佛說大迦葉本經

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was wandering and teaching on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa (Vulture Peak) in the city of Rājagṛha. At that time, in the city there was a wealthy brahmin named Nigrodha (which means "free from hatred"), whose riches were beyond counting—gold, silver, and the seven precious treasures, oxen, horses, fields, and gardens, none of which could be reckoned. This brahmin had a son named Pippalāyana.

He renounced sixty bushels of gold, silver, and precious jewels, thousands of plowing oxen, and parted from his gentle wife, whose beauty was foremost in all the world. And he thought to himself: "Let me go to the arhats of the world to study and cultivate the pure conduct, and go to the shrine of the spirit Bahuputraka beneath the grove of fruit trees to sustain my life. There, the World-Honored One turns the great wheel of the Dharma, and when the teaching is finished, returns together with the assembly of bhikṣus to the shrine of the spirit Bahuputraka, resting in the vihāra in that place."

When the night was near dawn, Pippalāyana stood and beheld the World-Honored One there in this grove of trees. The radiance shone forth to a great distance, the halo of light spreading everywhere; Pippalāyana then thought: "In this grove of trees, as the day is about to dawn, an awesome spirit shines forth, with light immeasurable, beautiful and resplendent. In that grove of trees there must surely be a king of deer, or a great heroic lion, or else a heavenly spirit, that there should be such great spiritual powers and transformations—surely it is so. I must go there to see what it is!"

Pippalāyana rose up and went to the grove of trees, and beheld the World-Honored One with a hundred thousand rays of light, perfectly endowed with the marks of excellence. Pippalāyana praised inwardly:

"In the scriptures, our predecessors, the divine sages, have said: Whatever great being is perfectly endowed with the thirty-two marks of excellence must enter one of two paths:

1. If that person remains at home, he will become a Wheel-Turning Sage-King (Cakravartin), master of the four continents of the world, proclaiming his decrees, governing the people by the true Dharma, without needing to rule by armies or weapons.

2. Should he go forth into the homeless life, renouncing the throne, he will become a Tathāgata, the Truly Worthy One, the Perfectly Enlightened One of Right and Equal Enlightenment, Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, the Well-Gone One, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed One, the Tamer, the Teacher of Gods and Humans, called the Buddha, the World-Honored One, who ought to be drawn near to."

Pippalāyana went to the place of the Buddha and saw the World-Honored One seated beneath the tree, truly upright and dignified, as though formed of a mass of the seven precious treasures, his awesome virtue heroic and valiant, his faculties stilled, his mind in the Way serene, utterly composed and pure. Naturally and completely awakened. Like a mountain of gold, like King Sumeru, the Sumeru-king of mountains, like a blazing torch in the depths of dark night, like a dragon dwelling in a pool of clear, cool, and deep water.

With his body adorned by the thirty-two marks, like the sun rising above the mountains, like rays of light shining everywhere, like the full moon shining brilliantly among the multitude of stars, like a Wheel-Turning King surrounded by his retinue. The eighty graces upon his whole body were like a thousand blossoms each opening wide and swaying, and hundreds of thousands of millions of colors issued forth from his sacred form.

Seeing the Buddha thus, Pippalāyana was overjoyed, as one in darkness meeting light, and at once approached the World-Honored One, joined his palms humbly and reverently to speak, and announced his own name, then sat to one side. The Buddha, for his sake, spoke the sutra, expounding countless meanings and principles, distinguishing the discourse of wisdom in the sutra. The World-Honored One, with joyful words, instructed him concerning giving, keeping the precepts, the disease of craving and desire, and that to abandon the toil of the dust and go forth into the homeless life is supreme.

To treat an illness one must give medicine according to the illness. The World-Honored One perceived that one's mind, and so adapted himself in a timely manner according to that mind. The mind of doubt, the mind of the hindrances, the mind of rejoicing, the mind of faith, the mind of sin and merit, the mind of equanimity—according to the faculties and capacity he expounded the Dharma.

As all Buddhas expound the Dharma, examining the root capacity and origin of beings and distinguishing them, he expounded: suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path. Right there upon his seat, that one departed from the dust and defilement, the Dharma-eye arose in him, and he realized the Way in the present, distinguished the words of the teaching of the Dharma, broke through doubt, realized the fruit on the spot, received the wondrous teaching, and attained the valiant and courageous Dharma. He rose up, arranged his robes properly, knelt with his right knee touching the ground, bowed his head and made obeisance at the very feet of the Buddha, and said:

"When I first came, I wished to meet the World-Honored One and introduce my name and lineage, and upon beholding the marks of excellence of the World-Honored One, my heart was overjoyed beyond measure, and so I committed a breach of etiquette."

