Buddhism

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21587144

Ugga, the householder of Vesālī is endowed with eight wonderful and marvelous qualities.

Once, the Blessed One was staying at Vesālī in the Great Wood, in the Hall with the Peaked Roof. There, the Blessed One addressed the bhikkhus: "Bhikkhus, remember Ugga the householder of Vesālī as being endowed with eight wonderful and marvelous qualities."

The Blessed One said this. Having spoken thus, the Well-Gone One rose from his seat and entered his dwelling.

Then, a certain bhikkhu, after dressing in the morning and taking his bowl and robe, approached the residence of Ugga the householder of Vesālī; having approached, he sat down on a prepared seat. Then, Ugga the householder of Vesālī approached that bhikkhu; having approached, he paid homage to the bhikkhu and sat down to one side. As Ugga the householder of Vesālī was seated to one side, the bhikkhu said to him:

"Householder, the Blessed One has declared that you are endowed with eight wonderful and marvelous qualities. What are they?"

"Venerable sir, I do not know what eight wonderful and marvelous qualities the Blessed One has declared that I possess. However, there are indeed eight wonderful and marvelous qualities found in me. Listen to it and pay close attention, I will speak."

"Yes, householder," the bhikkhu responded to Ugga the householder of Vesālī. Then Ugga the householder of Vesālī spoke thus:

1. "When I first saw the Blessed One from afar, with just that sight itself, venerable sir, my mind became inspired with confidence in the Blessed One. This, venerable sir, is the first wonderful and marvelous quality that is found in me.
2. Venerable sir, with a confident mind, I attended upon the Blessed One. The Blessed One gradually gave me a discourse, first on giving, then on virtue, and then on the heavens. He explained the dangers, degradation, and defilement of sensual pleasures and the benefit of renunciation. When the Blessed One knew that my mind was ready, receptive, free of hindrances, uplifted, and confident, he then expounded to me the distinctive teaching of the Buddhas: suffering, its arising, its cessation, and the path. Just as a clean cloth with no dark spots would perfectly absorb dye, so too, as I was sitting there, the stainless, immaculate Dhamma eye arose in me: 'Whatever is subject to arising, is subject to cessation.' Venerable sir, I then became one who has seen the Dhamma, who has attained the Dhamma, who has understood the Dhamma, who has deeply penetrated the Dhamma, having crossed beyond doubt, with no more uncertainty, self-assured, and independent of others in the Teacher's instruction. Right there, I went for refuge to the Buddha, the Dhamma, and the Sangha, and I undertook the training rules with celibacy as the fifth. This, venerable sir, is the second wonderful and marvelous quality that is found in me.
3. Venerable sir, I had four young wives. I approached them and said: 'Sisters, I have undertaken the training rules with celibacy as the fifth. Whoever wishes may stay here and enjoy the wealth and perform meritorious deeds, or you may return to your own family. Or if there is another man you prefer, I will give you to him.' When I said this, my eldest wife replied: 'Give me to such and such a man, dear husband.' So, venerable sir, I called that man, and with my left hand I gave my wife to him, and with my right hand, I presented him with a ceremonial offering. Yet, venerable sir, even while parting with my young wife, I did not notice any alteration in my mind. This, venerable sir, is the third wonderful and marvelous quality that is found in me.
4. Venerable sir, there is wealth in my family, and it is not withheld from those who are virtuous and of an upright nature. This, venerable sir, is the fourth wonderful and marvelous quality that is found in me.
5. Venerable sir, when I attend upon a bhikkhu, I do so with proper respect, not without respect. This, venerable sir, is the fifth wonderful and marvelous quality that is found in me.
6. Venerable sir, if that venerable one teaches me the Dhamma, I listen to it attentively, not carelessly. If he does not teach me the Dhamma, I teach him the Dhamma. This, venerable sir, is the sixth wonderful and marvelous quality that is found in me.
7. It is not unusual for deities to come to me and announce: 'The Dhamma is well-expounded by the Blessed One, householder.' When this is said, venerable sir, I reply to those deities: 'Whether you deities say this or not, the Dhamma is indeed well-expounded by the Blessed One. However, venerable sir, I do not perceive any elation of mind because of this, thinking: 'Deities approach me, and I converse with them.' This, venerable sir, is the seventh wonderful and marvelous quality that is found in me.
8. Venerable sir, regarding the five lower fetters taught by the Blessed One, I do not see anything within myself that has not been abandoned. This, venerable sir, is the eighth wonderful and marvelous quality that is found in me.

These, venerable sir, are the eight wonderful and marvelous qualities that are found in me. However, I do not know which eight wonderful and marvelous qualities the Blessed One declared that I am endowed with."

Then the bhikkhu, after taking alms food from the house of Ugga the householder of Vesālī, rose from his seat and departed. After his meal, the bhikkhu, having completed his alms round, approached the Blessed One; having approached, he paid homage to the Blessed One and sat down to one side. As he was sitting to one side, the bhikkhu reported to the Blessed One all of his conversation with Ugga the householder of Vesālī.

The Blessed One said, "Good, good, bhikkhu. As Ugga the householder of Vesālī rightly explained, in the same way, I declare that he is endowed with these eight wonderful and marvelous qualities. Bhikkhu, remember Ugga the householder of Vesālī as being endowed with these eight wonderful and marvelous qualities."

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

26

Your writing and judgment are not at all poor,
so I wonder why you didn’t pass the official exam.
The examiners may have been twisted or perverse
to rinse off your dirt, seeking sores and scars.
This must be your destiny.
Try again this winter.
Even if a blind person shoots at a sparrow’s eye,
an accidental hit is not impossible!

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

25

When Dong was young,
he used to visit the imperial palace
in a jacket made of yellow duckling feathers,
so he resembled a painting.
He always rode on a horse with white hooves
that kicked up the red dust.
Onlookers packed the roadside,
wondering whose child he could be.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

24

As a youth, I carried scriptures and a hoe,
while living with my brother’s family.
But others made accusations
and even my own wife turned her back.
So I left the dusty world
to live idly, reading books.
Who can offer a bucketful of water
to rescue this fish from its cart track puddle?

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

23

When I think back on my young days,
I used to hunt at the imperial field.
Not wanting to be a national envoy,
and saying that being an immortal wasn’t good enough,
I’d gallop astride my white horse,
shouting at rabbits and letting my green hawk fly.
Without realizing it, I took a great plunge.
Could anyone see my white hair now and feel pity?

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

22

The wife is too lazy to weave at the loom,
the husband too slothful to plow for rice.
He enjoys hunting with his arrows and bow,
while she shuffles around, strumming her lute.
When freezing to the bone, get covered up fast,
to have a full belly, eat some food first.
Who would care about you now
if you suffer and wail to the heavens?

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

21

In spring, a woman dresses up
to stroll with other women down a southern road.
She enjoys the flowers, but dreads day’s turn into night,
and shelters behind a tree, afraid of the blowing wind.
A young man from nearby approaches
on a white horse with a golden bridle.
Why do they dally together so long?
At home, her husband knows.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

20

Girls call to each other while gathering lotus blossoms—
what a lovely pure river village!
They play and play, not noticing the dusk,
or the crazy winds that often come up.
Rising waves lift the ducklings,
large ducks sway in the eddies.
Paddling idly here in a boat,
this vast gentle feeling may never end.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

19

In Luoyang there are many women
who display their charms on a spring day.
They pick roadside blossoms
so each can ornament her topknot.
Their flowery hairdos entice those around,
though others look down on them and glare.
Why seek out troublesome lovers?
Go home to see your husbands.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

18

On a legendary horse, with a coral whip,
he dashes down the Luoyang road.
Such a proud, handsome boy
doesn’t believe in aging and decline,
though his hair is sure to turn white.
How long can his rosy cheeks remain?
Just look north to the mountain of tombs—
that is the Island of the Immortals.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

17

In the third month, when silk worms are small,
women come to pick flowers in a field.
Then they play with butterflies by the fence
and toss toads into the pond.
One gathers plums in her soft sleeves,
another digs up bamboo shoots with a golden hairpin.
If I was forced to compare them,
this village is better than my home.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

