The Chapter on Medicines
Chapter Eight

Thereupon the Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, let us go to Mathurā.”

“Certainly, O Honored One,” replied the venerable Ānanda to the Blessed One. Then the Blessed One went to Mathurā, where he saw a green forest rising in the distance. At the sight of it, he said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, do you see the green forest rising?”

“Yes, I do, O Honored One.”

“That is a mountain called Urumuṇḍa.455 When a hundred years have passed after I am completely emancipated, two brothers in Mathurā named Naṭa and Bhaṭa will build a monastery there. [F.123.a] Its name will therefore be Naṭabhaṭika, and it will become the best of the dwelling places that are suited to insight and tranquility.

“Ānanda, in this Mathurā there will be a son of a perfumer named Gupta. His son, Upagupta, will be a buddha without the marks. When a hundred years have passed after I am completely emancipated, he will perform the acts of a buddha, having gone forth in the teachings. The monk Ānanda’s co-residential pupil named Madhyandina will let Upagupta go forth.456 The last of the instructors will be Upagupta. There will be a cave that is eighteen cubits long, twelve cubits wide, and seven cubits high near that Naṭabhaṭika. Each of those who have been instructed by him to actualize the fruit of an arhat will throw a stick of four fingers’ breadth into the cave. When the cave has become full of the sticks of those arhats, Upagupta will be completely emancipated. After he has been completely emancipated, they will pile up the arhats’ sticks and cremate his body.”

The monks, feeling doubtful, inquired of the Buddha, the Blessed One, the one who severs all doubts, “How is it, O Honored One, that the Blessed One has predicted the venerable Upagupta’s having compassion for many people in the future?”

“Listen, monks,” said the Blessed One, “and inscribe it in your minds how, not only in that time, but also previously, he acted for the benefit of many people. I will tell you about it.

“In a time long ago, monks, there lived self-awakened ones, ṛṣis, and monkeys on the three sides of this Mount Urumuṇḍa. On one side lived five hundred self-awakened ones, on the second five hundred ṛṣis, and on the third five hundred monkeys. Whenever a child of a monkey [F.123.b] was born, the leader of the monkeys used to kill it. Therefore, the female monkeys, out of sorrow for their children, began to discuss this among themselves: ‘Listen, ladies. Since every time a child is born to us, it is killed by this leader, we must devise a plan regarding this‍—when any one of us female monkeys has become pregnant, she should not tell the leader.’

“Later, when a female monkey became pregnant, they concealed her in a hidden place and fed her with roots and fruits. After the baby monkey was born, they also nourished and raised him in that hidden place. That monkey then grew up and banished the leader from his own troop. The leader began to wander around on Mount Urumuṇḍa. As he wandered he heard the voices of the self-awakened ones and approached them. When he felt comfortable living with them, he offered them roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, and toothpicks. They, too, gave him leftovers from their bowls. Whenever the self-awakened ones had finished their meal, they used to sit with their legs crossed. Observing their behavior, the monkey, too, sat with his legs crossed.

“Later, the self-awakened ones thought, ‘Since we have attained what is to be attained with our putrid bodies, we will enter the realm of peaceful emancipation.’ They displayed miracles, namely, blazing fire, radiating light, and causing rain to fall and lightning to strike, and they were completely emancipated in the realm of emancipation without remainder.

“They therefore did not rise at their usual hour of rising. When he did not see them, the monkey became anxious. The monkey entered the cave and shook their robes. Then [F.124.a] a deity living in the cave thought, ‘If this monkey destroys the bodies of the self-awakened ones, that would not be appropriate.’ He shut the entrance with a large stone slab and stood there. The monkey felt sorrow and pain and lamentation, and so he departed and wandered on Mount Urumuṇḍa. Anxious, and missing the humans, he strained his ears to hear a human voice, and soon he heard the voices spoken by those ṛṣis. Just like a lost traveler, he hurried to them.

“Those ṛṣis were harming themselves with horrible ascetic practices: some were keeping their hands raised, some were standing on one foot, and some were tormenting themselves with fivefold heat.458 When the monkey felt comfortable living with them, he offered them roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, and toothpicks. They, too, gave him their leftovers. Disrupting their behavior, he taught them the behavior of the self-awakened ones: there he lowered the hands of those who were keeping their hands raised, snapped his fingers, and sat down before them with his legs crossed; he lowered the legs of those who were standing on one foot and sat down before them with his legs crossed; and he put out the fires of those who were tormenting themselves with fivefold heat, snapped his fingers, and sat down before them with his legs crossed. Then the ṛṣis said to their instructor, ‘Master, this monkey interrupts our ascetic practice,’ and they explained everything to him in detail.

“ ‘Sirs,’ he replied, ‘these monkeys have good memories. Since he has certainly seen such behavior by some other ṛṣis, you should sit with your legs crossed, too.’

“When they sat with their legs crossed, their previous roots of merit [F.124.b] became manifest. They generated the thirty-seven aspects of awakening with knowledge, without a teacher or preceptor, and actualized the awakening of self-awakened ones. They directed the faith that had emerged from the Dharma to the monkey. Whenever they received fresh crops, fresh fruits, or seasonal foods as alms from people, they gave him some of the food first and after that enjoyed the rest of the food for themselves.

“Later, the monkey died. The self-awakened ones gathered fragrant wood from various areas and directions, heaped up all the fragrant wood, and cremated his body.

“What do you think, monks? That monkey who lived with the self-awakened ones was indeed this Upagupta. At that time, he acted for the benefit of many people. And now, too, I have predicted his benefiting and having compassion for many people.”

Thereupon The Blessed One, traveling in Śūrasena, went to Mathurā.460 Some brahmins in Mathurā heard that the śramaṇa Gautama had arrived in Mathurā and that, with the strong wish to purify the four castes, he explained, designated, defined, analyzed, expounded, clarified, taught, and perfectly taught. They thought, “If he enters Mathurā, he will be an obstacle to us gaining profit and honors. Since it is known that he is concerned about disrespectful acts, if someone performs disrespectful acts toward him, he will not stay in Mathurā. It would not be surprising if someone from a lowly family performed disrespectful acts toward him, but it would be more effective if some great person did so. Is there any great person among us?”

At that time there was a brahmin in Mathurā [F.125.a] named Nīlabhūti, who had mastered the Vedas and the auxiliary branches of the Vedas, who was able to present his own words clearly and defeat others’ criticisms, and whose words followed the truth. Then the brahmins in Mathurā met together, flocked together, went to Nīlabhūti, and said, “Master, it has been heard that the śramaṇa Gautama has come here and that, with the strong wish to purify the four castes, he … perfectly teaches. Since it is known that he is concerned about disrespectful acts, if someone performs disrespectful acts toward him, he will not stay in Mathurā. It would not be surprising if someone from a lowly family performed disrespectful acts toward him, but it would be more effective if some great person did so. Who else but you is the great person among us? Please revile him with disrespectful words of blame.”

“Sirs,” said Nīlabhūti, “this tongue of mine follows the truth. If he deserves revilement, I will revile him. But if he deserves praise, I will praise him.”

After that, the brahmin Nīlabhūti, attended by the elder brahmins living in Mathurā, went to the Blessed One. The brahmin Nīlabhūti saw from a distance the Blessed One, whose body was fully ornamented with the thirty-two marks of a great man, illuminated by the eighty minor marks, ornamented with a fathom-wide halo, and beautiful like a moving mountain of jewels with light surpassing a thousand suns, sitting tranquilly under a tree. Upon seeing him, the brahmin opened his eyes wide with astonishment and began to praise the Blessed One:

When Nīlabhūti had praised the Blessed One with five hundred verses of praise, including those just recounted, and thus was filled with faith, the Blessed One preached the Dharma for him, so that he saw the truths, sitting on that very seat. After that, the brahmin Nīlabhūti, having praised the Blessed One, departed. When he was walking along the road, the brahmins in Mathurā scolded him: “Sir, we asked you to perform disrespectful acts toward the śramaṇa Gautama. Are you now coming back, having praised him?”

“Sirs, did I not say before, ‘My tongue follows the truth. If he deserves to be reviled, I will revile him. But if he deserves praise, I will praise him’? Since the śramaṇa Gautama deserves praise, I praised him.”

The Blessed One dressed early one morning, took his bowl and his robe, and entered Mathurā for alms. At that time, it was the day of the star festival in Mathurā. A goddess living in Mathurā thought, “If the śramaṇa Gautama comes to Mathurā, he will interrupt my star festival.” She then stood naked before the Blessed One. The Blessed One said, “O goddess, a woman does not look beautiful even if she is covered with clothes, let alone naked.”

Then the goddess was ashamed, and she left to one side of the road. After that, the Blessed One himself left the road and sat on the seat prepared for him in front of the community of monks. Having sat down, the Blessed One said to the monks, “Monks, there are five disadvantages of Mathurā:471 the land is uneven; [F.128.a] it is full of logs and thorns; there are many stones, pebbles, and gravel there; people eat in the evening;472 and there are many women there.”

Thereupon the Blessed One, not going farther down the road, went to the residence of the yakṣa Gardabha473 near Mathurā. When he arrived, he entered the residence of the yakṣa Gardabha and sat under a tree to pass the day there.

At that time474 the yakṣa Gardabha used to walk around in the form of an ass (gardabha). When boys or girls wanted to ride on him, he would let them ride on his back, pleasing them in that way, and then go to a dense forest and eat them. Therefore he was named “the yakṣa Gardabha.”

When the devout brahmins and householders in Mathurā heard that the Blessed One had come for alms, but, waylaid by a goddess, had not entered Mathurā but had gone to the residence of the yakṣa Gardabha, they cooked and prepared a pure and fine meal in pots, loaded the food on a carriage, and went to the Blessed One. Upon their arrival, they bowed low until their foreheads touched the Blessed One’s feet, and then they sat down to one side. When they had sat down to one side, the Blessed One, through talk consistent with the Dharma, instructed … the devout brahmins and householders in Mathurā. After he had … delighted them … the Blessed One remained silent. Then the devout brahmins and householders in Mathurā rose from their seats, draped their upper robes over one shoulder, made the gesture of supplication to the Blessed One, and said to him, “O Honored One, we have brought here a carriage full of pure and fine food for the Blessed One. May the Blessed One have compassion for us [F.128.b] and accept this food.”

The Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, go and gather all the monks living near the residence of the yakṣa Gardabha in the assembly room. I will let them have the almsfood.”

“Certainly, O Honored One,” replied the venerable Ānanda to the Blessed One. Having gathered all the monks living near the residence of the yakṣa Gardabha in the assembly room, he went to the Blessed One. When he arrived, he bowed low until his forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, and then he sat down to one side. Having sat down to one side, the venerable Ānanda said to the Blessed One, “O Honored One, all the monks living near the residence of the yakṣa Gardabha are gathered in the assembly room. May the Blessed One know it is the right time.”

Thereupon the Blessed One went to the assembly room and sat on the seat prepared for him in front of the community of monks. The devout brahmins and householders in Mathurā then knew that the community of monks headed by the Buddha had sat down in comfort, … knowing the Blessed One had … washed his hands and his bowl, they sat before the Blessed One in order to ask a favor. They said, “O Honored One, the Blessed One has converted the wicked nāgas So-and-so and the wicked yakṣas So-and-so. O Honored One, this yakṣa Gardabha has for a long time been hostile toward us who are not hostile, adversarial toward us who are not adversarial, and injurious to us who have not been injurious, [F.129.a] and he snatches our children away whenever one is born.475 May the Blessed One have compassion and convert the yakṣa Gardabha.”

At that time the yakṣa Gardabha himself was sitting in the assembly. The Blessed One asked the yakṣa Gardabha, “Gardabha, did you hear this?”

“O Blessed One, I did.”

“Gardabha, did you hear this?”

“O Sugata, I did.”

“Quit that inferior, evil conduct.”

“O Honored One, if they promise to have a monastery for the community of monks of the four directions built for my sake, I will stop.”

Then the Blessed One asked the devout brahmins and householders in Mathurā, “Brahmins and householders, did you hear this?”

“O Blessed One, we did. We will build it.”

Then the Blessed One converted the yakṣa Gardabha, along with his five hundred attendants. The devout brahmins and householders built five hundred monasteries for his sake. In the same way, the Blessed One converted the yakṣa Śara, the yakṣa Vana, and the yakṣiṇī Ālikāvendāmaghā.

Thereupon the Blessed One entered Mathurā using his magical power. Once there, he converted the yakṣiṇī Timisikā, along with her five hundred attendants, and five hundred monasteries were built for her sake. After that, the Blessed One converted twenty-five hundred yakṣas inside and outside Mathurā, and the devout brahmins and householders built twenty-five hundred monasteries for their sake.

Thereupon the Blessed One went to Otalā and stayed in Otalā Forest near Otalā.

There lived a very wealthy brahmin477 named Otalāyana, who was rich and had great wealth and many possessions . . . .

The478 Blessed One [F.129.b] dressed early in the morning, took his bowl and his robe, and entered Otalā for alms. In a certain place, five hundred peasants were plowing a field in their hempen lower garments, their heads covered with dust. The peasants saw the Blessed One, who was fully ornamented with the thirty-two marks of a great man, … and beautiful … with light . . . . The Blessed One preached the Dharma for them … and they became objects of veneration, respect, and praise.

Then the thousand oxen broke their yokes and the ropes around their horns and went themselves to the Blessed One. When they arrived, they sat down, surrounding the Blessed One. When the Blessed One had preached the Dharma that consists of three phrases for them,479 they were reborn among the gods attendant on the Four Great Kings. . . . Having seen the truths, they left for their own residences.

The monks, feeling doubtful, inquired of the Buddha, the Blessed One, the one who severs all doubts, “O Honored One, what karma did these five hundred peasants and these oxen480 create that matured to cause them to be born as peasants in poor families and to become oxen?”

“Monks, the actions were performed and accumulated by them . . . . These people went forth in the teachings of the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa. They there spent their time lazily; that karma matured to cause them to become peasants. These oxen, too, went forth there, and they disregarded the minor rules of training; that karma matured to cause them to be reborn among animals. Their karma of going forth in the teachings of the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa matured to cause them to see the truths in my presence. Therefore, monks, [F.130.a] the maturation of entirely negative actions is . . . . ”

The very wealthy brahmin Otalāyana heard the following:481 “A śramaṇa, a son of the Śākyans from the Śākyan clan, one who went forth from his home into homelessness with true faith, having shaved off his hair and beard and donned saffron robes, was awakened to complete and supreme awakening, and he has arrived at Otalā, having traveled in Śūrasena, and is staying in Otalā Forest. Sirs, the great virtue, fame, renown, and praise of that śramaṇa Gautama are known in all directions. Thus, that Blessed One is a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened one, perfect in knowledge and conduct, a sugata, world knowing, a supreme tamer of people to be tamed, a teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, and a blessed one. Having in this life, by his own supernormal knowledge, actualized and accomplished awakening, he announced to the world with its gods, Māra, Brahmā, people such as śramaṇas and brahmins, and beings such as gods and humans, ‘My defilements have been exhausted. The pure life has been lived. What is to be done has been done. I will not know another existence after this one.’ He teaches only the Dharma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, good at the end, excellent in meaning, excellent in wording, distinct, complete, pure, and immaculate.”

Thinking that it would be good to see, approach, and serve such a śramaṇa or brahmin, he left Otalā, riding an entirely white chariot pulled by mares, surrounded and followed by young brahmins, carrying a golden water jar with a handle, [F.130.b] and went to see and serve the Blessed One. Having gone as far as he could go by vehicle, he alighted from the vehicle and entered the park on foot. The very wealthy brahmin Otalāyana went to the Blessed One, and when he arrived, he made plenty of pleasant and joyful conversation with the Blessed One, and then sat down to one side. Having sat down to one side, the very wealthy brahmin Otalāyana said to the Blessed One, “O Gautama, the five faculties have separate fields and separate domains, and each of them experiences its own field and domain but does not experience other fields and domains: namely, the faculty of the eyes, the faculty of the ears, the faculty of the nose, the faculty of the tongue, and the faculty of the body. What experiences the fields and domains of these? What is the basis of these?”

“O brahmin,482 the five faculties do have separate fields and separate domains: namely, the faculty of the eyes, the faculty of the ears, the faculty of the nose, the faculty of the tongue, and the faculty of the body. It is mind that experiences the fields and domains of these. The basis of these is mind.”

“O Gautama, what is the basis of mind?”

“O brahmin, the basis of mind is mindfulness.”

“O Gautama, what is the basis of mindfulness?”

“O brahmin, the basis of mindfulness is the four applications of mindfulness.”

“O Gautama, what is the basis of the four applications of mindfulness?”

“O brahmin, the basis of the four applications of mindfulness is the seven limbs of awakening.”

“O Gautama, what is the basis of the seven limbs of awakening?”

“O brahmin, the basis of the seven limbs of awakening is knowledge and liberation.”

“O Gautama, what is the basis of knowledge and [F.131.a] liberation?”

“O brahmin, the basis of knowledge and liberation is nirvāṇa.”

“O Gautama, what is the basis of nirvāṇa?”

“O brahmin, this is great nonsense, this is great nonsense. The end of such questions will never be reached. In my presence, for the purpose of destroying suffering and bringing suffering to an end, the pure life is led, which approaches nirvāṇa and has nirvāṇa as its end.”483

Then the brahmin Otalāyana thought, “What harm should I do to him?” He had heard before that if one invites the śramaṇa Gautama with the community of disciples, offers them a meal, and forms an aspiration, he will attain all that he wants and seeks. Then the brahmin Otalāyana rose from his seat, draped his upper robe over one shoulder, made the gesture of supplication to the Blessed One, and said to him, “May the Blessed One together with the community of monks assent to my offer of a meal at my house tomorrow.” … Knowing the Blessed One had … washed his hands and his bowl, he took a low seat, sat before the Blessed One, and made this aspiration: “May all these śramaṇas, sons of the Śākyans, whom I have offered a meal, become my oxen.”

The Blessed One, knowing the brahmin Otalāyana’s mind with his own mind, said to the brahmin Otalāyana, “O brahmin, you have conceived an undesirable thought; it will not be accomplished. Since all these monks have destroyed their future existences, you should conceive another thought.” Having assigned the rewards of the offerings, the Blessed One departed.

After that, [F.131.b] the Blessed One went to the monastery and sat on the seat prepared for him in front of the community of monks. Having sat down, the Blessed One said to the monks, “Monks, since the brahmin Otalāyana conceived an evil thought and made an inappropriate aspiration, you should recite ‘Verses of the Ṛṣi’484 after having had a meal; then such an inappropriate aspiration will not be accomplished.”485

Thereupon the Blessed One, after the night had passed, entered Otalā for alms with the venerable Ānanda, the attending śramaṇa.487 There lived an old female slave488 named Kacaṅgalā in Otalā. When she went to the well, taking a pitcher with her, the Blessed One went to that place, too. The Blessed One, knowing it was the time to convert her, said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, go and say to that old woman, ‘The Blessed One is thirsty; please give me some water.’ ”

“Certainly, O Honored One,” replied the venerable Ānanda to the Blessed One, and he went to Kacaṅgalā, the old woman. When he reached her, he said, “Kacaṅgalā, the Blessed One is thirsty; please give me some water.”

“O noble one, I will bring it to him myself,” she replied.

Then Kacaṅgalā filled the pitcher with water and hurried to the Blessed One. As soon as Kacaṅgalā saw the Blessed One, who was fully ornamented with the thirty-two marks of a great man, illuminated by the eighty minor marks, ornamented with a fathom-wide halo, and beautiful like a moving mountain of jewels with light surpassing a thousand suns, she conceived the love one has for a son. Raising her hands, she tried to embrace the Blessed One and cried, “Son! Son!”489 The monks prevented her.

