The Teaching to the Venerable Nanda on Dwelling in the Womb

[F.205.b]

Chapter 1318 of the one-hundred-thousand-chapter scripture Ārya Mahāratnakūṭa, “The Teaching to Nanda on Dwelling in the Womb.”19 [B1]

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was staying together with an immense assembly of monks20 at the Nyagrodha pleasure grove in the city of Kapilavastu. At that time, the Bhagavān’s younger brother named Nanda, who had a golden complexion, was endowed with the thirty marks,21 and was four finger-widths shorter than the Bhagavān, had a wife called Sundarikā.22 She was a good lady, pleasant to behold, with a beautiful figure and a superior complexion rare in the world. Since everyone wished to look at her, Nanda, because he desired and was obsessed with her, did not leave her alone even for a moment. Due to his lustful mind, he became very attached and considered her as valuable as his own life.

The Bhagavān, knowing that the time had come to tame Nanda, dressed early in the morning, took his bowl, and, with the venerable Ānanda as his attendant, went to the city to collect alms. In due course, they arrived at the place where Nanda’s house was, and going to the door, they stood there. Then, by the power of great compassion, the Bhagavān emitted a golden light, and the entire interior of Nanda’s house turned the color of refined gold.

At that time, Nanda thought, “Since this light is all-illuminating, it must undoubtedly be the Tathāgata’s.” Thinking this, [F.206.a] he dispatched a man, ordering him, “Go see who it is.”

The man, seeing the Bhagavān, hastened back and told Nanda, “The Bhagavān is at the door.”

When Nanda heard that, he quickly went out and greeted the Bhagavān. After Nanda paid obeisance, at that time Sundarikā thought, “If I let Nanda go, he will doubtlessly go forth because of the Bhagavān.” Grabbing Nanda by the edge of his garment, she did not let go.

“Now let go for a minute,” said Nanda. “I will pay obeisance to the Bhagavān, and then I’ll come back.”

“First, let’s make an agreement; then I’ll let you go,” said Sundarikā. She put the mark of a wet tilaka on his forehead, and she said, “Please return before this tilaka is dry. If you are delayed, there will be a penalty of five hundred gold kārṣāpanas.”

“I will do so,” said Nanda. Going out the door, he bowed down at the Bhagavān’s feet. He took the Tathāgata’s bowl and went back into the house. After filling the bowl with good food, Nanda again went out the door. Since the Bhagavān had returned to the monastery, he offered it to Ānanda. But the Bhagavān had indicated that Ānanda should not take the bowl. Because of the overwhelming majesty of the Tathāgata, the Great Teacher, Nanda did not have the confidence to offer it to him with the words, “Please receive this,” so he again offered it to Ānanda.

Ānanda asked, “From whom did you receive this bowl?”

“I received it from the Bhagavān.”

“In that case, offer it to the Bhagavān,” said Ānanda.

Nanda answered, “I don’t have the confidence to offer it to the Great Teacher.” Saying nothing, he left following after him.

When the Bhagavān had returned to the monastery, he washed his hands, bathed his feet, and sat on his cushion. [F.206.b] Nanda held up the Bhagavān’s bowl and offered it to him. When the Bhagavān finished eating, he asked Nanda, “Will you eat what is left in my bowl?”

“Yes, please,” he answered, and the Bhagavān gave it to him.

Nanda finished eating, and the Bhagavān asked, “Will you go forth?”

Nanda answered, “I will go forth.” Furthermore, because the Bhagavān Buddha, when he engaged in the practices of a bodhisattva in the past, never opposed the instructions of his parents, preceptors, teachers, or other gurus, he had now attained the state in which nothing he said was opposed.

Then the Bhagavān said to Ānanda, “Shave Nanda’s hair and beard.”

“As the Bhagavān wishes,” replied Ānanda, and he searched for a barber.

As soon as the barber began cutting Nanda’s hair, Nanda said to him, “Hey! Don’t you know? It won’t be long before I become a powerful cakravartin. If you shave my hair and beard, I will cut off both your hands!” Intimidated, the barber became very frightened, and he put away his razor and started to leave. Then the venerable Ānanda told the Bhagavān what had happened.

The Bhagavān went to Nanda and asked, “Will you not go forth?”

Nanda answered, “I will go forth.” The Bhagavān then took a vase and poured water on Nanda’s head, and the barber shaved Nanda’s hair and beard. Nanda thought, “I will honor the Buddha for now and go forth, but I will return home in the evening.”

In the evening, Nanda took to the road and left. [F.207.a] When Nanda saw a great chasm conjured by the Bhagavān ahead of him on the road, he thought, “As for the time agreed upon with Sundarikā, since I am still far away, I have no possibility of arriving on time. Now, it is possible that I will die from just thinking about her. If I do not die, I will go tomorrow morning.” He passed the night in suffering and misery due to yearning for Sundarikā.

Knowing what Nanda was thinking, the Bhagavān said to Ānanda, “Ānanda, go and order Nanda to act as caretaker in the monastery.” Ānanda accordingly went directly to Nanda.

Ānanda told him, “The Bhagavān orders you to be the caretaker.”

Nanda asked, “What duties does a ‘caretaker’ perform?”

“He must supervise the monks’ chores in the monastery,” said Ānanda.

Nanda asked, “In what way should he work?”

“As for the caretaker,” answered Ānanda, “when the monks go out for alms, he must sweep the monastery grounds and sprinkle them with water. He must take fresh cow dung and gently spread it in the proper way. Paying careful attention, he should guard against loss. If any advice is necessary, he should ask the monks. If there is incense and flowers, he should distribute them to the monks. He should close the gates at night and open them in the morning. He must always clean and wipe down the toilet and urinal. If something in the monastery falls apart, he must repair it well.”

Nanda, having heard the explanation, accepted it, saying, “Venerable Ānanda, I shall do everything according to the Bhagavān’s command.”

The next morning, the monks put on their lower robes, took their upper robes and bowls, and left for the city of Kapilavastu on their alms round. [F.207.b] Nanda, seeing that nobody was in the monastery, thought, “As soon as I finish sweeping, I’ll go back home,” and did the sweeping. The Bhagavān saw him and knew, so, with his supernormal abilities, he cast a spell so that the clean ground that had been swept was again full of rubbish. Nanda then thought, “I’ll throw away the rubbish and go back home.” He put the broom down and began to throw away the rubbish, but, since it was never-ending, he thought, “I will close the doors of the dwelling places and leave.” He began to close the doors of the dwelling places, but the Bhagavān cast a spell so that as soon as Nanda closed one door, another door would open. That troubled Nanda, and he had this thought: “Even if a thief harms this monastery, whatever damage there is, when I become king, I will build a hundred thousand excellent monasteries much greater than this one. As for me, I’ll go back home.” And then he thought, “If I stay on the main road, I’m afraid I’ll meet the Bhagavān, so I’ll take a side road.”

The Bhagavān, knowing what Nanda was thinking, took that very same shortcut. Nanda, seeing the Bhagavān from a distance, hid near a tree at the side of the road that had shady branches hanging down, in order to avoid him. The Bhagavān cast a spell to make the tree lift up its branches and show Nanda’s body.

Then the Bhagavān called out, “Nanda, where are you going? Come along after me!” Ashamed and embarrassed, Nanda followed in attendance upon him. The Bhagavān thought, “Since Nanda is very attached to his wife and is obsessed with her, in order to help him separate from her I will leave Kapilavastu [F.208.a] and go to Śrāvastī.” Thinking in this way, he went there and stayed at Viśākhā Mṛgāramātā’s23 pleasure grove.24 Then the Bhagavān thought, “Since this foolish Nanda is continually attached to his wife and obsessed with her, he will not let go of her, so I must apply skillful means and pacify his mind.”

Thinking in this way, the Bhagavān asked the venerable Nanda, “In the past, have you ever seen Mount Gandhamādana?”

“I haven’t seen it,” answered Nanda.

“If that is so, grab the corner of my robe.” Nanda grabbed the corner of his garment. The Bhagavān then soared up into the sky like the king of geese. When he arrived at Mount Gandhamādana together with the venerable Nanda, they looked right and left. Under a tree, a blind, one-eyed female monkey raised her face and intently looked right at the Bhagavān. The Bhagavān asked Nanda, “Do you see this blind monkey?”

“Yes, I see her,” answered Nanda.

“What do you think?” asked the Bhagavān. “If you compare this blind monkey to Sundarikā, which one is more beautiful and exalted?”

“Sundarikā is a Śākya,” said Nanda. “She is like a young goddess. Her face is the best; she is peerless in the world. Therefore, if you compare her to this monkey, the monkey does not come close to being one-hundredth, one-thousandth, one-ten-thousandth, or one-hundred-thousandth of Sundarikā. Any number, fraction, calculation, example, or comparison would be inadequate.”

The Bhagavān asked, “Have you ever seen the heavenly palaces?”

“No, I haven’t seen them,” answered Nanda.

“Well then, grab the corner of my robe again.” Again Nanda grabbed the garment, and the Bhagavān rose up into the sky like the king of geese and went to the abode of the Thirty-Three Gods. [F.208.b] The Bhagavān said, “Nanda, go and look at the heavenly palaces, which are exalted dwellings.” The venerable Nanda went to the pleasure groves of the gods such as Nandana Grove, Caitraratha Grove, Pāruṣyaka Grove, Miśrakā Grove, Pārijāta Grove, and Sudharmā Hall, and places of play and delight with flowers, fruit, ponds, and pools. When he had seen everything, he eventually entered the city Sudarśana. Elsewhere, pleasant sounds came forth from drums, lutes, and various types of stringed instruments. And here and there, he saw very beautiful young goddesses and gods nestled, playing together.

Nanda, after searching all over, saw that there were only young goddesses but no young gods in a certain palace, and he asked those young goddesses, “Why, in other places, do young goddesses and gods live together and experience pleasure, while in your case, only young goddesses live together, and young gods are not to be seen?”

Those young goddesses said, “There is a younger brother of the Bhagavān, Nanda, who went forth under the Bhagavān and intently and properly practices pure behavior. After he passes away, he will be reborn here. We will wait for him here.”

Nanda, having heard this, rejoiced and quickly hurried to where the Bhagavān was. The Bhagavān asked, “Did you see the exalted circumstances of the gods?”

“Yes, I saw them,” said Nanda.

The Bhagavān asked, “What circumstances did you see?”

Nanda told the Bhagavān in detail everything that he had seen.

The Bhagavān [F.209.a] asked, “Did you see the young goddesses?”

“Yes, I saw them,” said Nanda.

The Bhagavān asked, “If you compare those young goddesses to Sundarikā, who is more physically beautiful and exalted?”

“Bhagavān,” replied Nanda, “if I compared Sundarikā with those young goddesses, it would be just like comparing the blind female monkey of Mount Gandhamādana to Sundarikā. She does not come close to being one-hundredth, one-thousandth, one-ten-thousandth, or one-hundred-thousandth as good as them, up to any comparison would be inadequate.”

