166. （一六六）释中禅室尊经

I have heard thus:

At one time, the Buddha was traveling in the country of Śrāvastī, staying at the Jeta Grove Anāthapiṇḍada-ārāma.

At that time, Venerable Rāhula was staying in the Śākya clan, in the meditation chamber of the non-afflictive meditation. Then, Venerable Rāhula, as the night was about to turn to dawn, emerged from the meditation chamber and sat in the shade of the open-air meditation chamber, spreading out his sitting mat on the rope bed and sitting cross-legged.

At that time, a god of supreme form and appearance, majestic and radiant, came to Venerable Rāhula as the night was about to turn to dawn, bowed his head in reverence, and stood to one side. The god's form and appearance were extremely majestic and radiant, illuminating the meditation chamber. Having stood to one side, the god said to Venerable Rāhula, "Bhikṣu! Do you uphold the verses and their meanings of the Vādirājya?"

Venerable Rāhula replied to the god, "I do not uphold the verses of the Vādirājya, nor do I uphold their meanings."

He then asked the god, "Do you uphold the verses and their meanings of the Vādirājya?"

The god replied, "I uphold the verses of the Vādirājya, but I do not uphold their meanings."

The Venerable Ruru then asked the god, "How do you uphold the verses of the Vādirājya but not their meanings?"

The god replied, "Once, the World-Honored One was dwelling in the Bamboo Grove Kalandakanivāpa in Rājagṛha. At that time, the World-Honored One spoke the Vādirājya verses to the bhikṣus:

Do not think of the past, nor wish for the
future. The past has already ceased, and the future has
not yet come. The present dharmas should also be contemplated
Thoughts have no strength. The wise perceive thus. If one
practices the path of the noble ones, who knows sorrow
from death? I will not meet them. The great suffering
and calamity will end. Thus practicing diligently, day and night
without laziness, therefore one should always recite the Vādirājya verses.

"Bhikṣus! I uphold the Vādirājya verses in this way, but I do not uphold their meaning."

The Venerable Ruruqiangqi further asked the god, "Who upholds the Vādirājya verses and their meaning?"

The god replied, "The Buddha is staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada's Park. He upholds the Vādirājya verses and their meaning. Bhikṣu! You should go and personally receive the Vādirājya verses and their meaning from the World-Honored One. Why is that? The Vādirājya verses and their meaning have meaning and Dharma, are the basis for the holy life, lead to knowledge, lead to awakening, lead to nirvāṇa, and for those of noble family who have perfect faith, leave home, become homeless, and study the path, they should well uphold and recite the Vādirājya verses and their meaning." Having spoken thus, the god bowed his head at the feet of the Venerable Ruruqiangqi, circumambulated him three times, and then disappeared on the spot.

Not long after the god disappeared, the Venerable Ruruqiangqi spent the summer retreat among the Śākyas. After three months, having repaired his robes, he put on his robe, took his bowl, and went to Śrāvastī. Traveling along, he arrived at Śrāvastī and stayed in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada's Park.

At that time, the Venerable Ruruqiangqi went to where the Buddha was, bowed his head at his feet, sat to one side, and said, "World-Honored One! Once, I was wandering among the Śākyas, in a meditation hut without affairs. World-Honored One! At that time, in the early morning, I came out of the meditation hut, sat in meditation in the shade of the open-air meditation hut, on a rope bed, with my sitting mat spread out, cross-legged. At that time, a god of extremely fine form and majestic appearance came to me in the early morning, bowed his head at my feet, and stood to one side. The god's appearance and spiritual power were extremely fine, and his radiance illuminated the meditation hut. After the god stood to one side, he said to me, 'Bhikṣu! Do you uphold the Vādirājya verses and their meaning?' I replied to the god, 'I do not uphold the Vādirājya verses, nor do I uphold their meaning.' I then asked the god, 'Do you uphold the Vādirājya verses and their meaning?' The god replied, 'I uphold the Vādirājya verses, but I do not uphold their meaning.' I further asked the god, 'How do you uphold the Vādirājya verses but not uphold their meaning?' The god answered me, 'Once, the Buddha was staying in Rājagṛha, at the Bamboo Grove, in the Kalandaka-nivāpa. At that time, the World-Honored One spoke the Vādirājya verses to the bhikṣus:

Be careful not to think of the past, nor wish
for the future. The past is already extinguished, and the
future has not yet arrived. The present phenomena, they too
should be contemplated. Thoughts have no strength. The wise perceive
it thus. If one practices the path of the noble
ones, who knows sorrow from death? I will not meet
them. The great suffering and calamity will end. Thus practicing
diligently, day and night without laziness, therefore always recite the Vādirājya verses.

