61. The Cow Dung Parable （六一）牛粪喻经

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, a bhikṣu was sitting in meditation in a quiet place, and he thought like this: "Are there any forms that are permanent, unchanging, and always blissful, that exist for a long time? Are there any feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness that are permanent, unchanging, and always blissful, that exist for a long time?"

That bhikṣu rose from his meditation in the afternoon, went to where the Buddha was, bowed his head in reverence, sat to one side, and said: "World-Honored One! I was sitting in meditation in a quiet place, and I thought like this: 'Are there any forms that are permanent, unchanging, and always blissful, that exist for a long time? Are there any feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness that are permanent, unchanging, and always blissful, that exist for a long time?'"

The Buddha told the bhikṣu: "There are no forms that are permanent, unchanging, and always blissful, that exist for a long time. There are no feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness that are permanent, unchanging, and always blissful, that exist for a long time."

Then the World-Honored One took a small amount of cow dung with his fingernail and said: "Bhikṣu! Do you see me taking a small amount of cow dung with my fingernail?"

The bhikṣu replied: "I see, World-Honored One!"

The Buddha said again: "Bhikṣu! There is no form at all that is permanent, unchanging, and always blissful. There is no feeling, perception, formation, or consciousness at all that is permanent, unchanging, and always blissful. Why is this? Bhikṣu! I remember in the past, for a long time I practiced merit, and having practiced merit for a long time, I experienced the reward of long-lasting happiness. Bhikṣu! In the past, I practiced loving-kindness for seven years, and seven times I was reborn and destroyed, not coming to this world. When the world was destroyed, I was reborn in the Ābhāsvara Heaven. When the world was formed, I descended and was born in the empty palace of Brahmā. Among the Brahmas, I became the Great Brahmā, and in other places, I was the Lord of the Heaven of the Thirty-three for a thousand times, and thirty-six times I was Śakra Devānām-Indra. I was also a kṣatriya king born from the crown of the head for countless times.

Bhikṣu! When I was a kṣatriya king born from the crown of the head, I had eighty-four thousand great elephants, adorned with fine riding equipment and various treasures, covered with white pearl ornaments, with the elephant king Saha at the head. Bhikṣu! When I was a kṣatriya king born from the crown of the head, I had eighty-four thousand horses, adorned with fine riding equipment and various treasures, adorned with gold and silver, with the horse king Māra at the head. Bhikṣu! When I was a kṣatriya king born from the crown of the head, I had eighty-four thousand chariots, adorned with four kinds of decorations, adorned with various treasures, with the lion, tiger, leopard, and tiger-striped skins woven into various colors, with various decorations, with the famous and swift chariot called 'Pleasure Sound' at the head. Bhikṣu! When I was a kṣatriya king born from the crown of the head, I had eighty-four thousand great cities, extremely rich and happy, with many people, with the city of King Kuśa at the head. Bhikṣu! When I was a kṣatriya king born from the crown of the head, I had eighty-four thousand towers, with four kinds of precious towers made of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and crystal, with the Dharma Hall at the head.

Bhikṣu! When I was a kṣatriya king born from the crown of the head, I had eighty-four thousand thrones, with four kinds of precious thrones made of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and crystal, covered with woolen blankets, covered with brocade, gauze, and fine silk, with a body-covering cloth, with pillows at both ends, with the Kaṇḍa-pāṭala and Pañcālika robes. Bhikṣu! When I was a kṣatriya king born from the crown of the head, I had eighty-four thousand pairs of garments, with the first-class garments, brocade garments, silk garments, cotton garments, and Kaṇḍa-pāṭala garments. Bhikṣu! When I was a kṣatriya king born from the crown of the head, I had eighty-four thousand women, with radiant bodies, pure and bright, with beauty surpassing humans, slightly inferior to the gods, with dignified appearance, pleasing to behold, fully adorned with various treasures, all from the kṣatriya caste, with countless other clans. Bhikṣu! When I was a kṣatriya king born from the crown of the head, I had eighty-four thousand kinds of food, constantly offered day and night, prepared for me, wishing for me to eat.

