Episode 43 – The Venerable Mahakasyapa
>> To attain a state of freedom, shed desires and cravings. To transcend joy and suffering, eliminate lingering cravings. In His lifetime, the Buddha’s disciples could follow Him because of their causes and conditions. For unenlightened practitioners like us, we must be even more aware of causes and conditions.
>>Mahakasyapa. Maha means great. Kasyapa is an ancient Brahmin surname. It means absorbing the light of the Sun and Moon. Kasyapa lives the longest and his radiance could outshine the Sun and Moon. His virtues and merits are the greatest, so he is named Mahakasyapa.
In learning the Buddha’s teachings, we must engage in self-reflection at all times. For our hearts to be free and at ease, we must first shed desires and cravings. If our minds still have lingering cravings, then they cannot be at ease. So to eliminate desires, we must first shed attachments so we can transcend joy and suffering by eliminating lingering cravings. If we only avoid suffering but are still attached to joy, then we will still have lingering cravings. So in learning the Buddha’s teachings, especially as spiritual practitioners, we must learn to be at ease in our hearts.
When the Buddha was alive, many of His disciples still had karmic affinities. As I mentioned before, AjnataKaundinya and the other four disciples completed the Three Treasures, along with the Buddha and the Dharma, by becoming the first members of the Sangha. These five people were the first monastics. Earlier, I spoke about the causes and conditions of these five people. In that lifetime, they all lived in the palace as part of the royal family. In past lives, they had also met.
In ancient times, droughts caused countries to become impoverished and prevented grains from growing. The people would starve during these famines. Some people fished for food. Once, a very large fish suddenly washed ashore with a big wave. There were five people fixing a boat on the beach. When they saw the giant wave, they quickly retreated inland. When the wave drew back, it left behind a large fish. They quickly surrounded it.
At the same time, these five people heard the fish speak. It told them, “Because of this present famine in the world, so many people are starving. If you tell people in the village to come and take my flesh, I can temporarily relieve their hunger till the rain falls from the sky and moistens the earth. Then seeds will naturally sprout and there will be a good harvest.” These five people thought this was strange. “Did you hear that? Yes. This is what I heard. What did you hear? The same thing.”
As they stood there discussing this, this fish began speaking again, “Do not be afraid; do not doubt. I have vowed, lifetime after lifetime, to help sentient beings who are suffering. Right now, beings are starving while the earth remains barren. All I can offer is my flesh. I am following the Bodhisattva-practice, and. I willingly sacrifice myself for sentient beings. If you ask people to take my flesh to sustain themselves, then they are assisting my spiritual practice. If one day I attain enlightenment, the first people I transform will be you. The first people to hear my teachings will be the five of you.”
These five people believed that this fish was a practitioner on the Bodhisattva-path and had come to save all beings. They quickly went to notify everyone. Many people came to cut off and take the flesh of the fish. The fish was wounded and bloodied, but after a while, its flesh would continuously grow back. Eventually the heavens were moved by this, and a torrent of rain fell to moisten the earth, allowing seeds to be quickly sown into the ground. [The people] swiftly planted the fields. After that, there was a great harvest, and this fish peacefully passed away.
This is an incredible story, but it is in the Buddhist sutras. So, after the Buddha attained enlightenment, the first ones He taught were these five bhiksus. This was due to their causes and conditions. During the Buddha’s time, He shared a karmic connection with all His disciples. Among the disciples, each also had his own causes and conditions. So, we cannot take causes and conditions lightly, especially because we are still in the state of unenlightened beings. In our daily living, how could we not see or believe in the importance of karmic causes and conditions? We must respect the karmic law of cause and effect. This is why I often say that we must form good karmic affinities with others, avoid having attachments and give unconditionally. If we can help others in this manner, then we are creating good affinities with them. Unconditional means without attachment. So, this is the way to shed our greed and desires. This is how we can transcend joy and suffering so our hearts can attain a state of ease. So as with His disciples, the Buddha constantly gave us this reminder.
To attain a state of freedom, shed desires and cravings. To transcend joy and suffering, eliminate lingering cravings. In His lifetime, the Buddha’s disciples could follow Him because of their causes and conditions. For unenlightened practitioners like us, we must be even more aware of causes and conditions.
In the assembly of 12,000 great bhiksus and Arhats, among the names cited, after AjnataKaundinya, was Mahakasyapa. As I have often explained, “Maha” means “great. Kasyapa” is a Brahmin surname from the past. Brahmin is a caste within [Hinduism], one of India’s religions. Of the four castes, Brahmin was the most noble. Life after life, [Mahakasyapa] remained in this caste. So, he was called the Mahakasyapa. The name also has another meaning. It was said that Kasyapa’s body could absorb the light of the sun and moon. This meant that his body was purple-gold. When sunlight shined on his body, the sunlight paled in comparison.
Another thing about Kasyapa was his longevity. According to classical Buddhist legends, the Venerable Kasyapa lives to this very day. At Cock’s Foot Mountain, he awaits Maitreya’s birth so that he can bestow the Buddha’s robe and alms bowl on Him. This is recorded in the Buddhist sutras. So, he has the greatest longevity. Of the elders, he is the most senior and the oldest. In addition, the radiance of his body was a manifestation of the great merits and virtues that he accumulated. Because of this, he was called Mahakasyapa.
Mahakasyapa. Maha means great. Kasyapa is an ancient Brahmin surname. It means absorbing the light of the Sun and Moon. Kasyapa lives the longest and his radiance could outshine the Sun and Moon. His virtues and merits are the greatest, so he is named Mahakasyapa.
What were the causes and conditions that allowed Mahakasyapa to remain for such a long time in the Brahmin caste and have that wealth and status, lifetime after lifetime? As for his body’s ability to absorb the light of the Sun and Moon, what were the underlying causes and conditions of that? This story takes place a very long time ago.
There was a poor, but very devout woman. One day, she was at a temple. As she entered the stupa to pay her respects to the Buddha, she noticed that this stupa was so old that the gold on the Buddha statue had all peeled away. The gold foil had fallen off entirely. So, she single-mindedly thought about how she could repair this Buddha statue. She committed to working hard and living frugally. With the money she earned, she accumulated gold, bit by bit, until there was enough to be melted into a bead of gold. She reckoned that this was enough gold to restore the golden Buddha statue.
This woman went to find a goldsmith and told him about her wish. The goldsmith was touched by what he heard. “This impoverished woman shows such devotion. Why don’t I provide my labor as an offering?” So, he said to the woman, “Alright, I am touched by your devotion. How about this? Your offering is the gold and mine the craft. I will not take any payment, and together we will restore this Buddha.” That was how the two worked together to restore the dignified appearance of the Buddha statue.
Because of these causes and conditions, these two people developed mutual respect and love for each other and became husband and wife. From that time, 91 kalpas passed before [the arrival of] Sakyamuni Buddha. A kalpa refers to a very long period of time. Evidently during this period, across births and rebirths, they remained in the heaven and human realms. Sometimes they were born in heaven, and sometimes in the human realm to enjoy wealth. Eventually they were in the Brahma Heaven. A lifespan there also lasted a very long time. When their time there ended, they came to the human realm.
The man was born in the Kingdom of Magadha, to the Pippalayana household, a Brahmin family. It was also a very wealthy family. Again, he was dignified in appearance. It seemed that his entire body glowed. Everyone in the family felt that this was inconceivable. So, his parents said, “If he is to marry, we must find a family of equal stature.” So, they began the search. In a neighboring kingdom, there was an elder who had a daughter. The woman was very beautiful. Not only was she beautiful, her fine skin also glowed in the same way. In her family, she was also dearly treasured. They also wanted to find a good match for her. That was how these two families were united.
From then onward, although their parents decided they would marry, the two people were of one mind to engage in spiritual practice. From day one, with mutual respect, they told each other about their wish: If there ever came a chance, they wanted to follow an enlightened person and engage in spiritual practice. This was during the time of the Buddha. This couple remained pure and respectful and agreed to become monastics given the right causes and conditions. So, when their causes and conditions ripened, they became monastics together.
Venerable Mahakasyapa knew that in the past, he had spent all his time in pleasure, so after he became a monastic, he vowed to practice asceticism. Ascetic practices are called “dhuta practices.” Not only did he tax his body physically and undertook the ascetic path, he understood the Dharma expounded by the Buddha very well. Because the Dharma was rooted deeply in his heart, he faithfully upheld the teachings and upheld the precepts. Whatever the Buddha taught, he practiced accordingly. Therefore, everyone in the Sangha revered him as a senior [disciple], a leader in the Sangha.
One time, the Buddha led the Sangha to Bahuputraka-chaitya. When everyone stopped to rest, the Buddha saw a flower in front of Him and casually held it up. Then Kasyapa smiled. This demonstrated that teacher and disciple were connected at the heart. Venerable [Kasyapa] understood why the Buddha held up this flower. No one else understood yet. But Venerable Kasyapa saw a simple gesture by the Buddha and understood it with clarity. So, the venerable one broke into a smile. At that time, the Buddha entrusted Venerable Kasyapa with a set of His robes. Because Kasyapa could pass on the Buddha-mind, the Buddha entrusted him with a robe and alms bowl. After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, Venerable Kasyapa bore responsibility for convening the assembly to compile the sutras. This was the merit of Venerable Kasyapa.
After the sutras were compiled, he took the golden robe entrusted to him by the Buddha and set out for Cock’s Foot Mountain. There, he awaits Maitreya’s birth and enlightenment in the world so that he can pass on [the robe and alms bowl] before passing away himself. This is a very important story in the Buddhist sutras. More than a story, it is about the Buddha passing on. His Dharma and lineage.
In this time of Sakyamuni Buddha, He is still our fundamental teacher. When will. Maitreya enter this world and attain enlightenment? That moment is still very far from now. Just think about this; isn’t Venerable Kasyapa’s lifespan very long? So, he is known for longevity and profound practices. He had an especially dignified appearance and abided by and upheld the Buddha-Dharma. So everyone, we must always be mindful.