Chapter One   King Śuddhodana’s First Meeting with the Buddha

Original Text: At that time, King Śuddhodana, along with his retinue and attendants, witnessed the kings of the asuras and even the non-Buddhist brahmins receiving predictions of Buddhahood from the Buddha. They gave rise to a mind of rareness, exclaiming that such a thing had never been seen before. The World-Honored One’s voice was exquisitely beautiful and clear, causing all beings in the world who heard it to rejoice with delight. At that moment, King Śuddhodana, seeing the Thus Come One for the first time, felt deep affection and heartfelt devotion due to his attachment.

Explanation: King Śuddhodana and his trusted guards, ministers, and other attendants witnessed at this Dharma assembly the World-Honored One bestowing predictions of Buddhahood upon the kings of the asuras and even some non-Buddhist brahmins. They thus gave rise to a mind of rareness, praising that they had never encountered such a magnificent assembly before, and extolling the Buddha’s Dharma-expounding voice as exquisitely beautiful and clear, which brought joy and delight to all worldly beings who heard it. Since the World-Honored One left home to cultivate the path and attain Buddhahood in the Snowy Mountains, this was King Śuddhodana’s first meeting with him. The king still cherished affection for his former son, holding deep emotional attachment.

Original Text: At that time, the World-Honored One, knowing the thoughts in his father’s mind, addressed him, saying: “Great King, the Dharma I expound is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end. Its meaning is profound and skillful, pure and of one mark, with pure conduct perfected. What I am now teaching is called the Dharma gate of discerning the distinctions and stages of the six elements. Great King, you should listen attentively and contemplate it well.” Then King Śuddhodana addressed the Buddha, saying: “Excellent, World-Honored One! I wish to hear it. Please expound it for me, that I may remember, uphold, believe, and accept it.”

Explanation: At this time, the World-Honored One knew that his former father still harbored thoughts of longing for him. He thus said to King Śuddhodana: “Great King, the Dharma I expound is entirely wholesome in meaning from beginning to middle to end, and it is also profound and skillful, employing various parables to enable sentient beings to easily understand and accept it with faith. These Dharma principles are of pure marks, with pure conduct perfected. What I am now elucidating is the Dharma gate of discerning the distinctions, stages, definitions, boundaries, functions, and so forth of the six elements—earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness. Great King, you should listen attentively and contemplate these Dharma principles well.” Then King Śuddhodana said to the World-Honored One: “Excellent! World-Honored One, I am most willing to hear the World-Honored One expound it for me. I will remember it in my heart, believe it, accept it, and practice it accordingly.”

At this assembly, the lords of the six heavens of the desire realm, the eighteen heavens of the form realm, and the four heavens of the formless realm—totaling twenty-eight heavens—along with non-human beings, all received predictions of Buddhahood from the Buddha. King Śuddhodana, seeing the Buddha bestow predictions of Buddhahood upon so many humans, non-humans, and even non-Buddhists, and having never before witnessed or heard of such a scene, greatly praised it as rare and difficult to encounter.

Every sentient being who attains Buddhahood possesses the thirty-two major marks and eighty minor characteristics. One of these marks is the “Brahma Sound” mark—the Buddha’s voice is exquisitely beautiful and clear. Hundreds of thousands, millions, or billions of humans and devas can listen to the Dharma without the need for amplifiers; all can hear it clearly. Moreover, not only can humans understand the language spoken by the Buddha, but even ghosts, spirits, animals, and beings of the six realms can comprehend it; Chinese people can understand it, people of other countries can understand it; people of different languages and races can all understand it, and bodhisattvas from other Buddha lands can understand it even more clearly, all hearing the Buddha’s voice distinctly. This is one of the virtues of a Buddha.

All worldly beings, including all sentient beings of the three realms (desire realm, form realm, and formless realm), feel great joy and delight upon hearing the Buddha’s Dharma voice. Since the World-Honored One left home to cultivate the path in the Snowy Mountains, this was King Śuddhodana’s first meeting with him. He still harbored father-son affection, regarding the Buddha as his own son. Upon first seeing the Buddha, his thoughts were still that he himself was the king and father, and the Buddha was his son who should pay respects to him. King Śuddhodana stood waiting for the World-Honored One to pay respects to him, while the World-Honored One stood opposite, waiting for King Śuddhodana to pay respects, knowing that he was the supreme honored one of the three realms, while King Śuddhodana, though his father, was still an ordinary person. At that moment, the World-Honored One’s disciples said to King Śuddhodana: “The World-Honored One is now the supreme honored one of the three realms; you should pay homage to him.” Hearing this, King Śuddhodana understood immediately and prostrated to the World-Honored One.

Brahmacarya (pure conduct) means pure conduct, where body, speech, and mind attain purity, free from defilement of desire. The perfection of pure conduct is the perfection of brahmacarya, where the mind is free from the defilements of greed, hatred, and delusion, and the mind’s activities are pure. What the World-Honored One is now elucidating is the Dharma gate of the distinctions and stages of the six elements, namely the six great elements: earth, water, fire, wind, space, and consciousness—their stages, definitions, distinctions, boundaries, functions, and so forth.

King Śuddhodana expressed that after hearing the World-Honored One expound the Dharma, he would remember and uphold it in his mind, abiding in the Dharma thought after thought. The prerequisite for remembrance is hearing the Dharma; understanding it is superior comprehension (adhimukti), and only after superior comprehension can one remember and uphold it. If one does not understand, it is easy to forget; when trying to recall, one cannot remember. Once understood, the content is retained without deliberate memorization; when brought to mind, one knows its meaning—this is remembrance and upholding without forgetting. The prerequisite for remembrance and upholding without forgetting is understanding; the prerequisite for understanding is listening attentively, and attentive listening means listening with concentration, with a mind in meditative absorption (dhyāna). Therefore, before expounding the Dharma, the Buddha always tells his disciples, “Listen attentively, listen attentively. Contemplate it well.” Listen carefully and earnestly, then contemplate carefully afterward—not merely listening and then stopping, but after listening, contemplating and reflecting, so that after reflection, one can understand. Understanding is superior comprehension, and after superior comprehension, one naturally remembers it.

The inability to remember the Dharma after hearing it is not solely due to poor memory; it also depends on whether one understood it at the time and whether one contemplated it afterward, and how deeply and meticulously one contemplated. If one fails to do these, one will not remember and will not know what was heard. The next step after remembrance is belief and acceptance; the step after acceptance is practicing according to the teachings. Once one practices according to the teachings, the Dharma one has learned becomes one’s own. This is the sequence of practice: first, listen attentively; then contemplate, remember, believe and accept, and practice accordingly.