The Play in Full
Exhortation

Monks, while the Thus-Gone One was seated at the foot of the Bodhi tree, in the privacy of solitude after he had first attained perfect and complete awakening, he had the following thought about the conventions of the world: [F.187.b]

“Alas! This truth that I realized and awakened to is profound, peaceful, tranquil, calm, complete, hard to see, hard to comprehend, and impossible to conceptualize since it is inaccessible to the intellect. Only wise noble ones and adepts can understand it. It is the complete and definitive apprehension of the abandonment of all aggregates, the end of all sensations, the absolute truth, and freedom from a foundation. It is a state of complete peace, free of clinging, free of grasping, unobserved, undemonstrable, uncompounded, beyond the six sense fields, inconceivable, unimaginable, and ineffable. It is indescribable, inexpressible, and incapable of being illustrated. It is unobstructed, beyond all references, a state of interruption through the path of tranquility, and imperceptible like emptiness. It is the exhaustion of craving and it is cessation free of desire. It is nirvāṇa. If I were to teach this truth to others, they would not understand it. Teaching the truth would tire me out and be wrongly contested, and it would be futile. Thus I will remain silent and keep this truth in my heart.”

At that time he uttered these verses: [393]

Monks, at that time the Thus-Gone One radiated light from the center of his forehead, which illuminated the entire trichiliocosm with its brilliance. Then, by means of the Buddha’s power, Great Top-Knotted Brahmā, lord of the trichiliocosm, became aware of the Thus-Gone One’s notion. [394] Having understood that the Blessed One was set on keeping the Dharma to himself without teaching it, he thought, “I will most certainly approach and solicit the Thus-Gone One to turn the wheel of Dharma!”

So right then Great Top-Knotted Brahmā addressed the other gods of the Brahma realms: “Friends! Even though the Thus-Gone One has awakened to unsurpassable, perfect and complete buddhahood, he is set on keeping the Dharma to himself without teaching it. Alas! This world is doomed! Alas, O friends, this world is really doomed! Thus we must surely go and solicit the worthy one, the perfectly and completely awakened Thus-Gone One, to turn the wheel of Dharma.”

Monks, then the Great Top-Knotted Brahmā, surrounded and escorted by six million eight hundred thousand Brahmās, [F.188.b] went to the Thus-Gone One. When he arrived, he bowed his head to the feet of the Thus-Gone One, and with palms joined, said to him, “Thus-Gone One, even having awakened to unexcelled, perfect, and complete awakening, you are bent on keeping the Dharma to yourself without teaching it. Alas, Blessed One! This world is doomed! Alas, Blessed One, this world is really doomed! There are intelligent beings of good disposition with the potential, fortune, and ability to comprehend the meaning of what the Blessed One says. Such being the case, O Blessed One, please eloquently teach the Dharma! Please, O Well-Gone One, teach the Dharma!”

Then Brahmā spoke these verses:

Monks, in order to show kindness to the world of gods, humans, and nonhumans, the Thus-Gone One looked upon this world with compassion and silently acquiesced to Great Top-Knotted Brahmā. Indeed, once Great Top-Knotted Brahmā understood that this Thus-Gone One had silently acquiesced, he anointed the Thus-Gone One with divine sandalwood powder and divine aloeswood powder, became joyful and ecstatic, and then vanished that very instant.

Monks, in order to engender respect for the Dharma in the world, in order to increase the root of virtue by having Great Top-Knotted Brahmā repeatedly request the Dharma, and because the Dharma is exceedingly profound, the Thus-Gone One once again went into the privacy of solitude and had the following thought:

“This truth to which I awakened is profound, subtle, luminous, hard to comprehend, inconceivable, and beyond the intellect. Understood only by the clever and the wise, it is out of step with all worldly people and difficult to see. It is the abandonment of all aggregates, the cessation of all formations, a state of interruption through the path of tranquility, and imperceptible like emptiness. It is the exhaustion of craving, and [396] it is cessation free of desire. It is nirvāṇa. [F.189.b] If I were to teach this truth, and if others did not comprehend it, this would be harmful to me. Thus I will most certainly continue to keep it to myself.”

