī was established in Sotāpatti-phala. Then did the Buddha give this Vijaya Sutta (as has been mentioned before) in order to preach Vipassanā meditation with the accompaniment of suññata so that the Theri might reach the higher Paths and Fruitions.

(The Buddha gave this Vijaya Sutta (1) first to Janapada Kalyāṇī when he was in his fifth or sixth year after his Enlightenment. (2) It was in his seventeenth year that he delivered it to the monk craving for Sirimā.)

[ 257 ] When the first delivery of the Discourse was over the Therī was greatly stirred with fear, thinking "Oh, it was so stupid of me! To this brother of mine (the Buddha). who taught me such a wondrous doctrine, paying much attention to me and so compassionately, I had failed to come and attend earlier!" Having feared thus she repeatedly reflected on the Discourse and diligently practised. suññata meditation; accordingly in two or three days' time she attained Arahantship.

End of supplement to the Vijaya Sutta translation.

Story of a male lay devotee.

Having spent the seventh vassa at Veḷuvana in Rājagaha and converted those Devas, humans and Brahmā's worthy of conversion through various discourses' including the Vijaya Sutta as has been said above, the Buddha set out on a journey when the vassa was over and in due course arrived in Sāvatthi and took up residence at Jetavana.

Then one day while staying in the fragrant Chamber of Jetavana, he surveyed the world of beings at daybreak and saw a poor man of Āḷvī City. Knowing of the past merit that would lead him to the attainment of Sotāpatti Path and Fruition the Buddha went to Aḷavī in the company of five hundred monks. The citizens of Āḷavī, as they had been the Buddha's typical followers possessing right belief, respectfully invited the monks headed by the Buddha to a feast.

When the poor man learned the arrival of the Buddha he felt happy thinking "I will have a chance to listen to a sermon in his presence." Then took place a particular incident the day the Buddha was about to enter the city: a bullock belonging to the poor man ran away as the rope tied to him became broken.

[ 258 ] The poor man then thought: "What shall I do? Shall I first search the bullock or hear the sermon?" And he decided to search the animal first and listen to the Buddha without worry; so he left home in search of the lost bullock.

The Āḷavī citizens offered seats to the Saṃgha led by the Buddha and served them with food and made arrangements for the Buddha's discourse in appreciation of the meal. "For the poor man I have taken this journey of thirty yojanās" reflected the Buddha, "he has now entered the forest to look for the lost animal. I shall give a Dhamma talk only when he comes." With that idea he remained silent.

It was late in the morning that the man found his bullock and put him into the herd. Then he thought, "At this hour I have no chance to give my service in any form. Yet I will just pay my respects to the Buddha." Though he was severely oppressed by hunger he did not think of going home but rushed to the Buddha, did obeisance to him and stood at an appropriate place.

When the man was standing thus the Buddha asked the head worker at the alms-giving function: "Donor, is there any surplus food after feeding the Saṃgha?' "Yes, Exalted Buddha", answered the head worker, "there is a full meal." The Buddha then ordered him to feed the poor man.

The head worker let the man sit at the very place where the Buddha ordered and served him well with gruel, hard and soft food. Having eaten with relish the man washed his mouth thoroughly.

(Nowhere else in the three Piṭakas is the Buddha found to have himself asked somebody to feed a householder.)

[ 259 ] After eating the food with relish to his satisfaction, the poor man's mind became calm with one-pointedness. Then the Buddha talked to him in serial order: dāna-kathā, (talk on generosity), sīla-kathā (talk on morality), sagga-kathā (talk on celestial abodes), kammānaṃādinava-kathā (talk on the faults of sensual pleasures), nekkhammeanisamsa-kathā (talk on the advantages of renunciation) and finally taught the Four Truths. At the end of the teaching in appreciation of the alms-giving, the Buddha rose and departed. The people saw him to the monastery and came back to Alavi.

While the monks were going along with their Master they sarcastically talked among themselves:

Friends, look at the way the Master did. Absolutely nowhere else did he ask to arrange for feeding a lay individual. But today just on seeing a poor man he himself had verbally managed to get the gruel and other foods set for him. The Buddha turned back and asked what they were talking about. When he knew what it was about the Buddha said:" "Yes, you are right! Monks, I took the tedious journey of thirty yojanās just because I saw his past merit potential enough to lead him, the poor lay devotee, to the Path and Fruition of Sotāpatti. He was very hungry. Since daybreak he had been searching his lost bullock by roaming about the forest region. lf I had taught him (without feeding him) he would not have been able to penetrate my teaching because of his suffering from hunger. Having thus reflected I did in this manner. There is no ailment like hunger." Then he uttered the following verse:

Jighacchā paramā rogā, saṅkhāraparamā dukhā.
Etaṃ ñatvā yathābhūtaṃ, nibbānaṃ paramaṃ sukhaṃ.

[ 260 ] O my dear sons, monks! Hunger surpasses all oppressing and hurting ailment. (Among all ailments hunger is the severest.) This is true! By giving treatment but once other ailments might be completely cured. Or they are allayed for days, for months or for years. The ailment of hunger, however, cannot be quenched by eating once. The treatment of it consists in feeding day after day. Therefore it means that of all ailments hunger is the worst.)

The conditioning factors of the five aggregates surpass all suffering. (As long as these factors exist suffering will not come to an end. Therefore it means that of all suffering, the conditioning factors of the five aggregates are the worst).

The unconditioned element, the ultimate Nibbāna, is the highest happiness. (Happiness that is felt (vedayita-sukha) and liked by the worldly people is enjoyable only when it exists. When it reaches the moment of destruction (when it is destroyed and gone) there is neither comfort nor enjoyment. Never has the peace of Nibbāna a destructive nature but it remains peaceful forever; hence its being the best of all happiness.)

Knowing this as it reality is, the wise man realizes the happiness of Nibbāna.

At the end of the Discourse numerous beings attained Sotāpattiphala and other Fruitions.

End of story of a male lay devotee.

[ 261 ] The Buddha's eighteenth vassa at Cāliya.

Having emancipated a large number of deserving people according to their respective dispositions, beginning with the poor man of Alavi who searched his lost bullock, as has been said, the Buddha observed the eighteenth vassa on a hill near Cāliya, administering the distribution of the cool water of elixir to those who ought to be emancipated.

At the close of the eighteenth vassa on the Cāliya Hill the Buddha wandered again from place to place and arrived in Sāvatthi and stayed at Jetavana.

A Dhamma-talk given to a weaver's daughter.

Story of a weaver's daughter.

Three years prior to the Buddha's stay at Jetavana at the end of the eighteenth vassa the Buddha came to Āḷavī City and the citizens invited him and performed a great alms-giving. After finishing the meal the Buddha gave a Dhamma-talk in appreciation of the people's almsgiving, the talk which included such exhortations as follows:

"Dear donors, you men and women! Meditate on death thus: My life is not lasting; death will certainly occur to me. It is certain that I shall die. My life will end in death; life is not permanent, but death is!'

The benefits of meditation on death are these: On seeing a snake a man without a stick is frightened; like him those who have not meditated on death die making terrible sounds as caused by fear. A man with a stick, however, is not frightened but remains calm at the sight of a snake, for he can overpower the snake and catch it by means of his stick and send it away; in the same way, those who have accomplished in meditation on death are not frightened at their last moment (when death is [ 262 ] drawing near) but passes away without fear but courageously. Therefore you should meditate on death (as has been said above)."""

While other people were minding their own business respectively after hearing the Buddha's talk, a sixteen-year old daughter of a weaver gave good heed to it thus: "Oh, the word of Buddhas is indeed wonderful! I should meditate on death!" So she engaged herself in that meditation day and night. From the city of Āḷavī the Buddha returned to Jetavana. The girl on her part continuously meditated for three full years.

After three years, the Buddha while sojourning now at Jetavana surveyed the world of sentient beings one morning saw that very girl of a weaver in his vision. When he made further inquiry as to what might happen to her he came to know as follows:

The girl has meditated on death for three long years since she heard my talk on it. Now I shall go to Aḷavi and ask her four questions. When she gives answers to them, I will cheer her on all four answers. Then I will utter the Dhamma-verse beginning with 'Andhī-bhūto ayaṃ loko'. At the end of the verse the girl will attain Sotapatti-phala. On account of her a multitude of people will also be benefited.

Foreseeing thus the Buddha in the company of five hundred monks left Jetavana for Āḷavī and arrived at the monastery named Aggāḷava.

Hearing the news of the Buddha's arrival, the people of Alavi went in happy mood to the Aggāḷava monastery and invited the Saṃgha with the Buddha as its head.

Then the weaver's daughter also learned the Buddha's coming and became joyous at the thought "My spiritual father and teacher, the [ 263 ] Buddha of Gotama clan, whose beautiful face may be likened to a full moon, has arrived', and thought further as follows:

Three years ago did I see the golden-complexioned Buddha. Now I have another opportunity to view my father Buddha's body in the brightness of gold and to listen to his sweet and nourishing talk of Dhamma.

At that time the girl's father was about to go to the weaving shed; so he asked his daughter before he went: "Dear, I have fixed some person's piece of fabric on the loom. It remains unfinished with only about a hand span left unwoven. I will finish it today. Wind the woof quick and bring it to me."

The girl was now in a dilemma, thinking: "I am one desirous of listening to the Exalted One's teaching. Father has also urgently asked me to do something else. What should I do now? Should I listen to the Exalted One's discourse first, or should I wind the woof and hand it to father first?" Then she decided thus: "If I fail to send the woof, father would hit me or beat me. Therefore only after winding the woof shall I hear the Dhamma" So sitting on a small stool she wound the woof.

The citizens of Āḷavī, after serving the Buddha with a meal, were holding the bowls of dedication water to hear the Buddha's preaching in appreciation of their good deeds. The Buddha, however, kept silent, for he pondered: "For the sake of this girl, a weaver's daughter, have I travelled this journey of thirty yojanās. The girl has not got a chance to hear me. Only when she does get a chance to listen to my talk, shall I give a sermon of appreciation."

(N.B. While the Buddha was remaining silent none whosoever in the world of sentient beings dared to ask him to speak some Dhamma-word.)

[ 264 ] The girl wound the woof, put it in a basket, and, on her way to her father, she stood at the edge of the audience. The Buddha too looked at the girl, stretching his neck. From the way of the Buddha's glance at her she knew, "The Exalted One wants me to go closer to him, for while sitting amidst such a great assembly he looks at me."

(Herein it may be asked: "Why did the Buddha stretch his neck and look at her?")

Answer: For it occurred to the Buddha thus: "If she goes to her father without listening to my sermon even at the edge of the assembly, she will die a puthujjana and her destiny on her death will not be safe. But if she goes after coming to me and listening to my sermon her destiny will be a safe one, she will attain Sotāpatti-phala; and will be reborn in a divine mansion in Tusita. Besides there would be no escape for her from death on that very day. That was why the Buddha stretched out his neck and looked at the girl.)
After taking the cue from the Buddha, and approaching the Buddha by passing through his six rays of light, she paid homage and stood at a proper place. The following questions and answers between the Buddha and the girl then took place:
Buddha: "Where did you come from, young lady?" Young lady: "I do not know, Exalted Buddha." Buddha: "Where are you going?"
Young lady: "I do not know, Exalted Buddha." Buddha: "Do not you know, young lady?"
Young lady: "I do, Exalted Buddha."
Buddha: "Do you know, young lady?"
Young lady: "I do not. Exalted Buddha"

[ 265 ] In this way the Buddha asked the girl four questions. Realising what was meant by the Buddha, the girl gave her answers in profound significance.

Those people who did not understand the significance reproached her, saying: "Behold this girl, friends! In her conversation with the Buddha did she speak at random what she wanted to, which is just nonsense. When asked 'Where did you come from?', she should have answered. 'I came from my weaving home'; when asked 'Where are you going?', she should have answered 'To the weaving work-shop.

The Buddha, after silencing the people, asked the girl:

(1) "Young lady, when I asked you 'Where did you come from? why did you say you did not know?"

Then the girl answered: "Exalted Buddha, you knew of course that I came from my weaving home. Indeed, by 'Where did you come from?" you mean to say from which existence did I come to this weaver's existence. I do not know which existence I came from. Hence my answer: 'I do not know."

The Buddha then expressed his appreciation for the first time, saying, "Well said, well said! Young lady you have answered the question raised by me." He asked another question:

(2) "Young lady, when I asked you 'Where are you going? why did you say you did not know?"

The girl answered: "Exalted Buddha, you knew of course that I am going to the weaving work-shop with the woof basket in my hand. Indeed, by 'Where are you going?' you meant to say to which existence I was going from this human existence.

[ 266 ] To which existence I am going I do not know. Hence my answer: 'I do not know."

The Buddha then expressed his appreciation for the second time, saying, "You have answered the question raised by me." He asked still another question:

(3) "Young lady, when I asked you 'Do not you know? why did you say you did?"

The girl answered "Exalted Buddha, I know I am bound to die. Hence my answer: 'I know"'

The Buddha then expressed his appreciation for the third time, saying "You have answered the question raised by me." He asked still another question:

(4) "Even then, young lady, when I asked you 'Do you know? why did you say you do not?"

The girl answered "Exalted Buddha, I do know that I am bound to die. I, however, do not know what time shall I die, whether at night, during day time, in the morning, or when Hence my answer: 'I do not know."

The Buddha then expressed his appreciation for the fourth time, saying, "You have answered the questions raised by me." Then the Buddha addressed the audience:

You do not know even this much of the significance in the answers given by the girl. Reproach em that is all you can do. Verily those who lack the eye of wisdom are blind (despite their organic eyes). Only those who have the eye of wisdom are sighted.

[ 267 ] After that the Buddha spoke this Dhamma-verse.

Andhībhūto ayaṃ loko
tanuk'ettha vipassati
Sakuṇo jālamuto'va
appo saggāya gacchati.

My virtuous audience! This world composed of numerous worldly people, who do not see but feel things by touching them, is like the blind for lack of the eye of wisdom. In this multitude of countless worldly people only a few highly intelligent ones can reflect and discern the nature of the conditioned mind and matter in the light of the three characteristics. Just as the quails that escape from the birdcatcher's net are of inconsiderable number, even so only a small number of sharp intelligent persons attain the abode of humans and Devas and the bliss of Nibbāna.

At the end of the teaching, the weaver's daughter, was established in the state of Sotāpatti-phala. The teaching was also beneficial to many people.

The girl's destiny.

The girl took the woof-basket and proceeded to her father, who was then dozing while sitting at the loom. When the daughter pushed and moved the basket casually it hit the end of the shuttle and dropped making a sound.

Her father, the weaver woke up from dozing and pulled the shuttle by force of habit: because of its excessive speedy motion the end of the shuttle struck the girl right in the chest. The girl died on the spot and was reborn in the Deva-abode of Tusita.

[ 268 ] When the weaver looked at his daughter he saw her lying dead with her body stained with blood all over. The weaver was then filled with grief Thereafter he came to his senses and thought, "There is no one other than the Buddha who can extinguish my grief." So thinking he went to the Buddha, most painfully weeping and after relating the story, said: "Exalted Buddha, kindly try to cease my lamentation"

The Buddha caused some relief to the weaver and said: "Do not be sad, devotee. The volume of the tears that you have shed on the occasions of your daughter's death in the past saṃsāra of unknown beginning is by far greater than the volume of the waters of the four great oceans." Having said thus the Buddha delivered a discourse on the beginningless round of births and deaths (anamataggiya saṃsāra)

Now with little sorrow, the weaver begged the Buddha to ordain him, and after becoming a bhikkhu he put efforts in meditation and soon reached Arahantship. (Loka Vagga, Dhammapada Commentary.)

Here ends the story of a weaver's daughter.

THE BUDDHA'S NINETEENTH VASSA ALSO AT CALIYA HILL.

Having travelled to the city of Āḷavī and other places, distributing the cool medicinal water of deathlessness, among humans and Devas, as has been said, and spent the nineteenth vassa also at the monastery on Cāliya Hill, doing the same among those beings who were worthy of release.

[ 269 ] After spending the nineteenth vassa there at Cāliya, the Buddha set out again at the end of the vassa and in due course arrived in Rājagaha and stayed at Veḷuvana, the Bamboo Grove.

Story of the Kukkuṭamitta hunter.

While the Buddha was enjoying his stay at Veḷuvana he gave a Dhamma-talk beginning with "Pāṇamhi ce vano nassa," with reference to the family of Kukkuṭamitta the hunter. The details of the story are as follows:

When the daughter of a wealthy man in Rājagaha on coming of age was made by her parents to live in comfort in a splendid chamber on the top floor of a seven-storeyed mansion, she was cared for by a maid-servant provided by her parents. One evening while she was viewing the street through the window she saw Kukkuṭamitta the hunter who earned his living by killing deer for which he carried five hundred snares and five hundred stakes. At that time the hunter who had killed five hundred deer was in a frontal seat of his cart driven by himself and fully loaded with deer-meat for sale. The girl fell in love with him and after handing her maid some presents she sent her with these words: "Go, dear maid, give these presents to the hunter and try to get the information about to the time of his return."

The maidservant went and gave the presents to the hunter and asked: "What time will you go home?" "After selling the meat today," said the hunter, "I shall go home tomorrow early morning by such an such a gate." Having got the hunter's reply the woman returned and told her mistress about it.

The mistress then packed her clothings, ornaments, gold and silver that she should take with her, and put on dirty garments early that [ 270 ] morning, carried a water-jar on her head and left her house as though she were to go to the river-side. Reaching the place mentioned in the hunter's reply. she waited for the hunter's coming. The hunter came out from the city driving his cart early that morning. The lady then followed the hunter's cart with alacrity.

On seeing the young lady the hunter said: "O lady, I do not know whose daughter you are. Please do not follow me." "You did not ask me to come," replied the lady, "I came of my own accord. Drive on your cart quietly." The hunter repeated his words to prevent her from following him. Then the young lady said: ." Lord, one should not bar the fortune out that has come to oneself" Only the naive hunter came to understand without any doubt the reason for her dogged following him, picked the young lady up on to the cart and drove away.

The parents of the young lady searched for their daughter here and there and could not find her. At long last they concluded that she must have been dead and held a feast in memory of their daughter (matakabahatta).

Because of her living together with the hunter, the lady gave birth seven sons and had them married on their coming of age.

The spiritual liberation of the hunter's family.

On surveying the world of sentient beings in the early morning one day, the Buddha saw the hunter Kukkutamitta together with his seven sons and seven daughters-in-law who came into the net of his supernormal-vision. When he investigated the reason, he discerned the past merit of all these fifteen persons that would lead them to the attainment of Sotāpatti-magga. Taking his bowl and robe the Buddha [ 271 ] went alone early that morning to the place where the snares were set up. That day not a single animal happened to be caught.

The Buddha then put the print of his foot near the hunter's snares and sat down in the shade of the bush in front of him.

Carrying his bow and arrows, Kukkutamitta went early to that place and checked the snares one after another; he found not a single deer caught, and all he saw was the Buddha's foot-print.

Then it occurred to him thus: "Who could have set the animals free from the snares and roamed about?" Having a grudge against the Buddha (even before he saw him) and while moving about he saw the Buddha sitting under the bush before him. Thinking, "This than must be the one who had released my ensnared animals. I will kill him with an arrow", he bent the bow and pulled the string with all his might.

The Buddha permitted him to bend the bow and pull the string, but he did not permit him to release the arrow. (The Buddha performed a miracle so that the hunter could do the bending of the bow and the pulling of the string but not the shooting.) Not only was he unable to shoot the arrow, he was also helpless in unbending the bow. It appeared that his ribs were going to break, and the saliva flowed from his mouth; looking very exhausted he stood like a stone statue

Then the seven sons came to the father's house and asked their mother while speaking to her: "Father is taking so long. What would be the reason for his delay?" When asked by their mother, "Follow your father, dear sons", they went after their father, each holding his bow and arrows. Seeing their father standing like a stone figure (and seeing the Buddha sitting in the shadow of the bush,) they thought, "This man must be the enemy of our father" Everyone of them then tried to bend his bow and pull the string; on account of the Buddha's [ 272 ] miraculous power, however, they all stood wearied like lithic figures as their father did.

Their mother wondered then: "What is the matter? My sons were also taking too much time!" With her seven daughters-in-law, she went after them and saw all eight persons: the father and his sons. When she looked around, wondering, "Whom these eight, the father and his sons, were aiming at while so standing?" she saw the Buddha, and with her both arms up she shouted aloud: "Do not destroy my Father, sons!"

Hearing the cry (of his wife), Kukkutamitta the hunter thought: "Oh, I am ruined! This man is said to be my father-in-law. Oh, I have done a great misdeed!" The seven sons also thought: "This man is said to be our grandfather! We have done a great mistake!" Thereafter under the impression that "This man is my father-in-law!", the hunter cultivated loving-kindness [towards the Buddha]. So did the seven sons with the notion that "This man is our grandfather!"

Then the mother of those seven sons, the daughter of a wealthy man said: "Discard your bows and do obeisance to my Father." As he knew the eight men had become soft-minded the Buddha let them put down their bows. (He now withdrew his miraculous power that he had previously exercised in order to prevent them from laying down their bows, so it means.) The eight people then did obeisance to the Buddha, saying, "Kindly forbear our wrong, Exalted Buddha," and they took their seats at proper places.

When they were thus seated uniformly, to them, a family of sixteen members, the Buddha gave a series of talk Dāna-kathā Sīla-kathā, Sagga-kathā, Kāmānaṃ ādinava-kathā, Nekkhamme-ānisaṃsa-kathā, in that order. At the end of the talk, the fifteen persons, Kukkutamitta the hunter and his seven sons and the seven daughters-in-law, were established in Sotāpatti-phala. Having thus helped them realise that [ 273 ] Fruition, the Buddha entered Rājagaha City for aims-round and returned to the monastery in the afternoon.

The Buddha was then asked by the Thera Ānanda: "Where have you been, Exalted Buddha?" "I have been to the place of Kukkuṭamitta the hunter, my dear son Ānanda", was the answer. "Have you, Exalted Buddha, made him one who refrained from the wrong-doing of taking life? Have you admonished and emancipated him?" "Yes I have, dear Ānanda," the Buddha answered. "All of them with Kukkutamitta as the fifteenth member are now established in unwavering faith absolutely free from doubts in the Three Gems, and become non-doers of the evil act of killing"

The monks interrupted then, saying: "Exalted Buddha, there is also the hunter's wife; was she not there?" "Yes, she was answered the Buddha. "Monks, that house-wife has already become a Sotapanna while still living as a girl at her parent's home."

Then took place a discussion at a religious meeting (in the Dhammasala, the Dhamma-hall, where discourses are heard and discussed) as follows:

Friends, Kukkuṭamitta's wife (a merchant's daughter) had attained Sotāpatti-phala while being a young woman and living still with her parents. Thereafter she followed the hunter to his home and had seven sons. Asked by her husband to bring the bow, the arrow, the spear, the stake, or the net, she would bring them to him. The hunter on his part would carry those weapons given by his Sotāpanna wife and would commit the evil deed of taking life for long, day after day. How is it friends? Do those Sotāpanna individuals, the Noble Ones, too commit such a crime?

[ 274 ] The Buddha came to the monk's meeting and asked: "What was the subject-matter of your discussion, monks, before I came here?" The monks answered: "We were discussing this matter (of Kukkutamitta's wife, the daughter of a merchant)." Thereupon the Buddha said:

"Monks, the Noble Ones, Sotāpannas, never commit such a crime as killing. The hunter's wife brings him such weapons as bow and arrow because she was mindful of her duty, the duty that the wife must obey her husband's word. She had no intention to make the hunter go to the forest with the weapons in his hand for the evil act of taking-life; she had not the slightest idea of that sort.

For example, if there is no sore on the palm of the hand, one who uses that hand for holding poison cannot be harmed by the poison; similarly, to him who does not do any evil because he has no unwholesome intention no bad result accrue to him though he may have fetched the weapon."

Having said thus, the Buddha spoke the following verse as a continuation of his utterance:

Pāṇimhi ce vaṇo nāssa, hareyya paṇinā visaṃ.
Nabbaṇaṃ visam anveti n'atthi pāpaṃ akubbato.

Monks, if there is no sore or injury in the palm of a hand, poison cannot harm it. (Therefore) with that hand without any sore or injury, one should be able to carry the poison safely. Similarly, to him who has not done a wrong thing because he has no unwholesome volition, there arises not the slightest act of wrongdoing (just by bringing a bow and the like).

(As poison cannot hurt the hand free from a boil or a cut, so he who just passes over a weapon such as a bow and an arrow does not do evil as he has no wicked intention. That is to say, [ 275 ] as no poison can affect the healthy hand, so no [desire for doing] evil can approach his stout heart.)

At the end of the preaching, many attained Sotāpatti-phala and other Fruitions.

The past merit of Kukkuṭamitta's family.

At a later time in the Dhamma-assembly the monks were engaged in a conversation among themselves:

(1) Friends, what was the past merit that caused the attainment of Sotāpatti-magga of Kukkuṭamitta the hunter who had seven sons and seven daughters-in-law? (2) Why was he born in a hunter's family?

Thereupon the Buddha came and asked, "Monks, what are you taking about?" and getting the reply as to what they were talking about, the Buddha related the story of the hunter's past merit as follows:

Monks, in times past when people were holding a discussion on the construction of a huge shrine over Kassapa Buddha's relics they deliberated the question as to what should be used for fine earth and what for the liquid matter.

Then they got an idea to use ointment for fine earth and sesame oil for the liquid matter, and they all agreed to do so. The people had the ointment powdered and mixed it with sesame oil and used it as cement plaster to hold the bricks together. The bricks that were laid inside the shrine were coated with gold. As for the layer of bricks outside the shrine they laid bricks of gold. Each brick was worth a hundred thousand. "

[ 276 ] Selection of President for enshrinement ceremony.

When the people's construction of the pagoda was completed enough for enshrining the relics, a discussion took place as to who should be selected president, for a great deal of money was badly needed when enshrining the relic."

Then a country merchant, thinking, "I shall become president", donated money amounting to one crore to the enshrinemeat fund. On seeing the generosity of the country merchant, the people dispraised the town merchant, saying, "This town merchant accumulates wealth like white ants. He is not eligible to become chief of this occasion for constructing such a great relic-shrine. But the country merchant has generously donated ten million and is becoming chief."

On hearing what the people had said, the town merchant gave in charity two crores hoping to become chief.

Only I must be chief of the enshrinement ceremony, thought the country merchant and gave away three crores. In this way the donations made by both parties increased till the town merchant's contribution became eight crores.

But the country merchant had only nine crores at his place. In the residence of the town merchant, however, there were forty crores. Therefore it occurred to the country merchant thus: "If I gave nine crores the merchant from the town would say that he would donate ten. Then (as I cannot compete with him) the state of my being without wealth will be known to all." He then said, "I will donate this much of money. I shall also take upon myself servitude to the pagoda together with my seven sons, seven daughters-in-law and my wife." So saying he brought his family members and dedicated them and himself, sixteen persons in all, to the pagoda.

[ 277 ] "Acquisition of more funds is possible, [that of dedicated human labour is not]," said the people. "This country merchant has given up his seven sons and seven daughters-in-law and wife and himself to the pagoda. Let him therefore become chief of the enshrinement ceremony." Thus they all unanimously selected the country merchant as president.

In this way the sixteen family-members became slaves to the pagoda. But the people agreed to set them free from servitude. The sixteenmember family however took care of the pagoda till the end of their lives, and on their death were reborn in a celestial abode.

The sixteen persons enjoyed the blissful life in that abode during the whole Buddhantara asaṅkhyeyya kappa (i.e. the period between the life-time of Kassapa Buddha and that of our Buddha). When the time of Buddha-Emergence (Buddhuppāda came as our Buddha (Gotama) appeared, the housewife to the merchant passed away from the celestial abode and became a merchant's daughter in Rājagaha. While only a young girl she attained Sotāpatti-phala.

(Adiṭṭha-saccassa pana paṭisandhi nāma bhāriyā," so says the Commentary.) "The birth of a worldling, who has not discerned the four Truths is burdensome." (For he is likely to be reborn into a lowly family despite the fact that very life is his last (pacchima-bhāvika): for he has not overcome the risk of falling into a lowly state.) Therefore the Deva who had been the husband of the merchant's daughter, on his return to the human world, was reborn in a family of hunters. As soon as she saw the hunter her former love (taṇhā-pema) revived. That was why the Buddha spoke the following verse:

Pubbe'va sannivāsena, paccuppannahitena vā.
Evaṃ taṃ jāyate pemaṃ uppalaṃ va yathodake.

[ 278 ] Because of living together in love in the past and also because of benefiting one another at present, for these two reasons love of two types, taṇhā-pema and mettā-pema, arose, (How?) just as lotuses and any other aquatic flowers thrive, depending on the two factors of water and mud).

It was only because of her love in the past that she followed the hunter to his house. Their sons also fell from the celestial abode and took conception in the womb of the merchant's daughter the daughters-in-law were reborn in various families, and on coming of age they all went over to the home of the hunter's family owing to their affection they had had in their past lives.

As the result of their services rendered together to the relic pagoda dedicated to Kassapa Buddha the sixteen members of the hunter's family attained Sotāpatti-phala in this Buddha's dispensation.

This is the past account of the family of Kukkuṭamitta the hunter.

End of the story of Kukkuṭamitta, the hunter.

Story of Ānanda the wealthy merchant.

Having distributed the medicinal Dhamma-water of immortality among beings including the family of the hunter Kukkuṭamitta while staying at Veḷuvana, Rājagaha, as has been said, from there the Buddha arrived in Sāvatthi in due course and stayed at Jetavana. While staying there he gave a discourse beginning with "puttā matthi dhanaṃ matthi", with reference to Ananda the wealthy merchant and citizen of Sāvatthi. The story in detail is as follows:

[ 279 ] There was in Sāvatthi a wealthy merchant, Ānanda by name, who owned riches worth forty crores, yet who was exremely stingy. The man had his relatives assembled fortnightly and gave advice to his son Mūlasirī amidst his kinsmen at three different times, saying thus:

"Dear son, do not think that the forty crores is a great deal of wealth. What is in one's hand should not be given to another. Try to gain of new wealth. He who spends but one coin after another will certainly exhaust his riches one day. Therefore we advised.

Añjanānam khayam disvā upacikānañ ca ācayaṃ
Madhūnañ ca samāhāraṃ paṇḍito gharam āvase.

Dear son, having observed the disappearance of a collyrium stone due to repeated rubbing, the arising of an anthill due to repeated gathering [of earth] by white ants, the development of a beehive due to repeated collection [of the nectar of flowers] by bees, a wise man should live exerting to keep his old wealth undiminished and to bring about new wealth.

Later on the merchant Ānanda died without telling his son Mūlasirī about his five big jars of gold that he had buried, and being greedily attached to his wealth and dirtying himself with the taints of miserliness; he was on his death conceived in the womb of a caṇḍāla (outcaste) woman in a village of a thousand householders at the gate of the city of Sāvatthi.

On learning the merchant's death, King Kosala summoned the son Mūlasirī and appointed him as the successor to his father.

The thousand caṇḍāla households made their living by working collectively as daily wagers, and from the time of the conception of the miser Ānanda, the former rich man, they no longer had the wages nor did they have food more than what was enough. The labourers came to [ 280 ] the conclusion, saying: Now we hardly earn a small morsel of rice despite our hard work. There must be somebody evil and unfortunate among us."" So they divided themselves into two groups, and the dividing process went on and on until there remained the isolated household of the miser's parents. In that situation the family of Ānanda said: ""The ominous one is in our household"" and expelled Ānanda's mother."

The mother had much difficulty in obtaining just enough food as long as she was carrying the child in her womb, and she gave birth to a son so miserably. The child's hands, legs, eyes, ears, nose and mouth were all displaced. With his body so deformed he looked very ugly like a little earth-bound demon. Despite all this the mother did not have the heart to throw him away. In fact, so great was a mother's love for her child that had stayed in her womb. After giving birth to her son she brought up him with great hardship. On the days she took him to her work she got nothing, and on the days she left him behind she got her daily wage.

Later when the son became big enough to roam about and look for food by himself, the caṇḍāla mother thrusted a small bowl into the boy's hand and said: "Dear son, on account of you we have suffered much. Now we are no longer able to look after you. In this city of Sāvatthi there are readily cooked and reserved meals for destitutes, travellets and so on. Make your living by going where the food is and begging it." So saying she deserted him.

When the boy roamed about the city going from one house to another he got to the place where he had lived as Ānanda the wealthy merchant. As he was endowed with Jatissara-ñāṇa (ability to remember former births), he boldly entered his own residence. He passed through the first, second and third gates with nobody remembering him or was aware of him. At the fourth gate, however, Mūlasirī's children saw him and cried aloud out off fear.

[ 281 ] Then Mūlasirī's servants beat him, saying, "You, luckless, ill-fated one!" They also took him out of the gate and put him at the garbage heap. At that moment the Buddha on his alms-round accompanied by the Thera Ānanda got to the scene. The Buddha looked at Ānanda Thera and at his request narrated the past account and the present events of Ānanda the wealthy merchant.

The Thera then summoned Mūlasirī. People also gathered around. The Buddha then addressed Mūlasirī: "Donor Mūlasirī, do you know this boy?" "I do not, Exalted Buddha." "The boy is your father Ānanda the merchant," said the Buddha. When Mulasirī did not believe it, the Buddha asked Ānanda: "Wealthy Ānanda, tell your son about the five big jars of gold you had buried." Mūlasirī then become convinced.

The merchant Mūlasirī took refuge in the Buddha. Desiring to preach to Mūlasirī, the Buddha spoke this verse:

Puttā matthi dhanaṃ atthi
iti bālo vihaññati
Attā hi attano n'atthi
kuto puttā kuto dhanaṃ.

I have children; I have wealth; thinking thus the fool is afflicted by putta-taṇhā (craving for children) and dhana-taṇhā (craving for wealth). In reality, however, one is not one's shelter from woes. How can children be one's shelter? How can wealth be one's shelter?

(The meaning is: a fool who considers himself to be the owner of his children and wealth is troubled by craving for both. How? He is troubled by the notion, 'My children have died' or 'My children are dying" or 'My children will die. The same happens in the case of wealth. In this way he suffers in six manners: three manners regarding children and three regarding [ 282 ] wealth. Since he has craving for children, he plans to feed his children by striving in many ways on land or in water, day or night, and thus he is full of woe. Since he has craving for wealth he plans to increase his riches by farming or trading, and was woeful thereby.

(It is impossible for a man, who is woeful thus owing to putta-taṇhā, and dhaṇa-tanhā to lead himself to safety later on. When death approaches him, he is oppressed by fatal pains (maraṇantika-vedanā) like flames, his joints are broken and his bones separated. He shuts his blinking eyes to visualize his next life and then opens them to see his present life. He is thus miserable on his death-bed; formerly he looked after himself throughout his life, bathing two times and feeding three times a day, adorning himself with perfumes and flowers and other ornaments. But now even as a true friend to himself he is unable to release his person from misery. At such a later time when he is so miserably dying, how can his children or his wealth can go to his rescue. Indeed they simply have no ability to save him.

(As for the merchant, who had been reluctant to give somebody something but who had piled up riches only for his son Malasirī, who on his death-bed in his previous life and when he was hungry, ill-treated by others and so miserable, in the present life, which of these woes, could his beloved children or his accumulated wealth remove? (Indeed neither could do so.) What kind of happiness could they bring to him? (Indeed neither could.) Such is the import of the verse.)

At the end of the discourse eighty-four thousand beings realized the Four Truths and were released. This discourse was (therefore) beneficial to many. (Dhammapada Commentary, Vol I).

[ 283 ] The Buddha's Twentieth Vassa at Rājagaha.

In this way while fulfilling his five great duties without any interruption while distributing the doctrinal and medicinal cool water of Deathlessness among gods and men, the Buddha departed from Sāvatthi and after travelling journey in the company of monks reached Rājagaha in the kingdom of Magadha, and stayed at Veḷuvana to keep the twentieth vassa.

Anibadha vassa, etc.

Of the Buddha's forty-five vassa, the first twenty beginning from his Enlightenment are called anibaddha or aniyata vassas because they were spent not at one and the same place but in various towns or villages, one vassa here, two vassas there, three still at another place and so on. They are also referred to as pathama or purima Bodhi vassas because they formed the first or former half of the whole series of vassas in which gods and men were led to enlightenment by the fourfold Magga-ñāna.

The remaining 'twenty-five vassas are called nibaddha or niyata vassas because they were spent only at one place ie. Jetavana or Pubbārāma in Sāvatthi in the kingdom of Kosala. They are also known as dutiya or pacchima Bodhi-vassas for they formed the second or latter half of the whole series of vassas in which gods and men were caused to be enligntened by the fourfold Magga-ñāna.

(Elaboration: For the twenty years (twenty vassas) of the first Bodhi, the Buddha's stay was not regular, for he observed vassa indifferent towns or villages as he pleased. But from the twenty first vassa, however, he stayed regularly at Jetavana or Pubbārāma, relying upon Sāvatthi as his resort for alms-food. Buddhavaṃsa Commentary.

[ 284 ] (A different exposition in the Aṅguttara Nikāya, however, is as follows:

(For the twenty-first vassa the Buddha's use of the two dwellings of Jetavana and Pubbārāma was permanent because the services rendered by Anāthapiṇḍika the wealthy merchant and Visākhā the woman devotee were great. In fact, the Buddha dwelt constantly there at these residences on account of his being grateful to both donors.

(The Buddha journeyed to other places during non-vassa months, but when vassa came he stayed alternatively at these two monasteries. The Buddha, whose custom it was to pass his times thus, spent a night at Jetavana went on alms-round the next morning in the company of monks; entered Sāvatthi by the south-gate to collect food and went out by the east-gate to Pubbārāma where he spent the day. After spending the night at Pubbārāma he went on alms-round the next morning in the company of monks, entered Sāvatthi by the east-gate to collect food and went out by the south-gate to Jetavana where he spent the day. In case the Pāḷi version is needed it may be taken from the Commentaries.)

Appointment of Ānanda Thera as permanent attendant.

(Therī-gāthā Commentary, Vol. II) During the twenty years of the First Bodhi the Buddha had no permanant attendant to serve him. Sometimes Nāgasamāla Thera was at his service, taking his bowl and robe and following him wherever he went. Sometimes Nāgita Thera, sometimes Upavāna Thera, sometimes Sunakkhatta Thera, a Licchavī Prince, sometimes [ 285 ] Cunda Thera, a brother of Sāriputta Thera, sometimes Sāgata Thera, sometimes Meghiya Thera served him, roaming about with the Master. They did so but generally not to the Buddha's satisfaction.

One day while the Buddha was sitting in his prepared sacred Buddha seat surrounded by monks in the Fragrant Chamber, he addressed the monks:

Now, monks, I am old. (At that time he was fifty-five years of age.) When I tell some attendants, 'Let us go this way', they leave me and went the other way. Some attendants behaved to put down my bowl and robe on the ground. Consider and select a permanent attendant for me.

The monks were shocked and stirred on hearing the Buddha. Then Sāriputta Thera stood up and saluted the Buddha, saying, 'I will serve you, Exalted Buddha," But the Buddha rejected the Thera's offer. In the wake of Sāriputta Thera, all other great Theras except Ānanda led by Moggalāna Thera, made their offer one after another, saying: "I will be your attendant, Venerable Sir, I will be your attendant, Venerable sir." Their offer too did the Buddha reject.

The Venerable Ānanda, however, was just sitting and keeping silent there when asked by the other monks. "Friend Ānanda, you too beg the post of the Master's attendant the Thera replied: "Friends, what kind of a post is it that is secured by begging? Should the Exalted One want me, he himself will say so." Then the Buddha said:

Monks, Ānanda is not a type of persons who need to be urged. He will serve me using his own discretion.

[ 286 ] Then the monks asked him again," Stand up, Ānanda, Ask the Master for the post of his attendant." The Thera Ānanda rose from his seat and said:

Exalted Buddha,

(1) if you do not give me good robes received by you;
(2) if you do not give me good food collected by you;
(3) if you do not give me the privilege to sit together with you in the Fragrant Chamber;
(4) if you do not take me to the places you are invited to; then (i.e. if you comply with these four wishes of mine) I shall serve you, Exalted Buddha."

(These four negative boons were begged so that nobody else could disprovingly say "With such benefits or gains in view, who would think it is burdensome to serve the Master?")

Ānanda Thera continued: "Exalted Buddha,

(1) if you go at my request to the places invited to (by your male and female devotees); (2) if I have the permission to let each and every visitor pay homage to you promptly; (3) if I have the permission to approach you for asking you the moment there arises any doubt in me; (4) if you repeat to me what you have taught in my absense; then (i.e. if you comply with these four wishes of mine) I shall serve you, Exalted Buddha."

(These four positive boons were begged in order to avoid others' criticism who would say that "inspite of his service rendered day and night to the Exalted One, poor Ānanda was not favoured by the Master even this much", and in order to be able to perform good deeds and [ 287 ] fulfill perfections, so that he would be recognized by Devas and humans as the Treasurer of the Dhamma.)

In this way the Venerable Ananda asked for eight boons, four and four positive. The Buddha also bestowed those eight boons on the Venerable Ānanda. The Venerable Ānanda received thus those eight boons and became permanent attendant to the Buddha. The fruit of his perfections fulfilled for the hundred thousand kappas for that post of permanent attendant was realized on that very day.

A brief account of Ānanda's service.

From the day of his appointment as the Buddha's attendant onwords he served the Master by giving him hot and cold water, by providing him with three kinds of tooth brush, short, long and medium, by massaging him, by rubbing his back when taking a bath, by sweeping the Fragrant Chamber and so on. Ānanda Thera roamed about near the Master each day, deciding "at this hour the Exalted One must get this thing, this should be done to him." At night he encircled around the Fragrant Chamber nine times, holding a big torch to be able to answer the Buddha promptly on being asked by him, and to remove sloth and drowsiness. This is just a brief account of the Venerable Ānanda's service rendered to the Buddha. His other services will be written when the Chapter on the Saṃgha Jewel comes.

Here ends Chapter Thirty-Four.

VOLUME_4
PART_
CHAPTER_35

spage-289 spage-399

STORY OF MĀRA.

[ 289 ] (Out of the Buddha's many events that took place during the Pacchima Bodhi, the last twenty-five years, only a few notable one will be written form this chapter onwards.)

Once the Buddha was staying near Pañcasāla village which he made his resort for alms, for he had discerned the past meritorious deeds of the five hundred young women of the village-the deeds that were potential for their attainment of Sotāpatti-Magga. On a festive day the women went to the riverside, bathed there, dressed up well and were on their way back to the village.

The Buddha entered the village for alms-food. Māra the Evil One then possessed all the villagers there so as to make the Buddha deprived of food, even a spoonful of rice. Compelled to leave the village with his bowl washed as before, he stood at the village gate. There Māra asked the Buddha "O Monk, have you received any almsfood?" When the Buddha replied, "Hey Māra, you have done something so that I receive nothing, have not you?" Māra said: "In that case, Venerable Sir, enter the village again for food." (It was not honestly that Māra said so. In fact, he did so with an ulterior motive, because he would like to possess them again to make more jest at the Monk by clapping hands in front of him. The Buddha knew Māra's intention and did not enter the village again out of compassion for Māra. The Buddha was aware that "should Māra do hurt me in this manner according to his plan, his head would split into seven pieces,")

The moment the Evil One spoke to the Buddha the five hundred young women closed upon the village gate, showed their respect to the Buddha and stood at an appropriate place. Māra then asked the Buddha "Venerable Sir, if you have no food will not you greatly suffer [ 290 ] hunger?" "Hey Māra?" addressed the Buddha, "Even if we have no food collected, I will spend the time in zest (pīti) and bliss (sukha) accompanied by Jhāna as Mahā Brahmas, residents of Abhassara Abode and uttered the following Dhamma verse thereafter:

Susukhaṃ vata jīvāma, yesaṃ no natthi kiñcanaṃ Pītibhakkhā bhavissāma, devā ābhassarā yathā.

