大寶積經

XXVIII. THE DHARMA ASSEMBLY OF THE ELDER VĪRADATTA, THE TWENTY-EIGHTH

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was dwelling in the country of Śrāvastī, in the Jeta Grove, the Garden of Anāthapiṇḍika, together with a great assembly of bhikṣus, twelve hundred and fifty in number. They were all Arhats, their outflows already exhausted and their afflictions no more; they had attained supreme self-mastery like great nāgas; what was to be done they had done; they had set down the heavy burden and gained their own benefit; they had exhausted the fetters of all the realms; through right knowledge their minds had attained liberation and sovereignty; supreme in worthiness of offerings, they were known to all people.

Only the Venerable Ānanda still abided at the stage of one in training. The names of these venerable ones were: Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya, Mahākāśyapa, Mahākātyāyana, Mahākāśyapa the Great, Śāriputra, Mahāmaudgalyāyana,

Mahākapphiṇa, Mahākauṣṭhila, Mahābrahma, Rāhula, Nanda, and others, who served as the foremost leaders.

There were also five hundred Great Bodhisattvas gathered together, all of whom had attained samādhi and dhāraṇī.

At that time, within the city of Śrāvastī there was an elder named Vīradatta, wealthy and possessed of much precious treasure, his storehouses overflowing and full of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, giant clam shell, agate, coral, amber, maṇi jewels, true pearls, elephants, horses, oxen, sheep, servants and attendants, and goods of every kind for trade, all in great abundance. The elder Vīradatta, together with five hundred elders, held a feast and deliberated, saying: "Venerable sirs!

It is difficult for a Buddha to appear in the world; difficult to obtain a human body; difficult to encounter a Buddha; and within the Buddha's Dharma, difficult through diligence of mind to leave the household life; harder still to fulfill the nature of a bhikṣu; difficult also to practice in accord with the Dharma; rare indeed is the person who, knowing kindness and repaying kindness, does not forget even a slight kindness received; rare is the person who can give rise to faith and delight within the Buddha's Dharma; harder still to bring this faith and delight to fulfillment; difficult also is this matter of adorning the Buddha's Dharma; and far more difficult, by manifold degrees, is liberation from birth and death.

Shall we, for the sake of the Śrāvaka Vehicle and the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, seek cessation and extinction? Or shall we set forth toward the supreme Buddha Vehicle?"

Everyone proclaimed aloud: "We must, within the unsurpassed Buddha Path, realize Nirvāṇa."

When the elders had reached their decision, they went forth together from the city to the Jeta Grove, bowed their heads at the feet of the Buddha, circumambulated him three times to the right, and sat down to one side.

The World-Honored One, though he already knew, deliberately asked: "Elders, for what reason have you now come to where the Buddha is?"

The elder Vīradatta, together with the five hundred elders, rose, bared the right shoulder, placed the right knee upon the ground, joined their palms, and respectfully addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One! We gathered together in deliberation, saying: It is difficult for a Buddha to appear in the world; difficult to obtain a human body; and so on down to: liberation from birth and death is far more difficult by manifold degrees.

Now shall we, within the Śrāvaka Vehicle and the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, seek cessation and extinction? Or shall we set forth toward the unsurpassed Buddha Vehicle? We proclaimed together, saying: We must, within the unsurpassed Buddha Path, realize Nirvāṇa.

Because of this decision, we have come to where the Tathāgata, the Equally and Rightly Awakened One, abides.

World-Honored One! A Great Bodhisattva who resolutely seeks Unsurpassed Bodhi—how should he study? How should he abide? How should he cultivate?"

The Buddha said: "Excellent, excellent! You who set forth toward Unsurpassed Bodhi and have come to where the Buddha is must listen attentively and reflect upon it well, keeping it in mind. As the Great Bodhisattvas should study, should abide, and should cultivate, so shall I explain for your sakes."

The elders, receiving his instruction, listened attentively.

The Buddha proclaimed: "Elders! A Great Bodhisattva who, with regard to Unsurpassed Bodhi, has a surpassing resolve and aspiration must give rise to a mind of great compassion toward all sentient beings, must practice broadly, and must diligently cultivate. For this reason, the Bodhisattva must have no attachment toward body, life, wealth, wife and children, storehouses, dwellings, food and drink, clothing, carriages, bedding and cushions, flowers and incense, and all articles of use.

