The story of Buddha Shakyamuni

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The Life of Buddha  

Gautama Buddha
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Prince Siddhartha Gautama or Supreme Buddha.Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism.[1] He is generally seen by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha (Sammāsambuddha) of our age. The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians date his lifetime from c. 563 BCE to 483 BCE; more recently, however, at a specialist symposium on this question,[2] the majority of those scholars who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death, with others supporting earlier or later dates.

Gautama, also known as Śākyamuni or Shakyamuni ("sage of the Shakyas"), is the key figure in Buddhism, and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to Gautama were passed down by oral tradition, and first committed to writing about 400 years later. Early Western scholarship tended to accept the biography of the Buddha presented in the Buddhist scriptures as largely historical, but currently "scholars are increasingly reluctant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life and teachings."[3]

Life

Maya Devi Temple in Lumbini, Nepal.The primary sources of information regarding Siddhārtha Gautama's life are the Buddhist texts. The Buddha and his monks spent four months each year discussing and rehearsing his teachings, and after his death his monks set about preserving them. A council was held shortly after his death, and another was held a century later. At these councils the monks attempted to establish and authenticate the extant accounts of the life and teachings of the Buddha following systematic rules. They divided the teachings into distinct but overlapping bodies of material, and assigned specific monks to preserve each one. From then on, the teachings were transmitted orally. From internal evidence it seems clear that the oldest texts crystallized into their current form by the time of the second council or shortly after it. The scriptures were not written down until three or four hundred years after the Buddha's death. By this point, the monks had added or altered some material themselves, in particular magnifying the figure of the Buddha.[4]

The ancient Indians were generally not concerned with chronologies, being far more focused on philosophy. The Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing a clearer picture of what Shakyamuni may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of the culture and daily life of ancient India which can be corroborated from the Jain scriptures, and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in Indian history for which substantial accounts exist.[5] According to Michael Carrithers, there are good reasons to doubt the traditional account, though the outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true.[6]


Conception and birth
Siddhartha was born in Lumbini[7] and raised in the small kingdom or principality of Kapilvastu, both of which are in modern day Nepal. At the time of the Buddha's birth, the area was at or beyond the boundary of Vedic civilization; it is even possible that his mother tongue was not an Indo-Aryan language.[8] His community does not seem to have had a caste system, and their society was not structured according to Brahminical theory. It was not a monarchy, and seems to have been structured either as an oligarchy, or as a form of republic.[9] According to the traditional biography, however, his father was King Suddhodana, the chief of the Shakya nation, one of several ancient tribes in the growing state of Kosala; Gautama was the family name. His mother, Queen Maha Maya (Māyādevī) and Suddhodana's wife, was a Koliyan princess. On the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right side[10], and ten lunar months later Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother Queen Maya became pregnant, she left Kapilvastu for her father's kingdom to give birth. However, she gave birth on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a sal tree.

The day of the Buddha's birth is widely celebrated in Theravada countries as Vesak.[11] Various sources hold that the Buddha's mother died at his birth, a few days or seven days later. The infant was given the name Siddhartha (Pāli: Siddhatta), meaning "he who achieves his aim". During the birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita journeyed from his mountain abode and announced that the child would either become a great king (chakravartin) or a great holy man.[citation needed] This occurred after Siddhartha placed his feet in Asita's hair and Asita examined the birthmarks. Suddhodarna held a naming ceremony on the fifth day, and invited eight brahmin scholars to read the future. All gave a dual prediction that the baby would either become a great king or a great holy man.[citation needed] Kaundinya (Pali: Kondanna), the youngest, and later to be the first arahant, was the only one who unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha would become a Buddha.[12]

While later tradition and legend characterized Śuddhodana as a hereditary monarch, the descendant of the Solar Dynasty of Ikṣvāku (Pāli: Okkāka), many scholars believe that Śuddhodana was the elected chief of a tribal confederacy.


Early life and marriage
Siddhartha, destined to a luxurious life as a prince, had three palaces (for seasonal occupation) especially built for him. His father, King Śuddhodana, wishing for Siddhartha to be a great king, shielded his son from religious teachings or knowledge of human suffering. Siddhartha was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati.[13]

As the boy reached the age of 16, his father arranged his marriage to Yaśodharā (Pāli: Yasodharā), a cousin of the same age. Though this is the traditional account, an early source casts doubt as to the historicity of his married life.[14] According to the traditional account, in time, she gave birth to a son, Rahula. Siddhartha spent 29 years as a Prince in Kapilavastu. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with everything he could want or need, Siddhartha felt that material wealth was not the ultimate goal of life.[13]


Departure and Ascetic Life

The Great Departure. Gandhara, 2nd century CE.At the age of 29, Siddhartha left his palace in order to meet his subjects. Despite his father's effort to remove the sick, aged and suffering from the public view, Siddhartha was said to have seen an old man. Disturbed by this, when told that all people would eventually grow old by his charioteer Channa, the prince went on further trips where he encountered, variously, a diseased man, a decaying corpse, and an ascetic. Deeply depressed by these sights, he sought to overcome old age, illness, and death by living the life of an ascetic.

Siddhartha escaped his palace, accompanied by Channa aboard his horse Kanthaka, leaving behind this royal life to become a mendicant. It is said that, "the horse's hooves were muffled by the gods"[15] to prevent guards from knowing the Bodhisatta's departure. This event is traditionally called "The Great Departure".

Siddhartha initially went to Rajagaha and began his ascetic life by begging for alms in the street. Having been recognised by the men of King Bimbisara, Bimbisara offered him the throne after hearing of Siddhartha's quest. Siddhartha rejected the offer, but promised to visit his kingdom of Magadha first, upon attaining enlightenment.

Siddhartha left Rajagaha and practised under two hermit teachers. After mastering the teachings of Alara Kalama, Siddhartha was asked by Kalama to succeed him, but moved on after being unsatisfied with his practices. He then became a student of Udaka Ramaputta, but although he achieved high levels of meditative consciousness and was asked to succeed Ramaputta, he was still not satisfied with his path, and moved on.[16]


Gandhara Buddha. 1st–2nd century CE, Tokyo National Museum.Siddhartha and a group of five companions led by Kondanna then set out to take their austerities even further. They tried to find enlightenment through near total deprivation of worldly goods, including food, practising self-mortification. After nearly starving himself to death by restricting his food intake to around a leaf or nut per day, he collapsed in a river while bathing and almost drowned. Siddhartha began to reconsider his path. Then, he remembered a moment in childhood in which he had been watching his father start the season's plowing, and he had fallen into a naturally concentrated and focused state that was blissful and refreshing, the jhana.


Enlightenment

The Buddha as an ascetic. Gandhara, 2-3rd century CE. British Museum.After asceticism and concentrating on meditation and Anapana-sati (awareness of breathing in and out), Siddhartha is said to have discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way—a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. He accepted a little milk and rice pudding from a village girl named Sujata, who wrongly believed him to be the spirit that had granted her a wish, such was his emaciated appearance. Then, sitting under a pipal tree, now known as the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India, he vowed never to arise until he had found the Truth. Kaundinya and the other four companions, believing that he had abandoned his search and become undisciplined, left. After 49 days meditating, at the age of 35, he attained Enlightenment; according to some traditions, this occurred approximately in the fifth lunar month, and according to others in the twelfth. Gautama, from then on, was known as the Buddha or "Awakened One." Buddha is also sometimes translated as "The Enlightened One." Often, he is referred to in Buddhism as Shakyamuni Buddha or "The Awakened One of the Shakya Clan."

At this point, he is believed to have realized complete awakening and insight into the nature and cause of human suffering which was ignorance, along with steps necessary to eliminate it. This was then categorized into 'Four Noble Truths'; the state of supreme liberation—possible for any being—was called Nirvana. He then allegedly came to possess the Nine Characteristics, which are said to belong to every Buddha.

According to one of the stories in the Āyācana Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya VI.1), a scripture found in the Pāli and other canons, immediately after his Enlightenment, the Buddha was wondering whether or not he should teach the Dharma to human beings. He was concerned that, as human beings were overpowered by greed, hatred and delusion, they would not be able to see the true dharma, which was subtle, deep and hard to understand. However, Brahmā Sahampati, interceded and asked that he teach the dharma to the world, as "there will be those who will understand the Dharma". With his great compassion to all beings in the universe, the Buddha agreed to become a teacher.


Formation of the sangha

Painting of the first sermon depicted at Wat Chedi Liem in Thailand.After becoming enlightened, two merchants whom the Buddha met, named Tapussa and Bhallika became the first lay disciples. They are given some hairs from the Buddha's head, which are believed to now be enshrined in the Shwe Dagon Temple in Rangoon, Burma. The Buddha intended to visit Asita, and his former teachers, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta to explain his findings, but they had already died.

The Buddha thus journeyed to Deer Park near Vārāṇasī (Benares) in northern India, he set in motion the Wheel of Dharma by delivering his first sermon to the group of five companions with whom he had previously sought enlightenment. They, together with the Buddha, formed the first saṅgha, the company of Buddhist monks, and hence, the first formation of Triple Gem (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) was completed, with Kaundinya becoming the first stream-enterer. All five soon become arahants, and with the conversion of Yasa and fifty four of his friends, the number of arahants swelled to 60 within the first two months. The conversion of the three Kassapa brothers and their 200, 300 and 500 disciples swelled the sangha over 1000, and they were dispatched to explain the dharma to the populace.

It is unknown what language the Buddha spoke, and no conclusive documentation has been made at this point. However, some modern scholars, primarily philologists, believe it is most likely that the Buddha spoke a vulgate then current in eastern India, Mâgadhî Prakrit.


Travels and Teaching

Gautama Buddha with his protector Vajrapani (here holding a flywisk). Gandhara, 2nd century CE.For the remaining 45 years of his life, the Buddha is said to have traveled in the Gangetic Plain, in what is now Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and southern Nepal, teaching his doctrine and discipline to an extremely diverse range of people— from nobles to outcaste street sweepers, mass murderers such as Angulimala and cannibals such as Alavaka. This extended to many adherents of rival philosophies and religions. The Buddha founded the community of Buddhist monks and nuns (the Sangha) to continue the dispensation after his Parinirvāna (Pāli: Parinibbāna) or "complete Nirvāna", and made thousands of converts. His religion was open to all races and classes and had no caste structure. He was also subject to attack from opposition religious groups, including attempted murders and framings.


A Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD) Chinese silk landscape painting depicting the young Sakyamuni shaving his head. This is one of the earliest visual presentations of the Gautama Buddha in the history of paintingThe sangha travelled from place to place in India, expounding the dharma. This occurred throughout the year, except during the four months of the vassana rainy season. Due to the heavy amount of flooding, travelling was difficult, and ascetics of all religions in that time did not travel, since it was more difficult to do so without stepping on submerged animal life, unwittingly killing them. During this period, the sangha would retreat to a monastery, public park or a forest and people would come to them.

The first vassana was spent at Varanasi when the sangha was first formed. After this, he travelled to Rajagaha, the capital of Magadha to visit King Bimbisara, in accordance with his promise after enlightenment. It was during this visit that Sariputta and Mahamoggallana were converted by Assaji, one of the first five disciples; they were to become the Buddha's two foremost disciples. The Buddha then spent the next three seasons at Veluvana Bamboo Grove monastery in Rajagaha, the capital of Magadha. The monastery, which was of a moderate distance from the city centre was donated by Bimbisara.

Upon hearing of the enlightenment, Suddhodana dispatched royal delegations to ask the Buddha to return to Kapilavastu. Nine delegations were sent in all, but the delegates joined the sangha and became arahants. Neglecting worldly matters, they did not convey their message. The tenth delegation, led by Kaludayi, a childhood friend, resulted in the message being successfully conveyed as well as becoming an arahant. Since it was not the vassana, the Buddha agreed, and two years after his enlightenment, took a two month journey to Kapilavastu by foot, preaching the dharma along the way. Upon his return, the royal palace had prepared the midday meal, but since no specific invitation had come, the sangha went for an alms round in Kapilavastu. Hearing this, Suddhodana hastened to approach the Buddha, stating "Ours is the warrior lineage of Mahamassata, and not a single warrior has gone seeking alms", to which the Buddha replied

That is not the custom of your royal lineage. But it is the custom of my Buddha lineage. Several thousands of Buddhas have gone by seeking alms

Suddhodana invited the sangha back to the royal palace for the meal, followed by a dharma talk, after which he became a sotapanna. During the visit, many members of the royal family joined the sangha. His cousins Ananda and Anuruddha were to become two of his five chief disciples. His son Rahula also joined the sangha at the age of seven, and was one of the ten chief disciples. His half-brother Nanda also joined the sangha and became an arahant. Another cousin Devadatta also became a monk although he later became an enemy and tried to kill the Buddha on multiple occasions.

Of his disciples, Sariputta, Mahamoggallana, Mahakasyapa, Ananda and Anuruddha comprised the five chief disciples. His ten foremost disciples were completed by the quintet of Upali, Subhoti, Rahula, Mahakaccana and Punna.

In the fifth vassana, the Buddha was staying at Mahavana near Vesali. Hearing of the impending death of Suddhodana, the Buddha went to his father and preached the dharma, and Suddhodana became an arahant prior to death. The death and cremation led to the creation of the order of nuns. Buddhist texts record that he was reluctant to ordain women as nuns. His foster mother Maha Pajapati approached him asking to join the sangha, but the Buddha refused, and began the journey from Kapilavastu back to Rajagaha. Maha Pajapati was so intent on renouncing the world that she led a group of royal Sakyan and Koliyan ladies, following the sangha to Rajagaha. The Buddha eventually accepted them five years after the formation of the Sangha on the grounds that their capacity for enlightenment was equal to that of men, but he gave them certain additional rules (Vinaya) to follow. This occurred after Ananda interceded on their behalf. Yasodhara also became a nun, with both becoming arahants.

During his ministry, Devadatta (who was not an arahant) frequently tried to undermine the Buddha. At one point Devadatta asked the Buddha to stand aside to let him lead the sangha. The Buddha declined, and stated that Devadatta's actions did not reflect on the Triple Gem, but on him alone. Devadatta conspired with Prince Ajatasattu, son of Bimbisara, so that they would kill and usurp the Buddha and Bimbisara respectively. Devadatta attempted three times to kill the Buddha. The first attempt involved the hiring of a group of archers, whom upon meeting the Buddha became disciples. A second attempt followed when Devadatta attempted to roll a large boulder down a hill. It hit another rock and splintered, only grazing the Buddha in the foot. A final attempt by plying an elephant with alcohol and setting it loose again failed. Failing this, Devadatta attempted to cause a schism in the sangha, by proposing extra restrictions on the vinaya. When the Buddha declined, Devadatta started a breakaway order, criticising the Buddha's laxity. At first, he managed to convert some of the bhikkhus, but Sariputta and Mahamoggallana expounded the dharma to them and succeeded in winning them back.

When the Buddha reached the age of 55, he made Ananda his chief attendant.


Death / Mahaparinirvana

An artist`s portrayal of Buddha's entry into Parinirvana.According to the Mahaparinibbana Sutta of the Pali canon, at the age of 80, the Buddha announced that he would soon reach Parinirvana or the final deathless state abandoning the earthly body. After this, the Buddha ate his last meal, which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Ānanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his passing and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha.[17] The precise contents of the Buddha's final meal are not clear, due to variant scriptural traditions and ambiguity over the translation of certain significant terms; the Theravada tradition generally believes that the Buddha was offered some kind of pork, while the Mahayana tradition believes that the Buddha consumed some sort of truffle or other mushroom.

The Mahayana Vimalakirti Sutra claims, in Chapter 3, that the Buddha doesn't really become ill or old but purposely presents such an appearance only to teach those born into samsara about the impermanence and pain of defiled worlds and to encourage them to strive for Nirvana.

"Reverend Ánanda, the Tathágatas have the body of the Dharma—not a body that is sustained by material food. The Tathágatas have a transcendental body that has transcended all mundane qualities. There is no injury to the body of a Tathágata, as it is rid of all defilements. The body of a Tathágata is uncompounded and free of all formative activity. Reverend Ánanda, to believe there can be illness in such a body is irrational and unseemly!' Nevertheless, since the Buddha has appeared during the time of the five corruptions, he disciplines living beings by acting lowly and humble."[14]

Ananda protested Buddha's decision to enter Parinirvana in the abandoned jungles of Kuśināra (present-day Kushinagar, India) of the Malla kingdom. Buddha, however, reminded Ananda how Kushinara was a land once ruled by a righteous wheel-turning king that resounded with joy:

44. Kusavati, Ananda, resounded unceasingly day and night with ten sounds—the trumpeting of elephants, the neighing of horses, the rattling of chariots, the beating of drums and tabours, music and song, cheers, the clapping of hands, and cries of "Eat, drink, and be merry!"


The sharing of the relics of the Buddha.Buddha then asked all the attendant Bhikshus to clarify any doubts or questions they had. They had none. He then finally entered Parinirvana. The Buddha's final words were, "All composite things pass away. Strive for your own liberation with diligence." The Buddha's body was cremated and the relics were placed in monuments or stupas, some of which are believed to have survived until the present. For example, The Temple of the Tooth or "Dalada Maligawa" in Sri Lanka is the place where the relic of the right tooth of Buddha is kept at present.

According to the Pāli historical chronicles of Sri Lanka, the Dīpavaṃsa and Mahāvaṃsa, the coronation of Aśoka (Pāli: Asoka) is 218 years after the death of Buddha. According to one Mahayana record in Chinese (十八部論 and 部執異論), the coronation of Aśoka is 116 years after the death of Buddha. Therefore, the time of Buddha's passing is either 486 BCE according to Theravāda record or 383 BCE according to Mahayana record. However, the actual date traditionally accepted as the date of the Buddha's death in Theravāda countries is 544 or 543 BCE, because the reign of Aśoka was traditionally reckoned to be about 60 years earlier than current estimates.

At his death, the Buddha told his disciples to follow no leader, but to follow his teachings (dharma). However, at the First Buddhist Council, Mahakasyapa was held by the sangha as their leader, with the two chief disciples Mahamoggallana and Sariputta having died before the Buddha.


Physical characteristics
Main article: Physical characteristics of the Buddha

Gandhara Buddha, 1st-2nd century CE, Musée Guimet.Buddha is perhaps one of the few sages for whom we have mention of his rather impressive physical characteristics. A kshatriya by birth, he had military training in his upbringing, and by Shakyan tradition was required to pass tests to demonstrate his worthiness as a warrior in order to marry. He had a strong enough body to be noticed by one of the kings and was asked to join his army as a general. He is also believed by Buddhists to have "the 32 Signs of the Great Man".

The Brahmin Sonadanda described him as "handsome, good-looking, and pleasing to the eye, with a most beautiful complexion. He has a godlike form and countenance, he is by no means unattractive."(D,I:115).

"It is wonderful, truly marvellous, how serene is the good Gotama's appearance, how clear and radiant his complexion, just as the golden jujube in autumn is clear and radiant, just as a palm-tree fruit just loosened from the stalk is clear and radiant, just as an adornment of red gold wrought in a crucible by a skilled goldsmith, deftly beaten and laid on a yellow-cloth shines, blazes and glitters, even so, the good Gotama's senses are calmed, his complexion is clear and radiant." (A,I:181)

A disciple named Vakkali, who later became an Arahant, was so obsessed by Buddha's physical presence that Buddha had to tell him to stop and reminded Vakkali to know Buddha through the Dhamma and not physical appearances.

Although the Buddha was not represented in human form until around the 1st century CE (see Buddhist art), the physical characteristics of fully-enlightened Buddhas are described by the Buddha in the Digha Nikaya's Lakkhaṇa Sutta (D,I:142).[18] In addition, the Buddha's physical appearance is described by Yasodhara to their son Rahula upon the Buddha's first post-Enlightenment return to his former princely palace in the non-canonical Pali devotional hymn, Narasīha Gāthā ("The Lion of Men").[19]


Teachings
Main article: Buddhist philosophy

Seated Buddha, Gandhara, 2nd century CE.Some scholars believe that some portions of the Pali Canon and the Agamas could contain the actual substance of the historical teachings (and possibly even the words) of the Buddha.[20][21] This is not the case for the later Mahayana sutras.[22] The scriptural works of Early Buddhism precede the Mahayana works chronologically, and are treated by many Western scholars as the main credible source for information regarding the actual historical teachings of Gautama Buddha.

Some of the fundamentals of the teachings of Gautama Buddha are:

The Four Noble Truths: that suffering is an inherent part of existence; that the origin of suffering is ignorance and the main symptoms of that ignorance are attachment and craving; that attachment and craving can be ceased; and that following the Noble Eightfold Path will lead to the cessation of attachment and craving and therefore suffering.
The Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.
Dependent origination: that any phenomenon 'exists' only because of the ‘existence’ of other phenomena in a complex web of cause and effect covering time past, present and future. Because all things are thus conditioned and transient (anicca), they have no real independent identity (anatta).
Rejection of the infallibility of accepted scripture: Teachings should not be accepted unless they are borne out by our experience and are praised by the wise. See the Kalama Sutta for details.
Anicca (Sanskrit: anitya): That all things are impermanent.
Anatta (Sanskrit: anātman): That the perception of a constant "self" is an illusion.
Dukkha (Sanskrit: duḥkha): That all beings suffer from all situations due to unclear mind.
However, in some Mahayana schools, these points have come to be regarded as more or less subsidiary. There is some disagreement amongst various schools of Buddhism over more esoteric aspects of Buddha's teachings, and also over some of the disciplinary rules for monks.

According to tradition, the Buddha emphasized ethics and correct understanding. He questioned the average person's notions of divinity and salvation. He stated that there is no intermediary between mankind and the divine; distant gods are subjected to karma themselves in decaying heavens; and the Buddha is solely a guide and teacher for the sentient beings who must tread the path of Nirvāṇa (Pāli: Nibbāna) themselves to attain the spiritual awakening called bodhi and see truth and reality as it is. The Buddhist system of insight and meditation practice is not believed to have been revealed divinely, but by the understanding of the true nature of the mind, which must be discovered by personally treading a spiritual path guided by the Buddha's teachings.

