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The Tibetan title (’phags pa dga’ bo la mngal na gnas pa bstan pa) does not correspond exactly to the Sanskrit title as given in the text, which is Āryanandagarbhāvakrāntinirdeśa. The Sanskrit would be translated “The Noble Teaching to Nanda on Entry into the Womb.”
The Teaching to the Venerable Nanda on Entry into the Womb (Āyuṣmannandagarbhāvakrāntinirdeśa, Toh 58).
See Denkarma, folio 296.a, and Hermann-Pfandt, pp. 24–25. The other early inventory, the Phanthangma, is less informative as it neither lists these two texts as part of the Ratnakūṭa, nor distinguishes them by length; see Phangthangma, p. 48.
See Butön, folio 147.a. Chomden Rigpai Raltri’s dkar chag (q.v. folio 9.a) has the titles in the same order as the Chinese but gives them the equal length of two bam po.
In addition to the Degé, the Kangyurs in which the two texts are ordered in this way are the Choné, Lithang, and Urga Kangyurs, but in the Qianlong, Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace Kangyurs, as well as in the Mongolian Kangyur, the order reflects that of the Chinese Ratnakūṭa.
Rutai jing has been translated into modern Japanese in the Kokuyaku issaikyō series (Hōshaku bu 3, pp. 218–56), as has Chutai hui (Hōshaku bu 3, pp. 203–17). Western-language translations of other versions of the sūtra include Franz Huebotter’s German translation of Baotai jing (1932), Robert Kritzer’s translation of The Teaching to the Venerable Nanda on Entry into the Womb for 84000 (mngal du ’jug pa, Toh 58, 2021), and Kritzer’s English translation of one of the long versions of the sūtra as contained in Toh 6 (2014a). Studies devoted to the sūtra include Kritzer (2006–7, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014a, 2014b) and Langenberg (2017).
Literally “immeasurable assemblies” (dge ’dun tshad med pa rnams), but clearly it is the monks who are many, not the assembly.
This is a reference to thirty of the thirty-two marks of a great being (skyes bu chen po’i mtshan sum cu rtsa gnyis; dvātriṃśanmahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa).
sun da ri ka. The Chinese reads Suntuoluo (孫陀羅), which suggests Sundarī, the form of the name as it appears in Aśvaghoṣa’s Saundarananda.
The Chinese reads pisheqia luzemu 毘舍佉鹿子母. “Viśākhā” is rendered as sa ga in Tibetan. For more on this person, see Malalasekera 1974, vol. 2, pp. 900–4.
At this point, Toh 6 describes two incidents involving Nanda. In the first, Nanda ejaculates on Viśākhā’s head when she touches his feet. Upon hearing this, the Buddha absolves Nanda and recommends that monks wear a pouch in case of accidental ejaculation. In the second incident, Mahākāśyapa comes across Nanda, who is drawing a picture of Sundarikā, and reports him to the Buddha. This results in the Buddha forbidding monks from depicting living beings, although they are allowed to decorate stūpas (vol. tha, folios 241.a.1–142.b.7; see Formigatti 2009, pp. 140–47). This portion is not found in the present text or in Yijing’s translation of the sūtra in Taishō 310; however, it is included in Yijing’s translation of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya (Taishō 1451.251c21–252a27).
Here we follow the reading in the corresponding passage in Toh 6. D reads gang gA’i rdzing bu, while Y and K read gang rga’i rdzing bu.
This is the point in the narrative where The Teaching to the Venerable Nanda on Entry into the Womb (Toh 58) begins.
The Sanskrit word antarābhava sometimes indicates the intermediate existence, between death in one life and birth in the next, and sometimes the sentient being in the intermediate existence. In this sūtra, the word always refers to the sentient being. The word was translated into Tibetan as bar ma do’i phung po (“skandhas of the antarābhava”), or as bar ma do’i srid pa (“intermediate existence”). Since English translations such as “the being in the intermediate existence” are awkward, the Sanskrit term will be used throughout.
The Chinese version does not seem to mention this new fertile period, but the version in Toh 6 says that in these cases a woman’s “fertile periods are contiguous” (folio 125.b).
pho dang mo’i srid pa gnyis med pa. Translation tentative. This seems to refer to the idea that its future sex corresponds to its desire either for the male or for the female. If the antarābhava has neither desire for the male nor desire for the female, then it cannot be said to be (or “exist” as) male or female, since its future birth as male or female corresponds to desires that it lacks. This is why it is said here that “rebirth will not occur” if it cannot be said to be male or female by virtue of its desire for one or another of the two people engaged in intercourse.
Literally “the object that appears,” namely, the parents engaged in intercourse, one of whom the antarābhava will be attracted to, thereby indicating its future sex.
These “incorrect perceptions” are presumably what “distorted thought” refers to in the previous sentence.
The Chinese here says something different: “It has as its causes and conditions the mixture of the father’s and mother’s semen and blood and it continues to exist as the basis of consciousness” (由父母精血和合因縁。爲識所縁依止而住 (Taishō 310.14.328b26–28).
This and the many analogies that follow throughout the text begin with the phrase “as an analogy” (dper na). This phrase is omitted for the sake of readability.
C agrees with D in including before this the clause “nor does it arise from the father’s marrow (pha’i rkang)”; N reads pha’i bskyed pa, “the father’s begetting”; F, Q, L, S all omit this clause, as does the Chinese. Therefore, it is not included in the translation. For more on a similar sentence in Toh 6, see Kritzer 2014, p. 49, n. 203.
Here, as in the descriptions of all the winds that arise during gestation, the text reads “from the mother’s womb (mngal nas).” In each case the Chinese has been followed in this translation: “within the mother’s womb” (yu mufu zhong yu mufu zhong).
Tib. mdzod kha. The Chinese differs: “knife sheath opening” (dao qiao kou 刀鞘口, Taishō 310, 329a28). The original Sanskrit must have been kośa, which has the meanings of both “sheath” and “treasury.” “The translator of Tohoku 57, who presumably translated from Yijing’s Chinese, either knew a meaning of mdzod as ‘sheath’ or was looking at a different Chinese version or at another Tibetan translation” (Kritzer 2014, p. 53, n. 226).
Tib. nang rab tu ’byed pa. The Chinese differs: Taishō 310 gives the reading internal door (nei mon 内門, Taishō 310.329b2). However, the alternate reading internal opening (nei kai 内開, which can also mean internal explanation) is given in the notes. This is probably the correct reading since it is attested in Taishō 1451 (254b16).
rtsa rgyus. This could mean “ligaments” alone, or “ligaments and nerves,” or “ligaments and veins.” See Kritzer 2014, p. 59, n. 275.
Q, D, and J substitute the tawny color like arsenic (bab la lta bu’i ser skya, ba bla lta bu’i ser skya) for the color of lentils. This substitution appears to be based on Toh 6.
The text here literally says “the sense sources (skye mched, āyatana) of the eyes, ears, and nose.” The Chinese (chu suo 處所) refers explicitly to the physical bases of the sense organs, i.e., the material eyes, ears, and nostrils.
long bu’i rus pa. It seems strange to mention the ankle bones here, since the description is generally from low to high on the body. Perhaps this indicates a misunderstanding on the part of the translator. The Chinese here is ke 髁, which can mean both “ankle” and “coccyx.” The Chinese yao ke you san gu 腰髁有三骨 probably refers to three bones in the sacral area, two “waist,” “hip,” or “loin” bones (rked pa) and the coccyx. The Tibetan, on the other hand, understands the compound yao ke as referring to three yao (waist, hip) bones and three ke (coccyx) bones. For more on this, see Kritzer 2014, p. 63, n. 310.
F, Q, N, and S rkyong shing mdog dang ldan par byed do (“stretch it out and cause it to have color”) for rab tu dang bar byed do. We accept the reading of D and J, which agree with the Chinese. For more on the action of this wind, see Kritzer 2014, p. 66, n. 335.
D, Q sman yon po. F, N, S read sman yon chen po, “expensive doctor’s fee.” sman yon po agrees with the Chinese qu yao (曲藥).
btsal ba dag. This has no equivalent in the Chinese, and its meaning here is unclear. Perhaps it refers to morally good pursuits.
ngan ’gro sems can dmyal ba. It is not clear whether this or “hell beings in an unfortunate destiny” is the meaning.
phyogs gcig. This may also mean “one-sided.” Note, too, that the corresponding passage in Toh 58 lists five such perceptions.
According to Q, this wind is called assembling the flowers (me tog sdud). F reads ma tog sdud, perhaps mistakenly for me tog sdud. The Chinese calls it indigo flower (lan hua 藍花). For more on this wind, see Kritzer 2014, p. 72, n. 386.
bcum nas. F, Q, N, and S all read brkyang nas, “having stretched out,” which agrees with the Chinese chang shu 長舒. Toh 6 reads lag pa gnyis bcum ste, which agrees with our text. It has been argued that bcum, which usually means “contracted” or “shrunk,” here means “hang down” (Kritzer 2014, p.73, n. 387). It is possible that the Tibetan translator originally translated the Chinese chang shu as brkyang nas, while the Degé editors altered the text to agree with Toh 6 (see Kritzer 2012 for the relationships among the various Tibetan texts of the Garbhāvakrāntisūtra).
Following N and S, which read bcug. D, F, and Q read bcum (“contract”), which makes no sense. The Chinese has nothing equivalent to bcum. It simply says “push the hand and make it enter.”
bsgul ba’i shing leb. The Chinese is yao che 搖車, “shaking cart.” Langenberg translates it as “cradle” (2008, p. 189).
shing gdong. The Chinese, however, is wood mouth (mu kou 木口). The original Sanskrit was probably mukha, which can mean either “face” or “mouth.”
As Langenberg points out, the S block print says that drinking mother’s milk is not included (2008, p. 191, n. 33). F, Q, N, and S all agree with D.
Tib. gag shing. Toh 6 reads gag shing du gzhug pa. This translation reflects that reading and its commentarial gloss.
The Tibetan here is difficult to understand, though if the referent of “all of these sufferings” is all of the sufferings of birth that have been enumerated, then perhaps the sense is that because one has not abandoned the sufferings of birth, then one is bound to experience suffering in everything that one does in life. In the Chinese, by contrast, there is no negative: “All this is abandoning suffering and seeking suffering.” In the Chinese, this sentence seems to refer to the four activities of walking, etc., and the meaning seems to be that one “abandons suffering” when, for example, one stops walking and “seeks suffering” when one stands still. At the same point, Toh 6 says “Nanda, because one interrupts the suffering of a particular activity, when a new, different suffering arises, a pleasurable thought arises. Nanda, in arising, it is only suffering that arises, and in cessation it is only suffering that ceases” (Kritzer 2014, p. 88). The Tibetan text of Toh 6 is as follows: dga’ bo ’on kyang spyod lam gyi sdug bsngal de dang de rgyun gcad pa’i phyir / sdug bsngal sar pa gzhan dang gzhan ’byung ba la bde ba’i ’du shes ’byung ste / dga’ bo ’byung ba na yang sdug bsngal ’di kho na ’byung la ’gag pa na yang sdug bsngal kho na ’gag.
yang dag pa ma yin pa. The meaning is unclear, but perhaps it reflects the idea that even things that seem pleasant are ultimately suffering. The Chinese similarly mentions deceit (xukuang 虚誑).
skye gnas mi gtsang ba, Chinese shengchu bujing 生處不淨. This might refer to the rebirth destination specifically, but the descriptions of the vagina in the account of week 27 and in the section on the four types of garbhāvakrānti suggest that skye gnas here refers specifically to the womb or vagina from which beings are born.
