梵志頞波羅延問種尊經

Thus have I heard:

At one time the Buddha was dwelling in Anāthapiṇḍika's Garden in the Jeta Grove, in the country of Śrāvastī. At that time five hundred bhikṣus were gathered together with him.

At that time, in the city of Śrāvastī there were five hundred brāhmaṇas. These five hundred men went out of the city together, came to their thatched house out in the open countryside, sat down together, and discussed, saying:

"When human beings first appeared upon the earth, they were all of our brāhmaṇa lineage. The kṣatriya lineage was second, the farmer lineage was third, and the artisan lineage was fourth. The brāhmaṇa lineage, when first born, was born from the mouth of Brahmā, whereas the people of the present age, on the contrary, are born from below. Thus, in all the world, our lineage is the most venerable. Our lineage are all descendants of the seventh Brahmā. But the Buddha says the opposite—that in the world there is only a single kind. The Buddha holds that our lineage, together with the kṣatriyas, the farmers, and the artisans, are all equal. Our lineage, when they die, are all reborn in the Brahmā heaven. On the contrary, the Buddha holds that our lineage is the same as ordinary people."

They discussed together, saying:

"Who is able to expound and distinguish about the kinds, together with the Buddha?"

At that time there was a son of a brāhmaṇa, just fifteen or sixteen years of age, named Aṣṭāra-vana the Great Sage, who knew well the affairs of craftsmen and books, and knew the directions one had come from. Among the five hundred brāhmaṇas none could equal him, and the masters all revered him. He could expound the scriptures and knew the affairs of the world. The body of the Great Sage Aṣṭāra-vana had marvelous and distinctive marks.

The brāhmaṇas discussed together, saying:

"Only Aṣṭāra-vana is able to converse with the Buddha. As for us, we cannot converse with the Buddha."

The five hundred brāhmaṇas together said to Aṣṭāra-vana:

"The Buddha holds that the people of the world are of only one kind. Our lineage is different from the kṣatriyas, the farmers, and the artisans. Our lineage comes from Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā, but the people born in this present age are born from below. The Buddha says: 'In the world there are four kinds, and these four kinds are all equally good.' We beg Aṣṭāra-vana to condescend to go with us to where the Buddha is, in order to debate together."

Aṣṭāra-vana said:

"The Buddha is one who upholds the right path, and is able to respond in accordance with the right path. If you wish to bring the brāhmaṇa kind to ask about it, that may be done. But no one is able to debate the right path with him."

The five hundred brāhmaṇas all said:

"We revere Aṣṭāra-vana as our master—why then will you not go to debate with the Buddha about these four kinds?"

They spoke to one another in this way two or three times, so Aṣṭāra-vana then rose up, and together with the five hundred brāhmaṇas went to the Jeta Grove, where the Buddha was dwelling. The Venerable Ānanda addressed the Buddha:

"There is a son of a brāhmaṇa named Aṣṭāra-vana, just fifteen or sixteen years of age, who has come together with five hundred brāhmaṇas and is waiting outside."

The Buddha said: "Invite them in."

The Venerable Ānanda went out and invited Aṣṭāra-vana in. Aṣṭāra-vana, together with the five hundred brāhmaṇas, all stood, did not pay homage to the Buddha, and said of his own accord:

"I have a small matter I wish to ask the Buddha."

The Buddha said: "Be seated."

Aṣṭāra-vana addressed the Buddha:

"I have something I wish to ask. Will you permit me?"

The Buddha said:

"If there is anything about which you have doubt, then ask."

Aṣṭāra-vana said:

"The brāhmaṇas say: 'Our lineage is different from the kṣatriya, farmer, and artisan lineages, in that our lineage are descendants of Brahmā. Our forebears, when first born, were all born from the mouth of Brahmā, and when they died were all reborn in heaven.'"

The Buddha said:

"In my teaching it is not held that the kinds are different. For suppose a brāhmaṇa marries the daughter of a kṣatriya, and the daughter of the kṣatriya bears a child; a kṣatriya marries the daughter of a farmer, and the daughter of the farmer bears a child; a farmer marries the daughter of an artisan, and the daughter of the artisan bears a child; an artisan marries the daughter of a brāhmaṇa, and the daughter of the brāhmaṇa bears a child."

The Buddha said:

"In my teaching, action is taken as the root. If there is good action, that is the most supreme lineage. Those who are honored by the world are all so because of wholesome action, and not because of lineage. Throughout countless kalpas in the past, I too was born as the son of a brāhmaṇa, was also born as the son of a kṣatriya, was also born as the son of a farmer, was also born as the son of an artisan, and even as the son of a king. Now in this body I have become the Buddha."

The Buddha said to Aṣṭāra-vana:

"I will ask you about one matter. Answer in accordance with the truth."

