11-12. Ven. Mahā Panthaka and Ven. Cūḷa Panthaka
Aspiration in the Past
100,000 aeons ago, during the time of Buddha Padumuttara, two householder brothers, who were native of Haṁsavatī city, having profound faith in the Three Treasures, constantly went to the Buddha to listen to the Dhamma. One day, the younger of the two saw a monk being declared foremost (etad-agga) in two qualities: 1) Among those who created mind-made images and 2) those who were skilfull in form absorption (rūpāvacara-jhāna). It then occurred to him thus: “Great, indeed is this monk. Despite his being such, he roams about practising two things. It would be nice if I too should roam about practising these two things in the Dispensation of a Future Buddha.”
The younger brother invited the Buddha and performed a grand alms giving to him for seven days. Then he expressed his wish to the Buddha, saying: “Venerable sir, seven days ago, you declared a certain monk foremost (etad-agga) in the Dispensation by virtue of his two qualities: The ability of creating mind-made images and skill in form absorption (rūpāvacara-jhāna). As a result of this specially performed act of merit, may I be foremost with those two qualities also.’ ”
When the Buddha surveyed the future, he saw that this householder’s wish would be fulfilled and said: “In the future, 100,000 aeons from now, there will arise the Buddha Gotama. That Buddha will declare you as the foremost concerning these two qualities.” And after giving an appreciative discourse, the Buddha departed. This was the wish expressed by the younger brother.
As for the older householder brother, one day he saw a certain monk being declared by the Buddha the foremost (etad-agga) in the field of having skill in developing formless absorption (arūpāvacara-jhāna), and like his younger brother, he too performed special deeds of merit and, thereafter, expressed his wish: “May I be the foremost (etad-agga) in the field of formless absorption (arūpāvacara-jhāna)!” – “Your wish will be fulfilled,” predicted the Buddha.
Both householder brothers did good works during the lifetime of the Buddha and when the Buddha attained Parinibbāna, they did homage by offering gold at the shrine which was built for the Buddha’s bodily relics. Upon their death, they were reborn in the abode of Devas. While they were being reborn either in the divine or human worlds only, and 100,000 aeons elapsed.
Of the two brothers, an account of the meritorious deed done by the elder brother, Mahā Panthaka, in that interval, was not given particularly in the Great Commentary (Mahā-aṭṭhakathā).
As for the younger brother, Cūḷa Panthaka, he became a monk in the Dispensation of Buddha Kassapa, and for 20,000 years he practised meditation on a white meditation device (odāta-kasiṇa) and was reborn again in a Deva realm. Later, our Buddha attained Awakening, and, after teaching the Dhamma Wheel (Dhamma-cakka) discourse, he went to stay in the Veḷuvana at Rājagaha.
Ascetic Life in His Final Existence
The daughter of Dhanaseṭṭhi, a wealthy merchant in the city of Rājagaha, fell in love with her male servant, and fearing that others would come to know about their affair, she discussed with her lover: “We shall no longer live here. If my parents were to know of this affair of ours, they would kill me, and cut me into pieces. Let us go and live elsewhere!”
While the two were living in this unknown place, the lady became pregnant owing to their intimacy. When her pregnancy reached maturity, she consulted with her husband, saying: “Sir, my pregnancy is now mature. It is too miserable for both of us if I give birth at a place away from our relatives or friends. Let us return to our parents’ house.” Her husband delayed the decision by saying, just to please his wife: “We shall go today,” or “We shall travel tomorrow.” Then the lady thought: “This stupid man dares not go, for his guilt is so serious. Parents certainly desire the welfare of their children. Whether the stupid man follows me or not, I should go.” So thinking, while her husband was out, the lady departed alone after storing up her belongings and leaving a message with her next-door neighbour that she was going to her parents.