Hey wicked Māra! There is not the slightest degree of worrying things such as passion, hatred, etc., in us. We shall live long free from suffering but in great happiness. Like Brahmās of Ābhassara Abode; shall we certainly be (for this day) with bliss as our food by engaging in the Jhāna of zest.

At the end of the teaching, the five hundred young women were established in the Sotapātti-Phala (Sukkha vagga, Dhammapada.)

King Kosala's Matchless Alms-giving.

Once as the Buddha travelled and entered the great Jetavana Monastery in the company of five hundred monks, King Pasenadī Kosala went to the monastery and invited the Buddha to the morrow's āgantuka dāna (gift for visitors). He prepared the dānā elaborately and made an announcement: Let the citizens see my dāna!"

Having come and seen the king's dāna, the citizens became desirous of competing against the king and invited the Buddha for the next day's alms-giving and made every gift perfect and invited the king, saying "Let the Great King, our recognized lord (Sammuti-Deva), come and observe our charity."

Having observed the alms-giving of the citizens, the king thought to himself, "The people have done their dāna that is greater than mine. I [ 291 ] will again do another alms-giving that will excel theirs." The next day he prepared his dāna more elaborately and invited the people to witness it. The people saw the king's gifts, and in order not to be outdone by him, they organized for the following day a greater alms-giving and sent an invitation to the king. In this way the king could not defeat the citizens nor the citizens the king.

At the sixth grand offering of alms, the people increased their gifts a hundred, nay, a thousand times, and decided that their offering should be so perfect that nobody could not say that 'Such and such a thing is not included in the dāna of the citizens."

Seeing the people's offerings the king became desperate, thinking "What is the use of my living if I cannot perform better than the people in giving alms?" So he lay down on his couch, finding ways and means to outdo his subjects. Queen Mallikā then came up to the king and asked: "Why are you lying down, Great King? Why do your sense faculties such as eyes look as though they were fading?" "Do not you know, my dear queen?" asked the king in return. "No, I do not, Great King," replied the queen. The king then related the matter to Mallikā.

Matchless offering organized by Mallika.

Queen Mallikā then said to the king, thus: "Do not have discursive thoughts, Great King. Where have you learnt that a monarch ruling over land and water is defeated by his subjects. I shall try to organize your charity."

Having encouraged the king thus, the queen gave her advice as she was desirous of taking the management of the Matchless Alms-giving (Asadisa Dāna) in the following manner:

[ 292 ] 'Have a pavilion, Great King, built with fragrant planks of sāla-kalyāṇī trees for the five hundred monks in the precincts of the golden palace. The people will stay outside the precincts.

"Have five hundred white umbrellas made; each of five hundred elephants will take hold of one umbrella with its trunk, and stand, sheltering each monk with it.

Have eight boats made of nīphalaṃ gold. These boats are to be filled with perfumes in the middle of pavillion."

"Between each couple of monks will sit a princess grinding scented wood for perfumes. Another princess will hold a round fan and flap it for each couple of monks. Other princesses will convey ground perfumes and put them in the boats.

Among these princesses, some will carry branches of blue lotus flowers and stir the perfumes in the boats so that they will be pervaded with the fragrance from the perfumes."

"Certainly, the people have no princesses, no white umbrellas, no elephants. For these reasons the citizens will be defeated.

Do, Great King, as I now have told you."""

Replying, "Very well, my dear, you have given me good advice," the king had everything done according to the queen's instructions.

While everything was being done accordingly, a tame elephant was yet required for a monk. Then the king asked: "A tamed elephant is wanted, dear queen. What shall we do? .... Have not you got 500 elephants? .... "Yes, I have dear. But the rest are all untamed. Like the verambha wind they might turn very wild on seeing monks." "I have got an idea, Great King, as to where should a young wild elephant be [ 293 ] placed to make him hold an umbrella with his trunk." "Where is the place?" "It is close to the Venerable Aṅgulimāla," answered the queen.

The king had all this done as advised by the queen. The young wild elephant stood there quietly with his tail tucked between its thighs, its ears put down, and eyes closed. The people were amazed to watch the elephant, saying to themselves: "Even such a wild elephant has now become such a docile and quiet animal!"

Having treated the Saṃgha headed by the Buddha to alms-food, the king showed his respect to him and said:

In this pavilion of alms-giving, Exalted Buddha, I offer to you things suitable for monks (kappiya bhaṇḍā) as well as things unsuitable for them (akappiya bhaṇḍā).

Things offered in this Matchless Dāna in a single day cost fourteen crores. Priceless were the four things offered to the Buddha, namely, (1) the white umbrella, (2) the throne for seat, (3) the stand to place the bowl on and (4) the wooden board to stand on after washing his feet. It was impossible to repeat such a grand offering to the Buddha. Therefore the alms-giving performed by King Kosala became famous in the religion as Asadisa Dāna, the "Matchless Gift."

Indeed, such an Asadisa Dāna should take place but once to every Buddha as a rule. And that Asadisa Dāna which happened just once to each Buddha was organized by a wise woman.

Ministers Juṇha and Kāla.

King Pasenadī Kosala had two ministers: Juṇha and Kāla. Of them, Kāla considered:

[ 294 ] "Oh, a loss has indeed occurred to the king's palace? The treasures amounting to many crores have come to nothing in a single day. Having taken the king's gifts these monks will return to their place and abandon themselves to slumber. Oh, the palace has come to ruin in unprecedent proportions!"

On the contrary, Juṇha thought like this:

"Oh, the king has properly and successfully given alms? True, one who is not established in kingship (he who is not a monarch) cannot give such alms. There is no alms-giver who does not share his merit with all other beings. I rejoice at the king's excellent Asadisa-Dāna: and say sādhu! sādhu! sādhu!

Reflecting thus the minister Juṇha appreciated and took delight. When the Buddha had finished his partaking of food, King Pasenadī Kosala made himself ready to hear the sermon by holding the cup to pour the water of dedication, the sermon to be given by the Buddha in approval of the king's dāna. The Buddha reflected as follows:

The king has indeed done at great sacrifice as though he let a great flood roll down waves after waves. Could he succeed in gladdening the hearts of the people or could not he?"""

Then he came to know the workings in the minds of the two ministers and came to know further thus: "If I were to give a detailed sermon that goes well with the king's Dāna, the ministers Kāḷa's head will he split into seven pieces but the other minister, Juṇha will be established in Sotāpatti-Magga. Taking pity on Kāḷa, the Buddha delivered only a four footed verse (catuppadika) despite such a great alms-giving performed by the king; then he rose from his seat and left for the monastery.

[ 295 ] Venerable Angulimāla's courage.

On their arrival back at the monastery the monks asked the Venerable Aṅgulimāla. "When you saw the wild elephant holding the umbrella over you, friend, were not you afraid?" Getting the answer in the negative, the monks drew near to the Buddha and complained with contempt, "The Venerable Aṅgulimāla, Exalted Buddha, professes to be an Arahant."

Monks, addressed the Buddha, "Aṅgulimāla was not afraid indeed. Ascetics like my dear sons who are highly noble amidst Arahants have no fear." And the Buddha added the following verse as contained in the Brāhmaṇa-vagga (of the Dhammapada)

Usabhaṃ pavaaṃ vīraṃ mahesiṃ vijitavinaṃ.
Anejaṃ nhātakaṃ buddhaṃ, tam ahaṃ brūmi brahmaṇaṃ

(Monks!) The Arahant with his āsavas destroyed, who is courageous as he knows no trembling like a bull-king, who possesses noble energy, who has sought and acquired the aggregate of virtues, who has triumphed over the three evils, namely, Māra as deity, Māra as moral defilement, and Māra as conditioning factors, who has quenched all craving for existences, who has washed away his mental dirt with the clear water of the Path and who has realized the Four Truths, him I declare an ultimate Brāhmaṇa as he really is.

Destinies of the two ministers.

King Pasenadī Kosala was unhappy and thought to himself as follows: "The Exalted One has risen from his seat and left without giving me a sermon that would befit the occasion though I have performed a great dāna to the assembly of such greatness-a sermon. Instead he has merely uttered a verse perhaps. I have not done what is agreeable to the Buddha but I must have done what is not agreeable.

[ 296 ] Perhaps I have not given suitable things; I must have given unsuitable things. Perhaps the Buddha is averse to me. The alms-giving performed by me is known as Asadisa Dāna. The Buddha should have therefore delivered some discourse appropriate to this kind of gift." Thinking thus he went to the monastery, paid obeisance to the Buddha and said:

Exalted Buddha, have not I done right dāna, or have not I given things good for the dāna or have I given things not good?

When the Buddha replied, "Why do you ask me like this, Great King?" the king said:" You delivered no sermon in accord with my Asadisa Dāna." The Buddha stated:

You have given right things, Great King. Yes, the gift you have given is known as Asadisa Dāna. This kind of gift happened to each Buddha but once. It is not easy to repeat it.

Then the king asked; Why then, Exalted Buddha, did not you preach to us in accord with the greatness of the gift?" "Because the audience was not pure." "What was the defect of the audience, Exalted Buddha?"

The Buddha then told the king of the reactions of the two ministers and explained that he did not preached elaborately out of compassion for Kāḷa. The king asked Kāḷa whether it was true. When Kāḷa answered in the affirmative, the King banished him from the kingdom, saying:

As I gave with my family our properties without taking a coin from you. what trouble did you suffer? You, Kāḷa, get out! But the wealth I have given you remains yours. (I will not take it back.) But you must leave the country on this day!"

[ 297 ] Then the king summoned the other minister Junha and asked him whether it was true that he had favourably reacted, and on receiving the positive answer the king said to Junha:

Well done, uncle, well done! I adore you, uncle. Take over my retinue and give dāna for seven days the way I have done.

So saying the king handed over his kingship to Junha for seven days after which he addressed the Buddha "Look at what the fool has done, Exalted Buddha. He is the one who stood against my dāna given in such a manner!" 'Yes, Great King," said the Buddha, "the fools are those who do not approve of another's act of charity but condemn it and finally landed in a woeful abode. The wise, however, rejoice in others's dāna and finally attained happy states." And the Buddha uttered the following verse:

Na ve kadariyā devalokaṃ vajanti
bālā have nappasaṃsanti dānaṃ
Dhīro ca dānaṃ anumodamāno
ten'eva so hoti sukhī parattha.

(Great King!) Indeed those who are hard and stingy do not attain celestial abodes. The fools who are ignorant of the present world and the future indeed do not admire dāna and are not happy about it. Only the far-sighted man of wisdom is able to rejoice in dāna. For, that very reason of his rejoicing, upon his death, he enjoys divine bliss.

At the end of the teaching, the minister Junha became a Noble Sotāpanna. Enjoying the king's favour he performed charitable acts for seven days in the manner of the king.

End of King Kosala's Asadisa Dāna.

[ 298 ] Sivi & Āditta Jātakas related with reference to King Kosala's Matchless Dāna.

When the Buddha spoke the verse beginning with "Na ve kadariya devalokaṃ vajanti" King Pasenadi Kosala was so pleased that he offered the Buddha an outer robe made in Sivi country and worth one hundred thousand coins. Thereafter he entered the city.

The next day at the assembly the monks talked about the king's generosity; "Friends, King Kosala was not satisfied even with his matchless Dāna that had just been given; so after the Exalted One had preached the Dhamma he offered him again the Sivi-made outer robe worth one hundred thousand. The king is so much insatiable in his thirst for alms-giving" Then the Buddha came and asked what they were talking about and on hearing what it was he said:

It is easy, monks, to give away one's external belongings. The good wise Bodhisattas of old gave away daily then wealth to the value of six hundred thousand, making it unnecessary for the whole populace of the Jambudīpa to work with their ploughs. Yet they were not satisfied with giving such external things (bāhira dāna). They believed unwaveringly that 'he who gives what he is very fond of can enjoy the special benefit which he is so fond of.' With this belief they gave away even their pairs of eyes to those who came into their presence and asked for.

At the request of the monks, the Buddha related the Sivi Jātaka, an event of the past (as contained in the Visati Nipāta).

One day after King Kosala's Matchless Alms-giving the monks at the assembly discussed among themselves: "Friends, only with discrimination did King Kosala give the Matchless Dāna to the Order [ 299 ] of noble monks headed by the Exalted One as he knows by himself that they form the fertile soil for sowing the seeds of meritorious deeds."

The Buddha came, and knowing what they were talking about he said:

"Monks, it is no wonder that after careful selection King Kosala has sown the seeds of unique alms-giving in the supreme field of my dispensation. Learned and virtuous Bodhisattas of yore also performed great dānas only after discriminating the recipients very carefully.

Then at the request of the monks, the Buddha narrated the Āditta Jātaka (of the Aṭṭhaka Nipāta.)

(The Sivi Jātaka and the Āditta Jātaka in detail may be taken from the five hundred and fifty Birth Stories of the Buddha in prose.)

End of the introduction to the Sivi and Āditta Jātakas.

Story of two friends: Garahadinna and Sirigutta.

In Sāvatthi there were two friends: the householder Sirigutta and Garahadinna, the former being a follower of the Buddha whereas the latter a follower of heretical teachers. The teachers said constantly to Garahadinna:

Should not you ask your friend Sirigutta thus: 'Friend, why do you follow the Monk Gotama? What will you gain from the Monk Gotama?' Should not you persuade him in such a way as to make him come over to us and offer us something?"""

[ 300 ] On hearing the words of his teachers again and again Garahadinna went to his friend and wherever they were standing, sitting, or doing something else, he said to Sirigutta:

Friend, what is the use of the Monk Gotama for you? What benefit will accrue to you from your devotion to the Monk Gotama? Do not you think you should serve our teachers and give them alms?

The householder Sirigutta said nothing and kept silent for many days. But being sick of hearing his friend's repeated speech, he said to Garahadinna one day:

Friend, you come to me constantly and wherever we are standing, sitting or doing somehting else, you ask me what benefit will accrue to me from my devotion to my Master and you also urge me to go over to your teachers and give them alms. But tell me first what things do your teachers know?

Then Garahadinna replied to his friend Sirigutta:

Oh! What a surprise, Sir!, Do not speak like this. As for my teachers, there is nothing is unknown. They know all about the past, the present and the future; all that is done, said and thought, i.e. physical, verbal and mental actions; they know 'This will happen and this will not.' They know 'This should be and this should not'. They know all fully.

Thereupon Sirigutta asked Garahadinna in order to get his affirmation: "Friend, do you say so?" The latter boldly affirmed: "Yes, I do." Then the former said:

In that case, friend, you have made a grave mistake by not telling me about this for such a long time. Only today I will [ 301 ] know the intellectual power of your teachers. Go, friend, invite your teachers in my name (for the meal) tomorrow.

Delighted, the householder Garahadinna went to his teachers, paid respect and said: "Masters, my friend Sirigutta has invited you to have tomorrow's meal." The heretical teachers asked: "Did Sirigutta himself do so?" "Yes, Sirs, Sirigutta himself did," replied Garahadinna in confirmation. Jubilant, the heretical teachers said: "Very well, Garahadinna. With the householder Sirigutta as our devoted follower, what luxury is there that will not be ours?"

Preparations at Sirigutta's home.

Sirigutta's home was very large. In the compound he had a long huge ditch dug between his two houses and had the ditch filled with excrement.

On the two outward edges, tree stumps were set up and fastened with ropes. The fore-legs of couches were placed on the fore-edge of the ditch and the hind-legs on the ropes. This was made with this idea: 'When they come, they will take their seats; when they take their seats, they will fall headlong into the ditch'.

Then the couches were covered with coverings (the edges of which touching the ground) so that the ditch was hidden.

Several large pots were placed behind the house. The brims of the pots were bound with banana-leaves and white pieces of cloth and the empty pots smeared on the outside with gruel, rice, butter, oil, honey, molasses and crumbs of cakes.

[ 302 ] The next day the householder Garahadinna went quietly to Sirigutta's residence early in the morning and asked: "Have you prepared your offerings for the Venerable Ones?" "Yes, I have", replied Sirigutta. "Where are the offerings?" asked Garahadinna again. Sirigutta answered, pointing to the pots: "These pots are full of gruel. These full of rice. These full of butter, molasses, cakes. The seats have also been arranged." Saying "Very good, friend", Garahadinna returned. On his return came the five hundred heretical teachers to Sirigutta's place.

Sirigutta lesson given to the heretical teachers.

Coming out of his house, Sirigutta paid respect with fivefold veneration to the heretical teachers. Raising his folded palms he stood before them and communicated with them but mentally.

"It is said that your Masters know everything such as the past, etc., It has been said so by your attendant and supporter Garahadinna.

If you really know all, please do not get into my residence. There is no gruel for you who have come to my place. Nor is there rice, nor any other food."

If you unknowingly enter my dwelling I will have to get you dumped into the ditch of excrement and also have to get you beaten.

Having mentally told them thus, Sirigutta signailed his workers by his facial expression that they, knowing that the teachers were about to take their seats, should remove the coverings from behind (just before the teachers sat down) so that the coverings might not be soiled with the excrement.

[ 303 ] Then Sirigutta invited the teachers, saying; "Please come this way, Sirs, The heretics went between the two houses and were about to take their seats when Sirigutta's men said: "Wait a moment, Sirs. Do not sit yet." "Why" asked the teachers "You should sit only knowing your manners." "What should we do?" "Sirs, you should first stand near your seats, and you all sit down at the same time."

(These instructions were designed to make the first teacher, who would fall into the ditch, unable to warn others not to take their seats.)

The teachers said, "Very well," and considering that the instructions should be followed, they all (five hundred) stood near their seats in order. Then the men told them: "Please sit down all together, be quick!" When the teachers were about to sit the men removed the coverings from the couches. As soon as the teachers sat down, the legs of the couches on the rope slipped, and they fell headlong into the ditch.

Sirigutta closed the house-doors and to every teacher who had clambered out of the ditch he gave a good thrashing with his stick, saying "Why do not you know the events of the past, the future and the present as claimed by your supporter Garahadinna?" After beating them to his satisfaction, he had the doors opened, saying: "This much is enough for them.

[ 304 ] The heretical teachers tried to run away from the house. But the plastered ground along the way having been made slippery beforehand, they could not control themselves and fell to the ground. Every one of them who fell down was beaten again and sent away with the word "This much suffices you."

The heretical teachers went to the house of their supporter Garahadinna, crying "Sirigutta, you have ruined and humilitated us! You have ruined and humilitated us!"

Prosecution of Sirigutta by Garahadinna.

When the householder Garahadinna saw his teachers ruined and humilitated and reduced to a disaster, he became furious and said:

"My friend Sirigutta has let me down! He had the heart to have my teachers beaten and made my teachers miserable who form the good field for sowing the seeds of good works and who can bestow all the desired benefits in the Deva world even on anyone who just stretches his hands to pay respect to them (not to speak of anyone who gives them offerings).

Muttering thus, he went to the court of King Pasenadī Kosala and filed a suit for a fine of one hundred coins against Sirigutta.

Then King Kosala summoned Sirigutta to the court. Sirigutta came and paid respect to the king and said: Great King, impose the fine on me only after investigating the matter; Do not do so without an inquiry."" When the king agreed, saying, ""Householder I shall fine you only after investigation"", Sirigutta said, ""Very well, Great King."" ""Then you, Sirigutta, state your case,"" asked the king. Sirigutta reported to the king all that had happened, beginning with the following words:"

Great King, my friend Garahadinna, a follower of the heretical teachers, repeatedly asked me everywhere what the use of following the Monk Gotama was and what benefit would accrue to me from my devotion to the Monk Gotama.

[ 305 ] The king, looking at Garahadinna, asked: "Did you really say so?" When the latter admitted, saying: "Yes, Great King", the king passed the following judgment:

Regarding your teachers, who as Great Buddhas" are so ignorant (of the creation of the dirty ditch), why did you tell Sirigutta, a follower of the Exalted One, that they knew all the events that took place in the three divisions of time--past, present and future? The fine of one hundred thousand coins for which you have sued Sirigutta must be paid by you."

So saying the king imposed the payment of the fine on Garahadinna. His heretical teachers who had come to the court as complainants were beaten and sent away.

Garahadinna's plan.

The householder Garahadinna was angry with Sirigutta and did not speak to him for a month thence. Then he thought to himself "For me it is not nice not to be on speaking terms with him. Indeed, I should ruin his teachers (in revenge)" So he went to Sirigutta and broke the ice: "Friend Sirigutta!" "What is the matter, friend?" replied Sirigutta then the former blamed him, saying:

Friend, it is natural for friends and relatives to quarrel or dispute. Why did not you speak to me of anything, friend? Why are you behaving like this (in estrangement)?

Sirigutta replied calmly: "Friend I did not speak to you because you did not speak to me. (There is no other reason.)" Garahadinna said to make peace: "Friend, let bygones be bygones. Let us not destroy our [ 306 ] mutual friendship." From that time they became reconciled and moved about together.

One day Sirigutta said to his friend: (the way the latter had done before): "Friend, what is the use of your teachers for you? What benefit will accrue to you from your devotion to your teacher? Do not you think you should serve my teacher, the Exalted One, and give alms to the Venerable Ones?" Garahadinna had been longing always for that kind of speech, and it was like scratching an itchy part of his body with a finger nail.

So he asked his friend. "Friend Sirigutta, what does your teacher, the Monk Gotama know? Then Sirigutta said:

Friend, do not speak like that. There is nothing that is not known to our teacher, the Exalted One. He knows all the things of the past, etc., He comprehends clearly the analysis of the sixteen aspects of a living being's mental process.

Then Garahadinna said: "Friend, I did not know it earlier. Why have you kept silent about it for such a long time? In that case, friend, you go and invite your teacher, the Exalted One, for the meal at my place tomorrow. I would like to feed. Please tell him to accept with five hundred monks the food I am going to offer." So Sirigutta approached the Buddha and said:

Glorious Buddha! My friend Garahadinna has asked me to invite you. He said you should accept with five hundred monks his food tomorrow. There is, however, one thing: one day in the past I did something unpleasant to his heretical teachers; I do not know whether he wants to take vengeance for what I have done to him or he wants to offer you food with a pure heart. Please reflect upon his invitation and accept it if it is sincere. If not please do not.

[ 307 ] When the Buddha reflected on what ulterior motive Garahadinna had, he foresaw that the householder had a large ditch dug between his two houses, had it filled with eighty cartloads of firewood of catch, burnt them in order to let the Buddha and his monks fall into the ditch of embers.

Again when the Buddha contemplated, "Will my visit to his place be beneficial or not", he clearly had vision as follows:

He would stretch his leg into the ditch of fire. At that moment the rough mat covering the ditch would vanish. A large lotus flower having the size of a chariot wheel or a cart wheel would appear out of the ditch. He would step onto the centre of the flower and sit there. Likewise his five hundred monks would step on to the lotus flowers and take their seats respectively. People would assemble. With two verses the Buddha would give a talk of blessing. At the end of the talk, eighty four thousand beings would realize the Four Truths and gain liberation. The two frirends, Sirigutta and Garahadinna, would become Sotāpanna Ariyas. Inspired with faith, both of them would give away their properties in honour of the Buddha's dispensation of eight wonders.

So the Buddha decided to go for the sake of Garahadinna. Having had the vision clearly the Buddha accepted the invitation by keeping silent. Sirigutta went to Garahadinna's place and told him of the Buddha's acceptance. Saying, "Dear friend, with gladness do honour to the Buddha, the Chief of the three worlds," Sirigutta went home.

[ 308 ] Preparations at Garahadinna's residence.

Thinking; "Now is the time to do what should be done to Sirigutta", Garahadinna had a large ditch dug between his two houses, had eightycart loads of cutch firewood brought there, filled the ditch with the firewood, burnt them to create embers of cutch wood and had them kept glowing the whole night. Over the ditch he had placed wooden planks covered with rough mats that were smeared with cowdung.

He also had the path made by placing fragile sticks on one side so that when monks tread and broke them, they would fall into the ditch of fire).

At the back of his residence he placed large pots the way Sirigutta did. The seats were also arranged in the same way.

Early in the morning Sirigutta went to Garahadinna's residence and asked: "Friend, have you made your offerings ready?" "Yes, I have", answered Garahadinna. "Where are those offerings?" "Come, let us go and see", said Garahadinna and showed Sirigutta the way the latter had done before. "Excellent, friend!" said Sirigutta delightedly.

People had assembled. There usually was a large gathering of people whenever the Buddha was invited by a man of heretical views. Other heretics also came together, thinking and saying: "We are going to witness with our own eyes the downfall of the Monk Gotama." Those who possessed right beliefs also attended the assembly, hoping that "the Exalted One would deliver a great sermon today. We will have a chance to see the might and glory of the Exalted One."

[ 309 ] Emergence of big lotus flowers out of the fire.

The next day the Buddha went with five hundred monks to the gate of Garahadinna's residence. The householder came out and did obeisance with the fivefold prostration; standing and raising his joined hands, he said mentally (not by word of mouth):

Venerable Sirs, it is said that you know the past and all, that you comprehend the analysis of the sixteen aspects of a living being's mental process. That is what your devotee Sirigutta told me. If that were true, do not enter my house. There is really no gruel, no food, nothing for you. In fact, I am going to harm you by making you all fall into the ditch of fire.

Expressing his intention mentally thus he took the alms bowl from the Buddha's hand. After saying "Please come this way", he added: "Venerable Sir, your visitors to my place should have come here knowing etiquette" When the Buddha asked, "What should we do?", Garahadinna said: "You should, Sirs, enter the house one by one and it is only after the preceding one has sat down that the next one should follow." (This suggestion was made because if all went together other monks would see the one, who went ahead of them falling into the ditch. Seeing his fall nobody else would proceed. (Therefore) his idea was to destroy them by letting one after another fall into the fire.) Saying, "Very well, donor", the Buddha walked off alone. When Garahadinna came to the fire ditch, he stepped back and told the Buddha to go ahead. As soon as the Buddha stretched his leg over the ditch, the rough mats disappeared. Out of the fire emerged large lotus flowers each having the size of a chariot wheel or a cart wheel. The Buddha walked stepping on to the centre of each lotus flower, and sat on the Buddha's seat placed there. The five hundred monks, too, walked on the centre of one flower to that of another and took their respective seats.

[ 310 ] Garahadinna's great distress.

On seeing the extraordinary, unprecedented phenomenon, Garahadinna's body emitted heat and vapour like those from a hot pan of oil. He hurried to his friend Sirigutta and appealed, saying: "Friend Sirigutta, please be my refuge." "Why did you say so, friend?" asked Sirigutta. Garahadinna replied: "There was no gruel, no food, nothing., in my home for five hundred monks. What shall I do?" Sirigutta asked him bluntly: "What have you done, friend?" Garahadinna disclosed:

Friend, (to speak frankly) I had a large fire ditch made between the two houses, my intention being to subdue the Buddha and his five hundred monks by sending them into the ditch. Yet there emerged large lotus flowers out of the ditch. The Buddha and all the monks walked on the flowers and are sitting on the seats. What am I to do now?

When he made his confession and asked for help, Sirigutta argued, saying?" "But have not you personally shown me, saying. These many are large pots. This much is gruel, this much is rice, etc.?" "Friend Sirigutta, what I have told you is utter flase. The pots are empty, containing no gruel, no rice, nothing," Garahadinna confessed further. Then Sirigutta said (as he had unwavering faith in the Buddha's power and glory): "Be that as it may, friend. You only go home and see the gruel and other foods in your pots.

Unimaginability of the Buddha's capacity.

No sooner had Sirigutta said so than the pots which were falsely claimed by Garahadinna to be full of gruel became full of gruel, the pots which were falsely claimed by him to be full of rice became full of rice and the same happened to the other pots. When he came home and was [ 311 ] confronted with all the miraculous happennings his whole body was filled with joy. His mind also became serene.

After serving respectfully the Buddha and his monks with food, Garahadinna wanted the Buddha to give a sermon in appreciation of the offerings so he took the alms-bowl from the Buddha who had finished his meal. Desirous of giving such a sermon, the Buddha said, "Because these beings have no eye of wisdom, they are ignorant of the attributes of my disciples and the attributes of my dispensation. Those who possess no eye of wisdom are known to be blind and those who possess it are known to have have eye-sight." Then he spoke the following two verses:

Yatthā saṅkāra-dhānasmiṇ, ujjhitasmiṃ mahāpathe
Padumaṃ, tattha jāyetha, sucigandhaṃ manoramaṃ. (1)

Evaṃ saṅkārabhūtesu, andhabhūte puthujjane
Atirocati paññāya sammāsambuddha-sāvako. (2)

"Just as a lotus flower of a hundred petals, pure, flagrant and delightful to every beholder, originates and arises wonderfully in the garbage dump on the public road, (1)

Even so among those who should be discarded like garbage, the Buddha's Disciple, a good and glorious person who has destroyed all his defilements, glows with splendour, surpassing by his wisdom all the worldlings who are like the blind as they lack wisdom. (2)"

At the end of the sermon eighty-four thousand people realized the Four Truths and won liberation. The two friends Garahadinna and Sirigutta attained Sotāpatti-phala. Inspired by faith both of them dedicated all their wealth to the cause of the Buddha's dispensation that was of eight wonders.

[ 312 ] Relation of Khadirangara Jātaka.

After giving an appreciative talk, the Buddha rose and returned to the monastery. At the assembly in the evening, the monks extolled the Master, saying:

Wonderful indeed, friends, is the power of the Exalted One. A series of lotus flowers, each having the size of a chariot wheel or a cart wheel, arose out of the horrible cutch embers.

The Buddha came to the assembly and asked: "Monks, what are you talking about?" "We are talking about this sort of subject (with reference to your power)", answered the monks. Then the Buddha said:

Monks, it is no wonder that out of the heap of embers arose lotus-flowers for me to walk on now, for I have become Perfectly Self-Enlightened, Chief of the three worlds, Omniscient. The lotus flowers emerged on one occasion in the past when as a Bodhisatta I was intellectually immature. Then at the request of the monks the Buddha related in detail the Khadiraṅga Jātaka (of the Kulavaka Vagga of the Ekaka Nipāta).

(The Jātaka is to be found in the Buddha's Birth Stories. There the story is told in connection with the alms-giving of Anāthapiṇḍika. It is repeated with reference to Garahadinna.)

(The Garahadinna story here is reproduced from the same story contained in the Puppha Vagga of the Dhmmapada Commentary.)

End of the story of Garahadinna.

[ 313 ] Taming of Nandopananda the Nāga King by the Thera Moggalāna as instructed by the Buddha.

Once after hearing the Buddha's Dhamma-talk, the merchant Anāthapiṇḍika invited the Buddha: "Exalted Buddha, please accept together with five hundred monks my alms food at my house tomorrow." Having said so the merchant returned home

The Buddha accepted Anāthapiṇḍika's invitation and passed the rest of the remaining daytime and nighttime; at dawn when he surveyed the ten thousand universes the divine Nāga King Nandopananda appeared within the range of his intellectual vision.

The Buddha reflected: "The Nāga King has appeared in my vision. Has he done any good works in the past?" and came to know that "the Nāga King, having no faith in the Triple Gem, holds wrong views" Again, when he continued to reflect as to who should free the Nāga from the wrong views, he discerned the Thera Mahā Moggalāna.

At daybreak the Buddha cleaned himself and addressed the Venerable Ānanda: "My dear Ānanda, tell the five hundred monks that I shall make a celestial journey to Tāvatiṃsa Deva Abode."

Particularly on that day the divine Nagas were preparing for the Naga-king's feast and drunken orgy. Nandopananda was seated on a jewelled divine throne, had the white divine umbrella held over his head. Surrounded by female dancers of three different categories of age, grown-up, young and those in between, and also by a host of nāgas, he was viewing divine food and drinks etc., put in gold and silver vessels.

With the five hundred monks the Buddha travelled to Tāvatiṃsa, passing above the mansion of Nandopananda and thus making himself visible to the latter.

[ 314 ] Then an evil thought arose in the Nāga-king: "These wicked shaven-headed monks go to Tāvatiṃsa and come out passing over our abode from one higher mansion to another. This time, however, we will not allow these monks to move on who while doing so scatter dust over us." With this evil intention he rose from his jewelled seat, went to the foot of Mount Meru and after changing his original body he coiled himself round the mountain in seven folds and concealed the celestial world of Tāvatiṃsa from sight by enveloping it with his hood that lay prone from above.

Then the Venerable Raṭṭhapāla asked the Buddha: "Glorious Buddha, formerly standing from here, we could see Mount Meru; we could see its surrounding seven mountains; we could see Tāvatiṃsa; we could see the Vejayanta palace; we could see Sakka's flag hoisted on the Vejayanta Palace. Glorious Buddha, now we could not see Mount Meru, the seven surrounding mountains, Tāvatiṃsa, the Vejayanta palace, Sakka's Flag, why?"

The Buddha replied: "My dear Raṭṭhapāla, this Naga King Nandopananda is angry with you all, and so after coiling his body round Mount Meru in seven folds, he has covered it with his hood and created darkness." Raṭṭhapāla Thera then said to the Buddha: "Glorious Buddha, let me tame the Nāga King", but the Buddha rejected his request. Thereafter the Theras Bhaddiya, Rāhula and all others, rose one after another in the wake of Raṭṭhapāla Thera and made their offer to tame the Nāga King. But neither did the Buddha give them his permission. (The reason for the Buddha's rejection will soon be known.)

At last the Venerable Mahā Moggalāna asked for the permission to tame the Nāga King and the Buddha granted it to him, saying; "Tame him, my dear Moggalāna." Having obtained the Buddha's permission Moggalāna Thera changed his body into that of a great Naga and coiled [ 315 ] his body fourteen folds round Nandopananda and covering Nandopananda's hood with his from above, he also pressed the latter against Mount Meru.

The Nāga King emitted powerful vapour. The Thera emitted more powerful vapour, saying "It is not that you alone have the vapour; I too have it." The Nāga King's vapour could not hurt the Thera but the Thera's could hurt the Nāga.

Then the Nāga emitted blazing flames saying, "It is not that you alone have the flames, I too have them", the Thera emitted mightier flames. The flames emitted by the Nāga could not harm the Thera but the Thera's could harm the Nāga.

The Nāga King Nandopananda perceived: "This man is crushing and pressing me against Mount Meru. He is also emitting vapour and blazing flames." Then he asked the Thera, "Who are you, Sir?" The Thera replied: "Nanda, I am the Mahā Thera Moggalāna." "In that case please wear your ascetic garb. Then the Thera discarded his Nāga form (and assumed his original ascetic form) and entered the Nāga's body by the right ear and came out by the left. Again he entered the Nāga by the left ear and came out of the right.

Similarly, he entered the Nāga by the right nostril and came out by the left and entered by the left nostril and came out by the right.

Then Nandopananda opened his mouth for the Thera. The Thera got inside the Nāga by the mouth and walked from east to west and vice versa. The Buddha warned the Thera, saying:

My dear son Moggalāna, be very careful. The Nāga King is of great power.

The Thera replied:

[ 316 ] "I have successfully developed the four bases of psychic powers (iddhipāda) through the five kinds of mastery (vasībhāva). I can subjugate hundreds of thousands of Divine Nāgas of Nandopananda's type, let alone his single person, Glorious Buddha."

The Nāga King thought: "I have let the Thera enter my body through my mouth. Be that as it may. When he comes out now I will keep him between my fangs, and eat him, biting him to pieces." So he said: "Come out Sir; do not torment me by pacing in my belly." The Thera came out and stood outside. As soon as he saw the Thera, the Nāga King, perceiving: "So this is Moggalāna", snored fiercely. The Thera entered upon the Fourth Jhāna and defended himself against the Nāga's nasal wind, so the wind could not stir even the body-hair of the Thera.

(Note. Other monks might have the power to perform miracles from the beginning but when the snoring took place they would not be able to engage in Jhāna as rapidly as those who were of instant consciousness concerning supernormal powers (khippa-nisanti) like Mogallāna Thera. That was why no permission was given by the Buddha to the other monks to tame the Nāga King.)

Then the Nāga King Nandopananda noted: "I was not able to stir even the body-hair in a pore of the monk's skin by snorting. This monk is very powerful indeed." The Thera having changed his natural shape into that of a Garuḍa, pursued the Nāga with the speed of that bird. Being unable to escape, the Nāga turned himself into a young man and fell in salutation at the feet of the Thera, saying: "Venerable Sir, in you I take refuge."

The Thera Mahā Moggalāna said: "Nanda, the Exalted One is coming. Come, let us go [to him]." Having tamed the Nāga and freed [ 317 ] him from the poison or conceit, the Thera took him to the Master. The Nāga paid his respect to the Buddha and solemnly declared himself a follower. "Venerable Sir, I took refuge in you" The Buddha gave his blessings, saying. "May you be happy both physically and mentally", and then accompanied by the monks, the Buddha went to the house of the merchant Anāthapiṇḍika.

The merchant asked the Buddha: "Why did you come when the day was in far advanced?" The Buddha said: "There had been a terrible battle of life and death taught between Moggalāna and the Nāga King Nandopananda. (That was why I came late)". The wealthy merchant asked: "Who won the battle and who lost it, Exalted Buddha?" "The victory belonged to Moggalāna and the defeat to Nanda."

Anāthapiṇḍika was so joyous and elated that he said: "Venerable Sir, may the Exalted Buddha and the monks receive my offering of meal every day for seven days. I will honour the Thera for seven days." Then the merchant celebrated the victory of the Thera by honouring the five hundred monks headed by the Buddha for a week.

This account of the Thera Mahā Moggalāna's taming or Nandopananda the Nāga King was taken from the Iddhi Niddesa of the Visuddhi Magga. Vol. II and also from the exposition of the Mahā Moggalāna Thera Gāthā, Thera Gāthā Commentary, Vol II.

End or the Taming of the Nāga king Nandopananda by the Thera Moggalāna as instructed by the Buddha.

[ 318 ] Taming of Baka Brahma.

(The account of the taming of Baka Brahmā by the Buddha occurs in the Baka Jātaka of the Sattaka Nipāta and the Kesava Jātaka of the Catukka Nipāta, Text and its Commentary, and also in the Commentary of the Baka Brahmā Sutta of the Saṃyutta Nikāya as the Commentary of the Brahmanimantanika Sutta of the Mūla-paṇṇāsa covers the Jātaka accounts and the expositions of the Saṃyutta Commentary, the following is based on the Brahma-nimantanika Sutta Text and its Commentary of the Mūla Paṇṇāsa.)

Once while dwelling at Jetavana in the noble city of Sāvatthi the Buddha called the monks and said:

"Monks, on one occasion I was living at the foot of a large sal tree in the Subhaga grove near the town of Ukkaṭṭha. Then arose, monks, the following thought in Baka Brahmā:

'The world of Brahmas together with this body is permanent, firm, stable, unique and subject to no change. In this Brahmā world there is no one who is conceived, who grows old, who dies, who falls, who is reborn (by way of conception). There is no liberation higher than the Brahmā world together with this body.'

Such is the very strong but wrong view of eternalism (sassata micchā-diṭṭhi) that arose in Baka Brahmā."""

(Note. Baka Brahmā who held this view rejected the existence of the higher transcendent states of the Second and Third Jhāna Brahmā Planes, the Fourth Jhāna Brahma Plane (with the four (Arūpa states) and the Path, Fruition and Nibbāna, for he belonged to the First Jhāna Plane).

[ 319 ] "Monks, knowing his thought with (my) mind I disappeared then from the foot of the sal tree in the Subhaga grove near Ukkaṭṭha and appeared there in the (First Jhāna) Brahma Abode just as a strong man stretches out his bent arm and bends his stretched out arm.

When Baka Brahmā saw from afar my approaching to him, monks, he said;

Sir, please come. Sir, you are welcome. Sir, you visit this Brahmā abode after a long time. Sir, the Brahmā world together with this body is permanent, firm, stable, unique and subject to no change. In this Brahmā world there is no one who is conceived, who grows old, who dies, who falls, who is reborn (by way of conception). There is no liberation higher than the Brahmā world together with this body.'

Monks, when Baka Brahmā spoke thus, I said:

'Friends, Baka Brahmā is foolish indeed! Friends, Baka Brahmā is foolish indeed! He speaks of what is not permanent as permanent, what is not firm, not stable, not unique and subject to change as firm, stable, unique and subject to no change. He says that in this Brahmā world there is no one who is conceived, who grows old, who dies, who falls, who is reborn (by way of conception) though in this Brahmā world there are those who are conceived, who are born, who die, who fall, who are reborn (by way of conception). He says that there is no libreration higher than the Brahmā world together with his body though there clearly are higher forms of liberation in terms of other Jhānas and Brahmā worlds such as the Second, Third, Fourth Jhāna Brahmā worlds and the Path, Fruition and Nibbāna. "

[ 320 ] Possession of an attendant Brahmā by Māra.

Monks, Māra the Evil One then possessed a young Brahmā attendant (Brahmā-pārisajja) and rebuked me thus:"

Monk, do not criticize this Baka Brahmā. Monk, do not criticize this Baka Brahmā. He is great. He is dominant. He is indomitable. Surely, he sees all. He holds sway over all living beings. He rules the world. He creates the world. He is the Lord of the world. He determines a living being's destiny (declaring: 'You shall be a king you shall be a Brāhmin, you shall be a merchant, you shall be a farmer, you shall be a labourer, you shall be a human, you shall be a monk, (at least) you shall be a camel or you shall be an ox'). He is accomplished in Jhāna. He is the father of beings that have arisen and beings that are arising."

(Note. Of the expressions "beings that have arisen" and "beings that are arising", the latter means "beings originating in the eggs or in the wombs" From the time they come out from the eggs or the wombs they are known as "beings that have arisen."

(In the case of beings originating in moisture (saṃsedaja) they are called "beings that are arising" at the moment of their rebirth-consciousness, and after that moment they are "beings that have arisen."

(As for the spontaneous upapatti beings they are called "beings that are arising" at the moment of their first bodily posture and after that they are "beings that have arisen".)

[ 321 ] "Monk!, in this world those Saṃaṇas and Brāhmanas before you who (like you) condemned and abhorred the earth-element, the water-element, the fire-element the wind-element (as anicca, dukkha and anatta) who (like you) condemned and abhorred the living beings, Devas, Mara and Brahmas, (as anicca, dukkha and anatta) they all landed in the lower worlds (of woes) after the dissolution of their bodies at death.

"Monk, in this world those Samaṇas and Brāhmaṇas before you who admired and cherished the earth-element, the water-element. the fire-element, the wind-element (as permanent, firm, stable, imperishable, unbreakable and inexhaustible) and who admired and cherished the living beings, Devas Mara and Brahmās (as firm, stable, imperishable, unbreakable and inexhaustible) they all landed in the sublime (Brahma) world after the dissolution of their bodies at death.'