At that time the World-Honored One addressed Mahākāśyapa:

"O worthy one! From this day onward, if any son of a good family comes here with a mind of pure mindfulness, like the bright moon shining forth in many resplendent colors—such a person, having opened his eyes, walks forth.

O Kāśyapa! From this day onward, if any son of a good family, going to whatever place he may go, restrains his mind and cultivates the practice, he will be like the sun shining everywhere throughout heaven and earth. If any son of a good family, always keeping his eyes open, restrains his mind and cultivates the practice, he will be like the sun blazing forth—just so."

The Buddha again addressed Kāśyapa:

"From this day onward, restrain the mind and cultivate the practice, like the honeybee that seeks out various places, having many tasks to do: the honeybee selects the various blossoms and draws out their nectar, doing no harm to their fragrance or color. Whatever son of a good family restrains his mind and cultivates the practice should, from this day onward, do his work in just this way."

The Buddha said to Kāśyapa:

"From this day onward, restrain the mind and cultivate the practice as the four great elements: earth, water, wind, and fire. Receiving a clean thing, do not delight; receiving a filthy thing, do not grieve—such as excrement, urine, pus and blood, dead snakes, corpses, sweat—still feel no sorrow or worry. And if you obtain incense and fire, gold and silver and the seven precious treasures, resplendent in their five colors, likewise do not delight; neither increasing nor decreasing. Whatever son of a good family restrains his mind and cultivates the practice should also be like this. With words of praise, commendation, ease and joy, do not take them as cause for delight. If you meet with words of slander, with affliction and distress, do not on their account become sorrowful."

The Buddha again said to Kāśyapa:

"From this day onward, whatever son of a good family restrains his mind and cultivates the practice must be like one who wipes a clean thing and wipes an unclean thing; like wiping: excrement, urine, phlegm and spittle, pus and blood, a dead dog, a dead snake, a corpse, sweat... Wiping a filthy thing, feel no grief; wiping a clean thing, feel no delight. If any son of a good family restrains his mind and cultivates the practice, he too must be like this."

The Buddha said to Kāśyapa:

"From this day onward, restrain the mind and cultivate the practice like a broom that sweeps: the clean it sweeps, the filthy it also sweeps."

The Buddha said to Kāśyapa:

"From this day onward, whatever son of a good family restrains his mind and cultivates the practice should be like a beggar who walks with bowed head; wherever he goes, he always hides his two hands within, like a naked person who is ashamed, having nothing to cover himself. Dwelling in the world and wishing to seek his livelihood, he likewise does not declare his own name. Whether able or unable, in both cases he keeps silent. If any son of a good family restrains his mind and cultivates the practice, he too must be like this."

The Buddha said to Kāśyapa:

"From this day onward, whatever son of a good family restrains his mind and cultivates the practice should be like an ox whose horns have been sawn off. Like an ox whose horns have been cut, gentle and easy to direct. He does not covet the four things upon entering the crossroads; in the four roads there is nothing to bring danger to his life. If any son of a good family restrains his mind and cultivates the practice, he too can be like this."

The Buddha said to Kāśyapa:

"From this day onward, restrain the mind and cultivate the practice like an iron pot, like flames of fire. Like a pot burned through by fire, with many holes and openings, causing the oil and fat within to flow out and overflow;

like a person of clear sight standing to one side, seeing the fire burn the pot, riddled with many holes so that the oil flows out, drop by drop falling down. If a son of a good family contemplates that the body, ever-changing, formed from the union of the four great elements, with its nine apertures leaking and flowing, flowing out all manner of impure things, then he does not crave or cling to the pleasures of the body, and does not regard this as strange." Thereupon Mahākāśyapa, hearing the World-Honored One speak many clear and illuminating similes, immediately received and recited them, and saw the eight gates of liberation.

The Buddha told Kāśyapa to go to a grove of trees with shade. Kāśyapa replied: "Yes, World-Honored One," and at once rose up and followed behind the Buddha. At that time, the Buddha together with Mahākāśyapa strode out of the grove of trees, came to another grove of trees, and then went on to sit beneath yet another tree.

"O Kāśyapa, beneath this tree, spread out a seat for the Tathāgata. My body is weary, and my back too has begun to ache a little."

Kāśyapa obeyed, hastily spreading out a seat for the Buddha. He spread the seat properly, and after he had finished spreading the seat, Kāśyapa came before the World-Honored One and said:

"The resting place has been spread out; I invite the World-Honored One to rest."

The Buddha came and sat upon the place that had just been spread, and said to Kāśyapa:

"The earth is soft and supple and very smooth."

Kāśyapa said:

"It is so! World-Honored One. The earth of that place yonder and this place here—now that one has obtained a human body, in the end one returns to that very earth, and finally comes to utter cessation. One must hold the mind in patient endurance, just like the earth. Now this Dharma-robe of mine is also soft and beautiful; I pray the Buddha will, in his boundless compassion, accept this robe."

The Buddha said to Kāśyapa:

"If I accept this soft robe of red color, then what garment will you use?"

Kāśyapa addressed the Buddha:

"In ancient times the Buddhas praised: whatever son of a good family wears a robe used to cover corpses outside the burial ground, and the robe of five patches, the robe of five pieces sewn together, will bring peace and security to the devas and the people of the world."

"Excellent! Excellent, O Kāśyapa! You will gain much affection and much peace and security if you wear the robe of rags from the dust-heap. In ancient times, the Buddhas indeed praised such a person. Kāśyapa! Rise up and quickly go to fetch water and bring it here; I am very thirsty and wish to drink water."

"Yes! World-Honored One."

Kāśyapa thereupon received the instruction and rose up, bowed his head and made obeisance, circumambulated the Buddha three times, and hastened to fetch water.

On account of this, a number of bhikṣus saw him and at once came to question him, saying:

"You are an elder, without arrogance, without sorrow or worry, stilled and having cut off all base greed, entering into the state of no-fixed-abode. By what means did the śramaṇa receive the full ordination? Is it for this reason that you have now come here?"

Kāśyapa answered them:

"Go, you, to the place of the Buddha, and bring this matter to ask of the World-Honored One. Surely, the World-Honored One will distinguish it clearly for you."

When he had spoken, the worthy Kāśyapa went on to fetch water. After he had returned, he offered the water up to the Buddha. The Buddha received it, and when he had finished drinking, there remained a little water left over, which he handed back to Kāśyapa. The venerable Kāśyapa took it. Then Kāśyapa bared one shoulder, joined his palms and knelt, his right knee kneeling to the ground, arranged his robe properly, and addressed the World-Honored One, saying:

"I went to fetch water and saw a number of disciples and bhikṣus who asked me: 'You are an elder, without arrogance, without sorrow or worry, and also without delusion, stilled and having cut off the base desires in the four matters.' I renounced sixty bushels of gold and precious jewels, thousands of plowing oxen, and parted from the most beautiful wife in the world. I came to seek out those arhats in the world who had realized the fruit, in order to study the Way.

Now the disciples and the bhikṣus all came back to question me. Formerly I dwelt at the shrine of the spirit Bahuputraka, beneath the grove of trees, eating the fruit there. At that time, I had not yet received the full ordination from the World-Honored One.

At that time, the World-Honored One was wandering and teaching, having come to the city of Rājagṛha, and I was dwelling in the Bamboo Grove, the Garden of Karaṇḍa (Kalanda). Early in the morning I donned my robe and took up my bowl and entered the city to beg for alms, and saw a great palace like the sun with a thousand resplendent rays of light. At that time, the World-Honored One was in the Garden of Karaṇḍa in the Bamboo Grove, in the city of Rājagṛha.

When I saw the World-Honored One, I thought: The sun has risen yet again, like a great heavenly spirit making the dark of night blaze bright as day. When evening came, the Buddha manifested his spirit, like the moon-palace radiating forth a halo of light, dimming the light of the sun and the moon. Like a great fire within a dark house.

The Buddha sat in the midst of the great assembly, his awesome spirit likewise blazing forth. For the sake of the bhikṣus he expounded and spoke the Dharma of the sutras. The Buddha was like a Wheel-Turning King, fully provided with his sons, his retinue, and his bhikṣus, complete in number.

At that time, I contemplated, even unto death, examining among the assembly of bhikṣus who might be able to receive me. But none was the disciple and none was the teacher. Only the Tathāgata alone was the supreme and exalted one, transcending the world, spreading the true Dharma and attaining to nirvāṇa.

Now the bhikṣus have come again to question me."

At that time, the World-Honored One said to Kāśyapa:

"There are many bhikṣus who do not know good and evil, the enlightened and the unenlightened, who do not understand the field of merit; concerning the dharmas there are very many meanings and principles. Now the foremost expounder is Kāśyapa, the most supreme, yet without arrogance, equanimous, without anxiety, living frugally in the four matters, without craving or desire, and accomplished as the foremost in the matter of receiving the full ordination."

When the Buddha had spoken thus, the worthy Kāśyapa together with the bhikṣus were all overjoyed.