T2043 The Biographical Scripture of King Aśoka

Chapter II

Together with him.

That is why I offer the best gift to him today. After having made the offerings, King As'oka was greatly pleased. He worshipped at Upagupta' feet and uttered the following stanza: In my present human life, I did not lose the fruit of a good deed. It is by the power of y previous merits That I have become a king of sovereignty. Through what was falsity, I gained the Dharma of eality. Relic-stupas of he World-honored One Adorn this mundane world. But in the practice of austerity Nothing have I yet done. After worshipping at Upagupta's feet, King As'oka returned to his own country.

38

Chapter III

The Causes of Making Offerings

to the Bodhi Tree

King Asoka offered a hundred thousand taels of gold each to the place where the Buddha was born, the place where he attained enlightenment, the place where he turned the Wheel of he Dharma, and the place where he entered nirvana. In the Bodhi tree, however, he felt the most faith and joy, and he pondered that as this was the place where the World-honored One had attained supreme perfect enlightenment he should offer the best gems and jewels to the tree every day.

King Asoka's first lady, Tisyaraksita by name, was angry about it. "If the great king loves me, why should he give all the best gems and jewels to the Bodhi tree?" She called in a candali (outcaste) maid and said to her, "The Bodhi tree is what I hate. Can you destroy it for me?" The maid said in reply, "Yes, I can, but you must pay me in gold." The lady said, "Let it be so."

139b

The candali aid cursed the tree with incantations and bound it with a cord, and so the tree withered away gradually. Someone reported it to the king, saying, "The Bodhi tree is dying away gradually." And he uttered the following stanza: Under the Bodhi tree the Buddha sat,

Becoming omniscient in the world

And gaining the wisdom of all knowledge.

But the tree is now dying.

Upon hearing these words, the king fainted and fell to the ground. He recovered himself after his ministers sprinkled water on him 39

Chapter III

for a long while. Sobbing and shedding tears, he uttered the following stanza:

When I see this king of trees,

It is like seeing the Tathagata.

If it withers away,

My life will also expire.

On seeing that the king was so anxious and worried, the lady said to him, "If cannot revive the Bodhi tree, then I also cannot please Your Majesty." The king said in reply, "If ou can revive the Bodhi tree, then you are not a woman. Why? Because this is the place where the Buddha attained supreme perfect enlightenment." The lady called the candali maid and said to her, "Can you restore the tree to grow as before?" The maid replied, "If the root of the Bodhi tree is not dead, I can rejuvenate the tree to grow again." Then the candali maid unloosed the cord with which she had bound the tree and dug a ditch around it. Every day she poured milk into the ditch to irrigate the tree, and in a few days it gradually revived and became alive as it was before. The people reported it to the king, saying, 'Your Majesty has done a great meritorious deed. The Bodhi tree is growing again." Upon hearing these words, the king was very happy, and he went to the Bodhi tree and gazed at it without blinking. Then he uttered the following stanza:

Beginning from King Bimbisara,

To the kings of different times,

None of hem could perform

These two supreme causes:

To water this tree of enlightenment

With milk of good color and fragrance.

I also present gifts

To the holy monks of he five sects.

King soka filled a thousand golden, silver, and lapis lazuli bottles with scented water and carried different kinds of ood, drink, and flowers to bathe the tree with the scented water contained in the 40

i39c Making Offerings to the Bodhi Tree thousand bottles. He also draped the tree with silk draperies of different colors. At that time the king also observed the Eight Precepts. After receiving the Eight Precepts, he ascended the audience hall with a thurible in his hand and invited the monks of the four quarters, saying, "May all the disciples of the Worldhonored One in the four quarters come here to take me in to the teachings of the Buddha!" And he also uttered the following stanza:

The sons of the Sugata of ight conduct, Whose sense organs are pure and free from desires, Worthy of orship and great fields of blessedness, Are refuges for men and Devas. The supreme sons of the Sugata Are free from desires and practice dhyana] Upon them the Asuras rely;

May they come to take me in.

In the country of Kasmlra,

In the great and secluded woods, There live many arhats;

May they come to take me in.

The sons of he Tathagata rejoicing in dhyana Live at Lake Anavatapta,

Beside rivers, and in caves on the hills; May they come with pity for me. The sons of he Tathagata with good words Live in the halls of sariras (relics) With minds of compassion free from worries; May they come to take me in.

Possessing divine powers of great bravery, Living on Mount Gandhamadana, Are the arhats I invite;

May they all come to this site. When King Asoka had uttered this stanza, three hundred thousand bhiksus, of whom a hundred thousand were harmonious arhats and two hundred thousand were learners, and numerous 41

140a Chapter III

zealous ordinary people, gathered together, but nobody among the Sangha took the chief seat. King Asoka said to the Elder Yasas, who possessed the six supernatural powers, "Why is it that nobody is sitting on the first seat?" The Elder replied, "Because it is the seat for the chief Elder." The king said again, "Is there anybody even higher than Your Reverence?" The Elder replied, 'Yes. The Buddha said that among his disciples the foremost in preaching, like the roar of a lion, was the person surnamed Bharadvaja and named Pindola. The chief seat is for him."

Upon hearing these words, King Asoka was so excited that his hair stood on end like kadamba flowers. He said, "Most Virtuous One, is there any bhiksu who saw the Buddha before he entered nirvana and is still living now?" The Elder replied, Yes, the person who is surnamed Bharadvaja and named Pindola saw the Buddha." The king then inquired, "But can I see him today?" The Elder said in reply, You will see him in a moment; he is coming now." The king was greatly pleased to hear these words and uttered the following stanza:

A great benefit I shall gain,

And I shall be converted in a peerless way

By seeing one of great virtue;

Pindola is his name.

King Asoka put his hands palm to palm and looked at the air without moving his eyes for a moment. Then Pindola, followed by innumerable arhats surrounding him in a group shaped like a crescent moon, descended from the air like a king goose and sat on the first seat.

At that time, King Asoka saw the arrival of Pindola Bharadvaja; and all the bhiksus from the ten quarters stood up from their seats. He saw that Pindola had silvery hair and that the skin of his forehead as well as his eyebrows were hanging down over his face in the manner of a pratyekabuddha. Upon seeing him the king prostrated himself, like a big tree falling to the ground, to worship Pindola. He kissed the monk's feet, 42

Making Offerings to the Bodhi Tree knelt before him with his hands joined palm to palm, and looked at him shedding tears, while he uttered the following stanza:

The earth has the sea as its garment, With mountains as canopies for its adornment. Having done away with my foes, I, Asoka, owned this earth, Which made me delighted with pleasure. Even more am I delighted today, To meet you, a great virtuous man. As I see you today,

I feel doubly happy in my mind. He also asked, "Did you, Reverend Sir, ever see the World-honored One?"

