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Buddhacarita: In Praise of Buddha’s A

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The Buddhacarita: In Praise of Buddha’s Acts is a complete biography of Sakyamuni, from his birth until after his death (parinirvana), when his relics were distributed. Composed by Asvaghosa (early second century CE) the text was rendered into Chinese by Baoyun in 421 CE from the original Sanskrit, creating a simplified version that would be more easily understandable to a Chinese audience. The Buddhacarita reads like a play, describing the incidents and events of the Buddha’s life story, from his miraculous birth and early life of wealth and privilege as Crown Prince Siddhartha, to his spiritual journeying and eventual attainment of enlightenment and the teaching and conversion of disciples and followers. Along the way key elements of the Buddha’s teaching are revealed and the message of his life is an example of the possibility of awakening and liberation for all.

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BUDDHACARITA

IN PRAISE OF BUDDHA’S ACTS

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BDK English Tripiṭaka Series

BUDDHACARITA

IN PRAISE OF BUDDHA’S ACTS

(Taishō Volume 4, Number 192)

Translated by

Charles Willemen

BDK America, Inc.

2009

—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise— without the prior written permission of the publisher.

First Printing, 2009

ISBN: 978-1-886439-42-9

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2009936282

Published by BDK America, Inc. 1675 School Street

Moraga, California 94556 Printed in the United States of America

A Message on the Publication of the English Tripiṭaka

The Buddhist canon is said to contain eighty-four thousand different teachings. I believe that this is because the Buddha’s basic approach was to prescribe a different treatment for every spiritual ailment, much as a doctor prescribes a different medicine for every medical ailment. Thus his teachings were always appropriate for the particular suffering individual and for the time at which the teaching was given, and over the ages not one of his prescriptions has failed to relieve the suffering to which it was addressed.

Ever since the Buddha’s Great Demise over twenty-ﬁve hundred years ago, his message of wisdom and compassion has spread throughout the world. Yet no one has ever attempted to translate the entire Buddhist canon into English throughout the history of Japan. It is my greatest wish to see this done and to make the translations available to the many English-speaking people who have never had the opportunity to learn about the Buddha’s teachings.

Of course, it would be impossible to translate all of the Buddha’s eighty- four thousand teachings in a few years. I have, therefore, had one hundred thirty- nine of the scriptural texts in the prodigious Taishō edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon selected for inclusion in the First Series of this translation project.

It is in the nature of this undertaking that the results are bound to be criticized. Nonetheless, I am convinced that unless someone takes it upon himself or herself to initiate this project, it will never be done. At the same time, I hope that an improved, revised edition will appear in the future.

It is most gratifying that, thanks to the efforts of more than a hundred Buddhist scholars from the East and the West, this monumental project has ﬁnally gotten off the ground. May the rays of the Wisdom of the Compassionate One reach each and every person in the world.

NUMATA Yehan Founder of the English

August 7, 1991 Tripiṭaka Project

Editorial Foreword

In January 1982, Dr. NUMATA Yehan, the founder of Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai (Society for the Promotion of Buddhism), decided to begin the monumental task of translating the complete Taishō edition of the Chinese Tripiṭaka (Buddhist canon) into the English language. Under his leadership, a special preparatory committee was organized in April 1982. By July of the same year, the Translation Committee of the English Tripiṭaka was ofﬁcially convened.

The initial Committee consisted of the following members: (late) HANAYAMA Shōyū (Chairperson), (late) BANDŌ Shōjun, ISHIGAMI Zennō, (late) KAMATA Shigeo, (late) KANAOKA Shūyū, MAYEDA Sengaku, NARA Yasuaki, (late) SAYEKI Shinkō, (late) SHIOIRI Ryōtatsu, TAMARU Noriyoshi, (late) TAMURA Kwansei, URYŪZU Ryūshin, and YUYAMA Akira. Assistant members of the Committee were as follows: KANAZAWA Atsushi, WATANABE Shōgo, Rolf Giebel of New Zealand, and Rudy Smet of Belgium.

After holding planning meetings on a monthly basis, the Committee selected one hundred thirty-nine texts for the First Series of translations, an estimated one hundred printed volumes in all. The texts selected are not necessarily limited to those originally written in India but also include works written or composed in China and Japan. While the publication of the First Series proceeds, the texts for the Second Series will be selected from among the remaining works; this process will continue until all the texts, in Japanese as well as in Chinese, have been published.

Frankly speaking, it will take perhaps one hundred years or more to accom- plish the English translation of the complete Chinese and Japanese texts, for they consist of thousands of works. Nevertheless, as Dr. NUMATA wished, it is the sincere hope of the Committee that this project will continue unto completion, even after all its present members have passed away.

Dr. NUMATA passed away on May 5, 1994, at the age of ninety-seven, entrust- ing his son, Mr. NUMATA Toshihide, with the continuation and completion of the Translation Project. The Committee also lost its able and devoted Chairperson,

Professor HANAYAMA Shōyū, on June 16, 1995, at the age of sixty-three. After these severe blows, the Committee elected me, then Vice President of Musashino Women’s College, to be the Chair in October 1995. The Committee has renewed its determination to carry out the noble intention of Dr. NUMATA, under the lead- ership of Mr. NUMATA Toshihide.

The present members of the Committee are MAYEDA Sengaku (Chairperson), ISHIGAMI Zennō, ICHISHIMA Shōshin, NARA Yasuaki, TAMARU Noriyoshi, Kenneth

K. Tanaka, URYŪZU Ryūshin, YUYAMA Akira, WATANABE Shōgo, and assistant member YONEZAWA Yoshiyasu.

The Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research was established in November 1984, in Berkeley, California, U.S.A., to assist in the publication of the BDK English Tripiṭaka First Series. The Publication Committee was organized at the Numata Center in December 1991. Since then the publication of all the vol- umes has been and will continue to be conducted under the supervision of this Committee in close cooperation with the Editorial Committee in Tokyo.

MAYEDA Sengaku

Chairperson

Editorial Committee of

the BDK English Tripiṭaka

Publisher’s Foreword

On behalf of the Publication Committee, I am happy to present this contribution to the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series. The initial translation and editing of the Buddhist scripture found here were performed under the direction of the Editorial Committee in Tokyo, Japan, chaired by Professor Sengaku Mayeda, Professor Emeritus of Musashino University. The Publication Committee members then put this volume through a rigorous succession of editorial and bookmaking efforts. Both the Editorial Committee in Tokyo and the Publication Committee in Berkeley are dedicated to the production of clear, readable English texts of the Buddhist canon. The members of both committees and associated staff work to honor the deep faith, spirit, and concern of the late Reverend Dr. Yehan Numata, who founded the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series in order to disseminate Buddhist

teachings throughout the world.

The long-term goal of our project is the translation and publication of the one hundred-volume Taishō edition of the Chinese Buddhist canon, plus a few inﬂuential extracanonical Japanese Buddhist texts. The list of texts selected for the First Series of this translation project is given at the end of each volume.

As Chair of the Publication Committee, I am deeply honored to serve in the post formerly held by the late Dr. Philip B. Yampolsky, who was so good to me during his lifetime; the esteemed Dr. Kenneth K. Inada, who has had such a great impact on Buddhist studies in the United States; and the beloved late Dr. Francis H. Cook, a dear friend and colleague.

In conclusion, let me thank the members of the Publication Committee for the efforts they have undertaken in preparing this volume for publication: Senior Editor Marianne Dresser, Dr. Hudaya Kandahjaya, Dr. Carl W. Bielefeldt, Reverend Kiyoshi Yamashita, and Reverend Brian Nagata, President of the Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research.

John R. McRae Chairperson Publication Committee

A Message on the Publication of the English Tripiṭaka

	NUMATA Yehan	v
Editorial Foreword	MAYEDA Sengaku	vii
Publisher’s Foreword	John R. McRae	ix
Translator’s Introduction	Charles Willemen	xiii
Buddhacarita: In Praise of Buddha’s Acts Fascicle One Chapter I. Birth		3
Chapter II. Life in the Palace		13
Chapter III. Disgust		19
Chapter IV. Renunciation		25
Chapter V. Leaving the City		31

Fascicle Two

Chapter VI. Chandaka’s Return 39

Chapter VII. Entry into the Forest of Asceticism 45

Chapter VIII. The Whole Palace in Grief 51

Chapter IX. The Search for the Crown Prince 59

Fascicle Three

Chapter X. King Bimbisāra Goes to the Crown Prince 69

Chapter XI. The Reply to King Bimbisāra75

Chapter XII. Visits to Ārāḍa and Udraka 83

Chapter XIII. Māra’s Destruction 93

Chapter XIV. Abhisaṃbodhi 99

Chapter XV. Turning the Wheel of the Law 107

Fascicle Four

Chapter XVI. King Bimbisāra and Disciples 113

Chapter XVII. Conversion of the Great Disciples 123

Chapter XVIII. The Conversion of Anāthapiṇḍada 129

Chapter XIX. The Meeting of Father and Son 137

Chapter XX. Acceptance of the Jetavana Pure Abode 145

Chapter XXI. Subduing the Maddened Elephant Dhanapālaka 151

Chapter XXII. Lady Āmra[pālī]’s Meeting with the Buddha 157

Fascicle Five

Chapter XXIII. Staying Alive through [the Buddha’s] Divine Power 161

Chapter XXIV. Farewell to the Licchavis 167

Chapter XXV. Parinirvāṇa 173

Chapter XXVI. The Great Parinirvāṇa 181

Chapter XXVII. The Eulogy of Nirvana 191

Chapter XXVIII. The Division of the Relics 201

A List of the Volumes of the BDK English Tripiṭaka (First Series) 245

Translator’s Introduction

The Buddhacarita (Buddha’s Acts) is a complete biography of Śākyamuni, from his birth until after his death, when his relics were distributed. The text was composed by Aśvaghoṣa (early second century C.E.), the main author of kāvya literature (poetic prose or ornate poetry) before Kālidāsa (late fourth–early ﬁfth century C.E.). The text consists of twenty-eight chapters in both the Tibetan and Chinese translations, but of the original Sanskrit text only fourteen chapters are known today. In 1830 Amṛtānanda added the last part of Chapter Fourteen, Chapter Fifteen, and Chapter Sixteen. The Tibetan translation was probably made between 1260 and 1280 (see D. P. Jackson, “On the Date of the Tibetan Translation of Aśvaghoṣa’s Buddhacarita,” Studia Indologiczne 4 [1997]: 54). The author, Aśvaghoṣa, was a brahman from Sāketa in Central India who converted to Sarvāstivāda Buddhism. His mother’s name was Suvarṇākṣī but we know little of his life. He was deeply inﬂuenced by the ideas of the Mahāsāṃghikas, much in the same way as another convert brahman from Sāketa, Harivarman (ca. 300 C.E.). Harivarman was the author of the Chengshi lun (Taishō 1646), or Prodbhūtopadeśa, often Sanskritized as Tattvasiddhi-śāstra.

Both authors were non-Vaibhāṣika Sarvāstivādins.

It is said that Aśvaghoṣa was a contemporary of Kaniṣka (probably second century C.E.). He may have lived before the time that the Mahāvibhāṣā (Taishō 1545) was compiled by ﬁve hundred arhats in Kaśmīra, at the occasion of Kaniṣka’s council. The end of the Chinese Buddhacarita mentions the First Council, in Rājagṛha, and the compilation of the Sutra portion of the Tripiṭaka. We also read that Aśoka was called Caṇḍa (“Fierce”) before his conversion, just as Kaniṣka used to be called Caṇḍa during his conquering days. The end of the Buddhacarita seems to allude to Kaniṣka, to the new king Aśoka, and to his council. If so, Aśvaghoṣa may have been a contemporary.

The term Sautrāntika ﬁrst emerged in northwestern India with Kumāralāta and the Mahāvibhāṣā. Kumāralāta was the ﬁrst teacher (mūlācārya) of the Sautrāntikas. He was the author of the Kalpanāmaṇḍitikā (Taishō 201), for a

long time incorrectly called Aśvaghoṣa’s Sūtrālaṃkāra. While Aśvaghoṣa may have lived before the advent of the Sautrāntikas, a posteriori he may doctrinally be called a Sautrāntika—but what kind of Sautrāntika is not clear.

Aśvaghoṣa was fascinated by conversion. The Buddhacarita was composed in order to convert, as the last words of the text clearly state. In addition, Aśvaghoṣa’s other works—those certain to be of his authorship—deal with con- version. The Saundarānanda relates the conversion of the Buddha’s half-brother, Nanda. This work may have been composed somewhat later than the Buddha- carita. His third great work, the Śāriputraprakaraṇa, is a nine-act play about the conversion of Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana. As an excellent teacher and propagator of the Law, Aśvaghoṣa could be called a bodhisattva. Excellent teach- ers were called bodhisattvas in China, a habit that may have originated in Dharma- guptaka circles.

The Buddhacarita reads like a play. The work is lyrical in its Indian original, less so in the Chinese version. E. H. Johnston’s appreciation of the Chinese ver- sion in “The Buddha’s Mission and Last Journey: Buddhacarita XV–XXVIII” is quite accurate:

The author . . . in addition to some misunderstandings of the original . . . has paraphrased . . . the poem. . . . [T]he translator . . . was evidently a pious Buddhist, keen on matters of legend or moral, but with little taste for literature [H]e evades textual niceties, contenting himself with

giving the general sense (2004: XIII)

In other words, while the Sanskrit version belongs to the corpus of world literature, the Chinese version is more suited to the average reader.

Ōminami Ryūshō, author of the Busshogyōsan, the latest Japanese translation and study of the Chinese Buddhacarita, makes use of all existing studies of the text and revisits the Chinese catalogues as well. He concludes that Sengyou’s information is sound, and that the author of the Chinese Buddhacarita is the Chinese monk Baoyun (376–449), not the Indian Tan Wuchen.

Baoyun was from Liangzhou. He traveled to Central Asia, Khotan (Hotan), and India around 397. There he met Faxian and other Chinese pilgrims. In India he studied languages, then returned to Chang’an and became a follower of Buddhabhadra (359–429). Buddhabhadra was in Chang’an from 406–408. Baoyun then followed Buddhabhadra south to Mount Lu, and ultimately to

Jiankang (Nanjing). His good friend Huiguan accompanied Baoyun throughout the entire journey. All three men stayed at Daochang Temple in Jiankang. Baoyun later moved to Liuheshan Temple, outside of Jiankang. It was at these two temples that he made his translations, reading the Indian text and translating orally. In this way the Buddhacarita was rendered in 421 C.E. (Yongchu 2 of the Liu Song), at Liuheshan Temple.

Alternative Chinese titles of the Buddhacarita are the Maming pusa zan (Bodhisattva Aśvaghoṣa’s Kāvya) and the Fo benxing zan (Buddhacarita-kāvya). Sengyou also mentions a Fo benxing jing (Buddhacarita-sūtra). Hikata Ryūshō thinks that this text was written shortly after Zhi Qian (third century) but before Kumārajīva (344–413?). Fei Changfang mistook this sutra for the kāvya, and this mistake has found its way into the colophon of the Taishō edition.

Tan Wuchen (385–433) was from Central India. The “sound translation,” i.e., phonetic rendering, of his Indian name is Tanwuchen but this is probably better rendered as Tan Wuchen, which gives it the appearance of a real Chinese name. The actual Chinese translation of the name is “Dharma Abundance,” Dharmarddhin in Sanskrit, though some think Dharmavṛddhin is more likely. Tan Wuchen is phonetically quite possible in either case. A variant phonetic rendering is Tanmoluochen, where the luo renders an “r.” Tan Wuchen’s biog- raphy informs us that he was versed in incantations and magic, and that he had the nickname Da Zhoushi, “Great Spell Master.” This information points to the name Dharmarddhin.

Tan Wuchen arrived in Guzang in 412, where he did translation work between 414 and 421. Guzang is known as Liangzhou, in present-day Wuwei district, Gansu province. There in 421 he brought out his famous translation of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra (Taishō 374), known as the northern version. That same year Baoyun brought out his Buddhacarita near Jiankang. Tan Wuchen’s translation of the Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra was revised in Jiankang during the Yuanjia era (424–453). This text (Taishō 375) is known as the southern version. It was completed after the Chinese Buddhacarita.

Baoyun’s good friend Faxian, with the help of Buddhabhadra, had also pro- duced a version of the Nirvana Sutra in Jiankang in 418 (Taishō 376). The ﬁfth of the ﬁve volumes of the Chinese Buddhacarita corresponds with the contents of the Nirvana Sutra. It seems that Tan Wuchen’s name was added to the Buddha- carita for a number of reasons. For example, both texts are dated to 421; the

northern Nirvana Sutra was being studied in Jiankang and another version had just been brought out there; and an important section of the Buddhacarita, the last part, agrees with the Nirvana Sutra. Finally, Baoyun was from Liangzhou (Guzang).

The Chinese Text

As the result of Baoyun’s oral “translation,” the text shows us his understanding and his explanation of the original Sanskrit. The explanation of early Sāṃkhya in Chapter Twelve, stanzas 14–33, is a good example. One must be careful not to draw any hasty conclusions for the original Sanskrit on the basis of the Chinese text. Baoyun’s Sanskrit text was probably not the same as the Nepalese texts we have now, but the differences are so numerous that one can say that Baoyun gave his own oral version of the contents, at the same time making the contents clear to his Chinese audience.

The text has many stock phrases of technical terminology. Its pentasyllabic verse is split up into two- and three-character, or three- and two-character, phrasing. This requirement explains many compounds and redundant terms, such as jin (now), ji (immediately, then), youruo (as if), ze (then), etc. The text has many Chinese grammatical particles, pronouns, and so on, unusual in poetry but commonplace in colloquial language. Sometimes the grammatical elements are used to render Sanskrit morphology, for example, the instrumental and locative cases. Indian proverbial are often rendered as one Chinese character. Compounds are the norm. The language here is quite different from that of the Confucian Classics.

Baoyun leaves out many of the descriptive parts that make the Sanskrit text so beautiful and lively. Hindu mythology is simpliﬁed, probably to make it more easily understandable to a Chinese readership. The circumstances of the Buddha’s birth (conception, childbirth) are not related as mythological but are described much more realistically. The role of women is explained but abbreviated, and described in modest terms. The characteristics of Baoyun’s text can be explained at length but the conclusion one draws is that the Chinese is not as poetic and lyrical as the Sanskrit; rather, it is more explanatory, in a vernacular style. Of course, Baoyun used some terms and transcriptions of names that were well known at the time. This established terminology was probably based on a Prakrit language, though Baoyun’s text was in Sanskrit.

Some examples of passages in the text that are clearly marked by Baoyun’s knowledge of Chinese mythology and history:

“His robe of the Law helped the morning freshness arise, just as when the sun is shining from the mulberry tree.” (Chapter X, stanza 18)

Chinese mythology holds that the sun comes up far to the east, underneath a giant mulberry tree, which has one root but two mutually supporting trunks. This tree, the rodhra tree, has yellow ﬂowers, like the color of the robe of the Law.

“An execution underneath a banner in the eastern marketplace ” (Chapter

XI, stanza 31)

During the Han era the eastern market in Chang’an was a place where executions were carried out.

Furthermore, Mount Tai, a Chinese place name, is often mentioned in the text. Chapter Twenty-four, stanza 26, mentions “the unique vehicle” (ekayāna). This deﬁnitely gives the impression that Baoyun shared Huiguan’s ideas in Jian- kang. The concept of “unique vehicle” comes from the Lotus Sutra, and was

propagated by Huiguan.

These examples all point to Baoyun as the author of the Chinese Buddha- carita.

BUDDHACARITA

IN PRAISE OF BUDDHA’S ACTS

Composed by Bodhisattva Aśvaghoṣa

Translated by the Indian Tripiṭaka Master Tan Wuchen,1 during the Northern Liang

Fascicle One

Chapter I

Birth

The unconquerable king of the Śākyas, the progeny of Ikṣvāku, was endowed with virtue and pure riches, and so his name was Śuddhodana.
Living beings happily looked up to him, as to the moon which had just risen. The king was like Śakra, ruler of the gods, and his wife was like Śacī.
Her steadfastness was as solid as the earth, and her thoughts were as pure as a lotus ﬂower. By way of comparison she was called Māyā, but she was beyond compare.
In that godlike queen a spirit descended and dwelled in her womb. The mother was completely free from sorrow. She did not have any illusory thoughts.
In her weariness she railed at the commonplace and longed to stay in a secluded forest, in the excellent garden of Lumbinī, where springs ﬂowed and ﬂowers and fruits were luxuriant.
She wanted to meditate in quietude and beseeched the king for per- mission to travel there. The king understood her earnest wish and thought that it was wonderful.
He ordered that both her own and her external retinue should go to that garden. Queen Māyā perceived that the time of delivery was at hand.
She lay down on an excellent couch, with numerous ladies waiting upon her. On the eighth day of the fourth month the moment was serene and the atmosphere harmonious.

9. She observed the fast and developed her pure qualities, and the Bodhi- sattva was born from her right side. Saving the world with his great compassion, he did not let his mother suffer.

10. King Aurva was born from the thigh. King Pṛthu was born from the hand. King Māndhātṛ was born from the head and King Kakśīvat was born from the armpit.

11. The Bodhisattva was just like that, born from the right side. When in due course he had issued from the womb, his light shone everywhere.

1b 12. As if he had fallen down from the sky, he did not pass through the portal of birth. Having cultivated virtue for countless eons, he was born fully conscious, without any confusion.

Established and immovable in the truth, his brightness was quite majestic. With luster he appeared from the womb, like the sun that was just rising.

14. While observing his utter brilliance one’s sight remained uninjured. Even though one looked at him, his light did not blind one, as when observing the moon in the sky.

15. The light of his person was shining, just like the sun outshining the light of a lamp. In the same way the Bodhisattva’s body of true gold was shining all around.

Upright and clear of mind, he walked seven steps with dignity. On the bottom of his feet his level soles were well placed. His brightness was as penetrating as the seven stars.2

17. Stepping like a lion, king of the animals, he observed the four directions. With thorough insight into the meaning of the truth, he thus spoke with the fullest assurance:

“As this birth is a buddha’s birth, it is my last birth. Just in this one birth I shall save all!”

19. At this occasion two pleasant streams came pouring down from the sky. One was warm and the other cool. They poured down on his head, so that he felt physically happy.

Dwelling in his precious palace, he lay on his couch of beryl. The celestial kings supported four legs of the couch with golden lotuses in their hands.
The gods waited upon him in the sky, holding a precious parasol. Acknowledging his majesty, the spirits were full of praise and they urged him to complete the Buddha’s path.

22. The dragon kings were ﬁlled with joy, thirsting for the most excellent

Law. They had served the buddhas of the past, and now they met the Bodhi- sattva.

They scattered mandāra ﬂowers, offering joyful worship with all their hearts. As the Tathāgata appeared in the world, the gods of the pure abodes3 rejoiced.

24. Having done away with the joy of desire they were pleased with the Law, as it would let living beings, who ﬂounder in the sea of suffering, obtain deliverance.

25. The king of the precious mountain, Sumeru, was holding this great earth in his ﬁrm grip, but when the Bodhisattva appeared in the world, it was swayed by the storm of his qualities. It quaked heavily all around, just like a boat struck by waves in a storm.

Fine powder incense of sandalwood and a multitude of precious 1c

lotus receptacles ﬂoated in the sky, blowing in the wind. They fell and scattered in profusion.

27. Celestial garments descended from the sky, and upon touching them, one was thrilled. The sun and the moon were as usual, but [the Bodhisattva’s] radiance doubled their light.

Fires ﬂared up spontaneously, without any fuel, all over the world. Cool wells with clean water sprang up here and there all by themselves.
The multitude of ladies in the inner palace were astonished at this wonder. They rushed to compete with one another to drink from or bathe in them, and all had happy thoughts.
Countless spiritual beings4 and gods rejoiced in the Law and they all gathered together like clouds. In Lumbinī garden they thronged in the grove. A multitude of wonderful ﬁne ﬂowers blossomed out of season.

31. The various kinds of ﬁerce beings momentarily had friendly thoughts, and diseases in the world disappeared by themselves, without any cure applied.

32. The birds and animals with their confused cries fell silent, not making any sound. The ten thousand rivers all stopped ﬂowing and muddy waters all became clear. In the sky there were no clouds, and celestial drums sounded all by themselves.

33. All the worldly beings were safe and happy, just as when a country in upheaval suddenly has obtained a wise and able ruler.

The Bodhisattva was born to save the world from suffering. Only the celestial king Māra was full of sorrow and did not rejoice.
When the king, his father, saw the birth of his son, he was amazed in wonder. Although ordinarily his disposition was serious, he was startled and his usual countenance changed. In his anxiety he had mixed feelings of both joy and distress.
When his wife saw that her son was not born in the usual way—a woman being timorous by nature—she felt contradictory emotions in her distress. She did not distinguish an auspicious mark from an inauspicious one but became even more fearful.
The old women were confused and prayed to the spirits. Each one of them beseeched the spirit that they usually served, praying for the safety of the Crown Prince.

38. At that time there was a brahman in the grove, a discerner of signs. He had a digniﬁed demeanor and was endowed with learning. He was eloquent and had a lofty reputation.

39. He beheld the signs and rejoiced in his heart, overjoyed at the wonder. He knew that the king felt distress, and he informed the king of the truth:

40. “When one is born into the world, [the parent] wants only an excellent son. O king, you should feel great joy now, as [you would at the celebration upon] a full month [after birth]!

“You now have a wonderful son. His light will most certainly make your clan famous. Be assured and pleased, and do not feel uncertain anymore!
“Good luck will be concentrated in your house and country. From now on you will be increasingly prosperous. The excellent son born to you will certainly be the world’s salvation.
“Yes, this superior person is gold-colored and very bright. With such excellent signs he most certainly will attain perfect awakening. Or he will bring happiness in the world, certain to be a wheel-turning king.
“All around he will be a ruler of the great earth, a brave and righteous ruler. He will rule the four worlds, governing over all kings, just as the light of the sun is superior among any kind of light in the world.
“If he dwells in the forests in the mountains and seeks deliverance with all his heart, he will accomplish true wisdom and shine everywhere in the world.

“Just as Mount Sumeru is the king among mountains and just as gold is superior among all precious things, just as the sea is superior among all streams, and
“Just as the moon is superior among the stars and the sun is superior among all luminous bodies, when the Tathāgata dwells in the world he is the most honored one among two-legged beings.
“His pleasant eyes are long and wide, opening and closing with long eyelashes. His eyes are blue, shaped like half-moons. How could these signs be negative, as they are all causes of excellence!”
The king then said to the twice-born one, “If it is as you say, why would such wonderful signs not be associated with a former king but be man- ifested in my progeny?”
The brahman said to the king: “Do not speak like that! Learning or wisdom, fame or career, for such four things there must not be any question
of former or later.
“The speciﬁc natures of things are each produced arising from a cause. I shall now give you parallels. O king, listen carefully now!

53. “In each of the families of the two seers Bhṛgu and Aṅgiras, an excel- lent son was born after a very long period:

“Bṛhaspati and Śukra. They composed royal treatises5 not derived from [those produced by] their families.
“After the scriptures had long ceased, the seer Sārasvata produced Parāśara, who continued the scriptural texts of the Vedas. When knowledge is produced in the present, it is not necessarily connected with the deceased.
“The seer Vyāsa composed many scriptural texts. The ﬁnal heir Vālmīki extensively collected stanzas, sections, and verses.
“The seer Atri did not understand medical treatises. Ātreya, who was born later, was well versed in curing the hundred illnesses.
“As for brahman hood, the seer Kuśika was not trained in its heretical treatises. Later, King Gādhin completely understood the heretical doctrine.
“The original family of King Ikṣvāku could not regulate the tide of the sea, but when King Sagara raised a thousand princes, he could regulate the tide of the great sea so that it did not exceed the usual limit.

60. “The seer Janaka obtained the path of meditation without any teacher. Every attainment of fame is produced by one’s own efforts.

“Either the former ones were excellent and the later ones weak, or the former ones were weak and the later ones excellent. Kings and divine seers do not need a family inheritance. Therefore, there should not be any question of former and later in any world!
“The same now applies to you, great king. You should have joyful thoughts! As your thoughts are joyful, you will always be free from suspicion!”
When the king heard the seer’s exposition, he became joyful and his worship increased. “The excellent son born to me now will succeed to the position of wheel-turning [king]!

2c 63. “In my years of decline I will go forth and develop pure conduct. I will not let my noble prince renounce the world and wander in mountain forests!”

64. At that moment in the garden nearby there was an ascetic seer. His name was Asita, and he was skillful in the interpretation of signs.

When [the seer] came to the gate of the king’s palace, the king thought, “Applied to brahmadeva, he practices asceticism and ﬁnds happiness in the Right Law. These two characteristics are both obvious.”
The king then greatly rejoiced, as [the seer] was endowed with the signs of pure conduct. The king immediately invited him into his palace, and made offerings with reverence.

67. As he was led into the inner palace, [the seer] was happy just to see the prince. Even though there was a multitude of ladies, he behaved as if in a secluded forest.

68. When [the seer] was seated on the seat of the Right Law, [the king] increased his reverence and respectfully waited upon him, just as King Anti- deva had waited upon Vasiṣṭha.

69. The king then said to the seer, “I am most fortunate now. I thank you and submit to you, great seer. You deign to come and receive me. I ask for your timely instruction about all that should be done!”

Thus urged, the seer was very happy. “Splendid, ever victorious king! You are completely endowed with a multitude of qualities!
“I am happy that you have come with a request. You are generous and full of respect for the Right Law. You are kind and wise, of a most excel- lent family, humble, and very courteous.

“You have previously planted many ﬁne causes and their excellent fruition is now seen. Listen to my explanation of the present causality!

73. “I heard a celestial voice in the sky coming from the path of the sun. It explained that you, King, will have a crown prince who will complete the path of right awakening.

74. “Moreover, having seen previous auspicious signs, I have come here now on purpose. I would like to see the Śākya king who will raise the banner of the Right Law.”

75. When the king heard the seer’s explanation, he became certain and free from the net of doubt. He asked the Crown Prince to be summoned to be shown to the seer.

76. The seer observed that the Crown Prince had a wheel with a thousand spokes [on the soles of] his feet. His ﬁngers and toes had membranes, and between his eyebrows was a white tuft of hair.

He was characterized by cryptorchidism, like a horse, and his complexion was ablaze with light. Seeing that [the prince] had these wonderful signs, [the seer] let his tears ﬂow and sighed deeply.
When he saw the ascetic’s tears, the king trembled in his heart, as he held his son dear. Sadness ﬁlled his heart. He felt alarmed and ill at ease.
[The king] spontaneously rose from his seat, bowed at the feet of the seer, and addressed him: “This son’s birth is wonderful.
“His complexion is utterly majestic, almost like that of a celestial being. As he shows promise of superiority among humans, why would he cause grief?

81. “My son must not be short-lived, causing me grief! I have been thirst- ing for a long time to obtain immortality, but will it yet be rejected?

“He must not lose my wealth, bring my family to ruin, and destroy the country! If I have an excellent son who will stay, I have someone to whom to entrust the country’s inheritance.
“When I die, I will be joyful in my heart. I shall happily be reborn in another world. I will be like someone who has one eye closed [in sleep] and the other [open] in awareness.
“One must not be like a ﬂower in the autumn frost. Even though it may open it cannot achieve fruition. Concerning one’s close family, the depth

of one’s love for a son is unsurpassed. It is the proper time to give me an explanation, so that I may again breathe freely.”

The seer knew that the king, the father, was very sorrowful in his heart, and immediately said to the great king, “Do not be afraid now, King! I have told you before, Great King! Do not have any doubt!

86. “The present signs are as before. You should not have any other thought! I consider that the evening of my life is worse than my earlier sad tears.

“Now that my end is drawing near, this son will rule the world. He is born in order to end birth. Such a person is rarely encountered.

88. “He will give up his position of noble king, unattached to the objects of the ﬁve desires. He will strenuously develop asceticism, open up to awakening, and obtain the truth.

“He will permanently dispel the darkness of delusion for living beings. Always ablaze in the world, his wisdom is the light of the sun.

90. “Beings drown in a sea of suffering, and their illnesses are as heaps of froth. Decay and old age are giant waves, and death is the biggest wave in the

sea. In his light boat of wisdom he will cross the difﬁculties of these currents.

91. “His wisdom will go against the current and his pure morality will be the shore. His samādhi will be a cool pond, rightly receiving wondrous birds.

“So very deep and wide is the great river of the Right Law. When thirsty beings drink from it, they are revived.
“Deeply attached to the objects of the ﬁve desires, one is harassed by suffering. Lost in the wilderness of birth and death, no one knows where to turn. But the Bodhisattva has arisen in the world, opening the path of deliverance.
“As the ﬁre of worldly desires burns and as the ﬁrewood of the objects [of desire] is ablaze, he raises the clouds of his great compassion. The rain of the Law will fall and cause its extinction.

95. “The gate of delusion has two parts and desire is the bolt. It conﬁnes living beings. The way to escape is the gate of deliverance. With the pincers of his adamantine wisdom he will pull out the adverse awl of lust.

“Entangled in the web of delusion one suffers, without anything to rely on. When a king of the Law has stood up in the world, he can undo the bonds of [living] beings.

“Do not give rise, O King, to the calamity of grief because of this son! You should [instead] feel sorrow for the beings who are attached to desire and who disregard the Right Law!
“I am destroyed now by old age and death, far removed from any noble quality. I may have obtained the trance states but I did not obtain their beneﬁts.
“I will never hear the Right Law from this Bodhisattva. When my body is destroyed, after my life’s end I shall certainly be reborn in the three difﬁcult heavens.”

100. When the king and his retinue heard the seer’s explanation, he knew that he was distressed for himself. His fear was completely eradicated.

“Having this wonderful son, my heart is completely at ease. [But] his going forth, giving up worldly splendor, his practice of the path of a seer, and the fact that he will not succeed to the throne of the land still make me unhappy.”

102. Then the seer spoke the truth to the king. “It certainly will be as you, O King, anxiously think. He will complete the path of right awakening.”

Having appeased the minds of the king and his retinue, [the seer] 3c

himself ascended into the sky through his divine power and departed.

Having seen the wonderful characteristics of his son and having heard Asita’s decidedly truthful explanation, King Śuddhodana then held his son in reverence. He redoubled his protection and always held him dear.

105. He issued a general pardon in the world and all prisons were thrown open. When a person of this world has a son, he may accept or reject the fact, according to what is proper. Everything is done relying on the instructions found in the scriptural texts.

When ten days after the birth of his son had passed, the king felt secure and calm at heart. He made all the sacriﬁces to the celestial spirits and he gave liberal offerings to the virtuous.
The śramaṇas and brahmans offered incantations and prayed for good fortune for [the king’s] close family and for all his ministers, and also for the poor of the land.

108. A group of women from villages and towns, cows, horses, elephants, money and material goods—all were provided according to everyone’s needs.

109. [The king] selected an auspicious time through divination and moved his son back to his own palace. The white tusks of the elephants, the chariot adorned with the seven precious things, and precious stones of variegated colors—their brilliance was utterly bright.

His wife held the Crown Prince in her arms and did obeisance to the celestial spirits all around. She then mounted her precious chariot, with a multitude of ladies waiting upon her.

111. The king and his ministers all accompanied her, like Śakra, the ruler of the gods, surrounded by a multitude of gods.

Just as Maheśvara, to whom was unexpectedly born a six-faced son,6 and who then arranged for every kind of preparation and provision and asked for blessings, likewise the king, whose crown prince was now born, arranged for all the preparations in the same way.

113. When the celestial king Vaiśravaṇa had Nalakūbara, the whole multitude of gods was ﬁlled with great joy.

114. The Crown Prince was now born to the king, and the whole population of the land of Kapilavastu was likewise ﬁlled with joy.

Chapter II

Life in the Palace

In the royal house of Śuddhodana, as he had a noble son, his close family
and namesake brethren and his ministers were all devoted then.
Elephants, horses and precious chariots, national riches, and vessels with the seven precious things—these steadily increased day by day and were accordingly amassed.
Countless hidden treasures spontaneously emerged from the earth. A herd of maddened white elephants arrived on their own, without any call, from the pure Snowy Mountains, and became subdued by themselves, not curbed by any person.

5. All kinds of horses of variegated colors, their bodies utterly majestic, with red manes and delicate, long tails, soared as swiftly as if they were ﬂying. Born in the wilds at dawn, they arrived on their own at this occasion.

Unspotted, calm, ﬁne cows, strong, sturdy, and beautiful of body, all gathered in great numbers with gentle steps and gave fragrant milk at this occasion.
Enemies became peaceful, and neutrality gradually turned into pure friendship. The sincere became close friends. Any rebellion was completely eliminated.

8. It rained in due time with a gentle breeze, and the thunder did not roll. Plants did not wait for their time [but bloomed out of season], and at the har- vest the yield was double.

The ﬁve types of grains were fresh and fragrant, light and easy to digest. All who were with child were content and physically at ease.
Except for those who experienced the fourfold attitudes of the noble,7 for all other people in the world goods were freely produced for each one. They did not have any further needs.

11. There was no arrogance, stinginess, or envy, and no noxious thoughts either. All men and women were as adept as anyone in the eon.

12. The temples of the gods and the monasteries, gardens, springs, and ponds were all like heavenly things, emerging spontaneously on this occasion.

No one went hungry. Weapons disappeared and epidemics ceased. The whole population in the land was like a close family, with mutually affectionate reverence.

14. With love for the Law [the people] indulged in mutual pleasures and did not have any tainted desire. They sought after riches with righteousness, free from any covetous thought.

15. They practiced generosity for the sake of the Law, and did not think of seeking for any reward. They practiced the fourfold pure conduct,8 dispelling any noxious thought.

15. In the past, when the crown prince Āditya was born to King Manu, the whole country met with good fortune and all evil was at once appeased.

When the Crown Prince was born to the present king, his virtue was also like this. Because [the prince] was endowed with the meaningfulness of all virtues, he was called Siddhārtha.
Then, when Lady Māyā saw that the son she had given birth to was as beautiful as a celestial youth, completely endowed with everything beautiful, she was overcome with an excess of joy. Her life ended and she was reborn in heaven.
Mahāprajāpātī Gautamī saw that the Crown Prince was a celestial youth, that his virtuous appearance was wonderful in the world. After the life of his natural mother ended, she raised him with affection, as if he were her own son, and the child respected her as if she were his own mother.
1. Just as the glow of the sun and moon begins faintly but gradually shines more brightly, the Crown Prince grew up, daily renewed. The same applied to his virtuous appearance.
2. Priceless was his fragrance of sandalwood and his famous treasure of jāmbūnada.9 Medicines of divine seers protected him and necklaces adorned him.

21. When the dependent states in the region heard that the king had a crown prince, they offered precious things, oxen and sheep, deer, horses, and carts.

Precious objects and ornaments help make the mind of a crown prince joyful but, even though he had ornaments and the amusing toys of an infant,

the Crown Prince’s nature was serious. His body was young but his mind was mature. His mind was ﬁxed on a higher, excellent object, untainted by [worldly] splendor.
When he studied arts and various skills, he surpassed his instructors after hearing [their teachings] only once. Seeing his intelligence, the king, his father, was deeply worried about the revelation that [the boy] would go beyond the worldly.
[The king] inquired far and wide among the famous nobility about a family with propriety and righteousness, instructed in deportment. The maiden with the ﬁnest appearance was called Yaśodharā.

26. She was ﬁt to become his wife, the consort of a crown prince, alluring him and holding his attention. But the Crown Prince’s view was lofty. His virtue was great and his appearance clear and bright. He was like Sanat- kumāra, the eldest son of a Brahma.

27. The beauty of the worthy consort and her attractive and fair disposition were as captivating as a celestial queen’s. While dwelling together they were joyful night and day.

They had a pure palace put up for them, spacious and beautiful, and

with the utmost in adornment. It rose high in the sky, just like a white cloud in autumn.

29. As its temperature was adapted to the four seasons, [the prince] chose the best dwelling for each season. He was surrounded by a group of singing women, playing celestial music. He did not have any fondness for vulgar music and women, which would raise a notion of disgust for the world.

30. Lady musicians played celestial sounds, just like celestial gandharvas in their natural, precious palace. Their singing and beauty were dazzling to the mind and eyes. Their music was like this while the Bodhisattva dwelled high in his palace.

The king, his father, developed pure qualities for the sake of the Crown Prince, dwelling in tranquility. Kind and friendly, he was converted by the Right Law. He befriended the worthy and kept away from bad inﬂuences.
His mind was not tainted by lust. He believed that desire was poison. Controlling his feelings, he restrained his faculties and dispelled any ﬁckle intention.

He heard disputes well, with a serene countenance. He gave instructions in a friendly way and was disgusted by any animosity. His pronouncements converted heretics, and he put a stop to any rebellious plotting.
He taught the way to save the world, that all people might obtain happiness. “Just as my son is happy now, may all people be the same!”
He made offerings to ﬁre and served the spirits. He held his palms together and drank soma. He bathed in the waters of the Ganges and cleansed his mind with the water of the Law. His prayers for good fortune were not for his own preservation but indeed for his son and for all people.
His pleasant words were not without meaning, and his meaningful words were not unpleasant. His pleasant words were not untrue, and his true words were not unpleasant.
If he could not speak truthfully because he was ashamed, he did not, concerning anything pleasant or unpleasant, rely on any notion of covetousness or anger.
His purpose was to maintain silence. He was just and put a stop to contentious disputes not by means of a gathering to bring sacriﬁces to the gods, but by excelling in merit when deciding a matter.
When he saw beings with many aspirations, he gave abundantly, beyond their expectations. In his mind there was no thought of hostility. He subdued the enemy with virtue.
1. By disciplining one, he protected the seven. Free from the seven, he

5a guarded the ﬁve. Having obtained the three, he understood the three. Knowing the two, he gave up the two.10

When someone interceded, he excused himself. Toward someone who had received a death sentence, he was kind and forgiving. He did not speak harshly but gave instructions with soft words. In his compassion he was generous with his riches, pointing out the way to depend on them.
Trained in the path of divine seers, he dispelled any angry thought. His fame and virtue were known all around, and his worldly ties were forever severed.
When a master craftsman develops his bright virtue, the entire land carries on the practice. In the same way, when someone’s mind is tranquil, his four limbs and his faculties follow.

44. As the years passed, Yaśodharā, the worthy consort of Śuddhodana’s Crown Prince, eventually [beame pregnant] and gave birth to Rāhula.

King Śuddhodana thought to himself, “My crown prince has a son. My posterity will continue. The right changes will never end.
“Because the Crown Prince has a son, his love for his son will be the same as mine. He will no longer consider going forth but will determinedly develop goodness. My mind is now greatly at ease, just like the happiness [one feels on] rebirth in heaven.”
Similar to the path on which the seer kings at the beginning of the eon dwelled, he observed pure actions, and when offering sacriﬁces he brought no injury to any living creature.
He developed numerous excellent actions. The king mastered the excellence of pure conduct. His clan and its wealth were excellent. He was valiant and possessed great skills.
He shone brightly in the world, just like the sun’s thousand-rayed brightness. The way in which he was a king of humans was only to reveal his son.
Revealing his son was [a boon] for his clan, bringing splendor to his family through his fame. When one’s fame is great, one obtains rebirth in heaven, and being reborn in heaven, one’s happiness is complete.
Being happy, wisdom increases. One gains insight into the path and spreads the Right Law. When one’s ancestors have excelled in learning, one may observe many ﬁne paths. [The king] wished only that the Crown Prince would love his son and not renounce his family.

52. While a son is still young, no king lets him rule the land, considering that [the son’s] mind may yet be negligent. When one gives reign to one’s emotions and is attached to worldly happiness, one cannot continue the royal lineage.

But now that the king had a crown prince, he indulged him in the ﬁve desires at his whim. He wished only that [his son] would enjoy worldly splendor. He did not want to let him apply himself to the path.
The bodhisattva kings of the past, even though their path was very ﬁrm, wanted to develop the happiness of worldly splendor and have sons to continue their posterity. Only then did they enter a mountain forest and practice the path of silence.

Chapter III

Disgust

1. Outside [the palace] there were gardens, ﬂowing springs, and cool ponds. Various trees with ﬂowers and fruits were planted in rows, casting deep shade.

2. Wondrous birds of different kinds ﬂew and sported about. Four kinds of ﬂowers, on water and land, gave out their ﬁne wafting fragrance with blaz- ing colors.

3. Singing women accordingly played music, and their music and songs attracted the Crown Prince. While the Crown Prince was listening to these sounds, he admired the gardens.

Inwardly he felt profound joy and he wanted to make an excursion [outside the palace] and have a look, just as a chained maddened elephant constantly longs for the wilderness.

5. When the king, his father, heard that the Crown Prince wanted to make an excursion to the gardens, he ordered his ministers to display ornamentation and prepare ceremonial plumes.

6. He had the main royal road made level and anyone offensive removed: the aged, the sick and deformed, the weak, and those suffering in poverty. He did not want his young, happy son see anything that would raise disgust.

When the adornments were duly prepared, [the prince] stated his request and asked to take leave. On the Crown Prince’s approach, the king patted his head and gazed long at his face. [The king’s] feelings of sadness and joy were intermingled. He gave his verbal permission, but in his mind he held back.

8. As for [the prince’s] high chariot ornamented with a multitude of pre- cious things, the four swift horses paced slowly. He was worthy and virtuous and had expert skills. He was youthful with a beautiful appearance. He wore a ﬁne, pure garment with fresh ﬂowers, and riding in the same chariot was the one who held the reins.

9. The streets were strewn with ﬂowers, and precious drapery covered the sides of the road. Trees lined the road, forming a fence, adorned with precious

objects. A profusion of silken parasols and pendant streamers waved in the wind.

10. Spectators crowded all along the road, bowing. Their eyes were bright and they gazed without blinking, resembling lines of blue lotuses.

[The prince’s] entire retinue of subjects followed him, just as stars follow the ruler of the constellations. From many mouths came the same sound of admiration, extolling the wonder in the world.
1. Noble and base, rich and poor, young and old and middle-aged—all reverentially did obeisance and wished only for [the prince’s] good fortune.
2. When in the villages and in the ﬁelds they heard that the Crown Prince was going out, both the worthy and those of low status did not wait to take leave, and those who were awake did not [take time to] notify those who were asleep.
3. One did not waste time gathering the six domestic animals. Material possessions were not important enough to safeguard and no one made fast the doors. They hurried to the side of the road.
4. In the high pavilions and in the trees on the embankments, in the windows and at the crossroads, pressing together to see his face, they gazed steadily, tirelessly watching.
5. Spectators on high thought they had been dropped to the ground, and those on foot thought they had ascended into the sky. In their single- mindedness they did not realize that both body and spirit were ﬂying, as it were. They reverently watched [the prince], full of respect for his appearance, without any thought of negligence.
6. “His round members and straight limbs, their color is like a lotus in full blossom. Now he has left the grove where he lives, wishing to become a seer of the noble Law.”
7. When the Crown Prince saw the well-kept roads, the adornments, and the crowds of attendants, the fresh brightness of the garments and the carriages, he was pleased and joyful at heart.
8. When the people of the land gazed at the Crown Prince, at his digniﬁed deportment and his excellent attendants, who were like a crowd of royals, they saw that a god had been born as their crown prince.
  1. Then the king of the gods of the pure abodes suddenly transformed by the side of the road into an old person, inducing thoughts of disgust.

When the Crown Prince saw the old man, he was startled and questioned his charioteer:

“What kind of a person is this? His hair is white and his back bent. His eyes are bleary and his body trembles. He is weak and walks with a stick. Did his body change all of a sudden, or did he receive this form quite naturally?”
The charioteer hesitated and did not dare answer truthfully. [The god of] the pure abodes increased his divine power, so that [the charioteer] revealed the words of the truth.
1. “His beauty has gone and he has lost his vigor. He has many sorrows

and few pleasures. Joys are forgotten and the faculties have become weak.

These are the so-called characteristics of old age.

“He once was an infant, nourished by his mother’s milk. As a lad he was outgoing. He was handsome and indulged in the ﬁve desires. As the years passed, his appearance withered. Now he is destroyed by old age.”
The Crown Prince gave a deep sigh and asked the charioteer, “Is he just the only one who has old age, or shall we also be like that?”
The charioteer replied, “Your Highness will also know this fate. As time changes, one’s appearance naturally changes. It will certainly happen, without any doubt. There is no strong youth who does not age. The whole world knows [this truth], but still hopes otherwise.”
The Bodhisattva had long developed pure actions of wisdom and had widely planted roots of merit. Their agreeable fruition was now occurring. Hearing the explanation about the suffering of old age, he trembled and his hair stood on end.
When thunder makes a loud sound, animals ﬂee in fear. The same was true for the Bodhisattva. Shaken by fear, he sighed deeply.
Steadily and intently gazing on the suffering of old age, he shook his head. “With this suffering of old age in mind, what happiness can a worldling know?
“One is destroyed by the signs of old age. They touch all without exception. One may possess youth, beauty, and strength, yet there is no one who does not change. Seeing these characteristics realized in front of one’s eyes, how can one not feel disgust?”

The Bodhisattva said to his charioteer, “Quickly turn the chariot and go back! As old age is constantly approaching, what joy could these gardens afford?
“My life rushes on like the wind. Turn back to my palace with ﬂying wheels!” With thoughts dwelling upon that object of decay, he returned to an empty tomb, as it were.
Touched by the matter and unable to hold back his emotions, he found no rest at all within his home. When the king heard that his son was unhappy, he urged him to make another excursion. He immediately ordered his ministers to make the adornments even more excellent than before.
The god further transformed into a sick person, barely clinging to life by the side of the road. He was emaciated but his belly was swollen. As he breathed he gasped deeply. His hands and feet were spasmodic and [the skin was] parched. He wept sadly and groaned.

35. The Crown Prince asked his charioteer, “What kind of a man is this then?” He replied, “This is someone who has disease. His four elements are in disorder. He is weak and ﬁt for nothing. When one turns to one’s side, one relies on someone else.”

36. When the Crown Prince heard the explanation, he immediately felt grief in his heart. He asked, “Is just this man sick, or would others also be like that?”

37. [The charioteer] replied, “For all in this world it is the same. Having a body, one must endure ailment. Yet in one’s foolishness one may enjoy the joys of the court.”

When the Crown Prince heard this explanation, he immediately became very afraid. His body trembled and his mind was disturbed, just as the moon appears in rippling waves.
“Dwelling in this receptacle of great suffering, how can one be at ease? Alas! People in the world are misled by foolishness and impeded by delusion. Even though the thief of illness may arrive at any time, they have happy thoughts.”

40. Thereupon he turned the chariot and went back, in sadness, thinking of the suffering of illness. [The prince] was like a man who is badly beaten and who curls up and waits for the next blow. He went to rest in his secluded palace and wanted only to turn his back on worldly happiness.

41. When the king again heard that his son had returned, he asked why. He was told, “He has seen a sick person.” The king was afraid, as if he might lose his life. After severely reprimanding the one who was supposed to have cleared the road, his heart was constrained and he was unable to speak.

Again [the king] increased the number of singing women. Their music was twice as excellent as before. Rejoicing in those sounds and sights, [the prince] might experience common pleasures and not become weary of family life. Night and day he was offered music and women, but his heart did not even begin to rejoice.

43. The king went out on an excursion himself, and sought even harder for excellent ﬁne gardens. He selected ladies who were charming and who had an utterly licentious manner. They were artful and knew how to be of service. They were attractive, capable of misleading men.

44. He took special care of the royal highway, guarding it against anything unpleasant, and he ordered a ﬁne charioteer to be on the lookout and choose the way as he went.

45. Then the god of the pure abodes further transformed into a dead person. The funeral bier carried by four men appeared in front of the Bodhisattva. No one else noticed anything, but the Bodhisattva and his charioteer saw it.

He asked, “What kind of a bier is this? Streamers and ﬂowers, and various decorations! The attendants are all grieving, walking along with disheveled hair and bitterly weeping.”

47. A celestial spirit instructed the charioteer to reply, “This is a dead person. His faculties are ruined and his life has ended. His mind and consciousness have departed. His spirit is gone and his body is parched, as rigid as a dead log.

48. “His relatives and friends were bound by their love before, but now no one is happy to see him. They will abandon him in an empty tomb.”

49. When the Crown Prince heard the word “dead,” he felt grief and his thoughts were constrained. He asked, “Is only this person dead, or does the same apply to all in the world too?”

The reply came, “All are the same everywhere. With a beginning there certainly will be an end. Old and young and middle-aged, having a body they all go to ruin.”

The Crown Prince was startled and leaned against the front of his chariot. His breathing almost stopped and he sighed, “How mistaken are the people in the world!

52. “They openly see the obliteration of the body, yet negligence arises. In one’s mind it is neither a dead log nor a stone, yet no one ever considers its impermanence.”

He immediately ordered [the charioteer] to turn the chariot and go back. “There is no more time for excursions. Life is fragile and death unex- pected. Why indulge in an excursion?”

54. But the charioteer had received an order from the king. He was afraid and did not dare turn back. He drove on and swiftly urged on [the horses]. He went straight to the gardens.

55. The streams in the grove were majestic and clean, and the ﬁne trees were all blossoming. Divine birds and wondrous animals ﬂew and ran about, singing joyfully and harmoniously. Their radiance was a joy for one’s ears and eyes. It looked like the Celestial Nanda Garden.11

Chapter IV

Renunciation

1. When the Crown Prince entered the garden, a multitude of maidens came to welcome him. They all gave rise to the idea that [such beauties] are rarely encountered. Rivals in attractiveness, they presented their subtle sincerity. Each one exhausted her ingenious poses, waiting upon him as was ﬁtting.

2. Some grasped his hands and feet and some fondled him all over. Others laughed in response and some showed a sad countenance. They planned to please the Crown Prince, so that he would have happy thoughts.

3. When the multitude of maidens saw the Crown Prince’s bright complexion 7a and his appearance, which was that of a celestial ﬁgure, and which did not require any ornamentation but whose plain person surpassed all adornment,

they all looked on and thought that Candramas, the celestial son, had come.

4. They devised all kinds of means [to please him] but they did not move the Bodhisattva’s mind. Looking at each other, they became ashamed and fell silent, not uttering a word.

5. There was the son of a brahman called Udāyin. He said to the ladies, “You are all beautiful.

“You are intelligent and very skillful, but the power of your beauty is not permanent. You fully understand the worldly and its secret ways to comply with desire.

7. “Your appearance is wonderful, as if you have the look of jade ladies. When gods see you they may reject their queens, and divine seers would waver because of it. Why would it be impossible for the son of a human king to be moved by his emotions?

8. “Even though this royal crown prince’s self-control may now be ﬁrm, he may be pure and just, and endowed only with virtue, he is not superior to the power of women.

“Long ago, Sundarī was able to destroy a great seer.12 She led him to indulge in desire and stepped on his head with her foot. Dīrghatapas Gautama was also ruined by a celestial queen.

“The son of the seer Vibhāṇḍaka13 indulged in desire and he subsequently went along with the currents [of samsara]. The brahman seer Viśvāmi- tra cultivated the path for tens of thousands of years. He became deeply attached to a celestial queen and was suddenly destroyed in one day.