Doctrine (Dharma)
Having taught for forty-five years from his enlightenment to his death, the Buddha left behind a large compendium of teachings that were memorized by various of his disciples. Since writing was a rarity then in India, they were passed on through the community until they were written down several centuries later. These earliest texts are in the common Pali language and usually are dialogs between the Buddha and others. Often the Buddha emphasized that it was more important for disciples to see the dharma (doctrine) than the Buddha, because the dharma would remain and was what they needed to practice to attain enlightenment and even afterward. The third refuge for the Buddhist was in the community (sangha) of monks and nuns.

The Buddha advised his followers not to feel ill will or get angry when others spoke against them, because this might disrupt their self-mastery and prevent them from being able to judge whether the criticism was valid or not. For the same reason they should not be overly glad when the doctrine is praised.

In regard to the moral precepts, the Buddha described himself as having put away the killing of living things, holding himself aloof from the destruction of life. Having laid aside weapons, he is ashamed of roughness and full of mercy, being compassionate and kind to all creatures. He does not take what has not been given, is chaste, and speaks truth being faithful and trustworthy, not breaking his word to the world. He has put away lying and slander and does not raise quarrels. Thus does he live:

as a binder together of those who are divided,
an encourager of those who are friends,
a peacemaker, a lover of peace, impassioned for peace,
a speaker of words that make for peace.4

In describing the fruits of living as a recluse the Buddha emphasized to King Ajatasatru the importance of mindfulness toward the ethical significance of every action and word. Then having mastered the moral precepts, restrained the senses, endowed with mindfulness and self-possession, filled with content, the recluse chooses a lonely and quiet spot to meditate in order to purify the mind of lusts, the wish to injure, ill temper, sloth, worry, irritability, wavering, and doubt.

At the end of this long dialog King Ajatasatru confessed his sin in putting to death his father and asked to be a disciple of the blessed one. The Buddha accepted his confession and noted that in the tradition of the noble ones' discipline whoever sees one's fault as a fault and correctly confesses it shall attain self-restraint in the future.

The Buddha was quite a penetrating psychologist and described the psychological causality that leads to suffering in his theory of pratitya-samutpada (dependent origination). Sorrow, lamentation, misery, grief, despair, old age, and death are all caused by birth, which depends on existence, which depends on attachment, which depends on desire, which depends on sensation, which depends on contact, which depends on the six senses, which depend on name and form, which depend on consciousness, which depends on karma, which depends on ignorance. However, by ending ignorance, then karma, consciousness, name and form, the six senses, contact, sensation, desire, attachment, existence, and birth with all the misery that comes after birth can be ended. Sensation and desire also lead to pursuit, decision, gain, passion, tenacity, possession, avarice, and guarding possessions, which can lead to blows and wounds, strife, quarreling, slander, and lies.

This process is further described in a parable about an ancient kingdom where the celestial wheel symbolizing the dharma disappeared. The king ignored the advice of the sages that he should share some of his wealth with the destitute. This led to widespread poverty and theft. At first the king gave some wealth to a thief to solve his problem, but then not wanting to reward stealing he ordered that thieves have their heads cut off. This led to the arming of the poor, increased violence associated with their stealing, and more murders. This also caused more lying, evil speaking, and false opinions. Eventually greed, adultery, perverted lust, and incest became common, followed by lack of respect for parents, religious teachers, and the heads of the clans. Human life became like hunters feel toward their game, and at times people treated each other like wild beasts. Finally deciding to do something good, people started to abstain from taking life, which led to abstaining from taking what is not given, abstaining from lying, and abstaining from adultery. As the virtues were practiced, the health of the society returned. When this happens, a fully awakened one (Buddha) called Maitreya will come. Until then the Buddha recommended that people live as islands unto themselves, taking the dharma as their refuge, letting the mind be filled with love, compassion, joy, and equanimity.

In another dialog the Buddha clarified the meaning of the eightfold path by saying that right view is knowledge of the four noble truths of suffering, its cause, cessation, and the way that leads to its cessation. Right aspiration is towards benevolence and kindness. Right speech is to abstain from lying, slander, abuse, and idle talk. Right doing is to abstain from taking life, from taking what is not given, and from carnal indulgence. Right livelihood is only described as putting away wrong livelihood. Right effort is toward preventing bad states from arising, putting away evil that has arisen, toward good states arising, and nurturing good that does arise.

Right mindfulness is being self-possessed and mindful in regard to the body, overcoming craving and dejection in feelings, thoughts, and ideas. Right rapture is being aloof from sensuous appetites and evil ideas, entering into and abiding in the four levels of higher awareness. The first of these has cogitation and deliberation born of solitude and is full of ease and joy. The second suppresses cogitation and deliberation evoking by itself concentration, calming the mind and dwelling on high. In the third stage one is disenchanted with joy, is calmly contemplative and aware. The fourth state leaves behind ease and transcends former happiness and melancholy by entering into the rapture of pure mindfulness and equanimity, feeling neither ease nor ill.

According to the Buddha the four motives that lead to evil deeds are partiality, enmity, stupidity, and fear. The six channels for dissipating wealth are being addicted to liquors, frequenting the streets at unseemly hours, haunting fairs, gambling, bad companions, and idleness.

These ethical teachings and discourses on many other subjects are from the sayings (Nikaya) of the Buddha in the first of the Three Baskets (Tripitaka) that make up the Pali Canon. The second basket contains the discipline (Vinaya) books for the monks and nuns. Later commentaries on the original teachings make up the third basket of "higher doctrines" (Abhidharma). The first book in this last collection has been called A Manual of Psychological Ethics (Dhamma-sangani).

The Dhamma-sangani lists the good states of consciousness as the following: contact, feeling, perception, volition, thought, application, sustained thinking, zest, ease, self-collectedness; the faculties of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, insight, ideation, gladness, and life; right views, endeavor, mindfulness, and concentration; the powers of faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration, insight, conscientiousness, and the fear of blame; the absence of greed, hate, dullness, covetousness, and malice; serenity, lightness, plasticity, facility, fitness, and directness in mind and mental factors; intelligence, quiet, intuition, grasp, and balance.

The list of bad states of consciousness is similar except that the views, intention, endeavor, and concentration are wrong instead of right, and there is unconscientiousness, disregard of blame, lust, dullness, and covetousness instead of their absence. In a further discussion of these ties the perversion of rules and rituals and the disposition to dogmatize are added to covetousness, lust, and ill will. To the cankers (asavas) of sensuality, rebirth, and ignorance is added speculative opinion about useless metaphysical questions such as whether the world is eternal, the soul is infinite, the soul and body are different, or whether one exists after death.

A work on human types (Puggala-pannatti) analyzes individuals in terms of many characteristics such as the six sense organs and their objects (including mind as the sixth sense); eighteen elements of cognition, twenty-two faculties or functions, and such negative traits as being wrathful, vengeful, a hypocrite, a charlatan, jealous, avaricious, shameless, impudent, disobedient, associating with the wicked, having unguarded senses, being immoderate as to food, forgetful, unmindful, infringing moral laws, having wrong views, and internal and external fetters as well as their opposites. However, these texts mostly consist of dry and abstract lists with many repetitions.

Dhammapada
One of the greatest literary works of early Buddhism is the Dhammapada, which was placed among the smaller sayings in the first basket of sutras although it contains 423 stanzas in 26 chapters. Put together from highlights of Buddha's ethical teachings, it was in existence by the time of Emperor Ashoka in the third century BC. It begins with the idea that we are the result of our thoughts, impure or pure.

Those who harbor resentful thoughts toward others, believing they were insulted, hurt, defeated, or cheated, will suffer from hatred, because hate never conquers hatred. Yet hate is conquered by love, which is an eternal law. Those who live for pleasures with uncontrolled senses will be overthrown by temptation. Those who cleanse themselves from impurity, grounded in virtues, possessing self-control and truth are worthy of the yellow robe. Those who imagine truth in untruth and see untruth in truth follow vain desires.

Passion enters an unreflecting mind like rain comes into a badly roofed house. Wrong-doers suffer and grieve in this world and the next, but the virtuous find joy and happiness in both. The second chapter is on awareness and begins:

Awareness is the path of immortality;
thoughtlessness is the path of death.
Those who are aware do not die.
The thoughtless are as if dead already.
The wise having clearly understood this delight in awareness
and find joy in the knowledge of the noble ones.
These wise ones, meditative, persevering,
always using strong effort,
attain nirvana, the supreme peace and happiness.5

It is good to control the mind, but thought is difficult to guard and restrain. Yet a tamed mind brings happiness. A wise person, who shows you your faults, may be followed as though to hidden treasures. The wise, who teach, admonish, and forbid the wrong, will be loved by the good and hated by the bad. The wise mold themselves, as engineers of canals guide water and carpenters shape wood. The path of those who have stilled their passions and are indifferent to pleasure, perceiving release and unconditional freedom, is difficult to understand like that of birds in the sky.

Whoever conquers oneself is greater than the person who conquers in battle a thousand times a thousand people. In regard to punishment this text warns that those who inflict pain on others will not find happiness after death. Self is the master of the self, and a person who is self-controlled finds a master few can find. By oneself wrong is done and suffered, and by oneself one is purified.

In regard to the world the Buddha recommended not following a bad law any more than a wrong idea or thoughtlessness. He advised us not to be attached to the world but to follow the path of virtue, for the world is like a bubble or mirage. Most of the world is blind, but the wise are led out of it by conquering temptation. The teaching of the awakened ones is not to blame nor strike, but to live alone and restrained under the law, moderate in eating, and practicing the highest consciousness.

Joy is the natural state for those who do not hate those who hate them. Craving is the worst disease and disharmony the greatest sorrow. Health and contentment are the greatest wealth, trusting the best relationship, and nirvana the highest joy. Grief comes from pleasure, attachment, greed, lust, and craving. Anger may be overcome by love, wrong by good, avarice by generosity, and a liar by truth. The wise hurt no one and always control their bodies.

There is no fire like lust, no chain like hate;
there is no snare like folly, no torrent like craving.
The faults of others are easy to see;
our own are difficult to see.
A person winnows others' faults like chaff,
but hides one's own faults,
like a cheater hides bad dice.
If a person is concerned about the faults of others
and is always inclined to be offended,
one's own faults grow
and one is far from removing faults.6

Anyone who tries to settle a matter by violence is not just. The wise consider calmly what is right and wrong, proceeding in a way that is nonviolent and fair. For the Buddhist one is not noble because of injuring living beings; rather one is noble, because one does not injure living beings. Whoever realizes that all created things suffer, perish, and are unreal transcends pain. There is no meditation without wisdom and no wisdom without meditation, for in meditating one becomes wise; but in not meditating wisdom is lost. Whoever has wisdom and meditation is close to nirvana.

Lift up your self by yourself;
examine your self by yourself.
Thus self-protected and attentive
you will live joyfully, mendicant.
For self is the master of self;
self is the refuge of self.
Therefore tame yourself,
like a merchant tames a noble horse.
Joyful and faithful in the doctrine of the Buddha,
the mendicant finds peace,
the joy of ending natural existence.7

No one should hurt a holy one, but no holy one should strike back. The sooner the wish to injure disappears, the sooner all suffering will stop. The holy are free of all attachment, anger, and lust. Though having committed no offense, the holy bear reproach, ill treatment, and imprisonment. They are tolerant with the intolerant, peaceful with the violent, and free from greed among the greedy, speaking true words that are useful and not harsh. The holy call nothing their own, letting go of attachment to humans and rising above attachment to the gods. Eventually a holy one knows one's former lives, perceives heaven and hell, and reaches the end of births, having attained perfection.

Questions of King Milinda
Another great literary work of the Theravada ("way of the elders") school of Buddhism is The Questions of King Milinda. Menander was one of the Greek kings who ruled Bactria after the conquests of Alexander, carrying Greek power further into India than any of his predecessors in the last half of the second century BC; his name was Hinduized to Milinda by the unknown Buddhist author, who wrote this work a century or so later.

The philosophical dialog is preceded by a prophecy from the previous lives of the two individuals whereby the Buddha foretold they would have this discussion some five centuries hence. While living as a god in a heavenly world, Mahasena is persuaded to be reborn as Nagasena so that he could help to enlighten this king. King Milinda delights in philosophical discussion and has never met his match until he encounters Nagasena. He asks the sage every difficult question he can think of and is continually amazed at the sagacious replies of Nagasena. In this way the Buddhist doctrine is thoroughly tested and explained.

Even the first question asking his name elicits the response from Nagasena that there is no permanent individuality. King Milinda asks then who it is who lives, receives gifts, devotes himself to meditation, attains enlightenment, etc. Like a chariot it is none of the separate parts though their combination comes under the name "chariot," and he is known as Nagasena. Nagasena wants to know if Milinda will be discussing as a scholar who may be convicted of error or as a king who punishes disagreement, and King Milinda agrees to discuss as a scholar.

The next day the king asks Nagasena what is the goal of his renunciation. The highest aim is the end of sorrow and the complete passing away. Sinful beings are reindividualized after death; sinless ones are not. True wisdom is cutting off one's failings, and this is accomplished by good conduct, faith, perseverance, mindfulness, and meditation. Good conduct is achieved by virtue and wisdom. Faith frees the heart of lust, malice, mental sloth, pride, and doubt. Perseverance renders support, and mindfulness discerns the good qualities from the bad; but meditation is the leader of all the good qualities. The one who will not be born again is more aware and, though suffering physical pain, is free of mental pain.

But if there is no soul or individuality, how does reincarnation occur, and what reincarnates? Nagasena explains the doctrine of karma - how causes have their effects even from one life to the next. One who sets a fire is responsible for the other things that are burned by the spread of the fire. A person who prepares poison and drinks it oneself as well as giving it to others is responsible for one's own pain and shares responsibility for the pain of the others too. According to the Buddha it is karma that causes the many differences among people.

The king asks why the recluses are so concerned about taking care of their bodies if they don't love their bodies. The body is like a wound that must be treated with salve, oil, and a bandage even though one does not love the wound. Although Buddhism is in many ways a pessimistic philosophy, Nagasena nonetheless finds more merit than demerit, because eventually the wrong-doer acknowledges the wrong and feels remorse, eventually correcting and ending demerit. Yet those who do well do not feel remorse but gladness and peace and blissful feelings; thus good increases.

After seven days of abstinence the king continues his discussion with Nagasena, asking him about various dilemmas he found in the Buddhist doctrine. Nagasena solves every problem by giving various illustrations. For example, the Buddha admitted Devadatta to the order even though he knew that he would cause a schism because he perceived that even this contact with the Buddha would keep Devadatta from becoming even worse. Social prejudice is transcended as even a prostitute is able to perform a miracle by the power of truth.

Eleven advantages come to those who feel love toward all beings and put it into practice. Such people sleep in peace, awake in peace, have no sinful dreams, are dear to people and spirits, watched over by gods, not harmed by fire nor poison nor a sword, are easily tranquilized, calm, undismayed by death, and if arhatship is not attained, are reborn in the Brahma world. Though of a loving disposition, Prince Sama was shot by a poisoned arrow, because the virtues are not inherent in the person but are only effective at that moment while in use. The king is convinced that the felt presence of love has the power to ward off all evil mental states. Nagasena agrees heartily:

Yes! The practice of love is productive
of all virtuous conditions of mind
both in good and in evil ones.
To all beings whatsoever,
who are in the bonds of conscious existence,
is this practice of love of great advantage,
and therefore ought it to be sedulously cultivated.8

The king asks Nagasena whether virtue or vice is more powerful. The karma from vice seems to be effectively punished, this balancing in fact causes it to die away rather quickly; while virtue because of its grandeur lasts for a long time. Because virtue is rarely rewarded immediately as vice is often so punished, the results of virtue usually are received more abundantly in the lives to come. Also according to Nagasena vice only affects the doer, while virtue overspreads the whole world of gods and people. By giving the individual no peace the remorse from wrong-doing leads more quickly to the eradication of that evil.

Finally at the end of their discussions King Milinda ordered a building constructed for Nagasena and the monks, turned his kingdom over to his son, abandoned the household life to become homeless, grew in insight, and eventually became an arhat himself.

Community (Sangha)
After the Buddha's death in 483 BC, the first Buddhist Council was led by Mahakassapa during which Ananda recited the discourses on the doctrine and Upali the rules of the discipline. These were then memorized and became the first two baskets of the Pitaka, the Sutta and Vinaya. Buddhism added abstinence from intoxicants to the four cardinal rules of abstaining from violence, stealing, lying, and sexual misconduct.

At Buddhist gatherings the Pratimokshasutra was recited, followed by confessions of monks who felt they had violated any of it. The four offenses that led to expulsion were having sexual intercourse, taking what was not given, taking of a human life or persuading anyone to commit suicide, and falsely boasting of supernatural attainments. The thirteen offenses deserving suspension included sexual misdemeanors, harming living beings by building a hut, falsely accusing another monk of a major offense, persisting in causing divisions in the community, and refusing to move when admonished by other monks. Other minor violations were eating between meals, attending secular entertainment, using unguents and jewelry, using high or luxurious beds, and handling money.

A century after the death of the Buddha the monks of Vaishali relaxed the rules on ten minor points, leading to contributions of money to the monks. These were protested by the elder Yasa, who organized a council to condemn the changed rules. The easterners from Vaishali became known as Mahasanghikas, and the traditional westerners Theravada. According to tradition Theravada soon divided into eleven sects and Mahasanghikas into seven. Thus Buddhism was administered locally, though a monk could reside in any monastery irrespective of sect.

In the third century BC the Emperor Ashoka tried to unite the Buddhists, but he was stricken with remorse when his minister beheaded monks refusing to comply. Advised by the most learned monk of the time, Moggaliputta Tissa, all monks who did not follow the Theravada were dismissed from the community, and refutations of heretical views were published in the Kathavatthu of the Abhidamma basket. The number of sects was reduced, but others later denied that Ashoka ever held such a council. Regardless of whether that council was held, the support of Ashoka for Buddhism greatly expanded its influence so that it was even adopted and promoted by Greek rulers such as Menander.

The deification of the Buddha by the non-Theravadins led to the ideal of the Bodhisattva or future Buddha instead of the mere arhat. Bodhisattvas are enlightened persons, who postpone their own nirvana in order to help save all sentient creatures. This along with the conception of the pure mind (vijnana) eventually led to the "Greater Vehicle" or Mahayana Buddhism.

According to Edward Conze the earliest part of the Prajnaparamita Sutra is from about the first century BC.9 It explains that the Bodhisattva comprehending the truth does not retire into the blessed rest but dwells in wisdom to help others. In this wisdom one finds that all truths are empty. The Bodhisattva, assured of future Buddhahood by previous Buddhas, whether absorbed in trance or not, knows the essential original nature. Seeing everything and everyone as illusion, the Bodhisattva is not attached to anything, while guiding all beings to nirvana. The world is transcended in this practice of wisdom, the highest perfection. Later during the Christian era this form of Buddhism was to spread into China and throughout Asia.

Among the major religions Buddhism is unusual, like Jainism, in that it did not originally believe in God, though it recognized gods and goddesses and heavens and hells. Less stringent and more popular than the ascetic Jainism, it's emphasis on ethical behavior and the quest for enlightenment appealed to both those who renounced the world and laypeople. Though it also offered excellent individual models of ethical behavior and friendly attitudes, except in its religious community it was unable to convert society as a whole to its way of nonviolence any more than Jainism could.

Nevertheless in my opinion both Jainism and Buddhism even more provided outstanding examples of supremely ethical attitudes and actions. They were not afraid to criticize the priestly corruptions of Brahminism nor the violent ambitions of the ruling class (Kshatriyas). Mahavira and the Buddha were great teachers and leaders, and the non-theistic religions they founded nourished and enriched the spiritual tradition of India and encouraged ethical behavior among its people.

Perhaps the greatest contribution they both made was to make nonviolence a noble path in a culture where the word for noble (Aryan) had stood for racism based on color and the violent conquest of India. Their devotion to truthfulness and their ability to live simple lives with few material possessions as well as their chastity kept their lives relatively pure and free of entanglements and exploitation. Though surely not without their individual imperfections and occasional schisms, the good contributed to the world by these teachings and the lives of their best followers must have been substantial.

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Buddha and Buddhism
Siddartha Gautama
Buddha
Doctrine (Dharma)
Dhammapada
Questions of King Milinda
Community (Sangha)
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The oldest known date in the history of India is the death of the one called Buddha in 483 BC, and even that date is somewhat controversial. Buddha means "one who is intuitive, awakened, or enlightened." The famous historical person known as Buddha was also called the Tathagata, which means "the one who has come thus," and Shakyamuni, which means "the sage of the Shakya tribe." He is said to have lived eighty years, and thus was probably born in 563 BC.

Siddartha Gautama
His father Suddhodana of the Gautama clan was elected king of the Shakya tribe by its five hundred families just south of the Himalaya mountains in the realm of influence of the powerful Kosala monarchy. The son was born in the Lumbini garden and named Siddartha, which means "he who has accomplished his aim." Many myths and legends surround the birth of Siddartha, but most of these seem to have been developed centuries later in the Jatakas. A famous seer named Asita predicted that the child would either become a great king or, if he left home, a great teacher. His mother Maya died seven days after giving birth, and her younger sister Mahapajapati, who was also married to Suddhodana, became his foster mother.

By all accounts Siddartha was raised amid the finest luxuries of the time. Later he said that three palaces had been built for him - one for hot weather, one for cold, and one for the rainy season. His clothes were of the finest silk. When he walked on the grounds, someone held a white umbrella over his head. Even the servants were well fed, and music was played only by beautiful women.

Having demonstrated his skill in archery, Siddartha chose Yasodhara to be his wife, and they were married when he was about sixteen years old. For the next thirteen years he continued to live in luxury with his wife and concubines. Then about the time of the birth of his son Rahula, the famous four signs occurred. According to legend, his father had tried to prevent his princely son from experiencing any suffering or sorrow or religious contact so that he would become a king rather than a spiritual teacher.

