Ghoṣadatta

Then the Bhagavān again addressed the youth Candraprabha, saying, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should think that they are like someone whose hair and clothes are on fire, and they should cast off father, mother, [F.14.b] son, daughter, family, kinsmen, relatives, kindred, wife, and so on, as if they were fire, throw away all the pleasures of a kingdom as if they were a lump of phlegm, turn toward solitude, and depart from home.

5.­2 “Why is that? Young man, attaining the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood will not be difficult for a bodhisattva mahāsattva who turns toward solitude and departs from home, let alone one who has this samādhi.

5.­3 “Therefore, young man, you should always train in having this thought: ‘I shall cast off friends, children, family, kinsmen, relatives, kindred, wife, and so on, as if they were fire, throw away all the pleasures of a kingdom as if they were a lump of phlegm, turn toward solitude, and depart from home.’

5.­4 “Therefore, young man, you should understand this through the following teaching, too:284

“Young man, in the past, countless, vast, immeasurable, inconceivable, innumerable, asaṃkhyeya eons ago,285 at that time and in those days,286 there appeared in the world the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, who was perfect in wisdom and conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, a teacher of devas and humans, a buddha, and a bhagavān.

5.­5 “Young man, at that time and in those days, in the first assembly of the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta’s śrāvakas, there were eight hundred million who were arhats. In the second assembly there were seven hundred million arhats. In the third assembly of śrāvakas there were six hundred million arhats. [F.15.a] There were also countless bodhisattva mahāsattvas who possessed the Dharma.

5.­6 “Young man, at that time and in those days, during the time of the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, the lifespan was forty thousand years. This Jambudvīpa continent had wealth, increase, happiness, excellent harvests, joy, and was filled with a great multitude of human beings.

5.­7 “In this Jambudvīpa there were two kings named Dṛḍhabala and Mahābala. One ruled the half of Jambudvīpa that had wealth, increase, happiness, excellent harvests, joy, and was filled with a great multitude of human beings. The other ruled the other half.

5.­8 “Young man, at that time, the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta appeared in the kingdom of King Mahābala.

5.­9 “Young man, for a hundred thousand years King Mahābala provided the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, the saṅgha of bodhisattvas, and the saṅgha of bhikṣus with faultless, proper clothing, alms, medicine if they were ill, and monastic utensils for their use.

5.­10 “Young man, at that time, the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, the saṅgha of bodhisattvas, and the saṅgha of bhikṣus received greatly renowned gifts and honors.

5.­11 “Brahmins and householders who had faith also bestowed great gifts and honors on the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, the saṅgha of bodhisattvas, and the saṅgha of bhikṣus.

5.­12 “Those brahmins and householders did this by following the example of King Mahābala, [F.15.b] dedicating themselves to bestowing great gifts and honors by making offerings of worldly material goods to the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, the saṅgha of bodhisattvas, and the saṅgha of bhikṣus.

5.­13 “Young man, the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta thought, ‘Alas! These beings who have adopted correct conduct and the poṣadha vows have come before the Tathāgata, have honored the Tathāgata, practice celibacy, have entered the homeless life, and have become fully ordained bhikṣus—they will go into decline. They are concerned about the happiness of their future lives.

5.­14 “ ‘Why is that? It is because in their future lives their happiness will be from these offerings of worldly material things. The realms of the higher existences are the goal of these beings. They are concerned with this life. They are concerned with their 287 next life. They do not accumulate288 roots of merit for the final ultimate goal.’289

5.­15 “Young man, what are the roots of merit for the ultimate goal? They are pure conduct and celibacy going toward the ultimate goal and reaching the ultimate goal.