The Bhagavān said, “Nanda, since you will have such exalted benefits if you properly practice pure behavior, you should now firmly practice pure behavior, and when you are reborn as a god, you will experience such pleasure.” Nanda heard what the Bhagavān said, rejoiced, and sat silently. Then the Bhagavān, together with the venerable Nanda, disappeared from the realm of the gods and went to the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, in Śrāvastī. The venerable Nanda then properly practiced pure behavior while thinking about the heavenly palaces.

The Bhagavān, knowing what Nanda was thinking, told the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, go tell the monks, ‘Do not sit on the same seat together with Nanda. Do not walk on the same path. Do not hang your robes on the same peg. Do not put your begging bowl and water vessel in the same place. Do not read sūtras aloud in the same place. Do not recite in the same place.’ ” The venerable Ānanda instructed the monks according to what the Bhagavān had told him, and the monks said, “We will do as the Noble One says.”

At that time, the venerable Nanda, seeing that the many monks had shunned him, felt very embarrassed and guilty. [F.209.b] After that, on another occasion, the venerable Ānanda was sewing robes in the assembly hall together with the many monks. When Nanda saw this, he thought, “These many monks have shunned me and will not keep company with me. Since the venerable Ānanda is my brother, there is no way that he would show contempt for me.” Thinking in this way, he went to Ānanda and sat down next to him. Then Ānanda quickly got up and left.

Nanda said, “Ānanda, it is reasonable for the other monks to shun me, but if you are my brother, why do you shun me?”

“This may be true,” replied the venerable Ānanda, “but you are walking one path, and I am walking another path, so we should therefore avoid each other.”

“What is my path? What is your path?” asked Nanda.

Ānanda answered, “You practice pure behavior due to a desire for birth in heaven. I remove desires and defilements for the sake of seeking nirvāṇa.” Nanda heard what Ānanda said and became very unhappy and oppressed by sorrow.

Then the Bhagavān, knowing what he was thinking, asked the venerable Nanda, “Have you ever seen hell beings?”

“No, I haven’t,” answered Nanda.

The Bhagavān said, “Grab the corner of my robe.” Again, Nanda grabbed the garment, and the Bhagavān led him to the abodes of hell beings. The Bhagavān sat to one side and said to the venerable Nanda, “Go look at the hell beings!”

The venerable Nanda went accordingly, and first he saw the Vaitaraṇī River. Then he went successively to Sword-Leaf Forest, Excrement Swamp, and Pit of Burning Embers. He entered those places and, looking all around, [F.210.a] saw the various sufferings the many beings there experienced. For some, tongues, teeth, and eyes were torn out with pliers. For some, the body was cut with a saw. For some, the arms and legs were cut off by an ax. Some were struck with weapons like spears, double-bladed battle axes, and rods. Some were smashed by iron hammers. For some, iron lumps were inserted into their mouths. Some climbed mountains that had thickets of swords and trees that had leaves of swords, were pounded with a pestle, were ground in a mill, were melted on a copper pillar, or remained on an iron bed. Thus, he saw them experience unbearable sufferings.

As for some, an iron cauldron, intensely glowing in the flames of fire, came to a boil, and in the intensely hot glow, Nanda saw beings experiencing suffering by being boiled. Furthermore, he saw an empty iron cauldron boiling, intensely glowing in the flames of fire and hot, without any beings. Very frightened, he asked the hell guard, “Hey, due to what causes and conditions are beings being boiled in the other iron cauldrons while only this iron cauldron boils empty?”

The guard answered, “Since the Bhagavān’s younger brother, Nanda, aspiring to be born as a god, one-pointedly and properly practices pure behavior, he will be born in the world of the gods and temporarily experience pleasure, but after he dies, he will enter this iron cauldron. Therefore, we’re staying here now, having lit a fire under the iron cauldron.”

Hearing this, Nanda was very afraid. His body hair stood on end, sweat poured from his body, and he thought, “If he knows that I am Nanda, he will throw me, alive, into the cauldron.” Thinking this, he quickly fled to where the Bhagavān was.

The Bhagavān asked, [F.210.b] “Did you see hell beings?”

Nanda pathetically broke into tears. Crying and in a tenuous voice, as if he were tongue-tied, he said, “I have seen them.”

“What did you see?” asked the Bhagavān. Nanda told the Bhagavān in detail what he had seen.

The Bhagavān told him, “Properly practicing pure behavior because you aspire to be born as a human or strive for the world of the gods has that sort of flaw. Therefore, now, by thinking of seeking nirvāṇa, you must refrain from exerting yourself with delight in birth as a god as a result of practicing pure behavior.” When the venerable Nanda heard those words, he was speechless from shame.

Then the Bhagavān, knowing what Nanda was thinking, disappeared with him from the realm of the hell beings, and, after they returned to the Jetavana, he addressed the venerable Nanda and the monks: “There are three internal stains, namely, lust, hatred, and delusion. Since they should be abandoned, you should train, exerting yourself in thoroughly abandoning them.”

After staying at the Jetavana for a short time, the Bhagavān went together with the assembly of monks to the city of Campa in order to tame beings according to their conditions, and he stayed on the bank of Gargā’s Pond.25

Later,26 the venerable Nanda, together with five hundred monks, went to the place where the Bhagavān was. They prostrated themselves at his feet and sat to one side. Then the Bhagavān, knowing that the monks were seated to one side, said to the venerable Nanda, “I have a Dharma discourse that is virtuous at the beginning, virtuous in the middle, virtuous at the end, excellent in meaning, excellent in words, [F.211.a] unadulterated, perfect, pure, pristine, and conducive to pure behavior, that is, the Dharma discourse entitled Entry into the Womb. Listen very well and keep it in your mind. I shall teach it to you now.”

The venerable Nanda responded, “Yes, I wish to hear what the Bhagavān says.”

The Bhagavān said, “Nanda, even if there is a mother’s womb, it may be the case that one will enter into the womb, and it may also be the case that one will not enter. How will entry into a mother’s womb and then taking birth occur? If the father and the mother, both with thoughts of desire, have intercourse, if the mother’s womb is completely pure, if she is in her fertile period, and if the antarābhava27 appears, it is to be understood that then entry into the womb will occur.

“In this respect, the appearance of the antarābhava can be of two types: pleasant in color and attractive, or unpleasant in color and unattractive. The color of those in the intermediate existence of hell beings is unpleasant, like, for example, a burnt tree trunk. The color of those in the intermediate existence of animals is like smoke, for example. The color of those in the intermediate existence of pretas is like water, for example. The color of those in the intermediate existence of gods and humans is like gold, for example. The color of those in the intermediate existence of the form realm is white. There is no intermediate existence for the gods of the formless realm; this is because that realm is formless. Some antarābhava beings have two arms and two legs, some have four legs or many legs, and some do not have legs. Beings will produce an antarābhava, in accordance with previous karma, whose appearance corresponds to where they will be reborn. [F.211.b]

“Antarābhavas that will be born as gods face upward. Antarābhavas that will be born as humans, animals, or pretas proceed facing horizontally. Antarābhavas that will be born as hell beings face downward.

“All antarābhavas, since they possess supernormal abilities, are able to travel through space and to see, as if with the divine eye, the place of their birth even from far away.

“ ‘In her fertile period’ is when the time has come for a woman’s fertile period. Nanda, there are some women who are in their fertile period after three days, after five days, after a fortnight, or after a month has elapsed. Some, depending on conditions, will again begin a fertile period after a long time has elapsed.28 As for women who have no physical strength, who experience much suffering, whose faces are unpleasant, and who eat and drink poor quality foods and beverages, their fertile period, when it arrives, quickly ends, just as dry earth, when it is sprinkled with water, quickly becomes dry again. As for women who have physical strength, who always experience pleasure, whose faces are pleasant, and who eat and drink good quality foods and beverages, their fertile period does not end quickly, just as moist earth, when it is sprinkled with water, does not quickly become dry again.

“How will entry into a mother’s womb not occur? If the father’s sexual fluid is emitted but the mother’s sexual fluid is not, or the mother’s sexual fluid is emitted but the father’s sexual fluid is not, or if neither of their sexual fluids is emitted, in all such cases there will be no conception. If the mother is impure but the father is pure, if the father is impure but the mother is pure, or if both are impure, there will also be no conception. If the mother’s womb is in the grip of wind disease; or if it is in the grip of bile or phlegm; or if, overwhelmed by blood, the womb is knotty; or if it is filled with flesh; [F.212.a] or if the mother drinks medicine; or if the center is like barley; or if it is like an ant’s waist; or if the opening of the womb is like a camel’s mouth; or if the center is like a tree with many roots; or if the opening is like the beam of a plow; or if it is triangular, like the joint of a carriage; or if it is like a cane plant; or if it is as if barley awn has grown there; or if the womb is deep at the bottom; or if it is deep at the top; or it is unsuitable as a vessel; or if it is always bleeding; or if it discharges liquid;29 or if it is always open and cannot close, like a crow’s beak; or if the width or size at the top, bottom, or ends is uneven; or if its height is uneven or bumpy; or if it is damaged inside by worms; or if, putrefying, it has become unclean‍—if the mother has these kinds of defects, entry into the womb will never occur. If the parents’ lineage is noble and the antarābhava is inferior, or if the antarābhava’s lineage is noble and the parents are inferior, entry into the womb will not occur. Even if the lineages of the parents and the antarābhava are both noble, if their karma is not compatible, entry into the womb will not occur. If the antarābhava has neither existence as a male nor as a female30 with respect to what it sees31 before it, rebirth will not occur.

“Nanda, how does the antarābhava obtain entry into the mother’s womb? If the mother’s womb is clean, the antarābhava directly perceives the performance of the act of desire, there are none of the many defects mentioned earlier, and the parents and the child have the karma to encounter one another, the initial entry into the womb will occur. Furthermore, when the antarābhava enters the mother’s womb, it will have a distorted thought. If it is male, it will have desire for the mother and aversion for the father. If it is female, it will have desire for the father and aversion for the mother. Due to the force of action performed in the past, it will give rise to distorted thought due to an incorrect perception, [F.212.b] namely, a perception of cold, or perceptions of a great wind arising, of a great rain falling, or of darkness; or it will give rise to the perception of hearing the clamorous sound of many people. Thereby, in accordance with the superior nature or inferior nature of its karma, ten incorrect perceptions32 may arise. What are the ten? It thinks, ‘I’m now entering a house.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now climbing to the top of a multistoried building.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a palace.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now ascending a throne.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a grass hut.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a hut of leaves.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a grass thicket.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a forest.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now slipping into a hole in a wall.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering the spaces in a thatched hut.’ Nanda, at that time the antarābhava, thinking in that way, enters its mother’s womb.

“It should be understood that what takes rebirth is called kalala. It is the father’s semen and the mother’s blood. It is not another thing, but in dependence on the causes and conditions that are the mixture of the father’s semen and the mother’s blood, and on the condition that is consciousness, it is kept together.33

“Just as butter comes into being in dependence upon curdled milk, a pot, a churning stick, and human effort, and does not come into being from anything else,34 the body of the kalala, which is formed from the unclean semen and blood of the parents, is to be understood in the same way.

