36: King Pukkusāti and Others

When King Bimbisāra was ruling the city of Rājagaha in the country of Magadha in the Middle Land (Majjhima-desa), the ruler of the city of Takkasilā, on the border of the Middle Land, was King Pukkusāti.

Once, the merchants of Takkasilā went to Rājagaha with goods for sale. They took presents and went to see King Bimbisāra. They offered the presents and stood paying respect to the king, who asked them where they lived and they replied they lived in Takkasilā.

After making further enquiries about the political situation, material welfare and about the city itself, he asked the name of the king. When the merchants replied that their king was Pukkusāti, he asked if their king fulfilled the ten kingly duties. They answered: “Great King, our monarch fulfils the ten duties. He promotes the welfare of the people through the four supporting things (saṅgaha-vatthu) such as crop-sacrifice (sassa-medha), human-sacrifice (purisa-medha), winning over the poor (sammā-pāsa), and endearing speech (vācā-peyya). He acts like the parent of the people and makes them happy as the parent would to the child sleeping in his lap.”

King Bimbisāra asked yet another question: “How old is your king?” The merchants answered with the age of their king, and it so happened that the two monarchs were of the same age.

Then the king said to the merchants: “Friends, your king is righteous. He is equal to me in age. Would you be able to make your king my friend?” When the answer was in the affirmative, King Bimbisāra exempted the merchants from customs duties, provided them with lodgings and ended the conversation by asking them to see him before their departure from the city.

In accordance with the king’s instructions, the merchants went to see King Bimbisāra on the eve of their departure, and the king said: “Friends, have a pleasant journey on your way home. Ask your king, in my name, about his health and tell him, on my behalf, that I desire friendship with him.”

“Very well,” replied the merchants and they returned to Takkasilā. On arrival there, they stowed away their goods properly, and went to see their king after breakfast. The king asked: “Where have you been, men? I have not seen you for all these days.” The merchants reported the whole matter to their king. Then the king rejoiced, saying: “Excellent, men! Because of you, I have a friend and ally in the Middle Country.”

Later on, the merchants of Rājagaha went to Takkasilā on business. They called on King Pukkusāti with presents. When the king learned that they had come from Rājagaha, the city of his royal friend. He said: “Are you the visitors from Rājagaha, the city of my friend and ally, King Bimbisāra.” The merchants replied in the affirmative.

Afterwards the king asked after his friend’s health and made an announcement with the beat of drums: “From today onwards, all the merchants, who have come to my kingdom from the country of my friend King Bimbisāra, on foot or in carts, shall be provided with houses for lodging and provisions from the royal granary. They shall be exempted from taxes. There shall be no molestation whatsoever to them.” King Bimbisāra did similarly in his kingdom.

Exchanges between the Kings

Then King Bimbisāra sent a message to King Pukkusāti saying: “Friend, precious stones, such as rubies, pearls, etc. are usually produced in border countries. If you ever find various precious stones that make attractive objects and sensational news, please inform me of them.”

King Pukkusāti, on his part, sent a return message reading: “Friend, the Middle Land is a great region. If attractive and sensational precious stones of different kinds appear there, kindly inform me.”

As the days, months and years passed, the two kings remained staunch friends even without seeing each other. While the two kings were thus committed to sharing the news of their potential treasures, a very special thing worthy to be given as a gift occurred to King Pukkusāti first. The king obtained eight pieces of an invaluable, five-coloured muslin. “These are of fine quality,” thought the king, “I shall send them as gifts to my friend King Bimbisāra.” So he had eight cases made of sandalwood, each being the size of a gum-lac ball, turned on a lathe: in each case he put a muslin piece, and by applying gum-lac, he had the cases made [868] into balls. Each ball was then wrapped with a white cloth and put in a box which was wrapped again with another cloth and sealed. “Give it to my friend King Bimbisāra,” the king asked his ministers and sent the boxes to his royal friend. He also sent a message: “I would like my friend to open the box and see the gifts in the company of his ministers and other officials at the centre of the city.”

The ministers went to Rājagaha and presented the gift. On hearing the message, King Bimbisāra ordered his ministers and officials, through his drummers, to assemble. At the city-centre, the king sat on the jewelled throne under a white royal umbrella. Then he removed the seal and the cloth-covers and opened the box. When he untied the package in the box and saw the gum balls, it occurred to him thus: “Oh, my friend King Pukkusāti sent these gum balls as his gifts, for he must have mistaken me for a gambler, a dice-addict.” Thinking thus, he took a ball, rolled it in his hand, guessed its weight and knew definitely that it contained a bundle of muslin.

When the king struck the ball against the foot of the throne, the gum fell off in layers. He opened the fragrant case gently with his fingernails and on seeing the muslin he ordered the other seven cases to be opened. They clearly saw with their eyes that they all contained priceless pieces of muslin. When these were spread and measured, they were found to be of beautiful colours and fine material, each measuring sixteen cubits in length and eight cubits in breath. On seeing the precious treasure of muslin, people clapped their hands and threw up their turbans. They rejoiced, saying: “Our king and his friend, King Pukkusāti, have never seen each other, yet that king has sent such priceless gifts. It is proper to make such a king a friend.”

King Bimbisāra had each muslin piece appraised and found all of them to be of inestimably high value. He had four of them offered to the Buddha and kept the other four in his palace.