Therefore I say unto you; Monk, I want to urge you to follow the Brahmā's teaching friend. Do not go against his teaching. Monk, if you go against his teaching, you will be like a man who beats and drives away with a six-foot long stick the glory that has come right to you or like a man who falls over a cliff and does not land on the supporting ground by not coming into contact with it by his hands and legs. This example will do for you, friend. I therefore want to urge you to follow the Brahmā's teaching. Do not contradict it. Monk, you see the Brahmās who have assembled, do not you?"""

"Thus, monks Māra the Evil One aimed his speech at me and tried to make me a member of Baka Brahmā's assembly.

(Herein it may be asked: How did Māra see the Buddha?"" While staying in his mansion Māra enquired frequently, ""In which village or market town is the Buddha staying now?"" When he enquired on this particular occasion he came to know that the Buddha was staying in the Subhaga grove near [ 322 ] Ukkaṭṭha. When he tried to see where the Buddha had gone he saw that the Buddha had gone to the Brahmā world. So he thought, ""1 will go and make him give up his desire to preach there before he cause the Brahmās to get out of my dominion."" So he followed the Buddha vigilantly and stood anonymously among the Brahmās. Knowing that the Buddha had rebuked Baka Brahmā, he emerged as a supporter of the Brahmā."

(Māra could not possess Mahā Brahmā and Brahmā-purohita Brahmās. He therefore possessed the young Brahmā attendant.)

"Monk, when the Evil Māra spoke thus (through the Brahmā attendant), I refuted him as follows:

'You evil Māra! I know you. Do not think that 'the Monk Gotama does not know me' You Evil One, you are Māra. You Evil Māra, the Mahā Brahmā, the assembly of Brahmās, the Brahmā-attendants they all fall into your hand; they are all under your sway. You evil Māra, you are wrong in believing thus, 'This monk too may fall into my hand. This monk too may come under my sway.' In reality, I do not fall into your hand. I do not go under your sway.

Monks, when I have thus spoken to Māra, Baka Brahmā said to me:"

Venerable Sir, l speak of what is permanent as permanent. I speak of what is firm, stable, unique and imperishable as firm, stable; unique and imperishable. I say that in the Brahmā world there is no one who is conceived, who grows old, who dies, who falls off, who is reborn because in the Brahmā world there is no one who is conceived, who is old, who dies, who falls off, who is reborn. I say that there is no liberation better than the Brahmā world with this body because there is no liberation higher than the Brahmā world together with this body.'

[ 323 ] "Monk, in this world the practice of those Samanas and Brāhmaṇas before you was as old as your age. They might have known what my is liberation higher (than the Brahma world with this body) as the liberation higher (than the Brahma world with this body). They might have known the liberation no higher (than the Brahmā world with this body) as the liberation that is no higher (than the Brahmā world with this body).

"Monk, therefore I say to you this (I assert as follows): You will not find any other liberation higher (than the Brahma world with this body). If you search for it, this will mean only trouble and suffering for you.

'Monk, if you cling to the earth element, you will live near me, you will live in my place, you will be your subordinate. If you cling to the water element, the tire element, the wind element, the living beings, Devas, Māra and Brahmās, you will live near me, you will live in my place, you will be my subordinate.

(The Buddha replied:)

'Brahmā, I too know this: If I cling to the earth element, I will live near you, I will live in your place, I will be your subordinate. So will I and so will I be if I cling to the water element, the fire element, the wind element, the living beings, Devas, Māra and Brahmās. I know all this!'

'Brahmā, in fact, I know that you are of such great power, of such might, of such great fame and retinue. I know your ability, too.

Then Baka Brahmā asked the Buddha:

[ 324 ] 'Venerable Sir, how do you know that I am of such great power, of such great might of such great fame and retinue? How do you know my ability too?"

Then the Buddha answered:

Your authority lies in a thousand universes, in each universe the sun and the moon move about and shine in all directions. (Meaning: a vast circular area in which the sun and the moon wander, illuminating all over the directions, is called a Lokadhātu, World Element", or Cakka-vāḷa. "Spherical Universe"; all over these universes, numbering one thousand, spread your (Brahmā's) authority.)

"You Baka Brahmā know high and low beings, covetous and uncovetous beings, this and the remaining (999) universes, the rebirth and death of beings in these universes.

Baka Brahmā, I know that you are of such great power, of such great might, of such great retinue and fame. I know your ability too. (The Buddha's words have not come to an end yet. A note may, however, be inserted here."

(By saying so the Buddha tried to subdue the Brahmā. What he meant to say was this: "Baka Brahmā, your authority spreads only within one thousand universes. Yet you think highly of yourself, 'I am a great Brahmā.' You are only a Sahassībrahmā, i.e. a Brahmā who can see just a thousand universes. There are other Brahmā's who are superior to you, such as Dvisahassī Brahmās, those who can see two thousand universes, who can see three thousand, four thousand, five thousand, ten thousand universes Satasahassī Brahmā's, those who can see a hundred thousand universes and they are countless. And yet like a man who tries to compare his piece of [ 325 ] cloth, which is only four cubit long with another piece of cloth that is far greater in length. (Commentarial simile), like a man who desires to immerse himself in the water which is only ankle-deep (Sub-commentarial simile) or like a small frog which thinks that the water in a bullock's foot-print is a deep pool (simile used by the wise), you have a high opinion of yourself, thinking, 'I am a great Brahmā'")

"Baka Brahmā, there is still another world indeed apart from this world of the First Jhāna. You neither know nor see it. But I know and see it. Baka Brahmā, there is still another world known as the Ābhassara world. Falling from that Ābhassara world, you have landed in this world of the First Jhāna. Because you have lived (in this world of the First Jhāna) you have lost your memory. Therefore you neither know nor see that (Ābhassara world). But I know and see it. Baka Brahmā, because I know (the Ābhassara world which is unknown to you) you are not equal to me in intellect. Why should I be interior to you? In fact, I am superior to you intellectually. (1) (the Buddha speech has not come to an end yet. Another note may, however, be inserted here.)

(Baka Brahmā had fallen from the higher worlds and landed in the lower world. Elaboration: In a past kappa devoid of appearance Buddha's appearance, Baka Brahmā became an ascetic and practised kasiṇa meditation as a prelude to attainment of Jhānas. When he passed away without any slip of the Jhāna, he was reborn in the Vehapphala Brahmā world of the fourth Jhāna which is of a long life-span , five hundred kappas. Having lived the full life-span there, he desired for rebirth in a lower world and developed the Rupa-vacara Third Jhāna of a high standard. (When he passed away from that Vehapphala world, he landed in the Subhakiṇha Brahmā world of the Third Jhāna which is of the life-span of 64 Mahākappas.

[ 326 ] (N.B. If a man commits a number of anantariya (immediately resultant) deeds such as matricide, etc., only the severest and heaviest one of them bring about rebirth in the Mahā-Avīci state of long suffering; others do not beings about it but contribute to its occurrence. Similarly of the four Rūpa Jhānas developed, only the specially developed one with the four dominant (adhipati) factors brings about rebirth in the Rupavacara plane and the remaining Rupa Jhānas do not result in that rebirth as they themselves have no chance to do so; they merely facilitate the sustenance of that rebirth for its full lifespan. (From the Ṭīkā.)

(Having existed in that Subhakinha Brahma Abode for the full life-span of 64 Mahā-kappas, Baka Brahma developed in the previous manner the Rupavacara Second Jhāna of the higher standard and (when he fell from Subhakinha) he landed in the Abhassara Brahma Abode which is the Second Jhāna Plane lasting for eight Mahā-kappas. Having existed there for the full life-span of eight Mahā-kappas, he developed in the previous manner the Rupavacara First Jhāna of the higher standard and (when he fell from Ābhassara) he landed in the Mahā-Brahmā Abode which is the First Jhāna plane lasting for 64 Mahākappas in terms of Antara kind or just one kappa in terms of Asankhyeyya.

(In his present Mahā Brahmā Abode, however Baka-Brahmā remembered in the earlier part of his life, , his performance of wholesome Jhāna and the former abode where he had existed. When he had been there too long, he forgot even those two things and wrongly took to himself the false Eternalism. That was why the Buddha said to Baka Brahmā: You have lost your memory. Therefore you neither know nor see that (Ābhassara) World"", and so on."

[ 327 ] The past story of Baka Brahmā.

When the Buddha spoke thus, Baka Brahmā thought: "The Monk Gotama knows the life-span of my previous lives, the worlds of my previous rebirths and the good deeds of Jhāna that I had practised before I will ask him now about my good deeds in the past." In response to his question, the Buddha told him about his good deeds. Elaboration: This Baka Brahmā in one of his former births was son of a good family. Seeing the ills of sense desires he decided, "I will put an end to birth, old age, sickness and death." Thereafter he renounced the world and became an ascetic, developing mundane Jhānas. Having accomplished the Jhānas, the foundation of psychic powers, he built a small leaf, hut near the Gaṅgā and spent his time in enjoying the bliss of Jhāna.

While he was staying thus a caravan of five hundred carts carrying merchants, crossed a desert frequently. When they crossed the desert by night the bullocks that were harnessed at the foremost cart lost their way and turned back, thus coming back to the former track that they had taken. The other carts too similarly came back to the former track and this was known to the merchants only at dawn. For the merchant it was the day they must have passed through the desert. All their fire wood and water had run out. Therefore, thinking "we are now to lose our lives" the people unyoked their bullocks from the carts tied them to the wheels and went to sleep in the shade of the rear part the carts.

The Jhāna-accomplished ascetic, the future Baka Brahmā, got out of the leaf-hut early in the morning; while sitting at the hut [ 328 ] door, had a look at the Gaṅgā and saw a great flood overwhelming the whole Gaṅgā as though a huge green stone was rolling down. When he thought out "Are there in this world any beings that are wearied for lack of such sweet water?" he saw the caravan of those merchants suffering in the sandy desert. Wishing them survival, he resolved through psychic powers, "May a great volume of water from the Gaṅgā flow towards the merchants in the caravan.

As soon as his consciousness of psychic powers occurred a great volume of water flowed into the desert as though into a drain. The people got up because of the sound of the water. On seeing the water they were overjoyed. They bathed, they drank, and they let the cattle drink and arrived at their desired terminal.

In order to point our this past good deed of Baka Brahmā, the Buddha spoke this verse:

Yaṃ tvaṃ apāyesi bahū manusse
pipāsite ghammani sambarete.
Taṃ te purāṇaṃ vatasīlavattaṃ
suttappabuddho'va anussarāmi

(O Brahmā by the name of Baka! In the past when you were a Jhāna-accomplished ascetic) you caused by your psychic powers many people those thirsty people who were tortured by the sun in the desert of a caravan to have water for drink and for bath. Like a man waking up, I recollect again and again by my power of remembering former lives (pubbenivāsānussati ñāṇa) your morality practised in the past. (a)

At a later time the ascetic, built a leaf-hut on the bank of the Gaṅgā and lived there depending upon a small village for food. Then robbers beat the villagers and robbed them of gold and [ 329 ] silver and took with them cattle and people as hostages. The cries of the people and the animals created loud noices. On hearing the noices the ascetic thought out what it was all about. Knowing that some danger has befallen the villagers, he made a wish, "May these beings not perish while I am seeing them." Then he engaged himself in Jhāna, the foundation of his psychis powers. Arising from that Jhāna he created a large army of four divisons (elephants, horses, chariots, and foot-soldiers that marched (arrow-) shooting, (trumpet-) blowing, (drum) beating and (threat-) shouting.

Seeing the great army the robbers thought that it was the marching of the kin discarded all their looted properties and fled. The ascetic resolved, "May the properties go back to their respective owners," and this happened in accord with the ascetic's resolve. The people are thus overjoyed.

In order to point out also this past good deed of Baka Brahma, the Buddha spoke this verse:

Yam enikulasmiṃ janaṃ gahītam amocayī gayhaka niyamanaṃ Taṃ te purāṇaṃ vatasīlavattaṃ suttappabuddho'va anussarāmi

(O Brahmā by the name of Baka! In the past when you were a Jhāna accomplished ascetic) on the bank of the Gaṅgā which was also named Eṇikula because there were many herds of eṇī deer, you caused the villagers, who were taken as hostages and whose properties robbed by the robbers, to escape from their hands by your creation of an army of four divisions. Like a man waking up I recollect again and again, by my power of remembering former lives your morality practised in the past (b)

[ 330 ] Again at a later time a family living in the upper part of the Gaṅgā and another family living in the lower part held a wedding ceremony, one party giving the bride to the other and making friends together. They joined their boats, forming them like, a raft which carried many kinds of food, unguent, flowers, etc., and which floated by the currents of the Gaṅgā waters. The people on the boats had a great feast, dancing and singing. They revelled as though they were moving in a celestial flying mansion.

Then the Nāga King, ruler and resident of the Gaṅgā, saw the people and became angry, thinking, "These people have no regard for me as they are not aware that their riotous merry making could annoy me the Nāga King of the Gaṅgā. Now I shall make them float into the ocean" So thinking he assumed an enormous body and split the water into two halves between which he emerged all of a sudden. With his vast hood raised he made a great hissing sound and stayed there as though he were to bite the people and put them to death.

On seeing the Nāga King the people became frightened and cried loudly and feverishly. While sitting in the leaf-hut the ascetic heard the cries, he thought: "Earlier these people were very happy, dancing and singing. Now they are making sounds of fear and grief. What is the matter?' Then he saw the Nāga King and desired for the people's safety, "May they not perish while I am seeing them." So he engaged himself in a Jhāna, the foundation of his psychic powers, and after assuming the guise of a garuda bird, he was poised to snatch away the Nāga-king.

Fearing, the Nāga King withdrew his hood and immersed himself in the water. All the people were thus saved.

[ 331 ] In order to point out as this part good deed of Baka Brahma, the Buddha spoke this verse:

Gaṅgāya sotasmiṃ gahīta nāvaṃ
luddena nāgena manussakappā
Amocayittha balasā pasayha
Taṃ te purāṇaṃ vatasīlavattaṃ
suttappabuddho'va anussarāmi.

(O Brahma by the name of Baka! In the past when you were a ascetic) you saved the people of the two villages, who were to be destroyed by the fierce Nāga King in the water currents of the Gaṅgā, by your psychic powers known as vikubbaniddhi and thus set them free from the threat of the Nāga King. Like a man waking up, I recollect again and again by my power of remembering former lives your morality practised in the past. (c)

Still at a later time Baka Brahma was a noble ascetic known in Kesara. At that time our Boddhisatta was a youthful ascetic by the name of Kappa. Constantly staying near the ascetic Kesava and serving him as a residential pupil (antevasika); who was always obedient, thinking to do only what was pleasing to his master, who was intelligent and who practised what was beneficial. The ascetic Kesava was unable to move about, to remain still, to eat or drink without the help of his close pupil, the young ascetic Kappa, At one time, he was looked after by the king of Varanasi but he left the king and lived by depending on his own pupil, Kappa the ascetic. (The story in detail may be read in the Kesava Jātaka of the Catukka Nipāta.)

In order to point out also this past good deed of Baka Brahma the Buddha spoke this verse:

[ 332 ] Kappo ca te baddhacaro ahosi
sambuddhimantaṃ vatinaṃ amaññi.
Taṃ te purāṇaṃ vatasīlavattaṃ
suttappabuddho'va annusarāmi.

(O Brahmā by the name of Baka! In one of the past existences) I the Buddha was a virtuous ascetic, Kappa by name, who as your residential pupil served you, a virtuous ascetic, Kesava by name. (At that time) you fondly spoke in praise of me that I was good, intelligent and that I had practised morality adequately. Like a man waking up, I recollect again and again by my power remembering former lives your morality practised in the past. (d)

In this way the Buddha talked to Baka Brahmā, pointing out the latter's good deeds done in his various past existences. While the Buddha was thus talking, Baka Brahmā recollected his past stories. All his past deeds gradually manifested to him as though different objects become clear when a thousand oil lamps are lighted. He was so pleased, having a faithful heart, that he spoke the following verse:

Addhā pajānāsi mam'etam āyuṃ
aññaṃ pi jānāsi tathā hi Buddho.
Tathā hi tyāyaṃ jalitānubhāvo
obhāsayaṃ tiṭṭhati Brahmalokaṃ.

(Exalted One who has done away with all suffering!) Certainly, you know my past lives. You also know all neyyadhamma, things worth-knowing (apart from my lives.) You are therefore an Omniscient Buddha. This bright body-light of yours exist, illuminating the whole Brahmā Abode, outshining the light of hundreds and thousands of suns and moons.

Having related as a parenthesis to the past events of Baka Brahmā at his request, the Buddha came back to his original topic, speaking thus:

[ 333 ] "Baka Brahmā, there are still the Subhakinha Abode, Vehappala Abode, and Abhibhū Abode. You neither know nor see them. I know and see them. Because I know (what you do not) you are not equal to me intellectually. How can I be inferior to you? In fact, I am superior to you intellectually.

Then in order to prove a step further that Baka Brahmā was not his intellectual equal and that he himself was superior to Baka Brahma intellectually, the Buddha continued his speech as follows:

"Baka Brahmā, with extraordinary intellect I know the earth element that it is by nature anicca, dukkha and anatta. I know Nibbāna, that is inaccessible to the earth elements by its nature; and I do not cling to the earth element (with craving (taṇhā), conceit (māna) and wrong view (diṭṭhi)). I do not cling to it, as something in which atta, etc., lie, or something from which atta, etc., emerge, I do not cling to it as I, mine, or my atta. Baka Brahma, as I know (Nibbāna that is unknown to you), you are not equal to me intellectually. How can I be inferior to you? In fact, I am superior to you intellectually.

Baka Brahmā, with extraordinary intellect, I know the water element, ... the fire element, ... the wind element, ... the sentient beings, ... the Devas .... Māra, ... Brahmās, ... Ābhassara Brahmās .... Subhakiṇhā Brahmās, ... Vehapphala Brahmās, ... Abhibhu Brahmas .... with extraordinary intellect I know all (individuality pertaining to the [ 334 ] three planes of existence (tebhūmaka) that is by nature anicca, dukkha, and anatta. I know Nibbāna, that is inaccessible to all individuality by all its nature and I do not cling to all individuality with craving, conceit and wrong view I do not 'cling to it, as something in which atta, etc., lie or, as something from which atta etc., emerge. I do not cling to all (individuality pertaining to the three planes of existences) as I, mine, or my atta. Baka Brahmā, as I know Nibbāna that is unknown to you, you are not equal to me intellectually. How can I be inferior to you? In fact, I am superior to you intellectually."

(Then Baka Brahmā, wishing to charge the Buddha with falsehood, said:)

"Venerable Sir, if what is inaccessible to all by all its nature, your claim that you know what is inaccessible would come to nothing. Do not let it come to nothing. Your statement would become empty. Do not let it become empty.

(Herein some clarification will be made so that the virtuous readers of the Chronicle may not be confused.

(The English word 'all' and the Pāḷi 'sabba' are of the same meaning. The word 'sabba' or 'all' is used in the sense ofall mundane things' ('all that is of individuality', sakkāya The complete terminology is 'sakkaya sabba' or 'all individuality'. It is this sakkāya-sabba, 'all individuality', that is referred to in the Ādittapariyāya Sutta where 'Sabbaṃ bhikkhave ādittaṃ' occurs."

(The Pāḷi sentence means 'All things, monks, are burnt by fire such as rāga, etc., It cannot be said that supramudane things are burnt by fire, for unwholesome things such as rāga, dosa, moha, etc., are absolutely incapable of taking the supramundane things as their target. They are capable of doing so only in the case of mundane things, individuality (sakkaya) or or the factors of clinging to existence (upādānakkhandhā). Hence the burning of mundane things by the fire of raga, etc., Therefore what is supramundane is to be excluded from 'sabbaṃ', 'all', whereas what is mundane is to be included therein. 'Therefore [ 335 ] by the word 'sabba' of the Āditta-pariyāya Sutta is meant 'sakkāya sabba' or 'all individuality'.

(With reference to the term 'Sabbāññuta-ñāṇa' or 'All embracing Knowledge' (or Omniscience), its component 'sabba' means all both mundane and supramundane, for the Buddha knows the whole range of things mundane as well as supramundane. Therefore the word 'sabba' of Sabbaññutañāṇa means sabba-sabba, 'all this all that'.

(By this much the virtuous readers of this Chronicle might have understood that in the field of Dhamma literature the use of the sabba. 'all' is of two kinds: (1) the use of it in the sense of sakkāya-sabba, 'all individuality, or 'all mundane things', and (2) the use of it in the sense of sabba-sabba, 'all this and all that' with mundane or supramundane designations'. Let us examine now the use of sabba by the Buddha and Baka Brahmā.

(When the Buddha asserted that he was intellectually superior to Baka Brahmā, he presented 13 points as follows:

(1) I know the earth element (and you know it too), I know Nibbāna which is inaccessible to the earth element (but you do not). (2) I know the water element (and you know it too), I know Nibbāna which is inaccessible to the water element (but you do not); (In this way the Buddha went on with regard to) (3) the fire element; (4) the wind element; (5) the sentient beings; (6) Devas; (7) Māra; (8) Brahmās; (9) Ābhassara Brahmās; (10) Subhakiṇha Brahmās; (11) Vehapphala Brahmās; (12) Abhibhū Brahmās (Assaññasatta Brahmās); (13) I know all (sakkāya-sabba) (and you know it too); I know Nibbāna which is inaccessible to all (but you do not).

[ 336 ] (With regard to the first 12 points Baka saw no reason to blame the Buddha. As regards the last point, however, he saw something to accuse the Buddha of.

When the Buddha said, "I know all (sakkāya sabba) and I know Nibbāna which is inaccessible to all (sakkāya sabba), he said so as a puzzle. What he meant to say by this was, "Baka Brahma, I know all (sakkāya=mundane things) by my extraordinary intellect that they are by nature anicca, dukkha and anatta. Having known this, I also know Nibbāna by my extraordinary Vipassanā Insight, which cannot be attained by all (Sakkāya=mundane things). (In that speech the statement reading "I know all by all their nature" means "I know by Vipassana Insight all individuality pertaining to the three planes of existence, and five aggregates of mundane things in their nature of anicca, dukkha and anatta. "Here the Buddha said" (I know) all by all their nature" with reference to sakkāya-sabba. "(I know Nibbāna) which is inaccessible to all by all nature" means "I know Nibbāna with the Path Knowledge, realizing that it is inaccessible to all individuality and the five aggregates of mundane things in their nature of being conditioned (saṅkhata). (Such conditioned material things as the earth element, the wind element, etc., have the nature of hardness, cohesiveness, etc., which are also conditioned, such conditioned mental things as contact, sensation, etc., have the nature of the tangibility, feeling, etc., which are also conditioned-all these conditioned things are absent in Nibbāna which is unconditioned. Only the nature of Santi or Peace as opposed to conditioned things is present in unconditioned Nibbāna. This was in view when it was said that Nibbāna which is inaccessible to the earth element. Nibbāna which is inaccessible to the water element, ... Nibbāna which is inaccessible to all individuality.")

[ 337 ] By this much, virtuous readers of the Chronicle must have understood that what the Buddha meant was as follows:

"I know thoroughly all sakkāya or the five aggregates of mundane things (and you know them too). I also know Nibbāna which cannot be reached by all individuality (but you do not), and that the word 'all' in that speech implies the five aggregates of mundane things and that Nibbāna is something which cannot be attained by all.

But as a fault-finding ideologue Baka Brahmā took but wrongly that by all"" was meant sabba-sabba, 'each and every thing mundane or supramundane and designated, '(for he was totally ignorant of the fact that here sakkāya-sabba was referred to in the Buddha's speech). This led him to his criticism of the Buddha:"

Venerable Sir, if the Dhamma is inaccessible to all other thing by all nature, your saying that you know that is inaccessible would come to nothing. Do not let it come to nothing. Your statement would become empty. Do not let it become empty.

The gist of Baka Brahmā's criticism was as follows:

(1) In your speech, Venerable Sir, you claim your knowledge of all, and

(2) your knowledge of the Dhamma that is inaccessible to all.

(1) The word "all" of the first statement covers all things. So there can be nothing which is inaccessible to all things. And yet the Buddha insists on his knowledge of what is mentioned in the [ 338 ] second statement. His insistance therefore will be reduced to nonsense like 'the flower of the sky', 'the horn of a rabbit', 'the hair of a turtle', and the blood of a crab.'

(2) If what is inaccessible is semantic ally exclusive of the word "all" of the first statement, his assertion there cannot be true, for the things known to him are not complete. It will be a lie then.

In this way did Baka Brahmā want to accuse the Buddha of false speech: (In short, the Buddha spoke of sakkāya-sabba, all that is mundane. Baka Brahmā mistook it for sabba-sabba, all that is either mundane or supramundane. Hence his accusation against the Buddha was unjust.)

Being a supreme ideologue, a hundred times, a thousand times, nay, a hundred thousand times greater than Baka Brahmā, the Buddha would still proclaim his knowledge of all and of Nibbāna that is inaccessible to all for the Brahmā to listen to, and in order to refute the Brahmā's charge of falsehood, he went on to say thus:

Baka Brahmā, there is Nibbāna Dhamma which is particularly higher than all conditioned things, which is to be known through the Path-knowledge, Fruition-knowledge, reflective knowledge which is invisible to the naked eye or which has no resemblance that can be shown as its representative, which is completely devoid of arising-and-passing nature, which is brighter than all other dhammas or which never knows darkness but ever remains brilliant (By these words the Buddha boldly affirmed the real existence of Nibbāna that is beyond all individuality on the three planes of existence.).

That Nibbāna Dhamma (1) cannot be reached by [ 339 ] the earth element through the nature of earth; (2) cannot be reached by the water element through the nature of earth; (3) ... by the fire element .... (4) ... by the wind element ...; (5) ... by the sentient beings through their nature; (6)... by Devas ...; (7) ... by Māra ...; (8)... by Brahmās ...;(9)... by Ābhassara Brahmās, (10) by Subhakiṇha Brahmās; (11) ... by Vehapphala Brahmās; (12) cannot be reached by Abhibhu Brahmās through their nature; cannot be reached by all (sakkāya dhamma) through the nature of them all (sakkāya). (By these words the Buddha made clear that he spoke of all", too).

In this way there is the aggregate of all sakkāya-dhammas of the three planes of existence which is within the range of knowledge that belongs to persons like you. By that aggregate of sakkāya-dhammas of the three planes of existence through the nature of them all, Nibbāna Dhamma (with the aforesaid four attributes) cannot be reached.

Thus the Buddha firmly asserted his doctrine. "

Miracle contest between the Buddha and Baka Brahmā.

Every aspect of his belief in the eternity of the Brahmā world together with the body having been criticized and repudiated by the Baka Brahma was at a lost for words. In order to cover his defeat, he gave up arguing for his belief and decided to show his superiority by performing miracles. So he said:

Venerable Sir, if that is the case, I will now vanish in your presense. I am going to perform the sort of miracle so that I become invisible to you) You just watch me."

The Buddha said:

[ 340 ] "Baka Brahmā, (you are not able to do so). If you indeed have such a power, then vanish now before me."

Brahmās have two kinds of body: natural body and artificial or created body. The natural body which originates at the time of birth is so subtle thai it cannot be seen by other Brahmās. So to make it visible, they take the form of created gross body.

Therefore when Baka Brahmā received the consent, he bent his mind on changing his created gross body into the natural, subtle body. The Buddha knew his intention and resolved that his body should remain unchanged in its gross form. So Baka Brahmā could not change his body into its natural, subtle form and there was no vanishing of his body.

Unable to change his body, the Baka Brahmā again tried to create darkness that might envelope his present body. But by means of his supernormal power, the Buddha dispelled the darkness created by the Brahmā. So Baka was unable to hide himself.

Being unable to hide by changing his body or by creating darkness, Baka Brahmā desperately entered his mansion and hid there. He did under the wish-fulfilling tree. He squatted furtively. Then hosts of Brahmās burst into laughter and jeered, saying "This Baka Brahmā is now hiding in the mansion. Now he is hiding under the wish-fulfilling tree squatting furtively. O Baka Brahmā what a pity that you think you have hidden yourself" Being thus jeered at by other Brahmās, Baka Brahmā wore a displeased face. Hence it is said in brief in the Text.

"Monks, though Baka Brahmā said 'I will hide myself in the presence of the Monk Gotama, I will hide myself in the presence of the Monk Gotama', he was unable to do so.

To the Brahma who was unable to hide himself, the Buddha said:

[ 341 ] Baka Brahmā, if you cannot hide yourself, I will hide myself in your presence now; I am going to perform a miracle so that you cannot see me."""

Then Baka Brahmā replied: to the Buddha:

Venerable Sir, hide yourself in my presence now if you can.

Then the Buddha (1) first entered upon the Fourth Jhāna (Rūpāvacara-kiriya), the foundation of his resolve; (2) then rising from that Jhāna he resolved that the Mahā Brahmā, the assembly of Brahmās and the young attendant Brahmās should only hear his voice but not see his body; (3) then he entered upon the Fourth Jhāna (Rūpāvacarakiriya), the foundation of his Psychic Power; (4) when he rose from that Jhāna, a process of Psychic Powers occurred in his mind; as soon as he felt that mental process but once, the Buddha's body vanished and not a single Brahmā saw him. To make them know that he was still there though he had vanished, the Buddha uttered this verse:

Bhavevāhaṃ bhayaṃ disvā, bhavañ ca bhavesinaṃ
Bhavaṃ nābhivadiṃ kiñci, nandiñ ca na upādiyiṃ.

O Brahmās who have assembled here! Because I have seen clearly with my eye of wisdom the dangers of birth, old age, sickness on the three planes of existence such as kāma, rūpa and arūpa, and the endless arising of beings (like Baka Brahmā), who have gone astray in their search of Nibbāna that is non-existence, I no longer cling to any existence as permanent, constant, eternal, etc., under the power of craving and wrong view. I am entirely free from craving for existence as I have rooted it out and cutting it off four times with the axe-like wisdom of the fourfold Path-Knowledge.

[ 342 ]Attainment of Noble stages by ten thousand Brahmas.

In this verse, by the word 'existence' (bhava) is indicated 'the Truth of suffering', by 'craving for existence' (bhava-taṇhā) is indicated 'the Truth of the cause of suffering'. by 'non-existence' (vibhava) is indicated 'the Truth of the cessation of suffering', by 'I have no craving for existence (nandiñ ca na upādiyiṃ) is indicated 'the Truth of the Path leading to the cessation of suffering.

Thus the Buddha taught the Four Truths in detail to the Brahmās according to their dispositions and led them to Vipassanā Insight and concluded his teaching with the Fruition of Arahantship as its apex. At the end of the Discourse, the Brahmās, reflectively following the discourse were steeped in the essence of Vipassanā Insight at various stages, some attaining Sotapatti-Phala, some Sakadāgāmi-Phala some Anāgāmi-Phala and the rest Arahantship. Then the Brahmās rejoiced, marvelled and extrolled the Buddha. Hence it is said in the Text:

Monks, then the Brahmā, his followers and attendants were filled with great wonder, saying, Friends, wonderful indeed is the great power and the great might of the Monk Gotama!

Never have we seen or heard any Samaṇa or Brāhmaṇa who is so powerful and so mighty as the Monk Gotama, a Sakyan Prince and an ascetic of the Sakyan royal family. Indeed, the Monk Gotama can remove the root of existence (i.e. ignorance and craving) from all beings who take delight in existence, who take pleasure in existence and who arise in existence.

[ 343 ] Molestation by Mara.

Then Māra reflected and came to know in anger thus: "While I am moving about, the Monk Gotama has taught ten thousand Brahmās and set them free from my dominion." So furious was he that he once again possessed a young attendant Brahma.

(Herein how did Māra know that the ten thousand Brahmās had become Ariyas? He knew this by inference (nayaggāha or anumāna). He knew that when the Buddha preached to worthy beings, he pointed out the ills of saṃsāra and the bliss of Nibbāna so that the listening beings would discern Nibbāna; that all his sermons were beneficial and effective like the vajira weapon hurled by Sakka; and that men and Devas who established in his teaching became invisible in saṃsāra.

Having possessed the young Brahmā, Māra spoke to the Buddha disturbing. This is mentioned in the Text in the following manner:

Monks, at that time the wicked Māra possessed a young attendant Brahmā and said to me thus:

Venerable Sir, if you know (the Four Truths) analytically thus, if you know them by your Omniscience, do not convey this doctrine to your disciples. Do not convey them to hermits and wandering ascetics. Do not preach to your disciples. Do not preach to hermits and wandering ascetics Have no greed for your disciples. Have no greed for hermits and wandering ascetics.

Monk, there were Samaṇas and Brāhmaṇas who lived before you and who claimed to be Arahants or who claimed to have destroyed the enemy in the form of moral defilements, or who claimed to be Sammāsambuddhas, those who claimed to know [ 344 ] all the doctrines by themselves. They conveyed their doctrines to their disciples and hermits and wandering ascetics. They preached to their disciples and hermits and wandering ascetics. They had greed for them and on the dissolution of their bodies at death, they landed in the low woeful states (a)

Monk, there were in this world Samaṇas and Brāhmaṇas who lived before you and who claimed to be Arahants or who claimed to have destroyed the enemy in the form of moral defilements, or who claimed to be Sammāsambuddhas, those who claimed to know all the doctrines by themselves. they did not convey their doctrines to their disciples. They did not preach to their disciples and hermits and wandering ascetics. They had no greed for them and on the dissolution on their bodies at death, they landed in the high Brahmā worlds. (b)

Therefore, Monk, I would like to tell you thus: "Venerable Sir, I urge you. Live in comfort, live without any bother. Sir, non-preaching is good. Do not exhort others." I would like to tell you thus.'

"Monks, when Māra the Evil One said thus, I spoke to him as follows:

'Evil Māra, I know you. Do not think that I do not know you. You are Māra. Hey Evil Māra, you have spoken thus not because you desire for welfare but because you desire for my loss. You fear that those who follow my preaching will overcome the three kinds of existence that lie within your domain."

Hey Evil Māra, Sāmaṇas and Brāhmaṇas whom you speak of claimed to be Sammāsambuddhas without actually being

[ 345 ] Samāsambuddhas. But I truly claim to be Sammāsambuddha, who know all the doctrine by myself"

Hey you Evil Māra, whether the Buddha preaches to his disciples or not, he has neither love nor hate; he is endowed with the attributes of Tādi, 'indifference' Why?"

Hey Evil Māra, the Buddha has abandoned the moral intoxicants (āsava) that lead to anxiety, rebirth, anguish and suffering, later on causing rebirth, old age and death. He has cut off their latent (anusaya) roots. He has made them like the uprooted palm-tree. He has made it impossible for them to arise again. (So for the Buddha there is absolutely no revival of those āsavas).

Hey Evil Māra, as a palm tree cut off at its neck, cannot thrive, so the Buddha has abandoned the āsavas that lead to anxiety, rebirth, anguish and suffering, later on causing rebirth, old age, and death. He has rooted them out. He has made them like the uprooted palm-tree. He has made it impossible for them to arise again. So, for the Buddha, there is absolutely no possibility of the resurges of those āsvavas."

Thus the Buddha preached this sermon to silence Māra and impart special knowledge to the Brahma. Hence this sutta is named Brahmanimantika Sutta.

Here ends the taming of Baka Brahmā.

[ 346 ] Cūlasubhaddā and her father-in-law Ugga Story of Cūlasubhaddā.

While the Buddha was residing at Jetavana in the good city of Sāvatthi, he gave a sermon beginning with "Dūresanto pakāsenti" in connection with the merchant Anāthapiṇḍika's daughter Cūlasubhaddā. The details were as follows:

Ugga who was another merchant, a citizen of Ugga City was the childhood friend of the merchant Anāthapiṇḍika. While they were educated by the same teacher, they promised to each other that when they grew up and had children, one who had a daughter should give her in marriage to a son of the other who wanted her to be his daughter-in-law.

The two friends grew up and became great merchants in their respective cities. One day the merchant Ugga came to the house of Anāthapiṇḍika in Sāvatthi with five hundred carts to do business. The merchant Anāthapiṇḍika called his daughter Cūlasubhaddā and assigned a duty to her, saying :"Dear daughter, your (would be) father Ugga the merchant has come. Do all that is necessary for him"

Very well said Cūlasubhaddā and from the day of Ugga's arrival she prepared and cooked the food personally. She put flowers, perfumes and unguents, etc., While the guest was being fed she kept the bath-water ready; and after the merchant had taken his bath, she personally supervised all the needful for him with respect.

Observing her possession of the character of a good housewife, the merchant Ugga was pleased with Cūlasubhaddā. Then one day while conversing cordially with Anāthapiṇḍika, he reminded his friend saying. "Friend, when we were young we have made such and such a pledge to each other, and asked Cūlasubhaddā for his son. But the merchant Ugga was a heretic. So Anāthapiṇḍika did not make any decision (on his own) and reported the matter to the Buddha, who seeing Ugga's former [ 347 ] good deeds that would contribute to his attainment of Sotapatti Magga and Phala, approved. He then discussed with his wife Puññalakkhaṇa Devī and agreed to his friends proposal. He fixed the date and elaborately arranged for the wedding ceremony, and when he sent away Cūlasubhaddā in marriage, he called his daughter and gave ten pieces of advice which were the same as those given to Visākhā by her father Dhanañcaya."

"My dear daughter, a woman who lives in the house of her parents-in-law.

(1) should not take outside the fire that is inside her house, (that is, she should not tell people in other houses about the faults of her parents-in-law and husband);

(2) should not bring into her house the fire from outside (that is, when the neighbours speak ills of her parents-in-law and husband, she should not report it to them.

(3) should give only those who give back, (that is, she should lend only to those who punctually return what they have borrowed from her house);

(4) should not give those who do not give back, (that is, she should not give another loan to those who do not punctually return what they have borrowed from her house);

(5) should give others whether they give her or not, (that is, when poor relatives come to her house, she should give them whether they can afford to give or not);

(6) should sit well, (that is, she should stand up first at the sight of her parents-in-law and husband. It is not proper for her to remain sitting when she should stand up);

(7) should eat well, (that is, she should not eat before her parents-in-law and husband but she should serve them and eat only after making sure everybody has his or her food);

[ 348 ] (8) should sleep well, (that is, she should not sleep in her bed before her parents-in-law and husband do. She should sleep only after doing her duties towards them);

(9) should serve the fire respectfully, (that is, she should regard her parents-in-laws and husband as a great mass of fire or a poisonous serpent naga king and look at them respectfully. She should not look at them disrespectfully by casting a sideglance or frowning upon them);

(10) should worship the Devas in the house, (that is, she should show respect to her parents-in-law and husband, regarding them as the Devas occupying the foremost or most sacred place of the house)

These were the ten pieces of advice which Anāthapiṇḍika gave to his daughter as did the merchant Dhanañcaya to his daughter Visākhā. He also sent eight wise men as guarantors along with his daughter with these instructions:"

Wherever a problem crops up to my daughter Cūlasubhaddā you must solve it lawfully.

The day of her departure saw him giving alms lavishy to the Saṃgha headed by the Buddha. Then he sent his daughter to the merchant Ugga's house with great pomp and ceremony as though he exhibited the magnificent fruition of the good deeds which Cūlasubhaddā had done in her previous lives.

Arriving at Ugga City, she was welcomed by the merchant's family and hosts of the citizens. Like Visākhā she entered the city, standing in her chariot, and making the people much impressed by her glory and splendour. She accepted the presents sent by the citizens and sent in return gifts appropriate to their distinguished status and thus by virtue of her wisdom she endeared herself to the whole city.

[ 349 ] When her heretical father-in-law honoured the naked ascetics (acelakas) on auspicious occasions at his house, he sent for her as he wanted her to come and pay respect to his teachers. But she refused to go to the place where they were being honoured because she was so shy to see the unclothed teachers.

The merchant Ugga sent for her repeatedly but Cūlasubhaddā remained adamant in her refusal. So the merchant became furious and ordered her to be turned out of the house. She refused to take such unreasonable treatment. Instead she called in the eight wise men her guarantors, and stated her case openly. They decided that she had no fault and informed the merchant accordingly.

The merchant told his wife that Cūlasubhaddā did not pay respect to his teachers, saying that they had no sense of shame. The merchant's wife wondered what kind of monks were the teachers of her daughter-in-law whom she extolled so excessively. So she summoned Cūlasubhaddā and asked her:

Kīdisā samaṇā tuyhaṃ
bāḷhaṃ kho ne pasaṃsasi.
Kim sīlā kim samācārā
taṃ me akkhāhi pucchitā.

Our daughter-in-law Subhadda! How are your teachers and monks possessed of noble qualities? Extremely do you praise them. (Those teachers of yours, the Monk Gotama and his disciples), what virtues of distinction do they have? What kind of good conduct do they show? As you are asked, tell me truthfully about that."

Then Cūlasubhaddā, desiring to talk to the wife of the wealthy merchant about the qualities of the Buddha and his disciples, uttered the following verse:

Santindriyā santamānasā
santaṃ tesaṃ gataṃ ṭhitaṃ.
Okkhittacakkhū mitabhānī
[ 350 ] tādisā samaṇā mama. (1)

(Madam, those monks of) mine (comprising the Exalted One and his disciples) in contrast to the fickle and self-indulging behaviour of your teachers, are mentally serene, being free from the heat of all defilements. Therefore their walking with their steps like lotus flowers or their standing with their twin golden feet, is so calm that the faith of the beholders increases. They have their down-cast eyes that never look beyond the length of a yoke. They speak moderately of what is in accord with time and place. My Teacher Exalted One and his disciples possess such impressive attributtes. (1)

Kāyakammaṃ sucī nesaṃ
vācākammaṃ anāvilaṃ
Mano-kammaṃ suvisuddhaṃ
tādisā samaṇā mama. (2)

"(Madam,) all the physical behaviour of my Teacher, the Exalted One and his disciples, is clear of unwholesomeness and pure; their verbal behaviour is serene by nature without the dust and mud of unwholesomeness, all their mental behaviour is free from the stain of evil character. They possess such impressive attributtes. (2)

Vimalā saṅkhamuttābhā
suddhā antarabāhirā.
Puṇṇā, suddhehi dhammehi
tādisā samaṇā mama. (3)

(Madam,) they (my Teacher the Exalted One and his disciples) are free from moral defilements like the conch-shell or a pearl necklace. They are pure both inside and out, having no dust of [ 351 ] fault at all. They are fully endowed with the three kinds of pure training. They possess such impressive attributtes. (3)

Lābhena unnato loko
alābhena ca onato
Labhālabhena ekaṭṭhā
tādisā samaṇā mama, (4)

(Madam,) in the world people become puffed up with pride when they acquire many things owing to their possession of effort now (payoga-sampatti) and their good deeds in the past. They become depressed when they do not acquire anything owing to their lack of effort now and their evil deeds in the past. But my Teacher, the Exalted One and his disciples are not affected by acquisition or non-acquisition of things, but remain calm and tranquil. They posses such impressive attributes. (4)

Yasena unnato loko
ayasena ca onato.
Yasāyasena ekaṭṭhā
tādisā samaṇā mama. (5)

(Madam) in this world people they became puffed up with pride when they become famous and have many followers owing to their possession of effort now and good deeds in the past. They become depressed when they cease to become famous and have many followers owing to their lack of effort now and their evil deeds in the past. But my Teacher the Exalted One and his disciple-monks are not affected by having fame or having no fame and by having only a few followers, but remain calm and tranquil. They possess such impressive attributes.(5)

Pasaṃsāy unnato loko
nindāyā'pi ca onato.
[ 352 ] Samā nindāpasaṃsāsu
tādisā samaṇā mama. (6)

(Madam,) in this world people become puffed up with pride when they are praised owing to their effort now and good deeds in the past. They are depressed when they are dispraised owing to their lack of effort now and their evil deeds in the past. But my Teacher the Exalted One and their disciple-monks are not affected by praise or by dispraise, but remain calm and tranquil. They possess such impressive attributes. (6)

Sukhena unnato loko
dukkhenā'pi ca onato.
Akampā sukhadukkhesu
tādisā samaṇā mama. (7)

(Madam,) in this world people become puffed up with pride when they are affluent owing to their effort now and good deeds in the past. They become depressed when they are poor owing to their lack of effort now and their evil deeds in the past. But my Teacher the Exalted One and his disciple-monks are not affected by affluence of blame, but remain calm and tranquil. They possess such impressive attributes. (7)

Thus Cūlasubhaddā, the wise daughter-in-law, pleased the wife of the merchant, her mother-in-law, by extolling the Exalted One and his disciples. The merchant's wife asked her whether she would be able to show them her teacher, the Exalted One and his disciples and Culasubhadda said she could do so; then her mother-in-law told her to make an arrangement so that they could see her teacher and all.

