37.10 （一〇）

Thus have I heard:

Once, the Buddha was staying in a forest outside the city of Vaiśālī, together with a great assembly of five hundred bhikṣus.

At that time, Venerable Aśvajit, having put on his robe and taken his alms bowl, entered the city to beg for food. At that time, Sāṇḍaka saw Aśvajit coming from afar, and went to him, saying: "What kind of teachings does your teacher speak? What kind of instructions does he give? What kind of teachings does he give to his disciples?"

Aśvajit replied: "Brahmin! Form is impermanent. Impermanence is suffering. Suffering is non-self. Non-self is emptiness. Emptiness is not mine. I am not theirs. This is what the wise should learn. Feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness are impermanent. These five aggregates of clinging are impermanent, and therefore suffering. Suffering is non-self. Non-self is emptiness. Emptiness is not theirs. I am not theirs. If you wish to know, this is the meaning of my teacher's instructions. I teach this meaning to my disciples."

At that time, Sāṇḍaka covered his ears with both hands and said: "Stop! Stop! Aśvajit! I do not enjoy hearing this. Even if the Śramaṇa Gautama has such teachings, I truly do not enjoy hearing them. The reason is that according to my view, form is permanent, but according to the Śramaṇa's view, it is impermanent. When will I see the Śramaṇa Gautama to discuss and remove his inverted mind?"

At that time, five hundred young men in the city of Vaiśālī gathered in one place to discuss something. Then, Sāṇḍaka went to where the five hundred young men were and said to them: "You all come with me to where the Śramaṇa Gautama is. The reason is that I want to discuss with that Śramaṇa Gautama so that he can see the right path of truth. The Śramaṇa says that form is impermanent, but according to my view, form is permanent. It is like a strong man holding a long-haired sheep, able to take it wherever he wants without any difficulty. I am also like this. When I debate with that Śramaṇa Gautama, I will be able to let go of him without any difficulty. It is like a fierce elephant with six tusks playing in the deep mountains, also without any difficulty. I am also like this. When I debate with him, there will be no difficulty. It is like two strong men holding a weak one over a fire, able to turn him around as they please without any difficulty. I will also have no difficulty in debating with him. In my debates, I can even kill an elephant, let alone a human. I can also make an elephant go east, west, south, or north, just like a human. Now, even the pillars and beams of this lecture hall, which are inanimate objects, I can make them move. How much more so can I defeat someone in debate? I will make his blood come out of his face and cause his death."

Among them, some young men said: "Sāṇḍaka will never be able to debate with the Śramaṇa. It is only feared that the Śramaṇa Gautama will debate with Sāṇḍaka." Some said: "The Śramaṇa will not debate with Sāṇḍaka. Sāṇḍaka can debate with the Śramaṇa." At that time, Sāṇḍaka thought: "If what the Śramaṇa Gautama says is like what Aśvajit said, it is enough to discuss. If there is meaning, I will know when I hear it."

At that time, Sāṇḍaka, surrounded by the five hundred young men, went to where the World-Honored One was. They exchanged greetings and sat to one side. Then, Sāṇḍaka said to the World-Honored One: "What, Gautama! What teachings and instructions do you give to your disciples?"

The Buddha told Sāṇḍaka: "What I say is that form is impermanent, and what is impermanent is suffering. Suffering is without self, and what is without self is empty. What is empty is not mine, and I am not theirs. Feeling, perception, formation, consciousness, and the five aggregates of clinging are all impermanent. What is impermanent is suffering. Suffering is without self. What is without self is empty. What is empty is not mine, and I am not theirs. This is the meaning of my teachings and instructions."

Sāṇḍaka replied: "I do not enjoy hearing this meaning. The reason is that according to my understanding of the meaning, form is permanent."

The World-Honored One said: "You should now concentrate your mind and contemplate the subtle truth, and then speak."

Sāṇḍaka replied: "What I am saying now is that form is permanent, and the meaning of these five hundred youths is also like this."