Then King Bimbisāra considered thus: “A return gift should excel the gift received. My friend, King Pukkusāti, has sent me a priceless gift. What kind of gift should I send in return to him?”

Herein, it may be asked: “Is there no treasure that is better then the eight pieces of muslin in Rājagaha?” The answer is: It was not that there was none indeed. King Bimbisāra was a great king. Therefore, it could not be that there was nothing better than the eight pieces of muslin. Nevertheless, from the time of his attainment of Stream-enterer (Sotāpanna) any worldly treasure had been no more delightful to the king’s heart. Only the Three Treasures, in the form of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha, were delightful.

Therefore, in selecting the most valuable thing as a return gift, the king considered in the following manner: “In this world, treasures (ratana) are of two kinds: the living (saviññāṇaka) and the non-living (aviññāṇaka). Of these two, the non-living, such as gold, silver or any other precious thing, is only to adorn the living. Therefore, the living treasure is more praiseworthy.

Again, the living treasure is of two kinds: the human and the animal. The animal, such as an elephant, horse or any other creature, is only to work for the human. Therefore the human treasure is the more praiseworthy.

Again, the human treasure is of two kinds: the male and the female. The female, even if she be the wife of a Universal Monarch, is to serve the male. Therefore the male treasure is more praiseworthy. Again, the male treasure is of two kinds: the householder (agārika) who strives for his family, and the ascetic (anagārika) who does not strive for his family. The householder, even if he be a Universal Monarch, the top of the former kind, is to pay homage with the hands, knees and forehead touching the ground to the newly ordained novice of today. Therefore the ascetic treasure is more praiseworthy.

Again, the ascetic treasure is of two kinds: the learner (sekkha), a [869] man of lower attainments, and the non-learner (asekkha), an Arahat. Even if there be 100,000 learners, they are not equal to one non-learner, the Arahat, in sanctity. Therefore, the non-learner treasure is more praiseworthy.

Again, the non-learner treasure is of two kinds: the Buddha and the disciple. Even if there be 100,000 disciples, they are not equal to one Buddha in sanctity. Therefore, the Buddha treasure is more praiseworthy.

Again, the Buddha treasure is of two kinds: the Independent Buddha (Pacceka-buddha) and the Perfectly Self-Awakened One (Sammā-sambuddha). Even if there be 100,000 of the former type, they are not equal to one Buddha of the latter kind. Therefore, the omniscient Buddha is more praiseworthy.

Indeed, in this world of sentient beings, together with the world of Devas and Brahmas, there is no treasure like an omniscient Buddha. Therefore, I will send that unique treasure to my friend King Pukkusāti.”

So thinking, King Bimbisāra asked the ministers from Takkasilā whether they had ever seen the Three Treasures: the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha, in their country. The ministers replied that they had not even heard of them, much less seen them. The king was much pleased because he now had the opportunity to send a present that was not found in Takkasilā. Then the king thought: “I can request the Fortunate One to go to Takkasilā, the city of my friend King Pukkusāti, for the spiritual uplift of the people. But it is not customary for the Fortunate One to pass the night in border countries. So it is impossible for the Fortunate One to go there.

Suppose I request the Buddha to send Ven. Sāriputta, Ven. Mahā Moggallāna and other great disciples and Arahats. But the fact is, even as soon as I hear of the sojourn of these great venerables in border regions, I should send my people, have them brought here by any means possible and serve their physical needs. So it is not possible for the great venerables to go there. Therefore I will send a message that will serve the same purpose as the visit of the Fortunate One and the great venerables to Takkasilā would.”

The king then had a gold sheet made, four cubits in length and half a cubit in breath, neither too thick nor too thin. On the day he was going to write on the sheet, he washed his head early in the morning, bathed, committed himself to the eight precepts and after his breakfast, he did not adorn himself with flowers or use any perfume. Then taking the vermilion in a gold cup, he closed all the doors of the lower storey and went upstairs and in order to get more light, he opened the lion-figure supported window in the east, and sat in the airy chamber.

The king then wrote on the golden sheet: “There has arisen in this world the master, who is the Worthy One (Arahaṁ), the Perfectly Self-Awakened One (Sammā-sambudha) the possessor of knowledge and good conduct (vijjā-caraṇa-sampanna), the noble wayfarer (Gracious One), the knower of the worlds (loka-vidū), the peerless charioteer and trainer of men (anuttaro-purisa-damma-sārathi), the teacher of men and Devas (satthā-Deva-manussānaṁ), the Awakened One (Buddha), the Fortunate One (Bhagavā).”

Thus the king first wrote some high attributes of the Buddha. Then he described how the Bodhisatta practised the ten perfections (pāramī); how, after his demise in the Tusita realm, he took conception in the womb of his mother; how, at that time, there appeared 32 great signs that seemed to open the whole world freely; about the miracles attending his conception; how he practised asceticism and strove for Awakening; how, sitting on the undefeated (aparājita) throne, he attained omniscience; and how he acquired extraordinary supernormal powers that made the whole world open to him.

Finally, King Bimbisāra wrote that in the living world of Devas and Brahmas there was no jewel other than the Buddha-jewel which possessed such great attributes. The king again described some other attributes of the Buddha in the following verse (Khp 6, Snp 2.1): [870]

Yaṁ kiñci vittaṁ idha vā huraṁ vā
saggesu vā yaṁ ratanaṁ paṇītaṁ
na no samaṁ atthi Tathāgatena;
idam-pi Buddhe ratanaṁ paṇītaṁ
etena saccena suvatthi hotu!

