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Summary

In Śrāvastī, at Prince Jeta’s Grove, several elder monks in the Buddha’s
assembly cannot agree on which human quality is most valuable and beneficial:
beauty, diligence, artistry, or insight. They ask the Buddha, who replies that
merit, which gives rise to all the qualities they have noted,
is of most benefit to beings. To illustrate this point, he tells the story of a
past life in which he was born as Puṇyabala, with four older brothers who were
each named after their most prized quality: Rūpabala, Vīryavanta, Śilpavanta,
and Prajñāvanta. In an ensuing contest to determine which quality produces the
best outcomes in real life, Puṇyabala wins, and through his merit
is granted dominion over much of the world. The Buddha then goes on to tell the
story of his even earlier lifetime as Dyūtajaya, during which he developed the
intention to attain buddhahood through the accumulation of
merit.

Acknowledgements

This translation was produced by the Lokākṣi Translator Group: Tenzin
Ringpapontsang, Ruth Gamble, John Powers, and Harmony DenRonden.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

Introduction

The Exemplary Tale of Puṇyabala is
written in one the most recognizable literary forms in Buddhism: the
Buddha’s past-life stories. These stories are usually morality tales, which
highlight the positive benefits of certain actions and the detrimental
results of others. This tale focuses on the benefits of accruing
merit. Puṇyabala is a young prince whose store of
merit is so great that he acquires untold riches and
power.

Most past-life stories of the Buddha are found within two genres of
Buddhist literature: avadānas and jātakas. The Sanskrit term avadāna, broadly meaning “narrative” or “tale,”
denotes a type of exemplary story that is common to most Indian religious
traditions. In the Buddhist context, avadāna is traditionally specified as
the tenth of a twelvefold categorization of Buddhist scripture (Skt.
pravacana), classified
according to content, thematic structure, and literary style. Although this
class of works is as varied as it is voluminous, the stories typically
illustrate the results of good and bad karma, indicating how past deeds have
shaped present circumstances. In this vein, many avadānas, the present one
included, set out to show how the exemplary lives of the Buddha, or more
often of his followers, have resulted from their meritorious deeds in past
lives. Avadānas may also, in certain cases, include prophecies (Skt.
vyākaraṇa) of future
spiritual attainments.

Avadānas recounting past deeds generally follow a three-part
narrative structure: a story from the present life of the Buddha or another
protagonist, a story of an exemplary past deed, and a connecting conclusion
that shows how the past protagonist and his circle were prior incarnations
of the present protagonist and his circle. In this regard, avadānas bear a
close relationship to jātakas (“birth stories” of the Buddha), which some scholars
have justifiably considered to be a subset of the avadāna genre. One notable
difference, however, is that the protagonist of an avadāna is often not the
Buddha himself, as it is in most jātaka stories, but one of his followers or
prospective followers.
Another difference is that avadānas typically concern realized beings’ past
human lives, not those as animals or nonhumans, as
is the case in many jātaka tales. Finally, while jātaka stories had wide
popular appeal, with plots, characters, and motifs drawn from pan-Indian
folklore, the avadānas seem to have been originally intended primarily for
monastics, as suggested by their frequent references to attendant monks,
their moral tone, and their specific prescriptions for Buddhist practice
that are interspersed throughout the narratives. Yet, in the course of their
historical diffusion, these edifying tales of spiritual and moral
achievement eventually gained wide popularity and came to inspire and
educate Buddhist monastics and lay followers alike.

The Exemplary Tale of Puṇyabala
demonstrates many of the leitmotifs of the avadāna genre. The Buddha relates
an inspirational story about the benefits of making merit, and
uses illustrative narratives to show how this practice underpins all rival
character traits, being the only one that leads directly to spiritual
attainment. Although the narrative contains some elements that would be more
typical of a jātaka, such as the giving away of body parts, it is
primarily dedicated to explaining and illustrating the primacy and
far-reaching efficacy of merit-making in spiritual life and has fewer of the
entertaining plot devices that enliven the jātaka versions of this
story.

The central story and leading characters of The
Exemplary Tale of Puṇyabala are found in various permutations
throughout the Buddhist past-lives literature. The bare outline of the tale
of the five young men, their debate over what is “best in the world” (Skt.
loke anuttaraṃ in the
Mahāvastu version), and their
journey to a foreign land in order to test their differing theories, is
shared by at least three other Buddhist texts that are each much shorter in
length than the Puṇyabalāvadāna. These
texts are the Puṇyavanta Jātaka, which
forms a chapter of the Mahāvastu; a Tocharian version of the
Puṇyavanta story; and a metric version that is
included in the Bhadrakalpāvadāna. Apart from their
shared narrative outline, these texts are not only notably different in
composition and content from one another, but also from the Puṇyabalāvadāna. While the dialog and ensuing
adventures of the five young men are the focus of the Puṇyabalāvadāna and of the Puṇyavanta Jātaka in the Mahāvastu, the Tocharian version devotes more
than three-quarters of its content to the stories and dialogs preceding the
young men’s journey, giving only seven and a half lines to their actual
adventures.

The characters also differ among these works. The protagonist in our
avadāna, Puṇyabala, is named Puṇyavanta in the other works (or its
equivalent Punyavaṃ in the Tocharian version) and likewise Rūpabala is
Rūpavanta in the other works. Moreover, in the Mahāvastu version, the young prince’s companions are said to be
ministers’ sons (Skt. amātyaputrā) who are of the same age, whereas they are
referred to as princes (Tib. gzhon
nu, Skt. kumāra; Tocharian mäñcuṣke) belonging to the same royal family in both the
Tocharian tale and the Puṇyabalāvadāna.
The concluding correspondences drawn between the past characters and their
present incarnations are largely similar, except that Śilpavanta becomes one
of the Buddha’s ten leading disciples, Aniruddha (Pāli Anuruddha), in the Puṇyabalāvadāna and the Tocharian tale but becomes a lesser
known disciple, Rāśtrapāla (Pāli Raṭhapāla), in the Mahāvastu
tale.

An interesting narrative difference between these works is that the
Mahāvastu version of the exploits of
Rūpavanta, Prajñāvanta, and Puṇyavanta contains erotic intrigues or
escapades that are absent in the Puṇyabalāvadāna and the Tocharian tale, though the latter does
describe at some length a nocturnal liaison between a painter and a maiden,
as an illustration of the perils of artistry offered by the wise
Prajñāvanta. In general, the Puṇyabalāvadāna gives comparatively little consideration to
the feats of the other princes, which are each summarized in only a line or
two and devotes far more attention than the other works to explaining and
illustrating the benefits of merit-making through the lens of Puṇyabala’s
life. In the Mahāvastu narrative, it is not
through any meritorious deeds that Puṇyavanta earns the respect of King
Brahmadatta and his ministers, but rather by generally making an agreeable
impression on them, and especially by not falling prey to the sexual
advances of the love-smitten princess! It is for these rather passive
successes that the king rewards Puṇyavanta with the princess’s hand in
marriage and makes him heir to the throne. In the Puṇyabalāvadāna, by contrast, it is only through a series of
arduous merit-making tasks—including living in poverty, giving wealth to the
poor, giving his limbs and blood to an amputee, and making the aspiration to
gain spiritual awakening so that he can liberate all beings from
saṃsāra—that Puṇyabala’s efforts bear fruit. Even then, it is only upon
gaining the final approval of the god Śakra, who appears in the guise of a
brahmin to interrogate the young prince and ensure that his altruistic deeds
have not been corrupted by any disinclination or vested interest, that
Puṇyabala finally gains prosperity, kingship, and the assurance of future
awakening to buddhahood.

Of the works considered, it is only the Puṇyabalāvadāna that treats the ideal of merit in
systematic detail and argues for its alleged superiority over the other
virtues. Significantly, the Tocharian tale devotes well over half its
content to extolling insight, giving relatively short shrift to
merit. The Mahāvastu story
gives only cursory treatment to each of the five prized qualities and seems
to be invested far more in plot developments than in ethical and didactic
considerations. Taken together, all these structural and thematic
differences between the versions of this story reinforce our general
impression that the Puṇyabalāvadāna was
primarily intended as a morality tale for a Buddhist monastic audience. It
is perhaps worth noting that there are several jātaka tales featuring a King
Puṇyabala who is renowned for his generosity, but these otherwise bear
little resemblance to the Puṇyavanta narrative.

Let us now give a brief synopsis of The
Exemplary Tale of Puṇyabala. Our story begins with the Buddha
delivering a teaching to his disciples in Prince Jeta’s Grove about the
crucial importance of generosity, the accumulation of merit,
and the maintenance of discipline. The Buddha’s teaching prompts his
students to debate over which human quality should be considered the most
valuable quality and therefore the most worthy aim in life. Venerable Nanda
argues that good looks are most valuable to humans. Venerable
Śroṇakoṭīviṃśa argues that it is diligence. Venerable Aniruddha argues that it is
artistic skill, and venerable Śāriputra argues that it is insight. When they
cannot resolve their disagreement, they ask the Buddha. The Buddha tells
them that merit is the best human quality, as it underpins all
the others. He then tells a story from one of his past lives to illustrate
this claim.

He recounts a previous life as King Puṇyabala, who was the fifth of
five brothers. His four older brothers each exemplify, and indeed are named
after, the human qualities they consider most worthy: Rūpabala, Vīryavanta,
Śilpavanta, and Prajñāvanta. It becomes clear early on that it is
Puṇyabala’s inborn quality of merit, especially generosity,
that makes his birth the most valuable and auspicious of the five. Indeed,
his presence in his mother’s womb already attracts the veneration of the
gods and all the kingdom’s residents, including the king, and causes
treasures to rain down from the sky.

