大寶積經

XXXIX. THE THIRTY-NINTH DHARMA ASSEMBLY: THE ELDER BHADRAPĀLA

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

At that time, the countenance and complexion of the Tathāgata, the Blessed One, resembled the rising sun or a lotus in bloom. Majestic, radiant, joyful, and smiling, he shone brilliantly. The bhikṣus thought, “What Dharma gateway does the Sage now intend to proclaim, that his countenance shines so radiantly?”

Then a very wealthy elder named Bhadrāpāla approached, surrounded by a retinue of one thousand people. His majestic power seemed to shake the great earth as he walked calmly and slowly toward the Blessed One.

Because of merit from previous lives, Elder Bhadrāpāla now enjoyed a heavenly reward, and his body was as soft and supple as a tender flower bud. He came before the Buddha and saw that the Tathāgata’s countenance was supremely excellent and wondrous, while his body, a treasury of merit, was tranquil like a radiant golden tree illuminating the entire bamboo grove. He developed pure faith in the Buddha, joined his palms, and thought, “The great renown he has gained throughout the world is truly no empty claim.

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

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

Great Sage, Blessed One, it has not been long since I first developed faith in the Buddha. Therefore, the Buddha should teach me a Dharma gateway concerning the present. I now thirst to hear the Dharma.

In saṃsāra I am oppressed by afflictions, harbor many doubts, and my mind continually discriminates. I therefore pray that the Blessed One will compassionately teach the Dharma and resolve my doubts. Great Sage, Blessed One, because I lack right knowledge, I am confused and do not know how to cross beyond the ocean of birth, aging, illness, death, and affliction.

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

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

Having received the Buddha’s permission, Elder Bhadrāpāla rejoiced and wished to ask about the doubts in his heart. He rose and stood to one side, his body replete with perfect majestic radiance.

Seeing Bhadrāpāla in this state, the Venerable Ānanda said, “How rare, Blessed One! The bodily radiance and majestic power of Elder Bhadrāpāla surpass those of great kings. He is extraordinarily handsome, peerlessly distinguished, upright, and pleasing—the one and only such person in the world.”

The Buddha said, “Ānanda, would you now like to hear of the delightful splendors in Elder Bhadrāpāla’s household? If I were to describe fully the blissful rewards enjoyed by Bhadrāpāla, even Śakra, Lord of the Gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, could not equal him, much less anyone in the human realm of Jambudvīpa. The sole exception is the elder’s son Candracandra.”

The Venerable Ānanda said, “Blessed One, what extraordinary things does Elder Bhadrāpāla possess in his household that cause the Blessed One to praise him?”

The Buddha said, “Ānanda, listen attentively. This elder possesses vast wealth and roots of virtue. I shall now describe them to you in order.

“Ānanda, Elder Bhadrāpāla is always followed by sixty thousand preeminent caravan masters. Each of those caravan masters possesses immeasurable rare treasures.

“In Bhadrāpāla’s household there are always sixty thousand supremely exquisite beds made of six-part construction. They are spread with multicolored blankets and mattresses, with multicolored silk cushions placed on both sides.

“At every place there are four complete sets of marvelous multicolored garments made of kauśeya silk and other fabrics. The house is also fully adorned with beautiful and extraordinary objects produced in the four quarters. All those garments are fine, soft, clean, and lustrous.

“Everywhere throughout Bhadrāpāla’s residence, pearl necklaces are hung as ornaments.

“There are also sixty thousand exceptionally beautiful and upright women. Their bodies are soft, smooth, and delicate. They are skilled in laughter and playful conversation; their bearing is graceful and beautiful, and they know how to please others.

The angry and troubled become joyful on seeing them, while the sorrowful become refreshed on meeting them. Their playful words and voices delight the heart and please the eye. They all respect and look up to their husband and fully observe the duties of wives, remaining free of desire for other men.

At times, conscious of modesty, they join their palms, lower their gaze, bow respectfully, and attend exclusively upon their husband without looking elsewhere. At times, out of particular love for their husband, they pretend to be jealous, quarrel, dislike one another, and knit their brows, but this is only playful pretense, for in truth they harbor no jealousy. Their fingers and nails are long, slender, rounded, and even; their wrists, ankles, and eyes are full yet delicate.

