English
for the appearance of a great earthquake.’ That the great earth quaked seven times when King Vessantara gave a great gift, that was unseasonable, occurring at some time, free from the eight causes. Therefore, it is not counted among the eight causes. Just as, great king, in the world, only three kinds of clouds are counted: the rainy season cloud, the winter cloud, the autumn cloud. If, apart from these, another cloud rains, that cloud is not counted among the recognized clouds; it is simply called an unseasonable cloud. Even so, great king, that the great earth quaked seven times when King Vessantara gave a great gift, this was unseasonable, occurring at some time, free from the eight causes. It is not counted among the eight causes. Or again, great king, from the Himālaya mountains, five hundred rivers flow. Of these five hundred rivers, great king, only ten rivers are counted in the river enumeration. Namely: Gaṅgā, Yamunā, Aciravatī, Sarabhū, Mahī, Sindhu, Sarasvatī, Vetravatī, Vītaṃsā, Candabhāgā. The remaining rivers are not counted in the river enumeration. For what reason? Those rivers do not have constant water. Even so, great king, that the great earth quaked seven times when King Vessantara gave a great gift, this was unseasonable, occurring at some time, free from the eight causes. released, it is not counted by the eight reasons. “Just as, O great king, a king has a hundred, two hundred, three hundred ministers, but only six people are counted in the reckoning of ministers. That is to say: the general, the chaplain, the judge, the treasurer, the umbrella-bearer, the sword-bearer. These alone are counted in the reckoning of ministers. For what reason? Because they are endowed with royal qualities. The rest are not counted, all are merely called ministers. Even so, O great king, when King Vessantara was giving great gifts, the great earth trembled seven times. This is an untimely, occasionally occurring event, released from the eight reasons, it is not counted by the eight reasons. “Is it heard, O great king, in this present Dispensation of the Victor, of those who have performed meritorious deeds, whose deeds bring happiness in this very life, and whose fame has risen among gods and humans?” “Yes, venerable sir, it is heard in this present Dispensation of the Victor, of those who have performed meritorious deeds, whose deeds bring happiness in this very life, and whose fame has risen among gods and humans— seven people.” “Who are they, O great king?” “Sumana the garland-maker, venerable sir, Ekasāṭaka the brahmin, Puṇṇa the servant, Queen Mallikā, Queen Gopālamātā, Suppiyā the female lay follower, and Puṇṇā the slave woman— these seven are beings who experienced happiness in this very life, and their fame has risen among gods and humans.” “Are there others heard of, who in the past went to the realm of the Thirty-three gods with this very human body?” “Yes, venerable sir, they are heard of.” “Who are they, O great king?” “Guttila the musician, King Sādhīna, King Nimi, and King Mandhātā— these four people are heard of, who went to the realm of the Thirty-three gods with that very human body.” “It is heard that what is done for a long time, whether good or bad, bears fruit. But have you ever heard, O great king, in the past or in the present, that when a gift of a certain kind was being given, the great earth trembled once, or twice, or thrice?” “Is it so?” “No, venerable sir.” “I have, great king, knowledge, attainment, study, listening, strength of training, eagerness to learn, inquiry, attendance on teachers. Even by me it has not been heard before, ‘When a gift of such-and-such a person was given, once, or twice, or thrice, the great earth quaked,’ except for the supreme gift of King Vessantara, the bull of men. And between the Buddha Kassapa, great king, and the Buddha Sakyamuni, countless crores of years have passed. Even then I have no hearing, ‘When a gift of such-and-such a person was given, once, or twice, or thrice, the great earth quaked.’ Not, great king, by such an amount of effort, by such an amount of exertion, does the great earth quake. Overwhelmed by the burden of virtues, great king, overwhelmed by the burden of all pure deeds and virtues, unable to bear it, the great earth moves, quakes, trembles. “Just as, great king, when a cart is overloaded, its hubs and felloes burst, its axle breaks; even so, great king, overwhelmed by the burden of all pure deeds and virtues, unable to bear it, the great earth moves, quakes, trembles. “Or just as, great king, the sky, covered by the force of wind and water, overwhelmed by a heavy burden of water, burst by an excessive wind, roars, rumbles, thunders; even so, great king, the great earth, overwhelmed by the vast and heavy burden of King Vessantara’s power of giving, unable to bear it, moves, quakes, trembles. For, great king, King Vessantara’s mind does not proceed by way of lust, does not proceed by way of hatred, does