Why is this? Because sentient beings, clinging to the body, create evil karma, and through evil karma fall into the hells. If toward sentient beings one gives rise to a mind of great compassion, then one will not cling to body, life, and wealth, and will be reborn in good destinies.

A Great Bodhisattva who, with regard to Unsurpassed Bodhi, has a surpassing resolve and aspiration, having given rise to loving-kindness and compassion toward sentient beings, must cultivate great relinquishment without seeking reward. One who seeks no reward must abide securely in the precepts; the three kinds of precepts being pure, he must then be fully endowed with patience, able to endure all that is evil and harmful; then he should give rise to vigor, not sparing body or life; he should cultivate single-mindedness and abide securely in meditative concentration; he should cultivate wisdom and skillful means.

He must relinquish entirely the notions of self, person, sentient being, and life-span. For the sake of sentient beings he should practice giving and uphold the precepts; for the sake of sentient beings he should cultivate patience and give rise to vigor; for the sake of sentient beings he should enter meditative concentration and cultivate wisdom and skillful means."

The elders addressed the Buddha: "World-Honored One! Toward our bodies and lives, our wives and children, and all wealth and goods, our minds are ever fond and grudging. How does a Great Bodhisattva contemplate, so that toward body, life, and wealth he is able to be without greed and stinginess?"

The Buddha proclaimed: "Good sons! A Great Bodhisattva who has the surpassing resolve and aspiration toward Unsurpassed Bodhi must contemplate that this body has immeasurable faults and calamities: an accumulation of subtle particles, arising, abiding, changing, and ceasing, shifting and altering thought-moment by thought-moment; from its nine orifices foul matter flows, like the den of a venomous serpent; within it there is no master, like a deserted and empty village; in the end it breaks down, like an unfired clay vessel; foul fluids overflow it, like a basin of dung and spittle; it harbors impurities, like a privy pit; it cannot be touched, like a malignant boil; greedy for delicacies it meets disaster, like food mixed with poison; it knows no gratitude for kindness, like Ajātaśatru;

it deceives all people, like an evil companion; harmed by foolish craving, it is like befriending monkeys and apes; it severs the life of wisdom, like a murderer; it robs away all wholesome dharmas, like a thief and brigand; it constantly seeks occasions to do harm, like an enemy; it has no kindly heart, like a butcher; it is hard to attend to closely, like a violent and cruel person; like an arrow lodged in the body, which pains whenever it is touched; like a decaying house that must constantly be repaired; like an old, broken carriage hard to use; like a box of venomous serpents hard to approach; like a roadside inn where the weary gather; like a solitary house that belongs to no one; like a prison guard given to duplicity; like a king anxious over his realm;

like a frontier fortress that must be guarded in fear; like an evil country beset by many calamities; like a broken bowl hard to hold; like worshipping fire that is never satisfied; like a mirage, deceptive and false; like an illusory transformation that deludes people; like the peeling of a plantain stalk that has no hard core; like a mass of foam that cannot be grasped; like a water bubble swiftly arising and swiftly ceasing; like a tree on a riverbank, in peril and ready to topple; like a swift river current that flows entirely to the sea of death.

The Bodhisattva further contemplates the causes and conditions of this body, from beginning to end: in the beginning it arises through the union of desire and craving; in order to nourish and grow it, food is swallowed, entering the receptacle of the raw, where phlegm-humor digests it; next it enters the receptacle of yellow bile, and when nearly ripened it is transformed into a sour substance; next it enters the receptacle of wind, where, by the force of wind, it is divided into fluids and dregs that circulate separately and become feces and urine.

The fluid is transformed into blood, blood is transformed into flesh, within the flesh fat is produced, from the fat bones are produced, and marrow is produced. The causes and conditions of the body, from beginning to end, are impure in just this way.