When her husband returned later and found that his wife had left for her parents’ residence, he followed her in haste and eventually caught up with her midway. At the very spot of their meeting, the lady gave birth to a child. Asked by her husband: “What is this dear?” the lady answered: “Sir, a son has been born.” – “What shall we do now?” they discussed between themselves and decided, saying: “We were going to our parents’ home to deliver the child. Now the delivery of the child has taken place in the middle of the journey. What is the use of going to our parents’ place? Let us go home!” So the two agreed and went home, and they named the baby Panthaka (Highway), as he was born along the highway.
Before long, the lady conceived again, when the second son was nearing his birth, he too was born on the way to the home of his mother’s parents. Hence the first son was renamed Mahā Panthaka (Big Highway), and the second named Cūḷa Panthaka (Small Highway).
The husband and wife then returned home, each carrying a son. While they were living there, hearing such terms as “younger uncle,” “older uncle,” “grandfather,” “grandmother,” etc. in the conversation of other children, the older son, Mahā Panthaka, asked his mother: “Mother, other children mention, ‘grandfather,’ ‘grandmother,’ and so forth. Do we also have relatives?” The mother said: “Well, you are right, dear son! You have no relatives here. But in Rājagaha, however, your grandfather is a great merchant of wealth. Your relatives are many in that city.” – “Mother, why do we not go to Rājagaha?” asked Mahā Panthaka.
The mother did not give her son the reason for not going to the city of Rājagaha. When she was repeatedly asked by her sons, she said to her husband: “Sir, the children are troubling me very much. On seeing us, our parents will not cut our flesh and eat us. Let us go! Let us show our sons their grandparents’ house. Let us send them there!”
“Madam, I dare not go to your parents’ house,” said the husband, “but I shall manage to send you, so that you will certainly get there.” – “All right sir,” said the wife, “the house of their grandparents should be shown to the children in one way or another.” The couple then headed for Rājagaha, carrying their boys and in due course they arrived in the city. They lodged at a rest house, near the city-gate. The mother took the boys and informed her parents through somebody of their visit.
When the grandparents received the information, they considered as follows: “For those who roamed in Saṁsāra there is none who has not been their son, or their daughter. These two, however, have committed a great offence against us. They cannot live in our presence. They do not deserve to be with us. But let them take this much of money and live in a comfortable place, and let them send the two boys to us.” Then they sent a messenger. The lady took the money sent by her parents and handed over the two little sons to the messengers, to be taken to their grandparents. The two brothers, Mahā Panthaka and Cūḷa Panthaka grew up in comfort in the house of their grandparents.
Their Ordinations
Of the two brothers, Cūḷa Panthaka was very young and tender, while Mahā Panthaka
Then the Buddha ordered a nearby monk who used to go on alms round: “Have the boy ordained!” After explaining the meditation on the five component parts of the body “with skin as the fifth” (taca-pañcaka-kammaṭṭhāna) to the boy, the monk made him a novice. After he became a novice Mahā Panthaka learnt the words of the Buddha, and having completed 20 years of age, he took higher ordination upon himself. After becoming a monk, he engaged seriously in meditation that led him to mastery over the four formless absorptions (arūpāvacara-jhāna). Having emerged from the absorptions (jhāna), he assiduously devoted himself to insight (vipassanā) meditation and finally became an Arahat. In this way the Arahat Mahā Panthaka become foremost among those monastics who were extremely skilful in engaging in formless meditation.
Ven. Mahā Panthaka spent his time enjoying the bliss of fruition. One day, after considering whether it would be possible for him to give his younger brother such wonderful bliss, he went to the wealthy merchant, his grandfather, and requested: “Dear sir, if you agree, I would like to make Cūḷa Panthaka a novice.” When the grandfather gave his consent, saying: “Do as you wish! You may make him a novice!” Ven. Mahā Panthaka had him initiated and established in the ten precepts. Novice Cūḷa Panthaka tried to learn from his older brother the following verse (SN 3.12):
Padumaṁ yathā koka-nadaṁ sugandhaṁ,
pāto siyā phullam-avītagandhaṁ.
Aṅgīrasaṁ passa virocamānaṁ,
tapantam-ādiccam-ivantalikkhe.
