頻婆娑羅王經

Thus have I heard:

At one time the Buddha dwelt in the city of Rājagṛha together with a great assembly of bhikṣus, all of whom were senior Arhats in the Buddha-Dharma, their outflows already exhausted, what was to be done already done, the burden laid down, having attained benefit for themselves, all fetters extinguished, having realized liberation. Such an assembly numbered one thousand persons in all.

At that time the World-Honored One gave rise to this thought: "Now let me go to the place of the Spirit Stūpa, in the Daṇḍaka Mountain." Having thought thus, He, together with the assembly of bhikṣus, went together to that place; having arrived, He took up the rains-retreat there.

At that time King Bimbisāra of the country of Magadha heard that the Buddha, the World-Honored One, together with a full thousand persons who were senior Arhats, had gone to the Spirit Stūpa in the Daṇḍaka Mountain. Thereupon the king reflected and wished to go there to hear the Dharma. The king then gave orders to prepare carriages. Unlike ordinary times, the carriages that accompanied him numbered as many as twelve thousand, eighteen thousand couches adorned with precious jewels, eight kinds of music, four divisions of the army leading the way, followed by his kinsfolk, with ministers and officials in attendance surrounding him as he went.

Then the king departed from the city and came to the Daṇḍaka Mountain, entering the place of the Buddha to draw near and make offerings. There were also brāhmaṇas, elders, and others who likewise followed the king to come to the place of the Buddha.

At that time the World-Honored One, seeing the king approaching, manifested five marks: the crown of the head, the spreading canopy held aloft, the maṇi-jewel, the whisk, and the precious sword—these marks to adorn the body of the Buddha.

Then the great king came to the assembly of the Buddha and cast aside the sovereign bearing of a king. He went before the Buddha, bared his right shoulder, knelt down, joined his palms toward the Buddha, and with fine and beautiful words praised the merits of the Buddha. He bowed his head and face to the ground; having bowed to the Buddha, he circumambulated Him three times and then stood before the Buddha, declaring his own name, addressing the World-Honored One:

"I am King Bimbisāra, king of the country of Magadha."

The king addressed the Buddha thus three times, and the Buddha replied three times:

"Yes, so it is! You are King Bimbisāra of the country of Magadha."

The Buddha then with kindly words inquired after and consoled the king, inviting him to sit down. The king, hearing the Buddha's teaching, rejoiced, was delighted, and then sat down to one side. The king's kinsfolk together with the attending officials all turned toward the Buddha, knelt down and joined their palms, and also with wondrous words praised the merits of the Buddha; having bowed their heads and faces to Him, they withdrew and sat down to one side. As for the brāhmaṇas and elders and others, some used words of praise and paid homage, some merely joined their palms and bowed reverently, and some gazed upon the Buddha from afar in silence. All such assemblies sat down to one side.

At that time the brāhmaṇas, elders, and others in the assembly suddenly saw Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa, a venerable elder, standing in attendance to one side of the Buddha, and they thought thus: "Alas, Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa is a senior elder, and yet he abides at the place of the Great Śramaṇa to cultivate the holy life."

The World-Honored One, knowing that those brāhmaṇas, elders, and others had given rise to thoughts of doubt in their hearts, thereupon spoke a verse, asking the venerable Kāśyapa:

O Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa,

In days of old you worshipped fire without ceasing—

What benefit did you see, and what Dharma did you gain?

For my sake, quickly speak this meaning!

The venerable Kāśyapa replied:

The savory tastes of food and drink in the world,

And even the six desires that people delight in—

I saw this benefit, and so with resolve I sought it;

Therefore I worshipped fire without ceasing.

The Buddha asked:

Why be greedily attached to the matter of sensual pleasure?

And even greedily attached to the savor of food and drink,

The mind delighting in the heavenly realms and the human world—

For the sake of this meaning, quickly speak that I may hear.

The venerable Kāśyapa replied:

For the sake of the phrase "the supreme stillness and quietude,"

Because I did not understand it, I therefore fell back;

Indulging in the five desires, not in accord with principle,

Therefore I worshipped fire without ceasing.

The Vedas, fire-worship, and the realization of liberation—

By these, beings have their minds deluded;

The blind are no different from those already dead,

Having lost the supreme stillness and quietude.

Now I clearly see the unconditioned Dharma,

The Supreme Teacher, the Great Nāga, skillfully expounds it;

The Able Sage, for the sake of great benefit,

The World-Honored One appears with great diligence.

The Buddha then said: "O Kāśyapa, well have you come, well do you abide, without any wrong thoughts, well able to discern the supreme Dharma. O Kāśyapa, now you should skillfully convert and deliver this assembly."

Then the venerable Kāśyapa, obeying the Buddha's instruction, immediately entered samādhi and manifested great spiritual powers. In the midst of the assembly he vanished and appeared in the empty space of the Eastern quarter, manifesting the four kinds of deportment: walking, standing, lying, and sitting, and even manifesting the Fire-Samādhi, within the fire-element emitting countless rays of light. These were called: blue, yellow, red, white, and sphaṭika color (a blended color, the color of crystal, and so forth).

