Toh 159The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Questions of Brahmadatta”

Summary

The Questions of Brahmadatta begins with the
bodhisattva Amoghadarśin departing from Jeta’s Grove in Śrāvastī, where the
Buddha is residing. Together with more than five hundred bodhisattvas, he
travels to the region of Pañcāla, where King Brahmadatta requests Amoghadarśin
to impart teachings to him and his citizens. The bodhisattva discusses the
attributes and correct practices of a king who is a protector of the Dharma. The
king requests that the bodhisattva remain in his kingdom to observe the summer
vows in retreat. Sixty wicked monks already residing there treat Amoghadarśin
poorly, and after three months he leaves Pañcāla and returns to the Jeta’s
Grove.

King Brahmadatta later goes to see the Buddha, who explains to the king
how the wicked monks behaved and the negative consequences of such actions. The
Buddha then goes on to explain what a monk and others who wish to attain
awakening should strive for, namely, to rid themselves of pride, anger, and
jealousy. Upon hearing these instructions, King Brahmadatta expels the sixty
wicked monks from his kingdom. Many beings then generate the mind of awakening,
and King Brahmadatta is irreversibly set on the path of complete awakening. The
Buddha smiles and radiates multicolored lights throughout the whole world.
Finally, the king apologizes to Amoghadarśin and the bodhisattva forgives
him.

Acknowledgements

This sūtra was translated by Khenpo Konchok Tamphel of the Ratnaśrī
Translation Group. The translation was edited and introduced by Casey Kemp.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

Introduction

The Questions of Brahmadatta begins with
the Buddha residing in Jeta’s Grove, a park that had been offered to the
Buddha and his monks by the wealthy lay disciple Anāthapiṇḍada. This park
was located in Śrāvastī, one of the major cities in the ancient northern
Indian kingdom of Kośala and a common setting for many Buddhist sūtras.
Śrāvastī is said to be where the Buddha spent the majority of his
rainy-season retreats, and many of his teachings were expounded there. While
the Buddha is there with his disciples, the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin departs
from Jeta’s Grove together with a large retinue. Monks at this time were
encouraged not only to stay in retreat but also to travel from town to town
in order to educate communities about the Dharma. Amoghadarśin and his
retinue eventually arrive at the ancient kingdom of Pañcāla. Pañcāla is
listed among the sixteen great states of India during the time of the Buddha
and is situated in the northwestern region between Kurū and Kośala, two
other well-known Indian kingdoms. According to The Questions of Brahmadatta, during the time of
the Buddha, Pañcāla was ruled by a king named Brahmadatta. In early Buddhist
canonical sources, Brahmadatta is a common name for kings and princes of
various Indian kingdoms and capitals including Benares (present-day
Varanasi) and Northern Pañcāla (Uttara Pañcāla).

When King Brahmadatta hears of Amoghadarśin’s arrival in Pañcāla, he
decides to meet him to pay his respects. The bodhisattva imparts teachings
on the five attributes of an anointed king of royal descent who is on the
path to awakening. These five qualities are ⁽¹⁾ possessing faith, ⁽²⁾
longing for the Dharma, ⁽³⁾ believing in the Dharma’s profundity, ⁽⁴⁾ fully
upholding the teachings, and ⁽⁵⁾ making an effort to completely uphold the
supreme Dharma. Amoghadarśin goes on to clarify in verse a king’s essential
role as a protector of the Dharma. The king expresses humility by replying
that he has all the shortcomings and none of the good qualities mentioned,
confessing that he has harmed and killed others. The king and his subjects
then vow to generate the mind of awakening by following the bodhisattva
path, and they ask the bodhisattva to remain in Pañcāla during the rainy
season retreat.

Amoghadarśin and his retinue agree to stay, and King Brahmadatta
acts as their patron by providing all their material needs. However, sixty
degenerate monks are already residing there. They possess negative
attributes such as jealousy, pride, and resentment and do not follow the
rules of the Vinaya, the Buddhist monastic code. Since they do not like the
presence of Amoghadarśin and his monks, they make rude remarks and spread
rumors about Amoghadarśin. Additionally, a minister of King Brahmadatta
causes a rift between Amoghadarśin and the wicked monks and between the
bodhisattva and King Brahmadatta. Although there is only brief mention of
the minister, the sūtra repeatedly refers to the negative effect that wicked
monks can have on a lay community, stating that the monks “spread such
remarks by visiting the homes of brahmins and householders with little
faith, who, as a result of listening, would be born and live as denizens of
the great hells for eight hundred million eons.”

After three months, Amoghadarśin leaves Pañcāla and returns to
Jeta’s Grove, where the Buddha is residing. King Brahmadatta, hearing that
Amoghadarśin had gone to the Buddha because the sixty degenerate monks had
mistreated him, goes to see the Buddha. He tells the Buddha that he feels
the bodhisattva had left too soon, whereupon the Buddha explains how the
monks there had behaved. The Buddha then describes the causes for lacking
effort, the characteristics of jealous people, and how to recognize those
who have strayed from the path to awakening. The Buddha explains how to
recognize degenerate monks and how other ordained individuals should treat
such monks. He warns that the consequences of the increased number of wicked
monks—that is, monks who do not follow the Vinaya correctly and do not have
faith in the Dharma—could lead to the destruction of the Dharma. Throughout
this sūtra, the Buddha encourages monks and those who wish to attain
awakening to refrain from such negative behavior; he also alludes to a
king’s responsibility to expel degenerate monks for the sake of the Dharma
and the future lives of his own subjects. In accord with this advice, King
Brahmadatta expels the sixty degenerate monks from his kingdom, and by doing
so he becomes irreversibly set on the path to awakening. Finally, King
Brahmadatta apologizes to Amoghadarśin and is forgiven.

There is to our knowledge no extant Sanskrit version of this sūtra,
nor are there any translations into Chinese. According to the colophon to
the Tibetan translation it was translated into Tibetan by the Indian
preceptors Surendrabodhi and Prajñāvarman, along with the editor and
translator Yeshé Dé. The text is also recorded in the Denkarma inventory of
the Tibetan imperial translations, so it would have been translated from
Sanskrit into Tibetan no later than the early ninth century, as the Denkarma
is thought to have been compiled in 812 ce. Previously,
this sūtra has received little attention in modern publications, and this is
to our knowledge the first English translation of the text. This
translation has been prepared based on the Tibetan translation in the Degé
Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma).

The Translation

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra

The Questions of Brahmadatta

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in
Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park, together with a great
assembly of two hundred fifty thousand monks and a large number of
bodhisattva great beings. All of these were bodhisattvas who were versed in
extraordinary knowledge, had acquired extraordinary knowledge along with
dhāraṇī, samādhi, and unimpeded dhāraṇī, and were skilled in the dhāraṇīs
that accomplish the seal of infinite gateways. They
dwelled in emptiness, they had the experience of signlessness, and they had
aspirations that were not imputed. They all had reached the acceptance that
phenomena are unarisen.

Then, the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin, together with about five
hundred bodhisattvas, prostrated at the feet of the Blessed One,
circumambulated him, and departed. After traveling through several towns,
they finally arrived in the region of
Pañcāla.
When King Brahmadatta learned of the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin’s arrival in
his land, he felt pleased and happy, and he rejoiced. Overjoyed and content,
he led a large following of people to the place where the bodhisattva
Amoghadarśin was staying. When he arrived there, he prostrated by touching
his head to the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin’s feet, then sat to one side. His
many followers also prostrated by touching their heads to the bodhisattva
Amoghadarśin’s feet, then sat to one side.

When he saw that King Brahmadatta and his assembled retinue and
attendants were present, the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin said to him, “Great
King, an anointed king of royal descent who possesses five attributes will
continuously progress while traversing saṃsāra and will never take birth in
unfavorable states. He will also meet and please thus-gone ones.
When the blessed buddhas teach the Dharma, he will also master their
allegorical speech. He will maintain uninterrupted mindfulness, look
attractive, and not lack any sense faculty. The blessed buddhas will also
speak to him with words of absolute truth; that is to say, they will
demonstrate the four truths.

“What are these five attributes?

“Great King, an anointed king of royal descent possesses faith. He
possesses a mind that is strong in faith and is without animosity. His faith
is also demonstrated to be rooted in certainty. His faith should furthermore
be observed in ten ways. What are these ten? They are as follows: ⁽¹⁾ He
gives without deceit. ⁽²⁾ He gives away all possessions completely. ⁽³⁾ He
has no excessive pride. ⁽⁴⁾ He has exceptional clarity. ⁽⁵⁾ He does not
apprehend any fault in the teachings of the noble ones. ⁽⁶⁾ He does not
investigate the best, intermediate, or lesser monks for mistakes. ⁽⁷⁾ He
believes in emptiness. ⁽⁸⁾ His physical actions are pure. ⁽⁹⁾ His verbal
actions are pure. ⁽¹⁰⁾ His mental activity is pure.

“Great King, one of royal descent who possesses this first attribute
and is an anointed king accomplishes these qualities just mentioned.

“Moreover, Great King, an anointed king of royal descent longs for
the Dharma. He always yearns to behold the noble ones, and he insatiably
seeks to hear the Dharma. Using his mind he carefully investigates the many
things he has learned, and then fully realizes them through experience.
Great King, a king should be understood to be endowed with the Dharma if he
has ten qualities. What are these ten? They are as follows: ⁽¹⁾ He is
without concern for his body or life in his quest for the Dharma. ⁽²⁾ He
possesses a mindset that is weary of saṃsāra. ⁽³⁾ He thinks that a
householder’s life entails too many faults. ⁽⁴⁾ He has a mindset that is not
concerned with material things. ⁽⁵⁾ He is critical toward the negative
actions that stem from his previous karma, and he does not create future
formations. ⁽⁶⁾ He possesses a mindset that discriminates between all that
is attractive and all that is repulsive. ⁽⁷⁾ Mastering his intent, he
perfects the conduct of a bodhisattva and does not privilege words. ⁽⁸⁾ He
is steadfast in his commitments because he seeks wisdom. ⁽⁹⁾ He fosters
awakening in his servants and retinue and completely matures them continuously
with the gift of the Dharma. ⁽¹⁰⁾ He also fulfills their material needs.

“Great King, one of royal descent who possesses this second
attribute and is an anointed king accomplishes these qualities just
mentioned.

“Moreover, Great King, an anointed king of royal descent believes in
accepting the profound Dharma and accomplishes the samādhi of emptiness. His
interest in the profundity of the Dharma should also be understood in ten
ways. What are these ten? They are as follows: ⁽¹⁾ His actions accord with
his words. ⁽²⁾ He completes all his virtuous Dharma activities with very
strong devotion and rids himself of the formations of unpleasant actions.
⁽³⁾ He creates pleasing formations. ⁽⁴⁾ He does not unjustly suppress
individuals who possess power and riches. ⁽⁵⁾ He provides others with
pleasing gifts and eliminates all that is not pleasant. ⁽⁶⁾ Thinking that
all phenomena are empty, he cultivates renunciation. ⁽⁷⁾ His view is free of
contrivance, thus he neither believes in the singularity of the limit of
reality nor holds concepts of its multiplicity. ⁽⁸⁾ He does not use his own
qualities to belittle the qualities of others. ⁽⁹⁾ He does not form definite
judgments. ⁽¹⁰⁾ He brings those who do not practice into alignment with the
inconceivable realm of phenomena.

“Great King, one of royal descent who possesses this third attribute
and is an anointed king accomplishes these qualities just mentioned.

“Moreover, Great King, when an anointed king of royal descent
clearly perceives the contamination that comes from the harm of living in
this world, he upholds the teachings for the sake of accomplishing
unsurpassed, complete, and perfect awakening. He perseveres in generating
the power of the six perfections and never tires of fully maturing sentient
beings. Furthermore, the ways in which he upholds the teachings should be
understood in ten ways. What are these ten? They are as follows: ⁽¹⁾ He
perseveres in attaining samādhi that is unimpeded by the eight worldly
concerns. ⁽²⁾ He perseveres in seeking out the dhāraṇīs. ⁽³⁾ He is skilled
in ascertaining so that he completely apprehends the supreme Dharma. ⁽⁴⁾ He
never tires of providing various necessities to those who persevere,
including clothes, food, bedding, cushions, and medicines to cure sickness.
⁽⁵⁾ He strives to encourage awakening. ⁽⁶⁾ He thinks excellent thoughts,
speaks excellent words, and performs excellent deeds. ⁽⁷⁾ He is inclined
towards renunciation. ⁽⁸⁾ He thinks that it is a mistake to delight in being
a king. ⁽⁹⁾ He possesses a mindset that has no concern for any beautiful or
pleasant forms. ⁽¹⁰⁾ At the very least he does not think that anything is
accomplished by only craving kingship.

“Great King, one of royal descent who possesses this fourth
attribute and is an anointed king accomplishes these qualities just
mentioned.

“Moreover, Great King, an anointed king of royal descent follows
the Dharma in guarding, protecting, and shielding those who uphold, read,
and teach unsurpassed, complete, and perfect awakening, which one fully
accomplishes in a hundred billion trillion incalculable eons. He likewise
punishes beings who are harmful to such individuals in order to completely
protect the enjoyment of this resource of Dharma. His effort to completely
uphold the supreme Dharma should also be understood in ten ways.
What are these ten? They are as follows: ⁽¹⁾ He accomplishes it completely.
⁽²⁾ He regards it as absolutely invaluable. ⁽³⁾ He believes in the Dharma.
⁽⁴⁾ He always acts without confusion. ⁽⁵⁾ He desires wisdom and has trust in
distinctions of enlightened qualities. ⁽⁶⁾ He acts as a messenger of the
Thus-Gone One. ⁽⁷⁾ He is a suitable vessel for buddhahood. ⁽⁸⁾ He holds
together the lineage of the Three Jewels. ⁽⁹⁾ He causes the supreme Dharma
to blaze brightly. ⁽¹⁰⁾ He completely matures many people.

“Great King, one of royal descent who possesses this fifth attribute
and is an anointed king accomplishes these qualities just mentioned.”

After this, the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin recited the following
verses:

“The king who always has a sincere attitude

Toward the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha

Has indestructible faith and confidence

And never lacks the following qualities.

“His faith is not contrived but is born from understanding,

And he does not hang on to anything he owns.

Rather, he feels no regret when it is given away.

These qualities are a sign of faith.

“Those whose thoughts are always unsullied

Are unshakable like the indestructible Mount Meru.

Just as a full vase does not move when it is well placed,

Their faith is absolutely unmoving.

“Those who see without seeing and hear without hearing

Are immovable like a mountain.

Such are the characteristics of faith,

Which will not change at all in any situation.

“Wise ones who wish for the Dharma because they wish for peace

Should abandon everything else for the sake of the Dharma

And, after abandoning everything, should not think of it.

These are the characteristics of those who wish for the Dharma.

“When a lord of humans who wishes for the Dharma

Does not listen to the eloquent teachings,

Like a rotten seed sown in a bad field,

The pure instructions of the Leader of Beings will not grow.

“Even if one hears them, but thinks, ‘I am wise in them,’

Or, ‘I have realized the exact nature of all phenomena,’

One cannot purify their conduct with a sincere attitude;

How can one with a dualistic mind become pure?

“Those who wish for the Dharma with mindfulness,

Who are respectful, unwavering, not stupid like sheep,

And are not like a rushing torrent but like a still ocean—

Such are vessels for supreme awakening.

“Those who wish for the Dharma

Never cling to any outer or inner things.

They are cherished by the knowledgeable and criticized by fools.

These are the ways to recognize people who wish for the Dharma.

“Therefore, as a king who wishes for the Dharma,

Practice purely after hearing these words,

And don't fixate on mere words or studies;

There is no wisdom in degenerate thoughts.

“Those who believe in the acceptance of the profound

Do not cling to pleasant or unpleasant forms.

Just like the wind, they have no attachment,

Yet they practice for hundreds of infinite eons.

“King, if awakening is what you wish for,

Purify your thoughts with a sincere attitude.

Do not remain in this mistaken state

Because of prideful thoughts of ‘I’ and ‘mine.’

“You should continuously confess faults.

You should maintain favorable vows.

Regard power and relationships as impermanent.

This absence of support is genuine emptiness.

“However many teachings on emptiness you preach,

This is not abiding in emptiness just as it is.

Anyone who acts contrary to reality

Does not accept the profound way.

“Thus, this emptiness is totally wrong.

One who knows emptiness just as it is

Will escape the worldly realm and reach supreme awakening

Like the king of geese leaving a swamp.

“After generating respect for the Thus-Gone One,

King, you should examine what he has taught.

King, because the body is going to fall apart completely,

Do not get discouraged on the vehicle to awakening.

“You should always protect the wise,

Who know the texts, experience, and rites of the Teacher.

Do not fall under the influence of mere words,

For you will undoubtedly remain sick for a long time.

“One who examines the teachings thoroughly

Should focus within in order to truly guard them.

Abandoning the myriad afflictions and karma,

One will attain in particular the supreme awakening.

“Train well in the six perfections.

Through training in them, you will attain supreme awakening.

Put into practice all that has been taught,

And before long you will achieve the virtues of omniscience.

“The mind that relates to objects

Like a bee unattached to a flower's nectar

Or a bird leaving no trace in the sky,

Is a mind, O King, that reaches buddhahood.

“You should follow the Dharma in protecting

Those who have found acceptance and courage for the profound

And hold the treasury of the buddhas.

Never forsake such wise ones, even at the cost of your life.

“There are many people, devoid of Dharma,

Who strive to harm such wise ones;

You should constantly prevent this through punishments,

Or else the way of the Dharma will quickly degenerate.

“If the Lord of the World does not appear,

Those wise ones will be the teachers of the world.

They will light the lamp of the Dharma for the benefit of living beings.

Therefore, devote yourself always to their benefit.

“There are many tens of billions of bodhisattvas

Who do not act for the benefit of sentient beings from their hearts.

They have neither a sincere attitude nor ethical discipline.

The Conqueror will not make prophecies about them.

“Those who act in accordance with what I have just described

Are endowed with the experience of nonarising.

You, King, having listened to these correct practices,

Should abide by these teachings I have revealed.”

Thereafter, King Brahmadatta said the following to the bodhisattva
great being Amoghadarśin: “Amoghadarśin, apparently I have all of the
shortcomings
but none of the good qualities. Amoghadarśin, I am contaminated with harmful
pollutants. Amoghadarśin, I am strongly addicted to unjust actions. I always
intensely seek out wealth and gather attendants. Consequently, my thoughts
arise due to a malevolent attitude that I am incapable of removing. Besides
that, I have also thrashed others with sticks and struck them with weapons.
Therefore, Amoghadarśin, I did not generate the mind of awakening. I
generated a malevolent attitude toward others, even in my dreams.
Amoghadarśin, I shall now generate with a sincere attitude the unsurpassed,
complete, and perfect mind of awakening. Amoghadarśin, if I do not train in
the precepts of bodhisattvas as they are delineated, it will amount to
deceiving all the blessed buddhas who dwell in the world systems of the ten
directions. In order to fully accomplish unsurpassed, complete, and perfect
awakening, I shall act exactly as you have spoken.”

Thereafter eighty thousand beings, following after King
Brahmadatta, generated the unsurpassed, complete, and perfect mind of
awakening for the first time, and they also prayed to achieve the conduct of
a bodhisattva as it was expounded. Twenty thousand beings acquired the pure
eye of Dharma that is flawless and without defilements with respect to all
phenomena.

Then, King Brahmadatta said the following to the bodhisattva great
being Amoghadarśin: “Amoghadarśin, out of your love for me and for the
benefit of the people gathered here, please consent to remain here at my
place to observe the summer retreat.

“Amoghadarśin, we may not meet the conditions of being a vessel,
we may
not meet the conditions of having the scope of experience, and we may not be
people of equal status to the fortunate ones. Also, since we do not see the
Thus-Gone One or listen to the Dharma continuously, our accumulation of the
roots of virtue may not be so large, and we may not have matured many
sentient beings. Nevertheless, your presence will benefit us.”

Then, the bodhisattva great being Amoghadarśin, along with some
five hundred other bodhisattvas, accepted King Brahmadatta’s request out of
love for him. King Brahmadatta prepared a variety of bedding, cushions,
mats, clothing, and food for the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin and his retinue of
five hundred bodhisattvas. He also made various Dharma offerings to the
bodhisattva great being Amoghadarśin.

At that time, there were sixty monks staying in that place. All of
them were lazy, limited in their studies, full of hostile intent, and
resentful when others received offerings. They claimed to be bodhisattvas
themselves, but were coarse, crude bodhisattvas. They indulged their senses;
they were wild, proud, and vain; they talked nonsense and were deceitful
like crows. They had no regard for their next lives and no fear of karma;
they enjoyed foolish talk, slept excessively, and had desire for what is not
the Dharma. Their physical, verbal, and mental actions were without any
restraint; they were argumentative, resented those with ethical discipline,
and took no interest at all in the knowledge of others.

They did not even like to see the teacher, let alone fellow
practitioners of pure conduct. Thus, they denigrated the bodhisattva
Amoghadarśin in a manner that was not in accord with the Dharma. Moreover, they
spread such remarks by visiting the homes of brahmins and householders with
little faith, who, as a result of listening, would be born and live as
denizens of the great hells for eight hundred million eons. The bodhisattva
Amoghadarśin did not tell this to King Brahmadatta because of his compassion
for those sentient beings.

At that time, King Brahmadatta had a court priest, a brahmin named
Thorough Obscurer. He caused a rift between the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin and
the monks who were there, and he made rude remarks that were at odds with
the Dharma. He also secretly caused a rift between King Brahmadatta and the
bodhisattva Amoghadarśin. He furthermore discouraged all those who had
developed extraordinary joy in the Dharma and used every possible means to
plant disdain for the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin in their minds. Even when he
participated in Dharma discussions, he spoke in opposition to the Dharma,
thereby carrying out by every means the activities of the crude
bodhisattvas.

In this regard, bodhisattvas are crude when they possess four
attributes. What are these four? They are as follows: ⁽¹⁾ They are deceitful
like a crow, talk nonsense, and do not accommodate other perspectives. ⁽²⁾
They praise themselves and criticizes others. ⁽³⁾ They are obsessed with
this life and have negative thoughts. ⁽⁴⁾ They aggressively sow discord.
Bodhisattvas are crude when they possess these
four attributes.

The bodhisattva Amoghadarśin completed the summer retreat there in
both comfort and suffering, and with happiness and sadness. Why was this so?
Well, someone who dwells with a lazy person tends to suffer. Thus, the
bodhisattva great being Amoghadarśin observed the summer retreat, and after
the three months had passed, he made and completed a Dharma robe. He then
left, carrying his alms bowl and Dharma robe. After passing through several
kingdoms, he finally arrived at Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park, in
Śrāvastī, where the Blessed One was residing. Arriving there, he touched the
Blessed One’s feet with his head to pay homage and sat to one side.

King Brahmadatta later heard the news that the bodhisattva
Amoghadarśin had gone directly to the Blessed One because the resident monks
had mistreated him. King Brahmadatta, along with ten thousand others, thus
left the region of Pañcāla for Kośala where the Blessed One was residing.
Arriving there, he touched the Blessed One’s feet with his head to pay
homage and sat to one side. After he sat down, King Brahmadatta said to the
Blessed One, “Blessed One, the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin left my country too
soon.”

The Blessed One replied, “Great King, the Thus-Gone One and the
hearers of the Thus-Gone One do not share a dwelling with individuals who
are jealous, make no effort whatsoever, are fond of gossip, engage in
excessive foolish talk, are very poorly behaved, and do not practice. Great
King, know that there are ten causes for a person's lack of effort. What are
these ten? They are as follows: ⁽¹⁾ sleeping excessively, ⁽²⁾ cultivating
the blatant pride of thinking oneself wise, ⁽³⁾ praising oneself, ⁽⁴⁾
criticizing others, ⁽⁵⁾ being fond of foolish talk, ⁽⁶⁾ being fond of
gossip, ⁽⁷⁾ being fond of crowds, ⁽⁸⁾ clinging strongly to wealth, ⁽⁹⁾
clinging strongly to respect, and ⁽¹⁰⁾ being a hypocrite.

“Great King, an individual who possesses these ten causes is known as
one who lacks effort.”

Then the Blessed One spoke the following verses:

“Those who are unreasonable are always inharmonious;

They remain as far from the wise ones

As a corpse in the ocean

Or a creature riding on a bird.

“Those without faith search for faults in others;

They speak foolishly and are fond of being in a crowd,

They do not respect the teachings of the conquerors,

And they will migrate to the lower realms immediately after death.

“Those who are lacking have neither mindfulness nor wisdom;

They will not pass into or reach nirvāṇa and do not have ethical
discipline,

And like a blind person on a road,

They stray farther and farther from the path of the noble ones.

“Persons who are lacking will talk too much;

They like to laugh and their senses are always distracted;

Regarding the teachings, they are not fit to drink the dregs of a water
pot,

And the food they receive from villages will go down like lumps of
iron.

“When a donor makes an offering out of faith,

For those not lacking and for the liberated, it is I who give it.

If one who is lacking consumes even a single morsel,

My disapproval will be as great as Mount Meru.

“According to the teachings, food provided by royalty is difficult to
purify.

Even those who are not lacking abstain from it.

If those who are lacking consume it like a vulture,

They will be reborn as an elephant, horse, cow, or donkey.

“When they eat it they will take contemptible forms,

Becoming skeletal, weak, and loathsome.

After eating alms food they will be filthy and exude a foul odor,

And can only be purified by being struck with a rod.

“Their minds will be distracted, and their mindfulness will erode
away;

They will be forced to beg and will go mad.

Despite obtaining this meritorious platform of the teachings,

If they are not heedful, they will fall into the lower realms.

“For an infinite million trillion years,

They will undergo great suffering in the lower realms,

After which they will obtain the relief of the human world,

But due to their misdeeds they will fall again into the lower realms.

“When a lump of iron plummets into the great ocean

Its location is not fixed.

Even after ten billion years

It will be impossible to recover it again from the ocean.

“It is the same for the childish ones who fall into the lower realms.

For a hundred billion trillion eons,

It is doubtful that they will again be born as human beings.

How can they attain the higher realms and awakening?

“With a pure mind and lasting diligence,

With perfect restraint and without being deceptive,

And with a mind of equanimity, one can attain awakening.

For such a person, the state of omniscience is not difficult.

“Great King, recognize the following sixteen things as
characteristics of jealous people. What are these sixteen? They are as
follows: ⁽¹⁾ being deceitful like a crow, ⁽²⁾ talking foolishly, ⁽³⁾ lacking
self-control, ⁽⁴⁾ being pleased when others are denounced, ⁽⁵⁾ doubting the
qualities of others, ⁽⁶⁾ thinking excessively, ⁽⁷⁾ being excessively
sorrowful, ⁽⁸⁾ possessing extreme mental discomfort, ⁽⁹⁾ being envious, ⁽¹⁰⁾
possessing a decrepit figure and complexion, ⁽¹¹⁾ being overwhelmed with
pride, ⁽¹²⁾ disliking monks, ⁽¹³⁾ being rude toward unexpected visitors,
⁽¹⁴⁾ looking for mistakes to start an argument, ⁽¹⁵⁾ being stingy regarding
one’s residence, and ⁽¹⁶⁾ not attending teachings, not listening with
attention but having a distracted mind, spreading rumors, and saying with
contempt for the Dharma, ‘I don’t understand what was said. It is a foolish,
mundane, and conventional Dharma being taught.’

“These people, who have no respect for the Vinaya and Dharma that
was realized by the noble ones, are ignorant fools.

“Saying, ‘I shall attain awakening; only then shall I sit under the
Bodhi tree and be respectful toward the Dharma,’ they stand outside the door
and listen even when the Dharma is being taught to the monks. They think, ‘I
am not willing to sit down. But, since it provides the monks with their
livelihood, I will listen when there is a talk on the eight branches of
awakening. If I listen to this, my illness
will be dispelled.’ Thus these foolish people who chase after
awakening by yearning for what is not the Dharma are like people who pluck
out their eyes and then want to see. They are like those wishing to satisfy
many guests after getting rid of all their wealth. They are like those
wishing to follow a path after cutting off their legs. Great King, this is
how these foolish people with such wishes think about awakening.

“Great King, someone who has fallen away from awakening should be
understood as having the following twenty-five attributes. What are the
twenty-five? They are as follows: ⁽¹⁾ being stingy regarding their
residence; ⁽²⁾ being stingy regarding their household; ⁽³⁾ being stingy with
their praise; ⁽⁴⁾ being jealous; ⁽⁵⁾ having no faith; ⁽⁶⁾ being shameless;
⁽⁷⁾ being immodest; ⁽⁸⁾ being malicious; ⁽⁹⁾ being deceptive; ⁽¹⁰⁾ being
harmful toward others; ⁽¹¹⁾ behaving in a way that is self-absorbed; ⁽¹²⁾
being hypocritical; ⁽¹³⁾ being vengeful; ⁽¹⁴⁾ excessively accumulating
wealth; ⁽¹⁵⁾ misinterpreting and exaggerating the teachings of the Thus-Gone
One out of fear and thus ⁽¹⁶⁾ abandoning the Dharma; ⁽¹⁷⁾ not asking any
questions because of excessive pride; ⁽¹⁸⁾ lacking remorse, even after
betraying the Dharma; ⁽¹⁹⁾ being dislikable and having many enemies; ⁽²⁰⁾
after joining the assembly, exposing someone’s faults immediately upon
seeing them in an attempt to reverse others’ fondness for them; ⁽²¹⁾
scorning those who have trust in secret topics; ⁽²²⁾ disparaging monks
whether one has previously seen them or not, thinking that no one should
like them; ⁽²³⁾ disparaging in order to harm; ⁽²⁴⁾ forsaking others in order
to disparage them; and ⁽²⁵⁾ guarding their ethical discipline motivated by
the thought that failing to keep the fully ordained monk’s vows would not
bring as much profit.

Then the Blessed One spoke the following verses:

“Like crows they are deceitful and talk nonsense without restraint.

They are disrespectful to the teachings of the knowers of the world,

Proud, shameless, and combative at all times—

These are the signs of those who are overwhelmed with jealousy.

“How can awakening be achieved

By those who feel no unhappiness when others are criticized,

Who like a pauper finding gold, cherish it and forsake all else,

And who have the intention to cause harm?

“In the past they cultivated a vindictive attitude,

Which ripened in their experience of the lower realms.

They are jealous even now, despite having found a human body,

And in appearance are dull and ugly.

“Time and again, they mock everyone;

Their minds are always hostile.

Even upon seeing the expertise of others,

They become jealous and so abandon the Dharma.

“As they are wild and their hearts know no restraint,

They speak about many bad things with others;

And even when others have not spoken negatively,

They pass their nights intending to fight.

“In town they behave differently,

While in the temple they act like wild horses.

They recognize others’ faults but not their own.

Such are the attributes of those who are jealous.

“They will think, ‘Now, I definitely won't stay around here,

But will say such-and-such things in that person's house.

Tomorrow I will speak offensively….’

This is how they keep plotting with a malicious mindset.

“Their minds are full of sorrow and without joy.

When they see others venerated because of what they know,

They lose their conviction in the ripening of karma,

And, controlled by vice, they speak critically.

“When honor and respect grows

For wise ones who have mastered the remedies,

Jealous people do not recognize them as holders of the supreme Dharma

Who practice unsurpassed, supreme generosity.

“If they see monks who are gentle in their pure activity

Suddenly coming, they feel ashamed.

With disrespect they say faithless things,

Such as ‘What do you want in this miserable place?

“ ‘There is always a lot of work in this monastery,

And with nothing to gain, your activities here will be unbearable.’

If the monks refuse to leave despite their dissuasions,

They will lose their temper and pick a fight.

“There are no such people in this pure place.

Remember what happened in the other land?

After the resident monks expelled you,

Did you come here to disparage them?

“Naive lay disciples do not understand;

They do not know who has ethical discipline or who is unethical.

Monks leave frequently, both willingly and unwillingly,

And certainly leave when facing spite and viciousness.

“When this is seen by Dharma teachers,

Students of the Buddha who are gentle, superior, and steadfast,

They say it is inappropriate to clash with fools,

And that they will just go back where they came from.

“How sad! These teachings of mine that guide,

This Dharma of the conquerors, will come to an end;

These wicked monks will proliferate,

While those who preach the Dharma decrease.

“When a learned individual suddenly arrives

And reveals that which brings joy to many people,

They say, ‘What does one with such little intelligence know?’

And they pronounce to others their lack of respect.

“They have neither received transmissions nor asked Dharma questions.

What is their preceptor like and who is their master?

Like a self-sprouting tree, they don their Dharma robe

And seek wealth for their own happiness.

“They think, ‘He is not learned in the collection of sūtras,

And we know as much as he knows.’

They are foolish and refute the teachings.

They have not attained samādhi, and they think like a child.

“King, as I recall in past times,

There was a buddha called Jñānaprabha.

He taught the Dharma for eighty thousand years,

After which the conqueror attained nirvāṇa.

“After that conqueror had passed,

When the sublime Dharma declined and came close to an end,

A monk named Mindful Intellect appeared—

He did not attain dhāraṇī, but he had obtained eloquence.

“He was good looking, gentle, and well-spoken,

And always satisfied with plain, simple things.

Like a cloud satisfying all beings with its rain,

He satisfied all migratory beings, including the gods, with the
Dharma.

“At that time, there was upon the earth a town

Called Vyūharāja;

It measured eight yojanas in circumference,

And the people there were intelligent and happy with bountiful
harvests.

“When Mindful Intellect, the teacher of the Dharma, arrived,

He gave Dharma teachings for the benefit of all living beings.

Two hundred thirty million living beings

Became established in the state of unsurpassed awakening.

“With flowers, incense, and garments,

And with delicacies, libations, and wholesome songs,

And with excellent sounds from musical instruments,

They worshiped him as they would a buddha.

“Five hundred monks became extremely hostile;

They spread criticism of him in the town,

Saying, ‘He has no ethical discipline; he is a miscreant, and I know this
to be so’

To each and every person they met.

“During the restoration and purification rites on the day of the full
moon,

Some of these wicked monks stood up and said,

‘If you do not leave quickly, by tonight,

We will slash your vital parts and kill you.’

“With compassion for those monks,

The pure sentient being left undismayed.

Thousands of gods mourned and cried,

‘Why is this child of the Buddha being harassed?’

“All of the five hundred monks there

Passed the whole night laughing, elated.

They thought, ‘At last! We are finally free of him,’

And felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

“When the five hundred monks died,

They remained in hell for eighty eons.

For a period of seven hundred sixty trillion eons,

Those monks lived in the world of hungry ghosts.

“Life after life, these sentient beings will become blind.

They will be born as venomous snakes and eat dust.

Children will pelt them with clods of dirt when they see them.

They will have neither protectors nor defenders.

“For one hundred eighty billion lifetimes,

They will be born into poverty in the human realm.

They will go mad and go blind, and their bodies will continuously
rot.

They will look ugly, be contemptible, and have little power.

“They will be afflicted in that way for five billion years.

They themselves will always do many unpleasant things

And find fault in the generous acts of others.

They will throw themselves into a deep abyss.

“In the future, the sixtieth eon

Will be called the Eon of Great Fame.

During that time there will appear ten thousand thus-gone ones

Who will protect and benefit the world.

“During the time of the last of those buddhas,

Those five hundred monks will obtain their human forms.

After seeing that buddha, they will attain the state of acceptance

And will see as many buddhas as there are grains of sand in the Ganges
River.

“In the past, all of them together

Had made aspirations for the mind of omniscience,

Yet at that stage they had not generated the mind of awakening.

Depending on their particular mental states, they fell into the lower
realms.

“At that time, I was a Dharma preacher, a conqueror’s son,

Known as Mindful Intellect.

Those who refuted me were shown to be refuted.

Thus, they gave up pride and left it behind.

“They gave up what was unsuitable and practiced wisdom.

Those who do not wish to destroy themselves,

After discarding all ignorant speaking,

Should also get rid of jealousy as if it were a mass of flame.

“Whether they are seen or unseen, heard or unheard,

True or untrue, do not discuss them with others—

A monk who wishes to attain supreme awakening

Will remove his own faults.

“Those who are gentle will give away

All outer and inner things.

Why would one aspiring to my supreme awakening

Take delight in anything else?

“In the future many crude people

Will deny awakening in connection with my teachings.

They plunge into gorges and chasms—

How can one with degenerate thoughts reach awakening?

“One who wishes to attain my supreme awakening

Gets rid of pride, as does a low-caste boy,

Generates the mind of love for all sentient beings,

And is never dissatisfied whether there is attainment or no attainment.

“Also, Great King, the Thus-Gone One and the hearers of the
Thus-Gone One will not want to stay for long in places where there are
people who lack respect and faith and who hate others and seek to harm them. They will
leave such places immediately.

“Great King, there are sixteen attributes that describe an
individual who lacks faith. What are these sixteen? They are ⁽¹⁾ instigating
discord, ⁽²⁾ considering wicked teachings reasonable, ⁽³⁾ considering Dharma
talks unreasonable, ⁽⁴⁾ having wicked thoughts, ⁽⁵⁾ having a mind that is
proud, ⁽⁶⁾ seeking to harm, ⁽⁷⁾ having ulterior motives, ⁽⁸⁾ possessing a
livelihood that is totally impure, ⁽⁹⁾ desiring respect, ⁽¹⁰⁾ having a
mental continuum that is not virtuous, ⁽¹¹⁾ lacking practice, ⁽¹²⁾
belittling others, ⁽¹³⁾ being fully intent on finding only faults, ⁽¹⁴⁾ not
ascertaining the teachings, ⁽¹⁵⁾ holding wrong views, and ⁽¹⁶⁾ doubting the
ripening of karma.

“Great King, these sixteen attributes describe an individual who
lacks faith.”

Then the Blessed One spoke the following verses:

“Those who do not properly adhere to the teachings

Abandon them completely like a dried-up well.

Those who follow another stream that is incompatible with liberation

Are no different from hostile-minded heretics.

“They do not believe in the ripening of karma.

Since they do not believe, they do not provide for others.

Regarding themselves to be as high as the summit of Mount Meru,

They act like someone who is intoxicated with pride.

“When the well-spoken Dharma is explained to them,

They find it disagreeable due to their wicked perspective.

Without faith, they generate doubt toward the Dharma

And lose their minds for many tens of millions of eons.

“They will become wicked from their thoughts that lack faith.

They do nothing to guard against a mind filled with anger.

Abandoning everything that is of substance,

Those without faith will cling to defilements.

“Posturing and always arrogant,

Those who lack faith will not bow to others.

After their deaths, they will be born into lower castes,

Become destitute, and resent others.

“Those who lack faith do not assess themselves.

They find faults in others and hold on to their mistakes.

Like a castor-oil tree in a forest,

They are neither householders nor monks.

“They are as deceitful as they are impure.

They simply do not follow anyone’s teachings.

They resent others, even when they are trusted.

They will never be a friend, even if one sustains them for an eon.

“Their livelihood is impure.

Without faith, these ordained monks

Forsake the many teachings that liberate them,

And thus, before very long, they will fall.

“Since, lacking faith, they desire veneration,

They make others understand things that are untrue.

Acting deceitfully and hiding their true nature,

They attempt to trick and flatter.

“Their mental states are always hateful and discordant.

Even when they hear others talk,

They think the conversation is about them.

Without faith, they become consumed by doubt.

“They make comments about others

And see others as impure as they are themselves.

Without faith, they are like frightened deer—

They find that no one is reliable or agreeable.

“Their practice is degenerate and they disregard the feelings of
others.

They become intimidated at gatherings;

With trembling hands, they pick fights,

And they even put an end to those they come across.

“Thus, their assertions and criticisms are unfounded.

Slanderous by nature, they are abundantly wicked,

And they are unfriendly, confrontational, and angry.

These are the natural marks of those who are without faith.

“After those without faith are ordained,

They refute even the teachings of the Guide.

Whenever there is harmony among the Saṅgha,

They contradict with words that are not of the Dharma.

“Since they question the teachings of the conquerors,

They are like heretics doubting and hesitating,

Bringing harm to the Dharma and contradicting it.

Without faith, they reject even the Dharma.

“When they fail to abandon wrong views,

They are condemned to join with non-Buddhist heretics.

They are not rooted in the teachings

And are called monks merely because they wear Dharma robes.

“By deeply cultivating immutable selflessness,

A monk free of the view of the transitory collection

Will experience the wisdom of the teachings

And like the wind will not be attached to compounded things.

“Without faith, they are not convinced of karma.

Falling under the power of wicked thoughts,

They will soon reside in the lower realms,

Tormented just as they tormented others.

“Just as water constitutes the great ocean,

Faith in this teaching is the basis.

As for anyone who does not have faith in the teachings,

I am not for them, and they are not for me.

“Faith is the basis for this wondrous journey.

It is the path and light that lead to the elixir.

Just like the king of Jambudvīpa,

It is the foremost of all qualities.

“Great King, the monks in your monastery lacked qualities such as
these. Therefore, the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin examined them individually
and did not stay but quickly departed.

“Great King, after they die and pass on, all of those sixty monks
will circle in the lower realms for three eons. Thereafter, they will be
born into low classes of beings for eighty thousand lives; they will be
inferior, survive on leftover food, and be reviled by the world. They will
have emaciated bodies, be of hideous complexion, be considered
insignificant, be disfigured, and be afflicted with chronic ailments in
almost all successive lifetimes. They will be agitated due to imbalanced
health, wail with pitiful voices, and die in a bad state.

“Then, after dying in their last lifetime, they will be reborn in
the realm of Sukhāvatī. For eighty thousand years they will hear but not
understand the teachings of the thus-gone Amitāyus. They will be able to see
that thus-gone one’s light but not him; his light will not even shine on
their bodies. In order to purify their faults completely, they will confess their
faults to the gathering of bodhisattvas three times a day and three times a
night, with their limbs and heads touching the ground. Only then will their
actions become completely purified. Thereafter, they will be able to see the
Thus-Gone One, understand the teachings, and receive predictions regarding
their awakening.”

Then King Brahmadatta said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, give
me your permission to remove these monks. I do not wish for such wicked
monks to be known among my subjects, let alone be seen.” Then King
Brahmadatta dispatched his men in order to remove those monks, ensuring that
they did not remain among his subjects. “Blessed One, this is the fruition
of their karma in this life. These are people who will harm themselves in
future lives as well.”

As he said this, the Blessed One said to King Brahmadatta, “Great
King, there are four pitfalls for those who have gone forth into this
teaching of mine. What are these four? They are as follows: ⁽¹⁾ not
respecting the Buddha, ⁽²⁾ forsaking the supreme Dharma, ⁽³⁾ loathing those
who teach the Dharma, and ⁽⁴⁾ taking offerings given with faith when one
lacks true effort.

“Great King, these are the four pitfalls for those who have gone
forth into this teaching of mine.”

Then the Blessed One spoke the following verses:

“Doubting the Buddha is the ultimate pitfall.

The whole word cannot protect such a person.

Such a narrow-minded person turns from the teacher,

And without a protector will migrate to the lower realms.

“Forsaking the Dharma, they migrate to a lower existence.

For a period of no less than a thousand years,

They will be blind, with dull senses and a degenerate mind.

This great suffering is the second pitfall.

“To deprecate those who are fearless in upholding the Buddha's
teachings,

And who sustain the wisdom of omniscience,

Is the third great pitfall;

It is experienced for many tens of millions of eons.

“Those who misuse offerings given by the faithful,

Which is the fourth great pitfall,

Will be impossible to protect, even by the entire world.

Possessing bad karma, they will wander through all lower existences.

“The purity of thoughts is the purity of the noble ones.

Not wavering from awakening, that is the basis of the mind.

One cannot attain awakening through mere words.

One must also purify the mind—this is taught by the Thus-Gone One.

When the Blessed One spoke this discourse of the Dharma, five
thousand beings generated the aspiration for unsurpassed, perfect, and
complete awakening, which they had never done before, and achieved the
acceptance of phenomena as unarisen. King Brahmadatta also became
irreversibly oriented toward unsurpassed, perfect, and complete awakening.
One hundred thousand beings possessed the pure eye of the Dharma, which is
devoid of stains and free from defilements with respect to phenomena. One
hundred million gods generated the mind of awakening, which they had never
done before.

The Blessed One then smiled, and as happens whenever the blessed
ones smile, at that moment light of myriad colors—blue, yellow, red, white,
crimson, crystalline, and silver—emerged from his mouth. The light
illuminated boundless, limitless realms and reached all the way up to the
world of Brahmā. It even eclipsed the magnificence of the sun and moon. Then
the light rays returned, circled around the Blessed One three times, and
dissolved into the crown of his head.

Then the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin folded his hands and bowed in the
direction of the Blessed One and asked him, “Blessed One, what are the
causes of your smile? What are the conditions?”

The Blessed One said, “Amoghadarśin, King Brahmadatta will not
fall into any bad state for thirty eons, and after enjoying the bounties of
the gods and humans, he will please eight hundred million buddhas. In all
his lives, he will be universal emperor. Forsaking the four continents
completely, he will respect and revere the blessed buddhas with an intention
free of any hostility.

“Thereafter, he will actually attain buddhahood—unsurpassed,
perfect, and complete awakening—in a buddha field that will be equal in
display to Sukhāvatī, and he will become a thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha
called King of Limitless Display.”

Thus, King Brahmadatta felt contented, elated, jubilant, and
overjoyed. Happy and blissful, he bowed down with the five points of his
body at the feet of the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin. He then said, “Blessed
One, because Amoghadarśin endured being with that community of monks for my
sake, I sincerely appeal to him for forgiveness.” Out of his love for King
Brahmadatta, the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin then forgave him.

When the Blessed One spoke thus, King Brahmadatta, and the world
with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas all rejoiced and praised the
words of the Blessed One.

Here ends the noble Mahāyāna sūtra “The Questions of
Brahmadatta.”

Colophon

It was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors
Surendrabodhi and Prajñāvarman, as well as the editor and translator Bandé
Yeshé Dé and others.

It consists of three hundred stanzas.

Notes

Bibliography

Tibetan Sources

Secondary Sources

Thorough Obscurer

King of Limitless Display

Mindful Intellect

Yeshé Dé

ye shes sde
ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།

Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park
jetavanam anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ
rgyal bu rgyal byed kyi tshal mgon med zas sbyin gyi kun dga’ ra ba
རྒྱལ་བུ་རྒྱལ་བྱེད་ཀྱི་ཚལ་མགོན་མེད་ཟས་སྦྱིན་གྱི་ཀུན་དགའ་ར་བ།
rgyal bu rgyal byed kyi tshal mgon med pa la zas sbyin pa'i kun dga’ ra ba
རྒྱལ་བུ་རྒྱལ་བྱེད་ཀྱི་ཚལ་མགོན་མེད་པ་ལ་ཟས་སྦྱིན་པའི་ཀུན་དགའ་ར་བ།