The Blessed One told them, [F.132.a] “Monks, you should not hinder this old woman. Why?490

Because the Blessed One allowed her to embrace him around the neck, her attachment to her son calmed down, and she sat before the Blessed One to hear the Dharma. The Blessed One knew her thinking, proclivity, disposition, and nature and preached the Dharma that was appropriate for her and that caused her to penetrate the four truths of the noble ones. When she had heard the Dharma, Kacaṅgalā leveled the twenty high peaks of the mountain chain of the false view of individuality with the vajra of knowledge, and actualized the fruit of stream-entry. After having seen the four truths of the noble ones, she spoke an inspired utterance three times: “O Honored One, what the Blessed One has done for me is what has never been done for me by my father, my mother, . . . . With the vajra of knowledge I have leveled the twenty high peaks of the mountain chain of the false view of individuality that have been accumulated since beginningless time, and actualized the fruit of stream-entry.” And then she spoke these verses:

Having spoken thus, she bowed low until her forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, and then departed from the Blessed One’s presence.

Later, Kacaṅgalā went to the Blessed One, having gained permission from her master. When she arrived, [F.132.b] she bowed low until her forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, and then she sat down to one side. Having sat down to one side, she said to the Blessed One, “O Honored One, I wish to go forth and be ordained a nun in the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya. I will lead the pure life in the presence of the Blessed One.”

The Blessed One entrusted her to Mahāprajāpatī. Thereupon Mahāprajāpatī let her go forth, ordained her, and instructed her. Exerting herself, endeavoring, and striving, she abandoned all the defilements, actualized the state of an arhantī, and became an arhantī. She was free from desire for the three realms … became an object of … praise.491 [B37]

When the Blessed One had briefly preached to the nuns a sermon and entered the monastery to go into seclusion, Kacaṅgalā fully expanded on the teaching. After that, the Blessed One said to the monks, “Monks, among my nuns, female disciples who analyze the sūtras, this nun Kacaṅgalā is the best.”

The monks, feeling doubtful, inquired of the Buddha, the Blessed One, the one who severs all doubts, “O Honored One, what karma did Kacaṅgalā create that matured to cause her to go forth after she became old? What karma did she create that matured to cause her to be a poor female slave, cause the Blessed One not to enter into her womb for his last birth, and cause her to realize the state of an arhantī after going forth, and to be praised by the Blessed One as the best of those who analyze the sūtras?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One replied, “the actions were performed and accumulated by the nun Kacaṅgalā herself, accruing a heap of karma. . . . .

“Monks, when I once was engaged in the conduct of a bodhisattva, she was my mother. She stopped me when I wished to go forth; that karma matured to cause her to go forth after she became old. When I gave a donation, she interfered; because of this, she became poor. She did not perform great actions that would generate the great power of merit as Mahāmāyā did; therefore, I did not enter her womb for my last birth. Having gone forth in the presence of the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa, she uttered the words ‘slave woman’ against nuns, both those who were practitioners undergoing training and those who were practitioners having completed training; therefore, she became a female slave. There, through recitation and repetition, she became familiar with the aggregates, spheres, and elements, dependent origination, and what is proper and what is improper; therefore, she abandoned all the defilements and actualized the state of an arhantī, having gone forth in my teaching. Since her preceptress who had ordained her had been praised by the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa as the best of those who analyzed the sūtras, this woman made this aspiration at the time of her death:492 ‘While I have led the pure life throughout my life in the presence of the Blessed One, the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa, the supreme one worthy of veneration, I have not yet attained any good qualities. By this root of merit, may I go forth in the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni whom the young brahmin named Uttara was predicted to become by the Blessed One, the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa:493 “Young brahmin, you will become a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened one called Śākyamuni when people’s lifespans are a hundred years long.” As this preceptress of mine was praised [F.133.b] as the best of those who analyze the sūtras, may I too be praised as the best of those who analyze the sūtras by the Blessed One Śākyamuni.’ Because of this wish, she was praised by me as the best of those who analyze the sūtras.

“Therefore, monks, the maturation of entirely negative actions is entirely negative … you should seek . . . . Monks, that is how you must train.” Thus spoke the Blessed One.

Thereupon the Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, let us go to the country of Vairambhya.”

“Certainly, O Honored One,” replied the venerable Ānanda to the Blessed One. After that, the Blessed One departed. At that time, in a certain park a brahmin was beginning to sprinkle the park with water, having drawn water from a well. When the brahmin saw the Blessed One from a distance, he thought, “If the śramaṇa Gautama enters the park, the park and the water will be polluted,” and he shut the gate, hid the rope and pitcher, and sat down.

Then the Blessed One entered the park using his magical power. Pāñcika, the great general of yakṣas, seized the well and submerged the entire park in water. Then the brahmin understood, “This śramaṇa Gautama is of great magical power and dignity.” Filled with faith, he said, “O honorable Gautama, come. Here is a rope; here is a pitcher. Please accept water in comfort.”

The Blessed One then spoke a verse:

Then the brahmin said to the Blessed One, “O Honored One, I wish to go forth and be ordained a monk in the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya . . . .” The Blessed One ordained him by saying “Come, monk,” . . . .

He, exerting himself, endeavoring, and striving, abandoned all the defilements, actualized the state of an arhat, and became an arhat. He was free from desire for the three realms … became an object of … praise . . . .

Afterward the Blessed One, traveling in Śūrasena, arrived at Vairambhya and stayed under the neem tree of Naḍera near Vairambhya.

At that time, a brahmin king497 named Agnidatta ruled over Vairambhya, which was rich, prosperous, peaceful, abundant in food, and full of many people. When Agnidatta, the brahmin king, heard that the śramaṇa Gautama, having traveled through Śūrasena, had arrived in Vairambhya and was staying under the neem tree of Naḍera near Vairambhya, he thought, “The śramaṇa Gautama is treated with honor, looked up to, esteemed, venerated, and paid homage to as a worthy man by all the neighboring kings. If I do not treat him with honor, the neighboring kings will reproach me: ‘Sirs, what a fool Agnidatta, the brahmin king, is! While the śramaṇa Gautama has come and is staying in his town, his country, the king does not treat him with honor.’ Now I will offer the śramaṇa Gautama [F.134.b] together with the community of disciples all the requisites.” Having thought this, he went to the Blessed One, displaying great royal treasures and great royal power. When he arrived, he made plenty of pleasant and joyful conversation with the Blessed One, and then sat down to one side. When Agnidatta, the brahmin king, had sat down to one side, the Blessed One, through talk consistent with the Dharma, . . . . When he had … delighted him…, the Blessed One remained silent. Then Agnidatta, the brahmin king, rose from his seat, draped his upper robe over one shoulder, made the gesture of supplication to the Blessed One, and said to the Blessed One, “May the honorable Gautama with the community of disciples assent to my offer of the requisites for three months: namely, robes, almsfood, bedding and seats, and medicines for the sick.” The Blessed One assented to Agnidatta, the brahmin king, by remaining silent. Then Agnidatta, the brahmin king, knowing that the Blessed One had assented by remaining silent, rejoiced in and praised the words of the Blessed One, and he rose from his seat and departed.

He went to his own residence and ordered his ministers, “Every day cook eighteen kinds of food, various kinds of bean paste, tasty sauce, and much rice for five hundred people.” Then he proclaimed with the ringing of bells: “None but I should offer meals to the śramaṇa Gautama for three months. Anyone who offers him a meal will be killed as punishment.”

After issuing this proclamation with the ringing of bells, he dreamt while sleeping in the night that the entire city of Vairambhya was encircled with his own intestine.498 Having dreamt this, [F.135.a] he sprang to his feet from his large bed, frightened and dejected, with the hairs in every pore of his body standing on end. He sat plunged into grief, resting his cheek on his hand, asking himself, “Oh, is there any chance I will lose my throne or be in danger of death because of this?” After the night had passed, he said to the brahmin who was the chief priest, “Sir, I have dreamt such-and-such. What should I do about this?”

The brahmin chief priest thought, “The king has had an auspicious dream. Since, if I speak well of it, he will increase his faith in the śramaṇa Gautama all the more, I will now speak ill of it.” He said, “Your Majesty, this is an inauspicious dream.”

“Sir, what will be the result of this?”

“Your Majesty, you will certainly lose your throne or be in danger of death.”

“Ah,” thought the king, “I am losing my throne or am in danger of death!” With this thought, he asked the brahmin, the chief priest, “Is there any good way to avoid losing my throne and being in danger of death?”

“If Your Majesty will stay in a concealed location for three months,” said the brahmin, “then Your Majesty will neither lose his throne nor be in danger of death.”

Agnidatta, the brahmin king, thought, “If so, that is easy to do. I will make a proclamation with the ringing of bells.” He proclaimed throughout the country with the ringing of bells: “No one should come to see me for three months. Anyone who comes to me will be killed as punishment.” After issuing this proclamation with the ringing of bells, he did stay in a concealed location for three months.

The venerable Ānanda rose at dawn and went to the residence of Agnidatta, the brahmin king. There he saw the laborers of Agnidatta, the brahmin king, sitting idle. When he saw this, he asked them, “Sirs, [F.135.b] why are you sitting idle?”

“O noble one, what should we be doing?”

“Has Agnidatta, the brahmin king, not offered all the requisites for three months to the community of monks headed by the Buddha? You are sitting idle, not preparing a meal or arranging seats. Has the meal for the community of monks headed by the Buddha been cancelled?”

“O noble one Ānanda,” they replied, “although His Majesty has ordered us to prepare good food abundantly for five hundred people, he has not indicated for whom it is.”

“Sirs, now ask His Majesty about this.”