Having promised thus, Cūlasubhaddā prepared great offering for the Buddha and the Saṃgha on the top of the mansion and facing towards the Jetavana monastery, she paid respect to the [ 353 ] Buddha and contemplated his attributes. Then honouring the Buddha with sweet smelling flowers, and perfumes, she resolved thus:

Glorious Buddha, I invite the Saṃgha headed by the Exalted One to my good deeds at my house. May the Exalted One, the Teacher of men and Devas, know my invitation quite well through these jasmine flowers which I am now sending."""

After extending her invitation she threw up eight handfuls of jasmine flowers into the air. Like small butterflies the flowers travelled by air and became a flower-canopy above the Buddha while he was preaching amidst four classes of people in the Jetavana monastery

At that moment the merchant Anāthapiṇḍika who had heard the Dhamma invited the Buddha to his house the next day to his good deeds. The Buddha replied that he had already accepted the invitation to the meal offering by another donor. The merchant said: "there is no one who has come and invited the Exalted Buddha before me. Whose meal-offering have you accepted?" The Buddha replied that he had been already invited by Cū Culasubhaddā asubhaddā. The merchant said: "But, Glorious Buddha, is not my daughter Culasubhaddā living in Ugga which is one hundred and twenty yojanās away from this city of Sāvatthi?"

The Buddha replied: "You are right, merchant but good people can manifest as if they were standing before me even though they may be living in a place that is many yojanās away"

[ 354 ] Then the Buddha uttered the following verse:

Dūre santo pakāsenti
himavaṇto' va pabbato.
Asantettha na dissanti
rattiṃ khittā yathā sarā.

Merchant Anāthapiṇḍika, donor of Jetavana! Though people, pure at heart and doers of good deeds, may stay many yojanās away, they manifest themselves to my knowledge as does the Himavanta forest. Though foolish monks and lay men, exist near me, they never manifest themselves in the neighbourhood of my vision like the arrows shot in the darkness of four characteristics, namely, midnight, moonless, in the heart of the forest and under all cloudy sky.

At the end of the discourse many people attained the Fruition of Sotapatti.

The Buddha's journey to Ugga.

Knowing that the Buddha had accepted Cūlasubhaddā's invitation Sakka told Visukamma Deva to create five hundred turreted flying vehicles in which the Buddha and his monks were to be taken to Ugga for the morrow next day. The next day Visukamma stood at the gate of the Jetavana monastery after creating five hundred flying vehicles.

The Buddha took the the batch of the five hundred choice Arahants as his entourage, and they, one seated in each vehicle, travelled by air to Ugga City.

Looking looking forward with his followers to the Buddha arival as instructed by his wise daughter-in-law Cūlasubhaddā, the merchant Ugga saw the Buddha coming with great glory. Overwhelmed by devotion, he welcomed and honoured the Buddha with flowers, sents, [ 355 ] etc., After performing alms-giving, he invited the Buddha now and then and repeated his great offering for seven days.

The liberation of mechant Ugga and 84000 beings.

The Buddha preached the Dhamma that suited the merchant Ugga. As a result the merchant and his wife together with eighty-four thousand beings realized the Four Truths and became liberated.

In order to show his grace to Cūlasubhaddā, the Buddha told Anuruddha Thera to stay behind in Ugga and returned to Sāvatthi. From that day onwards the city of Ugga became a great centre of the faith and a city devoted to the Triple Gem. (Pakiṇṇaka Vagga, Dhammapada Commentary, Vol. II.)

The Buddha's preaching to a Brahmin of wrong views.
Story of a certain Brahmin.

Once while residing at Jetavana in Sāvatthi, the Buddha preached a sermon beginning with 'Taṇhāya jāyatī soko', etc., in connection with a certain Brahmin. The story in detail is as follows:

One day a Brahmin a citizen of Sāvatthi who held wrong views was clearing a farm land near the river Aciravati. The Buddha came to know that he had performed in the past an act that would contribute to his attainment of the Path and Fruition. The Brahmin saw the Buddha but as he was of wrong views he did not show his respect to the Buddha, not even talked to him but kept silent. The Buddha himself first addressed the Brahmin, saying. "O Brahmin what are you doing?" The Brahmin replied: "O Gotama, I am clearing the farmland." With only a few such words on the first day, the Buddha went away.

[ 356 ] The next day, too, the Buddha went to the Brahmin and asked him what he was doing. The Brahmin replied that he was ploughing the field. After hearing this reply the Buddha went away.

Again, the next day and the following days the Buddha asked the Brahmin what he was doing, and the Brahmin replied that he was sowing seeds, planting seedlings, weeding or looking after the field. The Buddha heard the Brahmin's answers which were appropriate to his work and went away,

In this way, owing to the frequency of the Buddha's visit, the Brahmin began to like and adore the Buddha. Wanting to make the Buddha his friend he said: "O Gotama, you have been visiting me since the day I cleared my farmland. If the farm yields good and abundant crops. I will share them with you, I will not consume them without giving you. From today you have become my friend."

Then one day the crop on the Brahmin's field became ripe and mature. The Brahmin decided to have them reaped the next day. But while he was making preparations for the harvesting, rain fell heavily at night and swept away all the crops. So the whole farmland was stark barren like a field with all its crops removed.

Since the very day of his first visit the Buddha had foreseen that the crops would come to nothing. But if he started visiting the Brahmin only after the destruction of the crops his sermon would fall on deaf ears. He had therefore been visiting the Brahmin from the day when the latter cleared the field, In this way the Buddha hoped to gain the Brahmin's confidence and intimacy that would make him receptive to the sermon to be given on the day when the crops were ruined.

The Brahmin went early to see his field and seeing his farmland stark empty, he was overwhelmed with grief.

[ 357 ] "The monk Gotama has been visiting me since I cleared my field. I have told him that I will give him a share of the crops after harvesting, that I will not cousume them all by myself without giving him and that he has become my friend. Now my desire will remain unfulfilled."

So thinking, he returned home, ate nothing and lay down on his bed.

Then the Buddha went to the Brahmin's house. When the Brahmin heard of the Buddha's coming, he told the people in his house to bring his Friend inside and to give him a seat. They did according to his instructions. The Buddha sat down and asked where the Brahmin was. They answered that he was lying on his bed in the room. Thereupon he told them to bring the Brahmin. The Brahmin came and sat at a suitable place. Then he asked the Brahmin what was wrong with him.

The Brahmin said: "O Gotama! you have been visiting me ever since I cleared my farmland, I have promised to share the crops with you when they come out well. But now my desire cannot be fulfilled and I am overwhelmed with anguish. I did not want even to eat my meal."

Then the Exalted One asked: "O Brahmin! Do you know why there arises grief in you?" The Brahmin said: "I do not know, Gotama. But do you know?" The Exalted One replied: "Yes, I do, Brahmin. Grief and fear arises from craving." Then the Lord preached the following verse.

Taṇhāya jāyatī soko
taṇhāya jāyatī bhayaṃ.
Taṇhāya vippamuttassa
natthi soko kuto bhayaṃ.

O Brahmin, grief arises from craving. From craving arises fear. There is not the least grief in a person who has become free [ 358 ] from craving through Arahantship. How can fear arise in him since he has repudiated it at the moment of attaining the Anāgāmi Magga?"

At the end of the sermon the Brahmin attained the Fruition of Sotāpatti Magga (Dhammapada Commentary).

Story of Candābha Thera.

While dwelling at Jetavana in Sāvatthi City the Buddha preached the verse beginning with 'Candaṃva vimalaṃ suddhaṃ' etc., in connection with Candābha. The story in detail is:

Former good deeds of Candābha.

Long ago a trader in Vārānasī planned to go to a border country to collect fragrant sandalwood. So he took a lot of garments and ornaments to the border country. There he camped near the gate of a village and asked the cow-herds in the wood: "Boys, is there somebody who works at the foot of the hill?" The cow-herds said: "Yes." He asked again: "What is his name?" When they answered the man's name, he also asked the names of the man's wife and children. When they replied what their names were, he asked further the locality of man's home. The cow-herds gave their answers with honesty.

Acting on the information given by the cow-herds, the trader went in a small cart to the house of the worker. He stepped down, went into the house and called the housewife by her name. Thinking that the visitor was one of their relatives, the woman quickly came out and gave him a seat. The trader sat down, and mentioning the name of her husband he, asked, Where is my friend?" She replied. "Sir, your friend has gone to the forest." Then he asked her about the children, mentioning their names and referring to them as "son" and "daughter" Then he gave her garments and ornaments as presents for her husband [ 359 ] and children. The housewife served the trader with very good food hospitably. When her husband returned from the forest she told him about the guest, how he had inquired about their children by name and how he had given her presents for the whole family. The worker became intimate with the trader and dutifully did all that was necessary for the guest.

In the evening.

Then in the evening the trader sat on the bed and asked the forest worker: "What objects do you find abundantly at the foot of the hill while you are wandering there." The forester said "I do not find anything extraordinary other than the trees with red branches that are plentiful." The trader asked him whether he found such trees abundantly and the forester assured him that the trees abounded. "In that case, please show me those trees." Then led by the forester, the trader went into the forest, cut down the red sandalwood trees and came back with five hundred cart-loads of sandalwood. He gave the forester his address in Vārāṇasī and said: "I would like you to come to my place. You are always welcome. When you come, I want you to bring only those trees. I want no present other than the trees with red branches." After speaking warmly out of friendship, the trader returned to Vārāṇasī.

In accordance with the trader's instruction the forest worker brought only red sandalwood whenever he went to see the trader. The trader was grateful for his kindness and gave much gold and silver.

The relic pagoda honoured with sandalwood.

On another occasion after the Parinibbāna (passing away) of the Buddha Kassapa and the construction of a great relic pagoda, the [ 360 ] forester came to his friend, the Vārāṇasī trader, with a lot of sandalwood. The trader had the sandalwood pounded, filled the bowl with it and said to his friend: "Come, friend, let us go to the great pagoda before the meal is ready. We will honour the pagoda and come back." So saying he took his friend to the pagoda and honoured it with an offering of sandalwood powder. His friend, the forest worker, too, honoured the pagoda by making the shape of a moon with red sandalwood powder on the bell shape part of the shrine.

(This forest worker was the future Thera Candābha. This above act of honouring was his only good deed in the past that contributed to his attainment of the Path and Fruition.)

Brahmin Candābha.

On his death the forest worker was reborn in the Deva world and after passing his time during the whole interval between the two Buddhas, he was reborn in an affluent Brahmin family in Rājagaha in the time of Gotama Buddha. From the navel of the young Brahmin there came out white, brilliant light like that of the full moon. So his parents and relatives names him Candābha master moon light.

(This emission of the whole bright light like the full-moon was the result of his honour done to Kassapa Buddha pagoda with a moonshape made of sandalwood powder.)

The Brahmins decided to take the child round and make money by deceiving the people. They made the child sit in a vehicle and wandered about the whole Jambudipa, boasting that those who stroked the youth's body with their hands would acquire much wealth. Only those who could pay one hundred or one thousand coins were allowed to stroke the child.

[ 361 ] In the course or their wanderings the Brahmins came to Sāvatthi and took up their lodgings in a place between the city and the Jetavana monastery. In the morning five crores of noble, virtuous men gave alms and in the afternoon they went to Jetavana with scents, flowers, robes, medicines, etc., to hear the Dhamma.

Seeing these people, the Brahmins asked them where they were off to we are going to hear the Exalted One's sermon" answered the noble, virtuous men. Then the Brahmin said: "Come friend, what's the use of going to that Exalted One. There is no power like that of our Brahmin Candabha. Certainly, those who stroke his body have such and such benefits. Come and see Candābha."

Candābha taken to the monastery.

The good people said "What kind of power does the Brahmin Candābha possess? Our teacher the Exalted One is the most powerful being in the world." Being unable to give a final decision on the issue by themselves, they at last agreed to go to the monastery and see the powers of the Exalted One and of the Brahmin. So they went to the monastery taking the Brahmin Candābha.

Ordination of Candābha.

As soon as the Brahmin came near him the Buddha, resolved to make moonlight from the brahmin's navel disappear. The Brahmin became something like a small crow in a basket of charcoal. The Brahmin was taken away from the Buddha and the light from his navel reappeared when he was taken back to the Buddha, the light vanished as before. This occurred thrice and Candābha wondered whether the Buddha [ 362 ] knew any mantra (spell) that could dispel the light and he asked the Buddha accordingly.

The Buddha said: "Yes, I know it". The Brahmin requested "In that case Please teach me the mantra." The Buddha replied that he could not teach it to any one who was not a monk. Then the Brahmin told his companions. I will become the greatest man in the whole Jambudipa after learning this mantra. You wait for me in your lodgings in this city. I will learn the mantra within two or three days after ordination "Having thus cheered up this friends he went back to the Buddha asked for ordination and become a monk

Candābha's attainment of Arahantship.

Then the Buddha taught Candābha Thera contemplation of the thirtytwo parts of the body. (Dvattimsakara kammatthana) The Thera asked the Buddha what kesa (head-hair), Loma (body-hair) etc., meant. The Buddha said "That contemplation is preliminary (pari-kamma) to learning the mantra you should recite it.

The other Brahmin's came occasionally and asked him if he had learnt the mantra. The Thera answered that he had not that he was still reciting the preliminary. In this way through the contemplation of the thirty-two parts of the body. Thera Candābha developed concentration, then practised insight-meditation (Vipassanā) and within two or three days he attained Arahantship. When the Brahmins came and inquired him, he told them clearly and decisively, "Go away! It is now not possible for me to return to worldly life"

On hearing his words, other monks reported to the Buddha. Glorious Buddha! This Candābha Thera has falsely claimed to be an Arahantship" The Buddha said: "Monks! Now my son the monk Candābha is an Arahant with all his (āsavas) exinct. He speaks only the truth." Then the Buddha uttered the following verse:"

[ 363 ] Candaṃ va vimalaṃ suddham; vippassannam anāvilam
Nandībhava-parrikkhīṇaṃ, tam ahaṃ brūmi Brāhmaṇaṃ.

Monks! The Arahant is free from the impurity of five kinds of sensual pleasure; pure, spotless and clear like flying mansion of the moon, free from all defilements and craving for the three kinds of existence. Such an Arahant I call a true Brāhmana as he really and naturally is.

At the end of the Discourse many people attained the Fruition of Sotāpatti etc., (Brāhmaṇa Dhammapada Commentary.) "

Māra's temptation of the Buddha Story of Māra.

The Buddha preached the sermon beginning with Atthamhi jātamhi sukhāsahāyā"" in connection with Māra who came to tempt to be a king. The detail account is as follows:"

Once the Buddha was dwelling in a small forest hermitage on the slopes of the Himalayas in Kosala country. At that time the kings still enforced their rule by oppressing the people. The Buddha saw the people in the countries of tyrants being ill-treated through various kinds of unlawful taxation and punishment. Being moved with pity, the Buddha wondered whether it was possible for one to be a good ruler without killing by oneself or through another person, without bringing about damage or loss of men's property by oneself or through another person, and without making men grieve by oneself or through another person.

Māra knew that was passing through the Buddha's mind and he thought: "Now the monk Gotama is considering the possibility of being a ruler. Perhaps now he wants to be a king. Kinsship is a cause of negligence. If the monk Gotama becomes a king, I will have the opportunity to molest him. I will now go and make the monk Gotama [ 364 ] try for kingship. So thinking, he approached the Exalted One and said: Glorious Buddha. Let the Glorious One be a king!. Let the Exalted One who utters good words become a righteous king who does not kill by himself or through another person to kill, who does not bring about damage or loss of men's property by himself or through another person and who does not make men grieve by himself or through another person."

Thus Māra lured the Buddha. The Exalted One said: "Hey you Evil Māra! What do you see in me that makes you tell me like this?" Māra replied: "Glorious Buddha you have thoroughly and effectively developed the four foundations of supernormal power. If your mind is inclined to turn the great Himalayas into gold, it will certainly become solid gold. If you act lawfully as a king, I will support you in all matters that require gold or silver."

Then the Exalted One uttered the following verse:

Pabbatassa suvaṇṇassa
jātarūpassa kevalo.
Dvittāva nālam ekassa
iti vidvā samaṃ care.

There may be a big mountain that is made up of pure gold unmixed with copper, iron, lead, or other minerals. Let alone such a mountain of gold. Even a gold mountain that is twice as high as the Himalayas cannot satisfy the craving of a person. The wise man who understands this nature of craving should steadfastly and diligently practise the ten good Dhamma in thought, speech and deed."

Yo dukkham adakkhi yato nidānaṃ
kāmesu so jantu kathaṃ nameyya.
upadhiṃ viditvā saṅgoti loke
tass'eva jantu vinayāya sikkhe.

[ 365 ] If a man knows clearly that all kinds of suffering have their source in the five kinds of sensual objects, why should he be inclined to see anything good in them? In this world a man (being) who clearly sees sensuality as a substratum (upadhi) of existence that is bound up with greed hatred ignorance, conceit and false beliefs should devote himself to threefold training (in morality concentration and wisdom) in order to overcome sensual desire."

After startling Māra with these verses, the Buddha said: "Hey You, Evil Māra, your teaching is one thing while my teaching is another (you teach to strive to occupy sense objects and sense pleasures while I stress the need for eradicating them.) Certainly, by no means is it possible to enter into a doctrinal discussion with you. I teach as follows." Then the Buddha preached the following verses.

Atthamhi jātamhi sukhā sahāyā
tutthi sukhā yā itarītrena,
Puñña sukhaṃ jīvitasaṅkhayamhi
sabbassa dukkhassa sukhaṃ pahānaṃ.

(In this world) when there is any kind of understanding, friends are a source of happiness (a) contentment with whatever is available is the source of happiness (b) when one is dying, the good deeds are a source of happiness. Arahantship which means the total abandonment of the whole round of suffering inherent in the life-cycle is the source of happiness (Here the cause of happiness is described as happiness in phalupaca method. The same may be said of the following verses. This verse mentions four causes of happiness.) (1)

Sukhā matteyyatā loke
atho pettayyatā sukhā.
Sukhā samaññatā loke
atho Brahmaññata sukhā. (2)

[ 366 ] In this world supporting of one's mother is the source of happiness (a). So is supporting one's father. Giving alms respectively to hermits monks and wandering ascetics is also a source of happiness. Moreover, giving gladly and respectively to the Buddhas, Paccekabuddha and Ariya disciples is a source of happiness (This verse also shows four sources of happiness) (2)

Sukhaṃ yāva jarā sīlaṃ
sukhaṃ saddhā paṭiṭhitā.
Sukho paññāya paṭilābho
pāpānaṃ akaraṇaṃ sukhaṃ. (3).

The good moral life involving the observance of five, eight or ten precepts is good and productive of happiness until old age when one's hair turn grey, teeth fall off and the skin become wrinkled. (3)

(Ruby earring, red garments etc., are congenial to people only at a certain age. Young people's garments are not congenial to adults and vice versa. An adult wearing the garment of a young man or vice verse will cause critism and gives one the impression of being crazy. But morality comprising the observance of five, or ten precepts is congenial to young or old, people alike in the three phases of life. A morally good person earns the approbation of other people that is pleasant and delightful to him.

Unwaveringly established faith, mundane and supramundane, is a source of happiness. So is the ability to acquire mundane and supramundane wisdom by diligence. Complete abstinence from doing evil deeds is another source of happiness. This verse also show another set by the four sources of happiness.)

[ 367 ] At the end of the discourse millions of Devas realized the four Truths and became liberated. (Commentary of Dhammapada)

Story of Pokkharasāti Brahmin.

(From Ambaṭṭha Sutta, Dīgha Nikāya, Vol II)

(For the full story of the Brahmin Pokkharasati the reader is refered to the Silakhandha Vagga of the Dīgha Nikāya. It is condensed here as much as possible.)

One day at dawn the Buddha surveyed the world of living beings an there appeared the Brahmin Pokkharasāti within the range of his Omniscience. After further reflection the Buddha saw the former good deeds of the Brahmin that would contribute to his attainment of the Sotāpatti Magga. The Buddha also foresaw, that.

"When I go to Icchanangala region, the Brahmin teacher Pokkharasāti will send his the young Brahmin Ambaṭṭha to inquire about my major and minor marks. Ambaṭṭha will hold a debate with me, uttering all kinds foolish words. I must admonish him and dispel the poison of his pride. He will report the matter to his teacher. When his teacher hears his word, he will come to me and examine my marks I will then teach the Brahmin Pokkharasāti, who will attain the Fruition of Sotāpatti at the end of my teaching.

With his fore-knowledge, the Buddha journeyed to Kosala Kingdom of with five hundred monks and on arriving at Icchanangala Brahmin village in Kosala, the Buddha dwelt in a nearby huge grove at Icchānaṃgala.

[ 368 ] At that time as city administrator appointed by King Pasenadī Kosala, the Brahmin Pokkharasāti administered the populous city of Ukkattha that abounded in grass, firewood, water, rice and paddy.

(When the city was about to be founded its site was marked under the light of torches and firebrands, hence the name of the city: Ukkaṭṭha.)

(About the Brahmin Pokkarasāti: In the time of Kassapa Buddha he was a Brahmin well-versed in the three Vedas. After giving alms and hearing the Dhamma, he was reborn in the Deva world.

(When he fell from the Deva world and landed in the human abode he was to be born from the moisture in a Paduma lotus in a big lake near the Himavanta. A hermit having built a hemitage near the lake was living there. While standing near the lake he saw the big lotus bud and thought to himself: This big lotus bud is extraordinarily bigger than others. When it blossoms I will take it."""

(The bud did not blossom even after a week the hermit became impatient and stepping into the lake, he plucked the bud. As soon as it was broken from the stalk the bud opened. Then to his surprise the hermit found in the flower a baby boy, silvery white and covered with the pollen all over his body like a silver statue with gold dust scattered over.

(The hermit thought: "This child will become a great man. I will start raising him from now." He took the child to the hermitage, raised him and began to teach him the three Vedas when he was seven years old. The boy became a very famous Brahmin teacher who was an authority the three Vedas. Later on the Brahmin teacher demonstrated his knowledge to King [ 369 ] Kosala. As the king having · high opinion of his knowledge, offered him the post of administrator of Okkattha City. He was known as Pokkharasāti because he was conceived in the lotusflower.

(The Brahmin's body had the colour of white lotus flower and was splendid like a silver post set up at the gate of a celestial city. His head had the dark blue colour of sapphire. His beard appeared like a dark line drawn on the surface of the moon. The eyes were like a blue lotus flower and the nose was quite clean and round like a silver tube. His palms, soles and lips seemed well tainted with lacquer. The Brahmin's body was very beautiful. He was fit to be made a king in a place where there was no ruler. Such was the splendour of the Brahmin. Because of his resemblance to a white lotus, he was called Pokkharasāti. (From the Commentary.)

Like the Brahmin Verañjā mentioned earlier, the Pakkharasāti heard the news about the attitudes of the Buddha. He has a residential pupil called Ambaṭṭha, a young Brahmin who was also well-versed in the three Vedas and various other sacred books worthy of Brahmin. teacher himself held him in high esteem and ranked him as his peer.

Pokkharasati told his pupil Ambaṭṭha about the reported virtues of the Buddha and said: "Dear son Ambaṭṭha, go to the Monk Gotama and enquired whether the report spreads, as it truly should or not, whether he is true to his fame or not. The thirty-two marks of a great man are explicitly mentioned in our Vedas. For a great man who possesses these marks, there are only two possibilities: if he leads a worldly life he will become a Universal Monarch, the ruler of the four continents; or if he leads an ascetic life, he will become a Buddha. My dear son Ambaṭṭha, I have taught you the Vedas and you have learnt them from me.

[ 370 ] (As an intelligent Brahmin, Pokkharasāti thought: "In this world there are many people like Purāṇa Kassapa and others who go about claiming to be Buddhas so it is not advisable for me to associate with a teacher merely from heresay. Certainly, it is hard to dissociate oneself from some person if one has become associated with them. Besides, such an attempt may be harmful to one's welfare so it is good to send my disciple and find out whether the Monk Gotama is a Buddha before I myself go and see him" So Pokkharasāti sent his disciple Ambaṭṭha.)

Then having risen and paid respect to his teacher Ambaṭṭha said, "Very well, Master," and went to Icchanangala grove with many other young men in his teacher's chariot that was drawn by a mule. He went as far as the chariot could travel in the grove, then got off the chariot near the gate and entered the monastery on foot. (It was then noon.)

At that time several monk who engaged in meditation were walking to and fro on the ground in the open air. Ambaṭṭha went to the monks and said: "Friends where is the Monk Gotama now? We have come to this place to see the Monk Gotama."

Then the Monk thought to themselves.

This youth Ambaṭṭha is of a well known family. He is also a pupil of the famous Pokkharasāti. For the Exalted One, it should not be burdensome to converse with such a son of a good family. So they said to Ambaṭṭha:

Approach quietly that lodging with the doors closed. Enter the frontage slowly and after humming, knock at the door. The Exalted One will open the door for you."

[ 371 ] Then Ambaṭṭha went and knocked at the door as instructed by the monks. The Buddha opened the door. Ambaṭṭha entered the building followed by the other young men. They exchanged pleasant words with the Buddha and sat at suitable places.

(Note: The Buddha did not get up and open the door by himself. In fact he stretched his hand, resolving that the door should be opened. Then the door opened automatically as if it were saying, "Venerable Sir! You who have given alms for crores of kappas have not done the king of kamma that would make you open the door with your hands." This automatic opening of the door as resolved by the Buddha is expressed by "vivari bhagavā dvāraṃ" in Pāḷi which is simply translated as "the Buddha opened the door."

Ambaṭṭha's behaviour.

The young Ambaṭṭha was not even impressed by the splendour of the Buddha's body. Bent on threatening, he unfastened the strip of cloth tied on his chest and hang it loose down his neck. Holding the edge of his waist-cloth with one hand, he got onto the promenade and sometimes walked there, sometimes stood, sometimes showed his arm, sometimes showed his chest, sometimes showed his back, sometimes made a rude gesture with his hands, and sometimes made ugly facial expressions (such as grimaces), saying:

O Gotama! Are you quite well. Do you get your food without any hardship. It is apparently not hard for you to get food. Certainly, all your physical features are robust and very impressive. Wherever you go, people adore you very much as a monk belonging to a royal family or as a Buddha and give choicest nourishing food. Friends, look at the abode of [ 372 ] Gotama! It is like an extraordinary hall. It looks like a celestial mansion. Look at his bed and his pillow! For a man who lives in such a good place, how can it be possible to experience hardship in leading a monastic life!

Thus Ambaṭṭha spoke only derisive words and ungentlemanly words that would be bitter and painful forever to ordinary people.

Then the Buddha thought: "This young Ambaṭṭha spends his energy irrelevantly like a man who stretches his hand to grasp the highest Brahmā abode (Bhavagga) or like a man who stretches his legs to wander in the Avici hell or like a man who wants to swim across the great ocean or like a man who wants to climbs Mount Meru. I will now talk with him." So thinking the Buddha said to Ambaṭṭha:" You speak to me disrespectfully and bitterly in a way that is unacceptable to good people. Do you speak to the aged Brahmin teachers and their teachers in the same way"

No, Gotama, I do not speak to them in this way. When a Brahmin wants to speak to a walking teacher, he speaks while walking. If he wants to speak to a standing teacher he speaks while standing. If he wants to speak to a sitting teacher, he speaks while sitting. If he wants to speak to a teacher who is lying down, he has to speak while lying down."

(Monks denounced as low caste for the first time).

(Herein a Brahmin usually spoke to his teacher only while walking standing and sitting. But Ambaṭṭha was so arrogant that he mentioned the lying posture.) So the Buddha said: "Ambaṭṭha, a walking Brahmin pupil may speak to a walking Brahmin teacher, a standing Brahmin pupil may speak to a standing Brahmin teacher, a sitting Brahmin [ 373 ] teacher may speak to a sitting Brahmin teacher. Such a behaviour all Brahmin teachers approve. But you speak while lying down to your teacher who is also lying down (In that case you are indeed like an ox). Is your teacher then an oxen and you an ox"

Then Ambaṭṭha became very angry and said "O Gotama! with the dark, low-caste, vile and bare-headed monks who sprang from the instep of Brahma, I speak in the same way as I now speak to you." Thus he disparaged the Buddha using the word low-caste for the first time.

(Herein according to Ambaṭṭha, Brahmins sprang from the mouth of the Brahmā princes from the chest, merchants from the navel, labourers from the knee and monks from the instep believing thus Ambaṭṭha ranked the monks as men of the lowest caste and though he made no reference in his speech it was intended for the Buddha.)

Then the Buddha thought: "Since this young man Ambaṭṭha came here he has spoken to me only with conceit motivating his remarks. Like a man who grasp a very poisonous snake by the neck or who embraces a big fire or who holds the trunk of a bull-elephant in a rut, he does not know his capacity. I will now let him know it. So the Buddha said:

Ambaṭṭha, you came here for some purpose. You should be well mindful of the purpose for which you came here (1) Oh! without having intelligence as yet, you consider yourself already intelligent. There is nothing but lack of cleverness to account for the way you behave and speak to me. (2) (Here the first statement means "Your teacher has sent you here not for insulting us but for some other purpose. So now mind the business you are sent for." After reminding Ambaṭṭha of the [ 374 ] etiquette to be observed by visitors, the Buddha made the second statement to snub him.)

Resentful and displeased with the Buddha's reference to his lack of cleverness. Ambaṭṭha decided to censure the Buddha in the presence of his companion and said.

Gotama! The Sakyan princes are arrogant rough, small hearted, talkative and if they do not revere, adore, honour or bow to the Brahmins is downright improper." Thus Ambaṭṭha spoke in contempt of the Sakyan princes, using the word" lowcaste" for the first time.

Monks denounced as low-caste for the second time.

Then the Buddha asked Ambaṭṭha how the Sakyan princes had wronged him. Ambaṭṭha replied "Gotama, I once went to Kapilavatthu City to do some business for my teacher Pokkharasāti. I visited the assembly hall of the Sakyan Princes. At that time many Sakyan kings who have been anointed the princes, who have not been anointed yet were tickling one another, laughing uproariously and playing boisterously while seated on a raised platform in the hall. In fact, they seemed to be laughing only at me. Nobody offered me a seat Gotama! Not to thus revere adore, honour or bow to the Brahmin on the part of low-caste Sakyan princes is downright improper." Thus Ambaṭṭha denounced the Buddha for the second time using the words low-caste.

(The Sakyan princes sneered at Ambaṭṭha because they know his ancestry. He came like one intoxicated with pride, his shoulder-bone bent and one hand holding the edge of his waistcloth that hang loosely down to his feet. They tickled one [ 375 ] another, laughed and played boisterously saying: "Look folks! There comes Ambaṭṭha, a descendant of our slave. Kaṇhāyana." Ambaṭṭha also knew his ancestry and so he consider rightly that the princes were laughing only at him.)

Monk denounced as low caste for the third time.

Then the Buddha said: "Ambaṭṭha even a skylark can chirp as much as it like in her nest. Kapilavatthu is the city of Sakyan princes. You should not have a grudge with such a trivial matter."

When the Buddha thus cited the simile of the skylark. Ambaṭṭha thought that the Buddha was free from conceit since he linked his relatives to the skylark and the Brahmins to haṃsa, crane and peacock. So Ambaṭṭha went on to mention the four classes of people, saying: "Friend Gotama, there are four classes of people, namely, kings, Brahmins, merchants and labourers. Of these four classes, the kings, merchants and labours are in fact servants of the Brahmins. So, O friend Gotama not revering, adoring, honouring or bowing to the Brahmins on the part of the low-caste Sakyan princes is downright improper."

Thus Ambaṭṭha belittled the Sakyan princes for the third time with the word "low-caste."

Proof of Ambaṭṭha's low-birth.

As Ambaṭṭha persisted in denouncing the Sakyan princes as low-caste people, the Buddha decided to asked him about his clan. So the Buddha said: "Ambaṭṭha, of what clan are you." Ambaṭṭha, shouted three times: "Gotama, I am of Kaṇha clan."

[ 376 ] (Herein, Ambaṭṭha knew the impurity of the Kaṇha clan superficially. But he did not know the previous life of Kaṇha. Owing to his ignorance he thought that the Buddha could not say anything and he made the above remark because of his arrogance.)

Then the Buddha explained to Ambaṭṭha the lineage of Sakyan princes and the origin of the Kanha clan.

"Ambaṭṭha, if you trace back your genealogy, you will find that the Sakyan princes are the sons of lords and that you are the son of their slave-woman.

Ambaṭṭha, the Sakyan princes regard King Okkāka as their grandfather. What happened long ago was that King Okkāka had a young queen whom he loved very much; wishing to give his kingdom to her son, he sent into exile his elder sons called Okkāmukha, Karakanda, Hatthinika and Sinisura. (Their elder and younger sisters, namely, Piyā, Sappiyā, Ananda, Vijitā and Vijitasenā, these five princess also accompanied the princes with the permission of the king.) The exiled princes founded a city in the teak forest near a lake on the fringe of the Himavanta. They married their sisters in order to preserve the purity of their family."

"Ambaṭṭha, King Okkāka asked his ministers where his sons lived. They reported to him that the princes had founded a city in the teak forest near a lake on the Himavanta and that they had married their sisters to preserve the purity of their family.

Ambaṭṭha! King Okkāka exclaimed then: ""My sons are so able. They are so able!"" In allusion to that exclamation the princes were known as Sakyan (Sakya, 'able ones'). King Okkāka was the prototype of the Sakyan princes."

[ 377 ] Origin of Kaṇha clan.

Ambaṭṭha, King Okkaka had a slave woman named Disā. She gave birth to a son called Kaṇha. Immediately after his birth Kanha said: O Mother, cleanse me! Bathe me! Free me from this impurity! I will be one who can do good to you.

Ambaṭṭha just as nowadays people call a ogre a pisaca, so also in those days people gave the name Kaṇha to ogres. They talked about the slave-woman's son: This child spoke soon after his birth. So he is a Kaṇha (ogre)." The Kaṇha clansmen were known as Kaṇhāyana after that saying: That Kaṇha was the progenitor of the Kaṇha clan.

Ambaṭṭha, so if you trace back your ancestry, you will find that the Sakyan princes are the sons of the lord while you are the son of their slave-woman

When the Buddha spoke thus, the young men who had come along with Ambaṭṭha said together: "0 Gotama! Do not disparage Ambaṭṭha so severely with the word son of a slave-woman. O Gotama! Do not disparage Ambaṭṭha so severely with the word son of a slave-woman. Ambaṭṭha is well-born, a young man of good family, well-informed, skilful in speaking and wise. He is competent to challenge and refute you in connection with your use of the word 'son of a slave-woman"

(Herein the The outcry of these young men was designed merely to absolve themselves of blame before their teacher. In their view, Ambaṭṭha was the top disciple of their teacher. If they did not put in a word for him in his dispute with the Buddha, he would make such a report as would make his teacher displeased with them. So thinking, they supported [ 378 ] Ambaṭṭha so as to be free from censure. They secretly wanted him to be snubbed. Indeed because of his arrogance they hated him naturally.)

Then the Buddha thought: "If these young men, seated there keep talking loudly, I will not come to the end of my speech. I will silence them and talk only with Ambaṭṭha." So the Buddha said to them:

Young men! If you believe that because Ambaṭṭha is lowborn, not of good family ill-informed, not skilful in speaking and devoid of wisdom, he is not competent to refute the Monk Gotama, then leave him alone. It rests only with you to argue with me about the matter. But if you think that Ambaṭṭha is well-born, of good family, well-informed, skilful is speaking and wise and competent to argue with me about this matter, then you keep quiet. Let Ambaṭṭha alone argue with me.

Then the young men thought: "Ambaṭṭha (dare not raise his head again) when it is said that he is the son of a slave-woman. This matter of birth is inscrutable. If the Monk Gotama tell someone that he (that someone) is a slave, who will be able to challenge and contend with the Monk Gotama? Let Ambaṭṭha rid himself of the burden that is of his own making." So wishing to wash their hand and put the responsibilility on Ambaṭṭha, they said to the Buddha evasively:

Friend Gotama! Ambaṭṭha is well-born, of good family, well-informed, skilful in speaking and wise. He is competent to rebut (your) use of the word the son of a slave-woman." We will keep quiet. Let Ambaṭṭha refute you."

The Buddha now asked Ambaṭṭha:

Ambaṭṭha here is a reasonable question for you. You will have to answer it although you do not wish to do so. If you do [ 379 ] not answer it thoroughly or speak evasively or keep silent or go away, then your head will break up into seven pieces on the spot.

Ambaṭṭha, what do you think of the question I will now ask? What have you heard from old Brahmin teachers and their predecessors (about it)? How did the Kaṇha clan originate? Who was the ancestor of the Kaṇha clans men?"

When the Buddha asked him thus, Ambaṭṭha remained silent: (His silence was the outcome of this thought: "The Monk Gotama wants me to admit verbally by myself that I am the son of a slave-woman. If I do so, then I will certainly be a slave. If the Monk Gotama asks me twice or thrice and I refuse to answer him, he will say nothing and then I will go away.")

For the second time the Buddha asked him. "Ambaṭṭha! what do you think of the question I will now ask? What have you heard from old Brahmin teachers and their predecessors? How did the Kaṇha clansmen originate? Who was their ancestor. But Ambaṭṭha was still silent.

Then the Buddha said:

Ambaṭṭha, now it is not the time for you to remain silent. If a man refuses to answer a reasonable question which the Buddha asks him twice, then his head will break into seven pieces on the spot.

At that moment Sakka (the king of Devas) came and stood in the air above Ambaṭṭha in the form of an ogre with a glowing and blazing iron hammer in his hand and threatening to break Ambaṭṭha's head into seven pieces of the spot if he refused to answer the resonable question [ 380 ] which the Buddha asked him thrice. Sakka in the form of an ogre was visible only to the Buddha and Ambaṭṭha.

Herein it may be asked as to why did Sakka come (The answer is) he came in order to make Ambaṭṭha discard his false

belief (or) in the above section when Sahampati Brahmā requested the Buddha to proclaim the Dhamma, Sakka who was with the Brahmā said, "Venerable Sir, you do the preaching. We will make disobedient and defiant people obey you. Let your authority be the Dhamma ours will be the command." In accordance with his pledge, Sakka came to scare Amhaṭṭha and force him to answer the Buddha's question

("With regard to the statement "Sakka in the form of an ogre was visible only to the Buddha and Ambaṭṭha", It should be explained that if he were seen by other people, as well, those who saw Sakka would have poor impression of the Buddha. They would say contemptuously that the Buddha showed the ogre to Ambaṭṭha because the latter would not accept his doctrine and that the young Brahmin had to speak reluctantly under duress.)

As soon as he saw the ogre, Ambaṭṭha's body sweated profusely. He felt his whole stomach was moving up and down making a terrible sound. He scrutinized his companions but he did not see any sign of creepy feat in them. He thought: "I am the only person threatened by this ogre. If I tell them about the ogre, they will say. Do you alone have the eyes to see the ogre. You did not see the ogre before. You see him only when you find yourself at your wit's end in your dispute with the Monk Gotama': Now there is no one other than the Monk Gotama for my refuge." Thus frightened with his hair standing on end, Ambaṭṭha approached the Buddha, sat at a lower place and said.

What did friend Gotama say? Let Friend Gotama say it again.

[ 381 ] The Buddha then asked him for the last time,

Ambaṭṭha what do you think of my question? What have you heard from your old teachers and their predecessors? How did the Kaṇha clansmen originate? Who were their anscestors?

Then Ambaṭṭha made the confession:

Friend Gotama! I have heard what you said from my old Brahmin teachers and their predecessors, Kaṇha clansmen have their origin in Kaṇha, the son of the slave-woman. That Kaṇha was their ancestor.

Ambaṭṭha's ancestry.

Ambaṭṭha's confession caused an uproar among the other young Brahmins. They shouted "Friend, it is said that Ambaṭṭha is low-born, not of a good family, and the son of the Sakyan princes' slave-woman. The Sakyan princes are said to be the sons of the masters of Ambaṭṭha. We have misunderstood the Monk Gotama and blamed him whereas in fact he is a speaker of the truth (Dhammavādi),

Then the Buddha thought: "These young men are humiliating Ambaṭṭha severely with the word "son of a slave-woman." I had better make Ambaṭṭha free from such a humiliation."

So he said:

Young men! Do not humiliate Ambaṭṭha severely with the word son of a slave-woman!" That Kaṇha was a powerful hermit. He went to the region south of the river Gaṅga and [ 382 ] after having learnt the holy mantras he approached King Okkāka and asked for his daughter Maddarūpī's hand in marriage.

King Okkāka said: 'Hey! This hermit Kaṇha is the son of my slave-woman and yet he is asking for my daughter. What kind of a man is he? Furious and displeased he bent his bow but he could not shoot the arrow nor could he withdraw it.

Then the ministers approached the hermit and begged him to save the king. Kanha said that the king would be safe but he threatened that if the king dropped the arrow, the earth in the whole kingdom would be destroyed."

(Herein the hermit Kaṇha went to the region south of the Gaṅga as a lay man and while serving Brahmin hermit, he obtained from that hermit a mantra for obstructing arrows. Then he donned the robe of a hermit, came to King Okkāka, asked for the latter's daughter and when the irate king bent his bow to kill him, he obstructed the arrow with his spell. The spell had the power only to obstruct the arrow. Kaṇha's reference to the destruction of earth was an empty threat, merely a lie. The same may be said of his other threats.)

The ministers again begged him to save the king and the country. He said that the king and the country would be safe but again he lied that if the king dropped the arrow, there would be no rain in the whole kingdom for seven years.

Again the ministers begged him to spare the king and the country and make the rain fall. He said that both the king and the country would be safe and it would rain but he said that if the arrow were directed to the elder son, he would be safe without a hair standing on end. Kaṇha said this only after making the king promise to give his daughter.)

[ 383 ] 'Young men, the ministers then reported to King Okkāka. The king directed the arrow to the eldest son and the prince was safe without a hair standing on end. Threatened with the weapon of mantra, King Okkāka became frightened, his hair stood on; and (after having made Kaṇha's head washed he released him from slavery) he gave his daughter Maddarūpī.

Young men, do not humiliate Ambaṭṭha severely with the word, son of a slave-woman." That Kaṇha is a powerful hermit."

