大寶積經

XXXIX. THE THIRTY-NINTH ASSEMBLY: THE ELDER Bhadrapāla

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was in the city of Rājagṛha, at the Bamboo Grove monastery of the elder Kalandaka, together with an assembly of one thousand two hundred and fifty bhikṣus. All had completed what was to be done and would receive no further existence. The Venerable Śāriputra was foremost among them. The bhikṣus surrounded the Blessed One, wishing to hear the Dharma; their bodies and minds were composed, and none was drowsy.

At that time the countenance and complexion of the Tathāgata, the Blessed One, were like the rising sun and an opening lotus blossom—majestic, radiant, joyful, and smiling. The bhikṣus thought, “What Dharma gate does the Bhagavān now wish to proclaim, that his countenance shines so brilliantly?”

At that time a very wealthy elder named Bhadrapāla, surrounded by a retinue of one thousand people, approached the Blessed One peacefully and unhurriedly, with a majestic power that seemed to shake the great earth.

Through merits cultivated in former lives, the elder Bhadrapāla now enjoyed a heavenly reward, and his body was soft and supple like a tender flower bud. Coming before the Buddha, he saw that the Tathāgata’s countenance was supremely excellent and wondrous, and that his body, a treasury of merits, was tranquil like a golden tree shining brilliantly throughout the entire bamboo grove. He gave rise to pure faith in the Buddha, joined his palms, and thought, “The great renown attained in the world is truly no empty claim.

It is indeed true that the Tathāgata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One, possesses all-knowledge.” He then bowed his head at the Buddha’s feet. Kneeling and raising his head, he single-mindedly gazed intently upon the Blessed One without blinking even for a moment. As he contemplated the Tathāgata, his body remained erect, neither leaning nor moving.

Seeing Bhadrapāla’s ardent longing, the Tathāgata again emitted wondrous light from his body. When that wondrous light shone forth, Bhadrapāla immediately attained fearlessness. He rose, circumambulated the Buddha three times to the right, again bowed at the Buddha’s feet, knelt with palms joined, and said, “Blessed One, please have compassion for me and instruct me.

Great Sage, Blessed One, it has not been long since I first gave rise to faith in the Buddha. Therefore, the Buddha should teach me a Dharma gate in accordance with my present condition. I now thirst to hear the Dharma.

In saṃsāra I am oppressed by afflictions, have many doubts, and my mind is constantly discriminating. I therefore pray that the Blessed One, in his loving compassion, will teach the Dharma and resolve my doubts. Great Sage, Blessed One, because I lack right knowledge, I am deluded and do not know how to escape beyond the ocean of birth, aging, sickness, death, and affliction.

The Tathāgata, the Blessed One, is the Omniscient One, rare in the world, like a maṇi jewel capable of bestowing every joy upon all sentient beings. The Blessed One is also like a father and mother, enabling all sentient beings to obtain wholesome rewards; this is the foundation.”

The Buddha said, “Bhadrapāla, if you have doubts, I permit you to ask. I shall analyze and explain them for you.”

Having received the Buddha’s permission, the elder Bhadrapāla rejoiced and wished to ask about the doubts in his mind. He then rose and stood to one side, his body complete and perfect in majestic radiance.

Seeing Bhadrapāla thus, the Venerable Ānanda said, “Rare indeed, Blessed One! The bodily radiance and majestic power of this elder Bhadrapāla surpass those of great kings. He is extraordinarily handsome, peerlessly dignified and pleasing—the one and only such person in the world.”

The Buddha said, “Ānanda, would you now like to hear of the delightful and beautiful things in the elder Bhadrapāla’s household? Were I to describe fully Bhadrapāla’s pleasurable rewards, even Śakra, King of the Gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, could not equal him, much less anyone in this human world of Jambudvīpa. There is only one exception: the elder’s son Candracandra.”

The Venerable Ānanda said, “Blessed One, what exceptional things are found in the elder Bhadrapāla’s household that the Blessed One praises him so?”

The Buddha said, “Ānanda, listen carefully. This elder possesses immense wealth and wholesome roots. I shall now describe them to you in sequence.

“Ānanda, this elder Bhadrapāla has sixty thousand exceedingly great caravan masters who constantly follow him. Each caravan master possesses immeasurable rare treasures.

“In Bhadrapāla’s household there are always sixty thousand supremely fine, well-fashioned beds, spread with multicolored blankets and mattresses, with multicolored silk cushions placed on both sides.