“O noble one, His Majesty has proclaimed with the ringing of bells: ‘No one should come to see me for three months. Anyone who comes to me will be killed as punishment.’ Do any of us have two heads? We will not ask him.”

Thereupon the venerable Ānanda went to the Blessed One. When he arrived, he reported this to the Blessed One in detail. The Blessed One then issued this instruction to the venerable Ānanda: “Ānanda, go and take your outer robe. Call out, with an attending śramaṇa, in wide streets, in markets, at crossroads, and at three-forked roads in Vairambhya, ‘Sirs, whoever among you can offer meals for three months to the community of monks headed by the Buddha should do so.’ ”

“Certainly, O Honored One,” replied the venerable Ānanda to the Blessed One. He took his outer robe and called out, with an attending śramaṇa, in wide streets, in markets, at crossroads, and at three-forked roads in Vairambhya, “Sirs, whoever among you can offer meals for three months to the community of monks headed by the Buddha should do so.”

The brahmins and [F.136.a] householders in Vairambhya said, “O noble one Ānanda, although each of us could offer meals for three months to the Blessed One together with the community of disciples, this evil king has proclaimed with the ringing of bells: ‘None but I should offer meals to the śramaṇa Gautama for three months. Anyone who offers a meal will be killed as punishment.’ ”

At that time, a caravan leader with five hundred loaded horses arrived at Vairambhya from the northern region. He thought, “If I depart soon, the hooves of the horses will be worn out, and they will become lame and unfit for sale.499 I will stay here.”

He stayed there and prepared two prasthas of barley for the best horse and one prastha for each of the rest of the horses. He heard that the king had issued such-and-such a regulation, and that the venerable Ānanda had called out such-and-such, and thought, “Since I am not an inhabitant of this king’s country, the king cannot do anything against me.” He said to the venerable Ānanda, “O noble one Ānanda, I have prepared two prasthas of barley for my best horse and one prastha for each of the rest of the horses. If the Blessed One can eat barley, I will offer two prasthas of barley for the Blessed One and one prastha for each of the rest of the monks.”

Thereupon the venerable Ānanda went to the Blessed One. When he arrived, he reported this to the Blessed One in detail. The Blessed One thought, “The actions were performed and accumulated by me, accruing a heap of karma. The conditions have ripened, and they approach me like a flood, inevitably. Who else but me [F.136.b] would experience the actions that I myself performed and accumulated? Actions performed and accumulated do not mature in the element of earth, … which are outside the body. . . . 

He instructed the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, go and distribute counting sticks and say, ‘Whoever among you can eat barley with the Tathāgata in Vairambhya for three months should take a counting stick.’ ”

“Certainly, O Honored One,” replied the venerable Ānanda, and he distributed the counting sticks. The Blessed One and four hundred ninety-eight monks took counting sticks.

“O Blessed One,” said the venerable Śāriputra, “since I have a wind illness, I cannot eat barley for three months.”

“I will take care of him,” offered the venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana.

Thereupon the Blessed One entered the rainy-season retreat with the four hundred ninety-eight monks in Vairambhya. The venerable Śāriputra and the venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana went to Mount Triśaṅku and there entered the rainy-season retreat. Śakra, Lord of the Gods, fed them with divine nectar. The caravan leader offered two prasthas of barley for the Blessed One and one prastha for each of the rest of the monks.

Then the Blessed One instructed the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, go and have the barley cooked for the Tathāgata.”

“Certainly, O Honored One,” replied the venerable Ānanda, and he took the Blessed One’s portion and went to a certain old woman. When he arrived, he asked the woman, “Sister, can you cook barley for the Tathāgata?”

“O noble one,” she answered, [F.137.a] “I cannot, because I am too old. But since that girl is younger, have her do it. She will cook it.”501

The venerable Ānanda then went to the younger woman and asked, “Sister, can you cook barley for the Tathāgata?”

“O noble one,” she answered, “if you promise to give me a discourse, I will.”

“Make ready,” he replied. “I will do so.”

Then she asked while grinding the barley, “O noble one, what is the Buddha?”

The venerable Ānanda thought, “Since the qualities of the Buddha are profound, it is likely that if I relate to her the praises of the Buddha, she will not be able to understand them. Now I will relate to her the praises of a wheel-turning king.”502 He said, “Sister, if a wheel-turning king appears in the world, seven treasures appear in the world, too. What are the seven? They are the precious chakra, elephant, horse, jewel, woman, householder, and minister.503

“Sister, what is the precious chakra that appears in the world when a wheel-turning king appears in the world? Sister, here, when an anointed kṣatriya king, having washed his head and fasted on the day of poṣadha that is the fifteenth of the month, sits down on the terrace, surrounded by his ministers, the precious chakra appears from the east. It consists of a hub, a thousand spokes, and a rim and is perfect in every respect, fair, not made by an artisan, but excellent, and made entirely of gold. This anointed kṣatriya king thinks, ‘I have heard that on the day of poṣadha that is the fifteenth of the month [F.137.b] … made entirely of gold, he will be a wheel-turning king. Certainly I have become a wheel-turning king.’

“Then the wheel-turning king, wishing to examine the precious chakra, rises from his seat, puts his upper robe over one shoulder, kneels on his right knee, accepts the precious chakra with his hands, puts it on his left hand, and, raising it with his right hand, says, ‘O precious chakra, conquer, conquer through the noble path of wheel-turning kings of the past.’

“Then the precious chakra, having been raised by the wheel-turning king, soars up into the air and heads off to the east, through the noble path of wheel-turning kings of the past. Following the precious chakra, the wheel-turning king proceeds with his army consisting of four divisions. Wherever the precious chakra stays, the wheel-turning king with his army consisting of four divisions builds residences there. Those who are minor kings of the eastern region go to the wheel-turning king. When they arrive, they say to the wheel-turning king, ‘Come, Your Majesty. Welcome, Your Majesty. These countries, which are rich, prosperous, peaceful, abundant in food, and full of many people, are Your Majesty’s. May Your Majesty rule over them. We will do as Your Majesty orders.’

“He replies, ‘Then, lords, each of you should rule over each country lawfully, not unlawfully. If someone’s conduct is unlawful or a mixture of lawful and unlawful, you should not let him live in your country. In that way, you will be the ones who do as I order.’ [F.138.a]

“Then the precious chakra, having conquered the eastern region, returns from the eastern great ocean. It goes to the south, west, and north, through the noble path of wheel-turning kings of the past. Then,504 having been raised by the wheel-turning king, it soars up into the air and goes to the north, through the noble path of wheel-turning kings of the past.

“Following the precious chakra, the wheel-turning king proceeds with his army consisting of four divisions. Wherever the precious chakra stays, the wheel-turning king with his army consisting of four divisions builds residences there. Those who are minor kings of the northern region go to the wheel-turning king. When they arrive, they say to the wheel-turning king, ‘Come, Your Majesty. Welcome, Your Majesty. These countries, which are rich, prosperous, peaceful, abundant in food, and full of many people, are Your Majesty’s. May Your Majesty rule over them. We will do as Your Majesty orders.’

“He replies, ‘Then, lords, each of you should rule over each country lawfully, not unlawfully. If someone’s conduct is unlawful or a mixture of lawful and unlawful, you should not let him live in your country. In that way, you will be the ones who do as I order.’

“Then the precious chakra, having conquered the northern region, returns from the northern great ocean and stays on top of the treasury,505 just as an axis is placed.

“Sister, if a wheel-turning king appears in the world, such a precious chakra appears in the world.

“Sister, what is the precious elephant that appears in the world when a wheel-turning king appears in the world? [F.138.b]

“Sister, here the elephant of a wheel-turning king is white as the color of a kumuda flower, and the seven parts of its body are well supported. It is well proportioned, attractive, and pleasant to behold. Having seen this, his mind filled with joy, the wheel-turning king thinks, ‘Ah, this precious elephant is good. I will have it trained quickly.’

“Then the wheel-turning king summons a skillful elephant trainer by messenger and orders him, ‘O gentle sir, you should quickly train this precious elephant well and bring it to me.’

“ ‘Certainly, Your Majesty,’ replies the skillful elephant trainer to the wheel-turning king, and he trains the precious elephant in all kinds of ways for one day. When he trains it in all kinds of ways for one day, it learns all of it in that very day. Just as other elephants learn all kinds of training only after being taught for many years, a great number of years, when the precious elephant is trained in all kinds of ways for just one day, it learns all of it in that very day. Knowing it to have been well trained, he brings it to the wheel-turning king and says, ‘Your Majesty, the good, precious elephant has been trained. May Your Majesty know it is the right time.’ Thereupon the wheel-turning king, wishing to examine the precious elephant, rides on the precious elephant at the time of sunrise, goes around the land as far as the seashore, and, having arrived at the very royal palace, has breakfast.

“Sister, if a wheel-turning king appears in the world, such a precious elephant appears in the world.

“Sister, what is the precious horse that appears in the world when a wheel-turning king appears in the world?

“Sister, here the horse of a wheel-turning king is entirely dark blue, with a black head [F.139.a] and lovely mane and back. It is well proportioned, attractive, and pleasant to behold. When he sees it, his mind filled with joy, the wheel-turning king thinks, ‘Ah, this precious horse is good. I will have it trained quickly.’

“Then the wheel-turning king summons a skillful horse trainer by messenger and orders him, ‘O gentle sir, you should quickly train this precious horse well and then bring it to me.’

“ ‘Certainly, Your Majesty,’ replies the skillful horse trainer to the wheel-turning king, and he trains the precious horse in all kinds of ways for one day. When he trains it in all kinds of ways for just one day, it learns all of it in that very day. Just as other horses learn all kinds of training only after being taught for many years, a great number of years, when the precious horse is trained in all kinds of ways for just one day, it learns all of it in that very day.