5.­16 “Bhagavān Ghoṣadatta thought, ‘I must teach those beings the Dharma so that they will make the unsurpassable offering of the Dharma and the practice of the Dharma as their offering to the Tathāgata.’290

5.­17 “Then, young man, at that time the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, with the intention of creating revulsion toward saṃsāra,291 recited these verses to King Mahābala, the brahmins, and the laypeople:

5.­18
“ ‘The service of someone making a gift to another
Is not a cause for holding each other in high esteem.
The wise ones who are free of negative propensities,
The buddhas, they do not praise that service. {1}
5.­19
“ ‘Those who teach the Dharma for the benefit of beings,
They are those who accomplish great service.
Then there will form an unbreakable bond of friendship,
Which not even ten million māras will be able to break. {2}[F.16.a]
5.­20
“ ‘The service of those who keep to worldly material things
Will all be for the benefit of the present life.
The immaterial service of the Dharma
Leads to the greatest benefit for humans. {3}
5.­21
“ ‘Those who have a nonmaterialistic motivation
And teach the nonmaterial Dharma,
Those individuals who gain nonmaterial joy,
They will quickly attain buddhahood. {4}
5.­22
“ ‘Those who are addicted to their desires,
Who crave for children and wives,
Who are addicted to their revolting homes,
Will not attain unsurpassable, highest enlightenment. {5}
5.­23
“ ‘Supreme enlightenment will not be difficult to attain
For those who avoid desire as if it were a pit of fire,
Who abandon craving for children and wives,
And, frightened and terrified, leave their homes. {6}
5.­24
“ ‘There have been no buddhas in the past,
Nor will there be any in the future or now in the present,
Who attain the highest, most supreme enlightenment
While living inside their homes. {7}
5.­25
“ ‘Casting away a kingdom like a lump of phlegm,
Longing for solitude and living in the forests,
Eliminating the kleśas and defeating the māras,
They will realize stainless, noncomposite enlightenment. {8}
5.­26
“ ‘People who, with a disenchanted mind,
Leave their homes, they are superior
To those who serve, for many millions of eons,
Heroic buddhas as numerous as the Ganges sands. {9}
5.­27
“ ‘People who leave their homes and practice the Dharma,
Without serving the supreme humans, the jinas,
With food, drink, and Dharma robes,
With flowers, incense, and ointments— {10}
5.­28
“ ‘Those who, longing for enlightenment,
Disillusioned with the composite, and for the benefit of beings,
Take seven steps in the direction of the forests—
They will have the superior merit.’ {11}
5.­29

“Young man, King Mahābala heard what the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta said about leaving one’s home. Having heard this, he thought, ‘I have understood the Bhagavān’s teaching to mean that he does not praise the perfection of generosity, [F.16.b] but gives the highest, ultimate praise to the perfection of conduct.292 The Bhagavān has praised perfect purity, perfect celibacy, and perfect nirvāṇa.’

5.­30 “He thought, ‘It is not easy to practice the unsurpassable Dharma and attain its goal while living in a home. I would decline in my practice of the unsurpassable Dharma. I shall cut off my hair and beard, wear the orange robes, and leave home for homelessness.’

5.­31 “Then, young man, King Mahābala, accompanied by eighty thousand293 brahmins and laypeople, came before the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha Ghoṣadatta, bowed down to his feet, circumambulated the Bhagavān three times, and sat to one side.

5.­32 “Young man, the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha, knowing the higher motivation of King Mahābala, taught this samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena.

5.­33 “Young man, on hearing this, King Mahābala was pleased, delighted, joyful, inspired, and happy. He shaved off his hair and beard, put on the orange robes, and with faith left home for homelessness. Having entered homelessness he learned this samādhi, and having learned it he understood it. He dedicated himself to the practice of keeping it, reading it, and meditating on it. Through that root of merit, he did not fall into the lower existences for a hundred million eons. He served two hundred million buddhas and heard this samādhi from all those tathāgatas. He learned this samādhi, and having learned it he understood it. [F.17.a] He dedicated himself to the practice of keeping it, reading it, and meditating on it.

5.­34 “Subsequently, through those roots of merit, after a hundred million eons had passed, and then another hundred thousand eons, he attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. He became the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha named Jñānaśūra.294 He benefited countless beings, and afterward he passed away into perfect nirvāṇa.