Pindola parted his long eyebrows with both hands to look at King Asoka and uttered the following stanza: I saw the Tathagata several times, The peerless and unparalleled one Who possessed the thirty-two marks, Whose face was like the autumnal full moon, Whose pure voice dissolved affliction, Entering the samadhi of non-disputation. King Asoka inquired again, "Where and how did Your Reverence see the Buddha?" The Elder said in reply, 'Your Majesty, the World-honored One stayed at first in the city of Rajagrha with a following of ive hundred passion-free arhats. As I was among the group, I had the opportunity to see him." Then he uttered the following stanza:

The passion-free Mahamuni

Was followed by passion-free arhats. When they were staying there, I could see him by good chance. Just as you see me today,

I saw the Buddha in the same way. 43

Chapter III

i40b "Again, Your Majesty, the World-honored One, in order to subdue the heretics, once manifested in the country of Sravasti various supernatural powers and appeared as numerous metamorphosed Buddhas with dignified physical marks and signs, ascending one heaven after another up to the Akanistha heaven. I was also present on that occasion and witnessed the different divine transformations of the Buddha." Then he uttered the following stanza: There were many heretics,

Practicing different erroneous ways.

The World-honored One subdued them

With his supernormal powers.

I saw the Buddha at that time,

Giving the world happiness.

"Again, Your Majesty, after staying for the summer retreat in the Thirty-three heavens to preach the Dharma to his mother, the World-honored One, surrounded by heavenly beings, descended to the country of Samkasya. As I was then among the congregation, I saw the heavenly beings, and I saw the bhiksunl named Utpalavarnika transforming herself nto the form of a cakravartin king possessing all of the seven kinds of treasures." He then uttered the following stanza:

After his rainy season retreat in Heaven,

The Buddha descended from there.

As I was among the congregation,

I had the chance to see the Buddha.

"Again, Your Majesty, once Sumagadha, daughter of Anathapindada, invited the Buddha and five hundred arhats. The Buddha went by his divine power to the country of undravardhana, while I, carrying a mountain, also went through the air to the country by divine power. On that occasion the Tathagata instructed me, saying, You must not enter nirvana so long as my Dharma abides in the world.'" Pindola then uttered the following stanza: At the invitation of Sumagadha,

The Buddha went there by divine power.

44

140c

Making Offerings to the Bodhi Tree I followed him to the land of Pundra, Raising a mountain high by my own power. The Buddha instructed me on that occasion To live in the world so long as the Dharma abides. That was the condition upon which I was able to see the Buddha. "Again, Your Majesty, when you were a child in a previous life, you offered sand with a childish mind to the Buddha, while I offered him cooked rice, when he entered the city of Rajagrha to collect alms. Radhagupta rejoiced at the event. The Buddha made a prediction, saying, ' undred years after my nirvana, this child will become a cakravartin king with the name of soka, rule over one of he four continents, and be a Dharma King. He will construct eighty-four thousand Dharmaraja stupas for the enshrinement of elics.'I was then among the congregation." He then uttered the following stanza: The king was then a child,

When with folded hands he offered sand. I was there at that moment

And witnessed the event.

King Asoka again inquired of live?" He replied with the following stanza: indola, "Where does Your Reverence North of ake Anavatapta,

On the mountain Gandhamadana: I live at that place

With my fellow monks.

King Asoka again asked Pindola, "How many people follow Your Reverence?" He replied with the following stanza: Sixty thousand arhats

Follow and surround me.

I and my congregation

Are free from the bane of passion. "Again, Your Majesty, why are you so inquisitive about these matters? You should now quickly offer food to the monks. When the 45

Chapter III

monks have taken their meal, I will talk with you again." The king said in reply, "Yes, I shall do as you advise. In order to remember the Buddha, I should go to see the Bodhi tree. After seeing the Bodhi tree, I shall offer a meal of different kinds of ood and drink to the monks."

King soka said to a bhiksu named Sarvamitra, "I am going to offer a hundred thousand taels of gold and a thousand golden, silver, and lapis lazuli water pots to the monks. Make an announcement in the assembly in my name that this offering is made to the monks of he five sects."

At that time King Asoka's son Kunala was by the right side of the king. As the prince was in fear of is father, he dared not speak but raised two fingers to show to the announcer bhiksu that he would offer twice as many gifts as his father. Upon seeing that Kunala was going to present twice as many gifts as his father, the whole assembly laughed merrily. When the king saw that the assembly was laughing, he said to his minister Radhagupta, 'You must have made some mistake that caused the people to laugh." Radhagupta said in reply, "As more people are wishing to perform meritorious deeds, if our Majesty wishes to do the same, it befits Your Majesty to offer twice as many gifts as were intended." King Asoka said in reply, "I shall offer three hundred thousand taels of gold to the monks and fill three thousand precious water pots with scented water to irrigate the Bodhi tree. Make an announcement in my name that the gifts are offered to the monks of he five sects."

Kunala then raised four fingers to show to the bhiksus. Greatly enraged, the king said to the minister Radhagupta, "Now I am performing meritorious deeds. Who is so ignorant of orldly decorum as to compete with me?" On seeing that the king was getting angry, Radhagupta saluted him at his feet and told him who dared to compete with him in the performance of meritorious deeds by uttering the following stanza:

Who dares to compete with the king

In the act of erit making?

46

i4ia Making Offerings to the Bodhi Tree

It is no one else but Kunala

Who is competing with the monarch.

When Asoka turned to his right he saw Prince Kunala and said to Pindola, "Most Virtuous One, with the exception of my treasure house in which are stored the seven kinds of recious things, I offer everything, including all my land, palace attendants, ministers, as well as myself nd Kunala, to the Sangha. Make an announcement in my name to the assembly that I offer everything to the monks of he five sects." And he also uttered the following stanza: Everything in my palace,

Excepting my treasures,

But including attendants and courtiers,

I offer to the monks.

The monks of the congregation

Are fields of blessing.

I and my prince

Shall gain merits.

After having presented alms to Pindola and all the monks in the assembly, King Asoka constructed a wall around the Bodhi tree. He personally climbed up to the top of the wall and poured four thousand water pots of scented water to irrigate the tree, which started to grow as before. And he uttered the following stanza: I shall irrigate the Bodhi tree,

Which is now growing again,

With rich boughs and foliage,

And more merits shall I gain.

Having been watered by the king, the Bodhi tree started to grow as before, with green and pliant branches and leaves, and it unfolded new buds, to the great delight of the king and his ministers and people. Food and drink were then offered to the monks. In the assembly there was a monk of reat virtue by the name of asas, who said to the king, "This assembly of onks is truly to be adored and respected. You should make offerings to it without a mind of discrimination." King Asoka served food to the monks 47

Chapter III

with his own hands, from the highest in order to the last one. At the end of he order there were two novices who made oy buns out of cooked rice and threw them to each other for fun. King Asoka was amused to see them and thought that the two novices were playing like children.

