The Lotus Sutra Part 7

"At that time the rich man, hoping to entice his son back again, decided to employ an expedient means and send two men as secret messengers, men who were lean and haggard and had no imposing appearance. 'Go seek out that poor man and approach him casually. Tell him you know a place where he can earn twice the regular wage. If he agrees to the arrangement, then bring him here and put him to work. If he asks what sort of work he will be put to, say that he will be employed to clear away excrement, and that the two of you will be working with him.'

"The two messengers then set out at once to find the poor man, and when they had done so, spoke to him as they had been instructed. At that time the impoverished son asked for an advance on his wages and then went with the men to help clear away excrement.

When the father saw his son, he pitied and wondered at him. Another day, when he was gazing out the window, he saw his son in the distance, his body thin and haggard, filthy with excrement, dirt, sweat and defilement. The father immediately took off his necklaces, his soft fine garments and his other adornments and put on clothes that were ragged and soiled. He smeared dirt on his body, took in his right hand a utensil for removing excrement, and a.s.suming a gruff manner, spoke to the laborers, saying, 'Keep at your work! You mustn't be lazy!' By employing this expedient means, he was able to approach his son.

"Later he spoke to his son again, saying, 'Now then, young man! You must keep on at this work and not leave me anymore. I will increase your wages, and whatever you need in the way of utensils, rice, flour, salt, vinegar, and the like you should be in no worry about. I have an old servant I can lend you when you need him. You may set your mind at ease. I will be like a father to you, so have no more worries. Why do I say this? Because I am well along in years, but you are still young and st.u.r.dy. When you are at work, you are never deceitful or lazy or speak angry or resentful words. You don't seem to have any faults of that kind the way my other workers do. From now on, you will be like my own son.' And the rich man proceeded to select a name and a.s.sign it to the man as though he were his child.

BELIEF AND UNDERSTANDING.

"At this time the impoverished son, though he was delighted at such treatment, still thought of himself as a person of humble station who was in the employ of another. Therefore the rich man kept him clearing away excrement for the next twenty years. By the end of this time, the son felt that he was understood and trusted, and he could come and go at ease, but he continued to live in the same place as before.

"World-Honored One, at that time the rich man fell ill and knew he would die before long.

He spoke to his impoverished son, saying, "I now have great quant.i.ties of gold, silver, and rare treasures that fill and overflow from my storehouses. You are to take complete charge of the amounts I have and of what is to be handed out and gathered in. This is what I have in mind, and I want you to carry out my wishes. Why is this? Because from now on, you and I will not behave as two different persons. So you must keep your wits about you and see that there are no mistakes or losses.'

"At that time the impoverished son, having received these instructions, took over the surveillance of all the goods, and gold, silver and rare treasures, and the various storehouses, but never thought of appropriated for himself so much as the cost of a single meal. He continued to live where he had before, unable to cease thinking of himself as mean and lowly.

"After some time had pa.s.sed, the farther perceived that his son was bit by bit becoming more self-a.s.sured and magnanimous in outlook, that he was determined to accomplish great things and despised his former low opinion of himself. Realizing that his own end was approaching, he ordered his son to arrange a meeting with his relatives and the king of the country, the high ministers, and the n.o.blemen and householders. When they were all gathered together, he proceeded to make this announcement: "Gentlemen, you should know that this is my son, who was born to me. In such-and-such a city he abandoned me and ran away, and for over fifty years he wandered about suffering hards.h.i.+p. His original name is such-and-such, and my name is such-and-such. In the past, when I was still living in my native city, I worried about him and so I set out in search of him. Sometime after, I suddenly chanced to meet up with him. This is the truth my son, and I will in truth am his father. Now everything that belongs to me, all my wealth and possessions, shall belong entirely to this son of mine. Matters of outlay and income that have occurred in the past this son of mine is familiar with."

"World-Honored One, when the impoverished son heard these words of his father, he was filled with great joy, having gained what he never had before, and he thought to himself, I originally had no mind to covet or seek such things. Yet now these stores of treasures have come of their own accord!

"World-Honored One, this old man with his great riches is none other than the Thus Come One, and we are all like the Buddha's sons. The Thus Come One constantly tells us that we are his sons. But because of the three sufferings, World-Honored One, in the midst of birth and death we undergo burning anxieties, delusions, and ignorance, delighting in and clinging to lesser doctrines. But today the World-Honored One causes us to ponder carefully, to cast aside such doctrines, the filth of frivolous debate.

BELIEF AND UNDERSTANDING.

"We were diligent and exerted ourselves in this matter until we had attained nirvana, which is like one day's wages. And once we had attained it, our hearts were filled with great joy and we considered that this was enough. At once we said to ourselves, "Because we have been diligent and exerted ourselves with regard to the Buddhist Law, we have gained this breadth and wealth of understanding."

