菩薩本生鬘論

Non-action, the same as suchness.

My mind is tranquil, without contention

Forgetting praise and almsgiving
Because the original great is the root

Born pure and unchanging.

In ages past, within the human realm

He constantly cultivated the conduct of stillness

Bringing Kusuma flowers
With palms joined, scattering them in offering.

Far removed from all evil deeds

Liberated from all afflictions

Beloved by gods and humans

Expounding the Unsurpassed Way.

Because the mind-intention is silent and still

Attaining the pure Dharma

The mark of the world ever-abiding

Inexhaustible, without fabrication.

Severing the karmic deeds that flow and turn

In times before, the Tamer

Diligently cultivated the Bodhisattva path
Practicing Giving, Loving Speech

By the power of giving made perfect

Among the hundreds of thousands of myriad kinds

Departing from the joy and bliss of birth
Because of grasping in inversion

Therefore one cannot attain realization.

Again, by burying that stillness
The merit and virtue becomes ever more excellent

Endowed with vast and great form and marks

How could a small cause attain it,
He rightly forsook the worldly and went forth

That Great Bodhisattva

Fully endowed with great wisdom

Therefore able to shoulder and bear the burden.
In ages past

He ever cultivated the six perfections

Having severed disturbance and hindrance
Departing entirely from the round of birth and death,

His heart of great loving-kindness and compassion vast and wide

Ever pitying and wishing to benefit beings

Came to test his cultivation
That mind did not tilt nor stir.

Therefore he uttered praise:

Now this Good Man
Has appeared in the world

He is the Most Supreme One,

Amid impermanence and change

His mind abides peacefully like this

Bringing pure and sublime food
Reverently presenting it as offering.

The gods and the people of the world
All gain wholesome benefit.

Recalling the pure causes cultivated of old

Joined with the true wisdom that is markless
A practitioner who cultivates thus

Cures and extinguishes the sickness of afflictions.

Ascending straight to the realm of reality

Ever revering, respecting, and trusting
The secret treasury of the Tathagata.

Departing from false grasping and discrimination
Severing anger and afflictions

The power of the Bodhisattva's compassionate vow
Pitying and wishing to benefit all kinds

*

Origin Tale 1: CASTING HIS BODY DOWN TO OFFER HIMSELF TO THE TIGRESS

At that time, the World-Honored One together with the great assembly went all the way to a forest belonging to a great village named Pancala. He said to the Venerable Ananda:

"Venerable one, prepare a seat for the Tathagata here!"

When the task was completed, the Buddha ascended the seat and said to the bhiksus:

"Do you, masters, wish to see the relics of the Tathagata from a past life, when he was practicing ascetic austerities?"

The great assembly replied:

"World-Honored One, we vow that we wish to behold them."

The World-Honored One then pressed his hand upon the earth, producing the six kinds of quaking, and suddenly from beneath the earth there sprang up a stupa made of the seven treasures, appearing before the great assembly. The World-Honored One left his seat, paid homage to the stupa, circumambulated it to the right, and then said to the Venerable Ananda:

"Venerable one, go and open the door of this stupa. You will see a box made of the seven treasures, inlaid with precious gems. Open the lid of that box and you will see relics white as kha-snow jade. Bring me the holy bones of that Great Being."

When the World-Honored One had taken the holy bones, he told the great assembly to look closely, and he recited a verse:

The Bodhisattva's merit surpasses all / Diligently cultivating the conduct of the six perfections / Courageously seeking Bodhi / Casting away his body, his mind without regret.

The Buddha said:

"Bhiksus, you must all show reverence and pay homage, for these relics arise from the perfuming and cultivation of wisdom by the immeasurable fragrance of Precepts, Concentration, and Wisdom."

The entire great assembly paid homage and praised it as something never before seen.

At that time, the Venerable Ananda addressed the Buddha:

"World-Honored One, the Tathagata is the Great Master who has gone beyond the three realms. For what cause and condition do you bow in homage to this handful of bones?"