The Buddha said:

"Do you perhaps see a worldly person born as the son of a good family who turns about and goes to serve another? And does the son of the servant turn about and become the master?"

Aṣṭāra-vana addressed the Buddha:

"I have heard that in the land of the Yuezhi there is such a thing."

The Buddha said:

"For what reason does the son of a good family turn about and go into service, while the son of a servant turns about and becomes the master? It is because the resolve of the slave performs wholesome deeds, so that people make him their son. And one's own son who must become a slave is so because his resolve performs evil deeds, so that he is sold to another to become a slave."

Aṣṭāra-vana said:

"If you say that human beings have kinds in this way, then from where does the lineage of human beings arise?"

The Buddha said:

"If the four kinds—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, farmer, and artisan—all delight in killing, delight in stealing, delight in sexual misconduct, delight in slander, delight in speaking harsh words, delight in lying, delight in defamation, delight in dwelling together with the foolish, delight in hatred, delight in sacrificial offerings—and perform such deeds, will they not fall into the hells?"

Aṣṭāra-vana said:

"The brāhmaṇa lineage holds that: even though they perform these evil deeds, our kind is still the most venerable, being descendants of Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā, and when we die we are all reborn in heaven."

The Buddha said:

"If there are people of the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, farmer, and artisan lineages who have no mind to kill, steal, commit sexual misconduct, slander, speak harsh words, or lie; who have no mind delighting in defaming others, no mind delighting in dwelling together with the foolish, no mind delighting in hatred and sacrificial offerings—will not such people, after they die, be reborn in heaven?"

Aṣṭāra-vana said:

"Just so, all of them will be reborn in heaven."

The Buddha said:

"If you speak of a kind, then from where does it come?"

He said:

"Human beings are all produced by the mind-consciousness. If the mind-consciousness performs good deeds, one is reborn in heaven or reborn among humans. If the mind-consciousness is evil, one is reborn among worms, beasts, animals, ghosts and spirits, or in the hells.

If there are people of the brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, farmer, or artisan lineages who perform evil deeds, they must all be reborn within the three evil destinies. This being so, from where does lineage arise? People of the brāhmaṇa lineage also perform wholesome and evil deeds; kṣatriyas also perform wholesome and evil deeds; farmers also perform wholesome and evil deeds; artisans also perform wholesome and evil deeds.

If you claim of yourselves that there is a lineage, then where does that lineage reside? If a brāhmaṇa harbors resentment and hatred toward empty space, and a kṣatriya, farmer, and artisan also harbor resentment and hatred toward empty space, how can they cause empty space to be injured? By this reasoning, know that it is only the brāhmaṇas who themselves harbor a haughty mind in this world.

When a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, farmer, and artisan enter into a great stream to bathe, everyone is able to wash clean the filth in the water—who is able to distinguish which is the defilement of the brāhmaṇa, which the defilement of the kṣatriya, which the defilement of the farmer, and which the defilement of the artisan?"

Aṣṭāra-vana said:

"The defilement is within the great stream."

The Buddha said:

"One ought to know where the defilement is. If one still does not know the defilement of human beings, and yet turns about and says: 'My kind was originally in heaven, born from the mouth of Brahmā, while the other kinds were all born from below; our lineage is the most honored among humankind.'"

The Buddha said:

"Aṣṭāra-vana, suppose a king hears it said that in some country, some prefecture, some district, or some village there is a brāhmaṇa and the son of a brāhmaṇa of high brilliance, a kṣatriya and the son of a kṣatriya of high brilliance, a farmer and the son of a farmer of high brilliance, an artisan and the son of an artisan of high brilliance; the king then summons them all to make them ministers of the realm. Does the king ask about the kind of those people?

If a person has high talent and clear attainment, the king then grants him a good prefecture or country. Why does the king not ask about that person's kind? If you would speak of a kind, then, Aṣṭāra-vana, where is its boundary?

From the seats of the elders, before the elders are five hundred people—why is there no inquiry as to which is the kind, which is the craftsman? If there are the kinds—brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, farmer, artisan—and other kinds, when it is cold they all come beside a great fire. Does the heat of the fire give warmth to only one kind?

Its warmth is equal toward every kind. If there is a boat traveling upon the water, and brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, farmer, or artisan all ride upon the boat, does the boat carry only the brāhmaṇa? Nor does it carry only the other kinds."

The Buddha said to Aṣṭāra-vana:

"Must the son of a brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, farmer, or artisan, and the sons of other kinds, all alike dwell within the womb for ten months—is there any adding or any lessening?"

Aṣṭāra-vana said:

"All alike must dwell within the womb for ten months, with neither adding nor lessening."