The Buddha gave his account of Kaṇha, saying that Ambaṭṭha was somewhat akin to the Sakyan princes (on his side) and there by consoling the young Ambaṭṭha; so like a man on whom water is poured, Ambaṭṭha felt much relieved as his worry [about his social status] had been washed away. He became conceited, thinking that the Buddha had affirmed his kinship to the royal family Khattiya on his mother's side.

The nobility of the Khattiyas.

Ambaṭṭha considered himself a member of the ruling class not knowing that he was not a real prince. So the Buddha decided to disillusion him and in order to explain the meaning of khattiya he further engaged in the following dialogue with the young man.

Ambaṭṭha, now what do you think of the question that I will ask you? Suppose in this world a man of the aristocratic family marries a woman of Brahmin family. As a result of their marriage a son is born. Will the son born of that couple receive priority among the Brahmins as regard seat and water?

[ 384 ] When Ambaṭṭha answered, "Yes Gotama, he may receive it," the Buddha said again.

May the Brahmins serve that man at the feast in memory of the dead, the wedding feast, the feast at a sacrificial ceremony and at the feast given to guests?

When Ambaṭṭha answered "Yes, Gotama. They may serve him," the Buddha asked again.

May the Brahmins teach or may not teach him the Vedas?

When Ambaṭṭha answered "Yes, Gotama. They may teach him," the Buddha asked again,

May the Brahmins forbid or may not forbid his marriage with a Brahmin woman?

When Ambaṭṭha answered, "No Gotama, they may not forbid", the Buddha clinching the argument, asked,

May royal family consecrate him a king?

No Gotama, replied Ambaṭṭha reasonably "They may not consecrate him because his mother is not a member of Khattiya family".

(Here in this section Ambaṭṭha answered that a son of a Khattiya father and a Brahmin mother is not crowned king because of the low birth of the mother, so also is the son born of a Brahmin father and a Khattiya mother because of the low birth of the father. The Buddha made this clear in his further dialogue with Ambaṭṭha.)

[ 385 ] Buddha: "Ambaṭṭha! What do you think of the question which I will now ask you? Suppose in this world a Brahmin marries a Khattiya woman and a son is born of this marriage. May their son receive priority among the Brahmin in respect of seat and water?"

Ambaṭṭha: "Yes, Gotama he may."

Buddha: "May the Brahmins serve him at the feast in memory of the dead,"

Ambaṭṭha: "Yes, Gotama they may."

Buddha: "May they teach him the Vedas or may they not?"

Ambaṭṭha: "Yes, Gotama, they may."

Buddha: "May they forbid his marriage with a Brahmin woman?"

Ambaṭṭha: "No, Gotama, they may not."

Buddha: "May the Khattiyas consecrate him king?"

Ambaṭṭha: "No Gotama, they may not, because the father is not a Khattiya."

Buddha: "So, Ambaṭṭha, if you compare a man with man or woman with a woman you will find that only the Khattiyas are superior and that the Brahmins are inferior."

The following is a different dialogue between the Buddha and Ambaṭṭha to show the superiority of the Khattiyas and the inferiority of the Brahmins.

[ 386 ] Buddha: "Ambaṭṭha! What do think of the questioin which I will now ask you? Suppose in this world a Brahmin is exiled with his head shaved and ashes sprinkled over it from the country or the city by other Brahmins for a certain offence. May that exiled Brahmin receive priority among the Brahmin in respect of seat and water?"

Ambaṭṭha: "No, Gotama, he may not."

Buddha: "May the Brahmins serve that (exiled) Brahmin at the feast in memory of the dead, at the wedding feast, at the sacrifical feast and at the rest given to guests?"

Ambaṭṭha: "No Gotama, they may not."

Buddha: "May the Brahmins teach or may not teach the Vedas to that (exiled) Brahmin the Vedas'?

Ambaṭṭha: "No, Friend Gotama, they may not."

Buddha: "May the Brahmins forbid the marriage of that (exiled) Brahmin with a Brahmin woman?"

Ambaṭṭha: Yes, Friend Gotama, they may."

Buddha: "Ambaṭṭha, what do you think of the question that I will now ask you? In this world, the Khattiyas exile a khattiya from the city or the county with his head shaved and ashes sprinkled over it for some offence. May that man receive priority among the Brahmin in respect of seat and water?

Ambaṭṭha: "Yes, Gotama, he may."

[ 387 ] Gotama: "May the Brahmins serve him at the feast in memory of the dead, at the wedding feast, at the sacrifical feast and at the feast given to guests?"

Ambaṭṭha: "Yes, Gotama, they may."

Buddha: "May the Brahmins teach or may not teach him the Vedas?"

Ambaṭṭha: "Yes, Gotama, they may."

Buddha: "May they forbid or not forbid the marriage of that man with a Brahmin woman?"

Ambaṭṭha: "No, Gotama, they may not."

Ambaṭṭha, Khattiyas may have exiled a Khattiya with his head shaved and ashes sprinkled over and exiled from the country or the city for a certain offence and by such treatment he is very much disgraced. But even when he is very disgraced, the Khattiya is superior and the Brahmin is inferior.

Ambaṭṭha, Sanaṅkumara Brahma too, utters this verse.

Khattiyo seṭṭho janetasmiṃ
ye gottapaṭisārino
vijjā-caraṇa sampanno
so seṭṭho deva-mānuse.

"Among people who count much on ancestry, the Khattiyas are praiseworthy and superior. Among men and Devas, one who has wisdom and practised that wisdom is praiseworthy and superior.

[ 388 ] Ambaṭṭha, this verse is well-spoken by Sanaṅkumara Brahma. It is not ill-spoken, it is relevant to welfare, it is not irrelevant to welfare. I approved of it. Ambaṭṭha, I too like Sanaṅkumara Brahma, uttered this verse."

Khattiyo seṭṭho janetasmiṃ
so seṭṭha devamānuse.

Vijjā and Carana elaborated.

There is the phrase "Vijjā-carana-samapanno" in the verse it means "possessed of Vijjā (Knowledge) and Caraṇa (Practice)" In the view of Ambaṭṭha Vijjā refers to the three Vedas while caraṇa to the five moral precepts. Ambaṭṭha thought that if a man who possesses Vijjā and Caraṇa is praiseworthy and superior, only we the Brahmins were the praiseworthy and superior people. Wishing to know these two qualities, he asked "O Friend Gotama, what is Caraṇa and what is vijjā?"

Then the Buddha said, desiring to point out the supreme, transcendent knowledge and practice, leaving aside the three Vedas and the five precepts that are bound up with the well known cast-system, etc., of Brahminism.

"Ambaṭṭha, in the matter of possessing supreme, transcendent knowledge and practice you should never utter word such as 'you are fit for me' or 'you are not fit for me', words that stem from attachment to birth, attachment to clan and attachment to pride.

Ambaṭṭha, only in a human society with its marriage customs involving the taking or giving of a daughter, should you ever [ 389 ] utter words that stem from attachment to birth, clan and pride, words such as 'you are fit for me' or 'you at, not fit for me'."

"Ambaṭṭha, those who cling to words stemming from attachment to birth (jāti-vāda), words stemming from attachment to clan (gotta-vāda), words stemming from attachment to pride (māna-vāda) and words stemming from attachment to marriages that involve the taking or giving of a daughter are far from possession of the supreme, transcendent knowledge and practice.

Ambaṭṭha, one can realize the supreme, transcendent practice only if one overcomes clinging to birth, clinging to clan, attachment to pride, attachment to marriages that involve taking or giving of a daughter."""

Then Ambaṭṭha thought: "It has been our belief that we are still in possession of Knowledge and Practice. But just as a violent storm roughly gets rid of husks of grain, the Monk Gotama illumined us about those Knowledge and Practice. The Monk Gotama insists on and extols only this supreme Knowledge and Practice which we cannot grasp. We should know the knowledge and practice which this Monk Gotama talk about" and again asked the Buddha, "O Friend Gotama, what is Caraṇa and what is Vijjā?."

Then as in the Sāmañña-phala Sutta the Buddha gave a talk on the supreme, transcendent Knowledge and Practice, section by section, beginning with the appearance of the Buddha and ending in the attainment of Arahantship. (Readers may look up the teaching in the translation of the Sutta.)

[ 390 ] The four causes of destruction.

(To state briefly:) Then the Buddha pointed out to Ambaṭṭha the four causes of destruction of Knowledge and Practice (or of the Dhamma.) The four causes are:

(1) The life of an ascetic who, being unable to live up to the doctrine for the attainment of Knowledge and Practice, enters the forest and takes to eating fallen fruits, (2) the life of an ascetic who being unable to practise even that much, enters the forest and takes to eating roots and fruits, (3) the life of an ascetic who being unable to practise even that much builds a fire-shed near a town or village and worship fire (4) the life of an ascetic who practise even that much builds a pavilion with entrance from four directions at the junctions of the cross roads, for making-money by providing drinking-water to all the people who come from four quarters, etc., The Buddha described these four types of ascetics making the so-called self-styled Samaṇas and Brahmaṇas as merely attendants of the monk who possessed the Knowledge and Practice of the Buddha-dhamma. Ambaṭṭha and his teacher were lacking in such Knowledge and Practice. So they did belong even to the four types of degenerate monks and hermits, not to speak of the types of true monks who possessed the two qualifications. The Buddha elicited these facts from Ambaṭṭha through his questions and then critized him for the first time.

"Ambaṭṭha you and your teacher lack supreme Knowledge and Practice. Nay, you even do not have the lesser qualities of these whose mode of life is the cause of the destruction of such Knowledge and Practice.

Ambaṭṭha, your teacher the Brahmin Pokkharasāti does not have the lesser qualities (leading to such destruction) and yet he says impertinently: ""What kind of people are these low-born, [ 391 ] bare-headed and useless monks who sprang from the instep of the Brahma? How can it be possible for the Brahmins wellverses in the three Vedas to discuss with them? Ambaṭṭha, you note this defect of your Brahmin teacher Pokkharasāti."""

Then the Buddha added:

Ambaṭṭha, your Brahmin teacher Pokkharasāti enjoys the privileges granted by King Pasenadī Kosala. Yet the king does not give the Brahmin teacher any opportunity to face him. Also when he consults the Brahmin Pokkharasāti he does so from behind a curtain. Ambaṭṭha, why does not the king allow the Brahmin to face him? the Brahmin who is recipient of provisions lawfully given by him? (You think over the reason for this matter.) Ambaṭṭha, you note this defect of your Brahmin teacher Pokkharasāti.

This was the second criticism made by the Buddha.

(Herein the Brahmin knew the mantra for deception in one's presence (summukhā avaṭṭaṃ). If while the king was adorned with a very costly ornament, he stood near the king and recited the mantra, uttering the name of the ornament the king had to give the ornament without being able to say. "I will not give it." Then on a festival day he would say. "Bring the Mahāraha ornament" then the attendants informed him of his having given it to the Brahmin Pokkharasāti. The King asked why he had given it and the ministers said that the Brahmin knew the mantra for immediate deception, that he had tricked the king and taken away the Mahāraha ornament.

(Other ministers too who envied the Brahmin for his close relationship with the king said: "Great King the Brahmin Pokkharasāti has a kind of leprosy called leucoderma. This kind [ 392 ] of leprosy is infectious through physical contact. So do not embrace and fondle the Brahmin as you do now when you see the Brahmin." From that time the king did not allow the Brahmin to face him.

Still in spite of this loss of privilege the Brahmin Pokkharasāti was a scholar learned in law and statecraft. There was nothing which went wrong if it was done after consultation with him. Therefore the king sat behind a curtain and consulted the Brahmin who remained outside behind the curtain.

(This was known to no one except the king and the Brahmin. The Buddha revealed the secret (not to humiliate the Brahmin but) because the Buddha knew that such revelation would certainly convince others of his Omniscience.)

Then the Buddha questioned Ambaṭṭha and made him admit that it was impossible for a commoner or his slave to become a king or a minister just by sitting at a place where the king of Kosala conferred with the ministers and princess and by repeating what they said at such meetings. The Buddha pointed out that likewise it was impossible for Ambaṭṭha or his teacher to become a hermit or a probationary hermit just by reciting and teaching the Vedas that were recited and taught by ancient hermits like Aṭṭhaka, Vāmaka and others.

The Buddha again questioned Ambaṭṭha and made him admit that unlike Ambaṭṭha and his teacher, Aṭṭhaka, Vāmaka and others of ancient times did not do good garments, eat good food, move in the company of women, ride good chariots, keep their good mansions wellguarded and indulge in sensual pleasures. Then in conclusion the Buddha said:

Ambaṭṭha, thus you and your teacher are not hermits or hermits probationary. One who has doubt about my [ 393 ] Buddhahood should remove that doubt by asking me, I shall dispel his doubt by answering the questions. (The Buddha said so because there was no likelihood of Ambaṭṭha's attainment of the Path and Fruition in his present life. The day would only pass away. The young Brahmin has come to examine the major marks possessed by the Buddha. He had now forgotten the object of his visit and so the Buddha decided to remind him of it indirectly.)

No one was capable of examining the major marks of a Buddha who was sitting or lying. Examination was possible when he was standing or walking. It was also customary for the Buddha to rise and walk when someone came to investigate the marks. For these reasons the Buddha came out of the monastery and went off to walk. Ambaṭṭha followed the Buddha closely.

Two major marks shown.

Walking behind the walking Buddha Ambaṭṭha looked for the thirtytwo major marks of a superman in the body of the Buddha and saw clearly thirty of them. He did not, however, see the remaining two great marks namely, (1) the male genital covered with a sheath and (2) the thin, long and flat tongue. Therefore he had doubts and was sceptical and indecisive.

Knowing this very well the Buddha created by supernormal power the male genital covered with a sheath in such a way as to make it visible to the young man Ambaṭṭha. Then the Buddha stuck out his tongue and passed it in both ears right and left (thereby revealing its long size), passed it into both nostrils right and left (thereby revealing its tenderness), and covered the whole forehead with the tongue (thereby revealing its flatness.)

[ 394 ] Then Ambaṭṭha concluded that the Buddha really possessed those marks and took leave of the Buddha, saying "Well, Gotama, we will go now. We have many things to attend to." When the Buddha said, "Ambaṭṭha you may go if you wish." Ambaṭṭha got onto his muledrawn chariot and left the place"

At that time the Brahmin teacher Pokkharasāti had come out of Ukkaṭṭha City and together with many Brahmins he was waiting for Ambaṭṭha in his garden. Ambaṭṭha went to the garden in his chariot as far as he could go and then stopping off, he walked on foot. Then after paying respect to his teacher, he sat down at a certain place. Then there followed a dialogue between the teacher and Ambaṭṭha.

Pokkharasāti: "Ambaṭṭha have you seen the Monk Gotama?"

Ambaṭṭha: "Yes Sir, we have seen the Monk Gotama".

Pokkharasāti: "Ambaṭṭha, is the report about the reputation of the Monk Gotama true or false? Does the reputation of Gotama has any basis or does it have no basis?

Ambaṭṭha: "Sir, the report about the Gotama's reputation is true. The reputation of Gotama has some basis. In fact Gotama really possesses the thirty-two major marks of a superman and the marks are thoroughly genuine."

Pokkharasāti: "Ambaṭṭha, did you ever talk with the Monk Gotama about something?"

[ 395 ] Ambaṭṭha: "Yes, Sir, I talked with the Monk Gotama about something."

Pokkharasāti: "Ambaṭṭha, how did you talk with the Monk Gotama about something?"

Thus questioned, Ambaṭṭha reported to his teacher all the conversation that he had with the Buddha. Then the teacher Pokkharasāti said:

Oh!, Our youngsages and intellectuals are so amazing! Oh! your experts in the Vedas are so wonderful! With such an assistant (like Ambaṭṭha), a man is bound to land in one of the four lower worlds after physical dissolution and death.

Thus he rebuked Ambaṭṭha and being furious and displeased he kicked the young man, making him collapse. He was angry with Ambaṭṭha but in a moment there also arose in him the desire to go and see the Buddha (As for Ambaṭṭha the privilege that he formerly had of going together with his teacher in a chariot as a charioteer was forfeited and from that time he had to go on foot before the chariot.)

Pokkharasāti's visit to the Buddha.

The Brahmin Pokkharasāti was very much anxious to go and see the Buddha but the other Brahmins told him to put off the visit till the next day as it was already too late to make the visit on that day.

Then having prepared very delicious food, he put the food in the vehicle, had the fire torches hoisted on it and coming out of Okkaṭṭha City, he went to Icchanaṅgala grove. He went in the vehicle as far as possible, then stepped off and approached the Buddha on foot. He greeted the Buddha, exchanged memorable words and took his seat at a certain place.

[ 396 ] (Footnote: p 551 "Put the food in the vehicle" is the translation for the Pāḷi phrase: yāne āropetvā that is found in both Myanmar and Sinhalese Piṭakas. Translators have made the special observation that the house in the context could not be in the Okkaṭṭha City, and that it might be Pokkharasāti's house in Icchānaṅgala village or elsewhere.

If the Pāḷi phrase were "Yānaṃ abhiruhitvā" it would mean 'riding the vehicle,' a translation that would be more appropriate to the context. It would also accord with the Pāḷi passage: ārohanīyaṃ nāgaṃ abhiruhitvā Okkāsu, dhāriya-mānāsu niyāsi In the sāmāññaphala Sutta Icchānaṅgala was certainly in Okkaṭṭha township. The Pāḷi word nivesana refers only to a rājagahā dwelling-place and the word parivesana is used for a rest house in the Sunidhavessakāra Vat.

After taking his seat the Brahmin Pokkharasāti had the following conversation with the Buddha.

Pokkharasāti: "Gotama did our pupil Ambaṭṭha come to this place?"

Buddha: "Yes, Brahmin your pupil Ambaṭṭha did."

Pokkharasāti: "Friend Gotama, did you talk with Ambaṭṭha about anything?"

Buddha: "Yes Brahmin, I talked with Ambaṭṭha about something"

Pokkharasāti: "Friend Gotama, how did you talk with Ambaṭṭha?"

[ 397 ] Then the Buddha told the Brahmin Pokkharasāti all about the conversation with Ambaṭṭha. Pokkharasāti apologised to the Buddha. Saying "Friend Gotama, young Ambaṭṭha is a fool. Kindly excuse him." The Buddha said, "Brahmin, I wish Ambaṭṭha happiness,"thus forgiving the young man.

Investigation of Pokkharasāti.

Then the Brahmin Pokkharasāti looked for the thirty-two marks of a superman in the body of the Buddha. He saw thirty major marks as did Ambaṭṭha, but not seeing the other two major marks, namely, (1) the male genital covered with a sheath and (2) the thin and long tongue, he was doubtful, sceptical and indecisive.

Knowing this well, the Buddha created by supernormal power the male genital covered with a sheath so as to make it visible to the Brahmin. Then the Buddha stuck out his tongue and passed it in both ears right and left (thereby revealing its long size), passed it into both nostrils right and left (thereby revealing its tenderness); and covered the whole forehead with the tongue (thereby revealing its flatness.)

Then Brahmin Pokkharasāti became really convinced that the Buddha certainly possessed all the thirty-two major marks of a superman and said.

Let the Venerable and the disciple-monks accept the meals at my house today for my benefit.

The Buddha accepted the invitation by saying nothing.

Knowing of the Buddha's acceptance, the Brahmin Pokkharasāti informed him that the meal was ready, that it was time for the Buddha [ 398 ] to partake of it. So at his invitation the Buddha came to the Brahmin's house with the monks in the morning and sat in the seats prepared for them.

Then the Brahmin Pokkharasāti and his young pupils undertook the responsibility and personally served the Buddha and the monks respectively with good, delicious food. Then the Brahmin knew that the Buddha had his meal and put aside the bowl, he took a seat and sat down at a proper place.

The Buddha gave the Brahmin Pokkharasāti a series of Dhamma talks leading to the Path and Fruition, talks on (1) generosity (2) morality (3) the attainment of the the Deva-world and (4) the noble way leading to the Path, Fruition and Nibbāna. When following these talks the mind of the Brahmin became stable, tender, free from hindrances, joyous and clear, the Buddha preached the Four Truths that he himself had discovered (sāmukkaṃsika) and the Brahmin attained the Fruition of Sotāpatti.

Pokkharasāti's special request.

Then the Brahmin Pokkharasāti who had become a Sotāpanna Ariya, said to the Master.

O Venerable Gotama, your teaching is so delightful just as an object that has been upside down is turned upside up, just as a covered object is uncovered, just as a man who has lost his way is shown the right way, just as fire-torches are lighted in the darkness in order that those who have eye-sight may see various objects, so also you Venerable Gotama have clearly preached to me the Dhamma in many ways.

[ 399 ] "O Venerable Gotama! with my son, daughter, wife, follower and councillors I seek refuge in the Venerable Gotama, in the Dhamma and in the Saṃgha. From today let the Venerable Gotama regard me as a lay man devoted to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha for the rest of his life."

Just as the Venerable Gotama visit the house of other lay devotees in Okkaṭṭha, so also kindly visit my house. Young men and young women in my house will pay respect to you. They will welcome you. They will offer seats or water to you. At the very least they will be much inspired with faith. The response of these young men and women to your visit will be conducive to the welfare and prosperity for a long time.

Thus having committed himself to the Buddha, etc., on the supramundane level, the Brahmin invited the Buddha to his house. The Brahmin Pokkharasāti's commitment to the Buddha, etc., differed from that of other lay devotees in that (1) it embraced his sons daughters, wife, followers, and councillors (2) and by the last paragraph he stated the reasons for his commitment.

Therefore in conclusion the Buddha extolled him, saying "Brahmin, you have spoken well" and accepted the invitation.

Here ends the story of Pokkharasāti.

End of Chapter Thirty-five.

VOLUME_4
PART_
CHAPTER_36

spage-401 spage-463

THE BUDDHA'S HEIGHT MEASURED BY A BRAHMIN.

[ 401 ] On one occasion a certain Brahmin citizen of Rājagaha heard that it was impossible to measure the height of Gotama Buddha. So when the Buddha came into Rājagaha City and made his rounds for alms, he took a sixty-cubit long bamboo pole and s

The next day the Brahmin joined two sixty-cubit long poles and came again near the Buddha. The joined poles did not stand higher than the waist of the Buddha who asked him what he was doing. The Brahmin replied that he was measuring the height of the Buddha. Then the Buddha said:

Brahmin, even though you may join all the bamboos in the universe, you will not be able to measure my height. Certainly, I have not developed the perfections for four asaṅkhyeyyas and a hundred thousand aeons to enable somebody to measure my height. (I have developed them to the extent that nobody can measure my height.) Brahmin, the Buddha is a personage who is peerless and immeasurable.

So saying, the Buddha spoke the following verse as contained in the Dhammapada:

Te tādise pūjayato
nibbute akutobhaye
na sakkā puññaṃ saṅkhātuṃ
imettamapi kenaci.

The merit acquired by one who pays homage with saddhā to those Buddhas, Pacceka Buddhas and other Noble Ones, who have calmed the heat of defilements, who have no source whatever from which grief' and fear derive, who are endowed with virtues excellent and visible, are incalculable to any one in [ 402 ] the three worlds of humans, Devas and Brahmas saying "This merit is beneficial this much, this merit is profitable this much".

At the end of the verse eighty-four thousand beings became Sotāpanna Ariyas, having the opportunity of blissfully enjoying the elixir of Nibbāna.

Story of King Pukkusāti.
(From the Dhātu-vibbaṅga Sutta, Majjhima Nikāya).

When King Bimbisāra was ruling the city of Rājagaha in the country of Magadha of the Middle Land (Majjhima-desa), the ruler of the city of Takkasila on the border of the Middle Land was King Pukkusāti.

Once the merchants of Takkasila came to Rājagaha with goods for sale. They took presents and went to see King Bimbisāra. They offered the presents and stood paying respect to the king, who asked them where they lived and they replied they lived in Takkasila.

After making further enquiries about the political situation, material welfare and about the city itself, he asked the name of the king. When the merchants replied that it was Pukkusāti, he asked if the king fulfilled the ten kingly duties. They answered: "Great King, our monarch fulfills the ten duties. He promotes the welfare of the people through four supporting things (saṅgaha-dhamma) such as sassa-medha, purisa-medha, sammāpāsa and vācāpeyya. He acts like the parent of the people and makes them happy as the parent would do the child sleeping in his lap."

(1) Sassa-medha: prudence with regard to crops. In collecting land revenue only the tenth of the crops harvested is collected.

(2) Purisa-medha: prudence with regard to men and warriors in service. Prizes are awarded and provisions are distributed half-yearly.

(3) Sammāpāsa: winning the hearts of the poor. Loans in cash, a thousand or two, are offered to them without interest for three years.

[ 403 ] (4) Vācāpeyya: affectionate talks. Endearing terms such as 'young man', 'uncle', etc., are used in addressing people according to their age.

King Bimbisāra still asked another question, "How old is your king?" The merchants answered the age of their king and it so happened that the two monarchs were of the same age.

Then the king said to the merchants, "Friends, your king is righteous. He is equal to me in age. Would you be able to make your king my friend?" When the answer was in the affirmative, King Bimbisāra exempted the merchants from customs duties, provided them with lodgings and ended the conversation by asking them to see him before their departure from the city.

In accordance with the king's instructions, the merchants came to see King Bimbisāra on the eve of their departure. The king said, "Friends, have a pleasant journey on your way home. Ask your king in my name about his health and tell him on my behalf that I desire friendship with him."

Very well, replied the merchants and they returned to Takkasilā. On arrival there they stowed away their goods properly, and went to see their king after their morning meal. The king asked, "Where have you been, men?" I have not seen you for all these days." The merchants reported the whole matter to their king. Then the king rejoiced, saying, "Excellent, men! Because of you I have got a friend and ally in the Middle Country."

Later on the merchants of Rājagaha went to Takkasilā on business. They called on King Pukkusāti with presents. When the king learned that they had come from Rājagaha, the city of his royal friend, he said, "You are the visitors from Rājagaha, the city of my friend and ally, King Bimbisāra". The merchants replied in the affirmative.

Afterwards the king asked after his friend's health and made an announcement through the beat of drum, "From today onwards all the merchants who have come to my kingdom from the country of my friend King Bimbisāra on foot or in carts shall be provided with houses for lodgings and provisions from the royal granary. They shall be [ 404 ] exempted from taxes. There shall be no molestation whatever to them." King Bimbisāra had done similarly in his kingdom.

Exchange of messages between the two kings.

Then King Bimbisāra sent a message to King Pukkusāti saying,

Friend, precious stones such as rubies, pearls, etc., are usually produced in border countries. If you ever find various precious stones that make attractive objects and sensational news, please inform me of them.

King Pukkusāti on his part sent a return message reading,

Friend, the Middle Land is a great region. If attractive and sensational precious stones of different kinds appear there, kindly let me be informed.

As the days, months and years passed, the two kings remained staunch friends thus without seeing each other.

King Pukkusāti's gift.

While the two kings were thus committed to sharing the news of their potential treasure a very special thing worthy to be given as a gift occurred to King Pukkusāti first. The king obtained eight pieces of invaluable, five-colored muslin. "These are of fine quality," thought the king, "I shall send them as my gifts to my friend King Bimbisāra." So he had eight cases made of sandalwood pith, each being the size of a gum-lac ball, turned on a lathe. In each case he put a muslin piece and by applying gum-lac, he had the cases made into balls. Each ball was then wrapped with a white cloth and put in a box which was wrapped again with another cloth and sealed. "Give it to my friend King Bimbisāra," the king asked his ministers and sent the boxes to his royal friend. He also sent a message running, "I would like my friend open the box and see the gifts in the company of his ministers and other officials at the centre of the city."

[ 405 ] The ministers went to Rājagaha and presented the gift. On hearing the message, King Bimbisāra ordered his ministers and officials through his drummers to assemble. At the city-centre the king sat on the jewelled throne under a white royal umbrella. Then he removed the seal and the cloth-covers and opened the box. When he untied the package in the box and saw the gum balls, it occurred to him thus, "Oh, my friend King Pukkusāti sent these gum dices as his gifts, for he must have mistaken me for a gambler, a dice-addict." Thinking thus he took a ball, roll it in his hand, guessed its weight and knew definitely that it contained a bundle of muslin.

When the king struck the ball against the foot of the throne, the gum fell off (in layers). He opened the fragrant case gently with his fingernails and on seeing the treasure of muslin, he ordered the other seven cases to be opened. They clearly saw with their eyes that all contained priceless pieces of muslin. When these were spread and measured, they were found to be of beautiful colours and fine touch, each measuring sixteen cubits in length and eight cubits in breadth. On seeing the precious treasure of muslin pieces people clapped their hands and threw up their turbans. They rejoiced, saying, "Our king and his friend King Pukkusāti have never seen each other, yet that king has sent such priceless gifts. It is proper to make such a king a friend."

King Bimbisāra had each muslin piece appraised and found all of them to be of inestimably high value. He had four of them offered to the Buddha and kept the other four in his palace.

King Bimbisāra's return present.

Then king Bimbisāra wondered thus, "A return gift should excel the gift received. My friend King Pukkusāti has sent me the priceless gift. What kind of gift should I send in return to him?"

Herein it may be asked "Is not there any treasure that is better then the eight pieces of muslin in Rājagaha?" (The answer is:) It was not that there was none there were indeed. King Bimbisāra was a great king. Therefore it could not be that there was nothing better than the eight [ 406 ] pieces of muslin. Nevertheless from the time of his attainment of Sotāpanna any worldly treasure had been no more delightful to the king's heart. Only the Three Jewels in the Form of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha were delightful. Therefore in selecting the most valuable thing as a return gift, the king considered in the following manner:

In this world the treasure (ratana) is of two kinds, the living (saviññāṇaka) and the non-living (aviññāṇaka). Of these two, the non-living such as gold, silver or any other precious thing is only to adorn the living. Therefore the living treasure is more praiseworthy.

Again, the living treasure is of two kinds the human and the animal, The animal such as elephant, horse or any other creature is only to work for the human. Therefore the human treasure is more praiseworthy.

Again, the human treasure is of two kinds, the male and the female. The female, even if she be the wife of a Universal Monarch, is to serve the male. Therefore the male treasure is more praiseworthy.

"Again, the male treasure is of two kinds, the householder (āgāriya) who strives for his family and the ascetic (anāgāriya) who does not strive for his family. The householder, even if he be a Universal Monarch, the top of the former kind, is to pay homage with the fivefold veneration to the newly ordained novice of today. Therefore the ascetic treasure is more praiseworthy.

Again, the ascetic treasure is of two kinds, the learner (sekkha), a worldling or a man of lower attainments; and the non-returner (asekkha), an Arahant. Even if there be a hundred thousand learners, they are not equal to one non-returner, the Arahant, in sanctity. Therefore the non-returner treasure is more praiseworthy."

"Again, the non-returner treasure is of two kinds, the Buddha and the Disciple. Even if there be a hundred thousand Disciples, [ 407 ] they are not equal to one Buddha in sanctity. Therefore the Buddha treasure is more praiseworthy.

Again, the Buddha treasure is of two kinds, the minor or solitary Buddha (Pacceka Buddha) and the Omniscient One (Sabbaññū Buddha) or the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One (Sammā sambuddha). Even if there be a hundred thousand of the former type, they are not equal to one Buddha of the latter kind. Therefore the Omniscient Buddha is more praiseworthy."

Indeed, in this world of sentient beings together with the world of Devas and Brahmās, there is no treasure like the Omniscient Buddha. Therefore I will sent that unique treasure to my friend King Pukkusāti.

So thinking, King Bimbisāra asked the ministers from Takkasilā whether they had ever seen the three Jewels-viz, the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha in their country. The ministers replied they had not even heard of them, much less seen them. The king was much pleased because he now had the opportunity to send a present that was not to be found in Takkasila. Then the king thought,

I can request the Exalted One to go to Takkasilā, the city of my friend King Pukkusāti for the spiritual uplift of the people. But it is not customary for the Exalted One to pass the night in border countries. So it is impossible for the Exalted One to go there.

Suppose I can request and send the Venerables Sāriputta, Mahā Moggalāna and other Great Disciples and Arahants. But the fact is, even as soon as I hear of the sojourn of these Great Theras in border regions, I should send my people, have them brought here by any means possible and serve their physical needs. So it is not possible for the Great Theras to go there.

Therefore I will send a message that will serve the same purpose as the visit of the Exalted One and the Great Theras to Takkasilā would.

The king then had a gold sheet made, four cubits in length and half a cubit in breadth, neither too thick nor too thin. On the day he was [ 408 ] going to write on the sheet, he washed his head early in the morning, bathed, committed himself to the eight precepts and after his morning meal he did not adorn himself with flowers and use any perfume. Then taking the vermilion in a golden cup, he closed all the doors of the lower storey and went upstairs and in order to get more light he opened the lion (figure) -supported window in the east, and seated in the airy chamber, the king wrote on the golden sheet!

"There has arisen in this world the Master who is the Worthy One (Arahaṃ), the Perfectly Self-Enlightened One (Sammāsambuddha) the Possessor of Knowledge and Conduct (Vijjā-caraṇa-sampanna), the Noble Wayfarer (Sugata), the Knower of the World (Lokavidū), the Peerless of Charioteer and Trainer of men (Anuttaro-purisa-damma-sārathi), the Teacher of men and Devas (Satthā-devamanussānaṃ), the Enlightened One (Buddha), the Exalted One (Bhagavā).

Thus the king first wrote some high attributes of the Buddha. Then he described how the Bodhisatta practised the ten Perfections (Pāramīs); how after his demise in the Tusita Deva-world he took conception in the womb of his mother, how at that time there appeared thirty-two great signs that seemed to open the whole world freely, how the miracles attended his conception, how he practised asceticism and strived for Enlightenment; how he, seated on the Aparājita Throne attained Omniscience on the Aparājita Throne, how he acquired extraordinary supernormal powers that made the whole world open to him. Finally, King Bimbisāra wrote that in the living world of Devas and Brahmas there was no ratana other than the Buddha-ratana which possessed such great attributes. The king again described some other attributes of the Buddha in the following verse:

Yaṃ kiñci vittaṃ idha vā huraṃ vā.
saggesu vā yaṃ ratanaṃ paṇītaṃ
na no samaṃ atthi Tathāgatena;
idampi Buddhe ratanaṃ paṇītaṃ
etena saccena suvatthi hotu.

Then willing to extol the Dhamma-ratana the King wrote its six attributes, namely, The doctrine of the Buddha is well proclaimed [ 409 ] (svākkhāta), leading to results discernible in this very life (sandiṭṭhika), beneficial instantly (akālika), invites beings to 'come and see' (ehipassika), worthy to be embraced (opaneyyika), and worthy to be experienced by the wise individually (paccattaṃ-vedittabba viññūhi). The king also mentioned special attributes such as the thirty-seven constituents of Enlightenment (Bodhipakkhiya Dhamma) such as the four foundations of mindfulness (satipaṭṭhāna), the four right efforts (sammappadhāna), the four paths to supernormal power (iddhi-pada), the five faculties (indriya), the five strengths (bala), the seven factors of Enlightenment (bojjhaṅga) and the eightfold Path (Maggaṅga)."

Then the king described the attributes of the Dhamma partly as follows:

Yaṃ buddhaseṭṭho parivaṇṇaī suciṃ
samādhimanantarikaññamāhu;
Samādhinā tena samo na vijjati,
idampi dhamme ratanaṃ paṇītaṃ
etena saccena suvatthi hotu

Then the king willing to extol the Saṃgha-ratana wrote its nine attributes, of which the first four being that "The Disciples of the Buddha possess good conduct (suppaṭipannatā), upright conduct (ujupaṭipannatā), conduct leading to Nibbāna (Ñāya-paṭipannata), conduct leading to their being worthy of veneration (sāmīcippaṭipannatā); by possessing which (as the cause) they are worthy of offering brought from afar (āhuneyya), worthy of offering meant for guests (pāhuneyya), worthy of proper offering (dakkhineyya), worthy of veneration (añjali-karaṇīya), and being the best field for beings to sow the seeds of good deeds (anuttara-puññakkhetta lokassa). The king continued his writing:

Clansmen who are of good birth and good conduct hear the words of the Exalted One and renounce the world to become monks. Some do so, giving up the pleasures of a king, some the pleasures of a crownprince, some the post of a supreme commander, and so on. Having become monks they lead the noble way of life. After this foreword, with regard to the noble way of life, the king wrote something about lower morality (cūḷa-sīla), medium morality (majjhima-sīla), higher morality (mahā-sīla), etc., as contained in the Brahmajāla Sutta. [ 410 ] He also wrote in part on the restraint of the six senses, cultivation of mindfulness with intelligence (satisampajañña), contentment with the four requisites of life, the nine kinds of dwellings suitable for meditation, the overcoming of five hindrances (nīvaraṇa), making preparations with certain devices (kasiṇa) for mind-training, development of Jhāna and supernormal powers, thirty-eight kinds of meditation, etc., all leading up to the attainment of Arahantship.

After describing in detail the sixteen kinds of mindfulness on breathing (Ānāpānassati) for meditation, the king glorified the Buddha's Disciples in the Saṃgha:

"Ye puggalā aṭṭhasataṃ pasaṭṭhā
cattāri etāni yugāni honti.
te dakkhiṇeyyā sugatassa sāvakā
etesu dinnāni mahapphalāni.
idampi Saṃgha ratanaṃ paṇītaṃ
etena saccena suvatthi hotu."

The king then added, "The teaching of the Exalted One with its threefold training (sikkhā) is beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle and beautiful in the end. It is the teaching that will also certainly lead to liberation from saṃsāra. Friend Pukkusāti, I would like to urge you to renounce the world and become a monk if you can."

King Bimbisāra then rolled the gold sheet, wrapped it up in a piece of very fine cloth and put it in a sandalwood case, the sandalwood case was then placed in a gold case, the gold case in a silver case, the silver case in a ruby case, the ruby case in a coral case, the coral case in a carbuncle case. the carbuncle case in a spotted ruby (masāragalla) case, the spotted-ruby case in a crystal case, the crystal case in an ivory case, the ivory case in a ten-jewelled case, the ten-jewelled case in a bamboo-strip case and the bamboo-strip case again in a sandalwood box, then again the sandalwood box was placed in a gold box, silver box, ruby box, coral box, carbuncle box, spotted-ruby box, crystal box, ivory box, the ten jewelled box and a bamboo-strip box successively, one box in the other as before.

Then the bamboo-strip box was put in a sandalwood casket, the sandalwood casket in a gold casket, then as before in a [ 411 ] silver casket, ruby casket, coral casket, carbuncle casket, spotted ruby casket, crystal casket, ivory casket, ten-jewelled casket and lacquer casket successively. Then after having the lacquer casket wrapped up in a piece of fine cloth, and the royal seal stamped, the king ordered his ministers. "Decorate the streets in my domain, each street being eight usabhas in width, the two portions being two usabhas in width on either side to be just patched up but the middle portion measuring four usabhas¹ in width is to be decorated with royal accessories."

Then the king had a seat placed on a fully ornamented royal elephant, had a white umbrella set up over it, had the roads of the capital sprinkled with water and thoroughly swept. Flags, banners, and streamers were to be hoisted. On either side of each road was to be decorated with plantain trees, water-filled pots, various performers and fragrant flowers. Messengers were sent to provincial and city governors with instuctions saying,

You should honour the royal present when it passes through places under their rule.

Splendidly adorned with full regalia, and accompanied by his ministers, the king himself set off, carrying the sacred present to the border with great pomp and ceremony amid the boisterous playing of all kinds of music. He privately told his envoy who was in charge of the scared present,

Man, I want my royal friend to receive it not in the presence of his queens but on the upper terrace of the mansion.

The king worshipped the sacred present most respectfully regarding its journey as the visit of the Buddha himself to the border country. Then he returned to Rājagaha City.

The provincial and city governors also improved the road in the same way and passed on the scared present from one place to another.

[ 412 ] Reception by King Pukkasāti.

King Pukkusāti, too, had the road from the border refurbished, had the capital beautifully decorated and received the sacred present magnificently.

The sacred present reached Takkasilā surprisingly on an uposatha day. The minister who brought the present transmitted to the king about the message that King Bimbisāra had verbally given him.

Having heard the message, King Pukkusāti made the necessary arrangements for the comfort of the visitors and took the present by himself and went up to the upper terrace of the mansion. He posted guards at the door to prevent any one from entering the mansion, opened the window, placed the holy present on a high place and took a lower seat for himself. Then he removed the royal seal and the outer covering of cloth and on opening the containers one by one beginning with the lacquer casket he saw the innermost sandalwood casket and rightly concluded, "The way in which the present is packed is different from the way in which earthly treasures are packed. Surely it must be a ratana that has appeared in the Middle Land and That deserves our attention."

Then the king opened the fragrant casket, removed the royal seal and holding the very fine cloth by both edges, he unwrapped it gently and saw the golden scroll. He was struck with wonder at the fine script of the writer-the beautiful, well-shaped letters and lines that made up his hand-writing. The king read every letter of the message.

As he read the attributes of the Buddha, beginning with "There has arisen the Exalted One in this world," he became very much ecstatic with the hair from ninety-nine thousand pores standing straight on end. He was unconscious even of his standing or sitting posture. He was deeply gratified when he thought of the opportunity that he had, thanks to his friend King Bimbisāra, the opportunity to hear the message about the Buddha ratana that was so hard to hear despite the passage of millions of kappas.

[ 413 ] Being unable to read further, King Pukkusāti sat in a contemplative mood till his ecstasy faded away. Then he read the attributes of the Dhamma beginning with svākkhāta. Again the king became ecstatic as before. Having remained in a contemplative mood till his ecstasy faded away, he read the attributes of the Saṃgha beginning with suppaṭipanna and there arose a great ecstasy in him as before.

King Pukkusāti's attainment of Jhāna and monkhood.

Then the king read the last section in the gold scroll which described the mindulness of breathing in meditation. He engaged in meditation according to the instructions in the scroll and gained the Rūpāvacara Jhāna fully. He spent his time enjoying the bliss of Jhāna without any one other than a young attendant allowed to see him. In this way half a month (fifteen days) had elapsed.

The people of the city assembled in the courtyard of the palace and clamoured for the appearance of the king, saying,

The king has completely stopped reviewing the troops or seeing the dancers since the day he received the royal present. He has also ceased to give loyal decisions. We want the king to show anyone he likes the royal present sent by his friend King Bimbisāra. It is a tendency of some kings to try to annex a country by alluring the ruler with royal presents. What is our king doing now?

When the king heard their outcry, he wondered whether he should work for the welfare of the country or follow the Teaching of the Buddha. Then he thought, "No mathematician can count the number of life-times that I have spent as a ruler of a country. Therefore I will only practise the teaching of the Exalted One." So thinking, he took the sword that was near the bed, cut off his hair, opened the window and threw down the hair-knot with the ruby-headdress into the midst of the assembly, saying, "Men! Take my hair-knot and let it act as a king."

The people received the hair-knot together with its ornamental rubyheaddress and cried, lamenting, "O Great King Are the kings who [ 414 ] receive presents from their royal friends all like you?" The beard of King Pukkusāti was two finger-breadth long like that of the Bodhisatta on the eve of his renunciation.

Then the king sent his young attendant to the market to buy and bring two dyed robes and an earthern bowl. Then saying "I dedicate my monkhood to the Exalted Ones who are worthy of honour in this world," he donned one robe as the lower garment, put on the other as the upper garment and, with the alms-bowl hanging over his left shoulder and a staff in one hand, he paced twice or thrice outside the mansion to see whether he looked well and proper as a monk. He was pleased to find that he did. He then opened the main door and stepped down from the mansion.