"Bhikṣu! I uphold the Vādirājya verses in this way, but do not uphold their meaning." I further asked the god, "Who upholds the Vādirājya verses and their meaning?" The god answered me, "The Buddha was traveling in Śrāvastī, staying in the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada's Park. He upholds the Vādirājya verses and their meaning. Bhikṣu! You should go and personally receive the Vādirājya verses and their meaning from the World-Honored One. Why is that? The Vādirājya verses and their meaning have meaning and Dharma, are the basis for the holy life, lead to wisdom, lead to enlightenment, lead to nirvāṇa. Those of noble family who have perfect faith, leave home, become homeless, and study the path, should well uphold and recite the Vādirājya verses and their meaning." The god spoke thus, bowed his head at my feet, circumambulated me three times, and then disappeared right there.

Then the World-Honored One asked Venerable Ruru-jyana, "Do you know where that god came from? What is the name of that god?"

Venerable Ruru-jyana replied, "World-Honored One! I do not know where that god came from, nor do I know his name."

The World-Honored One said, "Ruru-jyana! That god's name is Panna, and he is the general of the Thirty-three Heavens."

At that time, Venerable Ruru-jyana said, "World-Honored One! Now is the time. Well-Gone One! Now is the time. If the World-Honored One would speak the verses of the Vadhri-raja and their meaning for the monks, the monks would listen well and uphold them."

The World-Honored One said, "Ruru-jyana! Listen carefully and keep it in mind well. I will explain it to you in detail."

Venerable Ruru-jyana said, "Yes, I will listen to the teaching."

The Buddha said:

Do not think of the past, nor wish for
the future. The past is already extinguished, and the
future has not yet arrived. The present phenomena are
also impermanent. The wise should realize this. If one
practices the path of the sages, who knows about
sorrow at death? I will not meet with that
great suffering and calamity. Thus, one should practice diligently
day and night without laziness. Therefore, I will always
recite the Vaitulya verses.

Jñātiputra, how does a bhikṣu think of the past? If a bhikṣu delights in past form, desires, clings, and abides in it, and delights in past feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness, desires, clings, and abides in it, then that bhikṣu thinks of the past. Jñātiputra, how does a bhikṣu not think of the past? If a bhikṣu does not delight in past form, does not desire, cling, or abide in it, and does not delight in past feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness, does not desire, cling, or abide in it, then that bhikṣu does not think of the past. Jñātiputra, how does a bhikṣu wish for the future? If a bhikṣu delights in future form, desires, clings, and abides in it, and delights in future feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness, desires, clings, and abides in it, then that bhikṣu wishes for the future. Jñātiputra, how does a bhikṣu not wish for the future? If a bhikṣu does not delight in future form, does not desire, cling, or abide in it, and does not delight in future feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness, does not desire, cling, or abide in it, then that bhikṣu does not wish for the future.

Jñātiputra, how does a bhikṣu experience present phenomena? If a bhikṣu delights in present form, desires, clings, and abides in it, and delights in present feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness, desires, clings, and abides in it, then that bhikṣu experiences present phenomena. Jñātiputra, how does a bhikṣu not experience present phenomena? If a bhikṣu does not delight in present form, does not desire, cling, or abide in it, and does not delight in present feeling, perception, volition, and consciousness, does not desire, cling, or abide in it, then that bhikṣu does not experience present phenomena.

The Buddha spoke thus. The Venerable Jñātiputra and the bhikṣus, having heard the Buddha's words, rejoiced and received them with respect.