Their bodies seem languid with intoxication, and their glances are captivating. Their gait is measured, and whether standing or sitting they are dignified. Their dark blue hair is fine, glossy, soft, and skillfully arranged, enchanting those who behold it.

Whether attending upon or supporting him, these women devote themselves exclusively to serving their husband, and the fame of their purity spreads throughout every region. They come from eminent families in which they also enjoyed good reputations, and each is fit to be the principal wife in a powerful and noble household. The adornments and splendors within Bhadrāpāla’s vast residence are beyond enumeration.

“Whenever Elder Bhadrāpāla wishes to eat, there are sixty thousand kinds of fragrant and delicious rice and soup, as exquisite as heavenly food. The foods are perfect in color and flavor and possess the eight qualities. He eats whatever he wishes; it is digested as soon as it enters his mouth, and after eating he feels comfortable and unobstructed. Because his wholesome rewards have brought this about, everything naturally pleases him, and his body remains bright and clean, without foulness or impurity.

“Bhadrāpāla’s household also contains sixty thousand palanquins and carriages, all adorned with rare pearls and jewels and covered overhead with wondrous fabrics. The ground is strewn with beautiful fragrant flowers and sprinkled everywhere with scented water; it is free of dust, clean, and lustrous.

“Bhadrāpāla’s household also has music of the highest kind: instruments struck by hand, plucked by finger, and blown by mouth produce wondrous, limpid, entrancing sounds. The songs are proper and delight all who hear them. Such exquisite things adorn his residence.

“Bhadrāpāla’s residence also has gardens and groves where trees flourish luxuriantly and extraordinary grasses and fragrant flowers display every brilliant color. Many rare birds in the groves emit harmonious sounds like heavenly music. The scenery and sounds are no different from a celestial palace or a dragon cavern formed by assembling the jewels of Mount Sumeru.

“Throughout Bhadrāpāla’s residence there are also various lamps whose flames do not waver in the wind. They illuminate every place, making night no different from day.

“Moreover, throughout the country where Bhadrāpāla’s residence stands, there are sixty thousand cities whose roads, towers, and pavilions are fully adorned. Merchants from many countries gather everywhere in those cities. They have many forms and languages and possess many rare and precious goods, which they exchange with one another. The hundreds of thousands and millions of people in the marketplaces cannot be counted.

“Encircling those cities on all four sides are gardens containing hundreds of thousands of kinds of trees, laden with flowers and fruit and dense with branches and leaves. Swarms of bees fly busily about gathering nectar and pollen.

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

“All the very wealthy elders, householders, caravan masters, and merchants in those cities single-mindedly praise Elder Bhadrāpāla’s merit. With palms joined, they bow and extol him. They delight even in hearing Bhadrāpāla’s name and wish to behold Elder Bhadrāpāla with their own eyes.

“King Prasenajit, sovereign of that country, saw Bhadrāpāla’s wealth, stature, and merit and considered himself inferior, no different from a poor man. The king praised Bhadrāpāla’s treasures.

“Ānanda, whenever Elder Candracandra eats, he has one thousand rare delicacies. Morning and evening all the necessities he requires arise naturally, and five thousand women surround and serve him for his pleasure. Compared with Śakra, Lord of the Gods, Elder Candracandra enjoys a thousand times greater happiness. Yet compared with Elder Bhadrāpāla, neither his appearance and treasures nor the happiness he enjoys amount to even one hundredth part.

“Ānanda, Elder Bhadrāpāla possesses a wondrous carriage named Captivator of the Mind, so ingenious and exquisite that nothing like it exists in the human realm. Within it is a seat made of heavenly jewels, and the carriage is adorned entirely with celestial gems. Its heavenly jewels, agates, diamonds, pearls, and precious shells blaze like stars in the sky. The carriage travels as swiftly as the wind.

“Ānanda, whenever Bhadrāpāla wishes to enter the ocean to gather jewels, he boards that carriage and immediately arrives wherever he desires. After enjoying its pleasures, when he wishes to return home, he immediately arrives there.”

The Venerable Ānanda bowed at the Buddha’s feet and said, “How rare, Blessed One! What roots of virtue did Elder Bhadrāpāla cultivate in the past that he now enjoys such rewards?”

The Buddha said, “Ānanda, if you wish to know, listen attentively. These causes and conditions all arose from roots of virtue he cultivated in the presence of a Buddha in the past, through which he now obtains such supreme rewards.

“Ānanda, I recall that long ago a Buddha appeared in the world named Tathāgata Joyful Light, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One. At that time, Bhadrāpāla became a bhikṣu in the presence of that Buddha named Dharma Lineage. Although his observance of the precepts was incomplete and had many deficiencies, he was skilled in proclaiming the Buddha’s teaching and revealing it to those who had not heard it.

That great Dharma master was learned and retained the sūtra treasury in its entirety. He also upheld the Vinaya treasury and constantly taught the essential Dharma to sentient beings. He possessed broad understanding, eloquence, profound meaning and flavor, and a clear voice that everyone delighted to hear.

Those who heard his Dharma all developed joy and were no longer destined to fall into the lower realms.

“Ānanda, because of those causes and conditions of giving the Dharma, for ninety-one kalpas he was constantly reborn among gods and humans, handsome, wealthy, and honored.

“Ānanda, I shall explain to you the causes and conditions by which he obtained his wondrous carriage.

“When he was a Dharma master during the time of Buddha Joyful Light, whenever he saw bhikṣus who cultivated pure conduct and observed the precepts but were emaciated or ill, he supplied all their necessities, including footwear, giving everything joyfully. Because of this, he now obtains the reward of a wondrous carriage that travels according to his wishes.

“Ānanda, long ago there was a Buddha named Kāśyapa Tathāgata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One. That Buddha Kāśyapa told the elder, ‘In the future, a Buddha named Śākyamuni Tathāgata, the Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One, will bestow a prediction upon you.’

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

The Venerable Ānanda said, “How rare, Blessed One! Although this elder possesses such vast wealth, his nature is gentle and harmonious, without arrogance, and though surrounded by the five sensual pleasures, his mind is not defiled.”

The Buddha said, “Ānanda, a wise person does not become arrogant because of wealth or become defiled by the five sensual pleasures.

“Because of the causes and conditions of the wondrous Dharma, Elder Bhadrāpāla has enjoyed inexhaustible blessings throughout many lives.”

At that time, Elder Bhadrāpāla, having received the Buddha’s permission and wishing to ask about his doubts, single-mindedly knelt upright before the Buddha with palms joined and said, “Greatly Compassionate Blessed One, you embrace and accept all sentient beings and have pity upon them all. I now have doubts in my heart and wish to ask about them. May the Blessed One explain them and remove all my doubts.”

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

Elder Bhadrāpāla said, “Blessed One, sentient beings know that they possess consciousness. Yet this consciousness is like a jeweled casket: before it is opened, one does not know what treasures are within it.

“Blessed One, what is the appearance of consciousness? Through what conditions is it called consciousness? At the end of life, when the faculties are about to cease and the four great elements are about to disperse, how can this consciousness, having no hands, feet, face, or eyes, depart from within the body?

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

How does it abandon these elements and ayatanas and proceed toward the next life? How does it accomplish the many different kinds of bodies? After a person has died, how do the future ayatanas arise in accordance with conditions?

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

How do the faculties and physical form follow it there?”

The Buddha said, “Excellent, excellent! Your questions are appropriate. Bhadrāpāla, you should now receive this teaching with utmost attention. I shall explain to you how consciousness comes, goes, migrates, and ceases.

“Bhadrāpāla, consider the great element of wind. It has no form or color and cannot be seen, yet through causes and conditions it manifests form and color. How does it manifest them? When wind moves the trees or strikes mountain cliffs and riverbanks, it produces sounds. Because the causes and conditions of cold and heat produce wind, it can be felt. Yet the shape of the wind cannot be seen, nor can one see whether it has hands, feet, a face, or eyes. Nevertheless, it acts upon forms, enhancing them so that they become either dark or light.

“The realm of consciousness is likewise. It cannot be seen by means of color, nor does it approach visible form. It manifests color only by assuming the form of that into which it enters.

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

“Consider the wind element, which can carry fragrances, so that one knows the scent of a flower has come upon the wind. Yet in truth the wind element does not carry the flower’s scent here, nor can the flower’s scent arrive without wind. Fragrance has no visible form, the wind has no visible form, and the faculty that smells the scent also has no visible form.

“Likewise, when the consciousness of a dying person is about to migrate, it retains contact, sensation, and the various dhatus. Thereafter, existence in that next life occurs. Through the union of father and mother, consciousness is known to be present; because consciousness is present, sensation and contact are known to be united and established.

“For example, because a strong and healthy person has powerful consciousness, the faculty of smell is present; because that faculty is powerful, the fragrance is powerful. Because these two bases are strong, two powerful things become perceptible. Those two are form and contact.

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

“Suppose a painter has thoroughly mastered his art. Whatever picture he wishes to produce, he can immediately complete, for he has excellent understanding and can work with every color. Yet if that painter has no pigments, he cannot produce visible colors.

“Likewise, consciousness brings the six faculties of form to completion. Through the eye, visible form is seen and consciousness knows it, yet that seeing through the eye itself has no visible form. Hearing sound through the ear has no visible form; smelling fragrance through the nose has no visible form; tasting flavor through the tongue has no visible form; sensing contact through the body has no visible form; and the elements cognized through the mind have no visible form. That which is known also has no visible form. One should therefore know that within the objective domains there is likewise no visible form. In accordance with this sequence, one should know that consciousness also has no visible form. It should be contemplated in this way.

“Bhadrāpāla, you asked how this consciousness abandons the body and reaches the next life.

“Bhadrāpāla, before the end of life, this consciousness is held by karma. When karma and the lifespan are exhausted, it is like a person entering the samādhi of tranquil cessation while still possessing bodily consciousness. After this bodily consciousness has ceased, the person enters the absorption of tranquil cessation.

Likewise, beside the dying person, this consciousness abandons the body and the great elements, retaining only the power of mindfulness that knows, ‘I am such-and-such a person.’ Whenever a person abandons the body, there are two kinds of right mindfulness and contact: the first is right mindfulness, and the second is contact. At the end of life, the body experiences two sensations through contact: bodily sensation and mindful sensation.

After death, mindfulness has contact.

“Furthermore, you asked what is meant by consciousness.

“Bhadrāpāla, just as a seed can produce a sprout, consciousness arises from cognition and is therefore called mindfulness. Thus, because cognition can give rise to it, it is called consciousness; afterward, it again experiences contact. Because cognition knows suffering and happiness, it is called consciousness. Later it also experiences the wholesome and unwholesome and can know wholesome and unwholesome objective domains; therefore it is called consciousness. Just as a seed produces a sprout and a body is brought to completion, it is called consciousness.

“Furthermore, how does this consciousness abandon the body and migrate there?

“Bhadrāpāla, it is like a bodily image appearing in a mirror, like a bodily form cast in an earthen mold, or like the rising sun dispelling darkness. When the sun sets, darkness returns. Yet darkness has no fixed abiding place, no visible form, no sensation, and cannot be seen.

Likewise, when this consciousness produces a body, it is as darkness departs from light. The arising of the body is likewise. That person does not see this consciousness, yet consciousness assumes this body.

Consider a pregnant woman who does not know whether the child she carries is male or female, dark or light, whether its faculties are complete or incomplete, or whether its hands and feet are straight or malformed. Yet the being in the womb may move when touched by hot food. Likewise, this consciousness comes and goes, contracts and extends, and acts together with the opening and closing of the eyes.

Because of karma created in the past, objective domains arise. Through occurrences such as laughter and speech, one knows that consciousness abides within the physical body. Yet sentient beings do not know what form the consciousness within their physical bodies possesses.

“Bhadrāpāla, because this consciousness is skillfully formed, it migrates to the various realms without becoming attached to any realm.

“Bhadrāpāla, the various realms and the six faculties that are the domains of consciousness constitute the six dhatu-bases. There are the bases of the four great elements and the bases of the five skandhas. You should understand the domains of consciousness and the others in this way.

“Bhadrāpāla, consider a wooden puppet that, through a single mechanism, performs every action—running, leaping, and displaying various dances. What do you think? Through what cause does the wooden figure perform these actions?”

“Blessed One, the Tathāgata’s question lies beyond my sphere. I lack the wisdom to answer it.”

“Bhadrāpāla, those actions are produced through the power of skillful knowledge. Yet that subtle mechanism has no visible form and is born of knowledge. Likewise, this human body is produced through the skill of consciousness, and the various kinds of bodies are fashioned by consciousness.

Because this consciousness creates a body, the body arises, yet consciousness cannot be fully exhausted. Through cultivation and perfuming by the Dharma-dhatu, recollection of former bodies is brought to completion. Consider sunlight shining upon foul, stinking, and filthy corpses: those impurities do not depart from the sunlight.

Likewise, this consciousness is first born amid foulness, consuming impure food and drink, and it may also assume a womb within the belly of a dog or pig; yet this consciousness is not defiled. Just as the foulness does not adhere to sunlight, so this consciousness, though first born amid foulness, consuming impure food and drink and assuming a womb within the belly of a dog or pig, is not defiled.

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

Suppose the wind element blows from a mountaintop into a campaka forest. Through contact, the wind receives its wondrous fragrance, and then it reaches foul places filled with corpses. As it passes through many places, the wind takes on many scents and carries them onward, although the wind itself has no visible form.

Likewise, after abandoning this body, consciousness carries the wholesome and unwholesome and migrates onward in sequence. When consciousness is about to migrate, it is like a dreaming person who knows all manner of things although the body has not left its original place. Likewise, merit also produces birth.

When consciousness is about to migrate, it is as though seeing various things in a dream. Yet that consciousness does not leave through the throat or through the pores. When it departs, it does not seek any opening.”

Elder Bhadrāpāla bowed at the Buddha’s feet and said, “Blessed One, consider a chicken’s egg or a goose’s egg. Consciousness is within the shell, yet the shell has no opening. How can one know that a distinct consciousness is present? Without breaking the shell, how can that consciousness migrate?”

The Buddha said, “Bhadrāpāla, suppose sesame seeds are thoroughly perfumed with campaka and various other flowers and then pressed for oil, which is called campaka-flower oil and so forth. The flowers’ fragrance enters without damaging the sesame meal. The fragrance does not cling inherently to the sesame; through the conjunction of sesame and flowers, the fragrance adheres, yet it does not seek an opening in the sesame seed through which to enter. Through these two things, the flowers and sesame, the fragrance is transferred and transformed. Likewise, this consciousness migrates without damaging the eggshell. You should understand it in this way.

“Moreover, this consciousness does not itself undergo transference, just like the light of the sun, fire, a maṇi jewel, and so forth. It should be seen and understood in this way.

“Again, its migration resembles a seed sown in the earth, from which sprouts, trees, leaves, flowers, and fruits arise—white, red, or black, each possessing its own flavor and potency as it matures—while the earth element remains one, and water, fire, and wind likewise remain one. Similarly, this consciousness has a single Dharma-dhatu, yet after accomplishing bodies throughout all the realms, it gives rise to colors such as black, white, or red, and to natures that are either harsh and strong or gentle and disciplined.

“Furthermore, at the end of life, this consciousness abandons the body and becomes the seed of the next body, about to form a body with hands, feet, and so forth, although at that time it does not yet possess bodily parts. It abandons its share of the earth element and takes up a share of the Dharma-dhatu. Those dhatus unite with mindfulness, and through the power of faithful reverence, that mindfulness unites with mindfulness of the Dharma-dhatu.

It retains consciousness without separating from consciousness, while the Dharma-dhatu can be apprehended. Nor apart from the Dharma-dhatu does consciousness have a cause. Assisted by the power of wind, that consciousness naturally possesses other subtle dhatus: the dhatu of mindfulness, the dhatu of sensation, the Dharma-dhatu, and the form-dhatu.”

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

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

“Bhadrāpāla, suppose a person blind from birth dreams at night of the most excellent, supreme, and beautiful forms of the heavenly realm. Having seen them, that person experiences supreme joy and delight. Upon awakening, he sees them no longer, and in the morning tells everyone, ‘Last night in a dream I saw women of supremely exquisite and beautiful form, and I also saw hundreds of thousands of men. I further saw flower gardens, forests, and so forth.’ The person blind from birth clearly describes the people and scenes seen in the dream, although others did not see them. What do you think? How was that person, blind from birth, able to see while dreaming in sleep?”

“Excellent, Blessed One! Please explain to me how such seeing is possible.”

“Bhadrāpāla, through the cognitive power associated with the physical eye, that person blind from birth sees within a dream; it is not seeing by an actual eye.

“Bhadrāpāla, just as a dreaming person sees forms in a moment of right mindfulness, so does a dying person see internal forms.

“Bhadrāpāla, I shall further explain to you how the consciousness of a dying person migrates like a seed.

“Just as a seed sown in the earth receives the four great elements, so this consciousness first receives right mindfulness, then receives contact and sensation, then receives the wholesome and unwholesome, and only after abandoning the body does it migrate.”

“Blessed One, how does this consciousness receive the wholesome and unwholesome before it migrates?”

“Bhadrāpāla, it is like a maṇi jewel that changes according to the color of the shadow in which it is placed. If placed in a dark shadow, the maṇi’s appearance becomes dark; if placed in a white light, it becomes white. Whatever the appearance of its surroundings, that maṇi jewel immediately assumes the same color. This consciousness likewise receives the wholesome and unwholesome and then immediately migrates.”

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

“Bhadrāpāla, this consciousness is formless, has no place of assembly, and no place where it is accumulated or stored. Ultimately it cannot be apprehended; neither its existence nor its nonexistence can be stated. Nor can it be said that this consciousness undergoes birth, cessation, or suffering and affliction.

“Likewise, the sprout produced from a seed cannot be apprehended. A sprout is not produced from a rotten or damaged seed, but only from a sound seed. What do you think? Where did the sprout produced by that seed originally reside? Was it in the trunk, the leaves, the roots, or the branches? Likewise, this consciousness has no place of dependence within the body. It does not reside in the eye, nor in the ear, nose, tongue, body, or mind.

“Just as a seed gives rise to a sprout, the sprout produced by that seed takes appropriation and sensation as its root. Because appropriation occurs there, conception immediately occurs; after conception, contact immediately arises. Just as, once a sprout has arisen, branches, leaves, fruit, and then seeds appear according to the seasons, so this consciousness first accomplishes the body. Once the body has been accomplished, this consciousness has no abiding place; yet the body is not present apart from consciousness.

“A seed comes from ripe fruit, not from unripe fruit. Likewise, when this body reaches the end of life, consciousness becomes manifest from within it. Through the conjunction of sensation, through bondage by craving, through appropriation by mindfulness conjoined with wholesome or unwholesome objects, through being sustained by the wind element, through cognition perfumed by karma, and through the union of father and mother, consciousness subsequently becomes manifest.

“Consider a fine, bright mirror in which the image of a face is seen. Without one’s own face, its image cannot be seen; likewise, without a bright mirror, the image of the face cannot appear. Through the conjunction of the two conditions—the bright mirror and the face—the reflected face appears. Yet the reflected face has no substantial form, sensation, or consciousness. As the body moves, the image in the mirror also moves. When the body speaks, shifts, moves, extends, contracts, bends down, or looks upward, the image in the mirror manifests corresponding appearances according to the body’s actions.

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

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

“Bhadrāpāla, just as an image appears in a bright mirror because a human body is present, so this body, by virtue of consciousness, has sensation, appropriation, cognition, volitional formations, thought, and mindfulness, through which the body is accomplished.

“The bright mirror represents the condition of the father and mother’s union.

“One should know that after the body ceases, no form of consciousness remains there. Just as a face, after appearing in a bright mirror, may again be seen reflected in clear water, so this consciousness, after abandoning this body, reaches another place and assumes other skandhas.

“Consider a banyan seed, an udumbara seed, or another such seed. Although very small, it can produce a vast tree and branches. After producing a vast tree and branches, the seed leaves that tree and goes on to produce a tree elsewhere. Likewise, this consciousness is subtle and has no fixed form or color. After producing one body, it abandons it and produces still other bodies.

“Consider large seeds such as barley, wheat, sesame, and so forth. Wherever they are sown, they take root in that very place. Likewise, when this consciousness migrates from within the body of a sentient being to another place, appropriation and sensation immediately arise and abide there. It may experience merit or demerit as it migrates from this life to the next.

“Consider a honeybee. It seeks nectar in a flower, gathers the nectar, then leaves that flower and moves to another. It may abandon an inferior flower and move to a fine one; having alighted on the flower, it delights and becomes intoxicated by it, taking the flavor of its nectar. Likewise, through many roots of virtue, this consciousness may assume a heavenly body; through evil karma, it may assume bodies among hell beings, animals, or hungry ghosts. After assuming one, it again assumes another body.

“How, then, should this consciousness be contemplated?

“Consider turmeric powder, the seed of a red-blue flower, or a puṇḍarīka flower. Its physical appearance varies according to its portion of color, yet no sprout or fixed color can be seen within the seed. When that seed is placed in the earth and moistened by water, it immediately produces a sprout; only after the sprout and plant arise does a flower appear.

The flower’s color cannot be seen within the seed, yet the sprout, plant, and color do not exist apart from the seed. Likewise, after this consciousness abandons this body and is about to form another, the mass of flesh does not yet possess the faculties, much less the ayatanas. Since the faculties and ayatanas are not yet present, how could there be the divine eye, divine ear, or substances of fragrance, flavor, and contact by which knowing could occur?

How could it know, ‘At that time I performed such karma; my former body was like this’? It experiences only through contact.

“Consider a silkworm. From its body and mouth it emits silk thread, making a cocoon that wraps around its body; it then abandons the silkworm body and changes into another body. Likewise, after this consciousness produces a body, it again creates karma, then destroys its own body and migrates elsewhere.

“A lotus born in water possesses beautiful color and fragrance, yet no substance of water can be seen within the flower. When that lotus ceases, wherever its seed is planted, color and fragrance arise there. Likewise, wherever this consciousness migrates, the faculties and their objective domains do not migrate with it, nor does sensation migrate. Only the Dharma-dhatu migrates.

“Like a wish-fulfilling jewel, wherever it goes, whatever object is needed is obtained according to one’s wish. As sunlight naturally follows the sun—wherever the sun goes, its light goes also—so wherever this consciousness migrates, the Dharma-dhatus of sensation, perception, and so forth follow it without separation.

“Furthermore, after this consciousness abandons the present body, it gathers all forms of existence. Having gathered them, it migrates to the next body without flesh or bones. It takes up the forms of existence, contacts, and other such factors. With the divine eye, one sees its sensation and appropriation of the wholesome and unwholesome.

“Consider fruits such as small jujubes, thousand-year jujubes, āmalaka, kapittha, and so forth. When they mature, each possesses its own flavor—bitter, sour, sweet, salty, and so forth. Wherever those fruits ripen, their flavors are present within them. Likewise, wherever this consciousness migrates, its own contact follows it, while merit and lack of merit migrate with it by means of existence and mindfulness.

“Furthermore, when this consciousness abandons the body, it thinks, ‘I am now abandoning this body.’ Therefore this mindful consciousness is called consciousness. Because it knows wholesome and unwholesome karma, knows that this karma accompanies it, and knows that it follows this karma, it is called consciousness. Moreover, because through this body it knows the creation of all karma, it is called consciousness.

“Consider the wind element. At times it is cold and at times hot; sometimes it carries a foul odor, and sometimes it acquires fragrance through something aromatic. Through these signs one knows that it is wind. Likewise, the substance of this consciousness has no visible form. Yet it may take form and appropriation of form as its cause, appropriation of sensual desire as its cause, appropriation of views as its cause, or appropriation of precepts observed in pursuit of reward as its cause, extending through existence and sensation. Because through sensation it assumes and accomplishes a physical body, it is called consciousness.”

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

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

“Candracandra, whether a form is wholesome or unwholesome, one should contemplate within the mass of flesh the sinews, blood, vessels, channels of vital energy, skull enclosing the brain, large intestine, small intestine, lungs, heart, liver, kidneys, spleen, gallbladder, the other internal organs, fat, flesh, marrow, blood, phlegm, nasal mucus, and saliva—all foul, filthy, exceedingly dreadful—together with the body hair, head hair, beard, nails, skin, and flesh that wrap and cover this aggregate. Once assembled, all forms are created from the four great elements. Because those four great elements appropriate form to create the body, this is called appropriation of form.

“Candracandra, this body is formed through the union of father and mother. Its solidity is the earth element; its fluid moisture is the water element; its warmth and heat are the fire element; and its movements, turning, bending, and extending are the wind element. That which can be experienced and known comprises the dhatus of sound, fragrance, flavor, and contact; that which can remember and know is called consciousness.”

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

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

“Suppose milk is mixed with water and heated over a fire. Through receiving heat, the milk and water separate from one another, yet the water retains the taste of fat and oiliness although these have no visible form. Likewise, in a dying person the body is one thing, the great elements another, and consciousness yet another. Nevertheless, that consciousness appropriates the great elements and the Dharma-dhatu. It then perfumes mindfulness with the Dharma-dhatu, appropriates the wholesome and unwholesome, and proceeds to the next life.

“Consider the medicinal ghee called mahākalyāṇa. Ghee and various medicinal ingredients are cooked over a fire. Some ingredients are pungent, some bitter, some astringent, some salty, some bland, and some sweet. Their flavors are extracted through cooking and enter the ghee, which then acquires their flavors, colors, fragrances, and so forth. The ghee abandons and transforms its original nature, becoming medicinal.

“Likewise, after abandoning the body, consciousness appropriates the wholesome and unwholesome and the Dharma-dhatu, then migrates to the next life.

“The substance of the ghee is an analogy for the body. The various medicinal ingredients that are combined yet retain their distinct characters are an analogy for the faculties. The color, fragrance, flavor, and tactile quality of the medicinal ghee are an analogy for the migration of consciousness.

“The different colors refer to wholesome and unwholesome forms. If the medicine is consumed and the body digests it well and becomes healthy, this is an analogy for wholesome karma. If that medicinal ghee is consumed and the body becomes withered and yellow, this is an analogy for evil karma.

“One should contemplate this consciousness as one contemplates the medicinal ghee called mahākalyāṇa.

“Just as ghee appropriates the colors and flavors of the medicinal ingredients and thereby becomes mahākalyāṇa medicinal ghee, although the ghee has no hands or feet, so this consciousness, after abandoning the body and the dhatus, appropriates only the Dharma-dhatu. Having appropriated sensation, it carries the wholesome and unwholesome and departs.

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

“When that person reaches the end of life, he recollects and sees various signs. He may see wondrous carriages, wondrous gardens and groves filled with newly grown, luxuriant, and delightful trees, wondrous ponds, or various accomplishments. Having seen them, he develops joy and is peacefully reborn in accordance with the Dharma when his life ends. His consciousness is as though mounted upon a horse. It should be contemplated in this way.

“To say that it is mounted upon a horse is like a person on a battlefield whose body is clad in strong, excellent armor and who skillfully holds the reins while the horse gallops swiftly. Likewise, this consciousness wears the armor of conditions directed toward the reward of wholesome karma and swiftly rides upon the inhalation and exhalation. It abandons the dhatus and ayatanas and, having abandoned them, is reborn in the Brahmā Heaven or even in the Akaniṣṭha Heaven, those wondrous abodes.”