82CHAPTER 3

Simile and Parable

At that time Shariputra’s mind danced with joy. Then he immediately stood up, pressed his palms together, gazed up in reverence at the face of the honored one, and said to the Buddha, “Just now, when I heard from the world-honored one this voice of the Law, my mind seemed to dance and I gained what I had never had before. Why do I say this? Because in the past when I heard a Law of this kind from the Buddha and saw how the bodhisattvas received prophecies that in time they would attain buddhahood, I and the others felt that we had no part in the affair. We were deeply grieved to think we would never gain the immeasurable insight of the thus come one.

“World-Honored One, I have constantly lived in the mountain forest or alone under the trees, sometimes sitting, sometimes walking around, and always I have thought to myself, Since I and the others also have entered into the true nature of phenomena, why does the thus come one use the teaching of the lesser vehicle to bring us salvation?

“But the fault is ours, not that of the world-honored one. Why do I say this? If we had been willing to wait until the true means for attaining supreme perfect enlightenment was preached, then we would surely have obtained release through the great vehicle. But we failed to understand that the Buddha was employing expedient means and preaching what was appropriate to the circumstances. So when we first heard the teaching of the 83Buddha, we immediately believed and accepted it, supposing that we had gained understanding.

“World-Honored One, for a long time now, all day and throughout the night, I have repeatedly taxed myself with this thought. But now I have heard from the Buddha what I had never heard before, a Law never known in the past, and it has ended all my doubts and regrets. My body and mind are at ease and I have gained a wonderful feeling of peace and security. Today at last I understand that truly I am the Buddha’s son, born from the Buddha’s mouth, born through conversion to the Law, gaining my share of the Buddhist Law!”

At that time Shariputra, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying:

When I heard the sound of this Law,

I gained what I had never had before.

My mind was filled with great joy,

I was released from all bonds of the net of doubt.

From past times I have received the Buddha’s teachings

and have not been denied the great vehicle.

The Buddha’s sound is very rarely heard,

but it can free living beings from distress.

Already I have put an end to outflows,

and hearing this, am freed from care and distress.

I lived in the mountain valleys

or under the forest trees,

sometimes sitting, sometimes walking around,

and constantly I thought of this matter—

how severely I taxed myself!

“Why have I been deceived?” I said.

“I and the others are sons of the Buddha too,

and likewise have entered the Law that is without outflows,

yet in times to come we will never be able

to expound the unsurpassed way.

The golden body, the thirty-two features,

the ten powers, the various emancipations—

though we also share in the single Law,

84these we will never attain!

The eighty types of wonderful characteristics,

the eighteen unshared properties—

merits such as these

are all lost to us!”

When I was walking around alone,

I saw the Buddha among the great assembly,

his fame filling the ten directions,

bringing benefit far and wide to living beings,

and I thought to myself, I am deprived of such benefits!

How greatly have I been deceived!

Constantly, day and night,

whenever I pondered over this,

I wanted to ask the world-honored one

whether I had indeed been deprived or not.

Constantly, when I saw the world-honored one

praising the bodhisattvas,

then day and night

I would mull this matter over.

But now as I listen to the voice of the Buddha,

I see he preaches the hard-to-conceive Law of no outflows

in accordance with what is appropriate

to lead people to the place of enlightenment.

Formerly I was attached to erroneous views,

acting as teacher to non-Buddhists.

But the world-honored one, knowing what was in my mind,

rooted out my errors and preached nirvana.

I was freed of all my errors

and gained understanding of the Law of emptiness.

At that time my mind told me

I had reached the stage of extinction,

but now I realize

that that was not true extinction.

If the time should come when I can become a buddha,

then I will possess all the thirty-two features,

and heavenly and human beings, the many yakshas,

85dragons, and others will hold me in reverence.

When that time comes, then I can say

that at last all has been wiped out without residue.

In the midst of the great assembly, the Buddha

declared that I will become a buddha.

When I heard the sound of this Law

my doubts and regrets were all wiped away.

At first, when I heard the Buddha’s preaching,

there was great astonishment and doubt in my mind.

Is this not a devil pretending to be the Buddha,

trying to vex and confuse my mind? I thought.

But the Buddha employed various causes,

similes, and parables, expounding eloquently.

His mind was peaceful as the sea,

and as I listened, I was freed from the net of doubt.

