佛說大愛道般泥洹經

Thus have I heard:

At one time the Buddha was dwelling at Vaiśālī, in the Lecture Hall of Universal Assembly, together with a great assembly of bhikṣus, five hundred in number.

At that time Mahāprajāpatī[292] was dwelling in the city of Vaiśālī, in the Tower Monastery[293] together with a great assembly of bhikṣuṇīs, five hundred in number, all of whom were arhats who had exhausted all the contaminants.

Mahāprajāpatī heard the bhikṣuṇīs [821c] say, “Before long, in not more than three months, the Tathāgata will attain final nirvāṇa, between the twin sāla trees, at Kuśinagara.” She then reflected, “I cannot bear to see the Tathāgata attain final nirvāṇa. Therefore I should now attain final nirvāṇa before him.” Then Mahāprajāpatī went to the World-Honored One,[294] bowed her head at his feet, and sat to one side. Then she said to the Buddha:

“I have heard that before long, in not more than three months, the World-Honored One will enter nirvāṇa between the twin sāla trees, at Kuśinagara. I now cannot bear to see the World-Honored One and Ānanda attain final nirvāṇa. I humbly beg the World-Honored One to permit me to attain final nirvāṇa.”

At that time the World-Honored One was silent. Mahāprajāpatī again said to the Buddha:

“From this day forth, I humbly beg the World-Honored One to allow the bhikṣuṇīs to recite the precepts.”

The Buddha said:

“I now permit the bhikṣuṇīs to recite the prohibitory precepts for the bhikṣuṇīs, exactly as the prohibitory precepts that I have promulgated; let there be no transgression.”

Mahāprajāpatī came forward and bowed at the feet of the Buddha, then stood before the Buddha. She said to the Buddha:

“Now I shall no longer behold the countenance of the Tathāgata, nor shall I behold the Buddhas of the future; I shall no longer endure the womb, but shall dwell forever in the Unconditioned. Today I take leave of the sacred countenance, never to meet again.”

Then Mahāprajāpatī circumambulated the Buddha three times and withdrew. Returning among the assembly of nuns, she said to the bhikṣuṇīs:

“Now I wish to enter nirvāṇa, the realm of the Unconditioned. The reason is that before long the Tathāgata will attain final nirvāṇa. Each of you, do what must be done at the appropriate time.”

Then the bhikṣuṇī Kṣemā, the bhikṣuṇī Utpalavarṇā, the bhikṣuṇī Kṛśā Gautamī, the bhikṣuṇī Śakulā, the bhikṣuṇī Śyāmā, the bhikṣuṇī Bhadra Kāpilānī, the bhikṣuṇī Paṭācārā, the bhikṣuṇī Kātyāyanī, and the bhikṣuṇī Jayā,[295] together with five hundred bhikṣuṇīs, went to the World-Honored One and stood to one side. Then the bhikṣuṇī Kṣemā, the foremost among the five hundred bhikṣuṇīs, said to the Buddha:

“We have heard that before long the Tathāgata will attain final nirvāṇa. We cannot bear to see the World-Honored One and Ānanda attain final nirvāṇa first. We humbly beg the World-Honored One to permit us to attain final nirvāṇa first. For us now to enter nirvāṇa is indeed the right time.”

Then [823a] the World-Honored One gave his silent consent. When the bhikṣuṇī Kṣemā and the five hundred bhikṣuṇīs saw that the World-Honored One had given his silent consent, they came forward and bowed at the feet of the Buddha, circumambulated him three times, then withdrew and returned to their own dwellings.

At that time Mahāprajāpatī shut the door of the lecture hall, struck the gong, and spread her sitting mat upon the open ground. Then she rose up into the sky, and sat, lay down, or walked back and forth; or she sent forth flames, with smoke rising from the lower part of her body and fire rising from the upper part, or with fire rising from the lower part and smoke rising from the upper part, or with her whole body sending forth fire, or with her whole body sending forth smoke; or from her left flank she gushed water and from her right flank she gushed fire; or from her left flank she gushed fire and from her right flank she gushed water; or from the front she gushed fire and from the back she gushed water; or from the front she gushed water and from the back she gushed fire;

or her whole body gushed fire, or her whole body gushed water.

After performing these transformations, Mahāprajāpatī returned to her seat, sat cross-legged with body erect and mind upright, fixing her mindfulness before her, and entered the first dhyāna; emerging from the first dhyāna she entered the second dhyāna; emerging from the second dhyāna she entered the third dhyāna; emerging from the third dhyāna she entered the fourth dhyāna; emerging from the fourth dhyāna she entered the sphere of infinite space; emerging from the sphere of infinite space she entered the sphere of infinite consciousness; from the sphere of infinite consciousness she entered the sphere of nothingness; from the sphere of nothingness she entered the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception;

emerging from the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception she entered the cessation of perception and feeling; emerging from the cessation of perception and feeling she entered again the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception; emerging from the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception she entered again the sphere of nothingness; emerging from the sphere of nothingness she entered again the sphere of infinite consciousness; emerging from the sphere of infinite consciousness she entered again the sphere of infinite space; emerging from the sphere of infinite space she entered again the fourth dhyāna; emerging from the fourth dhyāna she entered again the third dhyāna; emerging from the third dhyāna she entered again the second dhyāna;

emerging from the second dhyāna she entered again the first dhyāna; emerging from the first dhyāna she entered the second dhyāna; emerging from the second dhyāna she entered the third dhyāna; emerging from the third dhyāna she entered the fourth dhyāna.

After entering the fourth dhyāna, she at once attained final nirvāṇa. At that time heaven and earth quaked greatly; the east rose up and the west sank down; the west rose up and the east sank down; the four sides all rose up and the center sank down; again from the four directions a cool wind arose. The devas in the sky played music.

The devas of the Realm of Desire wept in sorrow, their tears falling like the sweet rain that pours from the spring sky. The wondrous devas ground utpala flowers into fragrant powder; they also ground sandalwood and scattered it above. At that time the bhikṣuṇī Kṣemā, the bhikṣuṇī Utpalavarṇā, the bhikṣuṇī Kṛśā Gautamī, the bhikṣuṇī Śakulā, the bhikṣuṇī Śyāmā, the bhikṣuṇī Bhadra Kāpilānī, the bhikṣuṇī Kātyāyanī, and the bhikṣuṇī Jayā;[296] these bhikṣuṇīs were the [822b] foremost among the five hundred bhikṣuṇīs; each of them spread her sitting mat upon the open ground, then rose up into the sky, and sat, lay down, or walked back and forth, performing the eighteen transformations, until they entered the cessation of perception and cognition, and then attained final nirvāṇa.[297]

At that time in the city of Vaiśālī there was a great general named Yaśodeva, who had led five hundred youths to gather at the Lecture Hall of Universal Assembly, to discuss together a number of matters. Yaśodeva and the five hundred youths saw from afar the eighteen transformations of the five hundred bhikṣuṇīs. Seeing this, they were exceedingly joyful and uplifted, unable to contain themselves, and all of them joined their palms and faced toward that place. Then the World-Honored One said to Ānanda:

“Go to General Yaśodeva and tell him: Quickly prepare five hundred bed-cloths, five hundred sitting-cloths, five hundred jars of butter, five hundred jars of sesame oil, five hundred funeral carriages, five hundred bundles of incense, and five hundred carts of firewood.”

Ānanda came forward and asked:

“I do not know what the World-Honored One wishes to do.”

The Buddha said:

“Mahāprajāpatī has attained final nirvāṇa. The five hundred bhikṣuṇīs have also entered nirvāṇa. We shall make offerings to the relics.”

Hearing this, Ānanda was moved to sorrow and grief that he could not restrain:

“Why has Mahāprajāpatī attained final nirvāṇa so soon?”

Then Ānanda wiped away his tears with his hand and went to General Yaśodeva. When Yaśodeva saw Ānanda coming from afar, he at once rose to receive him, and spoke words of welcome:

“Greetings, Ānanda! What instruction do you bring, that you come so unexpectedly?” Ānanda replied:

“I am the messenger of the Buddha, and have a request.”

