English
Then those flowers, going from the sky, fell at the feet of Mahāpaduma Paccekabuddha, the eldest of the five hundred Paccekabuddhas, sons of Padumavatī, who were living in the Himalayan region. Thus: 14. Oh, see now the wonder, Of the result of good deeds; Even inanimate flowers, Are engaged in messenger duties. 15. One who desires to bring, The whole world under one's control; Should always do good, With all one's might, wisely. Then Mahāpaduma Paccekabuddha, knowing this, addressed his other brothers, "Friends, King Nandiya has invited you. Accept his invitation." They accepted and immediately went through the air and landed at the northern gate. People announced to the king, "Five hundred Paccekabuddhas have arrived, O king!" The king, together with the queen, went, paid homage, took their bowls, led the Paccekabuddhas up to the palace, and there gave them alms. At the end of the meal, the king to the Saṅghathera, the queen to the Saṅghanavaka... Having them lie down at his feet, saying, "May the venerable ones not be troubled by requisites, may we not diminish in merit, grant us permission to reside here," and having obtained their consent, he had dwelling places and so forth built in the garden, and attended to the Paccekabuddhas for life. When they passed away, he performed the funeral rites fittingly, and having performed the bodily obsequies with sandalwood, aloe, and so forth, and having taken the relics, he established a shrine. "Even such great and powerful queens will die, what then of those like me?" Overcome with a sense of urgency, he established his eldest son in the kingdom and himself went forth into homelessness. When the king had gone forth, the queen also, thinking, "What shall I do?" went forth, and both dwelling in the garden, having developed jhāna and supernormal powers, passing their time in the bliss of jhāna, at the end of their life, were reborn in the Brahma world. In the time of our Blessed One, they were reborn in a Brahmin family, and went forth into the Buddha's dispensation. Then, King Nandiya, became the foremost of those who practice the ascetic observances, named the Elder Mahākassapa, and like the moon or the sun, became known in the world, and when the Blessed One had passed away, he greatly adorned the Buddha's dispensation. His wife was named Bhaddakāpilānī. 16. Having given in the past, wandering in the forest, a mere breath to a Paccekabuddha, having made his own kingdom, the island of Kuru, beautiful, he was a king of the earth, of great power. 17. You, venerable sirs, are virtuous indeed, you give gifts that are not small; that is your support in future existences, like a wish-fulfilling gem, like a wish-granting tree, it is the essence. The story of King Nandiya, the first. 12. This sequential story is in the story of a certain man. When our Blessed One had passed away, near Pāṭaliputta, in a certain village, a certain poor man lived. One day, going to a certain village, having put on two cloths, he reached a great forest. Seeing him going thus, a thief, thinking, "I will take his cloth," pursued him. Seeing the thief coming from afar, he thought, "I am not able to flee from him, or I cannot fight with him, And coming here, he will surely Seize my garment, even against my will. I cannot take it from him uselessly, I will give it as a gift," He made a resolution. Then the thief came and touched the garment, Then that man, gladdening his heart, thought, "May this gift of my garment be a condition For happiness and enjoyment in future existences," And giving the garment, Because he was poorly clothed, Leaving the main road, Going by another path for pedestrians, Bitten by a venomous snake, He died, and in the Himalayan region, In a golden mansion of twelve yojanas, Surrounded by thousands of nymphs, he was reborn. Around his mansion, In a place of three yojanas, Wish-fulfilling trees arose. Seeing great divine wealth, Expressing joy, he spoke: 1. By merely intending, A gift from one's own possession, One gives abundant enjoyment, Excellent divine dominion. 2. Twelve yojanas in height, Difficult to see, blinding the eye, Equipped with gabled houses, All golden, beautiful. 3. Born of my merit, Crowded with many desires and passions, And likewise adorned With very pure canopies. 4. Around the palace, Divine garments hang down; Blown by the wind, they shine, As if inviting those with good minds. 5. Around my palace, In a ground area of three yojanas, Givers of whatever is desired, Divine trees have arisen. 6. There with dances, with songs, With music, with instruments, With thousands of nymphs, I rejoice in my mansion. 7. Not well given, the garment's Fruit is like this in a barren field; To one giving well in a fertile field, Who will describe the fruit? 8. Having done such merit as this, A man attains divine glory, praiseworthy by the sage; Having thought, "Give the excellent gift to the virtuous," With faith, with a pure mind, he is a special partaker. The second story of a certain man. 13. In the story of Visamalomakumāra, this is the sequential account: In the past, in this Jambudīpa, there was a Fully Enlightened One named Kassapa. Having fulfilled the perfections, Having attained omniscience, The remover of the world's suffering, The bringer of happiness, Resides in the world, Filling the great city of Nibbana. At that time, a certain man, Having heard the Teacher's Dhamma, Being pleased, giving alms to the Sangha, Keeping the precepts, performing the Uposatha, Having done various meritorious deeds, As if awakened from sleep, Went and was reborn in the deva world, In a divine abode made of all jewels, Surrounded by thousands of celestial nymphs. Having stayed there for his life span, Having passed away from there, When our Blessed One had attained Nibbana, In Jambudipa, in the city of Pataliputta, In the womb of the chief queen Of the great king, the righteous Dhammasoka, Who turned the wheel of power, While naming him, Because a hair grew unevenly on his head, They recognized him as Prince Visamaloma. He gradually reached maturity, And became endowed with strength. He was very powerful and handsome. He was lovely, pleasing, Endowed with fame and retinue, He resided. Then, at another time, The great king Dhammasoka, Surrounded by eighty-four thousand kings, With an endless force of strength, Fond of sport, Having gone to the Himalayas, Having played as he pleased, Returning, reached the Ganges Called Candabhaga. It was a league wide, Three gavutas deep. Then it, with newly arrived floods, Full of great foam, Overflowing both banks, Was going with great speed. Then the king, seeing the Ganges, said, "Who here is a man Able to cross such a great Ganges?" Having heard that, Prince Visamaloma, Having come, having bowed, said, "I, O King, am able To cross the Ganges, To go and to come." The king agreed, saying, "Good." Then the prince, having dressed tightly, Having bound his hair with a crocodile tooth, Standing on the bank of the Ganges, Having leaped eighteen cubits, Having fallen in a bullock-cart space, Began to cross. Then, cutting through the fierce current, While crossing, The fierce crocodiles that came To seize him while going and coming, He struck with his hand. Having made them into powder, having killed twenty hundred, having lifted him up, having approached the ground, having paid homage to the king, he stood there. The king, seeing that deed, struck with fear, "This one is able to kill me and seize the kingdom too. It is fitting to kill him," he thought, and having reached the city, having summoned the prince, he said to the ministers, "Put him in the prison." They did so, and while he was living in the prison, four months passed. Then the king, after four months had passed, having brought sixty bamboo shoots, each sixty cubits long, having had the knots smoothed, having filled them inside with iron core, having had them placed in the royal courtyard, having had Visamalomakumāra brought from the prison, [having commanded, everywhere] he said to the ministers thus, "Now, let this prince cut these bamboo shoots into four-finger lengths with this sword. If he cannot cut them, kill him," he said. Having heard that, the prince said, "I have been in prison for a long time, afflicted by hunger, weakened by lack of food, why shouldn't I eat food and then cut them?" They said, "There is no food for you now." "Then I will drink water from the pond," he said. They said, "Good," and led him to the pond. The prince, having gone down into the pond, having bathed, having dived down, having eaten mud to his satisfaction, having drunk water, having risen up, having taken the sword, before the eyes of the crowd, [before the eyes of the crowd, everywhere] having leapt eighty cubits into the air, cutting all the bamboo shoots into pieces of four-finger lengths, having come down, having reached the thick iron rod at the base, having heard the sound "kiṇī," having thrown away the sword, weeping, he stood there. Then, when the king's men said, "Why are you weeping?" he said, "Among so many people, I have not a single friend. If there were one, he would have told me of the existence of the iron core inside these bamboo shoots, but I, knowing it, would have cut these bamboo shoots into one-finger lengths." Then the king, seeing the deed done by the prince, Looking at him, pleased, he granted the position of sub-king and much wealth, thus his attainment of strength was not the power of birth, lineage, or family. Not the power of evil deeds such as killing. Whose power is this? It is the result of meritorious deeds such as giving alms to the community of monks in the time of Kassapa Sammāsambuddha. Therefore, it was said: 1. In the time of Kassapa, the Sage, A certain man, Approaching the Buddha, Heard the well-taught Dhamma. 2. Having regained faith, To the virtuous monks, He gave abundant