“Nanda, there are four further analogies. Listen carefully. Just as when a worm is born in dependence upon green grass, the green grass is not the worm, and the worm does not exist separately from the green grass. However, due to the coming together of causes and conditions in dependence upon the grass, when the worm is born, the color of its body will also be green. Similarly, Nanda, the body of the kalala that consists of the father’s semen and the mother’s blood is also like this: it should be understood that the faculties that consist of the great elements arise from the coming together of causes and conditions. [F.213.a]

“Just as when a worm is born in dependence upon cow dung, the cow dung is not the worm, and the worm does not exist separately from the cow dung. However, due to the coming together of causes and conditions in dependence upon the cow dung, when the worm is born, the color of its body will also be yellow. Similarly, Nanda, the body of the kalala that consists of the father’s semen and the mother’s blood is also like this: it should be understood that the faculties that consist of the great elements arise from the coming together of causes and conditions.

“Just as when a worm is born in dependence upon jujube, the jujube is not the worm, and the worm does not exist separately from the jujube. However, due to the coming together of causes and conditions in dependence upon jujube, when the worm is born, the color of its body will also be red. Similarly, Nanda, the body of the kalala that consists of the father’s semen and the mother’s blood is also like this: it should be understood that the faculties that consist of the great elements arise from the coming together of causes and conditions.

“Just as when a worm is born in dependence upon curdled milk, the color of its body will also be white (to be given in detail as above, up to) the faculties that consist of the great elements arise from the coming together of causes and conditions.

“Furthermore, Nanda, due to the kalala that depends on the unclean emissions of the father and mother, the presence of the earth element performs the function of solidity. The presence of the water element performs the function of fluidity. The presence of the fire element performs the function of heat. The presence of the wind element performs the functions of lightness and mobility. Nanda, if the body of the kalala that depends upon the unclean emissions of the father and mother has only the earth element and lacks the water element, it will dry up and be dispersed, as when one holds dry flour or dust and so forth in one’s hand. If it has only the water element and lacks the earth element, it will leak out, as when oil or water drains away. It is due to the water element that the earth element is not dispersed; it is due to the earth element [F.213.b] that the water element does not leak out. Nanda, if the body of the kalala has the earth and water elements but lacks the fire element, it will putrefy, as when a lump of raw meat is put in the shade in the summer. Nanda, if the body of the kalala has only the earth, water, and fire elements but lacks the wind element, it will not grow and develop. Since all these are caused by previous karma, due to their mutual causation and conditioning, when consciousness arises, the earth element acts to support the kalala, the water element causes it to cohere, the fire element causes it to mature, and the wind element causes it to expand.

“Nanda, it is just as when a pastry maker or his apprentice cooks pastry properly and, by blowing, makes it grow and expand and become hollow inside, like the roots of a lotus. Similarly, it should be understood that the great elements of the interior of the body, the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, also grow in the same way due to the force of karma.

“Nanda, the body of the kalala does not arise from the unclean emissions of the father and mother, or from the mother’s womb,35 or from karma, or from causes, or from conditions. Nonetheless, due to the coming together of these many causes and conditions, the embryo is produced. It is just as when a new seed is undamaged by the wind and sun, firm and endowed with a core, without any holes, and very well buried and planted in soft earth. If, due to moisture, the causes and conditions have come together, first the sprout, then the stalk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit, gradually appear and grow. Nanda, that seed, moreover, without the coming together of conditions, will not produce a sprout and so forth. Similarly, it should be understood that birth in the womb is not achieved through the father and mother alone, or karma alone, or another condition alone. Rather, the embryo is produced due to the coming together of the father’s sexual fluid, the mother’s blood, and causes and conditions. [F.214.a]

“Nanda, a clear-eyed person, in order to acquire fire, might take a jeweled sunstone and place it in the sun. If they place it on top of dry cow dung, afterward, fire will arise. Similarly, it should be understood that the embryo is first produced in dependence upon the coming together of the father’s sexual fluid, the blood, and causes and conditions. The kalala that is produced from the unclean emissions of the father and mother is called rūpa. Vedanā, saṃjñā, saṃskāra, and vijñāna are called nāma. Together they are called nāmarūpa.

“As for the skandhas of nāma and rūpa that take birth in the contemptible types of existence, I do not praise this even a little bit, not even for a moment. Why? Being born in any type of existence is great suffering. Even a small amount of vomit stinks. Similarly, it should be known that being born in any type of existence, even briefly, is suffering. These five upādāna­skandhas‍—rūpa, vedanā, saṃjñā, saṃskāra, and vijñāna‍—all have birth, persistence, growth, decline, and perishing. Birth is suffering. Persistence is illness. Growth, decline, and perishing are aging and death. Therefore, Nanda, what wise person would cultivate a taste for existence in this sea of saṃsāra and, lying in the mother’s womb, experience such unbearable suffering?

“Furthermore, Nanda, it should be understood that the calculation for those who have entered the womb is, in brief, thirty-eight weeks.

“In the first week, lying in its first abode, the unclean womb of the mother, as if boiling and frying in a very hot pot, [F.214.b] the body faculty and the consciousness that together experience unbearable suffering are called the kalala. Its form is like the water in which rice is boiled or like the scum of yogurt, and it boils inside for seven days. When it is well cooked, the earth element, solidity; the water element, fluidity; the fire element, heat; and the wind element, lightness and mobility, begin to manifest.

“Nanda, in the second week, in the unclean abode of its mother’s womb, when the body faculty and the consciousness together experience unbearable suffering, as if boiling and frying in a pot, a wind called all-touching arises spontaneously within36 the mother’s womb due to previous karma and touches the embryo. It is then called arbuda. Its form is like thick curds or hardened butter, and it boils inside for seven days. When it is well cooked, the four elements are manifest.

“Nanda, in the third week, it is again as previously stated in detail. A wind called treasury opening37 arises within the mother’s womb due to previous karma and touches the embryo. It is then called peśī. Its form is like this: it is like an iron rod or an intestinal worm, and it again boils for seven days. When it is well cooked, the four elements are manifest.

“Nanda, in the fourth week, it is again as previously stated in detail. A wind called internal differentiation38 arises within the mother’s womb due to previous karma. It blows on the blazing tormentor lodged in the womb.39 It is then called ghana. Its form is like a whetstone or a grindstone. From ‘for seven days’ until ‘the four elements are manifest’ is the same as before.

“Nanda, in the fifth week, it is again as previously stated in detail. A wind called collecting arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind [F.215.a] touches the embryo, it causes five features to materialize, namely, the features of the two shoulders, the two thighs, and the head. Just as when the summer rains fall, the branches and leaves on trees and in thickets thrive and grow, in the same way the five features are made to appear.

“Nanda, in the sixth week, a wind called vast arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes four features to arise, namely, the two forearms and the two shanks. Just as when the summer rains fall, grasses and tree branches grow, in the same way the four features are made to appear.

“Nanda, in the seventh week, a wind called twister arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes four features to arise, namely, the two palms of the hands and the two soles of the feet. It has those four features, which are just like a mass of bubbles or śaivala.40

“Nanda, in the eighth week, a wind called reversing and turning arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes twenty features to begin to appear, namely, the features of the ten digits of the feet and of the hands. It is just as the roots of trees first grow when the summer rains fall.

“Nanda, in the ninth week, a wind called separating arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes nine features to appear, namely, the features of the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, the mouth, and the two holes for excrement and urine.

“Nanda, in the tenth week, a wind called making firm arises within the mother’s womb. That wind makes the embryo firm and stable. In the same week, yet another wind, called arising from all directions,41 arises within the mother’s womb. [F.215.b] That wind, by blowing on the embryo, makes it expand. It is like the way a leather bag expands when blown into. [B2]

“Nanda, in the eleventh week, a wind called appearance of holes arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the fetus and creates a cavity, nine holes appear. If the mother walks, or stands, or sits, or lies down, or acts, at that time the turning of that wind, where there is a cavity, gradually enlarges the holes. If the wind goes upward, it produces the upper holes. If it goes downward, it produces the lower holes. Just as when a blacksmith or his apprentice blows with a bellows, in the same way, moving upward or downward, the wind performs its function and then ceases.

“Nanda, in the twelfth week, a wind called crooked opening arises within the mother’s womb. That wind, by blowing on the fetus, establishes the small intestines and the large intestines,42 which are the entrails on both the left and right. Just like the roots of the lotus, they adhere to the body and stay together. In that same week, furthermore, a wind called fastened hair arises. Inside the fetus, it produces one hundred thirty joints, neither too few nor too many. Furthermore, the force of that wind creates one hundred one vital points in the body.

“Nanda, in the thirteenth week, the force of the same wind as before causes the fetus to feel hunger and thirst, and all the nutrients of what the mother eats and drinks enter at the navel and benefit its body.

“Nanda, in the fourteenth week, a wind called thread mouth arises within the mother’s womb. That wind produces one thousand ligaments in the fetus.43 Two hundred and fifty are in the front of the body. Two hundred and fifty [F.216.a] are in the back of the body. Two hundred and fifty are on the right side of the body. Two hundred and fifty are on the left side of the body.

“Nanda, in the fifteenth week, a wind called lotus arises within the mother’s womb. It produces twenty types of channels in the body of the fetus, and they absorb constituent fluids. There are five at the front of the body, five at the back of the body, five on the right side of the body, and five on the left side of the body. Those channels also have various names and various colors. Their names are companion,44 strength, stability,45 and powerful. The colors are blue, yellow, red, and white, and there are channels that are the color of lentils,46 butter, oil, curds, and so forth. Furthermore, there are those that are a mixture of many colors. Nanda, since those twenty channels have forty branches each, altogether there are eight hundred channels that draw in breath. The front and back and left and right sides of the body have another two hundred each. Nanda, since those eight hundred also have one hundred interconnected branch channels each, there are altogether eighty thousand channels. There are twenty thousand at the front of the body. There are twenty thousand at the back of the body. There are twenty thousand on the right side of the body. There are twenty thousand on the left side. Nanda, those eighty thousand channels have many holes, from one or two to seven holes. Each of those also have pores to which they are mutually connected. It is similar to the way lotus roots have many holes.

“Nanda, in the sixteenth week, a wind called nectar flows arises. With the contact of that wind, [F.216.b] the fetus’s two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils,47 the mouth, the throat aperture, the area around the heart, and the repository for food and drink and what is chewed and what is tasted are put in place, and it removes obstructions to the inhalation and exhalation of breath. Just as a potter or his apprentice takes a lump of clay, puts it on a wheel, and sculpts48 it in various shapes into the form of whatever vessel he pleases, in the same way, the force of the karmic wind arranges the eyes and so forth as it pleases, and removes obstructions to the inhalation and exhalation of breath.

“Nanda, in the seventeenth week, a wind called yak face arises within the mother’s womb. That wind completely cleanses the fetus’s eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, and throat, around the heart, and the repository for food, and removes obstructions to the inhalation and exhalation of breath. Just as a skillful boy or girl takes a mirror covered with dust, wipes it clean with oil or ashes or finely powdered earth, and it becomes clear, in the same way, the force of the karmic wind arranges the sense organs and removes obstructions.