11. “If the power of those beautiful maidens overcame pure conduct, all the more can your skills move the prince! Apply yourselves even more dili- gently and do not let the royal succession be interrupted!

“A woman may be low by nature, yet the worthy will subsequently be overcome by her. Why do you not exhaust your tricks so that he may have tainted thoughts?”
Then, when the crowd of ladies had merrily heard Udāyin’s expla- nation, they increased their joy, just as when a ﬁne horse is ﬂogged with a whip. They went before the Crown Prince and each one presented several kinds of tricks.

14. They sang and danced, or talked and laughed, raising their eyebrows and showing their white teeth. They glanced sidelong at him with their beautiful eyes, and their sheer garments made their white bodies visible. Daintily moving

with a mincing gait, feigning affection, one after the other attended to him.

In their desire they were genuine at heart, and fully carried out the words of the great king. With dissolute appearance, irreverent and vulgar, they forgot their sense of shame.
But the Crown Prince’s mind was ﬁrm. He was unyielding and did not change his countenance. He was like a great dragon-elephant, surrounded by a herd of elephants.
They could not confuse his mind. He dwelled among the multitude as if he were residing in solitude, just like Śakra, ruler of the gods, surrounded by celestial maidens. While the Crown Prince was in the garden, he was sur- rounded in the same way.
1. Some arranged their dress for him, and some washed his hands and feet. Some applied perfume, and some adorned themselves with ﬂowers.

19. Some strung necklaces, and some embraced him closely. Some rested on their couches, and some murmured conﬁdentialities with heads inclined.

20. Some engaged in common diversions, and some talked of a multitude of amorous things. Some assumed a lustful appearance, trying to move his heart.

21. The Bodhisattva’s heart remained pure, ﬁrm and difﬁcult to change. Hearing the words of the ladies, he felt neither sorrow nor joy.

He doubled his considerations of disgust. He sighed, thinking all this was strange. He knew for the ﬁrst time that lustful thoughts of women were so abundant.

23. “They do not know that youthful beauty is ruined in a moment by old age and death. Alas! Such great delusion! Foolishness obscures their minds.

24. “They should consider old age, illness, and death, and night and day apply and exert themselves! While a sharp sword hangs over their neck, how can they still have fun?

“They see the old age, illness, and death of others but do not know how to observe themselves. They are people of mud and wood—what anxieties would they have?
“When, for instance, there are two trees in the wild, both with luxuriant ﬂowers and leaves; when one is cut down, the other one does not know fear. These people are just as unwitting.”

27. Then Udāyin came to where the Crown Prince was. He saw that he was quietly meditating in silence, his mind free from any notion of the ﬁve desires.

28. He then said to the Crown Prince, “Earlier I was ordered by the great king to be a good friend for his son. I shall offer you some honest words now.

“There are three kinds of friends. One may do away with what is unproﬁtable. One may accomplish what is proﬁtable for someone else. And one will not abandon you in adversity.

30. “If, after having been called your good friend, I were to abandon my duty as a man and if my words do not fully reveal my feelings, why use the term ‘three gains’? I shall therefore speak true words now in order to show my sincerity.

31. “If one’s years are in a time of abundance and one is fully endowed with a beautiful complexion but does not esteem women, this is not the style of a superior man. They may just bring about unreal thoughts, but you should strive to be receptive!

32. “You should have yielding thoughts and captivate them with courtesy! Desire increases pride, and nothing surpasses that of a woman. Your thoughts may be averse now, but you should strive to comply with their way!

“When you are courteous to a maiden, her heart is happy. Courtesy is an ornament. If one forsakes courtesy, one is like a tree without ﬂowers and fruits.
“Why the need for courtesy? In order to receive their services! You have obtained hard-to-obtain sense objects. Do not give rise to any idea of contempt!
“Desire is ﬁrst and foremost. Even the gods cannot forget about it! Even Lord Śakra had an illicit affair with the wife14 of the seer Gautama.

36. “The seer Agastya practiced asceticism for a long time, but because he wanted a celestial queen his wishes were consequently unrealized.

37. “The seer Bṛhaspati and the celestial son Candramas, the seer Parāśara and Kapiñjalāda, all such, out of many others, were ruined by women.

“In addition, regarding your own sense objects now, would you be unable to enjoy them? Having planted meritorious roots in your past lives, you have obtained these numerous beauties. The whole world is attached to happiness, but your heart, on the other hand, does not value this.”

39. Then, when the royal Crown Prince had heard the specious words and ﬂuent eloquence of his friend Udāyin, skillfully explaining the characteristics of the world,

He answered, “Udāyin, I am moved by your sincere explanation. I will say something to you now. Listen attentively!

41. “I do not despise ﬁne sense objects and I know that they give people in the world happiness, but because I see that they are characterized by impermanence, I am weary of them in mind.

“If [such sense objects and pleasures] would permanently stay this way, without the suffering of old age, illness, and death, I too would experience happiness and never feel any disgust.
1. “If one might [make fast] the beauty of the maidens, without ﬁnal decay, even though desire is an error I might yet entertain my human feelings.

44. “If someone experiences old age, illness, and death, he himself should not be happy, much less feel any attachment for someone else!

“Impermanent are the objects of the ﬁve desires, and the same also applies to one’s own person. But if one lets thoughts of happiness arise, one is on a level with birds and beasts.
1. “The seers you mentioned were attached to the ﬁve desires. One

should immediately be weary of them. They were ruined because they indulged in desire.

“You have further extolled that excellent king who was attached to the objects of the ﬁve desires, but he too was ruined in the same way. Know that he was not excellent!
“If you skillfully say that one should pretend, make an effort, and attend to them out of courtesy, if one indulges in them, then one really is attached. Why use the term ‘effort’?

49. “Considering deceit to be courtesy, I do not do such a thing. To some- one who is really courteous, this is wrong.

50. “Such thoughts are hard to repress. One becomes attached according to the circumstances. If one is attached, one does not see any error. Why make an effort for [the sake of] courtesy?

“A devious mind with idle courtesy—I do not see that it is right. Know that old age, illness, and death are a mass of great suffering!
“Advising me to fall into that—these are not the words of a good friend. Alas, Udāyin! You really are very sincere!
“The ailments of birth, old age, illnesses, and death—this suffering is very dreadful. The eyes see that all decays, yet one ﬁnds happiness in their pursuit.

54. “I am utterly wearied now, and this heart of mine is constrained too. Considering that old age, illness, and death suddenly arrive, unanticipated, night and day I forget to sleep. Why would I indulge in the ﬁve desires?

“Old age, illness, and death are ablaze. They will surely arrive, without any doubt. If one still does not know any sadness, one’s heart really is made of wood or stone.”

56. While the Crown Prince was explaining to Udāyin with all kinds of ingenious means that desire is a profound ailment, he did not notice that the sun was setting.

57. As their music and ornaments all were useless, the multitude of ladies then felt shame and returned to the city.

58. When the Crown Prince saw that the decorations in the garden were all withdrawn and that the singing women had all returned home, the place completely deserted, he doubled his thoughts about impermanence and quickly returned to his palace.

When the king, his father, heard that the Crown Prince was averse to the ﬁve desires, he was utterly and deeply grieved, as if a sharp dart had pierced his heart.
He immediately summoned his ministers and asked them to devise a means. They all said, “It is not the case that what the ﬁve desires are capable of will hold his attention.”

Chapter V

Leaving the City

The king further increased all kinds of exquisite provisions for the ﬁve desires. He hoped to gladden the Crown Prince’s heart with pleasures night and day.

2. The Crown Prince was profoundly weary and completely without any feeling of happiness. He considered only the suffering of birth and death, like a lion struck by an arrow.

3. The king had the famous brethren of the nobility and of his chief ministers, young in years and of excellent appearance, intelligent and with digniﬁed manners, accompany the Crown Prince night and day in order to capture his heart.

And so, after a little while, [the prince] informed the king that he would go out on another excursion. Mounted on a swift horse, decorated with a multitude of precious things, and surrounded by the sons of the nobility, they all left the city.
Just as the four kinds of ﬂowers all open when the sun shines, the Crown Prince dazzled the divine scene and his attendants all received his brightness.

6. As he left the city and traveled through the gardens, the long road was wide and level. The ﬂowers and fruits on the trees were luxuriant. He was happy at heart and consequently forgot to return.

He saw plowmen by the side of the road. As they cultivated the soil they [inadvertently] killed insects. He felt sad at heart, and the pain was greater than that of a dart piercing his heart.

8. He further saw the farmers toiling, their appearance drawn. Their hair was disheveled and they dripped with sweat, their bodies foul with dirt.

The plowing oxen were exhausted too, with lolling tongues, panting heavily. The Crown Prince’s nature was compassionate and he felt utter pity in his heart.

10. Deeply sighing with sadness, he dismounted, stooped to the ground, and sat down. While observing all this suffering, he considered the law of birth and extinction.

“Alas for the entire world! One is foolish and absolutely unable to wake up.” He comforted the crowd of people and bade each one sit down where they were.
He himself was sitting upright in the shade of the jambū tree, given to right consideration. He observed that all birth and death, origination and extinction, were changing through impermanence.
His mind was concentrated, ﬁrmly established. The wide cloud of the ﬁve desires had dissipated. With adjusted and discursive thinking he entered the ﬁrst trance without impurity.

14. Free from desire, he produced joy and happiness, rightly experiencing

samādhi. “The world is very painful, ruined by old age, illness, and death.

“One’s whole life is experiencing great suffering, yet one still does not realize this. Disgust with the old age, illness, and death of others, this is a serious ailment.
“I will now seek for the excellent Law; I must not do the same as the world! I myself am entangled in old age, illness, and death, but I ﬁnd [the situation of] others rather worse.
“Such is the observation of the truth. Youth, beauty, strength, and long life are constantly and ceaselessly renewed. In the end they disappear [according to] the law of destruction.”

18. Neither joyful nor sorrowful, neither doubting nor confused, neither sleepy nor attached to desire, without aversion or contempt for others, he was quiet, free from any hindrance. The light of his wisdom steadily increased its brightness.

19. Then the god of the pure abodes transformed into the appearance of a bhikṣu. He came to where the Crown Prince was and the Crown Prince respectfully rose to welcome him.

20. The Crown Prince asked, “Who are you?” He replied, “I am a śramaṇa.

In fear of old age, illness, and death I have gone forth in search of deliverance.

“Beings grow old, fall ill, and die. Their ruin does not stop even for a while. Therefore I seek the happiness of permanence, without either extinction or birth.

“Friend or foe, my mind remains even. I do not devote my efforts to riches or beauty. I am only at ease in a mountain forest, living in isolation and managing nothing.

23. “My unclean notions have stopped and I am quietly engaged in seclusion. I do not choose between ﬁne and coarse [food]. I beg in order to support myself.” In front of the Crown Prince, [the śramaṇa] then suddenly ascended into the sky and departed.

24. The Crown Prince was joyful at heart, thinking only of the buddhas of the past. They had established this digniﬁed demeanor, their bequeathed likenesses visible in the present. Sitting upright and given to right consideration, he obtained mindfulness of the Right Law.

“What means should I apply myself to for a lasting going-forth, as I wish to?” Controlling his feelings and restraining his faculties, he slowly rose and returned to the city.
His whole retinue followed, thinking he would stop and not go far. While sympathy internally arose, he strived to surpass the worldly external.
Even though his body followed the way back, his mind really remained in a mountain forest, just like a chained maddened elephant who constantly thinks of wandering through the wilderness.

28. When the Crown Prince then entered the city, men and women welcomed him, jamming the road. The elderly wished he were their son and the young wished to be his wife. Some wished to be his brothers, his friends, or his inner retinue.

29. “If I were to comply with their wishes, their accumulated expectations would be annihilated.” The Crown Prince was joyful in his heart, suddenly hearing the words “annihilation” and “accumulation.”

“I am happy with these words. This expectation will be accomplished!” He profoundly considered the happiness of annihilating accumu lation, and increased his thoughts about nirvana.
His body was like a peak of the golden mountains, and his straight arms were like an elephant’s. He sounded like the thunder in spring and his blue eyes were like an ox king’s.
The Law without end was on his mind, and his face was as bright as the full moon. With the gait of a lion king, he slowly entered his palace.

33. Resembling a son of Lord Śakra, his mind was respectful and his appearance was reverential too. He went to the king, his father, prostrated before him, and asked him if he was well. He also stated his fear of birth and death, and entreated him, wishing to go forth.

“All the worldly, when united, certainly will be separated. Therefore I wish to go forth and seek true deliverance.”
When the king, his father, heard that [his son] would go forth, he immediately started trembling inside, just as when a large maddened elephant moves a sapling’s twig. He approached and seized the hands of the Crown Prince. His tears ﬂowed and he said:
“Stop this talk! It is not yet the right time to rely on the doctrine! In youth the mind is not steady. One makes many mistakes in the practice of the Law.
“Wonderful are the objects of the ﬁve desires. Your mind is still not disgusted with them. If you go forth and practice asceticism, you will not yet be capable of a settled mind.
“In the wilderness, in seclusion, your mind will not yet be tranquil. Even if your mind were happy with the Law, you would not yet have reached my stage [of life].
“You should direct affairs of the state, so that I may go forth ﬁrst. It is wrong to abandon your father and interrupt our posterity.
“You should put a stop to the intention of going forth, and assume your worldly duties. When you are happy, with ﬁne fame, only then may you go forth!”
1. The Crown Prince declined with reverential submission, and further said to the king, his father, “Only if you will preserve four things will I relinquish my intention to go forth.
2. “If, preserving me, your son, my life will always be maintained, if I will be without any illness and free from aging, and if none of my possessions will be destroyed, I will accept your command and desist from going forth.”

43. The king, his father, said to the Crown Prince, “Do not say these words! Such four things, who could preserve one so that one does not have them!

“If you seek for these four wishes, you will rightly be ridiculed by others. Now, put a stop to your intention to go forth, and submit to the ﬁve desires!”

The Crown Prince further informed the king, “If the four wishes cannot be preserved, you must allow me, your son, to go forth! I wish you would not make any difﬁculties.
“When your son is in a house on ﬁre, why not allow him to leave? Since my analysis is [in accord with] the eternal truth, who could not honor my request?
“In escaping the coming self-destruction, there is nothing like transcending it with the Law. If one did not transcend with the Law, who could maintain oneself in the face of death?”
The king, the father, knew that his son’s mind was certain and could not be changed. He just had to do his utmost to hold him back. “Why the need for more words!”
He increased the exquisite happiness of the ﬁve desires with the ladies even more. Night and day suffering was warded off, so that [the Crown Prince] would certainly not wish to go forth.
The ministers in the land came to the Crown Prince and extensively spoke of the rules of propriety, urging him to comply with the king’s command.
When the Crown Prince saw that the king, his father, was sad and wept, his tears ﬂowing, he momentarily returned to his palace. Sitting upright, he pondered in silence.
The ladies in the palace held him dear. They surrounded him and waited upon him. They observed him, gazing at his face. They gazed at him unblinking, just like a deer in the autumn forest, looking straight at the hunter.
The Crown Prince’s whole complexion was like a mountain of real gold. The singing women all looked at him and, listening for his instructions, waited for the expression of his voice. They observed his thoughts with reverence, just as that deer in the forest.
1. Gradually sunset arrived. The Crown Prince dwelled in the dark night, but his light was very bright, just as the sun shining on Mount Sumeru.
2. While he was sitting on his seat with the seven precious things, per- fumed with ﬁne sandalwood, the multitude of ladies surrounded him and played gandharva music. It was just like the son of Vaiśravaṇa and the many ﬁne sounds of celestial music.
3. What the Crown Prince had on his mind was the highest happiness of renunciation. Even though [the ladies] brought many ﬁne sounds, they still were not in his heart.

Then the celestial sons of the pure abodes knew that the Crown Prince’s time had come, and that he would surely go forth. They suddenly transformed and descended. Disdainful of the multitude of singing women, they caused them all to fall asleep.
The bearing [of the women] was uncontrolled. [With bodies] bent and lax, they showed their ugly appearance. They were numb, their faces alternately turned downward or upward. Their musical instruments were scattered in disarray. Some leaned sideways or had fallen over, and others looked as if they had been dropped into an abyss.
Their necklaces were like dragging chains, and their garments were swathed around their bodies. Some were lying down on the ﬂoor, clasping the zither, like someone who is experiencing suffering. Their yellow and green garments were spread out, just like broken karṇi[kāra] ﬂowers.
With loose limbs they leaned against the walls, eyes closed, their shape like a hanging horn-bow. Some held on to a window with their hands and looked like strangled corpses. They groaned incessantly and gasped deeply. They were repugnant, sniveling and salivating.

61. With disheveled hair they showed their ugly appearance. They looked like mad people. Flower garlands were hanging across their faces. Some were lying face down on the ﬂoor, and some were trembling all over, just like a lone shivering bird.

Their bodies bent, they leaned on each other like pillows, hands and feet entwined. Some knit their brows and frowned, and some closed their eyes and opened their mouths. All kinds of bodies were dispersed, scattered about like corpses after an untimely death.
The Crown Prince then sat up and observed the ladies. They had all been utterly majestic before, talking and laughing, their thoughts ingratiating and clever. They had been bewitching and ingenious in seduction, but now they all were repugnant.
“If the nature of woman is such, how can one hold them dear? When bathing and making use of ornaments, they deceive the minds of men. I have understood now! I will certainly go forth, without any doubt!”
Then the gods of the pure abodes came down and opened the gate for him. The Crown Prince then slowly rose and left the room of the ladies. He hesitated in his inner chambers and said to Chandaka:

“My mind is thirsty now. I want to drink from the spring of immor- tality. Put a cover on my horse and quickly bring it here! I want to reach the region of deathlessness. I am fully conscious and my mind has decided. It is ﬁrm and adorned with a solemn oath.
“The ladies once were beautiful, but now they all show an ugly appearance. The doors were closed before, but now they have all opened of themselves. I observe that these auspicious signs are a snare for the highest meaning.”
Chandaka pondered whether he should obey the Crown Prince’s instructions. If he did not inform the king, the father, he would then be charged with a serious fault.
The gods increased their divine power and brought the horse, un- observed. The swift, ﬁne horse, [the Crown Prince’s] usual mount, was equipped with gear inlaid with precious things.
[The horse had] long bright blue [plumes] and a long mane and tail, a curved back and short hair and ears, the belly of a deer, and the neck of a goose king. Its forehead was wide and its nose round, like a gourd.
[It had] the throat of a dragon. Its kneecaps and chest were square. It was endowed with the marks of a thoroughbred. The Crown Prince stroked the horse’s neck and, patting it, he said:
“The king, my father, has often mounted you, and, descending on his enemies, has swiftly overcome his foes. I now want to rely on you to cross the distant ford to immortality.

73. “In battle one has numerous troops, and in the happiness of prosperity one has many companions. When a merchant seeks for precious things, those who happily follow him are numerous too.

“But when one encounters suffering, a good friend is hard to ﬁnd. When striving for the Law, one certainly has few friends. He who is supported by these two friends will obtain peace in the end.
“I now want to go out to save suffering beings. If you now want what is good for you, and also to save the people, you should exert yourself and gallop away! Do not be tired!”
Having urged it on, he slowly mounted his horse. He took control of the reins and at once rode off into the morning. His human shape was ﬂoating like the sun’s palace, and the horse ﬂoated like a white cloud.

Controlled and without exertion, with bated breath it did not neigh. Four spirits came and held up its feet, in secret, silently, without a sound. The heavy gates and their ﬁrm bolts were opened by the celestial spirits themselves.
Their reverence for the father was unsurpassed, but their affection was deeper for no one than for the son. They and their external retinues were bound by love too. Leaving his feelings behind, but without leaving his memories, he swiftly went beyond the city walls.
With eyes like pure lotuses springing from the mud, he looked back at the palace of the king, his father, and spoke the words of his farewell, “If I do not cross over birth, old age, and death, I will never have a reason to travel here!”
The multitude of all the gods, dragons, and spirits in the sky rejoiced and they said in praise, “Splendid! Yes, these are true words!”

81. The gods and the host of dragons and spirits rejoiced at his acquisition of a mind that is difﬁcult to acquire. Each guided him with the light of his power, assisting him with their brightness.

Man and horse both were keen-spirited and hurried on like a shooting star. Before it dawned in the east, they had advanced three yojanas.

Fascicle Two

Chapter VI

Chandaka’s Return

The night had passed in a moment and the light in the eyes of the beings had come up. He looked back and saw the dwelling of the seer Bhārgava among the trees of the forest. The forest and the rivers were utterly clear, and birds and animals were kind to people.

2. The Crown Prince was glad at heart when he saw this, and his physical suffering was naturally appeased. “This then is a lucky sign. I shall certainly obtain wonderful beneﬁt!”

He further saw that the seer was someone he should worship, and, keeping his digniﬁed demeanor, he dispelled any trace of pride.

4. He stepped down from his horse and patted it on the head. “You have taken me across now.” With friendly eyes he looked at Chandaka, as if bathing him with cool water.

“My swift horse’s speed is like the fast ﬂight of a bird, but you have always been close behind the horse. I am moved by your profound reverence and diligence.
“My other concerns may be countless, but, yes, I recognize your sin- cerity. Your heart is respectful and you appear is very diligent. These two, I now see them for the ﬁrst time.
“Some are utterly sincere, but their corporal strength is inadequate; or their strength is adequate but their heart is not sincere. You are endowed with both now.
“You have rejected splendid worldly recompense. You have walked out and followed me. Who does not turn toward beneﬁt! If there is no beneﬁt, relatives separate. But you have followed me now for nothing. You did not seek for any recompense in the present world.

11a

11b

9. “Why would one raise a son? In order to continue the clan. The reason one pays respect to a father is because he has raised his son. All seek beneﬁt, but you alone have traveled with me, unconcerned about beneﬁt.

10. “What is there to understand with more words! I shall now summarily tell you: Your service to me has ended. Mount the horse now and return! The place that I have wanted for a long time, I have now obtained it.”

11. [The prince] immediately took off his precious necklaces and gave them to Chandaka. “I take these and present them to you, to soothe your grief.”

The light of the maṇi atop of his precious crown shone. He immediately took it off and placed it in his palm. It was like the sun lighting up Sumeru.

13. “Chandaka, take this pearl and return to the king, my father! Do obeisance at the king’s feet with this pearl in order to show my respect. State my request to the king for me: I wish that he would give up his feelings of love!

“In order to do away with birth, old age, and death, I have entered the forest of asceticism, but I do not seek rebirth in heaven. It is not the case that I do not have a loving heart. Nor do I feel any dislike. I want only to give up grief.

15. “Having accumulated love for a long time, one will certainly know separation. Because there is always separation I seek the cause of deliverance. When I am delivered I shall never be separated from my relatives.

16. “I leave my family to put a stop to affection. He must not feel sorrow for me, his son! The ﬁve desires are the root of sorrow. One should feel sorrow for those who are attached to desire!

17. “The purpose of the excellent kings, our ancestors, was ﬁrm and did not change. I have now inherited all their riches except for the Law, and I reject that which is not proper.

18. “When someone’s life has ended, his riches are all left to his son. Sons mostly covet mundane proﬁt, but I am happy with the riches of the Law.

19. “If one says that the strength of youth is not the right time to go out to study, know that the search for the Right Law is without any right time. It is not the case that there is a right time.

“Impermanence does not know any ﬁxed period. The enemy death is always in pursuit. Therefore I have decided that today is the right time to seek the Law.

21. “All such statements, pronounce them all for me! I do wish that you would free the king, my father, from any further love for me!

“If you were to defame me because of my appearance, so that the king would give up his loving thoughts, do not be sparing of those words, and do not let the king’s affection remain uninterrupted!”
When Chandaka had received his instructions, he was ﬁlled with sadness and his emotions were in turmoil. He held his palms together, knelt down, and replied to the Crown Prince:
“If I make a full pronouncement as you have ordered, I am afraid I may increase his grief even more. His grief will become even deeper, just like an elephant sinking deeper into the mud.
“When one’s love decidedly has left, who among those who have a heart would not grieve? Even metal and stone break down. How much more so when one is sunk into grief!
“You have grown up within your palace, O Prince. Your youth was happy and your person is soft. If you submit to a thorny grove, how could you bear the austerities!
“When you initially ordered me to bring your horse, I was already uneasy in my mind. A celestial spirit forced me and ordered me to quickly adorn it.

28. “What could I have had in mind when I let you, Crown Prince, decide to give up your inner palace! The people of Kapilavastu, the whole land, will grieve!

“The king, your father, is already old. He holds his son dear and his love is deep. If you decide to give up your family, this is not as it should be. If in your wrong view you have no parents, then there is no further discussion.

30. “Gautamī has nourished you. She has suckled you, leaving her body dried up. Her kindness is hard to forget. Do not be ungrateful!

31. “The meritorious mother of your infant is of an excellent family and she has served you well. If one has obtained her excellence but abandons her, one is not an excellent person.

“The excellent son of Yaśodharā will inherit the country and rule according to the Right Law. He is still young. You should not abandon him either. You have already disregarded the king, your father, and also your family and retinue.

11c

“And do not abandon me! I do not wish to leave your worthy feet! My feelings are like boiling water on a ﬁre. I cannot bear to return to our country alone.

34. “If I would now abandon you in the wilds, Crown Prince, and return, I would be the same as Sumantra who abandoned Rāma.

“If I now return to the palace alone, what shall I say to the king? When the whole palace reprimands me, with what words shall I answer then?
“You told me, Crown Prince, that as a means I may defame your appearance. But how could I speak falsely about the qualities of a muni!

37. “Because of deep shame my tongue would be unable to utter a word. Even if it could utter a word, who in the world would believe it?

38. “If I were to say that the light of the moon is hot, some in the world would believe it. But there are none who would believe that their crown prince’s acts do not constitute right behavior.

“Your heart, Crown Prince, is tender. You have always been com- passionate for all. Being deeply affectionate, yet abandoning us—this goes against your past thoughts. I wish that you would consider returning to the palace as a comfort to my foolish sincerity.”
When the Crown Prince heard Chandaka’s sad words and earnest admonitions, his mind was stable and increasingly ﬁrm. He further said:
“You now have given rise to the suffering of separation because of me. You should give up this sadness and soothe your mind!

42. “Each being has a different destination. The principle of separation is, of course, permanent. Even if it would not let me give up my family today, death will arrive and my body and spirit will be separated. How then would I be held back?

43. “When my kind mother bore me, she loved me profoundly, constantly embracing her suffering. But when she had given birth to me, her life immediately ended. She could never raise her own son. Preservation and destruction each take a different road. Where would I seek her now?

“On a prominent tree in the wilderness a ﬂock of birds gathers to roost. They assemble at sunset and scatter at dawn. The worldly separates in the same way.

45. “When ﬂoating clouds rise on a high mountain, they accumulate on the four sides in the sky. In a moment they are scattered again. The same principle applies to people.

“The worldly actually separates by itself. One meets for a while, entangled in love. One gathers and is scattered like a dream. One must not rely on one’s own relatives.
“For instance, a tree that comes to life in spring gradually grows branches and leaves. But in the frost of autumn they consequently fall down. They are physically the same but still they are separated. All the more so when people unite for a while! Why would relatives always stay together?

48. “Do appease your grief! Comply with my instructions and return! Your purpose in returning may yet preserve me! Return, and I may still go back later!

49. “When the people of Kapilavastu have heard that my mind is made up, you must pronounce my words to those who care for me and who hold me dear!

“I will come back only after I have crossed the sea of suffering of birth and death. If my earnest wish is not fulﬁlled, my body will be extinguished in a mountain forest.”

51. When the white horse heard the Crown Prince say these true words, it knelt down and licked his feet. Breathing deeply, it was given to tears. With his webbed hand, its palm [bearing] a wheel, [the Crown Prince] patted the head of the white horse.

“Do not feel any grief! I now apologize to you. The merits of your efforts, my ﬁne horse, are now completed. The suffering of your woeful des- tination is long appeased, and a ﬁne fruition appears now.”

53. Chandaka always followed him with his sword adorned with precious things. When the Crown Prince drew the sharp sword, it was shining bright, like a dragon.

54. His dark hair, contained in his precious crown—he shaved it off and placed it in the sky. It ascended into the freezing sky, ﬂoating like a soaring phoenix.

The celestial sons of the Trāyastriṃśa [Heaven] returned with the hair to their celestial palace. They had always wanted to serve him at his feet. All the more now that they had obtained the hair of his head! They whole- heartedly increased their worship, all the way till the end of the Right Law.

56. The Crown Prince then thought to himself, “Even when all my orna- ments are removed and I have only a garment of plain silk, I still do not have the deportment of someone who has gone forth.”

When he knew the Crown Prince’s thoughts, a celestial son of the pure abodes then transformed himself into the image of a hunter. He held a bow and carried sharp arrows at his waist. With his body covered by a kāṣāya garment, he went before the Crown Prince.

58. The Crown Prince thought that this garment, a dyed pure robe, was the exquisite ornamentation of a seer, and was not ﬁt for a hunter.

59. He immediately gave a shout before the hunter, and with soft words said to him, “Concerning this garment, you look untainted by covetousness. Let me trade my own clothing with you!”

60. The hunter said to the Crown Prince, “It is not the case that I do not feel for this garment. I have used it as a decoy with deer, to lure and kill them. But if it is what you need, I shall trade it with you now.”

When the hunter had received the ﬁne garment, he returned to his celestial body. When the Crown Prince and Chandaka saw this, they thought that it was wonderful.
“This garment certainly is correct. It is surely not the clothing of a worldling.” Their inner feelings greatly rejoiced and they doubled their rev- erence for the garment.
[The Crown Prince] then separated from Chandaka, wearing his kāṣāya garment. It was like an ochre cloud surrounding the disk of the sun or moon.
With digniﬁed and careful steps he entered a seer’s cave. As Chan- daka’s gaze followed him, he disappeared and was not seen any more.
“My master has given up the king, his father, his retinue, and me too. Wearing the kāṣāya garment he has entered the forest of asceticism.”

66. [Chandaka] raised his hands and called out to the gods. In low spirits he fell to the ground. He rose and clasped the neck of the white horse. His hopes gone, he turned back on his way.

67. In his hesitation he frequently looked back. His body went [forward] but his mind hurried back. He was lost in thought and was distracted; he looked up and down, leaning over; he fell over and rose again. Sadly weeping, he went on his way back.

Chapter VII

Entry into the Forest of Asceticism

As the Crown Prince was about to enter the place of seers, having sent Chandaka away, his majestic person was radiant, shining all around in the forest of asceticism.
Being endowed with all that was meaningful, he complied with the meaningful and went there. He went like a lion, king of the animals, entering among a herd of beasts.

3. His common appearance was completely abandoned. He showed only the true appearance of the path. The anchorites unexpectedly saw the wonder and they were discerning and pleasantly surprised. They held their palms together and stared straight at him.

Men and women gazed directly at him as they managed their affairs, without any change in their deportment. When the gods observe Lord Śakra they gaze at him without blinking, and the seers looked at him in the same way, not moving a foot.

5. As they managed their heavy burdens with their hands, they kept looking, not stopping their activities. Just like an ox in shaft and yoke, their bodies were bound but they relied on the mind. And the divine seers, full of application, all said they had never seen such a thing.

6. Flocks of birds, peacocks and others, soared and cried out in confused voices. Brahmans who kept the precepts of deer followed the deer and wandered into a mountain forest.

7. Deer glance about by nature, but seeing the Crown Prince they looked straight at him. The brahmans who were following the deer likewise looked directly at him.

8. The lamp of Ikṣvāku was twice as bright, like the ﬁrst light of the sun. It caused the milk cows to give more sweet-scented milk.

The brahmans were pleasantly surprised and said to each other, “Is he the eighth Vasu god?15 Is he one of the two Aśvins?16

“Is he the sixth King Māra?17 Is he a brahmakāyika god?18 Is he the celestial son of the sun or of the moon who has descended here?
“In short, we should respect him! Let us hurry and strive to bring worship!” The Crown Prince still remained humble. He respectfully declined and made polite inquiries.
The Bodhisattva observed the brahmans all over the forest. They were practicing all kinds of meritorious actions. They were all seeking for the happiness of rebirth in heaven.
He asked elder brahmans about the true path he should practice. “I have just now arrived here. I do not yet know which way to practice. Consequently I beseech you to please give me your explanation!”

14. Then the twice-born consequently and in due order spoke about the austerities they were practicing and about the fruition of their asceticism.

Some ate roots, stalks, and leaves, things that were not produced in a village, or things that grew in clear water. Others ate ﬂowers and fruits. Several paths, each one different, and the food they consumed was not the same either.
Some cultivated the life of birds. They pecked their food like two- legged creatures. Some followed deer and ate herbs. Serpent-seers inhaled the wind.
Some did not eat things that were pounded with wood or a stone. Biting with two teeth, they made lesions. Some begged for their food and gave it to others, accepting remnants as their own food.

18. Some constantly submerged their heads in water, and some worshiped ﬁre. Seers who practiced like ﬁshes dwelled in water. Such were the various kinds [of practices].

19. When a brahman practices asceticism, he is reborn in heaven when his life has ended. Because of his asceticism he will obtain a pleasant fruition.

When the worthy one, the most honored one among two-legged beings, heard about these austerities, he did not see their real meaningfulness and his inner feelings were not pleased. In his consideration he felt grief for them. In his mind and verbally he said to them:
“Alas, for your great austerities! You seek only for recompense as a human or god. As the wheel revolves, you turn to birth and death. The suffering will be plentiful but the happiness little.

“When one disregards relatives, gives up excellent objects, and decides to seek celestial happiness, even if one may avoid some small suffering one will ﬁnally be bound by great suffering.

23. “You let your bodies wither and practice austerities, but while seeking to experience rebirth you increase the cause of the ﬁve desires. Because you do not contemplate birth and death, you seek suffering by means of suffering.

“All kinds of beings are constantly afraid of death in their heart. If you strenuously seek to experience rebirth, you will, being reborn, meet with death. Even though you may be afraid of suffering, you will be submersed in the sea of suffering for a long time.
“This life is utterly wearying, and in a future life one will not rest either. While you endure suffering, you seek happiness in the present but the search for rebirth in heaven is wearisome too. A mind that seeks happiness is inferior. In both cases one falls into meaninglessness.
“You give way to something utterly base. Exertion is excellent, but it is still better to develop knowledge. When one rejects both, one is forever unconditioned.
“If it is right to let the body suffer, happiness would be wrong. If one is happy after the practice of what is right, the result that relies on what is right is wrong.

28. “Origination and extinction in one’s corporal practice all come from the mind’s strength. If it is without a mind, this body is like a dead log. There- fore, subdue the mind! If the mind is subdued, the body is naturally right.

“If eating something pure brings merit, then birds and animals and poor persons, who usually eat fruits and herbs, should thus be meritorious.
“If one says that austerities are the cause of merit when a ﬁne mind has come into existence, why are the happy practices not produced by a ﬁne mind? If happiness is not produced by a ﬁne mind, that which is ﬁne is not the cause of suffering either.
“If heretics consider water to be a puriﬁcation, the evil actions of the beings that enjoy dwelling in water should constantly be pure.
“The place where a seer with ﬁne basic qualities dwells is held in esteem by the wider world, because a seer with qualities is living there. One should honor the qualities! One should not hold the place in esteem!”

Thus [the Bodhisattva] gave an extensive explanation of what was right, and eventually came the sunset. He saw that some were making offerings to ﬁre. Some were using friction or blowing [to make] a ﬁre. Some were sprinkling ghee, and some were chanting incantations with raised voices.
It was like that all night and day. He observed those practices, but as he did not see their real meaningfulness, he then wanted to reject them.

35. The brahmans then all came and invited him to stay. They had regard for the Bodhisattva’s qualities and fondly and diligently urged him:

“You have come from a place of the wrong law to the forest of the Right Law, yet you want to abandon it. So we urge you to stay!”

37. The elder brahmans had disheveled hair and wore garments of vegetation. As they followed behind the Bodhisattva, they beseeched him to pay attention for a while.

When the Bodhisattva saw that the elder ones were pursuing him and they were physically tired, he stopped underneath a tree, comforted them, and sent them on their way back. The brahmans, young and old, surrounded him, held their palms together, and beseeched him:

39. “You came here unexpectedly, and the grove was ﬁlled in a ﬁne way, but now you abandon us and go away. It will consequently become a wilder- ness.

“Just as someone who loves life does not want to give up his body, we are like that too. Please, stay for a while!
“The brahman seers here, royal seers and celestial seers, all rely on this place. It is furthermore near the edge of the Snowy Mountains. No place surpasses this to increase one’s asceticism.
“Many anchorites were reborn in heaven along this way. All anchorites, seeking merit, have turned to the north from here. Having received the Right Law, the wise do not go south.
“If you believe that we are lazy and not vigorous, and practice unpleasant ways, and if you do not want to stay, we should all go away, but you may stay here.

44. “These brahmans are always seeking for a companion in asceticism. If you are excellent in asceticism, why would you abandon them?

“If you can stay here, they will serve you as Lord Śakra, and as the gods serve Bṛhaspati.”

46. The Bodhisattva explained to the brahmans what he himself wished for in his heart. “By developing right application, I want only to extinguish all existence.

“Your intentions are upright, and in your practice of the Law you were tranquil and silent. You are kind to a visitor and I am really happy in my heart.
“Beautiful words may move one’s heart. They bathe all who hear them. Upon hearing your words, they increase my feeling of happiness with the Law.
“You have all turned to me, thinking that I am your good friend of the Law. But abandoning you now, I feel very sorry.

50. “Previously I disregarded my own relatives, and now I am separating from you. The suffering of uniting and separating—that suffering is equal and without any difference. It is not the case that my heart is not happy. And I do not see any other error either, but the fact is that

“In your asceticism you all seek only the happiness of rebirth in heaven. I seek to extinguish the three existences,19 rejecting [physical] form and contrary to the mind’s [normal tendencies].
“As for the Law you are practicing, you yourselves practice the actions of your former teachers. I will extinguish all accumulation in my search for the Law without accumulation. So it will never be right to stay longer in this grove.”
When the brahmans heard the Bodhisattva’s explanation, his true and meaningful words, eloquent in expression and eminent in principle, they were very joyful at heart then, and profoundly increased their feeling of respect.
There then was a brahman who was constantly lying down in dirt. With twisted locks he was clothed in tree bark. [He had] yellow eyes and a long, high nose.

55. And he said to the Bodhisattva, “Your purpose is ﬁrm and your wisdom is bright. You will decidedly complete your passage beyond birth. Knowing how to be free from rebirth, one is at ease.

“Nonattachment to the good fortune of rebirth in heaven and an earnest search for eternal extinction of the person, this is wonderful. I see it only in this one person.

“Offering sacriﬁces, praying to celestial spirits, and with all kinds of austerities, everyone seeks the happiness of rebirth in heaven, but they are not yet free from objects of desire.
“If one can ﬁght desire and earnestly search for true deliverance, one is a human being, certainly a person of right awakening.
1. “It will not do to stay in this place. Go to the Vindhya Mountains.20 There is a great muni called Ārāḍa.21

60. “Only he has obtained ﬁnal certitude, the highest and most excellent eye! Go to him and you will hear the true path!

“He can make your heart rejoice. You have to practice his way! But when I observe your resoluteness, I am afraid you may not be assured either. You will give up on him too and go away, seeking for more learning.
“A high nose and wide, long eyes. Red lips and white, sharp teeth. Light skin and a face that is bright. The red tongue is long, soft, and thin. Those with such ﬁne characteristics will all drink jñeya water.22
“You will cross an unfathomable depth and be unequaled in the world. You will obtain that which the elder seers will not obtain.”

64. The Bodhisattva accepted his words and left the seers. The multitude of seers circumambulated him to the right and each took their leave and returned.

Chapter VIII

The Whole Palace in Grief

As Chandaka led the horse back, his hopes were lost and his heart was ﬁlled with sadness. He wept all along the way, unable to come to his senses.
Previously, [traveling] with the Crown Prince, it had been a straight road for one whole night but now, having abandoned the Crown Prince and returning, and because his celestial protection had been taken away from his life, he walked to and fro with an anxious heart, and reached the city after eight days.

3. The ﬁne horse once had been swift. It had exerted itself and was characterized by majesty. As it staggered along it looked behind, but it did not see the Crown Prince appear.

4. [The horse] let its tears ﬂow and its four limbs hung loose. It was dis- tressed and had lost its brightness. It walked in circles, mourning and neighing sadly. Night and day it forgot about water and grass.

Having lost their ruler who would save the world, they returned to Kapilavastu. The land was completely desolate, as if they had returned to an empty village. When, for instance, the sun is screened off by Sumeru, the whole world is obscured in the heavy darkness.

6. Springs and ponds were not clear, and ﬂowers and fruits did not ﬂour- ish. Men and women in the alleys and streets were sad and had lost their joyful appearance.

Chandaka and the white horse were dispirited and unable to move forward. When asked about the matter, he could not answer. They walked slowly, like corpses.

8. When the crowd saw that Chandaka had returned and when they did not see the Śākya prince, [the people] loudly wept with raised voices, as if he [were the one who had] returned having abandoned Rāma.

9. Some people came to the side of the road and, heads bowed, asked Chan- daka, “The prince is loved by the world. He is the life of the people in the whole world. You suddenly took him away and led him off. Where is he now?”

Chandaka restrained his sad thoughts and he answered the people, “I pursued him with affection. I did not abandon the prince.

11. “The prince abandoned me, and he has rejected his mundane deportment. He has taken the tonsure, wears the garment of the Law, and has entered the forest of asceticism.”

When the crowd heard that [the prince] had gone forth, they were startled and amazed. They sobbed and cried. Mucus and tears came down in mixed streams.
One said to the other, “What shall we do?” They all talked it over. “We must all follow him. If someone’s life faculty is ruined, the form and the spirit separate when the person has died.

14. “The prince is our life. Having lost our life, how shall we live? These villages will become a forest, and that forest will become our villages. This city has lost its majestic quality, as if one had killed Vṛtra.”23

15. When it was falsely reported to the men and women in the city that the prince had returned, they hurried out to the head of the road, but they saw only that his horse had returned alone. Nobody knew whether he was alive or dead, and they wept in all kinds of voices.

Leading the horse on foot, Chandaka returned, sobbing and letting his tears fall. He felt grief at the loss of the Crown Prince. The fear in his heart increased, just as when a warrior has destroyed the enemy and sends his captured foe before the king.

17. As he entered the gate his tears came down like rain. They ﬁlled his eyes and he could not see a thing. He looked up to heaven and bitterly wept. The white horse neighed sadly too.

When the various birds and animals in the palace and the horses in the inner stables heard the sad neighing of the white horse, they cried out in response. They cried out thinking that the Crown Prince had returned, but when they did not see him they ceased their cries.

19. The ladies of the palace heard the horses, birds, and animals cry out. Their hair was disheveled, their faces were pallid. Their ﬁgures became ema- ciated and their lips dry. Their torn clothes were unwashed, and they were dirty and unbathed.

Their ornaments were all dispensed with, spoiled and dull. Their whole bodies had lost their brightness, just like stars fading at night’s close.

Their garments were ruined and ragged. They looked as if they had been robbed.

21. When they saw Chandaka and the white horse, they wept and went back without any hope. They were moved [to tears] and wailed bitterly, as if they had just lost a relative. They were disordered and disturbed, like a herd of cows that had lost its way.

22. When Mahāprajāpātī Gautamī heard that the Crown Prince had not returned, she ﬂinched and fell to the ground, her four limbs all bruised.

She was like a gold-colored plantain tree broken by a gale of wind. When she further heard that her son had gone forth, she sighed deeply and her sadness increased.

24. “His soft hair, turning to the right, grows one hair per pore. It is black and pleasant, fresh and bright. It lies scattered on the ground, ﬂowing evenly. Now lying shaven on the grassy ground, to what purpose was it ﬁtted with a celestial crown?

25. “[He has] straight arms and the gait of a lion, the long and wide eyes of an ox king, a body bright like a golden blaze, a square chest, and a pure voice.

“With these exquisite characteristics he has entered the forest of asceticism. What little merit did the world have that it has lost this noble ruler of the earth?

27. “His soft feet with ﬁne membranes have the color of a pure lotus. A thorny forest with earth and rocks, how could they walk on it?

28. “He has grown up within his palace, dressed in warm and soft clothes. He bathed in fragrant warm water, and his body was powdered with incense. Now he is exposed, braving the wind. How could he bear the cold or heat?

29. “As a great man of nobility he is prominent and superior in learning. Endowed with virtue, his fame is great. He is always generous, without want- ing anything. Why would he suddenly beg for his food to live on?

30. “He lay on a pure, precious couch, awakened from his sleep by music. How can he lay himself down on the grassy ground in a mountain forest?”

31. Holding her son dear, she felt grief in her heart and fell to the ground in low spirits. Her servants helped her up and wiped away her tears.

32. The other ladies let their four limbs hang with grief. Inwardly upset, they were miserable in their hearts. They stood still, just like painted ﬁgures.

Then Yaśodharā severely reprimanded Chandaka. “This person on my mind, where would he be now? The three of you, men and a horse, went together, but now only two have come back.
“I am utterly fearful in my heart, trembling and ill at ease. You are an improper person. You are not close to me, and you are not a good friend.
“Even though my misfortune is very grave, you laugh. I consider your weeping to be just that! You were about to go away but you return in tears. Your reversal is not ﬁtting.
“You were held dear, a companion of my sovereign, but you have an indulgent mind, following your liking. So you did not let the noble prince return, once he was gone.
“You must be very glad now! Having done evil, its result is already accomplished. It would be better to approach a wise enemy than to frequent a foolish friend.
“You were falsely called a good friend. Inwardly you really feel enmity. You have now suddenly and completely destroyed this excellent royal house.

39. “These noble ladies are mournful and have spoiled their beauty. They are out of breath from weeping and tears stream down all across their faces.

“When their master was still in the world, they relied on him as if he were the Snowy Mountains. His mind was as ﬁrm as the great earth. They are almost saddened to death.
“Even more so for those who are sadly weeping and loudly crying in the windows! Life and death, their proper place is natural, but how could they bear this suffering?”
She said to the horse: “You are not righteous. You have taken away someone whom people esteem in their hearts, just like an evil thief who has stolen precious things in the dark.
“When he rode you into battle, he could endure all: swords, spears, and sharp arrows. But what is there he cannot endure now?
“The most excellent one of my noble family! You have taken away my heart by force. You are a noxious creature! You have done improper actions!
“Today you cry out loudly, and your cries ﬁll the royal palace. But when you previously took away the one I hold dear, why then were you mute?

46. “If you had let out a sound then, the whole palace would have woken up. If it had woken up then, I would not be suffering now.”

47. When Chandaka heard these painful words, he swallowed his breath and his breathing froze. He rubbed away his tears, held his palms together, and answered, “Please listen to my plea!

“Do not disparage the white horse, and do not hate me either! We are both without fault. It was the doing of a celestial spirit.

49. “I was utterly afraid of the king’s law but I was compelled by celestial spirits. They quickly led the horse to him, and they both went away as swiftly as if they were ﬂying. [The spirit] calmed [the horse’s] breathing so that it did not make a sound, and its feet did not touch the ground either.

“The gate of the city opened by itself and the sky was naturally bright. All this was the doing of celestial spirits. How could this be through my efforts?”

51. When Yaśodharā heard his words, she thought it was astonishing. It had been the doing of celestial spirits and it was not the case that they were to blame.

52. Her thoughts of disparagement were eliminated. Her burning, great suffering was appeased. She fell to the ground and sighed with resentment that the pair of mandarin ducks24 had separated.

[She addressed the Crown Prince:] “I have lost my support now! You have brought separation in the practice of our common duties. You found happiness in the Law and you have abandoned our common practice. Where would you further be seeking for the Law?

54. “Our former excellencies of the past, King Mahāsudarśana and others, all applied themselves to the path together with their wives, wandering through the forests and the wilds, but you have now abandoned me. What kind of a law would you seek?

“In the code for brahmans about offering sacriﬁces, the wife must practice together [with her husband]. The duties they perform together are a cause and in the end they experience the result together. Why are you alone miserly of the Law, abandoning me and wandering on your own?

56. “Either you see me as jealous and still seek someone who is not jealous, or you must feel contempt for me and further seek a pure celestial maiden.

57. “For what beauty with excellent virtue are you practicing asceticism

and have brought about separation from me, your wife, because of my despicable life?

58. “Why do you not take Rāhula on your knee? Alas, unfortunate gentle- man! Your appearance is gentle but your heart is hard.

59. “The abundant light of your excellent family is splendid. Even an enemy respects it. But when a son is born but no infant yet, one can discard it forever.

60. “I do not feel any sympathy either. You, my husband, have abandoned me and are wandering through a mountain forest. You cannot destroy yourself. You are a person of wood or stone.”

After [speaking] these words, her heart was confused. She wailed or talked frantically. Or she gazed, lost in thought. She was choked with sobs and could not control herself. She was mournful and, lying in the dirt, her breathing almost stopped.
When the group of ladies saw her, they felt grief. They were like ﬂourishing lotuses [that have been] broken by storms and hail and made pale.
The king, the father, had lost his crown prince, and night and day his heart sadly yearned. He observed the fast and requested the celestial spirits, “Please, let my son quickly return!”

64. After he had uttered his wish and his plea, he left through the gate of celestial sacriﬁces. When he heard the weeping voices he was startled and bewildered, like a herd of elephants stampeding in disarray when there is great thunder and lightning in the sky.

65. After he had seen Chandaka and the white horse, and after extensive questioning, he knew that [his son] had gone forth. His body fell to the ground, just like the crumbling of the banner of Lord Śakra.

His ministers slowly helped him up and, as was right, they urged him to be at ease. After a long while he returned to consciousness and said to the white horse:

67. “I have frequently ridden you into battle. I remember that you were mer- itorious every time, but now I detest you, twice as much as when I held you dear!

68. “My beloved, meritorious son—you unexpectedly carried him away. You discarded him in a mountain forest and came back alone, by yourself.

“Quickly go to him with me! If not, go and bring him back! If you do not do either of these two, my life will not be preserved. There is no other cure left. Yes, the expectation of my son is my medicine.

70. “Just like the brahman Saṃjaya killed himself over the death of his son, the loss of my son who is practicing the Law will naturally make me lose my life.

71. “The ruler of the beings, Manu, also felt constant sorrow for his son. How much less could I, an ordinary man, feel at ease with the loss of my son?

72. “In ancient times, when his dear son was wandering through a mountain forest, King Aja was deeply affected and his life ended. He was imme diately reborn in heaven.

“But I am unable to die now. For a long time I will dwell in grief. The whole palace held my son dear, but I long for him in vain, just like a hungry ghost.
“I am like someone who is thirsty and looking for water. When he wants to drink, one takes it away. I will keep my thirst and die with it. I will certainly be reborn in the destination of hungry ghosts.
“My thirst is completely in vain now. Having obtained water, my son, I have lost it again. Quickly tell me the whereabouts of my son, before my life ends!
“Do not let me die of thirst and fall among the hungry ghosts! My determination and strength once were strong. I was as hard to move as the great earth. But, having lost my son, my heart is troubled, just like King Daśaratha25 in the past.”

77. The royal preceptor, a scholar of learning, and the chief minister, wise and intelligent, both admonished the king, with neither laxity nor coercion:

78. “Please, calm your emotions! Do not hurt yourself with sorrow! The excellent kings of old abandoned their countries as if they were scattered ﬂowers.

79. “Your son is now applying himself to the path. Why would this make you suffer grief! Remember Asita’s prediction! His just fate should yet be like that!

“In celestial happiness or as a wheel-turning king, he will be quiet and not afﬂicted. How could a worldly ruler change his precious mind?

81. “You should let us search for him now, and go to him. We will make an effort and earnestly reprove him in order to show our sincerity. We wish to lessen his determination in order to soothe your royal grief!”

The king was glad and immediately answered, “Yes, go quickly! Like a large bird26 circling in the sky for his son, my anxious mind is just like that, holding my crown prince dear now.”

83. After the two men received [the king’s] order, the minds of the king and his retinue were somewhat cooler. [The king] felt relieved and food and drink were circulated.

Chapter IX

The Search for the Crown Prince

1. As the king told his preceptor and his chief minister of his grief, they were moved. As if lashed to ﬁne horses they rushed out like a swift current. They became fatigued but did not stop their efforts. They went straight to the forest of asceticism.

Giving up their customary ﬁve ceremonial ornaments27 and keeping their faculties well under control, they entered the pure dwelling of brahmans and respectfully did obeisance to the seers. The seers invited them to sit down, expounded the Law, and comforted them.

3. They then informed the seers: “We have some inquiries in mind. We are preceptor and minister to King Śuddhodana, extolled as pure and a famous descendant of Ikṣvāku. We dutifully instruct him in matters of canonical rules.

4. “The king is like Śakra, lord of the gods, and his son is like Jayanta.28 In order to cross over old age, illness, and death he has gone forth, and he may have come here. You should know, worthy ones, that we are here because of him!”

The [seers] replied, “There was such a man, with long arms and the characteristics of a great man. He chose some of our practices, which follow the law of birth and death. He has gone to Ārāḍa to seek excellent deliverance.”
After [the preceptor and minister] had obtained certainty [about the prince’s whereabouts], they honored their king’s urgent command, not daring to consider it tiresome. They asked the way and hurried there.

7. They saw that the Crown Prince was dwelling in a forest. He had completely given up his customary ceremonial ornaments. His actual body was still radiant, like the sun emerging from a black cloud.

8. The national preceptor, who serves celestial spirits, and the chief minister, who holds the Right Law, abandoned their usual digniﬁed demeanor, dismounted, and advanced on foot.

9. They were like the royal Vāmadeva and Vasiṣṭha the seer,29 who went to a mountain forest to see Prince Rāma. Each reverently did obeisance, com- plying with their actual duty, and made polite inquiries.

They were like Śukra and Āṅgirasa,30 who waited upon Śakra, lord of the gods, wholeheartedly and with great respect.

11. The prince was respectful to the royal preceptor and the chief minister too, just like Lord Śakra comforting Śukra and Āṅgirasa.

[The prince] then ordered the two men to sit before him, just like the twin stars of Punarvasu waiting upon the moon at its side.
The royal preceptor and the chief minister stated their request to the prince, just like Bṛhaspati addressing Jayanta.31
“The king, your father, holds his crown prince dear. A sharp dart has pierced his heart, as it were. He is in disarray and disordered, lying in the dirt. Night and day his sad thoughts increase, and his tears ﬂow constantly, like rain.
“He has given me his command. Please, listen attentively [to his words]! ‘I know that your feelings of happiness with the Law are certain, without any doubt.
“‘But you have entered the forest refuge at a wrong time. A longing is burning in my heart. If you hold the Law dear, you should grieve for me.
“‘The feeling [of relief] for which I have traveled far, hoping to be at ease—lessen my sense of being far away from it! Do not let the waters of my grief make the banks of my heart crumble!
“‘It is like the calamities of a storm, of the sun, of ﬁre and hail, for clouds, water, grass, and mountains. My grief means four ailments: it sways, dries up, burns, and destroys the heart.
“‘Return and live in the land! When the right time has come, you may still travel to the seers. If you do not care for your relatives and also reject your parents, how could this be called the compassion that covers all!
“‘The Law is not necessarily in a mountain forest. One may practice in seclusion while remaining part of the family too. Gaining insight and dili- gence in one’s application, this is called going forth.
“‘Suppose one takes the tonsure, wears a dyed garment, and wanders in a mountain refuge, yet feels fear. How could such a person be called an anchorite?