The king went again to serve the chief monk with food and gradually came to the presence of Yasas, who said to him, 'Your Majesty should not harbor any feeling of disbelief towards any monk in the assembly." The king consented, but he told the Elder Yasas that two novices were having fun with cooked rice. Yasas said in reply, "Those two novices are arhats, having gained freedom of ind and wisdom." The king was greatly delighted to hear this.

i4ib Then he thought in his mind, "Now that I have offered food to the monks, I should get some good robes to offer to the two novices." Having read the mind of the king, one of the novices produced by his power of erits an iron vessel and placed it before him, while the other one produced gandha-jala (fragrant water) and other things. When the king saw these things, he asked, "What is the use of these things?" They replied, "Since Your Majesty wishes to present us with separate gifts of robes after offering food to the monks, we intend to dye the new robes." Upon hearing these words, the king thought in his mind, "I was just thinking within my mind and did not say anything. How did these persons come to know my mind?" Then he prostrated himself on the ground to worship at the feet of the two novices and uttered the following stanza to them:

I, king of he Maurya clan,

And my courtiers and men

Have done deeds of merit

And gained great benefits.

I have faith in zealousness

And have given what I can in alms.

King soka said to the two novices, "On your account, I shall offer three robes to each of he monks in the assembly." So, after having 48

Making Offerings to the Bodhi Tree

performed meritorious deeds for the monks of he five sects, King Asoka also presented three robes to each of hem, besides offering four hundred thousand taels of gold to them. He also paid a large amount of gold and silver to redeem his land, palace attendants, and ministers, as well as himself and Kunala.

The Causes of itasoka

King soka had a mind of eep faith in the Buddha-dharma. After constructing eighty-four thousand stupas, he convened an assembly of monks of the five sects, to whom he offered food and drink. There were in the assembly three hundred thousand arhats, twice as many learners, and innumerable zealous ordinary people, in whom the king had double faith.

At that time, King soka's younger brother, Vitasoka, believed in the dharma of the heretics, and he said, "None of Sakyamuni's disciples has attained emancipation. Why? Because they always take delight in a pleasurable way of life and dread asceticism." King Asoka said to his younger brother, "Do not fix your faith in the wrong place. You should believe in the Buddha-dharma." At another time when King Asoka went out hunting, his younger brother saw a ermit in the mountains who was scorching himself with heat from five directions while earnestly practicing asceticism. Vitasoka went up to worship at his feet and said, "Most Virtuous One, how long have you been staying here?" The hermit said in reply, "Twelve years." The prince asked again, "What food do you eat?" The hermit answered, "I often eat the fruits and roots of trees." The prince again inquired, "What clothes do you wear?" The hermit replied, "I weave cogon grass to make myself a robe." "What about your bedding?" asked the prince. "I spread grass on the ground," answered the hermit. The prince asked again, "What makes you feel so distressed?" The hermit replied, "When I saw two deer mating, the sight aroused my lustful desire; and the fire of lustful desire is burning in my heart." Then Vitasoka entertained a doubt in his mind and reflected, "Even this ascetic has 49

i4ic Chapter III

lustful desire, so how could the disciples of the Buddha, always living a pleasurable life, be free from passion if hey saw the same sight? If they have desire in their minds, how could they cherish the notion of detesting and forsaking desire?" And he uttered the following stanza:

The hermit in the wood of mortification,

Living upon fruits, roots, and flowers,

Breathing air without taking foul nutrition, Cannot quell his carnal desire.

Sons of Sakyamuni Buddha

Eat milk foods and butter,

Wear robes of many types,

And never give up one piece.

If hey could keep their senses under control, Mount Vaidurya would be able to float.

King Asoka's younger brother also said that the Sakya disciples were cheating the king into performing meritorious deeds. Upon hearing these words, King Asoka, trying to employ some expedient, said to his minister, "My younger brother believes in the heretics. We should try to employ some expedient to convert him to the Buddha-dharma." In reply to the king, the minister said, "What does Your Majesty wish me to do?" The king told him, "Now I am going to the bathroom to take a bath. I shall take off y crown and garments. You may dress my younger brother in my costume and ask him to ascend the throne." The minister said in reply, 'Yes."

King Asoka then went to the bathroom to take off his ornaments, and after the king had entered the bathroom, the minister said to his younger brother, 'You would have been king if t had not been or Asoka. Now you may try to put on this crown and the royal garments and ascend the throne." Having said so, the minister dressed the prince in the king's garments and caused him to ascend the throne.

The minister then reported to King Asoka, saying, 'Your servant has carried out the order of our Majesty." King Asoka came 50

142a Making Offerings to the Bodhi Tree

to see his younger brother, who was wearing the crown and sitting on the throne, and said to him, "So you have assumed kingship even when I am not dead!" In a fit of rage the king called in the executioner, a fellow dressed in dark blue with dishevelled hair and holding a bell in his hand. Having come into the presence of the king, the executioner paid homage to him and said, "What do you wish me to do?" The king said, "I have discarded this younger brother of mine. You may kill him." When the king had said this, a group of people holding weapons in their hands came up to surround the prince.

At that moment the minister saluted the king's feet and said to him, "This is Your Majesty's younger brother, and I beg Your Majesty to have patience and not to be angry with him." King Asoka said to the minister in reply, "I shall be patient with him for seven days. As he is my younger brother, I shall give him the kingdom temporarily, allow him to be king for seven days, and provide him with various musicians and maids of honor for his amusement. All people should come to pay respects to him." Standing at the gate with a knife in hand, the executioner announced to the king every day, "One day has passed. There will be six days more!" [and so on.] So on the sixth day, he announced that there remained only one more day. On the seventh day, the royal ornaments, crown, and garments were returned to King Asoka. The minister and other people took Vitasoka to see the king, who asked him, "During the seven days of our kingship, how did you enjoy the pleasant music and various kinds of amusement?" In reply, the king's brother uttered the following stanza: He who has seen the beauties,

Heard the melodies,

And tasted the delicacies

May answer your inquiries.

The king said again, "I gave you the kingdom so that you were king for seven days, and you enjoyed all kinds of amusement to your heart's content, while numerous people came every day to pay homage and express good wishes to you. How can you say that you 51

Chapter III

did not see, hear, or taste anything delightful?" In reply, the prince again uttered the following stanza: In the last seven days

I neither saw nor heard anything, Nor did I smell or taste flavor. I could not feel the touch

Of the ornaments I was wearing, Or of the charming maids who were attending. As I was thinking of dreadful death, I lost the sensations of these things. The songs of the nautch girls dancing, The palaces and bedding,

The land and all the treasures, Aroused in me no pleasure.