However, one day while traveling outside the palace gates, Siddartha happened to come across an old man for the first time in his life. He was appalled at the wrinkles and decrepitude. On another occasion he happened to observe a sick person and learned about the loathsome nature of disease. The third sign came when he witnessed a funeral procession and was able to see the lifeless corpse that was being carried. The suddenness of these three experiences set him thinking about the transitoriness of human life. Finally he came upon a religious ascetic, who had renounced the world to seek enlightenment, a common occupation for Kshatriyas like himself as well as for Brahmins.

With the birth of his son he had fulfilled his obligation to continue his family line and decided that he too must renounce his kingdom and seek a way out of the human miseries of old age, sickness, and death. So he took off his silk garments and put on the coarse clothes of an ascetic and went south to Magadha seeking enlightenment.

While begging for his food in Rajagriha, the capital city of Magadha, his princely demeanor was observed by King Bimbisara (Shrenika). The king went to see Siddartha to find out who he was and what he was doing. Siddartha told him that he was purifying himself in order to achieve nirvana, and he promised to teach the king after he attained enlightenment.

Like the sages of the Upanishads, Siddartha practiced yoga and meditation. At Vaishali to learn meditative concentration he studied with Alara Kalama, who was said to have had hundreds of disciples. Siddartha soon learned how to reach the formless world, but still having mental anxieties he decided not to become a disciple of Alara Kalama. Nor did he become a disciple of his second teacher, Uddaka Ramaputra, after he attained the higher state of consciousness beyond thought and non-thought.

Still not satisfied, Siddartha decided to practice the path of extreme austerities, and in this quest he was joined by the sage Kaundinya and four others. He pressed his tongue against his palate to try to restrain his mind until the perspiration poured from his armpits. He restrained his breath and heard the violent sounds of wind in his ears and head. He went into trances, and some thought he was dead. He fasted for long periods of time and then decided to try limiting his food to the juice of beans and peas. As his flesh shrank, the bones almost stuck out of his skin so that he could touch his spine from the front; after sitting on the ground his imprint looked like a camel's footprint.

For six years Siddartha practiced such austerities, but instead of achieving superhuman knowledge and wisdom he only seemed to get weaker and weaker. Finally he thought that there might be a better way to attain enlightenment. He remembered how, while his father was working, he would sit in the shade of an apple tree free of sensual desires. Perhaps in concentrating his mind without evil ideas and sensual desires he should not be afraid of a happy state of mind. However, to gain the strength he felt he needed for this concentration he decided to start eating again. When he gave up practicing the extreme austerities, the five mendicants who were with him became disillusioned and left him, saying that Gautama lives in abundance and has given up striving.

Siddartha reasoned that a life of penance and pain was no better than a life of luxury and pleasure, because if penance on Earth is religion, then the heavenly reward for penance must be irreligion. If merit comes from purity of food, then deer should have the most merit. Those who practice asceticism without calming their passions are like a man trying to kindle fire by rubbing a stick on green wood in water, but those who have no desires or worldly attachments are like a man using a dry stick that ignites.

Regaining his strength from normal eating of the food he begged, Siddartha once again practiced meditation. Now he easily attained the first stage of joy and pleasure, then a joyful trance arising from concentration with serenity and the mind fixed on one point without reasoning and investigation. The third stage produced equanimity to joy and aversion in a mindful, happy state. In the fourth stage pleasure and pain were left behind in a mindful purity. With his mind thus concentrated and cleansed he directed it to the remembrance of former existences from previous births, also perceiving cycles of evolution and dissolution of the universe.

Then he directed his mind to the passing away and rebirth of beings, perceiving how the karma of evil actions, words, and thoughts leads to rebirth in miserable conditions and suffering in hell; but those beings leading good lives are reborn in a happy state in a heavenly world. Finally directing his mind to the means of ultimate release Siddartha realized that there is pain, a cause of pain, the cessation of pain, and a way that leads to that cessation of pain. Thus his mind was emancipated from sensual desires, the desire for existence, and ignorance.

According to legend this whole process occurred in one night after he had decided to sit under a tree until he became enlightened or died. It was also said that he was tested by Mara, the tempter, but Siddartha could not be swayed from his purpose. Thus darkness and ignorance were dispelled by the light as Siddartha Gautama became enlightened and was henceforth known as the Buddha.

Buddha
Having gained this doctrine, the Buddha thought how difficult it would be for humanity to understood because of their attachments and lust. Trying to teach it to them would be vexation for him. However, the god Brahma asked him to teach the doctrine, because some people, who were not too impure, were falling away from not hearing the teachings. Then the Buddha in pity for beings surveyed their conditions and saw some of little impurity whom he could teach. At first he thought of his former teachers Alara Kalama and Uddaka, but in his clairvoyant awareness he realized that both of them had just died in the last few days. Then he decided to teach the five mendicants who had been with him in their striving. Perceiving that they were in the deer park at Benares, he decided to go there.

Along the way he met an Ajivika ascetic named Upaka, who when told of the Buddha's enlightenment, merely said that he hoped that it was so and went his way. When the five mendicants saw Siddartha Gautama, they thought they would not rise in respect but would offer him a seat. However, as the Buddha arrived, they spontaneously greeted him as a friend. They still criticized him for living in abundance, but the Buddha explained that he does not live in abundance. He spoke to them as one enlightened, and they had to agree that he never had spoken to them in that manner before. While he admonished two of them, the other three went off to collect alms; then he spoke with those three while the other two went for alms. In this way all five soon attained insight and the supreme peace.

In this deer park at Benares the Buddha gave his first sermon in which he explained that the two extremes are not to be practiced by the one who is enlightened - what is joined with the passions and luxury which is low, vulgar, common, ignoble, and useless, nor what is joined with self-torture which is painful, ignoble, and useless too. Avoiding these two extremes the enlightened follow the middle path which produces insight and knowledge and leads to peace, wisdom, enlightenment, and nirvana. Buddha then expounded the four noble (aryan) truths of his doctrine.

Now this, monks, is the noble truth of pain:
birth is painful; old age is painful;
sickness is painful; death is painful;
sorrow, lamentation, dejection, and despair are painful.
Contact with unpleasant things is painful;
not getting what one wishes is painful.
In short the five groups of grasping are painful.

Now this, monks, is the noble truth of the cause of pain:
the craving, which leads to rebirth,
combined with pleasure and lust,
finding pleasure here and there,
namely the craving for passion,
the craving for existence,
and the craving for non-existence.

Now this, monks, is the noble truth
of the cessation of pain:
the cessation without a remainder of craving,
the abandonment, forsaking, release, and non-attachment.

Now this, monks, is the noble truth
of the way that leads to the cessation of pain:
this is the noble eightfold way, namely,
correct understanding, correct intention,
correct speech, correct action, correct livelihood,
correct attention, correct concentration,
and correct meditation.1

The Buddha declared that Kaundinya had understood the doctrine, and he welcomed him as the first monk in the community by saying, "Come, monk, well proclaimed is the doctrine; lead a religious life for making a complete end of pain."2 After further instruction the other four mendicants were also admitted into the community (sangha). Then the Buddha preached to the five that the body, perceptions, feelings, the mind, and even discriminating consciousness are not the self or soul. By turning away from the body, perceptions, feelings, mind, and discriminating consciousness, one becomes free from craving and emancipated. Life then becomes religious and is no longer under finite conditions.

Yasa, the son of a wealthy guildmaster, lived in luxury at Benares, and like Siddhartha he became disgusted with his palace attendants. After hearing the Buddha's doctrine he left home and became the first lay disciple in the new community. The first women to become lay disciples were Yasa's mother and former wife. They were soon followed by four friends of Yasa and then fifty more. The Buddha then suggested that the sixty disciples wander around separately to preach the doctrine so that others may be liberated from the fetters of illusion, while he went to Uruvela in Magadha.

There thirty men of royal blood had entered the forest with their 29 wives and a courtesan for the one who was not married. When the courtesan ran off with their gold, silver, and gems, they all went to search for her and found the Buddha. He asked them if it was more important to seek for that woman or for themselves. When they agreed that their selves were more important, they sat down so that the Buddha could teach them how to seek within themselves.

Shakyamuni was sitting under a banyan tree when a Brahmin named Drona approached him in awe, asking if he was a god. The Tathagata said no. The Brahmin asked if he were a kind of nature spirit (gandharva or yaksha), but again the Buddha denied it. When he asked if he were a human, he denied that too. Finally Drona asked him if he was neither divine nor non-human nor human, then what was he? The reply was that he is Buddha (awake).

Shubha, a Brahmin student, asked the Buddha why humans differed so much in birth, intelligence, health, and so on. Shakyamuni explained that beings are heirs of karma, the consequences of their actions. Evildoers may experience happiness until their deeds ripen, and the good may experience bad things until their good deeds ripen. The pure and the impure create their own destinies; no one can purify another.

Also living in this region were three Brahmin brothers of the Kashyapa family. They were ascetics with matted hair over the age of seventy and were the most respected religious leaders in Magadha with a total of about one thousand disciples. The Buddha spoke with the oldest, Uruvilva Kashyapa, but it was difficult for him to accept that such a young man could be so holy. Finally the Buddha used his mystic powers, and convinced of the Buddha's superiority Uruvilva decided to follow him. The Buddha suggested that they ask his five hundred followers what they wanted to do, and they all decided to join as well, shaving their hair and beards and throwing their ceremonial utensils into the river. The two Kashyapa brothers saw the implements in the river and eventually joined as well with their disciples.

On the way to Rajagriha the Buddha and the thousand disciples saw the volcanic mountain Gayashirsa with its glowing fire. The Buddha preached his sermon on fire - how the sensations, perceptions, thoughts, and actions are burning with the poisons of covetousness, anger, and ignorance. At the capital he preached to King Bimbisara about the triple doctrine of charity, precepts, and good works. The king declared that all five of his wishes had been fulfilled - that he might be king, that a Buddha would come to his kingdom, that he would meet him, be instructed by him, and understand the teachings. After the sermon King Bimbisara donated a bamboo grove near the capital as a site for a monastery.

Also at Rajagriha lived the agnostic Sanjaya, who also had many disciples under two named Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, who were seeking enlightenment and a better teacher. Shariputra observed Assaji (one of the first five mendicants in the community) begging and learned of the Buddha's teachings. He told Maudgalyayana, and they told the two hundred fifty disciples of Sanjaya. Even though Sanjaya tried three times to stop them from going away, they all went to find the Buddha, who greeted them with the revelation that these two would become his greatest disciples. Within two weeks of joining the community both Shariputra and Maudgalyayana had become enlightened.

In meditating Maudgalyayana had trouble with drowsiness and falling asleep. The Buddha suggested several remedies including laying down for a while to sleep before resuming meditation. The uncle of Shariputra was a skeptic like Sanjaya and told the Buddha that he could not accept any conclusive doctrine. Shakyamuni simply asked him if he recognized his own doctrine as conclusive. Caught in self-contradiction, he realized the weakness and limitation of skeptical philosophy. Then the Buddha explained the law of causation in human life.

Having heard that his son had become a Buddha, King Suddhodana sent Udayin to invite Shakyamuni to the capital at Kapilavastu. Udayin was converted to the new religion, and Shakyamuni returned to his home town. His father criticized him for begging for food when he was rich enough to feed thousands of followers. Shakyamuni replied that mendicancy was the correct custom for his line, by which he meant the line of Buddhas. Verbal discussions were not enough to win over people who had known him as a boy; so the Buddha used his mystical powers to convince them.

Siddartha's half-brother Nanda was about to be declared crown prince and married to Sundari, the most beautiful woman in the kingdom, but he decided to join the community instead. However, he could not help thinking about Sundari; so the Buddha gave him a vision of hundreds of heavenly maidens, though this was later criticized by others as a wrong motivation for seeking enlightenment. Eventually Nanda repented of this motivation and asked the Buddha to dissolve his promise of these maidens, and Nanda attained enlightenment and became an arhat (a term meaning "worthy" or "honorable" used for disciples who attained the highest level of awareness).

Siddartha's son Rahula was also admitted to the community at the age of ten, but later a rule was made that minors under twenty could not join the community without permission from their parents. Many Shakya nobles also joined the community at this time (according to legend 80,000) including Ananda, Anuruddha, Devadatta, Bhaddiya, and Kimbila. On the way to Buddha they were accompanied by their barber and slave, Upali. They sent him back to Kapilavastu with their jewels, but afraid of the Shakyas' reaction, he put them on a tree and rejoined the five aristocrats. Upali, who was of the lowest caste, was ordained first giving him seniority over the nobles he had served so that their Shakya pride might be moderated. Like Mahavira, the Buddha taught in the ordinary language of the people rather than in the aristocratic Sanskrit.

Complaints that monks wandering around during the rainy season trampled the grass and destroyed living creatures led the Buddha to adopt the custom of staying in retreat during the three months of rain. After one of these retreats, a wealthy householder from Shravasti, who became known as Anathapindada ("Giver of alms to the unprotected"), confessed to the Buddha that he enjoyed his investing and business cares. Shakyamuni suggested that he be a lay disciple and continue his work and use it as a blessing for other people. So Anathapindada invited the Buddha to spend the next rainy season at Shravasti, the chief city in Kosala, where he purchased and built the Jetavana Monastery. Later when Anathapindada was dying of a painful illness, Shariputra went and taught him the mental concentration for the avoidance of pain usually only taught to monks; Anathapindada died in peace.

The Buddha liked the Jetavana Monastery to be quiet, for he once dismissed Yashoja and five hundred monks for talking too loudly after they arrived. However, they went to another place near Vaishali and made great spiritual gains. Later when the Buddha traveled to Vaishali, he noticed that the area was illuminated. He told Ananda to invite Yashoja and the five hundred monks to the hall with the peaked roof. When they arrived, the Buddha was sitting in silent meditation; they too joined him in silent concentration. Every few hours Ananda approached the Buddha to ask him to greet these monks, but Shakyamuni remained silent and in the morning told Ananda that if he understood meditation better, he would not have kept asking him to greet the monks, who were likewise sitting in immovable concentration.

A new monk once confessed to the Buddha for having eaten meat in his almsbowl, but the Buddha forgave those who ate meat that was not prepared for them. Their ethical principle was not to harm any living creature. Yet he criticized those who hunt and kill animals for sport and warned his followers not to accept any food from such blood-stained hands.

After Shakyamuni's father died as a lay disciple, he declared that a lay disciple, whose mind is free from the poisons of lust, attachment, false views, and ignorance, is no different than anyone else who is free. Fearing a famine, the Shakya warrior chiefs agitated for a war with the Kolyas over water rights to the Rohini River. The Kolyas had built a dike to conserve water; when they refused the Shakyas' demand to dismantle it, both sides prepared for war. Just before the battle was to begin, the Buddha spoke to both sides, asking them to compare the value of earth and water to the intrinsic value of people and the human blood they were about to spill. He told a parable about a decrepit demon, who fed on anger and took over a royal throne, becoming stronger as more anger was directed at him until the true king came and calmly offered to serve the throne, which led to the diminishment and disappearance of the anger demon. In this way the war was avoided.

Krisha Gautami was stricken with grief when her only son died. Unable to find a physician who could bring him back to life, someone suggested that she go to the Buddha. He told her to get a handful of mustard seed in the city, but it must be from a house where no one has ever lost a child, spouse, parent, or friend. Eventually she came to realize how common death was and put aside her selfish attachment to her child.

Prajapati, the aunt and foster mother of Shakyamuni, asked to be admitted to the community. With Ananda acting as intermediary, the Buddha established eight conditions for the admittance of nuns into the community. Nuns had to make obeisance to all the monks, even the newest, and nuns were not allowed to criticize a monk even though monks criticized nuns. Although they were not treated equally, at least women were allowed to join the community. The sexism was also apparent when the Buddha told Ananda that the religious life would only last five hundred years instead of a thousand because women had been admitted.

A legend tells how a disciple used magical power to get a sandalwood bowl that had been tied from the top of a bamboo pole as a kind of contest. When the Buddha heard of it, he forbade those in the community to use such magical powers and had the bowl broken up and used as perfume. He suggested that his disciples only gain adherents by the miracle of instruction.

In the ninth year after the enlightenment the Buddha was at Kaushambi, and the monk Malunkyaputra complained that the Buddha never explained whether the world is eternal or temporary, finite or infinite, or whether life and the body are the same or different, or whether arhats are beyond death or not. He even threatened to leave the community if the Buddha would not answer his questions. First the Buddha asked him if he had ever promised to explain these things; he had not.

Then he told the parable of a man who was pierced by a poisoned arrow, and his relatives summoned a doctor. Suppose, he said, the physician had said that he would not remove the arrow nor treat the patient until his questions had been answered, such as who made the bow, what kind it was, all about the arrow, and so on. The man would die, and still the information would not be known. Then the Buddha told Malunkyaputra that a person would come to the end of one's life before those metaphysical questions he had asked could be answered by the Tathagata. Those questions do not tend toward edification nor lead to supreme wisdom. However, the Buddha's teaching regarding suffering, its cause, and the means of ending it is like removing the poisoned arrow.

A conflict arose in the community when a monk who refused to admit he had committed an offense was expelled. Some complained that this violated their principle that only evil deeds committed with conscious intent are morally reprehensible. However, the Buddha declared that the two greatest ways to obtain demerit are not to ask forgiveness after committing a wrong and not to forgive one who has confessed and asked for forgiveness.

A Kalama nobleman from north of Kaushambi admitted that he had doubts because various teachers expressed contradictory views. The Buddha responded that he was wise not to believe everything but to question with reason and by experience. After thorough investigation whether the teachings are good, free from faults, praised by the noble, and when practiced lead to the welfare and happiness of oneself and other beings as well, then they may be accepted and lived.

At Asyapura they found Brahmin priests sacrificing horses, sheep, goats, cows, and other animals on bloody altars decorated with images of gods. The Buddha told his followers not to be deceived but to purify their hearts and cease to kill. They should not refuse to admit they are ascetics, who enjoy robes, bowl, bed, and medicine. In their simplified lives they learn how to calm their bodies and concentrate their minds to awaken the four religious qualities of loving friendship, compassion, altruistic joy, and equanimity. The Buddha also declared that in regard to this ascetic life all the castes are equal.

A monk named Sona in the Sitavana Monastery at Rajagriha was so zealous in walking that his feet left a bloody trail. The Buddha asked him if his lute could be played well if the strings were too tight or too loose. Just so, excessive zeal may make the mind weary and one's thoughts irritable and uncertain. He suggested to Sona that gradual progress led to self-mastery and happiness rather than anxiety.

A young Brahmin named Vakula was so infatuated with the Buddha that he continually kept him in his sight. The Buddha explained that the one who sees the dharma (doctrine) sees the Buddha, but Vakula still always remained in his presence. Finally at the end of the rainy season the Buddha asked him to go away. Realizing that Vakula was climbing Vulture Peak to commit suicide, Shakyamuni went after him and called him back lest he destroy the conditions for winning great fruit.

An ambitious disciple named Purna decided to spread the doctrine to the Shronaparantakas. The Buddha, knowing that they were a dangerous people, asked him what he would do if they insulted and abused him. Purna said he would consider them good and kind for not hitting him and throwing rocks at him. But what if they hit and throw rocks? Then he would be glad they did not use clubs and swords. If they used clubs and swords, he would be glad they did not kill him; even if they kill him, they will have delivered him from his vile body. So equipped with patience and love Purna went to the Shronaparantakas and was about to be killed by a hunting archer for fun, when the hunter was so struck by how willing this person was to die that he stopped and eventually accepted the three refuges of the Buddha, the doctrine, and the community.

Another monastery at Purvarama near Rajagriha was donated by Vishakha, the daughter of a rich man. Once at this monastery the Buddha remained silent on the moon day when the preaching service and confessions by the monks took place. Finally the Buddha said to Ananda that the assembly was not wholly pure. Maudgalyayana, perceiving who the immoral person was, asked him to leave; when he refused to leave three times, he was escorted out of the hall by the arm. The Tathagata thought it strange that he should wait until he was thrown out. Then the Buddha declared that he would no longer attend these sessions, but the monks would recite the regulations themselves.

When Shakyamuni was about 55, his personal attendant at the time, Nagasamala, insisted on taking a different road than the Buddha advised and was beaten by robbers. At the Shravasti Monastery the Buddha announced that he wanted to have a permanent attendant. Shariputra volunteered, but the Buddha said his work was teaching. Maudgalyayana and others were also rejected. Ananda remained silent, but Shakyamuni asked him if he would find it a bother. Ananda said that it would not be bothersome, but he did not consider himself worthy. Then he offered to do it on the following eight conditions: that he not have to accept gifts or alms given to the Buddha nor dwell in his chamber nor accept invitations offered only to him and that he may accompany the Perfect One when the monks are invited, that he may present him to those who come from a distance, that he may have access to him at all times, and that whatever teaching he missed by absence should be repeated to him by the Perfect One's own lips. The Buddha heartily agreed, and Ananda was his personal attendant for the rest of the Buddha's life.

Shakyamuni was able to tame a dangerous robber and admitted him into the community. He also bathed and treated a monk, who was suffering from dysentery and had been neglected by the other monks because he lay in his own excrement. On another occasion he found that a leper understood the doctrine very well as he explained that whatever has a beginning must have an end.

About 491 BC when Shayamuni was 72, a schism arose in the community, because his cousin Devadatta wanted to take over as head of the community; but Buddha refused, saying that he would not even turn it over to Shariputra or Maudgalyayana much less to a vile one to be vomited like spit. Devadatta became resentful and used his magical powers to win the favor of Prince Ajatashatru, the son of King Shrenika Bimbisara. They plotted together to take over the kingdom of Magadha and the Buddhist community. Bimbisara and the Buddha were to be murdered; but since Bimbisara turned over his kingdom to his son, he was merely put in prison. There he soon died, though chronicles stated he was killed by his son.