In the episodes of his coming of age, Prince Puṇyabala’s
merit is described as closely related to his generosity; he
is generous because of his merit, and his merit is, in turn, a
result of his generosity. A key example of this is his compassionate act of
granting food to hungry pretas who were hitherto unable to eat anything that
was offered to them.

Even such acts, however, do not convince his brothers of the
preeminence of merit. As a result, he eventually devises a test
to see which of their qualities is the most valuable quality for humans. He
suggests that they travel to a foreign land where they are unknown and test
out which quality proves most beneficial to themselves and others. The other
brothers agree, and all five leave home to live incognito in a distant land.
After they arrive, the other brothers soon find success by virtue of their
respective qualities, but they are not as successful as Puṇyabala. In fact,
their varying degrees of success reflect an ascending hierarchy of the
values they embody, with each being more beneficial and encompassing than
the last.

Puṇyabala begins his life abroad by staying in a pauper’s house. His
host quickly becomes wealthy and respected, and so does Puṇyabala. Puṇyabala
then encounters a man who had given unacceptable medical advice to a rival
king and was punished by amputation of all his limbs. Puṇyabala offers him
his own limbs, and he uses the power of words of truth to attach his severed
limbs to their new recipient. Śakra is compelled by this act to make an
appearance. He demands to know if Puṇyabala regrets the action, and
Puṇyabala confirms his continuing diligence in generosity by pronouncing
another truth statement—which restores his arms and legs. Śakra is impressed
and states that Puṇyabala will soon attain awakening.

After these acts, Puṇyabala grows increasingly wealthy and becomes
the king of a neighboring land. He is then given additional kingdoms, until
eventually he comes to rule most of the world. His brothers and father seek
him out and acknowledge his superiority. After his death, he is reborn in
Heaven of Joy and eventually takes rebirth as the Buddha.

The narrative concludes, in standard avadāna fashion, with the
Buddha revealing the true identities of the characters in the story. He
relates that he was Puṇyabala, the parents in the story were none other than
his current parents, and Puṇyabala’s brothers were the four monks who argued
over which human quality is the most valuable quality.

The Buddha continues with a further past-life story in which he had
taken birth as a pauper named Dyūtajaya, who had gambled away all his money
and become utterly destitute. On his way home, however, he encountered a
previous buddha named Aparājita, to whom he confessed his errant ways; he
aroused the mind of awakening and made an offering to Aparājita of five
handfuls of cowrie shells and his upper garment. This was a paltry offering,
but presumably all he could manage given his recent deprivation and, most
importantly, it was made with pure intention. As a result of this pure deed,
he went on to first become wealthy, then a king on earth, and eventually a
king in heaven. Eventually, it was the catalyst for his rebirths as
Puṇyabala and the Buddha. This final narrative serves to illustrate how any
human being, even a wrongdoer, can attain the highest goals in life if he or
she strives to benefit others with pure intention.

The colophon of the text states that it was translated from Sanskrit
into Tibetan by the imperial-era translators Jinamitra, the Kashmiri
scholar, and the Tibetan Devacandra (eighth to ninth centuries). Jinamitra
was active in Tibet at the end of the eighth century or during the first
decades of the ninth. The Puṇyabalāvadāna’s inclusion in the Denkarma Catalog shows that
it was translated prior to that catalog’s compilation in 812. In this
catalog, the text is grouped within the category of Hīnayāna sūtras (Tib.
theg pa chung ngu’i
sde). Indeed,
its cast of characters includes only the Buddha Śākyamuni and his śrāvaka
disciples (in their present and former lives), and none of the bodhisattvas
who often appear in the Mahāyāna sūtras.

This text was also translated into Chinese by Dānapāla in 983,
during the Northern Song Dynasty. However, the text of the Chinese translation does not
closely match the Tibetan version of the text, and only begins partway
through the narrative. It therefore seems likely that the Chinese and
Tibetan translations were based on different versions of the text (or
perhaps the Chinese translation was based on an incomplete source
text). We have not consulted the Chinese
translation in preparing this English translation of The Exemplary Tale of Puṇyabala.

Kazuo Kano has noted that a Sanskrit version of the Puṇyabalāvadāna that once belonged to the
Indian scholar Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna is currently stored in the Potala
Palace in Lhasa. Unfortunately, however, this text along with the many other
Sanskrit and Tibetan texts in the Potala collection remain unavailable to
scholars at this time.

The Exemplary Tale of Puṇyabala has not
previously been translated into any Western language. In producing the
present English translation, we based our work primarily on the Tibetan
edition found in the Degé Kangyur, but consulted variant readings in the
Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and
the Stok Palace manuscript edition.

The Translation

The Exemplary Tale of Puṇyabala

Homage to the Buddha.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying in
Śrāvastī, in Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. At that time, the
Blessed One said to the monks, “Monks, when certain foolish men possess
three traits at odds with the sacred Dharma, they do not practice
generosity, do not engage in merit, and do not maintain
discipline after taking it on. What are these three traits? They are
attachment, miserliness, and carelessness.

“Monks, because some foolish men possess these three traits at odds
with the sacred Dharma, they do not practice generosity, do not engage in
merit, and do not maintain discipline after taking it on.
As a result, when their bodies fail and they die, they will fall into lower
realms and be reborn in the hell realms.

“Monks, those worthy people who have three qualities of the sacred
Dharma practice generosity, engage in merit, and maintain
discipline after taking it on. What are these three qualities? They are
nonattachment, freedom from the stain of miserliness, and conscientiousness.
Monks, those sublime beings who have these three qualities will practice
generosity, engage in merit, and maintain discipline after taking it on. As
a result, when their bodies fail and they die, they will meet happy
destinies and take birth in the higher realms, among the gods.”

These words were proclaimed by the Blessed One. After the Well-Gone
One had said these words, he, the Teacher, went on to say this:

“Due to miserliness and carelessness,

You do not practice generosity.

Therefore, with a mind that yearns for merit,

You should practice generosity.

“The fears of the miserly are such that

Due to their fears of hunger and thirst,

They do not give in this life.

Thus, these childish ones are tainted

By their fear-induced lack of generosity,

Both in this world and in the hereafter.

“But those who forsake miserliness

Will give when it is right to give.

So for them, death is not really death.

They are like well-provisioned travelers.

“Those who give what is hard to give up,

Making offerings, large or small,

Of what is very hard to relinquish,

Such people
are the purifiers of difficult karma.

Unworthy ones do not understand this.

Worthy ones do not do things that transgress the Dharma.

“So it is for the worthy and the unworthy,

That when they have passed from this life,

The unworthy go to hell,

And the worthy go to heaven.

“There is no refuge from the ravages of old age.

As life shortens, the moment when your life force is taken draws
closer.

It is reasonable for those who see this terror of death

To engage in acts that bring merit and happiness.

“Making hundreds of thousands of offerings

Will not amount to a sixteenth fraction

Of the small acts of joyous giving performed

By those who relinquish women and live as a renunciant.

“How can it be that making vast and prodigious offerings

Does not necessarily qualify as the path of appropriate offering?

How can it be that making hundreds of thousands of offerings

Does not amount to a sixteenth fraction of a renunciant’s offering?

“It is so because here, in this life, some childish fools kill and
shackle others,

Brutally ruining them, while donating their wealth to others.

Such generosity accompanied by tear-stained faces and punishment

Does not qualify as the path of appropriate offering.

“Even if such offerings are vast and prodigious,

They do not qualify as the path of appropriate generosity.

This is why even hundreds of thousands of offerings

Do not amount to even a sixteenth fraction of a renunciant’s
offerings.

“Those who are not hypocritical

And who give away righteously acquired wealth

Let go of things that are hard to relinquish.

They will go to the gods’ realms because of their merit.”

After speaking thus, the Blessed One rose from his seat and
proceeded toward a dense forest. He stayed in the dense forest for the day,
sitting beneath a tree.

During that time, many monks gathered in the assembly hall and took
their seats. The elders began to discuss the issue of the most valuable
quality of human beings. Among
those seated in the assembly were the Blessed One’s cousin, his aunt’s son,
venerable Nanda, along with venerable Śroṇakoṭīviṃśa, venerable Aniruddha, and
venerable Śāriputra.

At this point, venerable Nanda said, “Venerable ones, good looks
are the most valuable quality of humans.”

Venerable Śroṇakoṭīviṃśa said, “Venerable ones, diligence is the
most valuable quality of humans.”

They then said, “Venerable ones, since we have all understood things
differently and cannot come to an agreement, we must go to the Blessed One
and report our disagreement to him. We will accept whatever the Blessed One
tells us.”

The venerable ones then praised the Blessed One:

“He is the great compassionate teacher.

He is omniscient and eliminates doubts.

He eradicates uncertainty,

Like the sun dispels darkness.

“He is the sole refuge for living beings,

Who are caught in the net of suffering

And are set on a wrong path.

He is like the best father of children.

“Therefore, we shall all ask him,

The lord of all qualities,

Who strives for the welfare of all sentient beings,

The Sage who eradicates doubt.

“The Victor will eradicate

The great knot of uncertainty.

Therefore, let us all go

And ask the Thus-Gone One.”

Having spoken thus, many of the monks made arrangements to go see
the Blessed One. On this occasion that the Blessed One had settled in the
dense forest to spend the day there, many monks of the saṅgha had meanwhile
gathered and taken their seats in the assembly hall. At this time, he heard
with his unhindered, superhuman, pure, divine ears what they had said. He then rose
from his meditative absorption and returned to the assembly hall. Once
there, he took his seat on the mat that was set out for him in the center of
the assembly. When he was seated, the Blessed One asked the monks, “Monks,
you are all gathered and seated here in the assembly hall. What have you
been discussing? What topic of discussion has presently brought you to
gather and be seated here?”

