Saṃyukta Āgama (287), Part Five

(5) Original text: 我时作是念。我得古仙人道。古仙人迳。古仙人道迹。古仙人从此迹去。我今随去。譬如有人。游于旷野。披荒觅路。忽遇故道。古人行处。彼则随行。渐渐前进。见故城邑。古王宫殿。园观浴池。林木清净。彼作是念。我今当往白王令知。即往白王。大王当知。我游旷野。披荒求路。忽见故道。古人行处。我即随行。我随行已。见故城邑。故王宫殿。园观浴池。林流清净。大王可往。居止其中。王即往彼。止住其中。丰乐安隐。人民炽盛。

Explanation: The Buddha said: After I had deliberated upon and thoroughly comprehended the twelve links of dependent arising from beginning to end, this thought arose in my mind: I am now walking on the path walked by the ancient sages, walking on the route traversed by the ancient sages; the ancient sages departed along this route, and I am now following after them. It is like a person traveling through a deep mountain wilderness, cutting through wild grass in search of a road, who suddenly comes upon an old road, a place where the ancients had walked, and so this person follows along where the ancients had walked. Advancing little by little, he sees an ancient city with the palace of an ancient king, with grand gardens and bathing pools, and the mountain forests and shrubs are all pure and tranquil.

This person then thinks: I should now go to the palace and report to the great king so that he will know. So he goes to see the great king and tells him: Your Majesty should know that I was traveling in the wilderness, cutting through wild grass in search of a path, when I suddenly saw an old road, a path walked by the ancients, and I followed along this road. As I walked along, I saw an ancient city with an ancient royal palace, containing grand gardens and springs and bathing pools, with pure and tranquil forests. Your Majesty may go there and dwell within it. The great king then went to the royal palace and took up residence there, and governed the country; from then on the country was prosperous and abundant, and the people were numerous, secure, and happy.

The Buddha's words here are a metaphor for his own process of investigating the twelve links of dependent arising, showing that his method was the same as that used by the ancient sages of the past, that they all walked the same path, that the results of their investigation were the same, and that the conclusions they reached were identical. The ancient sages realized the truth, and the Buddha likewise realized the same truth; all attained liberation, escaped the great calamity of birth and death, arrived at the secure city of nirvāṇa, and enjoyed peace and happiness. The path of the ancient sages refers to the Noble Eightfold Path, and the ancient city and the palace of the ancient king represent the realm of nirvāṇa. Following the path of the ancient sages, I walked to the very end of ignorance; when ignorance was extinguished, then birth, aging, death, sorrow, grief, suffering, and distress were extinguished. Traveling through the wilderness and cutting through wild grass in search of a road represents that the path of cultivating the twelve links of dependent arising is extremely arduous and difficult, requiring unwavering perseverance and constant groping and exploration before one can uncover the source and mystery of birth and death, thereby cutting off the source of birth and death and attaining nirvāṇa and liberation.