2.5 The Story about the Elder Mahā Kassapa

Dhp 28

Burlingame: Kassapa the Great

Elder Mahā Kassapa, after collecting his almsfood, sat in meditation and tried to understand in all its breadth the rising and falling away of living beings; the Buddha advised him that only Buddhas have such thorough knowledge, and then he spoke a verse.

Keywords: Insight, Radiant Image, Foremost Disciples

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“When the wise one eliminates heedlessness,” {1.258} this Dhamma teaching was given by the Teacher while he was in residence at Jetavana with reference to the Elder Mahā Kassapa. For on a certain day, while the elder was in residence at Pipphali Cave, he made his round of Rājagaha for alms, and after he had returned from his rounds for alms and had eaten his breakfast, he sat down and developed insight, surveying with his divine eye all living beings, both heedless and heedful, in the water, on the earth, on the mountains, and elsewhere, both coming into existence and passing out of existence.

The Teacher, seated at Jetavana, {1.259} exercised the divine eye and pondered within himself: “With what is my son Kassapa occupied today?” Straightaway he became aware of the following: “He is contemplating the rising and falling of living beings.” And he said: “Unlimited knowledge of the rising and falling of living beings is only within the knowledge of a Buddha. AJ: Burlingame had: “Knowledge of the rising and falling of living beings may not be compassed even with the Knowledge of a Buddha.” Something that is contradicted just two sentences below. Living beings pass from one existence to another and obtain a new conception in a mother’s womb without the knowledge of mother or father, and knowledge thereof may not be compassed. To know them is beyond your range, Kassapa, for your range is very slight. It comes within the [28.312] range of the Buddhas alone to know and to see in their totality the rising and falling of living beings.” So saying, he sent forth a radiant image of himself, and as it were sitting down face to face with Kassapa, pronounced the following verse:

28. Pamādaṁ appamādena yadā nudati paṇḍito,
paññāpāsādam-āruyha, asoko sokiniṁ pajaṁ,
pabbataṭṭho va bhummaṭṭhe dhīro bāle avekkhati.

When the wise one eliminates
heedlessness with his heedfulness,
and mounts the palace of wisdom,
griefless, he looks on grieving people;
the wise one, like one standing on
a mountain, looks down on the fools,
who are standing on the plains.

At the conclusion of the verse many realised the fruition of Stream-entry and so on.