After
the Buddha had finished speaking the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Blossom Såtra, the
Nirvàõa Såtra, the Buddha Bequeaths the Teaching Såtra, the Kùitigarbha
Såtra and others, he announced that he
was going to enter nirvàõa. Every one of his disciples cried. Bodhisattvas
cried, Arhats cried, and all the bhikùus and common people cried even harder.
“Why
did they cry? Did the Bodhisattvas and Arhats still have emotion? one asks.
The
deep, compassionate Dharma which the Buddha spoke had been like milk which
nourished them. They had drunk the Dharma milk for many years, and now their
source was going dry; so they cried.
ânanda
cried hardest. Tears poured from his eyes, his nose ran, and he knew nothing
but grief. He cried so hard he forgot everything.
The
Venerable Aniruddha, though blind, had the heavenly eye and the heavenly ear.
When he heard everyone crying as
though they had
gone mad, he
took ânanda aside and asked, “What are you crying about?
“Ahh,”wailed
ânanda, “the Buddha is going to nirvàõa and we will never get to see him again.
What
do you mean ‘What am I crying about?’!
The
Venerable Aniruddha said, “Don’t cry. You still have important things to do.
Try to straighten up a little.
ânanda said, “What important things? The
Buddha is going to enter nirvàõa, what is left for me to do? I want to go with
the Buddha. He wanted to die with the
Buddha.
“That
won’t do. It’s a mistake to talk like that.
“Well
what do you want me to do?
The Venerable Aniruddha said, “There are four
questions you should ask the Buddha.
“Four
questions! Now that the Buddha is going to nirvàõa how can there still be
questions? I can’t tell the Buddha not to enter nirvàõa, can I? “
“No.”
“What
are the four questions?”
The
Venerable Aniruddha said, “The first question:
After
the Buddha enters nirvàõa the Såtras should be compiled. What words should we
use to begin the Såtras? What guide should there be?”
ânanda
heard that and said, “That’s really important. As soon as I heard you say it, I
knew I should ask about it. What other questions are there?”
“The
second question: When the Buddha was in the world we lived with the Buddha.
After the Buddha crosses over to extinction, after he enters nirvàõa, where
should we dwell?”
ânanda
dried his eyes and wiped his nose. He said, “That’s also very important. Right.
When the Buddha was in the world the entire group of twelve hundred fifty
bhikùus lived together with him. Now that he is going to enter nirvàõa where will
we live? I should ask that. What’s the next question?”
He was getting anxious because he could see
that the questions were important.
“The
third question: When the Buddha was in the world, the Buddha was our Master.
Now that he is entering nirvàõa, whom should we take as Master? We should
select one person from among us. We can’t manage without a Master!”
“Right. That
also should be
asked. What is
the fourth question?”
“The
fourth question is extremely important: When the Buddha was in the world, he
could discipline the bad-natured bhikùus.Ÿ Bad-natured bhikùus are those who
leave home and
do
not follow the rules. “After the Buddha enters nirvàõa who will discipline
them?”
ânanda
said, “Right again. Now the bad-natured bhikùus will consider us their equals
and we will not be able to discipline them. That is a real headache. Okay ,
I’ll go get the Buddha’s advice on these.”
ânanda
went straight to the Buddha’s room. Although he had not washed his face, his
eyes were dry and his nose clean, and he was not nearly as unsightly as when he
had been crying. The Buddha was on the verge of entering samàdhi, and ânanda
had no time to waste. “Buddha?” he said, “World Honored One? I have some very
important problems about which I need your advice. Can you answer me now?”
The
Buddha already knew that his cousin and youngest disciple was coming to ask
questions, and he said, “Certainly I can answer you. What are your problems?”
“These
are not my problems, they are the Buddha’s problems, problems of Buddhadharma,
problems of all the high masters! I can’t solve them, and so I have come
seeking the Buddha’s compassionate instruction. I have heard many såtras and
opened much wisdom, but now, faced with this momentous event, I can’t handle
it. I need your advice, Buddha.”
“All
right, speak,” said the Buddha.
“The
first question is, after the Buddha enters nirvàõa we want to compile the
Såtras. What words should we begin them with to show that they are the
Buddha’s?”
The
Buddha said, “Use the four words ‘Thus I have heard’.”
“‘Thus
I have heard’. Okay, I’ll remember,” said ânanda,
“what’s
the answer to the second question?”
“What
is the second question? You haven’t asked it yet, ânanda.”
“I
haven’t? Oh. The next question is where should we live? There are so many of
us. How will we get along? Where will we dwell?”
“That’s
a small problem,” said the Buddha.
“You
should dwell in the Four Dwellings of Mindfulness.” These are:
1.
contemplation of the body as impure,
2.
contemplation of feelings as suffering,
3.
contemplation of thoughts as impermanent,
4.
contemplation of dharmas as devoid of self.
“The
third question. You have been our Master, but when you enter nirvàõa who will
our Master be? Will it be the oldest? Great Kà÷yapa is the oldest. Will it be
someone middle aged?
That
would be Aj¤àtakauõóinya. If it is to be the very youngest — I’m the youngest,
but I can’t be the Master. I can’t do it, Buddha.”
The
Buddha said, “You don’t need to be Master, and neither does Aj¤àtakauõóinya or
Great Kà÷yapa.”
“Who
will it be then?”
The
Buddha said, “Take the Pratimokùa as your master.”
The
Pratimokùa is the Vinaya — the precepts and rules. “Take the precepts as
Master.”
The
Buddha said that all people who have gone forth from home should take the
Pratimokùa as Master. Therefore if you want to leave the home life you
certainly must receive the precepts. If you do not receive the precepts, then
you have no Master. When one leaves home he should receive the sràmaõera
precepts, the Bodhisattva precepts, and the bhikùu precepts. One who has taken
only the sràmaõera precepts and the Bodhisattva precepts, but has not taken the
bhikùu precepts, has only partially left home. To leave home fully, one takes
the complete precepts as Master.
“Now
we have a Master,” ânanda said, “but among us there are bad-natured bhikùus.
While you have been in the world, you’ve managed them, Buddha. What should we
do about them when you are gone?”
During
the time of the Buddha there were six bhikùus who were very rambunctious. They
constantly interfered with others’ cultivation. If people were maintaining the
precepts and rules, those bhikùus tried to hinder them. Although those six
bhikùus did not follow the rules, not one of them was as disobedient as today’s
average bhikùu.
“What
should we do about evil natured bhikùus?” asked ânanda.
“Oh,
that,” said the Buddha, “is very easy. You should be silent and they will go
away. Don’t talk to them. After all, aren’t
they bad? Aren’t
they boisterous and
disobedient?
Ignore
them. Don’t speak to them. They’ll become bored and leave on their own.”
Those
are the Buddha’s answers to the four questions.
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The above is interesting and I decided to share.
Amituofo / Lotuschef / Pure Karma / True Buddha School
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