Excerpt from Bodhisattva’s Jewel Garland
Sutra, Vol. 11
On one occasion, when the World-Honored One commenced the Dharma teaching of the Jewel Garland, preaching the infinite virtues and functions of the dharma-body, there were five thousand bodhisattvas in the assembly who stood up from their seats. They then circled the Buddha three times, prostrated themselves at the Buddha’s feet, and left the assembly venue.
The venerable Maudgalyāyana thought to himself that the bodhisattvas’ departure in the middle of the Buddha’s preaching must have some implications. He thus asked the Buddha this. The Buddha replied to Maudgalyāyana, “These five thousand bodhisattvas, from countless buddhas ago, had cultivated giving, observing precepts, forbearance, diligence, one-pointed absorption, wisdom, and skillful means (in practicing the Dharma). However, whenever they bring forth a thought of repentance, they will instantly regress from the Tathagata’s teachings. For this reason, they will still experience numerous hardships in the future and will be unable to attain liberation even after a thousand buddhas have passed. The cause of these people’s regression is that from uncountable asaṃkhya kalpas ago, they constantly enjoyed defaming and slandering the true Dharma. The leader of these five thousand bodhisattvas is named Courageous Wisdom. Despite their practice of bodhisattva-mahāsattva, their wish of attaining Buddhahood is beyond reach.”
The World-Honored One added, “The bodhisattva Courageous Wisdom was the king of lions during the time of the Guangming (Radiance) Buddha. Whenever he roared thunderously, all beasts would be afraid of him and would lie on the ground, and all flying beings would fall from the sky. Once, when the lion king was hunting for food, he found an elephant king. He killed and devoured it, but he choked on the elephant king’s thigh bone and fainted. When the lion king gained consciousness, he said to the tiny sparrow nearby that was looking for worms to eat, “Help me remove this bone and I will repay your kindness by sharing my food with you in the future.” The sparrow thus persevered to enter the lion king’s mouth, and when it had succeeded in doing so, it pulled out the bone therefrom.
Later on, as the lion king went on its regular hunt for beasts to feed on, the sparrow stayed by
his side and begged for a modest share of his food. The lion refused, however,
and did not keep his word. He told the sparrow,
“I am a lion king, and I kill for food. Meat and blood are my regular meal. Doesn’t it occur to you that it was only out of the kindness of my heart that I did not swallow you alive when you once were in my mouth?”
The sparrow replied, “Although I am a tiny bird dwarfed by your
greatness, I did you a good turn. You do not remember my kind deed to you though, and turn your back on your vow.” The distressed sparrow thus decided to
wait for an opportunity to seek revenge on the lion king for his ungratefulness.
The sparrow replied, “Although you are a king among beasts, you broke your own vow. Instead of being grateful to one that had done you a great favor, you harbored ill will against it.”
The Buddha then told Maudgalyāyana, “The lion king is no other than the
bodhisattva Courageous Wisdom today. The sparrow, today, is you,
Maudgalyāyana. The five thousand bodhisattvas have always disbelieved
in and slandered the importance and
essence of the trikāya of the Tathagata from the past. Their minds have cultivated unwholesome roots since
long ago. They will thus continue to experience the torture of hell in the
future.”
Remark:
Despite their earnest cultivations, Buddhist practitioners will not
be able to attain liberation if the unwholesome seeds stored within their alayavijnana from their past lifetimes
have not been extinguished through the act of repentance. These seeds will
continue to bring forth unwholesome deeds in the future, resulting in negative
karmic retribution that will prevent them from exiting the cycle of birth and
death.
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