The Buddha replied:

"Ananda, the Tathagata, from this handful of bones, has now become a Buddha. To repay the kindness of old, today I pay homage. To dispel the doubting mind that you still hold, the Tathagata will speak of the causes and conditions of my previous life. The great assembly must listen with single-minded attention:

"Ananda, in the past, immeasurable kalpas ago, there was a king named Maharatha. The king had three sons: the first prince was named Mahapranada, the second prince was named Mahadeva, and the third prince was named Mahasattva. At that time, the king arranged an outing to view the scenery of the mountains, bringing the three princes along, and they paused together in a great bamboo forest. The next day, the three princes continued on their journey of strolling, and saw a tigress that had given birth to seven cubs seven days before. The first prince said:

"'These seven cubs ever cling around the tigress, leaving the tigress no leisure to go seek prey. I fear that, pressed by the urgency of hunger and thirst, she will surely devour her own cubs.' The second prince, hearing these words, lamented:

"'Alas! This mother and her cubs will before long all die. Is there any way we might save their lives?'

"The third prince thought silently: 'This body of mine, through hundreds of thousands of lives, has been cast away wastefully, withered and ruined, never having gained the slightest benefit. Today, why should I not be able to cast it away?' The princes spoke and thought thus, and then, their hearts agitated, they lingered for a long while beside the starving tigress and her cubs before returning.

"Prince Sattva again reflected: 'My body must accomplish a great wholesome deed; in the sea of birth and death it shall be a great vessel. If I cast away this body, I sever a hundred thousand fears of immeasurable kinds of ulcers and grievous illnesses, for this body is but a vessel containing impure things, merely sinews and bones held together in combination—truly worthy of disgust. Therefore, I should now forsake it, to seek the ultimate, unsurpassed path of liberation, forever departing from all sorrow, grief, suffering, distress, and impermanence, attaining the adornment of a hundred blessings, accomplishing All-Knowing Wisdom, and bestowing upon sentient beings the immeasurable bliss of the Dharma.'

"At that moment, the prince gave rise to great and vast courage, using the power of compassionate vows to strengthen his mind. Fearing that his two elder brothers might create obstacles to his resolve, he asked the two of them to return to the palace first, saying he would return afterward.

"Then Prince Mahasattva quickly went back into the bamboo forest, came to where the starving tigress and her cubs were, took off his garments and draped them over a branch, and then laid his body before the mouth of the starving tigress. The Bodhisattva, with a mind of loving-kindness and compassion, patiently endured, ready to cast away his body. But the tigress could do nothing.

The Bodhisattva reflected: 'The tigress is now starving and weak, unable to seize my body.' He then used a dry bamboo branch to pierce his own neck so that the blood flowed out, and climbing up to a high crag, he cast himself down to the ground. At that very moment, the great earth manifested the six kinds of quaking, like a fierce wind raising up the waves of the sea, rising and sinking without rest; the sun suddenly darkened as if its light were obscured by an asura.

The heavens rained down all kinds of flowers and sublime powdered incense, layer upon layer falling and covering the whole bamboo forest; in the sky, the gods together sang praises.

"Then the starving tigress licked the blood at the Bodhisattva's neck and devoured all the flesh, leaving only the bones. At that time, the two elder brothers, their hearts giving rise to sorrow and grief, ran together to the place of the starving tigress, unable to restrain their emotions, and threw themselves upon the remaining bones of their younger brother, fainting away for a long while before reviving, mournfully weeping and lingering, before at last returning.

"Now the queen consort was sleeping in a high tower, and in a dream she suddenly saw an inauspicious omen: her teeth fell out, both her breasts were cut off, and she saw three young doves, one of which was seized by a hawk. The consort awoke and saw that her two breasts were still flowing with milk. A maidservant heard people outside saying: 'The search for the prince has yet to find him!' and she ran into the palace to inform the consort. The consort, hearing this, was anxious and wept in grief, her eyes filled with tears, and she hurried to where the king was seated and reported:

"'Great king, we have lost our beloved youngest son!'

"The king, hearing this, was choked with grief and lamented:

"'Today we have lost our beloved son—how great is the suffering!'

"Then with comforting words he consoled the consort:

"'My lady, do not grieve. I will now order the great ministers and the people to gather and go out from the city, scattering to search.'

"After a while, a great minister returned and reported to the king: According to the news received, the two elder princes had been found, but the youngest prince had not yet been located.

