Chapter One   The Causes and Conditions of Bhadrapāla Kumārabhūta Requesting the Dharma

Section Two   Bhadrapāla Kumārabhūta Receives the Buddha's Blessings and Requests the Dharma

Original Text: The Buddha saw Bhadrapāla. His entire body emitted light, which streamed forth and illuminated Bhadrapāla. At that moment, Bhadrapāla gained fearlessness. He circumambulated the Buddha three times, prostrated at the Buddha’s feet, and addressed the Buddha.

Explanation: After seeing the Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla, the Buddha emitted light from his entire body, illuminating Bhadrapāla. After the Buddha's light streamed forth and illuminated him, Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla developed pure faith in the Buddha's Dharma. He deeply desired to hear the Buddha expound the wondrous Dharma. Having received the Buddha's blessings, Bhadrapāla circumambulated the Buddha three times to the right as a gesture of reverence and respect for the Buddha. Then, after prostrating at the Buddha’s feet, he began to pose questions and request the Dharma from the World-Honored One.

The Buddha emitted light with a purpose: to encourage Bhadrapāla to request the Dharma, freeing his mind from fear so he could ask questions before the Buddha. Because once he raised his questions, the Buddha, using this as a cause and condition, could expound a sublime and great Dharma. Sometimes, when the Buddha wishes to teach a certain Dharma but no one requests it, and there is no cause or condition, the Buddha generally cannot initiate the teaching spontaneously. Therefore, the World-Honored One intentionally prompts someone, causing them to generate doubts, which leads them to request the Dharma and pose questions. The Buddha then expounds a Buddhist scripture based on the questions raised.

The faith sentient beings have in the Buddha can be either impure or pure. Beginners in the Buddha Dharma have impure faith in the Buddha. How is it impure? They have blind faith in the Buddha, seeking something from Him. They do not yet understand the Buddha's virtues, His great spiritual power and wisdom, or any of His qualities. Therefore, they cannot generate pure faith; their minds still harbor many doubts, so it is not called pure faith.

Original Text: “O World-Honored One, I pray that you will compassionately instruct me. I have just now gained pure faith in the Buddha. My heart longs for the wondrous Dharma and I have questions to ask. Yet I have long dwelt in birth and death, drowning in the suffering of afflictions. My thoughts are chaotic and scattered. I have not cultivated the practices such as precepts and lack the accumulated provisions [for the path]. Though my heart earnestly desires [liberation], I do not know how, within this net of foolishness and doubt, to transcend it and cross over the sea of birth and death.”

Explanation: Bhadrapāla said to the World-Honored One: “I pray that the World-Honored One will compassionately instruct me. I have just now gained pure faith in you, O World-Honored One. My heart deeply longs to hear the supreme and wondrous Dharma, and I have questions I wish to ask the World-Honored One. For countless kalpas, I have long dwelt in the cycle of birth and death, drowning in the suffering of the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion. My mind is filled with distracting thoughts and delusions, leaving me disinclined to uphold the precepts, and I have not accumulated the provisions and resources for the path. Although my heart fervently desires liberation from birth and death, I do not know how, while entangled in this net of foolishness and doubt, I can transcend it and cross over the vast ocean of birth-and-death suffering.”

Bodhisattva Bhadrapāla confessed his negligence in cultivation, his laziness in not cultivating precepts, concentration, and wisdom, yet he had still received the subtle blessings of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. He understood some of his own karmic actions and the afflictions of greed, hatred, and delusion, but not completely. His mind was still shrouded in ignorance; he had not attained true wisdom and liberation and still harbored many doubts. He wished to resolve all his doubts, eradicate his ignorance, and dispel his confusion. He asked the Buddha how to transcend the abyss of afflictions and the cycle of birth and death, to escape the ocean of suffering. His question, in fact, represents the question of all beginners in the Buddha Dharma: how to cross over the sea of birth and death, transcend the suffering of samsara, and attain liberation. Only by resolving this question can one obtain the true great benefit from studying the Buddha Dharma.

Original Text: “The World-Honored One is the All-Knowing One, who sees all universally. The appearance of a Buddha is truly rare, difficult to encounter. Like a wish-fulfilling jewel, he bestows joy upon sentient beings. The Buddha is the great wish-fulfilling jewel. All sentient beings attain great bliss solely by relying on the Buddha. He is the great parent, the source of goodness for sentient beings. Because of the Buddha-parent, sentient beings see the right path. I pray only that you compassionately dispel the darkness of doubt.”

