Subhuti

Subhuti was born in a Brahman family in the state of Sravasti. When he was born, the family furniture and possessions suddenly disappeared, leaving the house bare. His parents were shocked by this event, so they asked a fortune-teller why this had happened. The fortune-teller told them that it was a good sign, so there was no need to worry. Subhuti was smart but had a very bad temper. Later he went to the Buddha. When he heard the Buddha's teachings, he became one of his disciples. He was the first to understanding the Buddhist concept of "emptiness."

Once the Buddha went up to heaven to preach to his mother and all the other celestials. Three months later, he returned to earth. Realizing that their beloved Buddha had returned, all the disciples rushed to greet him. At that time, Subhuti was on Grdhrakuta Mountain, weaving his robe. When he heard the news, he too was exultant and immediately put down his work. Just as he was leaving to meet the Buddha, a thought suddenly came to his mind. "The real body of the Buddha cannot be seen with ordinary eyes. If I go to greet the Buddha now, it will mean that I am treating a combination of the four major elements of water, fire, wood and earth as the real appearance of the buddha. Actually, this combination is impermanent. My going to greet him will indicate that I do not understand the concept of 'emptiness,' which is the truth of the universe. I would not be able to see the real existence of the Buddha. The real existence of the Buddha is emptiness, which is everywhere. Therefore, the Buddha is everywhere." So, Subhuti sat down and continued to weave his robe.

Among all the disciples who went to greet the Buddha, Utpalavarna, who was renowned for being the nun with the greatest supernatural power, greeted the Buddha first. When she saw him, she prostrated herself before him and said, "Buddha, I, Utpalavarna, am the first disciple to greet you."

The Buddha smiled. "Utpalavarna, you are not the first. Subhuti is, because he has seen the selflessness of everything and has comprehended the emptiness of everything. He also understands that he sees me whenever he hears my teachings, so he was the first to see and greet me."

According to the rule set down by the Buddha, all the monks and nuns had to go from door to door to beg for food, without regard for the social status of the donors. However, Subhuti always went to the homes of rich people to beg for food, no matter how far away they were. After a while, some monks noticed this and started to criticize him for seeking good food and for looking down on poor people. Subhuti explained to them: "I beg food from the rich not because I desire their food, but because the poor already have problems feeding themselves, so how can they have any left over for us? It is already embarrassing for us that we cannot give them food, so how can I dare to add to their burden by begging food from them? for rich people, giving a meal is a very easy thing to do, and that is the reason why I do not bge from the poor."

Kasyapa then came to Subhuti. "I beg food from the poor so that they can have a chance to receive merits. They are poor because they do not have blessings. My begging provides them a chance to cultivate their personal blessings, so they will not be poor in the future. The rich have many things already, so why do you bother to give them even more chances to receive merits?"

"Begging from the rich or from the poor benefits all of them," Subhuti replied. "There are many ways to do spiritual formation according to the Buddha's teachings, so we can each go about our own way. We do not need to force other people to follow our way."

Clearly Subhuti's way was in sharp contrast to Kasyapa's. However, the Buddha did not agree with either one of them. He even admonished them for not observing the right way of begging. The Buddha believed that the proper way to beg was to disregard the social status and economic power of the donors. Subhuti humbly accepted this instruction and changed his methods, but Kasyapa still carried on in his own way.

One time when Subhuti was meditating on Grdhrakuta Mountain, he suddenly felt ill and weary. He considered that there could be many causes of illness, and at that moment his illness was due to the bad karma he had created in a past life or in this life. It could not be cured by medicine. If he believed in the truth of the law of cause and effect, confessed and repented of his crimes, and worked on his meditation, his mind and body would achieve tranquillity. Contemplating all this he suddenly felt peaceful and his illness disappeared.

Katyayana

Katyayana was born in the state of Avanti in southern India. His father was the royal preceptor for the king, so his family was very rich. When he was young, he started learning all sorts of religious philosophy from his uncle, Asita. Asita knew that Prince Siddhartha would attain buddhahood and be the saviour of the world. He told Katyayana that he had to follow the Buddha and learn about the universe from him. From his uncle, Katyayana was able to attain supernatural power and great power of meditation, so when he talked to the Buddha for the first time, he attained the arhathood. He was renowned for being the best at commentary, because he was able to comment on and spread the Buddha's teachings.

Katyayana was also very good with languages. Before he became the Buddha's disciple, an old stone with an inscription in an archaic language was discovered near Varanasi. No one knew what was written on the stone, so the king announced that whoever could decipher the inscription would be rewarded. When Katyayana heard about this, he went to the king and translated the inscription, which was as follows:

Who is the king among all kings?
Who is the sage among all sages?
Who is a stupid person?
Who is a wise person?
Who is constantly reincarnated?
Who is free from reincarnation?
How can one be free from this world?
How can one attain nirvana?

