by Andy Rotman
He went out, asked for forgiveness, and then said, “Your majesty, please come in. You may serve the food with your own hands.”
The king entered and saw the divine wealth, [289] and upon seeing it, he was in awe. “Householder,” he said, “you yourself should feed the community of monks led by the Buddha every day, not me.”
The householder Anaṅgaṇa then satisfied the perfectly awakened Vipaśyin with that wealth and those fine foods for the three months of the rainy season. Then he fell prostrate at the perfectly awakened Vipaśyin’s feet and made this fervent aspiration: “Since I have made offerings to someone so righteous and worthy of offerings, by this root of virtue may I be born in a family that is rich, wealthy, and prosperous; may I experience divine-like glory as a result of my actions; and may I obtain such virtues so that I may please and not displease a teacher just like this!”
“What do you think, monks? The householder Anaṅgaṇa was none other than the nobly born Jyotiṣka at that time and at that juncture. Since he uttered harsh words toward King Bandhumān, who had seen the truth, as a result of that action, he was placed on a funeral pyre and burned along with his mother five hundred times. Even in this lifetime he was placed on a funeral pyre and burned. As a result of the act of making offerings to the Tathāgatha Vipaśyin and then making a fervent aspiration, he was born in a family that was rich, wealthy, and prosperous; divine-like glory appeared to him; and he went forth as a monk in my order, where by ridding himself of all defilements, he directly experienced arhatship. And as his teacher—who is equal in speed and equal in strength with the perfectly awakened Vipaśyin, who is equally dedicated to religious duties, and who has attained an equal universality—I have been pleased and not displeased by him.
“And so, monks, the result of absolutely evil actions is absolutely evil, the result of absolutely pure actions is absolutely pure, and the result of mixed actions is mixed. Therefore monks, because of this, one should reject absolutely evil actions and mixed ones as well and strive to perform only absolutely pure actions. It is this, monks, that you should learn to do.”
This was said by the Blessed One. With their minds uplifted, the monks rejoiced at the words of the Blessed One.
So ends the Jyotiṣka-avadāna, the nineteenth chapter in the glorious Divyāvadāna.
20. The Story of Kanakavarṇa
KANAKAVARṆA-AVADĀNA197
THUS have I heard. [290] At one time the Blessed One was staying in the city of Śrāvastī at the Jeta Grove in the park of Anāthapiṇḍada (Almsgiver to the Poor), together with a large community of monks, 1,250 in number. There the Blessed One was respected, honored, revered, and venerated by monks, nuns, male and female lay devotees, kings, royal ministers, various non-Buddhist renunciants, ascetics, brahmans, roaming and wandering mendicants, gods, nāgas, yakṣas, antigods, heavenly birds, celestial musicians, kinnaras, and great snakes. In addition, the Blessed One received an abundance of excellent provisions, both divine and human, of robes, begging bowls, bedding and seats, and medicines to cure the sick. And the Blessed One was unsullied by these, like a lotus by water.
And in every direction and quarter, the Blessed One gained great fame through praises of his virtue. It was said:
The Blessed One is just like this—
a tathāgata,
an arhat,
a perfectly awakened being,
perfect in knowledge and conduct,
a sugata,
a knower of the world,
an unsurpassed guide for those in need of training,
a teacher of gods and humans,
a buddha,
and a blessed one.
In this lifetime, he has directly understood and experienced this world with its gods, [evil] Māra, and [lord] Brahmā, and the inhabitants of this world with their ascetics, brahmans, gods, and humans, and now having become a monk, he holds forth. He teaches the dharma that is excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, and excellent in the end and good in both meaning and letter. He makes perfectly clear the religious life that is complete, perfect, pure, and chaste.
Then the Blessed One addressed the monks: “If, monks, beings were to know the result of charity and the consequence of offering charity as I know the result of charity and the consequence of offering charity, then they would never eat the very last remaining morsel of food without giving it away or sharing it, if a worthy recipient of that food were to be found.198 And the stingy thoughts that arise would not seize hold of their minds.199 But monks, those beings who do not know the result of charity and the consequence of offering charity [291] as I know the result of charity and the consequence of offering charity eat with a mind that is miserly, without giving their food away or sharing it. And the stingy thoughts that arise do seize hold of their minds. Why is this?”