"Next, a second great minister, with a sorrowful, suffering demeanor, weeping, came to the place of the king-father and reported to him in full the matter of the prince's casting away of his body.

"The king and consort, unable to restrain their grief, went together to the place where the Bodhisattva had cast away his body. Seeing only the heap of bones left behind, they fell prostrate upon them, writhing, and both fainted away, no longer aware of anything. The ministers hastily sprinkled water over their bodies, and after a long while they revived. Then the consort, her hair disheveled and tangled, rolled upon the earth, like a fish stranded on dry land, like a mother cow that has lost her calf, and together with the two princes she wept and wailed in grief. Then she had the king issue an order to perform the cremation rites, to gather the relics from the body of the Bodhisattva and enshrine them within a precious stupa, in order to make offerings.

"The Buddha said:

"'Venerable Ananda, you should know that the relics I am now holding are precisely the relics of Mahasattva. At that time, I, though still having many afflictions of greed, anger, and delusion, often dwelt in the evil realms—the hells, the hungry ghosts, the animals—and according to conditions rescued and aided sentient beings, causing them to escape from those paths. How much more so today, when all afflictions are utterly extinguished, and there are no longer any latent tendencies, when I am called the Teacher of gods and humans, fully endowed with All-Knowing Wisdom—how could I not, for the sake of all sentient beings in every place of peril and calamity, take their place in bearing all sufferings?'

"The Buddha said to the Venerable Ananda:

"'Prince Mahasattva of old was no stranger; he is precisely my own body, now present in this assembly. The king of that time is now my father-king Suddhodana; the queen consort of that time is now Lady Maya. The eldest prince is now the Bodhisattva Maitreya; the second prince is now the Bodhisattva Manjusri. The starving tigress of old is now my foster-mother. The bag of cubs is now: Mahamaudgalyayana, Sariputra, and the five bhiksus of the group of Kaundinya.'

"When the World-Honored One had thus spoken of the causes and conditions of his former life, immeasurable asamkhyeyas of the great assembly of gods and humans all felt a mingling of sorrow and joy, and together gave rise to the aspiration to seek the fruit of Supreme, Perfect Enlightenment.

"The Buddha withdrew his spiritual power, and the marvelous stupa of seven treasures that had appeared before now suddenly vanished."

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*

Origin Tale 2:

KING SIBI SAVES THE LIFE OF A DOVE

The Buddha said to the bhiksus:

"I recall that in ages long past, immeasurable asamkhyeya kalpas ago, in the land of Jambudvipa there was a great king named Sibi. The city chosen as his capital was named Devavati. The land of the country was fertile, and the people lived lives of abundance, peace, and joy. The great king ruled over eighty-four thousand small kingdoms; his consorts and palace women totaled twenty thousand; he had five hundred crown princes and ten thousand ministers. The king was full of loving-kindness and compassion, and carried out a policy of benevolence, tolerance, magnanimity, and generosity, loving and wishing to benefit the people as a kind mother loves her infant child.

"At that time Sakra, lord of the Heaven of the Thirty-three, found the five signs of decline manifesting clearly, and was about to fall and decline. The lord of the heavens had a close attendant named the god Visvakarman, who, seeing the countenance of Sakra thus, asked:

"'Why does the honored countenance of the Heavenly Lord appear sorrowful?'

"Sakra replied:

"'My kalpa is about to end, and moreover I think of how, in the world, the Buddha-Dharma has been extinguished and the great Bodhisattvas do not manifest in response. My heart is anxious, not knowing where to rely!'

"The god Visvakarman again said:

"'O Heavenly Lord, now in the land of Jambudvipa there is King Sibi, a man of vigorous diligence, firm in his resolve to seek the Buddha-path. The Heavenly Lord should go there and take refuge, and you will surely be delivered from calamity.'

"Sakra, hearing this, did not know whether it was true or false: 'If King Sibi is truly a Bodhisattva, I shall test him.' He then said to Visvakarman:

"'You transform yourself into a dove, and I will become a hawk. The hawk will chase and seize the dove; the dove will flee into the royal palace and beg the king for protection. In this way we can examine and know whether the king is truly a Bodhisattva or not.'