“Knowing it to have been well trained, he brings it to the wheel-turning king and says, ‘Your Majesty, the good, precious horse has been trained. May Your Majesty know it is the right time.’ Thereupon the wheel-turning king, wishing to examine the precious horse, rides on the precious horse at the time of sunrise, goes around the land as far as the seashore, and, having arrived at the royal palace, has breakfast.

“Sister, if a wheel-turning king appears in the world, such a precious horse appears in the world.

“Sister, what is the precious jewel that appears in the world when a wheel-turning king appears in the world?

“Sister, here the jewel of a wheel-turning king has eight sides and has its origin in excellent lapis lazuli. It is pure, bright, and clear. In the palace of the wheel-turning king all the functions of a lamp are performed by the light of that jewel. [F.139.b] Then, wishing to examine the precious jewel, the wheel-turning king goes to a park with an army consisting of four divisions, with the precious jewel placed on top of a banner when it is completely dark at night, it is raining slightly, and lightning flashes. The wheel-turning king’s entire army consisting of four divisions, and half a yojana around it, are then illuminated by the light of the jewel.

“Sister, if a wheel-turning king appears in the world, such a precious jewel appears in the world.

“Sister, what is the precious woman that appears in the world when a wheel-turning king appears in the world?

“Sister, here the queen of a wheel-turning king is well proportioned, attractive, and pleasant to behold. Her skin is not excessively white or dark, nor is it colored like the madgura fish.506 She is not excessively tall or short, but well balanced in size, not excessively thin or fat or fleshy, but well proportioned in flesh. Sister, she is warm to the touch when it is cold, cool to the touch when it is hot, and as smooth to the touch as cloth from Kaliṅga. Sister, from every pore of skin on her entire body the perfume of sandalwood issues forth. From her mouth the perfume of the blue blossom of the utpala exudes.”507

While the venerable Ānanda explained as far as the precious woman, the woman finished cooking the barley. She threw herself at the venerable Ānanda’s feet and made an aspiration:508 “O noble one, by this root of merit, may I become the precious woman of a wheel-turning king.”

Thereupon the venerable Ānanda went to the Blessed One, bringing the prepared barley. When he arrived, he offered it to the Blessed One.

The buddhas, blessed ones, ask though they already know. The Buddha, the Blessed One, asked the venerable Ānanda, [F.140.a] “Ānanda, who prepared this barley?”

“O Honored One, the brahmin’s daughter So-and-so did.”

“Ānanda, did you have a conversation with her?”

“Yes, I did, O Honored One.”

“Ānanda, then tell me in detail all about the talk you had with the brahmin’s daughter.”

The venerable Ānanda then told the Blessed One in detail all about the talk he had had with the brahmin’s daughter. When the venerable Ānanda had thus spoken, the Blessed One said to him, “Ānanda, why did you not relate to the girl the praises of the Buddha?”

“O Honored One, I thought, ‘Since the qualities of the Buddha are profound, it is likely that she will not be able to understand them.’ Therefore, I told her the praises of a wheel-turning king.”

“Ānanda, it wasn’t good that you did that. It is likely that if you had related to her the praises of the Buddha, she would have made a resolution to attain complete and supreme awakening without regression. Now, however, Ānanda, this girl will become the precious woman of a wheel-turning king.”

Then there was a loud shout: “The brahmin’s daughter So-and-so prepared barley for the Blessed One. The Blessed One predicted her to become the precious woman of a wheel-turning king!” When they heard this, four hundred ninety-eight girls prepared barley for the four hundred ninety-eight monks. They made an aspiration, too: “May we become her attendants!”

When the Blessed One started to eat the meal of barley, the venerable Ānanda became sad and shed tears, thinking, [F.140.b] “The Blessed One, who has made donations by cutting off his hands, feet, and head during such-and-such lives and has attained the state of knowing everything after three incalculably long eons, is now having a meal of rotten barley!”

Then the Blessed One asked the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, why are you not pleased but shedding tears?”

“O Honored One, I thought, ‘The Blessed One, who was born in the family of wheel-turning kings and has abandoned the throne and gone forth, who has given donations by cutting off his hands, feet, head, and so on during such-and-such lives and has attained the state of knowing everything after three incalculably long eons, is now having a meal of rotten barley!’ ”

“Ānanda,” said the Blessed One, “do you want to eat the barley meal from the Tathāgata’s own mouth?”

“Yes, I do, O Blessed One.”

Then the Blessed One spit out the barley meal from his mouth and gave it to the venerable Ānanda. The venerable Ānanda started to eat it. The Blessed One said, “Ānanda, have you ever experienced such a taste?”

“O Honored One, although I have been born in the family of wheel-turning kings and have grown up in the family of wheel-turning kings, I have never experienced such a taste as that of the barley meal spat from the Blessed One’s mouth.”509

“Ānanda, thus the Tathāgata has a clean tongue faculty called possessing the best taste. If the Tathāgata has even an ordinary meal, for him it becomes of a hundred flavors.”510

Then there was a loud shout:511 “Agnidatta, the brahmin king, is staying in a concealed location, having invited the community of monks headed by the Buddha for three months, and the Blessed One is having barley in Vairambhya!” [F.141.a]

Neighboring kings heard this, too.512 They sent messengers to Agnidatta, the brahmin king, but the messengers were not able to enter the gate and stayed at the gate.

When he heard this, Anāthapiṇḍada, the householder, filled five hundred carriages with rice covered with leaves513 and dispatched them.

Then Māra the Evil One thought, “I have tried to torment the śramaṇa Gautama many times, but I have never had an opportunity for success. Here, once and for all, I will defeat him.” Having thought this, he changed into the venerable Ānanda and stood before the five hundred carriages. He asked, “Sirs, where are you going?”

They said, “O noble one Ānanda, Agnidatta, the brahmin king, is staying in a concealed location, having invited the Blessed One together with the community of disciples for three months, and the Blessed One is having barley in Vairambhya. When he heard this, the householder Anāthapiṇḍada then dispatched these five hundred carriages full of rice covered with leaves for the Blessed One.”

“O sirs,” he replied, “gods, nāgas, and yakṣas have faith in the Blessed One. If the Blessed One raises his bowl in the air, the Thirty-Three Gods fill it with divine nectar. Why, then, would the Blessed One eat barley? Go back.”

“O noble one Ānanda, we have already departed,” they said. “How can we go back?”

Māra thought, “I cannot make them go back. I must devise a plan.” He soared up into the air and caused a heavy rain as if chariot axles were pouring down. [F.141.b] It rained until the hubs of the carriages disappeared beneath the water. Consequently, the oxen that had been tied to the carriages came untied and ran away.

Then the Blessed One with the four hundred ninety-eight monks had barley in Vairambhya. The venerables Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana spent the rainy-season retreat on Mount Triśaṅku and enjoyed divine nectar.

After three months had passed, the caravan leader invited the Blessed One together with the community of disciples to a meal in a park. The Blessed One assented to him by remaining silent. The venerables Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana, having spent the rainy-season retreat on Mount Triśaṅku, went there, too.514 Thereupon the caravan leader prepared a pure and fine meal during the night … knowing the Blessed One had finished his meal and washed his hands and his bowl, he threw himself at the feet of the Blessed One and made an aspiration: “By this root of merit may I become a wheel-turning king; may my best horse become my crown prince; may these five hundred horses become my five hundred sons; may the girl who was predicted by the Blessed One to become the precious woman become my precious woman; may the four hundred ninety-eight women become her attendants.”

Knowing the caravan leader’s mind with his own mind, the Blessed One said to him, “Caravan leader, you will become a wheel-turning king; your best horse will become your crown prince; the five hundred horses will become your five hundred sons; that girl will become your precious woman; those four hundred ninety-eight women will become her attendants.”515

After three months had passed and the Blessed One had made and patched his robes, [F.142.a] he said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, go to Agnidatta, the brahmin king. After saluting him, say, ‘Great King, we have stayed in your country for three months. Farewell, we are going.’ ”

“Certainly, O Honored One,” replied the venerable Ānanda to the Blessed One, and he went to the residence of Agnidatta, the brahmin king.

At that time Agnidatta, the brahmin king, was waiting for good luck. The venerable Ānanda said to a doorkeeper, “Sir, go to Agnidatta, the brahmin king. When you arrive, say to him, ‘The monk Ānanda wishes to see Your Majesty and is waiting at the door.’ ”

“Certainly, O noble one,” replied the doorkeeper to the venerable Ānanda, and he went to Agnidatta, the brahmin king. When he arrived, he said to him, “Your Majesty, the monk Ānanda, the noble one, wishes to see Your Majesty and is waiting at the door.”

“My man, I have been waiting for good luck,” said the king. “The monk Ānanda has great power of merit; he himself must be my good luck. He has five excellent points: an excellent name, excellent looks, excellent caste, excellent eloquence, and excellent perfection. Let him enter. Who would block the honorable Ānanda?”

The doorkeeper spoke thus to the venerable Ānanda, and the venerable Ānanda entered. The messengers of the neighboring kings entered with him, too. Thereupon the venerable Ānanda saluted Agnidatta, the brahmin king, and sat down to one side. Having sat down to one side, [F.142.b] the venerable Ānanda said to Agnidatta, the brahmin king, “Great King, the Blessed One salutes you and says, ‘Great King, we have stayed in your country for three months. Farewell, we are going.’ ”

“O noble one Ānanda, I bow to the Buddha, the Blessed One. O noble one Ānanda, has the Blessed One spent the rainy-season retreat in Vairambhya in comfort? Was there by chance any trouble with almsfood?”

The messengers of the neighboring kings said, “Your Majesty, you are no investigator of your own kingdom! Thus, having invited the Blessed One together with the community of disciples for three months, you stayed in a concealed location and the Blessed One had meals of rotten barley for three months!”

“O noble one Ānanda,” said the king, “is it true that the Blessed One had meals of rotten barley for three months?”

“It is true, Great King.”

The King fainted and fell to the ground. Having had much water poured on him, he recovered his senses. He called the ministers and asked them, “Sirs, did I not order you, ‘Prepare various kinds of food abundantly for five hundred people every day’?”