Whatever riches there are, here or hereafter or in the heavens, that excellent treasure is not equal to the Realised One; this excellent treasure is in the Buddha, by virtue of this truth may there be safety!

Then willing to extol the Dhamma-jewel, the king wrote down its six attributes: “The doctrine of the Buddha is well-proclaimed (svākkhāta), leading to results discernible in this very life (sandiṭṭhika), it is instantly beneficial (akālika), it invites beings to come and see (ehipassika), it is worthy to be embraced (opanayika), and worthy to be experienced by the wise individually (paccattaṁ veditabbo viññūhi). The king also mentioned special attributes such as the 37 constituents of Awakening (Bodhi-pakkhiya-dhamma), the four foundations of mindfulness (sati-paṭṭhāna), the four right efforts (sammappadhāna), the four paths to supernormal power (iddhi-pāda), the five faculties (indriya), the five strengths (bala), the seven factors of Awakening (bojjhaṅga) and the eightfold path (maggaṅga).

Then the king described the attributes of the Dhamma partly as follows:

Yaṁ Buddha-seṭṭho parivaṇṇayī suciṁ,
samādhim-ānantarikañ-ñam-āhu,
samādhinā tena samo na vijjati;
idam-pi Dhamme ratanaṁ paṇītaṁ,
etena saccena suvatthi hotu!

That which the great Buddha praised as being pure, the concentration said to have immediate result, no equal to that concentration is found; this excellent treasure is in the Dhamma, by virtue of this truth may there be safety!

Then the king, willing to extol the Saṅgha-jewel, wrote down its nine attributes, of which the first four were: “The disciples of the Buddha possess good conduct (suppaṭipaññatā), upright conduct (uju-paṭipaññatā), conduct leading to Nibbāna (ñāya-paṭipaññatā), conduct leading to their being worthy of veneration (sāmīci-paṭipaññatā); by possessing which they are worthy of offerings brought from afar (āhuneyya), worthy of offerings meant for guests (pāhuneyya), worthy of proper offerings (dakkhiṇeyya), worthy of veneration (añjali-karaṇīya), and are the best field for beings to sow the seeds of good deeds (anuttaraṁ puññakkhettaṁ lokassa).

The king continued with his writing: “Clansmen, who are of good birth and good conduct, hear the words of the Fortunate One and renounce the world to become monks. Some do so, giving up the pleasures of a king, some the pleasures of a crown prince, some the post of a supreme commander, and so on. Having become monks, they lead a noble way of life.” After this foreword, with regard to the noble way of life, the king wrote something about lower morality (cūḷa-sīla), medium morality (majjhima-sīla), higher morality (mahā-sīla), etc., as contained in the Discourse on the Supreme Net (Brahma-jāla-sutta, DN 1). He also wrote, in part, on the restraint of the six senses, cultivation of mindfulness with clear consciousness (sati-sampajañña), contentment with the four requisites of life, the nine kinds of dwellings suitable for meditation, the overcoming of the five hindrances (nīvaraṇa), making preparations with certain devices (kasiṇa) for mind-training, the development of absorption (jhāna), the supernormal powers (abhiññā), the 38 kinds of meditation, etc., all leading up to the attainment of Awakening.

After describing in detail the sixteen kinds of mindfulness on breathing (ānāpānassati) meditation, the king glorified the Buddha’s Disciples in the Saṅgha:

Ye puggalā aṭṭha sataṁ pasatthā,
cattāri etāni yugāni honti,
te dakkhiṇeyyā Gracious Onessa sāvakā,
etesu dinnāni mahapphalāni;
idam-pi Saṅghe ratanaṁ paṇītaṁ,
etena saccena suvatthi hotu!

Those eight individuals praised by the good, there are these four pairs of persons, those disciples of the Fortunate One are worthy of gifts, those things that have been given to them have great fruit; this excellent treasure is in the Sangha, by virtue of this truth may there be safety!

The king then added: “The teaching of the Fortunate One with its threefold training [871] (sikkhā) is beautiful in the beginning, beautiful in the middle and beautiful in the end. It is the teaching that will also certainly lead to liberation from Saṁsāra. Friend Pukkusāti, I would like to urge you to renounce the world and become a monk if you can.”

King Bimbisāra then rolled the gold sheet, wrapped it in a piece of very fine cloth and put it in a sandalwood case; the sandalwood case was then placed in a gold case, the gold case in a silver case, the silver case in a ruby case, the ruby case in a coral case, the coral case in a carbuncle case, the carbuncle case in a spotted ruby (masāra-galla) case, the spotted-ruby case in a crystal case, the crystal case in an ivory case, the ivory case in a ten-jewelled case, the ten-jewelled case in a bamboo-strip case and the bamboo-strip case again in a sandalwood box, then again the sandalwood box was placed in a gold box, silver box, ruby box, coral box, carbuncle box, spotted-ruby box, crystal box, ivory box, the ten jewelled box and a bamboo-strip box successively, one box in the other as before.

