Commentary on the Mahayana Vijnaptimatrata Sutra
Section 4: The Meritorious Karma Cultivated by the Youth Bhadrapāla in Past Lives
Original text:是时阿难。顶礼佛足。而白佛言。贤护童真。种何善根。修何福业。过去有佛。名曰乐光如来、应供、正遍知、明行足、善逝、世间解、无上士、调御丈夫、天人师、佛世尊。贤护尔时。于彼佛法之中。出家作比丘。名曰法髻。
Explanation: At that time Ānanda bowed at the Buddha's feet and said to the Buddha: What wholesome roots has the youth Bhadrapāla planted, and what meritorious karma has he accumulated, such that his assets are so vast, that he can receive such a great blissful retribution, with palaces and houses that are beautiful and magnificent, and even a marvelous jeweled carriage that follows him wherever he goes?
The Buddha told Ānanda: The youth Bhadrapāla, because he cultivated meritorious karma within the Buddha's Dharma in the past, is now able to obtain such a great blissful retribution. (If a person cultivates merit within worldly dharmas, he will also receive a blissful retribution, but it may not be as great as this.) In the past there was a Buddha named the Tathāgata Yaśasprabhā (Blissful Light), the Worthy One (Arhat), the Perfectly and Completely Awakened One, the One Perfect in Knowledge and Conduct, the Well-Gone One, the Knower of the World, the Unsurpassed One, the Tamer of Beings, the Teacher of Gods and Humans, the Buddha, the World-Honored One (these are the ten titles of every Buddha). When Bhadrapāla encountered that Buddha, he went forth from home and became a bhikṣu, named Fa Ji (Dharma Topknot).
Original text:多亏戒行。然善讲说。修多罗、阿毗达摩、毗奈耶等。三藏深教。咸悉明达。常为众生。宣畅敷演。法施不绝。美音深重。正直高亮。剖析明辩。听者欢喜。闻所说法。思惟修行。脱恶趣者。其数无量。
Explanation: He was deficient in his observance of the precepts, yet he was skilled in expounding the sūtras, the vinaya, and the abhidharma—the profound teachings of the Tripiṭaka—and he was thoroughly clear and versed in all of them. He constantly proclaimed, expounded, and elaborated them for sentient beings, never ceasing in his giving of the Dharma. His voice in teaching the Dharma was beautiful and deep and weighty; his words were upright and lofty; he could analyze and clearly expound the profound meaning of the Buddha's Dharma with unobstructed eloquence. His voice in teaching was very steady and very weighty, and he could explain the Buddha's Dharma very thoroughly. Those who listened to his teaching all felt joyful in their hearts, and those who escaped the three evil destinies were countless and immeasurable; moreover, after hearing the Dharma he taught, they could all contemplate and cultivate it.
After we listen to the Dharma, we must also contemplate it, and after contemplating, we must strive to put it into actual practice. Although the Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla at that time had gone forth from home yet was deficient in the precepts, he was skilled in teaching the Dharma for sentient beings and was thoroughly versed in the sūtras, vinaya, and abhidharma; his stage of attainment should have been quite high. He kept the precepts of the mind, and did not emphasize the external appearances of the Hīnayāna precepts.
Original text:阿难。法髻比丘。以法施功德。于九十劫。受天人报。又见清净。持戒比丘。身羸瘦瘠。恒施饮食。及屣履等。殷重诚彻。净心布施。故今获此。大富乐报。胜妙宫室。奇特宝辂。
Explanation: Ānanda, because of the merit of his giving of the Dharma—teaching the Dharma to sentient beings—the bhikṣu Fa Ji received the blissful retribution of a deva for ninety kalpas in the heavenly realms. (Receiving the blissful retribution of a deva, one's merit is consumed very quickly; receiving retribution in the human realm, one's merit is consumed less, and merit can still be accumulated and used more for one's path-cultivation on the road to Buddhahood. If too much is used on worldly matters, less is used on the path-cultivation, and one's attainments in practice will be fewer.) The bhikṣu Fa Ji also had a very kind heart. Seeing bhikṣus who purely kept the precepts with bodies that were frail, thin, and weak, he persistently gave them food and drink, clothing, shoes, and so on, and with earnest, sincere, and thorough hearts he gave them pure Dharma-giving and material giving. His giving sought no reward; he only wished for the other party to live in peace and happiness. Giving with this state of mind, his mind-ground was extremely pure. Therefore in this life he has obtained such a great retribution of wealth and happiness, with magnificent and wonderful palaces and residences, and even a marvelous jeweled carriage that can fly.
Original text:又遇迦叶如来。示教指诲。而告之曰。汝于未来。释迦牟尼佛所。当得授记。故今见我。我为说法。而成熟之。阿难白佛言。世尊。贤护胜上童真。如是财富。金宝盈积。豪盛自在。谦柔卑下。无憍慠心。甚为奇特。
Explanation: Bhadrapāla also encountered a second Buddha, the Tathāgata Kāśyapa, who instructed and guided him, telling him: In the future you will, at the place of Śākyamuni Buddha, receive a prediction of your future Buddhahood. (Such a prediction is not necessarily given by the Buddha only after one has cultivated to the stage of some particular bhūmi bodhisattva.) Therefore you now see me, and I teach the Dharma for you, so that the causes and conditions for your receiving a prediction in the future will ripen sooner. If I did not teach the Dharma for you, the causes and conditions for receiving a prediction would not easily ripen, and when you encountered Śākyamuni Buddha, perhaps He would not be able to give you a prediction. Ānanda said to the Buddha: World-Honored One, the youth Bhadrapāla of supreme excellence, with wealth such as this, gold and jewels piled up in abundance, wealthy and mighty and at ease, yet humble and gentle, willing to be lowly, without a trace of arrogance in his mind—this is also most extraordinary.
Although the bhikṣu Fa Ji cultivated so much merit, and also cultivated great wisdom, his own mental disposition was gentle, humble and lowly, without a mind of haughtiness or pride. For a person to achieve this is extremely difficult. Now some sentient beings, as soon as they are slightly outstanding compared to others, immediately give rise to a mind of arrogance, and it is very hard to discipline them—instead, they come to discipline you. The thinner a person's merit, the heavier his arrogance. People of great merit generally have no arrogance, because merit can render afflictions slight.
Original text:佛言阿难。大智不于。财宝欲乐。而生矜慠。贤护久修善行。善法所资。常食福果。
Explanation: The Buddha said to Ānanda: Those of great wisdom do not give rise to arrogance over wealth and jewels or the pleasures of the five desires. A person of wisdom will absolutely not give rise to arrogance over his own wealth—this is not worth being arrogant about. Because Bhadrapāla has long cultivated wholesome conduct, the merit of wholesome dharmas nourishes him, letting him constantly enjoy the fruits of merit.
Original text:贤护蒙佛阿难。共称叹已。恭敬合掌。顶礼佛足。白佛言。世尊怜愍摄护一切众生。欲少请问。愿垂听许。佛告贤护。我先听汝。汝有所疑。今恣汝问。我当为汝。分别解说。
Explanation: After Bhadrapāla received the joint praise of the Buddha and Ānanda, he respectfully pressed his palms together, bowed at the Buddha's feet, and said to the Buddha: World-Honored One, You compassionately take in and protect all sentient beings; I wish to ask a few questions, and hope You will deign to listen and permit me. This was Bhadrapāla's formal question, and it also allowed the Buddha to formally teach the Dharma on this occasion; all that preceded this was the introduction and setting. The Buddha told the Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla: I permit you to ask. If you have doubts, ask them now freely, and I shall explain and clarify them for you one by one.