“Your Majesty,” they answered, “although you did order thus, you did not tell us to whom to give the meal. However, the meal is still prepared today.”

Thereupon Agnidatta, the brahmin king, went to the Blessed One. When he arrived, he bowed low until his forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, and then he sat down to one side. When he had sat down to one side, the Blessed One, through talk consistent with the Dharma, instructed … Agnidatta, the brahmin king. When he had … delighted him…, the Blessed One remained silent. Then Agnidatta, the brahmin king, [F.143.a] threw himself at the feet of the Blessed One and said,516 “O Blessed One, what a fault! O Sugata, what a fault! I was childish, foolish, dull, and ignorant to stay in a concealed location, having invited the Blessed One together with the community of disciples for three months. [B38] O Blessed One, I know my fault, I see my fault. Please have compassion and forgive my fault.”

“Great King, you have admitted your fault as a fault. True, you were childish, foolish, dull, and ignorant to stay in a concealed location, having invited the Tathāgata for three months. Great King, you should know that if you know and see your fault and, having seen it, confess it, your good qualities will not be damaged but only increase. Why, Great King,? You should know that if anyone knows and sees his fault and, having seen it, confesses it and afterward makes a vow,517 his good qualities will not be damaged but only increase.”

Then Agnidatta, the brahmin king, said to the Blessed One, “May the Blessed One together with the community of monks assent to my offer of the requisites for as long as I live: namely, robes, almsfood, bedding and seats, and medicines for the sick.”

“Great King,” said the Blessed One, [F.143.b] “the Tathāgata was born in a time of short lifespans, and there are many things to do for the benefit of people to be trained. And he has come close to the time for nirvāṇa. Therefore, I do not assent.”

“If so, may the Blessed One assent to my offer of the requisites for seven years, seven months, or seven days.”

The Blessed One did not assent to this either. Agnidatta, the brahmin king, said to the Blessed One, “May the Blessed One together with the community of monks assent to my offer of a meal at my house tomorrow.”

Then the Blessed One thought, “It is likely that if I do not assent to having even one meal from him, Agnidatta, the brahmin king, will die, vomiting hot blood.” Thus, the Blessed One assented by remaining silent. Agnidatta, the brahmin king, knowing that the Blessed One had assented by remaining silent, bowed low until his forehead touched the feet of the Blessed One, departed, and went to his residence. When he arrived, he asked the ministers, “Sirs, is there any good means whereby this whole meal could be consumed by the community of monks headed by the Buddha?”

“Your Majesty,” they answered, “if this entire meal is scattered on the ground and trampled underfoot by the monks, it will have been fully consumed.”518

They ordered the laborers, “Sirs, scatter on the ground all the food there is.”

They scattered on the ground everything there was.

Thereupon Agnidatta, the brahmin king, prepared various kinds of pure and fine food during the night . . . . The Blessed One sat on the seat prepared for him in front of the community of monks. At that time a monk who had gone forth in his old age,519 [F.144.a] unable to bear it, thought, “After we have eaten rotten barley for three months, this evil king shows off his riches.” He trampled on the various kinds of foods scattered on the ground.

The brahmins and householders criticized, insulted, and disparaged him: “Noble ones stamp with their feet on various kinds of food, which are meant for the mouth.”

When the monks reported this matter to the Blessed One, the Blessed One thought, “The fault that occurred in this case was that the monks touched with their feet various kinds of food, which are meant for the mouth.”520 He said to the monks, “Monks, since the monk So-and-so, who had gone forth in his old age, unable to bear what had happened, trampled on the various kinds of food scattered on the ground, which were meant for the mouth, the brahmins and householders criticized, insulted, and disparaged him. Therefore, a monk should not trample with his feet various kinds of food, which are meant for the mouth. If he does so, he becomes guilty of an offense.”

Thereupon Agnidatta, the brahmin king, knew that the community of monks headed by the Buddha had sat down in comfort, and with his own hands he served and satisfied them with a pure and fine meal, … knowing the Blessed One had … washed his hands and his bowl, he took a low seat and sat before the Blessed One in order to hear the Dharma. Then the Blessed One, through talk consistent with the Dharma, instructed, inspired, encouraged, and delighted Agnidatta, the brahmin king. The Blessed One, having instructed, inspired, encouraged, and delighted Agnidatta in a variety of ways through talk consistent with the Dharma, [F.144.b] then rose from his seat and departed.

After the three months of the rainy season had passed, many monks, having made and patched their robes, went to the Blessed One. When they arrived, they bowed low until their foreheads touched the Blessed One’s feet, and then they sat down to one side. Having sat down to one side, the many monks said to the Blessed One, “O Honored One, we have stayed in the country of Vairambhya for three months. O Honored One, we will break the huts.”522

“Monks, you should not break the huts. The longer the huts last, the more the donors’ merit increases and the more merit is generated. There are four things that are to be known as the outcomes of merits and virtues and the cause of the happiness of benefactors and donors. What are the four?

“If a virtuous monk who abides in good qualities lives in someone’s monastery, having actualized and perfected with his body immeasurable meditation, the outcomes of merits and virtues and the cause of the happiness of benefactors and donors should be known to be immeasurable for that reason.523

“Just like the monastery, the same applies to robes, almsfood, and bedding and seats.

“The amount of the merits of the benefactors and donors who have these four outcomes of merits and virtues and the cause of happiness cannot be grasped as ‘the merit, the fruit of merit, or the fruit of merit that has matured is this much,’ but rather they can only be measured as a large mass of merits because of the sheer abundance of merit.

“Take, for instance, the place where the five great rivers‍—namely, the Ganges, Yamunā, [F.145.a] Sarayū, Ajiravatī, and Mahī‍—descend and converge, where the amount of water cannot be grasped as water, a pot of water, or a hundred, a thousand, or a hundred thousand pots of water, but can only be measured as a great mass of water because of the sheer abundance of water. So, too, the amount of the merits of the benefactors and donors who have these four outcomes of merits and virtues and the cause of happiness cannot be grasped as ‘the merit, the fruit of merit, or the fruit of merit that has matured is this much,’ but they can only be measured as a large mass of merits.

The monks, feeling doubtful, inquired of the Buddha, the Blessed One, the one who severs all doubts, “O Honored One, the Blessed One has satisfied poor people through a multitude of merits by cutting off his hands, feet, head, and so on‍—he has tormented himself for the sake of beings during three incalculably long eons, and has done all that is to be done. And so what karma did he create that matured to cause him to have coarse barley with the four hundred ninety-eight monks in Vairambhya, while the venerables Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana had divine nectar?”

“Monks,” The Blessed One replied, “the actions were performed and accumulated by the Tathāgata himself in the past, in other lives, . . . . 

“Monks, once, when people’s lifespans were eighty thousand years long, there appeared in the world a teacher named Vipaśyin, who was a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened one, perfect in knowledge and conduct, a sugata, world knowing, a supreme tamer of people to be tamed, a teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, and a blessed one. He stayed near a royal capital called Bandhumatī with eight hundred thousand monks who were his attendants.

“At that time in Bandhumatī, the royal capital, a brahmin schoolteacher was teaching brahmanical mantras to five hundred students. He was treated by everyone in the world with honor, looked up to, esteemed, venerated, and paid homage to as a worthy man. After the Perfectly Awakened One Vipaśyin arrived at Bandhumatī, the royal capital, however, none treated him with honor, looked up to him, esteemed him, or venerated him. He became very jealous of the Perfectly Awakened One Vipaśyin and his community of disciples.

“Later, early one morning many monks‍—those who were undergoing training and those who had completed training‍—dressed, took their bowls and their robes, and entered Bandhumatī, the royal capital, for alms. Having seen them return with their bowls filled with various kinds of tasty sauce and rice, the brahmin demanded, ‘Hey, monks, let me see what almsfood you have obtained.’

“Since they were of honest character, they showed him the almsfood; being of jealous character, he found it unbearable. He called the young brahmins and said, ‘These shaven-headed śramaṇas are not worthy of eating various kinds of tasty sauce and rice, but of eating rotten barley!’

“They [F.146.a] agreed with him: ‘True, sir! True! These shaven-headed śramaṇas are not worthy of eating various kinds of tasty sauce and rice, but only of eating rotten barley.’

“Among them, there were two young brahmins who were pious and good and had a virtuous disposition. They said, ‘Sir, do not say that. These are great people and worthy of eating divine nectar, not rotten barley.’

“What do you think, monks? That one who criticized the attendants of the Perfectly Awakened One Vipaśyin at that time, on that occasion, was indeed me. Those who were the four hundred ninety-eight young brahmins are indeed these four hundred ninety-eight monks. Those two young brahmins who were pious and good and had a virtuous disposition are indeed these monks Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana. Because of the maturation of those actions‍—namely, my speaking harsh words out of malice toward the Perfectly Awakened One Vipaśyin’s disciples who were undergoing training and had completed training, the four hundred ninety-eight young brahmins’ agreeing, and the two others’ disagreeing‍—the Tathāgata ate rotten barley with the four hundred ninety-eight monks in Vairambhya at that time, while Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana enjoyed divine nectar.

“Therefore, monks, the maturation of entirely negative actions is entirely negative … you should seek entirely positive actions. Monks, that is how you must train.”

Thereupon the Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, let us go to Ayodhyā.”

“Certainly, O Honored One,” replied the venerable Ānanda [F.146.b] to the Blessed One.

Then the Blessed One, traveling through Southern Pañcāra, arrived in Ayodhyā, and stayed on the bank of the Ganges near Ayodhyā.

