佛本行集經

53. His voice was deep in tone yet clear, carrying very far.

54. His four front teeth were large and prominent.

55. The edges of his teeth were sharp.

56. His teeth were neither missing nor chipped.

57. His nose was round and straight like a parrot’s beak.

58. His eyelashes were even and finely set.

59. His earlobes were thick and hung low.

60. His ears were neither bent nor misshapen.

61. His ears were not rough.

62. His eyesight did not diminish.

63. His eyes were free from disease.

64. His faculties were tranquil and composed.

65. No one surpassed the beauty of his countenance.

66. His hair was uniformly blue-black.

67. His hair was smooth and glossy.

68. His hair was not coarse.

69. His hair grew thickly without becoming tangled.

70. His hair was uniformly long.

71. His hair was neither sparse nor unevenly colored.

72. His hair curled into small locks.

73. His hair curled to the right in the form of a svastika.

74. The ushnisha upon his head rose like a mountain peak.

75. The bones of his skull and forehead were firm and strong.

76. The crown of his head could not be broken by the strength of either humans or nonhumans.

77. The crown of his head rose exceedingly high and could not be seen by human eyes.

(The original text lacks three marks of beauty.)

Your Majesty, if a person’s body possesses the thirty-two marks of a Great Man and also these eighty marks of beauty, that person will certainly attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment. After becoming a Buddha, he will turn the unsurpassed and supremely wondrous Dharma wheel.

After the great seer Asita had described the eighty marks of beauty to the king, he further reflected: “Before long, this Prince will renounce the household life, cultivate the path, attain Buddhahood, and then turn the supremely excellent and wondrous Dharma wheel.” As he reflected, wisdom spontaneously arose in him, and he immediately knew: “Thirty-five years from now, this Prince will attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment and then turn the unsurpassed and supremely excellent Dharma wheel.” At that moment, as the seer concentrated his mind in right mindfulness, he saw that his own bodily faculties were declining. He reproached himself and lamented:

“Alas! I now live beyond the time of the Prince’s teaching and shall not hear his instruction.”

Contemplating thus, he began to weep aloud. He sobbed convulsively, and tears streamed down his face.

Seeing the seer crying in anguish, King Suddhodana could not restrain himself and also burst into sorrowful tears. Queen Maya, witnessing the scene, wept softly. All the ministers and members of the Sakya clan were moved and cried aloud, and everyone, high and low, throughout the palace wept sorrowfully, their tears falling like rain.

With tears and mucus streaming over his face, Great King Suddhodana addressed the seer Asita:

“Venerable Teacher, on the day the Prince was born, five hundred boys were also born within the Sakya royal clan.” The king then briefly recounted how five hundred girls, five hundred male servants, five hundred maidservants, five hundred fine horses, and five hundred white six-tusked elephants had all assembled before the palace gates that same day; how five hundred treasure stores and five hundred pleasure gardens had spontaneously appeared throughout the four quarters of Kapilavastu; how five hundred merchants had brought riches from distant regions to Kapilavastu; how neighboring kings had come to bow in homage and offer five hundred parasols and five hundred golden vessels; and how householders, brahmins, and kshatriyas had presented ten thousand maidens for his service.

“Venerable Great Seer, on the day the Prince was born, everything my heart desired was perfectly fulfilled. I then invited the renowned brahmin physiognomists of the realm to assemble at the royal palace and interpret whether his marks were auspicious or inauspicious. After examining the Prince’s appearance, the royal preceptors were all filled with such joy and exultation throughout their bodies that they could not contain themselves. Yet today you alone weep sorrowfully upon seeing the Prince. What is the reason? You have caused me and my kin to become fearful. Great Teacher, please explain this to me. Has some inauspicious calamity befallen my Prince? Does the calamity arise from the Prince himself, or has it come from outside?”

Seeing Great King Suddhodana’s cheeks streaked with tears and his heart burdened by sorrow and anxiety, the great seer Asita said to him:

“Your Majesty, you should not grieve or be distressed today. Why? I have neither seen any calamity or misfortune befalling the Prince, nor have I seen any bodily affliction or external evil coming upon him.

Your Majesty should know that the Prince will enjoy long life and possess great majestic virtue. His body is upright, handsome, lovable, and worthy of reverence. His body is like pure gold, his head round like a parasol, his nose straight like a bronze tube, his flesh ruddy, his figure well proportioned and beautiful like a golden statue, and his body possesses the thirty-two marks of a Great Man.

Your Majesty, the Prince also possesses the eighty wondrous marks of beauty. Such marks are not those of a wheel-turning sage king. Your Majesty, such marks are all marks of Buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Because I see that the Prince possesses such marks, I know with certainty that he will attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment and then turn the unsurpassed and pure Dharma wheel. For all beings among devas and humans in the world, he will teach the Dharma that is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end, and he will proclaim the pure practices of the holy life. Whoever hears this teaching—those subject to birth will bring birth to an end; those subject to old age will end old age; those subject to disease will be freed from disease; and those confronting death will escape death.

All the sorrow, grief, and suffering of sentient beings will be brought to liberation.

“Your Majesty, I regret only that I am old and feeble and that little remains of my life. At that time, I shall no longer be here to behold the countenance of the Unsurpassed One and shall lose this great benefit. Therefore, I weep today because I feel deprived of this opportunity, not because any inauspicious omen attends the Prince.” Then the seer spoke these verses for the king:

I grieve that adverse fate is mine:
Though fortunate to meet him in this life,
My faculties decline with age,
And soon I must relinquish this requital body.
How could I live to see the day he attains the Way?
I shall lose this great benefit;
In vain will this life pass, the Dharma unheard.
Thinking thus, I am half joyful and half grieved.
From this day forth, the Great King’s lineage shall flourish.
Through his birth, devas and humans shall enjoy blessings.
In this evil, defiled age, tormented by suffering,
He shall cause all beings to dwell in peace and happiness.

“Your Majesty, when immeasurable and boundless sentient beings are scorched by the fires of the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, he will pour forth the wondrous ambrosial water of Dharma to extinguish those flames. When immeasurable and boundless evil beings have fallen into the mire of wrong views and, deluded, cannot see the true path, he will become their guiding teacher and show them the good, broad, and level road that leads directly to nirvana.

When immeasurable and boundless suffering beings are imprisoned in the dungeon of the afflictions, he will show them how to remove their fetters. For immeasurable and boundless ignorant beings dwelling in the darkness of the long night, their blind eyes obscured by clouds, he will cause the eye of great wisdom to arise. For immeasurable beings deeply poisoned and defiled, struck by the venomous arrows of the afflictions, he will draw out those arrows and free them from suffering.

“Now I have reached the twilight of my years, and my body and mind are failing. When I think that I shall not hear the Dharma at that time, I grieve bitterly; therefore, I cry and shed tears.

“Your Majesty, it is like the udumbara flower, which blooms only once in immeasurable and boundless thousands, millions, and billions of years. So too, Buddhas appear in the world only after immeasurable and boundless thousands, millions, and billions of kalpas and are exceedingly difficult to encounter.

“Your Majesty, the Prince will certainly attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment and certainly turn the unsurpassed Dharma wheel. I am deprived because I shall not remain to share in that era. Though I meet him now, it is as if we were separated; thinking this, I grieve and weep.

“Your Majesty, the beings of that time will gain great benefit and accumulate great blessed karma. Those beings who see the Great Sage, the Prince, seated in meditation beneath the Bodhi tree in that place and subduing the four Maras will gain many benefits and will ultimately be liberated by the Buddha.

“Your Majesty, after the Great Sage, the Prince, attains the Way, he will gradually proceed toward Varanasi, proclaim the unsurpassed wondrous Dharma, liberate all sentient beings, and enable them to attain the supreme fruit of the path.

“Your Majesty, the Prince will adorn and purify this Jambudvipa. All the brahmin sages will follow his teachings and attain arhatship. Thinking of this, I grieve and weep.

“Your Majesty, those beings will possess sufficient wholesome conditions to be born as humans, and moreover will fortunately be born at a time when they may encounter a Buddha. They will gain many benefits and accumulate much blessed karma. Even the devas of the Heaven of the Thirty-three will descend from the celestial realm upon towers made of the seven precious substances, surround the Buddha, and listen to the Dharma, while immeasurable beings bow in homage to the Blessed One.

“Your Majesty, because you planted many roots of virtue, you have now obtained a human body and will enjoy immeasurable material and Dharma benefits. When you see your son attain the Way and proclaim the wondrous Dharma among devas and humans, my words will be verified and you will have no further doubt.”

Chapter 9: THE SEER ASITA ASKS ABOUT THE AUSPICIOUS OMENS

Great King Suddhodana remained beside the seer Asita and listened to these words. His heart became exceedingly joyful, his delight multiplied, and he experienced what he had never known before. The hairs over his entire body stood on end. He immediately rose from his seat, adjusted his robes, knelt with his right knee upon the ground, joined his palms toward the seer, bowed his head at the seer’s feet, and then withdrew to stand at one side. He offered twenty sets of finest robes to the seer. The seer Asita selected one set that fit him and accepted only that one, returning all the others to the king, saying:

“May Your Majesty understand. I am a brahmin renunciant of little majestic virtue. Moreover, I cultivate the practice of ‘having few desires and seeking nothing,’ and therefore must know contentment. Your Majesty is the sovereign of the realm and still has many others to reward, while wealth is, after all, limited. If I were to indulge freely in its use, there would be no distinction between me and worldly people.

“Your Majesty, during the time before the Prince’s birth, while he was still in the womb, there must also have been immeasurable and boundless rare auspicious omens. I respectfully ask Your Majesty to recount every extraordinary sign. That would be a great gift. After hearing them, my heart will be filled with such joy and exultation that I shall be unable to contain myself. In this way, I shall receive a priceless treasure.”

Great King Suddhodana said:

“Holy Teacher, please listen attentively. I shall relate everything fully to you, from the exceptionally extraordinary and exceedingly rare events that occurred while the Prince was in the womb to the wondrous phenomena at the time of his birth.

“Venerable Great Seer, I remember that one day Queen Maya slept upon a jeweled couch in an upper pavilion. After awakening, she calmly came to me and said: ‘Your Majesty, please hear the dream I had. I have come now to report it to you.

Last night in a dream, I saw a white elephant with six tusks. Its body was white, its head red, and its six tusks sheathed in gold. Its body was handsome and well proportioned.

It descended through space from the north and stood upon the ground. It bent all seven parts of its body to the earth and then entered my right side. Immediately afterward, I experienced a bliss not found in this world and impossible to describe.

Now I take no delight in any worldly pleasure, nor do I wish to share sensual pleasure with Your Majesty. I wish to abandon all five sensual desires.’

“Venerable Great Seer and Teacher, at that time I summoned many brahmins skilled in interpreting dreams and deeply learned in the scriptures handed down by the ancient sages. When the royal decree had been proclaimed throughout the realm, the diviners all assembled, and I explained everything to them: ‘Last night, my chief queen dreamed of the events just described. What will be the result of this dream?

Diviners, please explain it thoroughly to me.’ Relying upon the scriptures on dream interpretation taught by the ancient sages, the brahmin diviners said to me: ‘Your Majesty, today you should rejoice greatly, for this dream is exceedingly excellent and auspicious. The Chief Queen will certainly bear a noble son. The Prince’s fame will resound everywhere, and he will be the most honored being under heaven, without equal.’

“Upon hearing the brahmin diviners’ interpretation, I entertained them with exquisite delicacies and provided them with precious goods. Moreover, at crossroads, along thoroughfares, and at lanes leading into the city’s villages, I established unrestricted assemblies of generosity. All available wealth was given away. Those needing food and drink were provided with food and drink; even the necessities of life were fully supplied according to whatever each person required. I dedicated the merit of these deeds to the Prince himself.

“Great Teacher, while the Prince was in the womb, four heavenly kings stood at the four corners of the palace to protect the Holy Mother.

“Great Teacher, while the Prince was in the womb, the Holy Mother experienced bliss and bodily ease, without the slightest fatigue or illness.

“Great Teacher, while the Prince was in the womb, the Holy Mother constantly observed the eight precepts of fasting, restrained her faculties, and was free from anger.

“Great Teacher, while the Prince was in the womb, the Holy Mother had no lustful thoughts and was never troubled by desire. In body and speech, she practiced only the pure holy life.

“Great Teacher, while the Prince was in the womb, the Holy Mother was not afflicted by cold, heat, hunger, thirst, or other sufferings.

“Great Teacher, while the Prince was in the womb, the Holy Mother generously and joyfully gave money, wealth, and jewels to anyone who needed them, without regret.

“Great Teacher, while the Prince was in the womb, the Holy Mother’s figure was upright, beautiful, and lovable, without a second in the world. Before conceiving, her appearance had been beautiful; after conceiving, her beauty increased many times over.

“Great Teacher, while the Prince was in the womb, whenever the Holy Mother wished to see him, she immediately saw him within her womb. His body was rosy, plump, and round, and all his faculties were complete, beautiful, and lovable, as clearly as a reflection in a mirror. Having seen him, the Holy Mother was filled throughout her body with such joy and exultation that she could not contain herself.

“Great Teacher, while the Prince was in the womb, whenever any sick person approached the Holy Mother, she would stroke the crown of that person’s head, or stroke the leaf of a plant and tell the sick person to place it upon the body. All were then freed from suffering; their bodies became free of illness, and they attained well-being.

“Great Teacher, while the Prince was in the womb, there were immeasurable and boundless events as exceptionally extraordinary and exceedingly rare as these.

“Great Teacher, one day the Sakya householder Suprabuddha, the father of the Holy Mother Maya, sent a messenger to say to me: ‘Your Majesty should know that my daughter carries the Holy Child, the most excellent being in the world, whose majestic virtue is exceedingly great. Yet not long after she gives birth, my daughter will certainly die. I now wish to welcome Your Majesty’s Queen to rest in Lumbini Garden, so that father and daughter may enjoy it together.

I hope Your Majesty will approve this request. I respectfully ask Your Majesty to arrange a most magnificent escort for the Queen.’ When I heard the messenger’s words, I immediately decreed that the road from Kapilavastu to Devadaha be cleared of dirt, thorns, gravel, and all other impurities, sprinkled with fragrant water, and strewn with beautiful flowers, so that everything would be clean and splendid. I also ordered a carriage prepared to escort Lady Maya.

The maidservants adorned the Holy Mother with fragrant substances and exquisite garlands. With all the majestic power of a great king, I had every palace maiden attend her before and behind and surround the Queen’s great white elephant. Music was played as the escort proceeded toward the city of Devadaha, the home of the householder Suprabuddha.

From afar, the Holy Mother, the Chief Queen Maya, saw the welcoming procession approach, bearing immeasurable and boundless exquisite gifts. The reception party welcomed Maya and escorted her into Lumbini Garden to wander and enjoy herself.

“One day, the Holy Mother Maya went to enjoy Lumbini Garden with the women of the inner palace, attended and protected on the left and right, before and behind. They helped her descend from the white elephant, and the Queen walked gracefully from place to place, admiring the flowering plants. Upon reaching an ashoka tree, the Holy Mother slowly raised her right arm, took hold of a branch, and stood resting there.

The Prince within her womb saw that the Holy Mother had taken hold of the branch. He then stood upright, concentrated his mind in right mindfulness, and was born from the Holy Mother’s right side. The Holy Mother felt no pain whatsoever, nor was there any wound or mark of injury.

When the bodhisattva was born from the Holy Mother’s right side, his body emitted brilliant radiance that illuminated the entire world.

“Such were the exceptionally extraordinary and exceedingly rare events associated with the Prince from the time he was in the womb until his birth.

“Great Teacher, while still in the womb, the Prince was free from worry and sorrow. When he slowly stood and emerged from the womb, his body was bright, pure, and clean, unaffected by impurities such as feces, urine, blood, pus, phlegm, or saliva.

“Great Teacher, when the Prince emerged from the womb, all the devas wrapped his body in Kashi cloth, took him in their arms, guarded him, and brought him before the Holy Mother, saying: ‘Virtuous Lady, you should now rejoice, for you have given birth to a Holy Son, the Honored One among humankind.’

“Great Teacher, without anyone supporting him, the newborn Prince stood upon the ground and walked seven steps in each direction. A lotus appeared wherever each foot was placed. He gazed steadily and directly in every direction without the slightest fear. Standing and facing east, he suddenly spoke. His voice was unlike the wailing of an infant; instead, his words were precise, their tones clear, and their phrases elegant: ‘In all the world, I alone am supreme; I alone am the highest. I shall now sever the roots of birth, old age, illness, and death.’

“Great Teacher, at the very place of his birth, two pools of water suddenly appeared, one warm and one cool, in which the Holy Mother might bathe as she wished. From the celestial realm, two streams of water likewise appeared in space, one warm and one cool, with which to bathe the Prince.

“Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, a couch of pure gold appeared to serve as the seat upon which he bathed.

“Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, his body emitted brilliant radiance that eclipsed every blazing flame and every other light.

“Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, his body emitted brilliant radiance that eclipsed even the light of the sun and moon. At that time, the sun and moon appeared like stars in daylight.

“Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, all trees, grasses, and plants, though it was not their season, put forth shoots and leaves, blossomed, bore fruit, and flourished luxuriantly.

“Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, devas in the sky held a white parasol with a shaft of pure gold over him.

“Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, devas in the sky held white fans with handles of mani jewels and fanned him in attendance.

“Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, the sky was perfectly clear and without a trace of cloud, yet a fine rain of pure fragrant water possessing the eight wondrous qualities fell from space.

“Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, no piercing cold or oppressive heat that might discomfort people arose in any direction. Every quarter was pure, without the slightest smoke, cloud, or gloomy air; there was only a cool and pleasant breeze.

“Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, no figure could be seen in the sky, yet the clear celestial voice of Great Brahma could be heard in the distance.

“Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, no figure could be seen in the sky, yet immeasurable sounds of music and wondrous chanting were heard, and immeasurable fragrant flowers were scattered. Even beneath the sunlight, these flowers remained beautiful and never withered.

“Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, all the devas in the sky scattered beautiful celestial flowers—blue lotuses, red lotuses, white lotuses, and great white lotuses. They also scattered immeasurable fragrant powders and immeasurable, exceptionally beautiful and marvelous garlands. All these were showered over the Prince. After being scattered, they spontaneously disappeared, and then still more were scattered without cease.

“Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, immeasurable celestial maidens suddenly appeared in the sky, bearing fragrant flowers, aromatic oils, powders and ointments, exquisite celestial garments, and celestial musical instruments. Singing and dancing together in harmony with the music, they slowly approached and stood before the Holy Mother Maya, asking after her welfare: ‘You have skillfully given birth to the Prince. Are you at all weary?’

“Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, the great earth quaked in six ways and eighteen auspicious signs appeared.

“Furthermore, Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, all sentient beings throughout this trichiliocosm simultaneously experienced peace and happiness.

“Furthermore, Great Teacher, when the Prince was born, every auspicious and excellent thing and every great benefit that I wished for was fulfilled, without a single thing remaining incomplete.

“Furthermore, Great Teacher, at that time my chief minister and royal preceptor, Mahānāma of the Vasistha clan, came and reported: ‘May Your Majesty be honored for ten thousand ages! The Chief Queen of the realm has just given birth to a Prince of unsurpassed purity and beauty.’

“Next, another person entered and reported: ‘May Your Majesty, perpetually supreme above all, enjoy a flourishing family! Five hundred boys have just been born among the members of the Sakya clan.’

“Next, another person entered and reported: ‘May all Your Majesty’s affairs always be perfectly fulfilled! Today, five hundred girls have been born among the members of the Sakya clan.’

“Next, another entered and reported: ‘Your Majesty, in a single day, five hundred male servants have been born within the inner palace.’

“Next, another entered and reported: ‘Your Majesty, in a single day, five hundred maidservants have been born within the inner palace.’

“Next, another entered and reported: ‘Your Majesty, five hundred fine horses have just been born.’

“Next, another entered and reported: ‘Your Majesty, five hundred noble elephants, their bodies white as snow and each possessing six tusks, have suddenly appeared outside the palace gates.’

“Next, another entered and reported: ‘Your Majesty, five hundred hidden treasuries of gold have spontaneously appeared.’

“Next, another entered and reported: ‘Five hundred groves and gardens have suddenly appeared of themselves here in Kapilavastu.’

“Next, another entered and reported: ‘Five hundred merchants, bringing great quantities of money and treasures from distant regions, have arrived in Kapilavastu.’

“Next, another entered and reported: ‘The vassal kings have brought five hundred white parasols and five hundred golden vessels as offerings. Each has sent a messenger to report: “We all await Your Majesty’s commands and shall act in accordance with your decree.”’

“Next, another entered and reported: ‘May Your Majesty always remain supreme! The kshatriya clans and the brahmin householders have offered ten thousand women for Your Majesty’s service within the palace.’

“Great Teacher, when I wished to welcome the Prince back to the city, I thought: ‘What kind of carriage should I have made to convey the Prince safely back to Kapilavastu?’ At that very moment, an exceedingly beautiful celestial palanquin made of the seven precious substances, adorned with various jewels, delightful to everyone and not fashioned by human hands, suddenly appeared in the sky.

“Great Teacher, I then thought: ‘Who will carry this palanquin?’ As soon as I had this thought, four sons of devas appeared spontaneously from the four directions. Together they carried the palanquin of the seven precious substances through the air, only a short distance above the ground.

“After welcoming the Prince back to the palace, I wondered what name should be given to him. I then reflected that on the day of his birth every benefit and advantage had been spontaneously fulfilled, and therefore I named the Prince Siddhartha.

“Great Teacher, I then summoned all the skilled physiognomists in the city to the palace. I had someone carry the Prince before them and said:

“‘Brahmin physiognomists, you must examine the Prince’s features with the utmost care. What extraordinary marks does he possess?’

“The physiognomists examined the Prince’s marks together and discussed them. They then said to me:

“‘Your Majesty, you will obtain immense benefit, for the Prince possesses great majestic virtue and is endowed with the thirty-two marks of a Great Man, and he has been born within Your Majesty’s palace. Anyone possessing these thirty-two marks will follow one of two courses. If he remains at home, he will become a wheel-turning sage king, governing the four continents, possessing the seven treasures, and ruling without weapons, instructing the people solely through the true Dharma. If he renounces the household life and cultivates the noble path, he will certainly attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment, and his fame will resound throughout the world.’

“Great Teacher, at that time I entertained all the brahmin physiognomists with food of a hundred flavors, allowing them to partake freely, and provided them with countless garments for their use.

“Great Teacher, unrestricted assemblies of generosity were then established at all the major crossroads and at the roads leading to the villages within the city. Every kind of wealth was given away; those needing food and drink were provided with food and drink, and so forth. All the merit from this generosity was dedicated to the Prince.

“Great Teacher, from the time the Prince was in the womb until his birth, all these exceptionally extraordinary and exceedingly rare omens occurred. I have now related them fully for the Great Teacher to know, offering them as my gift to you. May you joyfully accept them.”

Standing beside King Suddhodana, the seer Asita heard of these exceptionally extraordinary and rare events. His heart became so joyful that he could not contain himself. He rose from his seat, took leave of the king, and departed. After leaving the palace and walking beyond the main gate, the great seer grasped the left arm of his attendant Narada with his right hand, sprang into the sky, concealed his body, and flew southward. He descended at the village of Avanti in southern India.

One day, the seer said to his disciple Narada:

“Young Narada, you should know that a Buddha has now appeared in the world. You must renounce the household life under him, study the path, and cultivate the holy life. Before long, you will obtain immeasurable and boundless benefit and happiness.”

The seer then reflected: “After I relinquish this requital body, young Narada will inherit all the offerings and worldly renown I leave behind. Because of these offerings and worldly fame, young Narada will lose all his practice of the path, become indolent and negligent, lose right mindfulness and faith, and no longer know, with respect to the Three Jewels, what the Buddha is, what the Dharma is, or what the Sangha is. Honor and offerings will thus bring harm upon the young man himself.”

At that time, the seer Asita again collected his mind in contemplation: “Where will Prince Siddhartha, the son of King Suddhodana, attain the Way? Where will he turn the unsurpassed and pure Dharma wheel?” After reflecting in this way for a moment, his mind became clear, and he knew distinctly: “The Prince will later attain unsurpassed perfect enlightenment in Magadha and turn the Dharma wheel in Varanasi. I should now take young Narada to Varanasi and build a monastery.

After it has been established, I shall remain there and, three times by day and three times by night, proclaim the Buddha’s name for my disciple: ‘Narada, a Buddha has appeared in the world. You must renounce the household life under the Buddha and diligently cultivate the holy life. Before long, you will obtain immeasurable and boundless benefit and happiness.’ I shall say this three times.”

Having reflected thus, the seer Asita took young Narada to Varanasi and built a monastery for his disciple. When everything had been completed, in each of the six periods of day and night the seer said: “Narada, a Buddha has now appeared in the world. You must renounce the household life under him and study the path.... Before long, you will obtain immeasurable and boundless benefit and happiness.” Thus, during each of the six periods of every day and night, he spoke these words three times.

By employing this skillful means, the seer Asita remained alive for a considerable time before finally passing away.

After the seer Asita passed away, his disciple, young Narada, enjoyed the abundant offerings and honors his teacher had left behind in the world. Because Narada became attached to worldly offerings and fame, he no longer possessed right concentration and ceased striving diligently. Because he greedily pursued offerings without ever being satisfied, his mind lost right concentration and he lost his faith. He utterly ceased to know what the Buddha was, what the Dharma was, or what the Sangha was.

After the seer Asita passed away, Great King Suddhodana said to the brahmin royal preceptors:

“Royal preceptors, you should know that my Prince has now been born within the royal palace. According to the prophecy of the seer Asita, before long the Prince will certainly renounce the household life, cultivate the noble path, and attain the noble fruit. This prophecy is true and unchanging; it will certainly come to pass.

“Royal preceptors, if our royal clan establishes the Prince as successor to the throne, would there be any disadvantage?”

The brahmin royal preceptors replied:

“Your Majesty, you should not harbor such concerns today. According to our prophecy, the Prince will certainly become a wheel-turning sage king. Our words are not mistaken.”

Great King Suddhodana said:

“Worthy Great Teachers, your words today are not the words of the holy teacher Asita. Your words are erroneous and untrue.”

The brahmin royal preceptors again said:

“If the seer’s prophecy is not false but entirely true, then from this moment until the Prince reaches maturity, Your Majesty should adopt plans to increase the pleasures of the five senses. Observe what the Prince enjoys and gradually increase those things. In this way, the Prince will certainly delight in remaining at court and enjoying its pleasures and will not conceive the wish to enter the mountain forests and practice austerities.”

Great King Suddhodana again asked the brahmin royal preceptors:

“How should this plan be carried out?”

The royal preceptors replied:

“Your Majesty should know that the seers of ancient times drank dew, ate fruits or medicinal roots, wore garments of tree bark, and practiced ‘few desires and contentment.’ Yet even they remained attached to the mundane world. Once they entered into worldly pleasures, some indulged even more than ordinary people. How much more, then, will the Prince, if he now becomes accustomed to worldly pleasures, naturally be deeply affected through his faculties? In addition, Your Majesty possesses complete power and majestic authority. If you keep the Prince continually within the palace, how could he possibly renounce the mundane life and become a monastic?”

The king said:

“What the royal preceptors have stated is indeed so. The methods you describe accord with worldly reality and can be carried out by me. Yet the prophecy of the seer Asita certainly was not false or illusory, and therefore doubt still arises in my mind.”

Great King Suddhodana was anxious about applying this method to the Prince in the future. Although his mind remained hesitant, he immediately summoned the ministers and the Sakya royal family to hear his decree:

“I command you all: when the Prince reaches maturity, do not tell him of the seer Asita’s prophecy. Why do I forbid this? If the Prince hears those words, joy will arise in his heart, and he will not relinquish his resolve to renounce the household life.”

Great King Suddhodana then solemnly proclaimed before the ministers:

“Ministers, for the sake of my Prince, release all the prisoners in the realm who are confined in chains and grant them freedom. Even the beasts and birds are all to be set free.”

He then said to the brahmin royal preceptors:

“Great Teachers, if you know of diligent brahmins, whether hundreds or thousands, invite them to assemble in one place, and I shall fully provide whatever each person desires. If there are temples to devas or shrines to spirits anywhere in the realm, I order that they all be restored and offerings made according to the proper rites. I shall dedicate the merit of these acts so that the Prince may obtain abundant blessings.”

Obeying the king’s command, the brahmin royal preceptors traveled throughout the four directions and gathered thirty-two thousand brahmins. Groups of them were invited into the inner palace each day, and the king distributed all the wealth he possessed and provided for them throughout seven days and nights. The king vowed to dedicate the merit of these acts so that the Prince might obtain abundant blessings. A verse says:

At the Prince’s birth, the king’s wishes were fulfilled;
Earnestly he wished to perform wholesome deeds.
Hundreds of thousands of milk cows with their calves,
Their horns adorned with gold and their hooves with silver;