"Visvakarman said:

"'Today, toward a Bodhisattva, we ought to reverently make offerings; we should not disturb him, nor may we bring calamity and distress to cause a person suffering.'

"At that time the god Sakra spoke a verse:

My heart is originally without evil / Like using fire to test gold / Testing this Bodhisattva / Truly is he a real one?

"Having spoken the verse, the god Visvakarman then transformed into a dove, and Sakra became a hawk, chasing it urgently, on the verge of seizing the dove. The dove, terrified, flew and hid beneath the armpit of King Sibi, begging for rescue and protection. The hawk alighted before the king and spoke in human speech:

"'Now this dove is my food. I am presently very hungry; I beg the king to return the dove to me.'

"The king replied:

"'My original vow is to rescue and deliver all sentient beings. This dove has entered into my robes; I absolutely cannot return it to you.'

"The hawk said:

"'O great king, the great king says that today he ever pities, remembers, and thinks of all sentient beings. But if you cut off my portion of food, then my life is endangered—why do you not rescue me?'

"The king replied:

"'If I substitute other kinds of flesh for you, can you eat it?'

"The hawk replied:

"'Only flesh still with warm fresh blood can I eat.'

"The king thought silently: 'If I kill one life to save one life, that is not in accord with reason. Only the flesh of my own body can substitute for that flesh; as for all the other lives, they must all be preserved.' Having reflected thus, the king then took a sharp knife and cut the flesh from his own thigh, and gave that flesh to the hawk to ransom the life of the dove.

"The hawk said:

"'The king is a giver. Now, bringing the flesh of your own body to substitute for the flesh of the dove, your flesh must balance equally with the flesh of the dove.'

"The king ordered a scale to be brought; on each end of the beam he placed a pan, and in the center hung the balance-hook, adjusting it to be even. Then he placed the bird and the flesh each into a pan. The king had cut off all the flesh of his thigh, yet the beam of the scale still tilted toward the dove.

He went on to cut the flesh of his arms, the flesh of his flanks—until at last there was not a bit of flesh remaining on his entire body, and still it did not balance against the small, light body of the dove. The king wished to place his whole body upon the pan of the scale, but his strength was not as he wished, so his legs buckled and he fell prostrate, fainting upon the ground, no longer aware of anything; after a long while he revived.

The king, summoning a mind of courage, rebuked himself: 'From numberless kalpas until now, I have been burdened and afflicted by this body, transmigrating through the six paths, undergoing every kind of suffering, never having brought any blessing or benefit to sentient beings. Now is precisely the time to create blessing and benefit—why am I thus slack and slow?' The great king, having reflected thus, forced himself to stand, climbed into the pan of the scale, his heart greatly rejoicing, gaining what had never been before.

At that moment, the great earth manifested the six kinds of quaking, and all the palaces of the gods were shaken. The gods of the Form realm, abiding in the sky, sang praises. Seeing the Bodhisattva cultivating ascetic austerities, accomplishing what is hard to accomplish, all of them, moved to sorrow, shed tears like rain, and then again scattered all kinds of heavenly flowers to express their offering.

At that time, the god Sakra and the god Visvakarman both revealed their original forms, stood before the king, and said:

"'The merit of the great king's cultivation of ascetic austerities is truly inconceivable! Within the three realms, does the great king take this merit to seek the rank of Wheel-Turning King, of Brahma, of Sakra, or what does he wish to do?'

"The king replied:

"'My original vow is not to seek the blessed reward of glory in the world; I only vow to take this merit to seek the accomplishment of the Buddha-path.'

"Sakra asked again:

"'Today the king's body aches to the marrow of the bones—do you give rise to a mind of regret?'

"The king replied:

"'Not the slightest regret. I see upon your body an exceedingly great calamity of suffering.'

"Sakra said:

"'The king says he has no regret—then what shall serve as proof?'

"The king thereupon made a vow:

"'From the time I gave rise to the aspiration until this moment, I have not had the slightest trace of regret. If what I seek—the definite accomplishment of Buddhahood—is true and not false, just as my original vow, then may the limbs and parts of my body now immediately be restored as before.'