“‘I wish to completely embrace you. When I have let water rain down on your head, have crowned you with a celestial crown, and have placed a parasol over you, once I have observed you [thus] with my own eyes, only then might I leave the family!
“‘Druma, the Senajit kings, Anuja, Āṣāḍha, Vajra, Bāhu, Vaibhrāja, Antideva, Janaka of Videha, Nārāyaṇa, and Śālvadruma—
“‘Such kings all wore a celestial crown. They adorned themselves with necklaces, and they wore pearls and rings on their hands and feet. They enjoyed a multitude of ladies but did not disregard the cause of deliverance.
“‘You may return home now. May you fully develop two things: Cultivate the superior Law in your mind, and be a superior ruler of the land!
“‘As my tears fall, agree with me and let me pronounce such words! After you have heard this command, heed my instructions and return!’
“The king, your father, is drowning in a sea of grief because of you, without any rescue, without any support, and without a way to console himself. You must be his boatmaster and ferry him to a safe place!
“Upon hearing their father’s command, Prince Bhīṣma and the two Rāmas32 respected his command. You should now also be like that!
“The love with which your kind mother has brought you up, for your whole life your gratitude should be endless! Like a cow that has lost her calf, she cries out sadly and forgets to sleep or eat.
“You should quickly return now to save her life! When a solitary bird is separated from the ﬂock, it grieves. When a dragon-elephant wanders alone, it suffers. When someone who is reliant [upon another] has lost her protection, one should think about coming to the rescue!
“Your only son is like a young orphan. No one knows how to express the suffering he experiences. Spare him from the grief of being left alone, like someone who is saved from a lunar eclipse.
“The suffering of separation felt by the men and women in the whole country is burning. The smoke of their sighs rises to the sky. It fogs their wisdom and their eyes are obscured. I want only to see that the water that is you extinguishes this ﬁre, and that their eyes see clearly.”
When the Bodhisattva heard the urgent instructions of the king, his father, and heard that he was utterly full of sorrow, he sat up, making right consideration, and courteously answered, as was ﬁtting:

17c

“I too know that the kind thoughts of the king, my father, are more than genuine, but I have disregarded his endless love because I fear birth, old age, illness, and death.
“Who would not, knowing of the separation in the end, hold his par- ents in esteem? Yes, the living may hold on to one another, but death will come. No one can stay. Therefore, knowing what to esteem, I have long since taken leave and gone forth.
“Hearing of the grief of the king, my father, a greater longing cuts through my heart. But we meet only for a while, just as in a dream, and we at once turn to impermanence.
“You most certainly know that beings are by nature not the same. Grief does not necessarily come from a son or a relative. As for the reason why the suffering of separation is brought about, it arises in any case from delusion.
“Suppose some people are walking along a road: they may meet halfway for a while, but in an instant they each separate. The principle of separation is actually natural.
“One unites and becomes a relative for a while, but following the principle of causality, one naturally separates. Profoundly comprehending that relatives [only] pretend to be united, one should not give rise to grief!
“Having disregarded one’s beloved in this generation, one still wishes for relatives in another generation. But [even if one may have] relatives for a while, one is separated again. Nowhere is there no relative. One is constantly united [with one’s relatives] and constantly parts [from them]. How would it do to grieve for every parting?
“While dwelling in the womb, one gradually changes. With every separation one dies and is born again. There is death at any time. How could it be a wrong time for [taking refuge in] a mountain forest?
“At any time one may experience the ﬁve desires, and the same applies to the time to seek for riches. Because one may die at any time, there is no ‘right time’ to seek the way to do away with death.
“As you wish to make me your king, it is hard to disregard your kindness, but it is just like taking the wrong medicine when sick. Therefore I am not ﬁt for that. High or low, foolishness dwells there, and while being careless one complies with love or hate.

“My whole life I would constantly be afraid, anxious that my body and spirit will grow tired. By complying with the crowd, my mind would disregard the Law. A wise one does not do that.
“In a ﬁne palace with the seven precious things a great ﬁre is ablaze, and in the food of a hundred ﬂavors [produced in] a celestial kitchen, there are various poisons. In a cool pond with lotuses there are many insects.
“A high position is an abode of calamities. The wise do not dwell there. When the previous excellent kings of the past saw many transgressions while dwelling in the land, increasing hardship for beings, they felt disgust and went forth.
“So, know that the contentment of practicing the Law is better than the suffering of royal rule! It would be better to dwell in a mountain forest and eat herbs like the birds and animals than to endure dwelling deep in a palace, sharing the pit with black venomous snakes.
“If one gives up a royal position and the ﬁve desires and wanders in a mountain forest enduring suffering, this then is ﬁtting. Happy with the Law, one gradually increases one’s understanding.
“If I now abandon the forest of solitude, return to my family, and experience the ﬁve desires, night and day the law of suffering will increase. This is not ﬁtting.
“A great man of a famous family ﬁnds happiness in the Law and goes forth. He forever turns his back on his famous family, establishing the determination of a great man. Abandoning his [ﬁne] appearance and wearing the robe of the Law, he ﬁnds happiness in the Law and wanders in a mountain forest.
“If I were now to abandon the robe of the Law, I would have to dis- regard the shame in my heart. Even a celestial king must not do this. How much less could I return to my excellent human family?
“If one has vomited up greed, anger, and delusion, then returns and partakes of them, he is like someone who again eats his own vomit. How could he bear this suffering?
“When someone’s house is on ﬁre, he does his best to get out. How would he be a clever person if he returned a moment later and reentered [the burning house]?

18a

“When I saw the passing of birth, old age, and death, I was disgusted and went forth. If I were now to return and reenter that, my foolishness would be the same.
“If one tries to develop deliverance while dwelling in a palace, one is not in the right place. Deliverance is produced by quietude. Kingship adds to hardship.
“Quietude dispenses with royal majesty. Royal rule is separate from deliverance. Movement and tranquility are like water and ﬁre. How could one have the two principles together?
“I have decided to develop deliverance and I will not dwell in a royal position. If you say that one may dwell in a royal position and develop deliverance, this would be a wrong decision. Deliverance is certainly not like that!
“After one has made such a wrong decision, one may have left [home] but he will return. I have now made my decision to break with the enticements of relatives. Having correctly applied myself to go forth, why would I return?”
The chief minister inwardly considered the resolute determination of the Crown Prince. He was very conscious that [the prince’s] virtue would be in compliance and that his explanation made sense. He said to the Crown Prince, “It is as you, Prince, have explained.
“The search for the Law should be that way! But now is just not the right time. The king, your father, is aged and feeble. Affection for his son increases his grief.
“Though you say ‘I ﬁnd happiness in deliverance,’ still you do what is wrong. Even though you ﬁnd happiness in going forth, it is without wisdom. You do not consider a very ﬁne principle! While you do not see the cause, yet you seek for the fruition. You merely reject contemplating the present.
“Some say there is a later world; on the other hand, some say there is not. As that existence is not yet decided on, why reject present happiness?
“If there will be a later world, one will endure what will be obtained. If one says that a later world is nonexistent, its nonexistence means deliverance.
“Some say that there is a later world but they do not explain a cause for deliverance. Just like earth that is ﬁrm, ﬁre that is warm, water that is moist, and wind that moves, a later world is like that too. It is by nature thus.

“Some explain that pure and impure both arise through their speciﬁc natures. It would be a foolish explanation to say that one may strive for change.
“When faculties proceed in their objects, their speciﬁc natures are in any case ﬁxed. What is agreeable or disagreeable, their speciﬁc natures are ﬁxed in the same way.
“The suffering of old age, illness, and death—who would strive to make them such? Water can extinguish ﬁre, and ﬁre causes water to dry up. One speciﬁc nature causes the destruction of another, but when natures are harmonious they complete a being.

68. “If one dwells in the womb, hands, feet, the limbs, and consciousness are naturally produced. Who has to do that [himself]?

“Who causes a thorn to be sharp? It is naturally like that. And all the birds and animals do not wish themselves to be as they are.
“Every birth in the heavens is caused by the god Īśvara, as well as by other creators. There is no one who is how he wishes by his own power.
“If there is a cause for birth, that could also cause extinction. Why the need to strive and seek deliverance?
“Some say that a self causes birth, and further that a self causes extinction, too. Some say there is no cause of birth and one is extinguished if one strives.
“If one raises one’s child and is not burdened by one’s ancestors, if one studies the scriptures bequeathed by the seers and serves the gods with great sacriﬁcial offerings, if one is not burdened by these three things, one is called delivered.
“One may seek deliverance with these three, as transmitted in the past and present. If [one seeks deliverance] through any other effort, one toils in vain and without fruition.
1. “If you want to seek deliverance, just develop superior application! The grief of the king, your father, will be appeased, and your path of deliverance will be immediate.
2. “You have given up your family and wander in a mountain forest, but returning is still not wrong. In the past, King Ambarīṣa dwelled in the forest of asceticism for a long time. He had given up his crowd of followers and his retinue, but he returned home and resumed his royal position.

18b

“Rāma, son of the king of the land, left the kingdom and dwelled in a mountain forest. When he heard that the customs of the land were being forsaken, he returned and maintained the right [generational] changes.
“The king of the Śālvas was called Druma. Father and son wandered through mountain forests, but in the end both returned to their country.
“The munis Vasiṣṭha and Antideva practiced pure conduct in a mountain forest, but after a long time they returned to their country.
“The right ways of such previous excellent ones are very famous. They all returned to their royal territories and shone in the world like lamps. Therefore, it is not wrong to give up the mountain forest and to be converted to the right way.”
When the Crown Prince had heard the chief minister’s kind words and his exposition for his own good, he answered him with the constant truth, without any confusion, unhindered and digniﬁed, with ﬁrm determination and tranquil words:
“I am doubtful about existence or nonexistence. My double-mindedness is increased by suspicion. I will decidedly not accept your theory about existence and nonexistence. Purifying my knowledge and developing asceticism, I will certainly come to know for myself!
“In the world, doubtful argumentation is spread and handed down. I am not at ease with your [explanation of the] true meaning of existence and nonexistence.
“Someone who sees clearly distinguishes true from false. How could belief come from someone else? It is as if a person who was born blind takes a blind man as his guide. Where would he go to in the absolute darkness of the night?
“Concerning the way of purity or of impurity, the world has its uncertainties. If one does not see the truth, one should practice a pure path. It is better to practice the austerities of a pure way than to enjoy the practice of what is impure.
“Contemplating the theories received from someone else, not one is marked by certainty. When true words are accepted with an open mind, one is forever free from any wrong. A wise one does not pronounce erroneous words or false theories.

“You mention that Rāma and the others gave up their families and developed pure conduct, but in the end they returned to their countries and indulged in the ﬁve desires. This is lowly behavior and a wise one does not rely on that.
“I will now brieﬂy explain to you the essential meaning. The sun or moon may fall to the ground, and Sumeru and the Snowy Mountains may change, but I myself will never change and retreat to the wrong place!
“Rather than returning to my country and entering the blaze of the ﬁve desires, if my goal is not accomplished it would be better to throw myself into a great ﬁre.”
Having revealed this important solemn oath, he slowly rose and took his leave. The sharpness of the Crown Prince’s eloquence was as blazing as an abundance of sunlight.
There was no way the royal preceptor and the chief minister could be victorious in the discussion. Telling themselves that they had tried every- thing, they could only withdraw and return.

92. They felt deep reverence for the Crown Prince and did not dare bring any stronger pressure on him, but out of respect for the king’s command they did not dare return quickly and paused halfway. As they walked along the way, they went slowly while looking back.

They chose a clever person, a careful and ingenious man, to conceal himself and secretly observe [the prince]. Only then did they give up and go back.

Fascicle Three

Chapter X

King Bimbisāra Goes to the Crown Prince

1. When the Crown Prince had taken leave from the royal preceptor and the righteous chief minister, he braved the current and crossed the Ganges River, then followed the road to Vulture Peak.

2. Its base hidden among the ﬁve mountains, it was magniﬁcent, standing alone among the peaks. Its trees had luxuriant ﬂowers and fruits, and rivers and springs separated warm from cool. [The Crown Prince] entered the city of the ﬁve mountains as quietly as if it were beyond the heavens.

3. When the people of the land saw that the virtues in the Crown Prince’s appearance were profound and bright, that the ﬁgure of the youth was bright, with an unequaled manly appearance, they all thought it was wonderful, as if they were seeing Īśvara’s banner.

4. Those who passed him stopped, and those who were behind all quickly rushed on. Those who were advancing in front all turned back and watched him, tirelessly and with wide-open eyes.

5. As they saw the primary and secondary marks of his four limbs, their eyes did not move. They reverently came to welcome him. They did obeisance with palms held together and made polite inquiries.

They were all very joyful and made worship as ﬁtting. They looked up to his worthy and excellent countenance, and they looked down in shame at their own different appearances.

7. They adjusted their former impetuous deportment and increased their respect in silence. They wished to undo their dislikes and their kind feelings suddenly increased.

Men and women all at once withdrew from their public or private occupations. Full of respect for [the Crown Prince’s] appearance, they honored his qualities and completely forgot to return [to their activities] as they watched.

9. The mark of the white tuft of hair between his eyebrows, his long and wide blue eyes, the golden radiance of his whole person, his pure, webbed hands. Even though he had the appearance of someone who had gone forth, he had the marks associated with a noble king.

The men and women of the city of Rājagṛha, both young and old, all felt ill at ease. “Even this person has gone forth! What common joy could there be for us?”

11. At that moment King Bimbisāra sat high on an observation pavilion. He saw that the people were agitated, not behaving as usual.

He summoned someone from outside and asked him details about the reason [for the disturbance]. [The man] respectfully knelt below the king’s pavilion and fully informed him of what he had seen and heard:
“It has been made known in the past that the Śākya clan has a wonderful and excellent son. His divine wisdom surpasses the worldly external, and as a king he would lead in the eight directions. He has gone forth and is here now. Everyone is welcoming him.”
When the king heard this, he was pleasantly surprised in his heart. His demeanor was unchanged but his spirit was already racing. He ordered a messenger to go quickly and secretly observe the propriety of [the Crown Prince’s] destination. After [the messenger] had received his instructions, he secretly followed [the Crown Prince], observing his behavior.

15. [The Bodhisattva’s] gaze was tranquil and he looked straight ahead. Walking with dignity, he showed his true deportment. When he entered a neighborhood on his alms round, he was ﬁrst among the beggars.

He controlled his appearance, his mind unconfused. Whatever the conditions around him, he was not ill at ease. He accepted what he received, whether ﬁne or coarse. With his bowl in his hands he turned to a secluded grove. After his meal he rinsed his mouth in a clear stream. Enjoying the tranquility, he felt at ease on Mount Pāṇḍava.

17. Green groves lined the high cliffs and red ﬂowers grew among them. Birds, peacocks and other kinds, ﬂew about, crying in confusion.

18. His robe of the Law helped the morning freshness arise, just as when the sun is shining from the mulberry tree.33 When the [king’s] messenger saw that [the Crown Prince] was staying [in the grove], he gave a full report in due order.

When the king heard [the messenger’s report], his mind quickly became respectful. He immediately had his carriage adorned and went on his way. With his celestial crown, his girdle with pendants, and his ornamented garments, he walked like a lion king.
He selected several elders, tranquil and careful gentlemen, and led a large crowd. Like a rising cloud, they ascended Mount Pāṇḍava.

21. He saw the digniﬁed demeanor of the Bodhisattva, who had quieted his sense faculties. He was sitting upright in his hut on a cliff, just like the moon in the blue sky. His ﬁne beauty was pure and majestic, like a transformed body of the Law.

Respectful thoughts reverently arose [in the king’s mind] and he gradually drew near with reverential steps, just like Śakra, ruler of the gods, who went to Maheśvara.
With controlled appearance and digniﬁed manners, he respectfully asked [of the Crown Prince] if he was well. The Bodhisattva moved with care and repaid him the courtesy.

24. When the king had completed his polite questions, he then sat down on a clean rock. He gazed and stared at [the Bodhisattva’s] divine deportment. His countenance was serene and his feelings were mixed with joy.

25. “I have humbly heard that you have inherited the abundant qualities of your famous family. My feelings of esteem have been accumulating for a long time, but now I want to settle some doubts.

26. “While Āditya is your original ancestor, your position has been high for ten thousand generations, so that their qualities have continually been bequeathed, widely collected in the present. You are wise and able, but you are yet youthful. Why have you gone forth?

27. “As a noble prince who surpasses the worldly, you beg for alms and do not abide in splendor. Your ﬁne person should be perfumed. Why do you wear the kāṣāya? Your hand should control the land, but [instead] you receive despicable food with it.

“If you will not succeed the king, your father, and receive his land, I will now divide my country in half. It is my earnest hope that I may somehow entertain your interest.

29. “As you avoid compelling likes or dislikes, with the passing of time one will comply with what should be followed. Show consideration to my sincere words! When one’s wish is obtained, one is a good neighbor.

30. “You may rely on your famous and excellent family, and ability and virtue may be combined in your demeanor. If you would not wish to subdue your noble character, or if you yield and accept the goodness of others, I shall provide you with valiant men, weapons, and resources for a military.

“Widely winning over others by one’s own strength, who in the world would not promote this? When a bright person knows the right time and makes his choice, his duty, his riches, and his ﬁve desires are increased.

32. “If one does not obtain these three gains, one will always toil in vain. One may respect duty and reject riches and beauty, but riches are for people in the whole world.

33. “If one is wealthy and has given up duty and desire, one will preserve one’s wealth. But if one is poor and forgetful of one’s duty, who could ﬁnd joy in the ﬁve desires?

“Therefore, if the three things go together, virtue spreads and the path is propagated. When one is endowed with duty, riches, and the ﬁve desires, one is called a great man in the world. Do not let your person bearing the marks of perfection be without any merit, toiling in vain!
“The wheel-turning king Māndhātṛ ruled over the four worlds and Lord Śakra shared half his throne with him, but his power could not rule over heaven. Your straight, long arms are quite sufﬁcient to seize the regions of humans and gods now.
“Not relying on my royal power, I wish to compel you to stay with us! I see that you have abandoned any fondness for your appearance, and that you wear the garment of someone who has gone forth.
“I have respect for your virtue, but I grieve and feel for you as a man. You now go begging for alms. I wish you would accept the land!
“In youth one may experience the ﬁve desires, and in middle age one may indulge in riches to enjoy. When one’s faculties have matured in old age, that is the time to comply with the Law.

“One may hold on to the riches of the Law in one’s youth, but one will certainly be destroyed by desire. When older, one’s vigor is lessened and one may be courteous and seek silence. When one is in old age and ashamed of one’s desire for riches, and practices the Law, one is honored by the whole world.
“In youth one’s mind is ﬁckle and rushes to the objects of the ﬁve desires. One is bound by the plight of one’s associates, and in the exchange of feelings one’s affection for others is deep.
“As one grows old one has fewer sentimental attachments, and one is honored by those who comply with the Law. The ﬁve desires have all with- drawn and one increases one’s thoughts of happiness with the Law.

42. “Respect the law of the ruler, and serve the celestial spirits in a great gathering! You will ride upon a celestial dragon and ascend to heaven, experiencing happiness!

43. “The previous excellent noble kings adorned themselves with precious necklaces. They arranged for great gatherings, offering sacriﬁces. In the end they took refuge and experienced the good fortune of heaven.”

44. Such was the explanation of King Bimbisāra using all kinds of means, but the determination of the Crown Prince remained ﬁrm, as immovable as Sumeru.

Chapter XI

The Reply to King Bimbisāra

1. After King Bimbisāra had urged [the prince] in a courteous and comforting way, the Crown Prince respectfully expressed his appreciation, deeply moved by the words addressed to him.

“You have worldly propriety! Your exposition is not baseless. As a descendant of the famous Haryaṅka family, you are a virtuous friend. With righteousness in your heart and false thoughts completely ended, you have spoken thus, as is your duty.
“The common [people] in the world cannot dwell in kindness and righteousness. Having few qualities, they approach the facts with foolishness. How would they comprehend anything famous and excellent!
“But carrying on your excellent ancestral tradition, you revere propriety and practice respectful deference. In the middle of hardship you can bring rescue for all, without abandoning anyone. This is the characteristic of a true virtuous friend in the world!
“When the riches of a good friend bring relief for all, that person is called a secure treasure. When one is parsimonious and hoards one’s own proﬁts, they will certainly quickly disappear!
“The riches of the land are an impermanent treasure. Generosity is a meritorious action. If one is also generous toward one’s virtuous friends, one will not have any regrets later, even after they have been scattered.
“Because I know that you are generous in your heart, I will not argue against you. I shall tell you now with all my heart what I have seen.
“I am afraid of birth, old age, illness, and death, and I wish to seek true deliverance. I have given up my relatives and left my loved ones. Why would I return to indulging in the ﬁve desires?
“I am not afraid of venomous snakes, freezing hail, or ﬁerce ﬁres, yet I am afraid of the objects of the ﬁve desires. As they proceed, they weary my mind.

“The thieves of impermanence, the ﬁve desires, steal one’s ﬁnest precious things. They are deceitful, fake and unreal, just like apparitions. They make a man deluded when he considers them even for a while. All the more so when one constantly dwells in them!
“The ﬁve desires are a considerable hindrance, always impeding the Law of tranquility. When even celestial happiness is impossible, how much more so when one dwells in human desires?
“The ﬁve desires bring about a thirst that will never know a moment of satisfaction, just like a ﬁerce ﬁre in the wind. One may throw on ﬁrewood but it will not be enough!
“Of all meaningless things in the world, none surpasses the objects of the ﬁve desires. Because beings are foolish and covetous, they are attached to them and do not realize it. A wise one is afraid of the ﬁve desires and does not fall into their meaninglessness.
“Even if one would rule [everywhere] within the four seas, one would still strive for more beyond them. Desire is like the great ocean. It never has a moment of satiety.
“As for the wheel-turning king Māndhātṛ, the wide heavens rained gold and he ruled the four worlds, but he further strove for Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, sharing Lord Śakra’s throne. His intentions caused his life to end.
“Nahuṣa practiced asceticism and ruled over the thirty-three gods. Indulging in his desire, his mind became haughty and [he had] seers draw his chariot. Because of this negligent behavior, he immediately fell among the serpents.
“The wheel-turning king Aiḷa34 went out to Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. He chose a celestial maiden as his queen and he demanded gold from the seers. The anger of the seers was like a curse. His country was destroyed and his life ended.
“Bali35 and the great Lord Śakra, the great Lord Śakra and Nahuṣa, from Nahuṣa back to Lord Śakra—how could a celestial ruler know permanence? His land is not ﬁrm, even though great power may dwell there.

19. “Wearing a garment of herbs, eating fruit, and drinking from a stream; having long hair, as if hanging down to the ground; remaining silent, without any aspiration.

“Practicing asceticism in this way, one may be destroyed by desire in the end. Know that the objects of the ﬁve desires are the enemies of one who is practicing the path!

21. “The very powerful king with a thousand arms36 was valiant and hard to confront, but he was killed by the seer Rāma, also because of his desire.

“How much less would I, from a kṣatriya lineage, not be led by desire! Desire for tasteless objects and a lasting increase in posterity are detested by the wise. Who would partake of the poison of desire?
“Through all kinds of suffering one seeks beneﬁt, all caused by covetousness. If one is without desire, hardship does not arise. A wise one sees that suffering is wrong while dispelling desire.
“The world may think it is good, but in any case it is a bad way. That which is coveted by beings brings every reason for negligence, and the negligent hurt themselves. When dead, they will fall into a woeful destination.
“[The objects of desire] are obtained by diligent effort and guarded with effort. Without diligence they are naturally lost, but it is not the case that through effort one can detain them. They are like borrowed objects, and a wise one is not attached to them.
“When desire is sought for through hardship, once obtained it increases attachment. When scattered by impermanence, it increases suffering more and more. Holding its torch, one may yet burn oneself. A wise one is unattached.
“A foolish and mean person burns his mind with the poison of stingi- ness. Throughout his whole life he experiences lasting suffering and never obtains happiness. Covetousness and hatred are like the poison of a snake. Why would a wise one approach them?
1. “In hardship one may chew on a dry bone, but it has no ﬂavor and one is not nourished. One wears out one’s teeth in vain. A wise one does not try to taste it.
2. “Kings and robbers are different, like water and ﬁre, but evil sons equally share in the riches, which are like a putrid piece of meat fought over by a gathering ﬂock of birds. The same applies when coveting riches. A wise one does not feel joy for that.
3. “A place where riches are accumulated often raises enmity. Night and day one guards it, as if in fear of a great enemy.

“An execution underneath a banner in the eastern marketplace,37 one detests this. The long banners of covetousness, hatred, and delusion— a wise one always keeps away from them.
“When entering a mountain forest, rivers, or seas, one has little ease and is often destroyed. If, for instance, one wants to pick the fruit of the highest branch of a tree, most often one will fall to one’s death. The same applies in case of the object of desire. One may see it, but it is hard to grasp.
“One may earnestly apply oneself to the search for riches, but they are hard to accumulate and easy to scatter, as if obtained in a dream. Why would a wise one protect them?
“If one deceivingly covers over a ﬁery pit, he who steps on it will certainly be burned to death. The same applies to the ﬁre of desire. A wise one does not wander there.

35. “In the cases of the Kauravas, the Vṛṣṇis, the Andhakas, the Mekhalas, and the Daṇḍakas,38 the appearance of their desire was just like the knives and [cutting] block of the butcher. A wise one does not behave like that.

“If one ties up oneself and throws oneself into water or ﬁre, or if one throws oneself from a high cliff to seek celestial happiness, one suffers in vain and does not obtain any beneﬁt.
“The asura brothers Sunda and Upasunda lived together and held each other dear, but they destroyed each other because of their desire. They perished and their names were both destroyed, all because of desire.
“Desire causes one to steal, and one suffers when lashed by the whip and the stick. Desire brings low expectations, and for a long time body and spirit are wearied.
“Deer die while coveting songs, birds on the wing follow their covetousness for beauty, and ﬁshes in the deep covet bait. They all suffer from their desire.
“When one observes the provisions one depends on, they are not sovereign ways. With food one cures the ailment of hunger, and one drinks water to do away with thirst.
“Covered in clothes, one withstands the cold wind. One remedies sleepiness by lying down. Because it is tiresome to walk, one wishes for a conveyance. Tired of standing up, one wishes for bedding and a seat. One bathes to do away with impurity. This is all to put a stop to suffering.

“Therefore, one should know that the ﬁve desires are not sovereign. For example, if someone falls ill with fever, he asks for a cooling medicine.
“When he wants to stop suffering, a fool thinks he is a sovereign, yet the provisions he depends on certainly will not stop his suffering. They still may let the way of suffering increase. Therefore, these are no sovereign ways.
“Warm clothes are no constant happiness. As the season passes, they may yet bring suffering. Moonlight is cool in summer, but in winter it increases the suffering of the cold.

45. “Up to the eight worldly factors,39 none are characterized by certainty. The painful and pleasant characteristics are not certain. Slavery and kingship, why would they be separate?

“His instructions are accepted by all, and one considers a king to be someone superior, but giving instructions means suffering, as when one bears the heavy burden of responsibility. He must always gauge the weight of the world. All suffering is concentrated in him.
“As a king one has many enemies. Even those dear to him may become a calamity. Without any dear ones, he stands alone. What joy is there in this?
“Even if he rules the four worlds, what he enjoys is in any case not more than one part. He may manage to help in ten thousand matters, but how would great suffering beneﬁt him?
“It is better to stop wanting. Appeasement means great contentment. Dwelling in kingship, the ﬁve desires may mean happiness; but when not ruling, solitude means joy. As joy and happiness are of the same kind, what is the use of having a royal position?
“Do not make any effort to lead me into the ﬁve desires! What I in fact wish for is a cool and open road. If you want to bring me any beneﬁt, help me accomplish my aspiration!
“I am not afraid of an enemy, and I do not seek the happiness of rebirth in heaven. My heart does not cherish common proﬁt, and I have given up a celestial crown. Therefore I must go against your feelings. I cannot follow your proposal.
“If one has avoided the mouth of a venomous snake, why would one go back and take hold of it? If one holds a torch and burns oneself, how could one not quickly drop it?

“When someone who has eyes envies a blind person, when one is set free but wishes to be bound again, when a rich person wishes to be poor, and when a wise one indulges in foolishness—when there are people like this in the world, then I will ﬁnd happiness in my country.
“If one wants to cross birth, old age, and death; restrains oneself and goes begging for alms; has little desire and keeps one’s seclusion; and if one avoids a woeful destination in the later world, one is content in two worlds. Do not grieve for me now!
“Grieve for him who is king! His thoughts are constantly craving in vain. He does not obtain contentment in the present world, and in the later world he will experience a painful retribution.
“You have attended to me with your generous feelings, with the propriety and righteousness of the great men of your family, and you would like me to share in your worldly pleasures. I should recompense your virtue yet. I urge you to share in my beneﬁts.
“If one indulges in the three happinesses,40 he is called a man of the world. This is not yet meaningful, because one is constantly seeking without any satisfaction. If one is free from birth, old age, and death, then one may be called a great man.
“You have said that one is unsettled when young, and that one may go forth when old. But I see that the strength of someone of advanced age is weak, unﬁt for anything. It is better that one’s decision is made when one’s determination is ﬁerce, when one is healthy.
“The thief of death follows one with a sword in his hand, constantly looking for his opportunity. Why would he allow one to reach old age to fulﬁll one’s determination and go forth?
“Impermanence is a hunter. Old age is his bow and illnesses are his sharp arrows. He is constantly on the lookout for deer—living beings in the wilderness of birth and death. Getting his opportunity, he puts a stop to their lives. Who would be allowed to live out his lifetime?
“In a person’s behavior concerning the matter of birth or extinction, young, old, or middle-aged, all should diligently apply themselves!
“One holds a large gathering when one offers sacriﬁces. This is all because of foolishness. One should respect the Right Law and oppose any

killing to offer sacriﬁces to heaven! When one seeks good fortune by injuring the living, he is an unkind person.

“Even if the fruition were permanent when one injures the living, still one should not kill! How much less when one injures the living and offers sacriﬁces seeking for an impermanent [fruition]?
“Even if one practices meditation and quietude without any morality, learning, or wisdom, one should not comply with the world and arrange for a large gathering to offer sacriﬁces!
“Even if he might obtain happiness in the present by killing the living, a wise one should not kill! How much less would he seek good fortune in a later world by killing beings?
“I do not ﬁnd happiness in any conditioned fruition of the three realms.41 The ﬂuidity of the destinations [of sentient existence] is just like grass tossed about by wind and water.
“So I have come far to seek true deliverance. I have heard of one called Ārāḍa, who explains the path of deliverance well.
“I shall now go to him, to the place of the muni, the great seer. May your suffering be allayed by my sincere words! I apologize to you now.

69. “I wish that your country be safe. Protect it well, just like Lord Śakra! May the light of your wisdom shine in the world, like abundant sunlight!

“Excellent ruler of the great earth, protect your life with an upright mind! May the right changes protect your son, ruling the world according to the Law!
“Ice and snow take ﬁre to be the enemy. Because of ﬁre, the banner of smoke arises. The banner of smoke becomes a ﬂoating cloud, and the ﬂoating cloud brings heavy rain. There are birds in the sky that drink from the rain,42 but it has not rained for them.
“If you make your abode having killed your serious enemies, the serious enemies in your residence are done away with. But if there is someone who kills your serious enemy, you should hide him now so that he may go free, as if it had not rained on him when he took a drink.”
The king then held his palms together [respectfully]. He respected [the Bodhisattva’s] virtue and was joyful in his heart. “I wish that your result may quickly be accomplished, just as you want. But once you have accom- plished a result, you should quickly return and accept me!”

The Bodhisattva made the promise in his heart: “I agree to comply with your wish!” He took leave and followed his way. He went to Ārāḍa.
1. The king and his retinue held their palms together [respectfully] and saw him off. They all thought it was amazing, and returned to the city of Rājagṛha.

Chapter XII

Visits to Ārāḍa and Udraka

1. When the moonlight descendant of Ikṣvāku arrived in that quiet grove, he respectfully went to the muni, the great seer Ārāḍa.

2. When the adept son of the Kālāma family saw the Bodhisattva coming from afar, he praised him from the distance in a loud voice. He comforted him and said, “Welcome!”

Holding their palms together, they exchanged reverences and asked after one another’s well-being. After they had made mutual inquiries about their troubles, they sat down in a digniﬁed way.
When the brahman saw the Crown Prince, his appearance and his careful deportment, washing [his feet] he bowed down to his virtue, as if he were thirstily drinking the nectar of immortality.
He raised his hand and said to the Crown Prince, “I have known that you have gone forth for a long time. You have broken with the bonds of your beloved ones, like an elephant who has shaken off his hobbles. Your profound knowledge, your insight, and your wisdom are bright, capable of avoiding this poisonous fruition.
“The bright excellent kings of the past gave up their thrones and handed them over to their sons, just as someone wearing a garland discards it when it is withered. It is still better not to desire the position of a noble king when you are in your prime.

7. “I see that your determination is very ﬁrm. You are ﬁt to be a receptacle of the Right Law. You will board the ship of knowledge and cross the sea of birth and death!

“When a common person is enticed to come and study, I only teach him after I have investigated his ability. I now know your ﬁrm and resolute determination. Just study as you wish! I will never conceal anything from you!”
When the Crown Prince heard these instructions, he was glad and responded, “You may instruct me well with an impartial mind, without any love or hate! Just accept me with an open mind, and my wish will be fulﬁlled!

10. “When one obtains a torchlight while walking at night, when someone who has lost his direction receives guidance, or when one obtains a light boat when crossing the sea, the same applies to me now.

11. “I have now received your merciful permission, and I dare ask you about my inner doubts. The calamities of birth, old age, illness, and death— how can one avoid them?”

12. When Ārāḍa had heard the Crown Prince’s question, he brieﬂy gave his explanation, using scriptural texts:

13. “You are an ingenious gentleman, the highest among the intelligent. Now, listen to my explanation of birth and death, the meaning of origination and extinction!

“Nature, change, birth, old age, and death—these ﬁve are [the constituents of] sentient beings. Nature is a pure [state]; and, as for change, faculties and objects secondary to the ﬁve great elements, to self, to intellection, and to seeing are called change.43

15. “Matter, sound, smell, taste, and the tactile—these are called objective elements. Hands, feet, speech, and the two paths [of excretory functions]— these are called the ﬁve faculties of action.

16. “Eye, ear, nose, tongue, and body—these are called faculties of intel- lection. For the faculty of mind the two meanings are combined: both action and that called intellection. Nature and change are a cause, and the knower of the cause44 is the self.

“The seer Kapila and his retinue of disciples studied the important meaning of this self and obtained deliverance. That Kapila is Prajāpati45 now.

18. “That which knows birth, old age, and death is called the seen.46 The opposite of the above is called the unseen.

“Foolishness, action, and desire are said to turn the wheel [of existence]. If one dwells in these three, one is not free from [existence as a] sentient being.
“Non-conﬁdence, self, doubt, random, non-distinction, absence of means, profound attachment to objective elements, being bound to what is mine.47

21. “Non-conﬁdence proceeds when turning things upside down. One both acts and understands differently. ‘I explain and I know. I come and go, and I stay.’ Such counting on a self is called the process of the activity of a self.

“Being doubtful about the nature of things, and not obtaining the truth about right or wrong—such uncertainty is called doubt.

23. “If one says that the right way is the self, and that [the self] is nothing but mind, saying that it is intellection and action, and if one says that fate is further called the self,

“such non-distinction is called random. Not understanding foolish or clever, nature and change, is called non-distinction.
“One may do homage and recite the scriptures, kill living beings and sacriﬁce them to heaven, consider water and ﬁre as puriﬁcations, and have the notion that these things mean deliverance—such views are called absence of means.
“When mind, speech, intellection, and action are attached to foolishness, and also to the objective elements, this is called attachment.
“‘Everything is mine.’ This is called grasping. Such eight kinds of delusion engulf one in birth and death.
“The fools in every world are in the grasp of ﬁve nodes: darkness, delusion, great delusion, anger, and fear.48
“Laziness is called darkness. Birth and death are called delusion. Desire is called great delusion, because even a great person may be misled by it. Resentment is called anger. Mental distress is called fear.

30. “The foolish common person is attached to the ﬁve desires, the basis of the great suffering of birth and death. As the wheel turns, he is reborn in ﬁve destinations.

31. “He keeps turning in rebirth, [thinking]: ‘I have seen and heard, and I know that I am caused.’ Because of this counting on a self, he follows the ﬂow of birth and death.

“This cause is not his nature, and the result is not the possession of his nature either. He namely considers correctly when four factors direct him toward deliverance: the clever and the foolish, the seen, and the unseen.
“If he knows these four factors, he can be free from birth, old age, and death. When birth, old age, and death have ended, he has reached a place without end.
“All brahmans in the world practice their pure conduct relying on the meaningfulness of this, and they have widely explained it to the people.”

23c

When the Crown Prince heard this explanation, he further asked Ārāḍa, “What are the means of application, and what place does one ﬁnally reach?

36. “What pure conduct should one practice, and further, for how long? Why would one practice pure conduct, and what place will one reach in this way? Do fully explain such important things to me!”

“Ārāḍa then gave an explanation according to his scriptural texts. With his wisdom and means he brieﬂy made further distinctions for [the Crown Prince].

38. “First, one leaves the common and goes forth, relying on alms. Exten- sively concentrated on digniﬁed demeanor, he keeps his right morality.

39. “He has little desire and knows satisfaction with whatever he obtains, ﬁne or coarse. Happy to be alone, he practices residing in solitude and dili- gently studies the scriptural texts.

40. “He sees desire as fearful and renunciation as puriﬁcation. Controlling the dwellings of his faculties, he puts his mind at ease in quietude.

“He renounces desire, evil, and the unwholesome, the afﬂictions of the realm of desire. Having renounced, he brings forth joy and happiness, and he obtains the ﬁrst trance,49 with adjusted and discursive thinking.
“After he has obtained the happiness of the ﬁrst trance, and also adjusted and discursive thinking, he brings forth the notion that this is won- derful, and in his foolishness his mind is attached to happiness. When he relies on the happiness of renunciation and his life ends, he is reborn in the Brahma Heaven.
“The wise one is fully conscious that he has expediently produced adjusted and discursive thinking. He strenuously seeks to advance to what is associated with the second trance. When he is attached to the ﬂavor of that joy and happiness, he obtains rebirth in the Ābhāsvara Heaven.

44. “Expediently renouncing joy and happiness, he further develops the third trance. If he is content and does not seek for excellence, he is reborn in the Śubhakṛtsna Heaven.

45. “If he gives up that happiness of mind, he reaches the fourth trance. When both suffering and happiness are stopped, he may give rise to the notion that he is delivered.

46. “With the retribution of the fourth trance he is reborn in the Bṛhatphala Heaven. Because one has a long life, it is called ‘with extensive fruition.’50

“Emerging from that trance, he sees the possession of a body as wrong. While advancing, he develops wisdom and becomes weary of the fourth trance. He decides to advance in his search, and expediently does away with his desire for matter.
“He begins with [contemplating] the cavities of his own body and gradually develops an understanding of emptiness.51 In the end he completely accomplishes the contemplation of solid parts as space.
“He cuts short the objective element of his contemplation of space and advances to the contemplation of unlimited consciousness. Skilled in inner quietude, he is free from ‘I’ and ‘mine.’ The observation of nothingness is the sphere of nothingness.
“Just as the stalk and sheath of muñja [grass]52 are separated, and just as a wild bird leaves its cage, his deliverance is like that, free from an objective element.

51. “He is a superior brahman, free from his physical appearance, perma- nently and without end. The wise one must know that this is true deliverance!

“The means you have asked about and the deliverance you seek— these are as I have just explained. If you ﬁrmly believe it, you must apply yourself!

53. “The seers Jaigīṣavya and Janaka, Vṛddha Parāśara,53 and the others who have sought the path have all obtained true deliverance following this path.”

When the Crown Prince had heard this explanation, he pondered over its purport. Motivated by his previous causality, he again asked:
“I have listened to your excellent wisdom, to the subtle and very ﬁne meaning, but if it does not reject the knower of the cause, it is not the ﬁnal path.
“The knower of the cause, of nature and change, may be said to be delivered, but your contemplation of a self has a way of coming into existence, and it also has a way of being a seed.
“You may think that when the self is puriﬁed, it is truly delivered. But if it meets with a combination of causes and conditions, it will return to its bonds.

“For example, when the proper season, soil, water, ﬁre, and wind for the seed are separated, its reasons for growth are separated. But when it meets with the [appropriate] conditions, the seed will grow again.

59. “They may be called freed when ignorance, the cause of action, and desire are rejected, but beings who maintain a self do not have ﬁnal deliverance.

“One may reject these three54 everywhere and further obtain three superiorities, but because the self always exists, it subtly follows.
“Because a subtle fault follows, the mind does not apply itself. Life becomes long-lasting, yet you think that one is truly delivered.
“You may say that one is free from any [thought of] ‘mine,’ but if one were free, then even that would not exist. As you are not free from any enumeration,55 how would one be free from any attribute?56 So, know that one is not delivered when one has an attribute!
“The meanings of a possessor of an attribute57 and of attribute may be different, but they are essentially one. If one says that the one is separate from the other, one will never have the right sphere! If color and heat are separate from ﬁre, distinct ﬁre cannot be obtained.
“For example, before a body there is no possessor of the body. In the same way, before an attribute there is no possessor of an attribute either. So, one may have been delivered at ﬁrst but then one is bound to a body.
“Furthermore, when the knower of the cause is without body, he is either knowing or unknowing. If one says he is knowing, he must have some- thing to know; and if there is something to be known, he is not delivered.
“If one says he is unknowing, then a self is useless! If one is free from a self but is still knowing, the self then is the same as a log or a rock.
“Being in possession of the knowledge of ﬁne and coarse, one may turn one’s back on the coarse and respect the subtle. But if one is capable of giving up everything, what may be caused is ﬁnished.”
Ārāḍa’s explanation could not please [the Bodhisattva’s] mind. He knew that he was no all-knower and that he should practice and further seek for excellence. He went to the seer Udraka, but he too relied on an existing self.

69. Although he observed a subtle object, he saw that it was beyond perception and non-perception.58 Dwelling in the absence of perception and non-perception, he still did not have the road to escape.

70. “As beings reach that, they will certainly fall back again!” Because the Bodhisattva was seeking to escape, he also rejected the seer Udraka.

He searched further for an excellent ﬁne path and ascended Gaja Mountain59 to the forest of asceticism called Nagarī, where ﬁve bhikṣus dwelled.
He saw that the ﬁve bhikṣus were well in control of their sense faculties. They dwelled in that forest of asceticism, keeping the precepts and practicing austerities.
The bank of the Nairañjanā River was quiet and very pleasant. In that very place the Bodhisattva immediately pondered in tranquility.

74. When the ﬁve bhikṣus knew that [the Bodhisattva] was seeking deliverance with a ﬁne mind, they wholeheartedly came to worship him, as if pay- ing respect to the god Īśvara.

They humbly treated him as their teacher and never left his side, whether going or staying, just as the faculties of a practitioner proceed fol- lowing the mind.
In his diligent application the Bodhisattva had to cross old age, illness, and death. He wholeheartedly practiced asceticism and, restraining himself, he forgot to eat.
Purifying his mind, he observed a fast that any practitioner would ﬁnd unbearable. He meditated in silence for a full six years.
He ate one sesame seed and one grain of rice a day, and his body became utterly emaciated. In his search to cross birth and death, his grave delusion became even more serious.
“The path will be accomplished through understanding. Not eating will not be the cause!” Although his four limbs were weak, his wise mind became increasingly clear.
His spirit was empty and his body was shrunken, but his famous virtue became widely renowned. It was like the opening up of a kumuda60 ﬂower when the moon has just risen. His excellent fame spread all over the land. Men and women rivaled to come and see him.

81. His suffering body was like a dead log for almost six years. Fearful of the suffering of birth and death, he wanted only the cause of right awak- ening.

He thought to himself, “Not through this will I be free from desire or will quiet contemplation arise. The wonder I previously obtained beneath the jambū tree61 is better still. Know that that is the right path!
“The path will not be obtained by an exhausted body. It must be sought after with corporal strength. When food and drink fulﬁll the faculties, the faculties rejoice, so that the mind is at ease.
“When the mind is at ease, it complies with quietude. Tranquility is the snare for trances. Through meditation one knows the Right Law, and with the power of the Law one may obtain what is hard to obtain.
“In quietude one may leave old age and death, in the highest form free from any impurity. Such ﬁne ways all come from food and drink.”

86. Having considered the meaningfulness of this, he washed himself on the bank of the Nairañjanā. After bathing, he wanted to come out of the pond but he was weak and could not pull himself out. A celestial spirit pressed down the branch of a tree, and he raised his hand, held on to it, and came out.

87. At the same time, on the other side, beyond the forest, there was a cowherd chief. The chief’s daughter was called Nandā. A god of the pure abodes came to tell her, “The Bodhisattva is in the forest. Go and worship him!”

Nandā Balajā happily went to where [the Bodhisattva] was. She wore bracelets of white shells on her arms, and a garment that was dyed dark blue. The dark blue and the white reﬂected one another, just like something immersed in purifying water.

89. Her trusting mind increased her joy. She bowed at the Bodhisattva’s feet and respectfully offered fragrant milk-rice, considering that he would deign to accept it, seeing her concern.

90. The Bodhisattva accepted [the meal] and ate it, and [Nandā] obtained a present fruition. Having eaten, his faculties rejoiced and he was ﬁt to expe- rience bodhi.

His body became brighter, and the reputation of his virtue became ever more lofty, just as the hundred rivers increase the sea and the new moon daily increases its light.
When the ﬁve bhikṣus saw [the Bodhisattva take food], they were startled and thought it was contemptible. They thought he had withdrawn

from his spiritual path. They abandoned him and moved to a better dwelling place, just as when one is delivered he is free from all ﬁve great elements.

93. The Bodhisattva wandered alone, and went to the auspicious tree.62 Underneath that tree, he would accomplish the path of perfect awakening. The ground was wide and level, and smooth, with soft grass growing there.

94. With dignity, he walked like a lion, and at every step the earth shook. The movement of the earth moved the dragon Kāla. He rejoiced and his eyes saw clearly.

95. He said, “When I saw the former buddhas, the earth moved just as it does now. Your virtue, muni, is very worthy, unsurpassed on the great earth!

“As your feet tread on the ground, with every step it makes a thundering sound. Your ﬁne light shines in the world, just like the light of the morning sun.
“A ﬂock of ﬁve hundred blue tits hovers in the sky, making circles to the right. A gentle and cool breeze follows and blows all around.
“All these auspicious signs were the same for the buddhas of the past. That is why I know that the Bodhisattva will accomplish the path of right awakening.”

99. From another man who was cutting grass, [the Bodhisattva] obtained pure and soft grass. He spread out the grass underneath the tree and sat down, his body upright. He sat cross-legged and did not move, like the coiling body of a dragon.

“I will not rise from this seat until I fully achieve what I have to do!” When he made this true and solemn oath, the gods and dragons all rejoiced.

101. A cool and gentle breeze came up yet the twigs of the bushes and trees did not rustle. All the birds and animals were quiet; none gave a sound. All these were signs that the Bodhisattva would certainly accomplish the path of awakening.

Chapter XIII

Māra’s Destruction

When the great seer of a family of seer kings made his ﬁrm solemn oath, beneath the bodhi tree, that he would certainly accomplish the path of deliverance,
demons, dragons, and the multitude of gods all greatly rejoiced. But the celestial king Māra, enemy of the Law, alone was sorrowful and did not rejoice.
The sovereign king of the ﬁve desires was endowed with every skill in battle. Because he detested so-called deliverance, he was called Pāpīyas.

4. King Māra had three daughters. They had a beautiful appearance and ﬁne bearing. Possessing all kinds of wiles to delude people, they were the best among celestial maidens.

The ﬁrst was called Rāgā. The second was called Ratī, and the third was called Tṛṣṇā. The three daughters came forward at the same time, and said to Pāpīyas, their father, “We are wondering why you are sad.”

6. Their father [Māra] fully described the situation according to the facts, and informed his daughters, “In the world there is a great muni. His person bears the armor of his great solemn oath. He holds the bow of his great res- olution and the sharp arrow of wisdom.

“He wishes to battle and subdue beings, and to destroy my realm. Soon, when the beings come to believe in him, I will not be [the same] as before. When they all turn to his path of deliverance, my land will be empty.
“When, for instance, someone offends against morality, his person is then empty. As long as his eye of wisdom is not open, my land is still all right. I must go and destroy [the Bodhisattva’s] determination, break down his bridge!”
With bow in hand and ﬁve arrows, along with his retinue, both male and female, [Māra] went to that aśvattha grove, wishing beings to be ill at ease.

He saw the quietude of the muni, who was about to cross the sea of the three existences.63 With his left hand he seized his strong bow, and with his right hand he made ready to shoot a sharp arrow.

11. And he said to the Bodhisattva, “You, kṣatriya,64 rise quickly! Death is very dreadful. You should practice your own duties!

“Give up the Law of deliverance! Practice warfare and be generous to meritorious gatherings! Having subdued all the worldly, you will obtain the happiness of rebirth in heaven in the end!
“This path is very famous, practiced by your excellent ancestors. A descendant of a great family of seer kings should not be a beggar!
“If you do not rise now, make your purpose ﬁrm! Beware, do not give up on your solemn oath! Dare me to let loose my arrow!

15. “At the mere touch of this arrow of mine, the grandson of the moon- light, Aiḷa,65 was as if blown away by a storm. His mind became disordered.

“When the seer, practicing asceticism in quietude, heard the sound of my arrow, he immediately became very afraid at heart. He was confused and lost his basic nature.
“All the more so if you hope to be free from this arrow of mine during your last days! If you rise quickly now, you may yet be fortunate and obtain safety.

18. “This arrow’s poison is ﬁerce. It will cause you to shiver and tremble! If someone relies on his strength to endure my arrow, even his own safety may be difﬁcult [to obtain]. All the more so if you cannot endure it! How could you not be frightened?”

19. As Māra explained this fearful matter to intimidate the Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva’s mind was complacent. He had no doubts, nor was he afraid.

King Māra immediately let loose his arrow, and also brought his three jade daughters forward. The Bodhisattva did not look at the arrow, and he did not care for the three daughters either.
King Māra stood in awe and became suspicious. He said to himself, deeply in his heart, “Once I shot at Maheśvara for the maiden of the Snowy Mountains.66 I could make his heart change but I cannot move the Bodhisattva.

22. “It is not the case that I can move his heart with this arrow or with my celestial three jade daughters, so that he may bring about love or hatred. I must further gather my army and put forceful pressure on him with its strength!”

23. While he was considering thus, Māra’s troops suddenly assembled. They were of all kinds and each had a different appearance. Some grasped a trident or held a sword. Others carried a tree or grasped an iron bolt—all kinds of implements for battle.

24. [They had the] faces of boars, ﬁshes, donkeys, and horses; the appearances of camels, oxen, rhinoceroses, and tigers; and the heads of lions, dragons, and elephants, and other kinds of birds and beasts.

25. Some had one body and many heads. Some had faces each with one eye. Others had many eyes, and some had large bellies and long bodies.

26. Some were weak and emaciated, without a belly, and some had long legs and large knees. Some had large legs and fat calves, and some had long teeth and sharp claws.

Some had no head, chest, or face, and some were bipeds but had many bodies. Some had large faces and faces [placed] sideways, and some were of an ash-gray color.
Some resembled the light of a bright star, and the bodies of others emitted smoke. Some had the ears of an elephant and were burdened with mountains. Some had disheveled hair and were naked.

29. Some wore leather, and their faces were colored half red and white. Some wore tiger-skin clothes, and others wore snake-skin.

30. Some wore large bells around the waist, and some had twisted locks, or spiral headdresses. Some had disheveled hair covering their bodies, and some sucked in the human vital essence.

31. Some took away men’s lives, and some leaped wildly about, crying out loud. Some hurried in pursuit of others, again and again injuring one another.

Some circled in the sky, and some ﬂew up among the trees. Some roared and shouted, their evil voices shaking heaven and earth.
Such evil beings surrounded the bodhi tree. Some wanted to rip up [the Bodhisattva’s] body, and others wanted to swallow him.

34. All four sides were ablaze with ﬁre, and the smoking blaze reached to the heavens above. A gale of wind rose violently on the four sides, and the mountain forest shook all around.

35. Through the combination of wind, ﬁre, smoke, and dust, it was dark and one could not see a thing. The gods and humans who loved the Law, and

dragons and spirits, were all angry at Māra’s crowd. In their anger tears of blood ﬂowed.

When the multitude of gods of the pure abodes saw that Māra was trying to confuse the Bodhisattva, who was free from desire and without anger, they felt grief and sorrow for him.
They all came and saw the Bodhisattva sitting upright, unmoving. Countless Māras surrounded him, and their evil voices moved heaven and earth.

38. The Bodhisattva was established in quietude. His bright complexion was without any peculiar sign. He was like a lion king, dwelling among the herd of animals.

They all sighed, crying out, “Ha! Ha! Amazing! Wonderful!” But Māra lashed his crowds on, and each presented their awful powers.
Again and again they pressed each other on to immediately cause his destruction. Their eyes wide open, they gnashed their teeth. They ﬂew in disarray and leaped wildly about.

41. The Bodhisattva watched in silence, as if he were watching children playing. The Māras became more and more angry, and doubled their ﬁghting strength.

42. When they tried to carry a rock, they could not lift it, and those who could [lift the rock] could not put it down. Flying spears, tridents, and sharp lances froze in the sky and did not come down.

As thunder shook, there was a shower of large hail but it changed to ﬂowers of ﬁve colors. Evil dragon-snakes spat out poison, which changed to a fragrant breeze.
Beings of all shapes tried to injure the Bodhisattva, but they were unable to make him move and consequently they hurt themselves.
King Māra had an elder sister, called Meghakālī. Holding a skull vessel in her hands, she stood in front of the Bodhisattva. Exhibiting all kinds of strange deportment, she tried to debauch and confuse the Bodhisattva.
Such hosts of Māra wanted to frighten the Bodhisattva with their various hideous bodies and by raising all kinds of evil voices. But they could not move one hair. The Māras were all distressed.

47. A spirit67 in the sky had rendered himself invisible, and he raised his voice, “I see that the great muni’s mind is without thought of resentment.

“Your evil poisonous minds, Māras, try to bring resentment where there is no resentment. Foolish evil Māras, you toil in vain. There is nothing you can do.

49. “Give up your noxious thoughts! Be quiet and stay silent! You cannot blow away Mount Sumeru with your breath.

