Upholding the Roots of Virtue
Engaging in Means, Abandoning the Sublime Dharma, and Encouraging the Bodhisattva to Uphold It

Then, a beggar called Vijayarakṣa came into the assembly and sat down. Having risen from his seat, he draped his robe over one shoulder, bowed to the Blessed One with palms joined, and said, “Blessed One, I do not want to fall off such a cliff, nor argue with the Thus-Gone One, but I do want to awaken to unexcelled and perfect awakening. So I am wondering, Blessed One, how can I, a poor and destitute person, fully awaken to buddhahood when I live off the wealth of others, gaining the luxury of a home through negative conduct and hardship? Perfectly accomplishing awakening is for great, sāla tree-like warriors, brahmins, and householders.”

The Blessed One said, “I do not especially teach to the warrior caste who are like a great sāla tree, or to those of the brahmin caste who are like a great sāla tree, or to those of the householder caste who are like a great sāla tree. Nor do I especially teach to nobles, to the wealthy, or to gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, demigods, garuḍas, kinnaras, or mahoragas. Rather, whoever gives rise to the mind of awakening is worthy of veneration by the world with its gods.”

“Blessed One,” said Vijayarakṣa, “from this time forth I give rise to the mind set on unexcelled and perfect awakening.”

The Blessed One replied to the beggar Vijayarakṣa, “Vijayarakṣa, you are following the example of the thus-gone ones. Excellent! Excellent!” [F.173.a] [B14]

The beggar Vijayarakṣa then spoke to the Blessed One the following verses:

The Blessed One then responded to the beggar Vijayarakṣa in verse:

The Blessed One then said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, when the smile was shown, the beggar Vijayarakṣa and likewise eighty quadrillion gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, demigods, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas gave rise to the mind set on unexcelled and perfect awakening and I then prophesied their unexcelled and perfect awakening.”

The Blessed One then spoke these verses:

The venerable Śāradvatī­putra then said to the Blessed One, [F.176.a] “Blessed One, it is amazing that the beggar Vijayarakṣa, while in a reproachable state, is in possession of the irreproachable Dharma. Blessed One, who would reproach such a being?”

The Blessed One said to the venerable Śāradvatī­putra, “Indeed, Śāradvatī­putra, who would reproach such a being but an immature, ordinary being with no learning? Śāradvatī­putra, with that in mind, I made the statement: ‘Aside from a thus-gone one, a person cannot apprehend another person’s level.’ Śāradvatī­putra, what do you think, was it the case, then, that previously the beggar Vijayarakṣa was worthy of veneration by gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans?”

“It was not so, Blessed One,” replied Śāradvatī­putra. “That is because, Blessed One, the moment when the beggar Vijayarakṣa engendered the mind set on unexcelled and perfect awakening, he became worthy of veneration, worship, and homage, such that now, Blessed One, he is worthy of veneration by the world with its gods.”

The Blessed One then said to the venerable Śāradvatī­putra, “Śāradvatī­putra, the unobstructed wisdom of a thus-gone one is not shared with the hearers and solitary buddhas. It is because of that, Śāradvatī­putra, that my hearers, who teach the Dharma to beings who want to respectfully listen to such a teaching, should proclaim at the very beginning the actual qualities of my wisdom. That is because those beings, having by all means heard the qualities of a thus-gone one’s wisdom so proclaimed, [F.176.b] will focus their minds on the wisdom of the Buddha, and in that way, be continuously in accord with the way of the Buddha.

“Śāradvatī­putra, the beings who set out to benefit others are few. Śāradvatī­putra, very rare, extremely rare are those beings who set out to benefit others and to benefit themselves. Śāradvatī­putra, moreover, forget about those who set out to benefit others and to benefit themselves; rare, extremely rare, Śāradvatī­putra, are those who set out to benefit themselves and others.69 Śāradvatī­putra, even while trying to benefit themselves, immature and misapprehending beings cause themselves nothing but harm. This is because, Śāradvatī­putra, I have never seen or heard of anyone who is benefited, advantaged, unharmed, and unscathed by harming, disadvantaging, hurting, and injuring others‍—it is impossible. Śāradvatī­putra, it is for this reason that beings who set out to benefit themselves are so rare; such beings are so extremely rare. So extremely rare too are those beings who set out to benefit themselves and to benefit others. Śāradvatī­putra, it is for this reason that when certain beings flatter and disparage, such beings have not set out to benefit themselves or to benefit others. People like them, Śāradvatī­putra, are unwholesome. Śāradvatī­putra, those fools have set out on the wrong path. They have not set out to benefit themselves or to benefit others. Such inappropriate ones incur eight types of destruction. These eight types of destruction are: the destruction of relations, the destruction of place, the destruction of enjoyments, the destruction by fire, the destruction by royal authority, [F.177.a] the destruction of the sense fields, the destruction of the hells, and the destruction caused by the guardians of the hells.