Then the bamboo-strip box was put in a sandalwood casket, the sandalwood casket in a gold casket, then in a silver casket, ruby casket, coral casket, carbuncle casket, spotted ruby casket, crystal casket, ivory casket, ten-jewelled casket and lacquer casket successively. Then after having the lacquer casket wrapped up in a piece of fine cloth, and the royal seal stamped, the king ordered his ministers: “Decorate the streets in my domain, each street being eight measures in width, the two portions being two measures in width on either side to be just patched up but the middle portion measuring four measures (usabha) ^{1 usabha = 20 yaṭṭhi; 1 yaṭṭhi = 7 ratana; 1 ratana = 2 vadatthi; 1 vadatthi = 12 aṅgula; 1 aṅgula = 1 inch. Hence 1 usabha = 280 ft according to Childers.} in width is to be decorated with royal accessories.”

Then the king had a seat placed on a fully ornamented royal elephant, had a white umbrella placed over it, had the roads of the capital sprinkled with water and thoroughly swept. Flags, banners, and streamers were to be hoisted. Either side of each road was decorated with plantain trees, water-filled pots, various performers and fragrant flowers. Messengers were sent to the provincial and city governors with instructions saying: “You should honour the royal present when it passes through places under your rule.”

Splendidly adorned with full regalia, and accompanied by his ministers, the king himself set off, carrying the sacred present to the border with great pomp and ceremony amid the boisterous playing of all kinds of music. He privately told his envoy who was in charge of the sacred present: “Men, I want my royal friend to receive it not in the presence of his queens but on the upper terrace of the mansion.”

The king worshipped the sacred present most respectfully, regarding its journey as the visit of the Buddha himself to the border country. Then he returned to Rājagaha city. The provincial and city governors also improved the road in the same way and passed on the sacred present from one place to another.

King Pukkusāti, too, had the road from the border refurbished, had the capital beautifully decorated and received the sacred present magnificently. The sacred present reached Takkasilā surprisingly on an Observance (Uposatha) day. The minister, who brought the present, transmitted to the king the message that King Bimbisāra had given him.

Having heard the message, King Pukkusāti made the necessary arrangements for the comfort of the visitors and took the present himself and went up to the upper terrace of the mansion. He posted guards at the door to prevent anyone from entering the mansion, opened the window, placed the holy present on a high place and took a lower seat for himself. Then he removed the royal seal and the outer covering of cloth and on opening the [872] containers one by one beginning with the lacquer casket he saw the innermost sandalwood casket and rightly concluded: “The way in which the present is packed is different from the way in which earthly treasures are packed. Surely it must be a jewel (ratana) that has appeared in the Middle Land and that deserves our attention.”

Then the king opened the fragrant casket, removed the royal seal and holding the very fine cloth by both edges, he unwrapped it gently and saw the golden scroll. He was struck with wonder at the fine script of the writer: the beautiful, well-shaped letters and lines that made up his handwriting. The king read every letter of the message.

As he read of the attributes of the Buddha, beginning with: “There has arisen the Fortunate One in this world,” he became very ecstatic, with the hair from 99,000 pores standing straight on end. He was unconscious even of his standing or sitting posture. He was deeply gratified when he thought of the opportunity that he had, thanks to his friend King Bimbisāra for the opportunity to hear the message about the Buddha-jewel that was so hard to hear despite the passage of millions of aeons (kappa).

Being unable to read further, King Pukkusāti sat in a contemplative mood till his ecstasy faded away. Then he read the attributes of the Dhamma-jewel beginning with being well-proclaimed (svākkhāta). Again he became ecstatic as before. Having remained in a contemplative mood till his ecstasy faded, he then read the attributes of the Saṅgha beginning with having good conduct (suppaṭipañño) and there arose a great ecstasy in him as before.

King Pukkusāti Ordains

Then the king read the last section in the gold scroll which described the mindfulness of breathing meditation. He engaged in meditation according to the instructions in the scroll and gained the form world (rūpāvacāra) absorption fully. He spent his time enjoying the bliss of meditation without anyone other than a young attendant who was allowed to stay with him. In this way, half a month elapsed.

The people of the city assembled in the courtyard of the palace and clamoured for the appearance of the king, saying: “The king has completely stopped reviewing the troops or seeing the dancers since the day he received the royal present. He has also ceased to give royal decisions. We want the king to show anyone he likes the royal present sent by his friend, King Bimbisāra. It is a tendency of some kings to try to annex a country by alluring the ruler with royal presents. What is our king doing now?”

When the king heard their outcry, he wondered whether he should work for the welfare of the country or follow the teaching of the Buddha. Then he thought: “No mathematician can count the number of lifetimes that I have spent as a ruler of a country. Therefore, I will now only practise the teaching of the Fortunate One.” So thinking, he took the sword that was near the bed, cut off his hair, opened the window and threw down the hair-knot with the ruby-headdress into the midst of the assembly, saying: “Men! Take my hair-knot and let it act as king.”

The people received the hair-knot together with its ornamental ruby headdress and cried, lamenting: “Great king! Are the kings who receive presents from their royal friends all like you?” The beard of King Pukkusāti was two finger-breaths long like that of the Bodhisatta on the eve of his renunciation.

Then the king sent his young attendant to the market to buy two dyed robes and an earthen bowl. Then saying: “I dedicate my monk’s life to the Fortunate Ones who are worthy of honour in this world,” he donned one robe as the lower garment, put on the other as the upper garment and, with the alms bowl hanging over his left shoulder and a staff in one hand, he paced twice or thrice outside the mansion to see whether he looked well and proper as a monk. He was pleased to find that he did. He then opened the main door and stepped down from the mansion.

The dancers and others who were waiting at the three successive doors saw the monk Pukkusāti coming down but they did not recognize the king. They thought that a Paccekabuddha had come to preach to their king. It was only when they got on to the top [873] of the mansion and thoroughly examined the seat of the king that they knew of the king’s departure and they cried all at once, like people in a sinking boat in the middle of the sea.

As soon as the monk Pukkusāti stepped on the ground, all the citizens and soldiers surrounded him and wept bitterly. The ministers said to Pukkusāti: “Great King! The kings in the Middle Land are very crafty. You should go only after sending emissaries and making inquiries to know definitely whether or not the Buddha-jewel has really appeared in the world. For the time being, you should return to the palace.”

But Ven. Pukkusāti went off, saying: “Friends, I have implicit faith in my friend, King Bimbisāra. My friend, King Bimbisāra, has never spoken to me ambiguously. You stay behind.” The ministers and the people, however, persisted in following the king.

Pukkusāti, the man of good family, then made a mark on the ground with his staff and asked the people: “Whose country is this?” They replied: “Great King, it is your country.” Then the monk said: “He who destroys this mark should be punished by the authority of the king.” In the Birth Story about King Mahājanaka (Mahā-Janaka-jātaka, Ja 539), the Queen Sīvali Devī dared not erase the line drawn on the ground by the Bodhisatta, King Mahā Janaka. So rolling on the ground, she artfully made the line disappear and followed the king. The people too followed through the pathway made by the queen. But in the case of the line drawn by King Pukkusāti, the people dared not destroy it and they were left rolling and weeping with their heads turned towards the line.

Pukkusāti the man of good family went off alone without taking even a servant or a slave to offer him a tooth-stick or water for washing his face on the journey. He travelled by himself, mindful of the fact that: “My teacher, the Fortunate One, renounced the world as a Bodhisatta and went off alone to become a monk.” Bent on following the example of the Buddha as far as possible and remembering that the Buddha never used a vehicle, he did not wear even a single-layered slipper or use even an umbrella made of leaves. The people climbed the trees, city-walls, small turrets or scaffolds on the walls or inside of fortifications, etc. and watched their king setting out alone.

Pukkusāti the man of good family thought: “I will have to go on a long journey. I cannot fare to the end of my journey all by myself.” So he followed a caravan. As he had to travel by foot on very rough terrain under the burning sun, the soles of his tender feet cracked with sores and eruptions, causing great pain and suffering. When the caravan set up a tent made up of branches and leaves and took rest, Pukkusāti stepped off the main road and sat at the foot of a tree. There was no one to massage him or attend to his physical needs. He entered upon the fourth absorption (jhāna) by engaging in breathing meditation, dispelled his weariness and passed the time in the bliss of absorption.

The next morning, he cleaned his body and again followed the caravan. When it was time for his morning meal, the merchants took his alms bowl and offered him food. Sometimes the food was not well-cooked: sometimes too soft, sometimes too rough, being mixed with sand and pebbles, sometimes too salty, and sometimes it had too little salt. The monk did not bother whether the food was soft or hard, rough or tender, salty or lacking salt, but only thought of the place it entered, and ate it as if it were celestial food.

In this way, he came to Sāvatthī, having covered a distance of 192 leagues. Although the caravan passed the Jetavana monastery in the city, it never occurred to him to ask where the Buddha resided. This was due to his reverence for the Buddha and the message of King Bimbisāra.

Throughout his journey, Ven. Pukkusāti concentrated his mind on the Buddha without thinking of anything else. Having arrived near Jetavana with deep reverence for the Buddha, he did not even wonder whether the Buddha lived there or not. The question to ask about the master never occurred to him.

The message of King Bimbisāra said that: “The Fortunate One appears in this world,” and so it led Pukkusāti to believe that the Buddha lived in Rājagaha. So, although he passed [874] by the Jetavana monastery, he did not ask about the residence of the master and continuing his journey, and came to Rājagaha, 45 leagues from Sāvatthī.

On reaching Rājagaha, just after sunset, Pukkusāti found many monasteries and as he concluded from King Bimbisāra’s message that the Buddha was in Rājagaha, he asked the people where the Buddha lived. The people asked him from where he came and on hearing that he came from the north, they said: “Venerable sir, you have come too far. The Fortunate One lives in Sāvatthī, 45 leagues distant from Rājagaha on the way by which you have come.”

The monk thought: “Now, it is too late. I cannot go to the Fortunate One today. I will spend the night here and see the Fortunate One tomorrow.” He asked the people about the place where the ascetics who came to Rājagaha after sunset put up. The people pointed to a potter’s small hut as the rest house for visiting monks. With the permission of the potter, the monk entered the hut and sat there to spend the night.

Meeting with the Buddha

At dawn on that day the Buddha surveyed the world of living beings and on seeing Pukkusāti, the Buddha thought: “This man of good family read the message sent by his friend King Bimbisāra and after completely renouncing his 100-league wide domain of Takkasilā, he became a monk out of reverence for me. Today he will reach Rājagaha after travelling 192 leagues, being 45 leagues beyond Sāvatthī. If I do not go to him, he will pass the night and die hopelessly without attaining the lower three fruitions. If I go to him he will realize the three lower fruitions of the noble path and become liberated. I have developed and practised the perfections for aeons out of compassion for worthy beings. I will now go and see him for his spiritual welfare.”

So early in the morning the Buddha cleaned his body and entered Sāvatthī with the monks on the round for alms. In the afternoon, he left the city, rested for a while in the fragrant chamber and thought: “This man of good family out of reverence for me has done that which is hard for many people to do. Having renounced the 100-league vast domain of Takkasilā, he set out alone without even a servant to give him water for washing his face.” The Buddha thought of this austerity of the monk and without calling Ven. Sāriputta or Ven. Moggallāna or any other disciples, he left Sāvatthī, taking his alms bowl and robes by himself.

The Buddha did not fly in the air or shorten the journey but went on foot as he knew that, out of reverence for him, the monk did not travel by elephant, horse, chariot or on a golden palanquin but went barefooted without even a slipper or a leaf-umbrella.

With a Buddha’s splendour and all the great marks and six bodily-radiance, etc. shrouded like the cloud-covered moon, the Buddha travelled incognito for about six hours during the whole afternoon and covering a distance of 45 leagues, he arrived near the potter’s hut at sunset, just after the monk Pukkusāti had entered the hut. The Buddha arrived with his glory covered in order to enable the monk to have complete rest, knowing that one who is tired and weary cannot absorb the Dhamma.

When the Buddha arrived near the potter’s hut, he did not enter it impolitely as the omniscient Buddha, but stood at the entrance and asked for the monk’s permission to stay there. Pukkusāti mistook the Buddha for an ordinary monk and gave his permission willingly, saying: “My friend, this hut is quiet. It is not small. You may stay here comfortably as you please.”

The Buddha, who was very tender and delicate, left the fragrant chamber which was like a celestial mansion and entered the potter’s hut which was very filthy and loathsome with ashes, broken pots, grass straws and droppings of chickens and pigs. Here, amidst this collection of garbage, the Buddha made a bed of grass, spread the robe of rags and sat totally unperturbed as though he were in the Perfumed Chamber that was fragrant with celestial scents.

Thus, as the two men of noble (khattiya) families, who were credited with past good deeds, who renounced royal pleasures to become monks, who had golden complexions, who had attained transcendent states, the Buddha and Pukkusāti both sat in the potter’s hut, making the hut very splendid, like the crystal cave where the two lion kings dwelt.

The Buddha never thought: “I am very delicate and yet I have travelled strenuously 45 leagues for six hours during the whole afternoon. I will now lie down on my right side to get over my weariness for a moment.” Without having any such thought, the Buddha entered upon the fourth absorption (jhāna) of fruition-attainment (phala-samāpatti) while sitting there.

Nor did the monk Pukkusāti think of lying down for a moment to overcome his weariness from the bare-footed journey of 192 leagues. He too entered upon the fourth absorption (jhāna) focusing on his breathing while sitting there.

The Buddha left Sāvatthī at noon, travelled on foot to Rājagaha which was 45 leagues away, reached the potter’s hut at sunset, entered the hut with the permission of the monk and became absorbed in fruition-attainment (phala-samāpatti) for six hours. Arising from the absorption (jhāna) at midnight, he opened both eyes, which were endowed with the five kinds of sensitivity, like opening the window of a golden mansion. Then he saw the monk Pukkusāti sitting focused on breathing and absorbed in the fourth absorption (jhāna) like a golden statue, without any movement of the hands, legs or head, grave and imperturbable, like a firmly established door-post. The Buddha thought that the monk’s posture was impressive and decided to start the conversation.

The Buddha asked the monk to whom he dedicated his monastic life, who was his teacher and whose teaching he liked. The monk answered that he dedicated his life to the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha. Again, the Buddha asked him where the Worthy One, the Supremely Awakened One lived. The monk Pukkusāti replied: “My friend, there is a city called Sāvatthī in the northern [876] country. The Worthy One, the Supremely Awakened One, now lives in that city.” When the Buddha asked him whether he had ever seen the Buddha, and if he were to see him now would he recognize him, Ven. Pukkusāti’s reply was that he had not seen him and that he would not know him if he were to see him now.

Knowing that the monk’s weariness had vanished, the Buddha decided to preach to the one who had dedicated his monk’s life to him, the Buddha said: “Monk! I will teach you. Listen to my teaching. Bear it well in mind. I will teach you the Dhamma thoroughly.”

Pukkusāti had renounced his kingdom after reading the message of his friend King Bimbisāra and had become a monk in the hope of hearing the sweet Dhamma of the Buddha. He had made such a long journey without meeting anyone who would care to teach him. So why should he refuse to welcome respectfully the teaching of his companion? Like a thirsty man, he was very anxious to drink the water of the Dhamma. So he gladly agreed to listen to the teaching respectfully.

Then the Buddha gave the summary or contents of the Discourse giving an Analysis of the Elements (Dhātu-vibhaṅga-sutta, MN 140) as follows: “Monk! A person or a being has six elements, six sense organs, eighteen modes of thought and four kinds of support. He, who exists on these four supports, is free from the current of conceit born of ego-illusion. When such current of conceit is absent in a monk, he is said to be one whose pollutants (āsava) are destroyed.

After thus stating these fundamentals of the Dhamma, the Buddha explained them one by one in detail.

Pukkusāti Attains Non-Returning

When the Buddha explained the first Dhamma, mindfulness of insight knowledge (vipassanā), the Buddha led the teaching up to the level of an Arahat and Pukkusāti attained the three lower fruitions on the basis of his good deeds in the past and became a noble one (ariya) and Non-returner (Anāgāmī).

For example, while a king is eating food of various tastes in a golden bowl, he takes such amount of cooked rice as would suit the size of his mouth. When the young prince sitting on his lap shows the desire to eat, the king may put in his mouth the lump of rice that he has taken for his own consumption. The child will eat only such quantity of rice as would be in accord with the size of his mouth. As for the remaining rice, the king may eat it himself or put it back into the golden bowl. In the same way, the Buddha, the lord of the Dhamma, gave a discourse leading up to the level of an Arahat, a discourse in accordance with his own intellectual powers and on the basis of his former good deeds, and the monk Pukkusāti could consume three fourths of the Dhamma food, that is, the paths and fruitions, and he became a noble Non-returner (Anāgāmī-ariya).

Pukkusāti had no doubt about the Dhamma before he became a Non-returner (Anāgāmi-phala) and when he was following the Buddha’s talk on aggregates, sense-organs, elements or mental impressions, etc. But he wondered whether the highly distinguished man who looked like an ordinary man and who was teaching him might be the Buddha because he had heard that the Buddhas made it a practice to go about incognito some times. However, when he attained the fruition of Non-returner (Anāgāmī), he had absolutely no doubt that the teacher was the Buddha.

Before he recognized the Buddha, he had addressed him as: “My friend!” he did not as [877] yet apologize to the Buddha for his mistake because the Buddha was still delivering the discourse according to the series of fundamental teachings, and the monk did not have the opportunity to offer his apology.

Pukkusāti’s Request for Ordination

At the end of the discourse there followed a dialogue between the Buddha and the monk Pukkusāti, the latter said: “The Fortunate One, the teacher of Devas and humans, has come here out of great compassion for me! The Buddha who preaches the Good Dhamma has come here out of great compassion for me! The Fortunate One who understands all the Dhamma thoroughly came here out of great compassion for me.” Saying thus joyously, he rose and put his head against the feet of the Buddha, and he added: “Exalted Buddha! Because of my foolishness, I have made a mistake. I thought that I should call you “friend,” (āvuso). I have done so erroneously. Exalted Buddha! Kindly forgive me for the offence against which I should guard myself against in the future.”

Buddha: “Monk! Verily because of your foolishness, you have made a mistake. You thought that I should be called “friend,” and you have called me so erroneously. Monk! I forgive you for the offence because you admit your offence and make amends for it accordingly. Later you must guard yourself against it. Such atonement and such self-restraint contribute to the welfare of those who are committed to my teaching.”

Pukkusāti: “Exalted Buddha, may I receive ordination in your presence.”

Buddha: “Have you got your own bowl and robe?”

Pukkusāti: “No, exalted Buddha, I have not.”

Buddha: “Monk! The Buddhas do not ordain those who do not have an alms bowl and robes.”

Ven. Pukkusāti was very much pleased with the Buddha’s teaching. He expressed his appreciation, rose from his seat, paid respect to the Buddha and went away to search for the alms bowl and robe.

Pukkusāti went off in search of a bowl and robes just after dawn. Dawn came all at once with the end of the Buddha’s discourse and the emission of the Buddha’s six-coloured body radiance. The Buddha emitted the six-coloured radiance as soon as his teaching was over. The whole hut was brightly illuminated. The six-coloured radiance spread out in groups, as if enveloping all the quarters with gold garments or making all places bright with multi-coloured flowers. The Buddha resolved to become visible to the people of the city and when the people saw the Buddha, they spread the news of his presence in the hut and the matter was reported to King Bimbisāra. [878]

When King Bimbisāra heard the report, he went to the potter’s hut and after paying respects, he asked the Buddha when he had arrived. The Buddha replied that he had arrived at sunset on the previous day. The king again asked about the object of his visit. Then the Buddha said: “Great king, your bosom friend, King Pukkusāti, read your message and after renouncing the world to become a monk, he made the journey out of regard for me, but having travelled 45 leagues beyond Sāvatthī, he entered the potter’s hut and stayed here. For his spiritual welfare I have come here on foot and taught him. Pukkusāti has now attained the fruition of the three lower paths and is a Non-returner (Anāgāmī-ariya).”

On hearing this, the king was surprised and asked the Buddha where his friend King Pukkusāti was. The Buddha replied that he had gone out to get an alms bowl and robes for his ordination. King Bimbisāra immediately rushed out in the direction in which his friend had gone out looking for the alms bowl and robes. Meanwhile the Buddha returned to the fragrant chamber in the Jetavana monastery.

Pukkusāti’s Death and Rebirth in the Brahma World

In his search for an alms bowl and robes, Pukkusāti did not go to his royal friend, King Bimbisāra, or to the merchants who had come from Takkasilā. He considered it unethical for him to search for them here and there, discriminating between the good and the bad like they were fowl. He decided to seek for real rags, not in big cities but in the fords, cemeteries, garbage heaps or narrow streets. So he tried to find torn pieces of cloths in the garbage heap in the back-lanes.

While Pukkusāti was trying to do so, a mentally deranged cow – his enemy in a previous life – rushed towards him and gored him with her horns. Weak and extremely oppressed by hunger, Pukkusāti lost his life as he was hurled into the air. When he fell to the ground, he lay on the garbage heap like a golden statue. After his death he was reborn in the Aviha Brahma abode and before long he became an Arahat Brahma.