“Nanda, in the eighteenth week, a wind called undefiled arises within the mother’s womb. That wind completely purifies the six sense organs of the fetus. If the disks of the sun and the moon are covered by a large cloud, and a strong wind arises and blows, dispersing it in the four directions, the sun and moon become bright and totally pure. It should be understood that in the same way, Nanda, the force of that karmic wind completely purifies the six sense organs of the fetus.

“Nanda, in the nineteenth week, [F.217.a] four of the faculties of the fetus, namely, the faculties of the eye, ear, nose, and tongue, are fully established. Initially, at the time of entry into the womb, three faculties are first obtained, namely, the faculty of the body, the life faculty, and the mental faculty.

“Nanda, in the twentieth week, a wind called very stable arises within the mother’s womb. That wind produces twenty toe bones in the left foot of the fetus. It produces twenty bones in the right foot, four heel bones, two calf bones, two kneecaps, two thigh bones, three waist bones, three ankle bones,49 eighteen bones of the spine, and twenty-four ribs. In addition, it produces twenty finger bones in the left hand and twenty finger bones in the right hand. It produces four forearm bones, two shoulder bones, seven chest bones, seven shoulder bones, four neck bones, two jaw bones, thirty-two teeth bones, and four head bones. Nanda, just as a sculptor or a sculptor’s skilled apprentice first makes a figure from hard wood, and then, having bound it with cord, smears it with clay and produces a statue, in the same way, it should be seen that the force of that karmic wind arranges the bones. Thus, Nanda, it should be understood that the number of large bones that arise in the twentieth week, not including the tiny bones, is two hundred.

“Nanda, in the twenty-first week, a wind called proper production arises within the mother’s womb and produces flesh on the body of the fetus. Just as a plasterer or [F.217.b] a plasterer’s apprentice, having prepared the mud well, plasters the side of a wall, in the same way it should be seen that that karmic wind produces flesh.

“Nanda, in the twenty-second week, a wind called completely victorious arises within the mother’s womb. That wind produces the blood of the fetus.

“Nanda, in the twenty-third week, a wind called holding cleanly arises within the mother’s womb. That wind produces the skin of the fetus.

“Nanda, in the twenty-fourth week, a wind called completely floating arises within the mother’s womb. That wind purifies the skin of the fetus.50

“Nanda, in the twenty-fifth week, a wind called holding the city arises within the mother’s womb. That wind purifies the flesh and blood of the fetus.

“Nanda, in the twenty-sixth week, a wind called completion of birth arises within the mother’s womb. That wind produces the hair, body hair, and nails of the body of the fetus. They are all to be seen as interconnected with the channels.

“Nanda, in the twenty-seventh week, a wind called crooked medicine51 arises within the mother’s womb. That wind fully establishes the hair, body hair, and nails on the body of the fetus. Nanda, if the fetus in a previous life engaged in sinful and unvirtuous actions, and, due to avarice, cherished and excessively attended to its wealth and possessions, attached to them, and did not give charity; did not listen to what was taught by those who are worthy, including parents, preceptors, teachers, and gurus; and engaged in unvirtuous actions of body, speech, and mind, and increased them night and day, then that fetus will experience karmic results of the following sort. If the fetus is born as a human, it will obtain unpleasant results. If people think that tall is attractive, [F.218.a] it will be short. If short is attractive, it will be tall. If thick is attractive, it will be thin. If thin is attractive, it will be thick. If major and minor body parts that are close together are attractive, its will be far apart. If far apart is attractive, its will be close. If ample is attractive, it will be slight. If slight is attractive, it will be ample. If it desires to be fat, it will be lean. If it desires to be lean, it will be fat. If it desires to be frail and soft, it will be rough. If it desires to be rough, it will be frail and soft. If it desires to be white, it will be black. If it desires to be black, it will be white. Nanda, furthermore, sinful and unvirtuous actions will result in deafness, blindness, dumbness, stupidity, an unpleasant appearance, its words not worth being listened to by others, its crawling on all fours, its friends’ and relatives’‍—let alone other people’s‍— unwillingness to look at it because its body is unpleasant like a preta’s, and other people’s failure to believe or remember whatever it tells them about its pursuits52 through its actions of body, speech, and mind. Why? Because that being will obtain that sort of result due to having engaged in sinful and unvirtuous actions in previous lives.

“Nanda, if the fetus in a previous life performed meritorious actions, and, without avarice, gave charity well, was compassionate to the poor, did not cherish or have attachment to its wealth, and engaged in virtuous actions and increased them night and day, that fetus will experience superior results of the following sort. If the fetus is born as a human, [F.218.b] it will obtain pleasant results. If people think that tall is attractive, it will accordingly be tall. If short is attractive, it will accordingly be short. It will be thick or thin as is fitting. Its major and minor body parts will be suitable. Whether ample or slight, fat or lean, rough or not rough, it will be the same‍—it will be attractive and not unpleasant. Since it will have all six faculties, and its face will be pleasing, it will be superior to others. Its words will be clear, and its voice will be pleasant. It will have the characteristics of a superior person in abundance, and whoever sees it will be delighted. When it tells others about whatever it pursues through its actions of body, speech, and mind, they will believe it and remember it with respect. Why? Because that being will obtain that sort of result due to having engaged in virtuous actions in previous lives.

“Nanda, if that fetus is a boy, he squats on the right side of his mother’s ribs. Covering his face with both hands, he sits facing the mother’s spine. If it is a girl, she squats on the left side of her mother’s ribs. Covering her face with both hands, she sits facing her mother’s belly. The fetus, below the stomach and above the intestines, is pressed down on by undigested things and pushed up by digested things. It is as if the fetus, bound in five places, sits impaled on the point of a sharp stick. If the mother eats too much or too little, the fetus will experience suffering. Similarly, if she eats food that is too oily, or too harsh, or too cold, or too hot or salty or tasteless, or bitter or sour or sweet and so forth, the fetus will experience suffering in all these cases. If the mother engages sexual activity, or if she moves violently, or if she runs, [F.219.a] or if she stays in a scary place, or if she sits for a long time, or if she lies down for a long time, or if she jumps, the fetus will experience suffering in all these cases.

“Nanda, you should understand that various unspeakable types of suffering of that sort afflict the body of the fetus. If that sort of suffering is experienced in the human realm, what need is there to speak of the incomparable suffering of the unfortunate destinies and hell beings?53 Therefore, Nanda, what wise person would long to live in the limitless ocean of saṃsāra and experience this sort of suffering?

“Nanda, in the twenty-eighth week, the fetus will have eight distorted perceptions. What are the eight? The perception of a house, the perception of a vehicle, the perception of a pleasure garden, the perception of a penthouse, the perception of a grove, the perception of a seat, the perception of a river, and the perception of a pond. These do not really exist, but conceptions of unreal things are produced.

“Nanda, in the twenty-ninth week, a wind called flower garland arises within the mother’s womb. That wind clarifies the color of the skin of the fetus and makes it totally pristine, totally pure, and clean. Due to the power of karma, some will be black. Some will be blue. Others will have various colors. Some will be harsh and rough. Some will be white or black or whatever is appropriate.

“Nanda, in the thirtieth week, a wind called iron aperture arises within the mother’s womb. That wind, by blowing on the fetus, causes the hair, body hair,54 and nails to grow and increase. As above, it should be understood that, due to previous karma, they will appear black, white, and so forth, as is appropriate. [F.219.b]

“Nanda, in the thirty-first week, the fetus gradually grows larger. Similarly, during the thirty-second, thirty-third, and thirty-fourth weeks, it grows larger and larger.

“Nanda, in the thirty-fifth week, all the major and minor body parts of the fetus will be complete.

“Nanda, in the thirty-sixth week, the fetus will not wish to stay in the mother’s womb.

“Nanda, in the thirty-seventh week, three undistorted perceptions will arise, namely, the perception of uncleanliness, the perception of a bad smell, and the perception of darkness. This is a partial55 explanation.

“Nanda, in the thirty-eighth week, a wind called assembling the limbs56 arises within the mother’s womb. That wind turns the body of the fetus and directs it downward, with the two arms hanging down.57 Then the wind positions the fetus at the aperture of the vagina.58 Furthermore, at that time, a wind called facing down arises. Due to the force of karma, that wind blows on the fetus, and after it makes the head face down and the two legs point up, the fetus will emerge from the aperture of the vagina.

“Nanda, if the fetus engaged in many sinful and unvirtuous actions in former lives, and performed actions that entail falling into another womb, then due to those causes and conditions, when it comes to be born from the womb its legs and arms will be reversed and joined together, it will be unable to turn over, and it will die in the mother’s womb. At that time, a wise woman or a skilled doctor, having smeared their hand with butter, smooth oil, the liquid from the bark of the śalmalī tree, or another smooth substance, and having taken a sharp knife with their fingers, inserts59 her fingers into that unclean place, which has a very bad smell like a toilet; is like a repulsive bog hole; is always inhabited by innumerable hundreds of thousands of types of worms; [F.220.a] is constantly leaking unclean fluids; is putrid with the fumes of semen and blood; is disgusting to behold; is covered by a thin skin; and is a bodily wound that has arisen from sinful karma. After inserting them there, she uses the sharp knife to cut the body of the fetus into pieces and removes it from the mother’s womb. Due to that, because she experiences unpleasant suffering that is very unbearable, intense, and harsh, the mother will die. If she does not die, it is still no different from dying.

“Nanda, if the fetus is produced from virtuous actions, even if it is upside down, since there is no harm to the mother and it is born easily, they will not experience suffering. Nanda, when those who have none of these sorts of misfortunes are born after thirty-eight weeks have passed, still they experience life-threatening great suffering when they first emerge from their mother’s womb. Therefore, Nanda, you should examine this well and seek deliverance.”

Then the Bhagavān said to the venerable Nanda, “Nanda, having recognized the suffering of the fetus and the suffering of birth, you should understand that those ordinary people who take birth from the womb suffer greatly. When first born, whether a boy or girl, when it falls into hands or onto a cloth and so forth, and is placed in the sun or in the shade, on a rocking board,60 on a cushion, or in a lap, in all of those circumstances61 it experiences unbearable, intense, harsh, unpleasant suffering. Nanda, if an ox is skinned alive and is near a wall, creatures that live in the wall will feed on it. If it is near a tree, or a heap of grass, creatures that live on trees or in grass will feed on it. If it is in an open, unsheltered place, the creatures that live in open, unsheltered places [F.220.b] will feed on it. In all instances, it will experience suffering. The newborn should also be seen as the same. Even if the newborn is bathed with appropriately warm water, it will experience great suffering. If a leper whose skin is putrid and dripping pus and blood is struck with a whip, he will experience unbearable, intense, and harsh suffering. Similarly, even when the body of the newborn is bathed with warm water, it should be seen as the same. The body of the newborn later drinks the filth of the mother’s blood and grows larger. The expression here, ‘filth of the mother’s blood,’ is taught in the noble Dharma and Vinaya as a term for milk. Therefore, Nanda, since in this way there are many types of very unbearable suffering and not even a little bit of pleasure, what wise person would conceive a desire for this sea of suffering and constantly enter the stream of saṃsāra without interruption?