“They will also incur eight intense types of unhappiness. These eight are: (1) incurring the unhappiness of birth in the hells; (2) incurring the unhappiness of birth in the animal realm; (3) incurring the unhappiness of birth in the world of Yama; (4) incurring the unhappiness where even though one is born among humans, one assumes birth in a peripheral region, (5) or one is blind, deaf, one-eyed, missing a finger or hand, paralyzed on one side, or afflicted with any severe form of illness; (6) incurring the unhappiness where even though one is born with a fortune equal to other humans, and although one is born in a suitable place, one mingles with crooked people, disgraceful people, uncouth people, women, dependents, nirgrantha followers or proponents of other non-Buddhist groups, or someone with wrong view, who always engages in evil deeds, has impure physical, verbal, and mental actions, and who cannot be changed for the sake of the noble ones; (7) and incurring the unhappiness where even though one is born among humans, a thus-gone one does not appear there, or (8) the night before a thus-gone one does appear one dies and does not encounter his direct presence. These are the eight intense types of unhappiness that they incur.

“Those who are born among hell beings have large and broad bodies, such that they will experience great torment. Those who are born among the animals, moreover, have large and broad bodies, and take huge bites, making it difficult to be nourished. [F.177.b] Wherever one is born there, one will commit a great many evil deeds. Born there, one might be a fish, a crocodile, an otter, a porpoise, or a timi fish. Beings catch them with hooks and hold them up, and then in order to kill them, they cut them and beat them. Even having been violated in this way, it is not enough to kill them. Rather, their bodies grow back and although they experience many different kinds of painful sensations, they still will not die. Elsewhere in the animal realm, one might take birth as a camel, ox, donkey, chicken, or pig. If one becomes a camel or an ox, one’s nose will be pierced and one will be loaded down with cargo, struck repeatedly with sticks, and led around on journeys. Angry and dejected, one will be forced to carry cargo, without any protection whatsoever. When one becomes physically weak from being burdened by cargo, one will be shorn of life and one’s flesh will be eaten. Such animals are thus described as ‘broad-bodied, lazy, difficult to nourish, with big bites, and ineffectual.’

“Śāradvatī­putra, look at the manifestation of all the myriad undesirable and unpleasant effects from performing and accumulating negative deeds. Śāradvatī­putra, the Thus-Gone One would not be able to cover the maturation of non-virtuous deeds even were he to describe it for an eon or more. Śāradvatī­putra, in short, whoever sets out to interfere with a bodhisattva’s engendering of the mind of awakening, Śāradvatī­putra, will neither journey to nirvāṇa, nor have the excellent leisures. This is why, Śāradvatī­putra, you have protected yourself and thus attained the excellent leisures.

“Śāradvatī­putra, the following four things are protection: Śāradvatī­putra, the Thus-Gone One is the protection for beings oppressed by fear. Śāradvatī­putra, the path of the noble ones is the protection for beings who have embarked on the wrong path. [F.178.a] Śāradvatī­putra, the applications of mindfulness are the protection that ensures negative deeds are not committed. Śāradvatī­putra, the mind of awakening is the protection of abandoning all unfavorable states. Those four things, Śāradvatī­putra, are protection.

“Śāradvatī­putra, the following four things are happiness: seeing the Thus-Gone One, the excellent leisures, acquiring faith in the Dharma-Vinaya taught by the Thus-Gone One, and a proper and excellent view. Those four things, Śāradvatī­putra, are great happiness.

“Śāradvatī­putra, the following four things are health: the health of the harmonization of the constituents of the great elements and humors; the health of proper reflection on the correct view; the health of acquiring faith in the Thus-Gone One’s teaching and thus acquiring all excellent kinds of happiness and the health of being able to engender the mind set on immeasurable, countless beings attaining unexcelled and perfect awakening and thereby eradicating the afflictions. Those four things, Śāradvatī­putra, are health.

“Śāradvatī­putra, the following four things are hope: the patient hoping to be healed, the starving hoping for sustenance, those in pain and oppressed by pain hoping to enjoy pleasure, and those who have embarked on the path of the great protector hoping for bliss. Those four things, Śāradvatī­putra, are hope.

“Śāradvatī­putra, the following four things are strong attachments through which beings migrate to the lower realms: strong attachment to the body, strong attachment to life force, strong attachment to enjoyments, and strong attachment to objects of sensual desire. Those four, Śāradvatī­putra, are the strong attachments through which beings migrate to the lower realms.

“Śāradvatī­putra, the following seven things are receptacles: the receptacle of undigested food, the receptacle of digested food, the receptacle of phlegm, the receptacle of bile, the receptacle of wind, the receptacle of view, and along the same lines, Śāradvatī­putra, the great receptacle, which is the object of sensual desire to which one is strongly attached. [F.178.b] For, Śāradvatī­putra, the object of sensual desire to which one is strongly attached consists of phlegm, pus, lymph, urine, feces, flesh, sinew, bone, blood, and marrow.”