I only saw the executioner

Standing at the gate with his cleaver. I also heard the sound of is bell That reminded me of he knell. The nail of death reached my heart And rendered me numb to the five pleasures. Being ill with fear of departing, I could not sleep with composure. While I thought death was approaching, The night elapsed without my knowing. King Asoka then said to his younger brother, "Vltasoka, as you were thinking of the pains of death just for one day, you did not attach yourself to the five best pleasures that were provided for you. In the same way, the homeless bhiksus meditate on the impermanence of the countless births and deaths on the basis of the twelve entrances. How can they have any passions? They also meditate on the pains of he hells and of he animals cruelly killing one another, on the hungry ghosts suffering from hunger and thirst, and on men always rushing about without ease to all places for a living, and also on the pains of the heavenly beings at the stage of decadence. All beings in these five ways of existence are 52

142b

Making Offerings to the Bodhi Tree suffering mentally and physically without happiness. The bhiksus also consider that all the five skandhas are impermanent, painful, void, egoless, and unsubstantial, just like an empty village without inhabitants. As the five skandhas are void and without an ego, the world is burning with the fire of impermanence. Since the Buddha's disciples always contemplate in this way, how can they have any passions?" And he also uttered the following stanza:

Just for a single day

You pondered on the fear of death Without oy and pleasure

Nor with a mind of attachment. The disciples of he Buddha

Contemplate birth and death every day. How can they have joy and pleasure And harbor minds of delusion? On their food and garments, As well as on their bedding, They meditate upon how to gain liberation, Free from mental attachment. They see the corporeal body as an enemy, The three realms as a house on fire. They think of expedients

By which to gain emancipation. Taking deep delight in the law of iberation, They crave none of the five desires. Their minds resemble lotus flowers Standing in water without getting wet. King Asoka employed this good expedient to convert Vltasoka to the Buddha-dharma, and Vltasoka, with folded hands, said to the king, 'Your Majesty, I now take refuge in the Tathagata as well as his Dharma and the Sangha." And he also uttered the following stanza:

I take refuge in the Buddha, Whose face resembles a lotus flower, 53

Chapter III

A shelter for divine and human beings.

I also submit to the pure Dharma and the Sangha. King soka then embraced his younger brother's neck and said to him, "I do not discard you. It was for the sake of converting you to the Buddha-dharma that I adopted this expedient." Vitas'oka offered various kinds of flowers and incense with the performance of music to the Buddha-stupas, and he also presented different kinds of food and drink as alms to the monks. Then he went to Kukkuta Monastery, where the Elder Yas'as, an arhat possessing the six supernatural powers, was residing. Upon arriving at the monastery, he sat face to face with Yasas, wishing to hear the Dharma from him. With his supernormal powers, Yasas perceived that Vltasoka had done good deeds in his previous lives and that this was his last birth with a corporeal body, as he would attain arhatship. The Elder preached the Dharma and praised the renunciation of home life. After hearing the Dharma, Vltasoka wished to renounce his home life and said to Yasas with folded hands, 'You have preached the Dharma and Vinaya (disciplinary rules) well. May I renounce my home to be a fully ordained monk? I wish to lead a life of celibacy according to the Buddha-dharma." Yasas said in reply, "Good man, you may go back to ask King Asoka whether he permits you to renounce your home." Vltasoka returned to King Asoka and said to him with folded hands, "May Your Majesty allow me to renounce the home life, as I wish to lead a life of celibacy according to the Buddha-dharma." And he also uttered the following stanza:

My mind is confused in distraction,

Like an unhooked elephant.

The king's will is an iron hook.

Do not stop me from leaving home.

The king is the lord of the earth,

And should allow me to leave my hearth.

For this world the Buddha is a ray,

And I wish to go along his Way.

54

i42c Making Offerings to the Bodhi Tree

Upon hearing these words, King Asoka embraced his younger brother's neck and said with tears and sobbing, "Vitasoka, do not conceive such an idea. Why? Because the monks wear coarse and shabby clothes, eat what is given by others, and sleep under trees. Now stop thinking about becoming a monk." Vitasoka said in reply, "Your Majesty, I wish to become a monk not out of hatred, or craving, or poverty, or to evade some enemy. It is simply because I see that this world is full of pain and continual rebirths without emancipation, and I see that the Buddha-dharma is the only right path leading to freedom from rebirth without fear. So I wish to become a monk with pleasure." King Asoka sobbed more piteously when he heard these words. Vitasoka then uttered the following stanza:

Rebirth is like a rope hanging,

Man is on it always swinging.

What is on it will drop down.

From union separation comes.

King Asoka then said to his younger brother, "Before becoming a monk, you have to practice begging for alms." In the royal garden at the back of the palace, there was a big tree, under which grass was spread on the ground to provide a place for Vitasoka to stay. An earthen bowl was given to him so that he could beg alms from the palace. With begging bowl in hand, he went to the palace, where he obtained different varieties of he choicest food. The king became angry with the palace attendants and said to them, "Why do you give the best food to the mendicant? From now on you should give him coarse food." Thus wheat was cooked and kept for a night and then given to him when it had turned sour. Vitasoka accepted the food and ate it without feeling disgusted. At this sight, King Asoka said to him, "Stop taking this food. I permit you to become a monk; but after becoming a monk, you should often come to see me."

Then Vitasoka went to the Kukkuta Monastery, and when he reached there, he thought that if he became a monk at that place the people and environment would distract his mind from 55

143a Chapter III

cultivating the Way, and that he should go to become a monk at some distant place. So he travelled to the country of ideha, where he became a monk and engaged himself in meditation vigorously until he attained arhatship.

Having attained arhatship, the Elder Vitasoka enjoyed the bliss of emancipation and thought that as he had made an agreement with the king to see him often after becoming a monk, he should fulfill his promise.

Then he travelled by easy stages to the country of ataliputra. Early in the morning, the Elder Vitasoka dressed himself and went to the city with his begging bowl to collect alms. He went from house to house and then to the palace of ing Asoka, where he said to the gatekeeper, "Go in and inform the king that Vitasoka is outside the gate, wishing to see His Majesty." The gatekeeper went in and informed the king, saying, "Vitasoka has arrived and wishes to see Your Majesty." King Asoka said to the gatekeeper, 'You may bring him into the palace." Vitasoka then entered the palace, and upon seeing him, King Asoka rose from his throne and prostrated himself, like a great tree falling on the ground, in order to worship him. Then he stood up and gazed at him with his hands joined palm to palm without feeling weariness. He uttered the following stanza with tears of emotion:

All living beings are happy

To live in a harmonious family.

But you renounced your home

To live a life quiet and calm.

Now I understand your mind.

With no amount of isdom are you content.

At that time, the minister Sugupta saw that Vitasoka wore a robe made of ast-off ags. He carried an earthen bowl, went from house to house to collect alms, and without distinguishing in his mind accepted whatever food, coarse or fine, was given him. He said to King soka, "Vitasoka is content, with few desires, and has accomplished what he aimed to achieve. Your Majesty ought to be happy about it." Why?

56

Making Offerings to the Bodhi Tree He, always practicing alms-begging, Wearing cast-off ag clothing, Living beneath a tree,

Has a mind in constant samàdhi. His mind is broad without leakage; His body is free from malady; Leading a righteous life,

He is always cheerful.

King Asoka was greatly pleased to hear these words, and he uttered the following stanza: You abandoned the Maurya clan, The kingdom of Magadha,

Precious jewels of every kind, And the best enjoyment of he five desires. You rejoice at the four noble truths, Free from arrogance, pride, and distress, Practicing the Way with great diligence. My country is glorified by your eminence. The supreme Dharma, the ten powers You are qualified to possess. King Asoka helped him to the seat of honor and served different kinds of ood and drink to him with his own hands. After the meal, his eating bowl was washed and put aside. King Asoka sat before him to listen to his preaching, and in the course of preaching, Vitasoka uttered the following stanza: Mental freedom you have now gained; Non-laxity should also be attained. The Three Treasures are not easy to meet. Offerings should often be made to them. King Asoka and five hundred courtiers, together with the people of he country, surrounded Vitasoka respectfully with folded hands to send him off. The courtiers and people uttered the following stanza:

57

Chapter III

King Asoka, the elder brother, Sends off the younger one with respect. The supreme fruit of enunciation Is now fully realized.

