Following yesterday’s Using Śāriputra’s Failure to Explain the Meaning of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva, I offer another example of how Master Hsuan Hua’s retelling of stories in his commentary on the Lotus Sutra produces new information.

Rahula was the Buddha’s son. In Sanskrit, his name means “to cover” or “to obstruct.” Why was he given this name? He was given this name because of his karmic obstacles. In the past, he’d been a cultivator. One time, while he was meditating, he was disturbed by the noise of a mouse gnawing at some wood. Cultivators like quiet. He thought, “You’re making too much noise!” So he plugged up the mouse hole. He left it that way for six days.

During those six days, each time he meditated, he thought about the mouse inside the hole and wondered whether or not it had died. On the sixth day, he started to feel uneasy. Why did he feel uneasy? Driven by his conscience, he thought, “If the mouse were to die inside the hole that I blocked, wouldn’t I have violated the precept against killing?” He felt compassion for the mouse and uncovered the hole. As retribution for those six days, in his present life, he had to stay in his mother’s womb for six years.

How did Rahula come into this world? Yaśodharā didn’t conceive her child in the normal way. When Prince Siddhartha decided to leave the household life, she said to him, “You may leave the household life, but first you must give me a son.” The prince pointed at her belly and said, “You shall have a baby.” That was how she became pregnant. It was very unusual! After being conceived, this child had to wait six years before coming into the world. For the six years that Yasodhara carried the baby in her womb, Śākyamuni Buddha meditated in the snowy mountains.

Rahula brought about many troubles after his birth. What kind of troubles? During this time, the culture in India was very conservative. Śākyamuni Buddha had renounced his household life and was away meditating in the snowy mountains for six years before his son was born. People from the Śākya clan said, “Humph! She’s a bad woman! Her husband hasn’t been around, so how could she have a child? She must’ve had an affair.” The people wanted to burn Yaśodharā and Rahula to death. Yaśodharā challenged them, saying, “If this child is really Prince Siddhartha’s, then the fire won’t burn us. If he isn’t, we’ll both die.” When they entered the fire, it turned into a lotus that held mother and son aloft, so they were spared. Seeing this, the people realized that they’d misjudged her.

In Buddhism, all phenomena are subject to cause and effect. Even the Buddha’s son, the Venerable Rahula, couldn’t escape the laws of cause and effect. Because in a past life he plugged up a mouse hole for six days, he had to stay in his mother’s womb for six years. For this reason, he was named Cover and Obstruct. Because of the circumstances of his birth, he almost caused his mother to be burned to death. Fortunately, the Bodhisattvas intervened and protected her, so she was spared.

Back on June 18 I published Master Hsuan Hua’s explanation of why Śāriputra failed to become a bodhisattva. This came from volume 4 of Master Hsuan Hua’s 14-volume commentary on the Lotus Sutra. In volume 8, while discussing the appearance of the jeweled stupa, Master Hsuan Hua retells Śāriputra story and adds details not included in the earlier telling.

I have explained Bodhisattva Mahāsattva many times. People who’ve come often to listen to the sūtra lectures all know what it means. I believe those who’ve never listened to the sūtra lectures won’t understand it if I don’t explain it in detail. So I’ll explain it again.

What is a Bodhisattva? Bodhi means “enlightenment.” Sattva means “sentient being.” A Bodhisattva enlightens all sentient beings; he is also an enlightened being among sentient beings. Mahāsattva means “great sentient being,” referring to a great Bodhisattva who is not only an enlightened one among living beings but also benefits himself and others while practicing the Bodhisattva Path.

Practicing the Bodhisattva Path is to benefit others and pay no attention to oneself. Bodhisattvas teach, transform, and rescue all living beings, enabling them to leave suffering and attain bliss. So they are called great Bodhisattvas. They’d be willing to give up their very lives for the sake of living beings. When practicing the Bodhisattva Path in past lives, Śākyamuni Buddha gave up his life over one thousand times. Even if living beings failed to respond to his teaching, he’d still give up his life to save them if necessary. This is practicing the Bodhisattva Path.

The Bodhisattva Path isn’t easy to practice. Do you all remember the story about Šariputra? Śāriputra resolved to practice the Bodhisattva Path because he heard the Buddha praising the Bodhisattva Path as the highest and most wonderful Path leading to Buddhahood. Because he wanted to realize Buddhahood quickly, Śāriputra made the resolve and practiced the Bodhisattva Path. He was the most intelligent of all the Buddha’s Śrāvaka disciples and had a very good memory. Having heard just how fine it is to practice the Bodhisattva Path, Śāriputra vowed to practice it.

Having vowed to practice the Bodhisattva Path, Śāriputra was walking down the road when he thought, “I’ll do what I need to do, no matter how difficult it is. I’ll definitely practice the Bodhisattva Path. Just as Śākyamuni Buddha gave his life, I’ll give whatever it is that someone asks of me, even my life.” Just then, while Śāriputra was walking down the road, he saw someone walking along and crying.

“Why is this man sobbing while he’s walking? How strange! This man must be experiencing some difficulty. I’ll ask him how I can help him resolve his problem, since I’m practicing the Bodhisattva Path.”

So Śāriputra asked him, “Why are you crying, sir?”

“Oh, I have a problem so difficult that no one can help me.”

“Don’t be so sure! I can help you! Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Can you really help me? I believe you’ll refuse to help me. It would be useless to tell you about it.”

“I’m willing to help you regardless of how difficult the situation may be.”

So the man told Śāriputra, “My mother has an incurable disease. The physician said that my mother needs a human eye to treat her illness. I went to the herbal medicine shop for a human eye, but they didn’t have any. Since I couldn’t purchase an eye, my mother’s condition won’t improve.”

Śāriputra said, “Don’t worry! You just need one eye? I’ll give you my eye!” He took a knife and gouged out one of his eyes for the man. Then he handed the man his right eye and said, “Now take it back for your mother to eat.”

The man picked it up and looked at it, saying, “Ugh! I don’t want the right eye but the left. This eye is useless. It stinks!” He threw it on the ground and squashed it with his foot.

Śāriputra said, “Gosh, it sure is difficult to practice the Bodhisattva Path! Okay, I’m not going to practice the Bodhisattva Path anymore.” And he went to cultivate the Lesser Vehicle Dharma.

Look! Even a person as intelligent as Śāriputra couldn’t cultivate the Bodhisattva Path. When Śāriputra said that he couldn’t practice the Bodhisattva Path anymore, the man soared into the air immediately. He was actually a god who had come to test Śāriputra. The eye that he’d just gouged out was back in his head as if nothing had happened. He felt as if he’d been dreaming. “How is my eye back? Didn’t I gouge it out?” This was actually a state that Śāriputra had not recognized; therefore, he couldn’t practice the Bodhisattva Path. It proved to be too much for him. When you practice the Bodhisattva Path, take care not to be like Śāriputra.