19.3 （三）断爱

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was at Anāthapiṇḍada's Park in the Jeta Grove near Śrāvastī.

At that time, Śakra, Lord of the Devas, went to where the World-Honored One was. Having arrived, he bowed his head at the Buddha's feet, stood to one side, and said to the World-Honored One, "How does a bhikṣu cut off desire and attachment, attain liberation of the mind, and ultimately reach a place of peace and tranquility, free from all suffering, respected by devas and humans?"

At that time, the World-Honored One said to Śakra, Lord of the Devas, "In this way, Kauśika! If a bhikṣu hears this Dharma of emptiness and understands it to be without existence, he will then attain understanding and true knowledge of all dharmas. He will know that the body experiences the dharmas of suffering and happiness, or the dharma of neither suffering nor happiness. He will then contemplate this body as impermanent and returning to emptiness. Having contemplated this change of neither suffering nor happiness, he will not give rise to thoughts. Without thoughts, there will be no fear. Without fear, there will be parinirvāṇa: the end of birth and death, the establishment of the practice of the Brahma-way, the completion of what was to be done, and no further rebirth. This is truly known. This is called, Śakra, Lord of the Devas, a bhikṣu who cuts off desire and attachment, attains liberation of the mind, and ultimately reaches a place of peace and tranquility, free from all suffering, respected by devas and humans."

At that time, Śakra, Lord of the Devas, bowed his head at the Buddha's feet, circumambulated him three times, and then departed.

At that time, Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana was sitting cross-legged not far from the World-Honored One, with his body upright and his mind focused on the present. Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana then thought: "Did Śakra, Lord of the Devas, attain the path and ask about the matter, or did he not attain the path and ask about the meaning? I should now test him." At that time, Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana immediately used his supernormal powers to arrive in the Heaven of the Thirty-three Gods in the time it takes to bend and stretch an arm.

At that time, Śakra, Lord of the Devas, saw from afar that Mahāmaudgalyāyana was coming and immediately rose to welcome him, saying: "Welcome, Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana! It has been a long time since you came here. I wish to discuss the meaning of the Dharma with you. Please sit here."

At that time, Maudgalyāyana asked Śakra, Lord of the Devas: "The World-Honored One has spoken to you about the Dharma of cutting off desire. I wish to hear it. Now is the right time. Please tell me about it."

Śakra, Lord of the Devas, said: "I have many affairs of the devas now. Sometimes I have my own affairs, and sometimes I have affairs of the devas. What I have heard is immediately forgotten. Once, Maudgalyāyana, you fought with the asuras. On the day of the battle, the devas won and the asuras retreated. At that time, I personally went to fight and then led the devas back to the heavenly palace. I sat in the Supreme Lecture Hall. Because of the victory in battle, it is called the Supreme Lecture Hall. The steps and lanes are arranged in rows, facing each other. On each step, there are seven hundred pavilions. In each pavilion, there are seven jade maidens. Each jade maiden has seven attendants. Venerable Maudgalyāyana, I wish you would go there to see it."

At that time, Śakra, Lord of the Devas, and Vaiśravaṇa, King of the North, followed Venerable Maudgalyāyana to the Supreme Lecture Hall. At that time, Śakra, Lord of the Devas, and Vaiśravaṇa, King of the North, said to Maudgalyāyana: "This is the Supreme Lecture Hall. You can all go and see it."

Maudgalyāyana said: "Heavenly Kings! This place is extremely wonderful. It is all due to the merit and blessings created in previous lives that this naturally-formed jeweled hall is like this. It is like the small places of happiness in the human world, where people celebrate on their own, just like the heavenly palace. It is all due to the merit created in previous lives."

At that time, the jade maidens on Śakra, Lord of the Devas' left and right, all ran about, not knowing where to go. It was like in the human world where there are taboos, and they all felt ashamed. At that time, the jade maidens brought by Śakra, Lord of the Devas, were also like this. They saw Venerable Maudgalyāyana coming from afar and all ran about, not knowing where to gather.