“When the newborn reaches the age of one week, eighty thousand types of worms arise in its body and feed on it. Nanda, there is a type of worm called hair eater. It lives in and constantly feeds on the roots of the hair. There are two types of worm called bell metal treasury and thick head. They live in and constantly feed on the head. There is a type of worm called circling the eye. It lives in and constantly feeds on the eyes. There are four types of worm called pursuing, escaping, residence, and completion. They live in and constantly feed on the brains. There is a type of worm called rice leaf. It lives in and feeds on the ears. There is a type of worm called treasury door. It lives in and feeds on the nose. There are two types of worm called throwing and throwing everywhere. They live in and feed on the lips. There is a type of worm called honey leaf. [F.221.a] It lives in and feeds on the teeth. There is a type of worm called wood face.62 It lives in and feeds on the tooth roots. There is a type of worm called needle lips. It lives in and feeds on the tongue. There is a type of worm called sharp mouth. It lives in and feeds on the root of the tongue. There is a type of worm called perfect hand. It lives in and feeds on the palate. There are two types of worm called webbed hand and half bent. They live in and feed on the palm of the hand.

“There are two types of worm called hanging down and hanging very far down. They live in and feed on the forearms. There are two types of worm called upper arm and lower arm. They live in and feed on the arms. There are two types of worm called swallowing and nearly swallowing. They live in and feed on the throat. There are two types of worm called courageous one and greatly courageous one. They live in and feed on the chest. There are two types of worm called conch shell and conch shell mouth. They live in and feed on the flesh. There are two types of worm called colorful and powerful. They live in and feed on the blood. There are two types of worm called hero and fragrance face.63 They live in and feed on the tendons. There are two types of worm called low and face down. They live in and feed on the spine. There are two types of worm that are both called color of fat. They live in and feed on the fat. There is a type of worm called color of bile. It lives in and feeds on the bile. There is a type of worm called pearl. It lives in and feeds on the kidneys. [F.221.b] There is a type of worm called big pearl. It lives in and feeds on the waist. There is a type of worm called not arrived. It lives in and feeds on the spleen. There are four types of worm called water life, big water life, needle lips, and sword lips. They live in and feed on the small intestines. There are five types of worm called full moon, moon face, moonlight, moonlight face, and abiding separately. They live in and feed on the right side of the body. Furthermore, there are five types of worm with the same names as those above. They live in and feed on the left side of the body.

“Furthermore, there are four types of worm called piercing in front, piercing behind, piercing firmly, and piercing and abiding. They live in and feed on the bones. There are four types of worm called greatly white, slightly white, layered clouds, and bad smell. They live in and feed on the ligaments. There are four types of worms called lion, powerful, swift arrow, and lotus. They live in and feed on the stomach. There are two types of worm called stable and nearly stable. They live in and feed on the intestines. There are four types of worm called mouth, mass mouth, net mouth, and sparrow mouth. They live in and feed on the urethra. There are four types of worm called action, big action, small shape, and small bundle. They live in and feed on the rectum. There are two types of worm called black mouth and big black mouth. They live in and feed on the thighs. There are two types of worm called leprous and slightly leprous. They live in and feed on the knees. There is a worm called root of madness. [F.222.a] It lives in and feeds on the calves. There is a worm called black head. It lives in and feeds on the feet.

“Nanda, with respect to such a body as this, toward which one should feel disillusionment, eighty thousand worms of this sort constantly feed on it, day and night. Therefore, the body is tormented, completely tormented, weak and wounded, and made hungry and thirsty. Furthermore, it has various mental sufferings and is tormented, completely tormented, and extremely tormented. Many diseases also appear that skillful doctors, even when they treat them, cannot eliminate. Nanda, since the great sea of rebirth, saṃsāra, has that sort of suffering, why would anyone give rise to attachment to it?

“Furthermore, there is possession by the many grahas. That is, beings are possessed by deva grahas and nāga grahas up to kaṭapūtana grahas, and they are possessed by carnivorous grahas, by sun, moon, planet, and constellation grahas and so forth, so their bodies and minds are afflicted by various illnesses that defy description.”

The Bhagavān continued: “Nanda, what wise person wishes to enter a mother’s womb here in saṃsāra and experience unbearable suffering? Being born in this way and growing large, drinking the mother’s milk mixed with blood, the person, when eating and drinking, produces, with incorrect thought, the notion of pleasant tastes. Even if, after gradually growing larger, the body is comfortable and without illness, has clothes and food and drink, and is able to last one hundred years, this very life is cut in half due to sleep. Being first a child, then a youth, until gradually becoming fully grown, the person is intensely tormented by misery, grief, and various types of illnesses. [F.222.b] When unable to bear the suffering of the body because indescribably, immeasurably many hundreds of thousands of feelings of suffering afflict the body, a person, not wishing to live, is happy to die. As for this body, sufferings are many, pleasures few. Although they live for a little while, in the end they will be destroyed. Therefore, Nanda, all beings will die; they lack any permanent existence whatsoever. Even if, sustained by medicine and food, they live for a long time, the Lord of Death will slay them in the end, and they will be reborn in an empty place. Therefore, since it should be understood that there is absolutely no pleasure in birth, one should pay heed to accumulating, by means of earnest effort, merit for the future, exert oneself in pure conduct and refrain from laziness, and always eagerly cultivate beneficial behavior, righteous behavior, excellent behavior, and exclusively virtuous behavior. Having always contemplated the two types of one’s own karma, virtuous and nonvirtuous, and having focused one’s mind, one will not have great regret in the future. Finally, being separated from all things to which one is attached, one will take birth in the next life according to one’s good and bad karma.

“Nanda, moreover, a person able to reach one hundred years of age will have ten phases: first, the phase of an infant, who, having little strength, lies on its back; second, a child, who takes pleasure in immature play; third, a youth, who enjoys sensual pleasures; fourth, one endowed with strength, who is brave and powerful; fifth, one in the prime of life, who has the eloquence of intelligence; sixth, one fully mature, who is mindful and naturally good at analysis; seventh, one who has grown old gradually, who thoroughly knows the religious teachings; [F.223.a] eighth, one who is old, whose strength for many activities has diminished; ninth, one who is very old, who cannot do anything; and tenth, one who is a hundred years old, which is the phase of dying.

“Nanda, if one summarizes those major phases, taking four months as a single period of time, then in one hundred years there are three hundred periods of time, one hundred for each season of spring, summer, and winter. Since there are twelve months in each year, there will be twelve hundred months. Further, when one calculates fortnights, there will be twenty-four hundred fortnights. Therefore, since each of the three seasons has eight hundred fortnights, in total one will live for thirty-six thousand days and nights.

“Since one eats twice a day, in total one will eat seventy-two thousand times. Included in that is the number of meals not eaten due to being hindered by conditions. Conditions for not eating meals are as follows: not eating due to anger; not eating due to experiencing pain; not eating because one does not find food when looking for it; falling asleep and not eating; not eating due to having taken a vow, or having gotten overexcited at play; and being too busy and not eating. Meals and missed meals that are counted together as one and drinking mother’s milk are also included.64 Since I have thus completely explained the number of years, months, days and nights, and occasions of eating and drinking for people with a lifespan of a hundred years, you should produce disillusionment for this.

“Nanda, in the body of one who has been born in that way and grown, there are also many illnesses; namely, it is harmed by disease in the brain, disease in the eyes, disease in the ears, disease in the nose, disease in the tongue, disease in the teeth, disease in the throat, disease in the heart, disease in the belly, disease in the hands, and disease in the feet. The major and minor body parts suffer disease and pain due to many illnesses such as itching, leprosy, madness, swelling, mucus, bile, [F.223.b] and phlegm.

“Nanda, the human body has various types of suffering due to diseases such as these. Furthermore, since there are 101 wind diseases, 101 bile diseases, 101 phlegm diseases, and 101 mixed diseases, a total of 404 diseases arise from an individual’s body.

“Nanda, because this body is like a boil and like a thorn, it is formed from many illnesses. It is not stable even for a moment, and it changes in a moment. By nature, it is impermanent, suffering, empty, and without a self. Close to death and subject to being destroyed, it cannot be relied upon.

“Furthermore, Nanda, beings experience the sufferings of birth such as follows. They experience an immeasurable, limitless, indescribable variety of sufferings: the sufferings of having their hands cut off, their feet cut off, their eyes ripped out, their ears cut off, their nose cut off, their tongue cut out, their head cut off, and their major and minor body parts cut off; the sufferings, furthermore, of being jailed, of being thrown into a bramble,65 of being struck with a whip, of being beaten, of being bound, and so forth; the sufferings of hunger, thirst, and exhaustion; and the sufferings arising from contact with such things as cold, heat, wind, rain, mosquitoes, stinging flies, carnivorous animals, creeping creatures, and so forth.

“Since beings always live in this kind of unbearable, harsh, unpleasant suffering, attached and immersed, they do not know that objects of desire are the root of suffering and should be abandoned. Since they still seek them, day and night their bodies and minds are severely tormented, internally scorched and burnt without interruption. Thus, birth is suffering, [F.224.a] aging is suffering, illness is suffering, and death is suffering. The loss of what is pleasant is suffering, and encountering what is unpleasant is suffering. Searching for what one wants and not finding it is suffering. The five upādānaskandhas are suffering. The four activities of walking, standing, sitting, and lying down are suffering. If one walks constantly but does not stand or sit or lie down, one experiences suffering and does not have comfort. If one stands constantly and does not walk or sit or lie down; or if one sits constantly and does not walk or stand or lie down; or if one lies down constantly and does not walk or stand or sit, in each case, one experiences unbearable suffering and does not obtain comfort.

“Nanda, because one does not66 abandon all of these sufferings, one seeks suffering. Therefore, it is only suffering that arises; it is only suffering that ceases. Thus, the uninterrupted stream of the causes and conditions of the saṃskāras arises. Because he understands these things, the Tathāgata teaches that since the conditioned dharmas67 of saṃsāra of beings are impermanent, never truly complete,68 subject to change, and unreliable, one should strive for contentment and, having given rise to disillusionment, pursue liberation with earnest effort. Nanda, if even the experience of beings who are born in the happy destinies of various types of unbearable, false69 sufferings in the impurity that is the place of birth70 cannot be fully described, [F.224.b] what need is there to speak in full about the unbearable and intolerable suffering experienced by beings of the three lower destinies, namely, pretas, animals, and hell beings? [B3]

“Furthermore, Nanda, there are four ways of entering the mother’s womb. What are the four? Some beings enter while perfectly conscious, dwell while perfectly conscious, and emerge while perfectly conscious. Some beings enter while perfectly conscious and dwell while perfectly conscious, but emerge without being perfectly conscious. Some beings enter while perfectly conscious, but dwell without being perfectly conscious and emerge without being perfectly conscious. Some beings enter without being perfectly conscious, dwell without being perfectly conscious, and emerge without being perfectly conscious.

