Commentary on the stanza on future danger (āyati-bhaya)

105. What is the origin of the stanza, beginning with Evamdutiyana? It is said that a certain king of Benares, being desirous of becoming a monk while still young, gave orders to his ministers thus: “Take the queen and rule my kingdom; I shall renounce the world and become a recluse”. The ministers made this suggestion:- “O great king! It is not possible for us to look after a kingless kingdom; surrounding kings would come and plunder;until just one son springs up, till then, please wait.” The soft-hearted king consented. Later, the queen became pregnant. The king again gave orders to the ministers: “The queen is with pregnancy; anoint my son when born and look after my kingdom, I shall abdicate and become monk”. The ministers made suggestion to the king again also thus:- “O great king! It is difficult to know this: whether the queen would give birth to a son or a daughter; please wait till her delivery”. Then she gave birth to a son. At that time also, the king gave orders to his ministers in the self-same way as before. The ministers also, again made suggestion to the king with many reasons thus: “O great king! Please wait till your son becomes sufficiently strong”. Thereafter when the young prince became sufficiently strong, the king made the ministers assemble together, ordered them saying: “This one is now sufficiently strong, anoint him king and look after my kingdom”, did not give the opportunity to the ministers, had all monk's requisites as well as yellow robes and so on brought from the market, became a monk in his very palace renounced the world like king Mahājanaka and went away. All his surrounding retinue ran after the king wailing and weeping indifferent ways. That king went as far as the boundary of his kingdom, drew a lone with his walking stick, and said: “This line must not be crossed over”. The large mass of people lay themselves down on the ground wailing and weeping, keeping their heads towards the line, and requested the prince to go beyond the line saying “Dear prince! Now, what is the king's order going to do to you?” The prince ran after, saying: “Father, father” and arrived at the king. The king saw the prince, said the himself: “I had ruled over my kingdom looking after this big mass of men; now, why should I not be able to look after one single boy?”, took the prince, entered the forest, saw there the leaf-hut, lived by previous silent buddhas, and took up his residence together with his son.

105.1. Subsequently, the prince, being used to excellent bed, etc., wept when he had to sleep on rope-couch. When afflicted with cold wind and so on, he would say: “It is cold, Father!; it is hot, Father! mosquitoes bite me, Father! I am hungry; Father! I am thirsty”. The king let him pass the night by simply conciliating him. In the day time also, his father went about to collect alms-food and offered him meal. The prince, eating that mixed meal covered with much millet, beans and kidney beans, etc., by way of satisfying his hunger, with the lapse of a few days, became faded like a lotus flower exposed to heat. The king, however, ate unchanged due to the strength of his reflective discrimination (paṭisaṅkhāha). Thereafter, in order to appease the prince, his father said: “Dear son! In the city excellent nourishment could be obtained;let us go there”. The prince responded saying “Yes, father!” Subsequently the father turned back by the road he had come, making his son go in front of him. The queen, mother of the prince thought thus: “Now, the king, having taken away the prince, will not stay long in the forest; he will return in but a few days”, had a fence made at the very spot where a line was drawn by the king with his walking stick and made her residence there. The king stood not far from her fence and sent his son there saying: “Dear Son! Your mother is lying here; you should go”. The king stood looking on until his son reached that place with the idea that no one harassed him, indeed, in any way. The prince went running to the presence of his mother.

105.2. The watchman, seeing the prince coming, informed the queen. The queen, surrounded by twenty thousand dancing damsels went forward to meet him and received him. She enquired him also the whereabouts of the king. Having heard that the king was coming from behind her son, the queen sent her men. The king, on the other hand, then and there, went back to his own residence. People who came to look for the king, not seeing him, receded. Thereafter, the queen gave up her hope, took her son, went back to her city and crowned him king. The king on the other hand sat himself down in his residential place, developed spiritual insight, attained silent buddhahood, and recited this stanza of joyous utterance in the midst of silent buddha at the foot of the fragrant Mañjūsaka tree. That stanza is but clear from the point of view of meaning.

105.3. This, however, is the import here --- Thus, all alone, with the report made by my companion prince on his cold, heat and so on, in appearing him, because he was living together with me, there was to me vācābhilāpo (idle words of objectionable speech); or I became abhisajjanāvā (ill tempered due to my affection for him). If I did not discard this one, as a consequence, it would be likewise, in future also, similar to now. Evam dutivena saha manassa vācābhilāpo abhisajjanāvā, in this way there may be my words of objectionable speech (or curse) should I be together with a companion. Saying thus: “Both of these also are harm-markers of distinctive achievement”, accordingly etam bhayam āyatim pekkhamāno (seeing this danger in future) discarded it, regulated my life wisely and thus, I achieved the silent buddhahood. The rest is but in the manner said already.

The Commentary on the stanza, beginning with āyatibhaya (future danger) has ended.