King Kanakavarṇa and the Famine
Long ago, monks, in a time gone by, there was a king named Kanakavarṇa (Golden in Color) who was handsome, good-looking, and attractive, with a brilliant golden complexion. King Kanakavarṇa, monks, was rich, wealthy, and prosperous, his subjects were affluent,200 and his sources of income were many. He had an abundance of riches, grain, gold and golden things, jewels, pearls, beryl, conch, quartz, coral, silver, and precious metals; an abundance as well of elephants, horses, cows, and rams; and his treasuries and granaries were completely full.
King Kanakavarṇa, monks, had a capital called Kanakāvatī (Possessing Gold) that was twelve leagues wide east to west and seven leagues long south to north. It was thriving, prosperous, pleasant, and safe, with plenty of food and throngs of people. King Kanakavarṇa also possessed eighty thousand cities, containing 180 million families, that were thriving, prosperous, and safe, with plenty of food and throngs of people; 570 million villages that were thriving, prosperous, pleasant, and safe, with plenty of food and throngs of people; and sixty thousand market towns that were thriving, prosperous, and safe, with plenty of food and throngs of people. In addition, King Kanakavarṇa had eighteen thousand ministers and a harem of twenty thousand wives. King Kanakavarṇa was virtuous, monks, and he ruled his kingdom according to dharma.
Now at one time when King Kanakavarṇa was all alone in a secluded place, absorbed in meditation, this thought arose in his mind: “I really should exempt all the merchants [in my dominion] from customs and transit fees. I should exempt all the people of Jambudvīpa (Black Plum Island) from taxes and duties.” Then King Kanakavarṇa addressed his accountants, chief advisors, ministers, gatekeepers, and counselors: “From now on, officers, I exempt all merchants from customs and transit fees.201 I exempt all the people of Jambudvīpa from taxes and customs fees.” [292]
After ruling his kingdom for many years according to this plan,202 eventually the constellations became misaligned so that the heavens would produce no rain for twelve years. Those brahmans who could read signs and interpret omens and were skilled in mantras controlling the earth and sky observed this prospect in the movements of the constellations and the planet Venus. They approached King Kanakavarṇa and, having approached, said this to him: “May my lord be informed that the constellations are misaligned. The heavens will not produce rain for twelve years.”
When King Kanakavarṇa heard this terrible pronouncement, tears began to flow. “Oh no! The poor people of my Jambudvīpa! Oh no! My poor Jambudvīpa! Now thriving, prosperous, pleasant, and safe, with plenty of food and throngs of people, very soon it will be empty, without any inhabitants.” After grieving for a moment, it occurred to King Kanakavarṇa, “Those who are rich, wealthy, and prosperous will be able to survive. But those who are poor, with little wealth, and with little in the way of food, drink, and comforts, how will they survive?” Then it occurred to him, “I really should collect all the rice and other means of subsistence from Jambudvīpa and count all of Jambudvīpa’s inhabitants. Then, after counting them, make the necessary calculations, and after making the necessary calculations, establish a single granary for all the mar
ketplaces, hamlets, villages, market towns, and capitals. After establishing a single granary, I can distribute equal amounts of food to all the people of Jambudvīpa.”
And so King Kanakavarṇa addressed his accountants, chief advisors, ministers, gatekeepers, and counselors: “Officers, go and collect all the rice and other means of subsistence in Jambudvīpa and then count it, and after counting it, make the necessary calculations, and after making the necessary calculations, establish a single granary for all the marketplaces, hamlets, villages, market towns, and capitals.”
“Yes, my lord,” the accountants, chief advisors, ministers, gatekeepers, and counselors replied, consenting to King Kanakavarṇa’s request. And then they counted all the rice and other means of subsistence collected from Jambudvīpa, and after counting it, they made the necessary calculations, and after making the necessary calculations, they stored everything in a single granary for the benefit of all the marketplaces, hamlets, villages, market towns, and capitals. When they had stored everything in a single granary, they approached King Kanakavarṇa203 and, having approached, said this to him: [293] “My lord, please be informed that all the rice and other means of subsistence from all the marketplaces, hamlets, villages, market towns, and capitals have been collected, and after everything was collected, it was counted, and after it was counted, the necessary calculations were made, and after the necessary calculations were made, it was stored in a single granary for the benefit of all those marketplaces, hamlets, villages, market towns, and capitals. Now my lord may do as he sees fit.”204
King Kanakavarṇa then summoned his financial advisors, accountants, scribes, and workers and said this: “Officers, go and count all the people in Jambudvīpa. And officers, after counting them, offer all the people in Jambudvīpa equal amounts of food.”
“Yes, my lord,” his financial advisors, accountants, scribes, and workers replied, consenting to King Kanakavarṇa’s request. And then they counted all the people in Jambudvīpa and, having counted them, distributed equal amounts of food to of them, beginning with King Kanakavarṇa.
The people survived eleven years like this, but they couldn’t make it through the twelfth. As the first month of the twelfth year passed, many women and men and boys and girls, suffering from hunger and thirst, passed away. At that time the rice and other means of subsistence that had been collected from Jambudvīpa were completely exhausted except for a single measure205 of food that remained in King Kanakavarṇa’s possession.
The Bodhisattva and the Power of Charity
At that time a certain bodhisattva, who had set out forty eons before, arrived in this world-system. The bodhisattva saw a son committing incest with his mother in a forest. Seeing this, he thought, “These beings are so impure! These beings are so defiled! Hers was the womb in which he passed nine months, and hers were the breasts that he suckled. How can he now do such things with her!206 I’ve had enough of beings like this! They lack virtue. They’re inflamed by immoral passions, perverse in their views, and overcome by coarseness and greed. They don’t honor their mothers207 or ascetics or brahmans, and they don’t revere the elders of their families. Who could be eager to follow the path of the bodhisattva for the benefit of beings like this? [294] I really should focus on my own obligations.”
Then the bodhisattva approached the base of a tree and, having approached, sat down there. Crossing his legs and holding his body upright, he made his mindfulness fully present and observed the rising and falling of the five aggregates, which are the basis of clinging to existence—namely,
this is matter, this is the arising of matter, and this is the cessation of matter;
this is feeling;
this is recognition;
this is conditioning;
this is consciousness, this is the arising of consciousness, and this is the cessation of consciousness.208
Observing in this way the rising and falling of the five aggregates, which are the basis of clinging to existence, he quickly came to know that everything that has the nature of arising has the nature of cessation. And right then he attained awakening as a solitary buddha.
At that moment the lord solitary buddha, having observed that all things arise depending on conditions,209 uttered this verse:
From longing arises love,
then sorrow is born, for in this world it follows from love.
Knowing that misery comes from love,
one should wander alone like the rhinoceros.210
Then it occurred to the him, “I have performed difficult deeds for the sake of many beings, but I have yet to benefit a single being [since my awakening]. For whom should I now have compassion? Whose alms should I now accept and consume?”
Then the lord solitary buddha, with his pure and superhuman divine sight, looked over all of Jambudvīpa from every angle, and he saw that the rice and other means of subsistence in Jambudvīpa were completely exhausted except for a single measure of food that remained in King Kanakavarṇa’s possession. It occurred to him, “I really should have compassion for King Kanakavarṇa. I really should accept and consume alms from King Kanakavarṇa’s home.”
Just then the lord solitary buddha made use of his magical powers and rose up into the sky. And with his magical powers, with his body looking like a bird, he approached the capital Kanakāvatī.
At that time King Kanakavarṇa was standing on the roof of the palace [295] surrounded by five thousand ministers. One of the chief advisors saw that lord solitary buddha coming from a distance, and upon seeing him, he addressed the other chief advisors: “Look! Look, officers! Far in the distance a bird with red wings is coming toward us!”
A second chief advisor said, “No, officers. It’s not a bird with red wings. It’s a strength-stealing demon that’s coming here. He’s going to eat us!”
Then King Kanakavarṇa, rubbing his face with both hands, addressed his chief advisors: “No, officers. It’s not a bird with red wings nor is it a strength-stealing demon. It’s a seer coming here, out of compassion for us.”
Then the lord solitary buddha landed on top of King Kanakavarṇa’s palace. At once King Kanakavarṇa got up from his seat and went to meet him. He placed his head in veneration at the lord solitary buddha’s feet and then brought him to the seat specially prepared [for the king himself]. Then King Kanakavarṇa said to that lord solitary buddha, “What is the reason, seer, for your coming here?”
“For food, your majesty.”
Thus addressed, King Kanakavarṇa began to cry. With tears flowing, he said, “Oh! How terrible is my poverty! How terrible poverty is! I established lordship and dominion over Jambudvīpa, and now I can’t even offer alms to a single seer!”
Then the resident deity of the capital Kanakāvatī uttered this verse in front of King Kanakavarṇa:
What is sorrow? Poverty.
What is greater sorrow?
This very poverty,
poverty like death.
Then King Kanakavarṇa addressed the guardian of the granary: “Sir, is there any food in my home that I can give to this seer?”
“My lord,” he said, “there is something you should know. All the grain and other means of subsistence in Jambudvīpa are completely exhausted except for a single measure of food that belongs to my lord.
Then it occurred to King Kanakavarṇa, “If I eat this food, I’ll live. If I don’t eat it, I’ll die. [296] But whether I eat or don’t eat,” he reflected, “it is certain that death will come to me. I’ve had enough of this life. How can I let such an honest and virtuous seer as the one now in my home leave with a clean bowl, not having received any alms?”211
Then King Kanakavarṇa assembled his accountants, chief advisors, ministers, gatekeepers, and counselors, and said, “Permit me, officers, to grant this last bit of rice that I, King Kanakavarṇa, possess. By this root of virtue may all the people in Jambudvīpa be completely freed from poverty.” Then King Kanakavarṇa took the great seer’s bowl and in it placed that single
measure of food. He then grasped the bowl with both hands, fell to his knees, and placed the bowl into the right hand of that lord solitary buddha.
As a rule, solitary buddhas teach the dharma through deeds, not words.
The lord solitary buddha took those alms from King Kanakavarṇa and, making use of his magical powers, immediately set off up into the sky. King Kanakavarṇa stood there, with his hands folded respectfully, watching without blinking, until the lord solitary buddha had vanished from sight.
King Kanakavarṇa then addressed his accountants, chief advisors, ministers, gatekeepers, and counselors: “Officers, go back to your own homes. I don’t want you all to die from hunger and thirst right here in the palace.”
“When my lord had an abundance of wealth and good fortune,” they said, “we indulged and enjoyed ourselves with my lord.212 How could we abandon my lord now, at this last time, this last moment?”
Then King Kanakavarṇa began to cry, and the tears flowed. Wiping away his tears, he again said to his accountants, chief advisors, ministers, gatekeepers, and counselors: “Officers, go back to your own homes. I don’t want you all to die from hunger and thirst right here in the palace.”
Thus addressed, the accountants, chief advisors, ministers, gatekeepers, and counselors also began to cry and shed tears. Wiping away their tears, they approached King Kanakavarṇa. [297] Having approached, they placed their heads in veneration at King Kanakavarṇa’s feet, folded their hands respectfully, and said this to him: “Forgive us for any sins we may have committed against you. Now is the last time we will see my lord.”
Just then, the lord solitary buddha ate his almsfood, and at that very moment, four masses of clouds arose in each of the four directions. Cold winds began to blow, removing the impurities from Jambudvīpa, and then the clouds sent forth rain, calming the dust. And then, during the latter half of that very day, it rained various kinds of hard and soft foods. There were soft foods such as boiled rice, barleymeal, lentils and rice, fish, and meat213 and hard foods made from roots, stalks, leaves, flowers, fruits, sesame seeds, candied sugar, molasses, and flour.
