After Śākyamuni Buddha had put away his robe and bowl, washed his face, arranged his seat and sat down, an Elder named Subhūti stood up in the assembly. There are Three Kinds of Elders: the elder in years, the dharma-nature elder, and the elder in blessings and virtue.

1. The elder in years must be old and have held the precepts for a long time, as had Mahākāśyapa, the oldest and longest precepted of those in Śākyamuni Buddha’s dharma assembly. There are three grades of elders in years:

a) Low rank, those who have held precepts for at least ten years;

b) Middle rank, those who have held precepts for more than twenty years; and

c) High rank, those who have held precepts for more than thirty years.

2. The dharma-nature elder may be young, but he must possess great wisdom and be able to lecture sutras and speak dharma with sufficient power to teach and transform living beings. His stature comes from his deep understanding of dharma, his penetration of wonderful principle, and his unobstructed eloquence. For example, the Buddha’s disciple Śāriputra mastered the entire Buddhadharma in just seven days and became an elder at the age of eight. At that time he mounted the high seat and spoke dharma, totally confounding the best debaters from the five parts of India. All they could do was prostrate themselves before the eight-year-old child and confess themselves defeated. Of all Śākyamuni Buddha’s disciples, Śāriputra was foremost in wisdom and had unobstructed eloquence.

There are Four Kinds of Unobstructed Eloquence: of phrasing, principle, dharma and delight in speech.

a) Unobstructed eloquence of phrasing enables one to answer any question, however difficult, without perplexity.

b) Unobstructed eloquence of principle is a necessary complement to that of phrasing, because along with having limitless powers of debate, one must always speak in accordance with principle.

c) Unobstructed eloquence of dharma means that no matter what is said, one can counter with a higher principle. There is a saying, “Everything is the Way. Left and right meet the source.”

d) Unobstructed eloquence of delight in speaking enables one to obtain the Delight in Speech Samadhi. Then, even if the audience is unwilling to listen, one’s words flow like water and no one can resist the current.

3. The elder in blessings and virtue must have the reward from having planted blessings and acted with virtuous conduct.

Elder is a term of respect and definitely not a title one assigns oneself saying, “I am an elder. Everyone should call me ‘Elder.”

Subhūti, the elder in the Vajra Prajña Dharma Assembly, was an elder in years, a dharma-nature elder, and an elder in blessings and virtue.

At that time, at mealtime, the World Honored One put on his robe, took up his bowl, and entered the great city of Sravasti to beg for food. After he had finished his sequential begging within the city, he returned, ate the food, put away his robe and bowl, washed his feet, arranged his seat, and sat down.

At that time has five meanings:

1.  It was the time when the Buddha wanted to speak, began to speak, and was speaking.
2. It was the time which breaks up the views of outside ways. Some outside ways deny the existence of past, present, and future, “At that time” means the explanation has occurred in the past, is occurring in the present, and will occur in the future. These words therefore separate the Buddhadharma from the dharma of outside ways.
3. It was the time of planting seeds. Seeds that are planted and nourished will grow. Uncultivated seeds will perish. If one has developed good causes in past lives, but does not cultivate that fruit further in this life, he will have roots that wither and die. If these good roots are continually cared for, they will bear further fruit. So if you have roots that are sufficiently good to allow you to hear sutra lectures, do not just come occasionally; come as often as possible. The more you come, the deeper your roots will grow.
4. It was the time to listen to sutras. That does not mean just listening once or twice. It means listening regularly, for the more you hear the more you understand. In listening to sutras three conditions must be fulfilled: a) a true teacher, b) a true teaching, and c) true study. With only one or two of these conditions fulfilled, study is useless. For instance, if you have a true teaching and truly study, but lack a true teacher, then you cannot understand that teaching. All three conditions must be met for cultivation to succeed.
5. It was the time when the Buddha wanted to speak the dharma and beings wanted to listen. The Buddha wished to speak in the way living beings wanted to hear. The Buddha and living beings are not two, one high and the other low. They are equal.

