The Blessed Buddha was staying in Śrāvastī, in the Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, when the ignorant Virūḍhaka had slaughtered the Śākya inhabitants of Kapilavastu, although they had not been aggressive, antagonistic, or thieving. The two sons of the venerable Ānanda’s younger sister were left orphaned, and were wandering aimlessly when traders from Śrāvastī on their way to Kapilavastu on business recognized the two good-looking lads and asked, “Boys, where are your parents?”

“They were killed by the ignorant Virūḍhaka,” they replied.

“If your uncle, the famous monk known as reverend Ānanda, is staying in Śrāvastī, why don’t you go there?”

They replied, “Who would take us there?”

“We will take you.”

After they traded their goods and made a profit, the traders set out for Śrāvastī with the two boys in tow. They left the boys at the gate of Jetavana, where the venerable Ānanda recognized them and asked, “Boys, where are your parents?”

“They were killed by the ignorant Virūḍhaka.”

Because Ānanda cared for his kin, on hearing of their death he became choked with tears.

The monks asked him, “Venerable Ānanda, who are these two lads?”

“They are my sister’s boys.”

“Why don’t you take them in?”

“I barely get enough from begging to fill my own stomach,” he replied. “Where out there can I get enough to provide for them?”

“If these two boys offer the monks herbs, flowers, and fruits, in return the monks will give them the leftovers from their begging bowls.”

After being taken in, the boys began to offer the monks herbs, flowers, and fruits, and in return the monks gave them the leftovers from their begging bowls. After a few days of giving the two their leftovers, they stopped. So Ānanda went out and about begging alms, but received only just enough to fill his own stomach. Eating half himself and giving the other half to the two boys, he became pallid, emaciated, feeble, withered, thin, and weak.

Although they know, blessed buddhas may inquire about what they already know. Though they already know, they may inquire—or, even though they know, they may not inquire. They inquire when the time is right, not when the time has passed. Their inquiries are meaningful, not meaningless. In this way blessed buddhas dam the flow of meaningless inquiries.

As blessed buddhas know the time for a meaningful inquiry, the Blessed Buddha asked the monks, “Monks, why has the monk Ānanda become pallid, emaciated, feeble, withered, thin, and weak?”

“Blessed One,” they replied, “since the two sons of the venerable Ānanda’s younger sister were orphaned, he has gone out receiving only enough alms to fill his own mouth, half of which he takes for himself while the other half he gives to them. This has reduced the venerable Ānanda to such a state.”

The Blessed One then asked the venerable Ānanda, “Will you not allow these two boys’ going forth?”

“Blessed One, I will allow their going forth.”

The Blessed One decreed, “In light of that, I give permission for food given to the saṅgha to be given to those wishing to go forth.”

After the Blessed One gave permission for food that has been given to the saṅgha to be given to those wishing to go forth, the monks gave them food for a few days and then began to complain. The Blessed One then asked Ānanda a second time, “Did you refuse to allow these two boys’ going forth?”

“Reverend, the two of them are not yet fifteen.”

“Can the two boys scare crows away from the saṅgha’s sleeping quarters?”

“Reverend, they can throw stones.”

“In that case, Ānanda, I give my permission to allow freely the going forth of those as young as seven years old, provided they can scare away crows.”

Ānanda then allowed the two to go forth.

After Ānanda’s nephews went forth, Ānanda began to teach them to read, but after a few days of study they began to misbehave. The venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana asked Ānanda, “Why do you not make these two novices study?”

“Elder,” replied Ānanda, “they do not listen to me. I do not know what to do, but I must compel these two novices to study.”

Mahāmaudgalyāyana replied, “Elder, do as you say.”

So Ānanda began to make the two novices study. But again, after a few days, the two of them began to misbehave, and Ānanda asked Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “Elder, why can I not make these two novices study?”

“Ānanda, these two will not yet listen to me either.”

“Elder, the two novices must be given a little scare.”

The venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana said to the two, “Novices, let’s do our daily practice.”

“Yes, noble one.”

“Bring something to sit on.”

Mahāmaudgalyāyana then took the two novices for their daily practice. On the way, Mahāmaudgalyāyana conjured up an apparition of beings in the hell realms, who cried out from being cut, sliced, crushed, and hacked to pieces.

The two boys exclaimed, “Noble one, what is this?”