In order to reveal his merits, the Elder Vitasoka soared into the 143b air, and all the people saw his departure. King Asoka and the multitude, folding their hands palm to palm, witnessed the event with fixed gaze, and [Asoka] uttered the following stanza: Without fraternal affection, Like a bird you fly through the air. I am bound by love and passion, Unable to go as freely as I care. The supreme fruit of meditation Gives freedom to the body. You may go anywhere at your discretion, Without any impediment whatsoever. Being blinded by lust and desire, I could not see the Dharma. By your supernormal powers, You lifted me from lustful desire. I was proud of y wisdom,

But you are the wisest of all. We are attached to the world, Not fearing it until we see the saint. We are weeping and shedding tears, Because you are leaving us forever. Then the Elder Vitasoka repaired to a borderland, and upon reaching there he fell so seriously ill that his head was covered with boils. The king, hearing about it, dispatched attendants and physicians to cure him. When he was a little better some time later, both the physicians and the attendants were sent back. As he needed only milk for his nourishment, he went for convenience of egging alms to live at a place where there were many cows. There was then a country called Punyavardhana, where all the people believed in heretics. One man who followed the heretical 58

i43c Making Offerings to the Bodhi Tree

dharma worshipped a naked god painted in the shape of the Tathagata and paid homage to it at its feet. A Buddhist disciple saw this matter and reported it to Kang soka. After hearing it, the king ordered that the man be brought into his presence. Now within the domain of King Asoka, all the Yaksas (demons) in the air up to the height of alf a yojana were under his control, and all the Nagas one yojana below the earth also belonged to him. Upon hearing the order of he king, the Yaksas in an instant brought the heretical disciple and his picture into the presence of the king. Being greatly enraged by the sight, he had all the heretics of Punyavardhana killed; and one hundred eight thousand heretics were slaughtered in one day.

There was another heretical follower who accepted a heretical dharma, worshipped a naked god painted in the shape of the Tathagata, and paid it homage at its feet. When King Asoka heard about it, he again ordered his men to arrest that man and his relations, all of whom were put in a house, which was then set on fire. The king also issued a decree, saying, "If anyone can get the head of a Nirgrantha, I shall award him a piece of gold." At that time, the Elder Vltasoka came to a place where cows were reared and spent one day there. As he had been sick for many days, his hair and beard were long, his nails were sharp, and he was wearing a coarse garment without color or brilliance. A cowherd woman thought in her mind, "Here comes a Nirgrantha to our house." And then she said to her husband, 'You can kill this Nirgrantha and send his head to King Asoka, and you will surely get a gold coin." The husband, hearing this, unsheathed his sword and went to Vltasoka with the intention of decapitating him. The elder, reflecting that nowhere could one escape from one's retribution, faced death as it befell him. His head was then sent to King Asoka by the man wishing to win the reward of gold. When the king saw that the hair on the head was of an attractive variegated color, he had a suspicion in his mind and inquired of the physicians and attendants about it. They said to the king, "This is the head of ltasoka!" Upon hearing these words, the king fainted and fell to the ground. When water was 59

Chapter III

sprinkled on him, he recovered and got to his feet after a long i44a while.

A minister said to the king, "Even a man who is perfectly free from passions is not spared from this suffering. It befits Your Majesty to grant freedom from fear to living beings." Asoka followed this advice and issued an order that no Nirgranthas should be killed any more.

Then the bhiksus had a doubt about t and nquired of pagupta, "What deed did Vltasoka commit in the past, that he suffered this retribution of being murdered by another?"

Upagupta said in reply, "Elders, listen. In the past there was a hunter who killed many herds of deer. In the great forest there was a spring where the hunter spread his net and tied the rope beside the water. In this way he killed many deer every day. That was a time when the Buddha was not yet born in the world. One day apratyekabuddha took his meal beside the water. After taking his meal, he bathed and went to sit underneath a tree. All the deer, smelling the fragrance of the pratyekabuddha, did not go to the waterside. When the hunter came and did not see any deer, he traced the footmarks and came to the pratyekabuddha. On seeing him, the hunter thought in his mind, 'It is because of this man sitting here that the deer did not come.' Thereupon he killed the pratyekabuddha with a knife. You should know, Elders, that that hunter of ygone days was today's Vltasoka. As he had killed many deer every day in the past, he suffered various ailments in his present life. His murder of the pratyekabuddha caused him to suffer pains of very description in hells for innumerable years. He was always killed each of the five hundred times he was born as a human being. This was his last birth; but even though he had attained arhatship, he was still murdered by a man." The bhiksus again asked Upagupta, "But how did this person come to be born into a great clan and attain arhatship?" Upagupta said in reply, "Formerly, when he became a monk in the Dharma of Kasyapa Buddha, he loved to give alms and often advised lay supporters to offer various kinds of ood and drink to the Sangha. There was then a stupa containing the Buddha's hair and nail 60

Making Offerings to the Bodhi Tree

relics, to which he offered incense, flowers, banners, and canopies, as well as different kinds of usical performances. It was because of his karma that he was born into a great clan. And for a hundred thousand years he constantly practiced celibacy with a right vow, on account of hich he attained arhatship."

61

Chapter IV

The Causes of Kunala

Ring Asoka constructed eighty-four thousand stupas in one day, and on that day his wife Padmavati gave birth to a son with regular features and particularly beautiful eyes. No one saw him but loved him. A palace attendant reported to the king that by the merits of he king, his wife had given birth to a son. The king was pleased to hear this news and uttered the following stanza: I am today

Greatly pleased.

My clan of Maurya

Is well known to all.

May my son in the palace

Increase the Dharma!

Thus the child as named Dharmavivardhana (Dharma-increasing). Then he was carried in to be shown to the king, who was glad to see him and uttered the following stanza: Beautiful are the eyes of my son, Created by merits previously done. Bright and very brilliant, Resembling utpala (blue lotus) flowers, These eyes of erit

Adorn his features.

His face is regular and dignified, Like a full moon in the season of autumn. King Asoka assembled his ministers and said to them, "Have you ever seen eyes such as those of this child?" The ministers said in 63

144b

Chapter IV

reply, "We have really never seen such eyes among human beings. But in the Snow Mountains there is a kind of bird called a kunala whose eyes resemble the eyes of this child." And they uttered the following stanza:

On top of he Snow Mountains,

At the place of precious flowers,

The birds called kunala

Stay in their nests.

The eyes of this child

Resemble those of the bird.

