Cut Flesh and Repay a Debt of Gratitude

Taken from【Dafangbian Fo Baoen Jing, Volume 1, Chapter 2 Filial Piety】/【The Buddha expounds The Mahayana Sutra on Buddha Repaying a Debt of Gratitude to His Parents, Volume 1, Chapter 2 Filial Piety 】( 【大方便佛報恩經‧卷一‧孝養品第二】)

In countless asaṃkhyeya-kalpa (countless number of lifetimes) in the past, there was a country named Varanasi. The King had three princes whom all of them were little kings in the frontier. At that time, one of the ministers of Varanasi’s King raised an army to rebel and killed the King. After that, the traitor sent troops to the frontier and killed the crown prince as well as the second prince. In the meantime, the third and youngest prince, who was also a little king in the frontier, had ruled his territory with authentic Buddha Dharma so that there were luxuriant land as well as joyous and flourishing people in the state. The little king had a seven-year-old little crown prince called Sujata. He was not only clever and kind, but also eager to practise Dana (charitable-giving) and so his father king loved him very much. Meanwhile, a deity was telling the third prince the news about the traitor who had raised an army to rebel Varanasi and the army and horses would arrive in his territory very soon. Having heard what the deity said, the third prince was so shocked that he fell fainted on the ground. When he awoke, he faced the sky and asked, “Who’re you? Why is it that I can only hear your voice but can’t see you? Is what you’ve just said really true?” The deity answered, “I’m the guardian deity of the palace. Since being the great king, you’ve ruled the country with blessed virtues as well as authentic Buddha Dharma so that you’re loved and esteemed by your people; I hereby come to tell you the truth deliberately. Now, you should flee to the neighbouring country to seek help right away.”

The third prince returned to his palace at once. He thought of the matter of going to and seeking help from another country: there were two routes to go to the neighbouring country of which one took a journey of seven days while the other needed fourteen days. The third prince was in such a hurry that he grabbed food for only seven days and then he called for Sujata, the crown prince. At the same time, seeing that the great king was restless with anxiety, madam (his wife) went to ask him for the reason immediately. The great king answered that it was not her business to know it. Madam responded, “My body and yours are two forms in one body just like the two wings of a bird, the two legs of a (human) body and the two eyes on a head. Why does the great king, you say something like that now?” The great king then told his wife the truth. Holding Sujata, the crown prince in the arms after that, they set off on the journey at once. When madam saw this, she followed them.

The great king’s mind was so confused that he went into the route that required fourteen days by mistake. This route was dangerous and difficult to move. There was neither water nor grasses on the way, so all the food taken was consumed in a few days but there was still a long way to go. At that time, the great king and his wife burst into tears because they had never been suffered from such a distress since birth. After crying, the king realized that they would all die eventually if the three of them continued their journey under such circumstances. Why not killing his wife to get her flesh now so that both his own and the son’s life could be extended? He then drew a knife and was about to kill his wife when Sujata, his son came up quickly to clasp his hand tightly as soon as he had seen what his father king was doing. His son asked, “Why do you kill Mother Queen?”

By the time, the great king’s face was covered with tears and whispered, “I kill your mother to get her flesh to feed us both so that we can survive. If I don’t do so, we’ll all starve to death soon.” Sujata answered his father king promptly, “Even if Father King kills Mother Queen, I’ll definitely refuse to eat mother’s flesh. It’s nonsense for a son to eat his mother’s flesh in the world, isn’t it?! In that case, I’ll soon die of hunger too. Hence, why doesn’t Father King kill me instead so that my flesh can be used to save my parents’ lives.”

Having heard his son’s words, the great king said very sadly, “Oh, my son! You’re just like my eyes. No one would dare to pick one’s eyes to eat. I’d rather die instead of killing my son for his flesh as food.” Sujata remonstrated his father king, “If I’m killed, my flesh will be rotten in a few days. And now there’s a method of expedience in which there can be flesh that will not be rotten and your son’s, my life can also be kept. Father King, please cut three catties of flesh from my body every day and divide it into three portions. Two of them are for supporting my parents and the remaining one is for me to eat so that your son’s, my life can be saved temporarily.” Being put in a quandary in the end and seeing his son’s determined filial piety, the great king had no choice but to comply with his son’s will. Blinking back his tears, the great king wielded a knife to cut his son’s flesh to eat so as to survive.

They went on and on and were getting closer and closer to their destination. Two more days to go and there would be hope to get help. However, by the time, the flesh on the crown prince’s body had almost been cut away leaving only the limbs, joints and bones attached together. Though he was not yet dead, he was too weak to support himself anymore so he fell on the ground. Holding the crown prince in their arms, the king and mother queen looked face to face at each other and burst out crying. They said, “How dare we eat the flesh of our own son in order to survive making you in such pain! Even though the distance ahead is near now, we’ve not yet reached the destination. Your flesh was all eaten up by us and you’re going to die soon. Let’s die here together today, shall we?”

The crown prince tried all his best to admonish his parents with tears, “Since Father and Mother have eaten your son’s, my flesh so that you can come up to this location, it’s estimated that the journey ahead will take only one to two more days from now. And now, your son, I’m not able to move any more, (I’m) willing to sacrifice my life here. Father and Mother, don’t take pity on your son, me, by making all of us lose our lives here. Would Father King please cut all the remaining flesh I still have in between the joints in my body? I think it can support you two until you arrive at the destination.”

The parents listened to the crown prince’s wish. Cutting off the last remaining flesh between the bones of the crown prince and ate it, the couple separated with him in tears after that. The crown prince forced himself to stand up to see his parents off. The parents were weeping while they were walking along and looked back from time to time. The crown prince was finally unable to endure and collapsed when he and his parents could not see one another anymore. At that time, the crown prince’s body was covered with bloodstain and there was still some blood seeping out slowly. The fragrance scattered all over the Ten Directions. Smelling the flavour of flesh in the distance, insects and flies in the barren mountain flew and gathered on the body of the crown prince. They lapped all over the body and this made the crown prince extremely painful.