The dancers and others who were waiting at the three successive doors saw the monk Pukkusāti coming down but they did not recognize the king. They thought that a Paccekabuddha had come to preach to their king. It was only when they got on to the top of the mansion and thoroughly examined the seat of the king that they knew of the king's departure and they cried all at once like people in a sinking boat in the middle of the sea.

As soon as the monk Pukkusāti stepped on the ground, all the citizens and soldiers surrounded him and wept bitterly. The ministers said to Pukkusāti,

Great King! The kings in the Middle Land are very crafty. You should go only after sending emissaries and making inquiries to know definitely whether or not the Buddha-ratana has really appeared in the world. For the time being, you should return to the palace.

But the monk Pukkusāti went off, saying: "Friends, I have implicit faith in my friend, King Bimbisāra. My friend King Bimbisāra has never spoken to me ambiguously. You stay behind." The ministers and the people, however followed the king persistently.

Pukkusāti the clansman then made a mark on the ground with his staff and asked the people, "Whose country is this?" They replied, "Great King, it is your country." Then the monk said, "He who [ 415 ] destroys this mark should be punished by the authority of the king." In the Mahājanaka Jātaka the queen Sīvalidevī dared not erase the line drawn on the ground by the Bodhisatta, King Mahā Janaka. So rolling on the ground she artfully made the line disappear and followed the king. The people too followed through the outlet made by the queen. But in the case of the line drawn by King Pukkusāti, the people dared not destroy it and they were left rolling and weeping with their head turned towards the line.

Pukkusāti the clansman.

Pukkusāti the clansman went off alone without taking even a servant or a slave to offer him a tooth-stick or water for washing face on the journey. He travelled by himself, mindful of the fact that "My Teacher the Exalted Ones renounced the world (as a Bodhisatta) and went off alone to become a monk." Bent on following the example of the Buddha as far as possible and remembering that the Buddha never used a vehicle, he did not wear even a single-layered slipper or use even an umbrella made of leaves. The people climbed the trees, city-walls, small turrets or scaffolds on the walls or inside of fortifications, etc., and watched their king setting out alone.

Pukkusāti the clansman thought: "I will have to go a long journey. I cannot fare to the end of my journey all by myself" So he followed a caravan. As he had to travel by foot on a very rough terrain under the burning sun, the soles of his very tender feet cracked with sores and eruptions, causing great pain and suffering. When the caravan set up a tent made up of branches and leaves and took rest, Pukkusāti stepped off the main road and sat at the foot of a tree. There was no one to massage him or attend to his physical needs. He entered upon the Fourth Jhāna by engaging in breathing meditation, dispelled his weariness and passed the time in Jhanic bliss.

The next morning he cleaned his body and again followed the caravan. When it was time for his morning meal, the merchants took his alms-bowl and offered him food. Sometimes the food was not wellcooked, it was sometimes too soft, sometimes too rough with sand and [ 416 ] pebbles, sometimes too salty, and sometimes it had too little salt. The monk did not bother whether the food was soft or hard, rough or tender, salty or having little salt, but only thought of the place it entered, and ate it as if it were celestial food.

In this way he came to Sāvatthi, having covered a distance of one hundred and ninety two yojanās. Although the caravan passed the Jetavana monastery in the city, it never occurred to him to ask where the Buddha resided. This was due to (1) his reverence for the Buddha and (2) the message of King Bimbisāra.

(1) Throughont his journey Pukkusāti concentrated his mind on the Buddha without thinking of anything else. Having come near Jetavana with deep reverence for the Buddha, he did not even wonder whether the Buddha lived there and so the question to ask about the Master never occurred to him.

(2) The message of King Bimbisāra said that "The Exalted One appears in this world" and so it led Pukkusāti to believe that the Buddha lived in Rājagaha. So although he passed by the Jetavana monastery, he did not ask about the residence of the Master and continuing his journey, he came to Rājagaha, forty five yojanās from Sāvatthi.

On reaching Rājagaha just after sunset Pukkusāti found many monasteries and as he concluded from King Bimbisāra's message that the Buddha was in Rājagaha, he asked the people where the Buddha lived. The people asked him from where he came and on hearing that he came from the north, they said, "Venerable Sir, you have over journeyed. The Exalted One lives in Sāvatthi, forty-five yojanās distant from Rājagaha on the way by which you have come." The monk thought, "Now, it is too late. I cannot go to the Exalted' One today. I will spend the night here and see the Exalted One tomorrow." He asked the people about the place where the ascetics who came to Rājagaha after sunset put up. The people pointed to a potter's small hut as the rest-house for visiting monks. With the permission of the potter, the monk entered the hut and sat there to spend the night.

[ 417 ] Coming of the Buddha.

At dawn on that day the Buddha surveyed the world of living beings and on seeing Pukkusāti, the Buddha thought,

This man of good family read the message sent by his friend King Bimbisāra and after completely renouncing his one hundred yojana-wide domain of Takkasila, he became a monk out of regard for me. Today he will reach Rājagaha after travelling 192 yojanās and another forty-five yojanās beyond Sāvatthi.

If do not go to him, he will pass the night and die hopelessly without attaining the lower three Fruitions. If I go to him he will realize the three lower Fruitions of the Noble Path and become liberated. I have developed and practised Perfections for aeons out of compassion for worthy beings. I will now go and see him for his spiritual uplift.

So early in the morning the Buddha cleaned his body and entered Sāvatthi with the monks on the round for alms. In the afternoon he left the city, rested for a while in the Fragrant Chamber and thought,

This man of good family has done out of regard for me which is hard for many other people to do. Having renounced the one hundred yojana vast domain of Takkasilā, he set out alone without even a young servant to give him water for washing his face. The Buddha thought of this austerity of the monk and without calling the Venerables Sāriputta or Moggalāna or any other disciple, he left Sāvatthi, taking the alms-bowl and robe by himself.

The Buddha did not fly in the air or shorten the journey but went on foot as he knew that out of regard for him the monk did not travel by elephant, horse chariot or a golden palanquin but came barefooted without a slipper or a leaf-umbrella.

With a Buddha's splendour of all the great marks and six body-rays etc., shrouded like the cloud-covered moon, the Buddha travelled incognito for the whole afternoon (i.e, about six hours) and covering a [ 418 ] distance of forty five yojanās, he came near a potter's hut at sunset just after the monk Pukkusāti had entered the hut. The Buddha came with his glory covered in order to enable the monk to have complete rest. One who is tired and weary cannot absorb the Dhamma.

When the Buddha came near the potter's hut, he did not enter it arrogantly as the Ommniscient Buddha but stood at the entrance and asked for the monk's permission to stay there. Pukkusāti mistook the Buddha for an ordinary monk and gave his permission willingly, saying, "My friend, this hut is quiet. It is not small. You may stay here comfortably as you please."

(How could the monk Pukkusāti who had renounced the one hundred yojana-vast kingdom of Takkasilā be reluctant to share his accommodation in a deserted hut with a fellow-monk? He was not reluctant at all. Yet some vain and foolish monks (mogha purisa) are very miserly and possessive with regard to their abode (āvāsa-macchariya) and try to deny accommodation to fellow-monks.) (Commentary)

The Buddha who was very tender and delicate left the Fragrant Chamber which was like a celestial mansion and entered the potter's hut which was very filthy and loathsome with ashes, broken pots, grass straws and droppings of chickens and pigs. Here amidst this collection of garbage the Buddha made a bed of grass, spread the robe of rags and sat totally unperturbed as though he were in the Chamber that was fragrant with celestial scents.

Thus as the two men of Khattiya families who were credited with past good deeds, who renounced royal pleasures to become monks, who had golden complexions, who had attained transcendent states, the Buddha and Pukkusāti both sat in the potter's hut, making the hut very splendid like the crystal cave where the two lion-kings dwelt.

The Buddha never thought: "I am very delicate and yet I have travelled strenuously forty-five yojanās the whole afternoon (in six hours). I will now lie down on my right side to get over my weariness for a moment." Without having any such thought, the Buddha entered upon the Fourth Jhāna of Fruition (Phala-samāpatti) while sitting.

[ 419 ] Nor did the monk Pukkusāti think of lying down for a moment to overcome his weariness from the bare-footed journey of one hundred and ninety-two yojanās. He too entered upon the Fourth Jhāna induced by breathing while sitting.

(Herein the object of the Buddha's visit was to teach Pukkusāti and why did he enter upon the Fourth Jhāna instead of teaching the monk? The Buddha did not teach at once because at that time the monk was still tired and weary. He would not be able to appreciate the teaching. So the Buddha waited to let his weariness pass away.

(Other teachers say that Rājagaha was a populous royal city with the air ringing with the ten kinds of sound, that the Buddha deferred preaching till midnight when the city would become quiet) This view is not acceptable, for certainly the Buddha could supernormally dispel even the sound travelling as far as the Brahmā-world. In other words, he could make that sound inaudible to the monk. In fact, the Buddha waited till the monk recoveed from his weariness.)

The Buddha left Sāvatthi at noon, travelled on foot to Rājagaha forty-live yojanās away, reached the potter's hut at sunset, entered the hut with the permission of the monk and became absorbed in Phalasamāpatti for six hours. Arising from the Jhāna at midnight, he opened both of eyes, which were endowed with five kinds of sensitivity, like opening the window of a golden mansion. Then he saw the monk Pukkusāti sitting absorbed in the Fourth Jhāna (induced by breathing) like a golden statue, without any movement of the hands, legs or head, grave and imperturbable like a firmly established door-post. The Buddha thought that the monk's posture was quite impressive and decided to start the conversation.

Of the four postures, viz, walking, standing, lying down and sitting, the first three lack dignity. The hands, the legs and the head of a walking monk shake. The standing monk's body is stiff. The one lying down is also unpleasant. In fact, only the sitting posture of the monk who after having swept his retreat in the afternoon, spread his leather sheet, cleaned his hands and [ 420 ] feet, sits cross-legged is dignified. The monk Pukkusāti sat cross-legged in the Fourth Jhāna that was induced by breathing practice. This pleased the Buddha.

(The Buddha know that Pukkusāti became a monk out of regard for him. Yet he decided to ask him because if he did not do so, there would be no conversation. No conversation would mean no preaching. So he started the conversation in order to pave the way for preaching).

The Buddha asked the monk to whom he dedicated his monastic life, who was his teacher and whose teaching he liked. The monk answered that he dedicated his life to the Buddha and so on.

Again, the Buddha asked him where the Worthy One, the Supremely Enlightened One lived. The monk Pukkusāti replied, "My friend, there is a city called Sāvatthi in the north country. The Worthy One, the Supremely Enlightened One, now lives in that city." When the Buddha asked him whether he had ever seen the Buddha, and if he were to see him now would he recognize him, Pukkusāti's reply was that he had not seen him and that he would not know him if he were to see him now.

(Herein everyone knew the Buddha from his glory. This is not suprising. But it is hard for people to know the Buddha who went incognito as an ordinary monk on the round for alms, with his glory hidden. So the monk Pukkusāti answered honestly that he would not know the Buddha. He did not know although he stayed in the same hut with the Buddha.)

Knowing that the monk's weariness had vanished, the Buddha decided to preach to him, the clansman "who had dedicated his monkhood to me,". The Buddha said, "Monk! I will teach you. Listen to my teaching. Bear it well in mind. I will teach you the Dhamma thoroughly." (Up to that time the monk Pukkusāti still did not know that his companion was the Buddha.)

Pukkusāti had renounced his kingdom after reading the message of his friend King Bimbisāra and had become a monk in the hope of hearing the sweet Dhamma of the Buddha. He had made such a long journey without meeting with anyone who would care to teach him. So [ 421 ] why should he refuse to welcome respectfully the teaching of his companion? Like a thirsty man he was very anxious to drink the water of the Dhamma. So he gladly agreed to listen to the teaching respectfully. Then the Buddha gave the summary or contents of the Dhātuvibhaṅga Sutta as follows:

Monk! A person or a being has six elements, six sense-organs, eighteen modes of thought, four kinds of support. He who exists on these four supports is free from the current of conceit born of ego-illusion, when such current of conceit is absent in a monk, he is said to be one whose āsava or defilements are gone. (1) He should be mindful of the Vipassanā (Insight) Knowledge (2) He should speak the truth (3) He should strive to repudiate moral defilements (4) He should practise the Dhamma only for the extinction of defilements. (These are the contents in brief of the Dhātuvibhaṅga Sutta.)

After thus stating these fundamentals of the Dhamma, the Buddha explained them one by one in detail. (Reference. Dhātuvibhaṅga Sutta of the Majjhima-Nikāya).

Pukkusāti's attainment of Anāgāmi state.

When the Buddha explained the first dhamma, viz, mindfulness of Vipassanā Knowledge, the Buddha led the teaching up to Arahantship and Pukkusāti attained the three lower Fruitions on the basis of his good deeds in the past and became an Ariya (Noble One) in the Anāgāmī state.

For example, while a king is eating food of various tastes in a golden bowl, he takes such amount of cooked rice as would suit the size of his mouth. When the young prince sitting on his lap shows the desire to eat, the king may put in his mouth the lump of rice that he has taken for his own consumption. The child will eat only such quantity of rice as would be in accord with the size of his mouth. As for the remaining rice the king may eat it himself or put it back in the golden bowl. In the [ 422 ] same way the Buddha, the Lord of the Dhamma, gave a discourse leading to Arahantship, a discourse in accord with the his own intellectual power and on the basis of his former good deeds the monk Pukkusāti could consume three fourths of the Dhamma food, that is, the Path, and became an Anāgāmī Ariya.

Pukkusāti had no doubt about the Dhamma before he attained Anāgāmi-phala and when he was following the Buddha's talk on aggregates, sense-organs, elements or mental impressions, etc., But he wondered whether the highly distinguished man who looked like an ordinary man and who was teaching him might be the Buddha because he had heard that the Buddhas made it a practice to go about incognito in some places. However, when he attained the Fruition of Anāgāmī, he had absolutely no doubt that the teacher was the Buddha.

Before he recognized the Buddha, he had addressed the Buddha as "My friend!" He did not as yet apologize to the Buddha for his mistake because the Buddha was still delivering the discourse according to the series of the Fundamentals, and the monk did not have the opportunity to offer his apology.

Pukkusāti's request for ordination.

At the end of the discourse there followed a dialogue between the Buddha and the monk Pukkusāti.

Pukkusāti: "The Exalted One, the Teacher of men and Devas, has come here out of great compassion for me! The Buddha who preaches the good Dhamma has come here out of great compassion for me! The Exalted One who understands all the Dhamma thoroughly come here out of great compassion for me." (Saying thus joyously, he rose and put his head against the feet of the Buddha, and he added) "Glorious Buddha! Because of my foolishness, I have made a mistake. I thought that I should call you "my friend", (and I have called you so erroneously.) Glorious Buddha! Kindly forgive me for the offence against which I should guard myself in future."

[ 423 ] Buddha: "Monk! Verily because of your foolishness, you have made a mistake. You thought that I should be called "friend" (and you have called me so erroneously.) Monk! I forgive you for the offence because you admit your offence and make amends for it accordingly. Later you guard yourself against it. Such atonement and such self-restraint contribute to the welfare of those who are committed to my teaching."

Pukkusāti: "Glorious Buddha, may I receive ordination in your presence".

Buddha: "Have you got your (own) bowl and robe?"

Pukkusāti: "No, Glorious Buddha, I have not."

Buddha: "Monk! the Buddhas do not ordain those who do not have alms-bowls and robes."

The Venerable Pukkusāti was very much pleased with the Buddha's teaching. He expressed his appreciation, rose from his seat, paid respect to the Buddha and went away to search for alms-bowl and robe.

(N.B. Why did not Pukkusāti receive the alms-bowl and robes that appeared supernormally for the monks whom the Buddha ordained simply by saying "Come here, bhikkhu!" It is said that he did not receive them because he had never donated the eight requisites of a monk in a previous life. (This explanation was not acceptable to the commentator). Certainly, as a man who had given alms and who had great aspirations, he could not be one who had never donated the eight requisites of a monk. In reality the bowls and robes created of supernormal power are meant only for the monks who was in their last existence. Pukkusāti was still subject to rebirth. So he could not have such supernormal requisites.

(The Buddha did not seek the bowl and robe for Pukkusāti's ordination because he had no opportunity to ordain him. The death of Pukkusāti was imminent and he was like a Brahmā to the potter's hut for temporary residence. So the Buddha did not seek the bowl and robe for him.)

[ 424 ] Pukkusāti went off in search of bowl and robe just after dawn. Dawn came all at once with the end of the Buddha's discourse and the emission of the Buddha's six body-rays.

The Buddha emitted the six hued rays as soon as his preaching was over. The whole hut was brightly illuminated. The six hued rays ran off in groups, as if enveloping all the quarters with gold garments or making all places bright with multi-coloured flowers. The Buddha resolved himself to become visible to the people of the city and when the people saw the Buddha, they spread the news of his presence in the hut and the matter was resported to King Bimbisāra.

King Bimbisāra's visit and honour.

When King Bimbisāra heard the report, he came to the potter's hut and after paying respect, he asked the Buddha at what time the Buddha came here. The Buddha replied that he came here at sunset the previous day. The king again asked about the object of the his visit. Then the Buddha said,

"Great King, your bosom friend King Pukkusāti read your message and after renouncing the world to become a monk, he made the journey out of regard for me but having travelled forty-five yojanās unnecessarily beyond Sāvatthi, he entered the potter's hut and sat therein.

For his spiritual welfare I have come here on foot and preached to him. Pukkusāti has now attained the Fruitions of the three lower Paths and is an Anāgāmī Ariya."""

On hearing this the king was surprised and asked the Buddha where his friend King Pukkusāti was. The Buddha replied that he had gone out to get alms-bowl and robe for his ordination. King Bimbisāra immediately rushed out in the direction in which his friend had gone out for alms-bowl and robe. The Buddha returned by air to the Fragrant Chamber in the Jetavana monastery.

[ 425 ] Pukkusāti's death and rebirth in Brahmā World.

In his search for alms-bowl and robe Pukkusāti did not go to his royal friend King Bimbisāra or to the merchants who had come from Takkasilā. He considered it unethical for him to search for them here and there, discriminating between the good and the bad like a fowl. He decided to seek the real rags not in big cities but in the fords, cemeteries, garbage heaps or narrow streets. So he tried to find really torn pieces of cloths in the garbage heap in the back-lanes.

While Pukkusāti was trying to do so, a mentally deranged cow (his enemy in a previous life) rushed towards him and gored him with her horns. Weak and extremely oppressed by hunger, Pukkusāti lost his life as he was hurled into the air. When he fell to the ground, he lay on the garbage heap like a golden statue. After his death he was reborn in the Avihā Brahmā Abode and before long he become a Brahmā Arahant after attaining Arahantship.

According to the Sagāthavagga Saṃyutta (the tenth sutta of the Aditta Vagga and the fourth Sutta of the Nanatitthiya Vagga) there were seven people who attained Arahantship soon after their spontaneous (Upapital) rebirth in the Aviha Brahma abode. They were (1) Upaka, (2) Palagaṇḍa, (3) Pukkusāti, (4) Bhaddiya, (5) Khaṇḍa deva, (6) Bāhuraggi and (7) Siṅgiya.

King Bimbisāra thought: "My friend King Pukkusāti renounced his kingdom merely after reading my message and had made such a long and arduous journey. He had done what is hard for ordinary people to do. I will honour my friend in the way the monks are honoured." He sent his men to all the environs of the city to search for King Pukkusāti. The men found the king lying dead face down like a golden statue on the garbage heap. So they returned and reported to King Bimbisāra.

King Bimbisāra went there and mourned over his friend, saying "We did not have the opportunity to honour our great friend while he was alive. Now he had died without anyone to help him." The king had the body of the dead man carried on a small couch, put in a proper place and not knowing how to honour a dead monk, he sent for the bathers, clothed the body in clean white garments and ornamented like a king.

[ 426 ] Then the body was placed on a palanquin and honoured with all kinds of music and fragrant flowers, taken to the outskirts of the city and cremated with fragrant fire-wood. The bones were then collected and enshrined in a cetiya.

Later on many monks in Sāvatthi went to see the Buddha. They paid respect to the Master and sitting in a proper place they said: "Glorious Buddha, You have briefly preached the Dhamma to Pukkusāti. That man is now dead. What is his destination? What is his future life?"

Then the Buddha replied: "Monks, Pukkusāti was a wise man. He practised Vipassanā (Insight)-meditation that accords with the transcendent Dhamma. He did not give me any trouble on account of the Dhamma. Due to the extinction of the five fetters that lead to the lower sensual worlds, he will be reborn in the Avihā Brahmā world and will attain in that very Suddhāvāsa Brahma world (Avihā being one of its five abodes). There is no possibility of his return to the lower sensual worlds from that Avihā abode."

Story of the Asūra King (Rāhu).

Rahu the Asura Deva king was four thousand and eight hundred yojanās in height. The distance between his two arms was one thousand and two hundred yojanās. The thickness of his body was six hundred yojanās. His palms and his soles were three hundred yojanās in perimeter. The portion of the finger between two joints is fifty yojanās long. The distance between the two eye-brows was fifty yojanās. The mouth was two hundred yojanās long, three hundred yojanās deep and three hundred yojanās in circumference. The neck has (a girth of) three hundred yojanās. The forehead was three hundred yojanās. The forehead was three hundred yojanās in breadth and the head nine hundred yojanās.

Rāhu the Asūra King thought: "I am too tall I will not be able to look down and see the Exalted One." So he did not come to the Buddha. But one day he heard words about the greatness of the [ 427 ] Buddha and so he came hoping to see the Master by any possible means.

Knowing the Asūra Deva-king's mind, the Buddha thought of the posture in which he should be viewed. Then since a person who is standing appears to be tall inspite of his short stature, the Buddha decided to show his body to the Asūra-king in a lying posture. The Buddha told the Thera Ānanda to put a small couch outside the Fragrant Chamber and then he lay down on the hight side on the couch like a lion-king.

Rāhu then came near the Buddha but he had to look up to see the Buddha's face just as he had to stretch his neck and look up at the moon in the sky. The Buddha asked him why he had come to see him only after a very long time. The Asūra King replied that he had not come because he laboured under the misapprehension that he would not be able to stoop and see the Glorious Buddha.

Then the Buddha said to him, "Asūra-king! I have not developed the Perfections (pāramīs) holding my head down (that is, relaxing my effort). I have given alms always holding up my head (that is, without relaxing my effort)."

On that very day Rāhu the Asūra King formally become one who took refuge in the Buddha.

Story of Devadatta.

(The following story of Devadatta from the time of his ordination to his being swallowed by earth is condensed as far as possible although a lengthy account should be given based on many stories about Devadatta in Pāḷi literature).

An account of Devadatta up to the time of his ordination has already been given. (Reference: "The ordination of six Sakyan princes and the barber Upāli", Chapter 19 of the Mahā Buddha vaṃsa Vol Three.)

Of the six Sakyan princes and the barber Upāli after their ordination.

[ 428 ] (1) the Thera Bhaddiya attained the threefold supramundane knowledge and became an Arahant during the vassa in that very year.

(2) the Thera Anuruddha gained the Divine Eye (Dibba Cakkhu) and after hearing the Mahāvitakka Sutta, he attained Arahantship (Aṅguttara Nikāya Vol 3.)

(3) the Thera Ānanda was established in the Sotāpatti Phala after hearing the discourse containing the simile of the mirror taught by the Venerable Puṇṇa Mantānī-putta. (Saṃyutta Nikāya, Vol 2.)

(4-5) the Theras Bhagu and Kimila later on developed Vipassanā meditation and attained Arahantship.

(6) Devadatta gained mundane psychic powers, remaining a worldling. He never became an Ariya.

At another time while the Buddha was sojourning in Kosambī, the Master and his many disciples received abundant offerings. People came into the monastery with robes, medicines and other requisites in their hands and asked "Where is the Exalted One Where is the Venerable Sāriputta? Where is the Venerable Moggalāna? Where is the Venerable Mahā Kassapa? Where are the Venerables Bhaddiya, Anuruddha, Ānanda, Bhagu and Kimila. "They were always on the move, looking for the places where the eighty Great Disciples (Mahā Sāvaka) stayed. But there was nobody who bothered to ask Devadatta's whereabouts.

Devadatta's attempt to gain power.

Then Devadatta thought: "I too became a monk along with Bhaddiya and others. They are monks of ruling (Khattiya) families; I too am a monk of such a family. But those who brought offerings with them asked for Bhaddiya and others. As for me there was not a single person who cares to ask about me even by my name. Whom should I associate with and whom should I make devoted to me to have abundant offerings for my own?" He continued to ponder, "King Bimbisāra was [ 429 ] established in the Sotāpatti-Phala together with one hundred and ten thousand wealthy Brahmins the first time he saw the Buddha. It is not possible to be united with him. Nor is it possible to form an alliance with King Kosala. Prince Ajātasattu, son of King Bimbisāra, however, does not know a person's virtues or vices as he is young. I will manage to be one with him" So thinking he went to Rājagaha and transformed himself into a boy he adorned himself with four snakes, two on his hands and two on his legs, he also placed a snake on his neck, another one on his head and still another one on his left shoulder; he had the tails of these seven snakes interlocked as a waist band (belt) and put it on to decorate himself. Finally he came down from the sky and sat on the lap of Prince Ajātasattu.

The prince was much scared and asked him who he was. The apparent boy said that he was Devadatta and the prince requested him to show himself as the real Devadatta. Devadatta removed the guise and stood before the prince in his original physical form, dressed in the yellow robe and with an alms-bowl in his hand. Very much impressed by this magic, Prince Ajātasattu became Devadatta's devoted follower. He regularly went with five hundred chariots every morning and evening to see his teacher. He also sent five hundred pots of food, each pot containing food enough for ten monks.

Loss of Devadatta's Jhānic power.

His ego having become inflated because of the abundant offerings that he received, Devadatta conceived the evil desire to make himself a Buddha and lead the Saṃgha. As soon as this desire arose in him, Devadatta lost his supernormal powers based on mundane Jhāna.

Kakudha Brahmā's report to Mahā Moggalāna.

At that time a lay disciple of the Thera Mahā Moggalāna, a Koliya prince named Kakudha became a Brahmā after his death Kakudha Brahmā came to Mahā Moggalāna with his body three gāvutas (three- [ 430 ] fourths of a yojana) long and reported how, being puffed up with selfconceit, Devadatta conceived the evil desire to make himself a Buddha and lead the Saṃgha and how he immediately lost his supernormal powers. After making this report, the Brahmā vanished on the spot.

The Venerable Mahā Moggalāna went to the Buddha and informed him of what Kakudha Brahmā had told him. The Buddha asked him whether he had verified the Brahma's report by means of his psychic powers of knowing another person's mind. When the Thera replied that he had, the Buddha said,

Moggalāna, Keep this matter to yourself! Now that man Devadatta who is empty of the Path and its Fruition will show himself in his true colours.

Then the Buddha gave a talk on five kinds of bogus teachers: (1) the teacher who claims to have pure morality without having it, (2) the teacher who claims to have pure livelihood without having it, (3) the teacher who claims to have pure preaching without having it, (4) the teacher who claims to have pure speech without having it, and (5) the teacher who claims to have pure intellectual vision without having it. Their respective disciples know all about these five kinds of teachers. But they do not tell their lay followers about their respective teachers because if they do so their teachers who have been receiving the four requisites from the laity will be displeased. So they say nothing and connive at the deception of their teachers, believing that by their deeds they will one day reveal their true colour by themselves. The disciples have to protect only such teachers and such teachers crave for the protection of their disciples. As for the Buddha he really has pure morality and so he claims it. He really has pure livelihood, pure preaching, pure speech and pure intellectual vision and so he claims to have all these pure assets. For this reason there is no need for the disciples to protect the Master in respect of morality livelihood, preaching, speech and intellectual vision nor does he in the least want such protection. (For details see the Cūlavagga of the Vinaya Piṭaka)

[ 431 ] The Buddha's Sermon with regard to Devadatta's gains.

Then the Buddha left Kosambī City and arrived at Rājagaha where he resided in the Veḷuvana monastery. There many monks reported to the Master that Prince Ajātasattu went to Devadatta by five hundred chariots in the morning and in the evening, and that he sent five hundred pots of cooked food every day. Then the Master said:

"Monks, do not set great store by the gains of Devadatta. As long as Prince Ajātasattu goes to Devadatta with five hundred chariots every morning and evening and send five hundred pots of food daily, it certainly means decline of his good deeds. But their increase is not to be expected. (It is not certain.)

Monk, for example, if the bile of a bear is cut and put in the nose of a wild dog, the animal will become worse and more violent. Likewise, so long as Prince Ajātasattu, goes to Devadatta with five hundred chariots every morning and send 500 pots of food everyday, it certainly means Devadatta's decline in doing good deeds. His doing of more and more good deeds is not to be expected. (It is not certain.)"

Phalaṃ ve kadaliṃ hanti
phalam veḷuṃ phalaṃ nālam
Sakkāro kāpurisaṃ hanti
gabbho assatim yathā.

"Monks, Devadatta's reputation for his gains will head to his self-destruction. For example, monks, (1) the banana plant bears fruit for its self-destruction (2) the bambo plant bears fruit for its self-destruction, (3) the reed-plant bears fruit for its selfdestruction and (4) the Assatara mare bears the calf in her womb for her self-destruction. In the same way, Devadatta's reputation for gains will lead to his self-destruction.

Monks, just as the banana fruit kills the banana plant, the bamboo fruit kills the bamboo plant, the reed fruit kills the reed plant and the calf in the womb kills its mother, the assatara mare; so also gains kill a man of corrupt and evil disposition."""

[ 432 ] Devadatta's first grudge against the Buddha.

Then one day as the Buddha sat amidst a large assembly, preaching to the king and the people, caring Devadatta rose and covered the left shoulder with his upper robe (as a sign of respect), he raised up his joined hands in adoration towards the Buddha and said:

Glorious Buddha, now you are old, far advanced in age and on the threshold of the last stage of life. Venerable Sir! Let the Exalted Buddha now live in peace without bothering about anything. Let him hand over the Saṃgha to me. I will lead and look after the Saṃgha.

The Buddha said: "Devadatta! That is not proper. Do not wish to look after and lead the Saṃgha." For the second time Devadatta made the same request and the Buddha rejected it. When Devadatta made the request for the third time, the Master said: "Devadatta! I would not hand over charge of the Saṃgha even to Sāriputta and Moggalāna. Why should I hand it over to you, you evil one, eater of spittle?"

The words of the Buddha rankled Devadatta. "The Buddha rebuked me in the presence of the king and the people with the word "eater of spittle (kheḷāsaka)", one who consumes the four impure, eater of spittle-like requisites! He exalts only Sāriputta and Moggalāna."

So thinking, he was angry and displeased and after paying respect to the Buddha, he went away.

Pakāsaniya-kamma against Devadatta.

Then the Buddha made the monks pass a resolution against Devadatta in Rājagaha city. It was an act called pakāsaniya-kamma of called ñatti-dutiya carried out by the assembly of monks after taking the proceeding kammavācā at which the motion is put but once and followed by the declaration of the Saṃgha's decision. Then the Venerable Sāriputta was nominated by vote to be the person entrusted with the task of making the resolution public in Rājagaha. In accordance with the Buddha's word of command, the Saṃgha [ 433 ] nomimated the Venerable Sāriputta, and the Venerable Thera made the resolution against Devadatta well-known in the city.

On hearing this resolution, those who lacked faith and wisdom blamed the monks, saying "These monks, these sons of the Sakyan prince, Buddha, are jealous. They are jealous of Devadatta's gains! But those who had faith and wisdom said, It could not be an evil act on the part of the Master to have the facts about Devadatta made public in Rājagaha."

(Herein a pakāsaniya kamma is an ecclesiastical act to be performed by the Saṃgha according to Vinaya rules. It shows clearly that the acts and sayings of the monk against whom the Saṃgha passed resolution have nothing to do with the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha and that he acts and says only of his own free will.

(The resolution against Devadatta is somewhat like this: "Formerly Devadatta's behaviour was of one kind but now it is quite different. What he does corporeally or says by word of mouth is not to be identified with the Buddha or the Dhamma or the Saṃgha. It is to be identified only with Devadatta." The resolution containing words to this effect was passed by the Saṃgha after taking votes. Then in accordance with the instructions of the Buddha, the Saṃgha formally nominated the Thera Sāriputtara (again by votes) to be the persona who was to declare Devadatta a persona non grata publicly in Rājagaha. So accompanied by many monks, the Venerable Sāriputta went into the city and made public the dissociation of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha from Devadatta by saying "Formerly Devadatta's behaviour was of one kind, now it is quite different. What he does bodily or verbally should not be identified with the Buddha or the Dhamma or the Saṃgha. It should be identified only with Devadatta." These in brief are the noteworthy points about pakāsaniya-kamma.)

[ 434 ] Prince Ajātasattu.

After he has been thus fully declared to be a monk whose acts and words were disavowed by the Saṃgha, Devadatta thought: "Now the Monk Gotama has repudiated me. I will now do what is harmful to his welfare." So he went to Prince Ajātasattu and said:

Prince, people in ancient times lived long but nowadays people are short-lived. There is the possibility of your death even as a prince. So kill your father and become a king. I will kill the Buddha and become a Buddha.

Prince Ajātasattu thought: "The Venerable Devadatta is a powerful person. He says so perhaps because he has reasons for saying so." So he tied a dagger to his thigh; shaking with fear, he hurried into the palace in broad daylight. The ministers who guarded the king seized and searched the prince. When they found the dagger tied to his thigh, they asked him what he wanted to do. The prince said that he wanted to kill his father. The ministers again asked him at whose instigation he tried to kill the king. The prince admitted that Devadatta had incited him.

Then some ministers held the view that the prince and Devadatta and all the monks should be killed. Some contended that the monks should not be killed as they did no wrong and that only the prince and Devadatta should be killed. Still the rest of the ministers maintained that the prince and Devadatta should not be killed nor should the monks be killed, that the matter should be reported to the king and action taken according to the king's instructions.

Then the ministers took the prince to the king and informed the king of the prince's attempt to kill him. The king asked them about their views and the ministers stated their three different views. The king said,

How can the Exalted One or the Dhamma or the Saṃgha be guilty of any offence? They are certainly not guilty. Has not the Exalted One already declared that Devadatta's present behaviour is quite different from his former behaviour and has [ 435 ] not the Master publicly disavowed the acts and sayings of Devadatta?

Then the king dismissed the ministers in the first group (that is, those who held the first view), demoted the second group of ministers and promoted those in the third group.

Then the king asked his son why he wished to kill him. The prince said that he wanted to become a king. King Bimbisāra then said: "Prince, if you want to be a king, then this kingdom is yours," and he handed over his kingdom completely to Prince Ajātasattu.

Devadatta's cruel advice.

As his wish was now fulfilled, Prince Ajātasattu was delighted and he told Devadatta about it. But to incite enmity in the prince Devadatta said, "Like a man who covers his drum with a fox inside it, you think that you have achieved your object. After two or three days your father will have a second thought about your impudence and make himself king again."

The prince asked his teacher what he should do. Devadatta cruelly advised him to exterminate his father. The prince said that it was not desirable to kill his father with any weapon since he was of royal blood. Then Devadatta again gave devilish advice that the prince should starve his father to death.

Ajātasattu's act of parricide.

King Ajātasattu ordered his father King Bimbisāra to be imprisoned in a very hot and highly vaporous iron cage. He did not allow any one except his mother to see the king.

(1) Then Queen Vedehi put the food in a golden bowl and took it into the iron cage. The king ate the food and sustained his life. King Ajātasattu asked how his father managed to keep himself alive and when he heard what his mother was doing, he ordered the ministers not to allow her to enter the cage with food.

[ 436 ] (2) Then the queen hid the food in her knot of hair and entered the cage. The king ate the food and stayed alive. When King Ajātasattu heard this, he forbade the queen to go into the cage with her hair knotted.

(3) Then the queen put the food in golden footwear and entered the cage putting on them. The king subsisted on the food brought by the queen in her footwear. When Ajātasattu learnt how his father was staying alive, he forbade his mother to visit the king in her footwear.

(4) From that time on Queen Vedehī bathed herself with fragrant water, coated her body with food (made of oil, honey, molasses and butter) and putting on her outer robe, she entered the iron cage. The king licked her body and in this way he kept himself alive. When the wicked Ajātasattu heard the news, he imperiously ordered the ministers not to allow his mother to enter the cage.

Thus forbidden to get inside the cage the queen stood near the door of the cage and cried. "O Great King! You yourself did not allow this wicked son Ajātasattu to be killed when he was young. You yourself raised your own (potential) enemy. Now this is the last time that I see you. From now on I will not have the opportunity to see you. Forgive me if I have done anything wrong." Thus muttering and weeping, she went back to her residence.

Death of King Bimbisāra.

From that time on, the king had no food to eat. Walking to and fro, he stayed alive only by means of the bliss of Sotapatti-Fruition that he had attained. His mind being thus always absorbed in that Fruition, the king's body became very splendid.

The wicked Ajātasattu asked his men how his father managed to survive. His men said that the king kept himself alive by walking to and fro and that he had become more splendid than before in his physical appearance. Then King Ajātasattu decided to put an end to the walking exercise of his [ 437 ] father and told the barbers to gash the soles of his father's feet, smear them with oil and salt and broil them before red-hot cutch-embers.

When he saw the barbers, King Bimbisāra thought that someone had certainly brought his son to his senses and that the barbers therefore had come to remove his beard.

The barbers approached the king and stood paying respect to him. The king asked them about the object of their visit, and they informed him of their purpose. Then the king told them to do according to the desire of their master. The barbers requested the king to sit and after making obeisance to him, they said: "O Great King! We will have to carry out the order of King Ajātasattu. Do not be angry with us. What we have to do is most inappropriate to a good king like you." Then holding firmly the soles of his feet with their left hands and sharp razors with their fight hands, they gashed the soles, smeared and rubbed them with oil and salt and then broiled them before the red-hot cutch-embers.

(In a previous life the king walked on the pagoda platform with his footwear and trod on a mat with his uncleaned feet. The suffering that he now underwent was the lingering effect of that unwholesome act in the past, according to Commentaries.)

King Bimbisāra had to endure excruciating pain. Without harbouring any ill-will, he comtemplated the wonderful attributes of the Buddha, the. Dhamma and the Saṃgha. Then withering away like a flower dumped on the pagoda-platform, he became an attendant of Vessavana Deva-King in Catumahārāja Deva-world, and the supreme commander of Deva-ogres by the name of Janavasabha.

(Herein he was called Janavasabha because as King Bimbisāra he was a Sotāpanna Ariya and the chief of one hundred and ten thousand brahmin merchants. Jana, 'of 110,000 Brahmin merchants, vasabha, 'chief'.

(Why did he become a low-class in Catumahārāja Deva-world although he was a great Sotāpanna Ariya? The answer was given by Janavasabha Deva-yakkha himself.

(According to his answer, he passed through seven life-times as king on earth after his demise in Catumahārājā Deva-world [ 438 ] and seven life- times in Catumahārājā after his demise on earth. Now as a Sotāpanna Ariya and by viture of his many good deeds in respect of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha, he could have attained a higher Deva-world. But because he had spent seven life-times successively in Catumahārājā world, his attachment to life (bhava-nikanti) in that Deva-world was powerful and because of that powerful attachment he landed in the Catumahārājā Deva-world. This was the confessions of the Deva-yakkha Janavasabha in the Janavasabha Sutta in Dīgha Nikāya. His confessions in verse read as follows:

Ito satta taro satta, saṃsarāni catuddasa
Nivāsam abhijānāmi, yattha me vusitaṃ pure.)

Belated remorse of the fool.

On the very day of King Bimbisāra's death, the wife of the foolish King Ajātasattu gave birth to a son, later called Udayabhadda. So the two messages, one reporting the birth of a son from the chief of the palace and the other reporting the death of the king's father Bimbisāra came to the palace at the same time.

The ministers considered it advisable to submit first the report of the birth of a son and they did so accordingly. As soon as he read the report there arose in him an intense love for his son that excited his whole body and made him ecstatic to the marrow. At the same time he became aware of his gratitude to his father, thinking that at the time of his birth his father might have also experienced intense love for his son.

King Ajātasattu then ordered his ministers to release his father at once. But the ministers said that was impossible and submitted the report of the death of King Bimbisāra. On hearing the news, King Ajātasattu wept bitterly, went to his mother and asked her whether there arose intense love in his father at the time of his birth.

Queen Vedehī replied: "You foolish son! What do you say? During your childhood you had a whitlow on your finger. The royal nurses were unable to coax and make you stop crying. In the end they took you to your father who was seated in the court of law. Your father kept [ 439 ] in his mouth your finger that was afflicted with the whitlow and due to the warmth of the mouth, the turmour erupted there. Out of great love for you your father did not spit out the pus mixed with putrid blood lest you should wake up and he swallowed it instead. Your father loved you so much."

The queen thus told him at length how his father was attached to him. King Ajātasattu wept bitterly and performed the funeral of his father.

Assassins sent by Devadatta.

Then Devadatta went to king Ajātasattu and asked him for the despatch of men who would kill the Buddha. The king sent the assassins to Devadatta telling them to follow the instructions of his teacher.

Devadatta told the first man: "Man, you go to the place where the Monk Gotama is now living. You kill Gotama and come back by this way."

Then he told a couple of men to kill the first man and come back by another way.

Then the third batch of four men was instructed to kill the two men (of the second batch) and return by another way.

The fourth batch of eight men was instructed to kill the four men (of the third batch) and come back by another way.

Then still another sixteen men (as the fifth batch) were told to kill the eight men (of the fourth batch) and return by another way.

Attainment of Sotāpatti by asassins.

Armed with a sword and a shield and a bow and a quiver. of arrows, the first man went to the Buddha and stood with his rigid body near him, trembling with fear and agitation.

[ 440 ] Seeing him, the Buddha said, "Man, come here. Have no fear." Then the man got over his fear and put his sword and shield as well as his bow and arrows in a suitable place. Then having approached the Buddha, he bowed his head at the feet of the Buddha and confessed and apologized for his offence. The Buddha forgave him and gave at the series of talks on generosity, morality and other good deeds that lead to the attainment of the Path and Fruition. As a result the man became a Sotāpanna Ariya and at the same time sought supramundane refuge in the Triple Gem.

Then the Buddha dismissed the man telling him not to go by the way instructed by Devadatta but to go by another way.

The two men (of the second batch) waited for the first man for a long time. Then going in the opposite direction they saw the Buddha seated at the foot of a tree. They went near the Buddha, paid respect and sat at a proper place. The Buddha gave them the series of Dhamma talks and, explained the four Truths and established them in the Fruition of the Sotapatti. Like the first man, they became Sotapanna Ariyas and sought supramundane refuge in the Triple Gem.

Again, the Buddha dismissed the men, telling them to go by another way.

Then the four men (of the third batch) ....

Then the eight men (of the fourth batch) ....

The sixteen men (of the fifth batch) waited for the eight men for a long time and going in the opposite direction, they saw the Master as did those who went before them. They paid respect to the Buddha and sat at a proper place. The Buddha gave them the Dhamma talks explained the four Truths and established them in the Fruition of Sotapatti. After they had sought supramundane refuge in the Triple Gem, the Buddha dismissed the men, telling them to go by another way.