Alternatively, this might be “the wind of karma.” Here the Chinese reads “due to the causes and conditions of karma, it is blown by a wind.”
This is translated from the Chinese (zi shenyuyi 恣身語意). The Tibetan is lus dang ngag dang yid thal rangs su gtong, which is obscure.
D, F, and J dbang po rnams kyi bran byed pa. Q, N, and S dbang po rnams kyi dran pa med pa, “lack awareness of the senses.” This does not make sense. The Chinese yu zhu gen er wei nupu 與諸根而為奴僕 supports bran byed pa, and dran pa med pa seems to be the result of a scribe’s confusion between dran and bran, which have the same pronunciation in Tibetan.
sla ba’i dngos po. D slu ba’i dngos po, “deceptive things,” is clearly a scribal error. Other editions agree with the Chinese yi shi 易事.
Following K and Y, which read yid la myi/mi sems. This agrees with the repetition of this passage below and makes better sense.
N, Q, and S nang gi lus la sdug bsngal yin par rjes su lta ba, which agrees with the Chinese. D, F, and J nang gi lus la lus kyi rjes su lta ba, “observation of the body with respect to the internal body.” These versions do not mention suffering here.
Translation tentative. Tib. phyi dro’i dus kyi tshe chos rjes su bstan pa yang bdag nyid thob pa dang ldan par smra bar byed pas na.
rnal ’byor. The Chinese has “subtle contemplation” (miao guan 妙觀). In this context the term yoga refers to meditation or spiritual practice in general.
D, F, J, and Q bsten. S brten, which is closely related to bsten, while N brtan is probably a result of dropping the e vowel marker from brten.
byin pa. The Chinese does not mention calf bones; instead, it simply mentions pairs of two shoulder bones (jian ou 肩偶 [Taishō 310.334c19], probably a mistake for jian yu 肩髃 [Taishō 1451.260a18]).
Hoernle says that Caraka counts four bones in each vertebra, and his illustration shows a vertebra at the bottom of which are two transverse processes on either side of a spinous process (1987, pp. 151–52). Perhaps these processes are the “roots” mentioned in this verse. Yijing’s translation of the sūtra as included in the Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya reads “four eight” (si ba [四八]), while the version of his translation in the Ratnakūṭa, which corresponds to the present text, reads “four parts” (si fen [四分]). Toh 6 does not mention roots. Instead, it says that the bones of the ribs of the back (rgyab kyi rtsib ma’i rus pa) number thirty. This number corresponds to the total number of bones in the vertebral column according to Suśruta (Hoernle, 1987, p. 152).
According to D, J, and Q, “it resembles a filthy device.” Here we have accepted the readings of L, N, P, and S, which agree with the Chinese.
Tib. zhag ser. We have followed the Chinese huang zhi 黄脂, which means “yellow fat,” but what that means is unclear. The only other occurrence of this term in the Taishō Tripiṭaka is in Ōjōyōshū 往生要集 by Genshin 源信, where these verses are quoted (Taishō 2682.41b3). On the other hand, in several lists of body parts, a word for “fat” immediately precedes a word for “lymph” or “joint fluid,” Tibetan chu ser, Sanskrit lasīkā (see, for example, Glass 2007, p. 53), and ser in this verse could conceivably be short for chu ser.
Tib. klad rgyas dag ni klad pas gang. The words klad rgyas and klad pa are problematic. klad rgyas can mean either “brain membrane” or “brains,” while klad pa can mean either “brains” or “head.” We have followed the Chinese here.
It is strange that klad rgyas is repeated here. The Chinese reads fang gao 肪膏, “fat.” Jäschke (1881, p. 8), referring to “Sch.,” presumably Schmidt’s Tibetan-German dictionary of 1841, says that klad rgyas is equivalent to lha ba, “the bloody marrow in the bones.” However, this definition could not be found in Schmidt’s dictionary, nor could it be confirmed independently. Perhaps the Tibetan translator simply made a mistake here.
According to Q, L, and S, it is the Bhagavān who speaks this verse. We accept the reading of D, F, J, and N, on the basis of the Chinese. In addition, Toh 6 clearly indicates that it is Nanda who speaks the verses.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its second week.
A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).
Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.
A wealthy merchant in the town of Śrāvastī, famous for his generosity to the poor, who became a patron of the Buddha Śākyamuni. He bought Prince Jeta’s Grove (Skt. Jetavana), to be the Buddha’s first monastery, a place where the monks could stay during the monsoon.
A being in the interval between death in one life and birth in the next.
The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its eleventh week.
The embryo in the second week of gestation.
According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati), or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.
The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its tenth week.
The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its thirty-eighth week.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
One of the pleasure groves in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods.
An ideal monarch or emperor who, as the result of the merit accumulated in previous lifetimes, rules over a vast realm in accordance with the Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he bears a wheel (cakra) that rolls (vartate) across the earth, bringing all lands and kingdoms under his power. The cakravartin conquers his territory without causing harm, and his activity causes beings to enter the path of wholesome actions. According to Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa, just as with the buddhas, only one cakravartin appears in a world system at any given time. They are likewise endowed with the thirty-two major marks of a great being (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), but a cakravartin’s marks are outshined by those of a buddha. They possess seven precious objects: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the wish-fulfilling gem, the queen, the general, and the minister. An illustrative passage about the cakravartin and his possessions can be found in The Play in Full (Toh 95), \1\23.3–\1\23.13.
Vasubandhu lists four types of cakravartins: (1) the cakravartin with a golden wheel (suvarṇacakravartin) rules over four continents and is invited by lesser kings to be their ruler; (2) the cakravartin with a silver wheel (rūpyacakravartin) rules over three continents and his opponents submit to him as he approaches; (3) the cakravartin with a copper wheel (tāmracakravartin) rules over two continents and his opponents submit themselves after preparing for battle; and (4) the cakravartin with an iron wheel (ayaścakravartin) rules over one continent and his opponents submit themselves after brandishing weapons.
A city in ancient India, located on the Campā River. It was the capital of the Aṅga state, which was located east of Magadha.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its fifth week.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
The name of the twenty thousand channels on the front of the body.
The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twenty-fourth week.
The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twenty-second week.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twenty-sixth week.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twenty-seventh week.
The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twelfth week.
A type of “possessor,” or demon.
A cosmic period of time, sometimes equivalent to the time when a world system appears, exists, and disappears. According to the traditional Abhidharma understanding of cyclical time, a great eon (mahākalpa) is divided into eighty lesser eons. In the course of one great eon, the universe takes form and later disappears. During the first twenty of the lesser eons, the universe is in the process of creation and expansion; during the next twenty it remains; during the third twenty, it is in the process of destruction; and during the last quarter of the cycle, it remains in a state of empty stasis. A fortunate, or good, eon (bhadrakalpa) refers to any eon in which more than one buddha appears.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
One of the abodes of hell beings.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its thirty-eighth week.
The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twelfth and thirteenth week.
The name of a karmic wind involved in the formation of an embryo in its twenty-ninth week.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
A type of worm (srin bu) that lives in and feeds on the body.
According to Buddhist cosmology, a mountain said to be situated north of the Himalayas, with Lake Anavatapta, the source of this world’s great rivers, at its base. It is sometimes said to be south of Mount Kailash, though both mountains have been identified with Mount Tise in west Tibet.
dga’ bo la mngal na gnas pa bstan pa. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 41, pp. 637–715.
tshe dang ldan pa dga’ bo la mngal du ’jug pa bstan pa (Āyuṣmannandagarbhāvakrāntinirdeśa). Toh 58, Degé Kangyur vol. 41 (dkon brtsegs, ga), folios 237.a–248.a.
tshe dang ldan pa dga’ bo la mngal du ’jug pa bstan pa. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 31, pp. 737–774.
tshe dang ldan pa dga’ bo la mngal du ’jug pa bstan pa (Āyuṣmannandagarbhāvakrāntinirdeśa). Lhasa Kangyur vol. 37 (dkon brtsegs, ga), folios 399.b–448.a.
mngal du ’jug pa. In ’dul ba phran tshegs kyi gzhi (Vinayakṣudrakavastu), Toh 6, Degé Kangyur vol. 10 (’dul ba, tha), folios 124.b–153.a.
dga’ bo la mngal na gnas pa bstan pa (Nandagarbhāvakrāntinirdeśa). Toh 57, Degé Kangyur vol. 41 (dkon brtsegs, ga), folios 205.b–237.a.
rgya cher rol pa (Lalitavistara). Toh 95, Degé Kangyur vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), folios 1.b–216.b. English translation in The Play in Full 2013.
chos kyi phung po (Dharmaskandha). Toh 245, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 27.b–33.a. English translation in The Sections of Dharma 2019.
’jig rten ’dzin gyis yongs su dris pa (Lokadharaparipṛcchā). Toh 174, Degé Kangyur vol. 60 (mdo sde, ma), folios 7.b–78.b. English translation in The Inquiry of Lokadhara 2020.
dam pa’i chos dran pa nye bar gzhag pa (Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna). Toh 287, Degé Kangyur, vols. 68 (mdo sde, ya), folios 82.a–318.a; vol. 69 (mdo sde, ra), 1.b–307.a; vol. 70 (mdo sde, la), 1.b–312.a; and vol. 71 (mdo sde, sha), 1.b–229.b. English translation in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma 2020.
shes phyin khri pa (Daśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā). Toh 11, Degé Kangyur, vol. 31 (shes phyin, ga), folios 1.b–91.a; vol. 32 (shes phyin, nga), folios 92.b–397.a. English translation in The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines 2018.
Asaṅga. rnal ’byor spyod pa’i sa (Yogācārabhūmi). Toh 4035, folios 1.b–283.a.
Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub). chos ’byung (bde bar gshegs pa’i bstan pa’i gsal byed chos kyi ’byung gnas gsung rab rin po che’i gter mdzod). In gsung ’bum/ rin chen grub/ zhol par ma/ ldi lir bskyar par brgyab pa/, vol. 24 (ya), pp. 633–1055. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1965–71. BDRC W22106.
Chomden Rigpai Raltri (bcom ldan rig pa’i ral gri). bstan pa rgyas pa rgyan gyi nyi ’od. In gsung ’bum [Collected Works], vol. 1 (ka), pp. 96–257. Lhasa: khams sprul bsod nams don grub, 2006. BDRC W00EGS1017426.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
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C Choné Kangyur
D Degé Kangyur
F Phukdrak MS
J Lithang
K Kangxi (Peking late 17th c.)
L London Kangyur
N Narthang Kangyur
Q Peking 1737 (Qianlong)
S Stok Palace MS
Y Yongle
Chapter 13 of the one-hundred-thousand-chapter scripture Ārya Mahāratnakūṭa, “The Teaching to Nanda on Dwelling in the Womb.” [B1]
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was staying together with an immense assembly of monks at the Nyagrodha pleasure grove in the city of Kapilavastu. At that time, the Bhagavān’s younger brother named Nanda, who had a golden complexion, was endowed with the thirty marks, and was four finger-widths shorter than the Bhagavān, had a wife called Sundarikā. She was a good lady, pleasant to behold, with a beautiful figure and a superior complexion rare in the world. Since everyone wished to look at her, Nanda, because he desired and was obsessed with her, did not leave her alone even for a moment. Due to his lustful mind, he became very attached and considered her as valuable as his own life.