“Fire may become cold and water may become a blaze, the earth’s nature may become evenly soft, but you cannot destroy the Bodhisattva. For eons he has practiced asceticism.

51. “The Bodhisattva practices right consideration, and diligently strives with zeal. His pure wisdom is bright and he is compassionate for all.

52. “No one can affect or break down these four ﬁne qualities, or make difﬁculties for him to accomplish his path of right awakening, just as the sun shining with its thousandfold light is certain to remove the world’s darkness.

“As one obtains ﬁre by rubbing sticks together, and as one obtains water by digging in the earth, he strenuously applies right application. There is nothing he will not obtain in his search.
“No one comes to rescue the world; all are affected by the poisons of greed, anger, and delusion. Because he is merciful toward beings, he seeks for the ﬁne medicine of wisdom. He will do away with the suffering of the world. Why do you trouble him?

55. “The deluded in the world are all attached to wrong paths. The Bodhi- sattva is studying the right road. He wishes to guide beings.

“Harassing one’s guide in the world—this is absolutely not done! As if one would deceive the merchant’s guide through the wilderness!
“As beings have fallen into great darkness and no one knows the place to go, he lights the lamp of wisdom for them. Why would you want to extinguish it?

58. “As beings are all tossed about in the great sea of birth and death, he repairs the ferryboat of wisdom for them. Why would you want to let it sink?

“Forbearance is a shoot of the Law, and ﬁrm determination is the root of the Law. The precepts of discipline are the ﬂowers, and the thoughts of awakening are the branches and the trunk.

60. As for the great tree of wisdom, the unsurpassed Law is its fruit. It gives shelter to beings. Why would you want to fell it?

61. The cangue and chains of greed, anger, and delusion are a yoke for

beings. For long eons he has practiced asceticism to deliver beings from their bonds. He will certainly accomplish this in the present, sitting in this exact place.

“Just as the buddhas of the past did, he has ﬁrmly established his adamantine moment. While in all directions everything is moving, only this earth is tranquil. He is ably experiencing ﬁne concentration. You cannot destroy that.

63. “Just yield in your heart! Do away with haughty intentions! Develop the idea to be a good friend! Practice forbearance and wait upon him!”

64. When Māra heard the voice in the sky and saw that the Bodhisattva remained tranquil, he felt shame and lost his pride. He turned back and returned to his heaven.

Māra’s hosts were all in distress. They were defeated and had lost their might. They abandoned their weapons of war, scattered in the wild forest, just as when one has killed the enemy ruler the gangs of enemies are all destroyed.
After the Māras had withdrawn, the Bodhisattva’s mind was still. The sunshine doubled its light, and the dusty mist dissipated.
The moon was bright and the stars were clear. There was no more darkness. Celestial ﬂowers fell down like rain from the sky to worship the Bodhisattva.

Chapter XIV

Abhisaṃbodhi68

After the Bodhisattva had subdued Māra, his determination was ﬁrmer and his mind tranquil. The eternal end being most meaningful, he entered the profound and ﬁne trances. Sovereign in the samādhis, he would realize them in due order.
During the ﬁrst watch he entered concentration and remembered his past lives. “From Such-and-such a place, called So-and-so, I came to be reborn here.” That way he completely understood his hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of births and deaths.
The births and deaths he had experienced were countless. All kinds of living beings had all been his family once, and he had great compassion in his heart.
Having recollected with great compassion, he further observed that living beings revolved in six69 destinations, and that their births and deaths never ended. [The six destinations] were false and not ﬁrm at all, like a plantain tree or an illusion.
In the second watch he then obtained the pure divine eye. Seeing all beings, it was as if he observed their images in a mirror.
As the beings generated births and deaths, they were noble or low, poor or rich. According to their pure or impure actions they experienced painful or happy retributions.
He observed that evildoers would be reborn in woeful destinations, and that those who practiced wholesome actions would be reborn among humans or gods. If they were reborn in hell, they experienced countless kinds of suffering.
They [had to] swallow liquid copper, or iron skewers pierced their limbs. [They were] thrown into boiling hot cauldrons, or forced into great masses of ﬁre.

9. Packs of dogs devoured them with their long teeth, or crows with sharp beaks pecked at their brains. Afraid of ﬁre, they went to dense forests, with

leaves that were [as sharp as] swords, cutting their limbs. Sharp knives cut open their bodies, or sharp axes chopped them up.

Experiencing these utterly painful poisons, their actions did not let them die. They had happily performed unclean actions, but their retribution was the experience of utter suffering.

11. They had savored their attachments for only an instant, but the painful retribution lasted for a very long time. Laughing, they had planted the cause of suffering, but they experienced the punishment in tears.

If the beings that do evil were to see their retribution, they would sever their vital arteries, collapse in fear, and bleed to death.
When they performed the actions of animals, their actions were of several kinds, each one different. After death they fell into the animal des- tination, with several kinds of bodies, each one different.

14. Some died for their skin and ﬂesh, for their fur, horns, bones, tails, or feathers. They massacred one another, and their relatives still devoured them.

15. They carried a heavy burden or pulled a yoke. They were lashed and stabbed with goads and awls. Bloody pus dripped from their wounded limbs. No one could stop hunger or thirst.

16. As they proceeded they massacred others, and they did not have the power of autonomy [over their own fates]. In the sky, in water, or on dry land, they had nowhere to escape from death.

17. Those whose stinginess was great were reborn in the destination of hungry ghosts. Their huge bodies were like big mountains, but the openings of their throats were like the eye of a needle. As the ﬁery poisons of hunger and thirst were ablaze, they burned themselves.

If they had been stingy and had not given to those who asked, or if they had kept others from being generous, they were reborn among the hungry ghosts. When they asked for food, they could not obtain any. They might try to eat impurities rejected by others but it was transformed and lost.
If one would hear that the painful retribution of stinginess is such, he would slice his ﬂesh to give it to another, just like King Śibi.
Some were reborn in the destination among humans, physically dwelling in walking latrines. [The body’s] movement was utterly painful, and as it left the womb, it gave rise to fear. When a soft body touched an external object, it was as if cut by a sword.

21. As they dwelled in the lot of their previous actions, they did not have a single moment free of death. Suffering hardship, they sought rebirth; and being reborn, they experienced suffering for a long time.

22. If they were reborn in heaven because of their merit, their thirst con- stantly burned them. When their merit was exhausted and their life was at its end, the ﬁve signs of decay and death70 arrived. Just as the ﬂowers of a tree become pale and withered, they became drawn and lost their brightness.

The lot of their retinue was life or death. Suffering in sadness, no one could make them stay. Their palaces became desolate and empty, and the jade ladies all departed. Sitting or lying in the dirt, they wept sadly and longed for them.
The living felt grief about their miserable fall, and the dead were sad, longing for life. Through strenuous practice of asceticism one wishes for the happiness of rebirth in heaven, but because one has such suffering, how base is this? What is there to covet?

25. What is obtained through great application will not avoid the suffering of separation. Alas! Gods and humans, tall or short, there is no difference!

26. Practicing asceticism for eons and forever free from desire, one may think one will surely abide a long time, but in the present all miserably fall.

27. In hell one experiences various suffering, and animals kill each other. Hungry ghosts are forced to suffer hunger and thirst, and humans are exhausted from craving.

28. One might mention the happiness of rebirth in heaven, but separation is a very great suffering. Being misled, one is reborn in the world and does not have any place to rest.

29. Alas! In the sea of birth and death the wheel turns without end. Beings drown in an unceasing current. They are tossed about, without anything to rely upon.

30. Thus [the Bodhisattva] observed the ﬁve destinations with his pure divine eye. They were false and not ﬁrm, like a plantain tree or like bubbles.

31. Then, during the third watch, he entered profound concentration and observed that the suffering of the turning of the wheel in the world was its speciﬁc nature.

“One is frequently reborn, grows old, and dies. The number [of rebirths] is countless. Desire and the darkness of delusion—no one knows how to escape them.”

In his right mindfulness, he inwardly considered the origination of birth and death. He knew with certainty that old age and death had to be brought about by birth. If a person has a body, for that reason physical pain must follow.
He further observed how birth was caused, and he saw that it was through the action of existence. His divine eye observed that the action of existence was not produced by the god Īśvara. It had no speciﬁc nature and no self, and neither was it without a cause.

35. If one cuts through the ﬁrst knot of the bamboo, the other knots then pose no difﬁculty. After he had seen the cause of birth and death, he gradually saw the truth.

36. The action of existence was produced by grasping, as when ﬁre consumes ﬁrewood. Grasping had craving as its cause, just as a small ﬁre may set a mountain ablaze.

37. Knowing that craving is produced by experiencing, one understands unpleasant and pleasant, seeking contentment. Hunger and thirst seek drink and food. Experiencing produces craving in the same way.

38. Any experiencing has contact as its cause. Its three classes71 mean the production of suffering or of happiness. If one works at rubbing sticks,72 one may obtain ﬁre and use it.

39. Contact is produced by the six sense faculties, because a blind person does not have clear perception. The six sense faculties originate from name- and-form, just as a shoot grows into a stalk and [produces] leaves.

40. Name-and-form are produced by consciousness, just as a seed means the production of the shoot and leaves. But consciousness comes from name- and-form. Nothing is omitted from such transformation.73

41. Because of consciousness, one produces name-and-form; and because of name-and-form, one produces consciousness. Just as a man and his boat advance together, there is mutual transportation on water and on dry land.

42. Just as consciousness produces name-and-form, name-and-form pro- duces the faculties. The faculties produce contact, and contact further produces experiencing.

Experiencing produces craving, and craving produces grasping. Grasping produces the existence of actions, and existence then produces birth.

44. Birth produces old age and death. The turning of the wheel is endless for all. The conditioned origination of the beings is completely known in right awakening.

[The Bodhisattva’s] right awakening was certain to be completed. The end of birth meant the extinction of old age and death. When existence is extinguished, birth is extinguished. When grasping is extinguished, existence is extinguished.

46. When craving is extinguished, grasping is extinguished. When experiencing is extinguished, craving is extinguished. When contact is extinguished, experiencing is extinguished. When the six sense faculties are extinguished, contact is extinguished.

The extinction of all sense faculties comes from the extinction of name-and-form. When consciousness is extinguished, name-and-form is extinguished. When formation is extinguished, consciousness is extinguished.
When delusion is extinguished, formation is extinguished.74 The great seer’s right awakening was accomplished. When right awakening was thus accomplished, the Buddha appeared in the world.

49. The eightfold path—right view, and so on—is a smooth, level, and right road. In the end there is no [“I” or] “mine,” just as ﬁre is extinguished when the ﬁrewood is consumed.

50. “What I had to do, is done. I have obtained the path of right awakening of our ancestors.” [The Buddha] had completely achieved the highest meaning and entered the house of the greatest seer.

As darkness passed and the light rose, movement and tranquility were both silent. He had reached the Law without end, and his omniscience was clear.

52. The virtue of the great seer was pure, and the earth quaked all around. The whole universe was clear and bright, and gods, dragons, and spirits gath- ered in great numbers. In the sky they played celestial music to worship the Law.

53. A gentle breeze brought coolness, and celestial clouds brought fragrant rain. Fine ﬂowers blossomed out of season and sweet fruits became ripe in spite of the season.

Mahāmāndārava and all kinds of celestial precious ﬂowers came down in profusion, in worship of the worthy muni.

Beings of different species all turned to one another with friendly thoughts. Fear was completely eliminated. There was no longer any thought of anger or arrogance. All in the entire world accompanied the one whose impurities had ended.

56. The gods were happy with [the Buddha’s] deliverance, and the woeful destinations were calm for a while. Afﬂiction gradually ceased and the moon of knowledge gradually increased its light.

When the seers of the Ikṣvāku family who were reborn in heaven saw that the Buddha had appeared in the world, they were ﬁlled with joy.
In their celestial palace it then rained ﬂowers in worship. The gods, dragons, and spirits praised the Buddha’s virtue with one voice.

59. When people in the world saw the worship and heard the sounds of praise, they all rejoiced and they were overcome with joy. Only the celestial king Māra felt great grief in his heart.

The Buddha meditated seven days, and his mind was pure. He observed the bodhi tree, gazing without blinking.

61. “Relying on this place, I have fulﬁlled my previous wish. I am established in the Law without self.” With his buddha eye he observed beings, and this gave rise to merciful thoughts. He wished to let [beings] obtain purity.

“Greed, anger, delusion, and wrong views are ﬂoating and sinking into their minds. Deliverance is very profound and ﬁne. How can I propagate it?” He gave up his diligent application and stayed silent.

63. He thought back to his previous solemn oath. He again thought about expounding the Law, and observed the strength of the afﬂictions of living beings.

64. Brahmadeva knew what was on [the Buddha’s] mind, [and understood] that he should be invited to turn the [wheel of the] Law. Releasing his pure light all around for the rescue of suffering beings, he came to see the worthy muni and the signs of a great person who would expound the Law.

65. As the ﬁne meanings were all seen, [the Buddha] was established in true knowledge. He had abandoned any wrong that would cause difﬁculties, and was free from any false thought.

[Brahmadeva] was reverential and rejoiced in his heart. He held his palms together and urged him, “How fortunate the world is in meeting you, worthy one with great compassion!

“All kinds of beings are unclean and have impure thoughts. Some have serious afﬂictions and the afﬂictions of others are insigniﬁcant.

68. “World-honored One, you have escaped the great sea of the suffering of birth and death. Please, save those beings who are sunk in it!

“Just as a righteous person in the world shares the beneﬁt he has obtained with others, the beneﬁt of the Law that you, World-honored One, have obtained, should indeed save beings!

70. “Common people mostly beneﬁt themselves. Combining the beneﬁt of oneself and others is difﬁcult. Please, deign to be compassionate and do the most difﬁcult thing in the world!” Having urged him in this way, [Brah- madeva] took his leave and returned to the Brahma Heaven.

The Buddha was pleased in his heart at Brahmadeva’s invitation, and increased his sincerity. He nourished his feeling of great compassion and strengthened his intention to expound the Law.

72. Remembering that [the Buddha] would go begging for alms, the four kings75 all offered their almsbowls. The Tathāgata76 accepted the four [bowls] for the sake of the Law, and combined them into one.

73. At that time some merchants were traveling. A celestial spirit, a good friend, told them, “The great seer, the worthy muni, is in that mountain forest. As he is a ﬁne ﬁeld of merit in the world, you should go and worship him!”

When [the merchants] heard this command they greatly rejoiced, and offered [the Buddha] his ﬁrst meal. After the meal he looked back and thought, “Who should hear the Law ﬁrst?

75. “Yes, there are Ārāḍa and Udraka Rāmaputra. They are ﬁt to receive the Right Law, but their lives have now come to an end. Next, there are the ﬁve bhikṣus who should hear the ﬁrst exposition of the Law.”

He wanted to expound the Law of tranquility, just as the sunlight does away with darkness. He went to Vārāṇasī, the place where the seers of the past had dwelled.

77. With the steady gaze of the eyes of an ox king, and with the digniﬁed gait of a lion, he went to the city of Kāśi to save beings. At every step, the animal kings looked at him, but he looked back at the bodhi grove.

Chapter XV

Turning the Wheel of the Law

The Tathāgata was in complete quietude, and his light was manifestly shin- ing. With digniﬁed deportment, he walked alone but as if followed by a large crowd.
On his way he met a brahman, whose name was Upaga. Maintaining the deportment of a bhikṣu, he respectfully stood by the side of the road.
Pleased to meet someone wonderful, [Upaga] held his palms together and remarked, “Beings are all attached, but you have the appearance of some- one without attachment.
“Thoughts in the world are unsteady, but you alone have quieted your faculties. Your bright countenance is like the full moon; it is as if you are savoring the ford to immortality.
“Your appearance has the characteristics of a great person, a sovereign king with the power of wisdom. What you had to do is certainly done. Which teacher did you apply to for teaching?”
[The Tathāgata] answered, “I have no teacher nor any teaching. I am unsurpassed. I have my own insight into the very profound Law. I have obtained what others could not obtain.
“I now have complete understanding of what others should understand but that no one in the whole world has understood. So I am called one with right awakening.
“Afﬂictions are like enemies. I have subdued them with the sword of my knowledge. And so, extolled in the world, I am called superior.
“I shall go to Vārāṇasī and beat the drum of the law of immortality. I am without arrogance, nor do I dwell upon fame, nor do I seek for the hap- piness of any beneﬁt.
“Indeed, I will propagate the Right Law and rescue suffering beings. Because I have made a great solemn oath in the past, I shall save those who are not yet saved. The result of my oath will be accomplished now. I will fulﬁll that previous vow.

107

“When one has provided riches for oneself, one is not extolled as a famous righteous person, but if one beneﬁts the whole world, then one is called a great person.
“If one does not bring rescue from drowning in the face of danger, why would one be called a valiant person? If he does not cure the sick, how would he be called a good doctor? If he sees someone who is lost but does not show him the way, who would call him a good guide?
“When, for instance, a lamp shines in the darkness, it is a natural light for the unwitting. When the Tathāgata lights the lamp of wisdom, there is no feeling of desire.
“When rubbing sticks, one is sure to obtain ﬁre. In the sky wind is natural. When digging in the ground, one is sure to obtain water. All this is reasonable and natural.
“The accomplishment of the path by all munis is sure to occur in Gayā, and they have also been turning the wheel of the Right Law in the land of Kāśi.”
The brahman Upaga said “Ha!” in praise and amazement. In accor- dance with his previous plans, he continued on his way, and they separated. But with every step he looked back and paused, remembering the wonder.
The Tathāgata gradually traveled ahead and reached the city of Kāśi. The land was excellently adorned, like the palace of Śakra, ruler of the gods.
In the place where the two rivers, the Ganges and the Vārāṇasī, both ﬂow, trees, ﬂowers, and fruits were luxuriant. Birds and animals roamed together.
It was silent, without any noisy commoners. The ancient seers had dwelled there. The Tathāgata’s light was shining and doubled its brightness.

20. The [ﬁrst] son of the Kauṇḍinya family; and the second one, Daśabala Kāśyapa; the third one, called Vāṣpa; the fourth, Aśvajit; and the ﬁfth one, called Bhadrika, had been practicing austerities, rejoicing in the mountain forest.

They saw the Tathāgata coming from afar. They gathered, sat down, and all talked it over. “Gautama is tainted by worldly happiness and he has abandoned any asceticism.
“Now he returns here. Do not rise to welcome him, and do not do obeisance or make polite inquiries either, providing him with what he needs!

Because he has abandoned his former oath, he should not receive any wor- ship!”

When a common person has a visitor, he should perform a sequence of proprieties. He should arrange for bedding and seating and make him feel at ease.
But after they had made this agreement, each [of the ﬁve bhikṣus] kept sitting in his place. As the Tathāgata approached them, however, they unconsciously disregarded their agreement.
One offered to give up his seat, and another took his garment and bowl for him. One begged to wash his feet, and another asked after his needs.
In such different ways they honored him and were of service, as if to a teacher. But they did not give up his family [name] and still called him Gautama.

27. The World-honored One said to them, “Do not call me by my former surname and utter a contemptuous word for an arhat!

“My mind is completely equal concerning respect or disrespect. If you are not respectful in your heart, it is you who will incur the blame.
“Because a buddha can save the world, one calls him a buddha. He has an equal mind toward all beings, thinking of them as his children, as it were. But to call him with his former name is like an offense of arrogance against one’s father.”
The Buddha had told them in his mercy, with great compassion, but they followed their foolish minds and did not believe his right awakening.
“You say that in your previous practice of austerities you had not yet obtained anything. Now that you have indulged in the pleasures of the body and mouth, how could you have become a buddha?”
With such doubts they did not believe that he had obtained the path of a buddha, that he had completely achieved the meaning of the truth and was endowed with omniscience.
The Tathāgata then brieﬂy expounded his essential path to them. “A fool [either] practices asceticism or happily continues pleasing his [sense] faculties.

34. “Look at these two different things! They are a great mistake. Because they go against deliverance, it is not so that they are the right path.

One may practice asceticism with an exhausted body but the mind will still rush on in confusion. If one does not even give rise to worldly knowledge, much less will one be able to surpass the faculties!
“If one lights a lamp with water, one will never remove the darkness. One may try to develop the lamp of wisdom with an exhausted body but one will not be able to destroy foolishness.
“If one wants [to make a] ﬁre with decayed wood, one toils in vain and will not obtain it. But if one rubs a stick and makes effort, one may imme- diately obtain ﬁre and use it.

38. “In one’s search for the path, one does not obtain the law of immortality through asceticism. Attachment to desire is meaningless, and foolishness is an impediment to the light of wisdom. If one does not even understand the scriptural texts, much less will one obtain the path of freedom from desire!

“If one has a grave illness but does not eat the food that helps cure that illness, how could the grave illness of ignorance be done away with while one is attached to desire?
“If one sets ﬁre to dry grass in the wilderness and it is increased by a ﬁerce storm, who could extinguish the blaze? The same applies to the ﬁre of greed.
“I have left the two extremes. My mind stays in the middle path. All my suffering is ﬁnally appeased. I am tranquil, free from any error.
“My right view surpasses the sunshine, and my equal conceptualization is my conveyance. Right speech is my abode and I am on an excursion in the forest of right action.
“Right livelihood is a rich disposition, and application is the right road. Right mindfulness is the city wall, and concentration is bedding and seating.
“The eightfold path is level and right, the escape from the suffering of birth and death. For those who embark on this road, what they have to do will be completely achieved. They will not fall into a painful fate in the two worlds, yonder and here.
“The three worlds are but a mass of suffering and only this path can extinguish it. My pure eye of the Right Law, formerly unheard of, has fully seen the path of deliverance. Yes, I have for the ﬁrst time given rise to it now!
1. “Birth, old age, illness, and death are suffering; separation from what

one loves or meeting with enmity, not attaining something one wants, and so on are kinds of suffering.

“If one renounces desire or does not yet renounce it, has a body or is without a body, if one is without any pure quality, one may brieﬂy say that all this is painful.
“When, for instance, a great ﬁre is appeased, it does not give up its heat, even though it may have become smaller. Even in a self that is quiet and subtle by nature, great suffering still exists.
“The afﬂictions of greed and the others, and all kinds of wrong actions—these are the causes of suffering. If one gives them up, suffering is extinguished.
“When, for instance, seeds are without earth, water, and so forth, when all conditions are not combined, shoots and leaves do not grow.
“Existences continue by nature, from heaven to the woeful destinations. The wheel keeps turning and does not stop. This is produced by desire. Demotion differs according to weak, intermediate, or strong, but all kinds of actions are the cause.
“If one has extinguished greed and so forth, there is no continuation of existence. When all kinds of actions have ended, different kinds of suffering know long-lasting appeasement. If this exists, then that exists. If this is extinguished, then that is extinguished.

53. “Absence of birth, old age, illness, and death; absence of earth, water, ﬁre, and wind; and both absence of beginning, middle, and end and condemnation of a deceptive law—these mean tranquility without end, abodes of the noble.

“The expounded eightfold right path and no other is the right means. When the world does not see it, [beings] are misled for a long time.
1. “I know suffering and the annihilation of its accumulation. I have realized its extinction and I have developed the right path. I have contemplated these four truths and I have gained perfect awakening.
2. “I tell you that I know suffering, that I have annihilated its impure cause, that I have caused the realization of its extinction, and that I have developed the eightfold right path. Knowing the four truths, my pure eye of the Law was achieved.
3. “When I had not yet brought about my universal eye concerning these four truths, I was not called delivered. I was not said to have done what

I had to do, and it was not said that my complete understanding of the truth was accomplished.

“Because I knew the truths, I perceived that I was delivered. I perceived that what had to be done was done, and I perceived that I was perfectly awakened.”
When he expounded this truth, the son of the Kauṇḍinya family and the multitude of eighty thousand gods completely achieved true meaning- fulness. Free from any impurity, they achieved the pure eye of the Law.
When the teacher of gods and humans knew that he had done what had to be done, he rejoiced and asked with a lion’s roar, “Kauṇḍinya, do you know yet?” Kauṇḍinya immediately said to the Buddha, “I know your Law, great teacher!”
Because he knew the Law, he was called Ājñāta Kauṇḍinya. Among Buddha’s disciples he was the ﬁrst to gain the highest insight.
As he knew the sound of the Right Law, he heard the spirits of the earth all raise their voices and call out, “Splendid is the profound Law you have seen!
“You, Tathāgata, have turned today what has never yet been turned. For gods and humans everywhere you have widely opened the gate of immortality.
“Pure morality is the spokes. Self-discipline and quiet concentration are the axle cones. Firm knowledge is the felloe, and shame cleanses the axle hubs.
“Right mindfulness is considered the hub, completing the wheel of the True Law. You are right, having left the three worlds! You will not fall back and follow a heterodox teacher!”
When the spirits of the earth called out in this way, the spirits in the sky transmitted the call. The gods proceeded with praise, which penetrated up to the Brahma Heaven.

67. The celestial spirits in the three worlds heard the exposition of the great seer for the ﬁrst time. As it spread, they were surprised and said to each other, “We have heard all around that the Buddha has appeared in the world. For the kinds of living beings he widely turns the wheel of the Law of quietude.”

A breeze cleared the sky, dissipating the mist, and celestial ﬂowers rained from the sky. The gods played celestial music in praise of the wonder.

Fascicle Four

Chapter XVI

King Bimbisāra and Disciples

When the ﬁve bhikṣus, Aśvajit and the others, had heard the voice that knows the Law, they felt sadness and pain. They held their palms together and increased their respect, and looked up at his worthy countenance.
The Tathāgata then very skillfully caused them to enter the Right Law. The ﬁrst and last of the ﬁve bhikṣus obtained the path, having subdued their faculties. They were like the ﬁve stars77 in the sky, attending the bright moon.
Then Yaśas, the son of an elder from Kuśinagara, woke up suddenly from his sleep at night and looked at his retinue, men and women lying around naked, and immediately felt disgusted at heart.
He thought this was the basis of afﬂiction, deceiving fools. Wearing his ornaments, girdle, and necklaces, he left his house and went to the mountain forest.
While seeking his way, he called out, “Troubled! I am troubled! Con- fused!”

The Tathāgata was walking up and down in the night, and heard the voice calling out, “Troubled!”

He immediately said, “Welcome! Here is a tranquil place. Nirvana is utterly cool. In its tranquility one is free from any trouble.”
When Yaśas heard the Buddha’s words, he was very joyful in his heart. Because of his previous revulsion, noble wisdom opened up in a cool way.
As if having entered a cool pond, [Yaśas] reverently arrived where the Buddha was. His person still had its common appearance but his mind had obtained the end of impurities. Through the power of his previously planted wholesome roots, he swiftly accomplished the fruition of airmanship.

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His pure knowledge was going over both the hidden and the clear, and after he had heard the Law, he immediately obtained insight, just as easy as it is to apply color to a fresh white fabric. He had come to the realization that he had done what he had to do.
When he looked at his body, which was still adorned, he felt shame in his heart. The Tathāgata knew what was on his mind, and expounded the verses:
“You are adorned with necklaces but your mind has subdued your faculties. You impartially observe beings, and in your practice of the Law you do not consider their appearance.
“When on his body one wears the garment of someone who has gone forth but his mental bonds are not yet forgotten, when he dwells in the forest yet covets worldly splendor, [that person] is then a common person.
“Even though he may apparently have a commoner’s deportment, if his mind is ﬁxed on the most eminent object and he lives at home in the same way as in a mountain forest, he is free from any [“I” or] “mine.” The undoing of the bonds exists in his mind. How could his appearance give any certainty?
“Wearing armor, clothed in a heavy gown, one is thought to be able to control a strong enemy. A change in appearance, wearing a dyed garment, is to subdue the enemy of afﬂiction.”
15. [The Buddha] then said, “Come, bhikṣu,” and at these words his common appearance changed. He was endowed with the deportment of some- one who had gone forth, and entirely became a śramaṇa.
Previously he had common companions, ﬁfty-four in number. Looking for their good friend, they left home and subsequently entered the Right Law.
Because of their previous wholesome actions, the ﬁne fruition was now accomplished. When something has been imbued with potash for a long while, it quickly becomes bright on contact with water.
Hearers of superior behavior, sixty arhats, were all following the Law of the Arhat. He courteously instructed them:
“You have now crossed over to the other shore of the river of birth and death. What you had to do is ﬁnished. You are ﬁt to receive any worship!
Each of you should travel to different countries and save those who are not yet saved. The suffering of beings burns, and for a long time they have not had anyone come to their rescue. You should each travel alone, be merciful and receive them!

“I shall go alone now too, and return to Gaja Mountain. There are great seers there, royal seers and brahman seers. They are all staying there, honored by the whole world.
“The Kāśyapa seers who practice asceticism, the people of the land all serve them. Those who receive their training are very numerous. I shall go now and save them.”
The sixty bhikṣus then accepted his instruction and widely propagated the Law. In agreement with their previous causality, they each went at will in different directions.
The World-honored One walked all alone to Gaja Mountain. He entered the quiet forest of the Law and went to the seer Kāśyapa.
There was a cave where he made offerings to ﬁre, and an evil dragon dwelled there. The mountain forest was utterly clear and nowhere would he be ill at ease, but in order to convert [Kāśyapa] the World-honored One spoke to him and asked for lodging.
Kāśyapa informed Buddha, “There is no place to stay. There just is a cave to make offerings to ﬁre. The very pure may dwell there but an evil dragon lives there. He can certainly hurt people!”
The Buddha said, “Allow me, and I will stay one night.” Kāśyapa made all kinds of excuses, but the World-honored One kept asking.
Kāśyapa further said to Buddha, “In my heart I do not want to permit you [to stay there], but you may think I am being ungenerous. Therefore, do as you wish!”
The Buddha immediately entered the [cave] dwelling for ﬁre [wor- ship]. Sitting upright, he practiced right consideration. Then, when the evil dragon saw the Buddha, it became angry and let loose a poisonous ﬁre.
The whole cave dwelling was ablaze, but it did not touch the Buddha’s body. When it had been completely released the ﬁre was extinguished by itself, and the World-honored One still sat at ease.
When the ﬁre of the eon78 arises and when the cave palace of Brahma- deva is ablaze, King Brahma in the same way sits on this exact place, unafraid and fearless.
1. When the evil dragon saw that the World-honored One’s bright countenance did not change, [the dragon’s] poison stopped and wholesome thoughts arose. He bowed and took refuge.

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When Kāśyapa saw the light in the night, he sighed, “Alas! Astonishing! Such a moral person but he is burned by the dragon’s ﬁre.”
Kāśyapa and his retinue all came to have a look in the morning. The Buddha had subdued the evil dragon and had placed him in his bowl.
[Kāśyapa] understood the Buddha’s qualities and thought it was amazing. Because he had been indulging in pride for a long time, he said, “My path is most worthy.”
The Buddha showed all kinds of supernatural transformations as were suited to the occasion. As [Kāśyapa] observed what was on his mind, he transformed in response, so that his mind became gentle and he was ﬁt to be a vessel of the Right Law.
He became fully conscious that his path was shallow, inferior to the World-honored One’s. He decided to be humble of mind and courteously accepted the Right Law.
The ﬁve hundred disciples of Uruvilva Kāśyapa [also] accepted the Right Law in due order, as their teacher had been completely subdued.
After Kāśyapa and his multitude of followers had all accepted the right changes, the seer threw into the water all the [ritual] objects he had relied on and all implements to make ﬁre offerings. They were tossed about and carried away with the current.
His two younger brothers, Nadī and Gaja,79 dwelled downstream. When they saw the clothes and other items tumbling in disorder in the river’s current, they thought [Kāśyapa] had met with an awful fate. They were fearful and ill at ease.
Their two groups of ﬁve hundred people searched the river and looked for the elder brother. When they saw that the elder brother had gone forth along with his disciples, they knew he had obtained a wonderful Law and were amazed.
“Our elder brother has now submitted to the path. We too must follow him!” The World-honored One expounded the Law to the three brothers and to their retinue of disciples, and then presented a comparison to making a ﬁre offering.
“As the black smoke of foolishness rises and confused thoughts are brought about rubbing a stick, the ﬁres of desire and anger burn beings. The ﬁre of such afﬂictions burns ceaselessly.

“One is engulfed in birth and death but the ﬁre of suffering is constantly ablaze. One can see the two kinds of ﬁre but while one is burning, one is without any support. Why would a person with high aspirations not bring forth disgust?
“Disgust removes desire. When greed has ended one obtains deliverance. If one has obtained deliverance, understanding from deliverance arises.
“Observing the ﬂow of birth and death, I have begun my pure conduct. When all that one must do is done, one will no longer experience a later existence!”
When those thousand bhikṣus heard the World-honored One’s exposition of the Law, no impurity arose and their minds were all delivered.
When Buddha had expounded the Law to the Kāśyapas and their thousand bhikṣus, what they had to do was done and they were well adorned with pure wisdom. The entire meritorious retinue puriﬁed their actions with generosity and morality.
As the reverend seers followed their way, the forest of asceticism lost its splendor, just as someone who has lost the virtue of morality is merely living in futility.
The World-honored One and his great retinue went to the city of Rājagṛha. He remembered the king of Magadha and the solemn oath he had previously made.
After the World-honored One arrived, he stayed in the Yaṣṭivana. When King Bimbisāra heard this, he went together with his great retinue to where the World-honored One was, followed by men and women from the whole country.
From afar he saw the Tathāgata sitting with a subdued mind and sub- dued faculties. He had done away with any common expression. [King Bim- bisāra] descended from his chariot and advanced on foot, just as Śakra, ruler of the gods, approached King Brahmadeva.
1. He advanced and bowed deep at the Buddha’s feet. He respectfully asked after the Buddha’s well-being. When the Buddha had in turn reassured him, he ordered him to sit down at one side.
2. The king then silently thought in his heart, “The Śākya has an awe- some power. The Kāśyapas with their excellent qualities are all his disciples now.”

The Buddha knew other’s thoughts, and asked Kāśyapa, “What meritorious gain did you see when you abandoned the practice of making offerings to ﬁre?”
When Kāśyapa heard the Buddha’s request, he was startled and rose in front of the great multitude. He knelt on his right knee, held his palms together, and informed the Buddha in a clear voice:
“When one develops merit making offerings to the spirit of ﬁre, the fruition in any case means that the wheel keeps turning. In births and deaths afﬂictions increase. That is why I have abandoned it.
“When one strenuously makes offerings to ﬁre to seek for the objects of the ﬁve desires, the desires one experiences increase without end. That is why I have abandoned it.
“Making offerings to ﬁre and practicing the method of incantations, one experiences rebirth but no deliverance. Experiencing rebirth is the basis of suffering. That is why I have given it up, further seeking contentment.
“I once thought that asceticism, offering sacriﬁces, and arranging for a great gathering were foremost and of the highest excellence, but these still go against the right path. That is why I have abandoned [these practices] now, further seeking excellent tranquility.

61.”Freedom from birth, old age, illness, and death is a cool place without end. Because I know this is meaningful I have abandoned the practice of making offerings to ﬁre.”

The World-honored One heard Kāśyapa’s explanation about the facts he understood, and, wanting to make the whole world all around give rise to thoughts of pure faith, he said to Kāśyapa, “Welcome, great person!
“Having distinguished all kinds of paths, you follow the most excel- lent path. In front of the great multitude, show your excellent qualities now,
just like an elder with huge riches shows his precious treasures! Let the poor suffering beings increase their thoughts of disgust!”
“Very well! I will follow your instruction!” In front of the great multitude [Kāśyapa] immediately controlled himself and entered right mindful- ness. He swiftly rose into the sky.
He walked up and down, stayed, sat or lay down, or his whole body was like a cave. Left and right he emitted ﬁre and water but was not burned,

nor did he become wet. From his body came clouds and rain, and thunder and lightning moved heaven and earth.

The whole world all looked up at him, and indulging their eyes they watched tirelessly. With different mouths but with the same sound they extolled the wonder.
Only then did he control his divine power, and respectfully did obeisance at the World-honored One’s feet. “You, Buddha, are my great teacher, and I am your disciple. Following your instructions I have made this behavior known. What I had to do is ﬁnished.”
As the whole world all around had seen this, and knowing that Kāśyapa was [the Buddha’s] disciple, they were certain and knew that the World-honored One was truly omniscient.
The Buddha knew that the whole gathering was a ﬁt vessel to receive the Law. He said to King Bimbisāra, “Listen very carefully now!
“The mind and the faculties, all these have the law of birth and extinction. The understanding that birth and extinction are wrong is a universal observation.
“Such a universal observation means that one understands the body. Understanding that the body has the law of birth and extinction, one is without grasping and without experiencing.
“Know the body and its faculties as a mental conception, without any ‘I’ or ‘mine,’ simply a mass of suffering, born as suffering and extin- guished as suffering!
“Having understood that corporal characteristics are without any ‘I’ or ‘mine,’ one goes to the highest, pure place without end.
“The afﬂictions, view of a self, and so on, bind every world. After one has seen the absence of any ‘I’ or ‘mine,’ all bonds are undone.
“One is bound by the view of untruth, but viewing the truth one is delivered. If the world is in the grasp of precepts, it is in the grasp of what is wrong.
“If one had a self, it would be either permanent or impermanent. The view of the two extremes in birth and death, that error is the greatest and even worse.
1. “If it were impermanent, one’s practice would be fruitless; and as

33a

one would not experience a later existence, one would be delivered without any effort.

“If it were permanent, without death, rebirth or an in-between [state], it would be the same as space, without birth and without extinction.
“If there were a self, it would be the same for all; and as all would have a self, without any action its fruition might be naturally accomplished.
“If there were the activity of a self, one should not earnestly practice. If one had a sovereign ruler, what would be the need to perform actions?
“If a self were permanent, in principle it would not allow any change. Seeing that one is characterized by suffering and happiness, how could one say it is permanent?
“By understanding that one comes into existence, one is delivered and becomes free from any impurity. If all were permanent, what would be the use of being delivered from it?
“Absence of a self is not just a word. The principle is true that it has no true nature. Not seeing that the self causes anything, how could one explain that a self is active?
“Because the self does not cause anything and one is without a causing self—because one is without these two things—in reality there is no self.
“Without one who causes or one who experiences and without a ruler, one constantly returns. Birth and death keep ﬂowing like night and day. Listen to my explanation now!
“Through the causality of the six [sense] faculties and their six objects, six consciousnesses arise. The three things in combination produce contact. Awareness, volition, and action subsequently proceed.
“When dried herbs are placed under a convex gem, ﬁre is then produced by the sun. As for the faculties, their objects, and the consciousnesses, a personality is produced in the same way.
“A shoot grows because of a seed, but the seed is not the shoot. Not exactly like that, yet not different, beings come into existence in the same way.”
When the World-honored One had explained the truth, the universal and highest meaning, King Bimbisāra was joyful. Free from impurity, his eye of the Law arose.

When the king’s retinue, the population, and the numerous spirits had heard the explanation of the law of immortality, they too were subsequently free from any impurity.

Chapter XVII

Conversion of the Great Disciples

Then, when King Bimbisāra bowed and invited the World-honored One to come live in the Veṇuvana, he felt merciful and kept silent. After the king had seen the truth, he paid his respects to [the Buddha] and returned to his palace.

2. The World-honored One and his great multitude changed their residence and stayed in the Veṇuvana. He established the light of the lamp of wisdom in order to save living beings. He dwelled there with those of the brahma abodes, with those of the celestial abodes, and with those of the abodes of the noble.80

3. Then, as Aśvajit had subdued his thoughts and controlled his faculties, and as it was time to go on almsrounds, he entered the city of Rājagṛha.

His complexion was outstanding in the world, and his demeanor was at ease and digniﬁed. All the men and women in the city were joyful when they saw him. Passersby stopped, coming forward to welcome him or following behind him.

5. The seer Kapila had saved many disciples, but the most excellent and learned among them was called Śāriputra.

6. When he saw the dignity of the bhikṣu [Aśvajit], who having quieted his faculties had a quiet and reﬁned bearing, [Śāriputra] paused and waited for him to approach. He raised his hand and asked:

7. “Your youthfulness and quiet bearing—I have never seen such. What exquisite law did you obtain, and which teacher do you serve as his principles? Who has expounded your teacher’s teaching? Please, tell me and settle my doubts!”

The bhikṣu was pleased with [Śāriputra’s] questions, and humbly answered with a serene countenance, “He is endowed with omniscience, born in the excellent family of Ikṣvāku. He is most excellent among gods and humans. He is my great teacher.

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“Because my age is young, my time of study is still limited. How could I propagate the very profound and subtle meanings of my great teacher?
“With my shallow knowledge I will now brieﬂy explain the Law taught by my teacher: The arising of any existing factor comes from causality. The factors in birth and extinction may all be extinguished; the exposition of the path is the means.”

11. As Upatiṣya, the twice-born, heard this, his mind knew inner harmony. He was free from any impurity and his pure eye of the Law arose.

12. What he had previously practiced assuredly was the [philosophy of] the knower of the cause and the uncaused. All was inactive, all coming from the god Īśvara. When [Aśvajit] had made the Law of causality known, the knowledge that there is no self was clear.

13. All afﬂictions, strong or weak—no one had been able to ﬁnally do away with them. Only through the teaching of the Tathāgata were they forever ended, leaving nothing behind.

It is not the case that by being in the grasp of any “mine” one can be free from a self. Light appears because of the sun or a lamp. But what can cause the absence of light?

15. If one cuts down the stalk of the lotus, its ﬁne ﬁbers are still connected. But the Buddha’s teaching does away with afﬂiction as if it were completely annihilated by a rock.

16. [Upatiṣya] respectfully did obeisance at the bhikṣu’s feet, then with- drew and returned home. After the bhikṣu had begged for alms he returned to the Veṇuvana too.

17. When Śāriputra returned home, his appearance was very serene. The worthy Maudgalyāyana, his good friend, had the same nature and his talent for learning was equal.

18. In the distance he saw Śāriputra, his countenance and deportment very joyful. He said, “When I see you now, your expression is different than usual.

“Your ordinary disposition is quite serious but now your joyful appearance is obvious. You have certainly obtained the law of immortality. This appearance is not without cause.”
[Śāriputra] answered with what the Tathāgata had said. He really had obtained the wonderful Law. Invited to explain it, he immediately did so to [Maudgalyāyana]. When [Maudgalyāyana] had heard it, his mind

opened up. All impurity was removed too, and he subsequently produced the eye of the Right Law.

As the ﬁne fruition of a cause they had long ago planted, they observed, as it were, a lamp in their hands. They attained unshakable faith in the Buddha. Both went to where the Buddha was, together with a crowd of followers, two hundred and ﬁfty disciples.

22. The Buddha saw the two worthies from afar and said to his multitude, “The two who are coming will be my chief disciples. The wisdom of the one will be peerless, and the supernatural power of the other will be the highest.”

He immediately announced in his profoundly pleasant and pure voice, “Welcome! Here is the law of purity. Having gone forth, you may completely achieve its path.”

24. In their hands they held tridents; they had twisted locks and carried pitchers for cleansing. When they heard Buddha’s welcoming voice, they immediately changed into śramaṇas.

The two teachers and their disciples all adopted the deportment of bhikṣus. They bowed at the World-honored One’s feet, withdrew, and sat to one side. He courteously expounded the Law to them, and they all obtained the path of arhatship.
At that time there was a twice-born one, the bright lamp of the Kāśyapa family. He was learned and endowed with the physical marks. His riches were abundant and his wife was utterly worthy,81 but he had given them up and had gone forth, earnestly searching for the path of deliverance.

27. On his way he approached the Bahuputraka Shrine and unexpectedly met Śākyamuni, whose bright deportment manifested his brilliance, like a banner when bringing sacriﬁces to the gods. Reverently his whole person was respectful. [The twice-born one] made obeisance and bowed at his feet.

“You, worthy one, are my great teacher. I am your disciple. For a very long time I have been accumulating the darkness of delusion. Please bring me the light of your lamp!”
The Buddha knew that the twice-born one was joyful in his heart, holding deliverance in high esteem. In his pure and soft voice he welcomed [the twice-born one].
Upon hearing the command, [the twice-born one] was relieved at heart and the fatigue of his body and spirit was alleviated. His mind was

ﬁxed on excellent deliverance and he was quiet, free from any impurity. As beﬁtting [one of] great compassion, [the Buddha] gave a brief explanation.

31. He understood all profound factors, and accomplished the four unhindered analytical knowledges.82 Because his great virtue was renowned every- where, he was called Mahākāśyapa.

He had formerly seen the body and a self as different, or believed that the self is the body. The view of an existing self and “mine” was forever done away with. He saw only a mass of suffering. When free from suffering, there is nothing left.
Keeping the precepts and practicing asceticism were no cause, but they had been viewed as a cause. He universally saw the nature of suffering and was forever free from clinging to anything.
Whether seeing existence or nonexistence, the two views give rise to doubtfulness, but universally seeing the truth he was certain, free from any doubt.

35. Profoundly attached to riches and beauty, one is infatuated and desire arises, but with their impermanence and the notion of their impurity one is forever without covetousness.

With a mind of friendliness he thought in an impartial way. He did not think of friend and foe differently. As he felt compassion for all, he had dispelled the poison of anger.

37. Relying on matter, all was remedied, and all kinds of various notions arose. As his reﬂection destroyed all notions of matter, he could put a stop to desire for matter.

Even if he was born among the gods of no form, their lives still would certainly come to an end. In their foolishness about the four attainments they had the notion that [the four attainments] meant deliverance. Tranquil and free from any notion, his covetousness for the immaterial was forever removed.

39. Restless thoughts are disturbing, just like a strong wind whipping up the waves. He deeply entered ﬁrm concentration and quieted his excited mind.

He contemplated that factors have no [“I” or] “mine,” and that in birth and extinction they are not solid. Not seeing any weak, intermediate, or strong, his arrogant thoughts were naturally forgotten.

Having lit the lamp of wisdom, he was free from any darkness of delusion. He saw the law of destruction and absence of destruction, and absolutely nothing remained of his ignorance.
Considering the ten qualities, the ten kinds of afﬂiction were extinguished.83 He was at rest, having done what he had to do. Deeply moved, [Mahākāśyapa] gazed at the Honored One’s countenance.

43. Free from the three and having obtained three,84 the three disciples85 had removed the three.86 Like the three stars87 lined up in the Trāyastrimśa Heaven, waiting upon the thirty-ﬁve,88 the three [disciples] attended the Buddha in the same way.

Chapter XVIII

The Conversion of Anāthapiṇḍada

Then there was an important elder, called Anāthapiṇḍada. He was enormously wealthy and his riches were countless, but he freely gave donations, saving the poor.
He came from far to the north, from the country of Kośala, and was staying in the home of a good friend. His host was called Śūla.
When he heard that the Buddha had appeared in the world and was staying nearby in the Veṇuvana, he went to the grove that very night, having received his name and full esteem for his virtues.
The Tathāgata knew that his faculties were mature and that his pure faith had arisen. As ﬁtting, he called him by his real name and expounded the Law to him.
“You ﬁnd happiness in the Right Law, but your pure faith has been thirsting in vain. You have given up your sleep to come and salute me.
“Today I will fully perform my initial duty of hospitality to you. The basis of the virtue you have planted in the past makes my pure expectations ﬁrm. Your joy upon hearing the Buddha’s name makes you ﬁt to be a vessel for the Right Law.

7. “When one widely practices kindness in an impartial manner and pro- vides for the poor all around, one’s famous virtue becomes widely renowned. The completion of fruition comes from a previous cause. I shall now practice the gift of the Law, giving earnestly and sincerely.

8. “Then I will give the gift of quietude. Fully keep pure morality! Moral- ity is an ornament. It can change the woeful destinations and it allows one to ascend to heaven, bringing the reward of the celestial ﬁve happinesses.89

“Any aspiration means great suffering, and desire accumulates all wrongs. Develop the virtue of renunciation and the happiness of quietude, free from desire!

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“Know that the suffering of old age, illness, and death is the greatest calamity in the world! Through right contemplation of the world one leaves birth, old age, illness, and death.
“You have seen that humans have the suffering of old age, illness, and death. The same applies to rebirth in heaven. There is no one who permanently stays.

12. “The impermanent means suffering, and the painful is without a self. What is painful in impermanence is not a self. How could there be an ‘I’ or ‘mine’?

13. “Know that the painful is nothing but suffering! When it is accumulated, it is a cause. The extinction of suffering means quietude, and the path is the place of tranquility.

“Beings keep cycling [in birth and death] by nature. Know that this is the basis of suffering! Disgusted with the end and trying to block its origin, one may not wish for any existence or nonexistence!
“The great ﬁres of birth, old age, and death are burning all around in the world. Seeing that birth and death is unsteady, one should develop freedom from its notion. Samādhi completely achieves the quiet place of immortality.

16. “Empty and without ‘I’ or ‘mine,’ the whole world is like an illusion. Observe this body as a multitude of great elements and a mass of formations!”

When the elder [Anāthapiṇḍada] heard the exposition of the Law, he immediately obtained the ﬁrst fruition.90 The sea of birth and death was eliminated. There was just one drop left.

18. “One may practice renunciation in seclusion or be free from the body in the highest existence.91 It is better to be truly delivered by seeing the truths now as a common person.

“If one is not free from the suffering of the formations and from the net of all kinds of strange views, one does not see the meaning of the truth, even though one may reach the highest existence. Wrong notions are attached to celestial merit, since the bond of desire for existence becomes increasingly stronger.”
When the elder [Anāthapiṇḍada] heard the exposition of the Law, the darkness of obscuration opened up in a bright way. He consequently

obtained the right view and all wrong views were forever removed, just as a strong autumn wind scatters heavy clouds.

“He did not consider Īśvara as the cause for the production of the world, nor was it the case that it was produced by a wrong cause, neither was it uncaused.92
“If [the world] were produced by Īśvara, there would be no old or young, ﬁrst or last. There would be no wheel of the ﬁve destinations. The born would not be extinguished.

23. “And there would be no calamities. Doing evil would not be wrong. Pure or impure actions would come from the god Īśvara.

“If the world were produced by the god Īśvara, he would not be doubted, just as the son is produced by the father. Who would not be conscious of his honored one?
“When one met with suffering, one would not on the other hand resent the god. All would honor Īśvara, and would serve no other spirit.

26. “If Īśvara were the maker, he would not be called “Sovereign.” But as a maker he would constantly have to produce. If he were constantly producing, he would himself toil. Why then call him “Sovereign”?

27. “He would either produce unwittingly, as the action of an infant, or produce intentionally. If he had the intention [to produce] he would not be sovereign.

28. “If suffering or happiness came from beings, then these are not made by Īśvara. If Īśvara produces suffering or happiness, he would have love or hate. Because he would have love or hate, he should not be called “Sovereign.”

29. “If, furthermore, a sovereign were active, beings would be silent. Conﬁding in his sovereign power, what would be the use of practicing good? One just might practice good or evil but would not have the retribution of the action.

“If sovereignty were produced by actions, all would be actions in common [with human beings]. If they were actions in common, all would be called sovereigns.
“If Īśvara were uncaused, all would be nonexistent too. If he would rely on another sovereign, then the number of sovereigns would be without end.

32. “That is why beings all have no maker. Know that the meaningfulness of a sovereign is destroyed in this discussion! All meanings are mutually contradicted. If there is no explanation, there is an error.

“If furthermore a speciﬁc nature93 were to produce, the error would be the same. Those who understand the theories of causality have never given such explanation.
“One could have things that are made without any basis or cause, but they all come from a cause, as if relying on a seed. Therefore, know that nothing is produced by a speciﬁc nature!

35. “All that is made is not just produced by one cause. But because one speciﬁc nature is mentioned, it is not the cause.

“Or [suppose] one says that the speciﬁc nature completely ﬁlls all places. If it were to completely ﬁll all, there would be no maker or that which is made. And if there is no maker or that which is made, it is not a cause.
“If it were in all places and all would have a maker, it would be the case then that at all times, constantly, there is something being made.
“If one mentions a constant maker, there would be no waiting for the right time to produce an object. Therefore, know that it is not the case that a speciﬁc nature is the cause!

39. “When they further explain that this speciﬁc nature is free from any attributes,94 all things that are made should be free from attributes too.

“But all the worldly is seen to possess attributes. Therefore, know that the speciﬁc nature again is no cause!

41. “If one explains that the speciﬁc nature is different from an attribute, its nature should not be different, since one would consider something permanent as cause.

42. “Because beings are different from their attributes, the speciﬁc nature is no cause. If the speciﬁc nature were permanent, things would not be destroyed.

43. “Considering the speciﬁc nature to be a cause, cause and effect would in principle be the same. Because the worldly is destroyed, know that it has another cause!

44. “If it were caused by a speciﬁc nature, one would not seek deliverance. As it would have a speciﬁc nature, it would allow its birth and extinction. Even if one had obtained deliverance, the speciﬁc nature would yet produce bonds.

45. “If the speciﬁc nature was invisible but was the cause for visible factors, it would not yet be a cause, because cause and effect would in principle be different. For all visible things in the world both cause and effect are visible.

“If a speciﬁc nature were unwitting, it would not be the cause of something with an intention. Just as upon seeing smoke one knows of the ﬁre, cause and effect are mutually dependent.

47. “It is not the case that the cause is invisible but that it would produce something visible. When, for instance, gold is made into vessels and robes, throughout they are not separate from gold. If the speciﬁc nature were a cause for something, why would it be different throughout?

48. “If time were a maker, one should not seek for deliverance. Because time is permanent, one should let time be.

“The world would be endless, and the same would apply to time. And so, a practitioner should not apply himself to it and strive.
“Entities95 and attributes—the world discusses them as being the same or different. Even though there are several kinds of theories, know that they are not one cause.

51. “If one says that a self is active, it should produce according to one’s wishes, yet it now does not follow one’s wishes. Why would one say a self is active?

“What one does not want is still obtained; and what one wants, on the other hand, is still disregarded. As suffering and happiness are not sovereign, why say that a self is active?

53. “If a self were active, one would be without any action for a woeful destination. Because several kinds of results of an action are produced, one knows that it is not the case that a self is active.

“One might say that a self is active complying with the occasion, but in response to an occasion it would do only what is good. Because good and evil are caused by conditions, one knows that it is not the case that a self is active!

55. “If absence of a cause were active, one should not develop application. As all would be spontaneously ﬁxed, why would one develop any cause?

56. “With several kinds of actions in the world, one obtains several kinds of results. Therefore, know that all is not made as uncaused!

57. “With or without any intention, all arises from causes and conditions. No factor in the world is produced uncaused.”

[Hearing this,] the elder Anāthapiṇḍada’s mind opened up and he had thorough insight into the exquisite meaning. Knowledge of the unique

reality arose, and he decidedly understood the truth. He bowed at the World- honored One’s feet, held his palms together, and stated his request:

“I live in Śrāvastī. The land is rich and happy. Its great king Prasenajit is a descendant of the family of Haryaśva. His meritorious virtue and fame are renowned. He is honored near and far.

60. “I do wish to establish a pure abode. I do wish you would mercifully accept it! I know that in your mind, O Buddha, [all] is equal. You do not seek comfort where you dwell, but may you not disregard my invitation, out of sympathy for beings?”

61. The Buddha knew the elder’s intention. A great donation would now be made. Untainted and unattached, he skillfully guarded the intention of beings.