The mention of mealtime clearly shows that the Buddha, like ordinary people, still eats and drinks. When it was time to eat, the World Honored One put on his robe. There are three robes worn by members of the sangha:

1. The antarvasas, the five-piece robe, is a work robe. It is made in a pattern of five strips, each of which contains two pieces, one long and one short;

2. The uttarasanga, the seven-piece robe, is worn for ceremonies and when listening to dharma; and

3. The samghati, also called the “perfect robe,” or “great robe,” is composed of up to 108 pieces in twenty-five strips. Each piece in the robes represents a field and so they are also called “field of blessings” robes. Members of the sangha wear the samghati when receiving offerings from laymen, who thereby “plant fields of blessings.” When putting on the robe a verse is recited which says,

Good indeed is the liberation cloth!
Unsurpassed field of blessings robe…

This robe is worn when lecturing sutras and speaking dharma from the high seat, when accepting offerings of pure food from the king or ruler of a country, and when begging for food.

Together with a gathering of great bhikṣus. After Śākyamuni Buddha realized Buddhahood, he went first to the Deer Park to cross over the Five Bhikshus including Ājñātakauṇḍinya. Then he contemplated and saw that Uruvilvā Kāśyapa, who had a large following of disciples, could be converted. Śākyamuni Buddha was an Elder Sanghan and had the manner of a High Master, but when he arrived to pay his visit, Uruvilvā Kāśyapa did not acknowledge him with respect because he thought, “I am the leader of many men. Everyone calls me the Worthy One…” Unaware of the Buddha’s background, he unceremoniously launched into an investigation of dharma with him. Soon, however, he realized what he had confronted, for no matter what he said, he never managed to have the last word. He could not defeat the Buddha in debate! Having failed with words, he resorted to his spiritual power as a fire worshipper. With the intention of burning the Buddha, he conjured up a great fire. His strength was impressive, but the fire failed to touch the Buddha, and, in fact, veered back toward Kāśyapa himself, who, on the verge of being burned alive, was helpless and immediately surrendered to the Buddha.

Uruvilvā had five hundred disciples, and his brothers had two hundred fifty each, all of whom took refuge with the Buddha, bringing the number of disciples to 1005.

Later the Buddha converted Śāriputra and Mahāmaudgalyāyana who had one hundred disciples each. When they took refuge, the Buddha’s disciples amounted to 1205 in all. Yasas, the son of an elder, and his disciples also took refuge with the Buddha. This actually makes a total of 1255 disciples who were the Buddha’s constant followers. Sutra texts round off the number to 1250.

The Jeta Grove belonged to King Prasenajit’s son, Prince Jeta, whose name, “war victor,” was given him in commemoration of King Prasenajit’s victory in a war with a neighboring country, which occurred on the day his son was born.

The Benefactor Of Orphans And The Solitary refers to an Indian philanthropist of the time who was much like King Wen of the Chou Dynasty in China. King Wen’s first goal was to benefit widowers, widows, orphans, and the solitary, meaning elderly, childless couples. His government was beneficent and humane, and tended solely to the good of the country. The benefactor mentioned here in the sutra was an elder named Sudatta, “good benefactor,” one of King Prasenajit’s great ministers.

The flower garden belonged to Prince Jeta until Sudatta bought it for the exorbitant price of one square inch of gold for every square inch of ground! The Elder Sudatta made the purchase following his Invitation to the Buddha to come to Sravasti to speak dharma. The following are the events which resulted in his purchase of the garden.

It all began when Sudatta went to Rājagṛha on business and stayed with a friend named Shan Tan Now. One night during his visit at Shan Tan Now’s home, his friend arose in the middle of the night and began to decorate his home. He brought out arrays of adornments and arranged them to perfection, working on into the night until his home was most elegant. The Elder Sudatta heard the commotion and arose to see what was happening. “Friend, what is the great occasion for making your house so splendid? Have you invited the King? Is someone in your family to be married? Why all the preparations?”

“It is not the King I am expecting or a wedding. I have invited the Buddha to come to my house to receive a vegetarian offering,” replied his friend.