Katyayana's translation amazed the whole kingdom, but he still did not understand the contents. At that time, the Buddha came to Avanti. Katyayana recalled what his uncle had told him earlier, so he went with the king to visit the Buddha, who instantly explained the inscription to them with another verse:

The king among all the kings is Para-nirmita-vasa-vartin [the ruler of the sixth and highest heaven of the Realm of Desires]. The sage among all the sages is a buddha. A stupid person is one tainted by ignorance. A wise person is one who knows how to eradicate worry.

Anyone who clings to his attachments is constantly reincarnated. Anyone who realizes the emptiness of the universe is free from reincarnation. Doing spiritual formation and eliminating greed, anger and delusion can free one from this world. By cultivating the precepts, meditation and wisdom, one can attain nirvana.

When Katyayana heard the Buddha's reply, he was filled with tranquillity and joy because the reply had helped him to understand the world better, and he immediately attained enlightenment. He asked the Buddha whether he could become his disciple. The Buddha gladly accepted him and he became the Buddha's great assistant.

One day, he was walking on the street and ran into a Brahman. "I am very glad to see you, because I have a question for you," the Brahman said. "I hope you can answer it objectively."

"What is it?"

"I see members of the Kshatriya caste fighting among themselves and the Brahmans fighting among themselves, too. Why is that?"

"Because of greed."

"So it is greed. Then, I have another question: why do your monks argue among themselves?"

"Because of understanding."

The Brahman closed his eyes, pondering this answer, and he seemed very satisfied. Then he spoke again. "Your answer was very fair. But I want to know who in this world is free from both ?"

"It is my teacher, the Buddha, who is now teaching in Sravasti. He is enlightened and has neither greed nor ego. He is the teacher for us and the celestials."

The Brahman was happy with this answer and asked to become the Buddha's disciple.

Another time, an old Brahman came to see Katyayana because he had heard that Katyayana was very good at commentary. "I heard that you were originally a Brahman, but now you don't worship the Brahman gods anymore. You don't stand up to welcome the Brahman priests, nor do you give up your seat to them. I don't like that. That's why I am asking you whether this is true."

Katyayana replied with confidence. "You are right that I, originally a Brahman, have become a Buddhist monk, and I don't worship the Brahman gods. You cannot judge me by my youthful appearance, because I have attained the arhathood. If an eighty- or ninety-year-old Brahman is still full of greed, anger and delusion, as well as other lusts, why should he be respected at all ?"

On another day, Katyayana saw a woman holding a bottle, weeping by a river. "Why are you crying? I am the Buddha's disciple and I can help you."

She replied sadly, her face wet with tears. "You can't help me. What's the use of telling you? The world isn't fair. There is such a huge gap between the rich and poor. I've been poor all my life, and I'm tired of being poor."

"Don't be so sad," he said sympathetically. "There are many poor people in this world, not just you. Being poor is not unfortunate, and being rich is not fortunate. Look, those rich men have servants, houses and farms, but their greed causes them to worry all the time. So be content with your life if you can live peacefully."

The woman continued to weep. "You are a monk and you can look beyond the social norms, but I can't. I'm a rich man's servant. I work hard every day. I never have enough to eat or enough clothes to wear. And I do not have any freedom. My master is cheap, violent and heartless. If we make any mistake, we are punished harshly. These sufferings come from our poverty, so how can you tell me not to cry?"

"Then, I can tell you a way to end your poverty: 'sell' it."

"Sell it? How can anyone 'sell' poverty? If it were that easy, then there wouldn't be any poor people! Who would want to buy it?"

"I'll buy it!"

"But I don't know how to sell it."

"By offering! People are rich or poor because of their previous lives. You are poor because you did not offer goods to others nor did you cultivate your morality in your previous life. Offering and moral cultivation are the best way to 'sell' poverty and to 'buy' good fortune."

The woman now realized the way to end her poverty, but she still had another question. "You are right, and now I know how to be rich. But I don't have anything to give you, and this bottle belongs to my master. What should I do?"

Katyayana respectfully handed her his bowl and said, "Pour some water in this bowl for me."

The woman wiped away the tears from her face and eagerly accepted the bowl from Katyayana. She scooped up some water from the river and very sincerely handed it over to Katyayana, who happily received it. After she died, she was reborn in heaven.

There was a king named Manja. When his wife died, he was quite sad and did not eat or drink anything for days. He just talked to his wife's body. "My dear one, why don't you look at me? Why don't you talk to me?" He soaked her body in sesame oil, so that it would not decay. Then he announced to the whole country that if anyone could revive his wife, he would take that person as his mentor. His ministers immediately invited Katyayana. Katyayana broke off a tree branch and said to the king, "Can a branch have leaves forever? In the same way, since your wife has passed away can she come back to life again?"

The king now realized the truth of the impermanence of the world. "Your Majesty," Katyayana continued, "you should extend your love for your wife to the citizens of this country. You should replace oppression with integrity and compassion. Then the people can live happily."