(T25.87c27-88c27 [f.4])

Question: How does one fulfill daanapaaramitaa (the perfection
of giving)?

Reply: One is able to give everything without reservation even
to the point that when one gives of one's body one's mind has no
regrets. It is like the case of King Shibi who gave his body for the
sake of pigeon. In a former life, Shakyamuni Buddhi was a king who was
named Shibi. This king had gotten the dhaara.nii of dedicating his life
to rescuing and protection. He possessed a mind of kindness and
compassion which he invested with great vigor. He looked upon all
beings as a mother loves her child.

At that time the world had no Buddha. The life of
Shakradevendra was coming to an end and he was about to fall. He
thought to himself, "Where is there a Buddha, an omniscient man?" He
posed difficult questions everywhere and was unable to cut off his
doubts. Realizing that none of them were buddhas he returned to the
heavens and sat down in a state of worry and distress. The god
Vishvakarman who was a master of clever transformations asked him, "Why
is the Lord of Heaven worried and distressed?"

He replied, "I have been seeking after an omniscient man and
have been unable to find one. It is because of this that I am worried
and distressed."

Vishvakarman said, "There is a great bodhisattva who is perfect
in giving, upholding the precepts, dhyaanasamaadhi, and wisdom. It
will not be long..He will become a Buddha."

Shakra replied in verse:

Bodhisattvas who have brought forth the great thought,
Eggs of fish, and blossoms of the mangoe,-
These three things are initially numerous,
[But] at the time of fruition are especially rare.

Vishvakarman responded, "King Shibi of the Yu- shih- na clan
upholds the precepts, is vigorous, is greatly kind, greatly
compassionate, [and is possessed of] dhyaana samaadhi and wisdom and
shall before long become a buddha."

Shakradevendra said to Vishvakarman, "We ought to go and test
him. We shall know then whether or not he has the characteristics of a
bodhisattva. You should change into a pigeon and I shall change into a
falcon. Then you pretend to be frightened and fly into the armpit of
the king. I'm going to pursue you."

Vishvakarman said, "Why should we aggravate this great
bodhisattva with this matter?"

Shakradevendra uttered a verse:

For my part I'm not of evil mind.
Just as with true gold, one ought to test it..
By this we shall test the bodhisattva
And know if his mind is resolute or not.

After he spoke this verse Vishvakarman then changed his body
into that of a red- eyed, red- footed pigeon. Shakradevendra changed
his body into that of a falcon which flew swiftly in pursuit of the
pigeon. The pigeon straightaway came and flew into the armpit of the
king. His entire body quivered in fright, his eyes moved about
[anxiously] and let out cries of distress.

At this time many people
Gathered together and said,
"This king is greatly kind and humane.
Everyone rightfully testifies to his believability.

Just as this pigeon, a little bird
Takes refuge in him as if entering his [own] abode
The characteristics of the bodhisattva are just like this
It will certainly not be long before he becomes a buddha.

At this time the falcon was in a nearby tree. It said to King
Shibi, "Give me back my pigeon. It belongs to me."

The King said to the falcon, "I took it in first. It's not the
case that it belongs to you. When I first brought forth the resolve [to
realize buddhahood], I [vowed to] take in all of these beings and wish
to deliver them all."

The falcon said, "The king desires to bring deliverance to all
beings. Isn't it the case that I'm included in all? How is it that I
alone do not experience your pity so that you then take away my meal for
today?"

The king replied, "What food do you require? I have made a vow
that whatsoever being comes and takes refuge with me, I shall certainly
rescue and protect it. Whatever food you require shall also be provided
to you."

The falcon said, "I require freshly- killed warm flesh."

The king thought to himself, "It's difficult to obtain something
like this. Unless one kills a being oneself there is no source from
which to obtain it. How could I kill one and give it to another? After
thinking like this his mind became fixed and he then spoke a verse to
himself:

This, the flesh of this body of mine
Ever belongs to ageing, sickness and death.
Before long it shall grow foul and rot.
He requires it. [Therefore] I shall give it.

After he had thought like this he called a person to bring a
knife and then he cut flesh from his own thigh and gave it to the
falcon. The falcon said to the king, "Although the king has given me
warm flesh, he should be principled in doing so, thereby making sure
that the weight of the flesh is equal to that of the pigeon. Don't
countenance cheating!"

The king said, "Bring some scales and balance this flesh against
the pigeon. The pigeon became heavier and the king's flesh became
lighter. The king ordered someone to carve the flesh from the other
thigh but it was still too light and [hence] not sufficient. Then they
successively carved the flesh [extending down to] his two feet, up to
his his two hips, from both sides of his chest, from his neck and from
along his spine. All of the flesh from his entire body was gone. The
body of the pigeon was still heavier. Just as before the flesh of the
king was lighter.

At this time the close officials and near relatives set up a
curtain and sent away everyone who was watching, [saying], "With the
King in his present state, no one could bear to look upon him. King
Shibi said, "Don't block off the people. Allow them to enter and see."
He then spoke a verse:

The gods, men and asuras
All [may] come and look at me.
[With] the great mind and unsurpassed determination
Thereby one seeks the realization of the buddha Way.

If one seeks the way of the buddha
He should endure this great suffering.
If one is unable to make his mind solid
Then he will lose his determination.

At this time the bodhisattva with blood smeared hands grasped at
the scales, wishing to climb upon it. He fixed his mind upon using his
entire body to balance against the pigeon.

The falcon said, "Great king, this matter is going to be
difficult to manage. What's the use [in going about it] like this.
Give the pigeon back to me."

The king said, "The pigeon came and sought refuge with me. I'll
never give it to you. I've lost an innumerable number of bodies without
providing any benefit to beings. Now I wish to employ my body in
seeking to ease the way to buddhahood." He grasped at the scales with
his hands. At that time the bodhisattva's flesh was gone and his sinews
were cut and he was unable to control his movement. He wished to rise up
but fell back, thinking to himself self- critically, "You should make
yourself strong. Don't allow yourself to become confused and depressed.
All beings have fallen into the great seas of of distress and anguish.
You, one man, have made a vow, whereby you desire to cross over them
all. How can you allow yourself to lazily indulge in depression? This
suffering is very slight. The suffering of the hells is greater.. If
you compare this to it, this still doesn't equal that of even one of the
sixteen divisions [of hell]. I now have wisdom, vigor, the upholding of
precepts, and dhyaanasamaadhi, [and yet] I still am beset with this
suffering. How much the more so is it the case with people in hell who
have no wisdom."

At this time the bodhisattva singlemindedly desired to rise up
and again grasped at the scales. He asked people, "Support me." At
this time the bodhisattva mind was fixed and devoid of regret. All of
the gods, dragon kings, asuras, ghosts, spirits, and the ordinary people
greatly praised him, saying, "For the sake of a single small bird he is
like this. This matter is rare. At that time the great earth quaked in
six ways. The waves of the great sea churned up and withered trees
brought forth flowers. The heavens let fall scented rain and then
scattered rare blossoms. The heavenly maidens sang praises, "He will
certainly achieve the realization of buddhahood."

At this time the spirits and r.sis from the four directions all
came and praised him saying, "He is a true bodhisattva. He will
certainly soon realize buddhahood."

The falcon said to the pigeon, "Finally, when tested [even] like
this he has not spared his body or life. He is a true bodhisattva. He
then spoke forth a verse:

Produced from the soil of kindness and compassion
[He is] a sprout of the tree of omniscience.
We should make offerings to him
And should not give him distress and affliction.

Vishvakarman said to Shakradevendra, "Lord of Heaven, you have
the spiritual power. You can cause the body of this king to return to
normal."

Shakradevendra said, "He has no need of me. This king has made
a vow to himself with the joyfulness of the great mind that he will not
spare his body or life in inspiring everyone and causing them to seek
the buddha way."

Shakra said to the people's king, "With the bitter suffering of
having your flesh carved away, didn't your mind become afflicted and
sink into [discouragement]?"

The king said, "My mind was joyful. It was neither afflicted
nor sunken."

Shakra said, "Who could believe that your mind did not sink
[into discouragement]?"

At this time the bodhisattva made a "vow of truth", saying, "If
while my flesh was carved away and my blood flowed forth I was neither
angry nor afflicted, and if I was singleminded and undiscouraged in
seeking the buddha way, my body ought to immediately return to normal
just as before." Immediately upon his having uttered these words his
body became again just as it had been originally.

When the men and gods witnessed this they all experienced a great
compassionate joy and exclaimed at [the occurrence] of what had never
been before, declaring, "This great bodhisattva shall certainly become a
buddha. We should make contribute support to him with all our hearts
and pray that he will soon be caused to realize the buddha way and that
he will remember us [in the future]." At this time Shakradevendra and
Vishvakarman each returned to the heavens. All manner of
characteristics such as these exemplify fulfillment of the daanapaaramitaa.

Sutasoma's Dedication to Truth
(T25.88c27-89b11 [fasc.4])
Question: What is meant by the fulfillment of shiilapaaramitaa (The
perfection of moral virtue)?

Response: It consists in not even sparing one's own life in guarding
and upholding the precepts of purity. A case in point is that of King
Sutasoma who, on account of the Great King Kalmaa.sapaada, went so far
as to give up his life to avoid transgressing the prohibitions.

In the past there was a king named Sutasoma. This king was assiduous in
his upholding of the precepts and so always resorted to truth in speech.
One morning he got into his carriage and, taking along his courtesans,
set out to the gardens to roam about and enjoy himself. As he was
leaving the city gates he came upon a brahman who having come to request
alms, said to the King, "The King is a great man endowed with many
blessings whereas I am but a pauper. May it be that I receive
compassionate consideration and a measure of offering in response to
this entreaty."

The King replied, "I'll consent to this. I respect the dictates of the
Tathaagata that one should engage in giving. But it must wait until I
return from this excursion."

Having said this he went on into the gardens where he bathed and enjoyed
himself. Then, a two-winged king named Kalmaa.sapaada [*] flew down
from the sky, plucked up the King from amidst his courtesans and flew
off with him. It was just like when the golden-winged [garu.da] bird
scoops up dragons from the sea. All of the women wept and wailed.
Everyone in the gardens was in shock and everywhere inside and outside
the city walls the people were in a commotion of grief and agitation.
Kalmaa.sapaada carried off the King, soared high up into the sky and
then flew away to the mountain where he dwelt.[**] There he kept the
King together with ninety-nine other kings.

The tears of Sutasoma flowed down like raindrops. King Kalmaa.sapaada
inquired of him, "Oh great King of K.satriyan lineage,- Why is it that
you cry like an infant? When a man is born he is bound to die.
Whosoever comes together must eventually separate."

King Sutasoma replied, "I do not fear dying. I only regret the breach
of trust. Even from the time I was born I have never uttered a
falsehood. But when I was going out the gates this morning there was a
brahman who had come to request alms from me. At that time I consented
and told him that on my return I would bestow some benefaction on him.
I never considered the fact of impermanence. If I fail in my obligation
to him I shall naturally become guilty of deception. It is solely for
this reason that I weep."

King Kalmaa.apaada said, "If in your mind you are so fearful of having
uttered this falsehood, I will allow you to return. Having then made
offerings to the brahman, you must then return within seven days. If
after seven days you have still not returned, then, as I still possess
the power of these two wings, it won't be difficult to seize you."

King Sutasoma was able to return to his native state where he was able
to freely make offerings. He established the Prince as the King. At a
great assembly of the citizenry he apologetically took leave of them,
saying, "As my wisdom does not extend to all things, there are ways in
which my rule has not accorded with Dharma. May we [nonetheless] enjoy
your loyalty and forgiveness. Now, in accordance with the fact that my
person is no longer my own, it is only right that I return
straightaway."

All of the citizens of the country and the relatives of the King bowed
down and beseeched him to remain, pleading, "We pray that we may remain
in the King's thoughts and that he will continue to offer this country
the shade of his loving kindness. Don't make that Kalmaa.sapaada, a
king among ghosts, the basis of your considerations. We will raise up
an iron fortress and mount a surprise attack. Although Kalmaa.sapaada
may have supernatural powers, we need not fear him."

The King replied, "We cannot proceed in such a fashion." And then he
uttered a verse, saying:

Truth in speech is the first among the precepts.
Truth in speech is the ladder to the heavens.
Truth in speech is minor yet major.[***]
False speech is the means for entering the hells.
Now I in maintaining truth in speech.
Would rather cast aside my body and life.
In my thoughts there are no regrets at all.

Having pondered the matter in this fashion the King immediately set out
to the abode of King Kalmaa.sapaada. When Kalmaa.sapaada saw him in the
distance he was delighted and said, "You are a man of true words. You
do not fail in the essential of trustworthiness. Everyone cherishes his
own life. Although you had been liberated from certain death you have
come back again to attend to the matter of trustworthiness. You are a
great man.

At that time King Sutasoma spoke in praise of truth in speech, saying,
"Truth in speech. This is what makes a man. As for one who utters
words which are untrue, he is not a man." In this fashion, he spoke all
manner of praises of truth and criticisms of falsehood.

As Kalmaa.sapaada listened to this, thoughts of faithfulness became
purified in him, whereupon he said to King Sutasoma, "You have spoken
well about this. I am now releasing you and since you have gained your
freedom, I am releasing the other ninety-nine kings as a gift to you.
If you wish, they may each go back to their home country." After he had
said this, all one hundred kings were able to return. All manner of
characteristics such as these which are described in the Jaataka
describe what constitutes the paaramitaa of Shiila (The perfection of
moral virtue).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End Notes:
[*] The Chinese frequently renders Kalma.sapaada as "Deer Foot", which,
for consistency, I have reconstructed throughout. [Text]

[**] An alternate reading shared by six other versions. "...flew away
to his abode where they stopped" was set aside as a probable scribal
error mistaking a very similar character. [Text]

[***] An alternate reading of this line shared by four versions reads,
"Truth in speech makes the great man." [Text]