The World-Honored One said: "What you are saying now is that form is permanent, and the meaning of these five hundred youths is also like this." The World-Honored One said: "You should now speak with your own eloquence. Why bring up those five hundred people?"

Sāṇḍaka replied: "What I am saying now is that form is permanent. What kind of discussion does the śramaṇa want to have?"

The World-Honored One said: "What I am saying now is that form is impermanent and also without self. The form that is artificially combined and numbered is also unreal, not solid, not firm, like a snow ball. It is a law of decay and change. You are now saying that form is permanent. I will ask you back, please answer me as you wish. What do you think, Sāṇḍaka? Can a wheel-turning sage king still have sovereignty over his own country? Can that great king release those who should not be released, and bind those who should not be bound?"

Sāṇḍaka replied: "This sage king has this power of sovereignty. He can kill those who should not be killed, and bind those who should not be bound."

The World-Honored One said: "What do you think, Sāṇḍaka? Will the wheel-turning sage king also grow old? Will his hair turn white, his face wrinkled, and his clothes soiled?" At that time, Sāṇḍaka remained silent and did not reply. The World-Honored One asked him a second and a third time, but he remained silent and did not reply. At that time, the vajra-wielding deity Guhyapāda held a vajra scepter in the sky and said to him: "If you do not reply to the discussion now, I will break your head into seven pieces in front of the Tathāgata."

At that time, the World-Honored One said to Sāṇḍaka: "Now, look at the sky."

At that time, Sāṇḍaka looked up into the sky and saw the vajra-wielding deity Guhyapāda. He also heard a voice in the sky saying: "If you do not reply to the Tathāgata's discussion, I will break your head into seven pieces." Seeing this, he was frightened and his hair stood on end. He said to the World-Honored One: "Please, Gautama, save me! Now, if I am asked about the discussion again, how should I respond?"

The World-Honored One said: "What do you think, Sāṇḍaka! Will a wheel-turning sage king also grow old, with white hair, falling teeth, loose skin, and wrinkled face?"

Sāṇḍaka replied: "śramaṇa Gautama! Although you say this, according to my meaning, form is permanent."

The World-Honored One said: "You should think carefully before answering. The previous and later meanings do not correspond. But let me ask again, will a sage king also grow old, with white hair, falling teeth, loose skin, and wrinkled face?"

Sāṇḍaka replied: "A wheel-turning sage king is allowed to grow old."

The World-Honored One said: "A wheel-turning sage king can always be free in his own country. Why can't he avoid old age, sickness, and death? I do not want old age, sickness, and death. I am the one who should be permanent. Is it possible to make it so?"

At that time, Sāṇḍaka was silent and did not reply. He was sorrowful and unhappy, silent and speechless. At that time, Sāṇḍaka's body was sweating, and the sweat stained his clothes and even the seat he was sitting on, down to the ground.

The World-Honored One said: "Sāṇḍaka! You roared like a lion in the great assembly, saying: 'You young men, come with me to where Gautama is, and discuss with him. We will defeat him, just like catching a sheep with long wool, going east or west as we please, without any difficulty. It is also like a great elephant entering deep water, swimming freely as it pleases, without any fear. It is also like two strong men holding a weak one over a fire, turning him over as they please.' You also said: 'I can always debate and harm a great elephant. Such pillars, beams, and grass and trees are all without feeling. When discussing with them, I can make them bend, lower, and raise their heads, and also make them sweat under their armpits.'"

At that time, the World-Honored One lifted up his three Dharma robes and showed them to Sāṇḍaka, saying: "Look, the Tathāgata's armpits do not sweat. But you, today, have sweat that penetrates the ground." At that time, Sāṇḍaka again remained silent and did not reply.

At that time, there was a boy named Toumo in the assembly. The boy Toumo then addressed the World-Honored One, saying: "I am now able to perform and also wish to speak.

The World-Honored One said: "Speak as you wish.