The Bhagavān, knowing that the time had come to tame Nanda, dressed early in the morning, took his bowl, and, with the venerable Ānanda as his attendant, went to the city to collect alms. In due course, they arrived at the place where Nanda’s house was, and going to the door, they stood there. Then, by the power of great compassion, the Bhagavān emitted a golden light, and the entire interior of Nanda’s house turned the color of refined gold.
At that time, Nanda thought, “Since this light is all-illuminating, it must undoubtedly be the Tathāgata’s.” Thinking this, he dispatched a man, ordering him, “Go see who it is.”
The man, seeing the Bhagavān, hastened back and told Nanda, “The Bhagavān is at the door.”
When Nanda heard that, he quickly went out and greeted the Bhagavān. After Nanda paid obeisance, at that time Sundarikā thought, “If I let Nanda go, he will doubtlessly go forth because of the Bhagavān.” Grabbing Nanda by the edge of his garment, she did not let go.
“Now let go for a minute,” said Nanda. “I will pay obeisance to the Bhagavān, and then I’ll come back.”
“First, let’s make an agreement; then I’ll let you go,” said Sundarikā. She put the mark of a wet tilaka on his forehead, and she said, “Please return before this tilaka is dry. If you are delayed, there will be a penalty of five hundred gold kārṣāpanas.”
“I will do so,” said Nanda. Going out the door, he bowed down at the Bhagavān’s feet. He took the Tathāgata’s bowl and went back into the house. After filling the bowl with good food, Nanda again went out the door. Since the Bhagavān had returned to the monastery, he offered it to Ānanda. But the Bhagavān had indicated that Ānanda should not take the bowl. Because of the overwhelming majesty of the Tathāgata, the Great Teacher, Nanda did not have the confidence to offer it to him with the words, “Please receive this,” so he again offered it to Ānanda.
Ānanda asked, “From whom did you receive this bowl?”
“I received it from the Bhagavān.”
“In that case, offer it to the Bhagavān,” said Ānanda.
Nanda answered, “I don’t have the confidence to offer it to the Great Teacher.” Saying nothing, he left following after him.
When the Bhagavān had returned to the monastery, he washed his hands, bathed his feet, and sat on his cushion. Nanda held up the Bhagavān’s bowl and offered it to him. When the Bhagavān finished eating, he asked Nanda, “Will you eat what is left in my bowl?”
“Yes, please,” he answered, and the Bhagavān gave it to him.
Nanda finished eating, and the Bhagavān asked, “Will you go forth?”
Nanda answered, “I will go forth.” Furthermore, because the Bhagavān Buddha, when he engaged in the practices of a bodhisattva in the past, never opposed the instructions of his parents, preceptors, teachers, or other gurus, he had now attained the state in which nothing he said was opposed.
Then the Bhagavān said to Ānanda, “Shave Nanda’s hair and beard.”
“As the Bhagavān wishes,” replied Ānanda, and he searched for a barber.
As soon as the barber began cutting Nanda’s hair, Nanda said to him, “Hey! Don’t you know? It won’t be long before I become a powerful cakravartin. If you shave my hair and beard, I will cut off both your hands!” Intimidated, the barber became very frightened, and he put away his razor and started to leave. Then the venerable Ānanda told the Bhagavān what had happened.
The Bhagavān went to Nanda and asked, “Will you not go forth?”
Nanda answered, “I will go forth.” The Bhagavān then took a vase and poured water on Nanda’s head, and the barber shaved Nanda’s hair and beard. Nanda thought, “I will honor the Buddha for now and go forth, but I will return home in the evening.”
In the evening, Nanda took to the road and left. When Nanda saw a great chasm conjured by the Bhagavān ahead of him on the road, he thought, “As for the time agreed upon with Sundarikā, since I am still far away, I have no possibility of arriving on time. Now, it is possible that I will die from just thinking about her. If I do not die, I will go tomorrow morning.” He passed the night in suffering and misery due to yearning for Sundarikā.
Knowing what Nanda was thinking, the Bhagavān said to Ānanda, “Ānanda, go and order Nanda to act as caretaker in the monastery.” Ānanda accordingly went directly to Nanda.
Ānanda told him, “The Bhagavān orders you to be the caretaker.”
Nanda asked, “What duties does a ‘caretaker’ perform?”
“He must supervise the monks’ chores in the monastery,” said Ānanda.
Nanda asked, “In what way should he work?”
“As for the caretaker,” answered Ānanda, “when the monks go out for alms, he must sweep the monastery grounds and sprinkle them with water. He must take fresh cow dung and gently spread it in the proper way. Paying careful attention, he should guard against loss. If any advice is necessary, he should ask the monks. If there is incense and flowers, he should distribute them to the monks. He should close the gates at night and open them in the morning. He must always clean and wipe down the toilet and urinal. If something in the monastery falls apart, he must repair it well.”
Nanda, having heard the explanation, accepted it, saying, “Venerable Ānanda, I shall do everything according to the Bhagavān’s command.”
The next morning, the monks put on their lower robes, took their upper robes and bowls, and left for the city of Kapilavastu on their alms round. Nanda, seeing that nobody was in the monastery, thought, “As soon as I finish sweeping, I’ll go back home,” and did the sweeping. The Bhagavān saw him and knew, so, with his supernormal abilities, he cast a spell so that the clean ground that had been swept was again full of rubbish. Nanda then thought, “I’ll throw away the rubbish and go back home.” He put the broom down and began to throw away the rubbish, but, since it was never-ending, he thought, “I will close the doors of the dwelling places and leave.” He began to close the doors of the dwelling places, but the Bhagavān cast a spell so that as soon as Nanda closed one door, another door would open. That troubled Nanda, and he had this thought: “Even if a thief harms this monastery, whatever damage there is, when I become king, I will build a hundred thousand excellent monasteries much greater than this one. As for me, I’ll go back home.” And then he thought, “If I stay on the main road, I’m afraid I’ll meet the Bhagavān, so I’ll take a side road.”
The Bhagavān, knowing what Nanda was thinking, took that very same shortcut. Nanda, seeing the Bhagavān from a distance, hid near a tree at the side of the road that had shady branches hanging down, in order to avoid him. The Bhagavān cast a spell to make the tree lift up its branches and show Nanda’s body.
Then the Bhagavān called out, “Nanda, where are you going? Come along after me!” Ashamed and embarrassed, Nanda followed in attendance upon him. The Bhagavān thought, “Since Nanda is very attached to his wife and is obsessed with her, in order to help him separate from her I will leave Kapilavastu and go to Śrāvastī.” Thinking in this way, he went there and stayed at Viśākhā Mṛgāramātā’s pleasure grove. Then the Bhagavān thought, “Since this foolish Nanda is continually attached to his wife and obsessed with her, he will not let go of her, so I must apply skillful means and pacify his mind.”
Thinking in this way, the Bhagavān asked the venerable Nanda, “In the past, have you ever seen Mount Gandhamādana?”
“I haven’t seen it,” answered Nanda.
“If that is so, grab the corner of my robe.” Nanda grabbed the corner of his garment. The Bhagavān then soared up into the sky like the king of geese. When he arrived at Mount Gandhamādana together with the venerable Nanda, they looked right and left. Under a tree, a blind, one-eyed female monkey raised her face and intently looked right at the Bhagavān. The Bhagavān asked Nanda, “Do you see this blind monkey?”
“Yes, I see her,” answered Nanda.
“What do you think?” asked the Bhagavān. “If you compare this blind monkey to Sundarikā, which one is more beautiful and exalted?”
“Sundarikā is a Śākya,” said Nanda. “She is like a young goddess. Her face is the best; she is peerless in the world. Therefore, if you compare her to this monkey, the monkey does not come close to being one-hundredth, one-thousandth, one-ten-thousandth, or one-hundred-thousandth of Sundarikā. Any number, fraction, calculation, example, or comparison would be inadequate.”
The Bhagavān asked, “Have you ever seen the heavenly palaces?”
“No, I haven’t seen them,” answered Nanda.
“Well then, grab the corner of my robe again.” Again Nanda grabbed the garment, and the Bhagavān rose up into the sky like the king of geese and went to the abode of the Thirty-Three Gods. The Bhagavān said, “Nanda, go and look at the heavenly palaces, which are exalted dwellings.” The venerable Nanda went to the pleasure groves of the gods such as Nandana Grove, Caitraratha Grove, Pāruṣyaka Grove, Miśrakā Grove, Pārijāta Grove, and Sudharmā Hall, and places of play and delight with flowers, fruit, ponds, and pools. When he had seen everything, he eventually entered the city Sudarśana. Elsewhere, pleasant sounds came forth from drums, lutes, and various types of stringed instruments. And here and there, he saw very beautiful young goddesses and gods nestled, playing together.
Nanda, after searching all over, saw that there were only young goddesses but no young gods in a certain palace, and he asked those young goddesses, “Why, in other places, do young goddesses and gods live together and experience pleasure, while in your case, only young goddesses live together, and young gods are not to be seen?”
Those young goddesses said, “There is a younger brother of the Bhagavān, Nanda, who went forth under the Bhagavān and intently and properly practices pure behavior. After he passes away, he will be reborn here. We will wait for him here.”
Nanda, having heard this, rejoiced and quickly hurried to where the Bhagavān was. The Bhagavān asked, “Did you see the exalted circumstances of the gods?”
“Yes, I saw them,” said Nanda.
The Bhagavān asked, “What circumstances did you see?”
Nanda told the Bhagavān in detail everything that he had seen.
The Bhagavān asked, “Did you see the young goddesses?”
“Yes, I saw them,” said Nanda.
The Bhagavān asked, “If you compare those young goddesses to Sundarikā, who is more physically beautiful and exalted?”
“Bhagavān,” replied Nanda, “if I compared Sundarikā with those young goddesses, it would be just like comparing the blind female monkey of Mount Gandhamādana to Sundarikā. She does not come close to being one-hundredth, one-thousandth, one-ten-thousandth, or one-hundred-thousandth as good as them, up to any comparison would be inadequate.”
The Bhagavān said, “Nanda, since you will have such exalted benefits if you properly practice pure behavior, you should now firmly practice pure behavior, and when you are reborn as a god, you will experience such pleasure.” Nanda heard what the Bhagavān said, rejoiced, and sat silently. Then the Bhagavān, together with the venerable Nanda, disappeared from the realm of the gods and went to the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, in Śrāvastī. The venerable Nanda then properly practiced pure behavior while thinking about the heavenly palaces.
The Bhagavān, knowing what Nanda was thinking, told the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, go tell the monks, ‘Do not sit on the same seat together with Nanda. Do not walk on the same path. Do not hang your robes on the same peg. Do not put your begging bowl and water vessel in the same place. Do not read sūtras aloud in the same place. Do not recite in the same place.’ ” The venerable Ānanda instructed the monks according to what the Bhagavān had told him, and the monks said, “We will do as the Noble One says.”
At that time, the venerable Nanda, seeing that the many monks had shunned him, felt very embarrassed and guilty. After that, on another occasion, the venerable Ānanda was sewing robes in the assembly hall together with the many monks. When Nanda saw this, he thought, “These many monks have shunned me and will not keep company with me. Since the venerable Ānanda is my brother, there is no way that he would show contempt for me.” Thinking in this way, he went to Ānanda and sat down next to him. Then Ānanda quickly got up and left.
Nanda said, “Ānanda, it is reasonable for the other monks to shun me, but if you are my brother, why do you shun me?”
“This may be true,” replied the venerable Ānanda, “but you are walking one path, and I am walking another path, so we should therefore avoid each other.”
“What is my path? What is your path?” asked Nanda.
Ānanda answered, “You practice pure behavior due to a desire for birth in heaven. I remove desires and defilements for the sake of seeking nirvāṇa.” Nanda heard what Ānanda said and became very unhappy and oppressed by sorrow.
Then the Bhagavān, knowing what he was thinking, asked the venerable Nanda, “Have you ever seen hell beings?”
“No, I haven’t,” answered Nanda.
The Bhagavān said, “Grab the corner of my robe.” Again, Nanda grabbed the garment, and the Bhagavān led him to the abodes of hell beings. The Bhagavān sat to one side and said to the venerable Nanda, “Go look at the hell beings!”
The venerable Nanda went accordingly, and first he saw the Vaitaraṇī River. Then he went successively to Sword-Leaf Forest, Excrement Swamp, and Pit of Burning Embers. He entered those places and, looking all around, saw the various sufferings the many beings there experienced. For some, tongues, teeth, and eyes were torn out with pliers. For some, the body was cut with a saw. For some, the arms and legs were cut off by an ax. Some were struck with weapons like spears, double-bladed battle axes, and rods. Some were smashed by iron hammers. For some, iron lumps were inserted into their mouths. Some climbed mountains that had thickets of swords and trees that had leaves of swords, were pounded with a pestle, were ground in a mill, were melted on a copper pillar, or remained on an iron bed. Thus, he saw them experience unbearable sufferings.
As for some, an iron cauldron, intensely glowing in the flames of fire, came to a boil, and in the intensely hot glow, Nanda saw beings experiencing suffering by being boiled. Furthermore, he saw an empty iron cauldron boiling, intensely glowing in the flames of fire and hot, without any beings. Very frightened, he asked the hell guard, “Hey, due to what causes and conditions are beings being boiled in the other iron cauldrons while only this iron cauldron boils empty?”
The guard answered, “Since the Bhagavān’s younger brother, Nanda, aspiring to be born as a god, one-pointedly and properly practices pure behavior, he will be born in the world of the gods and temporarily experience pleasure, but after he dies, he will enter this iron cauldron. Therefore, we’re staying here now, having lit a fire under the iron cauldron.”
Hearing this, Nanda was very afraid. His body hair stood on end, sweat poured from his body, and he thought, “If he knows that I am Nanda, he will throw me, alive, into the cauldron.” Thinking this, he quickly fled to where the Bhagavān was.
The Bhagavān asked, “Did you see hell beings?”
Nanda pathetically broke into tears. Crying and in a tenuous voice, as if he were tongue-tied, he said, “I have seen them.”
“What did you see?” asked the Bhagavān. Nanda told the Bhagavān in detail what he had seen.
The Bhagavān told him, “Properly practicing pure behavior because you aspire to be born as a human or strive for the world of the gods has that sort of flaw. Therefore, now, by thinking of seeking nirvāṇa, you must refrain from exerting yourself with delight in birth as a god as a result of practicing pure behavior.” When the venerable Nanda heard those words, he was speechless from shame.
Then the Bhagavān, knowing what Nanda was thinking, disappeared with him from the realm of the hell beings, and, after they returned to the Jetavana, he addressed the venerable Nanda and the monks: “There are three internal stains, namely, lust, hatred, and delusion. Since they should be abandoned, you should train, exerting yourself in thoroughly abandoning them.”
After staying at the Jetavana for a short time, the Bhagavān went together with the assembly of monks to the city of Campa in order to tame beings according to their conditions, and he stayed on the bank of Gargā’s Pond.
Later, the venerable Nanda, together with five hundred monks, went to the place where the Bhagavān was. They prostrated themselves at his feet and sat to one side. Then the Bhagavān, knowing that the monks were seated to one side, said to the venerable Nanda, “I have a Dharma discourse that is virtuous at the beginning, virtuous in the middle, virtuous at the end, excellent in meaning, excellent in words, unadulterated, perfect, pure, pristine, and conducive to pure behavior, that is, the Dharma discourse entitled Entry into the Womb. Listen very well and keep it in your mind. I shall teach it to you now.”
The venerable Nanda responded, “Yes, I wish to hear what the Bhagavān says.”
The Bhagavān said, “Nanda, even if there is a mother’s womb, it may be the case that one will enter into the womb, and it may also be the case that one will not enter. How will entry into a mother’s womb and then taking birth occur? If the father and the mother, both with thoughts of desire, have intercourse, if the mother’s womb is completely pure, if she is in her fertile period, and if the antarābhava appears, it is to be understood that then entry into the womb will occur.
“In this respect, the appearance of the antarābhava can be of two types: pleasant in color and attractive, or unpleasant in color and unattractive. The color of those in the intermediate existence of hell beings is unpleasant, like, for example, a burnt tree trunk. The color of those in the intermediate existence of animals is like smoke, for example. The color of those in the intermediate existence of pretas is like water, for example. The color of those in the intermediate existence of gods and humans is like gold, for example. The color of those in the intermediate existence of the form realm is white. There is no intermediate existence for the gods of the formless realm; this is because that realm is formless. Some antarābhava beings have two arms and two legs, some have four legs or many legs, and some do not have legs. Beings will produce an antarābhava, in accordance with previous karma, whose appearance corresponds to where they will be reborn.
“Antarābhavas that will be born as gods face upward. Antarābhavas that will be born as humans, animals, or pretas proceed facing horizontally. Antarābhavas that will be born as hell beings face downward.
“All antarābhavas, since they possess supernormal abilities, are able to travel through space and to see, as if with the divine eye, the place of their birth even from far away.
“ ‘In her fertile period’ is when the time has come for a woman’s fertile period. Nanda, there are some women who are in their fertile period after three days, after five days, after a fortnight, or after a month has elapsed. Some, depending on conditions, will again begin a fertile period after a long time has elapsed. As for women who have no physical strength, who experience much suffering, whose faces are unpleasant, and who eat and drink poor quality foods and beverages, their fertile period, when it arrives, quickly ends, just as dry earth, when it is sprinkled with water, quickly becomes dry again. As for women who have physical strength, who always experience pleasure, whose faces are pleasant, and who eat and drink good quality foods and beverages, their fertile period does not end quickly, just as moist earth, when it is sprinkled with water, does not quickly become dry again.
“How will entry into a mother’s womb not occur? If the father’s sexual fluid is emitted but the mother’s sexual fluid is not, or the mother’s sexual fluid is emitted but the father’s sexual fluid is not, or if neither of their sexual fluids is emitted, in all such cases there will be no conception. If the mother is impure but the father is pure, if the father is impure but the mother is pure, or if both are impure, there will also be no conception. If the mother’s womb is in the grip of wind disease; or if it is in the grip of bile or phlegm; or if, overwhelmed by blood, the womb is knotty; or if it is filled with flesh; or if the mother drinks medicine; or if the center is like barley; or if it is like an ant’s waist; or if the opening of the womb is like a camel’s mouth; or if the center is like a tree with many roots; or if the opening is like the beam of a plow; or if it is triangular, like the joint of a carriage; or if it is like a cane plant; or if it is as if barley awn has grown there; or if the womb is deep at the bottom; or if it is deep at the top; or it is unsuitable as a vessel; or if it is always bleeding; or if it discharges liquid; or if it is always open and cannot close, like a crow’s beak; or if the width or size at the top, bottom, or ends is uneven; or if its height is uneven or bumpy; or if it is damaged inside by worms; or if, putrefying, it has become unclean—if the mother has these kinds of defects, entry into the womb will never occur. If the parents’ lineage is noble and the antarābhava is inferior, or if the antarābhava’s lineage is noble and the parents are inferior, entry into the womb will not occur. Even if the lineages of the parents and the antarābhava are both noble, if their karma is not compatible, entry into the womb will not occur. If the antarābhava has neither existence as a male nor as a female with respect to what it sees before it, rebirth will not occur.
“Nanda, how does the antarābhava obtain entry into the mother’s womb? If the mother’s womb is clean, the antarābhava directly perceives the performance of the act of desire, there are none of the many defects mentioned earlier, and the parents and the child have the karma to encounter one another, the initial entry into the womb will occur. Furthermore, when the antarābhava enters the mother’s womb, it will have a distorted thought. If it is male, it will have desire for the mother and aversion for the father. If it is female, it will have desire for the father and aversion for the mother. Due to the force of action performed in the past, it will give rise to distorted thought due to an incorrect perception, namely, a perception of cold, or perceptions of a great wind arising, of a great rain falling, or of darkness; or it will give rise to the perception of hearing the clamorous sound of many people. Thereby, in accordance with the superior nature or inferior nature of its karma, ten incorrect perceptions may arise. What are the ten? It thinks, ‘I’m now entering a house.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now climbing to the top of a multistoried building.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a palace.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now ascending a throne.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a grass hut.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a hut of leaves.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a grass thicket.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a forest.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now slipping into a hole in a wall.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering the spaces in a thatched hut.’ Nanda, at that time the antarābhava, thinking in that way, enters its mother’s womb.
“It should be understood that what takes rebirth is called kalala. It is the father’s semen and the mother’s blood. It is not another thing, but in dependence on the causes and conditions that are the mixture of the father’s semen and the mother’s blood, and on the condition that is consciousness, it is kept together.
“Just as butter comes into being in dependence upon curdled milk, a pot, a churning stick, and human effort, and does not come into being from anything else, the body of the kalala, which is formed from the unclean semen and blood of the parents, is to be understood in the same way.
“Nanda, there are four further analogies. Listen carefully. Just as when a worm is born in dependence upon green grass, the green grass is not the worm, and the worm does not exist separately from the green grass. However, due to the coming together of causes and conditions in dependence upon the grass, when the worm is born, the color of its body will also be green. Similarly, Nanda, the body of the kalala that consists of the father’s semen and the mother’s blood is also like this: it should be understood that the faculties that consist of the great elements arise from the coming together of causes and conditions.
“Just as when a worm is born in dependence upon cow dung, the cow dung is not the worm, and the worm does not exist separately from the cow dung. However, due to the coming together of causes and conditions in dependence upon the cow dung, when the worm is born, the color of its body will also be yellow. Similarly, Nanda, the body of the kalala that consists of the father’s semen and the mother’s blood is also like this: it should be understood that the faculties that consist of the great elements arise from the coming together of causes and conditions.
“Just as when a worm is born in dependence upon jujube, the jujube is not the worm, and the worm does not exist separately from the jujube. However, due to the coming together of causes and conditions in dependence upon jujube, when the worm is born, the color of its body will also be red. Similarly, Nanda, the body of the kalala that consists of the father’s semen and the mother’s blood is also like this: it should be understood that the faculties that consist of the great elements arise from the coming together of causes and conditions.
“Just as when a worm is born in dependence upon curdled milk, the color of its body will also be white (to be given in detail as above, up to) the faculties that consist of the great elements arise from the coming together of causes and conditions.
“Furthermore, Nanda, due to the kalala that depends on the unclean emissions of the father and mother, the presence of the earth element performs the function of solidity. The presence of the water element performs the function of fluidity. The presence of the fire element performs the function of heat. The presence of the wind element performs the functions of lightness and mobility. Nanda, if the body of the kalala that depends upon the unclean emissions of the father and mother has only the earth element and lacks the water element, it will dry up and be dispersed, as when one holds dry flour or dust and so forth in one’s hand. If it has only the water element and lacks the earth element, it will leak out, as when oil or water drains away. It is due to the water element that the earth element is not dispersed; it is due to the earth element that the water element does not leak out. Nanda, if the body of the kalala has the earth and water elements but lacks the fire element, it will putrefy, as when a lump of raw meat is put in the shade in the summer. Nanda, if the body of the kalala has only the earth, water, and fire elements but lacks the wind element, it will not grow and develop. Since all these are caused by previous karma, due to their mutual causation and conditioning, when consciousness arises, the earth element acts to support the kalala, the water element causes it to cohere, the fire element causes it to mature, and the wind element causes it to expand.
“Nanda, it is just as when a pastry maker or his apprentice cooks pastry properly and, by blowing, makes it grow and expand and become hollow inside, like the roots of a lotus. Similarly, it should be understood that the great elements of the interior of the body, the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, also grow in the same way due to the force of karma.
“Nanda, the body of the kalala does not arise from the unclean emissions of the father and mother, or from the mother’s womb, or from karma, or from causes, or from conditions. Nonetheless, due to the coming together of these many causes and conditions, the embryo is produced. It is just as when a new seed is undamaged by the wind and sun, firm and endowed with a core, without any holes, and very well buried and planted in soft earth. If, due to moisture, the causes and conditions have come together, first the sprout, then the stalk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit, gradually appear and grow. Nanda, that seed, moreover, without the coming together of conditions, will not produce a sprout and so forth. Similarly, it should be understood that birth in the womb is not achieved through the father and mother alone, or karma alone, or another condition alone. Rather, the embryo is produced due to the coming together of the father’s sexual fluid, the mother’s blood, and causes and conditions.
“Nanda, a clear-eyed person, in order to acquire fire, might take a jeweled sunstone and place it in the sun. If they place it on top of dry cow dung, afterward, fire will arise. Similarly, it should be understood that the embryo is first produced in dependence upon the coming together of the father’s sexual fluid, the blood, and causes and conditions. The kalala that is produced from the unclean emissions of the father and mother is called rūpa. Vedanā, saṃjñā, saṃskāra, and vijñāna are called nāma. Together they are called nāmarūpa.
“As for the skandhas of nāma and rūpa that take birth in the contemptible types of existence, I do not praise this even a little bit, not even for a moment. Why? Being born in any type of existence is great suffering. Even a small amount of vomit stinks. Similarly, it should be known that being born in any type of existence, even briefly, is suffering. These five upādānaskandhas—rūpa, vedanā, saṃjñā, saṃskāra, and vijñāna—all have birth, persistence, growth, decline, and perishing. Birth is suffering. Persistence is illness. Growth, decline, and perishing are aging and death. Therefore, Nanda, what wise person would cultivate a taste for existence in this sea of saṃsāra and, lying in the mother’s womb, experience such unbearable suffering?
“Furthermore, Nanda, it should be understood that the calculation for those who have entered the womb is, in brief, thirty-eight weeks.
“In the first week, lying in its first abode, the unclean womb of the mother, as if boiling and frying in a very hot pot, the body faculty and the consciousness that together experience unbearable suffering are called the kalala. Its form is like the water in which rice is boiled or like the scum of yogurt, and it boils inside for seven days. When it is well cooked, the earth element, solidity; the water element, fluidity; the fire element, heat; and the wind element, lightness and mobility, begin to manifest.
“Nanda, in the second week, in the unclean abode of its mother’s womb, when the body faculty and the consciousness together experience unbearable suffering, as if boiling and frying in a pot, a wind called all-touching arises spontaneously within the mother’s womb due to previous karma and touches the embryo. It is then called arbuda. Its form is like thick curds or hardened butter, and it boils inside for seven days. When it is well cooked, the four elements are manifest.
“Nanda, in the third week, it is again as previously stated in detail. A wind called treasury opening arises within the mother’s womb due to previous karma and touches the embryo. It is then called peśī. Its form is like this: it is like an iron rod or an intestinal worm, and it again boils for seven days. When it is well cooked, the four elements are manifest.
“Nanda, in the fourth week, it is again as previously stated in detail. A wind called internal differentiation arises within the mother’s womb due to previous karma. It blows on the blazing tormentor lodged in the womb. It is then called ghana. Its form is like a whetstone or a grindstone. From ‘for seven days’ until ‘the four elements are manifest’ is the same as before.
“Nanda, in the fifth week, it is again as previously stated in detail. A wind called collecting arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes five features to materialize, namely, the features of the two shoulders, the two thighs, and the head. Just as when the summer rains fall, the branches and leaves on trees and in thickets thrive and grow, in the same way the five features are made to appear.
“Nanda, in the sixth week, a wind called vast arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes four features to arise, namely, the two forearms and the two shanks. Just as when the summer rains fall, grasses and tree branches grow, in the same way the four features are made to appear.
“Nanda, in the seventh week, a wind called twister arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes four features to arise, namely, the two palms of the hands and the two soles of the feet. It has those four features, which are just like a mass of bubbles or śaivala.
“Nanda, in the eighth week, a wind called reversing and turning arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes twenty features to begin to appear, namely, the features of the ten digits of the feet and of the hands. It is just as the roots of trees first grow when the summer rains fall.
“Nanda, in the ninth week, a wind called separating arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes nine features to appear, namely, the features of the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, the mouth, and the two holes for excrement and urine.
“Nanda, in the tenth week, a wind called making firm arises within the mother’s womb. That wind makes the embryo firm and stable. In the same week, yet another wind, called arising from all directions, arises within the mother’s womb. That wind, by blowing on the embryo, makes it expand. It is like the way a leather bag expands when blown into. [B2]
“Nanda, in the eleventh week, a wind called appearance of holes arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the fetus and creates a cavity, nine holes appear. If the mother walks, or stands, or sits, or lies down, or acts, at that time the turning of that wind, where there is a cavity, gradually enlarges the holes. If the wind goes upward, it produces the upper holes. If it goes downward, it produces the lower holes. Just as when a blacksmith or his apprentice blows with a bellows, in the same way, moving upward or downward, the wind performs its function and then ceases.
“Nanda, in the twelfth week, a wind called crooked opening arises within the mother’s womb. That wind, by blowing on the fetus, establishes the small intestines and the large intestines, which are the entrails on both the left and right. Just like the roots of the lotus, they adhere to the body and stay together. In that same week, furthermore, a wind called fastened hair arises. Inside the fetus, it produces one hundred thirty joints, neither too few nor too many. Furthermore, the force of that wind creates one hundred one vital points in the body.
“Nanda, in the thirteenth week, the force of the same wind as before causes the fetus to feel hunger and thirst, and all the nutrients of what the mother eats and drinks enter at the navel and benefit its body.
“Nanda, in the fourteenth week, a wind called thread mouth arises within the mother’s womb. That wind produces one thousand ligaments in the fetus. Two hundred and fifty are in the front of the body. Two hundred and fifty are in the back of the body. Two hundred and fifty are on the right side of the body. Two hundred and fifty are on the left side of the body.
“Nanda, in the fifteenth week, a wind called lotus arises within the mother’s womb. It produces twenty types of channels in the body of the fetus, and they absorb constituent fluids. There are five at the front of the body, five at the back of the body, five on the right side of the body, and five on the left side of the body. Those channels also have various names and various colors. Their names are companion, strength, stability, and powerful. The colors are blue, yellow, red, and white, and there are channels that are the color of lentils, butter, oil, curds, and so forth. Furthermore, there are those that are a mixture of many colors. Nanda, since those twenty channels have forty branches each, altogether there are eight hundred channels that draw in breath. The front and back and left and right sides of the body have another two hundred each. Nanda, since those eight hundred also have one hundred interconnected branch channels each, there are altogether eighty thousand channels. There are twenty thousand at the front of the body. There are twenty thousand at the back of the body. There are twenty thousand on the right side of the body. There are twenty thousand on the left side. Nanda, those eighty thousand channels have many holes, from one or two to seven holes. Each of those also have pores to which they are mutually connected. It is similar to the way lotus roots have many holes.
“Nanda, in the sixteenth week, a wind called nectar flows arises. With the contact of that wind, the fetus’s two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, the mouth, the throat aperture, the area around the heart, and the repository for food and drink and what is chewed and what is tasted are put in place, and it removes obstructions to the inhalation and exhalation of breath. Just as a potter or his apprentice takes a lump of clay, puts it on a wheel, and sculpts it in various shapes into the form of whatever vessel he pleases, in the same way, the force of the karmic wind arranges the eyes and so forth as it pleases, and removes obstructions to the inhalation and exhalation of breath.
“Nanda, in the seventeenth week, a wind called yak face arises within the mother’s womb. That wind completely cleanses the fetus’s eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, and throat, around the heart, and the repository for food, and removes obstructions to the inhalation and exhalation of breath. Just as a skillful boy or girl takes a mirror covered with dust, wipes it clean with oil or ashes or finely powdered earth, and it becomes clear, in the same way, the force of the karmic wind arranges the sense organs and removes obstructions.
“Nanda, in the eighteenth week, a wind called undefiled arises within the mother’s womb. That wind completely purifies the six sense organs of the fetus. If the disks of the sun and the moon are covered by a large cloud, and a strong wind arises and blows, dispersing it in the four directions, the sun and moon become bright and totally pure. It should be understood that in the same way, Nanda, the force of that karmic wind completely purifies the six sense organs of the fetus.
“Nanda, in the nineteenth week, four of the faculties of the fetus, namely, the faculties of the eye, ear, nose, and tongue, are fully established. Initially, at the time of entry into the womb, three faculties are first obtained, namely, the faculty of the body, the life faculty, and the mental faculty.
“Nanda, in the twentieth week, a wind called very stable arises within the mother’s womb. That wind produces twenty toe bones in the left foot of the fetus. It produces twenty bones in the right foot, four heel bones, two calf bones, two kneecaps, two thigh bones, three waist bones, three ankle bones, eighteen bones of the spine, and twenty-four ribs. In addition, it produces twenty finger bones in the left hand and twenty finger bones in the right hand. It produces four forearm bones, two shoulder bones, seven chest bones, seven shoulder bones, four neck bones, two jaw bones, thirty-two teeth bones, and four head bones. Nanda, just as a sculptor or a sculptor’s skilled apprentice first makes a figure from hard wood, and then, having bound it with cord, smears it with clay and produces a statue, in the same way, it should be seen that the force of that karmic wind arranges the bones. Thus, Nanda, it should be understood that the number of large bones that arise in the twentieth week, not including the tiny bones, is two hundred.
“Nanda, in the twenty-first week, a wind called proper production arises within the mother’s womb and produces flesh on the body of the fetus. Just as a plasterer or a plasterer’s apprentice, having prepared the mud well, plasters the side of a wall, in the same way it should be seen that that karmic wind produces flesh.
“Nanda, in the twenty-second week, a wind called completely victorious arises within the mother’s womb. That wind produces the blood of the fetus.
“Nanda, in the twenty-third week, a wind called holding cleanly arises within the mother’s womb. That wind produces the skin of the fetus.
Chapter 13 of the one-hundred-thousand-chapter scripture Ārya Mahāratnakūṭa, “The Teaching to Nanda on Dwelling in the Womb.” [B1]
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was staying together with an immense assembly of monks at the Nyagrodha pleasure grove in the city of Kapilavastu. At that time, the Bhagavān’s younger brother named Nanda, who had a golden complexion, was endowed with the thirty marks, and was four finger-widths shorter than the Bhagavān, had a wife called Sundarikā. She was a good lady, pleasant to behold, with a beautiful figure and a superior complexion rare in the world. Since everyone wished to look at her, Nanda, because he desired and was obsessed with her, did not leave her alone even for a moment. Due to his lustful mind, he became very attached and considered her as valuable as his own life.
