35. Jñānāvatī

Overall Teaching

The Buddha teaches Candraprabha the Four Types of Dedication, highlighting selfless generosity and service to others. Through the story of Princess Jñānavatī, who sacrifices her flesh and blood to cure Bhūtamati Bhikṣu, the Buddha demonstrates the immense merit of supporting the Dharma. Jñāvatī reflects on impermanence and vows to attain Buddhahood, while the Buddha underscores the karmic impact of protecting or neglecting Dharma teachers.

Summary

• The Buddha begins by teaching Candraprabha the Four Types of Dedication: Bodhisattvas wishing to attain the samādhi should:

  1. Dedicate wholesome roots to bodhi, vowing to achieve skilful means as past Buddhas did.

  2. Study and uphold teachings about skilful means, aspiring for bodhi while wishing to encounter such teachings across saṃsāra.

  3. Share their wealth with sentient beings, dedicating the merit towards bodhi.

  4. Aspire for a body and conditions conducive to benefitting sentient beings, dedicating the merit accordingly.

• Further, in Seeking Samādhi, bodhisattvas should serve precept-holders with honesty and faith. Moreover, they can offer personal resources, including flesh and blood, to alleviate the suffering of others.

• As an example, the Buddha relates the story of Bhūtamati Bhikṣu and King Jñānabala

  2. • In the distant past, Bhūtamati Bhikṣu, a Dharma teacher, falls gravely ill with an incurable sore. King Jñābala and others grieve over the bhikṣu's condition.

     • A former relative who became a deva appears to and advises the king to cure the bhikṣu with a virgin woman's flesh and blood.

     • After the king failed to find a volunteer among the women in the palace, the king’s daughter, Jñānavatī, offered her flesh and blood for the cure. She prepared medicine with her flesh and applied it to the sore. The bhikṣu was cured, and the princess gained immeasurable merit.

     • After the bhikṣu recovered, he continued teaching the Dharma, inspiring others to aspire for bodhi. The king praised Jñānavatī for her extraordinary act of compassion, asking whether she was not pained by sacrificing her flesh and blood:

       • Jñānavatī reflects on her lack of self and the body's impermanence, suggesting that this knowledge allowed her to self-sacrifice without pain. She highlights the value of sacrificing for the Dharma and the inconceivable results of wholesome karma.

       • She explains that due to the merits of her act, her body was restored to its original state.

       • She reflects on how Dharma teachers are like a radiant lamp, sandalwood, and Mount Sumeru (all rare and grand things) for their role in dispelling ignorance.

       • She also points out how supporting Dharma teachers brings vast merit comparable to building a stūpa. However, allowing a Dharma teacher to perish results in the loss of the Dharma—such actions lead to significant karmic repercussions.

       • She then vowed to attain Buddhahood and benefit all sentient beings.

• Śākyamuni Buddha reflects on how she came to aspire for bodhi at the time of Dīpaṅkara Buddha and eventually was born as Śākyamuni himself. The monk Bhūtamatī was Dīpaṅkara Buddha, and the deva who spoke to the king was Akṣobhya Buddha.

• He explains that in this way, those involved in supporting the Dharma teacher attain non-retrogression and escape unwholesome realms.

• On the other hand, meritless actions include slandering Dharma teachers or holding contentious minds. Through being contentious [internally and externally], even if one engages in extensive religious practice, it will come to nought.

Commentary

Thrangu Rinpoche's commentary on this chapter highlights the importance of dedication as a transformative practice. He emphasises that dedicating merit serves to reduce selfishness and attachment while cultivating altruism, facilitating progress in samādhi and the path to enlightenment. The four types of dedication described in his commentary align conceptually with those in the Chinese translation: sharing wealth, dedicating merit proactively, dedicating future virtue, and dedicating all virtue toward enlightenment for all beings. However, Rinpoche further elaborates on the psychological and spiritual benefits of dedication, addressing potential doubts about its efficacy by explaining that while karma is non-transferable, dedication changes one's mindset, fostering compassion and selflessness. [This being said, the principle of the transfer of merit is universally accepted as a method for the transference and sharing of meritorious karma, and is the means by which buddhas, like Amitābha, aid sentient beings.]

Mañjuśrīkīrti's commentary elucidates specific passages but does not necessarily add much to the explicit meaning of the chapter. He points out that the period when these events took place was in the final age of the Dharma. He explains that the ages of Dharma can be divided into ten 500 year periods, totalling 5000 years. Another matter he elucidates is that after Jñānāvatī died, she was born in the Pure Land and was taught by countless buddhas.

Discussion

What parallels can we draw between the rarity of encountering true Dharma teachers and recognising valuable opportunities in our everyday experiences?