62. “You have seen the truth. In your actual intention you wish to practice generosity. Money is no permanent treasure. One should quickly donate it.

63. “When, for instance, one’s treasury burns down, what has been taken out is precious. A bright person knows about impermanence, and by donating his riches he extensively practices kindness.

“The stingy are parsimonious. They do not enjoy [their wealth] for fear of its extinction, and they are not afraid of impermanence. Simple loss increases their mournfulness.
“When donating at the right time and to a proper recipient, one is like a vigorous man facing an enemy. Able in generosity and able in battle, he is a valiant and wise person.
“One who donates is loved by all. He is well praised and widely renowned. The virtuous are happy to be his friend, and when his life ends his thoughts are always joyful.

67. “Free from regret and fear, he is not reborn in the destination of hungry ghosts. Here he is recompensed with ﬂowers, but his fruition is hard to conceive.

68. “While revolving in the six destinations, no ﬁner companion surpasses generosity. If one is reborn among gods or humans, one is served by all. Reborn in the animal destination, generosity is recompensed and one will accordingly experience happiness.

“Even though one may obtain the path of immortality when one’s wisdom has developed quiet concentration, and when one is without support

and without counting on anything,96 it is completed through the donation of resources.

70. “Because of one’s generosity, one develops the eight mindfulnesses97 of a great person. Following the mindfulnesses, one has joyful thoughts and certainly gains samādhi.

71. “As samādhi increases wisdom, one can correctly contemplate birth and extinction. Having correctly contemplated birth and extinction, one in due order obtains deliverance.

“If one is generous, giving up one’s riches, one does away with attachment. If one is compassionate and gives reverentially, one completely removes jealousy and pride. One clearly sees the result of generosity, but without generosity one is deluded and insight is done away with.
“The extinction of all fetters and afﬂictions—this comes from gen- erosity. Know that generosity is a cause for deliverance!
“Just as someone grows plants or ﬂowers and fruits for their shade, the same applies to generosity. The happiness of its reward is great nirvana. When riches, which are not solid, are donated, the reward one obtains is a solid fruition.
“When donating food, yes, one gains strength; and when donating clothing, one obtains beauty. When one establishes a pure abode, all fruitions are fully accomplished.
“Some donate seeking the ﬁve desires, and some wish for greater riches. Some donate for fame. There are those who seek the happiness of rebirth in heaven. Some want to avoid poverty. Only you donate without any [such] intention.
“The highest among generosities is not obtained without beneﬁt. If you want to be magnanimous, let it be quickly accomplished! You came deluded and with desire in your heart, but you will return after the eye of purity has opened up.”
1. The elder [Anāthapiṇḍada] accepted the Buddha’s instruction, and his generous mind became increasingly clear. He invited Upatiṣya, his worthy friend, to return with him.
2. When he had gone back to Kośala, he went all around to choose a ﬁne site. He saw the garden of Crown Prince Jeta, the grove and the streams utterly clear and quiet.

He went to the crown prince and asked for permission to buy the grounds. The crown prince greatly valued the place and at ﬁrst did not have any intention to sell.
“If you were to cover it entirely with gold, still the land would not be given!” The elder, with joy in his heart, immediately spread out gold all around.
Jeta said, “I will not allow it. Why do you spread out all this gold?” The elder [Anāthapiṇḍada] said, “If you will not permit it, why did you say to cover [the land] with gold?”

83. As both men contended thus, they went to the magistrate to decide the matter. All sighed, thinking that it was amazing, and Jeta too knew that [Anāthapiṇḍada] was sincere.

Having made extensive inquiries about his reasons, it was said that “He will establish a pure abode, and offer it to the Tathāgata and the order of bhikṣus.”
When the crown prince heard the Buddha’s name, his mind imme- diately understood. He accepted only half the gold, and peacefully negotiating, they established [the place] together.
“Let us together bring offerings to the Buddha—you the land and I the grove!” The elder [Anāthapiṇḍada] handed over the land to Śāriputra, and Jeta [donated] the grove.
[Śāriputra] planned and began construction of a pure abode. Night and day they worked and it was quickly completed. [The place] was prominent and excellently adorned, like the palace of the four celestial kings.

88. They followed the rules and complied with the propriety of the path in accord with what was ﬁtting for a Tathāgata. A wonder in the world, [the place] increased the brilliance of the city of Śrāvastī.

89. As the Tathāgata showed his divine shelter, all noble ones gathered for the summer retreat. The one without attendants98 mercifully descended, and, having attendants, the [noble ones] contributed to the propriety of the path.

90. Because of this merit, the elder [Anāthapiṇḍada] ascended to heaven when his life ended. His sons and grandsons continued his inheritance, planting the ﬁeld of merit for generations.

Chapter XIX

The Meeting of Father and Son

1. The Buddha converted all kinds of people of different paths in the land of Magadha. They all followed the unique Law, just as the sun is reﬂected by the stars.

He left the city of the ﬁve mountains99 together with a thousand disciples. Surrounded by his retinue, he went to the gilded mountains.100
Approaching Kapilavastu, he wished to show his gratitude. “I will offer the Law to serve the king, my father.”

4. The royal preceptor and the chief minister had sent ahead some scouts to investigate the attendant’s’ presence and observe [the Buddha’s] advance. When they knew that the Buddha wanted to return to his country, they hurried to inform [the king] in advance.

5. “The Crown Prince has traveled far to study. His wish has been fulﬁlled. He is returning now.” The king was overjoyed on hearing this. He adorned his carriage and immediately left to welcome [the Buddha]. The whole country, nobles and commoners, all followed the king.

6. Gradually approaching, he saw the Buddha from a distance. His appearance was twice as bright as in the past. Among his great multitude, [the Buddha] was like King Brahmadeva.

[The king] descended from his chariot and slowly advanced, careful not to make any difﬁculty concerning the right of way. Gazing at [the Buddha’s] countenance, he felt delighted but did not know what to say.

8. Being covetous, [the king] dwelled among the bonds of the common, but his son had surpassed that and had ascended to become a seer. Although his son was among worthies of the path, [the king] did not know by what name to call him.

[The king] considered that he had been longing for this for a long time, yet now [that the time had come] he did not know how to make a

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pronouncement. His son sat in silence. [The Buddha] was tranquil and his expression did not change.

10. “Absence of affection after a long separation makes my heart lonely and sad. Suppose, for instance, someone who has been thirsting in vain comes across a cool spring on his way. He hurries to drink from it, but when he approaches the spring, it is unexpectedly dry.

11. “Now I see that you, my son, still have your former bright appearance, but your mind is distant and your manner remote, without any hidden impulses. While you restrain your feelings, my vain hopes are dashed, just as encountering a dry spring when thirsty.

“When I did not see you, multiple thoughts rushed on, but when I look you in the eye, there is no joy, just as when someone who has been remembering a distant dear one suddenly sees his painted image.
“You should rule the four worlds, just like King Māndhātṛ, but you now go begging for alms. What splendor would this path have?
“You are as tranquil as Sumeru, and your bright appearance is as bright as the sun. You walk with the digniﬁed step of an ox king, with the roar of a fearless lion, but you do not accept the ﬁefdom of the four gods. You support yourself begging for alms.”

15. The Buddha knew that in the mind of the king, his father, there still existed the notion that he was his son. In order to open up his mind and also out of mercy for the entire crowd, he rose in the sky through his supernatural power and with both hands held up the sun and moon.

16. He wandered through the sky and made all kinds of transformations. He divided himself into countless bodies and united again in one,

or walked on water as on the ground, or entered into the ground as into water. Walls of stone did not hinder him, and left and right he emitted water and ﬁre.
The king, his father, was overjoyed, and his feelings of father and son were all done away with. Seated on a lotus in the sky, [the Buddha] expounded the Law to the king.
“I know that your heart, O king, is kind. Because of me, your son, your grief has increased. You are bound by love for your son but you should quickly remove that! Stop your love, quiet your thoughts, and accept that I, your son, cares for the Law!

“That which other sons have never offered, I offer this now to the king, my father. That which a father has never received from a son you will now obtain from your son.
“Amazing for a human king and wonderful for a celestial king, the exquisite path of immortality, I now offer this to you, great king.
“Any speciﬁc action is an action for rebirth. The basis of an action causes its fruition. Know about the cause and effect of an action! Diligently develop actions to cross over the worldly!
“When one carefully contemplates the world, only action is one’s good friend. Relatives and oneself, with deep affection they long for one another. But when life stops, the spirit goes on alone. Only the good friend, action, follows.

24. “As the wheel revolves in the ﬁve destinations, one’s three actions101 are produced by the three.102 But craving is their cause, while all kinds of species are different.

“You must exert yourself now, and purify your corporal and verbal actions! Diligently practice night and day! Appease your confused mind and become quiet! Only this will beneﬁt oneself. Without this there is nothing for me!
“Know that the existences of the three worlds are like the waves of the sea! They are difﬁcult to enjoy and hard to attend to. You should practice the fourth action!103

27. “In birth and death the wheel of the ﬁve destinations turns like the stars. As even the gods change, how could one obtain permanence among humans?

28. “Nirvana is the greatest happiness, and the quiet of meditation is the most excellent among pleasures. The happiness of the ﬁve desires of a human king is dangerous, fraught with fear. As if dwelling with poisonous snakes, how could one have an instant of joy?

29. “A bright person sees the world as if he were surrounded by a great ﬁre. His fear is extraordinary and he does not have any contentment, even for a little while. He seeks to leave birth, old age, and death. The place of quietude without end is where a wise one dwells.

“One does not need sharp weapons, elephants, horses, and troops with chariots. Having subdued greed, anger, and delusion, there are no more enemies in the world.

37c

“Know suffering and annihilate the cause of suffering! Realize its extinction and develop the means! Through right awakening to the four truths, one’s fear of a woeful destination is removed.”

32. The previous display of [the Buddha’s] ﬁne divine power had made the king’s heart joyful. His feelings of resolute faith were already profound, and he was ﬁt to be a vessel for the Right Law.

He held his palms together and said in praise, “Wondrous is the accomplishment of the result of your solemn oath! Wondrous is the freedom from great suffering! Wondrous is the beneﬁt for me!
“Even though [the sight of you at ﬁrst] increased my grief, I have obtained beneﬁt because of the sadness. Today is a wondrous day for me! The fruition for having given birth to a son is accomplished.
“It was proper to reject exquisite happiness. It was proper to stren- uously practice austerities. It was proper to forsake the splendor of your family. It was proper to give up feelings of love.
“The seer kings of old suffered greatly but without any merit. In a pure and tranquil place, you have now obtained all. At ease yourself and put- ting others at ease, your great compassion saves beings.
“Those who in the past once dwelled in the world as wheel-turning kings did not have any sovereign divine power that could open up my mind, and neither did they have this ﬁne Law which makes me joyful today.
“If you were a wheel-turning king, the cycle of births and deaths would not end. Now you are spared from birth and death, and the great suf- fering of the turning of the wheel is extinguished. You widely and ably expound the law of immortality for the kinds of beings.

39. “Such is your divine power, and your wisdom is extremely profound and extensive. You have forever extinguished the suffering of birth and death, and are the highest among gods and humans. Even if you had occupied the position of a noble king, I would never have obtained this beneﬁt.”

Having spoken such praise, [the king’s] love of the Law increased his reverence. Though he occupied the worthy position of king and father, he humbly bowed and made obeisance [to the Buddha].

41. When the whole population in the land observed the Buddha’s divine power, when they heard his exposition of the profound ﬁne Law and saw their king’s reverence,

they held their palms together and made deep obeisance, and all thought that it was wonderful. Weary of staying in their common bonds, they all produced the thought of going forth.

43. The princes of the Śākya lineage gained insight into the path, coming to fruition. They all became weary of the happiness of worldly prosperity, gave up their relatives, and went forth.

44. Ānanda, Nanda, Kṛmila, Aniruddha, Nanda, and Upananda, and also Kuṇṭhadhāna.

Such chiefs and also other sons of the Śākya lineage all followed the Buddha’s teaching. They accepted the Law and became his disciples.

46. The son of the chief minister, who puts the country straight, Udāyin, and others subsequently went forth together with the princes.

47. Furthermore, when the son of Atri, called Upāli, saw that the princes and the son of the chief minister had gone forth, he was moved in his heart, his affections opened up, and he accepted the law of going forth.

When the king, the father, had seen the divine power and qualities of his son, he too entered the clear stream himself, the gate of the Right Law of immortality.
He gave up his royal throne and his land, and was succeeded by Amṛtodana.104 Residing in solitude, [the former king] practiced quietude. Dwelling in the palace, he practiced like a royal seer.

50. After the Tathāgata had subsequently received all, his own family and good friends, his countenance was kindly as he went on his way and his relatives joyfully followed him.

51. When the time had come to go begging for alms, [the Buddha] entered Kapilavastu. The men and women in the city were pleasantly surprised and called out in raised voices,

“Siddhārtha’s application to the path is completed, and he has returned!” Inside and outside they passed it on and told one another. Big and small rushed out to have a look.

53. In the doors and windows they stood shoulder to shoulder. In sidelong glances they saw the primary and secondary marks of the Buddha’s body and the light [from his marks] was very bright.

54. Outwardly [the Buddha] wore a kāṣāya garment, but the brightness of his body inwardly had a penetrating shine, just as the round disk of the sun casts its light both inside and outside.

38a

Those who observed this felt sadness and joy in their hearts. They held their palms together and their tears ﬂowed. They saw that the Buddha was walking in a digniﬁed way, his appearance restrained, and with controlled faculties his ﬁne ﬁgure manifested the meaningfulness of the Law. They were startled and their sad sighing increased.
“By taking tonsure he has ruined the loveliness of his appearance, and his body is covered with a colored garment. His deportment and reﬁned appearance are stately. With self-control he proceeds, gazing at the ground.
“His head should bear a feathered crown and he should hold the reins of a ﬂying dragon! Why must he brave the ﬂoating dust and go begging with a bowl in his hand?
“His skills are sufﬁcient to subdue his enemies, and his appearance will please his ladies. He should wear ornamental dress and a celestial crown, and the people should all turn their heads toward his heavenly light!

59. “Why does he turn his splendid countenance downward, restraining his mind and controlling his appearance, and, having given up desire and ﬁne clothes, wear a dyed garment on his unadorned body?

“What sign did he see, and what does he seek? He has become an enemy of the ﬁve worldly desires. He has given up his worthy wife and his dear son, and wanders alone, happy all by himself.
“Difﬁcult, indeed, it is for that worthy consort!105 For a long time she has been feeling sorrow, and now she hears that [her husband] has gone forth. Can her life yet be complete?

62. “We are wondering whether King Śuddhodana will ever see his son. He has seen his ﬁne-looking ﬁgure but [the son] has gone forth, ruining his appearance. An enemy may yet be more bitterly regretted, but when his father sees [his son], how could he be all right?

“His dear son Rāhula is in tears and feels a constant longing. Does [the Buddha] not think of soothing him when he sees him, because he has applied himself to this path?

64. “All those who understand the way of signs have said that when the Crown Prince was born, he was endowed with the signs of a great person, that he would enjoy the four seas. But contemplating what he has done now, that was all empty talk.”

65. Such [statements] among many others were their confused and dis- orderly pronouncements. But the Tathāgata’s mind was unattached, without any delight or grief. In his compassion he felt sympathy for the beings, and wished to free them from their poverty.

He increased their wholesome roots and for the sake of the future world, he showed them the path of little desire and removed the mist of common impurity.

67. He entered a poor neighborhood and begged for alms, ﬁne or coarse, whatever he could obtain. He did not single out any family, big or small, and, his bowl full, he returned to the mountain forest.

Chapter XX

Acceptance of the Jetavana Pure Abode

After the World-honored One had converted the people of Kapilavastu, and when their salvation had been completed according to circumstances, he went on his way together with his great multitude. He went to the land of Kośala, to King Prasenajit.

2. The Jetavana had been decorated and its halls and dwellings were all fully prepared. Its streams and springs poured forth, and all the ﬂowers and fruits were blossoming.

Many wondrous birds, in the water and on land, ﬂocked together according to their kind and sang harmoniously. [The Jetavana’s] many charms were matchless in the world, just like the palace of Mount Kailāsa.106

4. The elder Anāthapiṇḍada and his retinue welcomed [the Buddha and his multitude] as they were seeking their way. They scattered ﬂowers, burned famous incense, and invited them to enter the Jetavana.

With his golden dragon-pitcher in his hand, [Anāthapiṇḍada] knelt and poured superior water, and offered the Jetavana pure abode to the order of the ten directions.107
The World-honored One accepted [the offerings] with the solemn wish, “May your country be in peace, making it safe for a long time! May your good fortune, O Elder Anāthapiṇḍada, increase without end!”

7. When King Prasenajit heard that the World-honored One had arrived, he then adorned his carriage and left for the Jetavana. He bowed at the World- honored One’s feet. He withdrew and sat to one side, held his palms together, and said to Buddha:

8. “I had not imagined that great good fortune would unexpectedly come to my small country. I am evil and very pernicious. How could I move a great man?

“Now that I have seen your noble countenance, may I bathe in and

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drink from your bright grace! Even though I dwell among the common, I have met with the noble one, entering his excellent stream.

“When, for instance, the wind passes through a fragrant forest, it becomes a perfumed eddy in combination with the air. When the birds come together on Sumeru, their different colors all adjust to its golden light.

11. “When one has met with a bright person, one becomes equally splen- did upon receiving his shelter. When the countryman brought worship to the seer, he was reborn as the constellation Triśaṅku.108

12. “All worldly gain comes to an end, but your noble beneﬁt is forever without end. A human king has many faults, but when he meets a noble one his beneﬁt is permanent contentment.”

13. The Buddha knew that the king’s mind was earnest and that he would ﬁnd happiness in the Law, like Lord Śakra. But he still had two kinds of attachments: he could not forget about riches and female beauty. Knowing it was the right time and knowing his mental behavior, [the Buddha] expounded the Law to the king.

“When an evildoer, a lowly person, sees good, he still feels respect. How much more, then, would a sovereign king who has accumulated merit, availing of his past causality!
“To have greater reverence upon meeting the Buddha—this is not difﬁcult! When the land is quiet and its people content, meeting the Buddha does not increase these.
“I shall now brieﬂy expound the Law. Listen carefully, great king! Accept my exposition and see the result of my merits!
“When life has ended, the body and the spirit are separated, and one’s relatives are all separated. There are only the wholesome and evil actions that throughout follow one like a shadow.
“When you hold the actions of a righteous king in high esteem and when you care for all people, in the present world your fame will spread and at your life’s end you will ascend to heaven.
“If you indulge your feelings and do not comply with the Law, you suffer now and later you will be without joy. In ancient times King Kṛśāśva complied with the Law and experienced celestial good fortune. King Nikumbha performed evil and when his life ended he was reborn in a woeful destination.

20. “I have now brieﬂy expounded the Law about good and evil to you, great king! As a great requirement you must be kind at heart! Observe your people as you would an only child!

“Do not harass or injure, and control your faculties well! Reject the wrong path and take the right road! Do not elevate yourself and put down others! Be a friend of ascetics and do not frequent friends who hold wrong views!

22. “Do not rely on your royal power and do not listen to artful talk! Do not trouble any ascetic and do not transgress the code of royal rule! Be mindful of the Buddha and consider his Right Law! Subdue those who are wrong!

“Be seen as the highest among humans, and your virtue may be thought of as most eminent! Profoundly consider the notion of impermanence, the constant change of one’s physical life! Fix your mind on the most eminent object and earnestly seek pure faith!
“Preserve your kindness and sovereign happiness, and in a future world you will increase your joy! May they transmit your fame in the vast eon, and you will certainly be shown gratitude by the Tathāgata! When, for instance, someone likes sweet fruit, he should plant ﬁne saplings.
“There are those who from brightness enter darkness, and there are those who from darkness enter brightness. There are those whose one darkness is continued by another darkness, and there are those whose one brightness is cause for another brightness. A wise one must reject three categories109 and throughout apply himself to brightness.
“When one speaks evil, all echo it; but when good is being called out, those who go along have difﬁculties. There is nothing that does not cause fruition, and what one has caused is not lost. If one undertakes something but is not diligent, one will in the end be unable to do anything.
“If one did not once develop wholesome causality, one will later bring about a period without happiness. Having gone, there will be no period of rest. Therefore, one should develop what is wholesome! Watch yourself in order not to do any evil, because you will experience the results of your own actions!

28. “Just as beings have no place to escape when the four rocky mountains come together, beings have no way to do away with the mountains of birth, old age, illness, and death. Only those who practice the Right Law escape these heavy mountains of suffering.

39b

“All the worldly is impermanent. The objects of the ﬁve desires are like lightning, [passing swiftly]. Old age and death are the sharp ends of an awl. Why would one practice what is wrong?
“The excellent kings of old were like the god Īśvara. They were valiant and determined to conquer the sky, but having been illustrious for a while they were ruined.
“The ﬁre of the eon will melt Sumeru and the waters of the sea will all dry up. All the less may one’s body, which is like a bubble, hope to stay long in the world!
“A ﬁerce wind may be stopped by a violent whirlwind,110 sunshine may be screened off by Sumeru, and a great ﬁre may be extinguished by water. All existing things turn to extinction.
“This body is an impermanent object, painstakingly guarded for a long time. One extensively enjoys riches and female beauty with it, and in one’s negligence one becomes proud.
“When the moment of death suddenly arrives, [the body] is as rigid as a dead log. An intelligent person, seeing this change, should diligently practice! How could he sleep?
1. “Birth and death alone move the mechanism [of samsara].111 One ceaselessly continues to fall. If one does not indulge in a happiness that will be discontinued, its painful retribution will not be brought about.
2. “One must not be close to any friend who is not excellent! If one does not apply oneself and ceaselessly practices, in one’s application one will not experience knowledge about existence. But experiencing this will certainly make you free from the body.

37. “Having a body, one must not be tainted by an object! Being tainted by an object is a great fault. Even if one were born among the immaterial gods, one would not be spared from change in time.

“You should train in a body that will not change! If it does not change, you are without any fault. As there is this body, it is the basis of all suffering.
“That is why the wise ones put a stop to the fundamental [problem] through the absence of a body. All kinds of beings bring forth suffering through their desire.
1. “Therefore, one should produce thoughts of revulsion concerning

the existence of desire! If one is disgusted with the existence of desire, one will not experience any suffering.

“Even if one is born in [the realms of] form or no-form, changing is a great calamity, as one is not in quietude. All the more so if one is not free from desire!

42. “Thus one should contemplate the three realms as impermanent and without any ruler! While all suffering is constantly ablaze, how could the wise wish for happiness? When, for example, a tree is ablaze with many ﬂames, why would the birds swarm to it?

43. “He who understands this is an intelligent person. Without this there is no understanding. Having this [realization], one is an insightful person, and being without this means no understanding.

“This, then, is what one should do, and being without this is not ﬁtting. With this, one is close to the teaching, and without this one is separated from the right principle.

45. “If one says that this excellent Law is not ﬁt for householders, this is a wrong pronouncement. Yes, the Law is spread equally among the people.

“When one suffers from heat and enters cold water, all becomes cool. When a dark room is lit by the ﬂame of a lamp, all see the ﬁve colors.

47. “The same applies to the practice of the path. There is no different way for mendicants and for common people. Those who dwell in the mountains may fall, committing an offense, while a householder may rise to be a seer.

“Delusion is a vast ocean and wrong views are its waves. Beings follow the currents of desire. They are tossed about and no one can cross over.

49. “Wisdom is a light boat. Firmly hold on to the correctness of samādhi! The drum of application and the oars of mindfulness can save one from the ocean of ignorance.”

When the king had attentively listened to the explanation of the Omniscient One, he despised common splendor and knew that kingship was without any joy. He had been like a maddened elephant running loose, which had sobered up and returned, well proven.

51. There were the heretics, who had seen that the king had put his serene faith in the Buddha. They all requested the great king to decide about the Buddha on the basis of his divine power. The king then said to the World- honored One, “Please, comply with their request!”

52. The Buddha immediately agreed, in silence. All kinds of people with different views, and the divine seers with the ﬁve supernatural powers112 all came to where the Buddha was.

53. The Buddha immediately manifested his divine power, sitting in the sky in his proper place. He emitted a great light all around, as bright as the morning sun. The heretics were all subdued, and the people of the land widely turned to his teaching.

54. In order to expound the Law to his mother, he immediately ascended to the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven. Three months he dwelled in his celestial palace and converted gods and humans all around. After he had saved his mother and shown his gratitude, he returned after the summer retreat had passed.

55. As all the attendants of the gods mounted a staircase of seven precious things, [the Buddha] descended to Jambudvīpa, to the place to which buddhas have always descended.113

56. Countless gods and humans saw him off in their palaces. The rulers and their people in Jambudvīpa held their palms together and gazed up at [the Buddha].

Chapter XXI

Subduing the Maddened Elephant Dhanapālaka

1. After [the Buddha] had converted his mother in heaven, and also the other multitude of gods, he returned among humans and went on converting [beings] according to circumstances.

2. Jyotiṣka, Jīvaka, Śūra, Śroṇa, the elder’s son Aṅgada, and also Prince Abhaya,

Nyagrodha and others, Śrīguptaka, the nirgrantha (Jain) Upāli, he caused them all114 to be delivered.
When the king of Gandhāra, called Puṣkara,115 heard the exposition of the profound ﬁne Law, he gave up his country and went forth.
The demon Haimavata and also Sātāgra116 were subdued on Mount Vipula,117 and they were converted.
The brahman Pārāyaṇika was subdued on Mount Pāṣāṇaka118 by the subtle meaning of half a gāthā, and was brought to resolute faith.

7. In the village of Sthāṇumatī119 there was Kūṭadatta. He was a head of the twice-born [ones] and killed many living beings to offer as sacriﬁces, but the Tathāgata made an effort to convert him and caused him to enter the right path.

8. A celestial spirit of great majesty on Mount Vaidehaka, called Pañca- śikha,120 accepted the Law and entered certainty.

In the village of Veṇukaṇṭakī121 [the Buddha] converted the mother of Nanda,122 and in the city of Aṅgapura he subdued very powerful spirits.
Pūrṇabhadra123 and the wicked, very powerful dragons Śroṇa and Daṇḍa, the king and his concubines, all accepted the Right Law, thereby opening the gate of immortality.

11. In a village of dwarfs124 Kenya and Śela earnestly sought the happiness of rebirth in heaven, but they were converted so that they entered the right path.

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In a village of the Suhmas [the Buddha] showed his divine power to Aṅgulimāla.125 He converted him so that he was immediately subdued.
There was the son of a great elder, Prajīvana (?).126 He was very wealthy and had many riches and possessions, just like Pūrṇabhadra. Before the Tathāgata, he was instantly converted and widely practiced generosity.
In the village of Bhadrika [the Buddha] converted the brothers Bhadravālin and Bhadra, two spirits.127
In Videhapura there were two brahmans. One was called Mahāyus (?), and the other was called Brahmāyus. [The Buddha] subdued them in a debate and caused them to enter the Right Law.
Upon his arrival in the city of Vaiśālī [the Buddha] converted rākṣasa demons, and also the Licchavi Siṃha and a multitude of Licchavis, and Satyaka Nirgranthaputra.128 He caused them all to enter the Right Law.
In Alakāvatī129 there were the demons Bhadra, Bhadraka, and Bhadrakarma (?).
He later arrived at Mount Aṭavī and saved the demon Āṭavika, a sec- ond one called Kumāra, and a third one, Hastaka.
[The Buddha] returned to Gaja Mountain and saved the demon Ṭakana (?) and the yakṣa Śūcīloma and his sister’s son.130
He later went to Vārāṇasī and converted Kātyāyana. After that he went to Śūrpāraka using his divine power.
[The Buddha] converted the merchants there, and Stavakarṇin. He accepted the Sandalwood Hall,whose ﬁne fragrance spreads even now.
Upon reaching Mahīvatī, he saved the seer Kapila. While the muni was staying there he stepped upon a stone, and the two wheel(-marks) with a thousand spokes [on the soles of his feet] became visible [on the stone]. They were preserved.
Upon reaching the place of Vāraṇa, he converted the demon Vāraṇa, and upon reaching the country of Mathurā he saved the demon Gardabha.
In Sthūlakoṣṭhaka [the Buddha] saved Rāṣṭrapāla. When he arrived in the village of Vairañjā, he saved the brahmans.
In the village of Kalmāṣadamya he saved Bṛhadvājin, and further converted Agniveśya there.
1. [The Buddha] again returned to the land of Śrāvastī and saved the

gautamaka Jātiśroṇi and the māgaṇḍika Ātreya.131

Having returned to the land of Kośala, [the Buddha] saved heretical teachers, Puṣkarasārin, and the crowd of brahmans.
When he arrived in the quiet and secluded place of Śetavika, he saved the heretical seers so that they entered the path of the seer Buddha.
Upon his arrival in the land of Ayodhyā, [the Buddha] saved a crowd of demons and dragons. When he arrived in the land of Kumbhīra, he saved two evil dragon kings. One was called Kumbhīra and the other was called Kālaka.
Further, upon his arrival in the land of the Bhārgas, [the Buddha] converted the yakṣa demon called Bheṣaka, the parents of Nakula, and also the great elder, so that they had resolute faith in the Right Law.
Upon his arrival in the land of Kauśāṃbī, [the Buddha] converted Ghoṣila and the two upāsikās132 Prajā and Uttarā.133
Their companions, a multitude of upāsikās, were also saved in due order. Upon his arrival in the land of Gandhāra he saved the dragon Apalāla.
All such [beings], those who walk in the sky and those who have the nature of water or of dry land, he went to convert them all in due order, just as the sun illuminates the darkness.

34. At that time, when Devadatta134 saw the excellence of the Buddha’s qualities, deep in his heart he felt jealous and withdrew from the trances. He used evil means to destroy the order of the Right Law.

[Devadatta] ascended Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa, let a rock fall, and tried to hit the Buddha with it, but the rock split in two and fell to the Buddha’s left and right.
On the level and straight royal road [Devadatta] let loose a maddened evil elephant. His rolling roar was like thunder. His ferocity burst forth, form- ing a cloud. He rushed on like a storm, mighty as a ﬁerce wind.
His trunk, tusks, tail, and four feet—coming into contact with them would absolutely bring destruction. In the alleys and streets of the city of Rājagṛha, those he had killed and injured lay scattered about. After their violent deaths, the corpses lay spread out in the streets. Brains and blood were spattered all around.

38. All the men and women were afraid to go out. The whole city trem- bled [in fear]. One heard only voices calling out in panic. Some left the city in a hurry, and others hid in caves.

41a

The Tathāgata and a group of ﬁve hundred then arrived and entered the city. The people in the windows high on the pavilions advised the Buddha not to proceed.
The Tathāgata was composed at heart and complacent, and his countenance was free from distress. He was mindful only of the suffering of envy. His compassionate mind wished to put [the elephant] at ease.

41. As a multitude of gods and dragons followed all around, [the Buddha] gradually approached the place where the maddened elephant was. All the bhikṣus had ﬂed, so he was accompanied only by Ānanda. Just like the one speciﬁc nature of all kinds of characteristics of the Law, he did not move.

The maddened elephant burst forth in a rage, but when he saw the Buddha, his mind immediately became calm. He threw himself down and made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet, as if Mount Tai had crumbled.
With his lotus-like palm, [the Buddha] patted [the elephant] on the head, just like the sun shining on a dark cloud. As [the elephant] knelt at the Buddha’s feet, he expounded the Law to him, saying:

44. “No elephant may injure the greatest dragon! It is hard for an elephant to ﬁght a dragon, but if an elephant wants to injure the greatest dragon, he will never be reborn in a wholesome destination!

45. “The infatuations of greed, anger, and delusion are difﬁcult to subdue, but the Buddha has subdued them. That is why you should now reject greed, anger, and delusion. If you do not reject them, [you will be] sunk in the mud of suffering and they will further increase.”

When the elephant had heard the Buddha’s exposition, his madness was destroyed and his mind immediately gained insight. He was content in body and in mind, as when one is thirsty and drinks the nectar of immortality.
When the elephant had been converted by the Buddha, the people in the land all rejoiced. They all exclaimed in admiration that it was wonderful, and arranged for all kinds of worship.
Those of a lesser goodness changed to an intermediate [level], and those of intermediate goodness advanced to a superior [level]. Nonbelievers gained faith and believers’ faith was very ﬁrm.
1. When the great king Ajātaśatru135 saw that the Buddha had subdued the maddened elephant, he thought that it was amazing. He rejoiced and dou- bled his respect.

The Tathāgata, being skillful in means, showed all kinds of divine power and subdued the beings. He caused them to enter the Right Law accord- ing to their capacities. The whole country developed wholesome actions, just like people at the beginning of an eon.

51. Devadatta was entangled in his own evil. Previously he had the divine power to ﬂy, but now he was certain to fall into the Avīci136 Hell.

Chapter XXII

Lady Āmra[pālī]’s137 Meeting with the Buddha

1. After the World-honored One had made extensive conversions, the thought of his [ﬁnal] nirvana138 arose. He set forth from the city of Rājagṛha to the district of Pāṭaliputra.

After [the Buddha’s] arrival he stayed there in the Pāṭalī Caitya.139 There was a dependent state, a border district of Magadha.
The brahman who ruled that land140 was learned and understood the scriptural texts. Looking at the signs concerning the welfare of the land, he served as the national oracle.
The king of Magadha sent a messenger to notify the oracle that he had to erect a secure wall to protect against violent neighbors.
The World-honored One predicted that the land would be protected by celestial spirits. If one were to erect a wall there, it would forever be ﬁrm and free from danger.
The augur rejoiced in his heart, and brought worship to the Buddha, to the Law (Dharma), and to the order (Sangha). The Buddha left through a gate141 in the wall and went to the shore of the Ganges River.
Out of profound respect for Buddha, the augur called [the gate] the Gautama Gate. The whole population on the shore of the Ganges River came out to welcome the World-honored One. They brought all kinds of offerings and all adorned their boats so that he might cross.
Because there were numerous boats, the World-honored One could not be impartial in accepting one, and disregarded the others’ intention. He immediately rendered himself and his great multitude invisible through his divine power. He suddenly disappeared from one bank and emerged on the other bank.
Riding the boat of knowledge, [the Buddha] extensively saved beings. Because of the power of his qualities, he crossed the river without relying

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on a boat. The population on the shore of the Ganges River called out with one voice that it was amazing.

They all called this ford by the name Gautama Ford. The Gautama Gate, the gate in the wall, and the ford called Gautama Ford, these names spread in the world and the fame of both was transmitted for generations.

11. The Tathāgata proceeded on and arrived in the village of Kuṭi. Many were converted by his exposition of the Law [there]. He later arrived in the village of Nādikā.

Many people had died in an epidemic, and their relatives all came out to ask, “Where will our relatives, who died in the epidemic, be reborn at life’s end?”
The Buddha knew the retribution of their actions well, and gave his explanation in compliance to all their questions. He went on to Vaiśālī and stayed in the Āmra Grove.
Lady Āmrapālī was pleased to hear that the Buddha had come to her garden. Followed by her retinue of servants, she went out to welcome him with dignity.
She was well in control of her faculties. On her body she wore a light garment. She gave up decorated clothes, and desisted from [perfuming herself with] fragrant ﬂowers when bathing.
She was as pure and simple as any chaste maiden in the world when bringing sacriﬁces to the gods. Her beautiful and ﬁne complexion was like the celestial appearance of a jade lady.
When the Buddha saw the lady coming from afar, he said to his mul- titude of bhikṣus, “This woman is utterly beautiful, capable of keeping the attention of any practitioner. You should apply right mindfulness and pacify your mind with wisdom!
“It would be better to be in the jaws of a ﬁerce tiger or under the sharp sword of a madman than to have feelings of desire for a woman.
“A woman shows her licentious attitude whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. Even painted images [of women] reveal their seductive appearance. They steal one’s wholesome thoughts. Why not guard oneself?
“One may see them weeping or laughing, glad or angry; they may be relaxed, with lowered shoulders, or their disheveled hair may tumble—

Chapter XXII

still they confuse one’s mind. All the more so when they have adorned them- selves to manifest a ﬁne appearance!

“Their adornments conceal their lowly bodies, enticing a fool. In his bewilderment he has evil ideas and does not perceive her offensive appearance. Observe that she is impermanent, painful, impure, and ‘without anything that is hers’!

22. “Look carefully at the truth and dispel any notion of desire! Correctly contemplate her as a speciﬁc object! Even a celestial maiden is not pleasant. All the less could desire for any human keep one’s attention!

“Grasp the bow of zeal and the sharp arrow of wisdom! Wear the heavy armor of right mindfulness and choose to battle the ﬁve desires!
“It would be better to pierce both eyes with a hot iron skewer than to observe female beauty with desire in mind.
“Desire confuses the mind and one is deluded by female beauty. When one’s life ends with confused thoughts, one will certainly fall into the three woeful destinations.142 Be afraid of the suffering of the woeful desti- nations and do not be deceived by a woman!
“One’s [sense] faculties should not be bound to her as their object, and as an object she should not be bound to one’s faculties! Thoughts of desire for her come from one’s faculties which are bound to her as their object.
“When, for instance, two plowing oxen share a single yoke and mar- tindale, the oxen cannot be bound any further. The same applies to one’s fac- ulties and their objects. That is why one should control one’s thoughts. Do not let them be negligent!”

28. As the Buddha expounded the Law in all kinds of ways to the bhikṣus, Lady Āmrapālī eventually arrived before the World-honored One.

She saw the Buddha sitting underneath a tree, meditating and reﬂect- ing in tranquility, and cherished the thought that the Buddha in his great com- passion had mercifully accepted her grove.
With an upright mind she controlled her bearing and corrected her former seductive feelings. Purely endowed with a reverential body and mind, she bowed and made obeisance at his feet. The World-honored One bade her to sit down and expounded the Law to her as she wished:
1. “Your thoughts are pure and tranquil, and you reveal an outwardly virtuous appearance. When one is in the prime of life and has abundant

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42b

wealth, when one is endowed with virtue combined with a beautiful appearance, and when one is able to have resolute faith in the Right Law, that is difﬁcult [to achieve] in the world.

“When a man dwells in wisdom, his happiness with the Law is not something wondrous. That a woman, whose determination is weak, whose wisdom is shallow but whose desire is profound, is capable of being happy with the Right Law, this is even more difﬁcult [to achieve].
“When one is born in the world, one should just ﬁnd one’s pleasure in the Law! Riches and beauty will not be permanently preserved. Only the Right Law is precious.
“Strength is ruined by illness, and youth is transformed by old age. Life is distressed by death, but the practice of the Law cannot be encroached upon.
“One is separated from the things one likes, and one is compelled to be near what one does not like. One’s aspirations are not as one wishes. Only the Law is in compliance with one’s intentions!
“Others’ strength means one’s great suffering, but one’s sovereign strength means joy. Women all depend on another, and they bear the suffering of another’s child. Therefore, reﬂect and feel revulsion toward a female body!”
When Lady Āmrapālī heard the Law, she rejoiced in her heart. Her ﬁrm wisdom increased its brightness and she was able to break with desire. She immediately felt revulsion toward her female body and was not tainted by any object.
Even though she felt ashamed of her lowly body, the power of the Law urged her mind on. She bowed and said to Buddha, “You have received me, worthy one. Mercifully accept my offerings tomorrow and let me fulﬁll my earnest wish!”
The Buddha knew that she was sincere at heart, and considering also the beneﬁt of all beings, he accepted her request in silence. [Lady Āmrapālī] consequently rejoiced. As she listened with affection, her understanding steadily increased. She made obeisance and returned home.

Fascicle Five

Chapter XXIII

Staying Alive through [the Buddha’s] Divine Power

1. The Licchavi elders of Vaiśālī then heard that the World-honored One had entered their country and was staying in the Āmra Garden.

Some rode white chariots, with white parasols, and were dressed in white. Blue, red, yellow, or green—each had a different appearance in their multitude. Their attendants led in front and [followed] behind. Competing for the road, they advanced while jostling [with one another] for the way.
Their celestial crowns, ornamental garments, adorned with precious ornamentation, the great brilliance of their majestic appearance—all increased the brightness in that grove.
They removed their ﬁvefold majestic apparel,143 dismounted, and advanced on foot. Having put a stop to pride, their demeanor was reverential and they bowed at the Buddha’s feet.

5. The great multitude surrounded the Buddha, just as the sun casts a circle of light all around. The Licchavi called Siṃha was chief of the Licchavis.

His virtuous appearance was like a lion’s, and he held the position of a lion minister. Having dispelled his lionlike pride, he was instructed by the lion of the Śākyas:

7. “You have great majesty, a famous family, and a beautiful appearance, yet you have done away with worldly pride. Through acceptance of the Law, you have increased your brightness.

8. “The adornment of morality is better than the ornamentations of riches and beauty, and of fragrant ﬂowers. Your land’s abundance and happiness are due only to your splendor.

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“Bringing splendor to one’s person and happiness to one’s people resides in a controlled mind. When increased with a feeling of happiness with the Law, it makes one’s virtue steadily loftier.

10. “While one does not despise any creature in the land and can assemble all the worthy, one must daily renew one’s virtues and foster all people!

11. “Lead the multitude wisely and correctly, just like an ox king crossing a ford. If one can be mindful in the present world and in a later world, one should indeed develop right morality, and one’s welfare will be ﬁrm in both worlds.

12. “One will be revered by all, and one’s fame will spread widely. Kind [people] will be happy to be your friends and the spread of your virtue will be eternal and limitless.

13. “Precious jade and stones in a mountain forest all come into existence relying on the earth. The virtue of morality is just like the earth from which all that is good comes.

“Without wings one may wish to rise into the sky, and one may try to cross a river without a good boat. If one does not have the virtue of morality as a human, escape from suffering is really difﬁcult.
“Just as a tree is hard to climb when its beautiful ﬂowers and fruits sting, the same applies to the one who, though learned and having the power of beauty, destroys morality.
“Sitting upright in an excellent pavilion, one may be adorned with a king’s mind, but when in possession of the quality of pure morality one may follow the great seer and be converted.
“Even if one has dyed one’s garment, wears fur or feathers, or a spiral headdress, or has shaven one’s head, if one does not develop the virtue of morality then it is difﬁcult to cross over all suffering.
“One may bathe three times night and day, make offerings to ﬁre, and practice asceticism; one may leave one’s body for the ﬁlthy animals in the wilds, one may rush toward water or ﬁre, or throw oneself from a cliff;
“one may live on fruits, eat herbs and roots, inhale the wind, and drink from the water of the Ganges; one may swallow air and thereby cease ailments—if one practices these paths of birds and animals far removed from right morality, one is not a vessel of the Right Law.
“By ruining morality, one incurs slander, and one is not held dear by kind [people]. One constantly feels fear in one’s heart and is followed by

an evil reputation, just like a shadow. In the present world there is no beneﬁt. How could one obtain happiness in a later world?

“That is why a wise person should develop pure morality. In the wilderness of birth and death, morality is the best guide.

22. “Keeping the precepts comes from one’s own effort. This is not dif- ﬁcult. Pure morality is a stairway that lets one ascend to heaven.

“The establishment of pure morality comes from the weakness of afﬂiction. One’s faults ruin the mind and one loses one’s ﬁne qualities.
“First forsake any [‘I’ or] ‘mine.’ Any [‘I’ or] ‘mine’ covers all that is wholesome, just as ashes conceal a ﬁre. Only when one steps on it does one notice the burning.

25. “Pride covers over the mind, just as the sun is concealed by a heavy cloud. Insolence extinguishes shame, and grief weakens strong determination.

26. “Old age and illness ruin youthful appearance. Arrogance extinguishes all that is wholesome. The envy of the gods and of asuras raises contention. The loss of any merit comes from a feeling of arrogance.

27. “‘I am the most excellent among the excellent. My virtue is the same as that of the most excellent, but I may be somewhat weaker than the most excellent one.’ [One who thinks] thus is a fool!

“Beauty and family are all impermanent. They are unsteady and unﬁrm over time. In the end they go to ruin. What is the use of pride?

29. “Desire is a huge calamity. It pretends to be your friend but is a secret foe. The ﬁercest ﬁres come from within. This also applies to the ﬁre of desire.

“The blaze of desire is worse than any ﬁre in the world. A ﬁre may be great but water can extinguish it. Desire is hard to extinguish.
“When a ﬁerce ﬁre is set in the wilderness, the grass is destroyed but it will grow back. When the ﬁre of desire burns the mind, it is hard for the Right Law to come into existence.

32. “Desire seeks worldly happiness, and [worldly] happiness increases impure actions. Through evil actions one falls into a woeful destination. Among one’s enemies, none surpasses desire.

“Desire produces love, and through love one indulges in what one may want. By indulging in what one may want, one incurs all suffering. Among faults, none surpasses desire.

43c

“Desire is a great illness. The medicine of knowledge is ended by a fool. Wrong insight and considerations can make desire increase.
“‘It is impermanent, painful, impure, without self, and without any [“I” or] “mine.”‘ A truthful observation with wisdom can extinguish that wrong desire.
“That is why one should develop truthful observation of the object. When a truthful observation has arisen, desire is undone.
“Seeing qualities, one produces desire; and seeing faults, one gives rise to anger. When both qualities and faults become nonexistent, desire and hatred are removed.
“Anger changes one’s ordinary appearance. It can ruin ﬁne beauty. Anger is a screen for the brightest eyes. It harms the meaning of the Law when one wishes for learning.

39. “It ceases the meaningfulness of affection, as one is held in contempt by the world. That is why one should reject hatred. Do not comply with angry thoughts!

40. “He who can control his rage is called a skillful charioteer. The world may praise one who controls his chariot well, but he is [only] a passenger holding the reins.

“When one gives in to hatred and does not stop it from burning, the ﬁre of mournfulness subsequently ﬂares up. If someone gives rise to anger, he ﬁrst burns his own mind. Afterward, when [the ﬁre] is increased by a breeze, it may also burn [others].

42. “The suffering of birth, old age, illness, and death oppresses beings, but one may further add the harm of hatred. Having many enemies, one further increases enmity.

43. “Seeing that the world is oppressed by all suffering, one should give rise to compassionate thoughts! When beings produce afﬂictions, they are strong or weak, with countless differences.”

The Tathāgata, being skillful in means, gave a brief explanation according to [the Licchavis’] illness, just as a good doctor in the world pre- scribes medicine according to the illness.

45. When the Licchavis had heard Buddha’s exposition of the Law, they immediately rose and made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet, and joyfully accepted [the dust] on their heads.

46. They invited the Buddha and his great multitude to an offering [meal] to be arranged for the next day, but the Buddha told the Licchavis that Āmrapālī had already invited him.

47. The Licchavis felt embarrassed. “Why does she take away our beneﬁt?” But knowing that the Buddha’s mind was impartial, they again rejoiced.

48. The Tathāgata was skillful in comforting [them], as was ﬁtting, and caused them to be joyful at heart. Humbly converted, [the Licchavis] returned, well proven, just like a snake after a stern incantation.

When the night had passed and the signs of dawn had arisen, the Buddha and his great multitude went to the house of Āmrapālī and accepted her offering.

50. [The Buddha] went to Veṇugrāmaka and stayed there for the summer retreat. When the three-month retreat was over, he returned to Vaiśālī.

He was staying on the shore of Markaṭa Pond, sitting in a grove.144 He emitted a great light all around. Moved [by this light], Māra Pāpīyas came to where the Buddha was, held his palms together, and entreated him, saying:
“In the past, on the shore of the Nairañjanā [River], you made a truthful pledge: ‘When the thing I have to do is completed, I will enter nirvana.’ What you had to do is now done. You must comply with your former intention!”

53. The Buddha then said to Pāpīyas, “The moment of my extinction is not far off. Later, after three full months, I will enter nirvana.”

Māra knew then that the time for the Tathāgata ’s extinction had been set. His earnest wish was fulﬁlled, and he joyfully returned to his celestial palace.
While he was sitting underneath a tree, the Tathāgata rightly experienced samādhi. He abandoned his life of karmic retribution and remained alive through his divine power.

56. As the Tathāgata abandoned his life, the great earth quaked all around. In the ten directions and in the sky, all around a great ﬁre blazed.

57. The top of Sumeru crumbled and stones rained from the sky. A violent gale arose in the four directions. The trees were all broken apart. Celestial music brought a mournful sound. Gods and humans forgot to be joyful in their hearts.

58. The Buddha rose from his samādhi and said to the beings all around, “I have abandoned my life now. Yet through the power of my samādhi I maintain myself.

“My body is like a dilapidated chariot, without any further cause to come or go. I am freed from the three existences, like a bird born after it has shattered its egg.”

Chapter XXIV

Farewell to the Licchavis

1. When the venerable Ānanda saw that the earth and the heavens all around were shaking, he was startled in his heart and the hair on his body stood on end. He asked the Buddha why [these things were occurring].

The Buddha said to Ānanda, “I will remain alive for three [more] months. All remaining life formations have been abandoned. That is why the earth quakes.”

3. When Ānanda heard the Buddha’s explanation, he felt sad and his tears ﬂowed. Just as, for instance, when a very powerful elephant disturbs a sandal- wood tree and its wood is damaged—its fragrant gum ﬂows down like tears.

4. As a relative [of the Buddha], as someone who held his worthy great teacher in esteem, possessing profound goodness, but not yet having renounced desire—because of these four things [Ānanda] could not overcome his pain.

“Now that I have heard the instructions of the World-honored One, that his nirvana is certain, my whole body has completely withered away. I have lost my direction and my usual bearing. I have completely forgotten the Law I have heard. In my disarray I have lost heaven and earth.
“Astonishing how [soon comes] the extinction of my master, savior of the world! In freezing cold, about to die, the ﬁre I have encountered is suddenly extinguished again.
“Confused by the wilderness of afﬂictions, I have lost my direction. I unexpectedly met an expert guide but before I am saved I suddenly lose him again!

8. “I am like someone who has traveled a long road and who, exhausted by the heat, has thirsted for water for a long time. Suddenly coming across a cool pond he hurries to it, but ﬁnds it all dried up.

9. “His eyes gazing, with blue eyelashes, [the Buddha] clearly examines the three worlds. His wisdom shines in the darkness, but soon it will become dark!

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“Suppose, for instance, during a drought a cloud appears and one anticipates the rain for the plants. But the cloud is quickly dispersed by a ﬁerce wind. Hope ceases and one is left with an empty ﬁeld.

11. “In the great darkness of ignorance, beings have all lost their direction. The Tathāgata has lit the lamp of wisdom but it will be suddenly extinguished. How will they escape?”

12. When the Buddha had heard Ānanda’s exposition, his bitter complaint and his sorrowful feelings, he softly spoke comforting words and explained the True Law to him:

“When someone understands his speciﬁc nature, he will not dwell in grief! All that is conditioned will all go to ruin.
“I have already explained to you that what is united will by nature be separated. Love is impermanent in principle. Give up thoughts of longing!

15. “The conditioned keeps ﬂowing. One is born and one is extinguished. One will not maintain oneself. One may wish for a long-lasting existence, but will never achieve that state!

“If the conditioned were to permanently remain, nothing would change. This would be deliverance. What more would one want?

17. “What could you and other beings now want from me? I have already expounded to you what you should obtain.

18. “What use is this body of mine? The body of the ﬁne Law will exist for a long time. I may remain or exist in quietude [but] what you require will indeed be here!

“As a teacher, I have never held anything from beings. Develop a notion of revulsion [for samsara], well established in your own territory!

20. “When you know your own territory, you must be attentive and dili- gently apply yourself! Practice alone and in tranquility, and reside in solitude! Do not follow beliefs in anything else!

“When you know the territory of the Law, you are certain to clearly see the lamp of wisdom. It can dispel delusion, and one may observe the four ranges.145 Having obtained the excellent Law, one is free from any self and free from [‘I’ and] ‘mine.’

22. “The bones of the skeleton are plastered with skin and ﬂesh, dipped in blood, and tied by sinews. After careful contemplation, [one sees that] this is all impure. Why be content with this body?

23. “Any experiencing comes from its conditions, just as bubbles [form] on water. Birth and extinction are impermanent and painful, far removed from any pleasant notion.

24. “Thoughts come into existence, exist, and are extinguished. Renewed again and again, they do not cease even for a while. When considering tran- quility, the notion of permanence is forever abandoned.

25. “All formations are produced by causes and conditions. They gather and scatter, and are not constantly together. A fool produces the notion of a self, but a wise one is without any [‘I’ or] ‘mine.’

26. “Reﬂect on these four ranges, and correctly contemplate them! This is the path of the unique vehicle, by which all suffering is extinguished.

“If one can dwell in it and truthfully contemplate it correctly, this Law is permanent and without end, even while the Buddha’s body may be dead or alive.”
When the Buddha had expounded this ﬁne Law and comforted Ānanda, the Licchavis heard about it. They were fearful and gathered together.

29. They all abandoned their mundane deportment and rushed to where the Buddha was. After they had made obeisance, they sat to one side. They wanted to question him but could not utter a word. The Buddha knew what was on their minds. He anticipated [their questions] and gave them a skillful explanation.

30. “As I observe you now, you have exceptional notions in your mind. You have abandoned the affairs that are the common lot [of human beings]. Yes, mindfulness of the Law is what you feel.

“If you now wish to receive learning and knowledge from me, do not grieve for me, whether I am alive or dead!
“Impermanence is the nature of the conditioned. It is ﬁckle and changeable. Neither ﬁrm nor beneﬁcial, it is not characterized by long-lasting duration.

33. “The seer kings of old, the seer Vasiṣṭha and others, the wheel-turning king Māndhātṛ, among many others,

“such former excellent ones were as powerful as the god Īśvara. They have all long since gone to ruin. Not one presently exists.
“Suns and moons, Śakras, rulers of the gods—their numbers were very great too, but all these have also turned to ruin. No one has existed for a long time.

45a

“The number of buddhas in the past worlds has been [as many as] the sands on the banks of the Ganges. Their wisdom shone in the world but they have all been extinguished like a lamp.

37. “The same will apply to the future extinction of the buddhas of future worlds. Why would I now be any different? I [too] shall enter nirvana.

38. “Yonder there are others I have to save. Now I must go and proceed. Vaiśālī has been pleasant. Do feel at ease!

“There is not any support in the world and one should not enjoy the three worlds! Stop the suffering of grief and give rise to the thought of renun- ciation!
“Having decided on a long separation, I will travel north. I will slowly travel the long road, just like the sun nears the mountains in the west.”

41. The Licchavis, moaning sadly, complied as [the Buddha] went on his way. Looking up at heaven, they sighed with grief. “Alas! How astonishing!

“His appearance is like a mountain of real gold, fully adorned with all the marks, but before long he will crumble. How unkind is impermanence!
“We have thirsted in vain for a long time in birth and death. The Tathāgata is our mother of wisdom but suddenly abandons us now. Not having any rescue, what of our suffering?

44. “Beings have been in darkness for a long time, but through his light they may proceed in wisdom. Why does the sun of wisdom suddenly hide its light?

“Ignorance is a swift current, tossing beings about. Why will the bridge of the Law soon and so suddenly be destroyed?
“The ﬁne medicine of the unsurpassed knowledge of the compas- sionate great physician-king can cure the suffering of beings. Why does he abruptly depart?