Sudatta had never before heard of the Buddha, and when his friend spoke the name, all the hairs on his body stood on end. “Strange,” he thought, “Who is the Buddha?” he wondered.

The Elder Shan Tan Now said, “The Buddha is the son of King Suddhodana. He cast aside his inheritance of the throne in order to leave the home life and practice the Way. He cultivated for six years in the Himalayas, and afterwards, under the Bodhi tree, he saw a star one evening, was enlightened to the Way, and became a Buddha.”

The Elder Sudatta’s foundation of good roots caused him immediately to voice his resolve to see the Buddha. His profound sincerity so moved Śākyamuni Buddha, who was staying in the Bamboo Grove, (about sixty or seventy miles southeast of Rājagṛha), that he emitted a light to guide Sudatta. Seeing the light, Sudatta thought it was dawn, and eagerly dressed and set out. It was actually the middle of the night and the city gates had not yet been opened, but when the Elder arrived at the city wall, the gates, due to the Buddha’s spiritual penetrations, were open and he passed through them and proceeded on his way to see the Buddha. Sudatta followed the directions given to him by his friend, and was guided by the Buddha’s light.

When he arrived at the vihara he didn’t know the correct procedure for greeting the Buddha. Again his deep sincerity evoked a response, and four gods transformed into bhikṣus, circumambulated the Buddha three times to the right, went before the Honored One, bowed three times, knelt, placed their palms together, and made their inquiries. The Elder Sudatta followed their example, and then knelt before the Buddha, who rubbed his crown and said, “Why have you come?”

Sudatta simply said, “Buddha, you are too good. I have never seen a Buddha before, and now I don’t want to leave you. Will you come and live near my home?”

The Buddha agreed saying, “All right, but do you have a place? The twelve hundred fifty disciples who constantly accompany me will need to be fed and housed. Do you have accommodations large enough for all of us?”

“I will find a place,” promised the Elder, and he returned home to begin an extensive search of the area which ended when he saw Prince Jeta’s flower garden. It was perfect in every respect, affording a good view, yet convenient to the city proper. The grounds themselves were charged with efficacious energy. Everything about it was first rate, except that it belonged to the Prince. Wondering how he would ever be able to buy it, Sudatta sent a messenger to make an offer.

“He has so much money he thinks he can buy my flower garden!” laughed the prince in amazement. “Very well,” he said in jest, “if he covers it completely with gold coins I will sell it to him! That’s my price.” Prince Jeta was assuming the Elder Sudatta could not possibly afford grounds which cost their area in gold. Never did he guess that Sudatta’s money and his desire to hear the dharma both were adequate. The Elder took gold coins from his family storehouses and covered Prince Jeta’s garden.

Prince Jeta was outraged. “Take back your coins! I have no intention of selling. It was just a joke. It never occurred to me you would actually be willing to pay such a price. My garden can’t be bought for any amount.”

The Elder quietly replied, “Now you say you won’t sell? You are heir to the throne, and an Emperor’s word should be reliable. A king doesn’t lie or speak recklessly. You had better sell, because if people can’t trust your word now, why should they believe you after you assume the throne?”

The Prince recognized his predicament. “Very well,” he said. “Since you used gold coins to cover it, you have purchased the ground. But you did not cover the trees. So the garden is your offering to the Buddha, and the trees are my offering. Do you have anything further to say?”

The Elder considered this and realized that it had principle. It was true that the tops of the trees had not been covered with gold, and if he refused to consent, the Prince might chop them down and then the garden would be far less beautiful. “All right, we will divide it.”

Therefore it is called “The Jeta Grove in the Garden of the Benefactor of Orphans and the Solitary.” The Prince’s name is mentioned first since he was royalty, and the Elder Sudatta, known as Anathapindada, “The Benefactor of Orphans and the Solitary,” who held a ministerial position in the court, is mentioned second.

After the Buddha had finished speaking the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Blossom Sutra, the Nirvana Sutra, the Buddha Bequeaths the Teaching Sutra, the Kṣitigarbha Sutra and others, he announced that he was going to enter nirvana. Every one of his disciples cried. Bodhisattvas cried, Arhats cried, and all the bhikṣus and common people cried even harder.

“Why did they cry? Did the Bodhisattvas and Arhats still have emotion?” one asks.

The deep, compassionate dharma which the Buddha spoke had been like milk which nourished them. They had drunk the dharma milk for many years, and now their source was going dry, so they cried.

Ananda cried hardest. Tears poured from his eyes, his nose ran, and he knew nothing but grief. He cried so hard he forgot everything. The Venerable Aniruddha, though blind, had the heavenly eye and the heavenly ear. When he heard everyone crying as though they had gone mad, he took Ananda aside and asked, “What are you crying about?”

“Ahh,” wailed Ananda, “the Buddha is going to nirvana and we will never get to see him again. What do you mean ‘What am I crying about?!”

The Venerable Aniruddha said, ”Don’t cry. You still have important things to do. Try to straighten up a little.”

Ananda said, “What important things? The Buddha is going to enter nirvana, what is left for me to do? I want to go with the Buddha.” He wanted to die with the Buddha.

“That won’t do. It is a mistake to talk like that.”

“Well, what do you want me to do?”

The Venerable Aniruddha said, “There are four questions you should ask the Buddha.”

“Four questions! Now that the Buddha is going to nirvana how can there still be questions? I can’t tell the Buddha not to enter nirvana, can I?”

“No.”

“What are the four questions?”

The Venerable Aniruddha said, “The first question: After the Buddha enters nirvana the sutras should be compiled. What words should we use to begin the sutras? What guide should there be?”

Ananda heard that and said, “That’s really important. As soon as I heard you say it, I knew I should ask about it. What other questions are there?”

“The second question: When the Buddha was in the world we lived with the Buddha. After the Buddha crosses over to extinction, after he enters nirvana, where should we dwell?”

Ananda dried his eyes and wiped his nose. He said, “That is also very important. Right. When the Buddha was in the world the entire group of twelve hundred fifty bhikṣus lived together with him. Now that he is going to enter nirvana where will we live? I should ask that. What’s the next question?” He was getting anxious because he could see that the questions were important.

“The third question: When the Buddha was in the world, the Buddha was our Master. Now that he is entering nirvana, whom should we take as Master? We should select one person from among us. We can’t manage without a Master!”

“Right. That also should be asked. What is the fourth question?”

“The fourth question is extremely important: When the Buddha was in the world, he could discipline the bad-natured bhikṣus.” Bad-natured bhikṣus are those who leave home and do not follow the rules. “After the Buddha enters nirvana who will discipline them?”

Ananda said, “Right again. Now the bad-natured bhikṣus will consider us their equals and we will not be able to discipline them. That is a real headache. Okay, I will go get the Buddha’s advice on these.”

Ananda went straight to the Buddha’s room. Although he had not washed his face, his eyes were dry and his nose clean, and he was not nearly as unsightly as when he had been crying. The Buddha was on the verge of entering samadhi, and Ananda had no time to waste. “Buddha?” he said, “World Honored One? I have some very important problems about which I need your advice. Can you answer me now?”

The Buddha already knew that his cousin and youngest disciple was coming to ask questions, and he said, “Certainly I can answer you. What are your problems?”

“These are not my problems, they are the Buddha’s problems, problems of Buddhadharma, problems of all the high masters! I can’t solve them, and so I have come seeking the Buddha’s compassionate instruction. I have heard many sutras and opened much wisdom, but now, faced with this momentous event, I can’t handle it. I need your advice, Buddha.”

“All right, speak,” said the Buddha.

“The first question is, after the Buddha enters nirvana we want to compile the sutras. What words should we begin them with to show that they are the Buddha’s?”

The Buddha said, “Use the four words ‘Thus I have heard.”

“Thus I have heard. Okay, I will remember,” said Ananda, “What’s the answer to the second question?”

“What is the second question? You haven’t asked it yet, Ananda.”

“I haven’t? Oh. The next question is where should we live? There are so many of us. How will we get along? Where will we dwell?”

