辟支佛因緣論

The king of the country of Bārāṇasī had the causes and conditions to meet a Pratyekabuddha.

The Assistant Minister Soma also had the conditions to meet a Pratyekabuddha.

The kings and the Elders (Gṛhapati) in the country of Bārāṇasī had affinities with the Pratyekabuddhas.

I take refuge in the all-knowing World-Honored One,

Who clearly knows the three times, the bright light of the lamp.

I take refuge in the unsurpassed essence of the Dharma,

And further I meet the true Holy Saṅgha.

I have heard of the tranquil Pratyekabuddha,

Who clearly understands the causes and conditions of what is to be practiced.

His mind is without the stain of afflictions,

He nobly upholds the precepts and is able to be pure,

Like the autumn sky with no clouds covering it,

Unafraid of being obscured by dense forests.

I now thirst and aspire for those merits,

With sincere mind I respectfully comply, giving rise to faith and joy.

Though there in that place one may wish to harbor doubt,

That power moves one to cultivate and increase firm faith.

Hearing what is pure, one swiftly attains the practice of truth,

Yet does not give rise to a mind of faith and reverence.

I now shall speak of the Pratyekabuddha,

A small portion of his wondrous and meritorious conduct.

Of old, from the Patriarchs, I have heard it transmitted;

I speak only the true text, I do not tell lies.

As the great elephant goes along the road, the small elephant follows—

Therefore I now disclose and reveal it.

It is asked: By what causes and conditions does the Pratyekabuddha maintain stillness, fearing entry into the mind of society, yet dwelling in the quiet and secluded forest of trees; at the bank of the silent river he sets his mind to carry out this work of stillness. Moreover he speaks not a single word, like the rhinoceros with a single horn—how can it be thus?

Again it is asked: What merit does the Pratyekabuddha have?

The reply: This is gathered from what the ancient Masters have said about this matter.

In olden times, when the Buddha was in the palace of the Heaven of the Thirty-three to expound the Dharma, and afterward wished to descend again to Jambudvīpa.

At that time Śakra commanded Viśvakarman, saying: For the Buddha's sake, create three precious roads to return to Jambudvīpa. These three stairway roads extended down to the country of Sāṃkāśya. The Tathāgata at that time, from the palace in that heaven, ascended those stairs and descended.

At that time Śakra and Brahmā, the heavenly kings, together with their retinues, rained down flowers as offerings. At that time the Bhikṣuṇī Utpalavarṇā, seeing the Buddha descend first, immediately transformed herself into a Wheel-Turning Sage King, with a dignified and majestic form, the seven treasures adorning her everywhere. Then everyone, seeing such a thing, all gave rise to doubt that it was something never before seen, and spoke these words: Surely there must be someone who uses transcendent spiritual power surpassing that Bhikṣuṇī?

At that time the World-Honored One, seeing that everyone, beholding those three roads of stairs, gave rise to delight, and also seeing that the Bhikṣuṇī Utpalavarṇā had produced this spiritual transformation so that many people gave rise to longing and aspiration. Because he wished to make that faithful mind believe, he then said: There is a Pratyekabuddha whose spiritual power is loftier and more sublime than this Bhikṣuṇī.

His renown surpasses hers; there is one who delights, as when the Buddha has not yet appeared in the world, he then comes into the world for the sake of beings to do works of benefit. To display this form and appearance he manifests hunger and thirst, receiving robes and food. To create a field of merit he adorns the various practices of the Dharma.

For the sake of pure tranquil cessation and the subduing and renunciation of desire, so as to cause beings to see this, and those with evil minds then forsake knives and staffs, like the rhinoceros encountering some small matter.

The Masters transmit to one another the hearing of this matter. What was heard? — I have of old heard that in the time of Buddha Kāśyapa there was one who went forth from home, living to the age of ten thousand years, cultivating the pure conduct (brahmacarya) and upholding the right precepts. He cultivated patience throughout, and was constantly diligent in cultivation.

Because of this, many Bhikṣus would come to draw near. At that time the Bhikṣus said to one another: In cultivating one shall be taught, one shall be able to learn and inquire. The minds of these Bhikṣus were all gentle, yet there were also some who were noisy and clamorous, and so they did not see the truth.

At the time of death he then thought: I have seen the Ten Powers, and this place where the Dharma is expounded is truly subtle, wondrous, and profound, hard to be heard; yet I was able to hear it. But if one is heedless and dissipated then one cannot attain the fruit of the Way. I have constantly been pure in upholding the precepts and able to practice the conduct of patient endurance and to teach and transform beings, regarding that noise and clamor as injuring and ruining the concentrated mind, like that frost which obscures and harms the fine rice plants.

Therefore it caused me not to attain the fruit of the Way. Thereupon he spoke a verse, saying:

I now sink in the three realms,

Within the various afflictions,

Like an old and feeble elephant

Not yet mired deep in the mud.

Like that Pratyekabuddha

Who meets with those mountains and forests,

Like the rhinoceros with a single horn,

Far removed from the assemblies of disciples.

As one departs from a fierce blaze of fire,

One should quickly cultivate the Way,

Far removed from places of noise and clamor.

I vow that I shall depart far

From those companions of bustle and uproar.

Having uttered this vow, when his life ended he was reborn in the heavens, and in that heavenly realm enjoyed the pleasures of desire. When his merit was exhausted he was reborn in the country of Kāśi; in that city of Bārāṇasī, the foremost consort of King Brahmadatta conceived, and he then entered the womb within the body of the consort; like a soft and tender flower within a pool of clear water. At that time the consort knew she was with child; so with a verse she addressed the king:

I sense that I am with child,

Joyful, yet giving rise to anxiety.

This will surely be a son.

Proclaim amnesty for the guilty.

The king, hearing this, was truly delighted,

And forthwith sought out those who had been condemned.

She further addressed the king, saying:

I wish to give alms far and wide.

The king, hearing this, also rejoiced in accord,

And had the granaries of grain opened,

Supplying the poor and destitute—

There was none who was not fully provided.

At that time the consort gave birth to the Prince, upright and beautiful, like the full moon. By the age of eight he was truly intelligent and benevolent; when that king passed away, the people of the country loved and mourned him, their grief filling everywhere. At that time there was an Assistant Minister called Vacana.

He then raised the Prince to the throne as king. Only one year later, in accordance with the power of his original vow, he did not commit any evil deeds; his nature was gentle and good, and he had a mind of deep compassion for all beings. He wished only to dwell in silence within the royal palace, using a flower pavilion as his abode.

Further, in that place of clamor he cultivated meditative concentration (dhyāna), wishing to depart from birth and death, and expressed this. Using the Way to cultivate his mind, he forsook the affairs of kingship. The ministers admonished him, saying: Now Your Majesty only attends to practicing the Way and does not attend to the affairs of the state.

If it be thus, then bands of the wicked may rise up and ruin the proper customs and culture. Just as in crossing the sea, if there is no ferryman, there will surely come fierce calamity. Then they spoke a verse, saying:

The king inherits from the Ancestors,

The land is held according to the Dharma.

Though you rule the myriad people,

You vow to relinquish that country.

If the king governs by the true Dharma,

The worthy and good will not grow few.

The throne of the king should be made clearly great—

Guarding the country, this merit surpasses all.

At that time this king, having heard those words, sighed and pondered, and then replied with a verse, saying:

If I do not govern the country,

My country must surely be lost.

By my power I can hold the country;

The wicked can hardly invade and harm it.

If I were one who governs the country,

The affairs of kingship would lie upon my mind.

If there were one who committed a crime,

Then necessarily one must add to or take away.

These words would bind that one,

Would sever that one's hands and feet,

That one would have to enter into the crime of death,

That one would wish to flee these very eyes.

As in this present evil age,

One must therefore maintain punishments.

Yet if one carries out punishment upon the guilty,

That is to be a Caṇḍāla.

Thereupon the king said to his close ministers: Now hear this, all of you: The place where I eat and drink is not of excessive flavors; the place where I clothe myself does not exceed one set of garments. The place where I sit does not exceed a single spot to hold my body. Looking from this, what need is there to do much, not knowing what is enough?

The throne of the king is but an honored title. Take this as instruction, making those deeds be but words of admonition. Only this should be preserved for the people.

He further said to the Assistant Minister: Though the kingship is a place of importance, I have only this one thing: that I now shall hand over to you the throne, and you should, for the sake of future ages, govern the country with the true Dharma, so as to guard against the remnant rebels and bandits remaining from former times. And then he spoke a verse, saying:

Though I was born in the royal palace,

Receiving the inheritance of the Ancestors,

Yet I have never learned

The slaughter and the various transgressions.

Now I am exceedingly afraid;

I should not create this karma.

You should take my place,

Constantly teaching and instructing the people for me.

The people of the world, through folly and delusion,

Each in turn create their own errors.

From the place of committing crimes,

There further arises anxiety and fear.

You should take the true Dharma

And reveal it to them—do not be afraid.

Rely upon the true Dharma

And reveal it to the people.

When the king had finished speaking the verse, he then handed over the country to the Great Minister, and the Great Minister thereupon received the country. For two years he gave nothing in charity to the people. His mind and intent grew wanton, creating various unlawful deeds, and as time went on and through holding lofty power and weighty office, there arose arrogance, conceit, and heedlessness, and he did unlawful deeds as numerous as the rivers and mountains, causing much damage and ruin.

He gathered up all the various taxes within the city. At that time the people within the city all remonstrated about this. The king, hearing those straightforward words, then gave rise to wrath redoubled, and at once changed his countenance and said: How dare you speak such words!

Do you not fear the awesome power of the king?

Because of this conduct, day by day it increased, like fire meeting dry firewood, turning into a great blaze. Wanton, debauched, and violently rebellious, contrary to reason and against the Way. The king was infatuated with women and moreover violated their chastity. At that time the king's consort, seeing this, was distressed and wept, and came to admonish the king; but because of his deluded and haughty mind, his lips merely quivered and he spoke not a word, like a child watching. Because of this she addressed the king. The king, having heard it, then summoned her and said: I have caused the consort constantly to endure in silence, and I am wont to do unlawful deeds that harm the myriad people, whereas a king ought to instruct and admonish; from this time onward I shall not be so again.

At that time that Assistant Minister, seeing that the king still harbored doubt about this, thereby causing the people to forsake and abandon him; he then left the country and departed to another country, and met that king there together with his soldiers, and then turned together toward his homeland, wishing to lead the army on a punitive campaign. At that time in his own country there were the old former Assistant Ministers who used troops to strike back and defeat this army, and there arose mutual stabbing and slaughter.

The old Assistant Ministers further addressed the king, saying: That man wishes to invade and seize the throne. They then, together with that general, did battle at the king's place. At that time the king's countenance changed, and he then manifested shame and a look of terror.

The king said: Truly how dreadful is birth and death! And then he spoke a verse, saying:

Folly and delusion have obscured and lost the mind;

One does not understand the great suffering that comes after.

Because of the conditions of small pleasures,

Now one receives this regret.

It is like eating delicious rice,

The flavors all complete and full,

Yet within it filled with poison—

The fool does not see it.

Coveting the flavor he takes and eats it;

Having eaten, it turns into harm.

The king said to the Assistant Ministers: Those transgressions are so many they cannot be counted; therefore my intent is that I do not wish to repeat them. And then he spoke a verse, saying:

All of this comes from craving (love).

Proclaim that the guilty be quickly pardoned.

Do not see their lives harmed,

So that they may attain peace and joy.

The committing of crimes is truly deep and profound,

So one should turn toward a mind of loving-kindness.

They themselves brought the crime upon themselves,

So one should give rise to a mind of compassion and care.

If one harms those lives,

One destroys the very Dharma that is beloved.

The old former ministers then addressed the king, saying: If we now go against the king's command, we shall surely be punished. In the end they would not let go, and then before the king they brandished swords and stabbed and slew. The king, seeing this, then gave rise to a mind that departs far from evil deeds.

Seeing again the former scene, just as in the past he had a mind cultivating patient endurance. At that time he sought to open up and clearly reveal the path of the Pratyekabuddha. Like the utpala flower blooming open, he then used his body to rise into empty space, and all the attendants and close servants joined their palms in reverence toward the Pratyekabuddha who had departed far from birth and death; thus he realized the Way.

I now have attained the fruit and recompense of upholding the precepts, and then he spoke a verse, saying:

Though I wear pearls and treasures,

My mind cultivates the conduct of pure conduct.

I restrain the body and subdue the faculties,

Plain and simple, constantly silent.

Toward all people

I cast away knives and staffs and all such things.

I cultivate alone this one matter,

Like the rhinoceros with a single horn.

When he had finished speaking that verse, his hair then fell off of itself. At that time the gods of the Pure Abode (Śuddhāvāsa) offered the kāṣāya robe, and he then made his way into empty space, to the snowy mountains. At that time within the mountains there was a Pratyekabuddha who asked: At the place of that kingship, departing far from evil deeds, how did you awaken to this Way?

He then spoke the verse as above to reply. This is because the Tathāgata, for the sake of those who cannot cultivate the practice of patience, therefore spoke of the causes and conditions of patient endurance. Because of greed one draws near to places of noise and clamor; therefore it is said one should not draw near—the causes and conditions thereof—wishing to make clearly known the merits of the Pratyekabuddha.

For this reason it is spoken of the causes and conditions of the Pratyekabuddha. The Buddha, for the sake of the devas in the Hall of the Good Dharma, spoke of the causes and conditions of the Pratyekabuddha. The Buddha, in the Heaven of the Thirty-three, caused the devas to give rise to a mind that departs far from evil deeds.

Therefore it is spoken of the Pratyekabuddha Vāsiṣṭha. Then at Vaiśālī he spoke of the relinquishing of the body and entry into Nirvāṇa. Now there exists a precious stūpa named Udāyī, and the Assistant Minister Soma awakened to the causes and conditions of the Pratyekabuddha.

Firmly upholding the precepts without ruining them,

The wise and learned attain liberation,

Not learning from that one, not troubling that one,

Alone in this one matter like the rhinoceros.

I had never heard this matter from such Masters. In the time of Buddha Kāśyapa there was a Bhikṣu who lived to the age of ten thousand years cultivating the pure conduct (brahmacarya); in sitting meditation he constantly cultivated and upheld the precepts, departing from places of noise and clamor to practice the ascetic conduct (dhūta). At the end of his life he was reborn in the heavens. In the heavenly palace he enjoyed the pleasures of desire. When his lifespan in the heavenly realm was fulfilled, he was reborn into the womb of the consort of the Assistant Minister Deva in the city of Pāṭāliputra. At that time the consort then spoke a verse to address her husband, saying:

I am with child;

My mind is wont to be joyful and glad.

Surely a person of merit

Comes to be my child.

Because of this matter, even up to now I have constantly been compassionate toward all. Furthermore now I have stilled the mind of wanton indulgence, and then I have no thought of the pleasures of desire. Like that Mount Malaya in the sea which can cause the ocean waves to subside, so do I still all my cravings and desires.

I now fear false speech, and am constantly wont to speak the truth. Again, like one who has good merit fearing the faults of others, I now am also thus. I now look upon wine as upon poison.

I fear those riches and goods as I fear a heap of fire. All such evil things I depart far from. Because of all this, since I am now carrying a child of merit and virtue, I take no delight in matters of lust.

At that time the Assistant Minister then said to his wife: Now as you please, cultivate the five precepts. At that time the consort performed all good deeds. After ten months she then gave birth to this child, named Soma.

And the child gradually grew up; of all the scriptures and treatises, even of the sixty-four arts, there were none he did not penetrate and master; upright and excellent like the full moon, he was able to fulfill the wishes of his father and mother. When he reached adulthood the Assistant Minister addressed the king, saying: I am now aged; for the sake of the future life, please make merit on my behalf. At that time the king replied: I now cannot make merit for you, for there are obstacles.

You may use your son Soma and take him to serve me, doing good in your stead. The Assistant Minister rejoiced, and afterward the king employed Soma as Assistant Minister, bestowing emoluments and salary even greater than his father's. Everyone respected and loved him, and they came together to visit the place of the Great Minister Vṛṣabharāja (the Bull King) of former days, which made the daughters of that place yearn and long for him.

At that time the king's consort loved Soma. She said to Soma: If you now can act according to my words and overthrow this country—when the king is dead, I shall follow you. And I can also make it so that you incur no ill repute.

This is also a place of the bestowal of the teaching of the Dharma, no different from that with the king. At that time Soma held firm his resolve and was not weak or cowardly, and with a verse he replied, saying:

I beg you to hear my words:

I am not yet clear, I have my doubts.

When I hear these words of yours,

It is as water flowing into the earth.

It is like a wild horse

That, when it comes to hardship

And falls into the circle of battle,

Dares not advance forward.

When I see that woman,

My feeling is not stained nor attached;

My mind and intent do not open,

Like the flower of the night.

In all that I revere,

It is no different from my mother;

How much more toward a husband—

Whom I am wont to honor.

My mind holds firm,

Revering what is worthy of reverence.

For the sake of my station as son,

I will not become a rebel or bandit.

Together with my lust,

At the moment it arises,

Seeing that woman,

It naturally comes to a stop.

Should the waters surge up,

Many times with waves and wind,

I am like the autumn water,

Naturally pure and clean.

At that time the consort thought to herself: If that one cuts me off, dwelling close to that intent of mine, I surely shall give rise to slander against him. Then she at once addressed the king: The Assistant Minister Soma has formed an unreasonable intent, wishing to violate and seize me. At that time the king felt doubt, judging whether it was so or not so.

Meanwhile Soma went to that garden and saw two oxen bearing the yoke, plowing and harrowing on a height, truly so utterly toiling and bitter, and he gave rise to a mind that departs from evil. At that time the king was moved and believed the slanderous words of the consort, and then issued an order to go and kill Soma. At that time Soma, like a horse shot by an arrow striking the bone, then contemplated: When a person is wealthy he loves and cherishes beautiful forms to the very end—up until now.

It is like eating poison within delicious foods; when one wishes to digest it the body then decays and is ruined. As one who covets the five desires, this flavor is exceedingly deep and intense. It is also like roof tiles of gold burned by fire.

The one who covets forms, entering within, is harmed. When his life was about to end, his mind and intent were anxious, and then he consoled himself, thinking: I am wont to uphold the precepts purely without ruining or violating them; I am one who upholds the precepts, clearly as the yak loves its tail; I uphold the precepts, like one who covets being sheltered by the earth, exhorting himself to guard them, and he spoke a verse, saying:

The coarse and foul of the evil paths—

I have already passed through them.

When I meet with peril and urgency,

I guard the precepts and do not relinquish them.

Like the great ocean sea

Which does not lose anything from any place,

Now I guard and uphold the precepts;

This matter is likewise so.

When he had finished speaking this verse, at that time the devas and the good spirits, seeing this Assistant Minister vow thus, all gave rise to joy. Thereupon the evil ghosts came to the consort, and the consort went mad; then before the king, because of the ghost, she spoke a verse, saying:

I am now destroyed,

This body of mine receives death.

I am wholly a good person,

One should not add to my grief and pain.

I encountered folly and delusion;

His mouth is like Mount Sumeru,

Which cannot be moved.

He truly has no evil conduct.

I forgot, and gave rise to this doubt.

At that time that Assistant Minister, within the flower garden, contemplating departure from evil, attained Pratyekabuddhahood, ascending into empty space, and his hair fell down. At that time the gods of the Pure Abode offered the kāṣāya robe. Then the devas exhorted and entreated, saying: We pray you do not forsake us and ascend up into the heavens. At that time the Pratyekabuddha spoke the verse as above to reply to the devas, and flew to the snowy mountains, met the various Pratyekabuddhas as in the matter above, and told it in full.

The Great Minister Candrapriya (Beloved of the Moon) awakened to his affinity with the Pratyekabuddha.

The ocean sea does not exceed its bounds;

The yak clings to its tail unto death.

As the nature of the moon is cool of itself

And cannot be transformed into heat,

So one who subdues the various faculties

And upholds the precepts is likewise.

This is called: the conduct of solitude,

Like the rhinoceros without a second.

From of old, the various Great Masters,

Changing the forms, taught and instructed.

I have heard much before;

Now I wish to disclose and expound this.

In a certain past time there was a Pratyekabuddha named Candrapriya (Beloved of the Moon) who, at the place of the Buddha Bhagavat Bhāgava-bhāgavadeva, planted the various roots of goodness, was wont to cultivate the practice of the precepts, and constantly used wisdom to contemplate the aggregates (skandhas), all of which are impermanent. At the place of that Buddha he did not attain the fruit of the Śramaṇa, and when his life ended he was reborn into the heavens.

By the power of goodness in former lives, he enjoyed the pleasures of the heavenly realm, and when this was exhausted, he returned to become a human, born into the house of an Elder (Gṛhapati) in the country of Campā. When first born he constantly relied upon the precepts to cultivate himself. Regarding these good deeds, he surpassed even the most venerable elders, and moreover he was not frivolous nor easily provoked, and had no anger.

His wealth and possessions he all gave to supply the poor, distributing equally according to each household. He used the precepts as an adornment to adorn himself. When his father died, he governed the household in accordance with the Dharma.

The people of that city, seeing this loyalty and filial piety, gave rise to a mind of deep reverence and faith, as toward their own Master. When he reached adulthood, his features and appearance were upright. Among the maidens, all who saw him there was none who did not love and cherish him.

The merchants and traders, because of this loyalty and truthfulness, came to rely upon him.

At that time in the northern quarter there were merchants who, riding fine carts, came to the country of Campā, and the king of the country of Campā took away all these carts. The king's mind was cruel and tyrannical, not believing in nor relying upon the true Dharma. The king thought to himself: I have now taken many of those carts; how shall I obtain them, getting these carts without paying a price for them?

Then together with his flattering ministers he assembled to discuss this matter. The flattering ministers addressed the king, saying: If you order payment, then the value in the treasury will be exhausted. The king then replied: If I now do not pay the price for them, then I shall be an evil man, and my name will be spread throughout the world; all the people of the country will be angry with me, and moreover I would sever relations with the merchants of every place, would I not?

The deceitful ministers further addressed him: For Your Majesty we have a plan. Without paying money you may still obtain those carts and horses. And it may also be made so that the king incurs no ill repute before the people of the country, and is not reproached.

At that time within the kingdom there was the Great Minister Candrapriya, who for the sake of all people manifested a heart of trustworthiness. He came and reported to the king, saying: "I, Candrapriya, shall send gold to assist Your Majesty in paying those merchants, to buy all those ten thousand carts and horses. For each cart I shall pay ten thousand strings of cash." If the king trusts the words of this Great Minister Candrapriya to pay them, then the people of the country will surely give rise to doubt and suspicion—either doubting the king, or doubting Candrapriya.

The king would incur ill repute, and inevitably it would spread abroad. Moreover it is not for the sake of the myriad people to depart from evil; and those merchant houses afterward again addressed the king, saying: Return the horses to us, so that we may return home. The king then replied: Did I not previously use Candrapriya to reward you all thus?

Can it again be unworthy in this way? The merchants then replied to the king, saying: This Candrapriya, from beginning to end, truly never paid us the price for those horses; yet would that loyalty and faith of his cast away his very life here? In the end he speaks no false words; those words match the price-payment of which we speak.

And then they spoke a verse, saying:

Suppose the moon, the rain, and fire—

Suppose the heavens rained down ice-water,

Suppose pressing sand could yield oil,

Or pressing water could yield vinegar,

Or within fire the lotus could grow—

Even so, to make Candrapriya there

Utter false speech in any way

In the end is not possible here.

The merchants again addressed the king, saying: You are a man placed between Heaven and Earth; order Candrapriya, and in accordance with the king's edict let him speak with us. We in the end have no anger. At that time the king then summoned Candrapriya and said: Did you not before, in my presence, promise me that you and I would take money to reward the merchants?

The king then glared with his eyes, manifesting a cunning and sinister look: If you do not follow me, I shall kill you. At that time the Minister Candrapriya himself knew his fault and contemplated: From today I must speak the truth, for in using the king's words I again plotted within myself, that to guard the Dharma-body is superior even to this very body, far surpassing it; so he then resolved upon a plan: I would rather cast away this body, but I resolve never to forsake the body of the precepts and the Dharma.

And then he spoke a verse, saying:

I now contemplate myself:

Of these two bodies,

Which body should I forsake?

In truth I observe myself.

Should I harm this foul and ugly form,

In the end I will not forsake the precepts and discipline.

If I must forsake the Dharma-body,

An ill name will be transmitted and spread.

If it be in the hands of good people,

It is for them a thing to be maintained;

But if I should be among the wicked,

I myself would have no peace nor joy.

The mind gives rise to the hot fire of remorse;

Forsake this filthy body—

One will enter into the place of the hells.

To pledge oneself to those precepts

In the end brings no peace and joy.

Merely for the sake of a little pleasure,

One harms many other bodies.

But if one is one who upholds the precepts,

Immeasurable bodies are at peace and ease.

Thus shall I do,

Sheltering and guarding the Dharma-body,

Not letting it be ruined and destroyed.

For the sake of benefiting the true Dharma,

I must cut off false speech.

The Great Minister Candrapriya then addressed the king, saying: I pray the king bestow grace and not be angry with me. I truly do not remember seeing the king together with that price-payment. At that time the king grew angry and drew his sword and said: How is it you do not remember? The Great Minister Candrapriya again steadied this intent and contemplated, saying:

I would rather die for the holy Dharma

Than live in folly and delusion.

Of all the things that are born,

Who is there that does not die?

If I now am to be killed,

For the sake of the Dharma I do not love this body;

I shall be reborn for certain in the heavenly realm.

Why then should I give rise to fear and dread?

To reply to the king's words: even should the king order this body to be cut into small pieces, I resolve still to uphold the precepts and not forsake them. At that time I dwell among the Sages and Saints. If I were to use this tongue to speak words that are not true, then I could not speak.

If I now, for the king's sake, create false speech, I shall fall into the hells. Where then would there be refuge? The king at that time was at once ashamed and angry, redoubled, and the king's eyes were as if burning afire.

Yet the mind of Candrapriya at that time was greatly joyful, and at the very moment I gave rise to settled intent—and at that time it was also the time of guarding and upholding the teaching of the Dharma—then in whatever place, wishing to seek to hear the Dharma, and this very day here, that is, for my sake it expounds the Dharma, and I for the sake of the Dharma have cast away my life. The king now is, toward me, exceedingly intimate and kind.

Thus mindful of the Dharma, he then awakened and realized Pratyekabuddhahood, using his body to fly into empty space, and causing those who broke the precepts, seeing this, all to give rise to shame and conscience. For those who cultivate the good, it increased their faith. For those who speak true words, it manifested the true fruit.

In empty space his hair then fell down, and at that time the gods of the Pure Abode offered the kāṣāya robe, and he flew to the Fragrant Mountain (Gandhamādana) together with the other various Pratyekabuddhas, dwelling all in one place, and then spoke the verse as above.

The Treatise on the Causes and Conditions of the Pratyekabuddha.

End of the upper scroll.