47. “The ﬁne celestial banner of compassion, adorned with wisdom and covered with adamantine thoughts—the world would tirelessly observe it.

“But why will the banner of excellence, our sacriﬁcial ornament, soon collapse? How little merit do beings have! They will continue to turn in the stream of birth and destruction.
“The gate to deliverance has suddenly closed. We will suffer for a long time, without any hope of escape. The Tathāgata is skillful at giving

comfort but he has abandoned us to our feelings and has bade us farewell for a long time.”

Controlling their thoughts, [the Licchavis] endured their longing. They were like pale karṇikāra ﬂowers. Hesitantly and slowly, they went on their way, dispirited. They were like those who had lost a relative and returned when the burial was over, after a long farewell.

Chapter XXV

Parinirvāṇa

While Buddha was approaching his place of nirvana, Vaiśālī was empty, as if the stars and the moon had lost their light in the darkness of the clouds at night.

2. The land had been happy before, but now it suddenly languished, like an orphaned daughter who has lost her kind father and is always lonely and sad.

3. Like someone who is beautiful but has no learning, who is intelligent but has little virtue, who is eloquent at heart but stammers in speech, who has bright wisdom but lacks talent,

who has divine power but lacks digniﬁed demeanor, who is compassionate but false at heart, eminent but without any power, with digniﬁed demeanor but without any Law,
the same applied to Vaiśālī. Once ﬂourishing, it was now in decline, just like plants in an autumn ﬁeld. Lacking water, they wither away.
[The people] either stopped making cooking ﬁres, all smoke extinguished, or, needing nourishment, forgot to eat. They all abandoned their public and private activities, and did not engage in the common lot [of human beings].
Mindful of the Buddha, they were deeply moved by their love. Each was silent, not saying a word. The Licchavi Siṃha was then forced to bear his grief. He let his tears fall and made sounds of grief to show his affection.
“He has destroyed any wrong path and has shown the Right Law. He has subdued the heretics. He will ﬁnally go away, never to return.

9. “The world will cease when he has left the ways of the world. Impermanence is a grave illness. When the World-honored One has entered great tranquility, [the people] will be without any support and without salvation.

“The Worthy One, superior in expediency, will hide his light in the ﬁnal place, and we will lose our strong determination, just like ﬁre without ﬁrewood.

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11. “When the World-honored One gives up his protection of the world, beings are very pitiable. When he has lost his divine power as a human, the whole world will all grieve for him.

“To escape the heat, one jumps into a cool pond; if one meets with cold, one relies on ﬁre [for warmth]. When all will soon be desolate, what then can beings resort to?
“With his thorough insight into the excellent Law, he is a master craftsman in the world, but the world is losing its ruler. When a person loses his path, he is destroyed.
“[The Buddha] has been sovereign over old age, illness, and death, but when his path is lost, a wrong path will be taken. How could the world have two [people] who are able to destroy the mechanism of great suffering!

15. “Extreme ﬁres may burn with ﬁerce heat, but the rain of a great cloud will extinguish them. When the ﬁre of desire burns, who will be able to extinguish it?

“When the one who can be compared with what is most ﬁrm146 has given up the heavy burden of the world, who with the power of wisdom could then be its uninvited friend?

17. “Just as a prisoner facing punishment may become drunk with wine but [will nonetheless be] executed, beings with misled consciousness are born only to die. With a sharp saw, one cuts wood, and impermanence cleaves the worldly.

“Delusion is deep water, and desire is a huge wave. Afﬂictions are ﬂoating froth, and wrong views are a makara ﬁsh.147 Only with the boat of wisdom one can cross over this great ocean.
“Illnesses are the blossoms of a tree, and old age is a delicate twig. Death is the deep root of the tree, and the actions of existence are its shoots. The sharp sword of wisdom can cut down the trees of the three existences.
“Ignorance is a rubbing-stick and desire is the ﬂame. The objects of the ﬁve desires are fuel. One may extinguish [the ﬁre] with the water of knowledge.

21. “Endowed with the excellent Law, [the Buddha] has destroyed delu- sion. Having seen the right road of tranquility, he has ended afﬂictions.

His compassion has converted beings. Friend or foe are no different [to him]. His omniscience has thorough insight, but now all will be abandoned.

“A soft and pure voice, a right body, and delicate long arms. When the greatest seer has an end, who could be immortal?
“One must understand that time changes quickly! One should dili- gently seek the Right Law, just as when, on a dangerous journey, one comes across water, one should drink quickly and advance along the road!
“Impermanence is very adverse, bringing destruction all around, whether to the noble or the low. When right contemplation exists in the mind, one is constantly awake even while asleep.”
The Licchavi Siṃha was then constantly mindful of the Buddha’s wisdom. Feeling revulsion for birth and death, he admired the lion among humans.
He abandoned his worldly love and had profound respect for the quality of renunciation. He subdued his ﬁckle mind and ﬁxed his thoughts on the state of quietude.

28. He diligently practiced generosity and was free from pride. He found happiness in solitary practice, resided in solitude, and reﬂected on the True Law.

29. The Omniscient One turned around and looked back, like a lion. He saw Vaiśālī and pronounced a gāthā for his long-lasting farewell.

30. “This has been my last excursion to this Vaiśālī. Staying in the land where the Mallas live, I will enter nirvana!”

Gradually and in due course, [the Buddha] traveled on and reached Bhoganagara. He stayed in the śāla grove148 and instructed his bhikṣus:
“I will now enter nirvana in the middle of the night. You must rely on the Law! That is your most excellent abode.
“If [a teaching] is not recorded in the sutras and does not comply with the discipline, if it goes against the true meaning, then it should not be accepted!

34. “What is not the Law and what is not the discipline, and furthermore when [a teaching] is not what I have proclaimed,149 then it is the teaching of darkness. You should quickly reject it!

“Hold fast to my clear expositions!150 They are not wrong. They are my expositions, agreeing with the Law and with the teaching of the discipline.
1. “What is accepted as agreeing with my Law and discipline—that may be believed! If someone says that my Law and discipline are wrong, that must not be believed!

37. “When someone does not understand the subtle meaning and is mis- taken about the wording, that person is a fool. He falsely proclaims what is wrong.

38. “He does not distinguish true from false. He sees nothing and experiences darkness. Suppose, for instance, brass and gold are displayed together—[in the same way] one deceives the world.

39. “A fool indulges in shallow knowledge. He does not understand the true meaning. He accepts a similar law and assumes that the True Law has been accepted.

“Therefore, carefully observe the True Law and discipline, just as a goldsmith ascertains the genuine [metal] by heating and pounding it!
“Ignorance about the scriptural texts is not wisdom. What is not ﬁtting is explained as ﬁtting, and what one should do is seen as not ﬁtting.
“Perform an equal acceptance when the meaning of a verse is prac- ticed as it is expounded! If one does not skillfully grasp a sword, one will instead hurt one’s hand.

43. “When the words are not ingenious the meaning is hard to understand, just as when one searches for a house while walking at night. If the house is remote, one does not know where it is.

“If one loses the meaning, one forgets the Law. If one forgets the Law, thoughts rush on in disarray. That is why a wise person does not contradict the true meaning.”
Having expounded these instructions, [the Buddha] arrived in the city of Pāpā, and the multitude of Mallas arranged for all kinds of offerings.

46. There was then an elder’s son, called Cunda. He invited the Buddha to come to his house and served him his last meal.

47. When the meal was over, [the Buddha] expounded the Law. He then went to Kuśinagara. [On the way] he crossed two rivers, the Kukustā River and the Hiraṇyavatī River.

48. There was a śāla grove, a tranquil and secluded place. [The Buddha] entered and bathed in the Hiraṇyavatī River, and his body resembled a moun- tain of real gold.

He instructed Ānanda, “Sweep clean the space between two trees there and put up a charpoy. I will now enter nirvana in the middle of the night.”

50. As Ānanda heard the Buddha’s instructions, his breathing became difﬁcult and he felt sad at heart. He let his tears ﬂow and followed the instruc- tions. After he had made the arrangements, he came back to inform [the Buddha].

The Tathāgata went to the charpoy and lay down on his right side, his head turned north. He used his hand as a pillow and rested one foot upon the other, just like a lion king.

52. Once he lay down his last body, whose suffering had ended, he would never rise. The group of his disciples surrounded him and cried out in grief, “The eye of the world is extinguished!”

53. The wind stopped and the streams in the grove went quiet. Birds and animals were silent and did not make a sound. The sap of the trees ﬂowed like tears. Flowers and leaves fell down out of season.

Humans and gods who had not yet renounced desire were all very fearful, just like those who are traveling through a vast marsh. The road is dangerous and they have not yet reached a village. Afraid they will not make it, their minds are distressed as they plod along.

55. When the Tathāgata had ﬁnally laid himself down, he said to Ānanda, “Go and tell the Mallas! The moment of my nirvana has arrived. If they have not seen me, they will always be regretful and feel great suffering.”

56. Ānanda accepted the Buddha’s instructions. Sadly weeping, he went on his way, and told the Mallas about the World-honored One’s ﬁnal end.

When the Mallas heard this, they became utterly fearful. Men and women left in a hurry, and in tears arrived where the Buddha was.

58. With torn clothes and disheveled hair, their sweating bodies coated in dust, they went to that grove wailing, just like gods whose merit had ended. They let their tears fall and made obeisance at the Buddha’s feet, pale with grief.

The Tathāgata spoke in a comforting way, “Do not be mournful! Now is a moment to rejoice. You should not feel distress!

60. “What has been planned for eons, not until now do I obtain it, a pure state without end, saved from the objects of the [sense] faculties.

“Free from earth, water, ﬁre, and wind, I am in quietude and will not be reborn or extinguished. I have forever done away with sorrow. Why feel sorrow for me?

“In the past, on Gaja Mountain, I wanted to give up this body, but because of my former causality I remained in the world until now.
“Holding on to this brittle body is like dwelling with a poisonous snake. I will now enter great tranquility. All my painful causality has ended.
“I shall not experience a body again, and future suffering will be appeased for a long time. Do not be afraid for me anymore!”

65. When the Mallas heard the Buddha explain that he would enter great quietude, their thoughts were confused and their eyes became bleary, as if gazing into a great darkness.

They held their palms together and said to the Buddha, “You, O Buddha, are free from the suffering of birth and death. You will forever go to the happiness of tranquility. We are really pleased.
“When, for instance, a house is on ﬁre and one’s loved ones escape from it, even the gods rejoice. How much more would the people in the world!
“But after your extinction, O Tathāgata, beings will have no one to observe. Because we will forever be far from any salvation, we feel grief.
“Suppose, for instance, a group of traveling merchants is crossing a remote wilderness with just one guide, and [the guide] suddenly dies halfway. Since the group now has no one to rely on, how could they not feel grief!
“One may have realized some understanding in the present world, but when one has observed the Omniscient One but has not yet gained his excellent beneﬁt, one would be ridiculed by the whole world, just as when a fool passes by a mountain full of precious things yet remains in poverty.”

71. Thus the Mallas lamented to the Buddha, just as an only child laments to his kind father.

72. The Buddha showed them the highest meaning with skillfully enticing words. He said to the multitude of Mallas, “It really is as you say.

73. “One needs rigor in one’s search for the path. Yet one does not obtain it just by meeting me. If you practice according to what I have expounded, you will be free from the net of all suffering.

“The practice of the path exists in the mind. It does not necessarily come from meeting me. When, for instance, a sick person relies on a remedy and takes a good medicine, all illness is naturally removed. He does not wait to see a doctor.

“If one does not practice according to what I have expounded, one meets me in vain, without any gain. Even if one is far away from me, practicing the Law, one is near me. If one dwells with me but does not follow the Law, know that he is far away from me!

76. “Do not be negligent in controlling your mind! Strenuously develop right action! When one is born in the world, one is for a long time oppressed by all suffering. One is disturbed and not at ease, like a lamp in the wind.”

77. When the crowd of Mallas heard the Buddha’s compassionate instructions, they were inwardly moved and wiped away their tears. They forcefully restrained themselves and returned [home].

Chapter XXVI

The Great Parinirvāṇa

1. There was then a brahman called Subhadra. He was completely endowed with worthy qualities, and with pure morality he protected living beings.

2. In his youth he had received wrong views, and had gone forth to follow a heretical path. He wanted to come and meet the World-honored One, and said to Ānanda:

3. “I have heard about the Tathāgata’s path, that its meaning is very difﬁcult to fathom. With his unsurpassed insight in the world he is the highest teacher to give training.

4. “He is about to enter parinirvāṇa now, and it will be even more difﬁcult to meet him again. While it is difﬁcult to meet him, encountering those who have met him is most difﬁcult, just like [grasping] the moon in a mirror.

5. “I now want to meet the unsurpassed skillful guide. In my search to cease all suffering, he will let me cross over to the other shore of birth and death. The Buddha’s sun is about to hide its light. Please, let me meet him for a while!”

Ānanda felt sad and thought that [Subhadra] was going to disparage [the Buddha], or that he was pleased with the extinction of the World-honored One. “I must not let him meet the Buddha!”
But the Buddha knew about [Subhadra’s] wish, and that he was ﬁt to be a vessel for the Right Law, and said to Ānanda, “Allow the heretic to approach! I will save him from human life. Do not make any difﬁculties!”
When Subhadra heard this, he felt great joy in his heart. His feeling of happiness with the Law became more and more profound. Increasing his reverence, he came before the Buddha.

9. At this occasion, courteously speaking with soft words, he made polite inquiries. He held his palms together with a serene countenance and made his request, “I would now like to ask you a question.

10. “In the world there are those who know a law, like myself and many others. Yes, we have heard about what you, O Buddha, have obtained, a different and essential path to deliverance.

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11. “Please, brieﬂy explain it to me. I am imbued only with the feeling of longing and do not [wish to] debate, and I am without any thought of winning or losing!”

12. The Buddha brieﬂy explained the eightfold right path to the brahman. Upon hearing it, [Subhadra] immediately accepted it with an open mind, as if he had been lost and had found the right road.

13. He knew that what he had previously applied himself to was not the ﬁnal path. He immediately obtained what he had never obtained. He gave up the wrong path and turned his back on the darkness of delusion. He reﬂected on what he had previously practiced.

14. Both anger and delusion nourish unwholesome actions. When desire is equally practiced with anger and delusion, it can give rise to wholesome actions. Learning, wisdom, and zeal are yet produced by desire for existence.151

When anger and delusion are stopped, then one is free from their actions. When their actions have been done away with, one is said to be delivered from their actions. But by being delivered from their actions one is not associated with the meaningful.

16. All the worldly is explained as having a speciﬁc nature. If desire for existence, anger, and delusion have a speciﬁc nature, they should permanently exist. How could one be delivered?

Yes, if anger and delusion are extinguished, desire for existence returns one to birth. By comparison: As its speciﬁc nature, water is cold, but it becomes hot [when heated over a] ﬁre. When the heat has diminished, [the water again] turns cold, because its speciﬁc nature is permanent.

18. One always experiences the nature of desire for existence. Learning, wisdom, and zeal do not increase it. They do not increase it and they do not diminish it. How could one be delivered?

[The brahman] had previously thought that birth and death were actually produced by nature, but now, contemplating that meaning, no one could be delivered!

20. If a nature namely permanently remains, how could one have a ﬁnal end? When, for instance, one lights a bright lamp, how could one make it lose its light?

The Buddha’s path is really meaningful. Because of craving, one produces the world. When craving is extinguished, one knows tranquility. Because of its extinction, its result is nonexistent.

22. He had once thought that the self was different from the body, unseen and uncaused. Now he had heard the Buddha’s right teaching, that the world is without any self.

23. All factors are produced by causes and conditions, because nothing is sovereign. Because [they are] produced by causes and conditions, [factors] are painful. The same applies to the extinction of causes and conditions.

24. Observing that the world is produced by causes and conditions, [the brahman Subhadra] extinguished his view of annihilation. When, free from any causality, the world is extinguished, one is free from the view of permanence. 25 [Subhadra] completely gave up his former views and had profound insight in the Buddha’s Right Law. Having planted wholesome causes in his

previous lives, he immediately gained insight upon hearing the Law.

He had obtained ﬁne tranquility, the pure state without end. His mind opened up and his faith was very extensive as he respectfully gazed at the Tathāgata lying there.
1. “It is unbearable to watch the Tathāgata give up the world and enter

parinirvāṇa. Before the Buddha’s ﬁnal end I should be extinguished ﬁrst!”

[Subhadra] held his palms together and made obeisance to [the Buddha’s] noble countenance, sitting in his proper place to one side. He abandoned life and entered nirvana, just as rain extinguishes a small ﬁre.

29. The Buddha said to the bhikṣus, “My last disciple has entered nirvana now. Worship him!”

As the ﬁrst watch passed, the moon was bright and the stars were all clear [in the sky]. The lonely grove was quiet, without a sound. The Buddha gave rise to thoughts of great compassion.

31. He bequeathed his instructions to his disciples, “After my parinirvāṇa you must respect the prātimokṣa.152 It is your great preceptor, the bright lamp in the vast darkness.

“As the greatest treasure of poor people, you should regard my instructions! Follow them just as you would serve me, no different!
1. “Purify your actions of body and speech and abandon all efforts at livelihood! Raising living beings in a ﬁeld or dwelling, accumulating riches and collecting the ﬁve grains—keep away from all that, just as one avoids a great ﬁery pit!

“Cutting plants and trees to open up new soil, treating and curing any illness, consulting the calendar [to discern] one’s fate, casting horoscopes for portents of one’s destiny, observing signs for any proﬁt or loss—all this should not be done!
“Restrain oneself and eat at the proper time. Do not accept or cause [heterodox] arts to be practiced. Do not concoct herbal potions. Keep away from any crookedness.
“The provisions one depends on in compliance with the Law, one should accept these in moderation! One may accept [provisions] but must not amass them. This is a brief explanation of the precepts.
“[The prātimokṣa] is the basis of all precepts and the basis for deliverance. Relying on this Law, one can produce all right experiencing. All true knowledge obtains ﬁnal certitude because of this.

38. “That is why you must keep [the prātimokṣa]! Do not let it be broken! When pure morality is not broken, one has all good qualities. Without it, one does not have any [good qualities], as they are established only by morality.

“If, dwelling in pure morality, one controls one’s faculties well, he is like someone who tends his herd well and does not let [the animals] run loose.
“If one does not control the horses of the [sense] faculties and if one allows the six [sense] objects, one brings about calamities in the present world and will fall into a woeful destination.
“If, for instance, one does not train a horse, it will cause one to fall into a pit. Therefore, a wise one should not set his [sense] faculties loose!
“The [sense] faculties are very evil. They are one’s worst enemy. Though beings may like their [sense] faculties, they are hurt by them yet.
“A sworn enemy, an extremely poisonous snake, a dangerous tiger, or a ﬁerce ﬁre—a wise one does not fear the world’s great evils.
He fears only that a ﬁckle mind will lead him to a woeful destination, as it is made happy by something small and sweet and does not observe the deep precipice.
“A ﬁckle mind is like a maddened elephant that has lost his sharp goad, like a monkey who has taken over the grove. A wise one should control [his mind]!

“If one sets the mind loose so that it is sovereign, one will never obtain tranquility. Therefore one should control the mind and quickly go to a state of tranquility!
“Know moderation in food. Regard it as a way of taking medicine. Do not have any covetous or angry thoughts over food. Food stops hunger and thirst, just as grease is [used] for a dilapidated cart.
“Just as a bee chooses ﬂowers and does not ruin their color or fragrance, a bhikṣu should go begging for alms. Do no harm to others’ faith!
“If [a donor] is generous with an open mind, one should assess what he can bear [to give]. If one does not calculate the strength of the ox, [too] heavy a load will hurt it.
“Develop right actions in due course at the three times: morning, midday, and afternoon. During the two parts of the night, the ﬁrst and the last watch, do not be attached to sleep either!
“Lie down [to rest] in the middle of the night with upright thoughts. Remain in concentrated mindfulness until the ﬁrst sign of light. Do not sleep too much, letting your physical life pass by in vain!

52. “As the ﬁre of time constantly consumes one’s body, why sleep long? The enemies of the afﬂictions will harm you due to your idleness. If the mind is numb from sleep, who will notice when death arrives?

“If a poisonous snake hides in your dwelling, a skillful incantation can make it leave. But if a black venomous snake is in your mind, it is done away with by the skillful incantation of clear perception.
“One who just sleeps a lot is a shameless person. Shame is an ornament. Shame is the goad that controls the elephant.
“Shame lets the mind be concentrated. Shamelessness ruins any wholesome root. Those with shame are praised as worthy in the world. The shameless are equal to birds and animals.
“Even if someone were to cleave your body joint by joint with a sharp knife, you should not harbor resentment, nor should you speak evil words. Evil thoughts and evil words hurt oneself. They do not harm another.
“When one restrains the body and practices austerities, nothing sur- passes the excellence of forbearance. There must only be the practice of forbearance, the most ﬁrm strength, difﬁcult to vanquish! Therefore, do not harbor resentment or say evil words to others!

“Anger destroys the Right Law, and it destroys beauty. It ruins one’s good reputation. The ﬁre of anger burns one’s own mind. Anger is the enemy of virtue. If you love virtue, do not harbor resentment!
“As a householder, to come to anger is not surprising, because of the many troubles [of household life]. But if having gone forth one harbors anger, that deviates from the right principle, as if a large ﬁre were lit in cold water.
“If pride arises in your heart, pat yourself on the head with your hand! You have taken the tonsure and wear a robe. You hold an almsbowl in your hand, and you have decided on this life as your last birth. Why be proud?
“When an ordinary person is proud on the basis of his ﬁne family, he may yet consider it an error. How much more so should someone who has gone forth! Having proud thoughts in one’s earnest search for the path of deliverance—this is absolutely not done!
“Crooked and straight are mutually opposed by nature. They are not found together, just as frost and a blaze [do not occur together]. One who has gone forth develops the straight path. Crookedness is not what he may apply himself to! Falsehood is an unreal pretense. Yes, the Law does not deceive.
“Seeking much means suffering, but little desire means happiness. If one has little desire because of one’s happiness, all the more so when searching for true deliverance!
“The stingy are afraid to seek for more, for fear of losing their wealth. He who likes to be generous is afraid too, ashamed of his riches, of which he may not provide enough [to others].
“Therefore, one should have little desire and be generous to others, without any fear! From having little desire, one obtains the path of deliverance.
“If one seeks deliverance, one should develop satisfaction too! The heart is always joyful when satisﬁed. Joy is nothing but the Law.
“Even if the provisions one depends upon are lowly, one is always content and satisﬁed. Even if someone who is unable to feel satisﬁed obtains the happiness of rebirth in heaven, the ﬁre of suffering permanently burns his mind, because he is not satisﬁed.
“If [you are] wealthy but not satisﬁed, this too is poverty. When [you are] satisﬁed even though poor, this is the highest wealth.

“If one is not satisﬁed, the objects of the ﬁve desires become even larger. One seeks even more and tirelessly hurries toward suffering for a long time. In his effort he feels anxiety and, on the other hand, he is pitied by those who are satisﬁed.
“If one does not often accept one’s retinue, one’s mind is always tranquil. Because of tranquility and quietude, all humans and gods serve him. That is why one should give up both of the two retinues of close and distant loved ones.
“For instance, suppose many birds and monkeys live on a lone tree in a vast marsh. The same applies to a large retinue one may care for. For a long time one experiences much suffering. A large crowd means many entanglements, like an old elephant that is sunk in the mud.
“If one applies oneself with zeal, there is no beneﬁt one will not obtain. One should therefore be strenuous night and day, not lazy!
“As the small streams in the valley continuously ﬂow, they hollow out a rock. If one is not strenuous when trying to make a ﬁre with a stick, one toils in vain and does not obtain it. Therefore, always be vigorous, like someone in his prime making a ﬁre!
“A good friend may be ﬁne but he is inferior to right mindfulness. If right mindfulness exists in one’s thoughts, no evil will enter them.
“That is why a practitioner should always be mindful of his body! If he loses mindfulness of his body, all wholesome [things] may be forgotten.
“When, for instance, a brave leader wears armor, he can withstand a strong enemy. With right mindfulness as one’s heavy armor, one can restrain the thieves of the six [sense] objects.

77. “Right concentration regulates an insightful mind, and it contemplates birth and extinction in the world. That is why a practitioner should practice samādhi. In samādhi one is quiet, able to extinguish all suffering.

78 “When wisdom can shine brightly, one is far from any grasping. It equally contemplates one’s inner considerations. By following [wisdom], one advances toward the Right Law. The householder and the one who has gone forth, both should follow this path!

“On the great ocean of birth, old age, and death, wisdom is a light

boat. In the great darkness of ignorance, wisdom is a bright lamp.

80. “For the impure illnesses of the fetters, wisdom is the ﬁnest medicine. In the thorny forest of afﬂictions, wisdom is a sharp axe.

“Being deluded, one loves the swift current. Wisdom is a bridge. That is why one should diligently practice wisdom produced from learning, from reﬂection, and from cultivation!
“If one accomplishes the three kinds of wisdom, his eye of wisdom is open, even though he may be blind. When without wisdom one’s thoughts are false, one is not someone who has gone forth.
“Therefore, know and leave any false factor, and reach subtle happiness, the quiet and tranquil state!
“Honor heedfulness! Negligence is a skillful enemy. If one is not negligent, one will obtain rebirth in the place of Lord Śakra. If one is remiss and negligent, one will fall among the asuras.
“I have completed the comforting and compassionate actions I had to do. Be vigorous and skillfully develop your own actions!
“Increase your quiet thinking in a secluded place in a mountain forest! Diligently exert yourselves, so that you will not feel remorse later!
“For instance, a ﬁne doctor in the world offers a prescription that is ﬁtting for the illness. If one is ill but does not take [the medicine], this is not the fault of the ﬁne doctor.
“I have expounded the truth and I have shown the level road. If one hears [this teaching] but does not accept it, the one who has expounded it is not to blame.
“If there is anything you do not understand about the meaning of the four truths, you should all ask me now! Do not conceal your feelings anymore!”
As the World-honored One taught in his merciful way, the whole gathering remained silent. Then Aniruddha saw that the great multitude was silent, free from any doubt. He held his palms together and said to the Buddha:
“That the moon is warm and the sunshine cold, the wind quiet and the earth unstable by nature—such four kinds of delusion have not existed at all in the world.
“The truths of suffering, of its cause, of its extinction, and of the path are true, never contradicted. They are as you have expounded, World- honored One! The whole assembly is completely free from any doubt.

“We are all saddened indeed by your nirvana, World-honored One. We do not have the idea that your explanation, O World-honored One, does not mean ﬁnal certitude.

94. “Yes, if someone has recently gone forth and has no profound under- standing of the situation yet, as he has heard your courteous instructions now, his doubts have all been done away with.

“Having crossed over the sea of birth and death, one is free from desire and without any aspiration. Yet all feel sad longing now. ‘How soon is the Buddha’s extinction!’ we sigh.”

96. The Buddha appeased Aniruddha’s several kinds of mournful words further with his compassionate mind, and said:

“Yes, even if one would stay for an eon, one would ﬁnally turn to separation. One may be united with a different person, but in principle one will not permanently be together.
“Having beneﬁted myself and others, my remaining would be in vain. What would I have to do? Those of the gods and humans who were to be saved have all obtained deliverance.

99. “You, my disciples, spread and maintain the Right Law! Know that existence will certainly be ruined! Do not feel grief anymore!

100. “Diligently apply yourself to arrive at the place without separation! I have lit the lamp of knowledge. It is shining and removes the darkness in the world.

“When you know that the world is not secure, you should rejoice, just as when a friend who has met with a serious illness is cured and freed from his suffering!
“I have given up my vessel of suffering, going against the current of the sea of birth and death. I have forever left all suffering. You should rejoice about this!
1. “Guard yourselves well! Do not be negligent! All that exists has turned to extinction. I am now entering nirvana. From now on my words will end. This then is my ﬁnal teaching.”

104. [The Buddha] entered the samādhi of the ﬁrst trance153 and the nine concentrations154 in due order. He followed the concentrations in reverse order, and again entered the ﬁrst trance.

105. He again rose from the ﬁrst trance and he entered the fourth trance. As he left concentration and his thoughts had nowhere to resort to, [the Buddha] immediately entered nirvana.

Because of Buddha’s nirvana the great earth quaked all around. From the sky ﬁrebrands rained all around. The blaze was without any fuel.

107. Furthermore, [ﬁre] rose from the earth and the eight directions were all ablaze. Even the celestial palaces were ablaze in the same way.

108. Thunder moved heaven and earth. The sound of the thunder shook the mountains and rivers, like the sounds of battle between gods and asuras.

109. A violent gale arose in all four directions. Mountains crumbled and ashes and dust rained down. The sun and moon lost their brightness. All clear streams boiled. The śāla grove withered and the blossoms and leaves fell down out of season.

110. Flying dragons ascended in the black clouds. Thier ﬁve heads hung down and their tears ﬂowed. The four kings155 and their retinues generated worship in their sadness.

The gods of the pure abodes156 descended and waited upon [the Buddha] in the sky. As they observed the development of impermanence, they were neither sorrowful nor glad. They sighed that the world was separated from its celestial teacher. “How quick is his destruction!”

112. The celestial spirits of the eight classes157 thronged in the sky. Scattering ﬂowers to bring worship, they felt anxious and were not joyful at heart. Only King Māra was glad. He played music to amuse himself.

Jambudvīpa had lost its splendor, as if a mountain had collapsed and its peak had crumbled, as if the white tusks of a great elephant had snapped, and as if both horns of an ox king were broken.

114. In the sky there was no sun or moon, and the lotuses met with severe frost. The world was downcast like this by the Tathāgata’s parinirvāṇa.

Chapter XXVII

The Eulogy of Nirvana

1. There was then a celestial son who had ascended to his palace with a thou- sand white geese. High in the sky he observed the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa, and for the multitude of gods all around he widely proclaimed gāthās about impermanence:

“All is by nature impermanent. It is quickly born and quickly extinguished. When born, it is accompanied by suffering. Only tranquility means happiness.

3. “While the fuel of actions is amassed, the ﬁre of [the Buddha’s] wisdom has been ablaze. When the smoke of his fame rises to the heavens, a timely rain falls and brings extinction, just as when the ﬁre of the eon arises it is extinguished by a ﬂood.”

4. There was also a god, a brahman seer, a seer of the highest meaning, as it were, who dwelled in the exquisite happiness of the gods but who was not attached to his celestial reward. He praised the Tathāgata’s tranquility. With his mind concentrated, he spoke:

“When I observe the factors of the three worlds, throughout there is none that is not destroyed. With his thorough insight into the highest meaning [the Buddha] is unequaled in the world. His wisdom is the highest of any understanding. A savior of the world!
“All are destroyed by impermanence. Who can remain long? Alas! Beings in the whole world fall into wrong paths.”

7. Aniruddha would not be ruddha (kept back) in the world then. After his extinction, he would not be ruddha (kept back). His birth and death would be niruddha (stopped).

8. He praised the Tathāgata’s tranquility: “Beings are all blind. The mass of formations is impermanent, just like light clouds ﬂoating. They quickly arise and are quickly extinguished. A wise one does not protect them.

“The adamantine bolt of impermanence has destroyed the muni, the seer king. How base is the world’s ﬁckleness! It will be destroyed and is not

191

ﬁrm. The ﬁerce lion of impermanence has harmed the dragon-elephant, the great seer.

“When even the adamantine banner of the Tathāgata is destroyed by impermanence, how much more so would one who has not renounced desire be fearful!

11. “Six seeds and one shoot, rained on by all waters. Deep roots of four stretches.158 Two boughs159 and ﬁve kinds of fruits.

“Consisting of three divisions160 but one and the same trunk. The tree of afﬂictions has been uprooted by the muni, the greatest elephant, but [even] he was not spared from impermanence.
“He was like the crested bird161 that enjoys the water and swallows poisonous snakes. Suddenly meeting a great drought, he lost the water and died.

14. “A swift horse is valiant in battle, but when the battle is over it returns, well proven. A ﬁerce ﬁre burns because of ﬁrewood, but when the fuel is all used up, [the ﬁre] is extinguished by itself. The same applies to the Tathāgata. When his task was over, he turned to nirvana.

“When, for instance, bright moonlight removes the darkness all around for the world and when all beings receive its light, it is concealed again by Sumeru.
“The same applies to the Tathāgata. The light of his wisdom has been shining in the darkness. It removed the darkness for beings, but it is concealed by the mountain of nirvana.
“The excellent light of his fame has shined all over the world. It has dispelled all darkness, unstopped like a swift current.
“While he skillfully drives his seven swift horses, his army and his attendants travel on. But the celestial son who is the sun in all its brightness still enters Yanzi Mountain.162

“When the sun and moon are blocked ﬁve times, beings lose their light.

“After offerings to ﬁre and sacriﬁces to the gods [are made] there remains only burning black smoke. After the Tathāgata hid his brightness, the world likewise lost its splendor.
“He has stopped all lust or expectations, in response to the expectations of beings all around. When the expectations of beings are fulﬁlled, after the completion of his task, he stopped any expectation.

“He abandoned his personal bonds of afﬂiction and obtained the path of truth. He left his mass of troubles and entered the place of quietude.
“Through his divine power he ascended in the sky and wanders. His vessel of suffering163 has therefore been abandoned. The light of his knowledge has dispelled the heavy darkness of delusion.
“The dust of afﬂiction was washed away by the water of his knowledge, so that he was puriﬁed. He will not return time and again. He has forever gone to the place of quietude.
“He has extinguished all birth and death and is respected by all. He has made all happy with the Law and has imbued all with his wisdom.
“He has completely comforted all and all his qualities have widely spread. His fame shines again and again all over for all up to this day.
“For those who emulated his qualities he had merciful thoughts. He was not made happy by the four beneﬁts164 and was not grieved by the four losses.165
“He controlled his feelings well and all his faculties were thoroughly clear. He impartially observed with a pure mind and was not attached to the six objects.
“What he has obtained is wonderful. He has obtained what others have not obtained. While they thirsted in vain, he has fully satisﬁed them with the waters essential for salvation.
“He donated what others had not donated, and did not expect any recompense. He has quieted his body with ﬁne marks, and completely knows all thoughts.
“He was moved neither by pleasant nor foul, and his strength has overcome all enemies. The ﬁne medicine for any illness is yet destroyed by impermanence.
“All kinds of beings have a different end when they are pleased with the Law, but he has widely responded to their aspirations. He has completely fulﬁlled their wishes.
“Once the great generous giver of noble wisdom has gone, he will not return, just as a ﬁerce ﬁre in the world will burn no more when the fuel is consumed.
1. “Not tainted by the eight factors, he subdued the group of ﬁve that is hard to subdue.166 With the three he has seen the three,167 and free from

the three he has accomplished the three.168 Retaining the one, he has obtained the one.169 Having surpassed the seven,170 he will sleep for a long time.171

“He has completely achieved the path of tranquility, honored by the noble. He has ended the impediments of afﬂiction and saved those who have respectfully served it. Those who have hungered in vain and who have been weary with thirst, he let them drink the nectar of immortality.
“Wearing the heavy armor of forbearance, he has subdued any anger. With the subtle meaningfulness of his excellent Law, he has caused rejoicing in the minds of his multitude.
“In those who developed goodness in the world, he planted the seed of nobility. Those who developed what is right or what is not right, he equally received them and did not abandon them.
“He turned the wheel of the unsurpassed Law and the world all around accepted it with joy. If they had previously planted a cause to ﬁnd happiness in the Law, they were all delivered.
“Wandering among the people, he saved all those who had not yet been saved. Those who had not yet seen the truth were all made to see the truth.
“To those who practiced a heretical path, he gave them his profound Law. He expounded that birth and death are impermanent, without any ruler172 and without happiness in any existence.
“He erected the great banner of his fame and destroyed the armies of Māra. He had no delight or grief about advance or retreat and, making light of life, he praised tranquility.
“He caused those who were not yet saved to be saved. He caused those who were not yet freed to be freed. He caused those who were not yet quiet to become quiet. He caused those who were not yet awakened to awaken. The muni received beings with his path of quietude.
“While beings disregard the noble path and indulge in wrong actions, as if at the end of a great eon, the one who knows the Law is in the long sleep.
“While dense clouds roll and crash and bring destruction to the forest, they let the rain of immortality fall down. A young elephant may destroy a thorny forest, but when his consciousness is trained he can beneﬁt others. The [feeling of sorrow] when the clouds have parted and when the elephant has grown old—all this is unbearable.

“The destruction of one view can accomplish another view, bringing salvation by saving the world. Having destroyed wrong argumentation, he obtained the path of sovereignty. He has now entered the great tranquility and the world is without salvation.
“When the forces of the great army of King Māra shook heaven and earth, [Māra] wanted to harm the worthy muni, but he could not make [the Buddha] move. Why is he unexpectedly at once destroyed by the māra of impermanence?
“Gods and humans are gathered in great numbers all around, they ﬁll the sky. Afraid of birth and death without end, they feel great fear in their hearts.
“Whether far or near in the world, his celestial eye clearly sees all. He truly understands the retribution of actions, as if observing an image in a mirror.173
“His celestial ear excels in intelligence. There is no far-distant thing it does not hear. Ascending in the sky, he instructs the gods, and as he walks he converts the regions of humans.
“He may divide himself and unite his parts. When he crosses over water, he is not immersed. He remembers his past lives, not forgetting any part of an entire eon.
“When the [sense] faculties roam their objective ﬁelds, they each have different memories, but with his supernatural knowledge that knows the thoughts of others, [the Buddha] is omniscient. With the pure ﬁne knowl- edge of his supernatural power he impartially observes all.
“He has completely ended all impurities, and completed all his tasks. His knowledge has abandoned his remaining elements of existence. Having appeased his knowledge, he is in the long sleep.
“The hard minds of beings become soft upon seeing him. When beings with dull faculties meet him, their intelligence becomes sharp. As countless evildoers pass him by, they each gain the road to insight upon meet- ing him.

53. “Suddenly and unexpectedly, he is in the long sleep. Who will further show these qualities? The world is without salvation. Hope has ended and life’s breath has stopped. Who will sprinkle cool water over it, so that it will breathe again?

“His own task that he had to do is completed. His great compassion has stopped for a long time. Who will rend the net of the world’s foolishness?
“Facing the swift current of birth and death, who will explain it and make it turn back? Who will expound the path of quietude for the deluded minds of beings?
“Who will show the place of tranquility and who will show the true meaningfulness? While beings experience great suffering, who will bring salvation as a kind father?
“Even if, for instance, one may have recited much, all is forgotten. When a horse changes its territory, it loses its majesty. When the ruler dies, he loses his country. The same applies to a world without the Buddha.
“The learned are without eloquence. Being a doctor, one is without wisdom. Human kings have lost their bright appearance. When the Buddha is extinguished, the common lose their splendor.
“When a ﬁne chariot loses its skillful charioteer and when the boat one is on loses its boatmaster, when the three armies174 lose their brave general, and when merchants lose their guide,
“when the sick lose their good physician, and when a noble king loses his seven precious things, when the stars lose the bright moon, and when one loves a long life but loses his life, when the Buddha is extinguished the world likewise loses its great teacher.”
In this way the arhat,175 who had completed all he had to do and whose impurities had all ended, spoke to show his gratitude, conscious of the [Buddha’s] kindness and bound by sad longing. He praised [the Buddha’s] qualities and related the suffering of the world.

62. Those who had not yet renounced desire were overcome by sorrowful tears. Those whose impurities had ended just sighed at the suffering of birth and extinction.

Then, when the multitude of the Mallas heard that the Buddha was in nirvana, they mourned with confused cries and wept sadly, just like a ﬂock of snow geese when encountering a hawk.
They all came to the twin [śāla] trees and saw that the Tathāgata was in the long sleep, and it did not appear that he would wake up again. They beat their breasts and cried out to heaven, just as all the cows cry out in con- fusion when a lion has seized a calf.

65. Among them was one Malla whose mind had found happiness in the Right Law. He truly observed that the noble righteous king had entered the great tranquility.

He said, “Beings were asleep when the Buddha opened up their minds, so that they woke up. He has entered the great tranquility now. He ﬁnally is in the long sleep. He erected the banner of the Law for all, but now it has suddenly collapsed.
“The sun of the Tathāgata’s wisdom, his great awakening, has shined brightly. His zeal has been a sweltering heat, and his wisdom has dazzled with a thousand rays. He has dispelled all darkness. Why [will there be] a long darkness again?
“His unique wisdom has been shining in the three worlds for the eyes of beings all around. But now they are suddenly blind. No one in the whole world knows the way.

69. “As the great river of birth and death ﬂows, greed, anger, and delusion are giant waves. The bridge of the Law has suddenly collapsed and beings will drown for a long time.”

Some in that crowd of Mallas wept sadly and wailed bitterly. Some felt moved in secret, without making a sound. Some threw themselves down to the ground. Some meditated in silence and some moaned deeply with dis- appointment.
They prepared a precious bier with gold and silver, fully adorned with fragrant ﬂowers, and placed the Tathāgata’s body on it. A precious curtain covered it over.

72. They prepared hanging streamers and a ﬂower parasol, and [offered] all kinds of music. The men and women of the Mallas led the way and brought offerings.

The gods scattered fragrant ﬂowers and in the sky there was the celestial music of drums. Humans and gods sighed sadly in unison. Their cries combined as they shared a common grief.
They entered the city and after [the Buddha’s body was] worshiped by young and old, men and women, [the funeral party] left through the Dragon-Elephant Gate and crossed the Hiraṇyavatī River.
They arrived at the place of the caitya176 for the extinction of the buddhas of the past. They accumulated oxhead sandalwood177 and famous aromatic wood.

They placed the Buddha’s body on [the bier] and poured many fra- grant oils over it. Then they tried to light the ﬁre underneath. Three times they tried to set it aﬁre but it did not light up.
At that time, the great Kāśyapa had been staying in the city of Rājagṛha, but when he knew that the Buddha was about to go to his nirvana, he came along with his retinue.
With a pure heart [Kāśyapa] made a ﬁne wish, wishing to see the body of the World-honored One. Because of that sincere wish, the ﬁre was extinguished and [the bier] did not catch ﬁre.
When Kāśyapa and his retinue had arrived, they sighed sadly as they all gazed at his appearance. Only after they had saluted him at his feet did the ﬁre light up.
Inwardly [the Buddha] had stopped the ﬁre of afﬂiction, and an exter- nal ﬁre could not burn him. Even though it burned his external skin and ﬂesh, his adamantine actual bones were preserved.

81. After the fragrant oil was all burned up, they kept the bones in golden pitchers. Just as the realm of the real was not destroyed, in the same way his bones were not destroyed.

[The Mallas] chanted, “As the result of his adamantine wisdom he was as difﬁcult to move as Sumeru. The very powerful Garuḍa could not move him, but in the precious pitchers he has shifted with the world.
“Wondrous is the power of the world! [The Buddha] could turn [the wheel of] the Law of tranquility, and the fame of his qualities has spread widely, completely ﬁlling the ten directions. Complying with the world, he is in the long-lasting tranquility. Just the remaining bones are preserved.
“His great light has dazzled the world and shined on all beings, but suddenly he hid his brightness and left his relics in pitchers.
“His adamantine sharp wisdom destroyed the painful mountain of afﬂiction. All suffering was assembled in his person, but his adamantine determination put it at ease.
“For beings who experience great suffering, he removed it all. Such an adamantine person is now consumed by ﬁre.”
The multitude of Mallas was valiant, peerless in the world. They repressed the suffering that is the enemy, and could escape from suffering

by taking refuge. When their loved ones met with hardship, their determination was strong and they could free them from sorrow.

Now they had seen the Tathāgata’s extinction and all felt grief in their hearts. They were ablebodied and their vigor was strong, but their pride was idle as they walked like gods. Grief heavy on their minds, they entered the city as if it were a vast marsh.
Carrying the relics178 they entered the city. In the alleys and streets everywhere people brought offerings. They placed them high on a pavilion and the humans and gods all made offerings.

Chapter XXVIII

The Division of the Relics

The crowd of Mallas made offerings to the relics. They brought unsurpassed worship with exquisite fragrant ﬂowers.
Then the kings of seven countries179 heard that the Buddha was extinguished. They sent messengers to the Mallas requesting the Buddha’s relics.
The multitude of Mallas revered the Tathāgata’s body but, completely relying on valiance, they had proud thoughts. They would rather give up their own lives than give up the Buddha’s relics.
The messengers all returned empty-handed and the seven kings became very angry. They raised armies and like clouds and rain they came to Kuśi- nagara.
The people who were outside the city all returned in fear. They notiﬁed the multitude of Mallas that the armies and horses of the [other] countries were coming, that their chariots with elephants and horses and their multitudes on foot had surrounded Kuśinagara.
The groves outside the city, the springs and ponds, the ﬂowers, fruit, and trees, were all trampled by the armies. The splendid observation towers were all smashed.
When the Mallas climbed the observation towers on the city wall, [they saw that] their property was all destroyed. They prepared their weapons for battle in order to aim them at the enemy outside.
Bows and crossbows, carriages for catapults, and ﬂying torches—all came forth. The seven kings surrounded the city and each of their armies were [composed of] elite troops.
Their ceremonial plumes were very bright, just like the light of the seven luminaries.180 Their bells and drums were like thunder and their ferocity formed a profuse cloud. The Mallas were very rash. They opened the gates and ordered [their warriors] to confront them.
The elderly men and women who believed wholeheartedly in the Buddha’s Law were startled and made a sincere vow: “May they not cause

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harm when subduing the others!” They lovingly admonished them to not wish to do battle.

But the valiant men were wearing their heavy armor. They wielded their battle-axes and brandished their long swords. As bells and drums sounded in confusion, they grasped their weapons, though they had not yet crossed them in battle.
There was a brahman called Droṇa. He was learned and possessed superior cleverness. His modesty was honored by all. He was kind at heart and found happiness in the Right Law. He said to the kings:
“Observe the state of these walls! Even one man is enough to with- stand you. How much less could you subdue them with their single-minded vigor!
“Yes, if you destroy them, what meritorious fame would there be? After you have crossed your sharp weapons, the conditions would not be good for either of you.
“If you harm others because of this, both will be hurt. In battle there is much volatility, and the conditions are difﬁcult to predict.
“The strong may overcome the weak or the weak may overcome the strong. When a man in his vigor makes light of a poisonous snake, how could he not hurt himself?
“Some men are gentle by nature, praised by women and children, but when facing the enemy they become warriors, as if oil had been poured onto a ﬁre.
“Do not make light of a weak enemy in battle, thinking he is ﬁt for nothing! His physical strength may not be sufﬁcient to rely on, but the force of his strategy may be stronger.
“Once there was an excellent king, called Karandhama. Sitting upright, he gave rise to friendly thoughts, yet he could subdue his enemies.
“Even though he ruled over the four worlds and his fame and riches were abundant, eventually all was destroyed, just as an ox turns back when he has had enough to drink.
“You should apply yourselves to your duty, to righteousness, and to harmony! A victory in war increases resentment, but after a victory of harmony
1. ur present bloodthirsty hostility, this is absolutely no possible!

As you wish to bring worship to the Buddha, you should follow the Buddha’s forbearance!”

Thus the brahman decidedly expressed his sincerity. As his way was proper and his meaning was in agreement with what is reasonable, he had spoken out without fear.
The kings then said to the brahman, “You have now skillfully responded to the occasion. You are clever and [what you say] makes much sense.
“Your friendly and utterly honest words comply with the Law and rely on a strong principle. Do listen to our explanation of our duty as a ruler!
“One may feel contempt for a clash of strong forces competing due to the ﬁve desires, or one must not hurry off to ﬁght seeking some diversion. We are ﬁghting for the Law now. What is astonishing about that?
“When one is proud and disregards righteousness, people in the world still humbly comply. All the more so in the case of the Buddha, who is free from pride and converts others to humility! But we cannot bring him worship if we destroy ourselves.
“In the past the rulers of the great earth, the Vṛṣṇis and the Andhakas, fought over a beautiful maiden and destroyed each other.
“How much more should we now bring worship to our teacher, who is in quietude, free from desire! Holding oneself dear and valuing life, do not strive with force!
“The former kings, the Kauravas, fought with the Pāṇḍavas, and in the process they destroyed each other, all due to their greed. How much more do we further wish for life for the sake of our teacher, who is without greed!
“The son of a seer, Rāma, was angry at the thousand-armed king. He destroyed the land and killed its people, just because he was angry. How much more should we value life for the sake of our teacher who is without anger!
“Rāma killed the demons for the sake of Sītā. How much less should we destroy life for the sake of our teacher who is received by the gods!
“The two demons, Alāyudha and Baka, were steadfast enemies. Due only to their foolishness, they greatly harmed beings. How much more should we further value life for the sake of the wise teacher!
“Among many others, such ones senselessly ruined themselves. How much more should the teacher of gods and humans now be revered by the

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world all around! Should we not diligently strive to bring worship, considering ourselves and valuing life?

“If you want to stop the ﬁghting, enter the city for us and urge them to open up [their minds], so that our wish is fulﬁlled!
“You have appeased our minds for a while because of your right words, just as a venomous snake is stopped for a while by the power of an incantation!”
The brahman then accepted the kings’ instructions. He entered the city and went to the Mallas. He made polite inquiries and expressed his sin- cerity to them.
“The kings among people outside all want to destroy this city. They have their sharp weapons in hand and are wearing their heavy armor. Their elite troops dazzle in the sunlight and they will burst forth with the ferocity of a lion.
“But because of the Law they are still afraid of [committing] wrong behavior. That is why they have sent me here. Their purpose is to inform you of something.
“‘[We do not wish to take] your land and neither do we seek cash possessions. Nor [do we come] out of pride and neither do we feel resentment in our hearts.
“‘We have come here because we respect the great seer. Since you know our intention, why take pains to oppose us?
“‘As both parties are the same as to whom they respect, we are broth- ers in the Law. Let us with all our hearts bring worship together to the bequeathed spirit of the World-honored One!
“‘Stinginess concerning money is not the greatest fault. The fault of parsimony concerning the Law is the worst, despised by all in the world!
“‘Those who have decided not to be open should develop a way of hospitality! But if you do not have the ways of a kṣatriya, close the gates and guard yourselves!’
“They are all like this in expressing the way of their destiny. I have my personal feelings, but I have expressed their sincerity.
“Both parties must not oppose one another! All should reasonably be united! When the World-honored One was in the world, he always taught forbearance. If one does not comply with his noble teaching, why would one use the term ‘worship’?

“People in the world argue about the ﬁve desires, about riches and lands and dwellings. If one acts according to the Right Law, one should follow its noble principle. When one tries to act according to the Law but feels enmity, this contradicts reason.
“The Buddha is quiet and compassionate, and he always wishes to put all at ease. Yet by [wishing to] worship the One with Great Compassion you may bring great harm. You should equally divide his relics and let them be worshiped everywhere!
“By complying with the Law, your fame will spread. When right- eousness pervades your principles, it will be proclaimed! If others behave wrongly, you should bring harmony to them with the Law! That then is hap- piness with the Law, so that the Law may abide for a long time.
“The Buddha has said that of all gifts the gift of the Law is most excellent. People perform the giving of riches, but it is difﬁcult to perform the gift of the Law.”
When the Mallas heard these words, they were ashamed and looked at each other. They responded to the brahman, “We are deeply moved by your purpose in coming.
“Your words, which show friendliness and which comply with the Law, are spoken in a reﬁned and correct way, in agreement with reason. Beﬁt- ting a brahman, [your words] agree with your qualities.
“You have skillfully brought harmony to the contentions of both par- ties and have shown us the essential path, just as when one controls a horse which has lost its way and returns to the correct way.
“We should adopt this as reasonable and follow your explanation! If we do not accept your sincere words, we would certainly feel regret later!”
They immediately opened the [container of] the Buddha’s relics and divided them equally into eight parts. They themselves brought worship to one part and the seven other parts were handed over to the brahman.
1. When the seven kings obtained the relics, they rejoiced and accepted them, [raising them] to their heads [as a sign of respect]. They took [the relics] and returned to their own countries. There they erected stupas and brought worship.
2. The brahman asked the Mallas for the container of their relics as his share. He further asked the seven kings about the division of the eighth share.

He took it181 back and enshrined it in a caitya, calling it the Shrine of the Golden Pitcher.182

The people of Kuśinagara collected the remaining ashes and erected a caitya, called the Ashes Shrine.183
The eight stupas erected by the eight kings, the Golden Pitcher, and the Ashes [Shrine]—in this way ten stupas were initially erected in Jambudvīpa.
The men and women of the whole country all held up a precious ﬂowered parasol and brought worship to their stupas, decorating them like the golden mountain.184 Night and day they brought lasting praise with all kinds of music.
At that time, ﬁve hundred arhats had forever lost the protection of their great teacher. They were afraid, having no one on whom to rely, and returned to Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa. They gathered at the cliff [dwelling] of Lord Śakra185 and assembled the treasury of scriptural texts.
All together they promoted the elder Ānanda. “From the ﬁrst to the last expositions of the Tathāgata, great and small, you have heard them all! Vaideha muni, proclaim them for the great assembly!”
In the great assembly Ānanda ascended the lion throne. Just as the Buddha had expounded his expositions, he declared, “Thus have I heard.”
All in the entire council let their tears ﬂow. They were moved by the sound [of this phrase], “I have heard.” It was written down as expounded, as to the doctrine, as to the time, as to the place, and as to the persons [present at the time of the teaching]. Finally they completed the treasury of the scrip- tural texts.
Through diligent application and study they all obtained nirvana. The same applies to the nirvana one now obtains or will obtain.
When King Aśoka (“Without Sorrow”) appeared in the world, as an imposing person he could well cause sorrow. As a gentle person he removed sorrow, just like a blossoming aśoka tree.
Ruling over Jambudvīpa, his mind was steadfastly without any worry and he deeply believed in the Right Law. That is why he was named King Aśoka.
Progeny of the Mauryas, he was born endowed with the correct nature. He saved the world all around and erected shrines. His former name was Caṇḍāśoka but his present name is Dharmāśoka.186

He opened the stupas of the seven kings to collect the relics. He divided them and erected eighty-four thousand stupas in a day.
Only the eighth stupa, situated in Rāmagrāma, was guarded by divine dragons. The king could not take those [relics].
Even though he did not obtain its relics, he knew that the Buddha’s bequeathed spirit was there, worshiped by divine dragons, and his serene faith increased.
While the king ruled over the land, he obtained the ﬁrst noble fruition.187 He let all in the world everywhere bring worship to the Tathāgata’s stupas. In the past, in the future, and in the present, all may obtain deliver- ance.
Those who respectfully brought worship to the Tathāgata when he was in the present world, when he was in nirvana, and to his relics—their merits are equal and without any difference.
When a wise one profoundly observes the Tathāgata’s qualities with a supreme mind, when he cherishes his path and brings worship, his merits will be excellent too.
When the Buddha had obtained his worthy excellent Law, he was worthy of receiving everyone’s worship. After he had reached the deathless place, his believers were at ease too. That is why all gods and humans should always bring worship.
The highest and most compassionate one has thorough insight into the highest meaning, and saves all beings. Who would not be moved by hear- ing about him?
The suffering of birth, old age, illness, and death—no suffering in the world surpasses these. The suffering of death is the greatest suffering, feared by gods.
When he is forever free from the two kinds of suffering,188 why not bring him worship? The happiness of not having to experience a later experience [of existence] is unsurpassed among any worldly happiness.
The endless round of birth [and rebirth] is the greatest suffering. This suffering is unequaled in the world. The Buddha is free from the suffering of rebirth and neither will he experience the happiness of a later existence. He has extensively shown this to the world. Why not bring him worship?