“Among them, who enters, dwells, and emerges while perfectly conscious? This type is like this: Some ordinary beings naturally delight in preserving their morality, repeatedly cultivate virtues, are inclined toward the best things, produce merit, are completely restrained, are always honest, and do not act carelessly. Since they have great wisdom, when they die they take rebirth with no remorse as stream enterers who return seven times, or as those who go from family to family, or as once-returners, or as those with only a single obstacle.71 Because they practiced virtuous deeds in the past, those persons, even though when they die suffering approaches and they experience pain and anguish, die with unwavering minds and perfect memory. Entering their mother’s womb with perfect memory, they know that all dharmas arise due to karma, and that, since everything arises through causes and conditions, they are always an abode of Māra. [F.225.a]

“Nanda, this body, since it is the home of all impurities, is not permanently abiding by nature, and since it is a stupid thing, it deceives foolish people. Upon reflection, this should be understood. This body is a device made of bones, held together by ligaments, with prominent orifices and vital points‍—flesh and fat and bones and marrow wrapped together and covered with skin‍—and its faults cannot be seen. It is a burning cave, completely full of impurities. Because of regarding the various states of hair, body hair, nails, and teeth as ‘me’ and ‘mine,’ one is always powerlessly led. Spit, snot, filth, saliva, sweat, bile, and phlegm are always excreted, and fat becomes rancid. The kidneys, spleen, liver, lungs, and large and small intestines are filled with filth and are repulsive. The body is filled all over with many types of worms. Its upper and lower orifices constantly drip filth, and since the stomach and intestines are both covered with a thin skin, this body is like a toilet. Reflecting on this, you should examine it in detail.

“However much hard and soft food the mother eats, when she chews it becomes spittle and, entering her throat, mixes together with marrow and brains and flows into her stomach. It is like a dog that chews a dry bone and, due to an incorrect thought, produces the notion of something delicious. Even when the food, after reaching the midsection, is vomited back up, it is eaten again.

“Nanda, as for this body, after the unclean thing that is at first the kalala, then the arbuda, the peśī, the ghana, and the praśākhā, grows up, it cycles through saṃsāra, bound, from infancy until it is old, as if in a dark abyss. [F.225.b] In what is like a smelly well, it is constantly nourished by the flavors of food that is salty, bitter, hot, sour, and so forth. Furthermore, the heat of the mother’s womb boils the body’s faculties. It experiences the suffering of being constantly tormented in an unclean pot. When the mother stands, or sits, or lies down, the fetus experiences exceedingly intolerable suffering, as if bound with five bonds or scorched by fire, with which nothing can be compared. Nanda, the fetus dwelling in the womb thus dwells in a bog of filth and is afflicted with many sufferings. However, due to its sharp faculties, its mind does not waver. Furthermore, some beings who have little merit lie on their side in their mother’s womb or they are upside down. Due to the power of causes and conditions of actions in former lives, or because their mother’s food is imbalanced‍—very cold, very hot, very sour, very sweet, or very bitter‍—or because she consumes more drink than she should, or has a lot of sex, or is sickly, or is burdened by many sorrows, or falls down, or is beaten, due to these conditions the mother’s body is tormented, and because it is tormented, the fetus also is tormented. Because it is tormented, it experiences many sufferings. Because it experiences many sufferings, it is agitated. Because it is agitated, the body will be incorrectly sideways and unable to emerge. Then a wise woman would smear her hand with butter or oil and insert it into the mother’s womb. Little by little, she feels the womb and establishes the fetus as it was before. When she touches it with her hand, the fetus [F.226.a] experiences great, unbearable sufferings.

“Nanda, if someone cut the skin and flesh of the very tender body of a boy or girl with a sharp knife and scattered ashes on top of it, the experience of great suffering in that circumstance would be just like the unbearable, rough suffering of the fetus. Although it experiences that sort of suffering, because its faculties are very sharp, the fetus has perfect mindfulness and does not waver. Nanda, the fetus experiences that sort of suffering when it is in the mother’s womb. Furthermore, when it is about to be born, it likewise emerges with suffering. Due to a karmic wind, its arms will be crossed, its major and minor body parts will contract, and it will experience great, unbearable suffering. When it emerges from the mother’s womb, its limbs all turn blue. It is like a fresh boil that is unbearable to touch. Tormented by hunger and thirst, and likewise having been tormented with anxiety,72 and blown by the causes and conditions of a karmic wind,73 it emerges from the womb. And after it has emerged from the womb, when it is touched by an external wind, it is as if it were cut by a sword and smeared with ashes. When it is touched by hands or clothes, it experiences unbearable pain all over. Even though it experiences this sort of pain, because its faculties are very sharp, the fetus will have perfect mindfulness and will be unwavering. If entering, dwelling in, and emerging from the mother’s womb while conscious is all suffering, Nanda, what wise person would want to enter a womb in this way?

“Nanda, then who enters and dwells in the mother’s womb while perfectly conscious, but emerges without being perfectly conscious? Nanda, it is like this. Some ordinary beings naturally [F.226.b] delight in preserving their morality, repeatedly cultivate virtues, are always inclined toward the best things, produce merit, are honest, and do not act carelessly. Since they have a little wisdom, when they die they have no remorse and are stream enterers who return seven times, or as those who go from family to family, or as once-returners, or as those with only a single obstacle. Because they practiced virtuous deeds in the past, those persons, even though when they die suffering approaches and they experience pain and anguish, they enter the mother’s womb with unwavering minds and perfect memory. They know that dharmas arise due to karma and that everything arises through causes and conditions. (From here until “from the mother’s womb” is to be supplied in detail as above.) Even though it experiences this sort of unbearable, intense, harsh pain, because it possesses middling faculties, it enters and dwells in the womb while perfectly conscious but emerges without being perfectly conscious. (Up until “what wise person would want to enter a womb in this way?” is to be supplied in detail as above.)

“Nanda, who enters the mother’s womb while perfectly conscious, but dwells and emerges without being perfectly conscious? Nanda, it is like this. Some ordinary beings naturally delight in preserving their morality, repeatedly cultivate virtues, are always inclined toward the best things, produce merit … (from here until “when they die they have no remorse and are stream enterers who return seven times …” and so forth is to be supplied in detail as above). Even though when they die suffering approaches and they experience pain and anguish, they enter the mother’s womb with unwavering minds and perfect memory. [F.227.a] Because their faculties are not sharp, although they enter the womb while conscious, they dwell in and emerge from it while not being conscious. (“What wise person would want to enter a womb in this way?” and so forth is to be supplied in detail as above.)

“Nanda, who enters, dwells, and emerges without being perfectly conscious? Nanda, it is like this. Some ordinary beings delight in lacking pure morality, do not accomplish virtue, are always inclined toward the worst things, perform evil deeds, are not honest, and are very careless. Not possessing wisdom, they are attached to possessions and stingy. They are always closed-fisted and do not reach out to give to others. They always have desires, and their minds are completely undisciplined. Since their views and their behavior are wrong, when they die they have remorse, and because of the manifestation of their sinful, unvirtuous actions, when they die they are tormented by unbearable, intense, harsh, unpleasant suffering. Since their minds waver, due to their suffering they ask, in total ignorance, ‘Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?’ Nanda, at all three times, they are not perfectly conscious. (The rest is to be supplied in detail as above.)

“Nanda, although those beings, after being born as humans, have that sort of immeasurable suffering, nevertheless, they are in the best place. In immeasurably many hundreds of thousands of millions of eons, the body of a human is exceedingly difficult to obtain. Even when one is born in a higher realm, one always fears falling and has the suffering of losing what is dear. At the time of one’s death, other gods say, ‘May you be born in the world of happy beings! What is the world of happy beings? It is the human realm.’74 It is said that birth in the human realm is very hard to obtain, [F.227.b] but having freedom is even harder to obtain. What is an unfortunate destiny? It is the three unfortunate destinies. Hell beings always experience unbearable, very unpleasant, extremely intense, harsh suffering, with which nothing can be compared. Pretas naturally have much aversion. They lack flexible and controlled minds. They are deceitful. They kill and cause harm. Their hands are smeared with blood. They have no friendliness or compassion. Their faces are ugly. They are dreadful to behold. If they come near a person, they experience the suffering of hunger and thirst, so they are always obscured and obstructed.

“There are immeasurably, limitlessly many animals. They do not have meaningful activity. They do not have meritorious activity. They do not have righteous activity. They do not have virtuous activity. They do not have honest activity. They eat one another. Those who are powerful eat those who have little power. Some animals are born in darkness, age in darkness, and die in darkness. They live in unclean places in the midst of urine and excrement with only occasional light, as in the case of butterflies, bees, nits and lice, and trailāṭa flies. Furthermore, there are immeasurably, limitlessly many that are always born in darkness and age in darkness. When they were born as humans in previous lives, because they were foolish and ignorant, they did not listen to the true Dharma; they were self-indulgent regarding body, speech, and mind;75 and they were attached to the objects of the five sense desires. Because they engaged in many sinful and unvirtuous actions, they were born into those species, and they are those that experience the suffering of being foolish and deluded. Furthermore, Nanda, there are immeasurably, limitlessly many beings born as animals that are born in water, age in water, and die in water, [F.228.a] as in the case of fish, turtles, frogs, white frogs, and water bugs. They all, due to unvirtuous actions of body, speech, and mind in previous lives, and so forth … (the rest is to be supplied in detail as above). Furthermore, Nanda, there are immeasurably, limitlessly many beings born as animals that, when they get a whiff of feces and urine, quickly go to that place and eat and drink, namely, pigs, sheep, chickens, dogs, foxes, vultures, crows, flies, beetles, and wild beasts. They, too, all experience that sort of fruition due to sinful and unvirtuous actions in previous lives. Furthermore, Nanda, there are immeasurably, limitlessly many animals that always eat and drink grass and trees and unclean things, such as elephants, horses, camels, cattle, asses, mules, and so forth. They, too, all experience that sort of fruition as long as they live due to sinful and unvirtuous actions in previous lives.

“Furthermore, Nanda, alas! Since this sea of existence in saṃsāra is ablaze, intensely ablaze, completely ablaze, exceedingly ablaze, there are not even a few beings who are not scorched and not boiled. Moreover, this is due to the pursuit of visual objects, sounds, smells, tastes, tactile objects, and mental objects because of the inflamed desires of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind. Nanda, what is the fire that is ablaze, that is intensely ablaze? Since the fires of lust, aversion, and ignorance, and the fires of birth, old age, illness, and death, and the fires of sorrow, lamentation, misery, suffering, unhappiness, and [F.228.b] agitation constantly scorch and blaze, there are not even a few who are liberated from it.

“Nanda, those who are rooted in laziness experience much suffering. Entangled by afflictions, they engage in what is evil and unvirtuous, and they do not rest from cycling in saṃsāra or cut off its stream. Those who exert effort experience much happiness, and because they give rise to a vigorous mind, they completely rid themselves of afflictions, they do not abandon their effort to cultivate what is virtuous, and they never pause. Now, therefore, after contemplating the fact that the skin of this body, the flesh, the large sinews, the bones, the blood, the ligaments, and the marrow will, before long, dissolve and disintegrate, with your mind always one-pointed and without laziness, you should train with earnest effort in order to realize what you have not yet realized.

“Nanda, I do not argue with worldly people; however, worldly people insistently argue with me. Why? Those who know dharmas do not argue with others. If one is free from conceptions of ‘me’ and ‘mine,’ with whom does one argue? However, since those without vision or knowledge give rise to incorrect conceptions, I, having been completely and perfectly awakened, say, ‘There are no dharmas that I do not know.’