The Buddha said that in past ages

the countless buddhas who have passed into extinction

rested and abided in the midst of expedient means,

and all likewise preached this Law.

The buddhas of the present and future,

whose numbers are beyond calculation,

they too will use expedient means

in expounding this same Law.

Thus the present world-honored one,

being born and later leaving his family,

attaining the way and turning the wheel of the Law,

likewise employs expedient means in preaching.

The world-honored one preaches the true way.

Papiyas would not do that.

Therefore I know for certain

this is not a devil pretending to be the Buddha.

But because I fell into the net of doubt

I supposed this to be the devil’s work.

Now I hear the Buddha’s soft and gentle sound,

profound, far-reaching, very subtle and wonderful,

expounding and discoursing on the pure Law,

and my mind is filled with great joy.

86My doubts and regrets are forever ended,

I will rest and abide in true wisdom.

I am certain I will become a buddha,

to be revered by heavenly and human beings,

turning the wheel of the unsurpassed Law

and teaching and converting the bodhisattvas.

At that time the Buddha said to Shariputra, “Now, in the midst of this great assembly of heavenly and human beings, shramanas, Brahmans, and so forth, I say this. In the past, under twenty thousand million buddhas, for the sake of the unsurpassed way I constantly taught and converted you. And you throughout the long night followed me and accepted my instruction. Because I used expedient means to guide and lead you, you were born in the midst of my Law.

“Shariputra, in the past I taught you to aspire and vow to achieve the buddha way. But now you have forgotten all that and instead suppose that you have already attained extinction. Now, because I want to make you recall to mind the way that you originally vowed to follow, for the sake of the voice-hearers I am preaching this great vehicle sutra called the Lotus of the Wonderful Law, a teaching to instruct the bodhisattvas, one that is guarded and kept in mind by the buddhas.

“Shariputra, in ages to come, after a countless, boundless, inconceivable number of kalpas have passed, you will make offerings to some thousands, ten thousands, millions of buddhas, and will honor and uphold the correct teachings. You will fulfill every aspect of the way of the bodhisattva and will be able to become a buddha with the name Flower Glow Thus Come One, worthy of offerings, of right and universal knowledge, perfect clarity and conduct, well gone, understanding the world, unexcelled worthy, trainer of people, teacher of heavenly and human beings, buddha, world-honored one.

“Your realm will be called Free from Stain, the land will be level and smooth, pure and beautifully adorned, peaceful, bountiful, and happy. Heavenly and human beings will flourish there. The ground will be of lapis lazuli, roads will crisscross it in eight 87directions, and ropes of gold will mark their boundaries. Beside each road will grow rows of seven-jeweled trees that will constantly flower and bear fruit. And this Flower Glow Thus Come One will employ the three vehicles to teach and convert living beings.

“Shariputra, when this buddha appears, although it will not be an evil age, because of his original vow he will preach the Law through the three vehicles. His kalpa will be called Great Treasure Adornment. Why will it be called Great Treasure Adornment? Because in that land bodhisattvas will be looked on as a great treasure. Those bodhisattvas will be countless, boundless, inconceivable in number, beyond the reach of reckoning or of simile and parable. Without the power of buddha wisdom, one cannot understand how many. Whenever these bodhisattvas wish to walk anywhere, jeweled flowers will uphold their feet.

“These bodhisattvas will not have just conceived the desire for enlightenment, but all will have spent a long time planting the roots of virtue. Under countless hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, millions of buddhas they will have carried out brahma practices in a flawless manner, and will have been perpetually praised by the buddhas. Constantly they will have cultivated buddha wisdom, acquiring great transcendental powers and thoroughly understanding the gateway to all the doctrines. They will be upright in character, without duplicity, firm in intent and thought. Bodhisattvas such as this will abound in that land.

“Shariputra, the life span of the buddha Flower Glow will be twelve small kalpas, not counting the time when he is still a prince and before he becomes a buddha. The people of his land will have a life span of eight small kalpas. When Flower Glow Thus Come One has lived for twelve small kalpas, he will prophesy that the bodhisattva Firm Full will attain supreme perfect enlightenment. He will announce to the monks, ‘This bodhisattva Firm Full will be the next to become a buddha. He will be named Flower Feet Safely Walking, tathagata, arhat, samyak-sambuddha. His buddha land will be like mine.’

“Shariputra, after the buddha Flower Glow has passed into extinction, the era of the Correct Law will last for thirty-two 88small kalpas, and the era of the Counterfeit Law will last for another thirty-two small kalpas.”