The king hen ordered, "Bring that bird here." The Yaksas in the air up to the height of half a yojana heard the king's words, and the Nagas one yojana below also heard his words. In an instant, the Yaksas brought a bird to the king, who compared its eyes with the eyes of is son and found no difference between them. Thus he gave the child the name of the bird and uttered the following stanza: The king of en on the earth

Uses the name of kunala,

With most beautiful eyes,

As his son's name,

So that on this earth,

His fame will spread far.

When Kunala had grown up, he was given a lady named Kancanamala to be his wife. Once King Asoka brought him to Kukkuta Monastery, where lived an elderly monk by the name of asas, an arhat possessing the six supernatural powers. At that moment Yasas foresaw that before long Kunala would lose his eyes. So he said to the king, 'Why do you not ask Kunala to do his own deeds?" King soka said to Kunala, "The Most Virtuous One asks you to do what you should do. You should follow him." Then Kunala worshipped at Yasas' feet and said to him, "Most Virtuous One, teach me what I should do." Yasas said in reply, "Eyes are impermanent. You should meditate on this." And he also uttered the following stanza:

64

144c The Causes of Kunala You, Kunala,

Should meditate on the eyes As impermanent with the pain of illness, Where all things converge. Ordinary people have upside-down views, Giving rise to what is wrong. Kunala then sat alone at a quiet place in the palace to meditate that the eyes and other sense organs were painful and impermanent. King soka's chief ife Tisyaraksita went to Kunala and saw that he was sitting alone. When she saw his eyes, a surge of ustful desire arose in her mind and she embraced him with her arms while she uttered the following stanza: A strong fire of ove

Is burning in my heart, Like flames licking a dry vine. Come, you, to satisfy my mind. When Kunala heard these words of ers, he plugged his ears with his hands and uttered the following stanza: At this place of mine, No such words should be said. You are a mother to me, And I am a son to you. Passions of this illegal kind Should be put far away. Why should you for this matter Open the gate to the evil way? As Tisyaraksita's desire was not satisfied, she became angry and resentful and uttered the following stanza: I fixed my mind of love upon you, But you have no love in your mind. Since you dislike me,

You will soon be wiped out. Kunala said in reply:

65

Chapter IV

I would rather die

For the Dharma of purity than live. I would not stay in life

With a mind of obscenity.

One who has an evil mind

Loses the good Dharma of Devas and men. If he good Dharma becomes imperfect, On what will one's life depend? Tisyaraksita kept a constant watch over him with the intention of killing him. There was then in the north a country named Taksasila, which rebelled against King Asoka's orders. When the king heard about it, he intended to go there himself, but his ministers said to him, "Kunala should be ordered to go. There is no need for you to go yourself." King Asoka summoned Kunala and said to him, "You should go to that country." Kunala replied to the king, "So be it." King Asoka also uttered the following stanza:

At this moment,

I heard him saying, "So be it." Though he is my son,

He is also my heart.

As I remember him in my mind, He is more lovely to me.

King soka then had the roads repaired. All corpses were removed and all aged and sick people were ordered to keep out of ight. The king rode in the same carriage with Kunala to see him off. When they were about to part near the road, he embraced his son's neck and shed tears on seeing Kunala's lovely eyes, while he said: If anyone sees

Kunala's lovely eyes

And is pleased,

All his ailments will be eased. At that time, a Brahman physiognomist foresaw that Kunala would soon lose his eyes. On seeing that the king was gazing at his 66

i45a The Causes of Kunala

son's eyes without paying attention to anything else, he uttered the following stanza:

The prince has eyes of purity; When the king sees them he feels happy. Bright and beautiful are his eyes. Why should they be lost?

All the people in this country, When they see Kunala's eyes,

Feel pleased,

As if enjoying heavenly bliss. If hey see him lose his eyes, They will all be distressed.

Kunala then gradually proceeded to the country of aksasila. The people of that country, hearing about it, went out half a yojana to repair and decorate the road. They placed water everywhere in anticipation of the coming multitude. The people uttered the following stanza:

The people of Taksasila

Hold water in precious jars

And other offerings

To greet Prince Kunala.

When the prince arrived, the people folded their hands and said to him, "We do not come to meet you to fight, nor do we bear any grudge against the great king. But the minister sent by the king to our country governs the state unjustly, and we wish him to be dismissed from office." Then the people presented offerings to Prince Kunala and welcomed him to their country. King soka then fell seriously ill; he vomited out of is mouth, and filthy fluid oozed from his pores. All the best physicians failed to cure him. King Asoka said to his ministers, "Recall Kunala. I shall consecrate him king and hand over the throne to him. Now I shall cling to this life no more." Tisyaraksita thought in her mind, "If Kunala becomes king, I shall certainly be put to death." With this reflection in her mind, 67

i45b Chapter IV

she said to King Asoka, "I can cure the king and get rid of the disease. There is no need to send for any more physicians." So the king listened to her words and refused to see any physicians. Tisyaraksita said to the physicians, "If there is anybody outside, male or female, who is suffering from the same disease as the king, you may bring that person in."

There was then in the country of he Abhlras a man suffering from the same trouble as the king. The sick man's wife consulted a physician and told him the symptoms of her husband's illness. The physician said in reply, "Bring the man here. I wish to see him and write out a prescription for him." Thus the woman brought the patient to the physician, who then sent him to the king's wife.

The king's wife put the sick man in a secluded place, had his abdomen cut open, and extracted both his "raw" and his "ripe" viscera. In his ripe viscus there was a big orm, and when it moved upwards vomit was ejected out of the mouth. Excrement was discharged below when it moved downwards. If t moved sideways, filthy fluids oozed from the pores. The king's wife ground some mallika (jasmine) and placed it beside the worm, but it did not die. She then put some pippall (long pepper) beside it, and it still did not die. She again placed some dry ginger near the worm, and it still did not die. But it died instantly when she placed some garlic beside it.

The king's wife reported this matter to the king, saying, "The king should now eat some garlic, which will cure the disease." The king said in reply, "Being a Ksatriya, I should not eat garlic." The lady said, "For the sake of your body and life, it should be taken as medicine." So King Asoka ate some garlic, and the worm was then killed and his disease was cured. Thus he became as fit and lively as before.

After having bathed, King Asoka said to his wife, "Whatever you desire to have now, I shall grant you as you wish." The king's wife said to him, "May the king allow me to be king for seven days." The king said to his wife, "If you become king, you will certainly kill me." His wife said again, "After seven days, I shall

The Causes of Kunala

return the kingship to you." Thus King Asoka granted her the request.

The king's wife reflected, "This is now the right time for me to punish Kunala." Then she wrote a false letter in the name of King Asoka to the people of Taksasila, asking them to gouge out Kunala's eyes. In the letter, there was written the following stanza:

I am now very powerful,

My prestigious name, fearful.

As Kunala, the prince,

Has committed an offence,

Now I order you people

To extract his two eyes.

To perform this matter now

You should take action in haste.