The general then asked:

“What instruction do you bring?”

Ānanda said:

“The World-Honored One has sent me to tell the General: Quickly prepare five hundred bed-cloths, five hundred sitting-cloths, five hundred jars of butter, five hundred jars of sesame oil, five hundred funeral carriages, five hundred bundles of incense, and five hundred carts of firewood. Mahāprajāpatī together with the five hundred bhikṣuṇīs have all attained final nirvāṇa. We shall make offerings to the relics.”

Then the general wept in sorrow and grief, saying:

“Why have Mahāprajāpatī and the five hundred bhikṣuṇīs attained final nirvāṇa so soon! Who will admonish us, and encourage us to give offerings of food and drink?”[298]

General Yaśodeva then prepared five hundred bed-cloths, five hundred sitting-cloths, five hundred jars of butter, five hundred jars of sesame oil, five hundred funeral carriages, five hundred bundles of incense, five hundred carts of firewood, and the implements for cremation.[299] When this was done, he went to the World-Honored One, bowed at his feet, and stood to one side. General Yaśodeva said to the World-Honored One:

“In accordance with what the Tathāgata instructed, today we have prepared all the implements for making offerings.”

The Buddha said:

[822c] “Let each of you carry the remains of Mahāprajāpatī and of the five hundred bhikṣuṇīs out of the city of Vaiśālī, and go to an open place. I wish to go there to make offerings to the relics.”

The general said to the Buddha:

“Yes indeed, World-Honored One.”

Then the general went to the place of Mahāprajāpatī and said to one man:

“Set up a ladder and climb over the wall to enter inside; slowly open the gate, and do not make any noise.”

The man obeyed the order, climbed inside, and opened the door. The general then ordered five hundred men to take the remains and place them upon beds. At that time there were two śrāmaṇerīs there. One was named Nandā, and the second was named Upananandā. The two śrāmaṇerīs said to the general:

“Stop, stop, General! Do not disturb the teachers.”

General Yaśodeva said:

“It is not that your teachers are asleep; they have all attained final nirvāṇa.”

When the two śrāmaṇerīs heard that the teachers had attained final nirvāṇa, their hearts were stricken with fear, and they thought to themselves: “Seen thus, whatever phenomena arise are all phenomena subject to cessation.” At once, right there upon their seats, they attained the three knowledges and the six supernormal powers. The two śrāmaṇerīs then rose up into the sky and, first, went to the open wilderness where they performed the eighteen transformations, sitting, lying down, walking back and forth, their bodies gushing water and sending forth fire, transforming themselves immeasurably. Then, right there, they attained parinirvāṇa in the realm of nirvāṇa without remainder.

Then the World-Honored One, surrounded before and behind by the bhikṣus, went to the place of Mahāprajāpatī, within the nuns’ monastery. The World-Honored One said to Ānanda, Nanda, and Rāhula:

“Each of you take up the remains of Mahāprajāpatī. I myself shall make the offering.”

At that time Śakra, Lord of the Devas, knew what was in the mind of the World-Honored One, and at once, in the moment it takes a strong man to bend or stretch his arm, he appeared from the Heaven of the Thirty-three at Vaiśālī, came to the World-Honored One, bowed his head at his feet, and stood to one side. Therein, the bhikṣus who had exhausted the contaminants all saw Śakra, Lord of the Devas, and the devas of the Thirty-three. But the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who had not yet exhausted the contaminants did not see Śakra, Lord of the Devas.

At that time Brahmā, from afar, knew what was in the mind of the World-Honored One, and at once led the devas to vanish from the Brahma Realm above and appear at the place of the World-Honored One, bowing his head at his feet and standing to one side.

At that time Vaiśravaṇa, King of the Devas, knew the thoughts of the World-Honored One, and led the yakṣa spirits to the place of the World-Honored One, bowing his head at his feet and standing to one side.

Then Dhṛtarāṣṭra, King of the Devas, led the gandharvas, and from [823a] the eastern direction came to the Tathāgata, bowing his head at his feet and standing to one side.

