Translating Classical Buddhism to Modern English

Dharma Verse Stories

法句譬喻經 泥洹品第三十六 Chapter 36: Nirvāṇa
Varṣākāra Visits the Buddha
昔，佛在王舍城、靈鷲山中。 時，與諸比丘千二百五十人俱。 1. Once,1 the Buddha was at Rājagṛha on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa. He was with 1,250 monks at the time.
時，摩竭國王號名阿闍世，所領五百國各有姓名。 近有一國名曰越祇，不順王命，欲往伐之。 即召群臣，講宣議曰： 「越祇國人富樂、熾盛。 多出珍寶，不首伏於我。 寧可起兵往伐之不？」 2. The King of Magadha then was named Ajātaśatru. He ruled a hundred countries2 that each had their own clan name. There was a nearby country called Vṛji that didn’t follow the King’s orders, and he wanted to attack them. He summoned his ministers and made this declaration: “The people of Vṛji are prosperous and flourishing. They produce many treasures, but they do not bow their heads to me. Wouldn’t it be better to raise an army and attack them?”
國有賢公承相名曰雨舍。 對曰：「唯然。」 That country had a worthy minister-in-chief named Varṣākāra. He replied, “Very well.”
王告雨舍： 「佛去是不遠。 聖哲三達。 靡事不貫。 汝持吾聲往至佛所： 『如卿意智委悉問之，欲往伐彼寧得勝不？』」 3. The King told Varṣākāra, “The Buddha is not far away. He is a noble sage of the three insights. There’s no subject he hasn’t penetrated. Go to the Buddha with a message from me: ‘As you know the answer to any question that’s asked of you, would I be victorious if I attack that country?’”
承相受教，即嚴車馬，往至精舍。 前到佛所，頭面著地為佛作禮。 佛命令坐，公即就坐。 佛問國承相：「從何所來？」 4. Accepting these instructions, the minister-in-chief had a chariot and horses readied and went to the monastery. Upon arriving, he bowed to the Buddha by touching his head to the ground. The Buddha then directed him to sit, and the official prepared a seat for himself. The Buddha asked the minister-in-chief, “Where have you come from?”
公言： 「王使臣來。 稽首佛足，問訊： 『起居、飡食如常？』」 5. The official said, “I’m a minister who has come as the King’s messenger. He bows his head at the Buddha’s feet and greets him: ‘Are you getting around and eating as usual?’”
佛即問公： 「王及國土、人民、臣下皆自平安不？」 6. The Buddha then asked the official, “Are the King, the country, and his people and ministers below him all at peace?”
公言： 「國主及民皆蒙佛恩。」 The official said, “The country’s lord and the people all enjoy the Buddha’s favor.”
公白佛言： 「王與越祇國有嫌，欲往伐之。 於佛聖意為可得勝不？」 7. The official then said to the Buddha, “The King has a grudge with Vṛji and wants to attack them. Does the Buddha’s noble mind think that he can be victorious?”
佛告承相： 「是越祇國人民奉行七法，不可勝之。 王可諦思，勿妄舉動。」 The Buddha told the minister-in-chief, “The people of Vṛji put seven things into practice that make it impossible to defeat them. The King should consider this carefully and not make a mistake.”
公即問佛： 「何等七法？」 8. The official asked the Buddha, “What are these seven things?”
佛言： 「越祇國人數相聚會，講議正法，修福自守。 以此為常，是謂為一。 越祇國人君臣常和。 所任忠良，教諫承用，不相違戾。 是謂為二。 越祇國人奉法，相率無取無捨。 不敢犯過上下循常。 是謂為三。 越祇國人禮化謹敬，男女有別長幼相承不失儀法。 是謂為四。 越祇國人孝養父母遜悌師長。 受誡教誨以為國則。 是謂為五。 越祇國人承天則地。 敬畏社稷，奉順四時，民農不廢。 是謂為六。 越祇國人尊道敬德。 國有沙門得道應真方遠來者，供養衣被床臥醫藥。 是謂為七。 夫為國主行此七法難可得危。 極天下兵共往攻之不能得勝。」 9. The Buddha said, “The people of Vṛji hold frequent meetings to discuss the proper Dharma and make defensive plans to safeguard themselves. This custom of theirs is the first thing. The people of Vṛji and their nobles and ministers are always in harmony. They are good and loyal, put instructions and advice into practice, and they don’t oppose each other. This is the second thing. The people of Vṛji accept the Dharma and follow each other without any disharmony.3 They dare not violate the customs of high and low positions. This is the third thing. The people of Vṛji are polite and respectful. Men and women have their separate relations between elders and youths, which they accept without forgetting their rules of propriety. This is the fourth thing. The people of Vṛji support their parents and obey their teachers. They accept the instructions and admonitions of their country’s laws. This is the fifth thing. The people of Vṛji accept the heavenly laws on earth. They respect and fear the gods of soil and grain and accomodate the four seasons so that their farmers won’t be ruined. This is the sixth thing. The people of Vṛji respect the virtue of their sages. That country has ascetics who’ve attained awakening and went there from far away to receive support, clothing, bedding, and medicines. This is the seventh thing. The men who are the chiefs of that country put these seven things into practice, which will make it difficult to harm them. The best armies in the world could go and do battle with them, but they wouldn’t be unable to defeat them.”4
佛告承相： 「若使越祇國人持一法者，尚不可攻。 何況盡持如是七法？」 10. The Buddha told the minister-in-chief, “Even if the people of Vṛji were to maintain one of those things, they couldn’t be attacked. How could they if they maintain these seven things?”5
於是世尊即說偈言： 11. The Bhagavān then spoke in verse:
  • 「利勝不足恃，
    雖勝猶復苦。
    當自求勝法，
    已勝無所生。」
  • “Gain and victory are unreliable;
    Even the victor goes on suffering.
    One should seek to win the Dharma;
    After winning that, they’ll be born nowhere.”
雨舍承相聞佛說偈，即得道迹。 時會大小皆得須陀洹道。 公即從坐起，白佛言： 「國事煩多，欲還請辭。」 12. Upon hearing the Buddha speak this verse, that minister-in-chief Varṣākāra ascertained the path. He then was in the company, great and small, of those who had become stream entrants. The official rose from his seat and said to the Buddha, “My duties of state and worries are many. I request leave to return to them.”
佛言：「可，宜知是時。」 The Buddha said, “That’s okay, go when you like.”
即從坐起，禮佛而去。 還至具事白王，即止不攻。 持佛嚴教，以化國內。 越祇國人即來順命，上下相奉，國遂興隆。 13. The official then rose from his seat, bowed to the Buddha, and departed. Returning to his duties, he spoke to the King, who stopped himself from attacking Vṛji. He remembered the Buddha’s admonition and used it to educate the country. The people of Vṛji then came to follow his orders. Those in high and low positions respected each other, and their country continued to flourish.

