The relics original: "舍利" (sharira) - pearl-like remains found among the ashes of Buddhist masters after cremation were collected and buried on Mount Vankara. Five hundred monks, each carrying a ceremonial banner, led the procession to the site. There, they constructed a stupa a dome-shaped monument used as a Buddhist shrine for making offerings. This occurred in the twenty-third year of the reign of King Xuan of Zhou, a year of the Wood-Goat.

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The Fourth Patriarch, the Venerable Upagupta

The Fourth Patriarch, the Venerable Upagupta Upagupta was a major figure in early Buddhism, traditionally said to be the spiritual advisor to Emperor Ashoka, was a native of the Kingdom of Tali. He was also known as Upaguruta or Ubhagupta. His surname was Shudra; his father was named Shanyi ("Good Intent"). He left the household life to become a monk at seventeen and realized the fruits of the path attained enlightenment at twenty. As he traveled from place to place to teach and transform others, he arrived in the Kingdom of Mathura, where a great many people were liberated through his guidance. Because of this, the palace of the Maras celestial beings who represent temptation and attachment was shaken. Papiyan original: 波旬 (Papiyan), another name for Mara, the "Lord of Desire" who sought to distract the Buddha became distressed and fearful, and he exhausted all his demonic powers in an attempt to harm the True Dharma.

The Venerable One immediately entered a state of Samadhi deep meditative absorption to observe the cause of this disturbance. Papiyan waited for an opportunity and secretly placed a jeweled necklace around the Venerable One’s neck. When the Venerable One emerged from his meditation, he took the corpses of a human, a dog, and a snake, and transformed them into a beautiful flower garland. With a calm voice, he comforted Papiyan, saying:

"You have given me a jeweled necklace that is truly rare and wonderful; I have this flower garland to offer you in return."

Papiyan was overjoyed and stretched out his neck to receive it. Immediately, the garland transformed back into the three kinds of foul-smelling corpses, which were rotting and infested with maggots. Papiyan was filled with loathing and great distress. Even using all his supernatural powers, he could not move or remove the corpses. He then ascended to the Six Heavens of Desire to inform the heavenly lords, and even went to the Great Brahma Heaven to beg for release. Each of them told him:

"This is a supernatural transformation performed by a disciple of the One of Ten Powers An epithet for the Buddha, referring to his ten unique strengths of knowledge. How could we, who are ordinary and lowly, remove it?"

Papiyan asked:

"Then what can be done?"

The Brahma King replied:

"You must take refuge in the Venerable One; only then can it be severed and removed."

The Brahma King then spoke a verse to guide his return to the path:

"If one falls because of the ground,
One must rise by relying on that same ground.
To seek to rise while leaving the ground
Is a principle that can never be realized." This famous Zen teaching suggests that the source of one's problem is also the source of its solution; one must face the reality of their situation to transcend it.

Having received this teaching, Papiyan descended from the heavenly palace and prostrated at the feet of the Venerable One, mournfully repenting. The Venerable One asked:

"From this day forward, will you cease to harass and harm the True Dharma of the Tathagata The Buddha?"

Papiyan replied:

"I vow to turn toward the Buddha’s path and forever sever my unvirtuous ways."

The Venerable One said:

"If that is so, you may chant your refuge in the Triple Gem."

The Demon King joined his palms and chanted the refuge three times, and the foul garlands vanished. Overjoyed and leaping with spirit, he bowed to the Venerable One and spoke a verse:

"I bow to the Lord of Samadhi,
The holy disciple of the One of Ten Powers.
I now wish to return to the path;
May I never again be weak or inferior."

During his time in the world, the Venerable One guided and transformed many, and those who attained the fruits of the path were numerous. Every time he liberated someone, he would place a wooden tally original: 籌 (chou) - a small stick used for counting in a stone chamber. That chamber, which was eighteen cubits long and twelve cubits wide, was eventually filled to capacity with these tallies. Finally, there was the son of an elder named Xiangzhong ("Fragrant Multitude"), who came to pay respects to the Venerable One, wishing to leave the household life. The Venerable One asked him:

"Do you wish to leave the household in body, or in mind?"

The youth replied:

"I come to leave the household, not for the sake of body or mind."

The Venerable One asked:

"If not for body or mind, who then leaves the household?"

He replied:

"One who leaves the household does so because there is no 'I' or 'mine.' Because there is no 'I' or 'mine,' the mind is neither born nor extinguished. That which is neither born nor extinguished is the Eternal Way. All Buddhas are likewise eternal; the mind has no physical form, and its essence is the same."

The Venerable One said:

"You have achieved a great awakening; your mind has attained through-penetration. You should rely on the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha to continue the lineage of the sages."

He then performed the head-shaving ceremony and granted him full ordination. He told the youth:

"Your father once dreamed of a golden sun when you were born; therefore, you shall be named Dhritaka." original: 提多迦 (Dhritaka)

He further said to him:

"The Tathagata entrusted the Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma Treasury of the Eye of the True Dharma: The essential, formless core of the Buddha's enlightenment passed from master to disciple. to be passed down in succession until it reached me. Now, I entrust it to you. Listen to my verse:"

"The mind is originally the mind,
But this original mind contains no fixed laws.
Where there are laws, there is the original mind,
But that which is called mind is not..." The verse is interrupted at the end of the page.