Thirty-six

The World-Honored One World-Honored One: A common title for the Buddha, translated from the Sanskrit Bhagavan. was once approached by the Brahmin of the Black Clan, who used his supernatural powers to carry two branches of flowering silk-tree blossoms in his hands as an offering. The Buddha called out to the seeker, and the Brahmin answered. The Buddha said, "Put it down." The Brahmin then dropped the branch in his left hand. The Buddha called out again, "Put it down." The Brahmin dropped the branch in his right hand. The Buddha called out a third time, "Put it down." The Brahmin said, "World-Honored One, both my hands are now empty. What else would you have me put down?"

The Buddha replied, "I am not telling you to discard the flowers. You should discard the six external objects The objects of the senses: sights, sounds, smells, tastes, textures, and thoughts., the six internal organs The sense faculties: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind., and the six consciousnesses all at once. When there is nothing left to discard, that is the place where you shall escape birth and death." Upon hearing these words, the Brahmin realized the Patience of Non-Arising Patience of Non-Arising: The profound realization that all things are empty and do not truly "begin" or "end.".

On another occasion, during the assembly on Vulture Peak, five hundred monks had attained the four levels of meditation and possessed the five supernatural powers, yet they had not yet attained the realization of the Dharma. Through their knowledge of past lives, they each saw themselves in the past committing grave sins—killing their fathers, harming their mothers—and they harbored deep doubts within their hearts, preventing them from entering the profound Dharma.

At that moment, Manjusri The Bodhisattva of Wisdom., acting through the Buddha's spiritual power, took up a sharp sword and moved to threaten the World-Honored One. The Buddha said to Manjusri, "Stop, stop! Do not act with such violence; do not harm me. If I am to be harmed, I am well-harmed. Manjusri, from the very beginning, there has been no 'I' and no 'other.' It is only because the inner mind perceives an 'I' and an 'other' that the thought of harm arises. If the mind arises, I am harmed; that is what 'harm' truly means."

Thereupon, the five hundred monks realized their own minds were like a dream or a phantom. Within that dreamlike state, there is no 'I' or 'other,' nor even the parents who give birth. At that moment, the five hundred monks simultaneously

praised him, saying: "Manjusri is a man of great wisdom, reaching deep into the source of the Dharma. He held the sharp sword in his hand and pressed it against the Buddha's body. As is the sword, so is the Buddha; both are of one appearance, and there are not two. In the state of no-appearance, nothing is born—how then could there be any killing?"

In a past life, the World-Honored One spread his hair over the mud to cover it as an offering to Dipankara Buddha The Buddha of the distant past who prophesied the current Buddha's enlightenment.. Seeing where the hair was spread, Dipankara Buddha turned back the crowd and pointed to the ground, saying, "On this very spot, a monastery should be built." At that time, a virtuous elder in the assembly took a marker and stuck it in the ground where he pointed, saying, "The monastery is built." The heavens showered flowers and praised him, saying, "This child possesses great wisdom indeed!"

Once, seven wise women were wandering through a charnel ground Charnel ground: An open-air site where corpses are left to decompose, used by practitioners to meditate on impermanence.. One woman pointed to a corpse and said, "The body is here; where has the person gone?" Another said, "What is it? What is it?" The sisters observed closely and each attained a profound realization. This moved Indra The King of the Gods, also called Shakra or Kaushika. to scatter flowers and ask, "I pray the holy sisters will tell me what they require; I shall provide for you for the rest of my life."

The women replied, "Our homes possess all the four requirements and seven treasures in abundance. We only require three things: first, a single rootless tree; second, a patch of land without shadow or light; and third, a mountain valley where an outcry produces no echo." Indra said, "I have everything else you might need, but of these three things, I truly have none." The women replied, "If you do not have these, how can you claim to save others?" Indra was at a loss and went with them to speak to the Buddha. The Buddha said, "Kaushika, even my disciples who are Great Arhats do not understand this meaning; only the Great Bodhisattvas understand it."

Because Devadatta The Buddha's cousin and rival. enticed the Buddha, he fell alive into hell. The Buddha then sent Ananda to ask him, "Are you at peace in hell?" Devadatta replied, "Though I am in hell, it feels as blissful as the joy of the Third Heaven of Meditation."