When the royal lady had written this letter, she needed to impress it with the king's dental marks. King soka was then sleeping, and as the lady wished to seal the letter she went close to the king. The king woke up with a start. The lady asked the king, "Why are you frightened and startled?" The king said in reply to the lady, "I had an inauspicious dream in which I saw a vulture attempting to extract Kunala's eyes. This is why I was startled with fear." The lady said in reply, "The king need not be worried. Prince Kunala is now quite safe and sound." In the second watch, the king had another dream; and he was again wakened from sleep with a start. He said to the lady, "I had another dream as ominous as the first one." The lady asked, 'What was it?" The king said in reply, "I saw that Kunala had long hair, a beard, and sharp nails; and he was unable to speak." The lady said, "He is safe and sound. Do not worry about him."

Afterwards when King Asoka fell asleep, the lady stealthily had the letter impressed with the king's teeth and had it sent to the people of Taksasila.

At that time, King Asoka again dreamed that all his teeth had fallen out. When he had taken a bath early the next morning, he 69

145c Chapter IV

summoned as a life-and-death matter a physiognomist and told him everything he had seen in his dream, saying, "You should read the meaning of my dream." The physiognomist said in reply, "If anyone has had such a dream, his son will lose his sight. That is just like losing one's son." Then he uttered the following stanza:

If anyone dreams that his teeth have fallen out, His son will lose his sight. Since one's son has lost his eyes, It is the same as losing one's son. When King soka heard these words, he stood up facing the deities of the four quarters with folded hands and implored their protection with vows, saying:

I take refuge single-heartedly in the Buddha, In the pure Dharma, and in the Sangha. All the recluses of this earth Are most eminent in the world. May all saintly monks

Extend protection to Kunala. When the messenger arrived with the letter in the country of Taksasila, the people of the country, upon seeing the letter, hid it away and did not give it to Kunala. They had affection for him and did not wish to cause resentment in his mind. The people also reflected, "Since the great King Asoka is so fearful that he has neither esteem nor confidence even in his own son and wishes to extract his eyes, how can he treat us without malignance?" And they uttered the following stanza: Now as regards this Kunala,

He is no different from a great recluse. Of all living beings

He is the benefactor.

But to him the great king Asoka Has no mind of compassion,

70

146a

The Causes of unala

Let alone to any other beings. He will spare none from cruelties. At last the people gave the letter to Kunala. Upon receiving the letter, Kunala said to the people, "If anyone can extract my eyes, he may do so at his own discretion." The people then called in a candala and said to him, "Extract Kunala's eyes." The candala said with folded hands, "I cannot do that. Why?" If a man could erase

The full moon's brilliant light, He might extract the eyes From your face, a moon that is bright. Kunala took off his precious coronet and said to the candala, "If you can extract my eyes, I shall give this to you." There was another man of abominable features marked with the eighteen marks of ugliness, who said, "I can extract your eyes." At that moment Kunala remembered what the most virtuous Yasas had told him, and he uttered the following stanza: Things united must be separated: This is a true saying.

When I think of his teaching, I know that my eyes are not abiding. My good teacher of he Way Is able to benefit me.

What he preaches on the Dharma Concerns the causes and conditions of suffering. I always remember and ponder That everything is impermanent. This was taught by my teacher, And I should deeply keep it in mind. I do not fear the pain,

As I have seen that nothing is everlasting. In compliance with the king's order, You may extract my eyes.

71

Chapter IV

I have already imbibed The truth of mpermanence. Kunala then said to the ugly man, "You may gouge out one of my eyes and place it in my palm, as I wish to see it." When that ugly man was about to take out Kunala's eye, numerous people angrily scolded him and uttered the following stanza: His eyes are pure and without stain, Like the moon in the air. You are extracting his eyes, As one might pull a lotus from a pond. Numerous people wailed and wept piteously, while the ugly man took out Kunala's eye and put it in his hand. Accepting his eye in his hand, Kunala uttered the following stanza to it: Originally, in former times, You could see all colors. But at this moment now, Why can you not see them? Formerly you caused the seer To have a mind of attachment; Now I see that you are not real, But false and unsubstantial Like a bubble on water That is void and without entity. You are simply powerless And not independent.

One who sees this point Will suffer no more pains. When Kunala was meditating on the impermanence of ll dharmas, he attained the fruition of srota-dpanna. After having gained the fruit, he said to the ugly man, 'You may gouge out my other eye as you like." The ugly man then cut out the other eye and placed it in Kunala's hand. Although he had lost his eyes of lesh, he obtained the Eye of isdom; and then he uttered the following stanza: 72

146b

The Causes of Kunala

At this moment now,

I forsake my eyes of flesh. The Eye of isdom is hard to gain, But J.have gained it now. The king has abandoned me; I am no more the king's son. As I have gained the Dharma, I am a son of the Dharma King. Now I have freely fallen From the palace of suffering, And also freely ascended To the palace of he Dharma King. Knowing that it was Tisyaraksita who wanted to extract his eyes, Kunala uttered the following stanza: May the king's spouse

Always enjoy wealth and bliss. May she live forever

And never come to an end. It was through her expedient that My aim has been gained. When Kunala's wife Kancanamala heard that Kunala had lost his eyes, she went to her husband out of anxiety about him. At a place where there was a crowd of people, she saw Kunala, who had lost his eyes and was bleeding. Thus she fainted and fell to the ground, and people sprinkled water on her to restore her to consciousness. She wept and uttered the following stanza: Your eyes were bright and lovable; When I saw them formerly they were pleasurable. Now they are apart from your body; They cause in my mind a great worry. Kunala said to his wife, "Do not weep. As I have done the deeds, I am receiving the retribution." He also uttered the following stanza:

73

Chapter IV

Everyone in this world

Receives his body according to his deeds. The body is formed by pains of diverse kinds; This you should understand.

All sorts of unions

Are bound to end in separation. This matter you should know.

There is no need to weep with lamentation. Kunala and his wife then returned to King Asoka's palace from the country of Taksasila. As the two of them had never before, since their birth, walked on the ground, they were so weak and feeble that they could not bear the hardship of their labor. Kunala was good at playing the lute as well as singing and playing wind instruments. They followed the original road and begged for food to sustain their lives. Gradually they reached their own country and intended to enter the palace gate, but the gatekeeper did not allow them to go in. Since they could not get in, they withdrew and lodged in a carriage shed and stable. In the third division of the night, Kunala played his lute and started singing a song with the words, "My eyes are lost, but the four noble truths have I seen." And he also sang the following song:

If a man possessing wisdom

Sees the twelve entrances

With the lamp of isdom,

He may be free from rebirth.

The sufferings of he three realms of eing Are the sufferings of one's own mind. As for all faults of the three realms of eing, One should perceive them now.

If one wishes to acquire supreme bliss, One should ponder on the twelve entrances. When King Asoka heard the voice singing the song, he was greatly pleased and uttered the following stanza: 74

The Causes of Kunala

Now the song that is being sung And the sound of he lute Sound like my son.