Monks, by the power of the Buddha, Great Top-Knotted Brahmā once again became aware of this thought of the Thus-Gone One, and he went to see Śakra, lord of the gods.

When he arrived, he told Śakra, lord of the gods, “Understand, Kauśika, that the venerable, perfectly and completely awakened Thus-Gone One is bent on not teaching the Dharma and thus keeping it to himself! And since the worthy one, the perfectly and completely awakened Thus-Gone One, is bent on not teaching the Dharma and thus keeping it to himself, alas, O Kauśika, this world is doomed! Alas, O Kauśika, this world is really doomed! Alas, this world will be plunged into the great darkness of ignorance! Why don’t we then go and request that the worthy one, the perfectly and completely awakened Thus-Gone One, turn the wheel of Dharma? Because the thus-gone ones do not turn the wheel of Dharma without being requested!”

“Very well, my friend!” responded Śakra.

And so when the night had passed, Śakra, Brahmā, the earth gods, the sky gods, and the gods of the Heaven of the Four Great Kings, the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the Heaven Free from Strife, the Heaven of Joy, the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations, the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations, the Brahma Realm, the Luminous Heaven, the Heaven of Great Fruition, the Heaven of Perfected Virtue, and the pure realms‍—many hundreds of thousands of divinities of beautiful appearances‍—illuminated the area surrounding the tree of liberation with their divine beauty and their divine luminosity, and approached the Thus-Gone One. They bowed their heads to the feet of the Thus-Gone One, circumambulated him, and stood to one side. [F.190.a] Then Śakra, lord of the gods, bowed down with palms joined in the direction of the Thus-Gone One and praised him in verse: [397]

But at these words the Thus-Gone One remained silent. Then Great Top-Knotted Brahmā said to Śakra, lord of the gods, “O Kauśika, venerable, perfectly and completely awakened thus-gone ones are not requested to turn the wheel of Dharma the way you requested it.”

So Great Top-Knotted Brahmā draped his robe on one shoulder, knelt on his right knee, and bowing down to the Thus-Gone One with palms joined, spoke this verse to him:

Monks, at these words the Thus-Gone One repeated to Great Top-Knotted Brahmā, “O great Brahmā, this truth to which I awakened is profound, subtle, luminous, hard to comprehend, inconceivable, and beyond the intellect. Understood only by the clever and the wise, it is out of step with all worldly people and difficult to see. It is the abandonment of all aggregates, the cessation of all formations, a state of interruption through the path of tranquility, and imperceptible like emptiness. It is the exhaustion of craving, and it is cessation free of desire. It is nirvāṇa. If I were to teach this truth, and if others did not comprehend it, this would be harmful to me. And these verses, O Brahmā, are my reply to you, time and again:

Monks, when Great Top-Knotted Brahmā and Śakra, lord of the gods, [F.190.b] understood that the Thus-Gone One would remain silent, these two great beings and their retinue of gods, saddened and dejected, disappeared then and there. And so the Thus-Gone One had thrice made up his mind to remain disinterested. [398]

Monks, at that time all sorts of negative, inauspicious opinions started to circulate among the people of Magadha. Some said that winds would no longer blow, and some that fires would no longer burn. Some said that rains would no longer fall, some that rivers would no longer flow, and some that crops would no longer grow. Some said that birds would no longer fly in the sky, and some that pregnant women would no longer give birth safely.

Monks, the Great Top-Knotted Brahmā knew the nature of the Thus-Gone One’s thoughts, and he was aware of the opinions among the people of Magadha. So, at the close of night, he illuminated the entire area surrounding the tree of liberation with divine light beautiful in color, and he approached the Thus-Gone One. When he arrived, he bowed his head to the feet of the Thus-Gone One, draped his robe on one shoulder, knelt down on his right knee, and bending forward with palms joined, spoke in verse to the Thus-Gone One:

Monks, the Thus-Gone One then looked throughout the entire world with his awakened eye and saw sentient beings that were base, [F.191.b] mediocre, and advanced; those that were high, low, and middling; those of good disposition and [400] easy to purify, those of bad disposition and difficult to purify; those that can understand through just a cursory statement, and those for whom the words are paramount and who rely on a detailed explanation for their understanding. He thus saw that sentient beings were grouped into three categories: one that was sure to be wrong, one that was sure to be correct, and one was undetermined. Monks, just as when a person standing on the bank of a lotus pond sees some lotuses submerged in the water, some lotuses at water level, and some lotuses above the water, this was how the Thus-Gone One saw sentient beings situated in three groups when he looked throughout the whole world with his awakened eye.