Having contemplated as above, the Bodhisattva should further reflect: This body is assembled from three hundred and sixty pieces of bone, joined together like a decayed and ruined house; its joints and limb-segments are held together by four networks of vessels spread out all around; five hundred portions of flesh, like mud smeared and plastered on; six vessels bound together; five hundred sinews fastening and binding; seven hundred small vessels used as woven cords; sixteen large vessels hooked and linked to one another; two strands of fleshy cord, three and a half fathoms long, coiled and knotted within; sixteen lengths of intestine encircling the receptacles of the raw and the ripened; twenty-five air-vessels, like windows; one hundred and seven aperture-points, like a shattered vessel;

eighty thousand pores, like a tangled cover of grass; the five faculties and seven openings brimming with filth; wrapped in seven layers of skin; nourished and grown by the six flavors, like worshipping fire, swallowing and absorbing without ever being satisfied.

A body such as this is, in all respects, foul and stinking, its nature putrid and rotting. Who should cherish and esteem it and thereby give rise to arrogance? One should only contemplate it as one keeps a vessel, as one guards a carriage—nourishing it in order to reach Bodhi."

The World-Honored One spoke a verse, saying:

Good sons! If a Bodhisattva gives rise to the surpassing resolve and aspiration, turning toward Unsurpassed Bodhi, then he should contemplate this body in forty-four ways:

First, this body is to be loathed, because its nature is one of disharmony. Second, this body is foul, because blood and pus constantly flow. Third, this body is not enduring, because it ultimately decays and ruins.

Fourth, this body is feeble, because its members and joints support one another. Fifth, this body is unclean, because filth overflows it. Sixth, this body is like a magic trick, because it deceives the ordinary person.

Seventh, this body is like the mouth of a boil, because the nine orifices constantly flow. Eighth, this body is ablaze, because the fire of desire is fierce. Ninth, this body is fire, because the fire of anger is strong.

Tenth, it burns all over, because the fire of delusion burns throughout. Eleventh, this body is darkness, because of greed, hatred, and delusion. Twelfth, this body is fallen into a net, because it is covered by the net of craving.

Thirteenth, this body is a mass of abscesses, because it is full of ulcers and boils. Fourteenth, this body is not at peace, because of the four hundred and four diseases. Fifteenth, it is the dwelling place of vermin.

Sixteenth, this body is impermanent, because it must ultimately die. Seventeenth, this body is obstinately deluded, because it does not understand the dharmas. Eighteenth, it is like an earthenware vessel, because of arising, abiding, and decay.

Nineteenth, it is oppressive, because of much sorrow and grief. Twentieth, it cannot be saved or protected, because it surely decays and perishes. Twenty-first, it is dangerous and evil, because it is hard to know on account of flattery and deceit.

Twenty-second, it is like a bottomless pit, because greedy desires are never satisfied. Twenty-third, it is like a fire that takes in fuel, because greed for forms is never wearied. Twenty-fourth, it is never sated, because of greed to experience the five desires.

Twenty-fifth, it is as if beaten and struck, because it is injured and harmed. Twenty-sixth, it is unstable, because of waxing and waning, increase and decrease. Twenty-seventh, the body turns in accord with the mind, because of improper reflection.

Twenty-eighth, it knows no gratitude, because it surely abandons one to the grave-mound. Twenty-ninth, it is eaten by others, because foxes, wolves, ants, and termites devour it. Thirtieth, it is like a machine, because sinews and bones support it.

Thirty-first, it is not worth looking upon, because of blood, pus, dung, and filth. Thirty-second, it is not free, because it must depend on food and drink. Thirty-third, it is falsely wrapped and bound, because it ultimately decays and ruins.

Thirty-fourth, it is an evil friend, because of much that opposes and harms. Thirty-fifth, it is a killer, because it destroys and harms itself. Thirty-sixth, it is a thing of suffering and calamity, because much suffering oppresses it.

Thirty-seventh, it is a mass of suffering, because the five aggregates produce it. Thirty-eighth, it has no master, because it arises from the various conditions. Thirty-ninth, it has no life-soul, because it is apart from the marks of male and female.

Fortieth, it is empty, because one must contemplate the aggregates, elements, and bases. Forty-first, it is false, because it is like a dream. Forty-second, it is unreal, because it is like an illusory transformation.

Forty-third, it is deceptive, because it is like a mirage. Forty-fourth, this body deceives, because it is like a reflected image in a mirror.