“Have a closer look,” he replied.

The two of them approached and found what was being done there—the cutting, the slicing, the crushing, and the hacking to pieces. Some were being sliced apart by saws, some were being ground in mills, and some were being melted down in boiling vats. When they saw two boiling iron vats standing there empty, they asked, “Gentlemen, will no one be put into these two?”

“No,” they replied. “For the two sons of noble Ānanda’s sister have gone forth and yet lazily pass their time. When their time has come and they die, they will be reborn here, so these two vats have been reserved for them.”

Terrified, they thought, “If we’re recognized, they’ll put us in those vats this very day,” and began to look all about them. They went to Mahāmaudgalyāyana, who asked, “Did you see something?”

“Noble one, we did.”

“What?”

“Beings in the hell realms.”

“What were they doing there?”

“They were doing all sorts of things—cutting, slicing, crushing, hacking to pieces,” they replied. “There, some were being sliced apart by saws, some were being ground in mills, and some were being melted down in boiling vats. When we saw two boiling iron vats standing empty, we asked, ‘Gentlemen, will no one be put into these two?’ And they replied, ‘No. For the two sons of noble Ānanda’s sister have gone forth and yet lazily pass their time. When their time has come and they die, they’ll be reborn here, so these two have been reserved for them.’ ”

Then Mahāmaudgalyāyana advised, “Thus, novices, knowing that disadvantages such as these, and others too, accrue from laziness, apply yourselves diligently.”

The two nephews began to apply themselves to their studies with diligence. If they thought of the beings in the hell realms in the morning, they would not even eat; if they thought of them in the afternoon, they would vomit up what they had eaten. Thus it was that the two of them became pallid, emaciated, feeble, withered, thin, and weak.

Mahāmaudgalyāyana said, “Ānanda, the two have become dispirited.”

“Elder, now they must be inspired.”

Mahāmaudgalyāyana said to the two, “Novices, let’s go for our daily practice.”

“Noble one,” they replied, “we will go, but we will not return to that one place.”

“Bring something to sit on.”

Mahāmaudgalyāyana then took the two novices for their daily practice. On the way, Mahāmaudgalyāyana conjured up an apparition of the gods, along with the sounds of the vīṇā, ektara, balari, mahāti, and the sughoṣak.

The two boys exclaimed, “Noble one, what is this?”

“Have a closer look,” he replied.

The two of them approached and followed the sounds of the vīṇā, ektara, balari, mahāti, and the sughoṣak to where there stood two palaces strewn with beds and divans replete with goddesses. Seeing no gods in either palace, they inquired, “Mistresses, are there no gods in either of these palaces?”

“No, there are none.”

“Why is that?”

“The two sons of noble Ānanda’s sister have gone forth, and since they act and apply themselves diligently, when their time has come and they die, they will be reborn here, so these two have been reserved for them.”

Overjoyed, they went to Mahāmaudgalyāyana, who again asked, “Did you see something?”

“Noble one, we did.”

“What?”

“Gods.”

“What were they doing?”

“We could hear the sounds of the vīṇā, ektara, balari, mahāti, and the sughoṣak, and found two palaces strewn with beds and divans replete with goddesses, who said, ‘The two sons of noble Ānanda’s sister have gone forth, and since they act and apply themselves diligently, when their time has come and they die, they will be reborn here, so these two have been reserved for them.’ ”

Then Mahāmaudgalyāyana advised, “Thus, novices, knowing that advantages such as these, and others too, accrue from diligence, apply yourselves.”

The two of them began to apply themselves to their studies and receive instructions. After a time, they came across the following passage in the Nidānasaṃyukta:

Then, taking dirt from the tip of his fingernail, the Blessed One asked the monks, “Monks, what do you think? Which is more, the dirt I take from the tip of my fingernail or the dirt that is upon this earth?”

“Reverend, the dirt the Blessed One takes from the tip of his fingernail is less, much less, a great deal less, entirely less. If we used those specks to produce all the dirt on the earth, it would not amount to even one hundredth, it would not amount to one thousandth of it, or one hundred thousandth of it; it would not equal, match, number, compare to, or cause it.”

