37b: Ajātasattu

Birth of the Prince

When the Prince Ajātasattu was conceived in the womb of Vedehī, the Chief Queen of King Bimbisāra, the queen strongly desired to drink the blood of the king’s right arm. It was hard to fulfil and she considered it inadvisable to tell anyone about it. She dared not express it openly and as a result she became lean, pale and haggard in her physical appearance. Seeing this change in the queen, the king asked what was wrong with her. The queen at first refused to answer but the king pressed for an explanation and at last she revealed the craving that had made her so unhappy.

The king was overwhelmed with love and said: “You silly queen! Why should you think it is hard to satisfy your desire?” Thus reproving her for her reticence, the king sent for a physician and after having his arm cut with a small golden knife, he had the blood taken in a gold cup, mixed it with water and made the queen drink it.

When the soothsayers heard the news, they predicted that the child in the queen’s womb would become the enemy of the king, and that he would kill his father. On hearing their prediction, the queen was worried. She did not wish to bear the potential murderer of the king. So she went to the garden to carry out an abortion, but her attempt was unsuccessful. In spite of her repeated attempts, she could not get rid of her pregnancy. Later on the garden was named Maddakucchi, the garden where abortion was performed.

King Bimbisāra inquired why the queen often went to the garden and when he learnt what she was doing, he said: “We do not know as yet whether the child in your womb is a boy or a girl. Do not try to kill the child because, if you do so, our good reputation will be severely damaged all over Jambudīpa for our cruelty to our own child.” He deterred the queen from killing her child and kept her under surveillance. The queen then decided to kill the child after its birth.

When the child was born, the guards took him to a safe place. He was called Ajātasattu because he was the enemy of his father, King Bimbisāra, even before his birth. Ajāta means “before birth,” and sattu means “an enemy.”

The prince grew up and when he was shown to the queen, she became deeply attached to him, and lost all desire to kill him. King Bimbisāra later appointed the prince as heir-apparent.

The subsequent association of Ajātasattu with his evil friend Devadatta and his killing of his father to become king have been described above in the section on Devadatta.

From the day he ordered his father to be killed, King Ajātasattu was unable to sleep. As soon as he shut his eyes, he felt like he was being pierced by hundreds of spears and he had dream-like hallucinations about his destiny that kept him shaking and muttering.

The guards asked the king what ailed him but he said there was nothing. These nightmarish hallucinations plagued the king and made him reluctant to go to sleep. So every night he gave audience for a long time to keep himself awake.

King Ajātasattu adored the evil Devadatta who was a thorn in the side of the Fortunate One and so he gave alms lavishly to Devadatta and built for him a monastery in Gayāsīsa, and at the instigation of his teacher he killed his father who was a Stream-enterer (Sotāpanna). In this way, he ruled out the possibility of doing any good deed leading to the Stream-entry (Sotāpatti) path for himself and ruined himself most disastrously.

Ajātasattu Decision to Visit the Buddha

On hearing that Devadatta was swallowed by the earth, King Ajātasattu was afraid, lest he should share the fate of his former teacher. He could not indulge in royal pleasures, nor [899] could he sleep peacefully. He became tremulous, restless and jittery, like a young elephant pricked with a sharp iron stake, he had visions of the earth cracking, the flames from the Avīci hell flaming up, the earth threatening to swallow him up, and the custodians of hell making him lie on his back on the red-hot iron floor and poking him with iron stakes. So, trembling like a beaten fowl, King Ajātasattu could not find any support even for a moment nor could he stand firm and steady. He wanted to see the Buddha, pay respects and ask about his problem but because of the enormity of his evil deed, he dared not go to the Buddha.

Then, when the festival of the constellation Kattikā was held in Rājagaha on the full moon night in the month of November (Kattikā), the whole city was decorated like a celestial city, and brightly illuminated with fire torches and flames. While seated amidst his ministers on the golden throne in the audience hall, King Ajātasattu saw the physician Jīvaka and thought: “I will take Jīvaka as my guide and go to the Buddha. But I should not admit frankly that I dare not go to the Fortunate One, and I will tell Jīvaka to take me there. Tactfully, I will extol the beauty of the night and then ask the ministers which real noble ascetic or Brahmin can inspire us with faith and devotion. When the ministers hear my words, they will glorify their respective teachers and the physician Jīvaka will glorify his teacher, the Fortunate One. Then I will go and see the Fortunate One with Jīvaka as my guide.”

After planning this strategy, King Ajātasattu said: “Ministers, tonight is so delightful, being free from snow, mist, cloud, Asurinda, and smoke, the five things that disturb the beauty of the moon-lit night, or pollute the air; ministers, tonight is so beautiful, being free from the five elements; ministers, tonight is so lovely to look at, being free from the five disturbing elements; ministers, tonight our minds are calm and serene because the night is free from the five disturbing elements; ministers, tonight should be very memorable since it is free from the five disturbing elements.”