When he contemplates the body in this way, then toward body, life, wife, children, and wealth the Bodhisattva is freed and wearied, with no further fondness or attachment; he swiftly fulfills the six pāramitās and soon attains Unsurpassed Bodhi."

The World-Honored One spoke a verse, saying:

"To gain a fine human body is extremely difficult;
Do not, for this body, create evil karma.
In the end the grave-mound nourishes foxes and wolves;
Do not, through evil views, give rise to greedy craving.

The foolish ordinary one is deluded by mad folly,
And through love of this body creates evil karma;
Yet this body, in turn, knows no gratitude,
Day and night only adding the conditions of suffering and calamity.

Its organs, moving and turning, are ever weary and toiling;
Mucus and discharge, sharp and slick, ever overflow;
Hunger and thirst, heat and cold, ever press and oppress—
What wise person would cherish this body?

This body is never sated, like a deep pit,
Vainly nourishing and increasing all that is hostile and harmful;
Because of this body one constantly does evil,
And must undergo suffering's retribution for immeasurable kalpas.

One should remember aging and death and diligently cultivate merit,
With right faith being born within the Buddha's Dharma;
Food and drink, clothing, and the various perfumed unguents
Have nourished this body for a long time already.

Toward the Buddha's Dharma one should have deep faith;
The evil destinies are to be feared—do not follow them.
Though one were to live for a thousand kalpa-years,
Still, fearing impermanence, one gives rise to weariness;

How much more so when not even an instant is assured,
And one must be sunk and drowned in the evil destinies!
Perhaps an evil friend comes and counsels:
'A human body is hard to obtain, and now you have obtained it;

Seek much precious wealth and enjoy the pleasures of desire,
And while you are strong and healthy, sport and revel to your content.'
Is there anyone who, seeking wealth, becomes happy?
Though one obtains and guards it, there is still suffering and toil.

The fool, in this way, vainly speaks false words;
Therefore the wise person must contemplate:
Wealth and goods are like an illusion, also like a dream;
Sentient beings, foolish and deluded, are deceived and led astray.

In an instant gained, in an instant lost—
What wise person would be fond of and attached to it?
Like an illusionist conjuring illusory things,
The city of the gandharvas with its many forms and colors,

So too is precious wealth, deceiving the foolish ordinary one;
Within what is false and empty, how could there be anything real?
Undergoing much suffering and affliction to seek wealth and gain,
While water, fire, kings, and bandits ever invade and seize it—

Through this it becomes a cause and condition of suffering;
What wise person would give rise to fondness and attachment for it?
There are those who ever harbor greedy craving,
Chasing after wealth and gain without knowing satiety;

Toward father and mother they have no kindly heart,
And even toward kinfolk they give rise to enmity and harm.
Their words are agreeable, but their hearts are deeply venomous;
They create much karma and the conditions of deceit.

Some study heterodox treatises and heterodox spells and arts,
Falsely boasting of their skills like a wanton woman;
Some, through flattery and deceit, display gentleness and harmony;
Some, through harshness and force, display might and ferocity.

Immeasurable evil karmas, many such as these,
There is none that does not arise from wealth and gain.
Coral, gold, jade, and maṇi jewels—
Such things are originally like bubbles and foam.

Not understanding that they are like illusory transformations,
For the sake of false and unreal things one falls into greedy ways.
At the time when the Buddha Maitreya appears in the world,
The candidate-Buddha succeeding Śākyamuni,

His land of gold will line the surface of the earth,
And the seven jewels will appear—from where do they come?
When the kalpa is exhausted, the world is consumed and destroyed:
Mount Sumeru, rivers, and seas dry up and burn entirely;

In the end they are ruined and lost, returning to empty space—
Where do these precious treasures go?
Creating the karmic retribution of evil to seek wealth and goods,
Nourishing wife and children and calling it joy—

Horses, carriages, and precious treasures belong to others;
When undergoing suffering, who can share it?
Father and mother, elder and younger brothers, wife and children,
Friends and companions, and one's possessions—

When one dies, not one of them is near at hand;
Only one's evil karma constantly follows close behind.
The wise person, in the end, will not, for the sake of fondness and love,
Create karma and then beg to be released from it.

Must now willingly accept and bear the suffering and hardship.
Yama ever tells that person of sins:
'I have not added to you the slightest sin;
The sin you yourself created has now come of itself.