"Having uttered this vow, in but a moment, the king's body returned to as it was before. The gods and the people of the world all praised it as something never before seen, unable to restrain their boundless joy.

"The Buddha said to the great assembly:

"'King Sibi of old was no stranger; he is precisely my own body today.'

"At that time, the assembly, hearing the Buddha's words, all with one voice asked:

"'In ages past, the World-Honored One, in order to rescue and deliver sentient beings, cultivated the various practices of casting away body and life to seek the great Dharma. When he had accomplished the Way, when the sea of Dharma was made perfect, when the banner of Dharma had been raised, the drum of Dharma had been struck, the torch of Dharma had been lit—precisely when the faculties of sentient beings had ripened and the causes and conditions were suitable—why did the Tathagata wish to forsake all sentient beings and enter Nirvana without expounding the Dharma?

Only when the god Brahma praised the previous incarnation of the Tathagata—how, in his earnest seeking of the Dharma, he had cast away a thousand heads—only then did he accept the request, going to the Deer Park in the land of Varanasi, three times turning the wheel of the right Dharma, and contemplating the Dharma of the Four Noble Truths. The Three Jewels from that time appeared in the world.'

– *

*

Origin Tale 3:

THE TATHAGATA GOES BEGGING FOR ALMS

At that time, the World-Honored One was dwelling in the Storeyed-Pavilion lecture hall within the Bamboo-Grove monastery, in the land of Magadha. As the time for the meal approached, the Buddha, together with the Venerable Ananda, donned his robe, took up his bowl, and entered the city to beg for alms. They saw an old and feeble married couple, both of whose eyes were blind, who were also in poverty and hardship, having only a single child of just seven years of age. This child often went begging to come back and support his parents; whenever he obtained tasty food or fresh, fine fruit, he offered it to his parents to eat first, while the food that was not tasty and the fruit that was bruised and withered he ate himself.

At that time, the Venerable Ananda thought silently: 'This child, though still of tender years, has the conduct of utmost filial piety, attending morning and evening with anxious care, not letting his parents lack for anything.'

When the Buddha had finished begging for alms, he returned to the monastery. Having finished the meal, he washed his feet and spread out a seat to sit, in order to expound the scriptural Dharma for the great assembly.

The Venerable Ananda came before the Buddha, joined his palms, and said:

"World-Honored One, while I was attending the World-Honored One in entering the city to beg for alms, I saw a small child leading his blind parents to beg for food here and there, supporting his parents with the utmost of filial devotion. To be able to do thus every single day is truly difficult."

The Buddha said:

"Ananda, it is not only those who dwell at home, but also those who have gone forth, who must take filial conduct as the foremost of deeds. As for merit, the merit of filial piety toward one's parents cannot be measured. Why is this?

"I recall that in ages past, immeasurable kalpas ago, I was at that time a youth, also seven years of age. Out of a heart of filial obedience, I once cut the flesh of my own body to save the lives of my parents in a moment of dire peril. From that time until now, by this merit I have often been Sakra or the king of the human realm, and even up to the present, my becoming a Buddha is all due to that blessed virtue."

The Venerable Ananda addressed the Buddha:

"World-Honored One, I wish to hear the cause of your saving the lives of your parents in a former life. How did that matter come about?"

The Buddha said:

"Ananda, listen well. I shall, for the Venerable one's sake, relate that matter.

"In ages long past, in this land of Jambudvipa there was a great country named Taksasila. The king was named Deva, and he had ten crown princes, each ruling over a small kingdom. The youngest prince was named Subhavyuha. The king's country was abundant and at peace, and the people lived in a time of tranquility. At that time there was a fierce and evil king in a neighboring country named Rahu, who wished to invade and seize the country of King Subhavyuha. King Rahu allied himself with a band of fierce and violent men, raising troops and generals to attack. King Subhavyuha's military strength was inferior, and so he had to flee back to his father's country to take refuge.

"King Subhavyuha had a crown prince whom he greatly cherished, named Subhakara, still of tender years and unable to be parted from him. So the king, leading his wife by the hand and supporting his son, hastily fled from the country. The road back to his homeland had two routes: one route required only seven days to reach his homeland, while the other route was a narrow, remote, winding path requiring fourteen days to arrive.