At that time the world-honored one, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying:

Shariputra, in ages to come

you will become a buddha, of universal wisdom, venerable,

bearing the name Flower Glow,

and you will save countless multitudes.

You will make offerings to numberless buddhas,

be endowed with all the bodhisattva practices,

the ten powers and other blessings,

and will realize the unsurpassed way.

After countless kalpas have passed,

your kalpa will be named Great Treasure Adornment.

Your world will be called Free from Stain,

pure, without flaw or defilement.

Its land will be made of lapis lazuli,

its roads bounded by ropes of gold,

and seven-jeweled trees in a jumble of colors

will constantly bear blossoms and fruit.

The bodhisattvas of that realm

will always be firm in intent and thought.

Transcendental powers and paramitas—

each will be endowed with all of these,

and under numberless buddhas

they will diligently study the bodhisattva way.

Thus these great men

will be converted by the buddha Flower Glow.

When that buddha is still a prince,

he will give up his country, abandon worldly glory,

and in his final incarnation

leave his family and attain the buddha way.

Flower Glow Buddha will continue in the world

for a life span of twelve small kalpas.

The numerous people of his land

will have a life span of eight small kalpas.

89After that buddha has passed into extinction,

the Correct Law will endure in the world

for thirty-two small kalpas,

saving living beings far and wide.

When the Correct Law has passed away,

the Counterfeit Law will endure for thirty-two small kalpas.

The buddha’s relics will circulate widely;

heavenly and human beings everywhere will make offerings to them.

The actions of Flower Glow Buddha

will all be as I have said.

This sage and most venerable of two-legged beings

will be foremost and without peer.

And he will be none other than you—

you should rejoice and count yourself fortunate!

At that time, when the four kinds of believers, namely, monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen, and the heavenly beings, dragons, yakshas, gandharvas, asuras, garudas, kimnaras, mahoragas, and others in the great assembly saw how Shariputra received from the Buddha this prophecy that he would attain supreme perfect enlightenment, their hearts were filled with great joy and danced without end. Each one removed the upper robe that he or she was wearing and presented it as an offering to the Buddha. The heavenly king Shakra, King Brahma, and the countless sons of gods likewise took their wonderful heavenly robes, heavenly mandarava flowers, and great mandarava flowers and offered them to the Buddha. The heavenly robes they had scattered remained suspended in the air and turned round and round of themselves. Heavenly beings made music, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand varieties, all at the same time in the midst of the air, raining down quantities of heavenly flowers and speaking these words: “In the past at Varanasi the Buddha first turned the wheel of the Law. Now he turns the wheel again, the wheel of the unsurpassed, the greatest Law of all!”

At that time the sons of gods, wishing to state their meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying:

90In the past at Varanasi

you turned the wheel of the Law of the four noble truths,

making distinctions, preaching that all things

are born and become extinct, being made up of the five components.

Now you turn the wheel of the most wonderful,

the unsurpassed great Law.

This Law is very profound and abstruse;

there are few who can believe it.

Since times past often we have heard

the world-honored one’s preaching,

but we have never heard

this kind of profound, wonderful, and superior Law.

Since the world-honored one preaches this Law,

we all welcome it with joy.

Shariputra with his great wisdom

has now received this venerable prophecy.

We too in the same way

will surely be able to attain buddhahood,

throughout all the worlds

the most venerable, the unsurpassed goal.

The buddha way is difficult to fathom,

but you will preach with expedient means, according to what is appropriate.

The meritorious deeds we have done

in this existence or past existences,

and the blessings gained from seeing the Buddha—

all these we will apply to the buddha way.

At that time Shariputra said to the Buddha: “World-Honored One, now I have no more doubts or regrets. In person I have received from the Buddha this prophecy that I will attain supreme perfect enlightenment. These twelve hundred persons here whose minds are free—in the past they remained at the level of learning, and the Buddha constantly taught and converted them, saying, ‘My Law can free you from birth, aging, sickness, and death 91and enable you at last to achieve nirvana.’ These persons, some of whom were still learning and some who had completed their learning, each believed that, because he had shed his views of ‘self,’ and also his views of ‘existing’ and ‘not existing,’ he had attained nirvana. But now from the world-honored one they hear what they had never heard before, and all have fallen into doubt and perplexity.