Furthermore, from the upper part of his body he emitted water while from the lower part of his body he emitted fire; from the lower part of his body he emitted water while from the upper part of his body he emitted fire, now hidden and now manifest, continuing without interruption. In the same way, in the empty space of the Southern quarter, the Western quarter, and the Northern quarter, he again manifested the four marks of deportment: walking, standing, lying, and sitting, and even manifested the Fire-Samādhi (Fire-Concentration), within the fire-element emitting countless rays of light, called: blue, yellow, red, white, and crystal, blended colors.

And again from the upper part of his body he emitted water while from the lower body he emitted fire; from the lower part of his body he emitted water while from the upper body he emitted fire, now hidden and now manifest, continuing without interruption.

Then the venerable Kāśyapa, having manifested these spiritual transformations in the empty space of the four quarters, withdrew his spiritual power, came before the Buddha, joined his palms and bowed reverently, and addressed the Buddha, saying:

"The World-Honored One is my teacher; I am a great Śrāvaka."

He spoke again:

"The World-Honored One is my teacher; I am a great Śrāvaka."

The Buddha replied to the venerable Kāśyapa:

"I am your teacher; you are a great Śrāvaka."

He replied again:

"I am your teacher; you are a great Śrāvaka. You should now return to your former place and sit down."

At that time the brāhmaṇas, elders, and others in the assembly thought again thus: "So then, the venerable Uruvilvā-Kāśyapa, being a senior elder, still abides at the place of the Buddha, the Great Śramaṇa, to cultivate the holy life?" The Buddha, knowing their thoughts, taught King Bimbisāra:

"O great king, you should know that form is a dharma that has arising and has ceasing. Clearly knowing this dharma to have arising and ceasing; feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are likewise dharmas that have arising and have ceasing. Therefore, with regard to these dharmas of the five aggregates, you should know that they have arising, and you should know that they must have ceasing.

O great king, as for this dharma of the form-aggregate, if a son of good family can truly and clearly know that what has arising then ceases—the form-aggregate is fundamentally empty; the form-aggregate, having no arising, then has no arising. Arising being absent, how can there be ceasing? As the form-aggregate is, so too are the other aggregates.

If a son of good family understands it clearly in this way, he then awakens to the aggregates as without arising and without ceasing, neither standing nor going, and thus there is no self. I say that this person, throughout immeasurable, incalculable kalpas, is one who is truly still and quiescent."

At that time the brāhmaṇas, elders, and others thought thus: "By what dharma is it possible to clearly know that there is no self, no feeler, no perception, no formations, no consciousness? Why is it said that there is a self, a person, a being, a liver of life; and even a mānava, a controller, a doer, an arouser, an originator, an unmoving one, a speaker, a discerner, a knower? Of such kinds, which kind does not arise, which kind does not cease? Moreover, for what cause do those kinds create wholesome and unwholesome karma so as to receive the fruits of retribution?"

At that time the World-Honored One, knowing that those brāhmaṇas, elders, and others had given rise to such thoughts, then told the bhikṣus:

"O bhikṣus, it is precisely the foolish and deluded, those who have heard little of the right Dharma, ordinary people, those of other teachings, who grasp at the mark of a self, and therefore with regard to 'non-self' they speak of a self. O bhikṣus, you should know that the self is fundamentally non-self, and the object of the self is likewise non-self. Yet with regard to the dharma of suffering, if a perception arises, then the aggregate of suffering arises; if the perception ceases, then the aggregate of suffering ceases.

So too with the formations: if a perception arises, then the formations arise; if a perception ceases, then the formations cease. By this cause, by this condition, the dharmas of formations arise; through this condition of formations there is thus arising and ceasing. Having truly and thoroughly understood the dharma of arising and ceasing in such matters, I then bring it forth to teach to all beings.

"O bhikṣus, with the divine eye, pure and surpassing the ordinary eye, I see beings arising and ceasing, fair or foul, noble or base, high or low, born in good destinies or evil destinies—it is because those beings have created wholesome or unwholesome karma that they must receive the fruits of retribution; all this I know truly. Furthermore, beings who possess the three unwholesome karmas of body, speech, and mind, who slander the worthy and holy ones, who give rise to wrong views—by these wrong views they create wrong karma and perform wrong dharmas.

By this cause and condition, after the body breaks up and life ends, they must fall into evil destinies and suffer pain in the hells. Furthermore, if beings possess the three wholesome karmas of body, speech, and mind, who do not slander the worthy and holy ones, who give rise to right view—by this right view they create wholesome karma and perform wholesome dharmas. By this cause and condition, after the body breaks up and life ends, they are born up into the heavenly realms as devas.

I know those beings truly; I see those beings truly.

"O bhikṣus, at such a time I do not say: 'There is a self, there is a person, there is a being, there is a liver of life.' And again, when there is one who knows such things, what is it that arises, what is it that ceases? They create wholesome and unwholesome karma and must receive the fruits of retribution. Such dharmas have no perception of self. The five aggregates come into being because there is a perception of dharmas; through this perception of dharmas the five aggregates then arise. Moreover, through this ignorance conditioning the dharma of formations, the dharmas of formations arise, and the dharma of accumulation then arises; when the dharmas of formations cease, the dharma of accumulation then ceases.

"O bhikṣus, suffering-formation in this way comes to be through causes and conditions; through causes and conditions it ceases, and therefore suffering-formation then ceases. The dharma of suffering having ceased, the non-dharmas all cease, and there is no arising again. In this way the boundary of suffering has been exhausted. O bhikṣus, again, how is cessation to be realized? This very boundary of suffering is the true stillness and cessation, and one attains coolness and clarity; this is called the ultimate. O bhikṣus, this stillness and cessation is the relinquishing of all conditions that lead to craving. When the dharma of desire is exhausted, then there is cessation. This is precisely the stillness and cessation of Nirvāṇa."

At that time the World-Honored One again told the king:

"O great king, what do you think? Is form permanent or impermanent?"

The king replied:

"The ceasing of form is precisely a dharma of impermanence."

The Buddha then said:

"Then is that (impermanence) suffering or not suffering?"

The king said:

"O World-Honored One, when suffering has ceased one then attains the absence of suffering. Suffering is a dharma of inversion. As for this dharma of inversion, the Śrāvakas who know little and have heard little call it 'the Self,' 'the great Śrāvaka,' 'the Self of great wisdom.' Should one then hold that: 'This is the perception of self, that is the perception of self'?"

"It is not so, O World-Honored One."

The Buddha said again:

"Are feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness permanent or impermanent?"

The king said:

"They are dharmas that perish and cease, and so are impermanent."

"Then are they suffering or not suffering?"

"The dharma of suffering is born from inversion; this dharma of inversion is precisely suffering. Those Śrāvakas, because they know little and have heard little, give rise to the perception of self, and so call the Self the great Śrāvaka, the Self of great wisdom—is that the perception of self?"

"It is not so, O World-Honored One."

The Buddha taught:

"O great king, so it is, so it is! Skillfully contemplate thus: 'As for this dharma of the form-aggregate, whether in the past, the future, or the present, whether inner or outer, intermediate, large or small, high or low, near or far—all those dharmas are fundamentally without existence, without mark, without self.' O great king, by this right wisdom one sees truly."

The Buddha said again:

"O great king, even feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness, whether in the past, the future, or the present, whether inner or outer, intermediate, large or small, high or low, near or far—all those dharmas are fundamentally without existence, without mark, without self. O great king, by this right wisdom one sees truly."

At that time the assembly of Śrāvakas in the gathering, having heard this Dharma, clearly knew that because form is impermanent, and even feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness—knowing these clearly as well—they gave rise to a mind of weariness and detachment, and so attained liberation. Having realized liberation, right wisdom appeared before them, and they were liberated: "My births are ended, the holy life is firmly established, what was to be done has been done, there is no further rebirth."

Then King Bimbisāra, having heard this Dharma spoken, departed far from the dust and defilement and attained the pure Dharma-eye. In the assembly there were also eighty thousand celestial beings and countless hundreds of thousands of brāhmaṇas and elders who likewise departed far from the dust and defilement and attained the pure Dharma-eye.

At that time King Bimbisāra, having attained the pure Dharma-eye, attained right understanding and vision, abided in the firm and steadfast Dharma, departed far from the desires and pleasures, departed from all afflictions and suffering, and attained the dharma of fearlessness within the Buddha-Dharma. Then the great king rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, faced the Buddha and joined his palms, believing with firm certainty, and bowing reverently addressed the Buddha, saying:

"O World-Honored One, I have gained a great benefit, I have gained a great benefit. I vow to take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, and to receive the precepts of a lay follower. From this day onward, until the end of my life, I will not kill, and even not drink intoxicants..."

He addressed the Buddha again, saying:

"Now, with a sincere and earnest heart, I invite the Buddha, the World-Honored One, to return to the city of Rājagṛha. I humbly pray that the World-Honored One, out of compassion, may accept my invitation. I will serve and make offerings to the World-Honored One for the whole of this life, even providing robes, food and drink, bedding, medicine, and all articles of use in full abundance. To the assembly of bhikṣus I will likewise make such offerings."

At that time the World-Honored One, having accepted the king's invitation, remained silent. The great king, seeing that the Buddha had silently accepted his invitation, bowed his head and face to the ground in homage to the Buddha and then withdrew.

THE BUDDHA SPEAKS THE SŪTRA OF KING BIMBISĀRA