16

People are a country’s foundation,
just like a tree depends on the ground.
If the soil is deep, it supports the spreading branches.
If the soil is poor, the tree will decline.
Do not expose its roots,
or the branches will wither and the fruit will fall.
To get fish by destroying a dam
benefits you just one time.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

15

A country person lives in a thatched-roof hut.
In front of his gate, a horse or cart is rarely seen.
Birds gather in the dark forest,
the broad streams teem with fish.
He takes his child to collect nuts and berries,
and together, he and his wife plow the hilly field.
Inside their hut, what do they possess?
Only books on a single shelf.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

14

I am a woman who lives in Handan.
I sing in low and high pitches.
Happily, in this place where you peacefully hide,
this music has been played for ages.
Already drunk, don’t say a word about leaving,
the sun is not yet in the middle of the sky.
In my house, you sleep
beneath a quilt embroidered with silver.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

13

Much has been inherited from their parents,
rice and vegetable fields—there’s no need to envy others.
The wife rocks the loom, cr-ack cr-ack.
The children make baby sounds, gaa gaa.
They clap their hands at dancing flowers,
or prop up their chins to listen to bird songs.
Who will come around to appreciate this?
Woodcutters often pass right by.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

12

In a jeweled hall with hanging pearl screens,
there’s a lovely and graceful young woman.
Looking more beautiful than a goddess,
her blossoming figure is like a young peach.
Her house in the east merges with spring mist,
but in her western house, autumn winds rise.
In thirty years, she too will become
like the remains of sugar cane.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

11

A handsome young man on a horse
swings his whip and points to the pleasure quarter,
saying, “I will never die.”
He has not yet taken a journey.
As the four seasons change, he enjoys flowers,
but one day they all will wither and yellow.
He can’t taste the finest cream and honey
until the day he dies.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

10

A city woman with delicate eyebrows
and a white agate-studded sash
teases a parrot surrounded by flowers.
When she plays her lute beneath the moon,
the melody resounds for three months.
Countless people admire her short dance,
but none of this can last.
A lotus cannot withstand the winter cold.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

9

A parrot who lived in the western country
was captured by a net in Wu and brought here.
A beautiful woman plays with it from morning to night,
going in and out of the courtyard of the women’s quarters.
She keeps it in a royal golden cage,
with a bar to the door that injured its wing.
Unlike a swan or a crane, it can’t
drift with the wind or soar away into the clouds.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

8

Once I moved to Cold Mountain, everything was at rest.
No more useless, mixed-up thinking.
In idleness, I write my poems on stone walls,
accepting whatever happens like an untied boat.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

7

My mind is like an autumn moon
glowing purely in a clear blue abyss.
Nothing compares to it.
What could I possibly say?

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

6

Lute and books should fill your life,
what can fame and money provide?
Abandon your carriage and follow the wisdom of your wife.
A humble cart is pulled by devoted children.
Wind blows over barley drying on the ground,
water floods from the pond stocked with fish.
I often think of wrens
that live peacefully on just one branch.

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

5

Go ahead! Make fun of the way to Cold Mountain,
where there’s not a trace of horse or cart.
It’s hard to remember valley switchbacks
below layer upon layer of so many peaks.
Dew weeps on a thousand kinds of grasses,
winds sing through the pine.
Lost now on my path,
Shadow, tell me, which way should I go?

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Hanshan wiki

The Complete Cold Mountain: Poems of the Legendary Hermit Hanshan

Translation: Kazuaki Tanahashi and Peter Levitt

Part One: Original Poems, Circa Late Sixth to Early Seventh Century

4

If you want to attain a peaceful life,
settle down at Cold Mountain.
Subtle breezes blow through mysterious pine.
Listen closely, the sound is really good.
Beneath it, someone with graying hair
reads the Yellow Emperor and Laozi without ceasing.
After ten years, I can never return—
I’ve even forgotten the way I came.

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Hanshan wiki