Also at that time, the householder called Vijayarakṣa joined the assembly and took a seat. His wife, called Rūpavatī, was exquisite, beautiful, and pleasing to behold, with a fine complexion and perfect figure. The householder Vijayarakṣa, being especially attached to her, said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, please do not say that objects of sensual desire are receptacles of feces and urine. I say this because, Blessed One, my wife called Rūpavatī does not have any feces or urine.”

Understanding the householder’s exalted intention, the Blessed One manifested a woman that looked exactly like the householder’s wife Rūpavatī. Seeing her, the householder thought, “Why has my wife come here?” As the apparent wife approached, he asked her, “Why have you come to this assembly?”

“Householder,” she replied, “I have come to the Thus-Gone One to listen to the Dharma.”

The householder Vijayarakṣa then took his wife by the hand, wrapped her in the folds of his garment, and both the householder Vijayarakṣa and his wife Rupāvatī took their seat. The Blessed One then produced the miraculous feat of having the woman defecate in the folds of his garment. The householder Vijayarakṣa, [F.179.a] unable to bear the stench of the feces, blocked his nose with his fingers and turned his face, looking around. To the right side of the householder Vijayarakṣa was the son of the Śākyas called Nanda, who asked the householder Vijayarakṣa, “Householder, why are you blocking your nose and turning away?”

The householder Vijayarakṣa responded to Nanda, the son of the Śākyas, “Venerable, there is the stench of feces in this place. Do you not notice it too, just around here?”

The Blessed One then performed a miraculous feat, which caused the son of the Śākyas Nanda and the fourfold retinue to clearly notice that the wife Rūpavatī had excreted feces in the folds of the garment. The son of the Śākyas Nanda then exclaimed to the householder Vijayarakṣa, “Look, householder! Your very own wife has defecated in the folds of your garment.”

The householder Vijayarakṣa then turned to the son of the Śākyas called Vanadatta and said, “Vanadatta, I would look to see if my wife had excreted or urinated if I had some doubt about it. But how can I look when such a thing is impossible? Venerable one, this makes me think that perhaps you are the one who came carrying feces!”

At that the son of the Śākyas became so enraged that he rose from his seat and shouted at the householder Vijayarakṣa, “Householder, you are so attached that I will start calling you ‘Householder Feces’! Householder, did you not take your wife by her hand and wrap her in the folds of your own garment? Householder, was it not precisely that which created the present circumstance? See the source of the stench with your own eyes! Householder, since you are so attached [F.179.b] and impertinent, I will give you the name ‘Householder Feces.’ As you sit there in feces, insulting others, you are no longer Vijayarakṣa. Householder, leave this retinue! Go away, householder! Vanish from this retinue, householder! Completely vanish, householder!”

The householder then took his wife by the hands and demanded of her, “Conniving woman, how could you even get the idea to defecate in the folds of my garment?”

“Householder,” she replied, “such things happen when one takes a receptacle of feces and wraps it into the folds of one’s own garment.”

Dejected, the householder Vijayarakṣa considered tossing the feces to the ground, but he could not. Instead he proceeded to smear it all over his body, and then said to the son of the Śākyas Vanadatta, “Venerable, tell me, what is the best way now to be completely free of the stench of this feces?”

“Householder, you will indeed be completely free of this and other things,” said Vanadatta. “However, it would be most appropriate now for you to leave this place. This is because, householder, you will die from the stench of feces that accompanies your wife.”

The householder Vijayarakṣa said to the son of the Śākyas Vanadatta, “Venerable, mendicants are known as ‘compassionate.’ Mendicants are known as ‘loving.’ So, being a ‘son of the Śākyas,’ I wonder how much of a special being you are.”

The son of the Śākyas Vanadatta replied to the householder Vijayarakṣa, “Why should I be compassionate toward you? And why should I be loving toward you? When the Thus-Gone One was teaching the Dharma, you disagreed with him, and said, ‘My wife has neither feces nor urine.’ And thereafter you insulted me too, did you not? Householder, you need to look with your own eyes to see whether or not your wife has feces or urine.” [F.180.a]

The householder Vijayarakṣa then snapped at his wife, “Wife, you should go home!”

Having sent his wife away, Vijayarakṣa said to the Śākya youth Vanadatta, “Venerable, I see the faults of women. I see the untrustworthiness of women. Vanadatta, I wish to go forth from home to homelessness.”

The son of the Śākyas Vanadatta then said to the householder Vijayarakṣa, “Householder, fumigate and soak your body with all kinds of fragrances for one hundred years! If you do that you will later succeed in going forth under the Blessed One. This is because, householder, your body has become foul-smelling from the stench of feces.”

