Buddhacarita (佛所行贊)

The Bodhisattva subdued the demon horde, His will firm, his heart at peace. Seeking the ultimate truth, He entered deep, profound meditation.

Various states of absorption Arose in sequence before him. In the first watch of night, He recalled his past lives.

"From such a place, with such a name, I came to be born here." Thus hundreds of thousands of Deaths and births he fully knew.

Enduring countless lives and deaths, All beings of every kind— Each had once been his kin— And so great compassion arose.

With compassion in his heart, He observed those beings Revolving through the six paths, In birth and death without end.

Illusory, without substance, Like plantain trees or dreams, Then in the middle watch, He attained the pure celestial eye.

He saw all living beings As if reflected in a mirror— Beings born and dying, Noble and base, poor and rich.

Pure and impure deeds Bring suffering or joy in turn. He saw those who did evil Would be born in lower realms.

Those who cultivated goodness Would be born among humans or gods. Those born in hell Suffer countless kinds of pain—

Swallowing molten copper, Iron spears piercing their bodies, Thrown into boiling cauldrons, Driven into blazing fires.

Long-toothed dogs devour them, Sharp-beaked birds peck their brains. Fearing fire, they flee to forests, Where sword-leaves slash their flesh.

Sharp knives dissect their bodies, Or sharp axes chop and hack. They endure such extreme torment, Yet their karma does not let them die.

Those who delight in impure deeds Receive extremely bitter retribution. The pleasure lasts but a moment, The suffering continues far too long.

They sow causes of sorrow with laughter, Then weep and wail as they pay. If evil-doing beings Could see their own retribution,

Their breath and veins would burst— They'd die of terror and shock. Those who commit animal deeds, Their karma of various kinds,

Fall into the animal realm With bodies of many different forms. Some die for their skin and flesh, Their fur, horns, bones, tails, or feathers.

They slaughter one another; Even relatives devour each other. Bearing loads beneath the yoke, Whipped and prodded with hooks and goads.

Their wounds ooze pus and blood, Hunger and thirst cannot be quenched. They harm and kill each other, With no freedom or power at all.

In air, water, or on land, There is no escape from death. Those dominated by greed and stinginess Are born in the hungry ghost realm.

Their bodies are huge as mountains, But their throats are like needle-holes. The fires of hunger and thirst burn them, Consuming their own bodies.

They refuse to give when asked, Or prevent others from giving. Born among the hungry ghosts, They cannot find food.

What others reject as filth Turns and changes when they try to eat. If people heard how miserly Brings such bitter fruit,

They'd cut their own flesh to give, Like King Shibi did. Some are born in the human realm, Dwelling in a place of filth.

Moving is extremely painful; Emerging from the womb brings terror. The soft body touches outer things Like being cut by swords.

Subject to past karma's share, Death comes at every moment. They toil to seek life, Yet being born means enduring suffering.

Those born in heaven by merit Are burned by craving's flames. When merit ends and life expires, The five signs of decay appear:

Like a withered tree-blossom, Shriveled, losing all its luster. Their kin must part from them— In sorrow, none can make them stay.

Their palaces stand empty, Their heavenly maidens all depart. They sit and lie in dust, Weeping in longing and attachment.

The living grieve for the fallen; The dying yearn for the living. Though they diligently practiced austerities, Greedily seeking heavenly pleasure,

Since such suffering exists, How base—why cling to it? What great effort achieves Still cannot escape parting's pain.

Alas, all heavenly beings— Long or short life, no difference! They accumulated merit for eons, Permanently abandoning desire,

Thinking they would last forever, Yet now they all fall away. Hell beings endure all torments, Animals slaughter one another, Hungry ghosts are pressed by thirst and hunger, Humans weary of craving's thirst.

Though heavenly joys are spoken of, Parting brings the greatest pain. Deluded, beings wander through the world, Nowhere to catch a breath of ease.

Alas, the ocean of birth and death Revolves without any end! Beings sink in the endless current, Drifting with nothing to rely on.

Thus with his pure celestial eye, He observed the five realms— Illusory, without substance, Like plantain trees or foam.

Then in the third watch of night, He entered deep absorption And observed all the worlds— Their nature is revolving suffering.

Again and again birth, aging, death— Their number is beyond measure. Greed, hatred, and delusion's darkness Shroud beings so they cannot see Where it all comes from.

With right mindfulness, he contemplated within: "From what does birth and death arise?" He determined that aging and death Must arise from birth,

Just as when one has a body, Body-pain follows along. Then he examined: "What causes birth?" He saw it comes from karmic existence.

With his celestial eye, he saw karmic existence— Not from a creator god, Not from self-nature, not from a self, Nor yet without a cause.

Like splitting bamboo's first joint, The remaining joints come easily apart. Having seen the cause of birth and death, He gradually perceived the truth:

Existence arises from grasping, Like fire arising from fuel. Grasping has craving as its cause, Like a small fire burning a mountain.

He knew craving arises from feeling: Perceiving pleasure and pain, one seeks ease. Hungry and thirsty, one seeks food and drink— Feeling giving rise to craving is the same.

Feelings have contact as their cause— The three kinds of sensation arise. Rubbing sticks with human effort Produces fire for use.

Contact arises from the six sense-bases, Through blindness and lack of awareness. The six bases arise from name-and-form, Like a sprout growing into stalk and leaves.