"But the World-Honored One, knowing from past times how our minds cling to unworthy desires and delight in lesser doctrines, pardoned us and let us be, not trying to explain to us by saying, You will come to possess the insight of the Thus Come One, your portion of the store of treasures!' Instead the World-Honored One employed the power of expedient means, preaching to us the wisdom of the Thus Come One in such a way that we might heed the Buddha and attain nirvana, which is only day's wages. And because we considered this to be a great gain, we had no wish to pursue the Great Vehicle.

"In addition, though we expounded and set forth the Buddha wisdom for the sake of the Bodhisattvas, we ourselves did not aspire to attain it. Why do I say this? Because the Buddha, knowing that our minds delight in lesser doctrines, employed the power of expedient means to preach in a way that was appropriate for us. So we did not know that we were in truth the sons of the Buddha. But now at least we know it.

"With regard to the Buddha wisdom, the World-Honored One is never begrudging. Why do I say this? From times past we have in truth been the sons of the Buddha, but we delighted in nothing but lesser doctrines. If we had the kind of mind that delighted in great ones, than the Buddha would have preached the Law of the Great Vehicle for us.

"Now in this sutra the Buddha expounds only the one vehicle. And in the past, when in the presence of the bodhisattvas he disparaged the voice-hearers as those who delight in a lesser doctrine, the Buddha was in fact employing the Great Vehicle to teach and convert us. Therefore we say that, though originally we had no mind to covet or seek such a thing, now the great treasure of the Dharma King has come to us of its own accord. It is something that the sons of the Buddha have a right to acquire, and now they have acquired all of it."

At that time, Mahakashyapa, wis.h.i.+ng to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying: We today have heard the Buddha's voice teaching and we dance for joy, having gained what we never had before.

The Buddha declares that the voice-hearers will be able to attain Buddhahood.

This cl.u.s.ter of unsurpa.s.sed jewels has come to us unsought.

It is like the case of a boy who.

When still young without understanding, abandoned his father and ran away, going far off to another land, BELIEF AND UNDERSTANDING.

drifting from one country to another for over fifty years, his father, distressed in thought, searched for him in every direction till, worn out with searching, he halted in a certain city.

There he built a dwelling where he could indulge the five desires.

His house was large and costly, with quant.i.ties of gold, silver, seash.e.l.l, agate, pearls, lapis lazuli, elephants, horses, oxen goats, palanquins, and carriages, fields for farming, menservants, grooms, and other people in great number.

He engaged in profitable ventures at home and in all the lands around, and had merchants and traveling vendors stationed everywhere.

Thousands, ten thousands, millions surrounded him and paid reverence; he enjoyed the constant favor and consideration of the ruler.

The officials and power clans all joined in paying him honor, and those who for one reason or another flocked about him were many.

Such was his vast wealth, the great power and influence he possessed.

But as he grew old an decrepit he recalled his son with greater distress than ever, day and night thinking of nothing else: "Now the time of my death draws hear.

Over fifty years have pa.s.sed since that foolish boy abandoned me.

My storehouses full of goods- what will become of them?"

At this time the impoverished son was searching for food and clothing, going from village to village, from country to country, sometimes finding something, other times finding nothing, starving and emaciated, his body broken out in sores and ring worm.

As he moved from place to place he arrived in time at the city where his father lived, BELIEF AND UNDERSTANDING.

s.h.i.+fting from one job to another until he came to his father's house.

At that time the rich man had spread a large jeweled canopy inside his gate and was seated on a lion throne, surrounded by his dependents and various attendants and guards.

Some were counting out gold, silver, and precious objects, or recording in ledgers the outlay and income of wealth.

The impoverished son, observing how eminent and distinguished His father was, supposed he must be the king of a country or the equal of a king.

Alarmed and full of wonder, he asked himself why he had come here.

Secretly he thought to himself, if I linger here for long I will perhaps be seized and pressed into service!

Once this thought had occurred to him, he raced from the spot, and inquiring where there was a poor village, went there in hopes of gaining employment.

The rich man at the time, seated on his lion throne, was his son in the distance and silently recognized who he was.

Immediately he instructed a messenger to hurry after him and bring him back.

The impoverished son, crying out in terror, sank to the ground in distress.

"This man has seized me and is surely going to put me to death!

To think that my search for food and clothing should bring me to this!"

The rich man knew that his son was ignorant and self-abasing.

"He will never believe my words, will never believe I am his father."

So he employed an expedient means, sending some other men to the son, a one-eyed man, another puny and uncouth, completely lacking in imposing appearance, BELIEF AND UNDERSTANDING.

saying, "Speak to him and tell him I will employ him to remove excrement and filth, and will pay him twice the regular wage."

