Chapter 16: The Journey to Uruvelā
(1) Atha kho bhagavā bārāṇasiyaṃ yathābhiriṃtaṃ viharitvā. Then the Blessed One, having stayed in Bārāṇasī as long as he wished, set out for the region of Uruvelā. At that time, there were thirty young men[1] (a group of noble friends), who were traveling with their wives in a forest. One of the young men had no wife. The other young men, his friends, brought a courtesan for him. That courtesan, while all the young men were heedlessly enjoying themselves in the forest, stole a bundle of their belongings and ran into the forest. The group of friends then went searching for her. They happened to meet the Lord Buddha, who was sitting at the foot of a tree, and they asked him about the woman. The Blessed One asked them, “What concern is that woman to you?”
“What is your interest in her?” The young men bowed and explained everything. The Blessed One then delivered a gradual discourse. After hearing it, the young men asked for the going forth and full ordination. The Blessed One granted the “ehi bhikkhu” full ordination to all thirty young men in the Kappāsika Grove.
(2) Atha kho. Then, the Blessed One, journeying on, arrived at the region of Uruvelā and stayed there. At that time, there were three brothers, matted-hair ascetics: Uruvela Kassapa, Nadī Kassapa, and Gayā Kassapa. Uruvela Kassapa had a following of five hundred; Nadī Kassapa had a following of three hundred; and Gayā Kassapa had a following of two hundred. The Blessed One approached Uruvela Kassapa’s hermitage and asked to stay in the fire-hut. Kassapa explained that there was a nāga (serpent deity) there. The Blessed One insisted on going to stay there. During the night, the nāga king created fire to burn the Blessed One’s body. The Blessed One manifested smoke and fire to burn the nāga’s body. The nāga was defeated. The Blessed One put the nāga in his alms bowl and showed it to the matted-hair ascetic. Uruvela Kassapa saw this and was amazed, but he still held the view that the Buddha was not extraordinary.
(3) Atha kho uruvelakassapo. Then, Uruvela Kassapa, having witnessed the miracle, invited the Buddha for a meal. The Blessed One went to stay in the forest grove. The Four Great Kings descended to attend upon the Blessed One in the first watch of the night. The lord of a thousand worlds (Sakka) descended to attend upon him in the middle watch. Mahābrahmā descended to attend upon him in the last watch, causing the entire forest to glow with different kinds of radiance. The next morning, when Uruvela Kassapa went to invite the Blessed One, he asked about this. The Blessed One replied, “O Kassapa, the four kings came in the first watch, Indra came in the middle watch, and Mahābrahmā, your teacher, came in the last watch to listen to the Tathāgata’s Dhamma.” Kassapa, upon hearing this, invited the Blessed One to come and have a meal. Punadivase mahāyañño. The next day, a great sacrifice was to be held.
The next day, a great sacrifice was to be held for Uruvela Kassapa, and people from the land of Magadha brought offerings of hard and soft food. Uruvela Kassapa thought that he did not want the Blessed One to come on that day. The Blessed One knew all of Kassapa’s thoughts. The next morning, the Blessed One rinsed his mouth at Lake Anotatta, then went on his alms round to the northern continent of Uttarakuru. After receiving alms, he returned to eat near Lake Anotatta and then went to sit in that same forest grove.
(4) Sāyaṇhasamaye. In the evening, Uruvela Kassapa went to the Blessed One’s dwelling and asked, “Why didn’t the ascetic come this morning?” The Blessed One then explained all the reasons to Kassapa. Kassapa thought, “This ascetic merely knows others’ thoughts, he is not a special Arahant like me.” At that time, a rag-robe appeared for the Tathāgata. The Blessed One went to fetch the cloth which had been used to wrap the corpse of the servant woman Puṇṇā Dāsī, which had been discarded in a charnel ground. The Blessed One considered washing it. At that moment, the god Indra descended and dug a lotus pond for him. After washing it, the Blessed One considered, “Where shall I pound this?” Indra brought a large stone slab. After pounding it, the Blessed One considered, “Where shall I hang this to dry?” A deva bent down the branch of a Kakudha tree for the Blessed One to hang it on. Then he considered, “Where shall I let this air out?” Indra then lifted a large stone slab and presented it for him to use. While the Blessed One was performing this great act of using a rag-robe, the earth trembled three times. The next morning, Kassapa went to the Blessed One’s dwelling, saw the materials such as the stone, and asked about them. The Blessed One explained everything that had happened. Kassapa still thought to himself, “He is not a special Arahant like me.”
(5) Tadanantaraṁ. Following this, the Teacher performed four miracles. He sent Kassapa back, then flew to the Himavanta forest to bring back a mango, he brought back jambu fruit, he brought back myrobalan fruit, he went to the Tāvatiṃsa heaven and brought back divine Pāricchattaka flowers. He would return and be sitting in the fire-hut before Kassapa on four occasions, yet Kassapa’s thoughts remained the same. One day, the matted-hair ascetics wanted to light a fire, but they could not split the firewood. They thought, “This must be due to the psychic power of the great ascetic.” The All-Knowing One replied, “Go ahead and split the wood as you wish.” At that moment, the matted-hair ascetics were able to split all the wood. Another day, the ascetics wanted to light a fire, but it would not burn. They thought as before. The Blessed One, knowing this, permitted the fire to burn. After the ascetics had finished their fire worship, they tried to extinguish the fire, but it would not go out. They thought as before. The Blessed One then permitted the fire to be completely extinguished. Kassapa’s thoughts remained the same.
(6) Tasmiṃ sītasamaye. During the cold season, when there was heavy dew, the matted-hair ascetics would bathe in the Nerañjarā river and come out shivering from the cold violently. The glorious Arahant then created 500 fire-pits for the matted-hair ascetics to warm themselves. Even so, the matted-hair ascetics continued to have the same thoughts as before. One day, a great, unseasonal cloud formed and caused a downpour that flooded everything. However, in the place where the Greatly Compassionate One was staying, the water did not flood; instead, there was only dust swirling up. Uruvela Kassapa thought, “The great ascetic has probably drowned in the river,” so he took a boat with his disciples to go and see. He saw the Blessed One sitting in a place surrounded by a wall of water. He told the Blessed One to get into the boat. The Blessed One did not get in but instead flew up into the air. He then descended from the sky and stood in the boat with Uruvela Kassapa. Uruvela Kassapa still had the same thoughts as before.
(7) Tato paṭṭhāya. Starting from the time the Blessed One left the Deer Park at Isipatana, in the waning half of the month of Kattika, and came to stay in the region of Uruvelā, two months passed until the full moon of the month of Phussa. During this period, he performed 1,500 various miracles, yet Uruvela Kassapa remained stubborn. The Teacher thought to himself, “I should startle this matted-hair ascetic.” He then spoke to Kassapa, saying, “O matted-hair one, you are not a special Arahant. Why do you hold the view that you are a special Arahant?” Hearing the Buddha’s words, Kassapa became afraid, prostrated himself at the Buddha’s feet, and requested the going forth and full ordination. The Teacher instructed him to go and take leave of his 500 disciples. Kassapa complied. The disciples also agreed to go forth, and they all threw their ascetic paraphernalia into the river to float away. The Teacher, the Lord, out of compassion, granted them the “ehi bhikkhu” going forth and full ordination. As for Nadī Kassapa and Gayā Kassapa, when they saw the ascetic paraphernalia floating down the river, Nadī Kassapa with his 300 followers and Gayā Kassapa with his 200 followers came to Uruvela Kassapa’s hermitage. After inquiring and learning the reason for it all, they too floated their paraphernalia away all their ascetic gear in the river and requested the going forth and full ordination. The Teacher granted them full ordination as “ehi bhikkhu” (come, monk). After that, he delivered the Ādittapariyāya Sutta (The Fire Sermon). Upon its conclusion, all one thousand matted-hair ascetics attained Arahantship.
(8) Bhagavā tesaṃ upanissayaṃ ñatvā. The Blessed One, knowing the past predispositions of those matted-hair ascetics, gave a Dhamma discourse that established them in the path and its fruition. With a retinue of Arahants, the Blessed One journeyed to the Laṭṭhivana (Palm Grove) near the city of Rājagaha, in order to fulfill his promise to King Bimbisāra. The royal park keeper saw the Blessed One and went to inform the king. The great king, upon being informed, went out from the city with twelve myriads (120,000) of brahmins and householders to the park. Upon arriving, they paid homage, and the king sat in a suitable place. As for the brahmins and householders, some paid homage and sat down, while others. After paying homage, some exchanged friendly greetings, some remained silent, while others had this thought: “Does the great ascetic practice the holy life under Uruvela Kassapa, or does Uruvela Kassapa practice the holy life under the great ascetic? Who is the greater of the two?” Then, the Greatly Compassionate One, knowing the thoughts in their minds with his psychic power, spoke to Uruvela Kassapa in order to dispel the doubts of the brahmins and householders. Uruvela Kassapa, understanding the Buddha’s intention, flew up into the air to the height of a palm tree, descended to pay homage once, and continued up to the height of seven palm trees, each time proclaiming, “The Lord Buddha is my teacher, I am a disciple of the Lord Buddha,” for all seven repetitions. The great crowd, filled with faith by this miracle, praised the qualities of the Buddha. The Lord Buddha then delivered the Mahānārada Jātaka in detail. When he had finished, eleven myriads (110,000) of brahmins and householders, with the king as their leader, were established in the fruit of stream-entry, sotāpatti phala. Another ten thousand brahmins and householders were established in the Triple Gem.
(End of the Chapter on the Journey to Uruvelā, Chapter 16)
[1] The commentary on the Vinaya states that these thirty young men of the Bhaddavaggiya group were sons of the king of Kosala.
