V : The To-the-Far-Shore Chapter  (Pārāyana Vagga)

As soon as he had entered there,

another brahman came along:

thirsty, with

scratched feet,

dirty teeth,

dusty head.

On arrival, he asked Bāvarī

for five hundred [pieces of money].

Bāvarī, on seeing him, invited him to sit down,

asked after what is pleasant & skillful,

and said these words:

“Whatever of mine

that could be given away,

I have disposed of entirely.

Forgive me, brahman,

I don’t have five hundred.”

“If you don’t hand over

to me when I ask,

within seven days,

may your head split

into seven pieces.”

Dissembling, the imposter

proclaimed threats.

Hearing his words,

Bāvarī was distressed.

He wasted away, taking no food,

afflicted with the arrow of grief,

and, with his mind this way,

his heart found no delight in jhāna.

Seeing him nervous & distressed,

a devatā wishing his welfare,

approached Bāvarī

and said these words:

“That imposter, wanting money,

doesn’t discern heads;

has no knowledge of heads

or the splitting of heads.”

Bāvarī:

“You, sir, surely know.

Explain to me when asked:

heads & the splitting of heads.

I will listen to your words.”

The devatā:

“I too don’t know that.

I don’t have that knowledge.

Heads & the splitting of heads:

That is surely the insight of Victors.”

Bāvarī:

“Then who knows surely

in this circle of the earth,

heads & the splitting of heads?

Explain that to me, devatā.”

The devatā:

“Gone forth from the city of Kapilavatthu,

the chief of the world,

a descendant of King Okkāka,

a Sakyan-son, a bringer of light:

He, brahman, is Rightly Self-Awakened,

gone to the far shore of all

dhammas;

attainer of all

direct knowledges & strengths,

one with an Eye that sees all

dhammas;

attainer of the end of all

action,

released in the ending of acquisitions.

He, the One with Eyes,

awakened, blessed,

teaches the Dhamma.

Going to him, you ask him.

He will answer you.”

Hearing the word “Self-Awakened,”

Bāvarī was exultant.

His grief subsided,

and he gained abundant rapture.

So Bāvarī, gratified, exultant,

excited, asked the devatā:

“In which village or town,

or in which country

is the protector of the world?

Going where can we pay homage

to the Self-Awakened One,

supreme among two-footed beings?”

The devatā:

“In Sāvatthī, the Kosalan city,

is the Victor of vast discernment,

of foremost deep intelligence.

He, a matchless Sakyan-son,

effluent-free, a bull among men,

is an expert in the splitting of heads.”

Then Bāvarī addressed his students,

brahmans who had mastered the mantras,

“Come, students, I will explain.

Listen to my words.

He whose appearance in the world

is hard often to gain,

has today arisen          in the world,

renowned as Self-Awakened.

Going quickly to Sāvatthī,

see the one supreme

among two-footed beings.”

The students:

“But how, brahman, on seeing him,

will we know for sure

that he’s the One Self-Awakened?

Tell us, who don’t know,

how we will know him.”

Bāvarī:

“There have come down in the mantras

the marks of a Great Man.

Thirty-two are described in all,

step by step.

One in whose body

are the marks of a Great Man

has two destinations.

There isn’t a third.

If he dwells in a home,

he will conquer this world

—without rod, without sword,

but with righteousness—

he will rule.

But if he goes forth

from home into homelessness,

with his roof opened up,2

he will be      Self-Awakened,

a worthy one     unexcelled.

Ask just in your heart

about my caste & clan,

mantras, other students,

and about heads

& the splitting of heads.

If he is awakened,

seeing without obstruction,

he will answer     in speech

the questions asked     in your heart.”

Having heard Bāvarī’s words,

sixteen brahman students—

Ajita, Tissa-metteyya,

Puṇṇaka & Mettagū,

Dhotaka & Upasīva,

Nanda & Hemaka,

Todeyya & Kappa,

the wise Jatukaṇṇin,

Bhadrāvudha & Udaya,

Posāla the brahman,

Mogharāja the intelligent,

and Piṅgiya the great seer—

all          with their own groups,

famed in          all

the world,

endowed          with jhāna,

delighting          in jhāna,

enlightened,

perfume          with perfumes3

from previous lives,

having bowed down to Bāvarī

and performed circumambulation,

left, setting out for the North,

wearing coiled hair & deer-skins:

first to the establishment of Muḷaka,

then to Māhissatī, Ujjenī, Gonaddhā,

Vedisā, Vanasa,

to Kosambī & Sāketa,

to Sāvatthī, the supreme city,

to Setabya, Kapilavatthu,

the city of Kusinārā,

to Pāva, Bhoganagara,

to Vesālī, the city of the Magadhans,

and then to the Pāsāṇaka shrine,

refreshing & lovely.

Like a thirsty man     for cool water,

like a merchant     for a great profit,

like one burning from heat

for shade,

quickly they climbed the mountain.

And at that time, the Blessed One,

surrounded by the Saṅgha of monks,

was teaching the monks the Dhamma,

like a lion roaring in the forest.

Ajita saw the Self-Awakened One,

like the sun with radiance in beams,4

like the moon come to fullness

on the fifteenth day.

Then, seeing the marks

complete in his body,

he stood to one side, overjoyed,

and in his heart asked the questions:

“Speak concerning his birth,

speak of his clan & marks,

speak of his perfection in the mantras,

and how many brahmans

does he teach?”

The Buddha:

“His age is one hundred & twenty,

and by clan, he is a Bāvarī.

Three are the marks in his body,

three the Vedas he’s mastered.

In the marks & oral traditions,

etymologies & rituals,

he teaches five hundred.

In his own doctrine

he has reached perfection.”

Ajita:

“Proclaim them in detail—

Bāvarī’s marks—

O man supreme,

cutter of craving,

don’t leave us in doubt.”

The Buddha:

“He can hide his face with his tongue,

he has a tuft of hair between his brows,

his male organ is in a sheath:

Know this, young brahman.”

Not hearing anything asked,

but hearing the questions answered,

all the people, excited,

with hands palm-to-palm over their hearts,

thought:

“What deva or Brahmā,

or Inda Sujampati5

asked those questions in his heart?

To whom did he [the Buddha] reply?”

Ajita:

“Bāvarī asked about heads

and the splitting of heads.

Explain that, Blessed One.

Subdue our doubt, seer.”

The Buddha:

“Know the head to be ignorance,

and the splitting of the head, knowledge

connected with conviction,

mindfulness, concentration,

desire, & persistence.”

Then, with great joy,

the young brahman,

putting himself in order,

arranging his deer-skin over one shoulder,

fell with his head at the Blessed One’s feet:

“Master, One with Eyes,

Bāvarī the brahman,

together with his students, dear sir—

exultant in mind, happy at heart—

venerate your feet.”

The Buddha:

“May he be happy,

Bāvarī the brahman,

together with his students.

And may you, too, be happy,

young brahman,

and live a long time.

All doubts—

Bāvarī’s

and all of yours:

Ask, now that I’ve given leave,

whatever you wish in your heart.”

Given leave by the Self-Awakened One,

having sat to one side, hands palm-to-palm

over his heart,

Ajita there addressed the first question

to the Tathāgata.