The boy Toumo addressed the Buddha, saying: "It is like a good bathing pond not far from a village, but that bathing pond is full of worms with many legs. Then the people of the village, men and women, young and old, go to the bathing pond and take out the worms, each using tiles and stones to strike and injure the worms' hands and feet. Those worms want to return to the water, but it is impossible. This Nirgrantha Jñātiputra is also like this. Initially, his intention was fierce, wanting to debate with the Tathāgata, harboring jealousy and also embracing arrogance. The Tathāgata has completely eliminated it, leaving nothing remaining. This Nirgrantha Jñātiputra will never be able to return to the Tathāgata to debate again."

At that time, Nirgrantha Jñātiputra said to the boy Toumo: "You are now foolish and deluded, not distinguishing true from false. I will not debate with you, but with the śramaṇa Gautama." At that time, Nirgrantha Jñātiputra said to the Buddha: "Please ask about the meaning and principles, and I will explain them again."

The World-Honored One said: "What do you think, Nirgrantha Jñātiputra! Can a wheel-turning sage king make old age, sickness, and death not come, and can that sage king fulfill this wish?"

Nirgrantha Jñātiputra replied: "This wish cannot be fulfilled."

"Can one make this form exist, and can one make this form not exist?"

Nirgrantha Jñātiputra replied: "This cannot be done, Gautama!"

The World-Honored One said: "Well then, Nirgrantha Jñātiputra, is form permanent or impermanent?"

Nirgrantha Jñātiputra replied: "Form is impermanent."

"If it is impermanent, is it a changing phenomenon? Do you see this as 'me' and accept that 'I' is that?"

He replied: "No, Gautama!"

"Are feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness permanent or impermanent?"

He replied: "Impermanent."

The World Honored One said: "If they are impermanent, are they subject to change? Do you see this?"

He replied: "No."

The World Honored One said: "Are these five aggregates of clinging permanent or impermanent?"

Nirgrantha Jñātiputra replied: "Impermanent."

The Buddha said: "If they are impermanent, are they subject to change? Have you ever seen this?"

Nirgrantha Jñātiputra replied: "No."

"Then, Nirgrantha Jñātiputra, do your words contradict the truth?"

At that time, Nirgrantha Jñātiputra said to the World-Honored One: "I am now foolish and ignorant, not discerning the truth. I have given rise to this thought to discuss with Gautama, saying that form is permanent. Is it like a fierce beast, a lion, seeing a person coming from afar, having a fearful mind? There is no such thing! Today the Tathāgata is also like this, without the slightest. I am now deluded and do not understand the profound meaning, yet I dare to disturb. The many teachings spoken by Śramaṇa Gautama are like a blind person obtaining eyes, a deaf person hearing clearly, a lost person seeing the road, and a blind person seeing forms. Śramaṇa Gautama is also like this, teaching the Dharma with countless skillful means. I now take refuge in Śramaṇa Gautama, the Dharma, and the bhikṣus. From now on, for as long as I live, I will listen and become an upāsaka. I will no longer kill living beings. I only wish that Gautama and the bhikṣus will accept my invitation to offer food to the Buddha and the bhikṣus." At that time, the World-Honored One silently accepted the invitation.

At that time, Nirgrantha Jñātiputra saw that the World-Honored One silently accepted the invitation. He then rose from his seat, circumambulated the Buddha three times, bowed his head at the Buddha's feet, and departed. He went to where the young men of Vaiśālī were. Having arrived, he said to the young men: "The offerings you should make to me, give them to me now, not at the wrong time. I now invite Śramaṇa Gautama and the bhikṣus to have a meal tomorrow."

At that time, the young men each prepared food and drink offerings and gave them to him. At that time, Nirgrantha Jñātiputra then prepared various delicious foods and drinks during the night, laid out fine seats, and said: "The time has come. It is now the right time. I only wish that you would deign to come."