Hired killers were converted by the Buddha, but Devadatta tried to roll a huge boulder from Vulture Peak down upon him. However, only Shakyamuni's foot was scratched. Yet spilling the blood of a Tathagata with murderous intent created terrible karma for Devadatta. When he had learned of his intent, the Buddha had already declared that Devadatta's words and actions were not to be considered as representing the community in any way. Although he had gained a few followers, these were persuaded to return to the real community after long sermons by Shariputra and Maudgalyayana when Devadatta fell asleep after his own talk. Abandoned and with his psychic powers destroyed by his evil intentions, Devadatta soon became ill and died.

King Ajatashatru, who had also listened to Mahavira, was eventually converted by the Buddha; but his previous evil intentions and actions prevented him from attaining the enlightenment he might have achieved in that life. Ajatashatru married the daughter of the Kosala king Pasenadi, and Pasenadi's son married a maiden of the resentful Shakyas who was secretly of low birth. Her son, Vidudabha, swore revenge against the Shakyas. Pasenadi killed his powerful general and his sons, replacing them with the nephew Digha Karayana. While Pasenadi was listening to the Buddha, Digha hurried off and put Vidudabha on the throne. Pasenadi tried to get help from Ajatasatru but died of exposure on the way to Rajagriha.

Surveying the world, the Buddha became aware of Vidudabha's intention to attack the Shakyas and three times was able to convince him to turn back; but on the fourth time the Shakyas' karma for poisoning the river could not be averted, and they were massacred. Enough Shakyas remained, however, to accept a portion of Shakyamuni's relics after his death. When Shakyamuni was 79, both his chief disciples, Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, died. Shariputra died in the home where he was born, but Maudgalyayana was killed by robbers to balance karma from a former life.

At the age of eighty the vitality of the Tathagata's body seemed to diminish, and he declared that he had only three months to live. Ananda missed the opportunity to plead with him to stay until the end of the eon as Buddhas could do, and Ananda was later blamed for that by the community. Finally Shakyamuni took his last meal, ordering a smith named Cunda to give him some mushrooms (literally pig's food or pork) and give the monks other food and then bury the rest of the mushrooms. Sharp sickness arose with a flow of blood and deadly pains, but the Buddha mindfully controlled them and declared that he would die in the third watch of the night. He sent word that Cunda was not to feel remorse but consider this giving of alms of the greatest merit.

Ananda asked the Buddha how he was to act toward women. The Buddha advised him not to see them; but if he saw them, not to speak to them; but if speaking, to exercise mindfulness. Then he said his burial was to be handled by the local Kshatriyas. That evening Ananda brought the local families to say goodby, and then the Buddha answered the questions of an ascetic named Subhadda. Before going through the four stages of higher awareness into nirvana, the last words of the Buddha were, "Decay is inherent in all component things. Work out your salvation with diligence."3

45. 45 。 Beyond permanence and extinction

I fear your training may lead to wrong views
Of permanent soul or complete extinction.
Being is not being; non-being is not non-being.
Miss this rule by a hair,
And you are off by a thousand miles.
Understanding it, the dragon-child abruptly attains Buddhahood;
Misunderstanding it, the greatest scholar falls into hell.

The author expresses his worst fears, namely that someone might start believing in either "permanent soul or complete extinction".

Both these doctrines, the author believes, will lead you terribly astray. The idea of permanence goes against the idea of emptiness. Likewise, the idea of emptiness has nothing to do with nihilism, the belief in "complete extinction". Both these ideas can be the core of ignorance, which is the root of all evil. The belief in permanence is the essence of egotism and selfishness. In the same way, nihilism also leads to confusion and lovelessness.

Compassion, true compassion linked to wisdom, can only be found when both permanence and nihilism are rejected.

Buddhism accepts neither permanence, nor extinction.

The author tries to explain what it means:

Being is not being; non-being is not non-being .

In the world of the spirit, where discriminations have ceased, there is no difference between being and non-being, life and death. All the categories we use in our rational world lose their meaning in the world of the spirit.

Haven't you experienced it yourself? Children often demonstrate this. Children, who often live a life of the spirit, hardly distinguish between animate and inanimate objects. To a little girl, her little doll is as alive as anything else on earth. Love can wipe out these distinctions too. You have probably heard the story of the widow who went to her husband's grave and covered it with her body during a particularly violent storm. In the world of the spirit, there is no distinction between the living and the dead.

Likewise, in the world of the spirit, fictional, symbolic characters may become as real as "real beings". To the person in total spiritual unity with nature, the mountains are alive and the rivers truly sing. In the spiritual world, there is no beginning and no end. People declare "eternal" love and live "happily ever after". It is not a world of fantasy, but it is as real, even more real, than the "objective world" of science and analysis.

If all that I have written in the previous paragraph should sound like sheer nonsense, then it is because you have not moved into the world beyond dualism yet.

Analytical thinking,
which divides and dissects,
does not satisfy the needs
of the spirit,
for the spirit finds peace
in unity,
which exists only
in emptiness,
where thinking has no influence.
To step into the realm of the spirit
is to abandon thinking.
Can you step over the precipice,
not knowing what is below?
Life starts this way.

( The Tao is Tao, 17 )

How important it is to understand this aspect is emphasized in no uncertain terms by the author:

Miss this rule by a hair,
And you are off by a thousand miles.

The author goes even one step further. The attainment of Buddhahood depends on understanding. Of course, by understanding the author does not mean on an intellectual level, for a non-dualistic world does not make sense on this level. Nor does the author mean that one should somehow make sense of the paradoxes involved. That would still be trying to understand things on a dualistic level. You cannot conjure up enlightenment through intellectual activity, no matter how fervent and sincere. It would be like chasing a feather with a fan.

The understanding the author is referring to is non-dualistic, intuitive, spiritual and experiential.

This experience of understanding is direct and immediate, but it often comes when you expect it least.

Enlightenment is so tantalizingly close, yet so far away.

46. 46 。 The untransferrable

From my youth I piled studies upon studies,
In sutras and sastras I searched and researched,
Classifying terms and forms, oblivious to fatigue.
I entered the sea to count the sands in vain
And then the Tathagata scolded me kindly
As I read "What profit in counting your neighbour's treasure?
My work had been scattered and entirely useless,
For years I was dust blown by the wind.

The author emphasizes the futility of trying to develop spiritually through study alone.

His moment of truth came when he read the lines: "What profit in counting your neighbour's treasure?"

He then realized he was trying to reach enlightenment through the experiences and insights of other people. Enlightenment is not transferrable, not even as knowledge, for enlightenment is not knowledge in the ordinary sense of the word. It is an "experience" you will have after you have gone your own way to reach it.

You cannot reach enlightenment only by studying other people's insights. You must reach your own insights through your own experience, and enlightenment will come when it comes.

47. 47 。 Seed-nature

If the seed-nature is wrong, misunderstandings arise.
And the Buddha's doctrine of immediacy cannot be attained.
Shravaka and Pratyeka students may study earnestly
But they lack aspiration.
Others may be clever,
But they lack prajna.
Stupid ones, childish ones,
They suppose there is something in an empty fist.
They mistake the pointing finger for the moon.
They are idle dreamers lost in form and sensation.

What the author is emphasizing in this passage is that enlightenment is only possible if the "seed-nature" is right. You will only find enlightenment if you have reached a certain level of spiritual development, ie only when there is no ego involved. It is only when you have penetrated to your true nature that you will become enlightened.

He then continues to show us different people at different stages of development aspiring to reach enlightenment. Some students lack "aspiration", ie they do not use what Buddhism calls "Right effort", which is more than just "earnest" effort. Other students may be clever, but they simply lack "prajna", ie wisdom.

The most stupid kind of student is the one concentrating on form and sensation. These are the students that would focus on dress, ornaments and rituals. They would "mistake the pointing finger for the moon." Often, they would worship people who are pointing the way rather than go the way themselves. They would honour the texts and the words pointing the way, and would think the words are the essence.

When I read the descriptions of the author, many people I have met came to my mind. Particularly the last category of people, who concentrate on the superficial, can be found in all religions.

The author's judgement on them is harsh:

They are idle dreamers lost in form and sensation.

Are these people then all without hope? No, of course not. Nobody is without hope, because we all carry Buddha-nature in us.

But we all tend to go through stages, depending on our insight, experience and age, don't we? Often we have to go along many erroneous routes before we reach the development where our "seed-nature" is right, and where we finally experience the "Buddha's doctrine of immediacy".

48. 48 。 Karma is empty

Not supposing something is the Tathagata.
This is truly called Kwan-Yin, the Bodhisattva sees freely.
When awakened we find karmic hindrances fundamentally empty.
But when not awakened, we must repay our debts.

You cannot search for the Tao, or your true nature, or emptiness. The moment you search for it, you will be looking for an object, which it is not, for it is absolute.

It is only when you realize that Buddha-nature is not an object you can search for, when you are "Not supposing that something is the Tathagata", that you will truly see "freely".

It is the core of Zen. Everything is empty. Form is illusion. Nothing really exists. Even "non-existence" does not exist.

When we are awakened in this way, we realize that even karma is empty, for it does not touch the essence, which is absolute and beyond its reach.

The author does not say or imply that the enlightened escape karma. Understanding the text in this way would be a grave mistake. What he is saying is that when you are not enlightened, you will not have awakened to the fact that karma might touch the world of form and sensation, but it does not touch your true self, which is emptiness, the essence, Buddha-nature. What he is saying is that when you are not enlightened, you will not have awakened to the fact that karma might touch the world of form and sensation, but it does not touch your true self, which is emptiness, the essence, Buddha-nature 。 Even when you are enlightened, you will be as much in the power of karma as the totally unenlightened person, but it will not really touch you on a spiritual level, for you will be aware that all things, even karma, are empty and of no real consequence.

The enlightened person suffers karma, but is free from it.

49. Surviving the fire

The hungry are served a king's repast,
And they cannot eat.
The sick meet the king of doctors;
Why don't they recover?
The practice of Zen in this greedy world -
This is the power of wise vision.
The lotus lives in the midst of the fire;
It is never destroyed.

Again, the author is bemoaning the fact that people refuse to accept the true way. They are hungry, yet they refuse the best of food; they are sick, and yet they cannot be cured by "the king of doctors" - a reference to the Tathagata.

The practice of Zen overcomes desire and greed, which cause so much sorrow and suffering.

In this life, which is a "fire" of desire and passion, only the lotus - the Buddhist symbol of purity and enlightenment - can survive.

50. Hope for all

Pradhanashura broke the gravest precepts;
But he went on to realize the unborn.
The Buddhahood he attained in that moment
Lives with us now in our time.
The incomparable lion roar of doctrine!
How sad that people are stubbornly ignorant;
Just knowing that crime blocks enlightenment,
Not seeing the secret of the Tathagata teaching.
Two monks were guilty of murder and carnality.
Their leader had the light of a glow-worm;
He just added to their guilt.
Vimalakirti cleared their doubts at once
As sunshine melts the frost and snow.

In this passage, the author gives a message of tremendous hope. In various examples, he points out that even people who have made grave errors have nevertheless reached enlightenment. He mentions the extreme example of two monks who were guilty of murder and sexual depravity who were brought to enlightenment by Vimalakirti

... at once
As sunshine melts the snow.

If even murderers are an instant away from enlightenment, then how close are we not to our true selves?

This passage is clear. No one is beyond help and hope. Mercy acquires a new meaning here. Even if you cannot escape karma, you can still attain enlightenment.

51. One vivid word

The remarkable power of emancipation
Works wonders innumerable as the sands of the Ganges.
To this we offer clothing, food, bedding, medicine.
Ten thousand pieces of gold are not sufficient;
Though you break your body
And your bones become powder, -
This is not enough for repayment.
One vivid word surpasses millions of years of practice.
The King of Dharma deserves our highest respect.
Tathagatas, innumerable as sands of the Ganges,
All prove this fact by attainment.

The author declares that the "remarkable power of emancipation" is worth more than all treasures on earth, even sacrificing your own body, for it

Works wonders innumerable as the sands of the Ganges.

This is a declaration of faith in the power of enlightenment, which is a form of liberation. Being emancipated from the things that hold you captive works "wonders" on a massive scale. The poet is speaking of incredible power. It is clear that this kind of liberation of the spirit is worth pursuing.

The author now makes a stupendous claim. Emancipation, being liberated from the illusions of samsara, is often the result of one "vivid word", which can surpass "millions of years of practice".

Is the author not exaggerating here? Is it possible for one single word to carry so much power? Are we not being warned continuously about putting too much faith in language?

What the author is emphasizing is what power the right word at the right moment can have. Words used at the wrong moments can be harmful, and should be avoided. But with the right timing, words can bring about enlightenment, as so many Zen stories illustrate.

But it takes someone in perfect harmony with the Tao to use words effectively. Someone with empathy, wisdom, compassion and perfect timing - a silent person who knows the value of patience and silence.

One single word can do it. It is not a matter of many words. Long arguments often achieve the opposite of what they are intended to.

"One vivid word" can be enough.

52. There is no Buddha

Now I know what the Mani-jewel is:
Those who believe this will gain it accordingly.
When we see truly, there is nothing at all.
There is no person; there is no Buddha.
Innumerable things of the universe
Are just bubbles on the sea.
Wise sages are all like flashes of lightning

This is probably one of the most provocative statements in Buddhism.

The author declares that

When we see truly, there is nothing at all.

Nothing exists:

There is no person; there is no Buddha.

No Buddha! Imagine telling a Christian there is no Christ, or a Muslim there is no Mohammed. Their whole religions hinge on this premise. Zen is unique, for it is based on Emptiness: nothing exists, not even Buddha.

Is Zen then still Buddhist? Of course it is, and yet it isn't. Zen is called Zen in a way the Tao is called Tao. It defies names and labels.

Many Christians are furtively trying to prove that Christ is indeed a historical character, as if the very existence of their faith depends on this. To the person in harmony with the Tao, historical authenticity is irrelevant. The Taoist accepts that nothing exists, not even the Tao, for the Tao is absolute and does not "exist" or "non-exist". The Tao is the underlying principle of everything. The example of the Law of Gravity illustrates this. It is irrelevant whether the scientist who formulated the Law of Gravity is an authentic historical character or not. Our "faith" in the Law of Gravity does not depend on this. It does not really matter whether Galileo or Newton really existed. Even if the story about the apple falling from the tree is fictional, it would not change the Law of Gravity, for you can personally test the law and find it to be true. Spiritual truths should not be treated differently than physical laws.

Once you have experienced enlightenment, the historical existence of any Buddha becomes irrelevant. In fact, it has been irrelevant from the start. The Buddha himself clearly pointed out that spiritual development is experiential. You have to find out for yourself. He warned against accepting anything because it is tradition, or because some person of authority has told you so, or because it is written in some authoritative text. You should only accept truth if you have personally tested it through your own experience, and have found it to be true. Blind adherence is the last thing you need on your road to enlightenment. In this context, historical authenticity becomes totally irrelevant. The only valid criteria are the evidence of your own spiritual experience.

The truly enlightened person realizes only emptiness exists, but even emptiness does not really exist, for something so absolute as emptiness or Buddha-nature cannot be said to exist or to non-exist.

The person, Buddha, Sakyumani, does not "exist", but even his essence, Buddha-nature, which is in all of us, is in fact beyond the dualistic, rational realm. Even Buddha-nature does not exist or not-exist. The person, Buddha, Sakyumani, does not "exist", but even his essence, Buddha-nature, which is in all of us, is in fact beyond the dualistic, rational realm. Even Buddha-nature does not exist or not-exist 。

Wise sages are all like flashes of lightning

This is a vivid metaphor to describe the effect of sages. They are as transient, and their appearances as fleeting as everything else's. Yet they are like lightning. They illuminate the darkness with tremendous power. They drive away ignorance with tremendous force.

Like a flash of lightning
illuminating the night sky,
one instant of enlightenment
once in a thousand years
will drive ignorance away.

The Tao has no power,
yet it is unconquerable.

( The Tao is Tao, 49 )

The author could not have been more emphatic about the power of Emptiness than this.

Emptiness is not "nothingness". It is the only "real thing".

It is the source of all power.

It is part of the Tao.

53. The power of truth

However the burning iron ring revolves around my head,
With bright completeness of dhjana and prajna
I never lose my equanimity.
If the sun becomes cold, and the moon hot,
Evil cannot shatter the truth.
The carriage of the elephant moves like a mountain,
How can the mantis block the road?
The great elephant does not loiter on the rabbit's path.
Great enlightenment is not concerned with details.
Don't belittle the sky by looking through a pipe.
If you still don't understand,
I will settle it with you.

The author's equanimity is based on his perfect faith:

If the sun becomes cold, and the moon hot,
Evil cannot shatter the truth

This is a declaration of unshakable faith in the power of truth over evil.

Truth is likened to an elephant. It is powerful and cannot be stopped by a mantis - the symbol of evil here.

The carriage of the elephant moves like a mountain,
How can the mantis block the road?

Truth does not preoccupy itself with insignificant paths which are a waste of time:

The great elephant does not loiter on the rabbit's path.

The last four lines of this incredible poem contain a warning and reflect the author's anxiety that, somehow, he still has not got his message across.

He warns against getting entangled in detail and losing sight of the whole:

Great enlightenment is not concerned with details.

He warns against tunnel vision, and losing perspective:

Don't belittle the sky by looking through a pipe.

We should never lose sight of the magnificent whole when concentrating on detail.

In the final two lines, he encourages his readers to come to him if they still do not understand:

If you still don't understand,
I will settle it with you.

It is a pity the author is not alive so that we can accept his invitation and speak to him personally.

And, yet, he is still alive, isn't he? We still hear his voice in this magnificent poem, in the tremendous spiritual wealth we have inherited from him, and in the wisdom of those who have followed in his footsteps.

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37. Eternally serene

Right here it is eternally full and serene,
You cannot grasp it, you cannot reject it.
In the midst of not gaining,
In that condition you gain it.
It speaks in silence,
In silence you can hear it speak.
The great way has opened and there are no obstacles.

This is a description of the state of enlightenment. It is a state of fullness, where nothing can be added. It is therefore totally serene:

Right here it is eternally full and serene

All desire has stopped. You have stopped searching, for you know if you search, you will lose sight of it:

It is beyond your reach:

You cannot grasp it, you cannot reject it.

It is beyond your control. Your own feelings of acceptance and rejection have ceased to exist. You are in a state of non-desire and detachment, the only state of mind where you can become enlightened:

In the midst of not gaining,
In that condition you gain it.

It is in this state of mind that you discover the value of silence - when your emotions and thoughts have ceased to have any effect on you. It is like living in total silence, and yet in this silence, you will hear it speak.

The silence you experience is not a thoughtless state, but a state where you reach real insight. Your insights are reached in silence as well as in language:

It speaks in silence,
In silence you can hear it speak.

This is the ultimate state of mind:

The great way has opened and there are no obstacles.

38. The power of prajna

If someone asks, what is your sect
And how do you understand it?
I reply, the power of tremendous prajna.
People say it is positive;
People say it is negative;
But they do not know.
A smooth road, a rough road -
Even heaven cannot imagine.

The author's answer to the question which sect he belongs to, is of incredible scope:

I reply, the power of tremendous prajna

Prajna is the wisdom that comes to a mind filled with compassion and in total harmony with the Tao.

It is as simple as that. And as incredible. It is no formula. No doctrine. It is obvious and simple. It has none of the trappings of dogma with its complexities and doctrinal implications.

The author's answer is in the ancient tradition of Zen. Some Buddhist schools of thought have expressed doubt whether Zen is truly Buddhist, for Zen has always been trying to rid itself of the cultural forms and trappings which have little to do with the essence of Buddhism. Particularly Buddhist schools that are focused on outward form and ceremony would disapprove of Zen. Zen has always endeavoured to present a Buddhism as pure as possible and in step with the times. What mattered most to Hui-neng, who had such an influence on the development of Buddhism in China, was that Zen was something that was truly alive. Often he would act impulsively and rashly to get rid of trappings hampering people in their efforts.

The main purpose of Zen is to bring every individual into contact with Prajna, that tremendous spiritual force which lies latent in every single person on earth. It is through this Prajna that we are able to reach Enlightenment. Prajna is not mainly an intellectual process, even though the intellect does play a role, but it is mainly experiential and intuitive.

The author now refers to divided opinion about this path of Prajna.

People say it is positive;
People say it is negative;

They do not know what they are talking about, the author argues, because they have not experienced it:

But they do not know.
A smooth road, a rough road -
Even heaven cannot imagine.

It is clear. Not even heaven can imagine this road. This road is not one of theory and imagination. It can only be understood if you have experienced it. What is clear is that the road is both "smooth" and "rough". Spiritual development has smooth and rough spells. It is not for the faint-hearted.

Spiritual development is essentially experiential. It is not academic. Only when you take to the smooth and rough road will you find out.

39. Receiving the lamp

I have continued my zazen for many eons;
I do not say this to confuse you.
I raise the Dharma-banner and set forth our teaching;
It is the clear doctrine of the Buddha
Which I found with my teacher, Huineng,
Mahakashyapa became the Buddha-successor,
Received the lamp and passed it on.
Twenty-eight generations of teachers in India,
Then over seas and rivers to our land
Bodhi Dharma came as the first founder,
And his robe, as we all know, passed through six teachers here,
And how many generations to come may gain the path,
No one knows.

The author now confirms the tradition in which he stands. The first two lines should be understood in this light:

I have continued my zazen for many eons;
I do not say this to confuse you.

The author is part of a long tradition of many eons. He now carefully describes the lineage of Zen. Bhodi Dharma came from India and founded Zen, but Hui-neng really established it.

40. Natural sameness

The truth is not set forth;
The false is basically vacant.
Put both existence and non-existence aside,
Then even non-vacancy is vacant,
The twenty kinds of vacancy have no basis,
And the oneness of the Tathagata-being
Is naturally sameness.

