31.8 （八）无息禅

Thus have I heard:

At one time, the Buddha was in a forest outside the city of Vaiśālī.

At that time, the World-Honored One told the bhikṣus, "When I had not yet attained Buddhahood, I relied on that Great Fear Mountain to live. At that time, if those with desire or without desire entered the mountain, their hair stood on end. If it was extremely hot, I would sit naked in the wild, exposed to the wind, and at night I would enter the deep forest. If it was extremely cold, with wind and rain pouring down, I would enter the forest during the day and sit naked at night.

At that time, I was able to recite one verse, which I had never heard or seen before.

In the peaceful night, in the Great Fear
Mountain, revealing my body - this is my vow.

If I go to the charnel ground to take the clothes of the dead and cover my body, then if the people of Anathapindika village come to take the wood and put it in my ears, or in my nose, or spit on me, or urinate on me, or throw dirt on my body, I will not give rise to any intention towards those people. At that time, I will have this protective mind. At that time, there was a place where cows were kept. If I saw the feces of a calf, I would take it to eat; if there was no calf feces, I would take the feces of a large cow to eat. At that time, eating this food, I thought again: 'Now, what is the use of eating? I can go without eating all day.' At that time, I had this thought, and the gods came to me and said: 'You should not stop eating now. If you stop eating, we will nourish you with the essence of nectar to sustain your life.' At that time, I thought again: 'Now, why should I stop eating and have the gods send nectar to me? Now, this body will be empty and deceitful.' At that time, I thought again: 'Now, I can eat the leftovers of sesame and rice.

At that time, eating one sesame seed and one grain of rice a day, my body was weak and my bones were connected. A sore grew on the top of my head and the skin and flesh fell off by themselves, like a rotten gourd. It did not accomplish my head. At that time, it was also like this. A sore grew on the top of my head and the skin and flesh fell off by themselves, all because of not eating. It was also like the stars appearing in deep water. At that time, my eyes were also like this, all because of not eating. It was also like an old and broken cart. My body was also like this, all broken and not to be relied upon. It was also like the hoofprint of a camel. My two buttocks were also like this. When I massaged my belly with my hand, I touched my spine. When I pressed my spine, I touched my belly skin. My body was weak, all because of not eating.

At that time, I again used one sesame seed and one grain of rice as food, but it was of no benefit, and I also did not attain the supreme Dharma. If I wanted to defecate or urinate, I would fall to the ground and be unable to get up. At that time, the gods saw this and said: 'This śramaṇa Gautama has attained parinirvāṇa.' Or some gods said: 'This śramaṇa has not yet died, but will now die.' Or some gods said: 'This śramaṇa is neither dead nor alive. This śramaṇa is truly an arhat. The Dharma of arhats has this kind of ascetic practice.'

At that time, I still had consciousness and knew the external conditions. At that time, I also had this thought: 'Now I can enter the meditation of no breath.' I then entered the meditation of no breath and counted the breaths. I now counted the breaths and realized that there was breath coming out of my ears. At that time, the sound of the wind was like thunder. At that time, I also had this thought: 'Now I close my mouth and cover my ears, preventing the breath from coming out.' The breath did not come out, and at that time the internal breath came out from my hands and feet. Even if the breath could not come out from the ears, nose, and mouth, at that time the internal sound was like thunder. At that time, I was also like this. At that time, the consciousness still followed the body.

At that time, I also had this thought: 'I should enter the meditation of no breath again.' At that time, I completely blocked the breath from all the orifices. When I blocked the in-and-out breaths, I then suffered from a headache, as if someone was drilling a hole in my head. I also had extreme pain in my head. At that time, I still had consciousness. At that time, I also had this thought: 'Now I should sit in meditation, and the breath should not come in or out.' At that time, I blocked the in-and-out breaths. At that time, all the breaths gathered in my abdomen. At that time, the breath circulation was extremely small, like a butcher killing a cow with a knife; I was also like that, suffering from extreme pain. It was also like two strong men holding a weak person over a fire, suffering from unbearable pain; I was also like that, the pain and suffering being indescribable. At that time, I still had consciousness. When I sat in meditation at that time, my body did not have the color of a human being; some people saw it and said: 'This śramaṇa's complexion is extremely dark.' Some people saw it and said: 'This śramaṇa's complexion is like death.' Bhikṣus should know, I practiced these austerities for six years, but did not attain the supreme Dharma.

At that time, I had this thought: 'Today I should eat one fruit.' At that time, I then ate one fruit. When I ate one fruit, my body was weak and could not get up on my own, like someone a hundred and twenty years old, with bones and joints scattered and unable to support each other. Bhikṣus should know, at that time, one fruit was like a small date today. At that time, I also had this thought: 'This is not the basis for my attaining the Way, so I should seek another path.' At that time, I also had this thought: 'I remember that in the past, under the tree of my father the king, without desire and lust, removing evil and unwholesome dharmas, I dwelled in the first dhyāna; without perception and contemplation, I dwelled in the second dhyāna; with pure mindfulness and no various thoughts, I dwelled in the third dhyāna; without further suffering or pleasure, with pure mental attention, I dwelled in the fourth dhyāna. This may be the path, I should now seek this path.'

For six years, I diligently sought the Way but did not attain it. I either lay on thorns or on boards with iron nails, or hung my body far from the ground with my two feet up and head down, or squatted with crossed legs, or let my beard and hair grow without ever trimming them, or exposed myself to the sun and fire, or sat in ice during the cold winter, submerging my body in water, or remained silent, or ate once a day, or twice a day, or three, four, up to seven times a day, or ate vegetables and fruits, or rice and hemp, or ate grass roots, or ate tree fruits, or ate flower fragrances, or ate various fruits and vegetables, or sometimes went naked, or wore tattered clothes, or wore clothes made of kusha grass, or wore clothes made of animal hair, or sometimes covered my body with human hair, or sometimes grew my hair, or sometimes took others' hair and added it to my own. In this way, bhikṣus! I practiced austerities in the past, but did not attain the basis of the four dharmas. What are the four? Namely, the noble precepts and discipline are difficult to understand and know; the noble wisdom is difficult to understand and know; the noble liberation is difficult to understand and know; the noble samādhi is difficult to understand and know. These, bhikṣus! are the four dharmas. In the past, I practiced austerities but did not attain this essential point.

