The Play in Full
The Visit of King Bimbisāra
Toh 95
Degé Kangyur, vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), folios 1.b–216.b
- Jinamitra
- Dānaśīla
- Munivarman
- Yeshé Dé
Imprint
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2013
Current version v 4.48.26 (2024)
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Play in Full tells the story of how the Buddha manifested in this world and attained awakening, as perceived from the perspective of the Great Vehicle. The sūtra, which is structured in twenty-seven chapters, first presents the events surrounding the Buddha’s birth, childhood, and adolescence in the royal palace of his father, king of the Śākya nation. It then recounts his escape from the palace and the years of hardship he faced in his quest for spiritual awakening. Finally the sūtra reveals his complete victory over the demon Māra, his attainment of awakening under the Bodhi tree, his first turning of the wheel of Dharma, and the formation of the very early saṅgha.
Acknowledgments
This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche.
Cortland Dahl, Catherine Dalton, Hilary Herdman, Heidi Koppl, James Gentry, and Andreas Doctor translated the text from Tibetan into English. Andreas Doctor and Wiesiek Mical then compared the translations against the original Tibetan and Sanskrit, respectively. Finally, Andreas Doctor edited the translation and wrote the introduction.
The Dharmachakra Translation Committee would like to thank Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche for blessing this project, and Khenpo Sherap Sangpo for his generous assistance with the resolution of several difficult passages.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of 簡源震及家人江秀敏，簡暐如，簡暐丞 Chien YuanChen (Dharma Das) and his wife, daughter, and son for work on this sūtra is gratefully acknowledged.
Text Body
The Play in Full
The Visit of King Bimbisāra
Monks, through the blessing of the Bodhisattva, Chanda told King Śuddhodana, the Śākya princess Gopā, the retinue of consorts, and everyone else among the Śākyas what had happened in order to alleviate their suffering. [238]
Monks, the Bodhisattva first gave his silken robes to a god in the form of a hunter, and then he donned the hunter’s saffron-colored robes. He adopted the lifestyle of a renunciant in order to act in agreement with the perception of worldly people, and also because he felt compassion for others and wished to mature them.
The Bodhisattva then went to the hermitage of a brahmin woman called Śākī. The woman invited the Bodhisattva to stay and have a meal. Next the Bodhisattva went to the hermitage of a brahmin woman called Padmā, who also invited the Bodhisattva to stay for a meal. Later he went to the hermitage of a sagely priest called Raivata, who offered the Bodhisattva hospitality in the same way. Likewise Rājaka, the son of Datṛmadaṇḍika, also invited him as a guest. Monks, in this way the Bodhisattva slowly made his way to the city of Vaiśālī.
At that time Ārāḍa Kālāma had arrived in Vaiśālī, where he resided together with a saṅgha of listeners and three hundred students, to whom he delivered teachings on the practices related to the sense field of utter absence. [F.117.b] When Ārāḍa Kālāma saw the Bodhisattva approaching in the distance, he was amazed and told his students, “Oh, look at his figure!”
The students replied, “Yes, we see him. He is amazing.”
Monks, I walked up to where Ārāḍa Kālāma was staying and addressed him in the following way: “Ārāḍa Kālāma, I have come to learn spiritual practices from you.”9
Ārāḍa Kālāma replied, “Gautama, I shall give you a teaching through which a faithful person of good family can accomplish omniscience with very little hardship.” [239]
Monks, I then thought to myself, “I have faith. I am also diligent. I am mindful and I can practice absorption. I also have knowledge. So therefore, in order to master and actualize that teaching, I will practice on my own in a solitary place, without getting distracted.”
Monks, I then practiced on my own in solitude with carefulness and diligence. And indeed, with only little hardship, I was able to understand and actualize the teaching.
Monks, I then went to Ārāḍa Kālāma and asked him, “Ārāḍa Kālāma, you have understood and actualized this teaching, isn’t that true?”
“Yes, Gautama, indeed I have,” he replied.
I then told him, “I have also understood and actualized this teaching.”
Ārāḍa Kālāma replied, “Well then, Gautama, whatever teaching I know, you also know. And whatever you know, I also know. So now both of us should assume patronage of the students.”
After he made that offer, Ārāḍa Kālāma honored me with exquisite offerings and installed me as a teacher in residence, who would share his duties with him.
Monks, I then thought to myself, “Ārāḍa’s teaching does not bring freedom. It would not bring total freedom from suffering for either of us. So now I must depart and search for a better practice.” [F.118.a]
Monks, since I had now stayed in Vaiśālī for as long as I found enjoyable, I proceeded to the country of Magadha and found my way to Rājagṛha, the capital city of that country. Once there I took up residence at Pāṇḍava, the king of mountains, where I stayed on its slope alone in solitude without any company. At that time many trillions of gods protected me. [240]
One morning I dressed in the skirt and robes of a mendicant and, holding my offering bowl, I went into the city of Rājagṛha through the Gate of Warm Water and started my alms round. I looked ahead and to both sides and proceeded in a gracious manner, moving my limbs with elegance. I carried the skirt, the offering bowl, and the monk’s robes in a very beautiful manner. My senses were undistracted and my mind was not diverted by outer events. Like an image of someone who is carrying a vase filled with oil, I looked ahead at a distance of six feet.
When the people of Rājagṛha saw me, they were amazed and thought, “Goodness, is that Brahmā? Or perhaps Śakra, king of the gods, or Vaiśravaṇa? Or is it some kind of mountain god?”
On this topic, it is said:
The Bodhisattva replies:
Colophon
Colophon to the Sanskrit Edition
Colophon to the Tibetan Translation
This was taught and translated by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Munivarman, and the translator-editor Bandé Yeshé Dé, who proofed and finalized the translation.
Bibliography
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Goswami, Bijoya. Lalitavistara. Bibliotheca Indica Series, vol. 320. Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, 2001.
Khosla, Sarla. Lalitavistara and the Evolution of Buddha Legend. New Delhi: Galaxy Publications, 1991.
Thomas, E. J. “The Lalitavistara and Sarvastivada.” Indian Historical Quarterly 16:2 (1940): 239–45.