Episode 44 – The Three Venerable Kasyapas
>> The Three Kasyapas are brothers by birth. Over many lifetimes, they shared the same aspirations and vows. Each led an assembly and taught the Dharma, respectfully practicing the Noble Path.
>>Uruvilva Kasyapa saw the dignity of the Buddha, heard the wondrous sound of the Buddha-Dharma and suddenly attained awakening. With right mindfulness in his thinking, he led 500 disciples to take refuge with the Buddha.
>> “Uruvilva Kasyapa protected the fourfold assembly and offered them the Four Offerings, so they lacked nothing. In this, he was foremost.”
>> “Contemplated and understood all Dharma. He was free of attachments, and he was great at teaching and transforming. In this, he was foremost.”
>> “Bhiksu Nadi was calm and tranquil in mind and thought and tamed all bonds. He was foremost in diligence.”
In a tranquil and clear state, our bodies and minds should be pure. As we cultivate and learn the Buddha-Dharma, we must calm our minds. In the Buddha’s lifetime, His lead disciples all accepted and upheld [teachings] and each had their own strengths and merits. Thus, we keep introducing the characteristics and talents of each practitioner in the Buddha’s Sangha. Previously, I introduced Venerable Mahakasyapa; next are the Three Venerable Kasyapas. They are three brothers whom we should know of and understand.
The Three Kasyapas are brothers by birth. Over many lifetimes, they shared the same aspirations and vows. Each led an assembly and taught the Dharma, respectfully practicing the Noble Path.
“Kasyapa” is their family name. The eldest brother was called. Uruvilva Kasyapa. “Uruvilva” can be translated as papaya. This was because on the venerable one’s chest was [a mark] shaped like a papaya. He was named after his physical feature and was thus called “Papaya.” According to some other legends, he lived near a papaya orchard. The second [brother’s] name was Gaya Kasyapa. The place of his spiritual practice was close to. Mt. [Gaya], so “Gaya” was part of his name. Lastly, Nadi Kasyapa lived close to [Nadi] River, so he took the river’s name.
These three brothers also shared causes and conditions from past lives. Back in the era of Vipasyin Buddha, there were three good friends. They were all reverent and formed aspirations. They built a monastery and offered the land to Vipasyin Buddha. They even erected carved pillars that demonstrated the Buddha’s virtue. This was also an offering to the Buddha. They shared the same aspiration to make reverent offerings. Because of these causes and conditions, they became brothers lifetime after lifetime. They were also very close. In every lifetime, they sought out the path to enlightenment. These were their causes and conditions.
In the era of Sakyamuni Buddha, the three brothers practiced an ascetic path of fire. In particular, the eldest brother reached a high level of spiritual attainment. Even though he practiced an ascetic path of fire, in that age, everyone was very respectful of those who practiced Brahmanism. Because he was deeply respected by. King Bimbisara, Uruvilva Kasyapa was regarded as the imperial teacher. Though he was regarded as the imperial teacher, he still practiced with diligence. So, in a mountain forest, he cultivated a fire dragon. He raised a creature that spit fire like a dragon. So, he built fires and in essence, practiced an ascetic path of fire.
Because he was the king’s teacher, many people came to follow him to learn the ascetic path of fire. He had 500 disciples. Then there were his two brothers. Each also practiced the same ascetic path as their oldest brother. Living in different places, each had their own spiritual training center. The two each had 250 disciples. All in all, the three brothers had 1000 disciples. So in that society, at that time, the three brothers were known and recognized. For all who practiced Brahmanism, they were highly esteemed and respected.
At that time, the Buddha knew that these three Kasyapas had great aspirations. In particular, after making offerings to the Buddha many lifetimes ago, they had been close brothers who practiced together lifetime after lifetime. These causes and conditions were exceptional. Also, the three had already attained the root of goodness, so He knew they were ready. Thus, at that time, He wanted to transform the three brothers.
Sakyamuni Buddha first went to where. Uruvilva Kasyapa practiced. As the Buddha approached, Uruvilva Kasyapa saw. His dignified physical appearance. Simply upon seeing Him, [Uruvilva Kasyapa’s] heart was captivated by the Buddha’s dignified appearance. But he was also the king’s teacher, so he was not that easily moved by the Buddha. Though he greatly admired and respected Him, he nonetheless had a debate with Him. In this debate, the Buddha refuted the principles of the ascetic path of fire, shattering them one by one.
[Uruvilva Kasyapa realized that] besides this ascetic path of fire and cultivation of the body and mind, countless things in the world can all be summarized into one principle; there is also the principle of all things. After realizing this, he knew what Sakyamuni Buddha understood, that this type of ascetic practice of fire to cultivate his body and mind would not lead to liberation. Not at all. Many truths remained in the world. To be truly liberated, the heart must be at ease and without afflictions. There were still many principles [for him to learn]. So, his mind was tamed by the Buddha’s wisdom. For this reason,
besides immediately feeling respect upon seeing the Buddha, when he heard the Buddha’s teachings and. His voice, he felt strongly drawn toward Him. In particular, the principles expounded by the Buddha suddenly led him to great realizations. This was how UruvilvaKasyapa was captivated by the Buddha’s physical appearance, voice and wondrous Dharma. In this way, he was awakened. So, with right mindfulness in his thinking, he began to take refuge with the Buddha. Simultaneously, his 500 disciples also took refuge with the Buddha.
Uruvilva Kasyapa saw the dignity of the Buddha, heard the wondrous sound of the Buddha-Dharma and suddenly attained awakening. With right mindfulness in his thinking, he led 500 disciples to take refuge with the Buddha.
After taking refuge with the Buddha, they gave up the ascetic path of fire. We can imagine what it was like for 500 disciples to practice the path of fire and what their practice center was like. Because he was the imperial teacher and he had 500 disciples, every time they engaged in practice, it must have been a spectacular scene. We can certainly imagine what that was like. Unexpectedly, he was transformed by the Buddha’s dignified appearance and His subtle and wondrous principles. When his 500 disciples took refuge all at once, what a spectacular event it must have been.
Because they practiced an ascetic path of fire, they used many tools. What were the 500 disciples to do with those tools now? They were no longer of any use. Now, they only needed three garments and one alms bowl. To follow the Buddha and hear the Buddha-Dharma, to understand the true principles of the world, that was all they needed. So, they put their tools for fire practice into the river.
All these objects were placed into the river and floated along with the currents. Meanwhile, the brother who lived along the river saw all these tools floating on the river. They clearly belonged to his elder brother. Why were they suddenly floating downriver? As he saw this, he rushed to find out what had happened to his eldest brother. When [both brothers] arrived, they saw UruvilvaKasyapa leading his 500 disciples to listen to the Buddha expound the Dharma in silence and with great dignity. Moreover, they had all become monastics and were dressed in monks’ robes. Their dignified appearance greatly moved these two brothers and also tamed their hearts.
Indeed, the eldest brother did not change his method of practice to follow the Buddha without reason. Since their eldest brother had taken refuge with the Buddha, they were also willing to return to their spiritual training center and lead each of their 250 disciples to come before the Buddha. They also prostrated to the Buddha and expressed their willingness to take refuge with Him. In this way, at that spiritual training center, the three Kasyapa brothers alone brought 1000 disciples. Therefore, at least 1000 monks were gathered there.
This was how the three Kasyapa brothers led their disciples to follow a single teacher, Sakyamuni Buddha, and to live in the Sangha. Because there were so many people, Uruvilva Kasyapa naturally became their representative. What about their clothing, food, shelter and transportation? Uruvilva Kasyapa cared for the fourfold assembly. Upon the arrival of each spiritual practitioner, Urvilva Kasyapa provided for his or her living. Whether they needed medicine, clothing, food etc., Venerable Uruvilva Kasyapa provided all of them.
In the Agama Sutra, it is said,
“Uruvilva Kasyapa protected the fourfold assembly and offered them the Four Offerings, so they lacked nothing. In this, he was foremost.”
This meant Uruvilva Kasyapa brought stability to life in the Sangha. Because he was King Bimbisara’s teacher, he secured the Four Offerings for the Sangha. The Agama Sutra also stated that the Buddha praised Gaya Kasyapa because he,
>> “Contemplated and understood all Dharma. He was free of attachments, and he was great at teaching and transforming. In this, he was foremost.”
The specialty of Gaya Kasyapa was to contemplate and understand all Dharma. When he arrived at UruvilvaKasyapa’s place and saw the Buddha expounding the Dharma, as soon as he heard it, he understood it very well. Just upon seeing this scene, he thoroughly understood Sakyamuni Buddha’s wisdom. So, just by seeing, he could understand and was free of attachments. He did not question, “As for my spiritual practice, do I need to give it up?” Without any hesitation, he immediately let go of his past. He had not the least bit of attachment. He could also teach and transform others and lead his disciples. So, “foremost in teaching and transforming” referred to Gaya Kasyapa.
What about Nadi Kasyapa?
“Bhiksu Nadi was calm and tranquil in mind and thought and tamed all bonds. He was foremost in diligence.”
When something is right, there will be no mistakes when we follow it. Because he was wholeheartedly diligent, he was said to have “tamed all bonds and was foremost in diligence.”
Before, when we spoke about the assembly of Arhats and bhiksus, didn’t we keep saying that they “eliminated all Leaks and had no further afflictions, and attained benefits for themselves”? They had already unraveled these bonds, their mental entanglements and all afflictions, so their hearts were at ease. This type of wisdom is not easy [to attain]. Not only did they have to free their minds of of all attachments, they also had to have a tranquil mind. At all times, they had to tame the mind so it was still. This was how they diligently followed the course outlined by true principles.
See, this is all very simple. The minds of the three Kasyapa brothers were very pure and had been so from the time of Vipasyin Buddha, which was a very long time ago, all the way until Sakyamuni Buddha’s era. Just think about their causes and conditions lifetime after lifetime. To always have the strong brotherhood, practice the same path, share the same parents and be born as brothers in all their lifetimes is truly not easy. So, I say to everyone that we have to form good affinities. To stay together, we must form strong, positive affinities, we must form strong, positive affinities lifetime after lifetime. Haven’t you often heard people say. “I vow for lifetime after lifetime”? Indeed, the vows we make and the positive affinities we create must last lifetime after lifetime.
In the past, Mahakasyapa also attained the dignified Buddha-body [by practicing] lifetime after lifetime. Because of his shared vow [with his wife], they also created positive affinities lifetime after lifetime. Whether they were in the heaven or human realm, they shared the same aspiration, which was to believe in the Buddha-Dharma, [to have] right faith, right understanding and right action. See how wondrous causes and conditions can be? This is why I tell everyone that we must constantly form good affinities with people. The karmic law of cause and effect is the true principle of the Buddha-Dharma. Therefore, we must always be mindful.