Explanation: Bhadrapāla Bodhisattva then praised the Buddha, saying: “The World-Honored One is the All-Knowing One, able to see all dharmas universally and understand the faculties and the root causes of afflictions of each sentient being. Throughout countless kalpas, what karmic actions sentient beings have performed, what karmic results they will reap in the future—the World-Honored One knows all of this. The appearance of a Buddha in this world is truly rare and precious, exceedingly difficult to encounter. The Buddha is like a wish-fulfilling jewel, bestowing all happiness upon sentient beings. The Buddha is the great wish-fulfilling jewel; all sentient beings attain great bliss solely by relying on the Buddha. The Buddha is the most beloved parent of sentient beings, capable of bringing them the most fundamental benefit. He is the root of wholesome dharmas for sentient beings. Sentient beings, relying on the Buddha as their parent, see the right path, embark upon the correct path, and ultimately attain liberation. I pray only that you, O World-Honored One, compassionately dispel the doubts and darkness within our minds.”

The appearance of a Buddha is indeed extremely rare and difficult to encounter. The Buddha has told us in the sutras how long it takes for a Buddha to appear in the Sahā world. In the Bhadrakalpa, one thousand Buddhas will appear. Śākyamuni Buddha is the fourth; the fifth Buddha will be Maitreya Buddha. The time difference between the appearance of Śākyamuni Buddha and Maitreya Buddha, according to the Buddhist scriptures, is 5.67 billion years. The interval between the appearance of these two Buddhas is considered the shortest. Often, many great kalpas pass without a single Buddha appearing; sometimes, even tens of great kalpas pass without a single Buddha appearing.

How long is tens of great kalpas? The cycle of a world's formation, abiding, decline, and emptiness constitutes one great kalpa (mahākalpa). One great kalpa contains four intermediate kalpas (antarakalpas), and one intermediate kalpa contains twenty minor kalpas (asaṃkhyeya-kalpas). One minor kalpa is 16.8 million years. Multiplying this by four and then by twenty gives the duration of one great kalpa. If tens of great kalpas pass without a single Buddha appearing, consider how distressed the sentient beings living in this world must be, with no one to save them from birth and death, and no end to their cycle of rebirth in sight. If such a vast length of time passes without a Buddha appearing, then the appearance of a Buddha in this world is truly rare and exceedingly difficult to encounter.

Sentient beings attain great bliss by relying on the Buddha. The Buddha is the great parent. From the perspective of ultimate truth, all sentient beings attain great bliss by relying on the Buddha within their own five aggregates (skandhas). The Tathāgatagarbha (Buddha-nature) is the parent that gives birth to the five aggregates; it is the parent that brings all dharmas to sentient beings. The Buddha within the five aggregates body can bring the Three Baskets (Tripiṭaka) and Twelve Divisions of scriptures, the Dharma of Buddhahood, and the Dharma of liberation to sentient beings. Sentient beings, practicing according to these teachings, can attain great bliss. All sentient beings attain great bliss solely by relying on their own Tathāgatagarbha. The Tathāgatagarbha is also the parent of sentient beings, providing them with all the dharmas they need. The Tathāgatagarbha is the root of goodness for sentient beings; possessing the Tathāgatagarbha enables sentient beings to cultivate wholesome dharmas. Sentient beings, because of the Buddha as their parent, see the correct path of practice. Once on the right path, there is hope for attaining liberation. I pray only that the World-Honored One compassionately expound the Dharma of Buddhahood, dispel the darkness within our minds, and remove ignorance and doubt.

Original Text: The Buddha told Bhadrapāla, “You have doubts. Ask freely according to your wish. I will explain and clarify them for you in detail.” At that time, Bhadrapāla, having received the Buddha’s permission to ask, focused his mind on his question and stood to one side.

Explanation: The Buddha told Bhadrapāla: “You have doubts; you are permitted to ask freely whatever you wish. Whatever you ask, I will answer each point.” In truth, the Buddha already knew what Bhadrapāla wished to ask, hence this response. Knowing that the Buddha had granted him permission to ask, Bhadrapāla stood at the Buddha's side, single-mindedly preparing to pose his question.