Explanations by Master Cheng-Yan
Subject: Mahakasyapa, Foremost in Ascetic Practice (頭陀第一大迦葉)
Date: December.25. 2015
“Giving rise to a rare aspiration, they engaged in ascetic practices. Able to bear these painful practices, they peacefully abide in non-arising. Seeing the nature of wondrous existence, they enter the Buddha’s understanding and views. With faith, they realize their inner nature and transmit the Buddha-Dharma to others.”
Since we want to practice, we must form great aspirations; moreover they must be “rare aspirations,” not ordinary ones. We must truly be determined. “They engaged in ascetic practices,” which are also called “dhuta practices.” We must be able to withstand hardship, endure these ascetic practices and furthermore “peacefully abide in non-arising.” “Non-arising” means not giving rise to greed or attachment and having already eliminated all afflictions. Only someone who is willing to face hardships can attain a mind free of greed and attachments, without any afflictions in it. This is a requirement for spiritual practitioners.
If we can do this, “Seeing the nature of wondrous existence, [we] enter the Buddha’s understanding and views.” When we have faith in and understand the Dharma, with earnestness we will faithfully accept and deeply understand it. Then naturally we can see our nature, return to our pure intrinsic nature. This is to enter the Buddha’s wisdom. Then, just like the Buddha, we can become one with all things in the universe, one with all life. When the principles of all things in this world and the principles in our nature of True Suchness can come together as one, we “enter the Buddha’s understanding and views.” Through faith and understanding of wondrous existence, we can see our nature, which is equal to the Buddha’s, and enter the Buddha’s understanding and views. Thus, “With faith, we realize our inner nature.” Our inner nature is equal to the Buddha’s. So naturally, not only can we learn the Dharma, we can also transmit the Buddha-Dharma.
In fact, the Buddha had many disciples, but those who could realize His original intent were very few in number. So, when we learn the Buddha’s Way, we truly need to be mindful.
At that time, Wisdom-life Subhuti, Mahakatyayana, Mahakasyapa and Mahamaudgalyayana heard from the Buddha teachings they had not heard before.
From this sutra passage, we have already discussed. Wisdom-life Subhuti, who was foremost in understanding emptiness. Among the principles taught by the Buddha, the one he had the most insights into was the principle of emptiness.
As for Mahakatyayana, he realized that the Buddha was expounding the Dharma for all people, so he helped to transmit the Buddha’s teachings to everyone in the world and also helped protect the Buddha-Dharma. He often engaged in debates with other religious practitioners. Thus, he was “foremost in discussion of doctrine.”
Now let us talk about Mahakasyapa. What was Mahakasyapa’s background? Mahakasyapa was actually born into a notable family, a well-known Brahmin clan. His family was wealthy, yet he chose to engage in ascetic practices.
Mahakasyapa means “great drinker of light.”
This venerable one’s body was extraordinary; it radiated light. Whether it was the light from the sun or the moon, wherever he walked, it was as if he absorbed it.Thus he was called “drinker of light”.
“Maha” means “great”.After Venerable Kasyapa joined the Sangha, he demonstrated many extraordinary qualities.
He “practiced the Samadhi of complete cessation; he brought his mind-root to cessation and avoided clinging to external conditions”.This was what made him extraordinary.
Mahakasyapa practiced the Samadhi of complete cessation.He brought his mind-root to cessation and avoided clinging to external conditions.
Though he had brought his mind-root to cessation, he could still know all phenomena.
So, after he understood the Buddha-Dharma, he tried his best to avoid contriving connections with sentient beings.
His goal was to eliminate all afflictions and eliminate the causes and conditions that would lead to future lifetimes in any of the Six Realms.So, he worked hard to bring his mind-root to cessation; he safeguarded his mind-root well so that nothing in his external conditions would attract his Six Roots and cause thoughts to arise in his mind.He mind would remain still.
Mahakasyapa was originally named Kasyapa.Kasyapa was also his surname.
After entering the door of Buddha’s teachings, “Maha” was added to his name; it means “great”.