“Nanda, is anything in what I have said different from the way things are?”76

“Bhagavān, no, there is not,” Nanda answered. “There is nothing contrary in what the Tathāgata has said. What the Bhagavān said is excellent! Excellent!”

“Nanda, since there is doubtlessly nothing contrary in the Tathāgata’s speech, the Tathāgata speaks correctly. He speaks the truth. [F.229.a] He tells it as it is. He speaks without inconsistency.77 He speaks without deception. He long benefits worldly people, and he causes them to obtain happiness and great benefits and advantages. He knows the path, he cognizes the path, he teaches the path, he opens the path, he leads on the path. The Tathāgata is an arhat, a completely and perfectly awakened one, perfect in knowledge and conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, unsurpassed, the charioteer of humans to be trained, the teacher of gods and humans, a buddha, a bhagavān. Worldly people have no wisdom, have no faith, are enslaved by the senses,78 see only what is in the palm of their hands, do not observe what is significant, fail to do easy things,79 and always do what is difficult.

“Nanda, temporarily forget about such a domain of the wise, and now, looking with your physical eye, if you contemplate the fact that whatever you know and see is false, this is called liberation.

“Nanda, do not go to me because of faith. Do not follow me due to longing. Do not rely on my words. Do not think about my marks. Do not follow the views and knowledge of a śramaṇa. Do not give rise to respect for a śramaṇa. Without saying, ‘The śramaṇa Gautama is my great teacher,’ go to a lonely place and reflect upon the phenomena to which I have completely awakened. Weigh them. Analyze them. Always meditate a great deal. Having analyzed those phenomena with one-pointedness of mind and having perfected your perceptions through meditation on those phenomena,80 established in perfect mindfulness, be your own island. Be your own abode [F.229.b] and refuge. Make an island of the Dharma. Make an abode and a refuge of the Dharma. There is no island or abode or refuge other than this. Nanda, how can a śramaṇa have himself as an island, or himself as an abode, or himself as a refuge, or have the Dharma as an island, or the Dharma as an abode or refuge, and how can there be no island other than those, or no abode other than those, or no refuge other than those? Nanda, it is like this: a śramaṇa who is well established in observation of the body with respect to his own internal body, and is diligently engaged in one-pointed mindfulness, obtains perfect understanding, never81 has in mind whatever anger he has for the world, and is completely disciplined. That is known as observation of suffering with respect to the internal body.82 It is similar for one who observes the external body or both the internal and external bodies. Nanda, after that, the śramaṇa is well established having observed the body in terms of the phenomena of origination, and he is well established having observed the phenomena of cessation. Furthermore, he is well established observing the body in terms of both the phenomena of origination and cessation. Since he is perfectly mindful with respect to this body of his, sometimes having only knowledge, sometimes having only vision, sometimes having only mindfulness, he dwells independently, and he knows well that there is nothing to be taken up in this world. Therefore, Nanda, this is known as ‘the monk established in the observation of the body with respect to his own internal body.’ Observation with respect to the external body and both the internal and external bodies is similar.

“After that, he is well established in observation with respect to internal feelings, external feelings, and feelings that are both internal and external. And he is well established in observation with respect to internal thought, external thought, and thought that is both internal and external. And he is well established in observation with respect to internal dharmas, external dharmas, and dharmas that are both internal and external. Since he is diligently engaged in one-pointed mindfulness, he obtains perfect understanding, never has in mind whatever anger he has for the world, and is completely disciplined. He is well established in observation with respect to the phenomena of origination, he is well established in observation with respect to the phenomena of cessation, and [F.230.a] he is well established in observation with respect to both the phenomena of origination and cessation. He is perfectly mindful with respect to this very body of his. Sometimes having only knowledge, sometimes having only vision, sometimes having only mindfulness, he dwells independently, and he knows well that there is nothing to be taken up in this world. Therefore, Nanda, it is said that the monk is an island for himself; he is an abode and a refuge for himself. The Dharma is an island; the Dharma is an abode and a refuge. There is no island other than that; there is no abode or refuge other than that.

“Nanda, after I teach the virtuous Dharma, according to his abilities, to a person upright by nature, who has abandoned deceit, who has come into my presence in the morning, that person will say in the afternoon, ‘I have obtained realization!’83 I cause him to be one who, in the afternoon, says ‘I have obtained realization’ of the Dharma that I have taught.84 Therefore, Nanda, the Dharma that I have taught well is realized in this very life and removes torment. It is appropriate to the occasion and to the capacity of the listener. Since this Dharma, which is expedient and realized by oneself, offers protection, if someone hears the Dharma teaching in my presence, being in accord with nirvāṇa, the person will be inclined toward awakening. This I know.

“Therefore, having now seen such benefit for oneself, for others, and for both, you should always train perfectly in this Dharma. Having carefully established the qualities of one gone forth, without forgetting anything, you will obtain the exalted result of unconditioned happiness. You will accept from others robes, alms, bedding, medicines for illness, and so forth, and the donors will obtain the great benefits and advantages of merit. To obtain the vastness and greatness of this exalted ripened result, Nanda, [F.230.b] you should train in this way.

“Furthermore, Nanda, there is no rūpa that is desirable or that will not, in the future, change and perish; that is impossible. There is nothing whatsoever that does not give rise to sorrow, lamentation, and affliction; that is impossible. Nanda, what do you think? Is rūpa permanent? Or is it impermanent?”

“Venerable one, it is impermanent by nature.”

“Nanda, if it is impermanent by nature, is it happiness or is it suffering?”

“Venerable one, it is suffering.”

“If something that is impermanent and suffering is subject to change and perishing, do my noble, learned śrāvakas assert that rūpa is the self, that the self has rūpa, that rūpa belongs to the self, or that the self dwells in rūpa?”

“Bhagavān, no, they do not,” replied Nanda.

“What do you think, are vedanā, saṃjñā, saṃskāra, and vijñāna permanent? Or are they impermanent?”

“Venerable one, they are all impermanent by nature.”

“Nanda, if they are impermanent by nature, are they happiness or are they suffering?”

“Venerable one, they are suffering.”

“If something that is impermanent and suffering is subject to change and perishing, do my noble, learned śrāvakas assert that vedanā and so forth are the self, that the self has vedanā and so forth, that vedanā and so forth belong to the self, or that the self dwells in vedanā and so forth?”

“Bhagavān, no, they do not.”

“Therefore, it should be understood that everything that is rūpa, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, good or bad, far or near, [F.231.a] is not the self; the self does not have rūpa, rūpa does not belong to the self, and the self does not dwell in rūpa.

“Similarly, one should contemplate well, with perfect mindfulness and perfect wisdom, that everything that is vedanā, saṃjñā, saṃskāra, and vijñāna, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, coarse or subtle, good or bad, far or near, is not the self; the self does have them, they do not belong to the self,85 and the self does not dwell in them. Similarly, with perfect mindfulness and perfect wisdom, having contemplated physical form in this way and having given rise to disillusionment, my noble, learned śrāvakas also contemplate vedanā, saṃjñā, saṃskāra, and vijñāna and give rise to disillusionment. If they become disillusioned, they will not be attached. Since there is no attachment, they will obtain liberation. Liberated, they know, ‘I am liberated,’ and therefore they declare, ‘Rebirth is finished. I have perfectly practiced pure conduct. Since I have done what had to be done, I will not take birth again.’ One should contemplate in this way.”

At that time, when the Bhagavān spoke this Dharma discourse, the venerable Nanda, having eliminated dust and been freed from defilement, obtained the pure Dharma eye. The five hundred monks obtained liberation of the mind from outflows. Then the Bhagavān spoke these verses to Nanda:

When the Bhagavān spoke this Dharma discourse, “The Entry into the Womb,” the venerable Nanda and those five hundred monks were overjoyed, and they praised what the Bhagavān had taught. [F.232.b]

At that time, the venerable Nanda passed far beyond the wilderness of the sea of saṃsāra. Having gone to the place of ultimate bliss, nirvāṇa, and having obtained the fruit of arhatship, he was exceedingly happy and spoke in verse:98

Then the numerous retinues, having heard what he said, all became uncertain, and in order to eliminate their uncertainty, asked the Great Teacher, “Venerable one, what action did this venerable Nanda formerly do, as reward for which the color of his body came to resemble the color of gold, he himself was adorned with the thirty marks, and he became only four finger-widths shorter than the Bhagavān? Please tell us why the Great Teacher took pity on Nanda for his strong attachment to desirable objects and, having freed him with his power from the ocean of saṃsāra, established him with skill in means in the final nirvāṇa?”

The Bhagavān replied, “Monks, everything happened due to the maturation of the fruits produced by the monk Nanda’s past actions.” After speaking in detail, as was taught elsewhere, he spoke in verse:

“Listen, you monks! In the past, ninety-one eons previously, when beings were able to live for eighty thousand years, the tathāgata, arhat, completely and perfectly awakened one, endowed with knowledge and conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassed charioteer of humans to be trained, the teacher of gods and humans, the buddha and bhagavān named Vipaśyin appeared in the world. Wandering through the land together with a saṅgha of sixty-two thousand monks, he went to the vicinity of the palace of the ruler of the town Soft101 and stayed in Soft Grove. [F.233.a] At that time, the Bhagavān had a younger brother by a different mother. Due to the brother’s great attachment to sensual objects and his greed, the tathāgata, arhat, perfectly awakened Buddha Vipaśyin urged him to go forth in order to pass beyond the ocean of saṃsāra and, with skillful means, established him in the state of final nirvāṇa.

“At that time, the lord of that place, who was named Soft, governed. In this way, the king tamed the people with the Dharma. The many people flourished, and, having a good harvest, they were happy. There were no cheaters or thieves, and they were free from illness. Full of oxen, goats and sheep, rice, and sugarcane, the place flourished. The king had a younger brother by a different mother, and he, too, had great attachment to the objects of sense desires and was greedy. The king heard that the Bhagavān, together with his retinue, was staying in Soft Grove, and, together with his queens, the prince, the ministers, and a group of many people, he went to where the Bhagavān was. Having paid homage with his head at the feet of the Bhagavān, he sat to one side, and since the Bhagavān instructed the king and his retinue with a very excellent Dharma sermon and encouraged them, they acquired exalted knowledge. The king’s younger brother, being attached to sense pleasures, was not able to go forth from home,102 and the sons of ministers and other friends with whom he had formerly played said, ‘Hey, friend, remember‍—the king, the prince, the retinue of queens, the ministers, together with a multitude of people, went to where the Tathāgata Vipaśyin is and, by listening with reverence to the holy Dharma, acquired exalted knowledge. Thus, you, too, since you have now obtained a human body that is exceedingly difficult to obtain, why, being attached to sense pleasures and greedy, are you not able to even get out the door?’ Having heard this scolding, the king’s younger brother became very ashamed. Following behind them, he went with them.