The Bhagavān, knowing that the time had come to tame Nanda, dressed early in the morning, took his bowl, and, with the venerable Ānanda as his attendant, went to the city to collect alms. In due course, they arrived at the place where Nanda’s house was, and going to the door, they stood there. Then, by the power of great compassion, the Bhagavān emitted a golden light, and the entire interior of Nanda’s house turned the color of refined gold.
At that time, Nanda thought, “Since this light is all-illuminating, it must undoubtedly be the Tathāgata’s.” Thinking this, he dispatched a man, ordering him, “Go see who it is.”
The man, seeing the Bhagavān, hastened back and told Nanda, “The Bhagavān is at the door.”
When Nanda heard that, he quickly went out and greeted the Bhagavān. After Nanda paid obeisance, at that time Sundarikā thought, “If I let Nanda go, he will doubtlessly go forth because of the Bhagavān.” Grabbing Nanda by the edge of his garment, she did not let go.
“Now let go for a minute,” said Nanda. “I will pay obeisance to the Bhagavān, and then I’ll come back.”
“First, let’s make an agreement; then I’ll let you go,” said Sundarikā. She put the mark of a wet tilaka on his forehead, and she said, “Please return before this tilaka is dry. If you are delayed, there will be a penalty of five hundred gold kārṣāpanas.”
“I will do so,” said Nanda. Going out the door, he bowed down at the Bhagavān’s feet. He took the Tathāgata’s bowl and went back into the house. After filling the bowl with good food, Nanda again went out the door. Since the Bhagavān had returned to the monastery, he offered it to Ānanda. But the Bhagavān had indicated that Ānanda should not take the bowl. Because of the overwhelming majesty of the Tathāgata, the Great Teacher, Nanda did not have the confidence to offer it to him with the words, “Please receive this,” so he again offered it to Ānanda.
Ānanda asked, “From whom did you receive this bowl?”
“I received it from the Bhagavān.”
“In that case, offer it to the Bhagavān,” said Ānanda.
Nanda answered, “I don’t have the confidence to offer it to the Great Teacher.” Saying nothing, he left following after him.
When the Bhagavān had returned to the monastery, he washed his hands, bathed his feet, and sat on his cushion. Nanda held up the Bhagavān’s bowl and offered it to him. When the Bhagavān finished eating, he asked Nanda, “Will you eat what is left in my bowl?”
“Yes, please,” he answered, and the Bhagavān gave it to him.
Nanda finished eating, and the Bhagavān asked, “Will you go forth?”
Nanda answered, “I will go forth.” Furthermore, because the Bhagavān Buddha, when he engaged in the practices of a bodhisattva in the past, never opposed the instructions of his parents, preceptors, teachers, or other gurus, he had now attained the state in which nothing he said was opposed.
Then the Bhagavān said to Ānanda, “Shave Nanda’s hair and beard.”
“As the Bhagavān wishes,” replied Ānanda, and he searched for a barber.
As soon as the barber began cutting Nanda’s hair, Nanda said to him, “Hey! Don’t you know? It won’t be long before I become a powerful cakravartin. If you shave my hair and beard, I will cut off both your hands!” Intimidated, the barber became very frightened, and he put away his razor and started to leave. Then the venerable Ānanda told the Bhagavān what had happened.
The Bhagavān went to Nanda and asked, “Will you not go forth?”
Nanda answered, “I will go forth.” The Bhagavān then took a vase and poured water on Nanda’s head, and the barber shaved Nanda’s hair and beard. Nanda thought, “I will honor the Buddha for now and go forth, but I will return home in the evening.”
In the evening, Nanda took to the road and left. When Nanda saw a great chasm conjured by the Bhagavān ahead of him on the road, he thought, “As for the time agreed upon with Sundarikā, since I am still far away, I have no possibility of arriving on time. Now, it is possible that I will die from just thinking about her. If I do not die, I will go tomorrow morning.” He passed the night in suffering and misery due to yearning for Sundarikā.
Knowing what Nanda was thinking, the Bhagavān said to Ānanda, “Ānanda, go and order Nanda to act as caretaker in the monastery.” Ānanda accordingly went directly to Nanda.
Ānanda told him, “The Bhagavān orders you to be the caretaker.”
Nanda asked, “What duties does a ‘caretaker’ perform?”
“He must supervise the monks’ chores in the monastery,” said Ānanda.
Nanda asked, “In what way should he work?”
“As for the caretaker,” answered Ānanda, “when the monks go out for alms, he must sweep the monastery grounds and sprinkle them with water. He must take fresh cow dung and gently spread it in the proper way. Paying careful attention, he should guard against loss. If any advice is necessary, he should ask the monks. If there is incense and flowers, he should distribute them to the monks. He should close the gates at night and open them in the morning. He must always clean and wipe down the toilet and urinal. If something in the monastery falls apart, he must repair it well.”
Nanda, having heard the explanation, accepted it, saying, “Venerable Ānanda, I shall do everything according to the Bhagavān’s command.”
The next morning, the monks put on their lower robes, took their upper robes and bowls, and left for the city of Kapilavastu on their alms round. Nanda, seeing that nobody was in the monastery, thought, “As soon as I finish sweeping, I’ll go back home,” and did the sweeping. The Bhagavān saw him and knew, so, with his supernormal abilities, he cast a spell so that the clean ground that had been swept was again full of rubbish. Nanda then thought, “I’ll throw away the rubbish and go back home.” He put the broom down and began to throw away the rubbish, but, since it was never-ending, he thought, “I will close the doors of the dwelling places and leave.” He began to close the doors of the dwelling places, but the Bhagavān cast a spell so that as soon as Nanda closed one door, another door would open. That troubled Nanda, and he had this thought: “Even if a thief harms this monastery, whatever damage there is, when I become king, I will build a hundred thousand excellent monasteries much greater than this one. As for me, I’ll go back home.” And then he thought, “If I stay on the main road, I’m afraid I’ll meet the Bhagavān, so I’ll take a side road.”
The Bhagavān, knowing what Nanda was thinking, took that very same shortcut. Nanda, seeing the Bhagavān from a distance, hid near a tree at the side of the road that had shady branches hanging down, in order to avoid him. The Bhagavān cast a spell to make the tree lift up its branches and show Nanda’s body.
Then the Bhagavān called out, “Nanda, where are you going? Come along after me!” Ashamed and embarrassed, Nanda followed in attendance upon him. The Bhagavān thought, “Since Nanda is very attached to his wife and is obsessed with her, in order to help him separate from her I will leave Kapilavastu and go to Śrāvastī.” Thinking in this way, he went there and stayed at Viśākhā Mṛgāramātā’s pleasure grove. Then the Bhagavān thought, “Since this foolish Nanda is continually attached to his wife and obsessed with her, he will not let go of her, so I must apply skillful means and pacify his mind.”
Thinking in this way, the Bhagavān asked the venerable Nanda, “In the past, have you ever seen Mount Gandhamādana?”
“I haven’t seen it,” answered Nanda.
“If that is so, grab the corner of my robe.” Nanda grabbed the corner of his garment. The Bhagavān then soared up into the sky like the king of geese. When he arrived at Mount Gandhamādana together with the venerable Nanda, they looked right and left. Under a tree, a blind, one-eyed female monkey raised her face and intently looked right at the Bhagavān. The Bhagavān asked Nanda, “Do you see this blind monkey?”
“Yes, I see her,” answered Nanda.
“What do you think?” asked the Bhagavān. “If you compare this blind monkey to Sundarikā, which one is more beautiful and exalted?”
“Sundarikā is a Śākya,” said Nanda. “She is like a young goddess. Her face is the best; she is peerless in the world. Therefore, if you compare her to this monkey, the monkey does not come close to being one-hundredth, one-thousandth, one-ten-thousandth, or one-hundred-thousandth of Sundarikā. Any number, fraction, calculation, example, or comparison would be inadequate.”
The Bhagavān asked, “Have you ever seen the heavenly palaces?”
“No, I haven’t seen them,” answered Nanda.
“Well then, grab the corner of my robe again.” Again Nanda grabbed the garment, and the Bhagavān rose up into the sky like the king of geese and went to the abode of the Thirty-Three Gods. The Bhagavān said, “Nanda, go and look at the heavenly palaces, which are exalted dwellings.” The venerable Nanda went to the pleasure groves of the gods such as Nandana Grove, Caitraratha Grove, Pāruṣyaka Grove, Miśrakā Grove, Pārijāta Grove, and Sudharmā Hall, and places of play and delight with flowers, fruit, ponds, and pools. When he had seen everything, he eventually entered the city Sudarśana. Elsewhere, pleasant sounds came forth from drums, lutes, and various types of stringed instruments. And here and there, he saw very beautiful young goddesses and gods nestled, playing together.
Nanda, after searching all over, saw that there were only young goddesses but no young gods in a certain palace, and he asked those young goddesses, “Why, in other places, do young goddesses and gods live together and experience pleasure, while in your case, only young goddesses live together, and young gods are not to be seen?”
Those young goddesses said, “There is a younger brother of the Bhagavān, Nanda, who went forth under the Bhagavān and intently and properly practices pure behavior. After he passes away, he will be reborn here. We will wait for him here.”
Nanda, having heard this, rejoiced and quickly hurried to where the Bhagavān was. The Bhagavān asked, “Did you see the exalted circumstances of the gods?”
“Yes, I saw them,” said Nanda.
The Bhagavān asked, “What circumstances did you see?”
Nanda told the Bhagavān in detail everything that he had seen.
The Bhagavān asked, “Did you see the young goddesses?”
“Yes, I saw them,” said Nanda.
The Bhagavān asked, “If you compare those young goddesses to Sundarikā, who is more physically beautiful and exalted?”
“Bhagavān,” replied Nanda, “if I compared Sundarikā with those young goddesses, it would be just like comparing the blind female monkey of Mount Gandhamādana to Sundarikā. She does not come close to being one-hundredth, one-thousandth, one-ten-thousandth, or one-hundred-thousandth as good as them, up to any comparison would be inadequate.”
The Bhagavān said, “Nanda, since you will have such exalted benefits if you properly practice pure behavior, you should now firmly practice pure behavior, and when you are reborn as a god, you will experience such pleasure.” Nanda heard what the Bhagavān said, rejoiced, and sat silently. Then the Bhagavān, together with the venerable Nanda, disappeared from the realm of the gods and went to the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, in Śrāvastī. The venerable Nanda then properly practiced pure behavior while thinking about the heavenly palaces.
The Bhagavān, knowing what Nanda was thinking, told the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, go tell the monks, ‘Do not sit on the same seat together with Nanda. Do not walk on the same path. Do not hang your robes on the same peg. Do not put your begging bowl and water vessel in the same place. Do not read sūtras aloud in the same place. Do not recite in the same place.’ ” The venerable Ānanda instructed the monks according to what the Bhagavān had told him, and the monks said, “We will do as the Noble One says.”
At that time, the venerable Nanda, seeing that the many monks had shunned him, felt very embarrassed and guilty. After that, on another occasion, the venerable Ānanda was sewing robes in the assembly hall together with the many monks. When Nanda saw this, he thought, “These many monks have shunned me and will not keep company with me. Since the venerable Ānanda is my brother, there is no way that he would show contempt for me.” Thinking in this way, he went to Ānanda and sat down next to him. Then Ānanda quickly got up and left.
Nanda said, “Ānanda, it is reasonable for the other monks to shun me, but if you are my brother, why do you shun me?”
“This may be true,” replied the venerable Ānanda, “but you are walking one path, and I am walking another path, so we should therefore avoid each other.”
“What is my path? What is your path?” asked Nanda.
Ānanda answered, “You practice pure behavior due to a desire for birth in heaven. I remove desires and defilements for the sake of seeking nirvāṇa.” Nanda heard what Ānanda said and became very unhappy and oppressed by sorrow.
Then the Bhagavān, knowing what he was thinking, asked the venerable Nanda, “Have you ever seen hell beings?”
“No, I haven’t,” answered Nanda.
The Bhagavān said, “Grab the corner of my robe.” Again, Nanda grabbed the garment, and the Bhagavān led him to the abodes of hell beings. The Bhagavān sat to one side and said to the venerable Nanda, “Go look at the hell beings!”
The venerable Nanda went accordingly, and first he saw the Vaitaraṇī River. Then he went successively to Sword-Leaf Forest, Excrement Swamp, and Pit of Burning Embers. He entered those places and, looking all around, saw the various sufferings the many beings there experienced. For some, tongues, teeth, and eyes were torn out with pliers. For some, the body was cut with a saw. For some, the arms and legs were cut off by an ax. Some were struck with weapons like spears, double-bladed battle axes, and rods. Some were smashed by iron hammers. For some, iron lumps were inserted into their mouths. Some climbed mountains that had thickets of swords and trees that had leaves of swords, were pounded with a pestle, were ground in a mill, were melted on a copper pillar, or remained on an iron bed. Thus, he saw them experience unbearable sufferings.
As for some, an iron cauldron, intensely glowing in the flames of fire, came to a boil, and in the intensely hot glow, Nanda saw beings experiencing suffering by being boiled. Furthermore, he saw an empty iron cauldron boiling, intensely glowing in the flames of fire and hot, without any beings. Very frightened, he asked the hell guard, “Hey, due to what causes and conditions are beings being boiled in the other iron cauldrons while only this iron cauldron boils empty?”
The guard answered, “Since the Bhagavān’s younger brother, Nanda, aspiring to be born as a god, one-pointedly and properly practices pure behavior, he will be born in the world of the gods and temporarily experience pleasure, but after he dies, he will enter this iron cauldron. Therefore, we’re staying here now, having lit a fire under the iron cauldron.”
Hearing this, Nanda was very afraid. His body hair stood on end, sweat poured from his body, and he thought, “If he knows that I am Nanda, he will throw me, alive, into the cauldron.” Thinking this, he quickly fled to where the Bhagavān was.
The Bhagavān asked, “Did you see hell beings?”
Nanda pathetically broke into tears. Crying and in a tenuous voice, as if he were tongue-tied, he said, “I have seen them.”
“What did you see?” asked the Bhagavān. Nanda told the Bhagavān in detail what he had seen.
The Bhagavān told him, “Properly practicing pure behavior because you aspire to be born as a human or strive for the world of the gods has that sort of flaw. Therefore, now, by thinking of seeking nirvāṇa, you must refrain from exerting yourself with delight in birth as a god as a result of practicing pure behavior.” When the venerable Nanda heard those words, he was speechless from shame.
Then the Bhagavān, knowing what Nanda was thinking, disappeared with him from the realm of the hell beings, and, after they returned to the Jetavana, he addressed the venerable Nanda and the monks: “There are three internal stains, namely, lust, hatred, and delusion. Since they should be abandoned, you should train, exerting yourself in thoroughly abandoning them.”
After staying at the Jetavana for a short time, the Bhagavān went together with the assembly of monks to the city of Campa in order to tame beings according to their conditions, and he stayed on the bank of Gargā’s Pond.
Later, the venerable Nanda, together with five hundred monks, went to the place where the Bhagavān was. They prostrated themselves at his feet and sat to one side. Then the Bhagavān, knowing that the monks were seated to one side, said to the venerable Nanda, “I have a Dharma discourse that is virtuous at the beginning, virtuous in the middle, virtuous at the end, excellent in meaning, excellent in words, unadulterated, perfect, pure, pristine, and conducive to pure behavior, that is, the Dharma discourse entitled Entry into the Womb. Listen very well and keep it in your mind. I shall teach it to you now.”
The venerable Nanda responded, “Yes, I wish to hear what the Bhagavān says.”
The Bhagavān said, “Nanda, even if there is a mother’s womb, it may be the case that one will enter into the womb, and it may also be the case that one will not enter. How will entry into a mother’s womb and then taking birth occur? If the father and the mother, both with thoughts of desire, have intercourse, if the mother’s womb is completely pure, if she is in her fertile period, and if the antarābhava appears, it is to be understood that then entry into the womb will occur.
“In this respect, the appearance of the antarābhava can be of two types: pleasant in color and attractive, or unpleasant in color and unattractive. The color of those in the intermediate existence of hell beings is unpleasant, like, for example, a burnt tree trunk. The color of those in the intermediate existence of animals is like smoke, for example. The color of those in the intermediate existence of pretas is like water, for example. The color of those in the intermediate existence of gods and humans is like gold, for example. The color of those in the intermediate existence of the form realm is white. There is no intermediate existence for the gods of the formless realm; this is because that realm is formless. Some antarābhava beings have two arms and two legs, some have four legs or many legs, and some do not have legs. Beings will produce an antarābhava, in accordance with previous karma, whose appearance corresponds to where they will be reborn.
“Antarābhavas that will be born as gods face upward. Antarābhavas that will be born as humans, animals, or pretas proceed facing horizontally. Antarābhavas that will be born as hell beings face downward.
“All antarābhavas, since they possess supernormal abilities, are able to travel through space and to see, as if with the divine eye, the place of their birth even from far away.
“ ‘In her fertile period’ is when the time has come for a woman’s fertile period. Nanda, there are some women who are in their fertile period after three days, after five days, after a fortnight, or after a month has elapsed. Some, depending on conditions, will again begin a fertile period after a long time has elapsed. As for women who have no physical strength, who experience much suffering, whose faces are unpleasant, and who eat and drink poor quality foods and beverages, their fertile period, when it arrives, quickly ends, just as dry earth, when it is sprinkled with water, quickly becomes dry again. As for women who have physical strength, who always experience pleasure, whose faces are pleasant, and who eat and drink good quality foods and beverages, their fertile period does not end quickly, just as moist earth, when it is sprinkled with water, does not quickly become dry again.
“How will entry into a mother’s womb not occur? If the father’s sexual fluid is emitted but the mother’s sexual fluid is not, or the mother’s sexual fluid is emitted but the father’s sexual fluid is not, or if neither of their sexual fluids is emitted, in all such cases there will be no conception. If the mother is impure but the father is pure, if the father is impure but the mother is pure, or if both are impure, there will also be no conception. If the mother’s womb is in the grip of wind disease; or if it is in the grip of bile or phlegm; or if, overwhelmed by blood, the womb is knotty; or if it is filled with flesh; or if the mother drinks medicine; or if the center is like barley; or if it is like an ant’s waist; or if the opening of the womb is like a camel’s mouth; or if the center is like a tree with many roots; or if the opening is like the beam of a plow; or if it is triangular, like the joint of a carriage; or if it is like a cane plant; or if it is as if barley awn has grown there; or if the womb is deep at the bottom; or if it is deep at the top; or it is unsuitable as a vessel; or if it is always bleeding; or if it discharges liquid; or if it is always open and cannot close, like a crow’s beak; or if the width or size at the top, bottom, or ends is uneven; or if its height is uneven or bumpy; or if it is damaged inside by worms; or if, putrefying, it has become unclean—if the mother has these kinds of defects, entry into the womb will never occur. If the parents’ lineage is noble and the antarābhava is inferior, or if the antarābhava’s lineage is noble and the parents are inferior, entry into the womb will not occur. Even if the lineages of the parents and the antarābhava are both noble, if their karma is not compatible, entry into the womb will not occur. If the antarābhava has neither existence as a male nor as a female with respect to what it sees before it, rebirth will not occur.
“Nanda, how does the antarābhava obtain entry into the mother’s womb? If the mother’s womb is clean, the antarābhava directly perceives the performance of the act of desire, there are none of the many defects mentioned earlier, and the parents and the child have the karma to encounter one another, the initial entry into the womb will occur. Furthermore, when the antarābhava enters the mother’s womb, it will have a distorted thought. If it is male, it will have desire for the mother and aversion for the father. If it is female, it will have desire for the father and aversion for the mother. Due to the force of action performed in the past, it will give rise to distorted thought due to an incorrect perception, namely, a perception of cold, or perceptions of a great wind arising, of a great rain falling, or of darkness; or it will give rise to the perception of hearing the clamorous sound of many people. Thereby, in accordance with the superior nature or inferior nature of its karma, ten incorrect perceptions may arise. What are the ten? It thinks, ‘I’m now entering a house.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now climbing to the top of a multistoried building.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a palace.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now ascending a throne.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a grass hut.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a hut of leaves.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a grass thicket.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering a forest.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now slipping into a hole in a wall.’ Or it thinks, ‘I’m now entering the spaces in a thatched hut.’ Nanda, at that time the antarābhava, thinking in that way, enters its mother’s womb.
“It should be understood that what takes rebirth is called kalala. It is the father’s semen and the mother’s blood. It is not another thing, but in dependence on the causes and conditions that are the mixture of the father’s semen and the mother’s blood, and on the condition that is consciousness, it is kept together.
“Just as butter comes into being in dependence upon curdled milk, a pot, a churning stick, and human effort, and does not come into being from anything else, the body of the kalala, which is formed from the unclean semen and blood of the parents, is to be understood in the same way.
“Nanda, there are four further analogies. Listen carefully. Just as when a worm is born in dependence upon green grass, the green grass is not the worm, and the worm does not exist separately from the green grass. However, due to the coming together of causes and conditions in dependence upon the grass, when the worm is born, the color of its body will also be green. Similarly, Nanda, the body of the kalala that consists of the father’s semen and the mother’s blood is also like this: it should be understood that the faculties that consist of the great elements arise from the coming together of causes and conditions.
“Just as when a worm is born in dependence upon cow dung, the cow dung is not the worm, and the worm does not exist separately from the cow dung. However, due to the coming together of causes and conditions in dependence upon the cow dung, when the worm is born, the color of its body will also be yellow. Similarly, Nanda, the body of the kalala that consists of the father’s semen and the mother’s blood is also like this: it should be understood that the faculties that consist of the great elements arise from the coming together of causes and conditions.
“Just as when a worm is born in dependence upon jujube, the jujube is not the worm, and the worm does not exist separately from the jujube. However, due to the coming together of causes and conditions in dependence upon jujube, when the worm is born, the color of its body will also be red. Similarly, Nanda, the body of the kalala that consists of the father’s semen and the mother’s blood is also like this: it should be understood that the faculties that consist of the great elements arise from the coming together of causes and conditions.
“Just as when a worm is born in dependence upon curdled milk, the color of its body will also be white (to be given in detail as above, up to) the faculties that consist of the great elements arise from the coming together of causes and conditions.
“Furthermore, Nanda, due to the kalala that depends on the unclean emissions of the father and mother, the presence of the earth element performs the function of solidity. The presence of the water element performs the function of fluidity. The presence of the fire element performs the function of heat. The presence of the wind element performs the functions of lightness and mobility. Nanda, if the body of the kalala that depends upon the unclean emissions of the father and mother has only the earth element and lacks the water element, it will dry up and be dispersed, as when one holds dry flour or dust and so forth in one’s hand. If it has only the water element and lacks the earth element, it will leak out, as when oil or water drains away. It is due to the water element that the earth element is not dispersed; it is due to the earth element that the water element does not leak out. Nanda, if the body of the kalala has the earth and water elements but lacks the fire element, it will putrefy, as when a lump of raw meat is put in the shade in the summer. Nanda, if the body of the kalala has only the earth, water, and fire elements but lacks the wind element, it will not grow and develop. Since all these are caused by previous karma, due to their mutual causation and conditioning, when consciousness arises, the earth element acts to support the kalala, the water element causes it to cohere, the fire element causes it to mature, and the wind element causes it to expand.
“Nanda, it is just as when a pastry maker or his apprentice cooks pastry properly and, by blowing, makes it grow and expand and become hollow inside, like the roots of a lotus. Similarly, it should be understood that the great elements of the interior of the body, the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind, also grow in the same way due to the force of karma.
“Nanda, the body of the kalala does not arise from the unclean emissions of the father and mother, or from the mother’s womb, or from karma, or from causes, or from conditions. Nonetheless, due to the coming together of these many causes and conditions, the embryo is produced. It is just as when a new seed is undamaged by the wind and sun, firm and endowed with a core, without any holes, and very well buried and planted in soft earth. If, due to moisture, the causes and conditions have come together, first the sprout, then the stalk, branches, leaves, flowers, and fruit, gradually appear and grow. Nanda, that seed, moreover, without the coming together of conditions, will not produce a sprout and so forth. Similarly, it should be understood that birth in the womb is not achieved through the father and mother alone, or karma alone, or another condition alone. Rather, the embryo is produced due to the coming together of the father’s sexual fluid, the mother’s blood, and causes and conditions.
“Nanda, a clear-eyed person, in order to acquire fire, might take a jeweled sunstone and place it in the sun. If they place it on top of dry cow dung, afterward, fire will arise. Similarly, it should be understood that the embryo is first produced in dependence upon the coming together of the father’s sexual fluid, the blood, and causes and conditions. The kalala that is produced from the unclean emissions of the father and mother is called rūpa. Vedanā, saṃjñā, saṃskāra, and vijñāna are called nāma. Together they are called nāmarūpa.
“As for the skandhas of nāma and rūpa that take birth in the contemptible types of existence, I do not praise this even a little bit, not even for a moment. Why? Being born in any type of existence is great suffering. Even a small amount of vomit stinks. Similarly, it should be known that being born in any type of existence, even briefly, is suffering. These five upādānaskandhas—rūpa, vedanā, saṃjñā, saṃskāra, and vijñāna—all have birth, persistence, growth, decline, and perishing. Birth is suffering. Persistence is illness. Growth, decline, and perishing are aging and death. Therefore, Nanda, what wise person would cultivate a taste for existence in this sea of saṃsāra and, lying in the mother’s womb, experience such unbearable suffering?
“Furthermore, Nanda, it should be understood that the calculation for those who have entered the womb is, in brief, thirty-eight weeks.
“In the first week, lying in its first abode, the unclean womb of the mother, as if boiling and frying in a very hot pot, the body faculty and the consciousness that together experience unbearable suffering are called the kalala. Its form is like the water in which rice is boiled or like the scum of yogurt, and it boils inside for seven days. When it is well cooked, the earth element, solidity; the water element, fluidity; the fire element, heat; and the wind element, lightness and mobility, begin to manifest.
“Nanda, in the second week, in the unclean abode of its mother’s womb, when the body faculty and the consciousness together experience unbearable suffering, as if boiling and frying in a pot, a wind called all-touching arises spontaneously within the mother’s womb due to previous karma and touches the embryo. It is then called arbuda. Its form is like thick curds or hardened butter, and it boils inside for seven days. When it is well cooked, the four elements are manifest.
“Nanda, in the third week, it is again as previously stated in detail. A wind called treasury opening arises within the mother’s womb due to previous karma and touches the embryo. It is then called peśī. Its form is like this: it is like an iron rod or an intestinal worm, and it again boils for seven days. When it is well cooked, the four elements are manifest.
“Nanda, in the fourth week, it is again as previously stated in detail. A wind called internal differentiation arises within the mother’s womb due to previous karma. It blows on the blazing tormentor lodged in the womb. It is then called ghana. Its form is like a whetstone or a grindstone. From ‘for seven days’ until ‘the four elements are manifest’ is the same as before.
“Nanda, in the fifth week, it is again as previously stated in detail. A wind called collecting arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes five features to materialize, namely, the features of the two shoulders, the two thighs, and the head. Just as when the summer rains fall, the branches and leaves on trees and in thickets thrive and grow, in the same way the five features are made to appear.
“Nanda, in the sixth week, a wind called vast arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes four features to arise, namely, the two forearms and the two shanks. Just as when the summer rains fall, grasses and tree branches grow, in the same way the four features are made to appear.
“Nanda, in the seventh week, a wind called twister arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes four features to arise, namely, the two palms of the hands and the two soles of the feet. It has those four features, which are just like a mass of bubbles or śaivala.
“Nanda, in the eighth week, a wind called reversing and turning arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes twenty features to begin to appear, namely, the features of the ten digits of the feet and of the hands. It is just as the roots of trees first grow when the summer rains fall.
“Nanda, in the ninth week, a wind called separating arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the embryo, it causes nine features to appear, namely, the features of the two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, the mouth, and the two holes for excrement and urine.
“Nanda, in the tenth week, a wind called making firm arises within the mother’s womb. That wind makes the embryo firm and stable. In the same week, yet another wind, called arising from all directions, arises within the mother’s womb. That wind, by blowing on the embryo, makes it expand. It is like the way a leather bag expands when blown into. [B2]
“Nanda, in the eleventh week, a wind called appearance of holes arises within the mother’s womb. When that wind touches the fetus and creates a cavity, nine holes appear. If the mother walks, or stands, or sits, or lies down, or acts, at that time the turning of that wind, where there is a cavity, gradually enlarges the holes. If the wind goes upward, it produces the upper holes. If it goes downward, it produces the lower holes. Just as when a blacksmith or his apprentice blows with a bellows, in the same way, moving upward or downward, the wind performs its function and then ceases.
“Nanda, in the twelfth week, a wind called crooked opening arises within the mother’s womb. That wind, by blowing on the fetus, establishes the small intestines and the large intestines, which are the entrails on both the left and right. Just like the roots of the lotus, they adhere to the body and stay together. In that same week, furthermore, a wind called fastened hair arises. Inside the fetus, it produces one hundred thirty joints, neither too few nor too many. Furthermore, the force of that wind creates one hundred one vital points in the body.
“Nanda, in the thirteenth week, the force of the same wind as before causes the fetus to feel hunger and thirst, and all the nutrients of what the mother eats and drinks enter at the navel and benefit its body.
“Nanda, in the fourteenth week, a wind called thread mouth arises within the mother’s womb. That wind produces one thousand ligaments in the fetus. Two hundred and fifty are in the front of the body. Two hundred and fifty are in the back of the body. Two hundred and fifty are on the right side of the body. Two hundred and fifty are on the left side of the body.
“Nanda, in the fifteenth week, a wind called lotus arises within the mother’s womb. It produces twenty types of channels in the body of the fetus, and they absorb constituent fluids. There are five at the front of the body, five at the back of the body, five on the right side of the body, and five on the left side of the body. Those channels also have various names and various colors. Their names are companion, strength, stability, and powerful. The colors are blue, yellow, red, and white, and there are channels that are the color of lentils, butter, oil, curds, and so forth. Furthermore, there are those that are a mixture of many colors. Nanda, since those twenty channels have forty branches each, altogether there are eight hundred channels that draw in breath. The front and back and left and right sides of the body have another two hundred each. Nanda, since those eight hundred also have one hundred interconnected branch channels each, there are altogether eighty thousand channels. There are twenty thousand at the front of the body. There are twenty thousand at the back of the body. There are twenty thousand on the right side of the body. There are twenty thousand on the left side. Nanda, those eighty thousand channels have many holes, from one or two to seven holes. Each of those also have pores to which they are mutually connected. It is similar to the way lotus roots have many holes.
“Nanda, in the sixteenth week, a wind called nectar flows arises. With the contact of that wind, the fetus’s two eyes, the two ears, the two nostrils, the mouth, the throat aperture, the area around the heart, and the repository for food and drink and what is chewed and what is tasted are put in place, and it removes obstructions to the inhalation and exhalation of breath. Just as a potter or his apprentice takes a lump of clay, puts it on a wheel, and sculpts it in various shapes into the form of whatever vessel he pleases, in the same way, the force of the karmic wind arranges the eyes and so forth as it pleases, and removes obstructions to the inhalation and exhalation of breath.
“Nanda, in the seventeenth week, a wind called yak face arises within the mother’s womb. That wind completely cleanses the fetus’s eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, and throat, around the heart, and the repository for food, and removes obstructions to the inhalation and exhalation of breath. Just as a skillful boy or girl takes a mirror covered with dust, wipes it clean with oil or ashes or finely powdered earth, and it becomes clear, in the same way, the force of the karmic wind arranges the sense organs and removes obstructions.
“Nanda, in the eighteenth week, a wind called undefiled arises within the mother’s womb. That wind completely purifies the six sense organs of the fetus. If the disks of the sun and the moon are covered by a large cloud, and a strong wind arises and blows, dispersing it in the four directions, the sun and moon become bright and totally pure. It should be understood that in the same way, Nanda, the force of that karmic wind completely purifies the six sense organs of the fetus.
“Nanda, in the nineteenth week, four of the faculties of the fetus, namely, the faculties of the eye, ear, nose, and tongue, are fully established. Initially, at the time of entry into the womb, three faculties are first obtained, namely, the faculty of the body, the life faculty, and the mental faculty.
“Nanda, in the twentieth week, a wind called very stable arises within the mother’s womb. That wind produces twenty toe bones in the left foot of the fetus. It produces twenty bones in the right foot, four heel bones, two calf bones, two kneecaps, two thigh bones, three waist bones, three ankle bones, eighteen bones of the spine, and twenty-four ribs. In addition, it produces twenty finger bones in the left hand and twenty finger bones in the right hand. It produces four forearm bones, two shoulder bones, seven chest bones, seven shoulder bones, four neck bones, two jaw bones, thirty-two teeth bones, and four head bones. Nanda, just as a sculptor or a sculptor’s skilled apprentice first makes a figure from hard wood, and then, having bound it with cord, smears it with clay and produces a statue, in the same way, it should be seen that the force of that karmic wind arranges the bones. Thus, Nanda, it should be understood that the number of large bones that arise in the twentieth week, not including the tiny bones, is two hundred.
“Nanda, in the twenty-first week, a wind called proper production arises within the mother’s womb and produces flesh on the body of the fetus. Just as a plasterer or a plasterer’s apprentice, having prepared the mud well, plasters the side of a wall, in the same way it should be seen that that karmic wind produces flesh.
“Nanda, in the twenty-second week, a wind called completely victorious arises within the mother’s womb. That wind produces the blood of the fetus.
“Nanda, in the twenty-third week, a wind called holding cleanly arises within the mother’s womb. That wind produces the skin of the fetus.