Name-and-form arises from consciousness, Like a seed sprouting leaves. Consciousness then returns to name-and-form— Thus they cycle, nothing more.

Conditioned by consciousness, name-and-form arises; Conditioned by name-and-form, consciousness arises. Like two sheaves of reeds leaning together, Or a boat and its oarsman moving on—

As consciousness gives rise to name-and-form, Name-and-form gives rise to the sense-bases, The sense-bases give rise to contact, Contact gives rise to feeling,

Feeling gives rise to craving, Craving gives rise to grasping, Grasping gives rise to karmic existence, Existence gives rise to birth,

Birth gives rise to aging and death— Thus the cycle revolves without end. Beings arise through dependent origination; The Awakened One fully realized this.

Having definitively awakened, He saw: birth ending, aging and death cease. When existence ceases, birth ceases; When grasping ceases, existence ceases;

When craving ceases, grasping ceases; When feeling ceases, craving ceases; When contact ceases, feeling ceases; When the six bases cease, contact ceases;

When all the bases are extinguished, It is due to name-and-form ceasing. When consciousness ceases, name-and-form ceases; When volitional formations cease, consciousness ceases;

When ignorance ceases, formations cease— Thus the Great Sage attained awakening. When awakening was thus accomplished, The Buddha appeared in the world.

The Noble Eightfold Path— Right view and the rest— Is the smooth, straight road. Ultimately, there is no self to possess,

Like a fire extinguished when fuel ends. What needed doing has been done; He attained the ancient path of awakening. He realized the ultimate meaning, Entering the Great Sage's abode.

Darkness faded, light arose; All movement and stillness became silent. He attained the deathless Dharma, The light of all-knowledge shining bright.

The Great Sage's virtue was profound— The earth shook everywhere, The cosmos became clear and bright, Devas, dragons, and spirits gathered.

In the sky, heavenly music played In offering to the Dharma. Cool gentle breezes arose, Scented rain fell from a cloudless sky.

Beautiful flowers bloomed out of season, Sweet fruits ripened at the wrong time. Great mandarava blossoms And various heavenly precious flowers

Rained down from the sky In offering to the Sage. Beings of every kind Turned to each other with loving hearts.

Fear was completely dispelled; No anger or pride remained. All the worlds became Like people with all defilements ended.

The gods delighted in liberation; The lower realms found temporary peace. Afflictions briefly rested; The moon of wisdom gradually brightened.

The sages of the sugarcane clan, And all those born in heaven, Seeing the Buddha appear in the world, Were filled with joy.

From their heavenly palaces, They rained flowers in offering. All the gods, spirits, and dragons United in praising the Buddha's virtue.

People seeing the offerings And hearing the words of praise All rejoiced along, Dancing with uncontrollable delight.

Only Mara, the king of demons, Felt great sorrow in his heart. For seven days the Buddha Remained in thought, his mind serene,

Gazing at the bodhi tree, Staring without blinking: "Here in this place I have fulfilled my heart's long-held wish."

Established in the selfless Dharma, With the Buddha-eye he viewed all beings. He aroused supreme compassion, Wishing to bring them purity.

Greed, hatred, delusion, wrong views— These drown and overwhelm their minds. "Liberation is so deep and subtle— How can it possibly be proclaimed?

I should set aside diligent effort And remain in silence." But then he recalled his original vow, And the thought of teaching arose again.

He observed sentient beings— Whose afflictions were strong, whose were weak. Brahma knew his thought: The Dharma should be requested before turning the wheel.

Brahma radiated his divine light, To save beings from suffering, And came to see the Sage. The mark of a great teacher of Dharma—

Its profound meaning fully revealed, Established in true wisdom, Free from all obstacles, Without any hypocrisy—

With reverence and joy, Palms together, he made this request: "What fortune in this world— To encounter the Great World-Honored One!

All classes of beings Have minds clouded with defilement— Some with heavy afflictions, Some with lighter ones.

The World-Honored One has already crossed The great ocean of birth and death. May he now deliver those beings Who are drowning in it.

As righteous people in the world Share their gains with others, So the World-Honored One, having gained the Dharma, Should deliver sentient beings.

Ordinary people only benefit themselves; To benefit both self and others is rare. May you, out of compassion, Do what is rare among the rare."

Having thus requested, He took his leave and returned to Brahma's heaven. The Buddha, pleased by Brahma's request, Appreciated his sincerity.

He nourished his great compassion And strengthened his intention to teach. Thinking he should go begging for alms, The four heavenly kings offered him a bowl.

The Thus-Come One, for the sake of the Dharma, Received the four and merged them into one. At that time some merchants were traveling, And a benevolent deity told them:

"The Great Sage, the Sage of sages, Is in that forest grove— The world's supreme field of merit. You should go and make an offering."

Hearing this, they rejoiced greatly And offered him his first meal. After eating, he reflected: "Who should hear the Dharma first?

Only Alara Kalama And Udraka Ramaputra— They could receive the true Dharma, But they have already passed away.

Next, the five ascetics Should hear the first teaching." Desiring to teach the Dharma of peace, Like sunlight dispelling darkness,

He walked toward Varanasi, The ancient sages' dwelling place. With eyes level like a bull-king, With the calm, lion-like step,

To save sentient beings, He went to Kashi city. Step by step, with a king of beasts' gaze, He looked back at the bodhi grove.