Translated by the Śramaṇa Dharma Torch of the Western Jin Dynasty
Heard like this:
One day, the Buddha was traveling in the Jetavana Grove, in the Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park of Śrāvastī, together with five hundred great bhikṣus. These great bhikṣus were all Arhats, and in every respect were venerable sages. They were all able to know the thoughts in others’ minds, all except Ānanda, who had not yet attained such accomplishment.
At that time, the Buddha departed from the monastery and sat in empty space, surrounded by countless hundreds of thousands of assemblies. The Buddha preached the Dharma to them. Among the assembly were seventy thousand bodhisattvas, all of whom had attained all dhāraṇīs. Then, the Buddha’s face emitted radiance that surpassed its usual brilliance. The light issued forth from his countenance and illuminated countless worlds. At that moment, the Buddha smiled, and five-colored light came forth from his mouth, reaching up to the Brahmā Heaven. Whenever the Buddha, the Deva of Devas, bestow predictions upon disciples, the light goes forth to illuminate the Heaven of the Four Heavenly Kings, then returns, circles the Buddha three times, and enters through the soles of his feet. When the Buddha, the Deva of Devas, give prophecies confirming the accomplishment of Pratyekabuddhahood, the light comes forth from their mouths, illuminates the Paranirmita Heaven, then returns, circles the Buddha three times, and enters through his navel. When the Buddha, the Deva of Devas, bestow prophecies confirming the attainment of Buddhahood, the light illuminates the Brahmā Heaven, then returns, circles the Buddha three times, and enters through the crown of his head. At that time, the deities of the earth all simultaneously exclaimed: “These three manifestations shown by the Buddha are the various definite Dharma methods taught in the past, future, and present that assure the accomplishment of their respective results.” The gods of the empty space, the Four Heavenly Kings, the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, and even up to the Brahmā Heaven, all exclaimed: “These three manifestations—various assured Dharma methods—are the means by which the past, future, and present bestow upon the assembly the certainty of becoming deciples of the Buddha, certainty of attaining the fruit of Pratyekabuddhahood, and certainty of attaining Buddhahood.” At that time, the multitudes of Brahmā Heaven and the Thirty-Three Heavens descended to where the Buddha was. At that time, countless hundreds of thousands of bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās gathered together.
The venerable Ānanda had, at that time, already comprehended seven Dharma matters. What are the seven? First, understanding of meanings and principles; second, knowledge of the Dharma; third, knowledge of proper timing; fourth, understanding of moderation; fifth, understanding of the assembly; sixth, understanding of oneself; seventh, understanding of others. Then, the venerable Ānanda rose from his seat, arranged his robes, placed his palms together at his chest, knelt for a long time, and praised the Buddha’s path with a verse:
“You have attained the pure wisdom eye, radiance and auspicious marks. World-Honored One, your body and faculties are in serene concentration, capable of saving boundless beings.
The golden light you emit shines far across the worlds. What kind of virtue corresponds to the radiance of your divine powers? May you speak for us.
Who is now making the vow and aspiring toward the Buddha-path? Who is sitting beneath the tree subduing Māra?
Who is now gaining benefit from the most supreme Buddha-path? Your countenance is like a full moon; may you speak to us: why do you smile today?
When the Buddha, the World-Honored One, smiles, the light that emits from his countenance surpasses all beings.
Now, hundreds of thousands of people are gathered. May the Buddha speak to us of the causes and conditions among these.”
Ānanda asked the Buddha: “Deva of Devas! you who are the most honored in the heavens. All who possess desire, anger, and delusion, they smile because of forms, sounds, fragrances, tastes, and soft tactile sensations. But the Deva of Devas, who has cut off desire, anger, and delusion—why does he smile? Deva of Devas, this is not a question from Śāriputra, nor from Mahāmaudgalyāyana, nor Mahākāśyapa, nor Uruvilvākāśyapa, nor Gayākāśyapa, nor Nadīkāśyapa, nor Śaila, nor Pilindavatsa. The Buddhas, the Deva of Devas, have six kinds of supreme realms that differ from those of other attainments. What are the six?
“First, the Buddhas, the Deva of Devas, have unhindered wisdom regarding past matters.
“Second, the Buddhas, the Deva of Devas, have unhindered wisdom regarding future matters.
“Third, the Buddhas, the Deva of Devas, have unhindered wisdom regarding present matters.
“Fourth, in their bodily conduct, the Buddhas, the Deva of Devas, are replete with wisdom.
“Fifth, in their speech, the Buddhas, the Deva of Devas, are replete with wisdom.
“Sixth, in their thoughts, the Buddhas, the Deva of Devas, are replete with wisdom.
“These are the six kinds of supreme realms. The Buddhas, the Deva of Devas, have nothing that they cannot see or hear. May the Buddha expound to us the wisdom of the Buddha-path.”
The Buddha said to Ānanda: “In a past life, there was a country named Upalāvatī. That country was prosperous and joyous, its people flourishing in great numbers, and its five grains were abundant. The people lived in peace and safety, and their numbers were so great as to be beyond calculation. At that time, in the country of Upalāvatī, there was a great king named Parasena, who stood out with supreme honor among the many kingdoms. He taught the people and ruled the country with the true Dharma, never employing punishment by rod or lash. The people of that land lived to the age of twenty thousand years. Then, the great king passed away. In that country, there was a woman who took pleasure in selling her body for lust. She was of fine appearance, dignified and beautiful in face. This woman went to another’s house. The lady of the house had just given birth to a boy and was holding the child by the arm. The courtesan, upon seeing this, asked: ‘Why are you holding the child’s arm?’ The woman of the house replied: ‘I am starving and wish to eat him.’ The courtesan asked: ‘Is there truly no food for you to eat?’ The woman replied: ‘None.’ Then the courtesan said, ‘Wait a moment. I will get you something to eat.’ The woman answered, ‘Before you even leave the house, I will have starved to death. How could I wait for you to return with food?’ The courtesan thought to herself: ‘If I take the child away, the mother will die of starvation. If I leave the child here and go, the mother will eat him. What can I do to ensure the safety of both mother and child?’ Thinking thus, she took up a sharp knife and cut off her own breasts, offering them to the mother, who ate them. The courtesan then asked, ‘Are you full?’ The mother replied, ‘I am full now.’ Because the courtesan had cut off her breasts, blood flowed all over the ground, and she returned home.
“At that time, a man came to the courtesan’s house, intending to commit immoral acts with her. But when he saw her, he said: ‘Such beautiful breasts! Who has cut them off like this?’ Then, a feeling of compassion arose in him, and he treated her like an elder sister, attending to her without any further lustful thoughts. The man asked, ‘Sister, who cut off your breasts?’ The courtesan replied: ‘No one harmed me. I went to someone’s house and found the lady had just given birth. She was holding the child in her hand. I asked her what she was doing, and she told me that she was starving and wanted to eat her child’s flesh. I asked her if there was no food, and she said there was none. I told her to wait while I fetched food for her, but she replied she would die before I returned. I thought: if I take the child away, the mother will die. If I leave the child, she will eat him. So I cut off my breasts and gave them to her.’ Hearing the courtesan’s words, the man collapsed on the ground, his breath faint, nearly dying. The courtesan fetched water and sprinkled it on his face. After a long time, the man slowly regained consciousness. He asked: ‘Sister, is what you told me true?’ The courtesan replied, ‘Yes.’ The man said, ‘I have never before seen such a calamity. If what you say is indeed true, then your breasts must return from flatness to their original form.’ At that very moment, the courtesan’s breasts returned to their full shape, smooth and whole, without any sign of injury or healing.
“Śakra devānām indraḥ, upon seeing the courtesan with his divine eye, said: “This beautiful courtesan is able to give in such a way and plant such merit—surely in the future she will seize my throne.” Thus, Śakra transformed himself into a brāhmaṇa, holding a precious branch and a vessel of cleansing powder, and leaning on a golden staff. He went to the home of the courtesan to beg for alms and said, “I have come to request a donation.” The courtesan came out with food placed in a golden bowl and offered it to the brāhmaṇa in disguise. But the brāhmaṇa refused to accept it. The beautiful woman asked the ascetic: “Why do you not accept this food?” The brāhmaṇa replied, ‘I do not seek food. I have heard that you gave your breasts in charity—is this true?’ She replied, ‘Indeed, it is so.’”’ The brāhmaṇa then recited a verse:
‘What kind of wish do you seek to fulfill? Is it to become Śakra or Brahmā,
Or to accomplish the vow of the King of Many Jewels? Know that such aspirations are hard to realize.’
The beautiful woman responded in verse:
‘The one who left conditioned dharmas; the one who is free from birth, aging, illness, and death,
The one who is free from sorrow, abiding in purity. O brāhmaṇa, that is what I seek.’
The brāhmaṇa said: “Let me ask you, when you gave your breasts in charity, did no other thoughts arise in your mind?” The woman replied: “O brāhmaṇa, I shall now reveal to you my sincere heart.” The brāhmaṇa said: “Then reveal it.” The woman said: “If I indeed gave my breasts with a sincere heart, with no other thoughts arising, then may this woman’s body be transformed into the body of a man.” As soon as she had spoken, her female form immediately transformed into a male body.
“At that time, the king of Upalāvatī, after ruling the country for five thousand years, finally passed away. The ministers who had served closely by the king’s side, upon hearing that the courtesan had transformed into a male body, thought to themselves: “Such a person ought to be made king. As king, he would rule the land with the true Dharma.” Thus, the ministers together enthroned this man as king. This later king governed the country with the true Dharma and did not employ punishment by rod or lash. He delighted in giving away gold, silver, and precious treasures, whether at the four gates of the city or along the streets within the capital. Those who wished for food, juice to drink, clothing, fragrant flowers, dwellings, seats, houses, gold, silver, treasures, luminous jewels, lapis lazuli, crystal, coral, agate—whatever they desired, he caused them to obtain it. He taught all the people equally to uphold the eight precepts of purity. In this way, he governed the country for five hundred years. During those five hundred years, the land required no cultivation; pure, fragrant, and delicious rice naturally grew, without any coarse or poor grains. If the people harvested rice in the morning, it would naturally grow back by the same day. After the grains were taken, the stalks would vanish without a trace. After all the people had shared and finished eating this kind of food, their teeth would not fall out, they would not age, would not become ill, would not grow hunchbacked, and their appearance would not decline. The people were all equal in height, and their marks of merit were likewise equal—just like those in the land of Uttarakuru.
“The king thought to himself: ‘What is so rare about giving to humans? If I can give like this even to animals, that would truly be difficult.’ So the king applied fragrant sandalwood paste all over his body and entered into the silent mountains, into a tranquil place, where he lay upon a rock. Then, several hundred birds came and began pecking at the king’s living body. The king thereby passed away and was reborn into the household of a brāhmaṇa.
“This family was extremely wealthy, filled with countless stores of gold, silver, and precious treasures. After ten full months of pregnancy, the mother gave birth to a most handsome and auspicious-looking child. At that time, four maidservants came to raise the infant together. The first cleaned the child’s body; the second bathed him; the third breastfed him; the fourth held him in her arms.
“As the child gradually grew up, these four women consulted together and resolved not to let the child come into contact with outsiders. At that time, five hundred maidens came to serve the child, and they played and entertained one another. The child seized an opportunity and secretly slipped into the city, where he saw merchants, the poor, and beggars. A sense of sorrow arose in his heart, and he said, “How can I bring happiness and wealth to these people, so they need not depend on trade and labor for survival?”At that time, the child spoke a verse to himself:
‘Why is my body and mind so firm, so unbreakable?
I dwell in ease, yet I see countless people laboring in hardship.’
“The child ran back to his parents and said, “I wish to shave off my hair and beard and go into the quiet mountains to sit beneath a tree.” But the child’s parents would not permit it. Why? “You are our only child, and we cherish and love you greatly. We prayed and made offerings to the mountains and rivers, to the sun and moon, and to all the gods before obtaining you. If we do not see you, we will die from grief.” His parents refused to grant the child permission to leave. From that moment on, the child lay on the ground like a withered plant. One day, two days, even up to five days, he neither ate nor drank. Many people who knew and cared deeply for the child heard that he was planning to shave his head and beard to seek the Way, and that his parents would not allow it. So the child lay on the ground like a withered plant for five days, without eating or drinking. They all came to his home and tried to advise and console him, saying: ‘Child, why do you not get up to bathe, eat, and adorn yourself, but instead wish to shave off your hair and beard, and seek the Way among trees?’
“The boy gave no response. Those who came to counsel him continued persuading him for three days. Then they all went to his parents and said: “Let him go and study the Way. If he is content there, you can go visit him. If he is not happy there, he will naturally return.” The parents said, “Very well,” and reluctantly agreed to the child’s wish, watching him with sorrow.
“Upon hearing his parents’ consent, on the sixth and seventh days of his fasting, the boy circumambulated his parents three times in reverent respect. Then, he went into a quiet place, sat in a peaceful location, and practiced the Dharma path. Later, he went on to another place amid great forest trees.
“At that time, within the grove of great trees, there were two ascetics seated in practice. They had already attained the five supernatural powers. They diligently and sincerely cultivated the Way, completely removed from sensual desire. The boy approached and asked, “What are you doing here among the trees?” The two ascetics replied, “We are practicing seated meditation here in the open, recollecting the true Way in our minds. It is for the sake of the people that we endure such diligent hardship in cultivation.” The boy said, “I, too, should cultivate seated meditation in the open, recollecting the true Way, for the sake of the people.” The two ascetics responded, “Excellent!” The boy then sat in meditation beneath the great forest trees, and for the sake of the people, he diligently cultivated the Dharma path. He thereby attained the five supernatural powers, and his diligence surpassed that of the two ascetics. The boy came to be known as the Great Sage, the Supreme Honored One.
“These practitioners only consumed fallen fruits—those that dropped from trees of their own accord. They never picked fruit directly. At that time, there was a female tiger in the forest who was pregnant. As the ascetics walked together in search of fruit, they encountered this pregnant female tiger. The young ascetic said to the other two: “This female tiger is soon to give birth. Starving for many days, she may eat her own offspring. Who among us will offer their body to feed her?” Maitreya Bodhisattva said, ‘I will give my own body to feed her.’
“After they had finished gathering fruit, they returned to see the female tiger, now greatly weakened from nursing her cubs, and preparing to devour them out of hunger. One ascetic said to the other, “The female tiger has grown so hungry from nursing her cubs, she is now about to eat them. Who among us will offer our body to feed her?”They all approached the starving female tiger. The female tiger opened her eyes wide, bared her teeth, and lunged toward them.
“The two ascetics, afraid, ascended into the sky. One ascetic said to the other, “Ascetic, is this your sincere heart? You yourself just said you would offer your body to feed the starving female tiger. Why now have you fled into the air?”The other ascetic shed sorrowful tears, looked around in all directions, but found nothing to offer the female tiger.The young ascetic then took a sharp knife and stabbed his right arm, causing blood to immediately flow out. He pierced seven places on his body, and blood spurted into the female tiger’s mouth, which she drank. Then, the boy threw his own body into the mouth of the starving female tiger and died.”
The Buddha said to Ānanda, “Do you want to know who that beautiful courtesan was at the time? She was a former incarnation of myself. The one who was later established as king—that was also a former incarnation of myself. And the brāhmaṇa boy who threw his body into the mouth of the hungry female tiger—that, too, was myself in a past life. As for the two ascetics: one was Kāśyapa, and the other was Maitreya Bodhisattva.”
The Buddha said to Ānanda: “Because I diligently cultivated the true Way, I surpassed Maitreya by nine kalpas and attained Buddhahood before him. Ānanda, for sixty kalpas, I practiced the path with great effort—giving away hands, feet, nose, ears, head, eyes, flesh, wives, sons, daughters, fine garments, food and drink—and by doing so, I subdued six billion māras and, over thirty-four billion kalpas, ultimately attained the path of Buddhahood.”
The Buddha said to Ānanda: “If one wishes for all people to understand the merit of giving as I do, it would be like this: If someone is in utter poverty and needs only a single mouthful of food to continue living—and if without it they would die—then even so, one should give up that food and offer it to a virtuous person instead. Ānanda, I recall that all the kinds of giving I performed in past lives generated these roots of goodness. Because of that, my physical features became so excellent, and this brilliant, delightful radiance now shines forth from my mouth, illuminating the entire trichiliocosm.”
When the Buddha had spoken this sūtra, four thousand two hundred bhikṣus eliminated all remaining defilements in their minds and attained liberation. Eighty nayutas of gods and humans made vows to pursue the unsurpassed, true path. Seventy thousand bodhisattvas attained the tolerance of non-arising of dharmas. After the Buddha finished speaking, the venerable Ānanda, and all the assembled gods, dragons, spirits, and worldly beings, rejoiced with deep happiness. They approached the Buddha, paid homage to him, and departed.
Dharma Torch 