Just as the lotus flower named Kokanada, because of its many petals and beauty, and pervading sweet smell, is lovely with splendour and ever-present fragrance as it opens at daybreak, even so, the Buddha’s fragrance, by his body and his personal virtue, shining by his glory, splendid whenever one sees him, emanates radiance of light from his body, resembling the round sun that rises and appears in the sky during the season of Sarada in November.
Whatever words he had been learnt previously disappeared from his memory whenever he proceeded to learn the next one. For four months, he was still trying to commit the verse to memory, but although four months had passed, he still could not learn it by heart.
It is explained in the commentary to the Collection of the Numerical Discourses (Aṅguttara-nikāya) that during the lifetime of Buddha Kassapa, Cūḷa Panthaka was a learned monk. He jeered at a dull monk in his learning of Pāḷi. As a result, the dullard gave up his pursuit in learning, for he felt so ashamed on account of the jeering, and he lost self-confidence. Owing to that evil act, as Cūḷa Panthaka, he became a dullard after becoming a novice. Hence, he forgot all that had been memorised as soon as he went on to the next portions.
Thereupon the elder brother, Mahā Panthaka, drove him out, saying: “Cūḷa Panthaka! In this Dispensation you are not capable (adhabba) of the paths and the fruitions. You cannot learn even a single verse in four months. How are you, who cannot learn a verse in
A Meditation Subject Given by the Buddha
At that time, the Buddha was sojourning in the Mango Grove monastery, built and dedicated by the physician Jīvaka, with Rājagaha as his resort for alms food. Then Jīvaka sent a man to the Buddha to invite him along with 500 monks for the next day’s meal. At that moment Ven. Mahā Panthaka was in charge of food distribution (bhattuddesaka). The man therefore referred the matter to him, saying: “Venerable sir, please accept the food offerings for 500 monks.” – “I accept the food for the monks” he replied, “except for Cūḷa Panthaka.”
Hearing the reply, Ven. Cūḷa Panthaka was extremely dejected. Seeing Ven. Cūḷa Panthaka’s plight and knowing that he would achieve liberation if he visited him, the Buddha went to him and, showing himself from a distance neither too near nor too far, asked: “Dear son Cūḷa Panthaka, why are you weeping?” – “Because, venerable sir, my brother Ven. Mahā Panthaka expels me,” answered Cūḷa Panthaka. “Dear son Panthaka,” addressed the Buddha, “your brother does not possess the power of knowing the intentions and inclinations of beings (asayānusaya-ñāṇa). But you are an individual who is able to be led by a Buddha (Buddha-veneyya-puggala). With these encouraging words, the Buddha gave him a piece of clean, but rough, cloth created by his spiritual power, and the Buddha added: “Dear son Panthaka, keep this in your fist, muttering: Rajo haraṇaṁ, rajo haranaṁ, ‘This cloth is liable to stain! This cloth is liable to stain.’ Meditate on it in this way.”
Herein, Ven. Cūḷa Panthaka in a previous birth was a king and while touring the city for inspection, his forehead sweated and he wiped the sweat with his clean waist-garment. The garment became dirty. The king then spoke to himself: “Because of the impure body, such a clean cloth becomes impure, abandoning its own nature. Impermanent indeed are conditioned things!”
Thus he gained the perception of impermanence. Hence for Cūḷa Panthaka, the meditation subject of: ‘This cloth is liable to stain!’ was a forceful contribution to his becoming an Arahat. Therefore the Buddha gave him the clean, rough cloth as he saw that Ven. Cūḷa Panthaka’s previous good act and as he wished to urge him to engage in meditation on a subject that matched with that good act.