The author argues here that our discrimination between truth and falsehood is based on illusion. The "truth" has not been captured in words yet, and what is supposed to be false has therefore also not been expressed in words:

The truth is not set forth;
The false is basically vacant.

The moment we stop discriminating between existence and non-existence, we will discover that even "non-vacancy" does not exist:

Put both existence and non-existence aside,
Then even non-vacancy is vacant.

Our ideas of emptiness and vacancy are inaccurate:

The twenty kinds of vacancy have no basis.

The true "oneness" to be found in emptiness - the "Tathagata-being", the true nature of Buddha - is beyond our artificial efforts to understand and explain: it is "naturally sameness". This "sameness" is the underlying law of all existence. We are part of it and have no choice. There is no separation from it.

This passage is very reassuring. What the author confirms is that alienation from the Tao is not possible. We are part of the natural "sameness" the way we are part of the law of gravity on earth. We can deny that gravity exists. We can pray to it. We can hate it. We can announce we are not part of it. We can claim we are in control of it. We can argue some beings are not part of it, or have more of it. Our beliefs do not touch or change the law of gravity. In the same way, the Tao cannot be influenced or changed. Yet, even though it is not touched by our beliefs, it nevertheless influences all of us.

There is a warning in the passage, too. The implication is clear. We cannot attain unity through artificial effort. It is only when we become natural that we will be able to discard those qualitites separating us from ourselves and the rest of the world. This aspect is dealt with in the next section of the passage.

41. Naturally genuine

Mind is the base, phenomena are dust;
Yet both are like a flaw in the mirror.
When the flaw is brushed aside,
The light begins to shine.
When both mind and phenomena are forgotten,
Then we become naturally genuine.

In the first line, the author subscribes to the idealist view: The basis of everything is the mind, material things are less real.

In his very next sentence, though, he announces that both mind and phenomena are "like a flaw in the mirror". This would be quite shocking to those who have put their hope in the mind. The mind, too, he says, distorts reality. It is like a flawed mirror. So, according to the author, even our minds keep us from experiencing true unity with the rest.

The author is unequivocal. Only

When the flaw is brushed aside,
The light begins to shine.

The author explains what he means by it:

When both mind and phenomena are forgotten,
Then we become naturally genuine.

I love the word "genuine". It must be amazing to be "naturally genuine". It is to be effortlessly sincere. But in a way, there is no other form of being genuine, is there? To be genuine is to be sincere in a natural way. This is only possible when you have reached full harmony with the Tao. And you can only be in full harmony with the Tao when "both mind and phenomena are forgotten". When you have ceased being aware of "I" and "they". When you are neither subject nor object, but have become a natural part of everything.

42. An invitation to hell

Ah, the degenerate materialistic world!
People are unhappy; they find self-control difficult.
In the centuries since Shakyumani, false views are deep,
Demons are strong, the Dharma is weak, disturbances are many.
People hear the Buddha's doctrine of immediacy,
And if they accept it, the demons will be crushed
As easily as a roofing tile.
But they cannot accept, what a pity!
Your mind is your source of action;
Your body is the agent of calamity;
No pity nor blame to anyone else.
If you don't seek an invitation to hell,
Never slander the Tathagata's true teaching.

The author is passionate in these lines. It is clear how strongly he feels about the materialism of the world which has confused people so much.

It is reminiscent of the tone and emotion of the words of despair uttered by the Buddha directly after his enlightenment, when he at first quailed at the thought of spreading the truth to people not ready for it:

This that through many toils I've won -
Enough! Why should I make it known
By folk with lust and hate consumed
Not this the Truth that can be grasped!
Against the stream of common thought,
Deep, subtle, difficult, delicate,
Unseen ‘twill be the passion's slaves
Cloaked in the murk of Ignorance.

It makes one think, doesn't it? Even the Buddha had difficulty facing "folk with lust and hate consumed". How do you teach people a way which is so "Deep, subtle, difficult, delicate" and "Against the stream of common thought"? The Buddha speaks of a world "Cloaked in the murk of Ignorance." Nothing seems to have changed since then. The Buddha's abhorrence is almost tangible. What a consolation to know that even the Buddha had difficulty facing society!

The author of the Shodoka obviously shared the same experience with the Buddha and us.

The passage is amazingly applicable to our modern world of profit and greed, which has made people so unhappy and without self-control.

Ah, the degenerate materialistic world!
People are unhappy; they find self-control difficult.

It is so true, isn't it? Where greed rules, self-control becomes difficult and people lose their grip as they are ruled by their own desires.

In the centuries since Shakyumani, false views are deep,
Demons are strong, the Dharma is weak, disturbances are many.

This materialism is based on "false views", the author tells us, which strengthen the "demons" of desire. In such an environment, the "Dharma is weak", ie the spirit has little influence on people, and for this reason "disturbances are many".

The solution could be so easy. People should accept the "Buddha's doctrine of immediacy", and all

... demons will be crushed
As easily as a roofing tile.

The author becomes very emotional when he ascertains that people are unable to accept the challenge:

But they cannot accept, what a pity!

Humanity alone is to blame for their failure to come into harmony with their own environment and find enlightenment, as the author clearly states:

Your mind is the source of all action;
Your body is the agent of calamity;
No pity nor blame to anyone else.

If you should blame external factors for your failure, for example say that it is the Buddha's teaching that has caused you to fail, you will be seeking an "invitation to hell".

If you don't seek an invitation to hell,
Never slander the Tathagata's true teaching.

Blaming others or external factors and not taking responsibility for your actions is the path to hell.

Particularly in Western society, we still have a real problem. We are willing to accept responsibility for our actions on a materialistic level, but we somehow believe that the same laws of cause and effect do not function on a spiritual level. You often see this with relationships. People will know that you have to work to reach anything on a materialistic level, but they believe successful relationships just happen, and that they work by chance. People will refuse to work on a relationship. If relationships fall apart, they will then apportion the major share of the blame to external factors. They will blame their in-laws, stress, their job, lack of time. On the spiritual level, you also reap what you have sown, and there is no escape.

We are the cause of our own misery, but, and this is a wonderful thought, we can also be the solution to our problems.

People, as the author laments, prefer to cling to illusions and materialism, and they refuse to accept the real solution, which lies within themselves. This is the root of their unhappiness and confusion.

43. Only the brave

In the sandalwood forest, there is no other tree.
Only the lion lives in such deep luxuriant woods,
Wandering freely in a state of peace.
Other animals and birds stay far away.
Just baby lions follow the parent,
And three-year-olds already roar loudly.
How can the jacka pursue the king of Dharma
Even with a hundred thousand demonic arts?

In this passage, the lion becomes the symbol of the enlightened spirit. The lion alone is able to live in the "deep luxuriant forests", a symbol of a state of enlightenment.

The description of life in the forest is beautiful:

Wandering freely in a state of peace.

I find this idea exhilarating, for it combines freedom with peace. In many religions, peace can only be reached if you give up your freedom and become bogged down by countless rules. Enlightenment in this context is a process of liberation which brings peace.

Freedom often brings with it the burden of being free, which is responsibility and duty, and its accompanying anxieties. In this case, freedom brings peace, but it does not mean that you do not need courage to accept this form of freedom. This is where the symbol of the lion comes in. The lion is a majestic being of tremendous courage and strength. What the author is clearly illustrating is that you need courage and strength to accept the challenge of living a life of enlightenment. Freedom and peace are only possible with a person of tremendous strength and courage.

The author emphasizes that "other animals", ie with less strength and courage, will stay away from the forest. No matter how many "demonic arts" you may control, if you lack courage, you will never become enlightened.

44. 44 。 Not a matter of emotion

The Buddha's doctrine of directness
Is not a matter for human emotion.
If you doubt this or feel uncertain,
Then you must discuss it with me.
This is not the free reign of a mountain monk's ego.

What the author emphasizes in this passage is that enlightenment is not about emotions.

This is difficult to understand in a world where religion has often become synonymous with whipping up emotions. Often people think they have to "feel" God to be close to him, and very confused people will think that feeling God is a proof of his existence. So they will see to it that they get feelings that will "prove" the existence of God to them. Many rituals are also expressly designed to create feelings - to give people a feeling of the presence of God.

This author is saying the opposite:

The Buddha's doctrine of directness
Is not a matter of human emotion

The author realizes that this might confuse people and he appeals to people to come and discuss this with him if they have feelings of doubt or uncertainty.

If you doubt this or feel uncertain,
Then you must discuss it with me.

In many ways, Zen tries to achieve the opposite of creating emotion to confirm beliefs. The criticism one could raise is that perhaps Zen does not deal sufficiently with human beings, who are, after all, creatures full of emotions and doubts.

The position of Zen is clear. You deal with emotions by accepting that they come and go, and by not clinging to them. It is only when you are not run by your emotions that you can really move freely. Your emotions only increase your vulnerability to external influences, which might confuse you even further. It is only in silence and emptiness, where you are liberated from thought and emotion, that you are truly free and at peace.

30. 30 。 Beyond truth and delusion

The awakened one does not seek truth -
Does not cut off delusion.
Truth and delusion are both vacant and without form,
But this no-form is neither empty nor not empty;
It is the truly real form of the Tathatagata.

This passage claims that someone moving close to the Tao is not concerned with finding truth, nor getting rid of delusion.

Is this kind of detachment supposed to be virtuous? How could a virtuous person not be concerned about truth? What is the author telling us?

It is simple. The truly enlightened person knows truth and its opposite, delusion, are both part of the illusion of living in a dualistic world.

The truly enlightened person lives in this world, and yet he has entered emptiness, where truth and delusion do not matter. He lives in close harmony with his own Buddha-nature, and therefore he lives a life beyond laws, rules, emotions and concepts. He lives as if truth does not exist, yet he lives in spontaneous, unconscious harmony with the truth. Delusion does not exist, for he sees things as they are, and not the way desire and greed would like him to see them. The true nature that he embraces is part of the absolute and is "neither empty nor not empty".

The enlightened person lives with incredible freedom, unhampered by the anxieties of people struggling to find truth or fighting delusion. His freedom is remarkable, for it is the freedom of a person who lives so much in harmony with the Tao that truth is an unconscious part of him, and delusion is quite simply not a possibility.

31. 31 。 The clear mirror

The mind-mirror is clear, so there are no obstacles.
Its brilliance illuminates the universe
To the depths in every grain of sand.
Multitudinous things of the cosmos
Are all reflected in the mind,
And this full clarity is beyond inner and outer.

The image of the mind being like a mirror is often used in Zen. The mind-mirror referred to here is the state of being in perfect harmony with the Tao. The state of mind when you are close to the Tao is one of great clarity. There is nothing to contaminate the mirror. All thoughts and emotions, which influence the way you see things, have come to rest, and in this silence and emptiness, you see things without distortion as they are. Not only do you see things as they are, but the mind "illuminates the universe" so that you truly understand in a spiritual sense everything to "the depths and in every grain of sand."

As you come into total harmony with everything around you, you reach a profound understanding beyond the intellect.

It is ironic, isn't it? Our intellectual effort to understand the world mostly separates us from the world. It is only when we have entered the spiritual sphere - where we have given up the intellectual effort to divide and to separate - that we can reach a true understanding of things around us.

You have probably experienced this in many ways. In the Biology class, they can dissect a cat and name and count its parts, but when they are finished, they could not be further removed from it. It is only when you forget the differences between you and a cat, and when you ignore the artificial categories you have learnt, that you will ever come close to a cat and really understand it. A cat named Fred lived with me for fifteen years. Long before his death he had ceased being a cat to me, for he had turned into a companion who understood me better than I understood him. He ignored the differences between us, and he taught me to look at him in the same way.

The same is true for all things:

I see my reflection
in印第安纳州
every particle of dust.
Even the mountain has my face.
The bird ruffles my feathers
and the spider spins my web.
Who can sense the loneliness of a parrot in a cage?
Who can feel the slow passion of a snail?
Only the true sage in total harmony with the Tao.

( The Tao is Tao, 96 )

This clarity of a mind in total harmony with the universe is the essence of wisdom and compassion. It is enlightenment.

32. Leaping into the fire

To live in nothingness is to ignore cause and effect;
This chaos leads only to disaster.
The one who clings to vacancy, rejecting the world of things,
Escapes from drowning but leaps into fire.

When one becomes fascinated by the concept of emptiness, one is easily tempted to use it as an escape from the realities of life. The author warns us against this in the first two lines. Living "in nothingness" and ignoring "cause and effect" can only lead to disaster.

The word "nothingness" is interesting. It pinpoints a mistake many people make. They equate "emptiness" with "nothingness". "Nothingness" is negative, even nihilistic. It is an effort to close your eyes to reality. This can only lead to "chaos".

The movement towards the Tao is not an escape from the realities and challenges of the world. The true Taoist sage has the power to move in the world while he is in full harmony with the Tao. He does not need total isolation and a permanent retreat to find harmony.

Using spiritual life as an escape from your obligations and duties can have dire consequences, as the text points out graphically in the last two lines.

The reason for this is obvious. In an effort to understand and explain, we tend to fall prey to the idea that the spiritual world is really separate from the material world. We tend to forget that this separation does not exist. The spiritual and material are one and the same thing. Their separation is a mental act. We separate them with the discriminatory tools of our intellect. In reality, there is no separation. Trying to escape the material world through the spirit is probably the greatest delusion of all. We are in this world, which is simultaneously spirit and material. You cannot escape the one or the other. Materialists try to escape the world of the spirit by totally immersing themselves in materialism. This is also delusionist, and, likewise, can only lead to chaos and disaster, as we so often witness in our industrialist, consumer orientated society today. It is truly escaping drowning only to be consumed by fire.

33. Skillful lies

Holding truth and rejecting delusion -
These are but skillful lies.
Students who do Zazen by such lies
Love thievery in their own children.
They miss the Dharma-treasure;
They lose accumulated power;
And this disaster follows upon dualistic thinking.

This passage clearly points out that the search for truth is hypocritical if you refuse to abandon your dualistic thinking. Rejecting delusion while clinging to your own ego has nothing to do with spiritual development. In plain words: you cannot be filled with self-grandeur and simultaneously develop on a spiritual plain. You cannot develop in a spiritual sense if you do not abandon those emotions that trap you in a discriminatory world of materialism and greed.

The author does not mince his words here. He declares that people who feign religiosity and practice dualistic thinking on a quasi-spiritual level, are living "skillful lies." These people, who live a materialistic life but claim to be truthful and free of delusion, love "thievery in their own children." The author clearly has a very low opinion of this kind of hypocrisy.

This kind of people, the author assures us, will never reach enlightenment and will lose all spiritual power they might have had.

The author seems to be very harsh, but it is clear why. What he is emphasizing is that there is no way of being in harmony with truth unless you are in harmony with the Tao. You must first enter emptiness and silence and come into harmony with your true self before you can be at one with truth and totally free of delusion. Claims to the contrary by people who still serve their own egos are hypocritical and often deliberate lies.

I find this text relevant. When I look around me, I see these lies everywhere. Spiritual people bloated with ego, yet who claim they possess the truth - as if the truth could be ever be a possession. Ambitious, often corrupt clergy or monks who claim spiritual clarity. Religious people full of hatred and intolerance who claim to spread "the love of God".

Look around you. It's everywhere. The delusion that there is no delusion in a world of competitive cruelty. The untruth that there is truth where blatant materialism rules.

I understand the author's abhorrence. There is nothing more revolting than insincerity in religion.

Realizing truth is essentially a sincere and humble act, for you are confronted with your own emptiness, dispensability and insignificance. You have to perform a kind of suicide on your own self, ridding yourself of your ego and your hidden agendas.

And yet it is everything but nihilistic, for your new perspective gives life true meaning. You will live a full life as if you are part of the world, yet you will not be part of it.

34. Zen

So Zen is the complete realization of the mind,
The complete cutting off of delusion,
The power of wise vision penetrating directly to the unborn.
Students of vigorous will hold the sword of wisdom;
The prajna edge is a diamond flame.
It not only cuts off useless knowledge,
But also exterminates delusions.

The author is right. It is only when you reach Zen that truth is realized. In Zen - when one is in total unity with emptiness and beyond dualistic thinking - the cutting off of delusion is real. It is only then that you will develop the "wise vision" to "penetrate directly to the unborn."

Wisdom is therefore less a result of study - even though of course study could be of benefit - than a personal act. You reach wisdom only when delusion has been annihilated totally.

Delusion includes what the author sees as "useless knowledge".

Personally, I find this incredibly harsh. Does the author mean that knowledge should always be utilitarian? Is he saying knowledge may not be pursued for the sheer joy of it?

I think that would be jumping to conclusions. The author is referring to the kind of thought process where we often concentrate on "useless knowledge", and forget the essence. We have seen this in for example the many devious paths science has taken. Often science has concentrated on the parts and forgotten about the whole. Biologists have dissected lizards and taught us the body parts, but they have not come closer to the reality of the lizard - somehow, they could not put it together again. In fact, they have often distanced themselves even further from it. It is only in the last few years that many scientists have become aware that somewhere along the way they have lost sight of the whole. Some scientists are now struggling to regain a concept of the whole, discovering to their chagrin that the details are obscuring their view of the essence. We are living increasingly in a world of experts we as laymen cannot understand. Even more frighteningly, the experts themselves become idiot savants only able to grasp their own narrow disciplines. We are increasingly in need of minds that can establish an overview, but also with the capability of "penetrating directly to the unborn."

What the author is saying is that we have enough knowledge - what we need now is "the diamond edge" of wisdom.

35. Clouds of love

They roar with Dharma-thunder;
They strike the Dharma-drum;
They spread clouds of love, and pour ambrosial rain.
Their giant footsteps nourish limitless beings;
Sravaka, Pratyeka, Bodhisattva - all are enlightened;
Five kinds of human nature are emancipated.

The author describes in glowing terms and with vivid imagery the effect that people living in harmony with Tao have on the world of the spirit.

When I first read this passage, I found the picture disturbing. The students with "vigorous will" seem too loud and too filled with missionary zeal for my liking. Some commentators of this passage also warn against pride and its insidious effects, and against many so-called Zen masters who feel they have some divine right to direct the lives of others.

Yet I feel obligated to defend this passage, for it is quite simply true that no matter how humble and unobtrusive many of these people in close harmony with the Tao may have been, it is not to be denied that they have had a tremendous effect on the lives of many people. Just think of the humble Lao Tzu. It could truly be said that he "spread clouds of love" through his writing.

I think the basic mistake one could easily make here is to think that to be loud and rash is to be effective and successful. This could be true for politicians fighting for the favour of a gullible and naive nation. It is not true, however, on the spiritual level. Showing off has a perverting effect on religion. A particular religion might recruit many followers through a show of ceremony, opulence and splendour, but in the process it would destroy much of the spiritual quality the religion might have had.

It is just as basic a mistake to think that someone quietly working in obscurity will not have any spiritual effect on the world. This assumption is based on ignorance. The Tao needs no pompous publicity campaigns. We carry the Tao in us, and it is part of everything around us. We can "spread clouds of love" and "pour ambrosial rain" even if we work and die in total obscurity. There is no way to quantify the effect of living in harmony with the Tao. True spiritual effect cannot be expressed in "so many souls saved", as some missionaries grandly claim. Spectacle and ritual are no proof of spiritual effect.

It is probable that the greatest spiritual leaders may be totally unknown to us, for they may have lived truly humble lives in total obscurity. Would the fact that we did not know about them be a loss or a waste?

No, of course not. The Tao cannot be "lost" or "wasted". How can we lose something we cannot possess, and waste something we cannot use?

Of course, it is quite possible that twisted ideas of prominence may prevent us from recognizing a true Taoist sage when we see one. As the author has stressed in this poem, there is no way you will recognize him or her by outward appearance. One thing is sure. He/she is not going to proclaim to you either through outward signs or language that he/she is a sage. He/she most probably will not even know he/she is one.

As has been said so often. "It takes a Buddha to recognize a Buddha." Yet when Buddhas recognizes each other, they will be too humble to call each other anything else but friends.

36. Total harmony, complete insight

High in the Himalayas, only fei-ni grass grows.
Here cows produce pure and delicious milk,
And this food I continually enjoy.
One universal Dharma encloses all Dharmas.
One moon is reflected in many waters;
All the water-moons are from the one moon.
The Dharma-body of all Buddhas has entered my own nature,
And my nature becomes one with the Tathagata.
One level completely contains all levels;
It is not matter, mind or activity.
In an instant eighty-thousand teachings are fulfilled;
In a twinkling the evil of eons is destroyed.
All categories are no category;
What relation have these to my insight?
Beyond praise, beyond blame,
Like space itself it has no bounds.

This passage is a beautiful description of complete harmony with the Tao which manifests itself in total harmony with nature. The metaphor used in the first three lines describes this harmony:

High in the Himalayas, only fei-ni grass grows.
Here cows produce pure and delicious milk,
And this food I continually enjoy.

It is like drinking the fresh, pure milk produced by cows eating fei-ni grass. This milk passes into your body when you drink it, and the wonderful properties of the grass now become part of you. In the same way,

One complete nature passes to all natures.

It is also a description of being in total unity with all things:

One universal Dharma encloses all Dharmas .

The following two lines represent one of the most popular metaphors in Ch'an or Zen:

One moon is reflected in many waters;
All the water-moons are from the one moon.

The moon is a symbol of constant change, yet it is also a symbol of the constancy of the cycles of change. It is the symbol of beauty and mystery and truth. In Buddhism, it is the symbol of the Dharma. This moon is reflected in all of us. We are all reflections of the same mystery, beauty and truth. Separateness is an illusion the way reflections of the moon in pools are illusions of separateness and permanence. This metaphor captures the magic of our fleeting, seeming existence as sentient beings, and the wonder and the beauty of our unity.

In the same way, our nature is not ours, it is not separate, but our nature is part of Tathagata - of Buddha nature.

The Dharma-body of all Buddhas has entered my own nature,
And my nature becomes one with the Tathagata.

We carry total perfection in us, and we are in total unity with it. This is a proclamation that, like all creation around us, we are intrinsically noble and good. This declaration is in direct contrast to the doctrines of some religions, which emphasize that we are "born in sin" and basically evil, and that we can only be "saved" by some external factor or force.