Monks, the Thus-Gone One thought, “Whether I teach the Dharma or not, this group that is sure to be wrong will not understand the Dharma. And whether I teach the Dharma or not, this group that is sure to be correct will understand the Dharma. Yet the group that is undetermined will understand the Dharma if I teach it, but will not understand the Dharma if I do not teach it.”

Monks, the Thus-Gone One then engendered great compassion, starting with the sentient beings situated in the undetermined group. Monks, from the perspective of his own perfect wisdom, the Thus-Gone One then understood the request made by Great Top-Knotted Brahmā and thus spoke to him with this verse:

Once Great Top-Knotted Brahmā understood that the Thus-Gone One had acquiesced, he rejoiced with satisfaction and glee. [F.192.a] Ecstatic and elated, he bowed with his head to the feet of the Thus-Gone One and vanished right there. [401]

Monks, on that occasion the earth gods then proclaimed and announced to the gods of the atmosphere:

“Friends, today the venerable, perfectly and completely awakened Thus-Gone One has acquiesced to turn the wheel of Dharma. He will do this to benefit many beings, to bring happiness to many beings, to compassionately care for the world, for the welfare, betterment, and happiness of gods, humans, and the majority of beings. Listen, friends! The demigod realms will be reduced. The god realms will be filled. And many sentient beings in the world will reach complete nirvāṇa!”

Once the gods of the atmosphere heard this from the earth gods, they announced it to the gods in the Heaven of the Four Great Kings. The gods in the Heaven of the Four Great Kings told those in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. The gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three told those in the Heaven Free from Strife. The gods in the Heaven Free from Strife told those in the Heaven of Joy and the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations. The gods in the Heaven of Joy and the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations told those in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations. Finally they announced and proclaimed this to the gods of the Brahmā realms:

“Today, O friends, the venerable, perfectly and completely awakened Thus-Gone One has acquiesced to turn the wheel of Dharma. He will do this to benefit many beings, to bring happiness to many beings, to compassionately care for the world, for the welfare, betterment, and happiness of gods, humans, and the majority of beings. Listen, friends! The demigod realms will be reduced. The god realms will be filled. And many sentient beings in the world will reach complete nirvāṇa!”

Monks, then simultaneously all of them, beginning with the earth gods all the way up to the gods of the Brahma realm, announced in unison the same proclamation as before: “Today, O friends, the venerable, perfectly and completely awakened Thus-Gone One has consented to turn the wheel of Dharma. He will do this to benefit many beings, to bring happiness to many beings, to care compassionately for the world, for the welfare, betterment, and happiness of gods, humans, and the majority of beings. Listen, friends! The demigod realms will be reduced. The god realms will be filled. And many sentient beings in the world will reach complete nirvāṇa!” [F.192.b]

Monks, then the four gods of the Bodhi tree named Dharmaruci, Dharmakāma,13 Dharmamati, and Dharmacārin [402] fell to the feet of the Thus-Gone One and asked, “Where will the Blessed One turn the wheel of Dharma?”

Monks, to their question the Thus-Gone One replied, “At the Deer Park by the Hill of the Fallen Sages, outside of Vārāṇasī.”

They said, “O Blessed One, the city of Vārāṇasī has merely a limited population, and the Deer Park has only a limited amount of tree shade. There are other big cities, O Blessed One, that are wealthy, flourishing, secure, and pleasant, with abundant provisions, teeming with many people and creatures, and adorned with gardens, forests, and mountains. May the Blessed One please turn the wheel of Dharma in one of these other places!”

But the Thus-Gone One replied: