The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Questions of the Householder Vīradatta”

Summary

While the Buddha is residing in Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, with a great assembly of monks, elsewhere in Śrāvastī the eminent
householder Vīradatta hosts a meeting with five hundred householders to discuss
certain questions regarding the practice of the Great Vehicle. Hoping to resolve
these questions, Vīradatta and the householders decide to approach the Buddha in
Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. There the Buddha explains how bodhisattvas
should engender the spirit of great compassion while not being attached to the
body or to enjoyments, and he then instructs the householders on how
bodhisattvas should examine the impermanence and impurity of the body. This
prose teaching is followed by a set of verses that reiterate how the body is
impure and impermanent and that elucidate the process of karma and its effects.
As a result of this teaching, Vīradatta and the five hundred householders attain
the acceptance that phenomena are unborn. They then proclaim, in a well-known
series of verses, the merits of aspiring for the awakening to buddhahood. The
Buddha smiles, predicting that Vīradatta and the five hundred householders will
attain spiritual awakening. The sūtra concludes with the Buddha telling Ānanda
about the name of this Dharma discourse.

Acknowledgements

Translation by the University of Calgary Buddhist Studies team. This
sūtra was introduced and translated by Dr. James B. Apple with assistance from
Dr. Shinobu Arai Apple.

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

Introduction

While the Buddha is residing in Śrāvastī, in Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, with a great monastic assembly of 1,250 monks, elsewhere in
Śrāvastī the eminent householder Vīradatta hosts a meeting with five hundred
householders to discuss certain questions regarding the practice of the
Great Vehicle. Hoping to resolve these questions, Vīradatta and the
householders decide to approach the Buddha in Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. There, the Buddha explains how bodhisattvas should engender the
spirit of great compassion while not being attached to the body or to
possessions, and he then instructs them on how bodhisattvas should examine
the impermanence and impurity of the body. This prose teaching is followed
by a set of verses that reiterate how the body is impure and impermanent and
that elucidate the process of karma and its effects. With this teaching,
Vīradatta and the five hundred householders all attain the acceptance that
phenomena are unborn. They then proclaim, in a well-known series of verses,
the merits of the resolve to attain spiritual awakening. The Buddha smiles
and predicts that Vīradatta and the five hundred householders will awaken to
buddhahood. The sūtra concludes with the Buddha telling Ānanda about the
name of this Dharma discourse.

The Questions of the Householder
Vīradatta is preserved in Gāndhārī fragments and in Chinese, Tibetan, and Mongolian
versions. There are three Chinese versions: the Pusa xiuxing jing
菩薩修行經 translated by Bo Fazuo circa 290–306 ce (Taishō 330), the Quan shou chang zhe hui
勸授長者會 translated by Bodhiruci in 713 ce (Taishō 310⁽²⁸⁾), and the Wu wei shou suo wen da cheng jing
無畏授所問大乘經 translated by Dānapāla circa 980 ce. The Tibetan version is preserved in one
Dunhuang manuscript (IOL Tib J 184) and approximately twenty-eight Kangyur
editions. This English translation is based on a
complete Dunhuang Tibetan manuscript (IOL Tib J 184), which was compared
against another Dunhuang Tibetan manuscript (IOL Tib J 185) and seven
Kangyur editions. The IOL Tib J 184
manuscript version is the oldest and most complete version of the extant
Tibetan textual witnesses.

The sūtra is listed differently in two early ninth-century Tibetan
catalogs. In the Denkarma catalog the
discourse is listed as khyim bdag dpas byin gyis
zhus pa in three hundred ślokas and is included in the Ratnakūṭa
(Heap of Jewels) section. The Phangthangma catalog records the sūtra as
dpal byin gyis zhus pa in one fascicle
but does not include the discourse in the Ratnakūṭa section.
The late thirteenth-century catalog of the Tibetan Kadampa master Darma
Gyaltsen (dar ma rgyal mtshan,
1227–1305), commonly known as Chomden Raldri (bcom ldan ral gri), lists the sūtra as dpal byin gyis zhus pa. A listing of texts appended to Butön Rinchen Drup’s
(bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364)
History of Buddhism (chos ’byung) also records the work as the
khyim bdag dpal sbyin gyis zhus pa in
one fascicle. As found in the translation, the colophon of
IOL Tib J 184 lists the translators as the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and
Dānaśīla along with the chief editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé (ban de ye shes sde). The
colophon also mentions that the translators utilized the “revised
terminology” (skad gsar
bcad) of the new translation period and that the sūtra forms
the thirty-second chapter of the Ratnakūṭa collection.

The origins of The Questions of the Householder
Vīradatta can be traced to the early centuries of the common
era, based on the existence of fragments of the work as preserved in
Gāndhārī. The scripture reflects the “Mahāyānization” of such practices as
the mindfulness of the body (kāyasmṛtyupasthāna) and meditation on the impurity of the
body (aśubhabhāvanā) that
circulated among Yogācāra proponents in the second to fourth century. The title Vīradattaparipṛcchā figures in a pre-sixth-century list of
scriptures found in the Nandimitrāvadāna. Although the exact contents of the discourse at
that stage in its history is unknown, the Vīradattaparipṛcchā is listed in that work independently of
any Ratnakūṭa collection, indicating that the Vīradattaparipṛcchā circulated as an individual text for a
period of time.

The Questions of the Householder
Vīradatta was cited as a scriptural authority by Indian Buddhist
masters. The Sūtrasamuccaya
,
attributed to Nāgārjuna (ca. second–third centuries), cites the sūtra three
times: once in its chapter on the rareness of great compassion and twice in
its chapter on the rareness of really serious Dharma practice on the part of
householders. Other Indian Buddhist commentators such as Bhāviveka (ca.
500–570), Kamalaśīla (ca. 740–95), and Atiśa (982–1054) cite the sūtra as a
scriptural source for the immeasurable qualities of the resolve for
awakening (bodhicitta). The
fact that the verses from the sūtra on the resolve for awakening cited by
these commentators are actually spoken by Vīradatta and his entourage of
five hundred householders suggests that there was considerable latitude as
to what qualifies as the “word of the Buddha” (buddhavacana) and that this could include the
speech of followers of the Buddha whom he had influenced and endorsed.
Śāntideva’s Śikṣāsamuccaya
also
cites the sūtra several times as a scriptural authority, particularly in its
chapter on the applications of mindfulness.
We can assume that The Questions of the Householder
Vīradatta enjoyed some popularity in eighth- and ninth-century
Tibet based on its inclusion among the 104 titles (no. 82) of Buddhist
scriptures found in Mahāvyutpatti §65. The
sūtra was also sporadically cited in later Tibetan commentaries and briefly
analyzed by Pekar Sangpo (pad dkar bzang
po, sixteenth century) in his overview of each sūtra preserved
among the Tibetan Kangyurs.

The Translation

The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra

The Questions of the Householder Vīradatta

Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying in
Śrāvastī, in Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, together with a
great monastic assembly of 1,250 monks. All were arhats whose contaminants
had been exhausted. They were free from defilements and had attained
mastery. Their minds were completely free, and their insight perfectly
liberated. They were well-born great elephants, successful and accomplished.
They had laid down their burdens and fulfilled their aims. They had
eliminated the fetters of existence, and their minds were completely
liberated through perfect knowledge. They had attained supreme perfection in
mastering all mental states. Indeed, they were all this way—with the
exception of one person, Venerable Ānanda. They were accompanied by five
hundred bodhisattvas, all of whom had attained retention and meditative
absorption.

At that time, in the great city of Śrāvastī there was a householder
named Vīradatta who had immense wealth, extensive assets, abundant capital
and provisions, and multiple storehouses and treasuries of jewels and grain.
He had many elephants, horses, camels, goats, and cows, and he also
possessed many male and female slaves, employees, and day laborers. He also
had a great quantity of jewels, gold, gems, pearls, lapis lazuli, conch shells,
crystal, coral, fine gold, and silver.

In this place, five hundred householders congregated and sat
together. While assembled, they conversed: “Hey, friends! The appearance of
a buddha is rarely met with. A human birth is rarely met with. The excellent
freedoms are rarely met with. Faith in the teaching of the Tathāgata is
rarely met with. A renunciate is rarely met with. Monkhood is rarely met
with. One who strives earnestly is rarely met with. Some sentient beings
have gratitude and understand deeds; they do not squander even small deeds,
not to mention extensive ones. Such people are rarely found. Even rarer to
be found are those sentient beings who have conviction in the teachings of
the Tathāgata. Still rarer to be found are those sentient beings who, based
on their conviction in the teachings of the Tathāgata, earnestly practice
them. Rarer yet to be found are those sentient beings who are adorned with
the teaching of the Tathāgata. When liberation from saṃsāra is so rarely to
be found, will we attain parinirvāṇa through the Śrāvaka Vehicle or the
Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, or will we attain it through the unsurpassable Great
Vehicle?” Thus, all those harmoniously assembled and seated together, who
investigated things in this way considered that the best way to attain
parinirvāṇa was not through the Śrāvaka Vehicle or the Pratyekabuddha
Vehicle but through the unsurpassable Great Vehicle.

On this occasion, the householder Vīradatta, surrounded and closely
attended by those five hundred householders, proceeded together from the
great city of Śrāvastī and went to where the Blessed One was residing in Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. They prostrated to
the feet of the Blessed One and, having circumambulated the Blessed
One three times, took their seats to one side. The Blessed One then posed
the following question to the householder Vīradatta and the five hundred
householders, although he already knew the answer: “Householders, why have
you approached the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha?”

The householder Vīradatta and the five hundred householders arose
from their seats, draped their robes over one shoulder, and knelt on their
right knee, bowing with palms together. Vīradatta replied to the Blessed One
as follows: “Blessed One, at one time I congregated and gathered together
with five hundred householders, and at that time all of us who had assembled
had the following conversation.

“ ‘Hey, friends! The appearance of a buddha is rarely met with. A
human birth is rarely met with. The excellent freedoms are rarely met with.
Faith in the teaching of the Tathāgata is rarely met with. A renunciate is
rarely met with. Monkhood is rarely met with. One who strives earnestly is
rarely met with. Some sentient beings are grateful and understand deeds;
they do not squander even small deeds, not to mention extensive ones. Such
people are rarely found. Even rarer to be found are those sentient beings
who have conviction in the teachings of the Tathāgata. Still rarer to be
found are those sentient beings who, based on their conviction in the
teachings of the Tathāgata, earnestly practice them. Rarer yet to be found
are those sentient beings who are adorned with the teaching of the
Tathāgata. When liberation from saṃsāra is so rarely to be found, will we
attain parinirvāṇa through the Śrāvaka Vehicle or the Pratyekabuddha
Vehicle, or will we attain it through the unsurpassable Great Vehicle?’

“On that occasion, Blessed One, we all came to the following
realization: we concluded that the best way to attain parinirvāṇa is not
through the Śrāvaka Vehicle or the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle but through the
unsurpassable Great Vehicle.

“Blessed One, we set off with this source of the Dharma and came
straight to the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha. Blessed One,
we are now asking how should a bodhisattva mahāsattva who is seeking to
fully awaken to unsurpassable complete and perfect awakening train? How
should one train in it, Sugata? How should one abide by it? How should one
proceed with it?”

The Blessed One then expressed his approval to the householder
Vīradatta and the five hundred householders: “Householders, excellent,
excellent! Householders, having set out for unsurpassable complete and
perfect awakening in this way, it is good that you have approached the
thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha.

“Therefore, householders, please listen well and bear my words in
mind, and I shall explain to you how a bodhisattva, a mahāsattva who is
seeking to fully awaken to unsurpassable complete and perfect awakening
should train in it, abide by it, and proceed with it.”

“So it shall be, Blessed One,” answered the householder Vīradatta
and the five hundred householders, and they began to listen to the Blessed
One’s view.

The Blessed One then said to them, “In this regard, householders, the
bodhisattva mahāsattva who wishes to fully awaken to unsurpassable complete
and perfect awakening should cultivate the spirit of great
compassion for all sentient beings. He should be respectful. He should stay
close to them. He should cultivate them. He should do a lot for them.

“Householders, such a bodhisattva mahāsattva should not be attached
to the body. He should not be attached to life. Likewise, he should not be
attached to wealth, grain, house, wife, sons, or daughters. He should not be
attached to food, drink, clothing, vehicles, bedding, flowers, incense,
perfumes, ointments, or garlands. He should not be attached to possessions.

“Why is this? Householders, it is because sentient beings usually
become attached to their body and life and thus commit evil deeds. By
committing and accumulating this evil karma, they fall headlong into evil
states and bad destinies and are reborn as hell beings. Cultivate the
spirit of great compassion for all sentient beings. When one is not attached
to the body and not attached to life, one takes birth in the happy
destinies.

“For these reasons, householders, a bodhisattva mahāsattva who
wishes to fully awaken to unsurpassable complete and perfect awakening
should cultivate the spirit of great compassion for all sentient beings. He
should not be attached to the body. He should not be attached to life.
Likewise, he should not be attached to wealth, grain, house, wife, sons, or
daughters. He should not be attached to food, drink, clothing, vehicles,
bedding, flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, or ointments. He should not
be attached to possessions.

“He should renounce extensively and fully, with total renunciation
and without expectation for results. He should stand firm in the three
aspects of morality, the vows of pure moral
discipline.
He should endure with indifference the negative deeds committed by any
sentient being and thus make the most of it. He should don the great armor of effort in
disregarding body and life. He should have one-pointedness of mind with an
undistracted mind. He should become skilled in analysis by means of insight
that is free from the view of a self, a being, a life force, a soul, a man,
a person, a human-born one, and a human being. Therefore, when giving gifts,
he should give gifts while considering all sentient beings. He should guard
moral discipline while considering all sentient beings. He should cultivate
patience while considering all sentient beings. He should apply effort while
considering all sentient beings. He should become established in
concentration while considering all sentient beings. He should cultivate
wisdom while considering all sentient beings. He should train in skillful
means while considering all sentient beings.”

The householder Vīradatta and the five hundred householders then
said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, if one perceives and dwells on the
body and life, and likewise perceives and dwells on wealth, grain, house,
wife, sons, or daughters, and likewise perceives and dwells on food, drink,
clothing, vehicles, bedding, flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, or
ointments, and all one’s enjoyments, then, Blessed One, how should a
bodhisattva examine these and thereby disregard the body? Tathāgata, how
should he disregard life? Likewise, how should he disregard wealth, grain,
house, wife, sons, and daughters? How should he disregard food, drink,
clothing, vehicles, bedding, flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, or
ointments? How should he disregard all enjoyments?”

The Blessed One said to the householder Vīradatta and the five
hundred householders, “In this regard, householders, the bodhisattva
mahāsattva should examine multiple aspects of this body. What are the
multiple aspects? They consist in this body’s gradual development and
gradual deterioration, its being a collection of minute particles, its
hollow interior, its crookedness, and its contamination through the nine
crevices and the hair pores. Like an anthill, it serves as a den for
poisonous snakes. As with a poisonous snake, people avoid dealing with it.
Like the monkey of Ajātaśatru, it is hostile to friends. Like a wicked
friend, it is the embodiment of deceit. Like a mass of foam, it is vacuous
by nature. Like a water bubble, it breaks when grasped. Like a mirage, it is
the embodiment of deception. Like a plantain, it lacks any core when split
apart.

“Like an illusion, it is the embodiment of deceptiveness. Like a
king, it is pampered a lot. Like an enemy, it looks for opportunities. Like a thief,
it cannot be trusted. Like an executioner, it is without any affection. Like
a foe, it wants to be unbeneficial. Like a murderer, it hinders the life
force of insight. Like hostile forces, it hinders qualities conducive to
virtue. Like a ghost town, it is devoid of self. Like a potter’s vase, it
will eventually disintegrate. Like a mire, it is filled with all sorts of
filth. Like a mug of malt dregs, it is contaminated with impurities. Like
the corpse of a snake, man, or dog, it has an unpleasant smell. Like a
puddle of vomit, it is a source of filth. Like a wound, it is unbearable
when disturbed. Like a thorn, it has the nature of piercing. Like an
indignant ruler, it is difficult to appease. Like an old house, it needs
attention and proper repairs. Like an old boat, it needs upkeep and proper
repairs. Like a freshly made clay pot, it needs to be handled carefully. As
with a mischievous friend, one must always be on guard against it.

“Like a tree on a riverbank, it is unstable. Like the stream of a
great river, it ends in the ocean of death. Like a house of drifters, it is
the haven of all miseries. Like a hotel without guests, it is unidentifiable. Like a jailer, it is susceptible to bribes.
Like a town in savage border lands, it presents a constant threat. Like a
city made of sand, it is always deteriorating. Like a fire, it is
insatiable. Like the ocean, it is hard to fill up. Like a basket containing
a viper, it has to be handled carefully. Like a young child, it needs
constant protection. Like a broken vessel, it needs constant attention. Like
a famine, it brings constant misfortune. Like poison food, it must always be
purged. It is like a borrowed vessel because its purpose is temporary. It is
like a cart because it bears a burden. One should apprehend the body
intellectually as nothing more than these things.

“Moreover, householders, a bodhisattva should examine this body
according to the initial and final causes. The initial cause of the body is
its genesis from the combination of the seminal fluid and blood of one’s
father and mother. The final cause is the digestion of food and so forth. As
soon as food is eaten by the mouthful, it goes to the site of phlegm. Having
gone to the site of phlegm, it is worked on extensively by the phlegm and
becomes very impure. Below there, it goes into the site of bile, and having
reached the site of bile, it dissolves and becomes acidic. Then it goes to
the site of winds. Having dissolved and gone to the site of winds, the winds
break down the waste part and make the refined part very pure. From the
waste part comes ordure such as urine and vomit. From the refined part comes
blood. From blood comes flesh. From flesh comes fat. From fat comes bone.
From bone comes marrow. From marrow comes seminal fluid. From seminal fluid
comes the body. In this way the initial and final causes are impure.

“Because the initial and final causes are impure, bodhisattvas
should consider the body to be impure. When viewing the body as impure, the
bodhisattva should consider the following points: This so-called body is
erected on the inside by three hundred and sixty bones, three hundred of
which are connected like a house of rotten wood. It is interlaced with four
hundred networks of veins, sheathed with five hundred handfuls of flesh,
covered by six connected channels, filled with seven hundred nerves, held
together by seven hundred tendons, and supported by sixteen ligaments. These
are surrounded by two ligaments. The small intestines are made up of three
and a half cubits of entrails. The intestines connected to the large
intestine and stomach are coiled sixty times. There are openings made by
twenty-five hundred subsidiary channels. There is a weakening by way of one
hundred and seven vital essences, like a broken vessel. It is carpeted, like
grass, with eighteen million hair pores. There are nine orifices including
the five sense powers. It has seven sites. It is filled with filth. It has
two handfuls of brains, two handfuls of marrow, six handfuls of fat, six
handfuls of phlegm, and six handfuls of bile, all drawn by the winds. It is
filled with liters of blood and a handful
of vomit. It is completely filled with all these things, like a jam-packed
storehouse, and it is totally ensconced in seven layers of skin. It is
nourished by six flavors. There is a burnt offering of ordure made into the
bodily fire. The extremities leak continuously.

“All the parts of the body are unpleasant when observed. There are
bad smells. Given that it has the nature of pus, who would have reverence
for it? It is merely a borrowed vessel because its purpose is fleeting. One
should apprehend with the mind of the Dharma that it is only, like a cart,
for the purpose of bearing a burden. In this regard the following is said:

“ ‘Thus, concerning this impure body of the aggregates,

Just as one with overweening pride who admires its form

Exhibits a childish mind,

So do the ignorant cling to and move around with this pot of vomit.

“ ‘From its nose leaks a kind of mucous.

From its mouth foul odors always rise.

The eyes get clogged with dust, and people are subject to parasites.

Who would have attachment to and admiration for that?

“ ‘As an analogy, though a fool holding charcoal

Announces, “I will make this white,”

He grows exhausted, as it will never become something white.

Thus, the childish are subject to the arrogance of mistaken thought.

“ ‘In this way, a person who cares about hygiene

And exclaims, “I will make this body clean,”

May wash at a hundred bathing ghats,

Yet it never becomes clean before it is destroyed by the power of the
Lord of Death.’ ”

Thereupon, the Blessed One said to the householder Vīradatta and the
five hundred householders, “In this regard, householders, a bodhisattva
mahāsattva who wishes to fully awaken to unsurpassable complete and perfect
awakening should consider the body in forty-four aspects. What are these
forty-four aspects? Householders, they are as follows: ⁽¹⁾ A bodhisattva
mahāsattva should consider the body as unpleasant, disagreeable by nature,
and disgusting. ⁽²⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body as contaminated
with mucous and therefore having an offensive smell. ⁽³⁾ A bodhisattva
should consider that body as disintegrating at the end and therefore without
essence. ⁽⁴⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body as stitched together
with tendons and therefore having little strength. ⁽⁵⁾ A bodhisattva should
consider the body as contaminated with filth and therefore impure. ⁽⁶⁾ The
bodhisattva should consider the body unreal and therefore like an illusion.
⁽⁷⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body as something that agitates
unwise, childish, ordinary individuals. ⁽⁸⁾ A bodhisattva should consider
the body as deteriorating and oozing through its nine orifices. ⁽⁹⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body
as being ablaze with the fire of sensual desire. ⁽¹⁰⁾ A bodhisattva should
consider the body as burning with the fire of hatred. ⁽¹¹⁾ A bodhisattva should
consider the body as turning into flames with the fire of delusion. ⁽¹²⁾ A
bodhisattva should consider the body as blinded by sensual desire, hatred,
and bewilderment. ⁽¹³⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body as enmeshed in
the net of sensual desire and thrust into the net of craving. ⁽¹⁴⁾ A
bodhisattva should consider the body as totally riddled with pores and thus
a repository of pores. ⁽¹⁵⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body as
ravaged by four hundred and four diseases. ⁽¹⁶⁾ A bodhisattva should
consider the body as a haven for 84,000 species of parasites. ⁽¹⁷⁾ A
bodhisattva should consider the body as impermanent since it is of the
nature of dying. ⁽¹⁸⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body as insentient
since it is deluded regarding phenomena. ⁽¹⁹⁾ A bodhisattva should consider
the body as jar-like since it is gradually formed and eventually
disintegrates. ⁽²⁰⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body as destitute
since it is rife with all sorts of painful afflictions. ⁽²¹⁾ A bodhisattva
should consider the body as unreliable since it eventually grows old and
dies. ⁽²²⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body as driven by deceitful and
dishonest activities. ⁽²³⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body to be like
the depths of the earth since it is hard to fill up. ⁽²⁴⁾ A bodhisattva
should consider the body to be like a mirror, since one grows attached to pleasant and pleasurable
forms. ⁽²⁵⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body as something that is
unable to be satisfied by the five sense pleasures. ⁽²⁶⁾ A bodhisattva
should consider the body as overcome by attachment and anger. ⁽²⁷⁾ A
bodhisattva should consider the body as unstable due to experiencing
reverence and abuse. ⁽²⁸⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body as
other-conditioned since it arises as one thing after another like a stream
of a river. ⁽²⁹⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body as a focus of mental
intention due to thoughts that are focused on various inappropriate aspects.
⁽³⁰⁾ A
bodhisattva should consider the body as ungrateful since it will end up
arriving at the cremation ground. ⁽³¹⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the
body as the food of wolves, jackals, dogs, and flesh-eating demons.
⁽³²⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body as like a machine stitched
together with bones and tendons. ⁽³³⁾ A
bodhisattva should consider the body as unsuitable for viewing as it is full
of crap, piss, spit, mucus, pus, and blood. ⁽³⁴⁾ A bodhisattva should
consider the body to be without independence since it has developed due to
food and drink. ⁽³⁵⁾ A
bodhisattva should consider the body as driven by aimless pursuits since it
is impermanent and of the nature of deterioration. ⁽³⁶⁾ A bodhisattva should
consider the body as an enemy since it gives rise to many hostile forces.
⁽³⁷⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body to be like a killer since it
experiences suffering again and again. ⁽³⁸⁾ A bodhisattva should consider
the body as a receptacle of suffering since it is tormented by the three
types of suffering. What are the three? They are conditioned suffering, the
suffering of change, and the suffering of suffering. ⁽³⁹⁾ A bodhisattva
should consider the body as being a mass of suffering since it is composed
of the five aggregates. ⁽⁴⁰⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body to be
selfless and ownerless since it arises from varied conditions. ⁽⁴¹⁾ A
bodhisattva should consider the body to be lifeless since it is devoid of
male and female. ⁽⁴²⁾ A bodhisattva should consider the body to be empty of
the aggregates, elements, and sense bases. ⁽⁴³⁾ A bodhisattva should
consider the body to be ephemeral like a dream, unreal like an illusion,

bewildering like a mirage, and deceptive like an echo. ⁽⁴⁴⁾ A bodhisattva
should consider the body to have a deceptive nature like an optical
illusion. Householders, a bodhisattva mahāsattva should consider the body
according to these forty-four aspects. A bodhisattva mahāsattva who
understands things in this way regarding the body relinquishes all longing
for bodies, delighting in the body, taking the body as
mine, craving for the body, relying on the body,
and being attached to the body.

“Where life is concerned, he relinquishes all hankering for life,
delighting in life, identifying with life as mine,
craving for life, relying on life, and being attached to life. Likewise, he
relinquishes all hankering for, delighting in, taking as
mine, craving for, relying on, and being attached
to wealth, grain, house, wife, sons, daughters, food, drink, clothing,
vehicles, bedding, flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, ointments, or any
other possessions.

“Thus, he disregards body and life. Likewise, he disregards wealth,
grain, house, wife, sons, daughters, food, drink, clothing, vehicles,
bedding, flowers, incense, perfumes, garlands, and ointments; he quickly
completes the six perfections. Householders, the bodhisattva mahāsattva who
completes the six perfections will quickly become awakened to unsurpassable
complete and perfect awakening.”

Then, on this occasion, in order to elaborate on the body in more
detail, the Blessed One spoke the following verses:

“This human existence is very difficult to find,

So do not commit sins for the sake of the body.

Do not expose yourself to the dangers of this body,

Which is food for charnel-ground dwellers and jackals.

“Arousing craving for this cunning body,

The childish are always deluded and go astray.

Since this body is, in fact, ungrateful,

One experiences sensations of suffering day and night.

“A machine always suffering with sickness and the like,

This body is filled with vomit and mucous.

Since it is always tormented with hunger and thirst,

What wise person would arouse craving for the body?

“The body is insatiable like the depths of the earth.

Though it is like a hostile executioner, it is pampered by the childish.

Committing evil for the sake of the body,

They thus experience the sensations of suffering.

“This body is not solid like a diamond,

So do not commit evil for the sake of the body.

Having understood death, quickly perform meritorious deeds!

Likewise, arouse faith in the Buddha’s teaching.

“For as long as this body is honored

With food, drink, ointments, and garments,

If it steadily deteriorates despite attempts to make it endure,

Why make such useless efforts for it?

“As you have found this appearance of the Sage,

Extremely difficult to find for a hundred eons,

And have aroused faith in the Buddha’s teachings,

Do not descend to the lower realms!

“If one who has lived there for tens of millions of years

Must still relinquish such attachments,

Then need it be said that one who is unable to do so

In one hundred years will not find happiness?

“Some uninhibited people say,

‘Having found this human existence, which is so hard to find,

We should have fun and enjoy this time of youth,

And experience the joys of seeking wealth.’

“But how can there be any joy in seeking wealth

When we experience such miseries for the sake of protecting it?

Therefore, the wise should relinquish all attachment

And find contentment in just the bare necessities.

“Enjoyments are like an illusion and like a dream.

They deceive childish people.

They arise one moment and perish the next.

What wise person would arouse craving for possessions?

“They are illusion-like and similar to watching an actor;

They are like any of the myriad cities of the gandharvas.

Such enjoyments deceive the childish.

Thus, the childish wrongly seek them and go astray.

“When desired possessions pursued with a hundred miseries

Bring incomparable harm to the body

And may then be seized under the command of a king,

What wise person would arouse joy for them?

“While remaining aloof from one’s children and spouse,

One’s wrongly obtained wealth may be seized by a king.

Knowing evils such as this,

Wise people do not arouse craving for the home.

“Ever covetous and seeking enjoyments,

One is disrespectful toward one’s father and mother.

One is not loving toward one’s children and spouse

But nonetheless harbors constant attachment to them.

“A covetous woman who exclaims, ‘My enjoyments will decline,’

Will never discover gratitude.

A wise person does not confide in covetous people

Who seek wealth through cunning and deception.

“Beings are fooled by deceitful, covetous women

And delighted by words that express an intent to fulfill others’
wishes.

Despite their confidence, one should not confide in them,

Though they display affections like a child.

“Covetous women who are active in the world

May teach scholars about medicine and treatises,

Thereby deceiving them with words like a prostitute,

But at bottom they are unpleasant and very harsh.

“Covetous women are never friendly partners.

They are without relatives and without close friends.

They nonetheless put on a show for the sake of money.

The wise should not confide in covetous people.

“Not committing any deed for the sake of covetous women and
enjoyments,

One fully engenders a mind that is utterly inexhaustible.

Therefore, the wise gain perfect understanding

And find contentment in even the barest of necessities.

“Gold, pearls, jewels, and coral—

For the virtuous, these things arise as if from bubbles.

When they are not recognized as having the nature of illusion,

People argue and fight for the sake of these things.

“The one who is called Maitreya will appear here.

And at the time of that tathāgata’s appearance,

This earth will be totally filled with gold.

Whence will he appear on that occasion?

“The appearance of the five sensual pleasures

Is of the nature of deception, creating confusion and delusion.

As an analogy, it is like desiring the water

That seems to appear in a mirage, at midday in the hot season.

“Once this single eon has elapsed, this world,

Which is of the nature of space, will turn into space.

Even mountains will burn and be destroyed.

Where do they come from? Where do they go?

“Fountains, ponds, lakes, and oceans

Will dry up and cease to exist.

Likewise, desired things hoarded are without essence.

What wise person would take joy in them?

“Wise people with strength of mind

Always examine the drawbacks of the home.

When one has experienced the taste of these,

Why would one not relinquish them?

“Through a mix of karma one seeks enjoyments

And provides for children along with a spouse.

But in times when one suffers intensely,

Children and spouse provide no refuge.

“When one accepts doing various deeds,

Children and spouses will be neglected.

But when one experiences suffering all alone,

They do not accept your predicament.

“Dejected people accept these things for the sake of happiness.

In this way, they become disheartened with suffering.

In this horror of the three worlds, there are no friends,

And likewise no children, spouse, or relatives.

“The multitude of parents, siblings, children, spouses,

Servants, wealth, and relatives

Do not transmigrate because the Lord of Death has come;

The childish transmigrate in the wake of their karmic deeds.

“People all depart in the wake of their karmic deeds.

Through karmic deeds, they are transported to worldly abodes.

Knowing the nature of the karma of this rebirth,

The wise perform virtuous deeds.

“When they have gone to hell, they will have no refuge.

Thus, the wise do not commit evil misdeeds

For the sake of parents, siblings, loved ones, children,

Kinsmen, and maternal relatives.

“Apart from exhausting all that karma,

A person is not liberated from the most frightful terrors.

Therefore, those who are fearful of misdeeds

Should concentrate and eliminate all misdeeds.

“In any case, apart from the deeds one performs,

The Lord of Death, the horse of the Lord of Death,

And the throng of friends, relatives, siblings,

Parents, children, and spouse will offer no protection.

“You have attained a human body, but having attained it,

You have not set about relinquishing misdeeds.

Alas! You now experience unbearable suffering.

This is but the ripening of nonvirtuous karmic action.

“Without having conviction in the ripening of karmic action,

You create nonvirtue through your own mind.

For this, one answers ‘I did not do anything at all.’

Then the Dharma king Lord of Death states the following:

“ ‘The karma you yourself committed ripens within you.

Having come here due to your own karma,

Just as you previously committed undesirable deeds,

So you now experience this suffering.

“ ‘At this time, your parents and your spouse

Also do not escape the torments of suffering.

You will be liberated by well-performed actions.

Accordingly, you should completely abandon the home.

“ ‘Striving for the goal of peace with the wish to abandon

The punishments of transgressions involving fetters and bludgeons,

You should fear the home and thus abandon it!

You should practice the Dharma, the teaching of one who is wise about the
world.

“ ‘The home is the root of manifold miseries that blaze forth.

Ever ablaze once it has arisen in the mind,

It is terrifying like a pit of hot coals.

What wise person would arouse craving for that?

“ ‘Home life brings the sorrows of children and spouse.

The enjoyments of home life likewise bring sorrow.

The drawbacks of these, moreover, are immeasurable.

In this regard, the home should be totally abandoned.

“ ‘The teachings of spiritual guides bring joy.

Without needing to sow or plough, they cause happiness and satisfaction.

The root of manifold miseries is the home.

Joy for the fool, it is not enjoyable to the wise.

“ ‘This body of skin, ligaments and nerves, flesh, and bones

Creates the notion my spouse.

Deluded, childish people develop attachment to it,

Not knowing that the spouse is like an illusion.

“ ‘Knowing the drawbacks of the home,

Those with insight thus abandon the joys they desire.

Having affirmed the notion that Dharma is medicine,

They swiftly leave the home without attachment.’ ”

At this point, the householder Vīradatta and the five hundred
householders, having heard this Dharma discourse, attained the acceptance
that phenomena are unborn. Having gained this acceptance, they were
overjoyed and pleased. On that occasion, they spoke the following verses:

“Desiring the qualities of a buddha,

We cultivate the resolve for awakening.

Hey! This discovery, this great discovery,

Is the best of all discoveries!

“The resolve for awakening is joyful.

Those who here cultivate this resolve,

Which brings happiness to all sentient beings,

Will live a good life.

“Whoever cultivates this resolve,

Which benefits all sentient beings,

Will be overjoyed when they see

That all sentient beings are joyful.