They responded, “Honorable One, with many monks gathered in the
assembly hall, the venerable ones have been discussing the issue of the most
valuable quality of human beings. Venerable Nanda said, ‘Venerable ones,
good looks are the most valuable quality of humans.’ Venerable
Śroṇakoṭīviṃśa said, ‘Venerable ones, diligence is the most valuable quality
of humans.’ Venerable Aniruddha said, ‘Venerable ones, being skilled in arts
and crafts is the most valuable quality of humans.’ And venerable Śāriputra
said, ‘Venerable ones, insight alone is the most valuable quality of
humans.’ Honorable One, this is how we deliberated about the matter. Since
we venerable ones were all in disagreement, and each saw things differently,
we decided to come before the Blessed One and ask about this very issue. We
resolved to accept whatever advice the Blessed One gives us. Honorable One,
this is what we, the many monks gathered and seated in the assembly hall,
discussed. This is the topic of discussion that has brought us to assemble
and take our seats here.”

Following their query, the Blessed One replied with the following
verse:

“Good looks, skill in arts and crafts,

Diligence, insight, and all the other qualities that

Sentient beings possess have arisen from merit.

Therefore, merit is most important.”

After uttering this, the Blessed One said to the monks, “Monks,
those things you understood to be the most valuable qualities are only of
limited duration; they are not the most valuable qualities for all beings
and all occasions. Merit, however, is the most valuable quality for all
living beings on all occasions. Monks, in truth, I have not observed a
single thing that is a more valuable quality than merit. Monks, to explain
why, I will tell you a story.”

“Once upon a time, a king named Bright Power ruled from his capital
city. During his reign, the kingdom became more prosperous, expansive, and
pleasant. It had good harvests, and it was filled with a large population of
creatures and humans. The king’s wife was named Queen Vibhūṣitā. She had a
lovely figure and was beautiful, most pleasing to the eye. Some time later,
he frolicked and enjoyed himself with Queen Vibhūṣitā, and they made love.
From this playing, pleasuring, and lovemaking, a son was born.

Their son also had a lovely figure. He was beautiful and pleasing to
the eye. His complexion surpassed that of humans but did not quite equal
that of the gods. At his birth, a celebratory ceremony was arranged, and on
this occasion he was given the name Rūpabala. Later, three more sons were
born. They were named Vīryavanta, Śilpavanta, and Prajñāvanta.

“After some time, Queen Vibhūṣitā again became pregnant with another
son. On the day of this child’s conception, gold of various hues suddenly
rained down around the palace. Furthermore, a large divine canopy decorated
with various precious jewels appeared above the queen’s head. When King
Bright Power saw these miraculous occurrences, he was amazed and asked the
astrologers, ‘Ah! What is this unprecedented miracle?’ The astrologers
replied, ‘Lord, this son your queen has conceived is one who will be renowned for his
great merit, which is the
power of this being.’
When the king heard this, he was utterly astonished.

“Shortly thereafter, a wish arose in the queen’s mind, and she
beseeched the king, ‘Well now, wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could be seated
on a lion throne, with a white umbrella above me and a yak-tail fan with a
jewel-encrusted handle?’ Thereupon, the king’s mind was filled with joy. He
did just as she wished and ordered that the city be lavishly decorated.
Thus, he ordered that everything be done just as she requested, and nothing
remained unsatisfied of the wish that had arisen in her mind.

“Later, another wish arose in her mind, and she beseeched the king,
‘Well now, wouldn’t it be wonderful if I were seated on a pile of gold and
silver and could then make offerings with my own hands, thus making merit
and providing wealth to those who lack wealth?’ The king agreed to this.
After the king did just as she had requested, nothing remained unsatisfied
of the wish that had arisen in her mind.

“Later, another wish arose in her mind: ‘Well now, wouldn’t it be
wonderful if I were to release all the prisoners?’ In order to fulfill the
wish she had conceived, the king released all the prisoners, and nothing
remained unsatisfied of the wish that had arisen in her mind.

“Later, yet another wish arose in her mind: ‘Well now, wouldn’t it
be wonderful if I were to behold parks?’ At this, the king fulfilled her
wish by letting her behold the beautiful parks, and nothing remained
unsatisfied of the wish that had arisen in her mind.

“Later, still another wish arose in her mind. She beseeched the
king, ‘Well now, wouldn’t it be wonderful if I were to speak words of truth
before a crowd of people? And if, while seated on a divine lion throne
because of the karmic ripening of the merit I possess, I could teach the
Dharma to many people? And if, following my teaching, some miracles would
occur and the gods would immediately make offerings to me?’

“The king then ordered that the queen’s chamber and the wider city
be beautified. All the city’s many residents gathered, attired themselves in
clean apparel, adorned themselves with ornaments, and held incense,
garlands, and perfume in their hands. Goddess-like, Queen Vibhūṣitā entered
the crowd, wearing an assortment of ornaments, surrounded by her female
retinue, and captivating people’s eyes and hearts. Placing her mind in a
state of love that encompassed all sentient beings, she gazed at the sky and
spoke this verse, whose truth was a spiritual blessing:

“ ‘If the child residing inside me like a divine emanation

Is a superior one, a lord of humans, Puṇyabala,

Then by this truth may the gods

Quickly arrange my lion throne.’

“As soon as she uttered those words, the gods who displayed the
power of merit instantaneously offered her a magical lion throne, and divine
flowers began to rain down. When they saw this amazing magical display,
which aroused joy in gods and humans, the crowds of people were astonished.
‘Ah! How powerful is this merit!’ they said in unison. ‘Even the gods who
are worshiped in all worlds are summoned by the power of merit and must
listen to the humans’ commands! How marvelous it is!’

“At this point, Queen Vibhūṣitā was overjoyed. She ascended the
throne without hesitation and took her seat. As soon as the queen sat on the
throne, the earth shook in six different ways, and the lion throne rose from
the ground and ascended into the sky, reaching the height of seven humans.
Next, a divine canopy decorated with various precious jewels appeared over
the lion throne. Because the crowd of people saw the power of merit, their
minds were delighted, and they liberally offered incense, garlands, and
perfume to the queen. They folded their hands out of respect, sat in front of
her and listened to her words with humbled minds. When King Bright Power
likewise saw the astonishing power of merit, he was overjoyed, and together
with his retinue, he sat down with folded hands. Then Queen Vibhūṣitā
recited a verse that had never before been heard:

“ ‘If beings accumulate merit, they will be happy.

Therefore, people should perform meritorious deeds.

Moreover, they should perform them again and again.

They should aspire for this alone.’

“As soon as she uttered these verses, a voice came from the sky,
‘Very well said!’ The sound of divine music could be heard, and a great
shower of highly ornate divine garments rained down. Upon hearing this
verse, King Bright Power and the crowd of people were filled with joy. The
gods present in the sky removed the robes and ornaments from their bodies
without hesitation and draped them over Queen Vibhūṣitā and her lion throne.
In unison they uttered the words, ‘Well said! Well said!’

“After the queen had slowly descended from the lion throne and was
seated on the ground, the sounds of divine music faded, but the sounds of
human music continued to resound. The king and the crowd of people
jubilantly paid great honor to the queen and escorted her back to her
chambers. Once the queen had gone inside, the lion throne disappeared. The
crowd saw the efficacy of merit, and their minds were filled with pure joy.
They said in unison, ‘Ah! This is the greatness of merit! Ah! This is the
sweet fruit of merit!’

“Thereafter, nothing that the queen had wished for was left
unfulfilled. Sometime later, after nine months had elapsed, Queen Vibhūṣitā
gave birth to a son at daybreak. The newborn had a beautiful appearance
and was pleasing to the eye and lovely. At this time, the earth shook in six
different ways, and from the sky a great shower of seven kinds of precious
substances rained down on the queen’s chambers. Various sorts of garments
rained down on everyone around the king’s palace. And everywhere in that
kingdom, supreme, beautiful, divine flowers showered down. Flowering trees
produced flowers, and fruiting trees produced fruit. Gentle rain showers
fell everywhere. Fresh breezes wafted in from the four directions.

“The Four Great Kings spontaneously offered a bejeweled lion throne
and a wish-fulfilling tree in the presence of the newborn child. Śakra, lord
of the gods, held in his own hands fine fabrics, and he held an eight-spoked
divine umbrella and a golden-handled yak-tail fan over the boy. Above him,
the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three unfurled canopies of divine
fabric. Some tossed precious gems, some tossed ornaments, some tossed
garments, some tossed flowers, and some tossed powders. Some tossed
perfumes, garlands, and ointments. Some played exquisite divine music.

“The god Viśvakarma, the architect of the gods, cleared the city of
rocks, gravel, and pebbles, and strung up many cloth tassels. He also
erected victory banners and flags, sprinkled sandalwood water, hung censers
containing sweet-smelling incense, and scattered assorted flowers
everywhere. When he had finished, the city was as attractive as the gods’
pleasure garden, called Park of Delights.

“A hundred of the finest elephants freely came from the dense
jungles and arrayed themselves in formation. A hundred mares and their foals
followed. All the crops ripened marvelously without any plowing or planting.
Below this
lion throne and facing it were five treasuries filled to the brim with all
kinds of jewels, which were never depleted no matter how many were taken
from them. In that moment, even animals that are natural enemies regarded each other with loving hearts.

“The boy had magical and extraordinary powers. Immediately after
being born, he was instantly able to remember his past lives. Looking in the
four directions, he recited a verse:

“ ‘If beings accumulate merit, they will be happy.

Therefore, humans should perform meritorious deeds.

Moreover, they should perform them again and again.

They should aspire for this alone.’

“Thereby, the mind of a magical and exceedingly powerful god who
lived in the sky became overjoyed upon witnessing this exceptionally
wondrous and delightful display of merit. To teach the greatness of this
merit, at that time he uttered this verse:

“ ‘Look at this display of merit!