Then the first man approached Devadatta and said: "Sir, I cannot kill the Exalted Buddha. He is so very powerful." Devadatta said: "Enough men, Do not kill the Monk Gotama. I will kill him by myself."

[ 441 ] Bloodshed caused to the Buddha by Devadatta.

After having helped the assassins to gain the Fruition of Sotāpatti, the Buddha was one day walking to and fro in the shadow of the Gijjhakūṭa Hill. Then Devadatta climbed the hill and rolled down a large rock with the intention of killing the Buddha. As it rolled down, two promontories appeared automatically and blocked the rock. A layer of the rock flew off and caused bloodshed to the foot of the Buddha.

The Buddha looked up and said to Devadatta! "You foolish man, you who can make no spiritual progress! You have caused bloodshed to me with ill-will and murderous intention. So you have done much evil."

Then the Buddha said to the monks: "Monks, Devadatta has done this first heinous act (anantariya-kamma) because he has spilled my blood with ill-will and murderous intention."

The monks carried the Buddha to the monastery in Maddakucchi Park. There the Buddha expressed the desire to go to the monastery in Jīvaka's mango grove and told the monks to take him there. The monks took the Master there in accordance with his instructions.

On hearing the news the great physician Jīvaka went to the Buddha and applied a highly potent medicine to the wound. Having bandaged the wound, he told the Buddha to keep the bandage intact until his return from his visit to a patient in the city. After calling on the patient and doing the needful for him, the physician came back but did not reach the city gate before it was closed.

Then the physician Jīvaka thought: "I have applied the powerful medicine to the foot of the Exalted Buddha and bandaged the wound treating him like an ordinary patient. So I have made a grave mistake. This is the time to untie the bandage. If the bandage is not untied, he will suffer intense pain the whole night." So thinking, Jīvaka was much worried. At that moment the Buddha called Ānanda and said, "Ānanda, the physician Jīvaka came back after dark and could not reach the city gate before it was closed. He is worried because now is the time to untie the bandage. So you untie the bandage immediately." The [ 442 ] Venerable Ānanda removed the bandage and the wound was gone like the bark detached from the tree.

As soon as the city-gate was opened, Jīvaka hurried to the Buddha even before dawn and asked him whether he suffered any pain. The Buddha said, "Jīvaka, I have overcome all pain since I gained supreme Englightenment under the Bodhi tree" and then he preached the following verse.

Gataddhino visokassa, vippamuttassa sabbadhi
Sabbagantha-pahīnassa, pariḷāho na vijjati.

Jīvaka! There is absolutely no sorrow, no suffering in the Arahant who has been liberated from saṃsāra who has gone to the other shore of saṃsāra, who is free from all grief, who has no attachment whatever to all things including the body etc., who has removed all his fetters.

(Pariḷāho 'suffering' is of two kinds, viz., physical (kāyika) and mental (cetasika) suffering. Physical suffering due to cold, heat, etc., occurs in the Arahant and so he is not free from physical suffering. The physician Jīvaka had this in mind when he asked the question. But as Lord of the Dhamma the Buddha was supremely skilful in preaching, and he answered that the Arahant who possessed the above-mentioned attributes had no mental suffering. Jīvaka asked whether the Buddha had any mental suffering and the Buddha said that he had none.

At the end of the sermon many living beings gained the Fruition of Sotāpatti and so forth. "

Security provided to the Buddha by the monks.

Many monks who heard the report about Devadatta's attempt to kill the Buddha surrounded the residence of the Master in one ring after another. They recited the scriptures loudly and walked up and down to guard, protect and ensure the security of the Buddha.

[ 443 ] On hearing their recitation (and noice of their movement) the Buddha asked the Thera Ānanda (in spite of his knowledge), and when the Thera told him about the vigilant monks, the Master summoned the monks and said:

Aṭṭhānametaṃ bhikkhave anavakāso, yaṃ par'ū"
pakkamena Tathāgataṃ jīvitā voropeyya.
anupakkamena bhikkhave Tathāgata parinibbāyanti."

Monks, it is wholly impossible for any one to put effort to kill the Buddha.

Then the Buddha said to them (as he did to Mahā Moggalāna Thera on one occasion) that those are five kinds of teachers in the world, that only these kinds of teachers need the protection of their disciples, that, as for the Buddha, he truely claimed pure morality, pure livelihood, pure teaching, pure speech and pure intellectual vision as he had all these virtues and therefore he did not need the protection of his disciples. He added that it was impossible for any one to kill a Buddha and that the Buddhas attained Nibbāna not by any one's attempt to kill them.

Finally the Buddha said to the monks.

Monks, you go back to your own abode. The Buddhas are not beings whose security of life depends only on other people's protection.

Sending of Nāḷāgiri the elephant.

(The sending of Nāḷāgiri occurs in the Saṅghabhedakakkhandhaka of the Vinaya Cūḷa-Vagga, and the exposition of the Cūlahaṃsa Jātaka of the Asīti Nipāta. Here the latter is based.

Due to the treatment given by the physician Jīvaka, the Buddha recovered his fitness and as before the Buddha went about in the glory of a great Buddha surrounded by monks. On seeing the Master [ 444 ] Devadatta thought: "It is impossible for any man to approach and kill the Monk Gotama when he sees him in the glory of his physical body at its zenith. But King Ajātasattu's elephant Nāḷāgiri is vicious, wild and homicidal. He does not know any good thing about the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha. Only that wild Nāḷāgiri can kill the Monk Gotama." So he went to the king and told him about his plan.

King Ajātasattu agreed to his plan. He summoned the mahout (elephant-driver) and ordered him to intoxicate Nāḷāgiri the elephant and send him the next morning along the way by which the Buddha was coming. Devadatta also asked the mahout how much liquor the elephant consumed on other days and when he learnt that the animal drank eight pots of liquor, he told the mahout to give the animal sixteen pots of liquor the next morning and to send him towards the Monk Gotama. The mahout promised that he would."

King Ajātasattu had it announced by the beat of drum in the city that all citizens should do their business early the next morning and avoid going about in the streets as Nāḷāgiri would be made intoxicated and sent into the city.

Devadatta also left the palace, went to the elephant-shed and told the elephant-keepers: "Men, we are the king's teachers who can make the king's servants promoted or demoted in their work. If you want to be promoted, then give the elephant sixteen pots of very potent liquor early in the morning and when the Monk Gotama comes into the city, you incite and enrage the animal with goads and spears. Let the elephant break open the shed, rush in the opposite direction of the Monk Gotama and kill him." The elephant-keepers agreed to follow his instructions.

The news spread throughout the whole city. The Buddha's lay devotees who adored the Triple Gem approached the Buddha and said, "Exalted Buddha, in collaboration with the king, Devadatta will send the wild elephant Nāḷāgiri tomorrow along the way by which you are coming. So do not come into the city for alms tomorrow but stay here in this Veḷuvana monastery. We will offer meals to you and the monks in the monastery."

[ 445 ] The Buddha did not say that he would not go into the city for alms. But he decided to teach the wild elephant the next day, perform the miracle (Pāṭihāriya)² by teaching, subdue the heretics, and without going about for alms in Rājagaha, return to Veḷuvana with monks from the city. The Buddha knew that the lay followers in Rājagaha would bring many pots and bowls of food and that he would have his meal in the monastery. For this reason the Buddha accepted the invitation of the lay men.

Knowing very well the acceptance of their invitation by the Buddha, the lay men decided to bring and offer food at the monastery and went away.

The Buddha preached to the monks in the first watch of the night and answered the questions of Devas and Brahmas in the second watch. The third watch was divided into three periods. In the first period the Buddha lay down on the right side like a lion-king. In the second he was absorbed in the Fruition of Arahantship. In the third, he was filled with infinite compassion and after arising from that state he surveyed the worthy beings, and saw Nāḷāgiri. The Buddha saw clearly that when he preached to the elephant eight hundred and forty thousand beings would realize the Four Truths and become liberated. So after cleaning his body at dawn the Buddha called Ānanda Thera and said: "Ānanda, tell all the monks who live in the eighteen monasteries around Rājagaha to come along with me into the city."

The Venerable Ānanda acted according to the instructions of the Buddha. All the monks assembled in the Veḷuvana monastery. The Buddha entered Rājagaha surrounded by many monks.

[ 446 ] Then the elephant keepers carried out the instructions of King Ajātasattu and Devadatta. There was a very large gathering of people. At the meeting those who had faith in the Buddha said:

Today there will be a battle between the two bull elephants, the Buddha and Nāḷāgiri. We will witness clearly the admonition of the animal bull, Nāḷāgiri, by the Buddha Bull:

So saying they climbed the turreted and unturreted mansions, houseroofs, etc., to wait and see the battle.

But as for the heretics who had no faith in the Buddha, they said: "This Nāḷāgiri elephant is vicious, violent and homicidal. He does not know anything good about the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha. Today he will destroy the bright, yellow and golden body of the Monk Gotama and terminate his life. Today we will clearly see the end of our enemy."

So saying, they climbed the turreted mansions, etc., and waited there.

When Nāḷāgiri the elephant saw the Buddha coming, rushed towards the Buddha like a moving mountain with its trunk raised, his ears and tails set upright, scaring the people, destroying the houses and crushing the carts to pieces.

When the monks saw the elephant rushing, they said to the Buddha, "Glorious Buddha, the wild, vicious and homicidal Nāḷāgiri is coming along this way. This animal does not know any thing good about the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha. We want the Glorious Buddha the speaker by good words to step aside (keep off the way along which the elephant is coming)." Then the Buddha said: "Monks! Have no fear! I can tame Nāḷāgiri."

Then the Venerable Sāriputta said: "Glorious Buddha, it is the duty of the eldest son to attend to any matter that concerns his father. Let me tame the elephant." But the Buddha turned down his request, saying "Sāriputta, the power of the Buddha is one thing and the power of the disciples is a different matter. You need not take any trouble (for me)." Most of the eighty great disciples made the same request but the Buddha did not give his consent.

[ 447 ] Self-sacrificing love of Ānanda Thera.

Then because of his great love for the Buddha the Thera Ānanda could no longer restrain himself. He came forward and stood in front of the Master, bent on sacrificing his life for him and allowing himself to be the first trampled to death by the elephant. The Buddha said: "Keep back, Ānanda. Do not come and stand in front of me." Ānanda replied, "Glorious Buddha, this elephant is vicious, wild and homicidal. It is like the fire that destroys the world. Let it come to you after first trampling me to death." The Buddha dissuaded the Venerable Ānanda three times but the latter persisted in standing before the Master. At last the Buddha removed Ānanda Thera by his power and put him among the monks.

Incident of a child's mother.

At that moment a child's mother saw the elephant and fearful of death she fled, abandoning the child from her bosom on to the ground between the Buddha and the elephant.

Nāḷāgiri pursued the woman but being unable to overtake her, it turned back and went near the child. The child wailed and wept loudly. The Buddha focussed his separately intended loving-kindness (odissaka-mettā) on the elephant and in a very sweet voice of the Brahmā-king the Buddha said:

O Nāḷāgiri, they served you sixteen pots of liquor and made you drunk not to catch any other being but verily to kill me. So do not go about harassing the pedestrians. Come straight to where I am.

Thus the Master invited the elephant.

The Buddha's Power.

On hearing the sweet words of the Buddha, the wild Nāḷāgiri opened his both eyes and saw the glorious body of the Buddha. He was [ 448 ] shocked and owing to the power of the Buddha, he became sober and dropping his trunk and flapping his ears, he came to the Master and crouched at the feet.

Then the Buddha said: "Nāḷāgiri, you are an animal and I am a Buddha. From now on, do not be vicious, violent and homicidal. Try to cultivate loving-kindness towards all living beings." The Buddha stretched his right hand, and stroking the forehead of the elephant, he spoke the following two verses.

Mā kuñjara nāgamāsado
dukkhaṃ hi kuñjara nāgamāsado.
Na hi nāgahatassa kuñjara
sugati hoti ito paraṃ yato.

Mā ca mado mā ca pamādo
na hi pamattā sugatiṃ vajanti te.
Tvaññ'eva tathā karissasi
yena tvaṃ sugatiṃ gamissasi.

O elephant Nāḷagiri, do not approach with murderous intent, with the desire to kill the Buddha who has never done any evil. To approach the Buddha with murderous intent is an evil that will lead to suffering. There is absolutely no possibility of good rebirth in the human or Deva worlds after the death of any one who wants to hurt or kill the Buddha.

O! elephant Nāḷāgiri, do not be conceited. Do not be unmindful of the ten good deeds. Those who are unmindful of the ten good deeds do not have good rebirth in human and Deva worlds. You will have to do such good deeds as will ensure good rebirth (In other words, you will attain good rebirth only on the basis of good deeds.)

Nāḷāgiri elephant was overwhelmed with ecstasy. If he had not been an elephant, he would have attained the Fruition of Sotāpatti on the spot.

On seeing this miracle the people gave a resounding ovation. They clapped their hands and joyously threw various ornaments over the elephant as their rewards. The ornaments covered nearly the whole [ 449 ] body of the elephant and from that time he came to be known as Dhanapāla. At the time when Dhanapāla elephant was tamed by the Buddha, eighty four thousand beings had the opportunity to sample the Dhamma, the juice of Deathlessness.

The Buddha established the elephant in the five precepts. The elephant gently collected the dust at the Master's feet, scattered it over his head and stepped back on its knees. He stepped to the last place within sight of the Buddha and after paying respect entered the elephant-shed. From that time he became a docile, good tempered and very tame elephant and did not harm any being for the rest of his life.

Having his wish fulfilled, the Buddha resolved that the ornaments that had accumulated be restored to their owners. The Master thought: "Today I have performed a great miracle and so it is not advisable for me to go about in the city for food." Having thus subdued the heretics, he came out of Rājagaha City and returned to the Veḷuvana monastery, surrounded by monks like a triumphant king (back from the battlefield). The citizens went to the monastery with much food and offered alms lavishly. They sang the following song joyously:

Daṇḍeneke damayanti,
aṅkusehi kasāhi ca.
Adaṇḍena asatthena, nāgo danto Mahesinā.

Some animal-trainers train elephants, horses and cattle by beating violently with iron spikes, sticks, spears, goads, hooks and canes. As for the Buddha, he has tamed Nāḷāgīri the elephant without using any destructive weapon and has removed his violent temper through loving-kindness.

Decline of Devadatta's gains.

Devadatta's attempt on the life of the Buddha caused a big outcry among the people. They loudly blamed King Ajātasattu, saying "It was Devadatta who caused the death of our King Bimbisāra. It was Devadatta who sent the assassins. It was he who rolled down the rock; and now he sent the elephant Nāḷāgīri to kill the Master. Yet such an evil man is made teacher by King Ajātasattu who goes about with him."

[ 450 ] When King Ajātasattu heard the people's reproach, he ordered the withdrawal of his regular offer of five hundred pots of food to Devadatta and he stopped going to see his former teacher. The citizens, too, ceased to offer any food to Devadatta who visited their houses for alms.

Five things demanded by Devadatta.

His gains having dwindled day by day, Devadatta decided to do some thing dramatic and spectacular for his living. He went to the Buddha and said:

"Glorious Buddha, I beg you to lay down the following rules for the monks.

(1) All monks should live in forest hermitage for life. A monk who lives in a monastery near a village should be guilty of an offence.

(2) All monks should always eat only the food that they obtain by going on the round for alms. A monk who accepts the food which the lay men have offered after invitation should be guilty of an offence.

(3) All monks should always wear only the robe made of rags. A monk who accepts the robe offered by lay men should be guilty of an offence.

(4) All monks should always dwell at the feet of trees. A monk who goes to a monastery with a roof should be guilty of an offence.

(5) All monks should always avoid eating meat and fish. A monk who eats meat or fish should be guilty of an offence.

Then the Buddha said, Devadatta, your demands are not proper (reasonable) (1) Let the monk live in a forest hermitage or in the monastery near a village according to his desire (2) Let the monk eat the food that he gets by going round for alms or by accepting the food [ 451 ] offered by lay men after invitation. Let him get the food in either way he likes. (3) Let the monk wear the robe made of rags or the robe offered by lay men according to his desire. (4) Devadatta, I have permitted the monks to dwell at the foot of trees for eight months. (5) I have permitted the monks to eat meat or fish provided they do not see or hear of or have any suspicion about any creature being killed for their food."""

(Herein when Devadatta made the five demands, the Buddha knew instantly that his object was to creat a schism in the Saṃgha. As concessions to these demands would be a hindrance to spiritual progress, the Buddha considered them unreasonable and said that a monk might live in forest hermitage if he wanted to, and so on.)

In this connection, a good monk should know the wish of the Buddhas well as what is proper for him.

(According to the Buddha, there are four kinds of monks, viz. (a) the forest- dwelling monk who will gain the Path and Fruition by virtue of his great physical and intellectual strength; (b) the monk who cannot live in the forest because of his physical weakness and who can make spiritual progress only if he practises the Dhamma in the village monastery. (c) the monk who will make spiritual progress either in the forest hermitage or in the village monastery by virtue of his physical strength and forbearance. (d) the (padaparama) monk who will make no spiritual progress inspite of his effort either in the forest or the village monastery,

(a) The Buddha wants only the monk of the first kind to live in a forest hermitage. The hermitage is a proper abode for him and following his example, his disciples will want to live in the forests.

(b) The Buddha wants the second type to live in a village monastery.

(c) According to the Buddha, the monk of the third type should live only in a forest hermitage. The forest hermitage is [ 452 ] good for him and following his example his disciples will want to live there.

(d) As for the (padaparama) monk who will not make much spiritual progress in this life, the Buddha wants him to live in a forest hermitage. Practice of austerities (dhūtaṅga) and meditation in the forest hermitage will contribute to his attainment of the Path and Fruition in the next life and he will be a living example for his disciples.

(Thus when the Buddha says (1) Let the monk live in a monastery near a village according to his desire he means the monk (b) who cannot live in the forest because of his physical weakness and who will achieve his spiritual goal only if he practises the Dhamma in a village monastery. This concession also enables other monks to live in the village monastery.

(If the Buddha accepted Devadatta's demands, it would rule out the possibility of spiritual progress for two kinds of monks: (1) the monk (b) who is physically weak and (2) the monk who lived in the forest when he was young but who cannot live there in his old age owing to decline in health and so has to live in the village monastery to achieve his spiritual goal. For these reasons the Buddha rejected Devadatta's demands.)

Devadatta's attempt to create schism.

Devadatta was delighted when the Buddha refused to comply with his five demands. Together with his followers Kokālika, Kaṭamodaka Tissaka, the son of Queen Khaṇḍa and Samuddadatta, he rose, and after paying respect to the Buddha, went away. (The monk Kokālika, Queen Khaṇḍa's son Kaṭamodaka Tissaka and the monk Samuddadatta 'were Devadatta's close and trusted disciples.)

Then Devadatta went to Rājagaha with his followers and propagated their doctrine. They told the people that the Master had rejected what they regarded as their reasonable demands for five rules that would [ 453 ] contribute to non-attachment, etc., and that they on their part would live in accordance with those five rules.

People who lacked faith and intelligence extolled Devadatta and blamed the Buddha. Those who had faith and intelligence criticized Devadatta for trying to create schism in the Saṃgha and undermine the authourity of the Master. The monks who heard the people's words also criticized Devadatta and reported to the Buddha.

Then the Buddha called a meeting of the Saṃgha in connection with the matter reported by the monks and in the presence of all monks he asked: "Devadatta, is it true that you are trying to create schism in the Saṃgha and destroy its authority?" Devadatta replied: "Yes, Venerable Sir!"

Then the Buddha said:

"Devadatta, what you are doing is not proper. Do not wish to see dissension in the Saṃgha. One who causes schism in the Saṃgha bears a very grave responsibility. One who causes schism in a united Saṃgha commits an evil that will lasts one whole kappa. He will suffer in hell for one whole kappa.

Devadatta, one who restores unity to a disunited Saṃgha commits a good deed and enjoys life in the Deva world for one whole kappa. Devadatta, what you are doing is not proper. Do not wish to see dissension in the Saṃgha. One who causes schism in the Saṃgha bears a very grave responsibility."""

Although the Buddha thus admonished him seriously. Devadatta did not give up his attempt and carried out the preliminary plan for the schism. The next day he decided to perform uposatha service and acts of the Saṃgha (Saṅgha kamma) separately. In the morning he approached the Venenerable Ānanda who came into Rājagaha for alms, and he said: "Dear Ānanda, from today I will perform the uposatha service and the acts of Saṃgha without the company of the Buddha and his monks."

When the Venerable Ānanda reported the matter to the Buddha, the Buddha breathed forth the following verse.

Sukaraṃ sādhunā sādhu
sādhu pāpena dukkaraṃ.
Pāpaṃ pāpena sukaraṃ
pāpa mariyehi dukkaraṃ.

"It is easy for a good man to do a good deed"
It is hard for an evil man to do a good deed
It is easy for an evil man to do an evil deed
It is hard for a good man to do an evil deed.

Schism created by Devadatta.

Then on that uposatha day Devadatta rose from his seat in the assembly of monks and said that the Monk Gotama had rejected his demand for five rules that would lead to non-attachment etc., that they would abide by the five rules and that those who liked the rules should vote for them. The votes were taken and the five hundred young monks of Vajjī country who lived in Vesālī and who were ignorant of the Vinaya teaching voted for the rules as they thought that the rules represented the Dhamma, Vinaya and the sayings of the Buddha. Devadatta took the five hundred monks and went to Gayāsīsa.

Contribution of the two Chief Disciples.

Then the Venerables Sāriputta and Mahā Moggalāna, the two Chief Disciples went to the Buddha and the Thera Sāriputta informed him of Devadatta's schismatic defection and his departure for Gayāsīsa with five hundred monks. The Buddha reproached them for having no compassion for the young monks and urged them to go and save the monks from spiritual ruin. The two Mahā Theras promised to do so and after paying respect to the Master they left for Gayāsīsa.

[ 455 ] A young monk's concern.

Then a monk came and stood crying near the Buddha. The Buddha asked him why he was crying. The monk said that the two Chief Disciples of the Master, the Theras Sāriputta and Moggalāna had gone to Devadatta probably because they preferred Devadatta's teaching. Then the Buddha said, "Monk, there is absolutely no reason why Sāriputta and Moggalāna should like Devadatta's teaching. In fact, they have gone there in order to enlighten the five hundred young monks who have become Devadatta's followers."

At that time Devadatta was seated preaching in the midst of many of his followers. When he saw from afar the two Theras coming, he said to the young monks, "Monks look over there! I have proclaimed my doctrine very well. Even the Monk Gotama's Chief Disciples, Sāriputta and Moggalāna prefer my teaching and they are now coming over to join me."

Then the monk Kokālika (one of the leaders of his sect) warned Devadatta: "Friend Devadatta, do not associate with Sāriputta and Moggalāna. They have evil desire and they follow their evil desires." But Devadatta said: "Friend, you should not say like this. Their coming here is good because it is motivated by their appreciation of my teaching."

When the two Theras came near Devadatta said, "Come, Sāriputta, sit here", and offered to share his seat with the Thera. But the Thera refused to accept his offer and took his seat in a suitable place. So did the Thera Moggalāna.

Having preached to the monks the whole night, Devadatta said to Sāriputta Thera: "Friend Sāriputta, the monks are free from sloth and torpor. You carry on with your talk on the Dhamma. My neck is stiff and cramped. Let me stretch my back." (Here he imitated the Buddha in the way he urged the Thera Sāriputta.) The Thera Sāriputta agreed and after spreading his big fourfold outer robe, Devadatta lay down by the right side. As he was tired, unmindful and devoid of intelligence, he instantly fell asleep.

Then the Thera Sāriputta taught the five hundred young monks first by making them aware of their own mental states (Ādesanāpāṭihāriya). This was followed by his pointing out the Dhammas that they should avoid and the Dhammas that they should practise (Anusāsanī-pāṭihāriya). The Thera Mahā Moggalāna taught him first by performing miracles (Iddhi-pāṭihāriya) and then telling them what to avoid and what to follow. Therefore the five hundred young monks gained the Fruition of Sotāpatti on the spot and became Sotāpanna Ariyas.

After the five hundred young monks had become Ariyas on the Sotāpatti Path, the Venerable Sāriputta told them that they would return to the Buddha and that those who liked the Master's teaching might go along with the Theras. All the monks followed the Theras and travelling by air, they reached Veḷuvana.

Vomiting of blood by Devadatta.

After the two Chief Disciples had gone away with the five hundred young monks, Kokālika, a teacher of the sect, woke Devadatta up by hitting the breast with his knee and saying; "Get up, Devadatta! Sāriputta and Moggalāna have taken away the young monks. Have I not told you that you should not associate with Sāriputta and Moggalāna, that they have evil desires and that they follow their evil desires?" Then Devadatta vomitted hot blood on the spot.

Jātakas concerning Devadatta.

When the monks living in the Veḷuvana monastery saw the Venerable Sāriputta coming by air with five hundred monks, they said to the Buddha: "Glorious Buddha, when the Venerable Sāriputta left for Gayāsīsa, he had only the Venerable Mahā Moggalāna as his companion. Now his return from there with so many followers is indeed glorious." The Master said: "Monks, it is not only now that Sāriputta is glorious. When he came back to me as an animal in a [ 457 ] previous life he was also glorious." and the Master recounted the Lakkhaṇamiga Jātaka in the Sīla-Vagga of the Ekaka Nipāta. Again, when the monks reported that Devadatta imitated the Buddha by trying to preach like a glorious Buddha with the two chief disciples on the right and left side, the Master said: "Monks, it is not only now; also a long time ago Devadatta tried to imitate me but it was in vain." Then the Buddha told them the Viraka Jātaka of the Nataṃdaḷha Vagga, Duka Nipāta.

The following days, too, the Buddha narrated the Kandagalaka Jātaka (Nataṃḍaḷha Vagga, Duka Nipāta), etc., in connection with Devadatta.

Again the Sakuṇa Jātaka (1-Kaliṅga Vagga, Catukka Nipāta) etc., were recounted in connection with Devadatta's ingratitude.

Then in connection with Devadatta's attempt to kill the Buddha, he told the Kuruṅgamiga Jātaka (3-Kuruṅga Vagga, Ekaka Nipāta) and others.

Then one day the monks were talking about Devadatta's downfall in respect of the offerings he received from the laity and in respect of his spiritual life when the Buddha said, "Monks, it is not only now that Devadatta has his downfall. He had it too long ago," and the he narrated Ubhatobhaṭṭha Jātaka (Asampadāna vagga, Ekaka Nipāta) etc.

(Herein a short list of Jātakas which the Buddha recounted in connection with Devadatta is given below.

(Ekaka Nipāta: Seriva Jātaka, Lakkhaṇa Jātaka, Kuruṅgamiga Jātaka, Vānarinda Jātaka, Tayodhamma Jātaka, Sīlava Jātaka, Saccaṃkira Jātaka, Siṅgāla Jātaka, Dummedha Jātaka, Asampadāna Jātaka, Ubhatobhaṭṭha Jātaka, Siṅgāla Jātaka, Virocana Jātaka and Sañjīva Jātaka.

(Duka Nipāta: Vinīlaka Jātaka, Dubbhiyamakkaṭa Jātaka, Maṇicora Jātaka, Vīraka Jātaka, Kuruṅgamiga Jātaka, Suṃsumāra Jātaka, Kaṇḍalaka Jātaka, Dhamma-dhaja Jākata, Kāsāva Jātaka, Cūḷanandiya Jātaka, Kumbhila Jātaka, Upāhana Jātaka, Mahāpiṅgala Jātaka, Sabbadāṭhi Jātaka and Guttila Jātaka.

[ 458 ] (Tika Nipāta: Romaka Jātaka and Jambukhādaka Jātaka.)

(Catukka Nipāta: Sakuṇa Jātaka. Kakkāru Jātaka, Kāḷābāhu Jātaka, Jambuka Jātaka, Vānara Jātaka and Khantivādī Jātaka.

(Pañcaka Nipāta: Cuḷadhammapāla Jātaka and Sāḷiya Jātaka. (Sattaka Nipāta: Kapi Jātaka and Parantapa Jātaka.

(Aṭṭhaka Nipāta: Cetiya Jātaka.)

(Navaka Nipāta: Tittira Jātaka.)
(Dasaka Nipāta: Nigrodha Jātaka and Kukkura Jātaka.)

(Ekadasaka Nipāta: Dhammadevaputta Jātaka.)

(Dvādasaka Nipāta: Sammudavāṇija Jātaka.)

(Terasaka Nipāta: Amba Jātaka and Ruru Jātaka.)

(Pakiṇṇaka Nipāta: Candakinnarī Jātaka.)

(Vīsati Nipāta: Sattigumba Jātaka, Somanassa Jātaka.)

The last days of Devadatta.

Thus while residing in Rājagaha the Buddha recounted many Jātaka stories concerning Devadatta and then the Buddha went to Sāvatthi where he dwelt in the Jetavana monastery.

Having been ill for nine months Devadatta had the desire to see the Buddha at the last moment. So he told his disciples to take him to the Buddha. But his disciples said, "You went about as the enemy of the Buddha when you were healthy. So we dare not take you to him now." Then Devadatta said, "My disciples, do not ruin me. As a matter of fact, it was only I who bore grudge against the Buddha. He did not have the slightest grudge against me."

Vadhake Devadattamhi, core Aṅgulimālake.
Dhanapāle Rāhule ca, sabbattha samamānaso.

My (cousin) brother the Buddha has good-will towards his brother-in-law Devadatta who was bent on killing him, [ 459 ] towards Aṅgulimāla the robber who adorned himself with one thousand fingers, towards Nāḷāgīri the wild elephant, later called Dhanapāla, towards his own son Rāhula and towards all living beings equally.

Take me now to my brother, the Exalted Buddha.

Thus Devadatta again and again entreated them to let him see the Master. Then his disciples laid him on a couch and carried him to Sāvatthi where the Buddha was staying.

When the monks heard the news that Devadatta was coming, they reported to the Buddha. The Buddha said, "Monks, Devadatta will have no opportunity to see me in his present life."

(It was natural that Devadatta had no opportunity to see the Buddha from the time he made the five demands.)

In the eyes of the ordinary monks, Devadatta was on the way to sāvatthi to see the Buddha. The Buddha said, "Devadatta would not be able to see me in the present existence under any circumstances though I may remain here." The monks were nonplussed and they did not know what to make of the Buddha's saying. Therefore they again and again informed the Buddha of Devadatta's arrival at such and such a place. But the Buddha still insisted that whatever Devadatta did, "by no means would he see me."

But from time to time the monks reported the progress of Devadatta's journey saying that Devadatta was now one-yojana away from Sāvatthi. That he was now only a gāvuta away, that and that he had closed upon the pond near the Jetavana monastery. Finally the Buddha said, "Devadatta will not see me at all even though he may get into the Jetavana monastery."

Devadatta swallowed by earth.

The disciples bearing Devadatta laid down the couch on the bank of the pond near the Jetavana monastery and stepped into the pond to bathe. Devadatta sat up on the couch putting his two feet on the [ 460 ] ground. Then his feet sank into the earth irresistibly. Down he went, the parts of his body sinking one after another, the ankle, the kneecap, the waist, the chest, and the neck, and the earth had gorged him up to the jaw-bones when he uttered the following verse.

Imehi aṭṭhīhi tamaggapuggalaṃ
devātidevaṃ naradammasārathiṃ.
Samantacakkhuṃ satapuññalakkhaṇaṃ
pāṇehi Buddhaṃ saraṇaṃ upemi.

I, Devadatta, on my death-bed seek refuge in the Exalted One with these bones and this lingering life-force. With intelligent, noble, joyous mind motivated by the three noble root-conditions (I seek refuge in the Omniscient Buddha, the Supreme Being in the world, the All-seeing Teacher who can discipline all worthy beings and who possesses the thirty-two splendid marks of a super man by virtue of his countless good deeds.

(It was because of the Buddha's fore-knowledge of Devadatta's repentance that the Buddha ordained him. Even if he had not been a monk, he would certainly have committed the same heinous crime as a layman and later on he would not have been able to do the good deed that would contribute to his liberation from saṃsāra.

(The Buddha knew that after ordination Devadatta would do the two most evil deeds, causing the spilling of the Buddha's blood and creating schism in the Saṃgha and that later on he would do the good deed for his release from samsara. So the Buddha ordained him. Indeed because of this good deed Devadatta will be a Pacceka Buddha by the name of Aṭṭhissara after one hundred thousand kappas.)

Devadatta's suffering in Avīci hell.

After uttering the verse Devadatta entered the earth and landed in the Avīci hell. It seemed as if he was to suffer unshaken in the hell because he had wronged the unshaken Buddha. In the great Avīci hell one hundred yojanās in width, Devadatta's body is one [ 461 ] hundred yojanās in height. His head is inside the upper iron pan up to his two ears. The two legs are inside the red-hot iron-bottom up to the ankles. He is roasted standing and facing east. An iron stake with the thickness of a palm-tree protruding from the west side of the hell-pot pierced right through the middle of Devadatta's back, comes out from the front breast and goes into the east side of the hell-pot. Another iron stake comes out of the south side of the hell-pot, passes through Devadatta's right side comes out from the left side and goes into the north-side of the hell-pot. Still another iron stake comes from the iron pan, pierces right through the top of the head, comes out of the bottom and goes into the iron floor under the hell-pot. In this way Devadatta is roasted unshaken in the great Avīci hell.

(About the Avīci hell:-In this realm (1) the denizens of hell are jammed without any space (2) the hell-fires are continuous and cover the whole realm, leaving no space (3) the inhabitants have no respite in their suffering. They have to suffer all the time. Thus because there is no vacant space among the inhabitants, or no cessation as regards the hell-fires or suffering, the hell is called the great Avīci hell.)

Narration of Jātakas after Devadatta's death.

After Devadatta was thus swallowed up by the earth, the topic of conversation among the monks was Devadatta's inability to see the Buddha although he had travelled laboriously forty-five yojanās for this purpose. The Buddha said that Devadatta was swallowed by the earth also in one of his former lives and told the story of the elephant Sīlava. When the Bodhisatta was the elephant Sīlava, he put a man who had lost his way on his back and took him to a safe place. Yet the man came back thrice to cut the trunk, and when he went back with the last portion of the trunk he was swallowed up by the earth as soon as he went out of sight of the Bodhisatta. This man, a hunter named Mittadubbhi became Devadatta. (2-Sīlava Jātaka, Varuṇa Vagga, Ekaka Nipāta.)

[ 462 ] Then again the Buddha recounted Khantivādī Jātaka (Pucimanda vagga, Catukka Nipāta) to show how King Kalābu (Devadatta) was gorged by the earth when he wronged the Bodhisatta hermit Khantivādi. The Buddha also told the Cūladhammapāla Jātaka (Maṇikuṇḍala Vagga, Pañcaka Nipāta) in which as King Mahāpatāpa (Devadatta) was swallowed by the earth for having wronged his own son Cūḷadhammapāla who was the Bodhisatta.

After the death of Devadatta people were overjoyed. They set up all kinds of flags and banana plants, etc., placed the pots full of water and celebrated their riddance of Devadatta. When this was reported to the Buddha by the monks, he said that in ancient times, too, the death of Devadatta delighted many people. To illustrate his saying, the Buddha recited Mahā Piṅgala Jātaka (9-Upāhana vagga, Duka Nipāta) in which people rejoiced at the death of the evil king Piṅgala in Vārāṇasī.

The monks asked the Buddha about the afterlife of Devadatta. The Buddha said that he had landed in the Avīci hell. The monks said, "Glorious Buddha, Devadatta had to suffer much in the present life and now at the end of this life also he has landed in the world of much suffering."

Then the Buddha said, "Yes, monks, that is true. All beings whether monks or lay men who are unmindful in respect of good deeds have to suffer in the present life and the afterlife." And the Buddha uttered the following verse.

Idha tappati pecca tappati
pāpakārī ubhayattha tappati.
Pāpaṃ me katanti tappati
bhiyyo tappati duggatiṃ gato.

Monks, the man who does evil has to suffer because of the effect of his evil act. He has to suffer both in the present life and the next life. Stricken by his conscience, 'I have done an evil deed, he has to grieve in the present life. When he lands in the lower, evil world (after his death) he has to grieve extremely because of the effect of his deed.'

[ 463 ] At the end of the sermon many beings became Sotāpanna Ariyas etc., The sermon was beneficial to many people.

End of the story of Devadatta.

Here ends Chapter Thirty-Six.

1. I usabha = 20 yaṭṭhis, I yaṭṭhi = 7 ratanaṃ, I ratanaṃ = 2 vadatthi. I vadatthi = 12 aṅgulaṃ, I aṅgulaṃ = I inch. Hence I usabha = 280 ft (Childers)

2. Pāṭihāriya means removal of opposing evil deeds. There are three ways of removal; (1) removal by knowing the listener's mental state (ādesanā pāṭihāriya), (2) removal by performance of miracle such as creation of different forms (iddhi-pāṭihāriya); (3) removal by preaching (anusāsanī pāṭihāriya). Of these three ways, the third one is meant here. The second way belonged to Moggalāna Thera and the first to Sāriputta Thera. Though the Buddha adopted the third method, it was usually preceded by either of the previous two in accordance with the mental inclinations of the listener.

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STORY OF KING AJĀTASATTU.

[ 465 ] King Ajātasattu was so called because he was the enemy of his father King Bimbisāra even before his birth. (Ajāta-before birth+sattu-enemy of his father.)

When the prince was conceived in the womb of Vedehī, the Chief Queen of King Bimbisāra, the queen strongly desired to drink the blood of the king's right arm. It was hard to fulfill and she considered it inadvisable to tell anyone about it. She dared not express it openly and as a result she became lean, pale and haggard in her physical appearance.

Seeing this change in the queen, the king asked what was wrong with her. The queen at first refused to answer but the king pressed for an explanation and at last the queen revealed the craving that had made her unhappy.

The king was overwhelmed with love and said, "You silly queen! Why should you think it is hard to satisfy your desire?" Thus reproving her for her reticence, the king sent for a physician and after having his arm cut with a small golden knife, he had the blood taken in a golden cup, mixed it with water and made the queen drink it.

When the soothsayers heard the news, they predicted that the child in the queen's womb would become the enemy of the king, and that he would kill his father. On hearing their prediction the queen was worried. She did not wish to bear the potential murderer of the king. So she went to the garden to carry out abortion but her attempt was unsuccessful. In spite of her repeated attempts she would not get rid of her pregnancy. (Later on the garden was named Maddakucchi the garden where abortion was performed.)

King Bimbisāra inquired why the queen often went to the garden and when he learnt what she was doing, he said, "We do not know as yet whether the child in your womb is a boy or a girl. Do not try to kill the child because if you do so our good reputation [ 466 ] will be severely damaged all over Jambudīpa for our cruelty to our own child." He deterred the queen from doing so and kept her under surveillance. The queen then decided to kill the child after its birth.

When the child was born the guards took him to a safe place. The prince grew up and when the son was shown to the queen, she became deeply attached to him. (She lost all her desire to kill her son.) King Bimbisāra later appointed the prince his heir-apparent.

(The subsequent association of Ajātasattu with the evil friend Devadatta and his killing of his father to become king have been described in the section on Devadatta.)

From the day he ordered his father to be killed, King Ajātasattu was unable to sleep. As soon as he shut his eyes, he felt like being pierced by hundreds of spears and had dream-like hallucinations about his destiny that kept him shaking and muttering. (This shows that those who have done much evil see signs of their impending descent into the lower worlds not only on their death-bed but long before the end of their lives.) The guards asked the king what ailed him but he just said, "Nothing." These nightmarish hallucinations plagued the king and made him reluctant to go to sleep. So every night he gave audience for a long time to keep himself awake. (Dīgha Nikāya, Vol. 1.)

King Ajātasattu adored the evil Devadatta who was a thorn in the side of the Exalted One and so he gave alms lavishly to Devadatta and built for him a monastery in Gayāsīsa, and at the instigation of his teacher he killed his father who was a Sotāpanna. In this way he ruled out the possibility of doing any good deed leading to the Sotāpatti Path and ruined himself most disastrously.

On hearing that Devadatta was gorged by the earth, King Ajātasattu was afraid lest he should share the fate of his former teacher. He could not indulge in royal pleasure nor could he sleep peacefully. He became tremulous, restless and jittery like a young elephant pricked with a sharp iron stake. He had visions of the earth cracking, the flames from the Avīci hell coming out, the earth threatening to swallow him up and the custodians of hell making him lie on his back on the red-hot iron floor and poking him with iron stakes. So trembling like a beaten fowl, King Ajātasattu could not find any support even for a moment nor could he stand firm and steady.

He wanted to see the Buddha, pay respect and ask about his problem but because of the enormity of his evil deed, he dared not go to the Buddha.

Then when the festival of the planet Kattikā was held in Rājagaha on the full-moon night in the month of Kyattikā (November), the whole city was decorated like a celestial city, and brightly illuminated with firetorches and flames. While seated amidst his ministers on the golden throne in the audience hall King Ajātasattu saw the physician Jīvaka and thought. "I will take Jīvaka as my guide and go to the Buddha. But I should not admit frankly that I dare not go to the Exalted One and tell him (Jīvaka) frankly to take me there. Tactfully I will extol the beauty of the night and then ask the ministers which real noble Samaṇa or Brāhmaṇa can inspire us with faith and devotion. When the ministers heard my words, they will glorify their respective teachers and the physician Jīvaka will glorify his teacher, the Exalted One. Then I will go and see the Exalted One with Jīvaka as my guide."

After planning this strategy, King Ajātasattu said,

(a) Ministers, tonight is so delightful, being free from snow, mist, cloud, Asurinda (an enormous semi-divine being that is supposed to create lunar eclipse) and smoke, the five disturbing things that disturb the beauty of the moon-lit night, pollute the air. (b) Ministers, tonight is so beautiful, being free from the five elements (c) Ministers, tonight is so lovely to look at, being free from the five disturbing elements, (d) Ministers, tonight our minds are calm and serene because the night is free from the five disturbing elements, (e) Ministers, tonight should be very memorable since it is free from the five disturbing elements.

Having thus extolled the full-moon night, the king added,

Which Samaṇa or Brāhmaṇa should we see tonight, who can inspire us with faith and devotion?

[ 468 ] By saying this, the king gave a hint to the physician Jīvaka. (a) The king had committed a heinous crime by killing his father, a great patron of the Buddha and a Sotāpanna Ariya at that, and (b) by supporting Devadatta who did many things harmful to the Buddha. So he dared not go to the Buddha by himself. He knew that for the fulfillment of his desire to see the Buddha he must rely on Jīvaka who had built a monastery for the Buddha and who served the Buddha's physical needs.

Jīvaka did not fail to take his cue from the king. In fact, he knew it but because the assembly included many followers of the six heretical teachers. Jīvaka thought, "As followers of ignorant teachers, they themselves are ignorant, and they do not understand the rules to be observed at a meeting. If I start describing the noble attributes of the Exalted One, they will rise one by one and extol their teachers and then I will never come to the end of my description of the Exalted One's noble attributes. As the teachings of their six heretical teachers do not have substance or anything worthy of note, the king will not be pleased with what they say and he will ask me directly. Then I will tell the king without any distraction about the noble attributes of the Exalted One and take him to the Master." Thus thinking deeply, Jīvaka said nothing despite the king's hint and sat silently.