Attainment of Awakening
Ven. Cūḷa Panthaka sat down rubbing with his hand the cloth given by the Buddha and muttering: Rajo haraṇaṁ, rajo haraṇaṁ! “This cloth is liable to stain! This cloth is liable to stain.” When he rubbed it several times, the threads of the garment began to get dirty. When he repeated the rubbing, the cloth became even dirtier like a kitchen cloth. As the time came for his wisdom to ripen, the law of extinction and destruction manifested itself in his mind. And he reflected: “This piece of cloth was originally white and clean. But on account of its association with my body (upādinnaka), it is now full of dirt. My mind is also like this cloth. It is just like the cloth. The mind, originally pure and clean in its unperturbed state, tends to become soiled on account of its association with such unwholesome concomitant factors as greed, hate, delusion, etc. Having thus reflected on himself and his heart, he proceeded to strive for mental concentration and gained the four form absorptions (rūpāvacara-jhāna). When he, on the basis of these absorptions, engaged in insight (vipassanā) meditation, he became an Arahat together with the fourfold analytical knowledge. As he had mastered the form absorption involving mentally produced form (manomaya-rūpāvacara-jhāna), he was able to create many bodies from one or one body from many, and had other similar powers. Besides, he was accomplished in the teaching of the Three Baskets and endowed with the six psychic powers.
Such happenings are called path accomplished learning (magga-siddha-pariyatti) and path accomplished powers (magga-siddha-abhiññā), without particularly learning and without particularly striving, one becomes learned in the teaching and possessed of psychic powers as soon as one attains the Arahat path (Arahatta-magga). Both learning and powers took place by the force of the path (magga).
The following day, the Buddha visited the house of the physician Jīvaka together with 499 monastics and sat there for meal offerings. Ven. Cūḷa Panthaka could not go along as his brother Ven. Mahā Panthaka did not accept the invitation for him. The physician Jīvaka managed first to make offerings of rice gruel. The Buddha did not take the gruel but covered his alms bowl with his hand. When Jīvaka asked: “Exalted Buddha, why do you not accept the gruel?” he said: “There is a monk left behind at the monastery.”
Thereupon Jīvaka sent a man saying: “Go, friend! Bring the monk who has been left behind at the monastery.” Prior to the arrival of the man, Ven. Cūḷa Panthaka had created, by his own power, 1,000 monastics, each different from the other in shape as well as in occupation, such as making a robe, etc.
Because the man sent by Jīvaka saw too many monastics at the monastery, he did not invite them all, for he had been asked by Jīvaka to bring just one monk. So he went back and said to the physician: “Master Jīvaka, the monks left behind at the monastery are more than all these monks who are in your house. I was at a loss and could not find the right one to bring.” Jīvaka asked the Buddha: “What is the name of the venerable who was left behind at the monastery, exalted Buddha?” When the Buddha said that it was Cūḷa Panthaka, Jīvaka sent the man again, saying: “Go again, friend! And ask: ‘Which of you is the noble venerable named Cūḷa Panthaka?’ and when he answers bring him along.”
The man returned to the monastery and asked: “Which of you is the noble venerable named Cūḷa Panthaka?” – “I am Cūḷa Panthaka! I am Cūḷa Panthaka!” answered all of the thousand monks. The man returned again and said to Jīvaka: “Master, all of the thousand monks replied: ‘I am Cūḷa Panthaka! I am Cūḷa Panthaka!’ I am puzzled as to whom I should invite, not knowing this one from that one?” As the physician Jīvaka was a noble (ariya) supporter who had realized the four truths, even by the way the man informed him, he came to know that the one left behind at the monastery was of supernormal power. “Go again, friend,” said Jīvaka, “tell the one who answers first that he is summoned by the Buddha, and bring him along by holding the edge of his robe.” Saying thus, Jīvaka sent the man back once more. The man went again to the monastery and did as his master had ordered. Instantly the thousand monastics disappeared. Then only could the man bring Cūḷa Panthaka. Then only did the Buddha accept the gruel and partake of it.
Having gone back to the monastery after partaking of the food, a discussion took place at a meeting of the monks thus: “Supreme indeed are the Buddhas. He could cause a monk, who failed to learn by heart a single verse in four months, to become such a powerful monk!” Knowing the minds of the monks, the Buddha came to the meeting and sat on the Buddha’s seat. Then he asked: “Monks, what are you talking about?” When the monks replied: “Exalted Buddha, we were talking about nothing but your grace. We were saying that Cūḷa Panthaka has received a big favour from you!” The Buddha said: “Monks, receiving supermundane inheritance now by following my advice is not so wonderful. While he was of immature wisdom long, long ago in the past, Cūḷa Panthaka received mundane inheritance by taking my advice.” – “When was it, exalted Buddha?” asked the monks. And at their request the Buddha related the Birth Story about the Little Merchant (Cūḷa-seṭṭhi-jātaka, Ja 4) to the monks in the following manner:
The Story about the Little Merchant
Monks, once upon a time, King Brahmadatta was ruling over the city of Bārāṇasī. At that time, a wise merchant known as Cūḷa Seṭṭhi was an expert in reading omens. One day, on his way to the palace to wait upon the king, he saw a dead rat and, upon observing and reflecting at that time on the planets in the sky, he read the omen thus: “Any intelligent man, who takes this dead rat, will be able to maintain his family and will prosper in business.” An unknown poor man, hearing the wise merchant’s reading of the omen and being aware that this wise merchant would not say so without knowing it, picked up the dead rat, went to an inn and sold it as food for the cats and received a coin. With that coin, he bought some molasses and carried a pot of drinking water. Seeing some flower sellers, who had come back from the forest after collecting flowers, he gave a little portion of molasses and a cup
From this point onwards, the poor man will be referred to as the “talented pupil,” partly because he was of talented mind and partly because he was a pupil receiving the instruction given by the wise merchant Cūḷa Seṭṭhi.
After selling those handfuls of flowers, he bought molasses as much as the flower money could buy and went to a park carrying the molasses and a pot of clean drinking water. On that day, the flower sellers equally shared their flowers with him and departed. In this way, the talented pupil had soon saved eight silver coins.
Again, on a stormy day, the talented pupil went to the big, old deserted garden and while he was making piles of branches, which were broken and cut down by the strong winds, for firewood, he received sixteen coins from the royal potter. With the eight coins accrued from the flowers, he now had 24 coins, and thought to himself: “I have some good means of obtaining money, by making myself a water-supporter to the grass-cutters. Having thought thus, he set up a water jar at a place neither too near nor too far from the city-gate. Then he gave the drinking water free to the 500 grass-cutters who came from the outskirts of the city. The grass-cutters said to him: “Friend, you have done a great service to us. What can we do for you?” The talented pupil replied: “When some occasion arises, you may help me.” After saying these words of acceptance, he wandered about and made friends with the official of highways and the official of waterways.
One day, the highway official brought him the good news that a horse merchant would visit Bārāṇasī city with 500 horses. Getting the news, the talented pupil transmitted it to the grass-cutters and asked them each to bring an extra bundle of grass in addition to what they had brought in the previous days. When the time for the entry of the horses came, the talented pupil piled up the thousand bundles of grass near the inner doors of the city so that the grass was visible to the horse-merchant, after which he sat down. The horse merchant could not get fodder even though he roamed about the whole city in search of it. So he gave 1,000 pieces of money to the talented pupil and took away the thousand bundles of grass.
Two or three days later, his other friend, the waterway official had the information sent to him that a big cargo boat had moored inside the harbour. So he thought to himself: “Some means of earning money has come up again!” Then he hired a fully furnished chariot for eight coins of silver and went in it to the port. He gave a ring to the captain of the boat as an advance payment. At a place near the port, he had a curtain hung up, as though it was a house of brokerage. Sitting there, he gave orders to his employees saying: “If other merchants come to me, tell me by way of three stages, so that there are three places which the information must pass through to me.”
Hearing of the arrival of the cargo boat, merchants numbering 100, rushed from the city of Bārāṇasī to the port with an idea to buy the merchandise. The employees of the talented pupil were there before the other merchants came, and readily said to them: “You will not get the goods, for the merchant sitting in such and such a place has made an advance payment for the whole lot.” On hearing these words, the hundred merchants of Bārāṇasī came to the talented pupil, who was now being called a great merchant.
The servants of the talented pupil respectfully informed him of the visit of the merchants, passed through the three stages, as they had been told beforehand, just to aggrandize the matter. Each of the hundred merchants gave him 1,000 pieces of money as gifts to become shareholders in the business. Again each of them offered another thousand coins to him as a profit by which method they made him resign as a shareholder and managed to pass the whole lot of goods on the boat to their monopoly. The talented pupil earned 200,000 in one sitting and brought the money to Bārāṇasī, thinking: “I should do something out of gratitude.” He took 100,000 pieces of money and went to the wise merchant Cūḷa Seṭṭhi.
Then the wise merchant asked the talented pupil: “Dear son, how did you get such a lot of money?” The talented pupil related the whole story, saying: “Following the advice you
Having related both the present story and the past, the Buddha spoke words regarding the two events and uttered the following verse for the present life (Ja 4):
Appakenapi medhāvī, pābhatena vicakkhaṇo,
Samuṭṭhāpeti attānaṁ, aṇuṁ aggiṁ va sandhamaṁ.
My dear sons, monks! As a wise man, by putting fuel into a very small fire and making efforts to blow repeatedly and continuously, turns it into a big mass of fire, so the wise man, who is far-sighted as well as retrospective, who is prudent and reflective, can create a great wealth out of a small and insignificant investment and he can raise himself in that wealth to the state of a millionaire.
In this way the Buddha delivered this Birth Story (Jātaka) to the monks in the Dhamma Assembly Hall.
Foremost Title Achieved
At a later time, while the Buddha was sitting on the Dhamma throne, surrounded by monks, he spoke in praise of Ven. Cūḷa Panthaka as follows:
Etad-aggaṁ bhikkhave mama sāvakānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ
mano-mayaṁ kāyaṁ abhinimminantānaṁ
yad-idaṁ Cūḷa-panthako,
ceto-vivaṭṭa-kusalānaṁ yad-idaṁ Cūḷa-panthako.
Monks, among my disciples who are able to create mind-made bodies through psychic powers, Cūḷa Panthaka is the foremost; and among my disciples who are skilful in mind transformation leading to form absorption (rūpāvacara-jhāna) [This is one meaning given in the sub-commentary for this difficult term, and the way Mingun Sayadaw saw it. Similarly for the interpretation of Mahā Panthaka’s title just below]. Cūḷa Panthaka is the foremost.
Thus the Buddha declared Ven. Cūḷa Panthaka the foremost (etad-agga) in two qualities.
With regard to Ven. Mahā Panthaka, the Buddha spoke in praise of him as follows:
Etad-aggaṁ bhikkhave mama sāvakānaṁ bhikkhūnaṁ
saññā-vivaṭṭa-kusalānaṁ yad-idaṁ Mahā-panthako.
Monks, among my disciples who are skilful in perception transformation leading to formless absorption (arūpāvacara-jhāna), Mahā Panthaka is the foremost.
Herein, when other monks created mind-made bodies through psychic powers, they were able to create only a few, say, three or four, etc., but they could not create a large number of such bodies. And when they did, they could bring about only the figures that resembled the creator and in the case of action, theirs was the one and the only kind.
Cūḷa Panthaka, however, created 1,000 figures at one stroke of advertence in the process of consciousness. Such mentally created figures were different in shape from one another, and that was why he was declared the foremost (etad-agga) in creating mind-made bodies. Though the words are explained in the commentary in various ways, the explanations are omitted here lest the reader should get confused.
The sermons connected with these two monastics should be taken in detail from the commentaries on the Traditions (Apadāna, Tha-ap 16), the Verses of the Elder Monks (Thera-gāthā, 8.3, 10.4), the Dhamma Verses (Dhammapada, 407), and the Exalted Utterances (Udāna, 5.10).