This merit has overwhelmed

Everyone, from the Four Great Kings

Up to the Lord of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.’

“After witnessing such splendor, the king, the queen’s retinue, the
princes, ministers, courtiers, and other people in the area were wide-eyed
with amazement. In this state of utter astonishment, they exclaimed, ‘Ah!
The power of the boy’s merit! Ah! Even though he’s human, the boy’s merit is
so renowned that he receives abundant wealth like that of gods! How
wonderful!’

“The king, overjoyed and delighted, issued an order to his
treasurers. Heeding his command, they amassed heaps of gold and silver in
the king’s courtyard, and then gave gifts, thus accruing merit. Many poor
people became rich, and a short time later, the king’s wealth increased even
more. A big celebration was held to mark the prince’s birth and give him a
name. The king asked, ‘What should the prince’s name be?’ The ministers
replied, ‘Lord, since this boy has enormous power of merit, and because at
his birth he has accrued wealth like that of the gods, the prince’s name
should be Puṇyabala.’ Thus, he was named Puṇyabala.

From then on, Prince Puṇyabala had eight nurses assigned to him: two
women to hold him, two wet nurses, two women to bathe him, and two women to
play with him. These eight women fed him milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and
cream, and they raised him with great care and affection. He blossomed like
a lotus in a pond.

“When he grew older, he was instructed in letters and perfected his
reading and writing. He perfected the five sets of royal skills.
Furthermore, Prince Puṇyabala had great faith, and he was virtuous and
goodhearted. He worked for the benefit of himself and others. He was
compassionate and a great being, someone who sought the Dharma, loved all
beings, longed to make offerings, loved to give, took great joy in
generosity, and gave away everything. He gave prodigiously without
attachment. He was committed to great generosity.

“He begrudged nothing—not even his own flesh—to ascetics, brahmins,
the poor, the suffering, and the destitute. There was nothing he would not
give away prodigiously. When beggars came to him for alms, he maintained a
loving heart toward them. Looking at the sky, he would generate the
intention, ‘Well now, wouldn’t it be wonderful if whatever they
desired—gold, silver, fabric, food, meals, drink, or bedding—were to come to
me from the sky!’ When he generated such an intention,
whatever they desired would come forth, but none of them understood the
reason. The beggars returned home with their desires thoroughly fulfilled by
these goods. Because of the prince’s fame, he was extolled throughout
Jambudvīpa, from all the netherworlds of the nāgas up to the celestial
realms of Brahmā.

“After some time, Prince Puṇyabala set out on an excursion to the
Pleasure Garden of Supreme Wealth, together with his four older brothers. On
their way, they were encircled by many thousands of begging pretas with
mouths like needles and stomachs like Mount Sumeru. They were
like standing skeletons, their bodies ablaze, venerating him with hands
together. No one other than Prince Puṇyabala could see the pretas. At this
point, the pretas spoke to Prince Puṇyabala saying, ‘Oh Prince, you are
well-known for your great merit. If you are indeed compassionate, please
give to us who are so hungry and thirsty for food and drink. Previously, we
were overpowered by miserliness, and thus we have now been born in the preta
realm. Because of this, in this realm not only have we not found any water
for many hundreds of years, but we have also not seen any kind of food.’

“After they said this, Prince Puṇyabala’s mind was greatly moved by
compassion. In sorrow, he gazed at the sky and gave rise to the thought,
‘Well now, wouldn’t it be wonderful if I received divine food and drink!’
Instantly, divine food and drink came from the sky. Prince Puṇyabala then
gave the hungry and thirsty pretas the divine food and drink, in order to
satisfy them. But for a while, due to the faults of their past karma, they
were unable to see the food and drink. Thus they exclaimed, ‘Oh Prince, you
are renowned as a compassionate person, so why have you not satisfied us?’

“The prince responded, ‘I have provided you with abundant divine
food and drink. What is wrong with this food and drink that you have not
eaten or drunk it yet?’

“The pretas said to him, ‘Oh Prince, we cannot see the divine food
and drink because of the faults of our past karma.’

“Upset, Prince Puṇyabala then thought, ‘Alas! This is due to the
influence of miserliness.’ His heart filled with love for the pretas, and he
expressed an aspiration: ‘If merit has power, may the power of that truth
and the truth of these words allow these pretas to see this divine food and
drink as it really is, and may they have
the ability to consume it.’

“At the very moment the prince uttered these words, they no longer
perceived things erroneously, and their mouths became normal. Thus, Prince
Puṇyabala was exceedingly happy that he had been able to satiate the pretas
with the divine food and drink. But as they received food and drink unlike
any they had ever tasted, due to the power of their utterly unbearable
hunger and thirst, the pretas consumed too much, and their stomachs burst.
Nevertheless, because they died with minds full of appreciation for Prince
Puṇyabala, they were born among the league of the gods of Heaven of Joy.
Thereupon, they proclaimed, ‘Prince Puṇyabala, because you caused us to
manifest among the league of the gods of Heaven of Joy, let us rejoice! Now,
relying only on you, we will become generous and create merit.’ At this,
Prince Puṇyabala felt overjoyed and said, ‘How wonderful!’ He then continued
on his way to the pleasure garden.

“When he and the others arrived at the pleasure garden, they
began to confer and try to
gain certainty about the important subject of what is the most valuable
quality of human beings. His brother the good-looking
prince
said, ‘What is
the point of this question? Even common people know that good looks are
the most valuable quality of humans. Why? When they see someone with good
looks, even if they have never seen this person before, they are
overjoyed—even those who were not joyful before. Even the sages of the past
proclaimed that attaining good looks is fully half of what is to be
attained. Moreover, just observe that when people see someone with good
looks, they are gladdened by merely beholding this person. From their
hearts, they treat this person with respect, just like the best people treat
the supreme Dharma.’

“When the diligent one heard the words of the
good-looking prince, he said, ‘But what are you going to do with these good
looks? Diligence alone is the most valuable quality of humans. Why? If you
have good looks but lack diligence, no desirable results will appear or be
heard of, either at present or in future lives. So to say that good looks
are the most valuable quality will only confuse childish, ordinary
beings. Diligence produces desirable results in this very life. Consider
that such things as farmers’ crops, merchants’ wealth, servants’ sustenance,
superior men’s understanding of scriptures, and meditators’ attainments of
the fruits of meditation all appear in this life as the desirable fruits of
diligence. Diligence also produces fruits in future lives: such things as
the higher realms, vast resources, and the attainment of liberation also
appear in future lives as the fruits of diligence. Moreover, diligence
serves as the basis of all good qualities, and it overcomes harm. Nothing is
harder to attain than diligence.’

“When the artistic one heard this, he laughed
and said, ‘My
mind is unsettled by what you have said, even though you are right in many
respects. Why is this? Because I have never seen anyone achieve any results
through diligence without artistry. This is because I have observed that
those with artistry achieve results. Therefore, artistry alone is the most
valuable quality of humans. Moreover, even low-born artisans are certainly
respected by kings, ministers, brahmins, and householders.

“ ‘Multiskilled artisans are

Greatly respected, even by gods and humans.

Even if their behavior is rough,

Artisans are still respected by gods and humans.’

“After Śilpavanta said this, the wise one gave
a little chuckle and said, ‘Nothing is a more valuable quality for humans
than insight—neither good looks, nor diligence, nor artistry is as useful.
Why? Those with impaired insight may be handsome, but their
attractiveness is conditional. They may be diligent, but
without insight they will not achieve their goals. And without insight, they
cannot learn a craft. Therefore, insight alone
accomplishes all goals, and it is the most valuable quality of humans.

“ ‘Moreover, by way of insight one will acquire good looks and
skills,

As well as diligence and wealth.

People will obtain excellence and great happiness.

Everything is obtained by way of insight.’

“After Prajñāvanta said this, Prince Puṇyabala smiled. When he
spoke, it was as if the power of merit itself flowed from his mouth:
‘Without insight, all these things—good looks, artistry, and diligence—are
not valuable qualities. But those who have accomplished them by way of
insight receive their associated fruits and reap their benefits. This is
plainly true. Yet you cannot acquire insight without merit; and therefore,
merit alone is the most valuable quality of humans. Merit is the one
fundamental source of the goals of attractiveness,
honorableness, delightfulness, pleasantness, and congeniality. I cannot even
begin to describe the full extent of merit’s positive qualities, but to give
you an inkling of them, let me at least explain a mere fraction of merit’s
positive qualities. Listen!

“ ‘Those with merit obtain good looks.

Due to merit they have discipline.

Those with merit obtain good fortune.

And likewise they become prosperous.

“ ‘Those with merit obtain insight.

Due to merit, they master poetry.

Those with merit obtain dignity.

Those with merit obtain good births.

“ ‘Due to merit they are born into a high caste.

Due to merit they remember past lives.

Those with merit gain fame.

Those with merit will have good temperaments.

“ ‘Those with merit become generous.

Those with merit have unimpaired faculties.

Those with merit find happiness.

Those with merit are venerated by the wise.

“ ‘Those with merit obtain power.

Due to merit, they will meet worthy people.

Those with merit fulfill all their goals.

In this life, they will also be suitable recipients of offerings.

“ ‘Whether they make a living from farming or commerce,

If they work to attain the happiness they desire,

Even by working only a little, those with merit

Will obtain vast wealth.

“ ‘Those who accrue merit

Easily attain everything through merit.

Clothing, food, drink, and jewels come from the sky,

Merely by wishing for them.

“ ‘Those with merit obtain lovely homes.

Those with merit get the best wives.

Great merit grants them wealth and crops.

All their wishes will be realized.

“ ‘When those with merit travel,

The ground will be free of logs and thorns.

In accordance with whatever merit they possess,

It may even be level and covered with fabric.

“ ‘They can heal the sick

By merely touching them.