Bhikṣu! Among those eighty-four thousand kinds of food, there is one kind of food that is extremely delicious and pure, with countless flavors, which I always eat. Bhikṣu! Among those eighty-four thousand women, there is one kṣatriya woman who is the most dignified and beautiful, who always attends to me. Bhikṣu! Among those eighty-four thousand pairs of garments, there is one pair of garments, either first-class garments, brocade garments, silk garments, cotton garments, or Kaṇḍa-pāṭala garments, which I always wear. Bhikṣu! Among those eighty-four thousand thrones, there is one throne, either made of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, or crystal, covered with woolen blankets, covered with brocade, gauze, and fine silk, with a body-covering cloth, with pillows at both ends, with the Kaṇḍa-pāṭala and Pañcālika robes, which I always sit on. Bhikṣu! Among those eighty-four thousand towers, there is one tower, either made of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, or crystal, called the Dharma Hall, which I always reside in.

Bhikṣu! Among those eighty-four thousand great cities, there is one city that is extremely rich and happy, with many people, called Kuśāvatī, which I always live in. Bhikṣu! Among those eighty-four thousand chariots, there is one chariot adorned with various good things, with tiger and leopard-spotted skins woven into various colors, with various decorations, extremely sharp and fast, called the Rati-svara chariot, which I always ride to the pleasure garden to view. Bhikṣu! Among those eighty-four thousand horses, there is one horse with a dark blue body and a head like a crow, called the Horse King, which I always ride to the pleasure garden to view. Bhikṣu! Among those eighty-four thousand great elephants, there is one elephant with a completely white body and seven limbs that are all correct, called the Uṣaṇa elephant king, which I always ride to the pleasure garden to view.

"Bhikṣu! I thought like this: 'What are the fruits of karma, what are the results of karma, that cause me to have great supernatural powers, great authority, great blessings, and great spiritual power today?' Bhikṣu! I further thought like this: 'These are the fruits of the three karmas, the results of the three karmas, that cause me to have great supernatural powers, great authority, great blessings, and great spiritual power today. One is giving, two is taming, and three is guarding.' Bhikṣu! You see that all possessions are exhausted and destroyed, and supernatural powers are also lost. Bhikṣu! What do you think? Is form permanent or impermanent?"

"He replied: "Impermanent, World-Honored One!

He further asked: "If it is impermanent, is it suffering or not suffering?"

He replied: "Suffering, changing, World-Honored One!"

He further asked: "If it is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, can the learned noble disciples regard it as 'I', 'mine', or 'I am that'?"

He replied: "No, World-Honored One!"

He further asked: "Bhikkhu, what do you think? Are consciousness, perception, volition, and cognition permanent or impermanent?"

He replied: "Impermanent, World-Honored One!"

He further asked: "If it is impermanent, is it suffering or not suffering?"

He replied: "Suffering, changing, World-Honored One!"

He further asked: "If it is impermanent, suffering, and subject to change, can the learned noble disciples regard it as 'I', 'mine', or 'I am that'?"

He replied: "No, World-Honored One!"

"Therefore, bhikkhus, you should train thus: 'Whatever form there is, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all that form is not mine, not I, not my self.' One should see it as it really is with right wisdom. Whatever feeling there is, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all that feeling is not mine, not I, not my self. One should see it as it really is with right wisdom. Whatever perception there is, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all that perception is not mine, not I, not my self. One should see it as it really is with right wisdom. Whatever volitional formations there are, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all those volitional formations are not mine, not I, not my self. One should see them as they really are with right wisdom. Whatever consciousness there is, whether past, future, or present, internal or external, gross or subtle, inferior or superior, far or near, all that consciousness is not mine, not I, not my self. One should see it as it really is with right wisdom. If a learned noble disciple sees this thus, he becomes disenchanted with form, disenchanted with feeling, disenchanted with perception, disenchanted with volitional formations, disenchanted with consciousness. Being disenchanted, he becomes dispassionate. Through dispassion, he is liberated. When liberated, he knows he is liberated. He understands: 'Rebirth is ended, the spiritual journey has been completed, what had to be done has been done, there is no return to any state of existence.'"

Then the bhikkhu, having delighted and rejoiced in the Blessed One’s statement, rose from his seat, paid homage to the Blessed One, circumambulated him keeping the right side toward him, and departed.

Having been thus instructed by the Blessed One, the bhikkhu dwelled alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute. Dwelling alone, withdrawn, diligent, ardent, and resolute, he by his own super-knowledge discovered the supreme goal of the holy life for which clansmen rightly go forth from home into homelessness, and having entered upon it, dwelled in it. He directly knew: ‘Birth is destroyed, the holy life has been lived, what had to be done has been done, there is no more coming to any state of being.’

The Buddha spoke thus. Those bhikkhus, having heard what the Buddha said, were delighted and remembered it well.