I have praised the most worthy of the munis and his acts throughout [this text]. I did not manifest my own understanding, nor did I seek fame. I have followed the explanations of the Buddha’s scriptural texts in order to rescue the world.

Notes

1 The translator, who produced the Chinese text, is actually Baoyun. See Translator’s Introduction.

2 The seven stars of the constellation Ursa Major, the “Big Dipper.”

3 The highest ﬁve heavens in the fourth trance (dhyāna) are the pure abodes, śuddhā- vāsa.

4 The term used here for spiritual beings is bhūtas.

5 The Rāja-śāstras, the ﬁrst treatises on political science.

6 Maheśvara is Śiva. He had a six-faced son, Kārttikeya, the god of war, also known as Skanda.

7 The fourfold attitudes of the noble are contentment with clothing, with food, and with a monk’s bedding and seating, and also devotion to the way of deliverance by means of appropriate behavior.

8 The fourfold pure conduct is practicing kindness (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), sym- pathetic joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣā). Also called the four immeasurables.

9 I.e., gold.

10 The explanations of the phrases in this passage vary: “The one” is himself; “the seven” are the seven constituents of royal authority. “Free from the seven”: the seven vices of a king; “the ﬁve” are skillful diplomatic means. “Having obtained the three”: duty, riches, and desire, i.e. dharma, artha, and kāma. See Chapter X, stanza 31. “He under- stood three”: the three strengths a king should have; or the three elements listed in stanza 6, above; or the three conditions of continuance, increase, and diminution. “Knowing the two”: good and bad policy; “he gave up the two”: desire and anger.

11 The northern park of Indra, atop Mount Sumeru.

12 I.e., Vyāsa.

13 I.e., Ṛṣyaśṛṅga.

14 I.e., Ahalyā.

15 I.e., Prabhāsa.

16 The two Aśvins appear in the sky before dawn, and are considered to be the physicians of heaven.

17 Māra rules the realm of desire (kāmadhātu), which contains six kinds of desiring gods.

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18 The brahmakāyika gods are the ﬁrst in the ﬁrst trance (dhyāna) of the material realm, above the realm of desire.

19 The three existences are those of the past, present, and future.

20 The Vindhya Mountains are a famous mountain range, far to the south of the Snowy Mountains (the Himalayas). In stanza 42, above, the Bodhisattva was warned by the brahmans not to go south.

21 Ārāḍa was Śākyamuni’s famous Sāṃkhya teacher. See Chapter XII, especially stanzas 14–34 and 38–54.

22 Jñeya water: the water of what is to be known.

23 Vṛtra was killed by Indra, who then hid himself in the waters. A drought ensued.

24 Cakravāka birds: a pair of ducks, symbols of conjugal love. In China they are usually called yuanyang, mandarin ducks.

25 King Daśaratha mourned for the loss of his son, Rāma.

26 Śakunta, a bird (of prey).

27 The ﬁve ceremonial ornaments are all emblems of social rank.

28 Jayanta was the son of Indra and Śacī.

29 Vāmadeva and Vasiṣṭha were King Daśaratha’s chief minister and his preceptor (puro- hita).

30 Śukra and Bṛhaspati, the son of Āṅgirasa, were ministers of Indra.

31 Bṛhaspati, Indra’s minister, addressing Jayanta, Indra’s son.

32 The Sanskrit version, Chapter IX, stanza 25, mentions Rāma, son of Daśaratha, and Rāma, descendant of Bhṛgu. The Chinese seems to phonetically render rāme(ṇa) ca bhā(rgaveṇa).

33 Chinese mythology holds that the sun comes up in the east underneath a giant mulberry tree, which has one root but two mutually supporting trunks. This tree, the rodhra tree, has yellow ﬂowers, like the color of the Law.

34 I.e., Purūravas, an ancient king of the lunar race. His celestial queen was Uruvaśī.

35 Having practiced asceticism, Bali defeated Indra, but Viṣṇu took away his power and Indra regained the upper hand.

36 I.e., Ugrāyudha.

37 During the Han, the eastern market in Chang’an was the site of executions.

38 Of the seven vices of kings, four are said to be the result of desire: gambling, drinking, hunting, and womanizing. The Kauravas were gamblers. The Vṛṣṇis and the Andhakas were fond of wine, and the Mekhalas and the Daṇḍakas were addicted to hunting. For the fourth vice, see stanza 37, below.

39 The eight worldly factors are gain and loss, eulogy and defamation, ridicule and praise, joy and sorrow. They are also known as the “eight winds.”

40 The three happinesses: dharma, artha, kāma; i.e., duty, riches, desire. See note 10.

41 The three realms are the realms of desire (kāmadhātu), of form (rūpadhātu), and of no-form (ārūpyadhātu).

42 The birds drink from the rain to extinguish the ﬁre, the enemy.

43 Here we have an early explanation of Sāṃkhya philosophy. The individual corporal being, sattva, is made up of eight constituents for primary nature or matter ( prakṛti), sixteen constituents for secondary matter, change (vikāra), birth (jāti), death (maraṇa), and old age ( jarā). Nature’s constituent is mainly the unseen power (avyakta; the text has “seeing,” perhaps meaning the unseen), but also intellection (buddhi), the self (ahaṃkāra), and the ﬁve great elements (earth, water, ﬁre, wind, and space). The sixteen secondary material elements are the ﬁve sense faculties and their objects (eye and form; ear and sound; nose and smell; tongue and taste; body and tactile sensation), hands, feet, speech or voice, the organs of generation and secretion, and the faculty of the mind. The ﬁve faculties are called the faculties of intellection. Hands, feet, speech, and the two “paths” are the faculties of action. The faculty of the mind is twofold: action and intellection.

44 Instead of the term “knower of the ﬁeld,” the text always has “knower of the cause,” i.e., the self (ātman). See also stanza 56, below.

45 Prajāpati is thought to be Hiraṇyagarbha. Kapila, the traditional founder of Sāṃkhya, is said to be a personiﬁcation of Hiraṇyagarbha, the creator.

46 “The seen”: vyakta.

47 These are the eight causes of the three items listed in the stanza above: foolishness, action, and desire.

48 The ﬁve modes are the ﬁvefold types of ignorance listed here: darkness, delusion, great delusion, anger, and fear.

49 Stanzas 41–47 describe the four trances (dhyānas). The Abhidharma explains them in the same way.

50 In Buddhism, the four trances (dhyānas) occur in the realm of form. The number of heavens associated with them varies. In the case of Aśvaghoṣa, the total number prob- ably was seventeen or eighteen. “Brahma heaven” is a term used to designate all the heavens of the ﬁrst trance. Ābhāsvara (Universal Light) and Śubhakṛtsna (Universal Purity) are the highest heavens in the second and third trances. Bṛhatphala is a heaven of the fourth trance, the highest heaven of which is Akaniṣṭha. As Ārāḍa is explaining Sāṃkhya yoga, it seems that the four heavens mentioned in these stanzas may be the highest of his respective trances.

51 Stanzas 48–50 give an explanation of the three spheres (āyatanas) in the immaterial realm. They are the spheres of unlimited space, of unlimited consciousness, and of emptiness. For the fourth sphere, see stanza 70, below.

52 Muñja is a sedge-like grass.

53 Jaigīṣavya, Janaka, and Vṛddha Parāśara, also known as Pañcaśikha, are all Sāṃkhya seers.

54 The “three” that are rejected: foolishness, action, and desire.

55 Sāṃkhya is understood as “enumeration.” Here, in particular, anything counted as “I” and “mine” seems to be meant.

56 Guṇa: attribute, quality, or psychic state, speciﬁcally of the self.

57 The possessor of an attribute (guṇa) is a guṇin, i.e., a self.

58 Udraka taught the fourth immaterial sphere, i.e., that of of neither perception nor non- perception.

59 Gaja means “elephant.” This refers to Mount Gayaśiras, famous for its numerous ascetics (whence probably the name Nagarī, “town”), near Gayā.

60 Kumuda is a lotus ﬂower.

61 See Chapter V, stanza 12ff.

62 The aśvattha, or bodhi tree (ﬁcus religiosa).

63 Three existences of past, present, and future. See note 19.

64 Kṣatriya is the warrior, or noble, caste.

65 See Chapter XI, stanza 17.

66 The maiden of the Snowy Mountains is Pārvatī. Maheśvara is Śiva.

67 Bhūta, a spiritual being. See also Chapter I, stanza 30, and note 4.

68 Abhisaṃbodhi: enlightenment.

69 Both ﬁve and six destinations are mentioned throughout the text. Is this Baoyun’s “correction”? Or a later scribal error? Or was the number not ﬁxed?

70 The ﬁve signs of imminent death are: 1) the ﬂowery crown withers, 2) one’s armpits sweat, 3) one’s clothes are dirty, 4) the body’s brightness is lost, or one has bad body odor, 5) one ceases to enjoy one’s original status.

71 The three classes are a sense faculty, its object, and the corresponding consciousness.

72 I.e., contact (sparśa), one of the links of dependent origination. See notes 72 and 73 below.

73 Stanzas 41–44 mention ten links of dependent origination: consciousness (vijñāna), name-and-form (nāmarūpa), six sense faculties (ṣaḍāyatana), contact (sparśa), expe- riencing (vedanā), craving (tṛṣṇā), grasping (upādāna), existence (bhava), birth ( jāti), and old age and death ( jarāmaraṇa).

74 Here two more links, ignorance or delusion (moha) and formation (saṃskāra), are added, adding up to the twelve links of dependent origination.

75 The four kings are the guardians of the world and of the Law, dwelling on Sumeru. In the east, Dhṛtarāṣṭra; in the south, Virūḍhaka; in the west, Virūpākṣa; and in the north, Vaiśravaṇa.

76 The context makes it clear that “Tathāgata” is interpreted here as “Thus-come,” i.e., one who has come to enlightenment.

77 The ﬁve stars are the constellation Hastā.

78 I.e., the ﬁre that destroys the world at the end of the kalpa (eon).

79 Gaja is usually called Gayā Kāśyapa.

80 I.e., the four pure abodes: 1) of those in the realm of form, and 2) of those in the realm of no-form. Collectively referred to here as the brahmavihāras. 3) the celestial abodes of the six kinds of desiring gods, and 4) the abodes of the noble ones who have embarked on the noble path.

81 Bhadrā, the wife of Mahākāśyapa.

82 The four analytical knowledges ( pratisaṃvid): 1) of factors, 2) of the meanings, 3) of expression, and 4) of inspired speech.

83 The Abhidharmahṛdaya explains that with the ten kinds of knowledge, the ten kinds of afﬂiction are removed. Dharmaśreṣṭhin’s work is older than the Buddhacarita and so is Kātyāyanīputra’s Aṣṭagrantha. See the Introduction in C. Willemen, The Essence of Scholasticism (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2006).

84 I.e., having converted from “the three” of brahmans—duty (dharma), riches (artha), and desire (kāma)—to “the three” of Buddhists, the Three Jewels (triratna): Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

85 The three disciples are Śāriputra, Maudgalyāyana, and Mahākāśyapa.

86 The three poisons, or primary afﬂictions: greed, anger, and delusion.

87 The three-starred constellation, Jyeṣṭhā.

88 The thirty-three gods of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, plus the sun and moon.

89 I.e., fulﬁllment of the celestial ﬁve desires.

90 I.e., of a stream-winner (srotaāpanna), the ﬁrst of the four fruitions of a śramaṇa.

91 In the highest of the four immaterial attainments, also known as the highest existence (bhavāgra).

92 The world is not made by Iśvara (stanzas 22–32); neither by any wrong cause, i.e., a speciﬁc nature (stanzas 33–47); or by time (stanzas 48–49); or by a self, ātman (stanzas 50–54), nor is it uncaused (stanzas 55–57).

93 Speciﬁc nature is svabhāva, cosmic force.

94 Attribute: guṇa. See Chapter XII, stanza 62, and note 56.

95 This means a substantial entity (dravya). In Chapter XII, stanza 64, the term guṇin

is used. The text does not explicitly mention the three attributes (guṇas) of Sāṃkhya.

96 The body is the support (āśraya) for thought (citta) and for what is counted as thought (caitta).

97 The eight mindfulnesses are wanting little, satisfaction, renunciation, right mindfulness, right concentration, zeal, right wisdom, and absence of idle speech.

98 Jambhala, the lord of wealth.

99 The city of the ﬁve mountains is Rājagṛha.

100 The Himalayas.

101 The three actions of body, speech, and mind.

102 I.e., the three poisons: greed, anger, and delusion.

103 The fourth action is that which leads to quietude, insight.

104 Amṛtodana was the younger brother of the king, and the father of Devadatta. Another tradition says that Droṇodana, another brother, was the father of Devadatta and the elder brother of Ānanda.

105 Yaśodharā.

106 Mount Kailāsa is the location of Śiva’s palace and the residence of Kuvera.

107 The ten directions are the eight cardinal directions, plus the nadir and zenith; i.e., everywhere.

108 Countryman: Triśaṅku; seer: Viśvāmitra, son of Gādhin. The constellation Triśaṅku is thought to be that known as the Southern Cross.

109 I.e., the ﬁrst three items listed here but not the last one: from “one brightness” (royal position) to another (wisdom).

110 The term for violent whirlwind here is vairambhaka.

111 I.e., the wheel, or cycle, of samsara.

112 Any seer may obtain the ﬁve supernatural powers: 1) divine eye, 2) divine ear, 3) knowledge of others’ thoughts, 4) knowledge of former existences, and 5) bases of psychic or miraculous powers.

113 I.e., Sāṃkāśya.

114 All converted in or near Rājagṛha. Jyotiṣka was a wealthy person, son of the nirgrantha (Jain) Subhadra. Jivaka was the physician of King Bimbisāra and King Ajātaśatru. Prince Abhaya was a son of Bimbisāra and Āmrapālī. Nyagrodha stayed in the Udum- barīkārāma, in Rājagṛha. Upāli from Nālandā was a Jain who became an upāsaka, lay disciple.

115 Puṣkara is known in Pāli as Pukkusāti, friend of Bimbisāra; he ruled over the northern region, Uttarāpatha, whose capital was Takṣaśilā.

116 Haimavata and Sātāgra were two yakṣa demons.

117 Mount Vipula was largest of the ﬁve mountains around Rājagṛha.

118 On Mount Pāṣāṇaka there was a shrine where Pārāyaṇika, one of the sixteen disciples of Bāvari, seems to have been converted.

119 At Sthāṇumatī, a village in Magadha, the Buddha stayed in the Āmrayaṣṭikā Grove and converted people.

120 Pañcaśikha was a heavenly musician, present when Śakra met the Buddha.

121 Veṇukaṇṭakī was a village in the land of Avanti.

122 Known as Veṇukaṇḍikā Nandamātā.

123 Pūrṇabhadra, a yakṣa.

124 “Village of dwarfs” translates such words as, for example, vāmana(ka). Āpaṇa, in the land of Aṅguttarāpa, is meant.

125 Aṅgulimāla (“Garland of Fingers”) was a famous, cruel thief from Kośala. He robbed and mutilated travelers in the woods of Jālinī.

126 The wealthy Meṇḍhaka from Bhadrika or Bhadra in Aṅgā, seems to be meant here by “Prajīvana.”

127 Bhadravālin and Bhadra: two yakṣas.

128 Satyaka Nirgranthaputra was a famous Jain, as was Siṃha.

129 Alakāvatī is the city were Kuvera dwells, together with his yakṣa attendants.

130 Called Khara.

131 The gautamakas and māgaṇḍikas are two heretical groups of brahmans.

132 Upāsikās are female lay disciples.

133 Uttarā is better known as Kubjottarā.

134 Devadatta was the nephew of the Buddha. See note 104.

135 Ajātaśatru was the son of Bimbisāra and Vaidehī. He succeeded to the throne after he had his father put in jail. He had been under the inﬂuence of Devadatta but repented and became a devout Buddhist.

136 Avīci literally means “without any choice,” with the implication of “interminable.”

137 Āmrapāli was a popular courtesan in Vaiśālī. The text actually just says Āmra.

138 Parinirvāṇa, ﬁnal nirvana, death.

139 A shrine, often a place where sacred relics are enshrined.

140 I.e., Varṣākāra.

141 The eastern gate.

142 The three woeful destinations are those of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals.

143 The ﬁve insignia of royalty: sword; canopy; crown; chowrie (cāmara), a type of whisk; and ornamental footwear.

144 In the Mahāvana, on the banks of the Markaṭa (Monkey) Pond.

145 The four ranges, or spheres, of action (gocara) refer to the four applications of mind- fulness (smṛtyupasthāna), i.e., to the body (impure), to experiencing (painful), to thoughts (impermanent), and to factors (without a self). These four are explained in stanzas 22–25.

146 I.e., Mount Sumeru.

147 A makara is a huge mythical ﬁsh, a fabulous sea creature.

148 The śāla grove mentioned here seems to be the place of the Ānanda Shrine, or Caitya.

149 “The Law” is Dharma; “the discipline” is Vinaya; “what I have proclaimed” refers to the Abhidharma.

150 “Clear expositions” are upadeśa. In stanzas 34–35 Aśvaghoṣa’s ideas are mentioned.

151 Usually bhavarāga. Here the term is used as an interpretation of the Sāṃkhya term

sattva, goodness, a quality that should be developed.

152 The prātimokṣa is the moral code of the monastic precepts (Vinaya).

153 The ﬁrst dhyāna of the realm of form (rūpadhātu). See Chapter XII, stanzas 42–43.

154 The “nine concentrations” are the four trances (dhyānas) of the realm of form, and the four immaterial attainments, samāpattis. See Chapter XII, stanzas 44–50 and 70. The ninth is the attainment of extinction, nirodhasamāpatti.

155 See note 75.

156 See note 3.

157 The celestial spirits of the eight classes are eight types of supernatural beings: devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, and mahoragas.

158 A stretch, yin, is a unit of measure corresponding to a hundred-foot length.

159 The Chinese character here, gu, may be understood as having the radical “wood,” meaning a branch, which agrees with the Tibetan Chapter XXVII, stanza 11.

160 Three divisions: trikāṇḍaka.

161 A śikhi is a crested bird, presumably a peacock or perhaps some kind of crane.

162 The sun, Sūrya, has seven horses. Chinese mythology explains that it descends at night into a cave of Yanzi Mountain, far to the west.

163 I.e., the body.

164 The four beneﬁts, or the four “favorable winds”: gain, eulogy, praise, and joy. See note 39.

165 The four losses, or four “unfavorable winds”: loss, defamation, ridicule, and sorrow. See note 39.

166 Eight factors: see note 39. “Group of ﬁve”: the ﬁve hindrances (nīvaraṇa) to attention? I.e., lustful desire, malice, sloth and torpor, excitability, doubt.

167 “With the three”: the triple sight? I.e., 1) the physical eye, 2) the divine eye, and 3) the eye of noble wisdom. “Has seen the three”: the three realms or worlds? Or the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha)?

168 “Free from the three”: the three poisons of greed, anger, and delusion? “Has accom- plished the three”: the three actions of body, speech, and mind?

169 “The one”: bodhi, enlightenment?

170 Seven births or existences, saptabhava? I.e., the ﬁve destinations (gati), the existence of actions (karmabhava), and the intermediate existence (antarābhava), as in the Saptabhava-sūtra mentioned in the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya, Chapter 3. One may also think of the seven abodes of consciousness, vijñānasthiti.

171 “Long sleep” means death.

172 I.e., a self, ātman.

173 Stanzas 47–51 deal with the ﬁve higher knowledges or superknowledges, abhijñā:

1) the divine eye, 2) the divine ear, 3) bases of psychic power (ṛddhipāda), 4) knowl- edge of others’ mental states, and 5) knowledge of the end of impurities.

174 During the Zhou dynasty (eleventh century–221 B.C.E.) a feudal state of the ﬁrst class was entitled to maintain three kinds of troops. From this comes the general meaning of “three armies.” Of course, one may think of infantry, chariots, and cavalry.

175 Aniruddha.

176 A caitya is a shrine or funeral monument. The Makuṭabandhana Caitya is meant here.

177 The oxhead sandalwood (gośīrṣa candana) referred to here is a special variety of sandalwood.

178 Relics (śarīras) are the bones, etc., that remain after cremation.

179 The seven countries are: 1) the Mallas from Pāpā, 2) the Bulukas from Calakalpā, 3) the Krauḍyas from Rāmagrāma, 4) the Brahmans from Viṣṇudvīpa, 5) the Śākyas from Kapilavastu, 6) the Licchavis from Vaiśālī, and 7) the Varṣākāra, sent by Ajātaśatru from Magadha. It just so happens that in China there were also seven well-known states during the Warring States period (475–221 B.C.E.).

180 The seven luminaries are the sun, moon, and ﬁve planets: Venus, Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn. The term may be used to indicate the days of the week.

181 After the Mallas of Kuśinagara and the seven kings had agreed to share the relics, the eighth share was transported in a golden pitcher.

182 Sauvarṇakumbha bhṛṅgāra. The stupa may be called Kumbha Stupa.

183 Aṅgāra Stupa.

184 Mount Kailāsa? See note 106.

185 Indraśailaguhā, the cavern of Indra’s Rock.

186 As a conqueror, Aśoka (lit., “Without Sorrow”) was called Caṇḍa (“Fierce”). After his conversion he was known as Dharma (virtuous, dutiful).

187 The fruition of stream-winning. He was a srotaāpanna, having gained the ﬁrst of the four fruitions of a śramaṇa, asceticism.

188 The two kinds of suffering: 1) On earth (stanza 77ab), and 2) in heaven (stanza 77cd).

Glossary

Abhidharma: A collection of treatises containing detailed analyses of the psychological and spiritual content of early Buddhist teachings; one of the three divisions of the Tripiṭaka. See also Tripiṭaka.

Abhidharmakośa: The Treatise on the Storehouse of the Abhidharma by Vasubandhu (ca. 350–430); a very important text in the propagation and development of Chinese Buddhism.

abhisaṃbodhi: Full and complete enlightenment attained by the Buddha.

Ānanda: The cousin of the Buddha who served as his close disciple and personal attendant.

arhat: “One who is worthy,” a saint who has eradicated the passions and attained liberation from the cycle of birth and death (samsara); arhatship is the highest of the four stages of spiritual development in early Buddhism. See also samsara.

Aśoka (“Without Sorrow”): King of the Maurya kingdom in northern India (ca. 264–227 B.C.E.). A convert to Buddhism after a particularly bloody series of battles, Aśoka implemented a “reign of Dharma” and state support of Buddhism. According to the Sarvāstivāda tradition, during his reign the Buddhist sangha was divided by a schism that led to the development of two main schools.

asura: A supernatural being, or demigod, constantly engaged in warring against the gods; one of the six woeful destinations in samsara. See also destinations; samsara.

Avīci: The worst of the eight hot hells, located deep beneath Jambudvīpa, the continent where human beings live. In Chinese it is rendered in different ways, e.g., “without any choice,” with the implication of “interminable.” See also hell.

bhikṣu: A mendicant or Buddhist monk, a fully ordained member of the sangha.

bodhi: Enlightenment, the state of undeﬁled purity and eternal bliss.

bodhisattva: Lit., “enlightenment being.” Originally an appellation of the Buddha, before his enlightenment. Later the term was used generally for an excellent practitioner or teacher. In the Mahayana, the bodhisattva is one who has engendered the profound aspiration to achieve enlightenment (bodhicitta) on behalf of all sentient beings, through the practice of the six perfections (pāramitās) and the eventual attainment of a series of spiritual stages (bhūmis). See also Mahayana; six perfections.

brahmadeva: Brahma, the highest god according to certain Hindu beliefs; the ﬁrst and lowest of the four dhyāna (trance) heavens in the realm of form. See also dhyāna; three realms.

219

caitya: A shrine or funerary monument. See also stupa.

dependent origination ( pratītyasamutpāda): The fundamental Buddhist doctrine that all phenomena (dharmas) arise in relation to causes and conditions and in turn are the causes and conditions for the arising of other phenomena. Nothing exists independ- ently of its causes and conditions. See also dharma.

destinations: The six realms of rebirth in which sentient beings transmigrate in samsara, consisting of three upper relams of gods, asuras, and human beings; and three lower realms of animals, hungry ghosts, and hell. Both ﬁve and six destinations are men- tioned in this text, and are often referred to as “woeful,” because they are part of the cycle of samsara. See also asura; hell; hungry ghost; samsara.

dharma: Phenomenon, factor, element; the elements that make up the perceived phe- nomenal world.

Dharma: The Buddhist teaching, truth, or law. See also Law.

dhyāna: Meditation; a state of meditative concentration and absorption, also referred to as a trance.

four great kings: Acording to Buddhist cosmology, the guardian gods of the four directions, the kings of the four great continents surrounding Mount Sumeru: 1) Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the east; 2) Virūḍhaka in the south; 3) Virūpākṣa in the west; and 4) Vaiśravaṇa in the north. See also Mount Sumeru.

four noble tuths: The fundamental doctrine of Buddhism: 1) the truth of suffering, 2) the truth of the cause of suffering, 3) the truth of the cessation of suffering, and 4) the truth of the path that leads to the cessation of suffering, i.e., the noble eightfold path. See also noble eightfold path.

gandharva: A type of supernatural being; a heavenly musician.

gāthā: Stanza; one of the twelve (or nine) types of Buddhist scriptures; gāthā repeat in verse form the substance of the discourses in prose found in sutras. See also sutra.

hell (naraka): The lowest level of samsaric existence, where those who have committed offenses are reborn and suffer torment for many eons. There are eight hot hells and eight cold hells. See also Avīci; destinations; samsara.

hungry ghost (preta): One who is reborn into one of the lower destinations of samsaric existence, where beings suffer the torment of insatiable hunger. See also destinations; samsara.

Jainism: One of India’s traditional religions, known for its emphasis on nonviolence (ahiṃsā). The founder, Vardharmāna, known as Mahāvīra, was nearly contemporary of Śākyamuni. After twelve years of asceticism he gained insight and was called jina, “excellent one.”

kalpa: An eon, an immensely long period of time; also a period of great cosmic change.

kāṣāya: A dyed garment; the robe worn by a Buddhist monastic.

Law: Dharma, the Buddhist teaching or truth, the understanding and application of which leads ultimately to nirvana. Also appears in this text as “Law of delivernace,” “Law of tranquility.” See also Dharma; nirvana.

Glossary

Mahayana: Lit., “Great Vehicle”; a movement within Buddhism that developed in India around 100 B.C.E. and which exalts as its religious ideal the bodhisattva. See also bodhisattva.

mandāra, mahāmāndārava ﬂowers: Flowers of the mandāra (coral) tree.

Māra: Lit., “death-agent,” the Evil One, arch-enemy of all who seek to live a holy life.

He rules the sensual world.

Mount Sumeru: In Buddhist cosmology, the highest mountain rising from the center of the world (axis mundi); it has four sides, is narrower in the center, and is surrounded by eight mountain ranges. In the ocean between the seventh and eighth of these ranges are the four great continents. See also four great kings.

muni: Sage; one who has achieved tranquility.

Nirgrantha: Jain ascetic, a follower of Mahāvīra, said to be a contemporary of the Buddha.

See also Jainism.

nirvana: Liberation from samsara, a state of perfect peace in which all the passions are extinguished and the highest wisdom attained. See also samsara.

noble eightfold path: The eight aspects of practice for attaining nirvana, as taught by the Buddha; the fourth of the four noble truths: 1) right view, 2) right thought, 3) right speech, 4) right action, 5) right livelihood, 6) right effort, 7) right mindfulness, and

8) right concentration. See also four noble truths; nirvana.

parinirvāṇa: Complete nirvana, commonly used to describe the death of the Buddha (ca.

483 B.C.E.). See also nirvana.

prātimokṣa: The code of precepts contained in the Vinaya, one of the three parts of the Tripiṭaka; the moral code for monastic life. See also Vinaya.

Śākyamuni: Lit., “Sage of the Śākyas”; the historical Buddha who lived in Central India in the ﬁfth century B.C.E., and whose life and teachings form the basis of Buddhism.

samādhi: Concentration, focusing the mind on one point.

Sāṃkhya: Lit., “Enumeration.” One of the six schools of classical Hindu philosophy.

samsara: The cycle of existence, the continuous round of birth and death through which beings transmigrate; the world of suffering, contrasted with the liberation and peace of nirvana. See also nirvana.

sense faculties: The sense perceptions that correspond to the six sense organs—visual (eye), auditory (ear), olfactory (nose), gustatory (tongue), tactile (body), and mental perceptions (mind).

six perfections (pāramitās): Six qualities that are to be perfected by bodhisattvas as they progress along the path to enlightenment: 1) giving or generosity (dāna), 2) ethics or morality (śīla), 3) patience or forbearance (kṣānti), 4) energy or effort (vīrya),

5) meditation (dhyāna), and 6) wisdom ( prajñā). See also bodhisattva. soma: An intoxicating drink made from the juice of the milkweed plant. śramaṇa: A wandering ascetic, mendicant.

221

stream-winner (srotaāpanna): The ﬁrst of the four stages of spiritual attainment in early Buddhist teachings; one who has entered the stream of the Dharma.

stupa: A monument, usually conical in form, containing relics of the Buddha or marking the site of an important event in the Buddha’s life and which serves as a site for worship and veneration. See also caitya.

sutra: A scriptural text, discourses of the Buddha. Capitalized, the term refers to one of the parts of the Tripiṭaka, the Buddhist canon. See also Tripiṭaka.

Tathāgata: An epithet of the Buddha, meaning one who has gone to (gata) and come from (āgata) suchness (tathā). In Chinese it is rendered as “Thus-come.”

three realms: The three realms of samsaric existence, consisting of the realm of desire (kāmadhātu), i.e., the world of ordinary consciousness accompanied by desires; the realm of form, or material realm (rūpadhātu), in which desires have been eliminated but the physical body remains; and the realm of no-form, or immaterial realm (ārūpyadhātu), in which the physical form no longer exists.

Tripiṭaka: Lit., “three baskets”; the three divisions of the Buddhist canon, consisting of Abhidharma (treatises), Sutra (discourses), and Vinaya (monastic code). See also Abhidharma; sutra; Vinaya.

unique vehicle (ekayāna): Aside from its obvious meaning, this term is also used to denote the “one vehicle,” as mentioned in the Lotus Sutra, which unites the teachings of early Buddhism and the Mahyana. The latter meaning was popular in Nanjing in the ﬁfth century, propagated by such scholars as Huiguan.

Vinaya: Precepts and rules of conduct for monastics; one of the three divisions of the Tripiṭaka. See also Tripiṭaka.

yakṣa: A type of supernatural being; a kind of demon, fearsome in appearance.

Bibliography

Bareau, A. Recherches sur la biographie du Buddha. 3 vols. Paris: Presses de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient, 1971–1995.

Beal, S. Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king. A Life of Buddha by Aśvaghosa Bodhisattva. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975, reprint.

Hokazono, K. “Amṛtānanda ni yoru Buddhacarita no fuka bubun,” Kagoshima Keizai Daigaku Ronshū 22 (1981): 2–4; Daigaku Ronshū 23 (1982): 1; Daigaku Ronshū

24 (1983): 2.

Jackson, D. P. “On the Date of the Tibetan Translation of Aśvaghoṣa’s Buddhacarita,” Studia Indologiczne 4 (1997): 41–62.

Johnson, E. H. “The Buddha’s Mission and Last Journey: Buddhacarita, XV–XXVIII,”

Acta Orientalia 15 (1937): 26–62, 85–111, 231–92.

—. The Buddhacarita or Acts of the Buddha. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2004, reprint.

Ōminami, R. Busshogyōsan, in Shin kokuyaku Daizōkyō, Hon’enbu 1, pp. 125–426.

Tokyo: Daizō Shuppansha, 2002.

Siegling, W. Ein Glossar zu Aśvaghoṣas Buddhacarita. Göttingen: Veröffentlichungen des Seminars für Indologie und Buddhismuskunde der Universität Göttingen Nr. 3, 1985.

Waldschmidt, E. Das Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra. Berlin: Abhangdlungen der Deutschen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. Klasse für Sprachen, Literatur und Kunst Jahrgang, Nr. 2 (1950), Nr. 3 (1951).

Weller, F. Das Leben des Buddha von Aśvaghoṣa. Liepzig: Verlag von Eduard Pfeiffer, 1926. Veröffentlichungen des Forschunginstitut für vergliechende Religionsgeschichte an der Universität Liepzig, Reihe II, Heft 3.

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Index

A

Ābhāsvara Heaven 86, 212

Abhaya 151, 215

Abhidharma (see also Tripiṭaka) 211, 216

Abhidharmahṛdaya 213

Abhidharmakośabhāṣya 217

abhisaṃbodhi 99, 212

abode(s) 63, 81, 110, 175, 217

brahma 123

celestial 123, 213

of the noble 111, 123, 213

pure 5, 21, 23, 32, 36, 44, 90, 96, 134,

135, 136, 145, 190, 209, 213

accumulation 33, 49, 111

adamantine 10, 98, 170, 191, 192, 198

Āditya 14, 71

afﬂiction(s) 86, 104, 105, 107, 111, 113,

114, 117, 118, 119, 124, 135, 163,

167, 174, 185, 188, 192, 193, 194,

198, 213

ten kinds of 127, 213

Agastya 28

Agniveśya 152

Ahalyā 209

Aiḷa (see also Purūravas) 76, 94

Aja 57

Ajātaśatru 154, 215, 216, 218

Ājñāta Kauṇḍinya 112

Alakāvatī 152, 215

Alāyudha 203

alms, alms round(s) 70, 71, 72, 80, 86,

105, 123, 124, 138, 141, 143, 185

Ambarīṣa 65

Āmra Garden, Grove 158, 161

Āmrapālī 157–160, 165, 215, 216

Āmrayaṣṭikā Grove 215 Amṛtānanda xiii Amṛtodana 141, 214

Ānanda 141, 154, 167, 168, 169, 176,

177, 181, 206, 214

Ānanda Caitya, Shrine 216 Anāthapiṇḍada 129–130, 133, 135, 136,

145

anchorite(s) 45, 48, 60

Andhakas 78, 203, 211

Aṅgā 215

Aṅgada 151

Aṅgapura 151

Aṅgāra Stupa (see also Ashes Shrine) 218

Aṅgiras 7

Āṅgirasa 60, 210

Aṅgulimāla 152, 215

Aṅguttarāpa 215

animal(s) (see also beast) 5, 21, 24, 39,

47, 52, 63, 65, 91, 96, 100, 101, 108,

162, 177, 184, 185

destination 100, 134, 216

king(s) of (see also lion) 4, 45, 105

six domestic 20

Aniruddha 141, 188, 189, 191, 218

annihilation (see also two extremes; views, two, of the two extremes) 33, 111, 183

Antideva 8, 61, 66

Anuja 61

Apalāla 153

Āpaṇa 215

Ārāḍa 50, 59, 81, 83, 84, 86, 88, 105,

210, 212

arhat(s), arhatship xiii, 109, 113, 114,

125, 196, 206

Arhat (see also Buddha) 114 Āṣāḍha 61

ascetic(s) 8, 9, 147, 212

asceticism (see also austerities) 10, 28,

34, 46, 48, 49, 55, 66, 76, 89, 94, 97,

98, 101, 108, 109, 110, 115, 118, 126,

162, 210, 218

forest of 40, 44, 45, 52, 53, 59, 65, 89,

117

Ashes Shrine (see also Aṅgāra Stupa) 206

Asita 8, 11, 57

Aśoka xiii, 206, 218

aśoka tree 206

Aṣṭagrantha 213

asura(s) 78, 163, 188, 190, 217

Aśvaghoṣa xiii–xiv, 1, 211, 216

Aśvajit 108, 113, 123, 124

aśvattha grove, tree (see also bodhi

grove, tree) 93, 212

Aśvins 45, 210

Āṭavika 152 ātman. See self Ātreya 7, 152

Atri 7, 141

attachment(s) 28, 73, 77, 84, 85, 100,

107, 110, 135, 146

attribute(s) 88, 132, 133, 212, 214 augur (see also seer) 157

Aurva 4

austerities (see also asceticism) 41, 46,

47, 50, 66, 89, 108, 109, 140, 185

Avanti 215

Avīci Hell 155, 216

awakening (see also bodhi; enlighten- ment) 6, 10, 91, 97, 111, 197

right 9, 11, 50, 89, 91, 97, 103, 107,

109, 140

āyatanas. See three spheres Ayodhyā 153

B

Bāhu 61

Bahuputraka Shrine 125

Baka 203

Bali 76, 210

Baoyun xiv–xvii, 209, 212

Bāvari 215

beast(s) (see also animal) 28, 45, 95

Bhadra 152, 215

Bhadrā 213

Bhadraka 152

Bhadrakarma 152

Bhadravālin 152, 215

Bhadrika 108, 152, 215

Bhārgas 153

Bhārgava 39

Bheṣaka 153

bhikṣu(s) (see also monk) 32, 107, 114,

115, 117, 123, 124, 125, 136, 154,

158, 159, 175, 183, 185

ﬁve 89, 90, 105, 109, 113

Bhīṣma 61

Bhoganagara 175

Bhṛgu 7, 210

bhūta. See spiritual beings

Bimbisāra 69, 70, 73, 75, 113, 117, 119,

120, 123, 215, 216

bird(s) 5, 10, 19, 24, 28, 36, 39, 42, 45,

46, 47, 52, 58, 61, 63, 65, 70, 77, 78,

81, 87, 91, 95, 108, 145, 146, 149,

162, 166, 177, 185, 187, 192, 210,

211, 217

birth (see also birth and death) xvi, 4, 6, 10, 17, 29, 32, 38, 40, 42, 49, 62, 63,

65, 75, 80, 84, 85, 102, 103, 118, 120,

130, 139, 140, 147, 164, 170, 182, 187,

207, 211, 213, 217

of the Buddha, Śākyamuni xiii, xvi, 3–6, 9, 11, 14

birth and death (see also rebirth; samsara) 10, 31, 32, 34, 43, 46, 47, 59, 80, 83,

89, 97, 99, 101, 102, 105, 110, 111,

114, 117, 118, 119, 120, 124, 126,

130, 132, 135, 139, 140, 148, 163,

169, 170, 175, 178, 181, 182, 187,

189, 191, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197

bodhi (see also awakening; enlighten- ment) 90, 217

bodhi grove, tree 93, 95, 104, 105, 212

bodhisattva(s) xiv, 17

Bodhisattva (see also Buddha) 3, 4, 5, 6,

10, 11, 15, 21, 22, 23, 25, 27, 46, 48,

49, 61, 70, 71, 81, 83, 88, 89, 90, 91,

93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 101, 103,

210

Bodhisattva Aśvaghoṣa’s Kāvya. See Maming pusa zan

body(ies) 11, 13, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26,

31, 36, 41, 44, 45, 47, 48, 52, 56, 71,

78, 84, 87, 88, 90, 91, 95, 96, 100, 102,

109, 110, 111, 114, 119, 125, 126, 130,

138, 146, 148, 154, 158, 159, 160, 162,

167, 168, 177, 178, 183, 185, 187, 211,

212, 214, 216, 217

of the Crown Prince, Buddha, Tathā- gata 4, 15, 22, 33, 42, 43, 53, 59,

63, 89, 90, 91, 95, 115, 141, 142,

166, 168, 169, 175, 176, 177, 178,

193, 197, 198, 201

luminous (see also star) 7

body, speech, and mind (see also three actions) 214, 217

bond(s) (see also fetters) 10, 83, 87, 98,

114, 119, 130, 132

brahmadeva 8

Brahma, Brahmadeva 15, 104, 105, 115,

117, 137

Brahma Heaven 86, 105, 112, 211

brahmakāyika god(s) 46, 210

brahman(s) xiii, 6, 7, 11, 25, 26, 45, 46,

48, 49, 55, 57, 59, 83, 85, 87, 107,

108, 115, 151, 152, 153, 157, 181,

182, 183, 191, 202, 203, 204, 205,

210, 213, 215

Brahmans 218

brahmavihāras. See abode(s), brahma, of the pure

Brahmāyus 152

Bṛhadvājin 152

Bṛhaspati 7, 28, 48, 60, 210

Bṛhatphala Heaven 87, 212

Buddha (see also Bodhisattva; Crown Prince; Gautama; Śākyamuni; Tathā- gata; World-honored One) xiv, xvi, 103, 104, 105, 109, 112, 113, 114, 115,

116, 117, 118, 119, 123, 124, 125, 126,

127, 129, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 140,

141, 142, 145, 146, 147, 149, 150, 151,

152, 153, 154, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161,

164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 173,

174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 181, 182,

183, 188, 189, 190, 191, 195, 196, 197,

198, 201, 203, 205, 206, 207, 208, 215,

216

body (see also body, of the Crown Prince, Buddha, Tathāgata) 141, 169, 197, 198

disciple(s) 112, 119

divine power 140, 149, 150, 161 extinction, nirvana, parinirvāṇa 183,

189, 190, 191, 196, 198

name 129, 136

path 4, 182

qualities, virtue 104, 116, 153, 196

relics 201, 205

wisdom 175, 191

buddha(s) 4, 109, 150

eye 104

former, of the past 5, 33, 91, 98, 170,

197

of future worlds 170 Buddhabhadra xiv, xv Buddhacarita xiii–xvii, 213

Chinese xiii, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii Indian xv

Nepalese xvi Sanskrit xiii, xvi Taishō edition xv Tibetan xiii

Buddhacarita-kāvya. See Fo benxing zan Buddhacarita-sūtra. See Fo benxing jing Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha (see also

Three Jewels) 157, 213, 217 Buddha’s Acts. See Buddhacarita Buddhism xiii, 211

Buddhist(s) xiv, 213, 216

Bulukas 218

Busshogyōsan xiv

C

caitya (see also stupa) 197, 206, 218

Calakalpā 218

Caṇḍa, Caṇḍāśoka (see also Aśoka) xiii, 206, 218

Caṇḍa. See Kaniṣka Candramas 25, 28

causality 9, 62, 87, 115, 120, 124, 132,

146, 147, 178, 183

cause(s) 7, 47, 84, 85, 87, 88, 89, 100,

102, 111, 124, 125, 126, 129, 130,

131, 132, 133, 139, 147, 166, 183,

194, 211, 214

for, of birth 65, 102

and conditions 87, 133, 169, 183

for, of deliverance 40, 61, 64, 135

and effect, fruition, result 9, 55, 64,

133, 139

knower of (see also self) 84, 87, 88,

124, 211

of suffering 47, 111, 140, 188

celestial 5, 9, 14, 15, 25, 44, 48, 51, 56,

63, 73, 94, 103, 130, 146, 158, 170,

190, 191, 195, 214

abodes 123, 213

crown(s) 53, 61, 71, 79, 142, 161

ﬂowers 98, 112

happiness(es) 47, 57, 76, 78

king(s), ruler 4, 12, 63, 76, 93, 104,

136, 139

maiden(s) 55, 76, 93, 159

music 15, 35, 103, 112, 165, 197

palace(s) 43, 104, 150, 165, 190

queen 15, 25, 26, 28, 210

son(s) 25, 28, 36, 43, 44, 46, 191, 192

spirit(s) 11, 12, 23, 38, 41, 50, 55, 56,

59, 73, 90, 105, 112, 151, 157, 190,

217

Celestial Nanda Garden 24 Central Asia xiv

Central India(n) (see also India) xiii, xv, 221

Chandaka 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44,

45, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56

Chang’an xiv, xvii, 211 Chengshi lun xiii China xiv, 210, 218

Chinese xiv, xvi, xvii, 210, 217 language xiii, xiv, xv, xvi, xvii, 209,

210, 217

Classics xvi

common, commonplace 3, 23, 26, 45,

55, 70, 79, 86, 113, 114, 117, 131,

137, 141, 143, 146, 149, 169, 173,

196, 197

commoner(s), common people, person 75, 83, 85, 105, 108, 109, 114, 130, 137, 149

compassion, compassionate 16, 31, 42,

60, 97, 105, 126, 135, 143, 154, 164,

170, 173, 174, 179, 188, 189, 205,

207, 209

great 3, 10, 99, 104, 105, 109, 126,

140, 159, 183, 196

concentration(s) 98, 99, 101, 102, 110,

112, 126, 134, 187, 189, 190, 214

nine 189, 216 Confucian xvi

consciousness(es) 23, 56, 65, 102, 103,

120, 174, 194, 213, 217

six 120

unlimited 87, 212

constellation(s) (see also planet; star) 20, 146, 209, 213, 214

conversion, convert(ed) xiii, xiv, 15, 16,

66, 115, 123, 129, 137, 145, 150, 151,

152, 153, 154, 157, 158, 162, 165,

174, 195, 203, 213, 215, 218

covetousness, hatred, and delusion (see also greed, anger, and delusion; three poisons) 78

craving 80, 101, 102, 103, 139, 182, 213

Crown Prince (see also Buddha; Siddhār- tha) 6, 9, 12, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22,

23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33,

34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45,

46, 51, 52, 53, 55, 59, 64, 66, 67, 69,

70, 71, 73, 75, 83, 84, 86, 87, 137, 142

Cunda 176

D

Daṇḍa 151

Daṇḍakas 78, 211 Daochang Temple xv Daśabala Kāśyapa 108

Daśaratha 57, 210

Da Zhoushi (see also Tan Wuchen) xv death (see also birth and death; old age,

illness, and death) 10, 11, 16, 24, 27,

35, 36, 38, 40, 42, 47, 54, 57, 62, 63,

78, 80, 84, 85, 90, 100, 101, 102, 103,

120, 130, 139, 148, 153, 160, 185,

187, 207, 211, 213, 216, 217

ﬁve signs of 101, 212

of Śākyamuni (see also parinirvāṇa) xiii

deathless, deathlessness 37, 207

deer 14, 35, 37, 44, 45, 46, 78, 80

deliverance 5, 6, 32, 59, 64, 65, 84, 85,

87, 88, 89, 93, 104, 109, 117, 118,

125, 126, 132, 133, 135, 168, 184,

186, 189, 207, 209

cause for, of 40, 61, 64, 135

gate of 10, 170

path of 10, 65, 81, 93, 110, 125, 181,

186

true 34, 50, 75, 81, 87, 186

delusion (see also ignorance) 10, 22, 27,

62, 85, 101, 103, 125, 127, 149, 168,

174, 182, 193, 211, 213

eight kinds of 85 four kinds of 188 great 85, 188

demon(s) (see also yakṣa) 93, 151, 152,

153, 203, 215

dependent origination 213

desire(s) (see also duty, riches, desire) 5, 10, 11, 14, 15, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 32,

40, 50, 72, 73, 76, 77, 78, 84, 85, 86,

88, 90, 96, 101, 108, 110, 111, 117,

118, 126, 129, 135, 142, 143, 159,

160, 163–64, 167, 174, 177, 182, 186,

189, 192, 196, 203, 209, 211, 212, 217

ﬁve 10, 17, 21, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32,

34, 35, 40, 47, 62, 63, 66, 67, 72,

73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 85, 93, 118,

135, 139, 142, 148, 149, 158, 159,

174, 187, 203, 205, 214

for existence 130, 182

for matter 87, 126

object(s) of 10, 50, 77, 78, 80, 83, 148

realm of 86, 210, 211, 222

destination(s) 42, 81, 154

animal 100, 134, 216

ﬁve, six 85, 99, 101, 131, 134, 139,

159, 212, 216, 217

of humans 100

of hungry ghosts 57, 100, 134

woeful 43, 77, 80, 99, 104, 111, 129,

133, 140, 146, 159, 163, 184, 216

Devadatta 153, 155, 214, 216

devas (see also god) 217

dharma, artha, kāma. See duty, riches, desire

Dharma (see also Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; Law) 216

Dharma, Dharmāśoka (see also Aśoka) 206, 218

Dharmaguptaka xiv

Dharmarddhin (see also Tan Wuchen) xv

Dharmaśreṣṭhin 213

Dharmavṛddhin (see also Tan Wuchen) xv

Dhṛtarāṣṭra 213, 220

Dīrghatapas Gautama 25

disciple(s) 84, 112, 113, 116, 118, 119,

123, 125, 127, 137, 141, 177, 183,

189, 213, 215

lay 215, 216

discipline (see also Vinaya) 97, 175,

176, 216

dragon(s) 37, 38, 43, 73, 91, 93, 95, 96,

103, 104, 145

-elephant 26, 61, 192

kings 4, 153

-snakes 96

Dragon-Elephant Gate 197

Droṇa 202

Droṇodana 214

Druma 61, 66

duck(s) (see also mandarin ducks) 55, 210

duty, riches, desire (see also three happi- nesses) 72, 209, 211

dyed garment, robe (see also kāṣāya;

robe) 44, 60, 114, 142, 162

E

eightfold path 103, 110, 111, 182 eight winds. See eight worldly factors

eight worldly factors 79, 193, 211, 217

element(s) 130, 195, 211

ﬁve great 84, 91, 211

four 22

objective 84, 85, 87

elephant(s) 11, 13, 26, 33, 41, 56, 83,

95, 139, 154, 167, 185, 187, 190, 192,

194, 201, 212

dragon- 26, 61, 192

maddened 19, 33, 34, 149, 151, 153,

154, 184

emptiness 87, 212

enlightenment (see also awakening;

bodhi) 212, 213, 217

eon(s) 4, 13, 17, 97, 98, 101, 147, 155,

177, 189, 194, 195

ﬁre of 115, 148, 191, 213

Essence of Scholasticism, The (Wille- men) 213

evil, evildoer(s) 14, 47, 54, 77, 86, 95,

96, 97, 99, 100, 115, 116, 131, 133,

145, 146, 147, 153, 155, 159, 163,

184, 185, 187, 195

extinction 10, 32, 47, 49, 65, 80, 84,

103, 111, 119, 120, 124, 126, 130,

132, 134, 135, 140, 148, 165, 167,

169, 170, 178, 181, 182, 183, 187,

188, 189, 191, 196, 197, 199, 217

eye (see also sense faculties, senses) 84, 211, 217

buddha 104

celestial, divine, highest, of purity, universal 50, 99, 101, 102, 111,

135, 195, 215, 217

of the Law 110, 112, 120, 124, 125

of wisdom 93, 188, 217

of the world (see also Buddha) 177

F

factor(s) 84, 124, 126, 132, 133, 183,

188, 191, 213, 216

eight worldly 79, 93, 211, 217

faculties 15, 16, 21, 23, 33, 52, 59, 65,

72, 84, 86, 89, 90, 102, 107, 110, 113,

114, 117, 119, 120, 123, 129, 142,

147, 158, 159, 184, 193, 195, 211

of action 84, 211

of intellection 84, 211

of mind 84, 211

sense 71, 89, 102, 103, 109, 120, 159,

177, 184, 195, 211, 213

faith 118, 125, 129, 140, 147, 149, 151,

153, 154, 160, 183, 185, 207

Faxian xiv, xv Fei Changfang xv

fetters (see also bond) 135, 188 First Council xiii

ﬁve desires 17, 21, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32,

34, 35, 40, 47, 62, 63, 66, 67, 72, 73,

75, 76, 78, 79, 85, 93, 135, 139, 159,

203, 205, 214

objects of 10, 28, 29, 34, 73, 75, 77,

118, 148, 174, 187

ﬁve modes 85, 211 Fo benxing jing xv Fo benxing zan xv

foolish, foolishness 22, 27, 32, 42, 54,

62, 63, 64, 75, 76, 77, 80, 85, 86, 97,

109, 110, 117, 126, 196, 203

foolishness, action, and desire 84, 211,

212

forbearance 97, 98, 185, 194, 203, 204 forest (s) (see also mountain; wilderness)

3, 6, 8, 17, 33, 39, 43, 45, 46, 48, 52,

53, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 62, 63, 65, 66,

78, 90, 95, 98, 99, 105, 108, 110, 113,

114, 143, 146, 162, 188, 194

of asceticism 40, 44, 45, 52, 53, 59,

65, 89, 117

formation(s) 103, 130, 167, 169, 191,

213

four analytical knowledges 126, 213 four beneﬁts, four losses (see also eight

worldly factors) 193, 217

fourfold attitudes of the noble (see also

abodes, of the noble) 13, 209

fourfold pure conduct 14, 209

four kings 105, 190, 213

four pure abodes. See abodes, pure, of the noble

four ranges (see also mindfulness, four applications of) 168, 169

fruition(s) 9, 21, 43, 46, 64, 65, 81, 83,

87, 90, 113, 114, 118, 120, 125, 129,

134, 135, 139, 140, 141, 147

of arhatship 113

ﬁrst 130, 207, 214, 218

of a śramaṇa 214, 218

G

Gādhin 7, 214

Gaja (see also Gayā Kāśyapa) 116, 213 Gaja Mountain (see also Mount Gaya-

śiras) 89, 115, 152, 178

Gandhāra 151, 153

gandharva(s) 15, 35, 217

Ganges River 16, 69, 108, 157, 158,

162, 170

Gansu province xv Gardabha 152

Garuḍa 198

garuḍas 217

gāthā(s) (see also stanza) 151, 175, 191

Gautama (see also Buddha) 28, 108, 109

Gautama Ford 158

Gautama Gate 157, 158

gautamaka(s) 152, 215

Gautamī (see also Mahāprajāpāti Gau- tamī) 41

Gayā 108, 212

Gayā Kāśyapa (see also Gaja) 213 god(s) 3, 4, 5, 12, 14, 16, 20, 22, 25, 26,

28, 37, 38, 44, 45, 46, 48, 59, 60, 65,

71, 72, 89, 91, 93, 95, 99, 101, 102,

103, 104, 108, 112, 117, 123, 124,

125, 131, 134, 138, 139, 140, 148,

150, 151, 154, 158, 163, 165, 169,

177, 178, 187, 189, 190, 191, 192,

195, 197, 199, 203, 207, 209, 210

brahmakāyika 46, 210

immaterial, of no form 126, 148

of the pure abodes 5, 21, 23, 32, 36,

90, 96, 190

six kinds of desiring 210, 213

thirty-three 76, 213

Vasu 45

going forth (see also renunciation) 11, 17, 34, 60, 64, 141

greed, anger, and delusion (see also covetousness, hatred, and delusion; three poisons) 63, 97, 104, 139, 154,