Virūḍhaka, King of the Devas, led innumerable kumbhāṇḍas from the southern direction to the place of the World-Honored One, bowing his head at his feet and standing to one side.

Virūpākṣa, King of the Devas, led the nāga spirits to the place of the World-Honored One, bowing his head at his feet and standing to one side.

At that time, Śakra, Lord of the Devas, and Vaiśravaṇa, King of the Devas, came forward and said to the Buddha:

“We humbly beg the World-Honored One not to trouble himself. We ourselves shall make offerings to the relics.”

The Buddha said to the devas:

“Stop, stop, deva kings! The Tathāgata himself knows the time. This is what the Tathāgata must do; it is not something that devas, nāgas, ghosts, or spirits can do.

Why is this so? Parents who give birth to a child bestow much benefit upon him; the kindness of nurturing him to maturity is very great; they suckle him and carry him in their arms. One must repay that kindness; one cannot fail to repay it.

But, O devas, you should know that the parents of the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones of the past, all attained final nirvāṇa first, and thereafter the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones, all personally made offerings at the cremation of the relics. The parents of the Buddhas, the World-Honored Ones of the future, will also attain final nirvāṇa first, and thereafter the Buddhas will all personally make offerings. By this means it is known that the Tathāgata must personally make the offering, and that it is not something that devas, ghosts, or spirits can do.”

Then Vaiśravaṇa, King of the Devas, said to the five hundred ghosts and spirits:

“Go into the sandalwood forest and bring fragrant firewood here, to make offerings at the cremation.”

The five hundred ghosts and spirits obeyed the command of the deva king, went into the sandalwood forest, took sandalwood firewood, and brought it to the open wilderness. At that time the World-Honored One himself took up one foot of the bier, Rāhula took up one foot, Ānanda took up one foot, and Nanda took up one foot, and they rose up into the sky and went to the charnel ground. As for the fourfold assembly—bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās—they carried the remains of the five hundred bhikṣuṇīs and went to the charnel ground.

Then the World-Honored One said to General Yaśodeva:

“Prepare two more sets of bed-cloths, two sets of sitting-cloths, two carts of firewood, and offerings of incense and flowers, to make offerings to the remains of the two śrāmaṇerīs.”

General Yaśodeva said to the Buddha:

“Respectfully I obey, World-Honored One.”

Immediately thereafter he procured the implements for making offerings.

Then the World-Honored One took sandalwood and handed it to each of the devas. The World-Honored One again said to the general:

“Have each person carry one of the five hundred remains, and make offerings to each one separately, [823b] and likewise for the two śrāmaṇerīs.”

The general obeyed the Buddha’s instruction, made offerings to each one separately, and thereafter cremated them.

Then the World-Honored One took sandalwood and piled it upon the remains of Mahāprajāpatī. Then the World-Honored One spoke this verse:

All formations are impermanent;

Where there is birth, there is cessation.

Where there is no birth, there is no death.

That cessation is the highest bliss.

At that time, the devas and the people all gathered together in the charnel ground. The great assembly of devas and humans numbered as many as ten koṭi nayutas.

After the cremation, the general took the relics to erect a stūpa. The Buddha said to the general:

“Now take the five hundred relics and erect stūpas for them, so that for a long time they may receive blessings without measure. Why is this so? In the world there are four persons for whom a stūpa may be erected as a shrine. What are the four? Those who erect a stūpa as a shrine to the Tathāgata, the Perfectly Worthy One, the Completely and Perfectly Awakened One; to a Wheel-Turning Sacred King, to a śrāvaka, and to a pratyekabuddha, obtain blessings without measure.”

Then the World-Honored One spoke the subtle and wondrous Dharma to the devas and the people, causing them to give rise to joyful minds. At that time the devas and humans, numbering as many as one koṭi, removed all defilement of dust and dirt, and obtained the pure Dharma-eye.

Then the devas, the people, the gandharvas, the asuras, and the fourfold assembly, hearing what the Buddha had taught, were joyful and respectfully put it into practice.

THE PARINIRVĀṆA OF MAHĀPRAJĀPATĪ