Thereupon a monk went to the Blessed One. When he arrived, he bowed low until his forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, and then he sat down to one side. Having sat down to one side, the monk said to the Blessed One, “O Blessed One, please teach me a condensed Dharma so that after I have listened to the condensed Dharma from the Blessed One, I will come to dwell alone, in solitude, not carelessly but diligently, directing myself toward myself. If I dwell alone, in solitude, not carelessly but diligently, directing myself toward myself,526 I will, in this life, by my own supernormal knowledge, actualize and accomplish the supreme end of the pure life for which the sons of noble families go forth from their homes into homelessness with true faith, having shaved off their hair and beards and donned saffron robes, and understand: ‘My births have been exhausted. The pure life has been lived. What is to be done has been done. I will not know another existence after this one.’ ”527

The Blessed One was gazing at the Ganges, and when he saw a large log being carried along by its current, he asked the monk, “Monk, do you see that large log being carried along by the current of the Ganges?”

“Yes, I do, O Honored One.”

“If it reaches neither this bank, the opposite bank, nor the middle, is neither washed up on the land nor taken by humans or nonhumans, neither sinks in the water nor decays inside, monk, that large log will in due course flow down to the ocean, descend to the ocean, [F.147.a] have descended to the ocean. In this way, monk, if you reach neither this bank, … nor decay inside, monk, you will in due course flow down to nirvāṇa, descend to nirvāṇa, and have descended to nirvāṇa.”

“O Honored One, I do not understand what this bank is, what the opposite bank is, what touching the middle is, what being washed up on the land is, what being taken by humans is, what being taken by nonhumans is, what sinking in the water is, and what decaying inside is. O Blessed One, please teach me a condensed Dharma so that after I have listened to the condensed Dharma from the Blessed One, … ‘I will not know another existence after this one.’ ”

“Monk, this bank is a designation for the six internal sense spheres; the opposite bank is a designation for the six external sense spheres; touching the middle is a designation for desire for pleasure; being washed up on the land is a designation for self-conceit; being taken by humans means that here one lives together with people who have gone forth as well as lay people, shares pleasure and happiness with them, is happy at their happiness, suffers at their suffering, and undertakes and finishes tasks whenever they need to be done; being taken by nonhumans means that here one leads the pure life, having made this aspiration: ‘By this moral conduct, vow, ascetic practice, or pure life, may I become a god or the retainer of a god’; sinking in the water means that here, having abandoned the rules of training, one descends; [F.147.b] decaying inside means that here one is a violator of moral conduct and possessor of evil qualities‍—one’s inside is rotten and leaking out like decayed wood, one behaves like a sheep or donkey, one falsely claims to be a śramaṇa, and one falsely claims to be leading the pure life.528 Monk, if you thus reach neither this bank, … you will … have descended to nirvāṇa.”

The monk rejoiced in and praised the words of the Blessed One. He bowed low until his forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, and he departed from the Blessed One’s presence.

Then the monk, instructed by the Blessed One through this teaching called the simile of the large log, dwelt alone, in solitude, not carelessly but diligently, directing himself toward himself. In that life, by his own supernormal knowledge, he actualized and accomplished the supreme end of the pure life for which the sons of noble families go forth from their homes into homelessness with true faith, having shaved off their hair and beards and donned saffron robes. He knew and understood: “My births have been exhausted. The pure life has been lived. What is to be done has been done. I will not know another existence after this one.” That venerable one became an arhat whose mind had been completely liberated.

At that time, near the Blessed One, a herdsman named Nanda stood, leaning on a stick and watching cattle. A frog was squashed by his stick.529 The frog, having had its vital organs cut530 and been split at its joints, gave rise to the thought, “If I move my body or utter a cry, by this cause I will prevent Nanda, the herdsman, from listening to the discourse.” Filled with faith in the Blessed One, it died and was born among the gods attendant on the Four Great Kings. [F.148.a]

Then Nanda, the herdsman, set his stick to one side and went to the Blessed One. When he arrived, he bowed low until his forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, and then he sat down to one side. Having sat down, Nanda, the herdsman, said to the Blessed One, “O Honored One, I will reach neither this bank, the opposite bank, nor the middle; I will be neither washed up on the land nor taken by humans or nonhumans; and I will neither sink in the water nor decay inside. I wish to go forth and be ordained a monk in the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya. I will lead the pure life in the presence of the Blessed One.”

“Nanda, have you entrusted the cattle to their owners?”

“O Honored One, I do not need to do that. Why? O Honored One, since the cows are young and the calves are mature, and each of them knows its own cattle shed, each will go to its home. I wish to go forth and be ordained a monk in the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya. I will lead the pure life in the presence of the Blessed One.”

“Nanda, since the cows are young and the calves are mature, and each of them knows its own cattle shed, each will go to its home. But a herdsman who obtains food and clothing from the owners should do this for them.”

Then Nanda, the herdsman, bowed low until his forehead touched the Blessed One’s feet, and he departed from the Blessed One’s presence. Thereupon, he began to run, crying loudly, “Fear! Fear!” On the way, five hundred herdsmen who were his acquaintances saw him and asked, “Fear of what?”531

“Fear of birth; fear of old age;532 fear of death!”

They, too, began to run, following after him. [F.148.b] Seeing them, other herdsmen, shepherds,533 herb gatherers, wood gatherers, people who make a living properly, and people who make a living improperly began to run, following after them. People on the way saw them crying and asked, “Sirs, what’s happening?”

“Fear!” they answered.

“Fear of what?”

“Fear of birth; fear of old age; fear of death!”

Having heard this, they turned back. They came to a hamlet, and then the people living in the hamlet ran hither and thither, frightened to see the many people. Some escaped, some hid their things, some stood in armor. Some brave men approached the people and asked, “Sirs, what’s happening?”

“Fear!” they answered.

“Fear of what?”

“Fear of birth; fear of old age; fear of death!”

Then the inhabitants of the hamlet were relieved.

At that time the venerable Śāriputra was sitting in that very assembly. The venerable Śāriputra then asked the Blessed One, knowing that it had not been a long time since Nanda, the herdsman, had departed,534 “O Honored One, why did the Blessed One let Nanda, the herdsman, who wishes to go forth in the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya, go back home?”

“Śāriputra, it is impossible, out of the question, that Nanda, the herdsman, will dwell at home again as a layman. It is impossible that he will enjoy the objects of desire by hoarding. Now Nanda, the herdsman, will come, having entrusted the cattle to the owners, and will actualize and accomplish the supreme end of the pure life for which the sons of noble families go forth from their homes into homelessness with true faith, having shaved off their hair and beards and donned saffron robes, [F.149.a] and understand: ‘My births have been exhausted. The pure life has been lived. What is to be done has been done. I will not know another existence after this one.’ ”

After that, Nanda, the herdsman, having entrusted the cattle to the owners, did go to the Blessed One, with five hundred people around him. Having arrived, he said to the Blessed One, “O Honored One, I have entrusted the cattle to the owners. O Honored One, I wish to go forth and be ordained a monk in the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya. I will lead the pure life in the presence of the Blessed One.”

In the well-taught Dharma and Vinaya, Nanda, the herdsman, went forth and was ordained a monk with the five hundred people around him. Having gone forth, the Honored One … became an arhat whose mind had been completely liberated.535

It is natural for gods or goddesses to give rise to three thoughts just after birth:536 namely, where they died, where they were reborn, and by what action. The god who had once been the frog observed that he had died in the animal world, that he had been born among the gods attendant on the Four Great Kings, and that this was because he had gained faith in the Blessed One. Then he thought, “Since it would not be appropriate for me to let any days pass before going to see and serve the Blessed One, I will by all means go now to see and serve the Blessed One before any days have passed.”

Then the god who had once been the frog put on untarnished, swinging earrings, …  [F.149.b] illuminating the entire neighborhood of the bank of the Ganges with a vast display of light, scattered the flowers for the Blessed One, and sat down in front of the Blessed One in order to hear the Dharma. The Blessed One knew the thinking, proclivity, disposition, and nature of the god who had once been the frog and preached the Dharma that was appropriate for the god and that caused him to penetrate the four truths of the noble ones. When the god had heard the Dharma,537 with the vajra of knowledge he leveled the twenty high peaks of the mountain chain of the false view of individuality that had been accumulated since beginningless time, and actualized the fruit of stream-entry. . . . “…O Honored One, I have been exalted, truly exalted. Since I seek refuge in the Blessed One, the Dharma, and the community of monks, please accept me as a lay brother. From today onward, I embrace my faith as one who seeks refuge throughout my life.”538

Thereupon, like a merchant who had obtained merchandise, like a farmer who had gotten a bumper crop, like a warrior who had won a battle, like a patient who had been cured of every disease, the god who had once been the frog went to his house with the same majesty with which he had come into the presence of the Blessed One.

As the monks were exerting themselves in the maintenance of vigilance during the first and last watches of the night, when they saw the vast display of light appear before the Blessed One, they were perplexed and asked the Blessed One, “What was that? O Blessed One, did Brahmā, the ruler of the Sahā World, or Śakra, Lord of the Gods, or the Four Protectors of the World come to see the Blessed One last night?”

“Monks, it was not Brahmā, the ruler of the Sahā World, [F.150.a] or Śakra, Lord of the Gods, or the Four Protectors of the World who came to see me. A frog, while he was squashed by the stick of Nanda, the herdsman, having had his vital organs cut, and been split at his joints, did not move or utter a cry, thinking that if he did so, he would prevent Nanda, the herdsman, from listening to the discourse. His mind filled with faith in me, he died and was born among the gods attendant on the Four Great Kings. He came to see me last night, saw the truths when I preached Dharma to him, and went to his house.”

The monks, feeling doubtful, inquired of the Buddha, the Blessed One, the one who severs all doubts, “O Honored One, what karma did Nanda, the herdsman, and the five hundred people around him create that matured to cause them to be born among herdsmen, go forth in the teachings of the Blessed One, abandon all the defilements, and actualize the state of an arhat? What karma did the god who had once been a frog create that matured to cause him to be born among frogs and then see the truths?”

