The Story of the Garuḍa Birds and the Dragons—The Dragon Clans Receive the Buddha’s Robe
At that time, four Garuḍa bird kings heard that portions of the Buddha’s robe had been
distributed to the dragon clans to ensure their safety. They quickly flew to
the Buddha, prostrated themselves, and asked, “World-Honored One! Why have you
taken away our food?” The Buddha replied, “There are four ways of obtaining
food that will cause one to fall into the three lower realms of hell, hungry
ghosts, and animals: using nets to hunt and kill animals for food; using
weapons to commit robbery and plunder, coercing and bullying others to obtain
food from them; flattering or deceiving others, and violating precepts, to
obtain food; and falsely claiming to be a practitioner (or a Buddha or a pure
practicing Dharma master) to fraudulently obtain food offerings! Using these
four methods to obtain food will absolutely result in falling into the three
lower realms of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals after death. The true Dharma I
teach eliminates these four ways of obtaining food. One should not sustain
one’s life by harming the lives of sentient beings because all living beings
value their own lives and love themselves! Truly wise people understand that if
you want to protect yourself, you must first protect others. When other beings
are safe, only then can you be safe. One who understands this principle will
refrain from harming others and will absolutely avoid all that should not be
done!”
Upon hearing this, the four Garuḍa bird kings immediately led over a thousand followers to prostrate
themselves before the Buddha and repent, saying, “Today, we sincerely take
refuge in the Three Jewels of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha! We repent for all the
evil karma we created in the past! From now on, we will uphold the precepts by
practicing the Dharma－giving of fearlessness and cease to prey on all dragon clans so that
they may live free from terror! We vow to protect the true Dharma and follow
the Buddha’s path until the very last moment that the Dharma remains in the
world. We will never violate the Buddha’s teachings!”
After hearing this, the Buddha revealed a past event to them: “Actually, during the time when Suvarṇa Buddha was in the world, the four of you were bhikṣus named Delighted, Greatly Delighted, Superior Victory, and Superior Friend. At that time, however, you not only violated the precepts but also greedily sought offerings, became intoxicated with pleasure, and attached yourselves to the powerful. With confused minds and arrogance, you fell into the wrong views and despised and oppressed ordained bhikṣus. You failed to guard the actions of your bodies, speech, and minds, thus creating a much evil karma. However, you also made great offerings to Suvarṇa Buddha, thus accomplishing immeasurable merit. Therefore, although you avoided falling into hell, you still assumed an animal form (as Garuḍa birds) due to your evil karma. As Garuḍa birds, over many lifetimes and long periods, you took countless lives and caused innumerable beings to experience terror.” After speaking, the Buddha used His supernatural powers to enable the four bird kings to remember their past-life karmic actions. They clearly saw how they had made offerings to Suvarṇa Buddha and the Sangha, yet, due to jealousy, greed, and wrong views, had committed numerous evil deeds. Scene after scene unfolded vividly before their eyes! They told the Buddha, “We were once so obstinate, and our minds were difficult to tame. Through greed and jealousy, we harmed countless lives and violated Suvarṇa Buddha’s teachings. From this day onward, even if our bodies are shattered into pieces, we will absolutely dare not create evil karma again!” Seeing their sincere repentance, the Buddha gave them this prediction: “In the future, when Maitreya Buddha attains Buddhahood, you will all be liberated at his first teaching assembly!” (Part 2/3)
Stuck in
endless cycles of conflict? Stay tuned—the story reveals Buddhist wisdom that the
Ocean Dragon King and Garuḍa bird
kings never discovered.🐉✨
#Buddha #Buddhiststories #nirvana #Dharma #Tathāgata
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