This is not the position of Zen, or Ch'an, or Taoism. According to the author, we are basically part of an all-pervasive Buddha nature, which is in everything that exists. Our salvation, and the power to succeed, lies in our own hands. What we need to do is get rid of delusion and eliminate our egos, and our separation from our true selves will disappear, and we will become one with the rest of the universe. Our separation is created by our own egos and is an illusion. Reality is total unity.

One level completely contains all levels;
It is not matter, mind or activity.
In an instant eighty-thousand teachings are fulfilled;
In a twinkling the evil of eons is destroyed.

The author points out here that this experience where "one level completely contains all levels" is not one of "matter, mind or activity." It is one of the spirit. And it happens "in an instant", "in a twinkling". At our moment of enlightenment, when we reach unity with our true nature, all teachings will be fulfilled and all evil in us will be destroyed. It is a tremendous moment which has a profound effect on our lives.

All categories will cease to have any influence on our insight:

All categories are no category;
What relation have these to my insight?

Our insight will have ceased to be narrow and judgmental, and will have become lateral and inclusive:

Beyond praise, beyond blame,
Like space itself it has no bounds.

( The Tao is Tao, 29 )

The person mature in expression also knows that the right deed at the right moment, or the refusal to act is often worth more than a thousand words. The person who can silently walk away without retaliating when abuse is being thrown at her says more through her refusal to act than any words can say. Being a perfect example is still the most mature form of expression.

The secret to mature expression is to be at one with emptiness, where emotions and thoughts are under control, and where illusion, ambition and the ego do not exist.

The wisdom of the true mind (prajna) and meditation (dhyana) prevent stagnation. The author deliberately mentions dhyana here - the ability to discipline and control your mind, which is an important part of enlightenment. Wisdom and compassion are linked to a disciplined mind. Freedom and discipline are natural partners in a truly enlightened person.

22. 22 。 Enlightenment is possible for everyone

Not only can I take hold of complete enlightenment by myself,
But all Buddha-bodies, like sands of the Ganges,
Can become awakened in exactly the same way.

This passage represents a tremendous declaration. What it says is in fact that all people can become enlightened. No-one is barred from this. We are all "Buddha-bodies", that is we all carry "Buddha-nature" in us.

"Buddha-nature" is another effort to describe emptiness, or the true self. We may be different on the surface, but we are Buddha-bodies. A wise and compassionate nature is within us. We do not need to search for it in far-off places. We are it.

We only have to get rid of our illusions of permanence and the self, as well as our greed and ego, which form the basis of our ignorance, and we will "become awakened" from our world of illusions.

The humble man close to Tao
becomes less every day.
When he has lost himself completely,
only his true self remains.

( The Tao is Tao, 55 )

It is a process of becoming less in a worldly sense rather than becoming more. It is in many ways the opposite of what people normally understand by "development". Often it comes with an exacting price: the loss of prestige and status among your peers and other ambitious people who see your reduction of ego as a loss of "personality", ambition and flair. To the ambitious materialist, humility is an undesirable form of weakness.

Enlightenment is not gain;
it is the loss of everything dear.
Even wisdom and truth disappear
when only silence and emptiness remain.

( The Tao is Tao, 56 )

Is the price worth it? Stupid question. Of course it is.

23. 23 。 Few succeed

The incomparable lion-roar of doctrine
Shatters the brains of the one hundred kinds of elephants.
Even the king of elephants will run away, forgetting his pride;
Only the heavenly dragon listens calmly, with pure delight.

This delightful passage has an allegorical touch. What does "the lion-roar of doctrine" mean? The author is referring here to Hui-neng, his teacher, who was known as a wise man of great temperament. The doctrine of his master, which he is explicating in this poem, can only be accepted by the purest and the noblest and the most courageous, represented here by the "heavenly dragon". This doctrine, with its relentless renunciation of the ego, ambition and greed, is enough to scare and to "shatter the brains" of even the most powerful beasts, and the elephant is a symbol of strength of mind. In contrast to the king of elephants, who runs away "forgetting his pride", the heavenly dragon "listens calmly, with pure delight."

Isn't the author in a way contradicting what he says in the preceding lines, where he claims everyone can become enlightened? Here he is clearly showing that the exacting price one has to pay for enlightenment is something only very few people can accept. So even though we all carry the potential to become Buddhas, very few of us realize this potential. We are too attached to our illusions, too dedicated to our egos, too ignorant to be willing to pay the price.

24. 24 。 Zen - the essence is at peace

I wandered over rivers and seas, crossing mountains and streams
Visiting teachers, asking about the Way in personal interviews;
Since I recognized the Sixth Founding Teacher at Ts'ao Ch'i,
I know what is beyond the relativity of birth and death.
Walking is Zen, sitting is Zen;
Speaking or silent, active or quiet, the essence is at peace.
Even facing the sword of death, our mind is unmoved;
Even drinking poison, our mind is quiet.

This passage is beautiful and profound. In fact, I think it is one of the most beautiful passages in Zen literature.

The author at first describes how he has searched everywhere "asking about the Way", and how he has found enlightenment with the Sixth Founding Teacher, Hui-neng, who has taught him "what is beyond the relativity of birth and death."

The author now proceeds to describe Zen. What he says is clear. Nothing can touch the essence. When we live in silence and emptiness, in unity with the essence, nothing can shatter our peace and our tranquility. Not even facing destruction can move us.

This, then, is the reward. In lines preceding these, the author has described to us the price we have to pay to achieve Zen. His description of the reward of Zen in the last four lines is breathtaking. It is the definition of true power.

What becomes so clear in these lines is that Zen - true Zen - is part of life. It would be useless if you could reach unity with emptiness only in secluded monastic solitude. We need to be in contact with our real selves when we are out there in the real world, facing all the irritations and anxieties of life. Very few of us can afford the luxury of withdrawing from the stress of competitive life in an environment where the survival of the fittest is often the only norm. We need serenity in the heat of earning a living, or writing examinations, or facing financial difficulties, or when suffering the setbacks which can happen so abruptly in our modern world.

The poem is full of wonderful reassurance. The "essence is at peace", we are assured, no matter whether we are active or passive. It enables us to face the worst situations, even death, with serenity.

We cannot escape suffering, but Zen - being in harmony with the Tao - gives us the strength to face the inevitable with tranquility.

25. 25 。 Patience

Our teacher, Shakyumani, met Dipankara Buddha
And for many eons he trained as Kshanti, the ascetic.
Many births, many deaths;
I am serene in this cycle, - there is no end to it.

This passage emphasizes the aspect of patience. Development in character, and particularly in spirit, takes time. Enlightenment is not a sudden, total change of character and personality, in which a person has immediately vanquished all weaknesses and has become perfect. Enlightenment should be seen more as a change of direction. But, and it is a big BUT, it will still take a long time to get rid of all those bad habits, and to control and get rid of all negativity. It quite simply is not that easy.

Many people in the modern world want instant gratification without the effort that is essential if you want to reach anything. If they suffer from insomnia, they will not work on the causes of their sleeplessness, but they will suppress the symptoms with drugs. If they are emotionally down, they will not do something to cure this, but they will quite simply take alcohol or some pill to get rid of it instantly, in this way only increasing the real causes for their fits of depression.

Improving yourself is essentially a long-term project. According to legend, as the poem describes, it took the Buddha many lives to reach his perfection.

In a way, this thought must drive people, particularly those who do not believe in reincarnation, to despair. It should not. They should take heart from the last line of this passage: "I am serene in this cycle."

You should accept your limitations, and with patience and serenity fulfil your tasks in life. Once you worry too much about your own shortcomings, it is a certain sign that you have become too focused on yourself. Nothing could be worse than to try to satisfy the ego while trying to improve on a spiritual level. Live in harmony with the Tao, let your compassion be your guide, do not fret and worry about your own development, and you will move closer to the Tao. Remember: the emptiness and silence of Tao are a natural part of your true self. Emptiness seems to be far away, and yet it is close to you.

26. 26 。 Truly free

Since I abruptly realized the unborn,
I have had no reason for joy and sorrow
At any honor or disgrace.

Once you are in harmony with the Tao, honour and disgrace seize to matter to you. This is incredible. You have got rid of your ego to such an extent that your own reputation cannot touch you. What an incredible form of independence. You are beyond the influence of flattery or abuse. You are immune to praise and public forms of acclaim. The way people look at you cannot influence you positively or negatively in your resolve. You will not act to become popular, nor will you shut up because you are afraid of what others might say. You can think with great clarity, unimpeded by the shackles of your own vanity. You will even stand against the majority if you feel you have to, and you will not flinch, for disgrace does not touch you.

If I have ever read a definition of true power and freedom, this is it.

27. 27 。 Silence and beauty

I have entered the deep mountains to silence and beauty;
In a profound valley beneath high cliffs,
I sit under old pine trees.
Zazen in my rustic cottage
Is peaceful, lonely, and truly comfortable.

This is a beautiful metaphoric description of the peace you experience when you live in harmony with the Tao and everything around you.

These lines speak for themselves. I refuse to touch them.

28. 28 。 The direct way

When you truly awaken,
You have no formal merit.
In the multiplicity of the relative world,
You cannot find such freedom.
Self-centred merit brings the joy of heaven itself,
But it is like shooting an arrow at the sky;
When the force is exhausted, it falls to the earth,
And then everything goes wrong.
Why should this be better
Than the true way of the absolute,
Directly penetrating the ground of Tathagata?
Just take hold of the source
And never mind the branches.
It is like a treasure-moon
Enclosed in a beautiful emerald.
Now I understand this Mani-jewel
And my gain is the gain of everyone endlessly.
The moon shines on the river,
The wind blows through the pines, -
Whose providence is this long beautiful evening?
The Buddha-nature of morality
Is impressed on my mind,
And my robe is the dew, the fog, the cloud, and the mist.

What I find astounding about this passage is that it encourages us to give up our self-centered preoccupation with our own personal merit, which is often an effort to escape the inevitable forces of karma.

When you have come into total harmony with the Tao, you live beyond the "multiplicity of the relative world". You are truly free, for you have eliminated your preoccupation with your own merit and salvation. You have realized that serving your own merit is just serving your own self in a religious guise.

Even though achieving merit brings you "the joy of heaven itself", it is futile, even harmful, in the final instance, for then, the author warns us, "everything goes wrong."

It is easy to see why. The religious preoccupation with the self, often in the guise of a permanent "soul", is selfish. It is just another way of inflating the ego. It must go wrong.

The "true self" has no ego. You will only come into harmony with it if you get rid of the ego and your longing for personal merit. The "true way of the absolute" lies beyond ego and merit; beyond the idea of "I" and "me" and "mine".

The passage now calls on you to be more direct in your approach and to penetrate "the ground of the Tathagata", the true nature of a Buddha. There should be no selfish fooling around. You should "take hold of the source". This act, however, can only be a selfless one where the false self has been eliminated. Gone is your preoccupation with yourself: your "gain is the gain of everyone endlessly."

The person in harmony with the Tao does not really care about his own salvation. He is too busy caring about other beings. Doing good in order to go to heaven or to achieve Nirvana, as so many religious people do, is selfish, not good. The truly good person performs good deeds even if there is no reward at all. He would do good even if it means that he has to suffer for it.

The truly good person performs virtuous deeds because he is in total harmony with his own Buddha-nature. He cannot do anything else. When you "take hold of the source", you will discover that Buddha-nature is part of you. This incredible jewel is impressed on "the ground" of your mind, where it will grow and blossom as you become one with the universe, your robe being "the dew, the fog, the cloud, and the mist."

This passage is full of profound beauty.

It gives someone as imperfect as me courage, hope and faith.

29. 29 。 The gentle way

A bowl once calmed dragons
And a staff separated fighting tigers;
The rings on his staff jingle musically.
The form of these expressions is not to be taken lightly.
The treasure-staff of the Tathagata
Has left us traces to follow.

The first two lines refer to two incidences in Buddhist mythology. The first line refers to the legend that the Buddha once pacified dragons by miniaturizing them and putting them in his food bowl. The second line refers to a Zen master who once separated two ferocious tigers with his light staff, in this way preventing them from killing each other.

Both these incidences are so beautiful that even the sceptic could not else but wish they were true. They are pregnant with meaning, and could be interpreted in many ways.

What is similar about the two incidents is that in both cases incredibly little aggression is used to pacify forces of great power and destructive potential. One could argue that turning dragons into minute versions of themselves must have been quite a frightening experience for the dragons, but being the symbols of virtue that they are, they could only serve a good cause in the end. And we are sure the Buddha would never harm them.

In the second case, aggression is prevented from going its natural way. It is quite simply astounding that a single man could separate two alpha predators of such power and ferocity with a musical staff. Anyone who has had anything to do with tigers in their natural habitats would tell you that nobody could accomplish or survive this feat.

The two examples illustrate that spiritual development is clearly linked to the ability to make peace with the most peaceful means, or to tame wild and potentially destructive forces to such an extent that they become controllable.

The substance clearly lies in the style. It is not the pacification so much that is astounding. You can also pacify tigers by shooting them. It is the style in which it is done. Pacifying tigers in this way of course requires far greater courage than simply shooting them from an elephant's back, as so many "brave" hunters did in the nineteenth century. It is also the aim that turns the deed into a noble one. The master did not pacify the tigers to save his own life, but he risked his life to save theirs. He was gentle, compassionate and brave.

What should we call this way? It is the mild, gentle way to make peace. It is using the minimal amount of aggression to pacify and to turn the destructive into the virtuous. It is the way of least resistence to accomplish harmony and peace. It also entails tremendous courage and the kind of power only compassion can give you. It is the way of the Tao.

not only protection and special powers, but treasures and wealth on all beings. Small wonder that he is so popular in Japan.

The Mani jewel symbolizes the joy, power and benefit that can come from living in the right way. It symbolizes the essence of selfless devotion and compassion. Even if the emphasis in spiritual teaching is often on the sacrifices that are essential on one's spiritual path, it is of course also true that there are advantages as well to be reaped from living in harmony with the Tao. The danger is that one could try to use the right way to become wealthy, which would be counter-productive. The moment you start clinging to material things, you will be turning your back on emptiness, and you will not develop spiritually.

Depending on its context, "Tathagata" has different meanings. Its actual translation is "the thus-come-thus-gone one". It can mean "the nature of Buddha", or it can be used as an epithet of the Buddha. "Tathagata Garbha" means "where Buddha is born", but not in a literal sense. It is not so much the physical birth as the spiritual awakening of a Buddha, the actual moment of enlightenment where a "normal person" finds his own Buddha nature and becomes a Buddha. "Buddha nature" is something that each one of us carries in us, and it is in fact synonymous with "emptiness". Once you reside in emptiness, when you have rid yourself of your "false nature", you will be at one with your Buddha nature. Each one of us has the potential to become a Buddha. We carry the seeds of enlightenment in us.

Let us now return to the poem. The author claims the Mani jewel lives "intimately with the Tathagata-garbha ". What is he saying? He shows that the moment of enlightenment is also a moment of immense benefit, joy and power. The "light" in enlightenment is the celestial light of the Mani jewel, or liberality and compassion, with all its benefits for sentient beings. It is a tremendous moment. This light of the Mani jewel controls the senses and consciousness of the enlightened. They live in the same world as everyone else, yet the world has become something totally different to them, for they see it in the pure light of compassion. They realize their senses are empty and yet of great benefit to other sentient beings. Nirvana is not a place; it is living in the light of the Mani jewel. It is a state of mind of tremendous wisdom, compassion and spiritual power.

What does the author mean when he says "the rays from this perfect Mani-jewel/have the form of no form at all"? In a way, this is an argument against formalism. There is no ritual with which you can capture enlightenment. It is not something that can be called forth in some ceremony or Tantric formulae.

The power of the enlightened is an invisible one, often recognizable only to the enlightened.

15. 15 。 Beyond the intellect

Clarify the five eyes and develop the five powers;
This is not intellectual work, - just realize, just know.
It is not difficult to see images in a mirror,
But who can take hold of the moon in water?

The "five eyes" and "five powers" referred to in this passage encompass an incredibly wide scope of development. The first eye, the "physical" one, is the visual ability to see clearly. The second, the "heavenly eye", is the ability to see more than what is just visible or obvious. It refers to the ability to recognize and see the spiritual. The third eye, the "Prajna" eye, has to do with the discerning powers of wisdom, the ability to look at the world without desire and to avoid being entangled by dualistic thoughts. The fourth eye, the "Dharma" eye, refers to a higher level of wisdom, and extraordinary discriminatory powers on a spiritual level. It refers to the ability to understand the world in all its complexity, but with the wisdom only spiritual maturity can bring. The fifth eye refers to "Buddha vision". This is the ability to progress beyond the dualistic world into a spiritual world. It is perfect vision, in which one sees the world as it really is.

The five powers referred to are faith, energy, memory, meditation and wisdom. These powers encompass all aspects of spiritual development.

The second line in the passage above, though, is stupendous. The author clearly states that acquiring the incredible insight and vision described in the "five eyes", and developing the "five powers" do not constitute "intellectual work". In other words, it is not something you can acquire through courses at seminars, colleges and universities. It is not something you can write an examination on and get a certificate for. It lies outside the scope of the intellect. Amazing, isn't it? We stress the intellectual so much in our education, and now we are told that the truly essential aspects of development lie outside the intellectual.

How do you attain this development? The author's answer is even more astounding. His tone is almost flippant. "Just realize, just know." Is his repetition of "just" suggesting that it is easy? No, it isn't, I think. If it's that easy, why aren't we all enlightened? No, he's probably pointing to the fact that it is a simple act, and not a complicated act of studying. It is simply to

"realize" and to "know". These two words contain much greater certainty than mere intellectual surmise can bring. It is the kind of knowledge based on experience. "Knowing" here is of a spiritual nature. It removes doubt and brings the certainty of faith.

The third and fourth lines present analogous imagery illustrating what the author actually means in the first two lines. To "see images in a mirror" in this context is the equivalent of intellectual activity. It is easy and there is nothing profound about it. The rhetorical question emphasizes that the spiritual act of "knowing" is as illusive and difficult as taking "hold of the moon in water". The imagery is beautiful and profound, for it clearly implies that the spiritual form of "knowing" lies beyond the logical in a world where the reflection of the moon in water becomes reality, and where one can hold on to what seems unreal in the world of the intellect.

In the next passage, the author actually describes the person who can "take hold of the moon in water".

16. 16 。 The humble one

Always working alone, always walking alone,
The enlightened one walks the free way of Nirvana
With melody that is old and clear in spirit
And naturally elegant in style,
But with body that is tough and bony,
Passing unnoticed in the world.

The description of the "enlightened one" seems to contain a contradiction. On the one hand, he is depicted as a person of grace and style, on the other with an appearance that does not draw attention to himself. He seems to be a bit of a loner, or at least someone who seems to shun groups or organizations. Notice the repetition of "always" in the first line. He is always alone, at work and socially. He does not seem particularly popular, does he? And nobody seems to be missing him either, for he passes "unnoticed" among people.

What the text is suggesting is that most people do not recognize true spiritual greatness. They are not able to see the true qualities of "natural elegance" - and they are not able to detect when someone is walking "the free way of Nirvana". This is because they are easily taken in by appearance. The enlightened person cannot be identified by appearance. In this case, his appearance even serves to camouflage his true greatness, for he is "tough and bony". This description does not reflect the author's physical preferences or prejudices. What the author is emphasizing is that the enlightened person cannot be recognized by his outward appearance, which tends to be humble, even suggesting hard times. This text was written at a time when being fat was fashionable and a sign of affluence; "tough and bony" meant one had to work hard for a living, and it was therefore a sign of insignificance in the eyes of those conscious of status. So, in a way, the sage has the undramatic appearance of a working man. There is nothing in his outward appearance to suggest spiritual greatness. He can in fact only be recognized by those who can identify the true qualities of enlightenment in a person.

What a contrast this description is to the appearance of many leaders of spiritual movements who demonstrate in their appearance a voluptuous affluence in stark contrast to their protestations of humility, sacrifice and abstention.

What this text clearly shows is that spiritual greatness cannot be captured by an outward show of attire or appearance. Only people who really understand what enlightenment is will recognize the enlightened. That is why the masses are so easily fooled by false prophets through an outward show of pomp creating the illusion of greatness.

17. 17 。 True wealth

We know that Shakya's sons and daughters
Are poor in body, but not in the Tao.
In their poverty, they always wear ragged clothing,
But they have the jewel of no price treasured within.

In this passage, the author goes even further than the previous one. He even describes the true followers as "poor in body", speaks of their "poverty" and the fact that they "wear ragged clothing." Isn't this taking anti-materialism too far? I mean, is it necessary to be poor, to neglect your body and wear "ragged" clothes?

The contrast between appearance and true substance could not be greater. They may be poor in body, but those close to the Tao are rich in Tao, and that is what matters. They carry a priceless jewel within themselves, in spite of their ragged appearance.

One could even argue that they are poor because they are rich in spirit, but if I should do so, I would have every materialist in the world against me, or any naive believer who argues that material wealth is the natural fruits of virtue. The author is deliberately provocative in this passage. It is almost as if he denies any direct link between material gain and spiritual blessing.

18. 18 。 The inexhaustible source

This jewel of no price can never be used up
Though they spend it freely to help people they meet.
Dharmakaya, Sambogakaya, Nirmanakaya,
And the four kinds of wisdom
Are all contained within.
The eight kinds of emancipation and the six universal powers
Are all impressed on the ground of their mind.

The jewel that the enlightened carry is an eternal, inexhaustible source. The people close to Tao spend it "freely", that is with great liberality and without any personal gain, on those that need help.

The "jewel of no price" is therefore not "priceless" in the sense of being extremely valuable in a materialistic way, but it has no price. It is not saleable. It cannot be bought. It has no material worth. It must be given away freely, that is without any thought of self-gain. The author is obviously describing the highest form of compassion here. True compassion can only be selfless to the point of self-deprivation. Small wonder then, one could say, that those who carry this jewel within themselves look so ragged and poor.