197, 213, 214, 217

guṇa. See attribute

Guzang (see also Liangzhou) xv, xvi

H

Haimavata 151, 215 Han dynasty xvii, 211

happiness(es) 6, 16, 17, 21, 28, 29, 31,

32, 33, 46, 47, 64, 73, 77, 79, 80, 81,

86, 102, 107, 120, 131, 133, 134, 135,

139, 140, 147, 148, 149, 161, 162,

163, 175, 186, 191, 194, 207

celestial 47, 57, 76, 78, 129

of the ﬁve desires 35, 129, 139

of going forth, renunciation 35, 64, 86

in, of the Law, Right Law 8, 49, 55,

60, 63, 73, 129, 146, 160, 181, 194,

197, 202, 205

of prosperity 37, 141

of quietude, subtle, of tranquility 129, 178, 188

of rebirth in heaven 17, 46, 49, 50, 79,

94, 101, 135, 151, 186

three (see also duty, riches, desire) 80, 211

worldly 17, 22, 108, 141, 163, 207

Harivarman xiii Haryaṅka family 75

Haryaśva 134

Hastā 213

Hastaka 152

heaven(s) 14, 17, 40, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50,

52, 57, 65, 69, 72, 73, 76, 79, 80, 85,

94, 95, 96, 98, 101, 104, 111, 119,

129, 130, 135, 136, 146, 151, 163,

167, 170, 186, 190, 191, 195, 196,

210, 211–212, 218

hell(s) 99, 101, 216

heretic(s), heretical 7, 16, 47, 149, 150,

153, 173, 181, 194, 215

Hotan. See Khotan Hikata Ryūshō xv

Himalayas (see also Snowy Mountains) 210, 214

Hindu xvi

Hiraṇyagarbha (see also Kapila; Prajā- pati) 211

Hiraṇyavatī River 176, 197

horse(s) 9, 11, 13, 14, 19, 24, 26, 31, 37,

38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 51, 52, 53, 54,

55, 56, 59, 95, 139, 184, 192, 196,

201, 205, 217

householder(s) (see also worldling) 149, 186, 187

Huiguan xv, xvii

hungry ghost(s) 57, 100, 101

destination of 57, 100, 134, 216

I

ignorance (see also delusion) 88, 110,

127, 149, 168, 170, 174, 176, 187,

211, 213

Ikṣvāku 3, 7, 45, 59, 83, 104, 123

immortal, immortality 9, 37, 83, 107,

110, 112, 121, 124, 130, 134, 139,

140, 141, 151, 154, 175, 194

impermanence 24, 28, 29, 32, 40, 62, 76,

77, 80, 126, 130, 134, 147, 169, 170,

173, 174, 175, 190, 191, 192, 193, 195

incense (see also sandalwood) 5, 53, 145 India, Indian (see also Central India)

xiii, xiv, xv, xvi, 1, 219

Indra 209, 210, 218

Indra’s Rock. See Indraśailaguhā Indraśailaguhā 218

insight 4, 17, 60, 83, 107, 112, 114, 133,

135, 141, 154, 164, 174, 181, 183,

191, 195, 207, 214

Īśvara 65, 69, 89, 102, 124, 131, 148,

169

J

Jaigīṣavya 87, 212

Jain (see also nirgrantha) 151, 215

Jālinī 215

Jambhala 214

Jambudvīpa 150, 190, 206

jāmbūnada 14

jambū tree 32, 90

Janaka 7, 61, 87, 212

Japanese xiv Jātiśroṇi 152

Jayanta 59, 60, 210

Jeta 135, 136

Jetavana 145 Jiankang xv, xvi, xvii

Jīvaka 151 Johnston, E. H. xiv jñeya water 50, 210

Jupiter 218

Jyeṣṭhā 213

Jyotiṣka 151, 215

K

Kakśīvat 4

Kāla 91

Kālaka 153

Kālāma family 83 Kālidāsa xiii Kalmāṣadamya 152 kalpa. See eon Kalpanāmaṇḍitikā xiii

kāmadhātu. See realm, of desire Kaniṣka xiii

Kapila (see also Hiraṇyagarbha; Prajā- pati) 84, 123, 152, 211

Kapilavastu 12, 41, 43, 51, 137, 141,

145, 218

Kapiñjalāda 28

Karandhama 202

karṇikāra ﬂowers 36, 171

Kārttikeya 209

kāṣāya (see also dyed garment; robe) 44, 71, 141

Kāśi (see also Vārāṇasī) 105, 108 Kaśmīra xiii

Kāśyapa (see also Mahākāśyapa) 115, 116, 118, 119, 198

Kāśyapa family, seers (see also Daśabala Kāśyapa; Gaya Kāśyapa; Kāśyapa; Mahākāśyapa; Uruvilva Kāśyapa) 115, 117, 118, 125

Kātyāyana 152

Kātyāyanīputra 213

Kauṇḍinya family (see also Ājñāta Kauṇḍinya) 108, 112

Kauravas 78, 203, 211

Kauśāṃbī 153

kāvya literature xiii, xiv Kenya 151

Khotan xiv

kiṃnaras 217

king(s) xiii, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,

14, 15, 17, 19, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29,

30, 31, 34, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 44,

52, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64,

65, 66, 67, 70, 71, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82,

83, 107, 117, 118, 121, 123, 134, 137,

138, 139, 140, 141, 146, 147, 149,

151, 154, 157, 162, 196, 197, 202,

203, 204, 207, 209, 210, 214

animal 105

of the animals (see also lion) 4, 45 celestial 4, 5, 12, 63, 93, 104, 136, 139

dragon 4, 153

eight 206

of the ﬁve desires (see also Māra) 93 former, of the past, previous 7, 17, 63,

73, 83, 148, 203

four 105, 136, 190, 213

of the gods of the pure abodes 21 goose 37

human, of humans 17, 25, 139, 146,

196

of the Law, physician-, Śākya, of the Śākyas (see also Buddha) 3, 9, 10,

170

lion 33, 71, 96, 177

ox 33, 53, 105, 138, 162, 190

seer 17, 93, 94, 140, 169, 191

seven 201, 205, 207, 218

thousand-armed (see also Ugrāyudha) 77, 203

vices of 209, 211

wheel-turning 6, 8, 57, 72, 76, 140, 169

Kośala 129, 135, 145, 153, 215

Krauḍyas 218

Kṛmila 141

Kṛśāśva 146

kṣatriya 77, 94, 204, 212 Kubjottarā (see also Uttarā) 216 Kukustā River 176

Kumāra 152 Kumārajīva xv Kumāralāta xiii

Kumbha Stupa (see also Shrine of the Golden Pitcher) 218

Kumbhīra 153

kumuda ﬂower (see also lotus) 89, 212 Kuṇṭhadhāna 141

Kuśika 7

Kuśinagara 113, 176, 201, 206, 218

Kūṭadatta 151

Kuṭi 158

Kuvera 214, 215

L

Law (see also Dharma; Right Law; True Law) xiv, 5, 10, 14, 16, 20, 33, 34, 35,

37, 40, 49, 55, 57, 59, 60, 63, 64, 71,

72, 73, 81, 90, 93, 94, 95, 97, 103,

104, 105, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116,

117, 119, 124, 125, 129, 130, 137, 138,

141, 142, 146, 147, 149, 150, 151,

154, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 164,

167, 168, 169, 173, 175, 176, 179,

183, 184, 186, 193, 194, 197, 201,

203, 204, 205, 210, 213, 216

bridge of 170, 197

excellent, ﬁne, wonderful 4–5, 32,

116, 124, 140, 149, 151, 168, 169,

174, 194, 207

eye of 111, 112, 120, 124

ﬁrst exposition of 105

garment, robe of xvii, 52, 63, 71

happiness in, with 49, 55, 60, 63, 73,

146, 160, 162, 181, 193, 194, 205

profound 107, 112, 140, 151, 194

superior, unsurpassed 61, 97, 194

of tranquility 76, 105, 198

wheel of 104, 107, 198

lay disciple(s) (see also upāsaka; upāsikā) 215, 216

Liangzhou xiv, xv, xvi

Licchavi(s) 152, 161, 164, 165, 167,

169, 170, 171, 173, 175, 218

lion(s) 4, 31, 45, 53, 91, 95, 105, 112,

138, 161, 175, 192, 196, 204, 206

king 33, 71, 96, 177

Liuheshan Temple xv Liu Song dynasty xv

lotus(es) 3, 4, 5, 20, 38, 53, 56, 63, 124,

138, 154, 190, 212

Lotus Sutra xvii Lumbinī 3, 5

lunar (see also moon) 61, 210

M

Magadha 117, 137, 157, 215, 218

māgaṇḍika 152, 215

Mahākāśyapa (see also Kāśyapa) 126, 127, 213

mahāmāndārava ﬂowers (see also mandāra ﬂowers) 102

Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra xv Mahāprajāpāti Gautamī (see also Gau-

tamī) 14, 53 Mahāsāṃghika(s) xiii Mahāsudarśana 55

Mahāvana 216 Mahāvibhāṣā xiii Mahāyus 152

Maheśvara (see also Śiva) 12, 71, 94,

209, 212

Mahīvatī 152

mahoragas 217

makara ﬁsh 174, 216

Makuṭabandhana Caitya 218

Mallas 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 196,

197, 198, 201, 204, 205, 218

Maming pusa zan xv

mandāra ﬂowers (see also mahāmāndārava ﬂowers) 5, 221

mandarin ducks (see also duck) 55, 211 Māndhātṛ 4, 72, 76, 138, 169

maṇi 40

Manu 14, 57

Māra(s), Māra Pāpīyas (see also Pāpīyas) 6, 46, 93–98, 99, 104, 165, 190, 194,

195, 210

mark(s) 6, 37, 72, 125

of the Buddha’s body (see also wheel, on the palms or soles) 69, 70, 141,

152, 170, 193

Markaṭa Pond 165, 216

Mars 218

Mathurā 152

Maudgalyāyana xiv, 124, 213

Mauryas 206

Māyā 3, 14

medicines(s) 14, 56, 62, 78, 164, 178,

185, 188, 193

meditation 7, 81, 90, 139

Meghākalī 96

Mekhalas 78, 211

Meṇḍhaka (see also Prajīvana) 215 mendicants (see also bhikṣu; monk) 149 Mercury 218

merit(s), meritorious 16, 41, 43, 46, 47,

48, 53, 56, 72, 75, 94, 101, 117, 118,

130, 134, 136, 140, 146, 163, 170, 177,

202, 207

ﬁeld of 105, 136

roots of 21, 28

mind(s) (see also body, speech, and mind) 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24, 27,

29, 34, 36, 41, 42, 44, 45, 47, 49, 54,

57, 58, 59, 61, 71, 73, 76, 77, 83, 84,

85, 86, 88, 89, 90, 94, 97, 104, 109,

113, 114, 116, 117, 119, 124, 125, 126,

133, 135, 136, 138, 139, 140, 146, 147,

mind(s) (continued)

154, 158, 159, 160, 162, 163, 164,

169, 175, 177, 178, 179, 183, 184, 185,

186, 187, 191, 194, 195, 196, 197, 199,

204, 206, 207, 211

of the Bodhisattva, Buddha, Crown Prince, Tathāgata 4, 15, 16, 17, 22,

25, 26, 28, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38,

42, 43, 46, 54, 63, 66, 70, 75, 88,

89, 94, 96, 98, 99, 104, 109, 110,

117, 134, 138, 142, 143, 154, 165,

189, 193

compassionate 154, 189

controlled, ﬁrm, settled, stable 26, 34,

37, 42, 54, 117, 162

ﬁckle 175, 184

ﬁne 47, 89

open 66, 83, 182, 185

upright 81, 159

mindful, mindfulness(es) 135, 147, 149,

154, 162, 173, 175, 185, 187

eight 135, 214

four applications of (see also four ranges) 216

of the Law, Right Law 33, 169

right 110, 112, 118, 158, 159, 187, 214

minister(s) 11, 12, 13, 19, 22, 30, 31, 35,

56, 57, 59, 60, 64, 66, 67, 69, 137,

141, 161, 210

monk(s) (see also bhikṣu) xiv, 209 monkey(s) 184, 187

moon, moonlight (see also lunar) 3, 4, 5,

7, 14, 22, 33, 42, 44, 46, 60, 67, 71,

79, 83, 89, 90, 94, 98, 104, 107, 113,

138, 169, 173, 181, 183, 188, 190,

192, 196, 213, 218

morality 10, 81, 86, 93, 112, 117, 129,

161, 162–63, 181, 184

mountain(s) (see also forest; wilderness) 5, 6, 8, 17, 33, 35, 42, 43, 45, 53, 56,

57, 60, 62, 63, 65, 66, 78, 95, 100,

102, 105, 108, 113, 114, 115, 137,

143, 147, 149, 162, 170, 176, 178,

188, 190, 192, 198, 206, 210

ﬁve 69, 137, 214, 215

Mount Aṭavī 152

Mount Gayaśiras (see also Gaja Moun- tain) 212

Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa (see also Vulture Peak) 153, 206

Mount Kailāsa 145, 214, 218 Mount Lu xiv

Mount Pāṇḍava 70, 71

Mount Pāṣāṇaka 151, 215

Mount Sumeru (see also Sumeru) 7, 35, 97, 209, 216

Mount Tai xvii, 154 Mount Vaidehaka 151

Mount Vipula 151, 215

mūlācārya xiii

mulberry tree xvii, 71, 210

muni(s) (see also seer) 42, 50, 66, 81, 83,

91, 93, 94, 96, 103, 104, 108, 152,

191, 192, 194, 195, 206, 208

muñja grass 87, 212

N

Nadī 116

Nādikā 158

Nagarī 89, 212

nāgas (see also dragon) 217 Nahuṣa 76

Nairañjanā River 89, 90, 165

Nakula 153

Nalakūbara 12

Nālandā 215

Nanda xiv, 141, 151

Nandā Balajā 90 Nanjing. See Jiankang Nārāyaṇa 61

nature(s) 6, 15, 26, 31, 36, 45, 62, 64,

65, 84, 85, 87, 94, 97, 111, 120, 124,

126, 130, 132, 153, 168, 169, 182,

186, 188, 191, 202, 206, 211

speciﬁc 7, 64, 65, 101, 102, 132–33,

154, 168, 182, 214

Nepalese xvi Nikumbha 146

nirgrantha (see also Jain) 151, 215

nirvana 33, 113, 139, 183, 191, 192, 206

of the Buddha, World-honored One 157, 165, 167, 170, 173, 175, 176,

177, 183, 189, 190, 192, 196, 198,

206, 207

ﬁnal, great (see also parinirvāṇa) 135, 157, 216

Nirvana Sutra (see also Mahāparinirvāṇa- sūtra) xv–xvi

Northern Liang dynasty 1 Nyagrodha 151, 215

O

obeisance 12, 20, 40, 59, 60, 69, 108,

119, 124, 125, 140, 141, 154, 159,

160, 164, 169, 177, 183

offering(s) 8, 11, 65, 136, 145, 157, 160,

165, 176, 197, 199, 201

ﬁre, to ﬁre 16, 48, 115, 116, 118, 162,

192

old age, illness, and death 27, 28, 29, 32,

59, 62, 65, 75, 84, 89, 110, 111, 118,

130, 147, 164, 174, 207

Ōminami Ryūshō xiv

omniscience, omniscient 103, 109, 119,

123, 174, 195

Omniscient One (see also Buddha) 149, 175, 178

“On the Date of the Tibetan Translation of Aśvaghoṣa’s Buddhacarita” (Jackson) xiii

order (see also Sangha) 136, 145, 153,

157

origination 32, 47, 84, 102, 103

ox, oxen 14, 31, 45, 95, 159, 185, 202

king 33, 53, 105, 138, 162, 190

P

Pāli 215

Pañcaśikha (see also Vṛddha Parāśara) 151, 212, 215

Pāṇḍavas 203

Pāpā 176, 218

Pāpīyas (see also Māra, Māra Pāpīyas) 93, 165

Parāśara (see also Vṛddha Parāśara) 7, 28, 212

Pārāyaṇika 151, 215

parinirvāṇa 173, 181, 183, 190, 191, 216

Pārvatī 212

Pāṭalī Caitya 157

Pāṭaliputra 157

path(s) 9, 17, 26, 45, 46, 55, 57, 72, 77,

87, 89, 90, 91, 94, 108, 110, 113, 116,

118, 124, 125, 130, 136, 137, 138,

141, 142, 149, 162, 174, 178, 187,

188, 195, 207

of arhatship 125

of a buddha, Buddha, Tathāgata 4, 109, 153, 181, 182

of deliverance 10, 65, 81, 93, 110,

125, 181, 186

eightfold 103, 110, 111, 182

essential 109, 205

ﬁnal 87, 182

of freedom from desire, of little desire 110, 143

heretical 181, 194

of meditation, quietude, silence, tran- quility 7, 17, 194, 196

middle 110

noble 194, 213

of right awakening 9, 11, 91, 97, 103

right, pure, straight 66, 90, 109, 111,

118, 151, 186

path(s) (continued) of seers 11, 16, 17

true, of truth 46, 50, 193

two 84, 211

of the unique vehicle 169

wrong 97, 147, 173, 174, 182, 191

peacock(s) 45, 70, 217

permanence (see also two extremes; views, two, of the two extremes) 32, 76, 139, 169, 183

planet(s) (see also constellation; star) 218

power(s) 38, 65, 76, 96, 100, 113, 118,

131, 157, 166, 173, 198, 204, 210,

211, 215, 217

of beauty 25, 26, 162

divine 11, 21, 37, 119, 140, 141, 149,

150, 152, 155, 157, 161, 165, 173,

174, 193

of the Law 90, 160

royal 72, 147

supernatural 125, 138, 150, 195, 215

of wisdom 107, 174

Prabhāsa 209

practice(s) 16, 46, 47, 48, 55, 59, 66,

118, 120, 175, 185

of austerities 101, 109

of the Law 34, 49, 114, 160

of the path 11, 17, 149, 178

Prajā 153

Prajāpati (see also Hiraṇyagarbha; Kapila) 84, 211

Prajīvana (see also Meṇḍhaka) 152, 215 Prakrit xvi

Prasenajit 134, 145

prātimokṣa (see also Vinaya) 183, 184,

216

precepts 45, 89, 97, 119, 126, 163, 184,

216

preceptor 57, 59, 60, 67, 69, 137, 183,

210

Prodbhūtopadeśa. See Chengshi lun

propriety(ies) 15, 35, 70, 75, 80, 109,

136

Pṛthu 4

Pukkusāti. See Puṣkara Punarvasu 60

pure conduct 8, 14, 17, 26, 66, 85, 86,

117, 209

Pūrṇabhadra 151, 152, 215 Purūravas (see also Aiḷa) 210 Puṣkara 151, 215

Puṣkarasārin 153

Q

qualities 42, 47, 52, 71, 75, 162, 164,

175, 181, 205, 212, 216

of the Crown Prince, Bodhisattva, Buddha, Gautama, Tathāgata 5, 8,

48, 70, 71, 116, 141, 153, 157, 193,

195, 196, 198, 207

excellent, ﬁne, good, noble 11, 47, 97,

118, 163, 184

pure 3, 15, 111

ten 127

quietude 3, 64, 81, 86, 87, 90, 94, 96,

107, 112, 129, 130, 139, 141, 149,

168, 175, 177, 178, 187, 193, 194,

195, 203, 214

R

Rāgā 93

Rāhula 17, 56, 142

Rājagṛha xiii, 70, 82, 117, 123, 153,

157, 198, 214, 215

Rāja-śāstras 209

rākṣasa 152

Rāma (descendant of Bhṛgu) 42, 51, 61,

77, 203, 210

Rāma (son of Daśaratha) 60, 61, 65, 66,

210

Rāmagrāma 207, 218

Rāṣṭrapāla 152

Ratī 93

realm(s) 93, 198

of desire 86, 210, 211

of form, material 149, 210, 211, 213,

216

of no-form, immaterial 149, 211, 212,

213

three (see also three worlds) 81, 149, 211, 217

rebirth 17, 40, 46, 47, 49, 50, 79, 85, 86,

94, 101, 118, 120, 130, 135, 139, 151,

186, 188, 207

relics xiii, 198, 199, 201, 205, 207, 216,

218

renunciation (see also going forth) 25, 35, 86, 129, 130, 170, 175, 214

retreat, summer, three-month 136, 150,

165

Right Law (see also Law; True Law) 8, 9, 10, 11, 15, 17, 33, 40, 41, 43, 48,

59, 80, 90, 105, 107, 108, 112, 113,

114, 116, 141, 147, 151, 152, 153,

155, 160, 163, 173, 175, 183, 186,

187, 189, 197, 202, 205, 206

eye of 110, 125

faith in 153, 160

happiness in 8, 129

receptacle, vessel for, of 83, 116, 129,

140, 162, 181

robe (see also dyed garment; kāṣāya) 44, 133, 186

of the Law xvii, 63, 71

rodhra. See mulberry tree

root(s) xvii, 40, 46, 97, 162, 174, 192,

210

meritorious, of merit 21, 28

wholesome 113, 143, 185

Ṛṣyaśṛṅga 209

Śacī 210

sacriﬁce(s), sacriﬁcial 11, 16, 17, 50, 55,

56, 65, 73, 80, 81, 118, 125, 151, 170,

192

Sagara 7 Sāketa xiii

śakunta bird 210

Śakra 3, 12, 26, 28, 33, 45, 48, 56, 59,

60, 71, 72, 76, 81, 108, 117, 146, 169,

188, 206, 215

Śākyamuni (see also Buddha) xiii, 125, 210

Śākya(s) 39, 51, 70, 118, 141, 161, 218

śāla grove, trees 175, 176, 190, 196, 216

Śālvadruma 61

Śālvas 66

salvation 6, 145, 173, 178, 193, 195, 196

samādhi(s) 10, 32, 99, 130, 135, 149,

165, 166, 187, 189

Saṃjaya 57

Sāṃkāśya 215

Sāṃkhya philosophy xvi, 210, 211, 212,

214, 216

samsara (see also birth and death; rebirth) 26, 148, 168, 215

Sanatkumāra 15

sandalwood 5, 14, 35, 167, 218

oxhead 197, 218

Sandalwood Hall 152

Sangha (see also Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) 157, 213, 217

Sanskrit xiii, xiv, xv, xvi, 210

Saptabhava-sūtra 217

Sārasvata 7

Śāriputra xiv, 123, 124, 136, 213 Śāriputraprakaraṇa xiv Sarvāstivāda xiii

Sātāgra 151, 215

Saturn 218

Satyaka Nirgranthaputra 152, 215 Saundarānanda xiv Sautrāntika(s) xiii, xiv

scriptural text(s), scripture(s) (see also

sutra) 7, 11, 65, 84, 85, 86, 110, 157,

176, 206, 208

seer(s) (see also muni) 7, 8–9, 11, 20,

26, 28, 29, 39, 44, 45, 46, 47, 50, 59,

60, 65, 76, 77, 84, 87, 88, 89, 94, 103,

104, 105, 108, 115, 116, 117, 123,

137, 146, 149, 152, 153, 169, 191,

203, 212, 214, 215

brahman 26, 48, 115, 191

celestial, divine 8, 14, 16, 25, 45, 48,

150

great, greatest 25, 81, 83, 93, 103,

105, 112, 115, 162, 175, 192, 204

king(s) 17, 93, 94, 140, 169, 191

path of 11, 16

royal 48, 115, 141

serpent- 46

Śela 151

self 65, 84–85, 87, 88, 102, 104, 111,

119, 120, 124, 126, 130, 133, 164,

168, 169, 183, 211, 212, 214, 216, 217

self-discipline, self-control 25, 112, 142

Senajit kings 61 Sengyou xiv, xv

sense faculties, senses 71, 89, 103, 109,

159, 177, 184, 195, 211, 213

six 102, 103, 120, 213

sense objects 28, 184, 187, 211, 213

serpent(s) (see also snake) 46, 76

Śetavika 153

seven precious things 12, 13, 35, 63,

150, 196

Shrine of the Golden Pitcher (see also

Kumbha Stupa) 206

Śibi 100

Siddhārtha (see also Crown Prince; Buddha) 14, 141

Siṃha 152, 161, 173, 175, 215

singleminded(ness) 20, 202

Sītā 203

Śiva (see also Maheśvara) 209, 212, 214 Skanda. See Kārttikeya

snake(s) (see also serpent) 63, 75, 77,

79, 95, 96, 139, 165, 178, 184, 185,

192, 202, 204

Snowy Mountains (see also Himalayas) 13, 48, 54, 67, 94, 210, 212

solitude 26, 63, 79, 86, 141, 168, 175

soma 16

Southern Cross. See Triśaṅku

spirit(s) 3, 4, 6, 16, 38, 55, 96, 103, 104,

112, 118, 121, 131, 151, 152

celestial 11, 12, 23, 38, 41, 50, 55, 56,

59, 73, 90, 105, 112, 151, 157, 190,

217

spiritual beings 5, 209, 212

śramaṇa(s) 11, 32, 33, 114, 125

four fruitions of 214, 218

Śrāvastī 134, 136, 152

Śrīguptaka 151

Śroṇa 151

srotaāpanna. See stream-winner stanza(s) (see also gāthā) xvi, xvii, 7,

209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 216,

217, 218

star(s) (see also constellation; planet) 7, 20, 38, 52, 60, 95, 98, 137, 139, 173,

183, 196

ﬁve 113, 213

seven 4, 209

three 127, 213

Stavakarṇin 152

Sthāṇumatī 151, 215

Sthūlakoṣṭhaka 152

stream-winner (see also fruition, ﬁrst) 214 stupa(s) (see also caitya) 205, 206, 207,

218

Subhadra 181, 182, 183, 215

Śubhakṛtsna Heaven 86, 212

Śūcīloma 152

Śuddhodana 3, 11, 13, 17, 59, 142

suffering 6, 10, 19, 22, 28, 29, 32, 35, 36,

37, 39, 42, 43, 46, 47, 49, 54, 55, 61,

63, 77, 78, 79, 81, 86, 89, 97, 99, 100,

101, 102, 110, 111, 117, 119, 120, 126,

130, 131, 133, 140, 147, 148, 149,

154, 160, 162, 163, 164, 169, 170,

177, 178, 179, 181, 186, 187, 189,

191, 196, 198, 207

basis of 118, 130, 148

beings, of beings 37, 104, 107, 115,

118, 170

of birth and death 31, 43, 85, 89, 105,

110, 140, 164, 178, 196, 207

cause(s) of 47, 100, 111, 140, 188

great 22, 29, 32, 47, 55, 79, 85, 101,

111, 129, 140, 160, 174, 177, 196,

198

of illness 22, 28, 65, 130, 164, 207

of old age 21, 28, 65, 130, 164, 207

receptacle, vessel of 22, 189, 193

of separation 42, 49, 61, 62, 101

truth of 188

two kinds of 207, 218

of woeful destinations 43, 159

Suhmas 152

Śukra 7, 60, 210

Śūla 129

Sumantra 42

Sumeru (see also Mount Sumeru) 5, 40, 51, 67, 73, 138, 146, 148, 165, 192,

198, 213

sun xvii, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 14, 17, 29, 31,

35, 37, 40, 44, 45, 46, 51, 59, 60, 67,

71, 91, 97, 120, 124, 137, 138, 141,

150, 153, 154, 161, 163, 170, 181,

190, 192, 197, 210, 213, 217, 218

Sunda 78

Sundarī 25

supernatural 116, 195

being(s) 217

power(s) 125, 138, 150, 195, 215

Śūra 151

Śūrpāraka 152

Sūrya (see also sun) 217

sutra(s) (see also scriptural text, scrip- ture) xv, 175

Sutra (see also Tripiṭaka) xiii Sūtrālaṃkāra xiv Suvarṇākṣī xiii

svabhāva. See nature(s), speciﬁc

T

Ṭakana 152

Takṣaśilā 215

Tan Wuchen xiv, xv, 1

Tathāgata (see also Buddha) 5, 7, 105,

107, 108, 109, 112, 113, 114, 117, 124,

129, 136, 141, 143, 147, 151, 152, 154,

155, 158, 164, 165, 168, 170, 177, 178,

181, 183, 190, 191, 192, 196, 197, 199,

201, 206, 207, 213

Tattvasiddhi-śāstra. See Chengshi lun “The Buddha’s Mission and Last Jour- ney: Buddhacarita XV–XXVIII”

(Johnston) xiv

three actions (see also body, speech, and mind) 139, 214, 217

three existences 49, 94, 166, 174, 210,

212

three happinesses (see also duty, riches, desire) 80, 211

Three Jewels (see also Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) 213, 217

three poisons (see also covetousness, hatred, and delusion; greed, anger, and delusion) 213, 214, 217

three spheres 212

three worlds (see also realms, three) 110, 112, 139, 167, 170, 191, 197

Tibetan xiii, 217

tonsure 52, 60, 142, 186

trance(s) 11, 86–87, 90, 99, 153, 211–212,

216

ﬁrst 32, 86, 189, 210, 212

fourth 86, 87, 189, 209, 212

second 86, 212

third 86, 212

tranquil, tranquility 15, 16, 34, 49, 64,

66, 70, 71, 89, 90, 98, 99, 103, 110,

111, 113, 118, 126, 130, 138, 140,

159, 168, 169, 173, 174, 176, 178,

182, 183, 185, 187, 188, 191, 194,

195, 196, 197, 198

Law of 76, 105, 198

Trāyastriṃśa Heaven 43, 76, 127, 150,

213

treatises 7, 209

Tripiṭaka (see also Abhidharma; Sutra; Vinaya) xiii, 1

Triśaṅku 146, 214

Tṛṣṇā 93

True Law (see also Law; Right Law) 112, 168, 175, 176

twice-born 7, 46, 124, 125, 151 two extremes (see also annihilation;

permanence; views, two, of the two extremes) 110, 119

U

Udāyin 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 141

Udraka Rāmaputra 83, 88, 89, 105, 212

Udumbarīkārāma 215

Ugrāyudha 210

unique vehicle xvii, 169

Universal Light. See Ābhāsvara Heaven Universal Purity. See Śubhakṛtsna

Heaven Upaga 107, 108

Upāli 141, 151, 215

Upananda 141

upāsaka (see also lay disciple) 215

upāsikā(s) (see also lay disciple) 153, 216

Upasunda 78

Upatiṣya 124, 135

Ursa Major 209

Uruvaśī 210

Uruvilva Kāśyapa 116

Uttarā (see also Kubjottarā) 153, 216

Uttarāpatha 215

V

Vaibhāṣika xiii Vaibhrāja 61

Vaideha 206

Vaidehī 216

Vairañjā 152

Vaiśālī 152, 158, 161, 165, 170, 173,

175, 216, 218

Vaiśravaṇa 12, 35, 213

Vajra 61

Vālmīki 7

Vāmadeva 60, 210

Vāraṇa 152

Vārāṇasī (see also Kāśi) 105, 107, 152

Vārāṇasī River 108

Varṣākāra 216, 218

Vasiṣṭha 8, 60, 66, 169, 210

Vāṣpa 108

Vasu god 45

Vedas 7

Veṇugrāmaka 165

Veṇukaṇḍikā Nandamātā 215

Veṇukaṇṭakī 151, 215

Venus 218

Veṇuvana 123, 124, 129

Vibhāṇḍaka 26

Videha 61

Videhapura 152

view(s) 15, 85, 119, 130, 150, 183, 195

of annihilation 183

of permanence 183

right 103, 110, 131

of self 119, 126

two, of the two extremes (see also two extremes) 119, 126

wrong 41, 104, 131, 147, 149, 174, 181

Vinaya (see also prātimokṣa; Tripiṭaka) 216

Vindhya Mountains 50, 210

Virūḍhaka 213

Virūpākṣa 213

Viṣṇu 210

Viṣṇudvīpa 218

Viśvāmitra 26, 214

Vṛddha Parāśara (see also Pañcaśikha; Parāśara) 87, 212

Vṛṣṇis 78, 203, 211

Vṛtra 52, 210

Vulture Peak (see also Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa) 69

Vyāsa 7, 209

W

Warring States period 218 wheel(s) 22

of existence, the ﬁve destinations, samsara 46, 84, 85, 101, 103, 111,

118, 131, 139, 140, 215

of the Law, Right Law, True Law 104, 107, 108, 112, 194, 198

on the palms or soles (see also marks, of the Buddha’s body) 9, 43, 152

wheel-turning king(s) 6, 8, 57, 72, 76,

140, 169

wilderness (s) (see also forest; mountain) 19, 33, 34, 42, 48, 97, 110, 163, 178

of afﬂictions 167

of birth and death 10, 80, 163

wisdom 7, 10, 17, 61, 64, 81, 86, 87, 93,

97, 110, 113, 125, 134, 135, 158, 160,

164, 170, 173, 176, 182, 187, 188,

193, 196, 214

adamantine 10, 198

arrow of 93, 159

boat of 10, 97, 149, 174, 187

of the Crown Prince, Bodhisattva, Buddha, Tathagata 10, 21, 32, 49,

70, 83, 97, 140, 167, 170, 175, 191,

192, 193, 197

eye of 93, 188, 217

lamp of 97, 108, 110, 123, 127, 168,

187

power of 107, 174

pure 97, 117

three kinds of 188

world(s) 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15,

16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 32, 42,

47, 50, 51, 53, 54, 68, 72, 73, 75, 76,

77, 79, 80, 81, 85, 91, 93, 97, 101, 103,

104, 105, 107, 108, 109, 111, 112, 115,

118, 119, 123, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133,

136, 139, 140, 145, 148, 158, 160, 162,

163, 164, 167, 170, 173, 174, 176, 178,

179, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 187, 188,

189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196,

197, 198, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208,

213, 214

eye of (see also Buddha) 177 four 6, 72, 76, 79, 138, 202

future, later 64, 80, 81, 143, 147, 162,

163, 170

present 39, 80, 146, 162, 163, 178, 184,

207

three 110, 112, 139, 167, 170, 191,

197, 217

two 80, 110

World-honored One (see also Buddha) 105, 109, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119,

World-honored One (continued)

120, 123, 125, 134, 145, 149, 157,

159, 161, 167, 173, 174, 177, 181,

188, 189, 198, 204

worldling (see also householder) 21, 44

worldly 5, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 22, 25, 33,

34, 39, 42, 43, 57, 70, 71, 75, 80, 94,

108, 110, 114, 132, 139, 141, 142,

146, 148, 161, 163, 174, 175, 182,

207

factors, eight. See eight worldly factors worship 5, 8, 39, 43, 46, 69, 89, 90, 98,

103, 104, 105, 109, 114, 115, 146,

154, 157, 183, 190, 201, 203, 204,

205, 206, 207

Wuwei district xv

Y

yakṣa(s) (see also demon) 152, 153,

215, 217

Yanzi Mountain 192, 217

Yaśas 113

Yaśodharā 15, 17, 41, 54, 55, 214

Yaṣṭivana 117

Z

zeal 97, 159, 182, 187, 197, 214

Zhi Qian xv

Zhou dynasty 218

BDK English Tripiṭaka (First Series)

Abbreviations

Ch.:

Skt.:

Jp.:

Eng.:

Chinese Sanskrit Japanese Published title

Title Taishō No.

Ch. Chang ahan jing (長阿含經) 1

Skt. Dīrghāgama

Ch. Zhong ahan jing (中阿含經) 26

Skt. Madhyamāgama

Ch. Dasheng bensheng xindi guan jing (大乘本生心地觀經) 159

Ch. Fo suoxing zan (佛所行讃) 192

Skt. Buddhacarita

Eng. Buddhacarita: In Praise of Buddha’s Acts (2009)

Ch. Zabao zang jing (雜寶藏經) 203

Eng. The Storehouse of Sundry Valuables (1994)

Ch. Eng.	Faju piyu jing (法句譬喩經) The Scriptural Text: Verses of the Doctrine, with Parables (1999)	211
Ch. Skt.	Xiaopin banruo boluomi jing (小品般若波羅蜜經) Aṣṭasāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra	227
Ch. Skt.	Jingang banruo boluomi jing (金剛般若波羅蜜經) Vajracchedikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra	235
Ch.	Daluo jingang bukong zhenshi sanmoye jing	243

(大樂金剛不空眞實三麼耶經)

Skt. Adhyardhaśatikā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra

245

Ch.	Renwang banruo boluomi jing (仁王般若波羅蜜經)	245
Skt.	*Kāruṇikārājā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra
Ch.	Banruo boluomiduo xin jing (般若波羅蜜多心經)	251
Skt.	Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya-sūtra
Ch.	Miaofa lianhua jing (妙法蓮華經)	262
Skt.	Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra
Eng.	The Lotus Sutra
Ch.	Wuliangyi jing (無量義經)	276
Ch.	Guan Puxian pusa xingfa jing (觀普賢菩薩行法經)	277
Ch.	Dafangguang fo huayan jing (大方廣佛華嚴經)	278
Skt.	Avataṃsaka-sūtra
Ch.	Shengman shizihou yisheng defang bianfang guang jing	353
Skt.	Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanāda-sūtra
Eng.	The Sutra of Queen Śrīmālā of the Lion’s Roar (2004)
Ch.	Wuliangshou jing (無量壽經)	360
Skt.	Sukhāvatīvyūha
Eng.	The Larger Sutra on Amitāyus
	(in The Three Pure Land Sutras, Revised Second Edition, 2003)
Ch.	Guan wuliangshou fo jing (觀無量壽佛經)	365
Skt.	*Amitāyurdhyāna-sūtra
Eng.	The Sutra on Contemplation of Amitāyus
	(in The Three Pure Land Sutras, Revised Second Edition, 2003)
Ch.	Amituo jing (阿彌陀經)	366
Skt.	Sukhāvatīvyūha
Eng.	The Smaller Sutra on Amitāyus
	(in The Three Pure Land Sutras, Revised Second Edition, 2003)
Ch.	Da bannie pan jing (大般涅槃經)	374
Skt.	Mahāparinirvāṇa-sūtra
Ch.	Fochuibo niepan lüeshuo jiaojie jing (佛垂般涅槃略説教誡經)	389
Eng.	The Bequeathed Teaching Sutra (in Apocryphal Scriptures, 2005)
Ch.	Dizang pusa benyuan jing (地藏菩薩本願經)	412
Skt.	*Kṣitigarbhapraṇidhāna-sūtra

(勝鬘師子吼一乘大方便方廣經)

Ch. Skt. Eng. Ch.	Banzhou sanmei jing (般舟三昧經) Pratyutpanna-buddhasaṃmukhāvasthita-samādhi-sūtra The Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sutra (1998) Yaoshi liuli guang rulai benyuan gongde jing	418 450
	(藥師琉璃光如來本願功徳經)
Skt.	Bhaiṣajyaguru-vaiḍūrya-prabhāsa-pūrvapraṇidhāna-viśeṣavistara
Ch.	Mile xiasheng chengfo jing (彌勒下生成佛經)	454
Skt.	*Maitreyavyākaraṇa
Ch.	Wenshushili wen jing (文殊師利問經)	468
Skt.	*Mañjuśrīparipṛcchā
Ch.	Weimojie suoshuo jing (維摩詰所説經)	475
Skt.	Vimalakīrtinirdeśa-sūtra
Eng.	The Vimalakīrti Sutra (2004)
Ch.	Yueshangnü jing (月上女經)	480
Skt.	Candrottarādārikā-paripṛcchā
Ch.	Zuochan sanmei jing (坐禪三昧經)	614
Eng.	The Sutra on the Concentration of Sitting Meditation (2009)
Ch.	Damoduoluo chan jing (達磨多羅禪經)	618
Ch.	Yuedeng sanmei jing (月燈三昧經)	639
Skt.	Samādhirāja-candrapradīpa-sūtra
Ch.	Shoulengyan sanmei jing (♛楞嚴三昧經)	642
Skt.	Śūraṅgamasamādhi-sūtra
Eng.	The Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sutra (1998)
Ch.	Jinguang ming zuishengwang jing (金光明最勝王經)	665
Skt.	Suvarṇaprabhāsa-sūtra
Ch.	Dasheng rulengqie jing (入楞伽經)	672
Skt.	Laṅkāvatāra-sūtra
Ch.	Jie shenmi jing (解深密經)	676
Skt.	Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtra
Eng.	The Scripture on the Explication of Underlying Meaning (2000)
Ch.	Yulanpen jing (盂蘭盆經)	685
Skt.	*Ullambana-sūtra
Eng.	The Ullambana Sutra (in Apocryphal Scriptures, 2005)

Ch.	Sishierzhang jing (四十二章經)	784
Eng.	The Sutra of Forty-two Sections (in Apocryphal Scriptures, 2005)
Ch.	Dafangguang yuanjue xiuduoluo liaoyi jing	842

(大方廣圓覺修多羅了義經)

Eng. The Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment (in Apocryphal Scriptures, 2005)

Ch. Da Biluzhena chengfo shenbian jiachi jing 848

(大毘盧遮那成佛神變加持經)

Skt. Mahāvairocanābhisambodhi-vikurvitādhiṣṭhāna-vaipulyasūtrendra- rājanāma-dharmaparyāya

Eng. The Vairocanābhisambodhi Sutra (2005)

Ch. Jinggangding yiqie rulai zhenshi she dasheng xianzheng dajiao

wang jing (金剛頂一切如來眞實攝大乘現證大教王經) 865

Skt. Eng.	Sarvatathāgata-tattvasaṃgra-hamahāyānābhisamaya-mahākalparāja The Adamantine Pinnacle Sutra (in Two Esoteric Sutras, 2001)
Ch. Skt. Eng.	Suxidi jieluo jing (蘇悉地羯囉經) Susiddhikara-mahātantra-sādhanopāyika-paṭala The Susiddhikara Sutra (in Two Esoteric Sutras, 2001)	893
Ch. Skt.	Modengqie jing (摩登伽經) *Mātaṅgī-sūtra	1300
Ch. Skt.	Mohe sengqi lü (摩訶僧祇律) *Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya	1425
Ch. Skt.	Sifen lü (四分律) *Dharmaguptaka-vinaya	1428
Ch. Pāli	Shanjianlü piposha (善見律毘婆沙) Samantapāsādikā	1462
Ch. Skt.	Fanwang jing (梵網經) *Brahmajāla-sūtra	1484
Ch. Skt. Eng.	Youposaijie jing (優婆塞戒經) Upāsakaśīla-sūtra The Sutra on Upāsaka Precepts (1994)	1488
Ch. Skt.	Miaofa lianhua jing youbotishe (妙法蓮華經憂波提舍) Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-upadeśa	1519
Ch. Skt.	Shizha biposha lun (十住毘婆沙論) *Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā	1521

Ch. Skt. Eng.	Fodijing lun (佛地經論) Buddhabhūmisūtra-śāstra The Interpretation of the Buddha Land* (2002)	1530
Ch. Skt.	Apidamojushe lun (阿毘達磨倶舍論) Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya	1558
Ch. Skt.	Zhonglun (中論) Madhyamaka-śāstra	1564
Ch. Skt.	Yuqie shidilun (瑜伽師地論) Yogācārabhūmi	1579
Ch. Eng.	Cheng weishi lun (成唯識論) Demonstration of Consciousness Only (in Three Texts on Consciousness Only, 1999)	1585
Ch. Skt. Eng.	Weishi sanshilun song (唯識三十論頌) Triṃśikā The Thirty Verses on Consciousness Only (in Three Texts on Consciousness Only, 1999)	1586
Ch. Skt. Eng.	Weishi ershi lun (唯識二十論) Viṃśatikā The Treatise in Twenty Verses on Consciousness Only (in Three Texts on Consciousness Only, 1999)	1590
Ch. Skt. Eng.	She dasheng lun (攝大乘論) Mahāyānasaṃgraha The Summary of the Great Vehicle (Revised Second Edition, 2003)	1593
Ch. Skt.	Bian zhongbian lun (辯中邊論) Madhyāntavibhāga	1600
Ch. Skt.	Dasheng zhuangyanjing lun (大乘莊嚴經論) Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra	1604
Ch. Skt.	Dasheng chengye lun (大乘成業論) Karmasiddhiprakaraṇa	1609
Ch. Skt.	Jiujing yisheng baoxing lun (究竟一乘寳性論) Ratnagotravibhāga-mahāyānottaratantra-śāstra	1611
Ch. Skt.	Yinming ruzheng li lun (因明入正理論) Nyāyapraveśa	1630

Ch. Skt.	Dasheng ji pusa xue lun (大乘集菩薩學論) Śikṣāsamuccaya	1636
Ch. Skt.	Jingangzhen lun (金剛針論) Vajrasūcī	1642
Ch. Eng.	Zhang suozhi lun (彰所知論) The Treatise on the Elucidation of the Knowable (2004)	1645
Ch. Skt.	Putixing jing (菩提行經) Bodhicaryāvatāra	1662
Ch.	Jingangding yuqie zhongfa anouduoluo sanmiao sanputi xin lun	1665
Ch. Skt. Eng.	Dasheng qixin lun (大乘起信論) Mahāyānaśraddhotpāda-śāstra The Awakening of Faith* (2005)	1666
Ch.	Shimoheyan lun (釋摩訶衍論)	1668
Ch. Pāli	Naxian biqiu jing (那先比丘經) Milindapañha	1670
Ch. Eng.	Banruo boluomiduo xin jing yuzan (般若波羅蜜多心經幽賛) A Comprehensive Commentary on the Heart Sutra (Prajñāpāramitā-hṛdaya-sūtra) (2001)	1710
Ch.	Miaofalianhua jing xuanyi (妙法蓮華經玄義)	1716
Ch.	Guan wuliangshou fo jing shu (觀無量壽佛經疏)	1753
Ch.	Sanlun xuanyi (三論玄義)	1852
Ch.	Dasheng xuan lun (大乘玄論)	1853
Ch.	Zhao lun (肇論)	1858
Ch.	Huayan yisheng jiaoyi fenqi zhang (華嚴一乘教義分齊章)	1866
Ch.	Yuanren lun (原人論)	1886
Ch.	Mohe zhiguan (摩訶止觀)	1911
Ch.	Xiuxi zhiguan zuochan fayao (修習止觀坐禪法要)	1915
Ch.	Tiantai sijiao yi (天台四教儀)	1931
Ch.	Guoqing bai lu (國清百録)	1934

(金剛頂瑜伽中發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心論)

Ch. Eng. Ch.	Zhenzhou Linji Huizhao chanshi wulu (鎭州臨濟慧照禪師語録) The Recorded Sayings of Linji (in Three Chan Classics, 1999) Foguo Yuanwu chanshi biyan lu (佛果圜悟禪師碧巖録)	1985 2003
Eng.	The Blue Cliff Record (1998)
Ch.	Wumen guan (無門關)	2005
Eng.	Wumen’s Gate (in Three Chan Classics, 1999)
Ch.	Liuzu dashi fabao tan jing (六祖大師法寶壇經)	2008
Eng.	The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch (2000)
Ch.	Xinxin ming (信心銘)	2010
Eng.	The Faith-Mind Maxim (in Three Chan Classics, 1999)
Ch.	Huangboshan Duanji chanshi chuanxin fayao	2012A
Eng.	Essentials of the Transmission of Mind (in Zen Texts, 2005)
Ch.	Yongjia Zhengdao ge (永嘉證道歌)	2014
Ch.	Chixiu Baizhang qinggui (勅修百丈清規)	2025
Eng.	The Baizhang Zen Monastic Regulations (2007)
Ch.	Yibuzonglun lun (異部宗輪論)	2031
Skt.	Samayabhedoparacanacakra
Eng.	The Cycle of the Formation of the Schismatic Doctrines (2004)
Ch.	Ayuwang jing (阿育王經)	2043
Skt.	Aśokāvadāna
Eng.	The Biographical Scripture of King Aśoka (1993)
Ch.	Maming pusa zhuan (馬鳴菩薩傳)	2046
Eng.	The Life of Aśvaghoṣa Bodhisattva
	(in Lives of Great Monks and Nuns, 2002)
Ch.	Longshu pusa zhuan (龍樹菩薩傳)	2047
Eng.	The Life of Nāgārjuna Bodhisattva
	(in Lives of Great Monks and Nuns, 2002)
Ch.	Posoupandou fashi zhuan (婆藪槃豆法師傳)	2049
Eng.	Biography of Dharma Master Vasubandhu
	(in Lives of Great Monks and Nuns, 2002)
Ch.	Datang Daciensi Zanzang fashi zhuan (大唐大慈恩寺三藏法師傳)	2053
Eng.	A Biography of the Tripiṭaka Master of the Great Ci’en
	Monastery of the Great Tang Dynasty (1995)

(黄檗山斷際禪師傳心法要)

Ch.	Gaoseng zhuan (高僧傳)	2059
Ch. Eng.	Biqiuni zhuan (比丘尼傳) Biographies of Buddhist Nuns (in Lives of Great Monks and Nuns, 2002)	2063
Ch. Eng.	Gaoseng Faxian zhuan (高僧法顯傳) The Journey of the Eminent Monk Faxian (in Lives of Great Monks and Nuns, 2002)	2085
Ch. Eng.	Datang xiyu ji (大唐西域記) The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions (1996)	2087
Ch.	Youfangjichao: Tangdaheshangdongzheng zhuan	2089-(7)
Ch.	Hongming ji (弘明集)	2102
Ch.	Fayuan zhulin (法苑珠林)	2122
Ch. Eng.	Nanhai jigui neifa zhuan (南海寄歸内法傳) Buddhist Monastic Traditions of Southern Asia (2000)	2125
Ch.	Fanyuzaming (梵語雑名)	2135
Jp.	Shōmangyō gisho (勝鬘經義疏)	2185
Jp.	Yuimakyō gisho (維摩經義疏)	2186
Jp.	Hokke gisho (法華義疏)	2187
Jp.	Hannya shingyō hiken (般若心經秘鍵)	2203
Jp.	Daijō hossō kenjin shō (大乘法相研神章)	2309
Jp.	Kanjin kakumu shō (觀心覺夢鈔)	2312
Jp. Eng.	Risshū kōyō (律宗綱要) The Essentials of the Vinaya Tradition (1995)	2348
Jp. Eng.	Tendai hokke shūgi shū (天台法華宗義集) The Collected Teachings of the Tendai Lotus School (1995)	2366
Jp.	Kenkairon (顯戒論)	2376
Jp.	Sange gakushō shiki (山家學生式)	2377
Jp. Eng.	Hizōhōyaku (秘藏寶鑰) The Precious Key to the Secret Treasury (in Shingon Texts, 2004)	2426

(遊方記抄: 唐大和上東征傳)

Jp. Eng.	Benkenmitsu nikyō ron (辨顯密二教論) On the Differences between the Exoteric and Esoteric Teachings (in Shingon Texts, 2004)	2427
Jp. Eng.	Sokushin jōbutsu gi (即身成佛義) The Meaning of Becoming a Buddha in This Very Body (in Shingon Texts, 2004)	2428
Jp. Eng.	Shōji jissōgi (聲字實相義) The Meanings of Sound, Sign, and Reality (in Shingon Texts, 2004)	2429
Jp. Eng.	Unjigi (吽字義) The Meanings of the Word Hūṃ (in Shingon Texts, 2004)	2430
Jp. Eng.	Gorin kuji myōhimitsu shaku (五輪九字明秘密釋) The Illuminating Secret Commentary on the Five Cakras and the Nine Syllables (in Shingon Texts, 2004)	2514
Jp. Eng.	Mitsugonin hotsuro sange mon (密嚴院發露懺悔文) The Mitsugonin Confession (in Shingon Texts, 2004)	2527
Jp. Eng.	Kōzen gokoku ron (興禪護國論) A Treatise on Letting Zen Flourish to Protect the State (in Zen Texts, 2005)	2543
Jp. Eng.	Fukan zazengi (普勧坐禪儀) A Universal Recommendation for True Zazen (in Zen Texts, 2005)	2580
Jp. Eng.	Shōbōgenzō (正法眼藏) Shōbōgenzō: The True Dharma-eye Treasury (Volume I, 2007) Shōbōgenzō: The True Dharma-eye Treasury (Volume II, 2008) Shōbōgenzō: The True Dharma-eye Treasury (Volume III, 2008) Shōbōgenzō: The True Dharma-eye Treasury (Volume IV, 2008)	2582
Jp. Eng.	Zazen yōjin ki (坐禪用心記) Advice on the Practice of Zazen (in Zen Texts, 2005)	2586
Jp. Eng.	Senchaku hongan nenbutsu shū (選擇本願念佛集) Senchaku Hongan Nembutsu Shū: A Collection of Passages on the Nembutsu Chosen in the Original Vow (1997)	2608
Jp. Eng.	Kenjōdo shinjitsu kyōgyō shōmon rui (顯淨土眞實教行証文類) Kyōgyōshinshō: On Teaching, Practice, Faith, and Enlightenment (2003)	2646

Jp. Tannishō (歎異抄) 2661

Eng. Tannishō: Passages Deploring Deviations of Faith (1996)

Jp. Rennyo shōnin ofumi (蓮如上人御文) 2668

Eng. Rennyo Shōnin Ofumi: The Letters of Rennyo (1996)

Jp. Ōjōyōshū (往生要集) 2682

Jp. Risshō ankoku ron (立正安國論) 2688

Eng. Risshōankokuron or The Treatise on the Establishment of the Orthodox Teaching and the Peace of the Nation (in Two Nichiren Texts, 2003)

Jp. Kaimokushō (開目抄) 2689

Eng. Kaimokushō or Liberation from Blindness (2000)

Jp. Kanjin honzon shō (觀心本尊抄) 2692

Eng. Kanjinhonzonshō or The Most Venerable One Revealed by Introspecting Our Minds for the First Time at the Beginning of the Fifth of the Five Five Hundred-year Ages (in Two Nichiren Texts, 2003)

Ch. Fumu enzhong jing (父母恩重經) 2887

Eng. The Sutra on the Profundity of Filial Love

(in Apocryphal Scriptures, 2005)

Jp. Hasshūkōyō (八宗綱要) extracanonical Eng. The Essentials of the Eight Traditions (1994)

Jp. Sangō shīki (三教指帰) extracanonical

Jp. Mappō tōmyō ki (末法燈明記) extracanonical Eng. The Candle of the Latter Dharma (1994)

Jp. Jūshichijō kenpō (十七條憲法) extracanonica

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Buddhacarita: In Praise of Buddha’s A

All Rights Reserved

BDK English Tripiṭaka Series

(Taishō Volume 4, Number 192)

A Message on the Publication of the English Tripiṭaka

Editorial Foreword

Publisher’s Foreword

Contents

Translator’s Introduction

The Chinese Text

Fascicle One

Birth

Life in the Palace

Disgust

Renunciation

Leaving the City

Fascicle Two

Chandaka’s Return

Entry into the Forest of Asceticism

The Whole Palace in Grief

The Search for the Crown Prince

Fascicle Three

King Bimbisāra Goes to the Crown Prince

The Reply to King Bimbisāra

Visits to Ārāḍa and Udraka

Māra’s Destruction

Turning the Wheel of the Law

Fascicle Four

King Bimbisāra and Disciples

Conversion of the Great Disciples

The Conversion of Anāthapiṇḍada

The Meeting of Father and Son

Acceptance of the Jetavana Pure Abode

Subduing the Maddened Elephant Dhanapālaka

Lady Āmra[pālī]’s137 Meeting with the Buddha

Fascicle Five

Staying Alive through [the Buddha’s] Divine Power

Farewell to the Licchavis

Chapter XXVI

The Eulogy of Nirvana

The Division of the Relics

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

T

U

V

W

Y

Z

BDK English Tripiṭaka (First Series)

Title Taishō No.

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