“Very well, World-Honored One. I beg that for the sake of the four kinds of believers you will explain the causes and conditions and make it possible for them to shed their doubts and regrets.”

At that time the Buddha said to Shariputra, “Did I not tell you earlier that when the buddhas, the world-honored ones, cite various causes and conditions and use similes, parables, and other expressions, employing expedient means to preach the Law, it is all for the sake of supreme perfect enlightenment? Whatever is preached is all for the sake of converting the bodhisattvas.

“Moreover, Shariputra, I too will now make use of similes and parables to further clarify this principle. For through similes and parables those who are wise can obtain understanding.

“Shariputra, suppose that in a certain town in a certain country there was a very rich man. He was far along in years and his wealth was beyond measure. He had many fields, houses, and menservants. His own house was big and rambling, but it had only one gate. A great many people—a hundred, two hundred, perhaps as many as five hundred—lived in the house. The halls and rooms were old and decaying, the walls crumbling, the pillars rotten at their base, and the beams and rafters crooked and aslant.

“At that time a fire suddenly broke out on all sides, spreading through the rooms of the house. The sons of the rich man, ten, twenty, perhaps thirty, were inside the house. When the rich man saw the huge flames leaping up on every side, he was greatly alarmed and fearful and thought to himself, I can escape to safety through the flaming gate, but my sons are inside the burning house enjoying themselves and playing games, unaware, 92unknowing, without alarm or fear. The fire is closing in on them, suffering and pain threaten them, yet their minds have no sense of loathing or peril and they do not think of trying to escape!

“Shariputra, this rich man thought to himself, I have strength in my body and arms. I can wrap them in a robe or place them on a bench and carry them out of the house. And then again he thought, This house has only one gate, and moreover it is narrow and small. My sons are very young, they have no understanding, and they love their games, being so engrossed in them that they are likely to be burned in the fire. I must explain to them why I am fearful and alarmed. The house is already in flames and I must get them out quickly and not let them be burned up in the fire!

“Having thought in this way, he followed his plan and called to all his sons, saying, ‘You must come out at once!’ But though the father was moved by pity and gave good words of instruction, the sons were absorbed in their games and unwilling to heed him. They had no alarm, no fright, and in the end no mind to leave the house. Moreover, they did not understand what the fire was, what the house was, what danger was. They merely raced about this way and that in play and looked at their father without heeding him.

“At that time the rich man had this thought: The house is already in flames from this huge fire. If I and my sons do not get out at once, we are certain to be burned. I must now invent some expedient means that will make it possible for the children to escape harm.

“The father understood his sons and knew what various toys and curious objects each child customarily liked and what would delight them. And so he said to them, ‘The kind of playthings you like are rare and hard to find. If you do not take them when you can, you will surely regret it later. For example, things like these goat-carts, deer-carts, and ox-carts. They are outside the gate now where you can play with them. So you must come out of this burning house at once. Then whatever ones you want, I will give them all to you!’

93“At that time, when the sons heard their father telling them about these rare playthings, because such things were just what they had wanted, each felt emboldened in heart and, pushing and shoving one another, they all came wildly dashing out of the burning house.

“At this time the rich man, seeing that his sons had gotten out safely and all were seated on the open ground at the crossroads and were no longer in danger, was greatly relieved and his mind danced for joy. At that time each of the sons said to his father, ‘The playthings you promised us earlier, the goat-carts and deer-carts and ox-carts—please give them to us now!’

“Shariputra, at that time the rich man gave to each of his sons a large carriage of uniform size and quality. The carriages were tall and spacious and adorned with numerous jewels. Railings ran all around them and bells hung from all four sides. Canopies were stretched over the tops, which were also decorated with an assortment of precious jewels. Ropes of jewels twined around, fringes of flowers hung down, and layers of cushions were spread inside, on which were placed vermilion pillows. Each carriage was drawn by a white ox, pure and clean in hide, handsome in form and of great strength, capable of pulling the carriage smoothly and properly at a pace fast as the wind. In addition, there were many grooms and servants to attend and guard the carriage.

“What was the reason for this? This rich man’s wealth was limitless and he had many kinds of storehouses that were all filled and overflowing. And he thought to himself, There is no end to my possessions. It would not be right if I were to give my sons small carriages of inferior make. These little boys are all my sons and I love them without partiality. I have countless numbers of large carriages adorned with seven kinds of gems. I should be fair-minded and give one to each of my sons. I should not show any discrimination. Why? Because even if I distributed these things of mine to every person in the whole country I would still not exhaust them, much less could I do so by giving them to my sons!

“At that time each of the sons mounted his large carriage, 94gaining something he had never had before, something he had originally never expected. Shariputra, what do you think of this? When this rich man impartially handed out to his sons these big carriages adorned with rare jewels, was he guilty of falsehood or not?”

Shariputra said, “No, World-Honored One. This rich man simply made it possible for his sons to escape the peril of fire and preserve their lives. He did not commit a falsehood. Why do I say this? Because if they were able to preserve their lives, then they had already obtained a plaything of sorts. And how much more so when, through an expedient means, they were rescued from that burning house! World-Honored One, even if the rich man had not given them the tiniest carriage, he would still not be guilty of falsehood. Why? Because this rich man had earlier made up his mind that he would employ an expedient means to cause his sons to escape. Using a device of this kind was no act of falsehood. How much less so, then, when the rich man knew that his wealth was limitless and he intended to enrich and benefit his sons by giving each of them a large carriage.”

The Buddha said to Shariputra, “Very good, very good. It is just as you have said. And Shariputra, the thus come one is like this. That is, he is a father to all the world. His fears, cares and anxieties, ignorance and misunderstanding, have long come to an end, leaving no residue. He has fully succeeded in acquiring measureless insight, powers, and freedom from fear, and gaining great supernatural powers and the power of wisdom. He is endowed with the paramitas of expedient means and of wisdom, his great pity and great compassion constant and unflagging; at all times he seeks what is good and will bring benefit to all.

“He is born into the threefold world, a burning house, rotten and old, in order to save living beings from the fires of birth, aging, sickness, and death, care, suffering, foolishness, misunderstanding, and the three poisons; to teach and convert them and enable them to attain supreme perfect enlightenment.

“He sees living beings seared and consumed by birth, aging, sickness, and death, care and suffering, sees them undergo many kinds of pain because of the five desires and the desire for wealth 95and profit. Again, because of their greed and attachment and striving they undergo numerous pains in their present existence, and later they undergo the pain of being reborn in hell or as animals or hungry spirits. Even if they are reborn in the heavenly realm or the realm of human beings, they undergo the pain of poverty and want, the pain of parting from loved ones, the pain of encountering those they detest—all these many different kinds of pain.

“Yet living beings, drowned in the midst of all this, delight and amuse themselves, unaware, unknowing, without alarm or fear. They feel no sense of loathing and make no attempt to escape. In this burning house that is the threefold world, they race about to east and west, and though they encounter great pain, they are not distressed by it.

“Shariputra, when the Buddha sees this, then he thinks to himself, I am the father of living beings and I should rescue them from their sufferings and give them the joy of the measureless and boundless buddha wisdom so that they may find their enjoyment in that.

“Shariputra, the thus come one also has this thought: If I should merely employ supernatural powers and the power of wisdom; if I should set aside expedient means and for the sake of living beings should praise the thus come one’s insight, powers, and freedom from fear, then living beings would not be able to gain salvation. Why? Because these living beings have not yet escaped from birth, aging, sickness, and death, or care and suffering, and are being consumed by flames in the burning house that is the threefold world. How could they be able to understand the Buddha’s wisdom?

“Shariputra, that rich man, though he had strength in his body and arms, did not use it. He merely employed a carefully contrived expedient means and thus was able to rescue his sons from the peril of the burning house, and afterward gave each of them a large carriage adorned with rare jewels. And the thus come one does the same. Though he possesses powers and freedom from fear, he does not use these. He merely employs wisdom and expedient means to rescue living beings from the 96burning house of the threefold world, expounding to them the three vehicles, the vehicle of the voice-hearer, that of the pratyekabuddha, and that of the buddha.

“He says to them, ‘You must not be content to stay in this burning house of the threefold world! Do not be greedy for its coarse and shoddy forms, sounds, scents, tastes, and sensations! If you become attached to them and learn to love them, you will be burned up! You must come out of this threefold world at once so that you can acquire the three vehicles, the vehicles of the voice-hearer, the pratyekabuddha, and the buddha. I promise you now that you will get them, and that promise will never prove false. You have only to apply yourselves with diligent effort!’

“The thus come one employs this expedient means to lure living beings into action. And then he says to them, ‘You should understand that these doctrines of the three vehicles are all praised by the sages. They are free, without entanglements, leaving nothing further to depend upon or seek. Mount these three vehicles and with sense organs that are without outflows, powers, awareness, the way, meditations, emancipations, and samadhis, you will enjoy yourselves and will gain the delight of immeasurable peace and safety.’

“Shariputra, if there are living beings who are inwardly wise in nature, and who hear the Law from the Buddha, the world-honored one, believe and accept it, and put forth diligent effort, desiring to escape quickly from the threefold world and seeking to attain nirvana, they shall be called [those who ride] the vehicle of the voice-hearer. They are like those sons who left the burning house in the hope of acquiring goat-carts.

“If there are living beings who hear the Law from the Buddha, the world-honored one, believe and accept it, and put forth diligent effort, seeking wisdom that comes of itself, taking solitary delight in goodness and tranquillity, and profoundly understanding the causes and conditions of all phenomena, they shall be called [those who ride] the vehicle of the pratyekabuddha. They are like the sons who left the burning house in the hope of acquiring deer-carts.

97“If there are living beings who hear the Law from the Buddha, the world-honored one, believe and accept it, and put forth diligent effort, seeking comprehensive wisdom, buddha wisdom, wisdom that comes of itself, teacherless wisdom, the insight, powers, and freedom from fear of the thus come one, who pity and comfort countless living beings, bring benefit to heavenly and human beings, and save them all, they shall be called [those who ride] the great vehicle. Because the bodhisattvas seek this vehicle, they are called mahasattvas. They are like the sons who left the burning house in the hope of acquiring ox-carts.

“Shariputra, that rich man, seeing that his sons had all gotten out of the burning house safely and were no longer threatened, recalled that his wealth was immeasurable and presented each of his sons with a large carriage. And the thus come one does likewise. He is the father of all living beings. When he sees that countless thousands of millions of living beings, through the gateway of the Buddha’s teaching, can escape the pains of the threefold world, the fearful and perilous road, and gain the delights of nirvana, the thus come one at that time has this thought: I possess the storehouse of the buddhas’ measureless, boundless wisdom, powers, fearlessness, and other attributes. These living beings are all my sons. I will give the great vehicle to all of them equally so that there will not be those who gain extinction by themselves, but that all may do so through the extinction of the thus come one.

“To all the living beings who have escaped from the threefold world he then gives the delightful gifts of the meditations, emancipations, and so forth, of the buddhas. All these are uniform in appearance, uniform in type, praised by the sages, capable of producing pure, wonderful, supreme delight.

“Shariputra, that rich man first used three types of carriages to entice his sons, but later he gave them just the large carriage adorned with jewels, the safest, most comfortable kind of all. Despite this, that rich man was not guilty of falsehood. The thus come one does the same, and he is without falsehood. First he preaches the three vehicles to attract and guide living beings, but later he employs just the great vehicle to save them. Why? The 98thus come one possesses the storehouse of measureless wisdom, powers, freedom from fear, and other attributes. He is capable of giving to all living beings the Law of the great vehicle. But not all of them are capable of receiving it.

“Shariputra, for this reason you should understand that the buddhas employ the power of expedient means. And because they do so, they make distinctions in the one buddha vehicle and preach it as three.”

The Buddha, wishing to state his meaning once more, spoke in verse form, saying:

Suppose there was a rich man

who had a large house.

This house was very old,

and decayed and dilapidated as well.

The halls, though lofty, were in dangerous condition,

the bases of the pillars had rotted,

beams and rafters were slanting and askew,

foundations and steps were crumbling.

Walls were cracked and gaping

and the plaster had fallen off of them.

The roof thatch was in disrepair or missing,

the tips of the eaves had dropped off.

The fences surrounding it were crooked or collapsed

and heaped rubbish was piled all around.

Some five hundred persons

lived in the house.

Kites, owls, hawks, eagles,

crows, magpies, doves, pigeons,

lizards, snakes, vipers, scorpions,

centipedes and millipedes,

newts and ground beetles,

weasels, raccoon dogs, mice, rats,

hordes of evil creatures

scurried this way and that.

Places that stank of excrement

overflowed in streams of filth

99where dung beetles and other creatures gathered.

Foxes, wolves, and jackals

gnawed and trampled in the filth

or tore apart dead bodies,

scattering bones and flesh about.

Because of this, packs of dogs

came racing to the spot to snatch and tear,

driven by hunger and fear,

searching everywhere for food,

fighting, struggling, seizing,

baring their teeth, snarling and howling.

That house was fearful, frightening,

so altered was its aspect.

In every part of it

there were goblins and trolls,

yakshas and evil spirits

who feed on human flesh

or on poisonous creatures.

The various evil birds and beasts

bore offspring, hatched and nursed them,

each hiding and protecting its young,

but the yakshas outdid one another

in their haste to seize and eat them.

And when they had eaten their fill,

their evil hearts became fiercer than ever;

the sound of their wrangling and contention

was terrifying indeed.

Kumbhanda demons

crouched on clumps of earth

or leaped one or two feet

off the ground,

idling, wandering here and there,

amusing themselves according to their whim.

Sometimes they seized a dog by two of its legs

and beat it till it had lost its voice,

or planted their feet on the dog’s neck,

terrifying it for their own delight.

100Again there were demons

with large tall bodies,

naked in form, black and emaciated,

constantly living there,

who would cry out in loud ugly voices,

shouting and demanding food.

There were other demons

whose throats were like needles,

or still other demons

with heads like the head of an ox,

some feeding on human flesh,

others devouring dogs.

Their hair like tangled weeds,

cruel, baleful, ferocious,

driven by hunger and thirst,

they dashed about shrieking and howling.

The yakshas and starving spirits

and the various evil birds and beasts

hungrily pressed forward in all directions,

peering out at the windows.

Such were the perils of this house,

threats and terrors beyond measure.

This house, old and rotting,

belonged to a certain man

and that man had gone nearby

and had not been out for long

when a fire

suddenly broke out in the house.

In one moment from all four sides

the flames rose up in a mass.

Ridgepoles, beams, rafters, pillars

exploded with a roar, quivering, splitting,

broke in two and came tumbling down

as walls and partitions collapsed.

The various demons and spirits

lifted their voices in a great wail,

the hawks, eagles, and other birds,

101the kumbhanda demons,

were filled with panic and terror,

not knowing how to escape.

The evil beasts and poisonous creatures

hid in their holes and dens,

and the pishacha demons,

who were also living there,

because they had done so little that was good,

were oppressed by the flames

and attacked one another,

drinking blood and gobbling flesh.

The jackals and their like

were already dead by this time

and the larger of the evil beasts

vied in devouring them.

Foul smoke swirled and billowed up,

filling the house on every side.

The centipedes and millipedes,

the poisonous snakes and their kind,

scorched by the flames,

came scurrying out of their lairs,

whereupon the kumbhanda demons

pounced on them and ate them.

In addition, the starving spirits,

the fire raging about their heads,

hungry, thirsty, tormented by the heat,

raced this way and that in terror and confusion.

Such was the state of that house,

truly frightening and fearful;

malicious injury, the havoc of fire—

many ills, not just one, afflicted it.

At this time the owner of the house

was standing outside the gate

when he heard someone say,

“A while ago your various sons,

in order to play their games,

went inside the house.

102They are very young and lack understanding

and will be wrapped up in their amusements.”

When the rich man heard this,

he rushed in alarm into the burning house,

determined to rescue his sons

and keep them from being burned by the flames.

He urged his sons to heed him,

explaining the many dangers and perils,

the evil spirits and poisonous creatures,

the flames spreading all around,

the multitude of sufferings

that would follow one another without end,

the poisonous snakes, lizards, and vipers,

as well as the many yakshas

and kumbhanda demons,

the jackals, foxes, and dogs,

hawks, eagles, kites, owls,

ground beetles, and similar creatures,

driven and tormented by hunger and thirst,

truly things to be feared.

His sons could not stay in such a perilous place,

much less when it was all on fire!

But the sons had no understanding

and though they heard their father’s warnings,

they continued engrossed in their amusements,

never ceasing their games.

At that time the rich man

thought to himself:

My sons behave in this manner,

adding to my grief and anguish.

In this house at present

there is not a single joy,

and yet my sons,

wrapped up in their games,

refuse to heed my instructions

and will be destroyed by the fire!

Then it occurred to him

103to devise some expedient means,

and he said to his sons,

“I have many kinds

of rare and marvelous toys,

wonderful jeweled carriages,

goat-carts, deer-carts,

carts drawn by big oxen.

They are outside the gate right now—

you must come out and see them!

I have fashioned these carts

explicitly for you.