分別功德論

The Buddha said to the bhikkhus: The Buddha is the Greatly Compassionate One, who wishes to cause his disciples to know fully the meaning of mindfulness of the Buddha. Just as a father, relying upon admonitions, instructs his children and grandchildren in order to bring about their accomplishment, not in order to be repaid himself. The disciple, having single-mindedly and diligently practiced mindfulness of the Buddha, contemplates the form and marks of the Tathagata, his eyes never departing from them. So too the Venerable Ananda contemplated the Buddha without weariness, his mindful attention never ceasing.

At that time, a boil arose upon the back of the Venerable Ananda, and the Buddha directed Jivaka to treat it. Jivaka addressed the Buddha: I dare not lay my hand upon the back of the Venerable Ananda. The Buddha told Jivaka: Only treat it, do not doubt. I myself shall expound the Dharma for the Venerable Ananda, so that he will feel no pain.

The Tathagata caused the Venerable Ananda to gaze continually upon the excellent marks of the Buddha, and the Buddha expounded the Dharma for the Venerable.

The body of the Tathagata pertains to the adamantine (vajra) and cannot be destroyed. It is formed of three thousand two hundred merits of meritorious recompense. The Venerable Ananda's eyes gazed without knowing fatigue, his ears listened without knowing weariness, his mind held it in remembrance without letting go. At that time, Jivaka broke open the boil upon the back of the Venerable Ananda and applied medicine. The Buddha asked the Venerable Ananda: Did you feel pain upon your back? The Venerable Ananda replied: I felt no pain.

That he felt no pain was due to mindfulness of the Buddha.

The Ten Powers, together with the Four Fearlessnesses, were complete in him. Long ago, there was an elder (gṛhapati) who, leading along a maidservant, went to pay homage at a stupa, reciting: Homage to the World-Honored One of the Ten Powers! The maidservant, paying homage behind him, recited: Homage to the Tathagata of the Eleven Powers.

The elder said: The Tathagata indeed has Ten Powers; why do you recite eleven? The maidservant replied: What obstacle is there in eleven powers? One simply ought not say nine powers.

To say eleven powers is to add one power—what fault is there in that? The elder fell silent and returned home. He then asked the various Dharma masters: How many powers does the Tathagata possess?

They answered: Some say three powers. Some say ten powers. Some say innumerable.

According to this, then, is he not limited to ten? The elder thereupon left the household life to study the Way, and freed the maidservant from serving the master of the house. To say four is not to be insufficient.

To say innumerable is not to be in excess. Suited to the occasion, responding to beings, there is no fixed measure.

– Mindfulness of the Dharma: From desire to the absence of desire. From desire to the Way. From the outflows (āsava) to the absence of outflows. From the conditioned to the unconditioned. Whence is this known? In former days, the World-Honored One dwelt in the country of King Udayana, expounding the Dharma and teaching. At that time, the World-Honored One ascended to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (Trāyastriṃśa Heaven) for the sake of his mother Maya, expounding the Dharma; only after ninety days did he return to the human realm, descending from the north of the city of Kashi. At that time, the bhikkhuni Utpalavarṇā had the thought in her mind that she alone wished to be the first to see the Buddha. The various kings, not having seen the Buddha for ninety days, all felt longing and yearning, and so gathered together in a great throng. The bhikkhuni Utpalavarṇā reflected: I am a bhikkhuni; I ought not to be amid this great noisy crowd. I must devise a suitable means to be the first to welcome the Buddha. She thereupon transformed herself into a Wheel-Turning Sage King (Cakravartin), with a retinue all conforming to the dharma of a Sage King. When the various minor kings saw the Sage King, they all withdrew themselves to a distance. The bhikkhuni then manifested again her former appearance, met the Buddha, paid homage, and inquired after his well-being. The various kings all came to have audience with the Buddha, and, no longer seeing the Wheel-Turning King, came to know that it had been a transformation produced by this bhikkhuni, and so said: Was what we just saw a deception such as this? At that time, the bhikkhuni Utpalavarṇā had the thought in her mind that she herself was the first to see the Buddha. The Buddha said to Utpalavarṇā: You consider yourself the first to see the Buddha, yet there is one who saw the Buddha before you. Do you know clearly who it is? The Buddha said: On the mountainside east of the city of Rājagṛha, the Venerable Subhuti is mending his robe there. A deva announced to him: The Buddha has returned to the human realm. Subhuti said: I am a disciple; according to the Dharma I ought to go and pay homage and make inquiry. He further reflected within himself: Where is the Buddha now present? Is the golden-hued form the Buddha? But what measure has gold? The Buddha has taught: All dharmas are empty, are without any possession; if one understands clearly that the twelve causes are empty, uncreated, unmade, without person, without man, without lifespan, without one who has a lifespan—this is to see the Dharma. To see the Dharma as without lifespan, as not being a lifespan, is to see me. He thereupon joined his palms and recited: Brāhman! It is indeed so! And he sat down again to mend his robe. According to this, then, Subhuti is the one who saw the Buddha before you!

The Buddha is the lord of all dharmas. To understand clearly that dharmas are empty is mindfulness of the Dharma.

– Mindfulness of the Saṅgha (the Assembly): This is the assembly of the Worthies and Saints. As for an assembly in general, there are ever so many kinds. The ninety-five sorts of non-Buddhists each likewise have their assemblies. Some are harmonious. Some are not in accord. They too use precepts to restrain themselves. Some practice meditative concentration. Some regard the absence of perception (asaṃjñā) as the supreme subtlety. They all trust in their own practices, considering them to be true. Yet they do not attain the genuine factors of the Noble Eightfold Path, and therefore cannot reach Nirvana. Although there are some among them who attain the five supernatural powers, who live long and enter the state of non-perception, extending over kalpas, none of them escape birth and death. Only the Holy Assembly of the Tathagata, comprising those who have attained the four directions and the four fruits, are no longer made to drift by the four swift currents (the four Floods?), the nine factors being cut off and stilled, causing them to be dispersed. Therefore the sutra says: Among the ninety-six kinds of saṅgha, the Saṅgha of the Buddha is the most true. The four assemblies of the Tathagata are all of the same Śākya clan. It is like the four Ganges rivers, each having its own five hundred tributaries, all merging into the great ocean to share one taste. The assembly is likewise. Some are of the Kṣatriya clan. Some are of the Brāhmaṇa clan. Some are of the clans of elders and householders. Among the four castes, those who leave the household life to study the Way are all alike of the Śākya clan, of one family, without such separate names. Because the scope of its embrace is ever wider, its meaning is ever deeper and broader. The Saṅgha is precisely that which receives all three vehicles. The Saṅgha of Arhats also arises from it. The Pratyekabuddhas are also within it. The Saṅgha of the Great Vehicle is likewise. Therefore it is called the foremost and most excellent field of merit. In rescuing the beings of the three realms, nothing surpasses this excellent "field of earth." Although the Tathagata had already attained Perfect Enlightenment, he still constantly turned back toward the Saṅgha to make repentance. This is because the "earth" of the Saṅgha is thick and weighty. The Buddhas of the three periods, the Pratyekabuddhas, and the Śrāvakas—none among them did not attain final cessation through the Saṅgha. So too the bhikkhu Brahmadatta, who, by means of the Holy Assembly, was completely rescued and delivered.

– Mindfulness of the precepts: This means upholding the pure precepts, which gather in all the rules of conduct. Just as a potter uses various kinds of clay, mud, and so forth to form vessels for holding things, great and small, square and round, all suited to the wishes of the user. The precepts are likewise. Some vow to be reborn in the heavens, receiving the merit of the three realms. Some wish to cut off the fetters and seek the Way, and their aspirations all accord with their intent. It is like the auspicious vase, which, according to the wish of the one who holds it, grants whatever is desired. Taking the precepts as the foundation, constantly practicing the thirty-seven factors and the various samādhis and concentrations, cutting off the seven proclivities and the nine fetters, one advances to accomplish Nirvana—just as the clay becomes a vessel that can no longer be destroyed.

– Mindfulness of giving: Now, giving has two aspects: there is giving with an owner, and giving without an owner. Again there are two kinds of giving: one is called giving (dāna); the other is called relinquishing. Again there are two kinds of giving: one is material goods; the other is the teaching of the Dharma. Giving is giving with an owner. Relinquishing is giving without an owner. Relinquishing is the casting off of fetters. Giving is when the person before one receives material goods or the teaching of the Dharma.

The reason giving reaches Nirvana: If, at the time of giving a person material goods or the teaching of the Dharma, the mind seeks no reward and grasps neither self nor other—because of these three matters being unobstructed, it is identical with liberation. Or if one can cast off the fetters, this too is Nirvana. Relinquishing and giving both reach Nirvana. It is like the elephant that obeys the courageous boy, advancing and retreating. If both should obtain meat, then in advancing it crushes the enemy troops, and in retreating it loses its meal of meat—such, indeed, is how it is.

– Mindfulness of the devas: There are three kinds of deva (heavenly being): there is the deva by elevation, the deva by birth, and the deva of purity.

What is the deva by elevation? This means the Wheel-Turning Sage King, who is elevated by the multitude. The reason he is called a deva: it is because the Sage King has the ten good deeds with which to teach and transform the world, causing people all to be reborn in the heavens.

Because he is above ordinary people, he is called a deva. Some say: The Sage King surpasses the Buddha. On what grounds is this said?

Because when the Sage King governs the world, people do not fall into the evil destinies. When the Buddha appears in the world, the three evil destinies are not cut off. For this reason he is superior.

Or again there is the view that says: The Buddha surpasses the Sage King. The reason it is said he is superior is that the Sage King uses the ten good deeds to teach and transform the world, yet does not surpass humans and devas; whereas the Buddha appears and teaches and transforms the world to reach Nirvana. For this reason he is superior.

What is the deva by birth? It is, from the Four Heavenly Kings up to the twenty-eight heavens, those who receive merit—all are devas by birth, and therefore are called devas by birth. Flowing onward without ceasing, not departing from birth and death, they are therefore called devas by birth.

What is the deva of purity? It is the three ranks—Buddha, Pratyekabuddha, and Śrāvaka—who all cut off the fetters and proclivities, emerge from the three realms, and are pure and without desire; therefore they are called devas of purity.

The Eight Pure Abode Heavens (Śuddhāvāsa): These surpass the devas by birth and the devas by elevation, yet are not equal to the abode of purity; being between these two, they are the object of reverent admiration for those who practice mindfulness of the devas. By means of mindfulness of birth and of elevation, there is also the principle of reaching Nirvana. Why?

The story is told that within the city of Śrāvastī there was a husband and wife who were Pure-Faith Laymen (upāsakas) without children or grandchildren; both were diligent, their minds ever holding the Three Jewels in remembrance. At that time, the wife died early and was reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, becoming a celestial maiden of surpassing beauty, with few in the heavens to equal her. This celestial maiden reflected within herself: What is my husband doing?

She thereupon used her celestial eye to observe the world, and saw that her former husband had left the household life to study the Way; being advanced in years and dull in wit, he merely trusted single-mindedly, and the work he commonly performed was using a broom to sweep clean the stupas and shrines. Seeing such diligence, the principle is that he ought to be reborn in the heavens and would surely again become her husband.

At that time, the former husband was in his quiet chamber, sitting alone in reflection, when suddenly a light appeared. Taking it for a strange thing, he raised his head and looked, and saw a celestial maiden. He thereupon asked her who she was and whence she had come.

The celestial maiden answered: I come from the Heaven of the Thirty-Three; I was formerly your wife and am now a celestial maiden. In that heaven, none will take me as wife. Seeing that you are ever diligent in your work, I would again become your wife.

For this reason I have come here to declare my intent. Having spoken, she suddenly vanished and returned to the heavens.

From this time onward, the old bhikkhu became all the more diligent, and further took up the repair of old stupas and shrines, never slackening from morning to night. Because of the accumulation of effort, his merit and virtue became ever greater, and so he was reborn in the fourth heaven, Tuṣita. The celestial maiden again used her celestial eye to observe, and saw that her former husband had been reborn in the Tuṣita Heaven. She again came to him and said: By your accumulated diligence, you have surpassed my own realm. I again cannot have you as my husband. Having spoken, she withdrew.

This bhikkhu became yet more diligent, surpassing his earlier exertions. By day he practiced walking meditation; by night he practiced seated meditation. His mind and intent grew bright, and he contemplated the Four Truths. Thus before long he attained the fruit of Arhatship. This is reaching Nirvana through mindfulness of the devas.

– Mindfulness of cessation and stilling: This means attaining concentration. Cessation and stilling are of two kinds: there is the cessation and stilling of the worldly, and the cessation and stilling of the Way.

The cessation and stilling of the worldly: It is like ceasing from laziness through the toil of labor, but abiding only very slightly.

The cessation and stilling of the Way: This is one who practices concentration. Whence is this known?

Long ago there was a bhikkhu named Samiddhi(?) (Equal Assembly), who sat in meditation and entered concentration near the side of a great road. At that time, five hundred carts passed by, the noise being very violent, yet the one who sat in meditation remained wholly unaware of anything. Then the sky again gave forth continuous thunder and lightning, and in a moment the ground quaked, yet the bhikkhu, having entered concentration, neither heard nor knew it at all.

As people passed by, the various kinds of dust ever more covered and clung to his robe. Someone drew near and saw this bhikkhu sitting upright and motionless, dust clinging all over his robe, all without his being aware. The bhikkhu emerged from concentration and cheerfully brushed off the dust.

The passersby asked: Were you just now asleep? He answered: No. They asked again: If you were not asleep, then how is it that just now a train of carts passed by, the sky thundered and lightninged, and the ground quaked, yet you neither knew nor were startled?

The bhikkhu answered: At that time I had entered the samādhi of cessation and stilling, and so I neither heard nor knew anything.

According to this, then, one who attains the concentration of cessation and stilling—though heaven and earth should collapse, does not change his resolve. Therefore it is called the concentration of cessation and stilling.

– Mindfulness of the breath: This is the cutting off of the various restless rushings during seated meditation. The path leading toward the Way is not a single road alone. The directions and bearings of awakening each have their place. Whence is this known?

The story is told that the Venerable Śāriputra, in ages long past, once made offerings to fourteen koṭis of Buddhas, following the Buddhas and hearing the Dharma, yet had never practiced the method of mindfulness of the breath. In the time of the Buddha Śākyamuni, following the bhikkhu Aśvajit, he first attained the Dharma of emptiness and thereby saw the "Traces of the Way." The Buddha expounded it fully; his wisdom was complete, his fetters exhausted, his comprehension penetrating, and he is now foremost in wisdom—not having attained Nirvana through the method of mindfulness of the breath.

The Venerable Maudgalyāyana, of old, throughout thirty kalpas made offerings to the Buddhas and cultivated the practice of the Great Vehicle, yet could not bring it to completion; he met the World-Honored One and withdrew to hold the rank of "Exhaustion of the outflows." From of old until now he had never practiced the method of mindfulness of the breath.

The bhikkhu Kāśyapa, of old, likewise once made offerings to thirty thousand Tathagatas, yet had never cultivated the method of mindfulness of the breath, and so attained the fruit of Pratyekabuddha; now he has fallen back to become an Arhat.

The bhikkhu Aśvajit, of old, likewise made offerings to seven Buddhas, and likewise did not cultivate the method of mindfulness of the breath; now he too has exhausted all the outflows.

The Venerable Ananda, of old, once made offerings to twenty thousand Tathagatas, and had followed the Buddhas in inquiring and receiving the teaching, yet likewise did not practice the counting of breaths.

Only Rāhula and Mahākapphiṇa, from of old until now, have constantly practiced this method, and now too have attained the Way.

According to this, then, the path leading toward the Way is not a single road alone.

Mindfulness of the breath: This is to know the breath as long or short, cold or hot, slow or swift, from the coarse to the subtle, gradually subduing the disordered thoughts and reaching the subtle and wondrous. Some awaken by means of the breath. Some discriminate in order to understand clearly. Some practice the dhūta austerities to preserve self-restraint. Some are learned and remember well. Some, through supernatural powers, know deeply and far. Some by purification, some by instruction, come to awaken. This is what is called "different roads" that yet "converge upon a single place."

– Mindfulness of the body: This means discriminating the four great elements and understanding clearly the five aggregates, all of which are alike illusory dreams. Whence is it known that mindfulness of the body reaches Nirvana?

Long ago, about a hundred years after the Buddha entered Nirvana, there was King Aśoka, lord of the continent of Jambudvīpa, whose ministers, consorts, elephants, and horses each numbered eighty-four thousand. At that time, the king made a circuit throughout the country and saw that King Yama had eighteen hells, also with officials who performed the work of assembling and interrogating the offenders. King Aśoka asked those about him: What manner of men are these?

They answered: This is the king of the dead, who presides over the discrimination of good and evil. The king said: The king of the dead is yet able to create hells in which to punish offenders. I am the king of the living; can I not also create hells?

He thereupon asked his ministers: Who can perform this work? The ministers said: Only a man of utmost wickedness can create hells. The king commanded his ministers to go and seek out a wicked man.

The ministers received the command and went searching everywhere, and saw a man sitting on the ground weaving wool, with a bow and arrows beside him, together with various implements for hooking and catching fish. He also used poisoned rice to lure sparrows. While weaving wool, he at the same time hooked fish, shot birds, and caught sparrows.

The ministers returned to the palace and reported to the king that there was such a wicked man. The king said: This man is utterly wicked and will surely be able to carry out the affairs of the hells. The king sent a man to tell him: The Great King wishes to see you!

The wicked man answered: I am a lowly fellow, without understanding. What use has the king for me? The official said: The king wishes to obtain you to administer the affairs of the hells.

The wicked man then returned to his home, where he had an aged mother, and said to his mother: The king has sent a man to summon me. The mother asked: For what does the king summon you? The son replied: The king wishes to send me to administer the affairs of the hells.

The mother said: If you go, how shall I survive? Having spoken, the mother then clutched her son's leg tightly and would not let go. The son, his intent already set on going, then drew a knife and slew his mother, and went to the king.

The king asked: Your mother would not release you; how did you manage to come here? He reported: I slew my mother and came. The king pronounced: Truly a wicked man, who will surely be able to perform well the affairs of the hells.

He then assigned this man to build the walls of the hells, to set up cauldrons of boiling water and forests of swords, and reverently installed him as king of the hells, and likewise established assistant officials, all conforming to the regulations of King Yama. The king carefully charged him: If anyone enters this city, there is no need to ask whether he is noble or base—you have full authority to punish him. The king further said: Even should I myself enter therein, do not let me out.

At that time, there was an elderly bhikkhu named Samartha(?) (Excellent Awakening), who was always going about begging for alms, and came to the gate of this city. Standing outside, he saw beautiful flowers giving forth fragrance, and supposing that there were people within, he entered, only to see offenders being punished. Terrified, he wished to go back out, but the jailers would not allow it, and instead led him toward the cauldron of boiling water.

The man of the Way cried out for help, saying: I beg you, spare me until midday. In a short while, two persons, a man and a woman, having committed the offense of sexual misconduct, were led in here to be punished. The two were placed in a great mortar, and the jailers used a pestle to pound and grind them, and in a moment they turned into a mass of foam.

When the man of the Way saw this, he then recalled the words the Buddha had taught: The human body is like a gathered mass of foam. How true that teaching is! In an instant they again turned into a white color.

The man of the Way again reflected: The human body is like a heap of white ashes, changing and not single, like an illusion, like a phantom; examined closely, it is not real. Thereupon his mind awakened, his outflows were exhausted, his fetters at an end. The jailers again urged and forced him toward the cauldron of boiling water.

The old bhikkhu gave a faint smile. The jailers, enraged, ordered four men to grip him firmly under both arms and thrust him headlong into the cauldron, whereupon the boiling water immediately became cold water. The bhikkhu then transformed into a thousand lotus blossoms, and within the lotus blossoms he sat in the full lotus posture.

The jailers, terrified, reported to King Aśoka: Now in the hell there is a strange and marvelous matter; we humbly beg the king to spare a little time to come and look upon it. The king said: I previously charged him strictly: Even should I myself enter therein, he is not to let me out. How then can I now enter there?

The official reported: You need only enter; you will suffer no harm. The king then followed him in, and saw the man of the Way sitting calmly upon a lotus blossom. The king asked: Who are you?

He answered: I am a man of the Way. The man of the Way said to the king: The king is a deluded man. The king asked: Why do you call me a deluded man?

The man of the Way said: In ages past, when you were a young boy, you used a handful of earth to offer up to the Buddha; the Buddha accepted it and blessed you, saying: In the future you shall become king of the continent of Jambudvīpa, an Iron-Wheel King named Aśoka, and in a single day you shall erect eighty-four thousand stupas for the Buddha. Is this hell a stupa for the Buddha? The king's mind thereupon awakened, and so he repented of his former faults, took Samartha(?) as his teacher, abolished the hell, promoted merit, and erected eighty-four thousand stupas and shrines.

According to this, then, mindfulness of the body attains Nirvana—such is its meaning.

What is reaching Nirvana through mindfulness of death?

Long ago, King Aśoka revered the Dharma and was diligent, constantly making offerings to five hundred members of the Saṅgha within the inner palace, the four requisites never lacking. Outside, he likewise provided for five hundred alms-mendicants dwelling in the araṇya (forest hermitages). He further bestowed requisites upon five hundred persons, making offerings accordingly.

At the four gates of the city he established places of provision for the poor and destitute. Making offerings and provisions so abundantly and over so long a time, his wealth and treasures gradually diminished. At that time, the king's younger brother, named Sugātra(?), did not believe in the Three Jewels.

The great minister Yaśas and the consort Sundarī(?) likewise did not believe. The three, of one mind, brought trouble upon the king, constantly remonstrating: Making offerings to the men of the Way causes the wealth of the state to be exhausted; why do you perform such acts? The king said: You ought to guard your words well.

As for a scholar dwelling in the world, the reason his body is beheaded is on account of evil speech. Sugātra(?) said to the king: These men of the Way are all young in years; they take constant pleasure in food and drink, their lustful desires growing ever stronger, and they dwell within the deep palace, in a place with many women—how can they be trusted? The king said: The men of the Way constantly subdue their forms, using the Dharma to restrain themselves; they reduce their bodies and keep the precepts, not driven about by sensual desire.

Afterward, Sugātra(?) went hunting and saw a herd of deer, and in their midst was a man who had spread a net to surround and catch them. Sugātra(?) met this man and asked: Who are you? He answered: When I was eight years old, I lost both my parents and fled into the mountains, where I drank the milk of deer, and have done so from then until now.

He asked again: When the deer have no milk, what do you eat? He answered: I follow the herd of deer in eating grass and leaves to sustain myself. He asked again: Have you ever had desire?

He answered: Yes.

Sugātra(?) returned to the palace and reported the matter to the king: That man eats grass and leaves, his body lean and thin, yet he still has lustful feelings; how much more so the men of the Way, who eat and drink with pleasure and whose bodies are robust—how could they be without lustful feelings? The king reflected within himself: What means should I devise to convert this younger brother? He thereupon set up a stratagem, falsely announcing that he was about to go out on an excursion, gathering a great host of troops and attendants, and putting all in order to set forth.

The king secretly returned to the palace and hid himself, not appearing. The king had previously discussed with his ministers: If I go out on an excursion, afterward you should elevate my younger brother to be king. The ministers then urged the king's younger brother to try on the royal robes.

The younger brother feigned unwillingness. The ministers said: Only try them on before us. The younger brother then put on the royal robes and donned the royal crown, and the ministers all shouted: Ten thousand years!

Attendants stood on left and right, as in the dharma of a Sage King. King Aśoka, having seen the matter clearly, then came in from outside and said: Who is it that is like the Great King? The younger brother, seeing the king, was ashamed and his face flushed red, not knowing what to do.

King Aśoka said: I had just gone out on an excursion; why then did you straightway do this thing? Is my Iron Wheel no longer in being, that thus, with matters barely come to this, you already regard it as though there were no one? In but a moment I shall have you beheaded.

He thereupon ordered the ministers to seize and bind him, putting him in the cangue and fetters, and secretly sent a trusted person to tell the man of the Way: Mindful-of-Good has this intent; you should come to deliver him. (The king said within himself:) I wished to kill you, but considering that you have been king too briefly and have not yet satisfied your wish, I now again entrust you to be king for seven days, exactly according to my royal dharma, with ministers in attendance, palace women and singing-girls, and food and drink presented to you.

After satisfying your wish for seven days, you shall undergo the punishment. The matter was carried out just as instructed, yet Sugātra(?) no longer had any heart to take pleasure in himself. The man of the Way came to make request, holding his bowl and leaning upon his staff, and went to the gate of the king's palace.

The king asked: Master, what do you come to request? He answered: I wish to ask for the condemned man. The king said: This offender deserves death; the man of the Way may not ask for him.

The man of the Way said again: I only ask to make him one who cultivates the practice; I shall cause him to study the Way. The king said: Ask him whether he can study the Way. The man of the Way then went to the offender and asked: Now I ask you to become a śrāmaṇera—can it be done?

He answered: Even to be made a slave I would accept, how much more to become a śrāmaṇera. The king pronounced: To be a man of the Way is very difficult; you must examine carefully whether you can do it. The dharma of one who cultivates the practice is to wear coarse clothing and to eat and drink austerely, only so as to preserve one's life and practice the Way.

You are accustomed to much pleasure; how can you endure such ascetic hardships? He answered: I deserved death and have been granted life—how could I not endure ascetic hardships? The king said: If you can endure it, then it is permitted.

He caused him to beg for alms for seven days. The king instructed those within the palace: When Sugātra(?) comes to beg for alms, give him only the very worst food, or the various leftovers, spoiled and rancid. Sugātra(?), wearing old and tattered robes, went to the various rooms to beg for alms, and everywhere he obtained only the worst food.

Because of the weighty feeling of having escaped death, did he not willingly eat such poor food? When the full seven days had passed, the king, seeing that his younger brother had no regret, then permitted him to cultivate the Way, saying: You constantly said: The men of the Way live at ease and have much lustful desire; they are not to be trusted. The place where you have just begged for alms was within the king's inner palace, and even so it was refined.

The man of the Way begs for alms far worse than this; with food and drink such as this, how could there be any lustful desire? He thereupon entrusted Mindful-of-Good to become a śramaṇa and sent him to the city of Stone Chamber (Śilāgṛha?). Within that city he practiced the various meditative contemplations.

Sometimes he dwelt in the charnel ground, sometimes at the foot of a tree. At that time, in the charnel ground, contemplating the corpses of the dead, in the night he saw a hungry ghost beating a corpse. The śramaṇa Sugātra(?) asked: Why do you beat this corpse?

It answered: Because it caused me such misery, for that reason I beat it. The man of the Way said: Why do you not beat your own mind? What benefit is there in beating this corpse?

In a short while there was again a deva, who scattered celestial Mandārava flowers upon a corpse. The man of the Way again asked: Why do you scatter flowers upon this foul-smelling dead body? It answered: It was by means of this corpse that I was reborn in the heavens.

This corpse is my good friend, and so I have come here to scatter flowers in repayment of the kindness of former days. The man of the Way said: Why do you not scatter flowers within your own mind, but instead scatter flowers upon this foul-smelling corpse? Now, the root of good and evil lies entirely in the mind; do you then abandon the root and choose the branch?

At that time, Sugātra(?) reflected within himself: From death I was granted life; through this cause and condition I have obtained liberation. With regard to the contemplation of the body and this mindfulness of death, he reflected and discriminated, understanding clearly impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self (non-body), and thereupon attained Arhatship. According to this, then, mindfulness of death likewise reaches Nirvana.

THE END — FASCICLE 3