Notes

  1. For the source text, cf. T211.4.605b5-c16. The verse included in this story is parallel to verse 25 in Chapter 36 of the Chinese Dharmapāda (cf. T210.4.573c11). It does not appear to have a direct parallel in the other Dharmapāda collections.

    The story for this verse is a simpler version of the introduction to (most versions of) the Parinirvāṇa Sūtra (cf. DN 16, DĀ 2, T5, T6, T7, T1451, and the Sanskrit edition). It would appear to be a direct parallel to AN 7.22, MĀ 142, and EĀ 40.2.

    Compared to the other versions, this story is much shorter and possibly abbeviated. It includes only the seven ways to be unconquerable that were taught to the Vṛji people in the other accounts. Here, the Buddha describes the practices of Vṛji that make them impossible to conquer. As a result, Ānanda has no role here. Nor is the list of seven practices taught to the monks in the context of the Saṅgha after Varṣākāra’s departure. Only EĀ 40.2 includes a verse conclusion, though the verses there are different than here because they address the teaching given to the monks.

    The final conclusion of this story is remarkably positive. While historians generally accept from other sources that Vṛji was in fact invaded and conquered after a protracted conflict, Ajātaśatru adopts the Vṛji customs in this account. As a result, Vṛji accepts his authority, and the country remains prosperous afterward. This puts Ajātaśatru in the role of a wheel-turning king who conquers the world without the need for warfare. [back]

  2. a hundred countries. C. 五百國. I’ve adopted an alternate reading that changes this to one hundred countries (百國). This detail is lacking in the other parallels to this story. Even if we read it as referring to a hundred small tribal chiefdoms, it sounds like an exaggeration. Magadha is depicted here as a large empire, when it was only a emerging kingdom at the time of the Buddha. [back]

  3. follow each other without any disharmony. C. 相率無取無捨. I’ve adopted an alternate reading here that changes 相率無取無捨 (“follow each other without taking or discarding”) to 相率無所不調 (“follow each other without any disharmony”), which makes better sense of the passage to me. [back]

  4. Comparing this list of customs to its parallels, we can see the following commonalities: The first principle is closest to the first in T5 and T6, which also mention arranging defensive measures. The second principle, which mentions harmony between the high and low classes of people, is closest to the second item in EĀ 40.2 and DĀ 2. The third principle is closest to the third item in DĀ 2, T5, and T6. The fourth principle is closest to the fourth item in T5 and T6. The fifth principle is closest to the fifth in T1451, T5, and T6 and the fourth in DĀ 2. The sixth principle is closest to the sixth item in T5 and T6. The seventh principle is closest to the last item in DĀ 2, T5, and T6.

    This story includes what looks like an alternate translation of the same list that’s found in T5 and T6, but the story itself is different. The list in DĀ 2 also has a partial overlap with this one, but there is little agreement between this list and the seven principles found in the Sarvāstivāda and Theravāda versions of it. [back]

  5. In the other versions of this story, it’s Varṣākāra who says this in reaction to the Buddha’s explanation. Even in T7, which presents a similar list as a teaching to the Licchavis, it is the audience who respond in this way. [back]

Translator: Charles Patton

Last Revised: 8 July 2025

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