At that time, Venerable Maudgalyāyana thought: "The mind of Śakra, Lord of the Devas, is very indulgent. I should now make him feel terrified." At that time, Venerable Maudgalyāyana then touched the ground with his right toe, and the palace shook six times. At that time, Śakra, Lord of the Devas, and Vaiśravaṇa, the Guardian King of the North, were all terrified, their hair standing on end. They thought: "This Venerable Maudgalyāyana has great supernatural powers, able to make this palace shake six times. It is truly amazing! It is truly extraordinary! It has never been like this before!"

At that time, Venerable Maudgalyāyana thought: "Now the body of Śakra, Lord of the Devas, is filled with fear. I should now ask him about the profound meaning." "How is it, Kauśika? The Tathāgata's teachings on the sutra on eliminating desire are now the right time. Please explain it to us."

Śakra, Lord of the Devas, replied: "Maudgalyāyana! I previously went to where the World-Honored One was, bowed my head at his feet, and stood to one side. At that time, I addressed the World-Honored One, saying: 'How do bhikṣus eliminate desire, attain liberation of the mind, and ultimately reach the state of non-conditioning, without suffering or affliction, respected by gods and humans?' At that time, the World-Honored One then told me: 'In this way, Kauśika! When bhikṣus hear the Dharma, they are completely unattached, not attached to form, and fully understand all dharmas, knowing that they are ultimately nonexistent. Having understood all dharmas, whether suffering, happiness, or neither suffering nor happiness, they observe them as impermanent, ceasing without remainder, and without annihilation. By observing this, they are completely unattached, no longer have worldly thoughts, and are without fear. Being without fear, they attain parinirvāṇa: the end of birth and death, the establishment of the holy life, the completion of what was to be done, and the knowledge that they will not be reborn again. This is called, Śakra, Lord of the Devas! When bhikṣus eliminate desire, they attain liberation of the mind, and ultimately reach the state of non-conditioning, without suffering or affliction, respected by gods and humans.' At that time, having heard these words, I bowed my head at the feet of the World-Honored One, circumambulated him three times, and then withdrew, returning to the heavenly realm."

At that time, Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana used profound Dharma words to explain to Śakra, Lord of the Devas, and to Vaiśravaṇa. At that time, after Maudgalyāyana had fully explained the Dharma, in the time it takes for a strong man to bend and stretch his arm, he disappeared from the Heaven of the Thirty-three and came to the Jeta Grove Anāthapiṇḍada-ārāma in Śrāvastī. He went to where the World-Honored One was, bowed his head at the Buddha's feet, and sat to one side.

At that time, Maudgalyāyana immediately said to the World-Honored One while seated: "The Tathāgata previously spoke to Śakra, Lord of the Devas, about the method of eliminating desire. I only wish that the World-Honored One would also explain it to me."

At that time, the World-Honored One told Maudgalyāyana: "You should know that Śakra, Lord of the Devas, came to me, bowed his head at my feet, and stood to one side. At that time, Śakra, Lord of the Devas, asked me this meaning: 'How, World-Honored One, does a bhikṣu cut off desire and attain liberation of the mind?' At that time, I told Śakra, Lord of the Devas: 'Kauśika! If a bhikṣu understands and knows that all dharmas are empty and have nothing, and also has nothing to which he is attached, and fully understands that all dharmas are ultimately nonexistent, and knows that all dharmas are impermanent, extinguished without remainder, and also not cut off or destroyed. Having observed this, he has nothing to which he is attached, and he does not give rise to worldly thoughts, and is also without fear; being without fear, he then attains parinirvāṇa: birth and death are exhausted, the practice of the Brahma way is established, what was to be done is done, and he will not again experience existence, knowing it as it really is. This is called, Śakra, Lord of the Devas, a bhikṣu cutting off desire and attaining liberation of the mind.' At that time, Śakra, Lord of the Devas, immediately rose from his seat, bowed his head at my feet, and then withdrew and departed, returning to the heavenly realm."

At that time, Mahāmaudgalyāyana, having heard the Buddha's teaching, joyfully received and upheld it.