Before the end of his life expectancy, the crown prince vowed with his last bit of energy, “Hope that the evil karma I did in the past lives can all be eliminated from now on and I’ll definitely dare not making any of them hereafter. Now I’ve offered my body to provide for the need of my parents so as to repay the debt of their great kindness. I also hope that my parents can obtain immeasurable blessings. For the rest of flesh and blood in my body, I’ll grant it to the insects and flies so that they can all be full. When I attain Buddhahood in my future life, I promise I’ll get rid of your hunger and thirst, serious illness as well as life and death with Dharmahara (diet in harmony with the rules of Buddhism).” When the crown prince finished making the vow, there were quakes and trembles in six different ways on the earth and the Sun also lost its brightness. Birds and beasts ran off speedily and scattered in all directions while the oceans fluctuated. Moreover, even the Trayastriṃśa (the heaven of the thirty-three devas) felt the big quake and this startled Sovereign Sakra (King of the thirty-three heavens) in heaven. In order to sound out whether Sujata’s vow was sincere or not, Sovereign Sakra came down to the Earth and transformed himself into all sorts of ferocious beasts like lions, tigers and wolves that wanted to eat Sujata.

Seeing the sudden emergence of all the ferocious beasts, the crown prince was not frightened at all, he whispered, “You can all come to eat my flesh as you like.” At the moment, Sovereign Sakra returned to his original form at once and asked the crown prince, “You manage to continue even when it’s hard to go on as well as able to release even when it’s hard to let go and you’ve also offered your flesh, blood and body to your parents. Making such merits and virtues, what exactly would you like to achieve? Do you want to be born in heaven as the Brahma King or to become the Demon king?” The crown prince answered, “I’d like to seek for the Supreme True Path so as to liberate all sentient beings from the wheel of transmigration.” Sovereign Sakra said, “The path to Buddhahood is both long-range and difficult. It’s necessary for one to cultivate diligently for remote kalpas as well as tolerating a variety of tribulations and sufferings before one can attain Buddhahood. Do you think you can really endure such pain and suffering?” The crown prince said resolutely, “Even if there’s a hot iron wheel spinning over my head, I’ll absolutely never relinquish the mind of attaining Buddhahood because of such suffering!” Sovereign Sakra said again, “Verbal statements are of no guarantee. Who will trust you in that case?” The crown prince made an oath promptly, “If I’ve said any unreal words, may my wounds be never able to be healed and recovered; if my wish is absolutely true, please then allow my body to recover as before.” The body of the crown prince recovered immediately which was as excellent as before when he finished what he had said. Besides, his appearance looked even more good-looking and solemn than before. At the time, Sovereign Sakra gasped in admiration, “Good, very good indeed! I don’t think I’m as good as you. You’re diligent as well as brave. You’ll achieve Anuttara-Samyak-Sambodhi (Supreme Perfect Enlightenment /Enlightenment in Buddhism) shortly. By the time when you’ve attained Bodhi (Awakening), I hope you can come and save me first.” Sovereign Sakra disappeared into the sky after saying this.

Meanwhile, the third prince(the great king)and his queen had arrived in the neighbouring country whose king came out of the town to welcome them. Having heard the third prince talking about the course of the incident, the king of the neighbouring country remembered with gratitude the kindness and filial piety of the crown prince who was able to release even when it was hard to let go by offering his flesh, blood and body to provide for his parents! He then sent a large troop at once to escort the third prince couple back to their motherland as well as helping them to suppress the traitor with armed forces at the same time. Going near the location where they had left the crown prince, the third prince couple could not help but felt sad. They thought that the crown prince had certainly been dead and they just wished to take his dead skeleton back so that he could be buried in his mother country. During their seeking of the crown prince’s dead skeleton on their way, they were filled with mingled feelings of sorrow and joy to find that the crown prince was standing at a distance in front of them. He had not only been rectified and cured, but was also safe and sound. They moved forward right away to embrace the crown prince and also asked him for the reason why he was still alive. Having heard the development of the incident told by the crown prince, his parents were exceedingly amazed and overjoyed. The three of them sat together on an elephant to return to their homeland. With the power of blessed virtues from all good deeds done by Sujata, the crown prince, the third prince got his country back. The crown prince ascended to the throne (became the king) immediately.

The Buddha told Ananda (one of the ten principle disciples of the Buddha)：The Father King at that time is now Suddhodana, my Father (in the present life); the Mother at that time is now Maya Devi, my Mother (in the present life); Sujata, the crown prince at that time is now Sakyamuni Tathagata, my body.

Postscript：Before attaining Buddhahood, the Buddha had followed the Bodhisattva Path for a number of repeated lives. Making the impossible possible as well as vowing an immense oath had also contributed to the Buddha’s ultimate achievement of Supreme Enlightenment. Following the Bodhisattva Path is never an easy task to fulfill honestly. Neither is continuing even when it is hard to go on nor is enduring even when it is hard to bear can an average man be able to persist! When Sovereign Sakra transformed himself into a lion or other ferocious beasts to test Sujata, the crown prince, who was already suffering from extreme pain, showed no sign of fear and managed to stick firmly to his vow. This made Sovereign Sakra candidly admit defeat!

It is easier said than done. One should be able to continue even when it is hard to go on. Sincerely hope that all of us can be motivated by the example of the Buddha to cultivate diligently with a big vigorous and brave mind as well as a great Bodhi Heart. May all of you attain achievements as soon as possible!