CHAVI 、 ER ONE SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA 1. 羽 le Shakya clansmen dwelt along the Rohini River which flows among the southern foothills of the Himalayas. Their king, Shuddhodana Gautama, esta- blished his capital at KapiIavastu and there had a great castle built and ruled wisely, winning the acclaim of his people. 羽 le Queen's name was Maya. She was the daughter of the King's uncle who was also the king of a neighbor- ing district of the same Shakya clan. For twenty years they had no children. But one night Queen Maya had a strange dream, ⅲ which she saw a white elephant entering intO her womb through the right side Of her chest, and she became pregnant. The King and the people looked forward with anticipation to the birth of a royal child. According to their custom the Queen returned tO her parents' home for the birth, and on her way, ⅲ the beautiful spring sunshine, she took a rest in the Lumbini Garden. 2

le Way of Purification but the first demon immediately replaced that with the Other arm Of the corpse. And SO it went on until bOth arms, both legs, the head and the body had been succes- sively torn away and replaced with the corresponding parts Of the corpse. Then the two demons, seeing the parts Of the man scattered about on the floor, picked them up and devoured them and went away chuckling. poor man whO had taken refuge in the deserted house was very much upset by his misfortunes. The parts of his body which the demons had eaten were the parts his parents had given him, and the parts that he now had belonged tO the corpse. WhO was he, anyway? Realizing all the facts, he was unable t0 figure it out and, becoming crazy, he wandered out Of the house. Coming tO a temple, he went in and tOld his troubles t0 the monks. People could see the true meaning Of selflessness ⅲ his story. 11. Once a beautiful and well-dressed woman visited a house. The master of the house asked her who she was; and she replied that she was the goddess of wealth. 羽 master Of the house was delighted and SO treated her nicely. 284

Building a Buddha Land and forever. III THOSE WHO HAVE RECEIVED GLORY IN BUDDHA'S LAND 1. Syamavati, the consort 0f King Udayana, was deeply devoted to Buddha. She lived ⅲ the innermost courts of the palace and did not go out, but her maid, Uttara, who had an excellent memory, used tO go out and attend the Buddha's preach- lngs. On her return, the maid would repeat tO the Queen the teachings of the Blessed One, and thus the Queen deepened her wisdom and faith. 羽 le second wife of the King was jealous of the first wife and sought t0 kill her. She slandered her t0 the King until finally he believed her and sought t0 kill his first wife, Syamavati. Queen Syamavati st00d in front Of the King SO calmly that he had no heart to kill her. Regaining control of himself he apologized to her for his distrust. 羽 le jealousy of the second wife increased and she 472

Building a Buddha Land The gate of the castle was opened as Mahanama dived into the water and the people rushed for safety. But Mahanama did not come up, sacrificing his life for the lives Of his people by tying his hair tO the underwater root of a willow tree. 3. Utpalavarna was a famous nun 、 wisdom was compared with that Of Maudgalyayana, a great disciple 0f Buddha. She was, indeed, the nun of all nuns and was always their leader, never tiring Of teaching them. Devadatta was a very wicked and cruel man wh0 poisoned the mind Of King Ajatasatru and persuaded him tO turn against the teachings 0f Buddha. But later, King Ajatasatru repented, broke 0ff his friendship with Devadatta, and became a humble disciple 0f Buddha. At one time when Devadatta was repulsed 仕 om the castle gate in an attempt tO see the King, he met Utpalavarna coming out. lt made him very angry, SO he struck and seriously wounded her. She returned tO her convent in great pain and when the other nuns tried tO console her she said t0 them: "Sisters, human life iS the unforeseen, everything iS tran- sient and egoless. Only the world Of Enlightenment is 476

Defilements Of course, they could do nothing for her, but finally a follower of Buddha advised her to see the Blessed One whO was then staying at Jetavana, and so she carried the dead child to Buddha. The Blessed One looked upon her with sympathy and said: 'To heal the child I need some poppy seeds; go and beg four or five poppy seeds 斤 om some home where death has never entered. ' SO the demented woman went out and sought a house where death had never entered, but ⅲ vain. At last, she was obliged tO return tO Buddha. ln his quiet pres- ence her mind cleared and she understood the meaning of his words. She took the body away and buried it, and then returned to Buddha and became one of his disciples. Ⅳ REALIIY OF HUMAN LIFE 1. People in this world are prone to be selfish and unsympathetic; they dO not know how tO love and respect one another; they argue and quarrel over trifling affairs only tO their own harm and suffering, and life becomes but a dreary round of unh 叩 pinesses. Regardless Of whether they are rich or poor, they 188

le Way of Purification 2. Once there was a rich widow who had a reputation for kindness, modesty and courtesy. She had a house- maid whO was wise and diligent. One day the maid thought: "My mistress has a very good reputation; I wonder whether she is good by nature, or is good because Of her surroundings. I will try her and find out. ” The following morning the maid did not appear before her mistress until nearly noon. The mistress was vexed and scolded her impatiently. maid replied: " Ⅱ I am la for only a day or two, you ought not t0 become impatient. " Then the mistress became angry. The next day the maid got up late again. This made the mistress very angry and she struck the maid with a stick. This incident became widely known and the rich widow lost her good reputation. 3. Many people are like this woman. WhiIe their sur- roundings are satisfactory they are kind, modest and quiet, but it is questionable if they will behave likewise when the conditions change and become unsatisfactory. lt is only when a person maintains a pure and peace- ful mind and continues tO act with goodness when unpleasant words enter his ears, when others show ill-will 244