Kunala's voice is heard; If e has arrived,

Why does he not come to see me? King soka called in a man [and said], "The voice I heard seemed to be that of Kunala; it was so melodious and yet so sad and sorrowful. That voice distracted my mind, as an elephant is restless with an uneasy mind when it has lost its son but hears its son's trumpeting. You may go to see whether it is Kunala or not. If it is Kunala, then bring him here." Under the king's order, that man went to the carriage shed and stable, where he saw a man who had lost both eyes and whose skin was tanned by the sun; he did not recognize the prince. He went back to report to the king, saying, "The person Your Majesty ordered me to see is a lonely blind man, staying with his wife in the carriage shed and stable. He is not Kunala." Upon hearing i46c these words, King Asoka felt distressed and pondered over the matter. And then he uttered the following stanza: I saw in a dream before That Kunala had lost his eyes. Now this blind man

Must be Kunala without doubt. Go there again

To bring him to this place. As I am thinking of my son, My mind is not at ease. The man went again to the shed and asked Kunala, "Whose son are you? What is your name?" Kunala replied with the following stanza:

My father is named Asoka-vardhana, With the surname of Maurya. The whole great earth

75

Chapter IV

Is under his control,

And I am his prince,

By the name of Kunala,

Sumamed Dharmaraja Buddha. I am the son of he Dharma King. The messenger then brought Kunala and his wife to the palace. King Asoka saw that Kunala had been exposed to wind and sunburned and was dressed in a garment made of rass and rags, and that his appearance had changed beyond recognition. With a doubt arising in his mind, King Asoka asked him, "Are you Kunala?" "Yes, I am," was the reply. When King Asoka heard this, he fainted and fell to the ground. An attendant saw what had happened to the king and uttered the following stanza: When the king saw that Kunala Had no eyes in his face, A painful feeling burned in his heart. He fell down from his sofa. The attendant then sprinkled water on the king to make him recover his consciousness. The king then returned to his seat and carried Kunala and sat him on his lap, weeping and shedding tears and stroking his head and face, while he recollected his features of bygone days. And he uttered the following stanza: Those handsome eyes of ours, Where are they now?

The causes of osing your eyes You should tell me.

Now you are deprived of our eyes, As if he moon disappeared from the skies. Your countenance has been altered. By whom was it committed? Your features in former days Resembled those of he fairies. Who is the one so merciless As to have destroyed your eyes? 76

147a The Causes of unala In this world of umanity, Who has been your foe? This is the root of my misery That arose therefrom. By whom was this graceful Countenance of ours deformed? The flames of mental fury Are consuming my body. It is like the thunder That destroys a forest of trees. The lightning of atred Has broken my heart.

The causes of such happenings You should tell me without delay. Kunala answered with the following stanza: Has not the king heard the Buddha's saying: Retribution can never be avoided? Even a pratyekabuddha Is not to be exempted. All worldly beings

Were created by their own karma. All karmic deeds, good or bad, Will produce their effects at the right times. All sentient beings

Receive the result of hat they have done. As I understand the cause, I do not blame the defacer of my eyes. This suffering is caused by myself And is not made by any other person. Just like the karmic condition of y eyes, Which was not made by any other person, The sufferings of all living beings Are created in the same way, By their own karmic force. The king should know such is the case. 77

147b

Chapter IV

King Asoka, with a fire of resentment burning in his heart, again uttered the following stanza: You just tell me who it was And I shall not bear a mind of malice. If ou do not make a clean breast of it, I shall feel distracted and disturbed. When King Asoka came to know that it was done by Tisyaraksita, he called in the lady and uttered the following stanza: Having committed an atrocity, Why do you not sink into the ground? You did not perform what was right But committed a great misdeed. Since you have done evil, I abandon you forever, Just as a good-deed performer Would give up filthy lucre. When King Asoka, with a fire of hatred burning in his heart, saw Tisyaraksita, he again uttered the following stanza: At this moment now

I wish to extract her eyes And use an iron saw

To dismember her limbs, To break her body with an axe, To cut out her tongue with a knife, To sever her neck with a sword, To bum her frame in fire, Or to force her to drink poison To do away with her life. King Asoka said such things intending to punish Tisyaraksita. When Kunala heard these words, he had a mind of deep compassion and uttered the following stanza: What Tisyaraksita has done Are nothing but evil deeds. 78

The Causes of unala

Now may the great king

Not kill her for that reason.

None of he great virtues

Can surpass forbearance.

As the World-honored One has said,

It is the first and foremost.

King Asoka did not listen to his son's words but put Tisyaraksita into a lakuca house and set it on fire to bum her to death. He also issued an order to kill that man of aksasila. At that time, a bhiksu was doubtful about the matter and inquired of the most virtuous Upagupta, '"What deed did Kunala do in a past life, so that he is suffering this retribution in the present?" The virtuous monk said in reply, "Elder, listen. Long, long ago in the past, there was in the country of aranasi a hunter who killed many deer in the Snow Mountains. Once when he went to the Snow Mountains a thunderbolt crashed in the sky, and five hundred deer, being frightened by the bolt, fled into a cave. Upon seeing this group of deer, the hunter caught every one of them. Then he thought in his mind, 'If I kill all of them, their flesh will become rotten. I have no other choice but to extract both eyes from each of hem, so that they will neither die nor run away, and I can gradually slaughter them afterwards.' Having reflected in this way, he gouged out all their eyes. Elder, what do you think? That hunter was Kunala in a former life. Because he had extracted the eyes of the deer, he was always bom in hells for innumerable years. When he was released from the hells and was born in the human world, his eyes were always extracted for five hundred lives. His present life is the last residue of is retribution." The bhiksu inquired again, "What was the cause of his being bom into an eminent clan with a pair of handsome eyes and gaining arhatship?"

"Elder, listen," said [Upagupta] in reply. "Long, long ago in the past at a time when the span of human life was forty thousand years, a Buddha, a fully enlightened one, by the name of Krakucchanda appeared in the world. When that Buddha had 79

i47c Chapter IV

done all he ought to have done in this world, he entered perfect /

nirvana. There was then a king by the name of Subhavyuha, who constructed a stupa with the four precious substances for that Buddha, the World-honored One. After the king's demise, his younger brother, who did not believe in the Buddha, secretly took away the jewels and gems with which the stupa was built, leaving only the earthwork and the wooden structure behind. All the people who saw that the stupa was damaged cried with regret and annoyance.

"The son of a householder asked the people, Why are you crying with regret and annoyance?' They said in reply, 'Originally the stupa for the World-honored One had the four precious substances, but now they are destroyed and gone! Thus we are crying with regret and annoyance at the sight.'The son of he householder restored the stupa with the four precious substances as it was before and enlarged it so that it was broader and higher than it was at the beginning. He also made a golden image and placed it in the stupa. After having done this, he made a vow, saying, 'As Krakucchanda is the teacher of the world today, may my future teacher be the same as this Buddha now.'You should know, bhiksu, that that son of a householder was Kunala. As the result of his mending and repairing the stupa of Krakucchanda Tathagata, he was born into a prominent clan in this life. Because he made an image of the Tathagata, his body in the present life is most handsome and graceful. And as he vowed to meet a good teacher, he now has Sakyamuni as his teacher and realizes the four noble truths."

80