5.­35 “Young man, the eighty thousand people who with King Mahābala came into the presence of the Bhagavān, the Tathāgata Ghoṣadatta all heard this samādhi also and were delighted, rejoicing, and joyful. Happy and joyful, they cut off their hair and beards, wore the orange robes, and with genuine faith they left home for homelessness. Having entered homelessness they learned this samādhi, and having learned it they understood it. They dedicated themselves to the practice of keeping it, reading it, and meditating on it. Through that root of merit, they did not fall into the lower existences for a hundred million eons. During all those eons, they served ten million buddhas and heard this samādhi from all those tathāgatas. They maintained this samādhi and comprehended it. They dedicated themselves to the practice of keeping it, reading it, and meditating on it.

5.­36 “Through their previous roots of merit, after two hundred million eons had passed and a further hundred thousand eons, they attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. They all became bhagavāns, tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas named Dṛḍhaśūra. They benefited countless beings, and afterward they passed away into perfect nirvāṇa. [F.17.b]

5.­37 “Therefore, young man, because of this teaching, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas cherish in this way this samādhi. They know that it is composed of the unsurpassable wisdom of omniscience.”

5.­38 Then, at that time, the Bhagavān gave a detailed teaching by chanting the following extensive verses to the youth Candraprabha.

5.­39
“I remember, countless eons ago
In the past, a supreme human, a great sage
Who benefited beings appeared in the world,
And he was known by the name Ghoṣadatta. {12}
5.­40
“The first assembly of his students
Numbered eight hundred million.295
The second was seven hundred million.
The third was six hundred million arhats. {13}
5.­41
“All had eliminated defilements and were without kleśas.
All had attained the perfection of miraculous powers.
The lifespan was forty thousand years
And the realm was perfectly pure and beautiful. {14}
5.­42
“The bodhisattvas of that protector
Were consecrated to immeasurably benefit others.
They were well established through their powers and levels.
They were near to buddhahood beneath the sacred tree.296 {15}
5.­43
“In this Jambudvīpa there were kings
Named Dṛḍhabala and Mahābala.
One king ruled half the world,
The other was king over the other half. {16}
5.­44
“The Buddha, to whom humans and devas made offerings,
Had appeared within the domain of King Mahābala.
The king gained faith in the Sugata
And attended him for a thousand years. {17}
5.­45
“Many other beings, following his example,
Also honored the Tathāgata
With worldly goods and not through the Dharma.297
They gave many things to the śrāvakas also. {18}
5.­46
“The highest of beings had this thought:
‘I shall teach the Dharma to these who desire the Dharma
So that they will all give up desire
And enter into homelessness in my teaching.’ {19}
5.­47
“The highest of humans taught in verses
The practice of following the Dharma of the sugatas, [F.18.a]
The endless suffering and harm of living in a home,
And that practicing the Dharma is offering to the Dharma. {20}
5.­48
“When the king, the sovereign, had heard those verses,
That ruler of men contemplated entering solitude.
He thought that all who dwell at home
Are unable to make the supreme offering to the Dharma. {21}
5.­49
“He cast away the kingdom like a lump of phlegm
And together with eighty thousand persons
He came into the presence of the Jina,
Bowed to his feet, and sat before him. {22}
5.­50
“The Jina, knowing what they intended,
Taught this samādhi of peace that is difficult to see.
Happy, inspired, and joyful, they were satisfied.
Pleased and delighted, they entered homelessness. {23}
5.­51
“Homeless, they possessed this samādhi.
They kept it, read it, and understood it.
For two hundred million eons
They did not fall into the lower existences. {24}
5.­52
“Because of those roots of merit,298
They all saw ten thousand million buddhas
And in the teaching of those jinas
They entered homelessness and meditated on this samādhi. {25}
5.­53
“In later times they became buddhas
With infinite diligence, all named Dṛḍhaśūra.
They benefited many millions of beings
And after, like an extinguished flame, attained nirvāṇa. {26}
5.­54
“The one who previously had been King Mahābala
Appeared in the world as Buddha Jñānaśūra.
He brought many billions of beings
To enlightenment, and then attained nirvāṇa. {27}
5.­55
“Therefore you who, in later times, hear and possess
This sūtra that has been taught by the buddhas:
If you possess this treasure of the Dharma
You will quickly become a supreme human.” {28}
5.­56
Conclusion of the fifth chapter, “Ghoṣadatta.”

Source

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