The ministers who were the disciples of the six heretical teachers thought, "Today the king extolled the beauty of the night of the Kattikā full-moon. He really must have the desire to see one of the Samaṇas or Brāhmaṇas, to ask questions and hear his sermon. The king will greatly honour the teacher whom he adores and whose sermon he hears. It augurs well for the minister whose teacher becomes the king's teacher." So each of them was bent on extolling his own teacher and leading the king to him. With this intention the ministers who were disciples of Pūraṇa Kassapa, Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambala, Pakudha Kaccāyana, Sañjaya and Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta extolled their respective teachers. (See Sāmaññaphala Sutta of the Dīgha Nikāya for their extolling speeches.)

King Ajātasattu had seen the heretical teachers before. When he first saw them, their physical appearance did not in the least impress him. On the contrary he was much disappointed. Now when he heard the words of his ministers, he felt like a man who sees a very sour and acid fruit brought and put in his hand when in fact he wishes to eat a golden coloured, sweet, delicious, ripe mango. He longed to hear the sweet Dhamma concerning the jhāna, supernormal powers, three characteristics of existence, etc., and so when he (in addition to his disappointment with the heretical teachers' physical appearance) heard their followers praising them, he became much dispirited and said nothing.

Although he was displeased with their saying, King Ajātasattu thought, "If I show my anger and have these ministers seized by the neck and turned out of the palace hall, other people will not have the courage to say anything, fearing that the king treats in the same way every one who speaks." So although he did not like their words, the king did not reproach them and remained silent.

Heroic words of Jīvaka.

King Ajātasattu thought, "Only the ministers whom I do not wish to listen to are talking. The physician Jīvaka who I wish to hear is silent like the Garuda bird that has swallowed the brain of a naga. I am so unfortunate!" Then he had an afterthought, "Jīvaka is a disciple, an attendant of the quiet Exalted One. So he himself is quiet and lives in silence like a disciplined ascetic. He will not speak if I do not ask him. So I must act like a man who when trampled by an elephant has to clasp the animal's foot."

So thinking, the king said directly,

Friend Jīvaka, why are you keeping silent? These ministers never tire of glorifying their teachers. Do you not have any teacher like these ministers? Do you have no teacher because you are a commoner without any official post or privileges granted by my father? Or do you have no teacher because of lack of faith?

Thus the king asked Jīvaka point blank about the reason for his silence. Jīvaka thought, "The king wants me to speak of the attributes of my Teacher. Now it is not the time for me to remain silent. But it is not proper for me to describe the noble attributes [ 470 ] of the Buddha just as these ministers extol their teachers in a posture of reverence to the king." So Jīvaka rose, bowed most respectfully in the direction of the Teacher's residence in Jīvaka's mango-grove, raised his joined hands above his head and said.

Great King! Do not think that I am the devotee of just a so called, self-styled Samaṇa of doubtful characteristics. Certainly, at the time of my teacher's conception in his mother's womb, at the time of his birth, at the time of his renunciation, his attainment of Buddhahood, and his preaching of the Dhammacakka Sutta, the ten thousand universes shook quiveringly. In this and that way the Exalted One performed miracles of fire and water. In this and that way he came down to earth from the Deva-world of Tāvatiṃsa. I will tell you about the Exalted One's noble attributes to the best of my ability. Listen to me attentively. With this preamble Jīvaka went on to give an account of the Buddha.

"Great King, Deva among the people! My Teacher, the Possessor of such attributes as Arahaṃ, and Sammāsambuddha now lives with one thousand two hundred and fifty monks in the mango-grove monastery that we have donated to him.

Our Teacher, the Exalted One, is an Arahaṃ because he possesses the attributes of morality (Sīla-guṇa), mental concentration (Samādhi-guṇa), wisdom (Paññā-guṇa), liberation (vimutti-guṇa) and insight-knowledge of liberation (vimutti-ñāṇa-dassana-guṇa) that make him worthy of special honour by men, Devas and Brahmas ... He is an Exalted One (Bhagavā) because he possesses sixfold glory. Such good reputation of our Teacher, the Exalted One has spread beyond the highest abode of Bhavagga [in the Arūpa or formless worlds]."

I want you, Great King, to see our Teacher, the Exalted One. If you see the Teacher, your mind will certainly become calm and serene.

Preparations for the visit to the Buddha.

[ 471 ] Even as he heard the noble attributes of the Buddha King Ajātasattu was overwhelmed with five kinds of ecstasy. So he wished to see the Buddha instantly and knowing that there was no one except Jīvaka who could arrange transport for his visit to the Buddha at that time, he told Jīvaka to go and prepare the elephant transport.

(Herein there are various kinds of transport such as horses, chariots, etc., but the elephant transport is the best of all transports. King Ajātasattu decided that he should go to the Supreme Buddha by means of the supreme transport. Horses and chariots are noisy, making their sounds audible in the distance. But the elephant makes no noise although it may go quickly. The king considered it advisable to go to the quiet and calm Buddha by means of quiet and calm elephants. So he told Jīvaka to harness the elephants.)

Then the physician Jīvaka had five hundred female-elephants and the state elephant adorned with all trappings.

The king did not tell him explicitly to prepare the female elephants for transport. But being intelligent, he got the female-elephants ready with all equipments. In doing so he was motivated by the reflection, "The king wants to go and see the Exalted One tonight. But kings have many enemies. If anything untoward happens to the king on the way, people will blame me and say that I lead the king out of the palace at an untimely hour of the night, heedlessly taking advantage of his compliance with my wish. Moreover they will also blame the Exalted One, saying that the Exalted One preaches, taking advantage of his influence over people without regard for proper time. Therefore I will make my plan so that the Exalted One and I may be above reproach and the king may be well-protected."

Again he thought, "Men are never in fear of women. So I will make the king go happily, surrounded by women." After having five hundred female-elephants adorned with full trappings, he had the five hundred woman-courtiers dressed as men and instructed them to accompany the king, each armed with swords and spears.

[ 472 ] Still another thought occurred to Jīvaka. "On account of his heinous crime of parricide, there is no special good deed for this king Ajātasattu that will contribute to the attainment of the Path and Fruition in the present life. It is customary with the Buddhas to preach only when they see someone credited with extra-ordinarily good deed that may serve as a support of spiritual progress (upanissaya paccaya). Now I will assemble the people. Then the Exalted One will preach the Dhamma in view of the former good deed of some one in the assembly, the good deed essential to his spiritual uplift. The sermon will benefit many people." Instantly he sent a message to every part of the city, announcing also by the beat of drum, the king's plan to visit the Exalted One and hear the Dhamma, and that people are to go along with the king for his security according to their official positions.

Then the people thought, "It is said that our king will go and see the Exalted One. What kind of Dhamma will the Exalted One preach? What can we profit by making merry in this planetary festival? We will go to the monastery where the Master is going to preach to the king." So all of them waited for the king on the way with fragrant flowers in their hands.

After having done all the necessary things, Jīvaka told the king that the elephants were ready and that it rested with him to choose the time for his journey.

Ajātasattu's visit to the Buddha.

Then King Ajātasattu mounted the royal elephant and with a female courtier dressed as a man and seated on each of the five hundred female elephants, and with fire-torches lighted, he set out from Rājagaha City with great royal pomp and splendour and went to Jīvaka's mango-grove which was then the residence of the Exalted One.

Herein "great royal pomp and splendour" may be explained as follows,

King Ajātasattu was the ruler of two countries viz. Aṅga and Magadha, each three hundred yojanās in width. He was a great monarch and although no arrangements were made in advance for his visit to the Buddha, (as arranged by Jīvaka) five hundred female courtiers came out instantly dressed as men, with swords suspended from shoulders and with ruby-handled spears in their hands.

(Moreover sixteen thousand female dancers also accompanied the king. Behind those dancers, their attendant elderly women went along on foot.)

(Behind the elderly women were the eunuchs who guarded the palace, behind the eunuchs were sixty thousand ministers exquisitely attired in various garments and walking on foot.)

(Also walking on foot behind the ministers were about ninety thousand provincial princes, adorned with various ornaments and fully armed like young men possessed of magical powers (vijjādhara).)

(Behind the princes were ten thousand brahmins who having bathed, smeared themselves with unguent and adorned themselves with golden flowers, etc., wore one hundred kahāpaṇa worth waist garment and donned five thousands kahāpaṇa worth outer robes covering the left shoulder. Raising their right hands and chanting "May the Great King overcome all dangers!" they went on foot.)

(Behind the Brahmins were the musicians, behind them were the royal archers, behind them was the elephant-brigade, behind it was a big cavalry, behind it was the chariot-division, behind it was the infantry and behind the infantry were the members of eighteen assemblies dressed and adorned with various ornaments befitting their official position.)

(Thus as instructed by Jīvaka, the troops, ministers, etc., were deployed in such a way that the arrow shot from the end of the procession could not reach the king. As for him he walked close by the king very vigilant to save the king's life promptly in case of emergency.)

(The fire-torches were so numerous that they could not be counted by hundreds or thousands. With such royal pomp and splendour the king went to the residence of the Buddha.)

King Ajātasattu's fright.

[ 474 ] King Ajātasattu came out of the city and as he approached the mango-grove, he became scared. He trembled with great fear and his hair stood on end.

He was much frightened because the silence in the monastery raised doubt about Jīvaka's sincerity. As a matter of fact, Jīvaka had told him before that he would have to approach the Buddha silently. So the king had banned music and the musicians had only held their musical instruments during their journey. They had not spoken loudly and they all had travelled showing signs by their hands when necessary.

Now in the grove not even the sneezing of a monk was to be heard, and kings usually delighted only in places where there was sound. King Ajātasattu became weary and sick of the deep silence and suspicious of Jīvaka. He thought, "This Jīvaka says that there are one thousand two hundred and fifty monks in his grove. But I don't hear even the sneezing of someone in this place. Jīvaka may not be speaking the truth. Perhaps he has deceived me and taken me out of the city. Perhaps he wants to seize me and usurp my throne with the help of the army. Certainly, Jīvaka is strong enough to match the strength of five elephants. He is also hanging about me and there is no armed attendant near me. Oh! It is all over with me!"

Thus scared, King Ajātasattu was unable even to mask his fear with royal demeanor and he clearly expressed his fear to Jīvaka by asking,

Jīvaka! You are not deceiving me are you? You are not handing me over to my enemies, are you? Why is it that among so many monks numbering one thousand two hundred and fifty, there is no sneezing, no coughing and no talking?

Then the physician Jīvaka said,

Great King, be not afraid. I do not deceive you. I will not hand you over to your enemies. Great King, go ahead. Within the circular hall there are oil lamps burning brightly.

(Herein Jīvaka thought, "The king does not know that I never take life. If I do not console him, he will come to ruin here." So he [ 475 ] consoled the king to allay his fear effectively by telling him twice not to be afraid and assuring him that he was not being deceived.)

(Then to make his assuring more weighty, he told the king twice to go forward and said the oil-lamps were burning brightly in the hall. The implication of this last remark was that the illumination in the hall left no doubt about the presence of good people and the absence of insurgents and robbers who always went about in the dark. Jīvaka's speech was then deeply meaningful indeed.)

Ajātasattu's questions on the advantages of monastic life.

Then King Ajātasattu went by elephant as far as possible and at the gate of the monastery he dismounted. As soon as he put his feet on the ground, the power and glory, of the Buddha pervaded his whole body. He sweated so profusely that he was nearly forced to change his garments. He remembered his parricide and became overwhelmed with fear. So he dared not go direct to the Buddha. Instead, he took Jīvaka's hands and like a visitor looking around the monastery, he complimented Jīvaka, saying, "You have built this building wonderfully! You have built this building wonderfully!" When they came to the entrance of the circular meeting-hall, the king asked Jīvaka where the Buddha was. In fact, it was customary with kings to affect ignorance and ask in spite of their knowledge.

Then Jīvaka thought, "The king is like a man who stands on earth and asks where the earth is, like a man who looks up to the sky and asks where the sun and the moon are, like a man who stands at the foot of Mount Meru and asks where Mount Meru is. I will now show him the Exalted One." So Jīvaka raised his joined hands towards the Master and said, "Great King, that person seated before the monks, leaning against the middle pillar and facing east is the Exalted One."

Then King Ajātasattu approached the Buddha and paid his respect. Standing at a place, he looked again and again at the monks who were serene and dignified like a very clear lake, dead silent without any coughing or sneezing, their eyes calmly fixed on the [ 476 ] Buddha without casting a single glance at the gorgeous gathering of the king and his people.

The king marvelled and exclaimed,

Now the monks are so serene. May my son, Prince Udayabhadda, have such serenity!

(Herein King Ajātasattu's exclamation should not give one the impression that he wanted his son to lead a monastic life and become serene. In fact at the sight of the monks he became clear in his consciousness and remembered his son. Naturally getting an object that is hard to come by or seeing something marvellous reminds one of one's beloved relatives or friends. The king uttered the above words because he remembered his son (and not because he wanted to have his son ordained).

In another sense, his exclamation was due to his worry about his son and his desire for the prince's serenity. For he thought, "The day will come when my son, seeing that I am still young, asks me where his grandfather is. If he comes to know somehow or other that his grandfather was killed by his father, he will take it into his head to kill me and become king."

In spite of his worry about his son and his desire to make the prince serene, the king was destined to be killed by his own son. In the lineage of King Ajātasattu there were five cases of parricide (1) Prince Ajātasattu killed his father king Bimbisāra (2) Prince Udaya killed his father King Ajātasattu (3) Prince Mahāmuṇḍika killed his father King Udaya (4) Prince Anuruddha killed his father Mahāmuṇḍika, and (5) Prince Nāgadāsa killed his father King Anuruddha. Then the people of the country unanimously resolved to have nothing to do with the king who disgraced their lineage and made away with King Nāgadāsa.)

Before the king made his exclamation the Buddha had divined the thought of King Ajātasattu as he stood in silence before the Buddha. The Buddha knew that the king dared not speak to him, that he remembered his son as he looked again and again at the monks and that unless the Buddha broke the ice, he would not have the courage to say anything. So deciding to speak first, the Buddha said just after the king's exclamation.

O King! Your mind is now with your beloved one.

Then King Ajātasattu thought, "Oh! Marvellous indeed is the greatness of the Exalted One! There is no one equal to me in having wronged the Exalted One. I killed (my father) the greatest supporter who was an Ariya, donor of the Buddha. Not only that. Misguided by Devadatta I sent assassins to kill the Buddha. Perhaps Devadatta thought he had my support when he rolled the rock from the Gijjhakuṭa hill to kill the Buddha. I have done so much evil and yet now the Buddha has started the conversation with me. The Buddha indeed firmly possesses the Tādi attribute in terms of five characteristics. Therefore we will never ignore such kind of Exalted One and never seek refuge (or a teacher) elsewhere."

(The five Tādi characteristics are (1) equanimity without any love or hatred in the vicissitudes (Lokādhamma) whether desirable (iṭṭha) or undesirable (aniṭṭha) of life (2) repudiation of defilements (3) having crossed over the current of saṃsāra (4) freedom from lust, etc., (5) possession of morality, faith, etc., that makes him worthy of being pointed out as a man of moral integrity, faith, etc., (The Mahāniddesa contains its eleboration).

(Alternatively, (1) the ability to have desirable perception (iṭṭhasaññā) at will in regard to undesireable (aniṭṭha) beings or phenomena (2) the ability to have undesirable perception (aniṭṭhasaññā) at will with regard to desirable (iṭṭha) beings and phenomena (3) the ability to have desirable perception at will in regard to both desirable and undesirable beings and phenomena (4) the ability to have undesirable perception at will in regard to both desirable and undesirable beings and phenomena and (5) the ability to have equanimity at will in respect of both the pleasant and undesirable beings and phenomena. These five Noble Powers (Ariyiddha) are the five Tādi-characteristics. (From the Sīlakkhandha Abhinava Ṭīkā, Vol. II.)

[ 478 ] So thinking he was much delighted and in response to the Buddha's remark he said,

Glorious Buddha, I love my son Prince Udayabhadda dearly. May my son prince Udayabhadda have the same serenity that the monks now have.

King Ajātasattu reflected, "If after paying respect to the Exalted One I go to the monks here and there and pay respect to them, I will have to turn my back to the Exalted One and that will mean irreverence to him on my part. Certainly, a man who after paying respect to the king goes to the crown prince and pays respect shows lack of respect for the king." So after paying respect to the Buddha, the king bowed to the monks with both hands raised from the place where he was standing and sat down at a proper place.

Then king Ajātasattu said,

Glorious Buddha, if you permit me to ask you a question, I should like to ask you a few questions about a certain thing.

The Buddha said,

Great King, You may ask me about anything you like, thereby extending to the king the invitation of the Omniscient Buddhas.

Two kinds of invitation.

Invitation of questions is of two kinds, (1) the invitation by Omniscient Buddhas and (2) the invitation by their disciples.

(When someone wants to ask an Omniscient Buddha about something, the Buddha says confidently and without any reservation, "Ask me about anything you like. I will answer all your questions thoroughly." This kind of invitation is made only by Buddhas and the intellectually mature Bodhisattas.

As for their disciples, they do not say "Ask me about anything," but they say with reservation, "I will answer your question if I can only after I have heard it.")

On being thus invited by the Buddha in the manner of Omniscient Buddhas, King Ajātasattu became much delighted and enthusiastic and he asked the following question.

Glorious Buddha, there are many skilled occupations as craftsmen. They belong to warriors riding elephants, warriors riding horses worriers riding chariots, archers, flag-bearers, military strategists, commandos who slip behind the lines of the opposing army and cut off the enemies' heads, princes distinguished in fighting, daredevils who make speedy attacks on the enemy, warriors who are valiant like bull-elephants, very brave warriors, warriors clad in armour, trustworthy servants, cooks, barbers, those who bathe other people, butlers, flowerstringers, laundry-workers, weavers, maker of reed-mat walls, potters, arithmaticians, and those who count by their fingers, besides these, there are many other similar crafts-men. These people live long, profiting by their skills. By means of their skills they make themselves, their parents, their wives and children and their friends comfortable and vigorous. Moreover, they give alms to monks and Brahmins to land in the Deva-world in their afterlife.

Exalted Buddha, can one point out the benefits of a monastic life like those of skilled occupations, benefits which one can realize by himself in the present life?

Then the Buddha thought, "Now here at this place are many princes and ministers who are the followers of heretical teachers, those who are outside the pale of my teaching. If I give my sermon in two parts, showing the impurity of their teachers' doctrines (kaṇha-pakkha) in the first part and the purity of my doctrine (sukka-pakkha) in the second part, these people will blame me, saying that I talk only about the doctrinal conflicts and controversies of the monks from the time of the arrival of their king who has come here with great effort to hear the Dhamma. They will not hear the Dhamma respectfully. If the king himself talks about the doctrine of the heretics, the people will not blame me. They will let me say what I like. In fact, people naturally follow the king [ 480 ] (issarānuvattako hi loko). Now I will make it the king's responsibility to describe the teaching of the heretics." Then the Buddha asked the king if he remembered having put the question to the other monks and brahmins.

The king said that he did and the Buddha asked him how they had answered the question and urged him to state their answer if he did not mind it. The king said, "Sir! I do not mind doing so in a place where the Exalted One or a man like the Exalted One is sitting."

(What is implicit here in the king's reply is this, It is troublesome or hard to tell a person pretentious to be wise about anything because he is apt to criticize every sentence and every word. The real wise man, however, extols the speech that he hears if it is flawless and he corrects the language, sentences and words if there are flaws in the speech. The Buddha has no peer in the world in respect of real wisdom. Hence the king's reply as mentioned above.)

Thus urged by the Buddha to recount the answers given by the heretical teachers, the king told him how he once approached the six heretical teachers viz. Pūraṇa Kassapa, Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambala, Pakudha Kaccāyana, Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta and Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta and asked them about the advantages of monkhood in the present life. The six teachers described only their respective doctrines like a man who being asked about a mango tree describes a jack fruit tree, or vice versa. The answers were at variance with the question but although the king was disappointed with the heretical teachers he considered it inadvisable for a king like him to rebuke such religious persons as monks and brahmins in his country. So he neither accepted nor rejected their sayings. Nor did he show his displeasure by word of mouth. Instead, he got up and came back without taking note of their words and now he asked the Buddha about the present advantages of a monastic life.

Then the Buddha gave an elaborate talk on the advantages of monkhood in the present life. For example, (1) a man-slave was honoured by the king after his ordination, (2) a farmer who paid taxes to the king was honoured by the latter after he became a monk. (3) To show the higher advantages of monkhood, the Buddha referred to the life of a man of either low or high caste who had heard his teaching, inspired with faith he became a monk and practiced (a) lower morality, (b) medium morality and (c) higher morality. Then he guarded his senses, developed mindfulness, easily contented, rejected hindrances, he gained the First Jhāna, (4) the Second Jhāna, (5) the Third Jhāna and (6) the Fourth Jhāna (7-14). Still making further progress, he attained insight-knowledge (Vipassanā-ñāṇa), psychic powers (manomayidhi-ñāṇa), supernatural powers (iddhividha ñāṇa), the divine-ear (dibbasota-ñāṇa), penetrative knowledge of the mind of others (cetopariya-ñāṇa), remembrance of former existences (pubbenivāsānussati-ñāṇa), knowledge of the dying and reappearance of other beings (cutūpapāta-ñāṇa) and extinction of all mental intoxicants (Āsavakkhaya-ñāṇa or Arahatta-Magga-ñāṇa). Thus the monk gained as the present advantages of his sacred life the eight kinds of progressively higher, extraordinary knowledge up to Arahantship.

(For details, see the Sāmaññaphala Sutta of the Dīgha-Nikāya)

Refuge sought by Ajātasattu.

When the Buddha thus described in detail the present advantages of monkhood with Arahantship as its apex, King Ajātasattu followed the whole talk attentively expressing his appreciation verbally from time to time. He thought, "In the past I did not ask many monks and Brahmins about these matters but like a man who pounds the husks of grain, I have never received any thing substantial. Marvellous indeed is the greatness of the Exalted Buddha! He has answered these questions, enlightening me very much as if with the brilliance of a thousand oillamps. For a long time ignorance has deceived me, making me blind to the greatness and power of the Exalted One."

Overwhelmed with ecstasy arising from the contemplation of the Buddha's attributes, the king clearly showed his faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha in the following words,

"Venerable Sir, Very delightful indeed is the teaching! Just as in the world what has been upside down is set aright, just as what has been covered is uncovered, just as a man who has lost his way is shown the right way, just as torches are lighted in order that those [ 482 ] who have eye-sights may see various visual forms in the darkness, so also you have in many ways made the Dhamma very clear to me. Venerable Sir! I seek refuge in the Exalted One, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha. Let the Exalted One regard me from today as a lay devotee established in Saraṇagamana for life.

Venerable Sir! I am overwhelmed with guilt stemming from foolishness, confusion and ignorance. For the sake of kingly pleasures I have killed my father, a great monarch who practised justice and ruled righteously. Let the Exalted One forgive me for the offence, regarding it as an offence that will make me mindful and vigilant in future."""

Thus the king sought refuge in the Buddha, etc., and apologized for his offense. Then the Buddha said,

O King! You are indeed overwhelmed with guilt arising from your foolishness, confusion and ignorance. You have killed your father, the great monarch who practised justice and ruled righteously. But we forgive you that offence because you admit it and make amends for it. If a man admits his offense, atones for it accordingly and guards himself against it in future, then such atonement and self-restraint mean spiritual progress under the system of my teaching.

Then King Ajātasattu said,

Very well, Venerable Sir! We will now go. We have many things to do. The Buddha replied, "O king! You may go as you wish." The king accepted the Buddha's teaching with much pleasure, extolled it delightedly, rose from his seat, paid respect and went away.

Note on Saraṇa-gamana.

Herein note on Saraṇa-gamana will be mentioned briefly.

There are seven points regarding Saraṇa-gamana,
(a) Saraṇa (Refuge),
(b) Saraṇa-gamana (Refuge-taking or Refuge consciousness),
(c) Person established in Saraṇa-gamana,
(d) Forms of Saraṇa-gamana,
(e) Fruit of Saraṇa-gamana,
(f) Contamination of Saraṇa-gamana, and
(g) Destruction of Saraṇa-gamana.

(a) Saraṇa (Refuge).

The Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha are the threefold Saraṇa (Refuge) because those who seek its protection overcome their fear, alarm, physical and mental suffering and various miseries in the lower worlds after death. In other words, the Buddha helps beings overcome various perils by contributing to their welfare and averting their misfortunes. So does the Dhamma by making beings free from hardships of life and consoling them. And so does the Saṃgha by making them gain a great benefit even from a few good acts. Hence the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha constitute the real threefold Refuge that ensures beings freedom from all suffering.

(b) Saraṇa-gamana (Refuge taking or Refuge consciousness)

Great wholesome consciousness (Mahākusala-citta) that makes one inclined for the Three Jewels by moving defiling unwholesome mental states through devotion and veneration to the Three Jewels, Great Consciousness of Action (Mahā kiriya citta) regarding the Arahants, and Path Consciousness (Maggacitta) regarding the Noble Ones established in the Path, Maggaṭṭha Ariyas, all these forms of consciousness are called Saraṇa-gamana. Conviction that the Three Jewels are the real factors that eliminate suffering by means of such consciousness is Saraṇa-gamana. This is a definition.)

(c) Person established in Saraṇa-gamana.

A person who has the consciousness described above is one who is established in the threefold Refuge. Thus we should first understand the three aspects (1) Saraṇa (2) Saraṇa-gamana and (3) Person established in Saraṇa-gamana.

(d) Forms of Saraṇa-gamana.

It is of two forms:
(1) supramundane and (2) mundane.

(1) Supramundane Saraṇa-gamana is implicit by way of fulfillment of function in a single thought-moment when the Ariyas realize the four Truths and attain the Paths, thereby overcoming all defilements and focusing their minds on Nibbāna. (By this is meant as follows, supramundane Saraṇagamana is Path-consciousness. Path-consciousness is focused on Nibbāna. and this means uprooting the defilements that make Saraṇa-gamana impure. So although the Pathconsciousness arises from the focus not on the Three Jewels but on Nibbāna, the fulfillment of its function involves the recognition of the Three Jewels as the real Refuge. In other words, at the moment of Path-consciousness one is also possessed of the supramundane Saraṇa-gamana. For example, it is said that one knows the Four Truths at the moment of Path-consciousness. Having Nibbāna as its object, the Pathconsciousness is concerned only with the truth about the end of suffering. But it also roots out ignorance that makes us blind to the four Truths. Thus although the Ariya focuses his mind only on Nibbāna, he becomes aware of the three other Truths that do not directly concern Nibbāna, viz., the Truths about suffering, the cause of suffering and the way to the cessation of suffering.)

(2) The mundane Saraṇa-gamana arises in an ordinary person (wordling) when he contemplates the attributes of the Buddha, the Dhamma and Saṃgha in the effort to remove the depravities (upakkilesa) that defile Saraṇa-gamana. Basically this Saraṇagamana means faith in the Buddha, etc., or a right view (sammādiṭṭhi) based on faith or a mental factor of wisdom (paññā-cetasika). As one of the ten meritorious actions (puññakiriya), it is called Diṭṭhijukamma.

[ 485 ] Here faith too is termed is Saraṇa-gamana and so is the faith and wisdom combined. Mundane consciousness with regard to the Threefold Refuge is of two kinds, intelligent consciousness (ñāṇa-sampayutta saraṇa-g.) and unintelligent consciousness.

(ñāṇa vippayutta saraṇa-g.) The former is the consciousness of the children who recite the Refuge-formula at the advice of their parents. Here it is only a matter of faith (saddhā cetasika). The intelligent Saraṇa-gamana is based on the knowledge of the noble characteristics of the Three Jewels and here faith and wisdom are jointly mentioned as Saraṇa-g because they are easily felt. The actual Saraṇa-g., however, is the consciousness that is led by faith and wisdom.

Again, the mundane Saraṇa-g is of four kinds,

(1) Attasanniyyātana saraṇa-g = Saraṇa-g by giving up oneself to the Three Jewels,

(2) Tapparāyana saraṇa-g = Saraṇa-g by finding one's support in the Three Jewels,

(3) Sissabhāvūpa-gamana saraṇa-g = Saraṇa-g by becoming a pupil of the Three Jewels, and

(4) Paṇipāta-saraṇa-g = Saraṇa-g by showing great reverence to the Three Jewels.

Of these four

(1) Giving up oneself to the Three Jewels involves declaration as follows,

From today onwards I give up myself to the Buddha, I give up myself to the Dhamma, I give up myself to the Saṃgha.

(2) Finding one's support in the Three Jewels involves supplication as follows, "From today onwards kindly recognize me as one who finds support in the Buddha, in the Dhamma and in the Saṃgha."

(3) Becoming a pupil of the Three Jewels involves supplication as follows, "From today onwards kindly recognize as a residential [ 486 ] pupil (antevāsika) of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha." (In the Mahājanaka Jātaka the Bodhisatta pointed out lifeless mango tree bearing fruit and the other mango tree bearing no fruit as his teachers because they instructed him for his welfare. Therefore one speak of the Dhamma as one's teacher and speak of oneself as its pupil.)

(4) Showing great reverence to the Three Jewels involves supplication as follows, "from today onwards kindly recognize me as one who worships, welcomes, raises one's hands in adoration, venerates only the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha.

One who adopts any of these four modes of seeking refuge is one who fulfils one's saraṇa-g.

Alternatively, (1) declaration uttering "I give up myself to the Buddha, to the Dhamma, and to the Saṃgha," or "I offer my life to the Three Jewels," or "I have offered my body to the Three Jewels," or "I have offered my life to the Three Jewels," or "I am aware of my approach to the Buddha as my refuge till the end of my life, ... to the Dhamma ... and ... to the Saṃgha ... ," or "the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṃgha are my refuge," all these utterances of declaration constitute attasanniyyā-sarṇa-g.

(2) In the story of Pippali, a youth who later became the well known Mahā Kassapa, donned the robe by himself and set out from his Brahmin village of Mahā Tittha to visit the Buddha. On his way he saw the Buddha at the foot of the banyan tree called Bahu-puttaka between Rājagaha and Nāḷanda. The Buddha was waiting for him from a distance of three gāvutas. As soon as Pippali saw the Buddha he decided that "this noble ascetic must be the Satthā (Teacher) of humans and Devas, the Sugata (Good Wayfarer) who has really attained Nibbāna through excellent practice, and the Sammāsambuddha (Perfectly Self Enlightened One) who has tightly penetrated the tight doctrines by himself. Then he took refuge in the Buddha by uttering, "If I am to see the Satthā of humans and Devas, I will see only you. If I am to see the Sugata, I will see only you. If I am to see the Sammāsambuddha, I will see only you. (= I will see no other person with my eye of wisdom as my Satthā, Sugata, and Sammāsambuddha. I will see only you as my Satthā, Sugata, and Sammāsambuddha.) His utterances indeed amounted to the third mode of taking refuge which is sissabhāvūpa-gamana saraṇa-g.

(3)The Saraṇa-gamana that is marked by the desire to scale protection and shelter in the Three Jewels as in the case of the ogre Āḷāvaka, the deva-kings Hemavata and Sātāgira is termed Tapparāyana-saraṇa-gamana.

(4) In the Brahmāyu Sutta of the Majjhima Nikāya after the Buddha had answered the eight question put by the Brahmin Brahmāyu, the latter was much impressed and so after rising, he bowed his head to the feet of the Buddha. He also sucked the Buddha's feet with his mouth and massaged them vigorously, saying, "O Gotama! I am the brahmin Brahmāyu" and thus mentioning his name.

This gesture of the brahmin Brahmāyu showing deep reverence for the three jewels is Paṇipāta Saraṇa-gamana.

In short, there is no uniform gesture for the four kinds of Saraṇa-gamana. There are many kinds of bodily and verbal actions by which one can show reverence for the Three Jewels. The Commentary distinguished between four kinds of Saraṇagamana, explains the four kinds of reverences.

Four kinds of reverence (paṇipāta).

Reverence may be of four kinds, reverence for relatives, reverence from fear, reverence for the teacher and reverence for one who as one of the Three Jewels or Refuges is worthy of excellent offering.

The Saraṇa-gamana necessarily presupposes the fourth kind of reverence. It has nothing to do with the others.

[ 488 ] Indeed reverence with faith is essential to Saraṇa-gamana, This consciousness erodes only when there is reverence for the bogus Buddha, bogus Dhamma and bogus Saṃgha in place of three genuine Jewels.

(1) So a Sakyan or a Koliyan prince has no Saraṇa-gamana if he reveres the Buddha, regarding the Buddha as a senior member of their family.

(2) Neither is it Saraṇa-gamana if a man reveres the Buddha out of fear that as a powerful teacher honoured by kings, the Buddha might do harm to him if he showed no respect.

(3) A man may remember having learnt (some craft) from the Buddha when he was still a Bodhisatta and now he reveres the Buddha, regarding him as his former teacher. Another man may have heard the Buddha's sermon on, say, the apportionment of one's wealth, a wise housefather should spend one fourth of his income on enjoying life, two fourths (one half) to be invested in business, and the remaining one fourth to be saved for any emergency. So he looks up to the Buddha as his teacher and reveres him for the advice with regard to his material welfare. Now neither of these two men's reverence has anything to do with Saraṇa-gamana.

(4) But a certain man reveres the Buddha, believing that he was the real Jewel, the real Refuge, worthy of alms given as foundations for welfare hereafter. Only this man has Saraṇagamana.

For a lay man or a lay woman who seeks refuge in the Buddha, recognizing the Buddha as a being worthy of excellent offering (aggadakkhiṇeyya-puggala), his or her Saraṇagamana is not adversely affected even though he reveres a relative of alien, heretical monastic Order, to say nothing of revering a non-heretical monk or a lay man in his family. So also a lay man or a lay woman who has sought refuge in the Buddha will not have his or her vow damaged by revering the king out of fear. The same is true in the case of a layman paying respect to a heretic who happens to be his former teacher.

(e) Fruit of Saraṇa-gamana.

The chief immediate benefits of supramundane Saraṇagamana are the four Fruitions of the Path gained by Ariyas, The subsequent benefit is extinction of saṃsāra. In other words, it is the total extinction of the illusions of permanence, pleasantness and substantiality as regards the impermanent, unpleasant and insubstantial psychophysical phenomena, etc., are the benefits of mundane Saraṇa-gamana.

(f) Contamination of Saraṇa-gamana.

Mundane Saraṇa-gamana gets debased owing to ignorance, doubt and misconceptions about the noble attributes of the Three Jewels. It is not bright, vast and great. The supramundane Saraṇa-gamana is free from corruption. It is always clean and pure.

(g) Destruction of Saraṇa-gamana.

Supramundane Saraṇa-gamana can never be destroyed. The Ariya who is established in it does not point out as his or her teacher any one other than the Three Refuges even in the next life. It is only the mundane Saraṇa-gamana that tends to come to destruction.

Its destruction is of two kinds (1) disastrous destruction and (2) non-disastrous destruction. The destruction is disastrous when one reveres and seeks refuge in other heretical teachers in one of the ways described above, thereby giving rise to craving, wrong belief, etc., When the destruction follows death, it is not disastrous because it does not involve doing any evil (The vow taken by Buddhists nowadays as regards taking refuge in the Buddha, etc., is mundane. Like the observance of the moral precepts, its duration is not fixed and it ends only with death. This end is not disastrous because it does not involve craving, wrong belief and other unwholesome states of consciousness.

Note on Upāsakā (lay devotee).

[ 490 ] (Sutta Silakkhan the Commentary) Some brief note on upāsakā may be mentioned as follows,
(1) Definition of an upāsakā,
(2) Function of an upāsakā,
(3) Morality of an upāsakā,
(4) Livelihood an upāsakā,
(5) Failure of an upāsakā and
(6) Success of an upāsakā,

These six aspects should be understood.

(a) Definition of an upāsakā.

An upāsakā is he who seeks refuge in the Three Jewels, irrespective of his birth high or low. (Relevant examples contained in the Saṃyutta Nikāya)

(b) Function of an upāsakā.

His function is to follow the Three Jewels, namely, the Buddha, the Dhamma and Saṃgha. (Upāsatīti upāsako, 'He follows the Three Jewels, therefore he is upāsakā. Upāsako, 'a devotee of the Triple Gem').

(c) Morality of an upāsakā.

His morality is the observance of the five moral precepts. (Relevant examples contained in the Saṃyutta Nikāya.)

(d) Livelihood of an upāsakā.

His livelihood excludes the five kinds of wrong trades, (1) trade in arms, (2) trade in human beings, (3) trade in meat and fish, (4) trade in alcohol, and (5) trade in poison. Avoiding these five wrong trades, he earns his living righteously by tending cattle, buying and selling goods and farming.

(e) Failure of an upāsakā.

His failure lies in the destruction of his observance of the five precepts and right livelihood. (If his observance of the precept is impaired or if he earns his living by taking up one of the five wrong trades, his life as an upāsakā is ruined.) Moreover, there are five things that make his life rough, nasty and disgusting, (1) lack of faith, (2) lack of morality, (3) performance of and indulgence in worldly rites and rituals with regard to what has been seen, heard or experienced as conceived by the foolish and the ignorant, (4) disbelief in the law of kamma and belief in rituals, and (5) performance of good deeds in the Order of the Buddha only after seeking recipients in the sects of the heretics. (These five deeds lead an upāsakā to his failure.) (Examples in the Aṅguttara Nikāya.)

(6) Success of an upāsakā.

His success consists in the fulfilment of his morality and right livelihood. (He is an upāsakā as long as his morality and right livelihood remain intact.) Besides, if he maintains the following five practices he is said to be successful as an upāsakā. The five practices are, (1) faith that makes one an upāsakā comparable to a jewel, an upāsakā comparable to a paduma lotus, and an upāsakā comparable to a puṇḍarika lotus, (2) unimpaired morality, (3) non-indulgence in earthly rituals, (4) belief in one's own deeds good and bad, (5) performance of good deeds in the Order of the Buddha before seeking recipients in the systems of the heretics. These five lead to an upāsakā to his success. (Examples in the Aṅguttara Nikāya.)

King Ajātasattu's loss and gain.

Not long after the King's Ajātasattu's departure the Buddha addressed the monks, "Monks, the king has destroyed his own position. Monks, if King Ajātasattu had not killed his father King Bimbisāra, the righteous monarch, who ruled his kingdom lawfully, the Sotāpatti Path-Wisdom would have occurred to him on the spot. (He would have become a Sotāpanna Ariya.)"

[ 492 ] The Buddha added, "Monks, if he had not put his father to death, he would have attained the Sotāpatti Path while seated here as he heard this Sāmañña-phala Sutta. But now on account of his association with his wicked friend, his potentiality to attain that Path has been injured. Nevertheless since he has taken refuge in the Triple Gem and since his refuge which is my threefold Teaching is supreme, he may be compared to a man who after having been sentenced to death for murder escapes the death penalty by getting good support and by giving just a handful of flowers (as a small fine). Although he ought to suffer in the Avīci hell for his-heinous crime of parricide, he will suffer only in the Lohakumbhī hell after his death, for he has the good support in my Teaching. He will land in that hell and remain down there for thirty thousand years and come up and stay on the surface for thirty thousand years. Then (after sixty thousand years) he will be released from Lohakumbhī.

(Herein Ajātasattu's gain will be mentioned according to the Commentary. One may asked, "Had he benefited from his hearing of the Sāmañña-phala Sutta?")

The answer is, Yes, he had, and his benefit is enormous. Since the moment of his parricide he had known no sleep, by day or by night, for there appeared to him signs of his woeful rebirth. Only after listening to the sweet and soothing Sāmañña-phala Sutta, he could sleep well whether it was day or night. And he lavishly honoured the Three Jewels. No other worldling had faith (pothujjanika-saddhā) that was equal to Ajātasattu's. (Sound sleep, merit accrued from his honour done to the Triple Gem, possession of unique faith of a worldling, etc., were his gain that was realised in the present life. His afterlife benefit would be his attainment of Parinibbāna after becoming a Pacceka Buddha, by the name of Vijitāvī.

Note on Ajātasattu's Enlightenment.

If it is true that King Ajātasattu could have gained the Sotāpatti-Path Knowledge instantly but for his parricide, how can be become a Pacceka Buddhā and attain Parinibbāna? If it is true that he will become a Pacceka Buddha and attain Parinibbāna, how could have he gained the state of a Sotāpanna? Enlightenment of a Pacceka Buddha consists in the fulfilment of five things, (1) manussatta (a human life), (2) liṅga-sampatti (being a male), (3) vigatāsava-dassana (discernment leading to freedom from āsavas), (4) adhikāra (service), and (5) chandatā (aspiration). Enlightenment of a disciple requires only two factors, (1) adhikāra and (2) chandatā. As regards the duration of time for their fulfilment of Pāramīs, it takes two asaṅkhyeyyas and a hundred thousand aeons for the Enlightenment of a Pacceka Buddha, one asaṅkhyeyya and a hundred thousand aeons for that of a Disciple. In realising the Four Truths, the former has no teacher while the latter has. For these reasons are not the two kinds of Enlightenment basically different from each other?

The answer is that they cannot be different. For Ajātasattu will fulfill whatever is necessary for the attainment of Enlightenment as a Pacceka Buddha only after suffering for sixty thousand years in the Lohakumbhī hell. Indeed those who seek Enlightenment as a Disciple will gain it as Pacceka Buddhas, if circumstances are not favourable for them to become Disciples. For they must have resolved to gain release as Pacceka Buddhas. (This is the answer given by the first school of teachers. According to them, although the king had the potential for gaining release as a disciple, he could not do so in the present life because of his association with his evil friend Devadatta which made circumstances unfavourable and damaged the prospects for his attainment of Sotāpatti-Magga. But later on he will fulfill everything that will contribute to his attainment of Pacceka Buddhahood and he will win release.)

But according to other teachers Ajātasattu had resolved to gain only for Enlightenment as a Pacceka Buddha. But in the absence of any definite prediction of a Buddha, even those who have performed good deeds for Pacceka Buddhahood cannot gain maturity of [ 494 ] their Enlightenment in their capacity as Pacceka Buddhas, instead they will attain Enlightenment as disciples in the presence of a Buddha. Hence the Buddha said, "Monks, if he had not put his father to death, he would have attained Sotāpatti Path while being seated here as he heard this Sāmaññā-phala Sutta."

Of the three kinds of future personages, namely, the Future Buddha, the Future Pacceka Buddha and the Future Disciple, only the Future Buddha is free from the pañcānantariyakamma, the other two Future Ones are not. That is true. Though Devadatta had been assured (though he had received the definite prediction) that he would become a Pacceka Buddha, because of his grudge that he had long harboured, he committed the ānantariya-kamma by creating schism (Saṃghabhedaka-kamma) and causing bloodshed to the buddha (Lohituppādaka-kamma) which were most serious crimes. Taking these into consideration, it may be understood that Future Pacceka Buddhas and Future Disciples are not so invulnerable. It may also be understood therefore that King Ajātasattu missed his opportunity to gain Sotāpatti Knowledge in the present life because of his parricide and that he will become later on a Pacceka Buddha by the name of Vijitāvī in accordance with the law of Pacceka Buddha Enlightenment (Pacceka-Buddha-Bodhi Niyāma). This is the view of the other teachers. Choose between these two views what you think is more reasonable. (Exposition on the Sāmañña-phla Sutta, Sīlakkhandha Ṭīkā, vol. II)

End of the story of Ajātasattu.

Here ends the Fourth Volume of The Great Chronicle of Buddhas.

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