When the impoverished son heard this he was delighted and came with the messengers and worked to clear away excrement and filth and clean the rooms of the house.

From the window the rich man would constantly observe his son, thinking how his son was ignorant and self-abasing and delighted in such menial labor.

At such times the rich man would put on dirty ragged clothing, take in hand a utensil for removing excrement and go to where his son was, using this expedient means to approach him, encouraging him to work diligently.

"I have increased your wages and given you oil to rub on your feet.

I will see that you have plenty to eat and drink, mats and bedding that are thick and warm."

At times he would speak severely: "You must work hard!"

Or again he will say in a gentle voice, "You are like a son to me."

The rich man, being wise, gradually permitted his son to come and go in the house.

After twenty years had pa.s.sed, he put him in charge of household affairs, showing him his gold, silver, pearls, crystal, and the other things that were handed out or gathered in, so that he would understand all about them, though the son continued to live outside the gate, sleeping in a hut of gra.s.s, for he looked upon himself as poor, thinking, "None of these things are mine."

The father knew that his son's outlook was gradually becoming broader and more magnanimous, and wis.h.i.+ng to hand over his wealth and goods, he called together his relatives, the king of the country and the high ministers, the n.o.blemen and householders.

In the presence of this great a.s.sembly he declared, "This is my son who abandoned me and wandered abroad for a period of fifty years.

BELIEF AND UNDERSTANDING.

Since I found him again, twenty years have gone by.

Long ago, in such-and-such a city, when I lost my son, I traveled all around searching for him until eventually I came here.

All that I possess, my house and people, I hand over entirely to him so he may do with them as he wishes."

The son thought now in the past he had been poor, humble and self-abasing in outlook, but now he had received from his father this huge bequest of rare treasures, along with the father's house and all his wealth and goods.

He was filled with great joy, having gained what he never had before.

The Buddha too is like this.

He knows our fondness for the petty, and so he never told us, "You can attain Buddhahood."

Instead he explained to us how we could become free of outflows, carry out the Lesser Vehicle and be voice-hearer disciples.

Then the Buddha commanded us to preach the supreme way and explain that those who practice this will be able to attain Buddhahood.

We received the Buddha's teaching and for the sake of the great bodhisattvas made use of causes and conditions, various similes and parables, a variety of words and phrases, to preach the unsurpa.s.sed way.

When the sons of the Buddha heard the Law through us, day and night they pondered, diligently and with effort practicing it.

At that time the Buddha bestowed prophecies on them, saying, "In a future existence you will be able to attain Buddhahood."

The various Buddhas in their Law of the secret storehouse set forth the true facts BELIEF AND UNDERSTANDING.

for the sake of Bodhisattvas alone; it is not for our sake that they expound the true essentials.

The case is like that of the impoverished son who was able to approach his father.

Though he knew of his father's possessions, at heart he had no longing to appropriate them.

Thus, although we preached the treasure storehouse of the Law of the Buddha, we did not seek to attain it ourselves, and in this way our case is similar.

We sought to wipe out what was within ourselves, believing that was sufficient.

We understood only this one concern and knew nothing of other matters.

Though we might hear or purifying the Buddha lands, of teaching and converting living beings, we took no delight in such things.

Why is this?

Because all phenomena are uniformly empty, tranquil, without birth, without extinction, without bigness, without smallness, without outflows, without action.

And when one ponders in this way, one can feel no delight or joy.

Through the long night, with regard to the Buddha wisdom we were without greed, without attachment, without any desire to possess it.

We believed that with regard to the Law we possessed the ultimate.

Through the long night we practiced the Law of emptiness, gaining release from the threefold world and its burden of suffering and care.

We dwelt in our final existence, in the nirvana of remainder.

Through the teaching and conversion of the Buddha we gained a way that was not vain, and in doing so we repaid the debt we owed to the Buddha's kindness.

Although for the sake of the Buddha's sons we preached the Law of the Bodhisattva, urging them to seek the Buddha way, BELIEF AND UNDERSTANDING.

yet we ourselves never aspired to that Law.

We were thus abandoned by our guide and teacher because he had observed what was in our minds.

From the first he never encouraged us or spoke to us of true benefit.

He was like the rich man who knew that his son's ambitions were lowly and who used the power of expedient means to soften and mold his son's mind so that later he could entrust to him all his wealth and treasure.

The Buddha is like this, resorting to a rare course of action.

Knowing that some have a fondness for the petty, he uses the power of expedient means to mold and temper their minds, and only then teaches them the great wisdom.

Today we have gained what we never had before; what we previously never hoped for has now come to us of itself.

We are like the impoverished son who gained immeasurable treasure.