Once upon a time, in the city of Vaisali in India, there lived a wealthy man, named Shara.
Vaisali (Bihar,India)
When his wife became pregnant, her body became foul-smelling and impure, and everyone avoided approaching her. When her term was complete, she gave birth to a son. The child was severely emaciated, nothing but skin and bones. Moreover, he was born covered in a thick layer of feces and urine. His parents could not bear to look at him.
The child eventually grew up. Although he stayed in the house, he did not seek affection from his parents. Instead, he constantly consumed his own excrement. His parents and many relatives refused to look at him, keeping their distance and never coming near. Even when he was outside, the child habitually ate filth. People in the world saw this state and hated and despised him without limit. The child was named Enbara.
When an Outside Practitioner (an adherent of non-Buddhist faiths like Brahminism or Hinduism) was walking along the road, he met Enbara. “Join my school!” the man said. He taught Enbara severe ascetic practices and made him perform them. Enbara carried out the non-Buddhist austerities, but he still continued to eat filth. The Outside Practitioner saw this, cursed and beat him, and chased him away.
Enbara fled and lived along riverbanks and by the sea, suffering and lamenting in distress. The Buddha observed this and went to the place where Enbara lived, intending to save him.
When Enbara saw the Buddha, he rejoiced and prostrated himself completely (throwing his five limbs to the ground), asking to become a monk.
The Buddha said, “You have done well to come.”
Upon hearing this, Enbara’s hair naturally fell away, and he found himself clad in the Dharma robes. He had become a shramana (Buddhist monk). As the Buddha preached the Dharma, the foulness and impurity of his body were removed, and he attained Arhatship (sainthood).
A certain Bhikkhu (monk) witnessed this and asked the Buddha: “What kind of karma did Enbara commit in a past life that caused him to receive such a wicked retribution? And by what connection was he able to meet the Buddha and attain enlightenment (the Way)?”
The Buddha replied to the Bhikkhu:
“Long ago, during the past Bhadrakalpa (the Present Age of Sages), a Buddha named Kakusandha Buddha appeared in the world. Around that time, a certain king invited the Buddha and many disciple-monks to a jeweled hall, built a temple, and appointed one Bhikkhu as the temple’s chief. Many Danapati (donors) arranged for many monks to bathe. After the monks finished bathing, they anointed their bodies with scented oil.
Among them was an Arhat Bhikkhu. The temple chief saw this and became greatly enraged, cursing and shouting: ‘You monk! Applying scented oil to your body is just the same as smearing yourself with filth!’
The Arhat (Bhikkhu) felt pity for the temple chief and displayed his supernatural powers. He ascended into the sky and performed the Eighteen Transformations. When the temple chief saw this, he repented and begged, ‘Please remove this sin!’
However, because of that sin, he was condemned to wear foul impurity on his body and be shunned by people for five hundred lifetimes. Yet, because he repented to that Arhat, he was able to meet me now, become a monk, and attain enlightenment.”
Thus, it is said that the Buddha preached this tale.
Kakusandha Buddha (Ananda temple in Bagan, Myanmar)
[Translation]
Siro Inuzuka
This text was created by using 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.
[Cooperation]
Shinichi Kusano
●Japanese
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