Having thus extolled the full moon night, the king added: “Which ascetic or Brahmin should we see tonight, who can inspire us with faith and devotion?” By saying this, the king gave a hint to the physician Jīvaka. The king had committed a heinous crime by killing his father, a great patron of the Buddha and a noble Stream-enterer (Sotāpanna-ariya) at that time, and he had done another by supporting Devadatta who did many things harmful to the Buddha. So he dared not go to the Buddha by himself. He knew that for the fulfilment of his desire to see the Buddha he must rely on Jīvaka who had built a monastery for the Buddha and who served the Buddha’s medical needs.

Jīvaka did not fail to take his cue from the king. In fact, he knew it, but because the assembly included many followers of the six heretical teachers, Jīvaka thought: “As followers of ignorant teachers, they themselves are ignorant, and they do not understand the rules to be observed at a meeting. If I start describing the noble attributes of the Fortunate One, they will rise one by one and extol their teachers and then I will never come to the description of the Fortunate One’s noble attributes. As the teachings of their six heretical teachers do not have substance or anything worthy of note, the king will not be pleased with what they say and he will ask me directly. Then I will tell the king without any distraction about the noble attributes of the Fortunate One and take him to the Buddha.” Thus thinking deeply, Jīvaka said nothing despite the king’s hint and sat silently.

The ministers, who were the disciples of the six heretical teachers, thought: “Today the king extolled the beauty of the night of the November full moon. He really must have the desire to see one of the ascetics or Brahmins, to ask questions and hear his discourse. The king will greatly honour the teacher whom he adores and whose discourse he hears. It augurs well for the minister whose teacher becomes the king’s teacher,” so each of them became bent on extolling his own teacher and leading the king to him. With this intention the ministers who were disciples of Pūraṇa Kassapa, Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambala, Pakudha [900] Kaccāyana, Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta and Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta extolled their respective teachers.

King Ajātasattu had seen the heretical teachers before. When he first saw them, their physical appearance did not impress him in the least. On the contrary, he was much disappointed. Now, when he heard the words of his ministers, he felt like a man who sees a very sour and acid fruit brought and put in his hand when, in fact, he wishes to eat a golden coloured, sweet, delicious, ripe mango. He longed to hear the sweet Dhamma concerning the absorptions (jhāna), super knowledges (abhiññā), the three characteristics of existence (tilakkahaṇa), etc., and so when in addition to his disappointment with the heretical teachers’ physical appearance he heard their followers praising them, he became much dispirited and said nothing.

Although he was displeased with their speech, King Ajātasattu thought: “If I show my anger and have these ministers seized by the neck and turned out of the palace hall, other people will not have the courage to say anything, fearing that the king treats in the same way every one who speaks.” So, although he did not like their words, the king did not reproach them but remained silent.

King Ajātasattu thought: “Only the ministers whom I do not wish to listen to are talking. Physician Jīvaka, who I wish to hear, is silent like the Garuḷa bird that has swallowed the brain of a Nāga. I am so unfortunate!” Then he had an afterthought: “Jīvaka is a disciple, an attendant of the Fortunate One. So he is quiet and lives in silence like a disciplined ascetic. He will not speak if I do not ask him. So I must act like a man, who, when trampled by an elephant, has to clasp the animal’s foot.”

So thinking, the king said directly: “Friend Jīvaka, why are you keeping silence? These ministers never tire of glorifying their teachers. Do you not have a teacher like these ministers have? Do you have no teacher because you are a commoner without any official post or privileges granted by my father? Or do you have no teacher because of lack of faith?”

Thus the king asked Jīvaka directly, about the reason for his silence. Jīvaka thought: “The king wants me to speak of the attributes of my teacher. Now is not the time for me to remain silent. But it is not proper for me to describe the noble attributes of the Buddha just as these ministers extol their teachers in a posture of reverence to the king.”

So Jīvaka rose, bowed most respectfully in the direction of the teacher’s residence in Jīvaka’s mango grove, raised his joined hands above his head and said: “Great King! Do not think that I am the devotee of just a so-called, self-styled ascetic (samaṇa) of doubtful characteristics. Certainly, at the time of my teacher’s conception in his mother’s womb, at the time of his birth, at the time of his renunciation, his becoming a Buddha, and his teaching of the Dhamma Wheel (Dhamma-cakka), the 10,000 world-element shook and quivered. In this and that place, the Fortunate One performed the miracle of fire and water. In this and that place, he came down to earth from the realm of Tāvatiṁsa. I will tell you about the Fortunate One’s noble attributes to the best of my ability. Listen to me attentively.”

With this preamble, Jīvaka went on to give an account of the Buddha: “Great King, Deva among the people! My teacher, the possessor of such attributes as Arahat and Sammā-sambuddha now lives with 1,250 monks in the mango grove monastery that we have donated to him.