“In every place there are four complete sets of exquisite multicolored garments made of kauśeya silk and the like. The house is also fully adorned with rare and beautiful objects produced in the four quarters. All those garments are fine, soft, pure, and lustrous.

“Everywhere in Bhadrapāla’s house hang pearl necklaces as adornments.

“There are also sixty thousand maidens of surpassing beauty. Their bodies are soft, smooth, and delicate. They are skilled in jesting and eloquent in speech, with graceful and charming manners that please others.

The angry and troubled become joyful on seeing them, and the sorrowful become cheerful on meeting them. Their playful words and voices delight the heart and please the eye. They all attend respectfully upon their husband and fulfill the proper conduct of wives, remaining free of desire for other men.

At times, conscious of modesty, they join their palms, lower their gaze, bow respectfully, and direct their attention solely toward their husband without looking elsewhere. At other times, out of exclusive love for their husband, they pretend to be jealous, quarrel with one another, scowl, and furrow their brows; yet this is merely playacting, for in truth they harbor no jealousy. Their fingers and nails are slender, long, rounded, and even; their wrists, ankles, and eyes are full and delicate.

Their bodies seem languid with intoxication, and their sidelong glances are captivating. They walk gracefully and sit and stand with dignity. Their dark blue-black hair is fine, glossy, soft, and carefully dressed, enchanting those who see it.

Whether attending upon or serving him, all these maidens devote themselves exclusively to their husband, and their reputation for purity is proclaimed throughout the land. They come from eminent clans and also enjoy good reputations within their own families; all are worthy to be principal wives in noble households. The great and spacious house of Bhadrapāla contains such adornments beyond all reckoning.

“When the elder Bhadrapāla wishes to eat, there are sixty thousand kinds of fragrant, delicious, and wondrous foods, like food in the heavenly realms. These foods are perfect in color and flavor and possess eight qualities. One may eat as one wishes; upon entering the mouth they are immediately digested, and after eating one feels comfortable and unobstructed. Because they arise naturally through the power of wholesome karmic rewards, they are always pleasing, and the body remains radiant and pure, without foulness or impurity.

“In Bhadrapāla’s household there are also sixty thousand palanquins and carriages, all adorned with rare jewels and covered above with exquisite fabrics. The ground is strewn with beautiful fragrant flowers and sprinkled everywhere with scented water, so that it is dustless, clean, and polished.

“In Bhadrapāla’s household there is also music of the highest quality: hands beat, fingers pluck, and mouths blow instruments, producing wondrous, clear, and enthralling sounds. The songs are properly composed and delight all who hear them. Such wonders adorn that house.

“At Bhadrapāla’s residence there are also gardens and groves with lush trees and flourishing vegetation, filled with rare grasses and fragrant flowers of many brilliant colors. In those gardens are many exotic birds whose harmonious calls resemble heavenly music. The sights and sounds are no different from a celestial palace, like a dragon’s cavern fashioned by joining together the treasures of Mount Sumeru.

“Throughout Bhadrapāla’s house there are also many lamps whose flames are not disturbed by the wind. Their light reaches everywhere, so that night is no different from day.

“Moreover, in the land where Bhadrapāla’s household is situated, there are sixty thousand cities, all complete with roads, mansions, and adornments. Merchants from many countries gather everywhere in those cities. They have many different appearances and languages and bring many rare objects and precious goods to exchange with one another. The hundreds of thousands and millions of people in the marketplaces cannot be counted.

“On all four sides surrounding those cities are gardens containing hundreds of thousands of kinds of trees, abundant with flowers and fruit and thick with branches and leaves. Swarms of bees fly about competing to gather nectar and pollen.

“Those cities contain many elephants, horses, and vehicles.

“However many wealthy elders, householders, caravan masters, and merchants there are in those cities, they all single-mindedly praise the merits of the elder Bhadrapāla. With palms joined they bow and extol him. Even merely hearing Bhadrapāla’s name delights them, and they long to see the elder Bhadrapāla with their own eyes.

“When King Prasenajit, the ruler of that land, sees Bhadrapāla’s wealth, influence, merit, and virtue, he considers himself inferior, no different from a poor man, and praises Bhadrapāla’s treasures.

“Ānanda, whenever the elder Candracandra eats, there are one thousand precious delicacies. Morning and evening, all necessities appear naturally at his right and left. Five thousand maidens surround and serve him for his enjoyment. Compared with Śakra, Lord of the Gods, the elder Candracandra enjoys a thousand times greater pleasure. Yet compared with the elder Bhadrapāla, he does not equal even one hundredth part of his beauty, treasures, or pleasurable enjoyments.

“Ānanda, the elder Bhadrapāla possesses a wondrous carriage named Captivator of the Mind, so ingeniously and exquisitely fashioned that nothing like it exists among humans. Within it is a seat made of heavenly jewels, and the carriage is adorned entirely with celestial treasures. Its heavenly jewels—agate, diamond, pearl, and precious shell—shine dazzlingly like stars in the sky. The carriage travels as swiftly as the wind.

“Ānanda, whenever Bhadrapāla wishes to enter the ocean and gather jewels, he boards this carriage and immediately arrives wherever he desires. After enjoying himself, when he wishes to return home, he immediately reaches his house.”

The Venerable Ānanda bowed at the Buddha’s feet and said, “Rare indeed, Blessed One! What wholesome roots did the elder Bhadrapāla cultivate in the past that he now receives this reward?”

The Buddha said, “Ānanda, if you wish to know, listen carefully. These causes and conditions all arise from wholesome roots that he cultivated in the presence of a Buddha in the past, through which he now receives such supreme rewards.

“Ānanda, I remember that in ancient times a Buddha appeared in the world named Joyful Light Tathāgata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One. At that time Bhadrapāla became a bhikṣu in that Buddha’s presence named Dharma Successor. His observance of the precepts was incomplete and had many deficiencies, yet he was skilled in proclaiming the Buddha’s teachings and revealing them to those who had not heard them.

That great Dharma master was learned, retained all he heard, and preserved the treasury of the sūtras as well as the Vinaya Piṭaka. He constantly taught the essentials of the Dharma to sentient beings. His understanding was vast, his eloquence profound in meaning and flavor, and his voice clear and articulate, so that everyone delighted in hearing him.

All who heard the Dharma gave rise to joy and no longer fell into the evil destinies.

“Ānanda, through the causes and conditions of such a gift of Dharma, for ninety-one kalpas he was constantly born among gods and humans, handsome, wealthy, and noble.

“Ānanda, I shall tell you the causes and conditions through which he obtained the wondrous carriage.

“When he was a Dharma master during the time of the Buddha Joyful Light, whenever he saw bhikṣus cultivating the pure life and observing the precepts who were emaciated or ill, he supplied them with every necessity, including shoes and sandals, always giving joyfully. Therefore, he now receives the reward of a wondrous carriage that travels according to his wishes.

“Ānanda, in ancient times there was a Buddha named Kāśyapa Tathāgata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One. That Buddha Kāśyapa told the elder, ‘In a future age a Buddha named Śākyamuni Tathāgata, Worthy One, Perfectly Enlightened One, will give you a prediction.’

“Ānanda, I must now instruct Bhadrapāla so that he may awaken.”

The Venerable Ānanda said, “Rare indeed, Blessed One! Although this elder possesses such immense wealth, his nature is gentle and harmonious, without arrogance, and although he dwells amid the five sensual pleasures, his mind is undefiled.”

The Buddha said, “Ānanda, a wise person is neither arrogant because of wealth nor defiled by the five sensual pleasures.

“Through the causes and conditions of the wondrous Dharma, this elder Bhadrapāla has received inexhaustible blessings throughout many lives.”

At that time the elder Bhadrapāla, having received the Buddha’s permission and wishing to ask about his doubts, single-mindedly knelt before the Buddha with palms joined and said, “Greatly Compassionate Blessed One, you embrace and accept all sentient beings and have pity for them all. I now have doubts that I wish to ask about. May the Blessed One explain them so that all my doubts may be ended.”

The Buddha said, “Bhadrapāla, if you have doubts that you wish to eliminate, now is the proper time. I permit you to ask, and I shall analyze and explain them for you.”

The elder Bhadrapāla said, “Blessed One, sentient beings know that they possess consciousness. Yet this consciousness is like a precious casket: before it is opened, one does not know what treasures it contains.

“Blessed One, what is the appearance of consciousness? For what reason is it called consciousness? When life ends, the faculties are about to cease, and the four great elements are about to disperse, how can this consciousness, which has no hands, feet, face, or eyes, depart from within the body?

What color and shape does consciousness have? How does it separate from the body? How does it abandon this body and accomplish another body?

How does it abandon these elements and ayatanas and proceed toward the next life? How does it accomplish many different bodies? When a person has died, how do the future ayatanas arise accordingly?

How can wholesome roots created in this life produce rewards in a future life? How can these skandhas and ayatanas in this life create wholesome roots while other skandhas and ayatanas in the next life receive their rewards? How does this consciousness obtain a body in that place?

How do the ayatanas and bodily form follow it there?”

The Buddha said, “Excellent, excellent! Your question is well put. Bhadrapāla, now attend with utmost sincerity. I shall explain to you how consciousness comes, goes, transfers, and ceases.

“Bhadrapāla, consider the great element of wind. It has neither form nor color and cannot be seen, yet through causes and conditions it makes form and color manifest. How does it manifest form and color? When wind moves the trees or strikes mountain cliffs and riverbanks, it produces sound. Wind arises through causes and conditions of cold and heat and can therefore be felt, yet its own shape cannot be seen, nor can any hands, feet, face, or eyes be seen in it. Nevertheless, it acts upon forms, increasing or altering them, making them black or white.

“The dhatu of consciousness is likewise. It cannot be seen through color, nor does it itself possess form. It manifests color only by producing a shape according to that into which it enters.

“Why, in that place, is this dhatu of consciousness named the dhatu of sensation, contact, and phenomena? And after abandoning this body, how does this dhatu of consciousness subsequently experience craving, contact, and so forth?

“Consider how the element of wind can carry fragrance. One thereby knows that the scent of a flower comes upon the blowing wind, yet in truth the element of wind does not carry the flower’s scent here, nor can the scent travel here without wind. The fragrance has no visible form, the wind has no visible form, and the faculty that smells the fragrance also has no visible form.

“In the same way, when the consciousness of a dying person is about to transfer, it takes up contact, sensation, and the other dhatus, and thus there is a subsequent existence. After the father and mother unite, one knows that consciousness is present. Because consciousness is present, one knows that sensation and contact are present, and through their conjunction the body is formed.

“Consider a strong and healthy person whose consciousness is powerful. He therefore possesses a faculty capable of smelling fragrance, and because that faculty is strong, the fragrance experienced is also strong. Because the two bases are powerful, two powerful things can be perceived. Those two are form and contact.

“When the wind is abundant, the flower’s fragrance is also abundant. Likewise, when consciousness is great, sensation is also great; when sensation is great, consciousness is also great; and when consciousness is great, the dhatus are also great, enabling one to know, ‘This is wholesome; this is unwholesome.’

“Consider a painter who has become thoroughly accomplished and skillful. Whatever picture he wishes to produce, he can immediately create, because his intention and understanding are excellent, and thus he can work with every color. Yet if the painter has no pigments, he cannot manifest colors.

“Likewise, consciousness brings the six faculties of form to completion: through the eye one sees form and consciousness knows it, yet the seeing of form through the eye itself has no visible form. Hearing sound through the ear has no visible form; smelling fragrance through the nose has no visible form; tasting flavors through the tongue has no visible form; sensing contact through the body has no visible form; and apprehending the great elements through the mind has no visible form. The objects known also have no form in this sense. One should therefore know that within the cognitive domain there is no such form. Following this sequence, one should know that consciousness also has no form. It should be contemplated in this way.

“Bhadrapāla, you asked how this consciousness abandons the body and reaches another life.

“Bhadrapāla, before life ends, this consciousness is held by karma. When that karma and lifespan are exhausted, it is like a person entering the samādhi of quiescent cessation: while bodily consciousness remains, after this bodily consciousness ceases, one enters the absorption of quiescent cessation. Likewise, when consciousness abandons a dying person’s body and the great elements, only the power of recollection remains, knowing, ‘I am such-and-such a person.’ Whenever a person abandons the body, there are two kinds associated with right recollection: the first is right recollection, and the second is contact.

When that person’s life ends, there are contact and two sensations in the body: the first is bodily sensation and the second is the sensation of recollection. After death, recollection is accompanied by contact.

“Furthermore, you asked what is meant by consciousness.

“Bhadrapāla, just as a seed can produce a sprout, consciousness arises from knowing, and this is called recollection. Because it arises from knowing, it is called consciousness, and afterward it again experiences contact. Because it knows suffering and pleasure, it is called consciousness. It later experiences the wholesome and unwholesome, and because it can know wholesome and unwholesome objects, it is called consciousness. Just as a seed produces a sprout and the body comes to completion, it is called consciousness.

“Furthermore, how does this consciousness abandon the body and transfer elsewhere?

“Bhadrapāla, it is like a bodily image appearing in a mirror, like a figure cast in an earthen mold, or like the rising sun dispelling darkness. When the sun sets, darkness returns, yet darkness has no fixed abiding place; it has no form, undergoes no sensation, and cannot be seen. Likewise, when consciousness produces a body, it is as darkness withdraws before light.

The body’s arising is similar. A person does not see this consciousness, yet consciousness receives this body. Consider a pregnant woman who does not know whether the child she bears is male or female, black or white, whether its faculties are complete or incomplete, or whether its hands and feet are straight or deformed.

Yet the being in the womb may move when touched by hot food. Likewise, this consciousness comes and goes, contracts and extends, and acts together with the opening and closing of the eyes. Because of karma created in the past, various objects appear; through laughing, speaking, and other such activities, one knows that consciousness abides within the physical body.

Yet sentient beings do not know what shape their consciousness has within their physical bodies.

“Bhadrapāla, because this consciousness is well accomplished, it transfers to the various realms without being defiled by or attached to those realms.

“Bhadrapāla, the realms, consciousness, and domains of the six faculties constitute six bases of the dhatus. There are the bases of the four great elements and the bases of the five skandhas. You should understand the domain of consciousness and the rest in this way.

“Bhadrapāla, consider a wooden puppet that, through a single mechanism, performs every action of running and jumping and displays many kinds of dance. What do you think? What causes the wooden puppet to perform those actions?”

“Blessed One, the Tathāgata’s question lies beyond my understanding. I do not possess the wisdom to answer it.”

“Bhadrapāla, those actions are produced through the power of skillful ingenuity. That subtle mechanism has no visible form but arises from intelligence. Likewise, this human body arises through the skillful activity of consciousness, and the various kinds of bodies are produced by consciousness.

Consciousness creates and gives rise to the body, yet consciousness cannot be exhausted. Through perfuming by the dhatu of phenomena, memories of former bodies are brought to completion. Consider sunlight shining upon foul and putrid corpses: those impurities are not apart from the sunlight.

Likewise, this consciousness first arises amid foul and impure food and drink and may take conception in the womb of a dog or pig, yet this consciousness is not thereby defiled. Just as that foulness is not apart from the sunlight, so this consciousness first arises amid foul and impure food and drink and may take conception in the womb of a dog or pig, yet it is not thereby defiled.

“Furthermore, Bhadrapāla, after abandoning the body, this consciousness follows the wholesome and unwholesome karma that has been performed. What does this mean? After relinquishing this body, consciousness immediately receives the corresponding demerit or merit.

It is like the element of wind that arises at a mountain peak and reaches a campaka grove. Through contact, that wind takes on the wondrous fragrance and then reaches filthy places and places containing corpses. As it passes through many places, the wind takes on many odors and carries them onward, yet the wind itself has no form.

Likewise, after abandoning this body, consciousness carries the wholesome and unwholesome and transfers onward in sequence. When consciousness is about to transfer, it is like a dreaming person who knows all kinds of objects although the body does not leave its original place. Likewise, when merit leads to rebirth and consciousness is about to transfer, it resembles seeing things in a dream.

Yet consciousness does not leave through the throat, nor through the pores. When it departs, it does not seek an opening.”

The elder Bhadrapāla bowed at the Buddha’s feet and said, “Blessed One, consider the eggs of chickens and geese. Consciousness is inside the shell, and that shell has no opening. How can one know that a distinct consciousness is present? Without breaking the shell, how does that consciousness transfer?”

The Buddha said, “Bhadrapāla, consider various flowers such as campaka blossoms used to perfume sesame seeds. After the seeds have been thoroughly scented, they are pressed to extract oil called campaka-flower oil and so forth. The fragrance of the flowers enters the sesame meal without breaking it. The fragrance does not physically adhere to the sesame seeds; rather, through the conjunction of sesame and flowers, their scents mingle. The fragrance does not seek an opening in each sesame seed through which to enter. Because of these two things, the flowers and the sesame, the fragrance is transferred and transformed. Likewise, this consciousness transfers without breaking the eggshell. You should understand it in this way.

“Moreover, consciousness does not transfer as a material thing. It should be seen and understood as analogous to the light of the sun, fire, or a maṇi jewel.

“Again, consciousness transfers like a seed sown in the earth that produces sprouts, trees, leaves, flowers, and fruit—white, red, or black—each ripening with its own flavor and potency, while the element of earth remains one, and water, fire, and wind also remain one. Likewise, consciousness has one dhatu of phenomena, yet it accomplishes bodies in all realms and subsequently produces black, white, red, and other colors, with natures either firm and strong or gentle and compliant.

“Furthermore, at death this consciousness abandons the body and becomes the seed of the next body, which is about to form a body with hands, feet, and other parts, although at that time it does not yet possess bodily parts. It abandons its portion of earth and takes up a portion of the dhatu of phenomena. The dhatus join with recollection, and through the power of faith and reverence that recollection unites with recollection of the dhatu of phenomena.

It holds consciousness without separating from consciousness, and the dhatu of phenomena can thereby be apprehended. Nor apart from the dhatu of phenomena does consciousness have a cause. Assisted by the power of wind, consciousness itself possesses other subtle dhatus: the dhatu of recollection, the dhatu of sensation, the dhatu of phenomena, and the dhatu of form.”

“Blessed One, how does that consciousness possess form?”

“Bhadrapāla, there are two kinds of form: internal and external. What is internal form? It is the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind. What is external form? It is visible form, sound, fragrance, flavor, contact, and phenomena.

“Bhadrapāla, consider a person blind from birth who in a dream at night sees the most excellent and supreme beautiful forms of the heavenly realms. Having seen them, that person gives rise to supreme joy. Upon awakening, he no longer sees them. In the morning he tells everyone, ‘Last night in a dream I saw women of supremely wondrous and exquisite beauty. I also saw hundreds of thousands of men, as well as flower gardens, groves, and so forth.’ The person blind from birth clearly recounts the people and scenes seen in the dream, although others did not see them. What do you think? How could that person blind from birth see while dreaming?”

“Excellent, Blessed One! Please explain this to me. How could he see?”

“Bhadrapāla, through the power of cognition associated with the fleshly eye, that person blind from birth sees within the dream; it is not that his physical eyes actually see.

“Bhadrapāla, just as a dreaming person sees forms through right recollection for a brief moment, so too does a dead person see internal form.

“Bhadrapāla, I shall further explain to you how a dead person’s consciousness transfers like a seed.

“Just as a seed sown in the earth takes up the four great elements, this consciousness first takes up right recollection, then takes up contact and sensation, then takes up the wholesome and unwholesome, and only after abandoning the body does it transfer.”

“Blessed One, how does this consciousness take up the wholesome and unwholesome before it transfers?”

“Bhadrapāla, it is like a maṇi jewel that changes according to the color reflected upon it. If placed in a black shadow, the appearance of the maṇi becomes black; if placed in a white shadow, it becomes white. Whatever color surrounds it, the maṇi jewel immediately assumes that same color. The way this consciousness takes up the wholesome and unwholesome and then transfers is likewise.”

“Blessed One, in what substance does this consciousness appear?”

“Bhadrapāla, this consciousness is formless. It has no place of aggregation or storage and ultimately cannot be apprehended as existent or described. Nor can it be said that this consciousness has birth, death, or suffering and distress.

“Consider how the sprout arising from a seed cannot be apprehended. A sprout does not arise from a rotten or spoiled seed; only a sound seed can produce a sprout. What do you think? Where did the sprout produced by the seed originally abide? Was it in the trunk, the leaves, the roots, or the branches? Likewise, this consciousness has no place of reliance within the body. It does not dwell in the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind.

“As a seed produces a sprout, the arising sprout takes grasping and sensation as its root. Because there is grasping in that place, conception immediately occurs; once conception occurs, there is contact. Just as after the sprout appears, branches, leaves, fruit, and seeds arise according to the seasons, so too does this consciousness first bring the body to completion. Once the body is accomplished, consciousness has no fixed abiding place, yet neither is there a body apart from consciousness.

“A seed comes from ripe fruit, not from unripe fruit. Likewise, when this body reaches the end of life, consciousness manifests from within it. Through the conjunction of sensation, the bonds of craving, and the grasping of recollection, it unites with wholesome or unwholesome objects. Held by the element of wind and perfumed by cognition in accordance with karma, consciousness manifests after the father and mother unite.

“Consider a fine, bright mirror in which one sees the image of one’s face. Without one’s face, no facial image can be seen; likewise, without a bright mirror no facial image can appear. Through the conjunction of the two conditions, the bright mirror and the face, the reflected face appears. Yet that reflected face possesses neither form as an independent substance, nor sensation, nor consciousness. As the body moves, the image in the mirror also moves. As the body speaks, shifts, moves, stretches, bends, lowers, or raises itself, the image in the mirror displays corresponding appearances.

“Bhadrapāla, what do you think? Through what does the image of the face appear in the mirror?”

“Blessed One, because a person’s body faces the mirror, an image appears within it. Whatever color and appearance the face possesses, the image has the same color and appearance. Whether the faculties are complete or incomplete, an image corresponding to them appears in the mirror.”

“Bhadrapāla, just as an image appears in a bright mirror because a human body is present before it, so too, through consciousness, this body possesses sensation, grasping, consciousness, formations, intentions, and recollections, and is thereby brought to completion.

“The bright mirror is spoken of as an analogy for the condition of the father and mother’s union.

“You should know that when the body perishes, no form of consciousness remains there. It is like the image of the face that first appeared in a bright mirror and is later seen again in clear water. Likewise, after abandoning this body, consciousness reaches another place and receives other skandhas.

“Consider the seed of the nyagrodha tree or the seed of the udumbara tree. Although the seed is tiny, it can produce a tree with immense branches. After producing a tree with immense branches, the seed again leaves that tree and gives rise to another tree elsewhere. Likewise, this consciousness is subtle and has no fixed form. After producing one body, it abandons it and gives rise to still other bodies.

“Consider large seeds such as barley, wheat, sesame, and so forth. Wherever they are sown, they take root in that place. Likewise, when this consciousness within a sentient being transfers to another place, grasping and sensation immediately arise and it abides there, receiving either merit or demerit as it passes from this life to the next.

“Consider the honeybee. It seeks nectar in a flower, takes the nectar, leaves that flower, and moves to another. It may leave an inferior flower and move to a fine one; having alighted upon it, the bee delights in the flower and takes the flavor of its nectar. Likewise, through many wholesome roots this consciousness may receive a heavenly body; through evil karma it may receive a body among hell beings, animals, or hungry ghosts; and after receiving one body, it again receives another.

“How, then, should this consciousness be contemplated?

“Consider turmeric powder, the seed of the red flower, or the puṇḍarīka flower. Its physical appearance varies according to its color, yet within the seed no sprout can be seen, nor is any fixed color visible. When that seed is placed in the earth and moistened with water, it produces a sprout.

Only after the sprout has appeared does a flower arise, although the flower’s color could not be seen within the seed. Yet neither does the sprout and its color exist apart from the seed. Likewise, after this consciousness abandons the present body and is about to form another, the faculties do not yet exist in that mass of flesh, much less the ayatanas.

Since the faculties and ayatanas do not yet exist, how could divine vision, divine hearing, or the substances of fragrance, flavor, and contact be present so that knowledge might occur? How could one know, ‘At that time I performed such karma, and my former body was such’? It is only through contact that sensation occurs.

“Consider the silkworm, which emits silk from its body and mouth to make a cocoon that wraps around itself, then abandons the silkworm’s body and changes into another body. Likewise, after this consciousness produces a body, it again creates karma, destroys its own body, and transfers elsewhere.

“A lotus flower born in water possesses beautiful color and fragrance, yet no substance of that water can be seen within the flower. When that lotus dies, wherever its seed is planted, color and fragrance arise there. Likewise, wherever this consciousness transfers, the faculties and their objects do not transfer with it, nor does sensation transfer. What transfers is only the dhatu of phenomena.

“Consider a wish-fulfilling jewel: wherever it is taken, whatever object is needed can be obtained according to one’s wish. Or consider sunlight, which naturally follows the sun; wherever the sun goes, its light also goes. Likewise, wherever this consciousness transfers, the dhatus of sensation, perception, and so forth follow it without separation.

“Furthermore, after abandoning this body, this consciousness gathers together all modes of existence. Having taken them up, it transfers to the next body without flesh or bones. It takes up modes of existence, contact, and other such factors. With divine vision, one can see its sensation and its grasping of the wholesome and unwholesome.

“Consider fruits such as jujubes, thousand-year jujubes, āmalaka, and kapittha. When fully developed, each possesses its own flavor—bitter, sour, sweet, salty, and so forth. When those fruits ripen, wherever they are located, their flavor is present within them. Likewise, wherever this consciousness transfers, contact naturally follows it, while merit and demerit, through existence and recollection, naturally transfer along with it.

“Furthermore, when abandoning the body, this consciousness thinks, ‘Now I am leaving this body.’ Therefore this recollecting consciousness is called consciousness. Because it knows wholesome and unwholesome karma, knows that this karma accompanies it, and knows that it follows this karma, it is called consciousness. Again, because through this body it knows how to perform all kinds of karma, it is called consciousness.

“Consider the element of wind. At times it is cold and at times hot; at times it carries a foul odor because it has passed through foulness, and at times it carries a fragrance because it has encountered something fragrant. One thereby knows that it is wind. Likewise, the substance of this consciousness has no form. Yet through form, or taking grasping at form as a cause; through sensual grasping as a cause; through grasping at views as a cause; or through grasping at precepts in search of reward as a cause—extending to existence and sensation—it receives, on the basis of sensation, an accomplished physical body. Therefore it is called consciousness.”

At that time, in the great assembly, an elder named Candracandra rose, bowed at the Buddha’s feet, joined his palms, and said, “Blessed One, how should one contemplate form, grasping at form, sensual grasping, grasping at views, and grasping at precepts?”

The Buddha said, “Candracandra, a wise person who wishes to understand what you have asked should know as follows:

“Candracandra, whether there is wholesome form or unwholesome form, one should contemplate within the mass of flesh the sinews, blood, vessels and channels, the skull enclosing the brain, the large and small intestines, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, spleen, gallbladder, and the other internal organs; fat, flesh, marrow, blood, phlegm, nasal mucus, saliva—all foul, filthy, and exceedingly frightful—wrapped and covered by body hair, head hair, beard, nails, skin, and hide, and gathered into a mass. Once gathered, all forms are constituted by the four great elements. Because those four great elements take up form to constitute the body, this is called grasping at form.

“Candracandra, this body is formed through the union of father and mother. Its solid quality is the great element of earth; its wet and fluid quality is the great element of water; its warmth and heat are the great element of fire; its movement, turning, bending, and stretching are the great element of wind. That which is experienced and known is called the dhatus of sound, fragrance, flavor, and contact. That which recollects and knows is called consciousness.”

“Blessed One, how does one abandon the dhatu of form at death? How does consciousness depart from that body? After the body has been abandoned, how does it know, ‘This is my body’?”

“Candracandra, while this received body remains alive, when its bodily karma is exhausted, it abandons the great elements.

“Consider milk mixed with water and heated over a fire. Through the heat, the milk and water separate from one another, yet the water retains an oily flavor, though that flavor has no visible form. Likewise, in a dead person the body is one thing, the great elements another, and consciousness yet another. Nevertheless, consciousness takes up the great elements and the dhatu of phenomena. Through the dhatu of phenomena it perfumes recollection, takes up the wholesome and unwholesome, and proceeds to the next life.

“Consider the medicinal ghee called mahākalyāṇa. Ghee is mixed with various medicinal substances and heated over a fire. Some ingredients are pungent, some bitter, some astringent, some salty, some bland, and some sweet. After their flavors have been extracted through boiling, they enter the ghee, which then possesses their various flavors, colors, fragrances, and so forth. The ghee relinquishes its former nature and becomes medicine.

“Likewise, after abandoning the body, consciousness takes up the wholesome and unwholesome as well as the dhatu of phenomena and transfers to the next life.

“The substance of ghee is an analogy for the body. The various medicinal ingredients mixed together and each retaining its own character are analogies for the faculties. The color, fragrance, flavor, and tactile quality of the medicated ghee are analogies for the transfer of consciousness.

“The different colors signify wholesome and unwholesome forms. If the medicine is taken into the body and is digested so that health is restored, this is an analogy for wholesome karma. If the medicated ghee is taken into the body and causes the person to become withered and sallow, this is an analogy for evil karma.

“One should contemplate this consciousness like the medicinal ghee called mahākalyāṇa.

“Just as ghee takes up the colors and flavors of various medicines and thereby becomes mahākalyāṇa medicinal ghee, although the ghee has no hands or feet, so too, after this consciousness abandons the body and the dhatus, it takes up only the dhatu of phenomena. Having taken up grasping and sensation, it carries the wholesome and unwholesome and departs.

“Candracandra, after that person abandons the body, in the next life he obtains right recollection and wholesome recollection. He may see the six heavens of the Desire Realm, the sixteen great hells, or a body with all its faculties complete. At that time he knows, ‘This is my body.’

“When that person’s life ends, he remembers and sees various signs. He may see wondrous vehicles or wondrous gardens and groves. In those gardens and groves may be many kinds of newly grown, luxuriant, and lovely trees; there may be wondrous ponds; or he may see various accomplishments. Having seen them, he gives rise to joy and then peacefully takes birth in accordance with the Dharma as this life ends. His consciousness is like one riding a horse. It should be contemplated in this way.

“To say that it is like riding a horse is this: consider a person on a battlefield, clad in strong and excellent armor, skilled at holding the reins and galloping swiftly. Likewise, this consciousness wears the armor of conditions directed toward the swift reward of wholesome action. Riding upon the in-breath and out-breath, it abandons the dhatus and ayatanas. Having abandoned them, it takes birth in the Brahmā Heaven, up to the Akaniṣṭha Heaven, among those wondrous abodes.”