At that time, the World-Honored One, at the right time, put on his robe, took his alms bowl, and entered Vaiśālī with the bhikṣu saṃgha. He went to Nirgrantha Jñātiputra's house. Having arrived, he took his seat, and the bhikṣu saṃgha also took their seats in order. At that time, Nirgrantha Jñātiputra, seeing that the Buddha and the bhikṣu saṃgha had taken their seats, personally served and offered various foods and drinks. Seeing that the Buddha and the bhikṣu saṃgha had finished eating, he offered clean water. He then took a small seat and sat in front of the Tathāgata, wishing to hear the Dharma.

At that time, the World-Honored One gradually spoke the wonderful teachings to him. The teachings were about giving, precepts, and the teachings on rebirth in the heavens. He spoke of the impurity and filthiness of desire, and the joy of liberation from sexual misconduct. At that time, the World-Honored One saw that Nirgrantha Jñātiputra's mind was open and his intentions were resolved. The teachings that the Buddhas of the past always spoke, namely, about suffering, its origin, its cessation, and the path, the World-Honored One spoke them all to Nirgrantha Jñātiputra. At that time, Nirgrantha Jñātiputra, while sitting there, completely eliminated all defilements and attained the purity of the Dharma eye.

At that time, the World-Honored One spoke this verse:

Sacrificing to fire is supreme, poetry and books are foremost, among humans
the king is the best, among rivers, the ocean is the source
among stars, the moon is bright, among lights, the sun is most
radiant. Above, below, and in the four directions, all the things produced
on the earth, among the gods and people, the Buddha is the
unsurpassed honored one. If one seeks his virtues, the three Buddhas are the supreme.

At that time, after the World-Honored One had spoken this verse, he immediately rose from his seat and departed.

At that time, the five hundred disciples of Nirgrantha heard that their teacher had accepted the Buddha's teaching. Having heard this, they each said to each other, "How can our great teacher follow Gautama?" At that time, the disciples left the city of Vesali and stood in the middle of the road. At that time, Nirgrantha wanted to go to where the Buddha was to listen to the Dharma. At that time, the World-Honored One spoke the Dharma to Nirgrantha, assisting him with joy. Having heard the Dharma, Nirgrantha immediately rose from his seat, bowed his head to the Buddha's feet, and then withdrew.

At that time, the disciples of Nirgrantha saw their teacher coming from afar. They each said to each other, "This disciple of the śramaṇa Gautama is now coming in the Dharma robe. Let us each take tiles and stones to beat and kill him."

At that time, the young boys heard that Nirgrantha had been killed by his disciples. They went to where the World-Honored One was, bowed their heads to his feet, and sat to one side. At that time, the young boys said to the World-Honored One, "The Nirgrantha whom the Tathāgata had taught has now been killed by his disciples. Where has he been reborn after his death?"

The World-Honored One said, "He was a virtuous person, fully endowed with the Four Truths and the destruction of the three fetters. He attained the stage of stream-enterer and will definitely reach the end of suffering. He died today and was reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-three. Having seen Maitreya Buddha, he will reach the end of suffering. This is the meaning, you should remember and practice it."

At that time, the young boys said to the World-Honored One, "How wonderful! How extraordinary! This Nirgrantha came to where the World-Honored One was to debate, but he was bound by his own arguments. He came to receive the World-Honored One's teachings. Those who see the World-Honored One will never be in vain. It is like a person entering the ocean to obtain treasures, they will definitely obtain something and not return empty-handed. It is the same for those sentient beings who come to where the World-Honored One is. They will definitely obtain the Dharma treasures and not return empty-handed."

At that time, the World-Honored One spoke the subtle Dharma to the young boys, causing them to rejoice. At that time, the young boys, having heard the Dharma from the Buddha, immediately rose from their seats, circumambulated the Buddha three times, bowed their heads at his feet, and then withdrew.

At that time, the young boys, having heard what the Buddha said, joyfully received and practiced it.