Our teacher, the Fortunate One, is a Arahat because he possesses the attributes of morality (sīla-guṇa), mental concentration (samādhi-guṇa), wisdom (paññā-guṇa), liberation (vimutti-guṇa) and knowledge and insight into liberation (vimutti-ñāṇa-dassana-guṇa) that make him worthy of special honour by humans, Devas and Brahmas. He is a Fortunate One (Bhagavā) because he possesses the sixfold glory. Such good reputation of our teacher, the Fortunate One has spread beyond the highest abode of the universe known as Bhavagga in the formless (arūpa) worlds. [901] I want you, Great King, to see our teacher, the Fortunate One. If you see our teacher, your mind will certainly become calm and serene.”

Even as he heard the noble attributes of the Buddha, King Ajātasattu was overwhelmed with the five kinds of ecstasy. So, he wished to see the Buddha instantly and knowing that there was no one except Jīvaka who could arrange transport for his visit to the Buddha at that time, he told Jīvaka to go and prepare the elephant transport.

Then physician Jīvaka had 500 female elephants and the state elephant adorned with all trappings. The king did not tell him explicitly to prepare the female elephants for transport. But being intelligent, he got the female elephants ready with all equipment. In doing so, he was motivated by the reflection: “The king wants to go and see the Fortunate One tonight. But kings have many enemies. If anything untoward happens to the king on the way, people will blame me and say that I lead the king out of the palace at an untimely hour of the night, heedlessly taking advantage of his compliance with my wish. Moreover, they will also blame the Fortunate One, saying that the Fortunate One preaches, taking advantage of his influence over people without regard for proper time. Therefore, I will make my plan so that the Fortunate One and I may be above reproach and the king may be well-protected.”

Again he thought: “Men are never in fear of women. So I will make the king go happily, surrounded by women.” After having 500 female elephants adorned with full trappings, he had the 500 female courtiers dressed as men and instructed them to accompany the king, each armed with swords and spears.

Still another thought occurred to Jīvaka: “On account of his heinous crime of parricide, there is no special good deed for this King Ajātasattu that will contribute to the attainment of the paths and fruitions in his present life. It is customary with the Buddhas to preach only when they see someone credited with extraordinarily good deeds, which may serve as a support of spiritual progress (upanissaya-paccaya). Now, I will assemble the people. Then the Buddha will preach the Dhamma in view of the former good deeds of someone in the assembly, the good deed essential to his spiritual uplift. The discourse will benefit many people.” Instantly, he sent a message to every part of the city, announcing also by the beat of drum, the king’s plan to visit the Buddha and hear the Dhamma, and that people are to go along with the king for his security according to their official position.

Then the people thought: “It is said that our king will go and see the Buddha. What kind of Dhamma will he preach? What can we profit by making merry in this planetary festival? We will go to the monastery where the Buddha is going to preach to the king.” Then all of them waited for the king on the road with fragrant flowers in their hands.

After having done all the necessary things, Jīvaka told the king that the elephants were ready and that it rested with him to choose the time for his journey.

Ajātasattu’s Visit to the Buddha

Then King Ajātasattu mounted the royal elephant and with a female courtier dressed as a man and seated on each of the 500 female elephants, and with fire-torches lighted, he set out from Rājagaha with great royal pomp and splendour and went to Jīvaka’s mango grove, which was then the residence of the Buddha.

King Ajātasattu came out of the city, but as he approached the mango grove he became scared. He trembled with great fear and his hair stood on end. He was much frightened because the silence in the monastery raised doubts in him about Jīvaka’s intent. As a matter of fact, Jīvaka had told him before that he would have to approach the Buddha quietly. So the king had banned music, and the musicians had only held their musical instruments during their journey, they had not spoken loudly and they all had travelled without talking and only showing signs with their hands when necessary.

Now in the grove, not even the sneezing of a monk was to be heard, and kings usually delighted only in places where there was sound. King Ajātasattu became weary and sick of the deep silence and suspicious of Jīvaka. He thought: “This Jīvaka says that there are 1,250 monks in his grove. But I don’t hear even anyone even sneezing in this place. Jīvaka may not be speaking the truth. Perhaps, he has deceived me and taken me out of the city. Perhaps, he wants to seize me and usurp my throne with the help of the army. Certainly, Jīvaka is strong enough to match the strength of five elephants. He is also hanging about me and there is no armed attendant near me. Oh! It is all over with me!”

Thus scared, King Ajātasattu was unable even to mask his fear with his royal demeanour and he clearly expressed his fear to Jīvaka by asking: “Jīvaka! You are not deceiving me are you? You are not handing me over to my enemies, are you? Why is it that among so many monks numbering 1,250, there is no sneezing, no coughing and no talking?” [903]

Then physician Jīvaka said: “Great King, be not afraid. I do not deceive you. I will not hand you over to your enemies. Great King, go ahead. Within the circular hall there are oil lamps burning brightly.”