This jewel - compassion - is the essence of enlightenment. It is the true source of life in harmony with the Tao.

19. 19 。 The best student

The best student goes directly to the ultimate,
The others are very learned but their faith is uncertain.

Again, the author does not mince his words here. It could not be clearer. The best student is not the most learned one, but the one with the most faith - the one who goes directly to the source without asking questions. The best student is the one who lives in harmony with the Tao without craving full understanding.

True faith
is
complete trust
without understanding:
It is to accept
silence
silently.

( The Tao is Tao, 22 )

In fact, the author implies that being too learned about articles of faith is a sign of a lack of faith. It's so true, isn't it? Many people desperately turn what should be simple faith into an academic exercise covering up their lack of faith. Just look at how complex the study of Theology has become. Theology mostly does not bring faith. It often destroys faith. More often than not, it is a cover for the lack of faith. Dogma often replaces what should have been pure faith. Intolerance destroys what should have been unity based on compassion. Our sad history books are filled with the gruesome results of this form of "faith".

Men craving holiness
use words
to create images of their gods,
and confuse
faith
with
their pride
in their own inventions.
The Taoist sage
shuns words
and和
trusts silence,
knowing full well
the Tao is beyond the reach of concepts.

( The Tao is Tao, 139 )

20. 20 。 Naked honesty

Remove the dirty garments from your own mind;
Why should you show off your outward striving?
Some may slander, some may abuse;
They try to set fire to the heavens with a torch
And end by merely tiring themselves.
I hear their scandal as though it were ambrosial truth;
Immediately everything melts
And I enter the place beyond thoughts and words.
When I consider the virtue of abusive words,
I find the scandal-monger is my good teacher.
If we do not become angry at gossip,
We have no need for powerful endurance and compassion.

It is not outward show that counts. Wearing ragged clothing is not important. What is important is removing the dirty garments from your own mind. It is to have a mind unhampered by egotism and negative emotions and thoughts. The author deliberately speaks of your "own mind", emphasizing here that you should rather start with yourself.

You should not try to impress by showing off, the author warns us, and it is clear the author is encouraging us to be free of people who "slander" and "abuse" those who move humbly close to the Tao. The author assures us that those who try to destroy the work of the spirit cannot touch those close to the Tao; they are like people who "try to set fire to the heavens with a torch". Their aggression is futile and silly, and they end up "by merely tiring themselves".

With the right attitude, by listening to "their scandal as though it were ambrosial truth," you cannot be influenced by the aggression of these aggressive people. You "enter a place beyond thought and words" where slander and meanness cannot touch you. In this way, the slander of these people will actually have brought you closer to the Tao and serenity. You will actually grow spiritually if you approach with the right attitude those people who are aggressive towards you.

The author does not stop here. He goes one almost impossible step further. He actually declares one should be thankful to a scandal-monger who slanders one, for this abusive person is one's "good teacher".

This is really amazing. The author says that difficult people crossing one's path should be seen as opportunities for development, and should be treated with the deference reserved for good teachers.

Isn't the author expecting the impossible? It is extremely difficult, no doubt, but it is also clear that a person who could approach his adversaries in this way would not else but have an incredible spiritual influence. Demonstrating gratitude where people expect anger and vengeance must have a profound effect on those who can recognize greatness when they see it.

The reward is great, though. The moment we have reduced our ego to a level where we do not "become angry at gossip," our life will become infinitely easier, for we will have no "need for powerful endurance and compassion". It does not mean we will be without compassion. We just will not need to strain ourselves to show compassion by forgiving those offending us. Scandal and gossip will not touch us, and there will be no-one to forgive. We will be more relaxed, have more stamina, and be able to utilize our compassion and reserves where they are really needed.

After the curse
and before his reaction,
anger faded into
emptiness.
The sage in harmony with the Tao
does not allow external discord
to disturb his silence.

( The Tao is Tao, 118 )

21. 21 。 Maturity of expression

To be mature in Zen is to be mature in expression,
And full moon brilliance of dhyana and prajna
Does not stagnate in emptiness.

Maturity in expression is one of the signs of true enlightenment. It is a wonderful quality. It means knowing when to speak and when to be silent. Timing is everything.

Knowing when to speak means possessing great sensitivity. It is the ability to read people's moods and states of mind, and to know when people are ready to listen. It is also the uncanny gift to formulate words in such a way that they have the right effect on people. This kind of sensitivity is only possible when you observe people without your own ego obscuring your view. The true Taoist sage has no ego to distort her view.

In a way, the person close to Tao functions like a mirror, reflecting to those people who are ready for it a clearer image of themselves. It also means to tell people exactly what they need to know for their spiritual development - no more and no less. Conversation to a person of this maturity is not an effort to assert her own views, but to allow people to find their own.

Silence is used with great effect by the Taoist sage. Her silence, likewise, functions like a mirror, allowing a person to see glimpses of his true nature.

The silence of the sage
mirrors
the essential words
of those ready
to listen to her.

Emperor Chieh of the Hsia dynasty and Emperor Chou of the Yin dynasty139 were lords of an army of ten thousand chariots and commanded the allegiance of the entire populace of their kingdoms. But because they governed despotically and brought about the downfall of their dynasties, people speak of Chieh and Chou as the epitome of evil men. Even a person of low station or a leper, if he is likened to Chieh and Chou, will be enraged at the insult.

If it had not been for the Lotus Sutra, then who would ever have heard of the twelve hundred voice-hearers140 and the countless other voice-hearers [who would attain Buddhahood through the sutra], and who would have listened to their voices? No one would have read the Buddhist sutras compiled by the thousand voice-hearers,141 nor would there be any paintings or statues of them set up and worshipped. It is entirely due to the power of the Lotus Sutra that these arhats are revered and followed. If these voice-hearers were to separate themselves from the Lotus Sutra, they would be like a fish without water, a monkey without a tree, a baby without the breast, or a people without a sovereign. How then can they abandon the votary of the Lotus Sutra?

Through the sutras that precede the Lotus Sutra, the voice-hearers have acquired the heavenly eye and the wisdom eye in addition to their physical eyes. Through the Lotus Sutra, they have been provided with the Dharma eye and the Buddha eye.142 Their eyesight can penetrate any of the worlds in the ten directions. How then could they fail to see me, the votary of the Lotus Sutra, right here in the saha world? Even if I were an evil man who had said a word or two against them, or even if I cursed and reviled the voice-hearers for a year or two, a kalpa or two, or a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand or a million kalpas, and went so far as to threaten to take up swords and staves against them, so long as I maintain my faith in the Lotus Sutra and act as its votary, then they should never abandon me.

A child may curse his parents, but would the parents for that reason cast him aside? The young owls eat their mother, but the mother nevertheless does not abandon them. The hakei143 beast kills its father, but the father does nothing to prevent this. If even animals behave like this, then why should great sages abandon the votary of the Lotus Sutra?

The four great voice-hearers,144 in the passage that deals with their understanding, proclaimed:

Now we have become voice-hearers in truth,145
for we will take the voice of the Buddha way
and cause it to be heard by all.
Now we have become
true arhats,
for everywhere among
the heavenly and human beings, devils and Bontens
of the various worlds
we deserve to receive offerings.
The World-Honored One in his great mercy
makes use of a rare thing,146
in pity and compassion teaching and converting,
bringing benefit to us.

In numberless millions of kalpas
who could ever repay him?

Though we offer him our hands and feet,147
bow our heads in respectful obeisance,
and present all manner of offerings,
none of us could repay him.

Though we lift him on the crown of our heads,
bear him on our two shoulders,
for kalpas numerous as Ganges sands
reverence him with all our hearts;
though we come with delicate foods,
with countless jeweled robes,
with articles of bedding,
various kinds of potions and medicines;
with ox-head sandalwood
and all kinds of rare gems,
construct memorial towers
and spread the ground with jeweled robes;
though we were to do all this
by way of offering
for kalpas numerous as Ganges sands,
still we could not repay him.

In the various sutras preached during the earlier period of the Buddha抯 teaching life, which have been compared to the first four flavors,148 the voice-hearers were depicted on countless occasions as subjected to all kinds of abuse and shamed before the great assembly of human and heavenly beings. Thus we are told that the sound of the Venerable Mahakashyapa抯 weeping and wailing echoed through the major world system,149 that the Venerable Subhuti was so dumbfounded that he almost went off and left the alms bowl he had been carrying,150 that Shariputra spat out the food he was eating,151 and that Purna was berated for being the kind who would put filth in a precious jar.152

When the World-Honored One was at the Deer Park, he extolled the Agon sutras and enjoined his disciples to rely on the two hundred and fifty precepts as their teacher, warmly praising those who did so, and yet before long, as we have seen, he turned about and began condemning such men. He is guilty, we would have to say, of making two different and completely contradictory pronouncements.

Thus, for example, the World-Honored One cursed Devadatta, saying, "You are a fool who licks the spit of others!" Devadatta felt as though a poison arrow had been shot into his breast, and he cried out in anger, declaring, "Gautama is no Buddha! I am the eldest son of King Dronodana, the elder brother of the Venerable Ananda and kin to Gautama. No matter what kind of evil conduct I might be guilty of, he ought to admonish me in private for it. But to publicly and outrageously accuse me of faults in front of this great assembly of human and heavenly beings ?is this the behavior appropriate to a great man or a Buddha? He showed himself to be my enemy in the past when he stole the woman I intended to marry,153 and he has shown himself my enemy at this gathering today. From this day forward, I will look upon him as my archenemy for lifetime after lifetime and age after age to come!"

When we stop to consider, we note that, of the great voice-hearers, some were originally from Brahman families who believed in non-Buddhist doctrines, or were leaders of various non-Buddhist followers who had converted kings to their teachings and were looked up to by their followers. Others were men of noble families or the possessors of great wealth. But they abandoned their exalted positions in life, lowered the banners of their pride, cast off everyday clothing and wrapped their bodies in the humble, dingy hued robes of a Buddhist monk. They threw away their white fly whisks, their bows and arrows, and took up a solitary alms bowl, becoming like paupers and beggars and following the World-Honored One. They had no dwellings to protect them from the wind and rain, and very little in the way of food or clothing by which to sustain life.

Moreover, all the people of the five regions of India and the four seas were disciples or supporters of the non-Buddhist religions, so that even the Buddha himself was on nine occasions forced to suffer major hardships.

Thus, for example, Devadatta hurled a great stone at him and King Ajatashatru loosed a drunken elephant on him. [Failing to receive support from] King Agnidatta, the Buddha was forced to eat horse fodder and, at a Brahman city, he was offered stinking rice gruel. Again, Chincha, the daughter of a Brahman, tying a bowl to her belly, claimed to be pregnant with his child.

Needless to say, the Buddha抯 disciples were likewise forced to suffer frequent hardships. Thus, countless numbers of the Shakya clan were killed by King Virudhaka, and ten million of the Buddha抯 followers were trampled to death by drunken elephants that were set upon them. The nun Utpalavarna was killed by Devadatta,154 the Venerable Kalodayin was buried in horse dung,155 and the Venerable Maudgalyayana was beaten to death by members of a Brahman group named Bamboo Staff. In addition, followers of the six non-Buddhist teachers banded together and slandered the Buddha before King Ajatashatru and King Prasenajit, saying, "Gautama is the most evil man in the whole land of Jambudvipa. Wherever he may be, the three calamities and seven disasters rampage without fail. As the numerous rivers gather together in the great sea and the groves of trees cluster on the great mountains, so crowds of evil men gather about Gautama. The men called Mahakashyapa, Shariputra, Maudgalyayana and Subhuti are examples. All those who are born in human form should place loyalty to the sovereign and filial piety above all else. But these men have been so misled by Gautama that they disregard the lessons of their parents, abandon their families and, defying the commandments of the king, go to live in the mountain forests. They should be expelled from this country. It is because they are allowed to remain that the sun, moon and stars manifest sinister phenomena and many strange happenings occur in the land."

The voice-hearers did not know how they could possibly bear such persecutions. Then, as if to add to their hardship, [the Buddha himself began to denounce them]. They found it difficult to follow him. Now and then, hearing him condemn them repeatedly in great assemblies of human and heavenly beings, and not knowing how to behave, they only became more confused.

On top of all this, they had to face the greatest hardship of all, as revealed in the Vimalakirti Sutra, [when the Buddha addressed the voice-hearers,] saying, "Those who give alms to you are cultivating for themselves no field of good fortune. Those who give alms to you will fall into the three evil paths." These words were spoken when the Buddha was staying at the Ambapali Garden. There Bonten, Taishaku, the deities of the sun and moon, the Four Heavenly

Kings and the heavenly gods of the threefold world, along with earthly gods, dragon gods and other beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, had gathered in this great assembly, when the Buddha said, "The heavenly and human beings who give alms to Subhuti and the other monks will fall into the three evil paths." After the heavenly and human beings had heard this, would they be likely to go on giving alms to the voice-hearers? It would almost appear as though the Buddha were deliberately attempting through his words to inflict death upon those who upheld the two vehicles. The more sensible persons in the assembly were no doubt repelled by the Buddha抯 action. Nevertheless, the voice-hearers were able to obtain enough of the alms given to the Buddha to keep themselves alive, meager though the amount was.

When I consider the situation, it occurs to me that, if the Buddha had passed away after preaching the various sutras delivered in the first forty and more years of his teaching life, and had never lived to preach the Lotus Sutra in the later eight years, then who would ever have offered alms to these venerable ones? They would have been living in the realm of hungry spirits.

But after more than forty years of preaching various sutras, it was as though the bright spring sun appeared to melt the frigid ice, or a great wind arose to dispel the dew from countless grasses. With one remark, in one moment, the Buddha wiped away his earlier pronouncements, saying, "I have not yet revealed the truth." Like a great wind scattering the dark clouds or the full moon in the vast heavens, or like the sun shining in the blue sky, he proclaimed, "The World-Honored One has long expounded his doctrines and now must reveal the truth." With the brilliance of the sun or the brightness of the moon, it was revealed in the Lotus Sutra that Shariputra would become the Thus Come One Flower Glow and Mahakashyapa would become the Thus Come One Light Bright. Because of the Lotus Sutra which is the phoenix among scriptures and the mirror that reflects the teachings, after the Buddha抯 passing, the voice-hearers were looked up to by the human and heavenly supporters of Buddhism just as the Buddha would be.

If the water is clear, then the moon will not fail to be reflected there. If the wind blows, then the grass and trees will not fail to bow before it. And if there is a votary of the Lotus Sutra, then the sages, the voice-hearers, should not fail to go to his side, though they might have to pass through a great fire to do so, or make their way through a great rock. Though Mahakashyapa may be deep in meditation,156 he should not ignore the circumstances. Why does he do nothing about the situation? I am completely perplexed. Is this not the last five-hundred-year period? Is the prediction that the Lotus Sutra will spread abroad widely157 mere nonsense? Is Nichiren not the votary of the Lotus Sutra? Are the voice-hearers protecting those who disparage the Lotus Sutra as a mere written teaching and who put forth their great lies about what they call a special transmission?158 Are they guarding those who write "Discard, close, ignore, abandon!"159 urging people to close the gate to the teachings of the Lotus Sutra and to throw away its scrolls, and who cause the ruin of the temples dedicated to the practice of the Lotus Sutra! The various heavenly deities swore before the Buddha to protect the votary of the Lotus Sutra, but now that they see how fierce are the great persecutions of this muddied age, do they fail to come down? The sun and the moon are still up in the sky. Mount Sumeru has not collapsed. The sea tides ebb and flow and the four seasons proceed in their normal order. Why then is there no sign of aid for the votary of the Lotus Sutra? My doubts grow deeper than ever.

In the sutras preached before the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha is shown predicting that various great bodhisattvas and heavenly and human beings will attain Buddhahood in the future. But trying to realize such predictions is like trying to grasp the moon in the water, like mistaking the reflection for the actual object ?it has the color and shape of the object but not the reality. Likewise, the Buddha would seem to be displaying profound kindness in making such predictions, but in fact it is little kindness at all.

When the World-Honored One had first attained enlightenment and had not yet begun to preach, more than sixty great bodhisattvas, including Hoe or Dharma Wisdom, Kudokurin or Forest of Merits, Kongodo or Diamond Banner and Kongozo or Diamond Storehouse, appeared from the various Buddha lands of the ten directions and came before Shakyamuni Buddha, the lord of teachings. There, at the request of the bodhisattvas Genju or Chief Wise, Gedatsugatsu or Moon of Deliverance and others, they preached the doctrines of the ten stages of security, the ten stages of practice, the ten stages of devotion, the ten stages of development,160 and so forth. The doctrines that these great bodhisattvas preached were not learned from Shakyamuni Buddha.161 At that time, Bontens and other deities of the worlds of the ten directions came together and preached the various teachings, but again those were not what they had learned from Shakyamuni.

These great bodhisattvas, deities, dragons and others who appeared at the assembly described in the Kegon Sutra were beings who had dwelt in "inconceivable emancipation"162 since before Shakyamuni Buddha began preaching. Perhaps they were disciples of Shakyamuni when he was carrying out bodhisattva practices in previous existences, or perhaps they were disciples of previous Buddhas of the worlds of the ten directions. In any event, they were not disciples of the Shakyamuni who first attained enlightenment in this world and expounded his lifetime teachings.

It was only when the Buddha set forth the four teachings in the Agon, Hodo and Hannya periods that he finally acquired disciples. And although they were doctrines preached by the Buddha himself, they were not doctrines that revealed his true intention. Why do I say this? Because the specific and perfect teachings, as set forth in the sutras of the Hodo and Hannya periods, do not differ in meaning from the specific and perfect teachings as set forth in the Kegon Sutra. The specific and perfect teachings given in the Kegon Sutra are not the specific and perfect teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha. They are the specific and perfect teachings of Hoe and the other great bodhisattvas mentioned earlier. These great bodhisattvas may appear to most people to have been disciples of Shakyamuni Buddha, but in fact it would be better to call them his teachers. The World-Honored One listened to these bodhisattvas preaching and, after gaining wisdom and understanding, proceeded to set forth the specific and perfect teachings of the sutras of the Hodo and Hannya periods. But these differ in no way from the specific and perfect teachings of the Kegon Sutra.

Therefore we know that these great bodhisattvas were the teachers of Shakyamuni. These bodhisattvas are mentioned in the Kegon Sutra, where they are called "good friends." To call a person a good friend means that he is neither one抯 teacher nor one抯 disciple. The two types of teachings called Tripitaka and connecting teachings are offshoots of the specific and perfect teachings. Anyone who understands the specific and perfect teachings will invariably understand the Tripitaka and connecting teachings as well.

A teacher is someone who teaches his disciples things that they did not previously know. For example, in the ages before the Buddha, the heavenly and human beings and followers of Brahmanism were all disciples of the two deities and the three ascetics.163 Though their doctrines branched off to form ninety-five different schools, these did not go beyond the views of the three ascetics. Shakyamuni, the lord of teachings, also studied these doctrines and for a time became a disciple of the Brahmanic teachers. But after spending twelve years in various painful and comfortable practices,164 he came to understand the principles of suffering, emptiness, impermanence and non-self.165 Therefore he ceased to call himself a disciple of the Brahmanic teachings and instead proclaimed himself the possessor of a wisdom acquired from no teacher at all. Thus in time the human and heavenly beings came to look up to him as a great teacher.

It is clear, therefore, that during the teaching period of the first four flavors, Shakyamuni, the lord of teachings, was a disciple of Hoe and the other great bodhisattvas. Similarly, he was the ninth disciple of Bodhisattva Monju.166 This is also the reason why the Buddha repeatedly declares in the earlier sutras, "I never preached a single word."

When Shakyamuni Buddha was seventy-two, he preached the Muryogi Sutra on Eagle Peak in the kingdom of Magadha. At that time he denied all the sutras he had preached during the previous more than forty years, and all the fragmentary teachings derived from those sutras, saying, "In these more than forty years, I have not yet revealed the truth." At that time, the great bodhisattvas and the various heavenly and human beings hastened to implore the Buddha to reveal the true doctrine. In fact, in the Muryogi Sutra he made a single pronouncement that appeared to suggest the true doctrine,167 but he did not elaborate on it. It was like the moment when the moon is about to rise. The moon is still hidden behind the eastern hills, and though its glow begins to light the western hills, people cannot yet see the body of the moon itself.

In the Hoben chapter of the Lotus Sutra, in the section that concisely reveals the replacement of the three vehicles with the one vehicle, the Buddha briefly explained the concept of the three thousand realms in a single moment of life, the doctrine that he had kept in mind for his final revelation. But because this was the first time he had touched on the subject, it was only dimly apprehended, like the first note of the cuckoo heard by someone drowsy with sleep, or like the moon appearing over the rim of the hill but veiled in thin clouds. Shariputra and the others, startled, called the heavenly beings, dragon deities and great bodhisattvas together, and, begging for instruction, said:

The heavenly beings, dragons, spirits and the others,
their numbers like Ganges sands,
the bodhisattvas seeking to be Buddhas
in a great force of eighty thousand,
as well as the wheel-turning kings168
[who] come from ten thousands of millions of lands,
all press their palms and with reverent minds
wish to hear the teaching of perfect endowment.

The passage indicates that they requested to hear a doctrine such as they had not heard in the previous more than forty years, one that differed from the four flavors and the three teachings.169 With regard to the line "[they] wish to hear the teaching of perfect endowment," it may be noted that the Nirvana Sutra states: "Sad170 indicates perfect endowment." The Mue mutoku daijo shiron gengi ki171 states: "Sad connotes six. In India the number six implies perfect endowment."172 In his commentary, Chi-tsang173 writes: "Sad is translated as perfect endowment.拻 In the eighth volume of his Hokke gengi, T抜en-t抋i remarks, "Sad is a Sanskrit word, which is translated as myo or wonderful." Bodhisattva Nagarjuna, in the heart of his thousand-volume Daichido ron, comments, "Sad signifies six." Nagarjuna was thirteenth in the lineage of the Buddha抯 successors, the founder of the Shingon, Kegon and the other schools, a great sage of the first stage of development and the person whose true identity was the Thus Come One Dharma Clouds Freedom King [Tathagata Houn Jizaio].