The Buddha said:

"Why then do you hold that: your lineage are descendants of Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā? The brāhmaṇa, kṣatriya, farmer, and artisan lineages are just like the other kinds. Why do the sun and moon not shine for only one kind? Why do they shine upon all the kinds?"

Aṣṭāra-vana said:

"My kind holds of itself that its own kind surpasses the other kinds."

The Buddha said:

"Aṣṭāra-vana, if the father is a donkey and takes a mare for its mother, and they bear offspring, what is it called?"

Aṣṭāra-vana said: "It is called a mule."

The Buddha said:

"Its father is not called a mule, and its mother too is not called a mule—so why is it called a mule?"

Aṣṭāra-vana said:

"Because our forebears called it a mule, we too call it a mule."

The Buddha asked:

"If the horse is the father and takes a donkey for its mother, and they bear offspring, why is it called a hinny? For its father too has not the name hinny, and its mother too has not the name hinny—how is it known to be a hinny?"

He answered:

"Because our forebears called it a hinny, we too call it a hinny."

The Buddha asked:

"If a brāhmaṇa takes a wife who is the daughter of a kṣatriya, and the daughter of the kṣatriya bears a child, what is it called? Should it be called of the brāhmaṇa lineage or of the kṣatriya lineage?"

Aṣṭāra-vana said:

"I do not know to which kind it belongs."

The Buddha said:

"If you do not yourself know the kind, why do you call the one a mule and the other a hinny? If a woman who is a kṣatriya takes a husband who is a brāhmaṇa and bears a child, and once that child is born into this household, in accordance with its sacrificial rites and in accordance with its kind, that child afterwards becomes one of high brilliance—do you then serve the place of his birth?"

He said: "We serve it."

"If a brāhmaṇa takes a wife who is a farmer, and the farmer woman bears a child, but that child has a mind to kill, to steal, to commit sexual misconduct, to slander, to speak harsh and evil words, to hate, and a mind for sacrificial offerings—a person who performs such deeds, do you keep company with such a person?"

He said:

"We do not keep company with the child whose mind-consciousness performs such evil deeds. We will expel that one from our lineage."

The Buddha said:

"If you claim of yourselves that: 'We are descendants of Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā, and when we die are reborn in heaven,' why do you, merely upon seeing that one's mind-consciousness performs evil, at once expel them out? Why then do you speak of a kind?"

The Buddha said:

"If there is a brāhmaṇa who is unfilial to his father and mother, who delights in killing, in robbing, and performs the ten evil deeds, when that person dies, where will he go?"

Aṣṭāra-vana said:

"A person whose mind-consciousness performs such deeds, when he dies, must enter into the hells."

The Buddha said:

"If you say: my lineage originally comes from Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā, the most venerable among humankind, then how could one be reborn in the hells?"

The Buddha said:

"Human beings in the world have no fixed kind and nothing that endures. The one of high brilliance, by reason of a wholesome resolve of mind, performs good and excellent deeds—such a one is venerable. But the one whose mind performs evil deeds—such a one is base."

Aṣṭāra-vana thought to himself: "I originally did not wish to come here; it was because everyone urged me to come." Then he reflected: "It was not my intention to debate with the Buddha." He further said: "The Buddha is one of the right path. The Buddha says: 'If formerly it was said that the kind of human beings changes, now again it is said: the resolve of the mind is good.'"

Aṣṭāra-vana thought to himself: "The words of the Buddha block me both before and after."

The Buddha said:

"Aṣṭāra-vana, in a past kalpa there were seven brāhmaṇas who all possessed religious conduct and day after day made sacrificial offerings to heaven. These seven brāhmaṇas also said: 'We are descendants of Brahmā, we too were born from the mouth of Brahmā, while ordinary people are born below. Our kind, when we die, are reborn in heaven.'"

The Buddha said:

"At that time I too was a man of the path named Asita. Everyone said: 'My path is the wholesome path.' At that time I saw the seven brāhmaṇas all standing before the flame of the temple of worship. The brāhmaṇas all said: 'When we die we shall blaze radiantly like this flame, up in the heavens.'"

The Buddha said:

"'Let me see what these people are doing.' I transformed my own body, holding in my hand a banner with a staff of pure gold feathers, my body clad in white garments, riding along with others upon a make-believe carriage, and came to where the seven brāhmaṇas were. At that time the seven brāhmaṇas were walking in meditation, and the whole group saw me and called out to me, 'Brāhmaṇa traveler of the path, from where have you come here?' The seven brāhmaṇas said: 'If you are of the heavenly path, please tell us in brief: why do you wear fine garments, ride a carriage, and hold in your hand a resplendent golden banner? From where were you born, and where do you wish to go? From where have you come? And why have you come to this place?'"

