Episode 49 – Vakkula and Mahakausthila
>> Good causes and conditions bring good karmic retributions. By providing medical care, medicine and aid, we gain the blessings of extending our lifespan, and transform the world’s misfortunes into blessings.
>>Vakkula means Kind-looking. He looked dignified in appearance. It also means Double-Surname. The Sutra of Handing Down Dharma states that in the time of Vipasyin Buddha’s teachings, by giving fruit to an ailing monk, for 91 Kalpas he received blessings in the heaven and human realms. He was born in a Brahmin family in this life.
>>”With a very long lifespan and no untimely death, he was dignified and meticulous.” Vakkula was foremost in enjoying a long life.
>>Mahakausthila means Big-Knees. He was Sariputra’s uncle. He always beat his older sister in debates, but after she became pregnant, he could not win. So, he knew she was pregnant with a wise being.
Buddhist practitioners must believe in the karmic law of cause and effect. Our everyday living is inseparable from causes, conditions, effects and retributions. If we are meeting with a certain person and are pleased when we hear of his or her arrival, there must be a cause and condition for that. But sometimes, when we hear that a certain person is coming, we ask, “Why is that person coming?” Even when we feel a sense of displeasure, there is a cause and a condition for that, too.
Causes and conditions affect not only the present. Right now we are creating future conditions and dealing with [the effects of] past causes. So, we have to always heighten our vigilance. With each person, we should create good causes and conditions. Then naturally, when we meet again in the future, we will all be happy. By planting good causes and conditions, we will naturally face good karmic retributions.
I often say, “When others hurt, I ache; when others suffer, I grieve.” So, when something happens to other people, whether it is sickness or poverty, we should all feel a sense of compassion. When we see people who are ill, we should quickly help them see a doctor. What if they do not have money for medicine? We should help them. What about their family? If their family life is difficult, what do we do? We must quickly think of a way to support that family. We provide medical care, medicine and aid. By doing so, we can “attain the blessing of extending our lifespan.”
During the Japanese occupation [of Taiwan], there was a story that was taught in elementary schools. There was a pigeon hunter who saw a bird on the tree and pulled out his rifle to shoot it. As the hunter was about to fire, an ant bit into his foot. He was startled and lost his aim. The bird flew away quickly and was saved. Indeed, there were causes and conditions for this;
the circumstance was that a nest of ants had somehow fallen into the water and floated along the currents. Ants are afraid of water, so many ants came out of the nest but the nest was still floating on the river. That bird saw this from the tree, and bit off and tossed a leaf into the water. Many ants quickly climbed onto the leaf, and the leaf eventually floated to shore. The ants were saved. These were the causes and conditions. This ant was one of the ants saved by this bird.
During the time of Japanese Occupation, starting in elementary school, children were taught to cherish life and take care of animals. Even if it is an animal as small as an ant, we must save it. Even if it is a bird, resting in a tree, carefree, we must not harm it. The Buddha-Dharma emphasizes cause and effect. So, if we want to extend our blessings and lifespans, then we should constantly save living beings, set living creatures free and respect life.
Since this is so, regardless of what karma we created in the past to suffer so much in this lifetime, we must willingly accept all of it. Then in this lifetime, we must quickly recognize cause and effect, help others and constantly heighten our vigilance. If we can give willingly in every moment, help provide medical care, medicine and aid, we will not need to ask for much in our lives. Then naturally we will “transform the world’s misfortunes into blessings.”
Good causes and conditions bring good karmic retributions. By providing medical care, medicine and aid, we gain the blessings of extending our lifespan, and transform the world’s misfortunes into blessings.
I say this also to begin discussing Vakkula, an Arhat whom the assembly knew and recognized, Vakkula’s other name was Kind-looking. This means he had a dignified and solemn appearance. Everyone was pleased to see him. Also, he was called Double-Surname, which meant he had two family names.
Why did he have two family names? During the time of Vipasyin Buddha, there was an ailing monk in the Sangha who was constantly sick. With only three garments and an alms bowl, monastics were poor. So, while he was sick, a very devout [lay] Buddhist practitioner not only gave him medicine, but also offered him fruits. He gave medicine and fruits as offerings, and he served this monk and provided for him for a long time.
Because of this karmic affinity, because he cared for and provided for this ailing monk, he had a blessed karmic retribution. For 91 kalpas, he received blessings in the heaven and human realms. In the human realm, he lived in wealthy families. When life ended in the human realm, he would then be born in the heaven realm. When life ended in the heaven realm, he would return to the human realm. He went to and from in this way for 91 kalpas. He went to-and-from in this way for 91 kalpas. During the time of Sakyamuni Buddha, he was born into a Brahmin family.
Vakkula means Kind-looking. He looked dignified in appearance. It also means Double-Surname. The Sutra of Handing Down Dharma states that in the time of Vipasyin Buddha’s teachings, by giving fruit to an ailing monk, for 91 Kalpas he received blessings in the heaven and human realms. He was born in a Brahmin family in this life.
In this lifetime, he was born to a Brahmin family. He suffered some hardships because his mother passed away soon after he was born. His father remarried. His stepmother not only did not care for him; she was malicious and, on several occasions, tried to kill him. Once, she deliberately threw him into the furnace, but he did not die. Another time, she tossed him into boiling soup; still he did not die. Yet another time, she took him to a large river and pushed him into the water. Again, he did not die from this.
A fish, a very large fish, swallowed him, but he did not die. A fisherman cast his net and caught the fish. After he pulled the net up, this fisherman slit open the fish’s stomach, and the child was still alive. This was how the fisherman found him. He loved and treasured him and treated him as his own child.
When his birth father heard this rumor, he went to see him. The fisherman had raised him to be a lovable child. The birth father thought, “I want to get this child back.” At the same time, the fisherman believed, “You did not want him; that is why you tossed him into the river to feed the fish. I found him and cared for him. My love for him has filled my heart; how could I return him to you?” But the birth father said, “Clearly, he could have died many times but he did not, because our karmic affinity still binds us. Because we have this connection, of course I must take him back.” They argued with each other, fighting for the child.
Then some bystanders interrupted to suggest what they thought would be fair. “We recommend that he be both your son and your son. He will be a son for both of you and belong to both [families]. He should take both your family names. This way, both of you are a part of him.” Because of these causes and conditions, he is called Double-Surname.
He did not die from these five perils because he cared for an ailing monk in a past lifetime, on top of giving medicine, food and comfort. These causes and conditions were felt through 91 kalpas as blessings in the human and heaven realms. Though he had hardships in this life, he still lived a long lifespan of 160 years. That is indeed a very long life.
The Agama Sutra states,
“With a very long lifespan and no untimely death, he was dignified and meticulous.” Vakkula was foremost in enjoying a long life.
He truly was a person of deep spiritual practice. He experienced much suffering in childhood but received the karmic blessing of longevity and was still very devout and diligent.
Next is Mahakausthila, who was also called Big-Knees. He was Sariputra’s uncle. He always liked to debate with his older sister, and he always won. However, from the time she became pregnant with Sariputra, whenever [Mahakausthila] debated with her, not once could he outdebate her. So, he thought that, because she was pregnant, the wisdom of the child must be speaking through her. That was why he could not win any debate with her.
Mahakausthila means Big-Knees. He was Sariputra’s uncle. He always beat his older sister in debates, but after she became pregnant, he could not win. So, he knew she was pregnant with a wise being.
“Now, even in the womb, he already has such wisdom. When he is born into this world, it is almost certain that I, the uncle, will lose to my own nephew.” Thus, he began to study hard. He traveled across southern India to study, and read roughly 18 kinds of religious texts. But, even though he read these texts, when he read the next part, he would forget the previous. So, many people teased him by saying, “No matter how many lifetimes you read, you won’t be able to remember all these texts.”
At that time, he refused to accept this or his being ridiculed by others. Therefore, he started studying so much that he even forgot to eat; he never wasted a second. Even when his nails grew long, he did not cut them. That shows how hard he worked. After 18 years, he finally felt he had learned enough. So, he returned and wanted to find his nephew to debate him.
At age eight, his nephew had already debated many masters of debate; his name was already renowned among the five regions of India. What would his wisdom be like now? But, by the time he returned home, Sariputra had already became a monastic. [Mahakausthila] could not accept this. “Just who used some kind of sorcery to lure my nephew away?” So, he could not accept this and wanted to go argue with [that person]. Everyone told him, “You cannot. He is the Great Enlightened One, Sakyamuni Buddha.” Then he said, “He is nothing extraordinary.” He strutted into the abode, saw the Buddha, and the first thing he said was, “All things are not to be accepted.” Then the Buddha asked him, “What about your own views? Have you accepted them?” He heard this and stopped in his tracks, then turned around and left.
As he walked, he kept thinking, “I could have responded, ‘no.’ Yet obviously I had come with the intent to debate him [with my own views], so how could I say that? I had to find my own views acceptable in order to debate him. But, I said upon entering, ‘All things are not to be accepted.’ In this case, if I had answered his question with [yes], then I would have lost too.”
So, he lost from the very beginning. When the Buddha responded with a question, he could not answer it. So, he greatly admired the Buddha’s wisdom, and returned to ask Him to be his teacher. He took refuge with the Buddha and shared the same teacher as Sariputra.
He was very diligent. The Agama Sutra stated [he had] “the Four Unobstructed Abilities of Eloquence and could answer all difficult questions.” He was very eloquent. He had only lost to the Buddha; otherwise, he was quite eloquent. So, he “could answer all difficult questions.” No matter who asked the difficult questions, his answers flowed without hesitation. So, Mahakausthila was foremost in the Four Unobstructed Abilities of Eloquence and in answering all difficult questions.
Fellow Bodhisattvas, as practitioners, we must form aspirations. In the beginning, we must constantly take good care of our minds, not form attachments to people and matters, and create good causes and conditions. We must always be mindful.