Shakyamuni Buddha 1 about her were Ash0ka blossoms. ln delight she reached her right arm out tO pluck a branch and as she did so a prince was born. 1 expressed their heart-felt delight with the glory of the Queen and her princely child; Heaven and Earth rejoiced. This memorable day was the eighth day of April. 羽 ne joy Of the King was extreme and he named the child, Siddhartha, which means "Every wish fulfilled. " ln the palace of the King, however, delight was f01- 2. lowed quickly by sorrow, for after several days the lovely Queen Maya suddenly died. Her younger sister, Mahaprajapati, became the child's foster mother and brought him up with loving care. A hermit, called Asita, who lived in the mountains not far away, noticed a radiance about the castle. lnterpreting it as a good omen he came down tO the palace and was shown the child. He predicted: "This Prince, if he remains in the palace, when grown up will become a great king and subjugate the whole world. But if he forsakes the court life to embrace a religious life, he will become a Buddha, the Savior of the world. " At first the King was pleased to hear this prophecy, but later he started to worry about the possibility of his only son leaving the palace t0 become a homeless recluse. 4

Duties of the Brotherhood 1 old couple, an "ideal couple" as they were called, once came tO Buddha and said, "Lord, we were married after we had been acquainted in childhood and there has never been a cloud in our h 叩 piness. Please tell us if we can be remarried in the next life. ” me Buddha gave them this wise answer: ー " Ⅱ you both have exactly the same faith, if you both received the teaching in exactly the same way, if you perform charity in the same way and if you have the same wisdom, then you will have the same mind ⅲ the next birth. ' 9. There are no distinctions of sex on the path to Enlightenment. Ⅱ a woman makes up her mind to seek Enlightenment, she will become a heroine of the True Path. MaIIika, the daughter of King Prasenajit and the Queen of King Ayodhya, was such a heroine. She had great faith in the teaching of the Blessed One and made in His presence the ten following vows: "My Lord, until I gain Enlightenment I will not ⅵ 0- late the sacred precepts; I will not be arrogant before people who are older than myself; I will not become angry with anyone. ' "I will not be jealous of others or envy their posses- sions; I will not be selfish either ⅲ mind or property; I will try to make poor people happy with the things I 440

肥 Way of Purification merit. " Thinking thus, he gratefully donated all his sav- ings t0 the temple and returned tO his home penniless. When he reached home, his wife reproached him for not bringing her some money for her support. The poor artist replied that he had earned some money but had put it where it would be safe. When she pressed him to tell where he had hidden it, he confessed that he had given it tO the monks at a certain temple. This made the wife angry and she scolded her hus- band and finally carried the matter to the 10Ca1 judge. When the judge asked the artist for his defence, the artist said that he had not acted foolishly, for he had earned the money during long and hard struggles and wanted t0 use it as seed for future good fortune. When he came t0 the temple it seemed to him that there was the field where he should plant his gold as seed for good fortune. Then he added: "When I gave the monks the gold, it seemed that I was throwing away all greed and stinginess from my mind, and I have realized that real wealth is not gold but mind. ' The judge praised the artist's spirit, and those who heard of this manifested their approval by helping him in various ways. Thus the artist and his wife entered intO permanent good fortune. 288

第 le Way of Purification Soon after another woman appeared wh0 was ugly looking and poorly dressed. The master asked who she was and the woman replied that she was the goddess 0f poverty. 盟 master was frightened and tried t0 drive her out Of the house, but the woman refused tO depart, saying, "The goddess Of wealth is my sister. There is an agreement between us that we are never tO live separately; if you chase me out, she is tO go with me. " Sure enough, as soon as the ugly woman went out, the Other woman disappeared. Birth goes with death. Fortune goes with misfor- tune. Bad things follow good things. People should real- ize this. Foolish people dread misfortune and strive after good fortune, but those whO seek Enlightenment must transcend both of them and be free 0f worldly attach- ments. 12. Once there lived a poor artist who left his home, leaving his wife, tO seek his fortune. After three years Of hard struggles he had saved three hundred pieces 0f gold and decided t0 return t0 his home. On his way he came t0 a great temple in which a grand ceremony Of offering was in progress. He was greatly impressed by it and thought to himself: "Hitherto, I have thought only of the present; I have never considered my future happi- ness. lt is a part 0f my good fortune that I have come tO this place; I must take advantage Of it t0 plant seeds Of 286