At that time I remained silent and did not answer. Seeing that I did not speak, they all grew angry, and at once employed spells against me, wishing to cause me to stand still and die. They employed spells against me, yet my countenance became all the more handsome. They recited spells again, and my countenance grew handsomer still. The seven brāhmaṇas were utterly astonished and afraid, saying: "All those against whom we have recited spells have died, but now we recite spells against this person and his countenance grows all the more handsome."

At that time they called out again, "Asita!" thinking to themselves: "By what path do you wish to go?"

Asita then answered: "The aim of our path surpasses all. Why are you angry? Have you then heard Asita speak of the heavenly path?"

They said: "We have not heard it."

Asita said: "Good sirs, when men of the path meet one another, they greet and inquire after one another—why then are you angry?"

Asita said: "I have heard the brāhmaṇas say: 'The brāhmaṇas in the world are descendants of Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā, alone supreme among humankind.' Therefore I have come to ask you: if you kindle this fire to make offerings to heaven, if you worship heaven in accordance with the Dharma, is there any master who has declared it? Even this you have not heard your ancestors declare."

The seven brāhmaṇas said: "Our ancestors did it, so we imitate them."

The man of the path Asita said: "Then was your grandmother the daughter of a brāhmaṇa, or the daughter of another lineage?"

"We do not know whether our grandmother was the daughter of a kṣatriya, the daughter of a farmer, or the daughter of an artisan. We do not know whether our ancestral grandmother was born of a brāhmaṇa, or whether those forebears, loving another, gave rise to our kind."

Asita said: "If you do not even know your ancestors, why do you say that your ancestors were born from Brahmā? The mind of a woman offers no certainty. If you know about worldly people, then how do husband and wife unite in order to bear a child?"

They all said: "We do not know."

"If you do not even know your ancestors, and also do not know from where human beings arise, then why are you angry with me? When people meet one another, they should first inquire and greet so as to know who is higher and who lower; one should know that person's resolve and only then be angry—why do you first grow angry? If you know that a human being, when first entering the womb in the mother's belly, comes to be—if it is not by the lustful desire of the father, it is by the desire and craving of the mother—only then is the child born.

When these three conditions are complete, only then is there a child. Once there is a child, who causes the intermediate-state body to meet the father and mother and become a child? The child within the mother's belly, if in a former life it did evil, then now within the mother's belly may be born blind, or deaf, or mute, or hunchbacked, or club-footed, or become a corrupt and evil person—and the father and mother both do not know it clearly.

The father and mother carry the child within the belly and yet cannot know whether their own child is fair or foul—then how can you know that your forebears are descendants of Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā, and alone supreme among humankind?"

The Buddha said to Aṣṭāra-vana: "In a former life, these seven brāhmaṇas were able by spells and incantations to kill people. At that time I did not accept the words they spoke or the books they wrote. Now that I have become the Buddha, they again come to tell me: that they are descendants of Brahmā, born from the mouth of Brahmā, alone supreme among humankind."

The Buddha said to Aṣṭāra-vana: "Consider what I say: In the world a child is born and raised through father and mother, and becomes a person through a teacher."

The brāhmaṇa Aṣṭāra-vana, together with the five hundred brāhmaṇas and the other brāhmaṇas, all reflected together.

The Buddha said: "In a former time I was still the teacher of the seven brāhmaṇas. These seven brāhmaṇas were people of virtue, able to kill people by spells and incantations. Now I must distinguish and declare it. Human beings have kinds—one becomes a hundred, a hundred becomes a thousand, a thousand becomes ten thousand, and ten thousand is also one."

Aṣṭāra-vana, together with the brāhmaṇas, all came forward, placed their heads and faces beneath the feet of the Buddha, and said: "We do not understand the meaning of 'one becomes a hundred, a hundred becomes a thousand, a thousand becomes ten thousand, and ten thousand also comes from one.'"

The Buddha said: "It is that worldly people who are greatly attached to birth and death are very many. One person begets children and grandchildren, who afterward divide into a hundred households; and the hundred households seek the path, yet there is only one path. What is called the one path? It is the path of the unconditioned. In this way one becomes a thousand, and a thousand becomes ten thousand."

Aṣṭāra-vana came before the Buddha, knelt down, and said: "We beg you to have pity on us, as you have pity on the śramaṇas; do not harbor an angry mind toward us. We beg leave to return and examine ourselves together."

The Buddha said: "Excellent!"

"Tomorrow morning we vow to purify our minds."

They all rose up, placed their heads and faces beneath the feet of the Buddha, and went out.

THE BUDDHA SPEAKS THE SCRIPTURE

OF THE BRĀHMAṆA AṢṬĀRA-VANA'S QUESTIONS ON THE VENERATION OF KINDS