Thus, he was called Great Kasyapa.
This could describe his appearance, or perhaps he was called “great” because he had great wisdom, or great virtue or a great heart.
Great wisdom means that he had tremendous wisdom.He was able to completely cut off his Six Roots from the Six Dusts and focus on engaging in ascetic practices.He had no attachments to material things, even if that meant eating the worst food or wearing the worst clothes.
At the same time, he was unwilling to live inside a building.He preferred living by the cemetery or in the wild.He wanted to live in a natural environment.This was part of his spiritual cultivation.Nothing could defile him.
Thus, he had “great virtue”.Everyone praised him for this.
Among the Buddha’s disciples, there were many people named “Kasyapa”.Those who were named Kasyapa included.Dasabala Kasyapa, Gaya Kasyapa and Nadi Kasyapa.In summary, there were many called Kasyapa; how could they be distinguished from each other?
Thus, this venerable one was called Great Kasyapa not only to indicate that he had great wisdom, great virtue and a great heart, but also to distinguish him from other Kasyapas.Hence he was called Mahakasyapa.
Also, among the Buddha’s disciples, there were many named Kasyapa, such as Dasabala Kasyapa and the three Kasyapas.
They all had the same surname, so to easily distinguish them, the most respected and eldest was given the unique title of “great,” hence Mahakasyapa.
In the Sangha, Great Kasyapa was more advanced in spiritual practice than other people; he was able called “Great Kasyapa” for this reason.He was very mindful and very earnest.
He also engaged in ascetic practices, the dhuta practices.When Kasyapa was young, he was very smart and wise.His thinking transcended the mundane realm.Ever since he was young, he had a wish to become a monastic, engage in spiritual practice.
However, his parents always remained fixated on the hope that he would quickly find someone to marry and establish a family.
He became annoyed at being pressured by his parents.There happened to be many antiques at their home, including a golden statue that was intricately carved and very beautiful.
He pickled up that statue at hand and said, “If you want to find a wife for me, find someone who looks exactly like this golden statue of a beautiful woman, and I will marry her.”
When his parents heard this, they sent people everywhere to look. In the neighboring kingdom of Vaisali, there was a very wealthy elder who had an only child, a daughter. He was also very worried that his daughter refused to get married and particularly enjoyed going to the temple to listen to teachings. Her parents were very worried. But having found a family of equal stature, the elder used a very forceful approach with her, telling his daughter she had to get married.
On their first day as a married couple, both of them were very worried. How were they to interact with each other? What should they do? It looked like they were both very unhappy. Eventually, Kasyapa broke the silence. He asked, “Why are you so unhappy about coming to my home? She said, “I do not have the desire to be married. I hope to engage in spiritual practice”.
When Kasyapa heard this, he was very happy, “I did not want to marry you either. I wholeheartedly want to engage in practice too. Since you want to engage in spiritual practice and I do too, let us share a room with a pure mind, sleeping in separate beds, and be husband and wife in name only. Later on, when we have the chance, we can engage in spiritual practice together.”
After 12 years, Kasyapa’s parents passed away. They felt they had fulfilled their responsibility.
Kasyapa said, “I will travel and look for a person that we can completely rely on, body and mind, and follow in spiritual practice. When I find that person, I will come back and find you so you can engage in spiritual practice too”.
“Great idea!” Then he left. The Buddha was at the city of Rajagrha. Kasyapa went to listen to Him teach every day. Every day he listened, he was very happy. So, he took refuge with the Buddha and became a monastic. This happened three years after the Buddha had attained enlightenment. After Kasyapa decided to follow the Buddha, eight days after he left the lay life, he attained the fruit of Arhatship. As he had heard the Four Noble Truths and the Twelve Links of Cyclic Existence, he wanted to find a way to bring to cessation the suffering that had been accumulated through causes and conditions. Because of this, he engaged in ascetic practices.
After he attained the deep and profound principles of the Buddha-Dharma, he hurried back to Bhadra Kapilani, the woman he married, so she could come to the community of bhiksunis and engage in spiritual practice. As her family was very wealthy, when she arrived she made great offering such as offering Sanghati (robes). But though she offered the best quality clothing to the bhiksus and bhiksunis, she herself wore old robes of the Buddha. Kasyapa even wore cast off rags that people had thrown away and treated like garbage. This was unique to Kasyapa’s spiritual practice. He was foremost in ascetic practices in the Sangha.
Though he listened to the Dharma with the others, he chose to live a different lifestyle. He did not want to live in manmade buildings. He preferred to be outside, regardless of whether under the tree, on the grass or even at a cemetery. At that time in India, they practiced sky burial. They brought the body to the cemetery for birds to pick at and bugs to gnaw on. At the cemetery he was able to see what happens to people when they pass away, what happens to their physical body. It rots and decays and turns into a pile of bones. This strengthened his spiritual aspirations, so it was his place of spiritual practice.
His way of seeing and thinking was different from everyone else. In particular, when he begged for alms, he did not go to the wealthy. Instead he always went to the most impoverished to ask for alms. Some of the monastics wondered, “Those people are already suffering. Why would you ask them to share their food with you?”
Kasyapa was completely different from Subhuti. Subhuti had compassion for suffering beings, so he did not go to impoverished neighborhoods. He would ask for alms from the wealthy to create conditions for transformation.The other disciples asked the Buddha, “Whose lifestyle is right? Whose is wrong?”
The Buddha called them both to Him and said, “We must follow karmic conditions. The purpose of our lifestyle is to create conditions for transformation. Every person we encounter is someone who has a karmic connection with us. We must accept those karmic conditions.”
After Subhuti heard this, he obeyed the Buddha but Kasyapa did not. He thought, “I worked so hard and have finally cut myself off from the influence of Dusts, from my Root connecting with conditions. Right now, I engage in spiritual practice. When I interact with the poor, I can live such a carefree life. Why should I contrive more affinities with this human world?” So, Kasyapa held fast to his ways.
However, the Buddha also admired Kasyapa’s determination. So, one time, during the Vulture Peak Assembly, when the Buddha was about to speak and everyone fell quiet, Sakyamuni Buddha casually picked up a flower. No one knew what the Buddha meant by this action. Everyone remained quiet and did not move. But from agar, He saw Kasyapa smile. The Buddha smiled in return out of understanding. They knew each other’s heart. The Buddha knew that Kasyapa understand His intent. In the Zen Buddhist tradition, many people can recite and share this koan. This expresses that the Buddha had entrusted the right Dharma to Kasyapa. This is a tradition in the Zen school.
After the Buddha entered Parinirvana, Kasyapa was asked to sit in the highest seat. It was he assembled everyone in the Sangha to compile the sutras. This was because Kasyapa was the only one who had everyone’s respect.
So, when we learn the Buddha’s Way, “give rise to a rare aspiration” and to truly “engage in ascetic practice.”
But we should not misunderstand and think, “We should be like Kasyapa and return [to nature]. We should go sit by the cemetery and look at skeletons” and so on. No, the cause and conditions are different. The times are different.
In fact, the Buddha had once criticized him, “You should not do this.” Venerable Maudgalyayana also tried to counsel him, but he was stubborn. What the Buddha admired in him was that his mind was already cut off from contriving affinities in this world. But the Buddha did not affirm that people had to practice in this way. However, because of this, Kasyapa’s mind was free of hindrances. He was very free and at ease; this was his personality.
In the end, he was entrusted to pass on the Buddha’s robe and clothing. He had to wait at Cock’s Foot Mountain for 5.7 billion years until Maitreya attains Buddhahood. Then he would pass the robe and alms bowl to Him. This is what is said in the Zen tradition.
But, we must also believe in Venerable Kasyapa’s determination to uphold the vows and follow the Way.
So, when we engage in spiritual practice, it is most important to always be mindful.
(Source: Da Ai TV – Wisdom at Dawn program – Explanation by Master Chen-Yen)
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