The householder Vijayarakṣa then said to the son of the Śākyas Vanadatta, “Venerable, whether I fumigate myself for one year or a hundred years, who knows if, while occupied with precisely that, I will die, or the Blessed One will pass away? On the other hand, venerable, if I do receive ordination from the Blessed One, I will not enter villages, towns, countries, or royal palaces. I will instead frequent the wilderness, beg for alms, and wear poor quality religious robes. Therefore, who will smell the foul stench of a forest-dwelling miscreant like me?”

The Blessed One then said to the householder, “Householder, do you wish to go forth from home to homelessness?”

“I do wish to, Blessed One,” he replied.

The Blessed One said, “Monk, come join me, and live the holy life!” Once the householder, just at these words, had gone forth, he was dressed in ochre robes and his head was shaven as if seven days had passed, and he had an alms bowl in the palms of his hands.

The Blessed One then taught him the Dharma, [F.180.b] teaching the noble truth of suffering, and, likewise, the noble truths of its origin, its cessation, and the path. Right away the monk gained the stainless and immaculate Dharma eye that sees phenomena. He had acquired the vocation, so the next morning he set out for the city of Rājagṛha wearing religious robes and carrying an alms bowl. While moving in rounds throughout the city of Rājagṛha for alms, he reached his own home and sat silently to one side for alms. His wife Rūpavatī saw that it was him, the householder Vijayarakṣa, who had taken ordination and come for alms wearing religious robes and carrying an alms bowl. She said, “Householder, you have acted inappropriately.”

“Do you understand that you excreted and urinated in the folds of my garment and thus left my entire body with a foul stench?” replied the monk Vijayarakṣa.

“Householder,” she said, “this thing that you are criticizing me for did not happen to you. Householder, I was forced by my father to follow him between our homes, and do not recall even showing my face outside of any door, let alone going to see the Blessed One at the Kalandaka­nivāpa in the Veṇuvana.”

“I have as witnesses the Blessed One, the son of the Śākyas Vanadatta, and the fourfold assembly,” said Vijayarakṣa. “Do you not recall that you and I were apprehended by the son of the Śākyas Vanadatta and exiled from the assembly?”

Then Māra, the evil one, sat down behind the householder and said, “Householder, this is not why you were exiled and caused to wander. It was due to a magical apparition. Monk, you should enjoy the five sense pleasures! Householder, you were deceived by the mendicant Gautama. He has allowed many monks to go forth and thus caused them to wander.” [F.181.a]

“So, the reason I was made to smell foul was because of a magical apparition?” asked the monk Vijayarakṣa.

“Indeed,” he replied.

“Then you are also a magical apparition,” said Vijayarakṣa. “And I too am a magical apparition. And all the teachings taught by the Thus-Gone One are also like a magical apparition.”

At that point the woman purified the stainless and immaculate Dharma eye that sees phenomena. Having gained devotion and acquired conviction, she said, “Be happy, monk! Live the holy life! I will likewise go forth under the teaching of the Blessed One.”

Based on precisely that true perspective regarding phenomena, the Blessed One said to the venerable Śāradvatī­putra, “Śāradvatī­putra, there are four qualities that bodhisattva great beings who want to fully awaken to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood should abandon. What are these four? Śāradvatī­putra, bodhisattva great beings should abandon evil companions. Śāradvatī­putra, bodhisattva great beings should abandon association with women. Bodhisattva great beings should abandon the speech of nirgranthas and the spells of materialists. And, Śāradvatī­putra, bodhisattva great beings should abandon the degeneration of wrong view. Śāradvatī­putra, these four qualities should be abandoned by bodhisattva great beings. Śāradvatī­putra, I have never seen other qualities that create obstacles exactly as these four do.

“Śāradvatī­putra, it is for this reason that those who have entered the Great Vehicle should abandon these four things. Having abandoned them, whoever wishes to fully awaken to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood [F.181.b] should then rely upon, cultivate, and develop four other things. What are these four? Śāradvatī­putra, they should rely upon, cultivate, and develop a relationship with a spiritual friend‍—either a buddha, bodhisattva, or hearer‍—who instructs upon and teaches the Dharma discourses of the Bodhisattva Collection. Śāradvatī­putra, moreover, in order to avoid association with women, bodhisattvas should rely upon, revere, and serve those who are renounced, those who have gone forth, and those who dwell in the forest. Śāradvatī­putra, moreover, in order to avoid materialists and the speech of nirgranthas, bodhisattvas should engage in the practice of receiving, mastering, and memorizing the teachings. Śāradvatī­putra, moreover, in order to avoid wrong view, bodhisattvas should rely upon and cultivate the correct view of great emptiness.”

Once the Well-Gone One had thus spoken, the Teacher also imparted the following instructions: