分別功德論

Bodhisattva Maitreya praised him, saying: “Excellent! It is because the great Dharma collection of the six paramitas was compiled as one section. This is precisely the Bodhisattva Treasury.”

– Severing the fetters: This means eliminating the fetters and defilements arising from erroneous views. It is the accomplishment of the fruit of the Mahayana path together with omniscience.

– The Venerable Ananda said only that he had heard, not that he had seen: How could he possibly not have seen the Tathagata teaching the Dharma? The reason he did not say “seen” was for the sake of the four assemblies in the future. If he had said “seen,” the four assemblies of later generations would have followed the Venerable Ananda and also said that they had seen it, which would have been false. Therefore, he declared only that he had heard and did not say that he had seen.

When the Dharma was first taught, the five men, including Ajnata Kaundinya and the others, were liberated. In the kingdom of Magadha, the three Kasyapa brothers were subdued. Sakya-sí refers to Kapilavastu.

– If the place where a sutra was taught is unknown, simply state that it was at Sravasti: The Buddha remained at Sravasti for twenty-five years, longer than he stayed in any other kingdom. He stayed there so long because its scenery was unsurpassed in beauty, it possessed many rare jewels, and its population was numerous and understood the principles of the teaching. At the monastery in Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s Park, wondrous spiritual signs were witnessed. Thus, whenever the Sangha assembled in the preaching hall, thousands of monkeys and apes arrived, roaming everywhere, observing and listening in utter silence without a single sound. Birds likewise flew in from nearly every direction and gathered there. When the Sangha formally retired, all those flocks of birds returned to their dwelling places. As soon as the gandhi was sounded, they assembled again. This was because the kingdom had many benevolent people, so other species also sought refuge beneath their protection. The Buddha might temporarily travel to teach in response to an invitation, or he might use spiritual power and, immediately after completing the teaching, return to his original abode. Therefore, simply stating Sravasti is sufficient to indicate the principal location.

– The reason Jeta’s Grove and Anathapindika are mentioned separately is that they are the names of two people: These two had previously passed away and were now in the heavenly realm, where they likewise assembled the devas and taught and transformed them through the Dharma. At that time, they thought: “We were formerly the foremost donors to the Sangha; will our names not also be proclaimed?” In response to that thought, the names of the two were therefore mentioned separately.

– It is said: One should cultivate one dharma: Here, too, no sequence is given. If considered according to the time when the Buddha had newly attained enlightenment and began teaching the Dharma, he should first have taught the Four Noble Truths in the Deer Park at Varanasi. Next, he went to the kingdom of Magadha and subdued the three Kasyapa brothers. Upon mentioning the name of the monastery’s patron, the text immediately says: “One should cultivate one dharma.” In the flavor of their principle, this one dharma does not differ from the four dharmas. The one dharma severs the fetters, and the four dharmas also sever the fetters; both lead to nirvana. Thus, “Though the paths differ, they return to the same destination.” The twenty-one fetters may be elaborated into thirty-six; although the numbers may be greater or fewer, they are all fetters. There are ordinarily one hundred and one phenomena, yet when expanded they become eighty-four thousand. Therefore, the one dharma and the tens of millions of dharmas are alike paths leading to the Way. Because their profound meaning and principle do not differ, the teaching begins with one dharma.

– Heedfulness: This is the essential purport of the one dharma. Some may ask: “Should not the precepts come first? One must first observe the precepts and only afterward recollect the Three Honored Ones.” Others say: “This concerns beginners in the training. They first recollect the Three Honored Ones—that is, take the three refuges—binding their minds to the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha; following that, they receive the precepts.” According to this explanation, the precepts should be fourth, while mindfulness of breathing should come last.

– Explanation—calming the body and recollecting suffering: This means contemplating the body’s thirty-six impure substances and clearly discerning its ugliness and foulness, thereby awakening oneself and thus being able to accomplish the Way. What can illustrate this?

Long ago, there was a bhiksu who practiced as an aranyaka and went on alms rounds. He encountered the daughter of a householder and approached her to beg for food. Both the bhiksu and the householder’s daughter were handsome and beautiful.

When the woman saw the bhiksu, a lustful thought arose in her. When the bhiksu saw the woman, desire likewise arose in him. His agitated mind caused his hand to tremble, and as she placed food into his bowl, it fell to the ground.

The woman laughed involuntarily at the strange occurrence. Seeing her white teeth, the bhiksu immediately awakened to the truth: within the woman’s mouth there were only bones. As the Buddha taught: “The human body contains three hundred and twenty bones, six hundred joints, seven hundred thousand blood vessels, ninety thousand pores, one opening of entry, and nine openings of discharge, all exuding impure substances; there is nothing whatsoever worthy of craving.” He closely contemplated the woman’s body and its thirty-six impure substances.

Suddenly overcome with distress, the hairs on his body stood on end. Concentrating his thoughts and examining himself, he immediately comprehended the emptiness of the body and attained the path of stream-entry. He then reflected: “Because of this woman, I have seen the Dharma; she is therefore my good spiritual friend.

I should now repay her kindness.” He then taught the woman the contemplation of the body through which he had just attained awakening. Her mind opened, and she too realized the path of stream-entry. Therefore, it is said that mindfulness of the body is supreme.

– Mindfulness of death: This means recollecting how, when a person’s merit is exhausted and life ends, signs of hell appear, causing extreme terror. One may see hungry ghosts or animals; according to one’s karma, one becomes bound to what one sees. All such visions inspire fear. One wishes to flee but is instead drawn onward by what appears before one.

Or, for a person about to be reborn, conception depends upon the union of the father and mother. If the one to be conceived is male, he feels desire for the woman; if female, she feels desire for the man. Apart from obstructing afflictions, when these three conditions coincide without error, entry into the womb occurs.

Having taken birth there, one then regards what is present as belonging to oneself. Once every seven days, ingenious transformations take place; currents of wind seem to carve and shape the embryo, and after thirty-eight weeks its form is complete. If one is born in a heavenly realm, heavenly music welcomes one; failing to delight in this supreme joy means losing a minor advantage.

Signs appear for each of these five destinies, and in every case something is seen. One should remain mindful of death, for it has already been clearly explained in connection with the precepts. One should deeply contemplate impermanence: life passes swiftly like a flash of lightning, like the shadow of a cloud crossing the courtyard.

Old age, sickness, and death suddenly descend, and nothing escapes dispersion and destruction. Recollecting such transformations in order to awaken oneself is therefore called mindfulness of death. The Buddha taught the first ten recollections on his own; because no one had yet asked about them, he did not explain them.

Regarding the latter ten recollections, bhiksus asked questions, and the Buddha expounded them in response. Thus, each recollection is fully explained.

– Foremost disciples: This refers to the five hundred arhats, each of whom had a particular excellence: foremost in wisdom, spiritual powers, eloquence, merit, observance of the precepts, contentment, or teaching the Dharma. Each attained foremost rank in his respective quality.

– In discussing them, the elder brother is placed before the younger: This is because Ajnata Kaundinya was the eldest, while Subhadra was the youngest. This is the essential order according to the Buddha-Dharma. If profound knowledge and broad learning were placed first, that would be the method of the brahmins.

– The statement “one thousand two hundred and fifty” gives the number of those who regularly attended upon the Buddha. Elsewhere it says “five hundred people”: This refers to the occasion when the Buddha accepted the invitation of the naga king Anavatapta and selected only five hundred who were able to accompany him immediately to the naga king’s palace. Why was this? Because the spring of Anavatapta was not a place to which those with outflows, fettered by physical form, could suitably travel and return.

At the time the Venerable Ananda “brought forth the sutras,” he assembled eighty-four thousand arhats. According to this account, their number was incalculable. This sutra now identifies one hundred of the foremost elders. First, they had penetrating understanding of the four assemblies. Two hundred and twenty elders were each foremost in their respective attainments. How then could all the rest be enumerated?

Another account says: This sutra originally contained one hundred sections. The Venerable Ananda entrusted it to the Venerable Uttara, as stated in the Ekottarika Agama. Twelve years later, the Venerable Ananda entered parinirvana. All the bhiksus practiced seated meditation and no longer recited the scriptures. They held that the Buddha had prescribed three practices and that seated meditation was foremost. Thus, for twelve years they discontinued reading and reciting the sutras. Then the Bhiksu Uttara also entered parinirvana, and consequently ninety sections of this sutra were lost.

According to the custom of foreign lands, teachers and disciples transmitted the teachings to one another orally and entrusted them from one generation to the next; they were not permitted to commit them to writing. At that time, only eleven sections of this sutra remained in transmission. The text now extant has been successively transmitted from that time onward. The Sarvastivada school, however, does not possess the Introductory Section or the final, eleventh section. As the scriptures circulated far and wide over a long period, increasingly many portions were lost.

The reason the Ekottarika Agama was separately entrusted to this disciple was that he had encountered the teachings transmitted since the time of the Seven Buddhas and had separately compiled the Ekottarika Agama. The former sages had likewise entrusted this sutra to successive disciples. Therefore, when the Able and Benevolent One turned the Dharma wheel, he applied himself with still greater diligence, and this bhiksu did likewise.

At that time, a disciple of the Venerable Uttara named Suprabuddha studied under his teacher and recited precisely the eleven sections of the Ekottarika. After the Venerable Uttara entered parinirvana, the present Tripitaka of foreign lands was transmitted entirely through the Venerable Suprabuddha. Teachers and disciples have passed it down to one another without alteration to the present day.

The reason the Venerable Kasyapa often called the Venerable Ananda a “child” was that, for many kalpas, his paternal regard for him had continued to increase.

At that time, the Venerable Ananda’s younger sister, a bhiksuni, heard the Venerable Kasyapa speak in this way and became extremely angry. She said, “Ananda is wise, learned, and relied upon by all. How can the Venerable One call him a ‘child’?”

The Venerable Kasyapa said to the bhiksuni, “Younger sister! Ananda has done two shameful things. Why should you be angry? First, the presiding elder Ananda urged the Buddha to admit his mother into the Order, thereby causing the Buddha-Dharma to lose one thousand years of its duration. Ananda has sixty disciples, and recently thirty bhiksus returned to lay life. The Buddha taught the rule for admitting disciples: if a faithful householder comes seeking the Way, that person should be placed on probation for seven days. If a follower of another teaching comes seeking the Way, the period of probation should be four months.

“Why are the periods unequal? It is because someone from a non-Buddhist community may come with malicious intent, seeking to discover strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, such a person must first be placed on probation to determine whether the aspiration is sincere. Ananda did not act in this manner. Whenever someone came seeking the Way, he admitted that person immediately. This is the second shameful thing.

“The reason these thirty bhiksus returned to lay life was that they had originally heard that, among the ninety-six kinds of paths, the Venerable Ananda was foremost in ‘universal knowledge.’ They therefore followed the Venerable One and sought ordination, wishing to question him concerning this knowledge. But Ananda did not expound it to them, and thus their original expectations were not fulfilled, so they returned to lay life. Having returned to lay life, they would inevitably disparage Ananda, claiming that he possessed no universal knowledge.

“Admitting disciples is like a fish producing thousands of millions of offspring: if it keeps them in mind, they live; if it does not, they are all destroyed. Disciples are likewise. If one attentively instructs them, they achieve accomplishment; if one does not attend to them, they fall away. Is this not shameful?”

Because this bhiksuni directed an angry mind toward the Venerable Kasyapa, she fell into hell in that very body.

Because the Venerable Ananda had these faults, the Venerable Kasyapa called him a “child.”

In his defense, the Venerable Ananda related an event from the distant past. He had once been a wheel-turning sage-king named Long Life. Having received the “final injunctions” of his royal father, he succeeded to the throne, governed the kingdom, and taught and transformed its myriad people.

Wishing to renounce the household life, he in turn entrusted the crown prince, Good Contemplation, with the administration of state affairs. The charge was passed down successively without ever being altered. In the past, father and son succeeded one another; now, teacher and disciple continued the lineage.

In former times, he had not lost even the conditioned teachings. How much less would he now allow the wondrous Dharma of ultimate truth to be lost? He cited this event to attest that his disciples would certainly be capable of receiving and transmitting the scriptures.

– One should recollect and revere the Dharma: The verse above identified the Tripitaka and the four Agamas. The prose section further states: If a single verse can encompass all the teachings of the Tripitaka, how could the “Ekottarika” not encompass all teachings? The reason this verse was spoken was that a thought arose in the minds of the devas: “Is the Venerable Ananda unable to compose verses in order to teach the Dharma? Why did he utter those indistinct words?”

The Venerable Ananda perceived the devas’ thoughts and therefore said to them, “Even if there were enough sutras to load eighty-four thousand elephants and all had to be written in verse, I would be entirely capable of composing those verses. How then could I be unable to versify this small amount of Dharma?”

To accord with the intentions of the devas, he again used verses to recite the teachings and exhort the devas and other beings of keen faculties, who should hear the verses and gain clear understanding. The Dharma is precisely what was stated in the preceding section:

Commit no evil deeds;

Practice every good;

Purify your own mind—

This is the teaching of all Buddhas.

Thus, it is said that this Dharma can bring the three vehicles to accomplishment, eradicate the three evil destinies, encompass all true fruits, and bring karmic recompense in both lives. Since capacities may be superior or inferior, beings are guided and encouraged to advance. The verse says:

The foremost uphold the Tripitaka;

Next come the four Agamas;

Those who uphold the Vinaya Pitaka

Are indeed the Tathagata’s treasure.

– The reason it is called a treasure: It is like a king who possesses a treasury of precious things and does not allow outsiders to know of it. Only officials within the inner palace who are of one mind with the king are entrusted with guarding it. The precepts are likewise. Only those capable of upholding the two hundred and fifty or the five hundred rules are entrusted with them. They cannot be shown to laymen and laywomen of pure faith outside the Order; therefore, they are compared to the king’s treasury.

If one’s capacity does not extend to two Pitakas and one upholds only the Abhidharma, one can nevertheless subdue the followers of other paths. None among the ninety-six narrow paths will fail to return to the great foundation. Why? Because this is the incomparable wondrous wisdom capable of resolving the most profound entanglements and opening the way to the path of truth. Although they may possess the five superknowledges and abide for an entire kalpa, they still cannot escape being overcome by four swiftly galloping horses. Therefore, followers of other teachings dare not cast a covetous glance upon it.

The Venerable Ananda proclaimed: The finest exhortation contained in these ten verses was given for the thirty thousand humans and devas present here. Formerly, when the Buddha had newly attained the Way, in the Deer Park at Varanasi, he turned the Dharma wheel for the five men headed by Ajnata Kaundinya, teaching the Four Truths. The Buddha said: “Kaundinya, you should know!

This is the truth of suffering, the truth of the accumulation of suffering, the truth of the cessation of suffering, and the truth of the essential path leading out of suffering.” Thus he spoke directly about those Four Truths. Kaundinya had long been entangled in existence. Although he heard the teaching on wisdom, his mind still did not awaken.

The Buddha then taught him emptiness: “Kaundinya, you should know! Everything to which the four kinds of wisdom cling is empty and impermanent, like an illusion or magical transformation—neither real nor existent!” Kaundinya immediately understood and attained the “trace of the Path.” The other four had not yet understood, so the Tathagata again contemplated the roots of their minds. Two of them suffered from conceptual attachment to sensory contact.

They thought longingly of household life, delighted in the five desires, and clung to them without relinquishing them. Therefore, prescribing medicine according to their illness, he taught the samadhi of non-perception: “All that you perceive will return to complete cessation.” Because their conceptual attachments had not yet been abandoned, the mind, like a horse, galloped swiftly toward objects of pleasure. Their perceptions then opened, and those two also attained the “trace of the Path.” The remaining two constantly aspired to be born in the Brahma heaven and to reign there as Brahma kings.

Their attachments had not been released, and this aspiration only bound them more tightly. The Tathagata clearly perceived the thoughts in their minds and therefore taught them wishlessness: “Your wish is to seek the state of a Brahma king, but that cannot provide the essential path of deliverance. It will entirely return to cessation and does not endure forever.

You can relinquish what you seek and first choose the essential path of deliverance.” They too were immediately opened to the teaching and attained the “trace of the Path.” Because the attachments of the five men differed, the means by which they were released were not the same.

– What are called the three turnings of the Four Truths: Within emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, each contains the Four Truths. Truth refers to contemplation; concentration refers to calming. Calming and contemplation practiced together jointly counteract the illnesses of delusion and craving within the skandhas, dhatus, and ayatanas.

The twelve are for destroying the twelve links of dependent origination. Formerly, when the Buddha was in the world, he taught the Dharma to the fourfold assembly. Sometimes he taught the Four Truths, and sometimes the six paramitas. According to what the beings to be transformed were capable of understanding, the Buddha extensively taught them impermanence and other doctrines. At times, kings, elders, householders, and brahmins respectfully invited him to receive offerings, or they came to ask him questions.

Concerning the occasions on which teachings could be given, the Venerable Ananda asked the Buddha: “How should they be designated? Should one speak of what was heard, or of what was seen?”

The Buddha told the Venerable Ananda: “In the future, when teaching the Dharma to the fourfold assembly, you should speak of what was heard and must not speak of what was seen. To speak of what was seen would be false. Why? Because what was heard belongs to the past, whereas what is seen belongs to the present. Regarding the seven Buddhas of the past, one can rightly speak only of what was heard, not of what was seen. You should do likewise in the future. Therefore, say: ‘Thus have I heard.’”

– The reason I earnestly entrusted and enjoined this upon Ananda is this: Although the Buddhas of the past had attendants, none was like the Venerable Ananda in clearly understanding the Buddha’s intent. Since the distant past, he had made offerings to two billion Buddhas and always served as their attendant. He did not seek to exhaust the outflows, but constantly vowed to attain universal cognition and understand the Buddha’s intent. For this reason, he has now obtained that blessed recompense. With a glance of the Buddha’s eyes, he comprehends the meaning without ever departing from the proper forms. Among all the Buddhas, none was more vigorous and courageous than Sakyamuni. Among the brethren, Maitreya should have come before him, yet now stands after him. Why is this? Long ago, thirty kalpas in the past, three bodhisattvas were traveling together through a mountainous forest when they saw a starving tigress about to eat her cubs. One of them thought: “This tiger has already been born as an animal, and now she intends to eat her own offspring. After death, she will certainly undergo suffering, for although she is a mother, she has no loving-kindness. This present body of mine is composed of the four great elements and must ultimately return to death. I should use my body to save the lives of those tiger cubs.” The second did not agree and intended to go to the market to buy meat to save the cubs’ lives. The remaining bodhisattva reflected and said: “If we travel from here to the market and back, the lives of the tiger cubs will not be preserved. I should relinquish my body to save them.” He then cast himself down from the high mountain to the ground below, directly before the tigress’s mouth. His body remained unharmed, and the tigress did not dare eat him. This was because whenever one enters the samadhi of loving-kindness, no creature can cause one harm. The bodhisattva deliberately pierced his body with a bamboo thorn. When the tigress smelled the blood, she was able to eat him. Through such courage, he surpassed Maitreya by nine kalpas and therefore now precedes him. From this it may be said that the Way itself has neither before nor after; resolute intent determines who comes first. Thus, now that I have attained Buddhahood, I entrust the scriptures to Ananda to preserve. In the future, you shall proclaim: ‘Thus have I heard.’ Why is it also said, ‘At one time’? Does this refer to a measure of days and months, or does it refer to the names of persons? The answer is that it is both a designation of a period and a reference to the names of persons. Some say that there are also two designations: either kshatriya or brahmin. Again, there are two designations: either a family of elders or a family of householders. It may be in the heavenly realm or in the human world. Such alternatives do not refer to a single place, and therefore it is said, ‘At one time.’

– Bhagavat: This is an appellation of the Blessed One. Because all his fetters have been completely severed and no one can surpass him, he is called Honored. Because the devas of the three realms all come to take refuge in and revere him, and the eight classes of ghosts and spirits all honor him as their master, he is called the World-Honored One. Because he can subdue Mara, he is likewise Honored. Such praises are beyond measure; therefore, he is styled the World-Honored One.

– Jeta Grove, Anathapindika’s Park (the Jeta–Anathapindika forest park): Prince Jeta was the son of King Prasenajit’s chief queen. He possessed a great park eighty hectares in extent, with level ground and luxuriant trees. Many kinds of birds and beasts gathered there when the sun appeared. Jeta’s thoughts were always upon the Buddha, and he often wished to offer the park to the Buddha as a monastery. Before long, the Elder Sudatta (Anathapindika) came and asked to buy the park. Jeta had seldom enjoyed friendly dealings with the Elder, but in a cheerful and playful mood, he jokingly said that he agreed to sell it. When Sudatta heard this, his resolve was firm and he was overjoyed. Turning to his attendants, he ordered them to quickly harness the horses to carts and ready the elephants to transport gold and cover the entire park with it. The servants obeyed, and the work proceeded. In only a short while, forty hectares had been covered. Prince Jeta said: “Stop, stop! I was only joking, but you have taken it seriously. There is no need to spread any more gold.” Sudatta then went with the prince before the king and reported the matter. The king said: “The law permits no double speech. Once a promise has been firmly made, reason does not permit it to be withdrawn.” Jeta said to Sudatta: “I shall retain the trees, while you shall retain the land. By joining our efforts, the two of us can establish the monastery together.” The monastery was then constructed, containing seventy-two lecture halls and one thousand two hundred and fifty rooms. All around it, the paths were level and tranquil; the fruit trees were verdant, with branches bending beneath their fruit; streams flowed into bathing ponds, whose waters were always suitably cool or warm. Throughout the four months, everything was manifestly clear and pure, and during the two seasons of winter and summer, conditions remained unchanged. When all the work had been completed, they jointly invited the World-Honored One. The World-Honored One then came with one thousand two hundred and fifty bhikkhus and dwelt there. The donor provided offerings, and none of the four requisites was lacking. Because Anathapindika was an official of the kingdom, he yielded the place of honor to Jeta; therefore, the scriptures commonly name Jeta first. Because their merit was jointly connected, their names could not be separated and were always combined in the designation.

– The Buddha told the bhikkhus: Why did he not address the male and female lay devotees, but addressed only the bhikkhus? It is because, among the four assemblies, the bhikkhus are foremost. Moreover, they are masters in destroying evil, using the undefiled Dharma to eliminate all kinds of defilements. Therefore, he spoke first to the bhikkhus. They are also called śramaṇas. A śramaṇa is one whose mind has come to rest. He has ended the course of existence and desire, is tranquil, and is unattached. He is also called one who removes want. People of the world hunger and thirst for sensual pleasures. A bhikkhu eliminates such perceptions of hunger and thirst for craving. When the Blessed One teaches the Dharma, bhikkhus are able to receive it, so as to bring birth and death to an end and proceed to the gateway of nirvana. Therefore, he addressed the bhikkhus.

– One should cultivate a single practice: namely, mindfulness of the Buddha. What does mindfulness of the Buddha comprise? The Buddha’s body is adamantine and free of all defilements. When he walks, the soles of his feet remain four inches above the ground, yet the marks of the “thousand-spoked wheels” appear distinctly upon the earth. Beneath the soles of his feet, insects and ants remain secure for seven days; if they die, they are all reborn in the heavens.

Long ago, there was an evil bhikkhu who had originally been a non-Buddhist ascetic. Wishing to feign submission in order to slander the Buddha, he followed the path along which the Buddha had walked, killed many flying insects, and placed them in the Buddha’s footprints, claiming that the Buddha had trampled the insects to death. Yet although the insects were dead, as soon as they came into contact with the Buddha’s footprints, they immediately returned to life.

When the Buddha entered a town or settlement and his foot had just touched the threshold, heaven and earth trembled, and a hundred kinds of music sounded by themselves without being played. Those who were deaf, blind, mute, or unable to speak, and those afflicted by a hundred kinds of illness, were naturally cured. Possessing the thirty-two excellent marks and the eighty minor characteristics, whoever saw him could be delivered according to their progress.

The merit of his teaching, transformation, and aid cannot be reckoned. His radiant wisdom shone forth—how could anyone disparage him?

The Buddha is the master of all dharmas and the convergence of the myriad practices, with his power of conveyance foremost. Such is the meaning of mindfulness of the Buddha.

– What is mindfulness of the Dharma? The Dharma is the undefiled Dharma, the Dharma free from desire, the Dharma of the Path, and the unconditioned Dharma; it leads from desire to freedom from desire. The Buddha is the master of all dharmas. The Dharma is the master of all fetters. Someone may ask: “Which came first, the Dharma or the Buddha?” The answer is: “The Dharma came first.” How can this be known? A sutra states: “The Dharma gives birth to all Buddhas. The Dharma gives rise to the Buddha Path.” From this it may be said that the Dharma came first. One may further ask: “If so, why is mindfulness of the Dharma not practiced first, while mindfulness of the Buddha is practiced first?” The answer is: Although the Dharma is subtle and wondrous, if there is no one capable of recognizing it, it is like repositories beneath the earth containing many precious jewels. There is no place where such treasures do not exist, yet countless poor and suffering people still lack wealth and necessities. If someone with spiritual powers reveals their location, only then can the jewels be obtained to provide for oneself and aid those in poverty and want.

Someone may further ask: “Which is superior, the treasure or the person?” The answer is: “The person is superior.” Why is the person said to be superior? Although the repositories beneath the earth contain many treasures, without spiritual powers they cannot be seen. It is through a person that wealth is obtained; how could the treasure hidden beneath the earth consider itself precious? The Dharma is likewise. Although its principle is profound and wondrous, without the Tathagata it could not be expounded, and without the Blessed One it could not be fully understood. Therefore, mindfulness of the Buddha comes first, followed by mindfulness of the Dharma.

– What is mindfulness of the Sangha? The Sangha consists of those in the four directions and those who have attained the four fruits—the twelve Worthies—who have abandoned all worldly greed and contention. They open the way to merit and take the lead; the paths of devas and humans are all made accessible through them. Thus, they are the supreme field of merit for sentient beings. What demonstrates that the Sangha is an excellent field of merit? Long ago, there was a bhikkhu of scant merit named Brahmadatta. When he was among an assembly of one thousand two hundred and fifty, his presence caused the Sangha to be unable to receive food, yet no one knew who was at fault. The Buddha then divided the Sangha into two groups, and within one group he again caused one portion to be unable to eat. He divided that portion in two once more, setting one half apart from the other, and again caused this half to be unable to eat. In this manner he successively divided each half until even when only two people remained, they still could not eat. At last, when only one person remained, the one without merit was identified. At the place where food was distributed, the food was present, but by the time it reached his bowl, it naturally vanished. The Buddha had compassion for this misfortune and personally handed him food. Through the Buddha’s spiritual power restraining it within the bowl, the food no longer disappeared. Wishing to enable that bhikkhu to acquire merit in his present body, the Buddha had two bhikkhus enter the attainment of cessation on either side of him and instructed him to offer food to those two bhikkhus abiding in the attainment of cessation. Whoever makes offerings to those abiding in the samādhi of cessation immediately acquires merit. Next, he had the two bhikkhus on either side enter the samādhi of loving-kindness. He then had them enter, in turn, the samādhis of compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity, having each of the four immeasurable states practiced in succession until all were completed. At that time, King Prasenajit heard that this bhikkhu had scant merit and that the Buddha, out of compassion, had bestowed food upon him. He therefore thought: “I too should now create merit for him.” He immediately ordered an attendant to pound rice until it was white. At that moment, a crow flew down, seized a grain of rice, and flew away. The king’s attendant rebuked it: “The king is creating merit for the bhikkhu Brahmadatta. Why have you carried away the rice?” The crow immediately brought the grain of rice back to its original place. This happened because the bhikkhu had come to rely upon the meritorious power of the Sangha, and consequently birds and beasts of every kind could no longer harm or encroach upon him. This event demonstrates that the Sangha is an excellent field of merit. Having delivered themselves, its members can also lead others to the paths of the Three Vehicles. Such is the meaning of the practice of mindfulness of the Sangha.

– Next is mindfulness of the precepts: What is its meaning?

From the five precepts and the ten precepts to the two hundred and fifty precepts and the five hundred precepts, all serve to restrain body and speech, prevent every kind of deviance and wrongdoing, discipline the six faculties, and put an end to thoughts of desire. When purity manifests within, one accords with the nature of the precepts.

Long ago, two bhikkhus were traveling together to the Buddha’s dwelling place. On the way, they had to cross a vast, arid marshland where there was no drinking water. There remained only a small pool, and its water was full of tiny creatures.

One bhikkhu deeply reflected upon the precepts and discipline, taking non-violation as foremost: “If I drink this water, I will kill a great many living beings. I would rather preserve the precepts completely and relinquish my life, without regret.” He then died and was immediately reborn in the heavens. The other bhikkhu thought to himself: “I should drink the water to preserve my life, so that I can reach the Buddha.

Who knows where my fellow bhikkhu will be reborn after he dies?” He then drank the water containing living creatures and killed a great many of them. Although he was able to see the Buddha, he remained very far from the Buddha’s teaching. Weeping, this bhikkhu approached the Buddha and said: “My companion has died.” The Buddha pointed toward the heavens and said: “Do you recognize that deva?

He is your companion. Through the merit of upholding the precepts, he was immediately reborn in the heavens after death, and now he is present here again. Although you have been able to see me, you are very far from me.

Although this bhikkhu has died, he is always here beside me. You have now come here and see me, but in truth you see only my physical body. How could you know the wondrous precepts of ultimate truth?”

Therefore it is said that if one upholds the precepts without transgression, one’s aspirations will be fulfilled. Among the ten recollections, recollection of the precepts comes first; but when speaking of the six perfections, giving comes first. The reason the order differs is that, among the ten recollections, the precepts are those of the shravakas.

The Dharma of the shravakas takes restraint and discipline of the body as its starting point; therefore, the precepts come first. The Dharma of the Great Beings places chief importance on wise giving. Why is this?

Whenever Great Beings are born in the realms of gods and humans, their minds constantly remain mindful of delivering beings and bringing them benefit. In the essential work of delivering and benefiting beings, without giving there can be no rescue. For living beings to sustain their lives, food and clothing are foremost.

Therefore, material gifts are first used to relieve their bodily needs, and afterward the Dharma is used to gather them in and guide their minds. For this reason, Great Beings place giving first. There are two kinds of precepts: mundane precepts and precepts of the Path.

The five precepts and the ten wholesome deeds are mundane precepts. The three samadhis are precepts of the supramundane Path. The two hundred and fifty precepts, up to the five hundred precepts, are also mundane precepts.

The wondrous wisdom of the Four Noble Truths is the precept of the Path. Merely practicing the precepts and dwelling at ease does not lead beyond the three realms. Only when wisdom guides the precepts and renders them undefiled do they accord with the precepts of the Path.

The precepts of the shravakas are like a flower placed upon the knee: at the slightest movement it immediately falls. The precepts of the Great Beings are like a flower worn upon the head: whether walking or standing, it does not move. Why is this?

The Lesser Vehicle is bound by outward forms; at the slightest movement, one may transgress the rules of deportment. Great Beings, however, govern the mind and are not constrained by external conventions. The standards of the Great and Lesser Vehicles differ because one emphasizes outward form and the other the inner mind.

Although outer and inner differ, both proceed toward nirvana; therefore, this is called recollection of the precepts.

– Recollection of giving leads to nirvana because giving includes material giving and Dharma giving. Through material giving, one attains Dharma giving and perfects the boundless perfection of dana, the perfection of giving; therefore, one reaches nirvana.

– Recollection of the gods: These are the gods of the three realms—the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm. There are two kinds of gods: gods who enjoy merit and gods possessed of the virtue of the Path. The stream-enterer gods of the Desire Realm have forever departed from the three evil destinies and advance toward the Path. The gods of the eight Pure Abodes in the Form Realm and the Formless Realm increasingly cultivate calming and contemplation and advance to the undefiled state; they then enter nirvana there and do not return to the world. Ordinary gods are those who, through the ten wholesome deeds, the four dhyanas, and the four formless attainments, enjoy merit in those realms; when their merit is exhausted, they fall again into the ceaseless course of transmigration. Recollection of the gods means recollecting those gods who have attained the Path, single-mindedly following their example, revering their course of practice, and not allowing the mind to wander and become scattered. In this way, one also reaches nirvana. Therefore, it is called recollection of the gods.

– Recollection of cessation: This means that the mind’s perceptions cease and the five desires no longer arise. Because one is quiescent and wholly concentrated, it is called cessation. Cessation is also of two kinds. Brahmins of non-Buddhist paths bind and discipline their bodies in search of merit and also regard this as cessation. Only when those who have attained the four fruits of the ascetic path have forever eliminated all fetters is it true cessation. How do we know this?

Long ago, there was a bhikshu named Surata who went to the city of Shravasti and taught beings everywhere. At that time, west of Shravasti lay the region where Angulimala killed people. The land was level and broad, with many trees.

There was then a Brahmin meditating beneath the shade of a tree. He ate none of the five grains, subsisting only on fruits and grasses; when there was no fruit, he ate grasses and vegetables merely to sustain his vital energy. He wore a garment of leaves, and his body was emaciated and wasted as he struggled to sustain himself.

Surata happened to pass by. Seeing him from afar and taking him for a practitioner of the Path, Surata sat in meditation and contemplated him to discern whether his mind was concentrated. He saw that the man’s fundamental intention was to become king of that land, and he thought, “Is this man then a great bandit?” He wished to depart, yet feared that the man would later fall into wrongdoing.

He wished to teach him, but the man would certainly not heed his words. He therefore devised an expedient means to deliver him. He went to a nearby tree and sat in meditation, not far from the Brahmin, remaining entirely motionless for seven days.

After seven days, Surata arose, approached the Brahmin, snapped his fingers to announce his presence, and said, “Companion, how do you feel within yourself?” After a long while, the Brahmin slowly raised his head and replied, “What could one destitute person have to exchange with another?” The bhikshu said, “I shall now give you something.” He then conjured a chicken and said, “You may kill this chicken and eat it.” The Brahmin said in alarm, “I would not kill even lice or fleas, much less this chicken!” The bhikshu said, “Your fundamental intention is precisely to kill countless people.

What significance could there be in killing this one chicken now?” The Brahmin replied, “Why would I kill countless people?” The bhikshu answered, “While sitting in meditation, your fundamental intention was precisely to seek to become king of this land. As a king governing the country, how many people might you kill each day? How can you say that you would not kill?

This chicken is the discriminating consciousness within your own mind. Only by killing the chicken can you attain the great unconditioned Path; becoming king cannot bring such attainment.” The Brahmin then reflected, “This bhikshu knows the thoughts in my mind. He must be a noble one.” He therefore followed the bhikshu’s teaching.

The bhikshu then expounded the Dharma to the Brahmin, who immediately attained the fruit of stream-entry.

Although this Brahmin’s body was still, his mind had not ceased. Only after he had slain the chicken of discriminating consciousness within himself could it be called cessation. Therefore, the subsequent explanation calls it the cessation of the mind’s perceptions.

– Recollection of the body: This means contemplating the thirty-six impure substances of the body, thereby clearly revealing its foulness. By recollecting and examining them correctly without confusion, one also realizes nirvana. How do we know this?

Long ago, there was a bhikshu who established himself in an aranya. He regularly went on alms round, ate by the bank of a river, and then washed his bowl. At that time, upstream along the riverbank was a charnel ground.

A woman had recently died there, and the wind blew the hair from her head so that it suddenly fell into the bowl. The bhikshu took the tresses in his hand and examined them closely. Seeing that they were exceedingly smooth and fine, he said to himself, “If this were a horse’s tail, the hairs would be very thin.

If this were a man’s hair, it would be finer still. If it remains bound and does not come loose, it must be a woman’s hair.” He immediately tied it, and it did not come loose. He therefore conceived the thought, “A person with hair like this must be beautiful.

Her face would be the color of peach blossoms, her eyes like bright jewels, her nose like a finely polished bamboo tube, her mouth as though holding vermilion, her brows like moth antennae, and her cheeks powdered.” Having made these discriminations, he immediately gave rise to lust. Following the river upstream in search of her, he imagined that the sight of such beauty would repay his efforts. Instead, he saw only a woman whose body had been half devoured by jackals and wolves and whose flesh was putrid and decaying; only her hair remained intact.

He took the hair and compared it, finding its length to be similar. The lustful perceptions that had just arisen suddenly vanished. The bhikshu contemplated once more, investigating and discerning: “While alive, this person was beautiful in appearance; now she has decomposed, as everyone can plainly see.

I just now gave rise to perceptions that sought only to crave her body through sensual desire, and so those thoughts arose. Her body has become like this; how is my body any different? Examined closely, this body is composed of the four great elements.

When merit is exhausted and conditions disperse, it naturally disintegrates.” Seeing this transformation, his mind awakened, and he immediately attained stream-entry. Therefore it is said that recollection of the body leads to the fruit of the ascetic path.

– Recollection of death: This means recollecting that for a person in the course of practice, life passes away without pause, the faculties decay like rotten timber, and the faculty of life is severed. One should therefore remain mindful of impermanence and thereby awaken oneself.

In ancient times there was a bhiksu named Vakkali who practiced the path and seated meditation for many years, yet his outflows were not eliminated. Troubled by his own body, he regarded it as a great encumbrance. Whenever he reflected, he became disgusted with himself: “The reason people cannot attain the unsurpassed path is precisely that this body continues to wander endlessly in samsara.

When will it ever cease?” He then took a knife in his hand and was about to cut his own throat. Reflecting once more, he thought: “The Blessed One has admonished his disciples not to kill themselves. Nevertheless, I now seek nirvana, and in nirvana there is no body.

Therefore, by first casting off this body, I am indeed choosing liberation.” He then raised the knife and cut his throat. His head fell and his heart was pierced, whereupon he attained arhatship. The Buddha knew that this bhiksu had attained the path and therefore instructed the bhiksus to cremate his remains.

Thus, mindfulness of death can also lead to nirvana.

The Buddha first taught the ten recollections in general terms for beings of sharp faculties. He later taught them again for beings of dull faculties, thereby explaining their meaning clearly.

– Renown: This means later becoming a wheel-turning sage-king.

– Receiving great karmic recompense: This means later becoming Sakra, Lord of the Devas.

– All wholesome things gathering from everywhere: This means later receiving the karmic recompense of rebirth in the Brahma heavens.

– Attaining the taste of ambrosia: This means later attaining the fruit of a pratyekabuddha.

– Reaching the unconditioned state: This means later attaining the fruit of arhatship.

The preceding teaching on the ten recollections did not contain these five statements. These karmic fruits are added here in order to clarify the profound principle underlying the meaning of recollection of the Buddha.

The Buddha said: “The parinirvana of all the disciples occurred as repayment for causes from previous lives; each entered nirvana in accordance with those causes. Venerable Maudgalyayana was beaten. Venerable Sariputra suffered from an intestinal illness. In this manner, all five hundred disciples of the Buddha entered cessation because of causes from previous lives. Only Venerable Ananda’s entry into nirvana was the most excellent of all.”

When Venerable Ananda was about to enter nirvana, he first manifested the auspicious sign of radiance. A brahmin who studied mathematics under Venerable Ananda saw that the Venerable’s countenance was shining and immediately reported to King Ajatasatru: “Venerable Ananda’s countenance is extraordinary. Could he be about to enter parinirvana?” The king immediately sent men to seek Venerable Ananda.

By then, the Venerable had already led five hundred disciples to a place along the bank of the Ganges. They boarded a boat and were about to cross the river. Just as they reached midstream, King Ajatasatru’s men arrived at the bank.

When the people of Vaisali learned that Venerable Ananda had arrived, they also sent five hundred youths to welcome him. Wishing to satisfy both countries, Venerable Ananda used his spiritual power to hold the boat motionless in the middle of the river.

At that time, among the disciples he had brought to liberation, one was named Majjhantika and another was named Mahinda. Venerable Ananda told Majjhantika: “Go to the land of Kasmira and establish the Buddha’s Dharma there. That land does not yet have the true Dharma; skillfully cause the Buddha’s Dharma to spread widely throughout it.” He then told Mahinda: “Go to the island kingdom of Simhala and propagate the teaching so that the Buddha-Dharma may flourish.”

Having given these instructions, the Venerable manifested eighteen spiritual transformations and emitted fire that consumed his body. He divided his relics in midair, enabling both countries to make offerings to them. Through the wondrous power of recollection of the Buddha, he thus attained mastery and freedom.

END — FASCICLE 2