not proceed by way of delusion, does not proceed by way of conceit, does not proceed by way of wrong view, does not proceed by way of defilements, does not proceed by way of thoughts, does not proceed by way of discontent; but rather, it proceeds mostly by way of giving, ‘How might future beggars come to me, and having come, having received as they wish, may they be joyful. Thus, his mind was constantly and continuously set on giving. O great king, the mind of King Vessantara was constantly and continuously set on ten things: on self-restraint, on tranquility, on patience, on control, on discipline, on regulation, on non-anger, on non-harming, on truthfulness, on purity. O great king, the sensual craving of King Vessantara was abandoned, the craving for existence was appeased, he was intent only on the quest for the holy life. O great king, the self-protection of King Vessantara was abandoned, he was intent on the protection of all beings, thinking: ‘How may these beings be united, healthy, wealthy, long-lived?’ His mind frequently revolved thus. And giving, O great king, King Vessantara did not give that gift for the sake of prosperity, he did not give for the sake of wealth, he did not give for the sake of a return gift, he did not give for the sake of flattery, he did not give for the sake of long life, he did not give for the sake of beauty, he did not give for the sake of happiness, he did not give for the sake of strength, he did not give for the sake of fame, he did not give for the sake of sons, he did not give for the sake of daughters, but he gave such an incomparable, vast, and supreme gift for the sake of omniscience, for the sake of the jewel of omniscient knowledge. And having attained omniscience, he spoke this verse: “Jāli and Kaṇhājinā, my children, and Maddīdevī, my faithful wife; I gave them away without regret, only for the sake of enlightenment.” O great king, King Vessantara conquered anger with non-anger, he conquered the bad with the good, he conquered the stingy with giving, he conquered the liar with truth, he conquered all unwholesome things with wholesome things. As he gave thus, following the Dhamma, with the Dhamma as his guide, by the powerful and vast expansion of the stream of his giving, great winds below began to stir, slowly, slowly, again and again, they blew in a swirling manner, they bent down, they rose up, they bowed, trees with broken leaves fell down, clouds rushed through the sky in clusters, dust-laden winds became fierce. ...the winds, pressing against the sky, blow, suddenly they roar, a great terrifying sound emerges. When those winds are agitated, the water slowly, slowly moves. When the water moves, fish and turtles are disturbed. Twin-like waves arise. Aquatic creatures tremble. Water-waves become intertwined. The sound of waves spreads. Terrifying bubbles rise up. Foam garlands appear. The great ocean overflows. Water rushes in every direction. Streams of water flow, with upstream and downstream currents. Asuras, Garulas, Nagas, Yakkhas tremble. They are alarmed, thinking: 'What is this? How is this? The ocean is overturning!' With fearful hearts, they seek paths to escape. When the water currents are disturbed and agitated, the great earth, with its mountains and oceans, trembles. Mount Sineru, with its peak of rocky mountains, turns over, bending down. Snakes, mongooses, cats, jackals, boars, deer, and birds become distressed. Yakkhas of little power weep. Yakkhas of great power laugh at the trembling great earth. "Just as, great king, in a large, great pot placed on a stove, filled with water and scattered with rice, when fire burns below, it first heats the pot. The heated pot heats the water. The heated water heats the rice. The heated rice rises and sinks, bubbles form, and foam garlands appear. Even so, great king, King Vessantara gave up what is difficult to give up in the world. By the natural consequence of that gift, which was difficult to give up, the great winds below, unable to hold it, became agitated. When the great winds were agitated, the water trembled. When the water trembled, the great earth trembled. Thus, at that time, the great winds, the water, and the great earth—these three— became as if of one mind, by the consequence of the great gift, with immense power and strength. There is no such power of giving, great king, of anyone else, as that of King Vessantara's great gift." No such power. Just as, O great king, on earth many kinds of gems are found. Namely: sapphire, great sapphire, fire-gem, cat's-eye, flax-flower gem, sirīsa-flower gem, mind-delighting gem, sun-gem, moon-gem, diamond, firefly gem, topaz, ruby, masāragalla gem. Surpassing all these, the Wheel-turning Monarch's gem is declared supreme. The Wheel-turning Monarch's gem, O great king, illuminates a league all around. Even so, O great king, whatever gift exists on earth, even an incomparable, supreme gift, surpassing all that, the great gift of King Vessantara