Once upon a time, in the land of Śrāvastī in India, there were five hundred bandits. King Prasenajit captured them all and imposed a severe punishment. Their eyes were gouged out, and their hands and feet were cut off. Then they were abandoned at the foot of Mount Kōzen.
The bandits thought:
“We have no eyes, no hands, no feet—yet we are still alive. The suffering of hunger is unbearable. How can we obtain food?”
One of them lamented:
“We five hundred have now become less than human, like broken vessels. In this life we are crippled and suffer endlessly. In the next life, we will surely fall into the three evil realms—hell, hungry ghosts, or beasts.
If we had feet, we could go to the Buddha and seek salvation.
If we had hands, we could join them in prayer.
If we had eyes, we could behold the Buddha.
But we have none of these.
In this life and the next, we can only continue to suffer in vain.”
As they all grieved, one bandit came to a realization and said:
“It is said that the Buddha appeared in this world to remove the suffering of all beings and save them. Let us all together chant his name and pray, ‘Please save us from suffering.’”
Another replied:
“When we had eyes and could move our limbs freely, we did not worship the Buddha, nor listen to his teachings, nor respect the monks. We even stole from the Three Treasures. How could he possibly save us now?”
But another said:
“The Buddha is said to show equal compassion to all, without distinction—like a parent loving a child. Even if we have sinned against the Three Treasures before, if we now repent, why would he not grant us benefit? Let us continue to chant his name and receive his grace.”
So all five hundred raised their voices together:
“Namu Shakyamuni Buddha! Please save us from suffering!”
Archaeological Museum, Sarnath (India)
At that moment, in response to their voices, the Buddha came to the foot of Mount Kōzen and emitted a radiant light. As the light shone upon the five hundred bandits, their eyes were restored, and their hands and feet grew back. Their bodies became whole again, just as before. They bowed in reverence to the Buddha.
Moreover, all of them attained enlightenment (became arhats) and became his disciples. They came to be known as the Five Hundred Arhats of Vulture Peak.
Vulture Peak (Bihar, India)
Even those who have committed grave sins can receive benefit if they sincerely call upon the Buddha. How much more so for those who possess a good heart and earnestly devote themselves to him—could such devotion ever be in vain?
That those who had lost their eyes regained sight, and those who had lost their limbs regained them, is already remarkable. Yet all of them attained enlightenment and became disciples of the Buddha.
King Prasenajit Visiting the Buddha, 2nd century BCE, Indian Museum (Kolkata)
[Translation]
Shinichi Kusano / Siro Inuzuka
This text was created by using chatGPT and Gemini to translate a modern Japanese translation into English, and then making some modifications. There may be errors in the English expressions. Please correct any mistakes.
[commentary]
Shinichi Kusano / Siro Inuzuka
It is based on the tradition that the Buddha had five hundred important disciples. In other words, it is a foundational legend concerning the origin of the so-called Five Hundred Arhats.
Five Hundred Arhats Statues, Hōkō-ji Temple (Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan); it is said that one can always find a figure resembling oneself among them
This story appears in the Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra.
After the Buddha’s passing, the compilation of his teachings into scriptures (the council) was also carried out at Vulture Peak, where the Five Hundred Arhats were based.
The number “five hundred” appears frequently in the Konjaku Monogatari-shū, but it does not necessarily indicate an exact count; it is often used simply to mean “a great many.”
Shinichi Kusano / Itsuchi
●Japanese
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