The king strove to carry along stored provisions enough for seven days, but on the road, fleeing from the enemy, his spirit in panic and confusion, he mistakenly took the winding, remote route, so that when he had gone but halfway, the provisions were already exhausted. In the following days, all three were starving, thirsting, and weary, and looking all around, there was scarcely anything left by which to live. Because of the urgency and the necessity, as a last resort, of sacrificing one person to preserve the lives of two, the king told his wife to lead the child ahead, while he himself followed behind, drawing his sword, about to slay his wife's body to use it to nourish the prince and to sustain his own life.

Prince Subhakara at that moment suddenly looked back behind and saw his father raising his sword, about to slay the queen-mother, and so he hastily cried out:

"'I beg my father-king, do not kill my mother! Rather cut the flesh of my body to use as provisions! I have never heard of any child eating the flesh of his own mother.'

"Subhakara, earnest and sincere, wept and pleaded, that the queen-mother might keep her whole life.

"Subhakara again said to his father-king:

"'I vow to take the flesh of my body to save the lives of my parents. But if you cut the flesh, please do not cut it all at once; you may cut and eat it gradually, enough to extend the number of days for the remaining road. If you cut it all at one time, then once my life is ended, that flesh will rot and decay, and must surely be discarded—and for relieving hunger in this way, it will not succeed.'

"At that time, the father-king and the queen-mother together said to Subhakara:

"'Today, for your father and mother to do this sinful deed is truly not our original intent. But how could the two of us bear to take the knife and directly cut the flesh of our own child?'

"At that time, the prince had already settled his resolve, and so he took a sharp knife and cut the flesh of his own body, kneeling to present it to his parents. The king and the consort, seeing this, wept in grief and bitter lamentation, and only after a long while could they bring themselves to eat the flesh of their child. After several days had passed, the flesh on the child's body was all gone, yet they had not arrived, and the pangs of hunger and thirst pressed ever more unbearably upon them.

In between the joints of the bones there remained only a little flesh, just enough to sustain the faint, lingering breath of the prince's life in his final moments. Subhavyuha and the consort both used words of love to comfort their child, pressing their heads together in attachment, and then at last had to depart.

"Then the prince thought silently: 'I have taken the flesh of my body to save the lives of my parents. May my father and mother reach their old homeland, their bodies at peace, enjoying a time of tranquility. I vow to take this wholesome root and swiftly realize Bodhi, in order to rescue and deliver all sentient beings in the ten directions, that they may depart far from all sufferings and enjoy the bliss of the true and constant.' When the prince made this vow, the three-thousandfold great-thousand world manifested the six kinds of quaking, and all the gods of the Desire realm and the Form realm were astonished.

They then used their Heavenly Eye to observe the world, and only then knew that the Bodhisattva was cultivating filial conduct in this way. The various gods in the sky joined their palms and extolled his merit, their tears falling like rain.

"At that time, the god Sakra transformed into a tiger and a wolf, wishing to come and eat the flesh in order to test the Bodhisattva's mind. The prince thought to himself: 'These fierce beasts wish to come and eat my flesh. I now have only this remaining handful of bones; I shall, with a mind of joy, give it all in charity, without the slightest regret or sorrow.'

"Immediately, Sakra revealed his original form and praised the prince:

"'How rare indeed! That you were able to use the flesh of your own body to save the lives of your parents—such filial devotion has no equal! What do you seek? Pray tell us.'

"The prince replied:

"'I only wholeheartedly seek to attain the unsurpassed Buddha-path.'

"The Heavenly Emperor asked again:

"'I now see your body—because of filial care for your parents, your skin and flesh are all gone; that suffering is truly hard to bear and endure. Do you have any regret?'

"The prince replied:

"'If it is truly as it is—that my mind has not the slightest regret, and that I shall certainly become a Buddha in the future—then may the flesh on my body be restored fully as before.'

"Having spoken this vow, immediately his body was restored as before. At that time, Sakra and the gods together praised without end:

"'Excellent! Excellent!'

"The Buddha said to the Venerable Ananda:

"'King Subhavyuha of old is now my father-king Suddhodana; the queen consort of that time is now Lady Maya; and Prince Subhakara is my own body.'"