The characters Myoho-renge-kyo are Chinese. In India, the Lotus Sutra is called Saddharma-pundarika-sutram. The following is the mantra concerning the heart of the Lotus Sutra composed by the Tripitaka Master Shan-wu-wei:

namah samanta-buddhanam om a a am ah
sarva-buddha-jna-sakshebhyah gagana-sambhava-alakshani
saddharma-pundarika-sutram jah hum vam hoh
vajra-arakshaman hum svaha

Hail to all the Buddhas! Three-bodied Thus Come One! Open the door to, show me, cause me to awaken to and to enter into, the wisdom and insight of all the Buddhas. You who are like empty space by nature and free from dust.

Cause me to enter into the Sutra of the White Lotus of the Correct Law, to dwell everywhere and to rejoice. You, Adamantine Protector, who are the entity of emptiness, aspect-free nature and desire-free nature.

This mantra, which expresses the heart of the Lotus Sutra, was found in the iron tower in southern India.174 In this mantra, the words saddharma mean "correct Law." Sad means sho or correct. Sho is the same as myo or wonderful, myo is the same as sho. Hence the titles Sho-hokke-kyo and Myoho-renge-kyo. And when the two characters namu are prefixed to the title Myoho-renge-kyo, we have the formula Nam-myoho-renge-kyo.175

Myo means perfect endowment. Six refers to the six paramitas representing all the ten thousand practices.176 When the persons ask to hear the teaching of perfect endowment, they are asking how they may gain the perfect endowment of the six paramitas and ten thousand practices of the bodhisattvas. In the phrase "perfect endowment," endowment refers to the mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, while perfect means that, since there is mutual possession of the Ten Worlds, then any one world contains all the other worlds, indicating that this is "perfect." The Lotus Sutra is a single work consisting of eight volumes, twenty-eight chapters, and 69,384 characters. Each and every character is endowed with the character myo, each being a Buddha who has the thirty-two distinctive features and eighty characteristics.177 Each of the Ten Worlds manifests its own Buddhahood. As Miao-lo writes, "Since even Buddhahood is present in all living beings, then all the other worlds are of course present, too."178

The Buddha replied to the request of his listeners by saying that "the Buddhas wish to open the door of Buddha wisdom to all living beings.拻 The term "all living beings" here refers to Shariputra and it also refers to icchantikas, persons of incorrigible disbelief. It also refers to the nine worlds. Thus the Buddha fulfilled his words, "Living beings are numberless. I vow to save them all,"179 when he declares: "At the start I took a vow, hoping to make all persons equal to me, without any distinction between us, and what I long ago hoped for has now been fulfilled."

All the great bodhisattvas, heavenly beings and others, when they had heard the doctrine of the Buddha and comprehended it, said: "Since times past often we have heard the World-Honored One抯 preaching, but we have never heard this kind of profound, wonderful and superior Law." One抯 preaching?refers to the fact that they had heard him preach the great doctrines of the Kegon Sutra and other sutras in the time previous to the preaching of the Lotus Sutra. 慦e have never heard this kind of profound, wonderful and superior Law? means that they had never heard the teaching of the one vehicle of Buddhahood propounded in the Lotus Sutra."180

They understood, that is, that none of the previous Mahayana sutras-including those of the Kegon, Hodo and Hannya periods, such as the Jimmitsu and Dainichi sutras- which are numerous as the sands of the Ganges, had ever made clear the great principle of the three thousand realms in a single moment of life, which is the core of all the teachings of the Buddha抯 lifetime, or the bone and marrow of those teachings, the doctrines that those in the two vehicles will achieve Buddhahood and that the Buddha attained enlightenment in the remote past.

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Vatsa and Vaipulya107 were keen and perceptive, but still they confused the Hinayana and Mahayana sutras. Vimalamitra and Madhava108 were very clever by nature, but they could not distinguish properly between the provisional teachings and the true teachings. These men lived during the thousand-year period known as the Former Day of the Law, not far removed in time from the Buddha himself, and in the same country of India, and yet they fell into error, as we have seen. How much more likely, therefore, that the people of China and Japan should do so, since these countries are far removed from India and speak different languages from it?

Now human beings have grown increasingly dull by nature, their life span diminishes steadily,109 and the poisons of greed, anger and stupidity continue to multiply. Many ages have passed since the Buddha抯 death, and the Buddhist scriptures are all misunderstood. Who these days has the wisdom to interpret them correctly?

Therefore the Buddha predicted in the Nirvana Sutra that in the Latter Day of the Law, those who abide by the correct teachings will occupy no more land than can be placed on top of a fingernail, while those who slander the correct teachings will occupy all the lands in the ten directions.

In the Hometsujin Sutra110 we find a passage stating that those who slander the correct teachings will be as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, but those who abide by the correct teachings will be no more than one or two pebbles. Though five hundred or a thousand years go by, it will be difficult to find even a single person who believes in the correct teachings. Those who fall into the evil paths because of secular crimes will be as insignificant in number as the specks of dirt placed on a fingernail, but those who do so because of violations of the Buddhist teachings will be equal in number to the specks of dirt in all the lands in the ten directions. More monks than laymen, and more nuns than laywomen, will fall into the evil paths.

Here Nichiren considers as follows: Already over two hundred years have passed since the world entered the Latter Day of the Law. I was born in a remote land, and, moreover, a person of low station and a priest of humble learning. During my past lifetimes through the six paths, I have perhaps at times been born as a great ruler in the human or heavenly world, and have bent the multitudes to my will as a great wind bends the branches of small trees. And yet at such times I was not able to become a Buddha.

I studied the Hinayana and Mahayana sutras, beginning as an ordinary practitioner with no understanding at all and gradually moving upward to the position of a great bodhisattva.

For one kalpa, two kalpas, countless kalpas I devoted myself to the practices of the bodhisattva, until I almost reached the stage of non-regression [where one never fails to attain Buddhahood]. And yet I was dragged down by the powerful and overwhelming influences of evil, and I never attained Buddhahood. I do not know whether I was among the third group111 who failed to take faith when the sons of Daitsu Buddha preached [the Lotus Sutra] and again failed to attain Buddhahood during the lifetime of Shakyamuni Buddha, or whether I faltered and fell away from the teachings which I heard [long before Daitsu Buddha] at gohyaku-jintengo and thus have been reborn in this age.

While one is practicing the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, one may surmount all kinds of difficulties occasioned by the evil forces of worldly life, or by the persecutions of rulers, non-Buddhists, or the followers of the Hinayana sutras. And yet one may encounter someone like Tao-ch抩, Shan-tao or Honen ,112 monks who seemed thoroughly conversant with the teachings of the provisional and the true Mahayana sutras but who were in fact possessed by devils. Such men seem to praise the Lotus Sutra most forcefully, but in fact they belittle the people抯 ability to understand it113, claiming that its principles are very profound but human understanding is slight. They mislead others by saying that "not a single person has ever attained Buddhahood"114 through that sutra, or that "not one person in a thousand"115 can be saved by it. Thus, over a period of countless lifetimes, people are deceived as often as there are sands in the Ganges, until they [abandon their faith in the Lotus Sutra and] descend to the teachings of the provisional Mahayana sutras, abandon these and descend to the teachings of the Hinayana sutras, and eventually abandon even these and descend to the teachings and scriptures of the non-Buddhist doctrines. I understand all too well how, in the end, people have come in this way to fall into the evil paths.

I, Nichiren , am the only person in all Japan who understands this. But if I utter so much as a word concerning it, then parents, brothers and teachers will surely censure me and the ruler of the nation will take steps against me. On the other hand, I am fully aware that if I do not speak out, I will be lacking in compassion. I have considered which course to take in the light of the teachings of the Lotus and Nirvana sutras. If I remain silent, I may escape persecutions in this lifetime, but in my next life I will most certainly fall into the hell of incessant suffering. If I speak out, I am fully aware that I will have to contend with the three obstacles and four devils. But of these two courses, surely the latter is the one to choose.

If I were to falter in my determination in the face of persecutions by the sovereign, however, it would be better not to speak out. While thinking this over, I recalled the teachings of the Hoto chapter on the six difficult and nine easy acts. Persons like myself who are of paltry strength might still be able to lift Mount Sumeru and toss it about; persons like myself who are lacking in supernatural powers might still shoulder a load of dry grass and yet remain unburned in the fire at the end of the kalpa of decline;116 and persons like myself who are without wisdom might still read and memorize as many sutras as there are sands in the Ganges. But such acts are not difficult, we are told, when compared to the difficulty of embracing even one phrase or verse of the Lotus Sutra in the Latter Day of the Law. Nevertheless, I vowed to summon up a powerful and unconquerable desire for the salvation of all beings, and never to falter in my efforts.

It is already over twenty years since I began proclaiming my doctrines. Day after day, month after month, year after year I have been subjected to repeated persecutions. Minor persecutions and annoyances are too numerous even to be counted, but the major persecutions number four. Among the four, twice I have been subjected to persecutions by the rulers of the country.117 The most recent one has come near to costing me my life. In addition, my disciples, my lay followers, and even those who have merely listened to my teachings have been subjected to severe punishment and treated as though they were guilty of treason.

In the fourth volume of the Lotus Sutra we read: "Since hatred and jealousy toward this sutra abound even when the Thus Come One is in the world, how much more will this be so after his passing?" The second volume states: "If this person [should slander a sutra such as this,] or on seeing those who read, recite, copy and uphold this sutra, should despise, hate, envy or bear grudges against them ..." And the fifth volume says: "It [the Lotus Sutra] will face much hostility in the world and be difficult to believe." It also states: "There will be many ignorant people who will curse and speak ill of us," and "They will address the rulers, high ministers, Brahmans and householders, [as well as the other monks,] slandering and speaking evil of us, saying, 慣hese are men of perverted views [who preach non-Buddhist doctrines]!?" It is also stated in the same volume: "again and again we will be banished," and [in the seventh volume] "Some among the group would take sticks of wood or tiles and stones and beat and pelt him."

The Nirvana Sutra records: "At that time there were a countless number of Brahmanists who plotted together and went in a body to King Ajatashatru of Magadha and said, 慉t present there is a man of incomparable wickedness, a monk called Gautama.118 All sorts of evil persons, hoping to gain profit and alms, have flocked to him and become his followers. These people do not practice goodness, but instead use the power of spells and magic to win over men like Mahakashyapa, Shariputra and Maudgalyayana.?

T抜en-t抋i says: "It will be much worse in the future because the principles [of the Lotus Sutra] are so hard to teach."119 Miao-lo says: " 慔atred?refers to those who have not yet freed themselves from impediments and 慾ealousy?sup>120 to those who take no delight in listening to the doctrine." The teachers of the three schools of the south and seven schools of the north in China, as well as the countless other scholars of China, all regarded T抜en-t抋i with resentment and animosity. Thus Tokuitsu121 said: "See here, Chih-i,"122 whose disciple are you? With a tongue less than three inches long you slander the teachings that come from the Buddha抯 long broad tongue that can cover even his face!"123

In the Toshun124 we read: "Question: While the Buddha was in the world, there were many who were resentful and jealous [of a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra]. But in the age after his passing, when one preaches this sutra, why are there so many who try to make trouble for one? Answer: It is said that good medicine tastes bitter. This sutra, which is like good medicine, dispels attachments to the five vehicles and establishes the one ultimate principle. It reproaches those in the ranks of ordinary beings and censures those in the ranks of sagehood, denies [provisional] Mahayana and refutes Hinayana. It speaks of the heavenly devils as poisonous insects and calls non-Buddhists demons. It censures those who cling to Hinayana teachings, calling them mean and impoverished, and it dismisses bodhisattvas as beginners in learning. For this reason, heavenly devils hate to listen to it, non-Buddhists find their ears offended, persons of the two vehicles are dumbfounded, and bodhisattvas flee in terror. That is why all these types of persons try to make trouble [for a practitioner of the Lotus Sutra]. The Buddha was not speaking nonsense when he declared that hatred and jealousy would abound."

The Kenkai ron states: "The superintendents of priests [in the capital of Nara] say in their memorial to the throne, 慗ust as in a land west of China there was a Brahman named Demon Eloquence, so now in this eastern realm of Japan there is a shavepated monk who spits out crafty words. Evil spirits invisibly invite such people to deceive and mislead the world.? I [Dengyo] reply to these charges by saying: 慗ust as in the Ch抜 dynasty of China we heard of the arrogant superintendent of priests, Hui-kuang, so now in our own country we see these six superintendents of priests [who oppose me]. How true was [the Buddha抯 prediction in] the Lotus Sutra that the situation would be much worse after his passing.?"

The Hokke shuku the Great Teacher Dengyo also states: "Speaking of the age, [the propagation of the true teaching will begin] in the age when the Middle Day of the Law ends and the Latter Day opens. Regarding the land, [it will begin in a land] to the east of T抋ng and to the west of Katsu.125 As for the people, [it will spread among] people stained by the five impurities who live in a time of conflict. The sutra says: 慡ince hatred and jealousy [toward this sutra] abound even when the Thus Come One is in the world, how much more will this be so after his passing??There is good reason for this statement."

When a little boy is given moxibustion treatment, he will invariably hate his mother; when a seriously ill person is given good medicine, he will complain without fail about its bitterness. And we meet with similar complaints [about the Lotus Sutra], even in the lifetime of the Buddha. How much more severe is the opposition after his passing, especially in the Middle and Latter Days of the Law and in a far-off country like Japan? As mountains pile upon mountains and waves follow waves, so do persecutions add to persecutions and criticisms augment criticisms.

During the Middle Day of the Law, one man alone, T抜en-t抋i, understood and expounded the Lotus Sutra and the other sutras. The other Buddhist leaders of both northern and southern China hated him for it, but the two sage rulers of the Ch抏n and Sui dynasties gave him an audience so he could establish the correctness of his views in debate with his opponents. Thus in time he ceased to have any more opponents. At the end of the Middle Day of the Law, one man alone, Dengyo, grasped the Lotus Sutra and the other sutras just as the Buddha had expounded them. The seven major temples of Nara rose up like hornets against him, but the two worthy sovereigns, Emperor Kammu and Emperor Saga, themselves investigating the views of both sides, made clear which was correct, and thereafter there was no further trouble.

It is now over two hundred years since the Latter Day of the Law began. The Buddha predicted that conditions would be much worse after his passing, and we see the portents of this in the quarrels and wranglings that go on today because unreasonable doctrines are prevalent. And as proof of the fact that we are living in a muddied age, I was not summoned [for a doctrinal debate with my opponents], but instead I was sent into exile and my very life was imperiled.

When it comes to understanding the Lotus Sutra, I have only a minute fraction of the vast ability that T抜en-t抋i and Dengyo possessed. But as regards my ability to endure persecution and the wealth of my compassion for others, I believe they would hold me in awe. [As a votary of the Lotus Sutra,] I firmly believe that I should come under the protection of the gods, and yet I do not see the slightest sign of this. On the contrary, I am subjected to increasingly severe punishments. In view of this, am I perhaps then not a votary of the Lotus Sutra after all? Or have the heavenly gods and benevolent deities perhaps taken leave and departed from this land of Japan? I find myself in much perplexity.

But then I recall the twenty lines of verse in the Kanji chapter of the fifth volume of the Lotus Sutra [in which the eight hundred thousand million nayutas of bodhisattvas describe the persecutions they will endure after the Buddha抯 death for the sake of the Lotus Sutra]. If I, Nichiren , had not been born in this land of Japan, then the words of the World-Honored One predicting such persecutions would have been a great prevarication, and those eight hundred thousand million nayutas of bodhisattvas would have been guilty of the same offense as that of Devadatta, of lying and misleading others.

The sutra says that "There will be many ignorant people who will curse and speak ill of us and will attack us with swords and staves," with rocks and tiles.126 Look around you in the world today-are there any priests other than Nichiren who are cursed and vilified because of the Lotus Sutra or who are attacked with swords and staves? If it were not for Nichiren , the prophecy made in this verse of the sutra would have been sheer falsehood.

The same passage says: "In that evil age there will be monks with perverse wisdom and hearts that are fawning and crooked,"127 and "They will preach the Law to white-robed laymen and will be respected and revered by the world as though they were arhats who possess the six transcendental powers."128 If it were not for the priests of the Nembutsu, Zen and Ritsu sects of our present age, then the World-Honored One would have been a teller of great untruths.

The passage likewise says: "Because in the midst of the great assembly. . ., they will address the rulers, high ministers, Brahmans and householders, . . . [slandering and speaking evil of us]."129 If the priests of today did not slander me to the authorities and have them condemn me to banishment, then this passage in the sutra would have remained unfulfilled.

"Again and again we will be banished," says the sutra. But if Nichiren had not been banished time and again for the sake of the Lotus Sutra, what would these words "again and again" have meant? Even T抜en-t抋i and Dengyo were not able to fulfill this prediction represented by the words "again and again," much less was anyone else. But because I have been born at the beginning of the Latter Day of the Law, the "age of fear and evil" described in the sutra, I alone have been able to live these words.

As other examples of prophecies that were fulfilled, in the Fuhozo Sutra it is recorded that the World-Honored One said that one hundred years after his passing, a great ruler named King Ashoka would appear. In the Maya Sutra he said that six hundred years after his passing, a man named Bodhisattva Nagarjuna would appear in southern India. And in the Daihi Sutra he said that sixty years after his passing, a man named Madhyantika130 would establish his base in the dragon palace. All of these prophecies came true. Indeed, if they had not who would have faith in the Buddhist teachings?

Thus the Buddha decided the time [when the votary of the Lotus Sutra should appear], describing it as "an age of fear and evil," "the latter age hereafter," "the latter age hereafter, when the Law is about to perish," and "the last five-hundred-year period," as attested by both the two Chinese versions of the Lotus Sutra, Sho-hokke-kyo and Myoho-renge-kyo.131 At such a time, if the three powerful enemies predicted in the Lotus Sutra did not appear, then who would have faith in the words of the Buddha? If it were not for Nichiren , who could fulfill the Buddha抯 prophecies concerning the votary of the Lotus Sutra? The three schools of southern China and seven schools of northern China, along with the seven major temples of Nara, were numbered among the enemies of the Lotus Sutra in the time of the Middle Day of the Law. How much less can the Zen, Ritsu and Nembutsu priests of the present time hope to escape a similar label?

With this body of mine, I have fulfilled the prophecies of the sutra. The more the government authorities rage against me, the greater is my joy. For instance, there are certain Hinayana bodhisattvas, not yet freed from delusion, who draw evil karma to themselves by their own compassionate vow. If they see that their father and mother have fallen into hell and are suffering greatly, they will deliberately create the appropriate karma in hopes that they too may fall into hell and share in and take their suffering upon themselves. Thus suffering is a joy to them. It is the same with me [in fulfilling the prophecies]. Though at present I must face trials that I can scarcely endure, I rejoice when I think that in the future I will escape being born into the evil paths.

And yet the people doubt me, and I too have doubts about myself. Why do the gods not assist me? Heavenly gods and other guardian deities made their vow before the Buddha. Even if the votary of the Lotus Sutra were an ape rather than a man, they should address him as the votary of the Lotus Sutra, and rush forward to fulfill the vow they made before the Buddha. Does their failure to do so mean that I am in fact not a votary of the Lotus Sutra? This doubt lies at the heart of this piece I am writing. And because it is the most important concern of my entire life, I will raise it again and again here and emphasize it more than ever, before I attempt to answer it.

Prince Chi-cha132 in his heart had promised to give the lord of Hsu the precious royal sword that he wore. Therefore, [when he later found that the lord of Hsu had died,] he placed the sword on his grave. Wang Shou,133 having drunk water from a river, carefully tossed a gold coin into the water as payment. Hung Yen, finding that his lord had been killed, cut open his stomach and inserted his lord抯 liver in it before he died. These were worthy men, and they knew how to repay a debt of gratitude. How much more so, then, should this be the case with great sages like Shariputra and Mahakashyapa, who observed every one of the two hundred and fifty precepts and the three thousand rules of conduct, and had cut themselves off from the illusions of thought and desire134 and separated themselves from the threefold world? They are worthy to be the leaders of Bonten, Taishaku and the other heavenly gods, and the eyes of all living beings. During the first forty and more years of the Buddha抯 preaching, these men were disliked and pushed aside with admonitions that they could never attain Buddhahood. But when they had tasted the medicine of immortality in the Lotus Sutra, they were like scorched seeds that sprout, a shattered rock joined together again, or withered trees that put forth blossoms and fruit. Through the Lotus Sutra, it was revealed that they would attain Buddhahood after all, though they had yet to enter the eight phases of a Buddha抯 existence.135 How, then, can they not do something to repay the profound debt of gratitude that they owe to the sutra? If they do not do so, they will show themselves to be inferior to the worthy men I have mentioned earlier, and in fact be no more than animals who have no understanding of a debt of gratitude.

The turtle that Mao Pao136 saved did not forget to repay the kindness of the past. The great fish of the K抲n-ming Pond,137 in order to repay the man who had saved his life, presented a bright jewel in the middle of the night. Even these creatures understood how to repay a debt of gratitude, so why shouldn抰 men who are great sages?

The Venerable Ananda was the second son of King Dronodana,138 and the Venerable Rahula was the grandson of King Shuddhodana. Both men were born into very distinguished families and even attained arhatship. However, they were declared to be unable to attain Buddhahood. And yet, during the eight-year assembly at Eagle Peak, where the Lotus Sutra was preached, it was revealed that they would become Buddhas with names such as the Thus Come One Mountain Sea Wisdom [Unrestricted Power King] and the Thus Come One Stepping on Seven Treasure Flowers. No matter how distinguished their families or what great sages they were, if it had not been for the revelation in the Lotus Sutra, who would have paid respect to them?