Similarly, when touched by those with merit,

Food, drink, or both,

As well as clothing, jewels, and crops,

Will never be depleted.

“ ‘Because of the greatness of their meritorious natures,

Gods, nāgas, asuras, yakṣas,

Pretas, mahoragas, and humans

Protect those with merit from poison and harm.

“ ‘Those with merit gain respect.

Through merit, they delight many people.

Those with merit become famous.

Those with merit receive good fortune.

The words of those with merit are authoritative.

“ ‘Those with merit become attractive.

Due to merit, they acquire the voice of Brahmā.

Merit will grant them a beautiful physique and complexion.

Those with merit will also have excellent speech.

“ ‘Being mindful and amiable, they will be leaders.

They will be learned in many topics.

They will have faithful retinues.

Those with merit will be free from sickness.

“ ‘And due to the ripening of their aspirations,

They will have gifts and glory.

Those with merit will receive kingdoms.

They will be unrivaled and nonviolent.

“ ‘Because of their merit, their wealth will not diminish.

Those with merit also acquire treasure.

Due to merit, they will become universal monarchs,

“ ‘With radiance equal to the sun and moon

Moving across the sky,

The very moon will be gained by merit.

The very sun will be gained by merit.

“ ‘Brahmā himself will be attained by merit.

Śakra himself will be attained by merit.

Due to merit, people will become gods

Traveling in their celestial chariots.

“ ‘Similarly, they will become sons of gods

Or powerful asura kings.

Those with merit are freed from the lower realms.

Because of merit, they will go to the higher realms.

“ ‘Those with merit find

Exceedingly rare and exquisite flowers.

Those with merit acquire supernatural powers.

Merit illuminates the world.

“ ‘Due to merit, they become

Supreme among gods, asuras, and humans.’

“Thus spoke Prince Puṇyabala. But because of their biased
perspectives, the others did not accept his words. So Puṇyabala spoke to
them again:
‘Hey! Come now! Let’s go to a faraway land, dressed in disguise. That way,
we can learn which is the most valuable quality of humans: good looks,
diligence, artistry, insight, or merit.’

“The other princes agreed to Puṇyabala’s proposal, exclaiming,
‘Let’s do it!’ Thus, without hesitating or even telling their father, they
set out for a faraway kingdom in another land, and entered the realm of a
different king, dressed in disguise.

“When people saw the good-looking one, they
gathered around him because he was so attractive, and he was able to live
solely on the wealth they gave him. The diligent one saw
a strong, swift, and deep river that was terrifying even to look at, and which had swept away a
large sandalwood tree. Through the great power of his diligence, he was able
to haul out that large sandalwood tree that others were not able to salvage,
and he made a living selling it. He became wealthy from this endeavor. The
artistic one made his living by creating crafts and
became wealthy by this trade. The wise one skillfully
negotiated a settlement of a longstanding rivalry between two merchants.
This pleased the two businessmen so much that they paid him enough to live
comfortably.

“In order to highlight the importance of merit-making, Prince
Puṇyabala went to live in a pauper’s house. On his first day living in the
house, the power of Prince Puṇyabala’s merit caused the household to amass
vast riches: great wealth, crops, gold, and silver filled the house. The
pauper was surprised and ecstatic. He wondered, ‘Where did all this new
wealth come from?’ Then he thought again, ‘All this wealth must have
accumulated due to the influence of the newcomer in my house.’

“Prince Puṇyabala let the poor man use the wealth however he
wished. At that time, the poor man became prosperous and his wealth
increased greatly. The man pondered again and thought, ‘I was very poor and
remained so. Now, whatever abundance and fortune I have is dependent on this
youth. Why? On the day this youth came to my home, abundance also came to my
home. This person must therefore be a paragon of great merit, and it would
be appropriate to venerate him.’ Thereafter, he continually revered the
prince with great admiration. The story of the young stranger in a certain
pauper’s house spread far and wide. Everywhere it was proclaimed, ‘Due to
the youth’s power, fortune has come to that house!’ When the populace heard
this, they came to admire Prince Puṇyabala and exclaimed, ‘Ah! How great is
the power of merit!’

“At that time, Puṇyabala’s power caused the flowers and fruit trees
to bloom continuously. Periodically, the gods also sent down showers of
timely rains, which provided for excellent crops. As a result, a great many
people were delighted by the power of merit, and wishing to behold this
spectacle, they set out to witness it for themselves. Prince Puṇyabala
wanted to bring together the people who were approaching him. He gave rise
to this aspiration: ‘Well now, wouldn’t it be wonderful if I had a house
that was delightful to look at in all sorts of ways, replete with all kinds
of jewels and various sorts of goods, and teeming with male and female staff
and servants?’

“Monks, as soon as
those wishes arose, Prince Puṇyabala suddenly had a large house that was
delightful to look at in every way, replete with all sorts of jewels,
supplied with various types of goods, and teeming with male and female staff
and servants. When they saw this, many people were amazed and began to
treasure merit. Thinking, ‘Ah! The fruits of merit are so sweet,’ they
revered Prince Puṇyabala with great admiration. Knowing that many people’s
minds were delighted, Prince Puṇyabala employed what was efficacious from
among the four means of enticement: he attracted some through generosity; he
attracted others through kind words; he attracted still others through
engaging in beneficial conduct; and he attracted the rest through the
consistency of his words and his deeds. Thus, his fame spread throughout the
king’s realm.

“A while later, Prince Puṇyabala saw a man who had offered his
medicinal expertise to a rival king, and as a consequence, executioners had
amputated his limbs. A great deal of blood had drained from his body, and so
his complexion had become gaunt. When Prince Puṇyabala appeared there, as
soon as the man saw him, he wept loudly, crying out to him piteously, ‘Save
me, young lord!’ When Prince Puṇyabala saw this, compassion arose in his
mind, and he wondered, ‘By what means might I save him?’ He gave rise to
this thought: ‘Right here and now I should demonstrate to the world the
power of merit!’

“Then Prince Puṇyabala noticed the man’s fever, and his mind was
saturated with compassion. He drew blood from his own veins, and by
transfusing it into the man, he completely healed his gaunt complexion.

“When Prince Puṇyabala saw that the man was in excruciating pain
due to the amputation of his limbs, he wished to take on this suffering. He
therefore cut off his own legs and arms in order to attach them to the man’s
body in the appropriate places. Gazing at the sky, he cultivated an attitude
of loving-kindness that extended to all sentient beings and
spoke words of truth: ‘It is true that I do not recall performing any
nonvirtuous deeds whatsoever since this body of mine was born. Through these
words of truth, may my arms and legs thus be attached to this man in the
appropriate places. May his body be restored to its original state.’

“As soon as he said this, Prince Puṇyabala’s severed limbs were
attached to the man’s body in the appropriate places. The man’s body was
thereby restored to its original state, his wounds were all healed, and
there were not even any visible scars. When Prince Puṇyabala observed that
the man’s body had been restored to its original state, his mind filled with
joy. He thought, ‘Now that my intention has been fulfilled, the pain I have
undergone has yielded fruit. My wish has been fulfilled!

“ ‘Moreover, after restoring him with my own blood and lengthening
his limbs with my own limbs, by invoking truth, his body has become just as
it was previously, and his precious life has been given back to him. In the
same way, through these same virtuous roots, after I have attained
unsurpassed and perfect awakening, may I satiate this man with the nectar of
the supreme Buddhadharma. May I place him in the everlasting ultimate, the
attainment and security of nirvāṇa.’

“At that moment, the earth shook in six different ways. The palaces
of the great lords were thoroughly rocked by the tremors. This made Śakra,
the lord of the gods, wonder, ‘Who is causing the earth to shake?’ He had
witnessed Prince Puṇyabala’s performance of these extremely difficult tasks.
Seeing this, he was astonished. He developed conviction, and thought, ‘I
will find out why this great being performed these extremely difficult
tasks.’ Thereupon, Śakra, lord of the gods, descended from his abode in the
Heaven of the Thirty-Three and emanated himself as a brahmin. He approached
Prince Puṇyabala and asked, ‘Puṇyabala, why did you deprive
yourself of your arms and legs?’

“Prince Puṇyabala did not recognize him. He answered this question
at length: ‘Friend, I suffer when others suffer. I am overjoyed when others
are happy. Therefore, when I saw this person distraught and in unbearable
pain, I wished that his suffering would be experienced by me instead of him.
Having given away my own arms and legs, inspired by truth, I restored this
man’s body to its previous state.’

“At this, Śakra, the lord of the gods, became utterly amazed. He
caused his brahmin body to disappear and stood there in his true form. He
said to Prince Puṇyabala, ‘O Prince, when you were deciding to give away
your own arms and legs—and when you did give them away—did you consider
changing your mind or have a moment of regret?’

“ ‘Kauśika,’ Prince Puṇyabala responded, ‘when I was deciding to
give away my own arms and legs and when I did give them away, I did not
consider changing my mind, nor did I have a moment of regret.’

“ ‘How can I verify this?’ asked Śakra.

“Prince Puṇyabala replied, ‘In this case, Kauśika, I will
demonstrate the words of truth, so listen!’ Prince Puṇyabala proceeded to
apply the attitude of loving-kindness that extended to all sentient beings.
Gazing in the four directions, he uttered this verse inspired by truth:

“ ‘If, when I severed my arms and legs today,

I had no regrets,

Then by my words of truth,

May my body become just as it was before.’

“As soon as he uttered this verse, the great being’s body
immediately reverted to its previous state. Divine flowers rained down from the sky.
The sounds of divine music resounded. A gentle, fresh breeze began to
blow.

“Śakra, the lord of the gods, was astounded by this merit. It
inspired faith in gods and humans. At that time, in amazement at having
witnessed for himself the copious fruits of ripened merit, faith arose in
his mindstream. He asked Prince Puṇyabala, ‘O Prince, what do you wish to
accomplish through this effort?’

“Puṇyabala responded, ‘Kauśika, I wish that through this effort,
after attaining unsurpassed and perfect awakening, I may extricate all
sentient beings from the ocean of saṃsāra. I aspire to establish them in the
everlasting ultimate, the attainment and security of nirvāṇa.’

“When Śakra, the lord of the gods, realized that Prince Puṇyabala’s
intent to attain unsurpassed and perfect awakening was as immovable as Mount
Sumeru, he was pleased and said, ‘Well done, well done, great being! Your
aspiration is vast! Your perseverance cannot be shaken! Because of this
perseverance, it will not be long before you awaken to perfect
buddhahood—the unsurpassed and perfect awakening.’ After Śakra, the lord of
the gods, praised Prince Puṇyabala, he disappeared. And having fulfilled his
aspirations, Prince Puṇyabala returned home.

“Later, the king from that town passed away, but he left no son. So
his retinue of queens, the grooms, the ministers, the people from the city,
and the people from the countryside all gathered. They deliberated, ‘Alas!
We must enthrone a king!’ At this point, one of them said, ‘Let us enthrone
as king someone who is greatly renowned for merit.’ Then together they
exclaimed, ‘Let it be so!’ They all agreed, and thus took up the search for
a suitable person to be king, one greatly renowned for merit. They
dispatched scouts in all directions.

“Meanwhile, motivated by the previous virtuous roots that would
enable him to become king at that time, Prince Puṇyabala, together with his
close friends, had journeyed to a pleasure garden on the outskirts of the
city. Upon their arrival, several auspicious omens appeared: A rain shower
fell from the sky onto his head. Brightly colored birds circled clockwise.
Young boys and girls proclaimed words of victory, standing there with high
spirits and happy thoughts. The prince was so overjoyed that all the hairs
on his body stood on end. The ground became free from any rocks, gravel, and
pebbles. His body also became very light. He heard joyous and pleasing
sounds.

“Prince Puṇyabala was an expert in prognostication, and he thought,
‘These omens that appear to me now indicate without doubt that I will be
enthroned as a great king!’ Then he entered the groves at the perimeter of
the pleasure garden. Experiencing joy among the groves of the pleasure
garden, he went to sleep under an aśoka tree that was heavy with blossoming
flowers. His friends wandered around in the pleasure garden, utterly
enthralled with its flowers and fruits. While they enjoyed the pleasure
garden, the power of Prince Puṇyabala’s merit inspired the nāgas to cause an
incredibly magnificent, fragrant-smelling, beautifully colored, joy-giving,
thousand-petaled, divine lotus to blossom from the ground. This great lotus
gradually and slowly lifted Prince Puṇyabala as he lay there; but due to a
magical blessing, he did not awake. After the time of the midday meal, the
shadows of the other trees extended toward the east and descended toward the
east. But even as the other shadows descended toward the east, the shadow of
the aśoka tree did not leave Prince Puṇyabala’s body.

“All the flowers and fruit trees in the park inclined toward the aśoka
tree, and each of them bowed. Deer and birds delightful to behold
engaged in auspicious activities; after circumambulating him in a gentle
manner, they came to rest. Meanwhile, in his sleep, Prince Puṇyabala was
still deep in dreams. He dreamed that he was sitting atop a massive heap of
filth. Then he dreamed that he was deep in the filth. He dreamed that he
licked the sky. He dreamed that he sat atop a lotus. He dreamed that he
ascended to the summit of a mountain. He dreamed that a large crowd of
people prostrated before him.

“At about the same time, some of the people sent out to search for
a king by the townsfolk, ministers, and people from the countryside arrived
in that area, accompanied by various other people. When they witnessed
Prince Puṇyabala’s godlike wealth, they became amazed. They concluded, ‘This
being must be one who is greatly renowned for his merit.’ They hastened
directly to the townsfolk, ministers, and people from the countryside and
described this in detail.

“At that moment, Prince Puṇyabala awoke. Because he was an expert
in interpreting dreams, this thought entered his mind regarding the
interpretation of those dreams: ‘The dream in which I was sitting atop a
massive heap of filth is an omen that I will be installed as the sovereign
of a great kingdom. The dream in which I was deep in filth is an omen that I
will sit upon a great lion throne. The dream in which I ascended to the
summit of a mountain is an omen that I will rise above everyone. The dream
in which a large crowd of people prostrated before me is an omen that large
crowds of people will venerate me. Since I had such dreams and witnessed
such omens, it is certain that I will become king this very day.’

“When they heard the report from the search party, the townsfolk,
ministers, and people from the countryside grew excited. All together they
proceeded to the pleasure garden carrying the implements needed for a royal
coronation. A short time later, they too witnessed the prince’s divine
wealth, and were deeply astonished when they beheld it. When Prince
Puṇyabala noticed them, he was sitting cross-legged on the divine giant
lotus. Inspired by Prince Puṇyabala’s merit, the Four Great Kings offered
him a divine lion throne fit for a great being. Śakra, the lord of the gods,
offered him a white umbrella and a yak-tail fan with a jeweled handle. The
gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three spread out divine canopies decorated
with various precious gems. The gods who live in the air and the sky rained
down myriad divine flowers. The gods in the Four Great Kings’ realm showered
down precious gems, played divine music, and scattered garments.

“The royal palace precincts, the pleasure garden, and the forest
were all beautified. Rocks, gravel, and pebbles were removed. Victory
banners and pennants were hoisted. Tasseled flags were strung out
everywhere. Censers of fragrant incense were hung. Various sorts of flowers
were scattered. Everything was decked out like a divine realm. At Śakra’s
request, the god Viśvakarma emanated a divine multistoried mansion for
Prince Puṇyabala’s enjoyment in that pleasure garden. It was created from
four kinds of precious substances and endowed with myriad features.

“When the townsfolk, ministers, city dwellers, and people from the
countryside beheld all this divine opulence, they were astounded. With great
respect and with no hesitation, they entreated Prince Puṇyabala to be seated
on the divine lion throne. With utmost veneration, he was then crowned as
their sovereign.

“Monks, immediately after the coronation, light rays that outshone
even the sun’s corona radiated from Prince Puṇyabala’s body. These divine
rays pervaded space for a league directly around him. From then on, he was
no longer called Prince Puṇyabala; his name was changed to King
Avabhāsakara. Since then, he has been
known to some as King Puṇyabala, while others know him as King
Avabhāsakara.

“After this, King Puṇyabala took his wealth, the wealth of gods and
humans, and proceeded to the royal palace, where he was properly attended by
Śakra and the other gods. From then on, King Puṇyabala reigned in the royal
palace. The kingdom now possessed riches, a vast territory, happiness, good
harvests, and a sizable population. Arguments and disputes were settled.
Fighting, infighting, thieves, diseases, and hunger all disappeared. The
kingdom was replete with wild rice, sugarcane, cattle, and buffaloes. He
treated everyone like his own son and governed the kingdom in accordance
with the Dharma. Flower and fruit trees were
always abundant. The gods sent down showers of timely rains, and this
produced excellent crops.

“Soon thereafter, his brothers heard the story of the coronation.
Upon hearing it, they were amazed and said to each other, ‘So Puṇyabala has
defeated us both in his pledge, as well as in power and wealth. Why? Because
through his merit, he has become the great sovereign master of a kingdom.
Come, before he makes inquiries after us; let us all go and gratify King
Puṇyabala!’

“They set out for King Puṇyabala’s residence. Upon arriving they
said, ‘May King Puṇyabala reign! May he have a long life!’ Then they sat
down together. While sitting together, they said to King Puṇyabala, ‘Well done, O Lord!
Well done! You have been steadfast in your pledge. You have defeated us both
in your pledge, as well as in power. Why? Because due to your merit, you
have accomplished your objectives. You have become the sovereign master of a
great kingdom.’

“Humbly, King Puṇyabala rose promptly from his lion throne and
showed his brothers respect by seating them on seats fit for nobles. The
brothers returned his respects, and then he sat back on the lion throne.
From his throne, he delighted them by telling stories about their past, thus
putting them at ease. After honoring them with great respect, he gave them
all a considerable share of his wealth.

“Later, wishing to establish his brothers and the populace in
merit-making, he addressed a large gathering:

“ ‘Lack of merit causes unbearable suffering to multiply,

And one is reborn in hell.

Those without merit will go

To the unbearable and forsaken animal destinies.

“ ‘Due to lack of merit, they will be reborn

As pretas who are tormented by hunger and thirst.

Due to lack of merit, they will become

Slaves who suffer deeply and endlessly.

“ ‘Due to lack of merit, they will become mute.

Due to lack of merit, they will become deaf.

Due to lack of merit, they will become dull,

Intellectually unstable, and mentally unsound.

“ ‘Due to lack of merit, they will have wrong understanding.

They will also become ugly.

Lack of merit causes beings to be born in the lowest castes,

Among those who are despised by the entire world.

“ ‘Due to lack of merit, they will become deluded

And hated by the world.

Due to lack of merit, they will become insane.

Due to lack of merit, enemies will appear.

“ ‘Due to lack of merit, despite striving for all their goals,

Their efforts will be wasted.

Likewise, due to lack of merit,

Their bodies will become rough and cracked.

“ ‘Due to lack of merit, they will always

Lack splendor and radiance.

Due to lack of merit, even insentient things

Will become their enemies.

“ ‘Due to lack of merit, they will be killed swiftly

By pretas, mahoragas, or demons.

Due to lack of merit, beneficial medicine

Will cause them tremendous harm.

“ ‘Due to lack of merit, they will become poor.

Due to lack of merit, they will be despised.

Due to lack of merit,

People will disparage them viciously.

“ ‘Due to lack of merit, they will always

Be separated from their group.

Due to lack of merit, they will lose their eyes.

Due to lack of merit, they will be habituated to suffering.

“ ‘Due to lack of merit, they will incur many illnesses,

And lack of merit makes it difficult to recover.

Due to lack of merit, they will have unsightly bodies.

Due to lack of merit, they will have unpleasant voices.

“ ‘Due to lack of merit, they will have missing fingers,

Crippled legs, and ineffective
words.

Due to lack of merit,

Kings, thieves, and fires will destroy their wealth.

“ ‘Due to lack of merit, they will hear unpleasant things.

Due to lack of merit, they will always be fearful.

Due to lack of merit, when they travel

The ground will be covered in stumps and thorns.

“ ‘If they are people who desire wealth,

Whether as workers or merchants,

Due to lack of merit, they will always squander their time,

And will never become wealthy.

“ ‘Anything and everything in the world

That is unhappy, unpleasant, and unbeneficial,

And likewise all their downfalls—

All these things are due to lack of merit.

“ ‘Merit, on the other hand, will protect you.

Merit will make you diligent.

Merit wards off heat and cold.

Merit prevents untimely rains.

“ ‘Merit is like a wish-fulfilling cow.

Merit yields wish-fulfilling jewels.

Merit yields wish-fulfilling trees,

Whose fruits all ripen as you wish.

“ ‘Through merit you will receive praise.

Merit makes you stunningly attractive.

Merit makes you trustworthy.

Those who have merit are born in high castes.

“ ‘Through merit you will become famous.

Through merit you will become learned.

Merit bestows extensive delights.

Through merit you will retain what you learn.

“ ‘Because one dies without illness due to merit,

Merit defeats the Lord of Death.

Those who may greatly fear the Lord of Death

Should have no fear because of their merit.

“ ‘The gods who live in celestial mansions

Also live in divine joy because of merit.

Because of merit, you can become a god in the Heaven of the
Thirty-Three.

Similarly, because of merit you can become a god in the Heaven Free from
Strife.

“ ‘Because of merit, you become a supreme god in the Heaven of Joy.

The same is true for the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations.

Because of merit, you will become a Lord of the Desire Realm.

Similarly, you become a god in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’
Emanations.

“ ‘Merit can also make you a great Brahmā,

Who is respected by ten million gods.

You could wield sovereign power

Over Brahmā’s thousand worlds.

“ ‘Because of merit, you will get whatever you wish,

Always secure in good fortune.

Merit even enables you

To control insentient objects.’

“When King Puṇyabala declared these delightful words that are the
appropriate teaching for this and future lives, the crowd entrusted
themselves to merit. Then, so that even more in the crowd might cherish
merit to a greater degree, King Puṇyabala gazed at the sky, and having given
rise to the aspiration to inspire more people, said, ‘Well now, wouldn’t it
be wonderful if a shower of various precious divine jewels and garments were
to rain down on my inner and outer courts!’

Monks, as soon as King Puṇyabala voiced this aspiration, a stream
of various types of divine garments fit for nobles rained down from the sky.
After that, a stream of beautiful divine flowers rained down. After that, a stream
of divine jewels rained down, resounding loudly, and the entire royal palace
and its environs were covered with various precious jewels. When the whole
crowd witnessed this wondrous display of merit, which made gods and humans
rejoice, they were amazed. They all came to cherish merit. Overjoyed, they
exclaimed, ‘Ah! Lord Puṇyabala’s merit is indeed great!’

“Soon thereafter, during a conversation, the kings of the Western
Continent heard of this, and they were very impressed. Saying, ‘This great
being is very famous because of his merit; he must be worthy of veneration,’
they all assembled. After mustering four divisions of troops—an elephant
division, a cavalry division, a chariot division, and an infantry
division—they all went to pay their respects to King Puṇyabala.

“They descended from their mounts, touched King Puṇyabala’s feet,
pressed their hands together, and said, ‘Lord, you are very famous for the
power of your merit. We beseech you to be our king, and we beg to become
your servants.’ Then, having thoroughly satisfied them by giving them
precious jewels suitable for great beings, King Puṇyabala set them and their
retinues on the path of the ten virtues. He then dispatched them to their
respective lands.

“Eventually his father, King Bright Power, heard of these events.
As soon as he heard of them, he promptly sent messengers, and very soon
thereafter he himself set off with a vast contingent. When he arrived in the
vicinity to pay his respects to King Puṇyabala, he swooned with longing for
his cherished son. His eyes welled up, he was choked with tears, and he wept
profusely. Dismounting from his elephant with tears in his eyes, he embraced
King Puṇyabala around the neck without hesitation. Holding his head, he
examined him for a long time and then said, ‘Young son, please understand
what I say to you now. I have grown old and decrepit. Because I am no longer
able to bear the burden of ruling the kingdom, you must shoulder the burden
of sovereignty.’ As he said this, King Bright Power offered the crown,
diadem, and tiara from his own head.

“In this way, by degrees, King Puṇyabala came to have dominion over
the sovereigns of all the kingdoms of Jambudvīpa. After satisfying all the
many beings who resided in Jambudvīpa with whatever they desired of gold and
silver, he set them on the path of the ten virtues. During this time, no one
in Jambudvīpa was poor or sick. All the people of Jambudvīpa were happy.
They were free from diseases and endowed with strength. They had prodigious
faculties. They were wealthy and had vast resources. They came to acquire
great stores of wealth, many possessions, multitudes of riches, grains,
gold, silver, storehouses, and treasuries. All Jambudvīpa possessed riches,
prosperity, happiness, and good harvests, and was filled with many animals
and people. Quarrels and fights were quelled, and there was freedom from
fighting, infighting, thievery, disease, and famine. Wild rice, sugarcane,
cattle, and buffaloes were all plentiful. There were no thorns, rocks,
gravel, or pebbles. Flowering and fruiting trees were continuously in bloom.
The gods sent down showers of timely rains, and the fields yielded excellent
crops.

“At this time, the entire populace was delighted and entrusted
themselves to merit. They continuously performed acts of charity and merit.
They maintained one-day precepts and maintained discipline after taking it
on. During this time, those who passed on from being humans in
Jambudvīpa—everyone separated from their bodies—were born among the gods. Most of
them were born among the gods of the Heaven of the Four Great Kings. After
enabling countless beings to achieve their objectives in this life and the
next, when King Puṇyabala and many thousands of others in his retinue died,
they were born in the Heaven of Joy.

“Monks, do not think that King Puṇyabala at that time was anyone
other than me. I am the one who became a bodhisattva at that time. King
Puṇyabala’s father, King Bright Power, is now none other than King
Śuddhodana; King Śuddhodana was King Bright Power at that time. Queen
Vibhūṣitā is now none other than Queen Mahāmāyādevī. The good-looking prince is now
none other than my aunt’s son, the monk Nanda. The diligent
one is now none other than the monk Śroṇakoṭīviṃśa. The
artistic one is now none other than the monk Aniruddha.
The wise one is now none other than the monk Śāriputra.
Śakra, the lord of the gods, is now none other than the monk Maudgalyāyana.
The king who died before Puṇyabala succeeded him is now none other than the
evil one, Māra. The poor man in whose house Puṇyabala stayed is now none
other than the monk Rāhula. The man whose limbs were amputated by a king—who
was restored by Prince Puṇyabala’s own blood, whose limbs were lengthened by
his own limbs, and whose body was restored to its previous state by his
words of inspiration by words of truth—is now none other than the monk
Kauṇḍinya. He was the man who at that time offered his medical expertise to
a king.

“Therefore, monks, you should understand that merit, called by that
very name, is the most valuable quality of all sentient beings for all times
and in all respects. Monks, this is why I have declared, ‘I
have never observed anything that is a more valuable quality of sentient
beings than merit.’ ”

After he had spoken, some monks had doubts. They asked the Blessed
One, the Buddha, the one who dispels doubts, “Honorable One, through the
ripening of what sort of karma did King Puṇyabala come to be renowned as a
great and powerful king? And why did the gods and humans bestow kingship on
him? Why did everything he thought of and wished for drop from the sky when
he merely wished it? Why did the earth shake as this occurred? And why did
it rain knee-high divine jewels? Why was he placed on a divine lion throne?
Why did Śakra, the lord of the gods, hold in his own hands fine fabrics and
a divine umbrella for him? Why did inexhaustible treasures appear?”

“Monks,” the Blessed One replied, “it was because King Puṇyabala
had gathered the provisions and had set up the conditions. He had performed
and accumulated these karmic deeds that bring inevitable results that come about like waves.
Therefore, monks, do you think that anyone other than Puṇyabala—who himself
had performed and accumulated such deeds—would experience them?

“Monks, actions that are performed and accumulated do not ripen
upon the external earth element, or the water element, or the fire element,
or the wind element. The virtuous and nonvirtuous actions that are performed
and accumulated will only ripen upon the appropriated aggregates,
constituents, and sense bases.

“The karmic deeds of embodied beings

Are never wasted, not even in a hundred eons.

When they are accumulated and the time arrives,

Their fruits will ripen automatically.

“Monks, once upon a time the blessed Buddha Aparājita was born in
the world. He was a teacher, a thus-gone one, a worthy one, a perfect
buddha, someone endowed with perfect knowledge and conduct, a well-gone
one, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed guide and tamer of beings, a
teacher of gods and humans. Sometime later, after performing all his buddha
activities, this perfect Buddha Aparājita attained complete nirvāṇa. This
was the nirvāṇa without remaining aggregates, which is just like a fire at a
king’s palace that has burned out and been extinguished. After the king
constructed a stūpa for his relics, periodic celebrations were held. Later,
when a celebration was held for the stūpa, a log drum was beaten,
kettledrums were beaten, and a conch shell was blown. Later, in the
afternoon light, a monk sat in the middle of the crowd and taught the Dharma
to hundreds of thousands of living beings.

“During this period, among the king’s court was a man named
Dyūtajaya, who was deeply addicted to gambling. His wife was named Vijayā,
and his son was named Vijaya. One day Dyūtajaya lost all his
possessions—everything inside and outside his house—to a wager. All that was
left were the clothes he wore, an umbrella, his sandals, and five
paṇa of cowrie
shells. After everything he owned had been lost, he was tormented by
unbearable worry and stress.

“He said, ‘Alas! It is terribly unfortunate that I have not created
merit and am now utterly destitute!’ Exhaling a long, deep, strong breath,
he put on his two sandals. With his five paṇa and his umbrella, he left the
gambling den. Eventually, he arrived at a place where people were listening
to the Dharma. When he saw so many people listening to the Dharma with
folded hands, he was very pleased. He thought, ‘Just for a while, let me see
what kind of Dharma instruction this is.’ To listen to the Dharma, he put
his umbrella to one side and sat down. Removing his sandals, he listened
with folded hands. After a while, the Dharma preacher
uttered the following verse:

“ ‘If beings accumulate merit, they will be happy.

Therefore, humans should perform meritorious deeds.

Moreover, they should perform them again and again.

They should aspire for this alone.’

“Upon hearing this verse, he thought, ‘It is indeed true that the
accumulation of merit leads to happiness! Why? It is only my past actions
that have led to my present unbearable suffering. Certainly, this is because
I did not gather merit in the past. I must perform a few meritorious
deeds!’

“Having considered things in this way, he thought of his remaining
possessions. He saw that nothing remained aside from the clothing he was
wearing, the umbrella, the pair of sandals, and the five paṇa of cowrie
shells, and that he had lost everything else gambling. He then thought, ‘If
I offer my five paṇa of cowrie shells and my upper garment, I may die of
hunger. But if I do not offer them, I will certainly enter the next life
without merit, and there I will again experience the suffering of poverty.
If only there were some way to neither starve to death nor exhaust my
merit!’ He thought further, ‘But I would rather die of hunger than enter the
next world without merit. Therefore, I must offer my five paṇa of cowrie
shells and my upper garment.’

“While he was thinking this, the Dharma preacher uttered another
verse:

“ ‘If you engage in merit only slowly,

You will actually be delighting in wrongdoing.

So you should be virtuous quickly,

To turn your mind away from wrongdoing.’

“When he heard this verse, Dyūtajaya thought, ‘He said, “Perform
merit quickly!” I should make an offering immediately!’ Thus it happened
that this gambler, wretched due to poverty but with strong devotion,
approached the Dharma preacher’s lion throne and held his umbrella over his
head. Then he
left his sandals near the Dharma preacher’s feet, scattered his five paṇa of
cowrie shells before the Dharma preacher’s feet, removed the upper garment
from his body, and used it to cover the Dharma preacher’s feet. All his
bodily hair stood on end, and he developed faith. Touching the teacher’s
feet, he established a powerful aspiration of faith: ‘Due to these virtuous
roots, the mind of awakening, and this offering for the sake of the Dharma,
from this time onward may I never be poor. May I be greatly renowned for my
merit in all my lives. May gods and humans make me king. May all the things
I wish for be provided from the sky. May many miracles and wonders appear
when I am reborn. May inexhaustible treasuries with many precious jewels and
various precious gems appear wherever I am.’

“As he made these aspirations, the Dharma preacher made dedications
for him in his prayers, and the entire assembly departed. Reflecting on the
offering he had made for the Dharma, Dyūtajaya returned home wearing one
piece of cloth. Seeing him, his wife and son thought, ‘He must have lost
even his upper
garment while gambling somewhere.’ They were infuriated and said, ‘The only
things you have left to lose are the two of us. You now intend to wager us!
Go away!’

“Feeling ashamed, he thought, ‘It is due to the fault of poverty
that I am humiliated in this way.’ He then uttered the following verse:

“ ‘Such suffering is the suffering of poverty!

How acute a suffering it is to be poor!

Being poor is the same as dying.

I would rather die than be poor.’

“After saying this, he exhaled a long, deep, strong breath and sat
silently.

“In the courtyard of their house, there was a well. His wife tried
to draw water from it with a pot and a rope. But even after trying for a while, she
could not pull up the water. After a while, still unable to raise it, she
said to Dyūtajaya, ‘Master, I am
unable to pull up this pot. Please come and have a look.’

“Dyūtajaya also tried to pull it up. After he proved unable to pull
it up, the two of them called their son. Then the three of them
together—with a great effort that tore their skin and flesh—were suddenly
successful. After some time they noticed that in the bottom of the pot,
weighing it down, were five pairs of copper vessels filled with gold and
silver. At the moment when Dyūtajaya witnessed the wondrous fruits of giving
that had ripened in that very life, his eyes widened with astonishment. With
a joyous heart, he sang the following verse:

“ ‘Ah! On the faultless field,

Naturally replete with good qualities,

I sowed seeds moments ago;

And already the fruits have ripened!’

“At this, his wife’s eyes also grew wide with astonishment. She
said, ‘Master, what were you thinking when you said that?’ He replied by
relating what had happened in detail. After witnessing the wondrous ripening
of the supremely pleasing fruits of meritorious actions in the present life,
she too was amazed.

“The news was passed on from one person to another until it reached
the king’s palace. When the populace heard, people were astonished; and in
astonishment they said, ‘Ah! How wondrous! Ah! Such is
the greatness of merit!’

“At this point, having directly witnessed the fruits of merit, upon
suddenly becoming rich and acquiring great wealth due to fervent faith in
the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, he ardently venerated them. Every day he
made vast offerings to the Buddha’s stūpas, listened to the Dharma, and,
with excellent food, satisfied the monks who had been appointed by the
Saṅgha. Using his wealth, he also fulfilled the wishes of ascetics,
brahmins, the poor, the sick, and beggars from elsewhere. He made an offering of a
grand temple replete with all facilities. After presenting it to the monks
of the Saṅgha of the four directions, his fame spread to all the members of
the royal court.

“Sometime later, the king passed away, and the royal court had no
heir to the throne. The townsfolk and ministers were aware that Dyūtajaya
was renowned for his great merit and made him their king. Since then, people
started calling him King Jaya (“Winner”)
instead of his old name, Dyūtajaya. Having witnessed the supremely pleasing
fruits of ripened merit in his very lifetime, King Jaya developed
conviction, and he entrusted himself mainly to merit. He continually made
offerings and engaged in meritorious acts. He took up discipline and
maintained it. He also urged the queen’s court, the ministers, the
townsfolk, people from the countryside, and other groups to perform
meritorious deeds.

“Later still, after King Jaya inevitably died, he was reborn
alongside the gods of the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations. He was
reborn as the son of its king, Vaśavartin. When he was born, a rain of great
divine jewels and a rain of resplendent fabric descended from the sky. Light
from his body illuminated all Vaśavartin’s palaces. This radiance was so
bright that it outshone the radiance of the other gods in the Heaven of
Making Use of Others’ Emanations. Having witnessed the wondrous ripening of
the fruits of merit for themselves, the other gods of the Heaven of Making
Use of Others’ Emanations were utterly amazed.

“Monks, do not think that the gambler who became a king at that
place and time was someone else. Dyūtajaya, that very same person, later
became King Puṇyabala. After hearing the Dharma, because his
mind developed faith, this person offered the Dharma preacher his umbrella,
sandals, upper garment, and five paṇa of cowrie shells. The results of these
karmic deeds were that five lots of treasure appeared, and he was crowned as
a king with dominion over his realm in that very lifetime. The ripening of
that karma also led him to become the king of the gods of the Heaven of
Making Use of Others' Emanations thirty-six times, the king of the Heaven of
Delighting in Emanations thirty-six times, the king of Tuṣita thirty-six
times, the king of the Heaven Free from Strife thirty-six times, the king of
the Heaven of the Thirty-Three thirty-six times, and the king of the Heaven
of the Four Great Kings thirty-six times. Many hundreds of times he was a
universal monarch, victorious in the four directions, a Dharma king who
lived by the Dharma and possessed a universal monarch’s seven precious
possessions. The seven possessions are the precious wheel, the precious
elephant, the precious horse, the precious jewel, the precious woman, the
precious householder, and the precious minister as the
seventh.
He had one thousand sons, and they were all brave, courageous, handsome, and
able to subdue the armies of others. Consequently, he extended his rule over this great world
to the shores of the ocean, without causing any harm, without violence,
without any interruptions, without coercion, and without recourse to
warfare, in accordance with the Dharma. Due to his fairness, he was able to
remain at ease.”

Then the Blessed One uttered these verses:

“This is the cause by which one becomes

A ruler of great beings.

The buddhas, who wish to help

Those in the world, speak in this way.

“Upon hearing of these vast miracles

And wonders,

Who would not become devout,

Whether they were born into a family of sages or miscreants?

“Therefore, those who want the best for themselves, and

Who wish to become great beings in this life,

Should be mindful of the Buddha’s teachings

And regard the supreme Dharma as preeminent.

“Therefore, monks, you should venerate the supreme Dharma. Take it
to be preeminent. Honor it. Worship it. You must train in this way.
Yes,
monks, you should venerate the supreme Dharma. Take it to be preeminent.
Honor it. Worship it. You must train upon it in this way.”

When the Blessed One spoke these words, the monks rejoiced and
praised his words effusively.

The Exemplary Tale of Puṇyabala is complete.

Colophon

This work was translated and finalized by the Indian preceptor
Jinamitra and the great editor and translator, Bandé Devacandra.

Notes

Bibliography

Source Texts

Secondary Sources

Pleasure Garden of Supreme Wealth

Mahāvastu
mahāvastu