At that time, I also had this thought: 'I must now seek the unsurpassed Way.' What is the unsurpassed Way? Namely, the four dharmas: the noble precepts and discipline, the noble samādhi, the noble wisdom, and the noble liberation. At that time, I also had this thought: 'I cannot seek the supreme Way with this weak body. I should eat the essence of fine qi, nourish my body, and have vigorous energy, and then I can practice the Way.' When I was about to eat the essence of fine qi, the five bhikṣus abandoned me and returned, saying: 'This śramaṇa Gautama has a confused nature and practice. He abandons the true Dharma and turns to the wrong path.'

At that time, I immediately rose from my seat and walked eastward. At that time, I also had this thought: 'Where did the Buddhas of the past, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, attain enlightenment?' At that time, a god in the sky was dwelling above and said to me: 'Virtuous one, you should know that the Buddhas of the past, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, attained Buddhahood while sitting under the cool shade of the Bodhi tree.' At that time, I also had this thought: 'Where should I sit to attain Buddhahood? Sitting or standing?' At that time, the gods again came and told me, saying: 'The Buddhas of the past, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, attained Buddhahood while sitting on grass mats.'

At that time, not far from me, there was a virtuous brāhman who was cutting grass nearby. I went to him and asked: 'Who are you? What is your name? Do you have a surname?' The brāhman replied: 'My name is Auspicious, and my surname is Fuxing.' At that time, I said to that person: 'Excellent! Excellent! Such a surname is rare in the world; the name and surname are not false, and will surely fulfill its meaning. May there be auspiciousness and no harm in this present life, and may birth, old age, sickness, and death be forever eliminated. Your surname Fuxing is the same as mine. I now wish to ask for some grass.' Auspicious asked: 'Gautama! What do you need this grass for today?' At that time, I replied to Auspicious: 'I wish to spread it under the Bodhi tree to seek the four dharmas. What are the four? Namely, the noble precepts and discipline, the noble samādhi, the noble wisdom, and the noble liberation.'

Bhikṣus, you should know that at that time, Auspicious personally took the grass and went to the Bodhi tree. I then sat on it, straightened my body and mind, crossed my legs, and focused my thoughts. At that time, my mind of desire was liberated, and I eliminated all evil dharmas. With perception and contemplation, I dwelled in the first dhyāna. With the elimination of perception and contemplation, I dwelled in the second, third, and fourth dhyānas. With pure mindfulness and the elimination of joy and sorrow, I dwelled in the fourth dhyāna. At that time, with a pure mind, I eliminated all afflictions, attained fearlessness, and self-cognized my innumerable past lives. I then remembered the affairs of innumerable lifetimes, either one, two, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, one hundred, one thousand, one hundred thousand lifetimes, lifetimes during the eon of formation, lifetimes during the eon of destruction, innumerable lifetimes during the eon of formation, innumerable lifetimes during the eon of destruction, and innumerable lifetimes during the eon of formation and destruction. I remembered that I had died here and been reborn there, and that I had come to be born here from passing away there, without knowing the beginning and end of the causes and conditions. I remembered such affairs of innumerable lifetimes.

I further used my pure and flawless divine eye to observe the classes of sentient beings who are born and die, those in good destinies and with good appearances, those in bad destinies and with bad appearances, whether good or ugly, according to their fundamental practices, I knew them all. There are sentient beings who practice evil deeds with the body, speech, and mind, slander the sages, create the basis of wrong deeds, and are associated with wrong views. When their bodies perish and their lives end, they are reborn in hell. There are also classes of sentient beings who practice good deeds with the body, speech, and mind, do not slander the sages, and are associated with right views. When their bodies perish and their lives end, they are reborn among humans. This is called these sentient beings practicing good deeds with the body, speech, and mind, without any wrong deeds. I used the mind of samādhi that is pure and flawless, with the exhaustion of afflictions, attained the liberation of the mind without taints and the liberation of wisdom. The cycle of birth and death is exhausted, the practice of the Brahma way is established, what is to be done is accomplished, and I will not again receive a womb. I truly know this and attained the unsurpassed perfect true path.

If a bhikṣu knows the various destinies of śramaṇas and brāhmaṇas, but this destiny has no basis, then I have not practiced it before, except for the Pure Abode Heaven, which does not come to this world; or if a śramaṇa or brāhmaṇa is to be reborn in a certain place, but I am not born there, then it is not appropriate. I have already been born in the Pure Abode Heaven and will not return to this world. You have attained the noble precepts, and I have also attained them; the noble samādhi, you have also attained it, and I have also attained it; the noble wisdom, you have also attained it, and I have also attained it; the noble liberation, you have also attained it, and I have also attained it; the noble knowledge and vision of liberation, you have also attained it, and I have also attained it; having severed the roots of rebirth, birth and death are forever exhausted, and I will not again receive a womb.

"Therefore, bhikṣus! You should seek means to accomplish the four dharmas. The reason is this. If bhikṣus attain these four dharmas, it is not difficult to attain the Way, just as I have today attained the unsurpassed perfect true Way, all due to the four dharmas that have borne fruit. Thus, bhikṣus! You should train in this way."

At that time, the bhikṣus heard what the Buddha said, and joyfully received and practiced it.