According to the Discourse concerning Ghaṭīkāra (Ghaṭīkāra-sutta, SN 1.50) there were seven people who became Arahats soon after their spontaneous (upapatti) rebirth in the Aviha Brahma abode. They were:

King Bimbisāra thought: “My friend King Pukkusāti renounced his kingdom merely after reading my message and had made such a long and arduous journey. He has done what is hard for ordinary people to do. I will honour my friend in the way the monks are honoured.” He sent his men to all the environs of the city to search for King Pukkusāti. The men found the king lying dead face down like a golden statue on the garbage heap. So they returned and reported the matter to King Bimbisāra.

King Bimbisāra went there and mourned over his friend, saying: “We did not have the opportunity to honour our great friend while he was alive. Now he has died without anyone to help him.” The king had the corpse carried on a small couch, put in a proper place and not knowing how to honour a dead monk, he sent for the bathers, clothed the body in clean white garments and ornamented like a king.

Then the corpse was placed on a palanquin and honoured with all kinds of music and fragrant flowers, taken to the outskirts of the city and cremated with fragrant fire-wood. The bones were then collected and placed in a shrine (cetiya).

Later on, many monks in Sāvatthī went to see the Buddha. They paid respect to the master and sitting in a proper place they said: “Exalted Buddha, you have briefly taught the Dhamma to Pukkusāti. That man is now dead. What is his destination? What is his future life?”

Then the Buddha replied: “Monks, Pukkusāti was a wise man. He practised insight meditation (vipassanā) that accords with the transcendent Dhamma. He did not give me any [879] trouble on account of the Dhamma. Due to the extinction of the five fetters that lead to the lower sensual worlds, he will be reborn in the Aviha Brahma world and will become an Arahat in that very Suddhāvāsa Brahma world. Aviha is one of its five Pure Abodes (Suddhāvāsa). There is no possibility of his return to the lower sensual worlds from that world.” [866]

The Buddha’s Height

On one occasion, a certain Brahmin citizen of Rājagaha heard that it was impossible to measure the height of the Buddha Gotama. So when the Buddha came into Rājagaha city and made his rounds for alms, he took a 60-cubit long bamboo pole and stood outside the city-gate. When the Buddha drew near the city-gate, he went up to him with the pole. The pole reached up to just below the Buddha’s knee.

The next day, the Brahmin joined two 60-cubit long poles and came again to the Buddha. The joined poles did not stand higher than the waist of the Buddha who asked him what he was doing. The Brahmin replied that he was measuring his height. Then the Buddha said: “Brahmin, even though you may join all the bamboos in the universe, you will not be able to measure my height. Certainly, I have not developed the perfections for four immesureables and 100,000 aeons to enable somebody to measure my height. I have developed them to the extent that nobody can measure my height. Brahmin, the Buddha is a person who is peerless and immeasurable.” So saying, the Buddha spoke the following verse as contained in the Dhamma Verses (Dhp 196):

Te tādise pūjayato, nibbute akutobhaye,
na sakkā puññaṁ saṅkhātuṁ, imettam-api kenaci.

The merit acquired by one who pays homage with faith (saddhā) to those Buddhas, Paccekabuddhas and other noble ones, who have calmed the heat of defilements, who have no source whatsoever from which grief and fear derive, who are endowed with virtues excellent and visible, are incalculable to any one in the three worlds of humans, Devas and Brahmas saying: “This merit is beneficial this much, this merit is profitable this much.”

At the end of the verse, 84,000 beings became noble Stream-enterers (Sotāpanna-ariya), having the opportunity of blissfully enjoying the elixir of Nibbāna.

Rāhu, the Asura Deva King, was 4,800 leagues in height. The distance between his two arms was 1,200 leagues. The thickness of his body was 600 leagues. His palms and his soles were 300 leagues in perimeter. The portion of the finger between two joints was 50 leagues long. The distance between the two eye-brows was 50 leagues. The mouth was 200 leagues long, 300 leagues deep and 300 leagues in circumference. The neck had a girth of 300 leagues. The forehead was 300 leagues. The forehead was 300 leagues in breath and the head 900 leagues.

Rāhu, the Asura King, thought: “I am too tall, I will not be able to look down and see the Fortunate One.” So he did not go to the Buddha. But, one day, he heard words about the greatness of the Buddha and so he went, hoping to see the master by any possible means.

Knowing the Asura Deva King’s mind, the Buddha thought of the posture in which he should be viewed. Then since a person who is standing appears to be tall in spite of his short stature, the Buddha decided to show his body to the Asura King in a lying posture. The Buddha told Ven. Ānanda to put a small couch outside the fragrant chamber and then he lay down on the right side on the couch like a lion king.

Rāhu then went near the Buddha but he had to look up to see the Buddha’s face, just as he had to stretch his neck and look up at the moon in the sky. The Buddha asked him why he had come to see him only after a very long time. The Asura King replied that he had not come because he was under the misapprehension that he would not be able to stoop down far enough to see the exalted Buddha.

Then the Buddha said to him: “Asura King! I have not developed the perfections (pāramī) holding my head down, that is, by relaxing my effort. I have given alms always holding up my head, that is, without relaxing my effort.” On that very day, Rāhu, the Asura King, formally become one who took refuge in the Buddha.