Ajātasattu’s Questions on the Monastic Life

Then King Ajātasattu went by elephant as far as possible and at the gate of the monastery he dismounted. As soon as he put his feet on the ground, the power and glory of the Buddha pervaded his whole body. He sweated so profusely that he was nearly forced to change his garments. He remembered his parricide and became overwhelmed with fear. So he dared not go directly to the Buddha. Instead, he took Jīvaka’s hands and like a visitor looking around the monastery, he complimented Jīvaka, saying: “You have built this building wonderfully!” When they came to the entrance of the circular meeting-hall, the king asked Jīvaka where the Buddha was: In fact, it was customary with kings to affect ignorance and ask in spite of their knowledge.

Then Jīvaka thought: “The king is like a man who stands on earth and asks where the earth is; like a man who looks up to the sky and asks where the sun and the moon are; like a man who stands at the foot of Mount Meru and asks where Mount Meru is. I will now show him the Buddha.” So Jīvaka raised his joined hands towards the Buddha and said: “Great King, that person seated before the monks, leaning against the middle pillar and facing east is the Fortunate One.”

Then King Ajātasattu approached the Buddha and paid his respects. Standing aside, he looked again and again at the monks who were serene and dignified like a very clear lake, silent without any coughing or sneezing, their eyes calmly fixed on the Buddha without casting a single glance at the gorgeous gathering of the king and his people. The king marvelled and exclaimed: “The monks are so serene. May my son, Prince Udāyibhadda, have such serenity!”

Before the king made his exclamation, the Buddha had divined the thought of King Ajātasattu as he stood in silence before him. The Buddha knew that the king dared not speak to him, that he remembered his son as he looked again and again at the monks and that unless he broke the ice, he would not have the courage to say anything. So deciding to speak first, the Buddha said just after the king’s exclamation: “King! Your mind is now with your beloved one.”

Then King Ajātasattu thought: “Oh! Marvellous indeed is the greatness of the Fortunate One! There is no one equal to me in having wronged the Fortunate One. I killed my father, his greatest supporter who was a noble one (ariya); and a supporter of the Buddha. Not only that, misguided by Devadatta, I sent assassins to kill the Buddha. Perhaps Devadatta thought he had my support when he rolled the rock from the Gijjhakūṭa down the hill when trying to kill the Buddha. I have done so much evil and yet now the Buddha has started a conversation with me. The Buddha indeed firmly possesses the unshakeable (tādi) attributes in terms of five characteristics. Therefore, we will never ignore the Fortunate One and never seek refuge or a teacher elsewhere again.”

So thinking, he was much delighted and in response to the Buddha’s remark, he said: “Exalted Buddha, I love my son, Prince Udāyibhadda, dearly. May my son, Prince Udāyibhadda, have the same serenity that the monks now have.”

King Ajātasattu reflected: “If after paying respect to the Fortunate One, I go to the monks, here and there, and pay respect to them, I will have turned my back to the Fortunate One and that will mean a lack of reverence to him on my part. Certainly, a man who, after paying respects to the king, goes to the crown prince and pays respect, show lack of respect for the king.” So after paying his respects to the Buddha, the king bowed to the monks with both hands raised from the place where he was standing and sat down at a proper place.

Then King Ajātasattu said: “Exalted Buddha, if you permit me to ask, I would like to ask you a few questions about a certain thing.”

The Buddha said: “Great King, you may ask me about anything you like,” thereby extending to the king the invitation of the omniscient Buddhas.

On being thus invited by the Buddha in the manner of omniscient Buddhas, King Ajātasattu became much delighted and enthusiastic and he asked the following questions: “Exalted Buddha, there are many skilled occupations and craftsmen. They belong to warriors riding elephants, warriors riding horses, warriors riding chariots, archers, flag-bearers, military strategists, commandos who slip behind the lines of the opposing army and cut off the enemies’ heads, princes distinguished in fighting, daredevils who make speedy attacks on the enemy, warriors who are valiant like bull-elephants, very brave warriors, warriors clad in armour, trustworthy servants, cooks, barbers, bath attendants, butlers, flower stringers, laundry workers, weavers, makers of reed mat walls, potters, arithmeticians, and those who count by their fingers; besides these, there are many other similar craftsmen. These people live long, profiting by their skills. By means of their skills they make themselves, their parents, their wives and children and their friends comfortable and vigorous. Moreover, they give alms to monks and Brahmins so as to be reborn in the Deva realm in the afterlife. Exalted Buddha, can one point out the benefits of a monastic life like those of skilled occupations, benefits which one can realize by himself in the present life?”

Then the Buddha thought: “In this place are many princes and ministers who are the followers of heretical teachers, those who are outside the pale of my teaching. If I give my discourse in two parts, showing the impurity of their teachers’ doctrines in the first part (kaṇha-pakkha) and the purity of my doctrine in the second part (sukka-pakkha), these people will blame me, saying that I talk only about the doctrinal conflicts and controversies of the monks from the time of the arrival of their king who has come here with great effort to listen to the Dhamma. As a result, they will not hear the Dhamma respectfully. If the king himself talks about the doctrine of the heretics, the people will not blame me. They will let me say what I like. In fact, people naturally follow the king (issarānuvattako hi loko). Now I will make it the king’s responsibility to describe the teaching of the heretics.” Then the Buddha asked the king if he remembered having put the question to any other ascetics and Brahmins.

The king said that he did and the Buddha asked him how they had answered the question and urged him to state their answers if he did not mind it. The king said: “Sir! I do not mind doing so in a place where the Fortunate One or a man like the Fortunate One is sitting.”

Thus urged by the Buddha to recount the answers given by the heretical teachers, the king told him how he once approached the six heretical teachers: Pūraṇa Kassapa, Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambala, Pakudha Kaccāyana, Sañjaya Belaṭṭhiputta and Nigaṇṭha Nāṭaputta and asked them about the advantages of being an ascetic in the present life. The six teachers described only their respective doctrines like a man who, being asked about a mango tree, describes a jack fruit tree, or vice versa. The answers were at variance with the question but although the king was disappointed with the heretical teachers, he considered it inadvisable for a king like him to rebuke such religious persons as monks and Brahmins in his country. So he neither accepted nor rejected their sayings. Nor did he show his displeasure by word of mouth. Instead, he got up and went back without taking note of [906] their words and now he asked the Buddha about the present advantages of a monastic life.

Then the Buddha gave an elaborate talk on the advantages of monkhood in the present life. For example: 1) A man-slave was honoured by the king after his ordination; 2) a farmer who paid taxes to the king was honoured by the latter after he became a monk; 3) to show the higher advantages of monkhood, the Buddha referred to the life of a man of either low or high caste who had heard his teaching, inspired with faith, who became a monk and practiced the lower morality, the medium morality and the higher morality. Then he guarded his senses, developed his mindfulness, was easily contented, rejected the hindrances and gained the first absorption (jhāna); 4) the second meditation; 5) the third meditation; and 6) the fourth meditation. Still making further progress, he attained insight knowledge (vipassanā-ñāṇa), psychic powers (manomayiddhi-ñāṇa), supernormal powers (iddhi-vidha-ñāṇa), the divine-ear (dibba-sota-ñāṇa), penetrative knowledge of the mind of others (ceto-pariyāya-ñāṇa), remembrance of former existences (pubbe-nivāsānussati-ñāṇa), knowledge of the dying and reappearance of other beings (cutupapāta-ñāṇa) and extinction of all mental intoxicants (āsavakkhaya-ñāṇa) or the knowledge of the Arahat path (Arahatta-magga-ñāṇa) (7-14). Thus, the monk gained as the present advantages of his life the eight kinds of progressively higher, extraordinary knowledge up to Awakening.

Ajātasattu Goes for Refuge

When the Buddha described in detail the present advantages of the ascetic life with becoming an Arahat as its apex, King Ajātasattu followed the whole talk attentively, expressing his appreciation verbally from time to time. He thought: “In the past, I did not ask many ascetics and Brahmins about these matters and like a man who pounds husks of grain, I have never received anything substantial. Marvellous indeed is the greatness of the exalted Buddha! He has answered these questions, enlightening me very much as if with the brilliance of 1,000 oil-lamps. For a long time, ignorance has deceived me, making me blind to the greatness and power of the Fortunate One.”

Overwhelmed with ecstasy arising from the contemplation of the Buddha’s attributes, the king clearly showed his faith in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha in the following words: “Venerable sir, very delightful indeed is the teaching! Just as in the world what has been upside down is set right, just as what has been covered is uncovered, just as a man who has lost his way is shown the right way, just as torches are lighted in order that those who have eyesight may see various visual forms in the darkness, so also, you have in many ways made the Dhamma very clear to me, venerable sir! I seek refuge in the Fortunate One, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha. Let the Fortunate One regard me, from today, as a lay devotee who has gone for refuge (saraṇa-gamana) for life.

Venerable sir! I am overwhelmed with guilt stemming from foolishness, confusion and ignorance. For the sake of kingly pleasures, I have killed my father, a great monarch who practised justice and ruled righteously. Let the Fortunate One forgive me for the offence, regarding it as an offence that will make me mindful and vigilant in future.”

Thus the king sought refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha and apologized for his offence. Then the Buddha said: “King! You are indeed overwhelmed with guilt arising from your foolishness, confusion and ignorance. You have killed your father, the great monarch who practised justice and ruled righteously. But we forgive you that offence because you admit it and make amends for it. If a man admits his offence, atones for it accordingly and guards himself against it in future, then such atonement and self-restraint means spiritual progress under the my teaching.”

Then King Ajātasattu said: “Very well, venerable sir! We will now go. We have many things to do.” The Buddha replied: “King! You may go as you wish.” The king accepted the Buddha’s teaching [907] with much pleasure, extolled it with delight, rose from his seat, paid his respects and went away.

Note on Going for Refuge

Herein a note on going for refuge (saraṇa-gamana) will be included here.

There are seven points regarding going for refuge:

1. Refuge (saraṇa). The Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha are the threefold refuge (saraṇa) because those who seek its protection, overcome their fear, alarm, physical and mental suffering and various miseries in the lower worlds after death. In other words, the Buddha helps beings overcome various perils by contributing to their welfare and averting their misfortunes. So does the Dhamma by making beings free from hardships of life and consoling them. And so does the Saṅgha by making them gain a great benefit even from a few good acts. Hence the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha constitute the real threefold refuge that ensures that beings have freedom from all suffering.

2. Going for refuge (saraṇa-gamana). This consists of great wholesome consciousness (mahā-kusala-citta) that makes one inclined towards the Three Treasures by removing defiling and unwholesome mental states through devotion and veneration to the Three Treasures, great consciousness of action (mahā-kiriya-citta) regarding the Arahats, and path consciousness (magga-citta) regarding the noble ones established in the path (maggaṭṭha-ariya). All these forms of consciousness are called going for refuge (saraṇa-gamana). Conviction that refuge in the Three Treasures is the real factor that eliminates fear and suffering by means of such consciousness is going for refuge. This is the definition.

3. Person established in refuge. A person who has the consciousness described above is one who is established in the threefold refuge. Thus we should first understand the three aspects: 1) Refuge; 2) going for refuge; and 3) the person established in going for refuge.

4. Forms of refuge. It is of two forms: Supermundane and mundane. Supramundane going for refuge is implicit by way of fulfilment of the function in a single thought-moment when the noble ones (ariya) realize the four truths and attain the paths, thereby overcoming all defilements and focusing their minds on Nibbāna.

The mundane going for refuge arises in an ordinary person (puthujjana) when he contemplates the attributes of the Buddha, the Dhamma and Saṅgha in the effort to remove the defilements (upakkilesa) that defile the going for refuge. Basically this going for refuge means faith in the Buddha, Dhamma and Saṅgha or right view (sammā-diṭṭhi) based on faith or a mental factor of wisdom (paññā-cetasika). As one of the ten meritorious actions (puñña-kiriya), it is called straightening one’s views (diṭṭhi-uju-kamma).

Here faith too is termed going for refuge and so is the faith and wisdom combined. Mundane consciousness, with regard to the threefold refuge, is of two kinds: Intelligent consciousness (ñāṇa-sampayutta-saraṇa-gamana) and unintelligent consciousness (ñāṇa-vippayutta-saraṇa-gamana). The former is the consciousness of children who recite the refuge-formula at the advice of their parents. Here it is only a matter of faith (saddhā-cetasika). The intelligent going for refuge is based on the knowledge of the noble characteristics of the Three Treasures and here faith and wisdom are jointly mentioned as going for refuge because they are easily felt. The actual going for refuge, however, is the consciousness that is led by faith and wisdom. Again, the mundane going for refuge is of four kinds:

Of these four:

1. Giving oneself up to the Three Treasures involves a declaration as follows: “From today onwards I give myself up to the Buddha; I give myself up to the Dhamma; I give myself up to the Saṅgha.”

2. Finding one’s support in the Three Treasures involves supplication as follows: “From today onwards kindly recognize me as one who finds support in the Buddha, in the Dhamma and in the Saṅgha.”

3. Becoming a pupil of the Three Treasures involves supplication as follows: “From today onwards, kindly recognize me as a residential pupil (antevāsika) of the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha.”

4. Showing great reverence to the Three Treasures involves supplication as follows: “From today onwards kindly recognize me as one who worships, welcomes, raises one’s hands in adoration and venerates only the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha.”

One who adopts any of these four modes of seeking refuge is one who fulfils one’s going for refuge.

Alternatively:

1. A declaration, uttering: “I give myself up to the Buddha, to the Dhamma, and to the Saṅgha,” or “I offer my life to the Three Treasures,” or “I have offered my body to the Three Treasures,” or “I have offered my life to the Three Treasures,” or “I am aware of my approach to the Buddha as my refuge till the end of my life, to the Dhamma, and to the Saṅgha,” or “The Buddha, the Dhamma and the Saṅgha are my refuge,” all these utterances of declaration constitute going for refuge by giving up oneself to the Three Treasures. [909]

2. The going for refuge that is marked by the desire to seek protection and shelter in the Three Treasures, as in the case of the Yakkha Āḷāvaka, the Deva kings, Hemavata and Sātāgiri. This is termed going for refuge by finding one’s support in the Three Treasures.

3. In the story of Pippali, a youth who later became well-known as Ven. Mahā Kassapa, he donned the robe by himself and set out from his Brahmin village of Mahātittha to visit the Buddha. On his way, he saw the Buddha at the foot of the banyan tree called Bāhuputtaka between Rājagaha and Nāḷanda. The Buddha was waiting for him from a distance of three miles. As soon as Pippali saw the Buddha, he decided that: “This noble ascetic must be the teacher (satthā) of Devas and humans, the good wayfarer (Gracious One) who has really attained Nibbāna through excellent practice, and the Perfectly Self-Awakened One (Sammā-sambuddha) who has rightly penetrated the right doctrines by himself. Then he took refuge in the Buddha by uttering: “If I am to see the teacher of Devas and humans, I will see only you. If I am to see the good wayfarer, I will see only you. If I am to see the Perfectly Self-Awakened One, I will see only you. I will see no other person with my eye of wisdom as my teacher, good wayfarer and as the Perfectly Self-Awakened One.” His utterances indeed amounted to going for refuge by becoming a pupil of the Three Treasures.

4. In the Discourse concerning Brahmāyu (Brahmāyu-sutta, MN 91), after the Buddha had answered the eight questions put to him by the Brahmin Brahmāyu, the latter was much impressed and so after rising, he bowed his head to the feet of the Buddha. He also sucked the Buddha’s feet with his mouth and massaged them vigorously, saying: “Gotama! I am the Brahmin Brahmāyu,” and thus mentioning his name. This gesture of the Brahmin Brahmāyu showing deep reverence for the Three Treasures is going for refuge by showing great reverence to the Three Treasures.

In short, there is no uniform gesture for the four kinds of going for refuge. There are many kinds of bodily and verbal actions by which one can show reverence for the Three Treasures. The commentary distinguished between four kinds of going for refuge (saraṇa-gamana) and explained the four kinds of reverences.

Reverence may be of four kinds, reverence for relatives, reverence from fear, reverence for the teacher, and reverence for one who, as one of the Three Treasures or refuges, is worthy of excellent offerings. The going for refuge necessarily presupposes the fourth kind of reverence. It has nothing to do with the others.

Indeed reverence with faith is essential to going for refuge. This consciousness erodes only when there is reverence for the bogus Buddha, bogus Dhamma and bogus Saṅgha in place of three genuine Treaures.

1. So a Sakyan or a Koliyan Prince has no going for refuge if he reveres the Buddha, regarding the Buddha as a senior member of their family.

2. Neither is it going for refuge, if a man reveres the Buddha out of fear that as a powerful teacher honoured by kings, the Buddha might do harm to him if he showed no respect.

3. A man may remember having learnt some craft from the Buddha when he was still a Bodhisatta and now he reveres the Buddha, regarding him as his former teacher. Another man may have heard the Buddha’s discourse on, say, the apportionment of one’s wealth, i.e., a wise person should spend one fourth of his income on enjoying life, two fourths to be invested in business, and the remaining fourth to be saved for an emergency, see the Discourse on Taking Up (Ādiya-sutta, AN 5.41). So he looks up to the Buddha as his teacher and reveres him for the advice with regard to his material welfare. Neither of these two men’s reverence has anything to do with going for refuge.

4. But a certain man reveres the Buddha, believing that he was the real Treasure, the real [910] refuge, worthy of alms given as foundations for welfare hereafter. Only this man has a true going for refuge.

For a layman or a laywoman who seeks refuge in the Buddha, recognizing the Buddha as a being worthy of excellent offering (agga-dakkhiṇeyya-puggala), his or her going for refuge is not adversely affected even though he reveres a relative of an alien, heretical Saṅgha, to say nothing of revering a non-heretical monk or a layman in his family. So also a layman or a laywoman who has sought refuge in the Buddha will not have his or her vow damaged by revering the king out of fear. The same is true in the case of a layman paying respect to a heretic who happens to be his former teacher.

5. Fruit of refuge. The chief immediate benefits of supermundane going for refuge are the four fruitions of the path gained by the noble ones (ariya). The subsequent benefit is extinction of the round of births and deaths in Saṁsāra. In other words, it is the total extinction of the illusions of permanence, pleasantness and substantiality as regards the impermanent, unpleasant and insubstantial psychophysical phenomena, etc., which are the benefits of mundane going for refuge.

6. Contamination of refuge. Mundane going for refuge gets debased owing to ignorance, doubt and misconceptions about the noble attributes of the Three Treasures. It is not bright, vast and great. The supermundane going for refuge is free from corruption. It is always clean and pure.

7. Destruction of refuge. Supramundane going for refuge can never be destroyed. The noble one (ariya) who is established in it does not point out as his or her teacher anyone other than the three refuges even in the next life. It is only the mundane going for refuge that tends to come to destruction. Its destruction is of two kinds: disastrous destruction and non-disastrous destruction. The destruction is disastrous when one reveres and seeks refuge in other heretical teachers in one of the ways described above, thereby giving rise to craving, wrong belief, etc. When the destruction follows death, it is not disastrous because it does not involve doing any evil.

Note on the Lay Devotee

Some brief notes on the lay devotee (upāsaka) may be mentioned as follows:

These six aspects should be understood.

1. Definition of a lay devotee. A lay devotee is he who seeks refuge in the Three Treasures, irrespective of his birth, high or low.

2. Function of a lay devotee. His function is to follow the Three Treasures: the Buddha, the Dhamma and Saṅgha. He follows the Three Treasures; therefore he is a lay devotee (upāsatī ti upāsako), a devotee of the Three Treasures. [911]

3. Morality of a lay devotee. His morality is the observance of the five moral precepts.

4. Livelihood of a lay devotee. His livelihood excludes the five kinds of wrong trades: 1) Trade in weapons; 2) trade in human beings; 3) trade in meat and fish; 4) trade in alcohol; and 5) trade in poison. Avoiding these five wrong trades, he earns his living righteously by tending cattle, buying and selling goods and farming.

5. Failure of a lay devotee. His failure lies in the destruction of his observance of the five precepts and right livelihood. If his observance of the precept is impaired, or if he earns his living by taking up one of the five wrong trades, his life as a lay devotee is ruined. Moreover, there are five things that make his life rough, nasty and disgusting: 1) Lack of faith; 2) lack of morality; 3) performance of and indulgence in worldly rites and rituals with regard to what has been seen, heard or experienced as conceived by the foolish and the ignorant; 4) disbelief in the law of productive deeds (kamma) and belief in rituals; and 5) performance of good deeds to the Saṅgha of the Buddha only after seeking recipients in the sects of the heretics. These five deeds lead a lay devotee to failure.

6. Success of a lay devotee. His success consists in the fulfilment of his morality and right livelihood. He is a lay devotee as long as his morality and right livelihood remain intact. Besides, if he maintains the following five practices, he is said to be successful as a lay devotee. The five practices are: 1) Faith that makes one a lay devotee comparable to a jewel, a lay devotee comparable to a paduma lotus, and a lay devotee comparable to a puṇḍarika lotus; 2) unimpaired morality; 3) non-indulgence in earthly rituals; 4) belief in one’s own productive deeds, good and bad; and 5) performance of good deeds to the Saṅgha before seeking recipients in the systems of the heretics. These five lead a lay devotee to his success.

King Ajātasattu’s Loss and Gain

Not long after King Ajātasattu’s departure the Buddha addressed the monks: “Monks, the king has destroyed his own position. Monks, if King Ajātasattu had not killed his father, King Bimbisāra, the righteous monarch, who ruled his kingdom lawfully, the Stream-entry path would have occurred to him on the spot and he would have become a noble Stream-enterer (Sotāpanna-ariya).”

The Buddha added: “Monks, if he had not put his father to death, he would have attained the Stream-entry path while seated here as he heard this Discourse on the Fruits of the Ascetic Life (Sāmañña-phala-sutta, DN 2). But now, on account of his association with his wicked friend, his potentiality to attain that path has been injured. Nevertheless, since he has taken refuge in the Three Treasures and since his refuge, which is my threefold teaching, is supreme, he may be compared to a man who, after having been sentenced to death for murder, escapes the death penalty by getting good support and by giving just a handful of flowers as a small fine. Although he ought to suffer in the Avīci hell for his heinous crime of parricide, he will suffer only in the Lohakumbhī hell after his death, for he has the good support in my teaching. He will land in that hell and remain there for 30,000 years and come up and stay on the surface for 30,000 years. Then, after 60,000 years, he will be released from Lohakumbhī.

Note on Ajātasattu’s Awakening

If it is true that King Ajātasattu could have gained the Stream-entry path-knowledge instantly but for his parricide, how can he become a Paccekabuddha and attain Parinibbāna? If it is true that he will become a Paccekabuddha and attain Parinibbāna, how could he have gained the state of a Stream-enterer (Sotāpanna)?

The Awakening of a Paccekabuddha consists in the fulfilment of five things: 1) A human life (manussatta); 2) being a male (liṅga-sampatti); 3) discernment leading to freedom from the pollutants (vigatāsava-dassana); 4) principal service (adhikāra); and 5) aspiration (chandatā).

The Awakening of a disciple requires only two factors: 1) Principal service (adhikāra) and 2) aspiration (chandatā). As regards the duration of time for their fulfilment of the perfections (pāramī), it takes two immeasurable periods (asaṅkhyeyya) and 100,000 aeons for the Awakening of a Paccekabuddha, one immeasurable period and 100,000 aeons for that of a disciple. In realising the four truths, the former has no teacher while the latter has.