“At that time, the monk who was the Bhagavān’s younger brother saw those many people [F.233.b] going together in a group and asked them, ‘Hey, why do you go together in a group leading this solitary man?’ They told him in detail what had happened. The monk then said, ‘I am the Bhagavān’s younger brother. Formerly, when I was a layman, because I was very attached to the objects of sense desires and greedy, the Great Teacher, thinking of me with compassion, delivered me from saṃsāra with his power and established me in final nirvāṇa. Furthermore, since there is this sort of foolish person, just like me, it is very good that, out of compassion, you have come together, leading him. Now, lead him to the place where the Bhagavān, the unsurpassed great teacher, is, and he will undoubtedly give rise to great faith.’

“After the monk said that, they went together to the place where the Bhagavān was and the Bhagavān, seeing them, correctly taught them according to their faculties and their resolve. As they listened, he gave rise to great faith. He got up from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, joined his hands together, and said to the Bhagavān, ‘Bhagavān, Great Teacher, will you agree to come, together with the noble saṅgha, to bathe in the bathhouse in my home tomorrow at noon?’ The Bhagavān, saying nothing, agreed to go. Knowing that he had agreed to come, the king’s younger brother paid homage at the Bhagavān’s feet and left.

“Then he arrived at the place where the king was, and respectfully paying homage to the king, he said, ‘Great king, having gone to where the Bhagavān is, I listened to the Dharma, and, having given rise to great faith, I gave rise to a mental state of disillusionment with the objects of sense desires. Then I asked the Bhagavān to come, together with the saṅgha of śrāvakas, to bathe in the bathhouse in my home tomorrow at noon. The Great Teacher, the Tathāgata, thought of me compassionately and agreed to come. The Bhagavān is worthy of being honored by gods and humans. This being so, it is right that Your Majesty should sweep the paths and roads of the city [F.234.a] and sprinkle them with water and make it beautiful.’

“The king thought, ‘If the Bhagavān comes to the city, I must make my city beautiful, but, since my younger brother is attached to sense pleasures and is difficult to reform, it would really be wonderful if the Bhagavān would now tame him.’ The king said, ‘Very good, younger brother. Go and prepare whatever articles are necessary for the bath. And I must decorate the city as much as possible.’ The king’s younger brother was overjoyed, and he paid homage to the king, got up, and left. Then the king instructed his ministers, ‘Hey, you. Now make an announcement in the city. Tell the people living in the city and those from various places that the Bhagavān will come to the city tomorrow and that they should each make the city as beautiful as possible and sweep the paths and roads, sprinkle them with water, and, taking flowers and incense and perfume, go welcome the Great Teacher.’

“ ‘It will be done according to Your Majesty’s command,’ said the ministers.

“Conveying the king’s orders, they commanded everyone to understand, making the announcement, and the people removed the stones, pottery shards, and clods of dirt in the city. Having sprinkled the ground all over with perfumed water, they burned excellent incense; they raised many umbrellas, victory banners, and flags;103 and, by strewing flowers, they made the city resemble the pleasure garden of Śakra, lord of the gods.

“At that time, the king’s younger brother prepared fragrant water, fragrant oil, and so forth, and, having made the bathhouse beautiful, he prepared a seat and spread out a mat. The Tathāgata Vipaśyin gradually approached the city, and the king, the prince, the ministers, the queens, the queens’ attendants, and a multitude of people came out from the city. After welcoming the Tathāgata, they paid homage from a distance and attended upon him and entered the city. At that time, the king’s younger brother invited the Bhagavān to come to his bathhouse. He offered fragrant water and so forth and invited him to bathe. He saw the Bhagavān’s gold-colored body adorned with the thirty-two marks and the eighty minor marks, [F.234.b] and, overjoyed, he gave rise to a very pure faith. After bathing, the Bhagavān got dressed. Having paid homage with his head at the two feet of the Bhagavān, the younger brother, making an aspiration, said, ‘Now I have performed a trifling act of worship to the most excellent field of merit. Due to this root of virtue, may I obtain in the future a golden body no different from that of the Bhagavān. Just as the Bhagavān’s brother was delivered from his attachment to the objects of sense desires and his greed by the Bhagavān’s power and led to the final nirvāṇa, in the same way, in the future, may I, too, becoming the younger brother of the Tathāgata, obtain a golden body. When I am attached to the objects of sense desires and greedy, may I too be delivered by the Bhagavān’s power from the deep river of craving and established in the bliss of nirvāṇa.’

“Monks, if you think that the one who was, at that time, the younger brother of King Soft, who was attached to sense pleasures, was someone else, do not see it that way. He was the monk Nanda himself. In the past, he invited the Tathāgata Vipaśyin to come to his bathhouse to bathe with fragrant water and so forth. With very pure faith, he made an aspiration, and due to his roots of virtue, he has now become the Tathāgata’s younger brother, and his body has become like gold in color. With my power, I have rescued him from his attachment to the objects of sense desires and his greed. He has gone forth from his home into homelessness, and he has arrived at final nirvāṇa, the state of total bliss.”

Then, the numerous retinues became uncertain and again asked the Bhagavān, “Venerable one, what did the venerable Nanda do in the past that he should obtain the thirty marks of a great man?”

The Bhagavān replied, “Monks, it is due to the karma that he produced” and so forth, in detail just as before.

“In the past, in an outlying village, lived a rich householder with a great deal of wealth, [F.235.a] not lacking in necessities. He had a pleasure garden full of flowers and fruit, a fountain, a waterfall, and trees, suitable for a monk’s hermitage. At that time, there were pratyekabuddhas who, because of their compassion for beings, appeared in the world and lived in solitary places. At that time, when no buddha had arisen in the world, they were the only fields of merit.104 A pratyekabuddha, wandering through the country, arrived at that outlying village and looked all over. Having searched for a place to stay, he arrived at the pleasure garden. The man who guarded the pleasure garden, having seen the noble one, said, ‘Did you travel safely? Noble one, please stay here to recover from your weariness.’

“At midnight, he was absorbed in equipoise on the fire element, and the man who guarded the pleasure garden saw him and thought, ‘This great venerable one is one who has perfected this sort of outstanding practice.’ Therefore, he got up during the night and, going to the place where the householder was, said, ‘Great householder, now give rise to great joy. A noble one came to me in the pleasure garden and stayed the night. He is engaged in a sublime practice and, since he possesses great magical power, he emits a great light and it illuminates the pleasure garden.’

“The householder heard what he said and quickly hurried to the pleasure garden. Paying homage at the pratyekabuddha’s two feet, he said, ‘Noble one, since you wish for alms and I seek merit, think compassionately of me and please stay in this pleasure garden. I will always provide you with alms.’ The pratyekabuddha, seeing that the householder was entreating him reverently, consented, and, dwelling in that pleasure garden, entered into equipoise in meditative concentration and the supreme liberation105 and experienced bliss.

“At another time, the pratyekabuddha thought, ‘This putrid body of mine has been cycling in saṃsāra. Since I have achieved what was to be done, it is appropriate for me to enter nirvāṇa, the state of peace, and actualize never being born again.’ Thinking this, he rose up into the sky. [F.235.b] He entered into equipoise on the fire element and revealed his supernormal abilities. He radiated great rays of light. Above, he displayed flame and heat, below, a flow of water, and so forth. Having abandoned this body, his consciousness was not born again, and he completely transcended suffering in the state of nirvāṇa without remainder. Then the householder took his bones106 and cremated them with entirely fragrant wood. He put the fire out with milk, gathered the remaining bones, put them in a new urn, and built a stūpa. He planted parasols, banners, and flags. With very pure faith, he sprinkled them with sublimely fragrant water thirty times. He made a great aspiration: ‘May I have the excellent marks.’

“Monks, listen carefully. If you think that the one who was, at that time, the householder was someone else, do not see it that way. He was Nanda himself. Due to the karma of making the best offerings and producing reverence and very pure faith, now he experiences the fruit of obtaining the thirty exalted, excellent marks.”

Then the numerous retinues again became uncertain and asked the Bhagavān, “Venerable one, what action did the venerable Nanda perform by doing which, if he did not go forth but remained a layman, he would doubtlessly become a powerful universal monarch?”

The Bhagavān said, “Monks, when the fruit of the karma that the venerable Nanda produced in previous lives matures, he himself will doubtlessly experience it,” and so forth. (This is again to be supplied in detail as it was given in detail above.)

“Monks, in the past, in this Good Eon, when beings could live to the age of twenty thousand years, the tathāgata, arhat, complete and perfect buddha named Kāśyapa, who possessed the thirty marks, appeared in the world. [F.236.a] He stayed at Ṛṣipatana Deer Park in Vārāṇasī. At that time, King Kṛkin was king in the city. Taming the people by means of the Dharma, he ruled according to the Dharma, and so forth. (The rest is to be supplied in detail as above.) The king had three sons, oldest, middle, and youngest.

“After the awakened deeds of the tathāgata, arhat, complete and perfect Buddha Kāśyapa were finished, he totally transcended suffering in the state of nirvāṇa without remainder, and the king, with a reverent mind, took the Tathāgata’s body and cremated it with fragrant wood, such as sandalwood, white sandalwood, and divine perfumed wood. He put out the fire with milk, gathered the relics, and placed them inside a jeweled urn. He made a stūpa out of four types of jewels, one yojana around and half a yojana high. When it was time to erect the wheels, the middle son of the king climbed up and erected the middle wheel.

“Monks, if you think that the one who was, at that time, the king’s middle son was someone else, do not see it that way. He was Nanda himself. Through the virtue in the past of making offerings with a reverent mind and erecting the middle wheel, for twenty-five thousand lifetimes he became a powerful universal monarch who constantly controls one continent. In this lifetime, if he had not gone forth, he would in the same way have wielded power as a powerful universal monarch with great authority.”

Then the numerous retinues became uncertain and again asked the Bhagavān, “Venerable one, please explain what the venerable Nanda did in the past so that he is the best among the śrāvakas at controlling the doors of the senses.”

The Bhagavān replied, “This is through the power of a past aspiration. Monks, in the past, Nanda went forth from home into homelessness in the dispensation of the tathāgata, arhat, complete and perfect Buddha Kāśyapa. [F.236.b] His preceptor was praised as the best in the dispensation of that Bhagavān at controlling the doors of the senses. As long as he lived, he practiced perfect conduct, but in that lifetime, he did not achieve any realizations, and at the time of his death, he said, ‘Under the dispensation of the Tathāgata, I practiced perfect conduct for as long as I lived, but in this lifetime, I did not have any realizations. Due to this root of virtue of practicing perfect conduct, the Bhagavān Kāśyapa prophesied that, in the future, this brahmin boy named Superior107 would fully awaken to complete and perfect awakening and would be named Śākyamuni, and I, in the dispensation of that bhagavān, would go forth from home into homelessness. Having abandoned the afflictions, I will obtain the fruit of arhatship. Just as my preceptor, in the dispensation of this bhagavān, was the best at controlling the doors of the senses, in the same way, let me, too, be best in the dispensation of that bhagavān at controlling the doors of the senses.’ Having made such an aspiration, by the force of that aspiration, now, here in my dispensation, he has become the best among the śrāvakas at controlling the doors of the senses.

“Thus, monks, the fruition of a totally black action will also be totally black. The fruition of a totally white action will also be totally white. As for an action that is mixed, its fruition will also be experienced as mixed. Therefore, you should abandon totally black and mixed actions and perform totally white actions.”