The karmic retribution you yourself undergo—no one can take your place.
Father, mother, wife, and children cannot rescue you;
You should only diligently cultivate the cause of transcending the world.'
Therefore one must cast off the chains and fetters of karma,

Skillfully knowing how to distance oneself and seek peace and joy.
Of wife, children, and household one should know fear,
Ever relying on the Buddha's teaching and cultivating rightly.
The household life, when prosperous, is the root of suffering,

Like a fiery furnace, much to be feared:
Body and mind, scorched and oppressed, are burned by it—
What wise person would give rise to greedy craving?
Delighting to cultivate all the Buddha's teachings,

Never striving and seeking, is true happiness;
The foolish, dull ordinary one does not know this excellence.
The household is the root of suffering, yet they crave and love it;
Toward that mass of skin, bone, sinew, and flesh

They are deluded and falsely imagine it to be husband and wife.
Not knowing that the body is like an illusory transformation,
The foolish, dull ordinary one gives rise to greedy craving;
The wise person knows the body to be a fault and a calamity.

The pleasures of desire in this world they all cast away;
Seeking the Dharma must be like seeking good medicine.
One must quickly cast off and leave the bonds of household life."

When they had heard the Dharma, the five hundred elders attained the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas, and, rejoicing and exulting, spoke a verse, saying:

At that time the World-Honored One then smiled, and from the gateway of his face the Buddha sent forth rays of light of every kind—green, gold, red, white, pink, purple, and crystal—shining upon immeasurable, boundless worlds, even up to the Brahma Heaven, so that the radiant glory of the sun and moon was all concealed and hidden; the light then returned, circled three times, and entered into the crown of the Buddha's head.

The Venerable Ānanda rose, bared the right shoulder, placed the right knee upon the ground, joined his palms, and addressed the Buddha, saying: "World-Honored One! For what cause and condition does the Buddha smile?"

The Venerable One then spoke a verse, saying:

"The Buddhas are the supreme guides;
Not without cause or condition do they display a smile.
O Compassionate One who benefits the world,
Pray, declare the cause and condition of this matter.

Sentient beings are poor and lacking, without the wealth of the Dharma;
Therefore bestow upon them the great and supreme Vehicle,
That you may be a bright eye for the world.
Pray, declare the cause and condition of the Buddha's faint smile."

The Buddha proclaimed: "Ānanda! Do you see these five hundred elders who now, before the Buddha, give rise to the mind of Unsurpassed Bodhi?"

"Yes, I have seen them, World-Honored One!"

"Ānanda! These five hundred elders, in ages past, served and made offerings to a hundred thousand koṭi-nayuta Buddhas, planting various wholesome roots; and now, hearing me expound the Dharma, they have all attained the patient acceptance of the non-arising of dharmas. These elders, from now on, will no longer be born in the evil destinies, and will ever experience pleasure and joy among gods and humans.

In a future age, at the place of the Buddha Maitreya, these elders will draw near, make offerings, revere, honor, and praise him; and with all the Buddhas of the Worthy Kalpa it will be likewise—at the places of those Buddhas they will hear the true Dharma, receive and uphold it, read and recite it, and expound it for others. After twenty-five kalpas have passed, these elders will, within the various Buddha-lands, attain Unsurpassed Bodhi, all becoming Buddhas of one and the same title: Supreme Lotus-Treasury Tathāgata, the Worthy of Offerings, the Equally and Rightly Awakened One."

The Venerable Ānanda addressed the Buddha: "How rare, World-Honored One! How rare, Well-Gone One! What name should be given to this vast and great Dharma-gate, and how should we receive and uphold it?"

The Buddha proclaimed: "Ānanda! This Dharma-gate is named 'The Stages of the Yoga Practitioner,' and is also called 'That Which Was Asked by the Elder Vīradatta.' You should receive and uphold it."

When the Buddha had spoken this sūtra, the Venerable Ānanda, the bhikṣus, the five hundred elders, the assemblies of bodhisattvas, the gods and humans, and the eightfold division of devas and nāgas, having heard what the Buddha had taught, all greatly rejoiced, faithfully accepted it, and respectfully put it into practice.