“That is a small problem,” said the Buddha. “You should dwell in the Four Dwellings of Mindfulness.”

These are:

1. 1. Contemplation of the body as impure,
   2. Contemplation of feelings as suffering,
   3. Contemplation of thoughts as impermanent, and
   4. Contemplation of dharmas as devoid of self.

“The third question. You have been our Master, but when you enter nirvana who will our Master be? Will it be the oldest? Great Kāśyapa is the oldest. Will it be someone middle aged? That would be Ājñātakauṇḍinya. If it is to be the very youngest – I am the youngest, but I can’t be the Master. I can’t do it, Buddha.”

The Buddha said, “You don’t need to be Master, and neither does Ājñātakauṇḍinya or Great Kāśyapa.”

“Who will it be then?”

The Buddha said, “Take the Pratimokṣa as your master.” The Pratimokṣa is the Vinaya – precepts and rules. “Take the precepts as Master.”

The Buddha said that all people who have gone forth from home should take the Pratimokṣa as master. Therefore if you want to leave the home life you certainly must receive the precepts. If you do not receive the precepts, then you have no master. When one leaves home he should receive the Śramaṇera precepts, the Bodhisattva precepts, and the bhikṣu precepts. One who has taken only the śramaṇera precepts and the Bodhisattva precepts, but has not taken the bhikṣu precepts, has only partially left home. To leave home fully, one takes the complete precepts as Master.

“Now we have a Master,” Ananda said, “but among us there are bad-natured bhikṣus. While you have been in the world, you have managed them, Buddha. What should we do about them when you are gone?”

During the time of the Buddha there were six bhikṣus who were very rambunctious. They constantly interfered with others’ cultivation. If people were maintaining the precepts and rules, those bhikṣus tried to hinder them. Although those six bhikṣus did not follow the rules, not one of them was as disobedient as today’s average bhikṣu.

“What should we do about evil natured bhikṣus?” asked Ananda.

“Oh, that,” said the Buddha, “is very easy. You should be silent and they will go away. Don’t talk to them. After all, aren’t they bad? Aren’t they boisterous and disobedient? Ignore them. Don’t speak to them. They will become bored and leave on their own.”

Those are the Buddha’s answers to the four questions.

Thus I have heard. Those words are the first of the Six Requirements. It is essential that all who lecture or read sutras be quite familiar with the Six Requirements which are: belief, hearing, time, host, place and audience.

1. Thus is the requirement of belief,

2. I have heard is the requirement of hearing,

3. At one time is the requirement of time,

4. The Buddha is the requirement of a host,

5. In Sravasti in the Jeta Grove of the Garden of the Benefactor of Orphans and the Solitary is the requirement of a place,

6. Together with a gathering of great bhikṣus, twelve hundred fifty in all is the requirement of an audience.

The six requirements prove that a sutra was spoken by the Buddha. Since the requirements begin every sutra, they are called the “Common Preface.” The text which immediately follows them varies with each sutra, and so it is called the “Specific Preface.” In this sutra the Specific Preface is:

“At that time, at mealtime, the World Honored One put on his robe, took up his bowl, and entered the great city of Sravasti to beg for food. After he had finished his sequential begging within the city, he returned, ate the food, put away his robe and bowl, washed his feet, arranged his seat, and sat down.”

The Common Preface is also called both the “Foreword” and the “Postscript.” When lecturing sutras one can discuss this section as a foreword to the sutra and also as a postscript appended at a later date….

The six requirements are called the Postscript because they were not part of the original sutra. The Buddha did not say “Thus I have heard…” That text was added afterwards by the Venerable Ananda when the sutra division was compiled. The Postscript is also called the Prologue. Therefore the six requirements may be called the Foreword, the Prologue, and the Postscript.

The Buddha Instructed that all sutras he spoke should begin with the four words “Thus I have heard…” Those who investigate Buddhist sutras should know the history of those four words.

Sūtras provide a road to travel in cultivation. Going from the road of birth and death to the road of no birth and death, the common person penetrates to sagehood – to Buddhahood. One who wishes to walk that road must rely on the dharma to cultivate. The dharma is in the sūtras.

The word sūtra has many meanings.

1. It is called “an emanation” because it comes from the Buddha’s mouth.
2. Sutra is also called “a bright revelation” because it can illumine the whole world with its light.
3. Sutra is also called “a constant” because it is a method which never changes. Whether in the past or in the present, the sutra remains the same. Not one word can be taken out, not one added. It neither increases nor decreases.
4. The sutra “strings together.” Like beads on a string, the principles of the Buddhadharma are linked together in the lines of the sutra from beginning to end.
5. The sutra “attracts” living beings in the same way that a magnet draws iron filings. Living beings drawn to the sūtras come to have a thorough understanding of the Buddhadharma.
6. The sūtra is a “method” of cultivation held in veneration by living beings in the past, present and future.
7. Sūtra is also called a “bubbling spring.” The principles flow from the sūtras like water from a bubbling spring which moistens the entire earth, causing all living beings to be filled with the joy of dharma and to obtain delightful dhyana food.

The complete title of the sūtra is the Vajra Prajña Paramita Sūtra.

Why does one need literary, contemplative, and real mark prajña? Sakyamuni Buddha spoke four lines of verse which those who study the Vajra Sūtra should regularly recite:

All conditioned phenomena
Are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows,
Like dew drops and a lightning flash:
Contemplate them thus.

Everything is conditioned phenomena. Eating, wearing clothes, walking, standing, sitting, lying down, running a business – all activities are conditioned phenomena. Those are examples of external conditioned phenomena. There are also the Five Skandhas – form, feeling, thought, activities, and consciousness – which are conditioned phenomena. The four principal elements – earth, water, fire and wind – are conditioned phenomena. The six roots, the six dusts, the twelve places, and the eighteen realms are all conditioned phenomena. All those phenomena, whether external or internal, are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows.

What is a dream? No one knows. If we knew then we would not dream. People are in a perpetual dream. When you fall asleep and dream, you are unaware of the things which exist in your ordinary waking state, and when you awaken from the dream, you usually cannot remember the events of the dream. In the same way, we are unable to remember the events of our former lives, because they have disappeared in this present life’s dream.

Someone may have a dream in which he becomes wealthy, is appointed an official, and is on the verge of becoming president, when suddenly someone else says to him, “Sir, you are actually having a dream.” But in the midst of his dream of riches and position, the person cannot believe what he is told.

“Everything that is happening to me is real,” he says, “I am wealthy, I am an official, I am a candidate for president. How can you say that I am dreaming?” However, when he awakens from his dream, he will know without being told that all those events happened in a dream.

So too we people are as if in a dream. Now I will tell you: this is a dream. Although I have told you, surely you will reply, “What do you mean, a dream? This is all real. These things are actually happening. How can you say it is a dream? You cheat people.”

When your cultivation is accomplished, you will awaken from this dream and know without being told that everything you did in the past was a dream. The reason you do not believe me when I tell you that you are dreaming is that you still have not awakened from your dream. When you awaken you will agree, “Yes, it was all a dream.” …

When you understand the Buddhadharma you know that everything is empty and illusory. The world is empty and illusory, realized from a conflux of conditions which only seem to be real. When you do not understand the Buddhadharma, you are like the child or the fool who considers everything to be real. This is not to belittle people! It is a simple fact. People who do not understand the Buddhadharma think that being wealthy is real and think that official positions actually exist. In actuality, everything is one. A person is the same whether he is rich or impoverished. If you understand that everything is empty and illusory, then you cannot be confused by anything. You will not become attached to unreal states.

When the Vajra Sūtra tells you not to consider the Buddha as either sitting, lying, coming, or going, it is telling you not to make such distinctions. When you no longer make discriminations, your wisdom can appear. Your prajña will manifest in direct proportion to the degree you have cast out discriminations. In the minds of most people there are so many discriminations that they entirely fill the field of the eighth consciousness, which is basically pure, with filth and defilements. Once you are rid of all that garbage, your wisdom will appear.