The Blessed One said, “Monks, the actions were performed and accumulated by him,539 … 

“Monks, once, in this fortunate eon, when people’s lives were twenty thousand years long, there appeared in the world a teacher named Kāśyapa, . . . . He stayed in the Ṛṣivadana Deer Park near the city of Vārāṇasī.

“In the teachings of that buddha, this Nanda, the herdsman, went forth and became a preacher of Dharma well versed in the three divisions of the canon, of eloquence tied to reason and free from obstacles,541 possessing five hundred attendants, and skillful in dealing with disputes. Every time a dispute arose in the community, he settled it. But there were two haughty, proud monks who had never gone to him. Later, a dispute arose between these two; [F.150.b] because of this matter, they went to him, paid homage at his feet, and requested, ‘Since such-and-such a dispute has arisen between the two of us, please settle it.’

“He thought, ‘If I settle their dispute today, then these two will no longer depend on me, and so they will not come to me afterward.’ He gathered the entire community and raised the dispute in the middle of the community, but he did not issue any decision. The next day he went to a certain hamlet, for he had some business there. Then the two monks themselves raised the dispute in the middle of the community lest the settlement of it be delayed, and it was settled by the community. The monk well versed in the three divisions of the canon returned from the hamlet. After he had rested well from the journey, he asked his co-resident monks and pupils, ‘Did the two, the disputer and his opponent, not come?’

“ ‘O master, the dispute has been settled,’ they answered.

“ ‘Who settled it?’

“ ‘The community did.’

“ ‘How did they do it?’

“When they had explained the matter in detail, he created the karma of harsh speech: ‘The venerable ones are ignorant: they settled that dispute just as herdsmen do!’

“They, too, agreed with him: ‘True, O master! They settled the dispute just as herdsmen do.’

“What do you think, monks? That one who was the monk well versed in the three divisions of the canon at that time, on that occasion, was indeed this herdsman Nanda. Those who were his five hundred co-resident monks and pupils are indeed these five hundred herdsmen. Because of the maturation of the karma created by them, namely, his saying the word ‘herdsmen’ to the community of disciples of the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa, and the agreeing of his co-resident monks and pupils, he and the five hundred attendants were born among herdsmen for five hundred lives. [F.151.a] And since he was well versed in the aggregates, elements, sense spheres, dependent origination, and what is proper and what is improper through recitation and repetition, he with the five hundred people around him went forth in my teaching, abandoned all the defilements, and actualized the state of an arhat.

“Monks,542 furthermore, the god who had once been a frog was a meditator monk in the teachings of the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa. One time, he traveled to a monastery near a hamlet. In the first watch of the night, he sat down with his legs crossed and began to practice concentration of the mind. At that time reciter monks were reciting. Since dhyāna is disturbed by voices, he was unable to concentrate his mind on a single point due to the voices. He thought, ‘Let them recite. I will meditate in the middle watch.’ When he got up in the middle watch and sat down, other monks were reciting. He thought, ‘I will meditate in the last watch.’ When he got up in the last watch and sat down, other monks were reciting. Since he was not free from desire, he said in fierce anger, ‘These śramaṇas of Kāśyapa were noisy as frogs all night long!’

“What do you think, monks? That one who was the meditator monk at that time, on that occasion, was indeed this god who had once been a frog. Because of the maturation of the karma created by him, namely, his saying the word ‘frogs’ to the disciples of the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa, he was born among frogs for five hundred lives, and now he was still born among frogs. Because he had gained faith, he was reborn among the gods attendant on the Four Great Kings. [F.151.b] Because he led the pure life in the presence of the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa, here he saw the truths.

“Therefore, monks, the maturation of entirely negative actions is entirely negative … you should seek . . . . Monks, that is how you must train.” Thus spoke the Blessed One.

Thereupon the Blessed One crossed the Ganges. There five hundred haṃsas, fish, and turtles surrounded and circumambulated him. The Blessed One preached the Dharma to them that consists of three phrases: “Sirs, all conditioned things are impermanent; all phenomena are selfless; and nirvāṇa is peace. Make your mind filled with faith in me, and by all means become free from desire for rebirth in the animal world.”

“It would not be appropriate for us to eat food in front of the Blessed One after having heard the Dharma that consists of three phrases,” they thought, and so they fasted. Since those who are born in the animal world have great digestive fire, they died. After they died, they were reborn among the gods attendant on the Four Great Kings.

It is natural for gods or goddesses to give rise to three thoughts just after birth: namely, where they died, where they were reborn, and by what action. They observed that they had died in the animal world, that they had been born among the gods attendant on the Four Great Kings, … filled the front part of their garments with … mandārava flowers, illuminated the vicinity of the Blessed One with a display of light, scattered the flowers for the Blessed One, and sat down surrounding the Blessed One. The Blessed One knew their thinking, proclivity, [F.152.a] disposition, and nature and preached the Dharma that was appropriate for them and that caused them to penetrate the four truths of the noble ones. With the vajra of knowledge they leveled the twenty high peaks of the mountain chain of the false view of individuality that had been accumulated since beginningless time, and actualized the fruit of stream-entry. After having seen the truths, they spoke an inspired utterance three times: “O Honored One,543 what the Blessed One has done for us is what has never been done for us by our fathers, our mothers, our kinsmen and relatives, our wives, a king, gods, our ancestral spirits, śramaṇas, or brahmins. You have pulled us out from the states of hell and hungry ghosts, placed us among the gods and humans, caused us to leave the course of rebirth far behind, dried up the ocean of blood and tears, liberated us from the mountain of bones, shut the gate to inferior states of existence, and opened the gate to heaven and liberation. With the vajra of knowledge we have leveled the twenty high peaks of the mountain chain of the false view of individuality that had been accumulated since beginningless time, and actualized the fruit of stream-entry. O Honored One, we have been exalted, truly exalted. Since we seek refuge in the Blessed One, the Dharma, and the community of monks, please accept us as lay brothers. From today onward, we embrace our faith as ones who seek refuge throughout our life.”

Thereupon the gods who had once been the fish, haṃsas, and turtles, like a merchant who had obtained merchandise, … went to their houses.

The monks, feeling doubtful, inquired of [F.152.b] the Buddha, the Blessed One, the one who severs all doubts, “O Honored One, what karma did the fish, haṃsas, and turtles create that matured to cause them to be born among haṃsas, fish, and turtles? What karma did they create that matured to cause them to be born among gods and to see the truths?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One replied, “the actions were performed and accumulated by these sons of gods who had once been haṃsas, fish, and turtles themselves, accruing a heap of karma. . . .

“Monks, once, in this fortunate eon, when people’s lifespans were twenty thousand years long, there appeared in the world a teacher named Kāśyapa, . . . . He stayed in Ṛṣivadana Deer Park near the city of Vārāṇasī. In his teaching these gods went forth. There these monks transgressed the minor rules of training; that karma matured to cause them to be reborn among fish, haṃsas, and turtles. Because they had gained faith in me, they were reborn among the gods. Because they led the pure life in the presence of the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa, they saw the truths. Therefore, monks, the maturation of entirely negative actions is entirely negative … you should seek . . . . Monks, that is how you must train.”

After the Blessed One had crossed the Ganges, he was surrounded by five hundred hungry ghosts who were just like burnt logs or raised skeletons, covered with hair, whose bellies were just like mountains, whose mouths were just like pinholes, who were burning, thoroughly burning, thoroughly and entirely burning, blazing as a single flame. They made the gesture of supplication and said to the Blessed One, “O Honored One, we hungry ghosts [F.153.a] have inferior bodies and are unable to obtain even water because of our sinful past actions,544 not to mention food. You are of great compassion; please give us water.”

The Blessed One indicated the Ganges to them:545

The hungry ghosts said:

The Blessed One said to the deity of the Ganges:

The deity of the Ganges said:

Thereupon the Blessed One instructed the venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana, “Maudgalyāyana,547 pour water on548 the hungry ghosts.”

“Certainly, O Honored One,” replied the venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana, and he started to pour water on the hungry ghosts, but he was unable to expand the hungry ghosts’ mouths, which were as small as pinholes.549 The Blessed One then expanded their mouths using his magical power, and the venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana poured water in. Suffering from thirst, they drank so much that their bellies swelled. Then they died, having harbored such pure minds for the Blessed One … after having seen the truths, they left for their own residences. [F.153.b]

The monks, feeling doubtful, inquired of the Buddha, the Blessed One, the one who severs all doubts, “O Honored One, what karma did these hungry ghosts create that matured to cause them to be born among hungry ghosts? What karma did they create that matured to cause them to be born among gods and see the truths?”

The Blessed One said, “Monks, the actions were performed and accumulated by themselves, accruing a heap of karma. . . . .

“Monks, once, in this fortunate eon, when people’s lifespans were twenty thousand years long, there appeared in the world a teacher named Kāśyapa . . . . He stayed in the Ṛṣivadana Deer Park near the city of Vārāṇasī.

“His disciples used to beg for alms out of faith550 and served the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. When the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa’s teaching was not extensive, there were few monks who asked for alms out of faith.551 When it became extensive, there were many such monks. At that time, when five hundred lay brothers were meeting together in an assembly hall for some business, many monks asking for alms out of faith went to them, wishing to receive alms. The lay brothers, in fierce anger, created the karma of harsh speech: ‘These śramaṇas of Kāśyapa always hold out their hands as if they have been born as hungry ghosts.’

“What do you think, monks? Those five hundred lay brothers were indeed these five hundred hungry ghosts. Because of the maturation of the karma‍—namely, their saying the words ‘hungry ghosts’ to the disciples of the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa‍—they were born among hungry ghosts for five hundred lives, [F.154.a] and now they were also born among hungry ghosts. Because they had gained faith in me, they were reborn among the gods. Because they sought refuge in the Perfectly Awakened One Kāśyapa and accepted the rules of training, they saw the truths.

“Therefore, monks, the maturation of entirely negative actions is entirely negative … you should seek . . . . Monks, that is how you must train.” Thus spoke the Blessed One.