“Those who delight in the resolve for awakening

Will become illuminators of the world,

With bodies like gold

And fully adorned with the special marks.

“The resolve for awakening is a great resolve.

It is the supreme happiness among all sentient beings.

It is the most excellent of all qualities.

It pacifies all illness.

“Sentient beings of little merit

Do not wish for the resolve for awakening.

They do not think of it in saṃsāra,

And the resolve for awakening makes them weary.

“If the merits of the resolve for awakening

Were to assume physical form,

They would fill the whole expanse of space

And exceed even that.

“If someone were to fill with jewels

As many buddha fields as there are grains of sand

In the Ganges River,

As an offering to the Protector of the World,

“This offering would be surpassed

When someone with joined palms

Directs their resolve toward awakening,

Because that does not have a limit.

“What is the resolve for awakening like?

Transmitted by the exalted Seer,

There is no other offering like it.

There is nothing so magnificent.

“The best of medicines for being without illness,

The resolve for awakening possesses all good qualities.

It thoroughly quells all illnesses.

It makes all sentient beings happy.

“Having witnessed the suffering of sentient beings

Tormented by the three fires,

The wise practice for immeasurable eons,

Never becoming discouraged.

“Those who perform practices dedicated to awakening

Are heroes comparable to the king of physicians.

Protecting beings from suffering,

They always abandon discouragement.

“These heroes seek the qualities of a buddha.

They never give up that resolve

Throughout all their rebirths in transmigration,

And they also teach this discipline.

“We who delight in this resolve

Become the best of humans,

Just like the Lion of the Śākyas.

We properly discover what is to be discovered.”

Then the Blessed One smiled. The nature of buddhas, of blessed
ones, is such that when they smile, light of many colors appears from their
mouth: blue, yellow, red, white, violet, crystal, and silver. These lights,
after pervading the world systems without end and rising up to the worlds of
Brahmā, filled the entire world with the radiance of the sun and moon. They
then came back down and, having circumambulated the Blessed One three times,
disappeared into the Blessed One’s head.

At this point, Venerable Ānanda arose from his seat and, placing
his robe over one shoulder, knelt on his right knee. With palms pressed
together in the direction the Blessed One, he spoke the following words to
the Blessed One: “Blessed One, since the thus-gone,
worthy, completely awakened buddhas do not smile without a cause, without a
reason, what is the cause for your smile? What is the reason?”

On this occasion, he requested an answer with these verses:

“If the leader, the supreme Victorious One,

The Buddha, the protector, does not reveal his smile without cause,

Why do you smile, Blessed One?

I speak out of heartfelt kindness and with the intention to benefit the
world.

“Why do you reveal this smile today?

Please give us the supreme jewel of your superb advice,

A treasury of wealth for the poor.

Please quickly offer these eyes for the blind in the world.”

After Venerable Ānanda spoke these words, the Blessed One replied,
“Ānanda, do you see, near the Tathāgata, these five hundred householders who
have produced the resolve for unsurpassable, complete and perfect
awakening?”
“I see them, Blessed One,” he replied. “I see them, Tathāgata.”

Then the Blessed One said, “Ānanda, when these five hundred
householders have heard the Dharma discourses, they will attain the
acceptance that phenomena are unborn. Ānanda, these householders will all
perform outstanding deeds for the victorious ones of the past, cultivate the
roots of virtue, and pay homage to the many billions of buddhas. When these
householders have transmigrated from here after dying, they will never fall
into lower destinies, and having later experienced happiness among gods and
humans, they will eventually revere, honor, serve, and worship the
thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha Maitreya, delighting and
never displeasing him. They will also revere, honor, serve, and
worship all the buddhas, blessed ones, of this fortunate eon, delighting and
never displeasing them. They will listen to the Dharma from those buddhas,
those blessed ones, and having heard it, they will retain it, master it, and
teach it extensively to others. After twenty-five eons, they will awaken to
unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening in various buddha fields, and
they will equally appear in the world bearing the name thus-gone, worthy,
complete and perfect Buddha Padmaśrīgarbha.”

At this point, the venerable Ānanda said to the Blessed One, “Ah,
how wonderful is this extensive Dharma discourse, Blessed One! It is so
wonderful, Sugata. Blessed One, what is the name of this Dharma discourse?
How should we remember it?”

The Blessed One replied, “In this regard, Ānanda, this Dharma
discourse is called The Teaching on the Stages of Yoga
for Bodhisattvas, and this is
how it should be remembered. It should also be remembered as The Questions of Vīradatta.

When the Blessed One had uttered these words, the venerable Ānanda,
the monks, the bodhisattvas, the five hundred householders, and the world
with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas all rejoiced and praised what
had been proclaimed by the Blessed One.

This concludes The Questions of the
Householder Vīradatta, the twenty-eighth of the one hundred
thousand sections of the Dharma discourse known as The Noble Great Heap of
Jewels.

Colophon

Translated, edited, and finalized according to the new
terminological register by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla, and
the chief editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.

Notes

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Prince 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།