And the Blessed One said: "Which are the Abhinnas?" 29
The disciple replied: "There are six Abhinnas: (1) The celestial eye; (2) the celestial ear; (3) the body at will or the power of transformation; (4) the knowledge of the destiny of former dwellings, so as to know former states of existence; (5) the faculty of reading the thoughts of others; and (6) the knowledge of comprehending the finality of the stream of life." 30
And the Blessed One replied: "These are wondrous things; but verily, every man can attain them. Consider the abilities of thine own mind; thou wert born about two hundred leagues from here and canst thou not in thy thought, in an instant travel to thy native place and remember the details of thy father"s home?
Seest thou not with thy mind"s eye the roots of the tree which is shaken by the wind without being overthrown? Does not the collector of herbs see in his mental vision, whenever he pleases, any plant with its roots, its stem, its fruits, leaves, and even the uses to which it can be applied? Cannot the man who understands languages recall to his mind any word whenever he pleases, knowing its exact meaning and import? How much more does the Tathagata understand the nature of things; he looks into the hearts of men and reads their thoughts. He knows the evolution of beings and foresees their ends." 31
Said the disciple: "Then the Tathagata teaches that man can attain through the Jhanas the bliss of Abhinna." 32
And the Blessed One asked in reply: "Which are the Jhanas through which man reaches Abhinna?" 33
The disciple replied: "There are four Jhanas. The first Jhana is seclusion in which one must free his mind from sensuality; the second Jhana is a tranquillity of mind full of joy and gladness; the third Jhana is a taking delight in things spiritual; the fourth Jhana is a state of perfect purity and peace in which the mind is above all gladness and grief." 34
"Good, my son," enjoined the Blessed One. "Be sober and abandon wrong practices which serve only to stultify the mind." 35
Said the disciple: "Forbear with me, O Blessed One, for I have faith without understanding and I am seeking the truth. O Blessed One, O Tathagata, my Lord and Master, teach me the Iddhipada." 36
The Blessed One said: "There are four means by which Iddhi is acquired; (1) Prevent bad qualities from arising. (2) Put away bad qualities which have arisen. (3) Produce goodness that does not yet exist. (4) Increase goodness which already exists.--Search with sincerity, and persevere in the search. In the end thou wilt find the truth." 37
LXI.
THE TEACHER UNKNOWN.
And the Blessed One said to Ananda: 1
"There are various kinds of a.s.semblies, O Ananda; a.s.semblies of n.o.bles, of Brahmans, of householders, of bhikkhus, and of other beings. When I used to enter an a.s.sembly, I always became, before I seated myself, in color like unto the color of my audience, and in voice like unto their voice. I spoke to them in their language and then with religious discourse, I instructed, quickened, and gladdened them. 2
"My doctrine is like the ocean, having the same eight wonderful qualities. 3
"Both the ocean and my doctrine become gradually deeper. Both preserve their ident.i.ty under all changes. Both cast out dead bodies upon the dry land. As the great rivers, when falling into the main, lose their names and are thenceforth reckoned as the great ocean, so all the castes, having renounced their lineage and entered the Sangha, become brethren and are reckoned the sons of Sakyamuni. The ocean is the goal of all streams and of the rain from the clouds, yet is it never overflowing and never emptied: so the Dharma is embraced by many millions of people, yet it neither increases nor decreases. As the great ocean has only one taste, the taste of salt, so my doctrine has only one flavor, the flavor of emanc.i.p.ation. Both the ocean and the Dharma are full of gems and pearls and jewels, and both afford a dwelling-place for mighty beings. 4
"These are the eight wonderful qualities in which my doctrine resembles the ocean. 5
"My doctrine is pure and it makes no discrimination between n.o.ble and ign.o.ble, rich and poor. 6
"My doctrine is like unto water which cleanses all without distinction. 7
"My doctrine is like unto fire which consumes all things that exist between heaven and earth, great and small. 8
"My doctrine is like unto the heavens, for there is room in it, ample room for the reception of all, for men and women, boys and girls, the powerful and the lowly. 9
"But when I spoke, they knew me not and would say, "Who may this be who thus speaks, a man or a G.o.d?" Then having instructed, quickened, and gladdened them with religious discourse, I would vanish away. But they knew me not, even when I vanished away." 10
PARABLES AND STORIES.
LXII.
PARABLES.
And the Blessed One thought: "I have taught the truth which is excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, and excellent in the end; it is glorious in its spirit and glorious in its letter. But simple as it is, the people cannot understand it. I must speak to them in their own language. I must adapt my thoughts to their thoughts. They are like unto children, and love to hear tales. Therefore, I will tell them stories to explain the glory of the Dharma. If they cannot grasp the truth in the abstract arguments by which I have reached it, they may nevertheless come to understand it, if it is ill.u.s.trated in parables." 1
LXIII.
THE WIDOW"S TWO MITES AND THE PARABLE OF THE THREE MERCHANTS.
There was once a lone widow who was very dest.i.tute, and having gone to the mountain she beheld hermits holding a religious a.s.sembly. Then the woman was filled with joy, and uttering praises, said, "It is well, holy priests! but while others give precious things such as the ocean caves produce, I have nothing to offer." Having spoken thus and having searched herself in vain for something to give, she recollected that some time before she had found in a dungheap two coppers, so taking these she offered them forthwith as a gift to the priesthood in charity. 1
The superior of the priests, a saint who could read the hearts of men, disregarding the rich gifts of others and beholding the deep faith dwelling in the heart of this poor widow, and wishing the priesthood to esteem rightly her religious merit, burst forth with full voice in a canto. He raised his right hand and said, "Reverend priests attend!" and then he proceeded: 2
"The coppers of this poor widow To all purpose are more worth Than all the treasures of the oceans And the wealth of the broad earth. 3 "As an act of pure devotion She has done a pious deed; She has attained salvation, Being free from selfish greed." 4
The woman was mightily strengthened in her mind by this thought, and said, "It is even as the Teacher says: what I have done is as much as if a rich man were to give up all his wealth." 5
And the Teacher said: "Doing good deeds is like h.o.a.rding up treasures," and he expounded this truth in a parable: 6
"Three merchants set out on their travels, each with his capital; one of them gained much, the second returned with his capital, and the third one came home after having lost his capital. What is true in common life applies also to religion. 7
"The capital is the state a man has reached, the gain is heaven; the loss of his capital means that a man will be born in a lower state, as a denizen of h.e.l.l or as an animal. These are the courses that are open to the sinner. 8
"He who brings back his capital, is like unto one who is born again as a man. Those who through the exercise of various virtues become pious householders will be born again as men, for all beings will reap the fruit of their actions. But he who increases his capital is like unto one who practises eminent virtues. The virtuous, excellent man attains in heaven to the glorious state of the G.o.ds." 9
LXIV.
THE MAN BORN BLIND.
There was a man born blind, and he said: "I do not believe in the world of light and appearance. There are no colors, bright or sombre. There is no sun, no moon, no stars. No one has witnessed these things." 1
His friends remonstrated with him, but he clung to his opinion: "What you say that you see," he objected, "are illusions. If colors existed I should be able to touch them. They have no substance and are not real. Everything real has weight, but I feel no weight where you see colors." 2
In those days there was a physician who was called to see the blind man. He mixed four simples, and when he applied them to the cataract of the blind man the gray film melted, and his eyes acquired the faculty of sight. 3
The Tathagata is the physician, the cataract is the illusion of the thought "I am," and the four simples are the four n.o.ble truths. 4