“Monks,” the Blessed One replied, “sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among hell realm beings only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among hell realm beings and are reborn among humans.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among hell realm beings only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among hell realm beings and are reborn among humans.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among hell realm beings only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among hell realm beings and are reborn among humans.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among hell realm beings only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among hell realm beings and are reborn among gods.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among hell realm beings only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among hell realm beings and are reborn among gods.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among hell realm beings only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among hell realm beings and are reborn among gods.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among animals only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among animals and are reborn among humans.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among animals only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among animals and are reborn among humans.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among animals only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among animals and are reborn among humans.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among animals only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among animals and are reborn among gods.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among animals only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among animals and are reborn among gods.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among animals only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among animals and are reborn among gods.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among spirits only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among spirits and are reborn among humans.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among spirits only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among spirits and are reborn among humans.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among spirits only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among spirits and are reborn among humans.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among spirits only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among spirits and are reborn among gods.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among spirits only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among spirits and are reborn among gods.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among spirits only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among spirits and are reborn among gods.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among gods only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among gods and are reborn among gods.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among gods only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among gods and are reborn among gods.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among gods only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among gods and are reborn among gods.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among humans only to be reborn among hell realm beings, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among humans and are reborn among humans.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among humans only to be reborn among animals, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among humans and are reborn among humans.

“Sentient beings equal in number to the particles of dirt on the earth die among humans only to be reborn among spirits, while sentient beings equal in number only to the particles of dirt on the tip of my fingernail die among humans and are reborn among humans.” -->

Upon reciting this chapter, called “Repeating Like a Wheel,” the two boys asked Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “Noble one, will we too die among gods and humans only to be reborn among hell realm beings, animals, and spirits?”

“Gentlemen, so long as the continuum of disturbing emotions remains uninterrupted, you must spin like a waterwheel through the cycle of five migrations.”

Disheartened, they spoke this verse:

“Being a god, who cannot stay a god, is no good. Being a human, whose life is short, is no good. Being in saṃsāra, where there is no peace, is no good. That is why, said the Sugata, nirvāṇa is supreme.

“Noble one, henceforth, come what may, as we cycle through saṃsāra we must avoid engaging with such disturbing emotions, so please, we ask that you teach us the Dharma.”

Mahāmaudgalyāyana knew their thoughts, their tendencies, their characters, and their natures. Drawing on all he had heard, he taught them the Dharma so that they abandoned all disturbing emotions and actualized arhatship, becoming arhats free of attachment to the three realms, for whom filth was equal to gold, who knew space like the palm of their hands, whose emotions had been cooled as if treated by a balm of sandalwood, whose knowledge had rent open the shell. They attained knowledge, clairvoyance, and discerning wisdom. They turned their backs on worldly gain, desires, and esteem and were venerated, honored, and saluted by Indra and the gods who attend him.

When the monks saw the two novices miraculously flying through the air, picking flowers, they asked one another, “Venerables, who are those two?”

One said, “They are the two novices, kin to Ānanda.”

“Our begging bowls are black with wear. Our teeth are falling out and our hair turns grey, and yet we have not achieved even stillness of mind. Venerable, if these two were but seven years old when they went forth and yet abandoned all disturbing emotions and actualized arhatship, then the Blessed One spoke well when he said, ‘Ānanda, awakening is attained through diligence.’ ”

In doubt, the monks went to he who severs all doubts, the Blessed Buddha, and asked, “Reverend, what actions have these two novices done that the fruition of such an act should lead them to go forth at the mere age of seven, and that the Blessed One exempted them alone from the vinaya guidelines he laid down for his disciples, allowing them to abandon all disturbing emotions and actualize arhatship?”

The Blessed One responded, “Monks, these two themselves performed the actions—which have accrued a heap of karma, whose results have matured, which follow their course like an irrigation channel, which inevitably come to be—so who else will experience the actions they themselves have performed and accrued? Monks, actions which have been performed and accrued do not ripen upon the external elements. They do not ripen upon the element of water, upon the element of fire, nor upon the element of wind. Likewise, virtuous and nonvirtuous actions which have been performed and accrued come to fruition upon the aggregates, elements, and seats of the senses of the one who performed them, for:

“Actions never waste away, Not even after one hundred eons. When the time and the conditions Are right, they alight upon embodied beings.

“Monks, earlier in this fortunate eon, when the lifespan of beings lasted twenty thousand years, there appeared in the world a teacher, a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfectly awakened buddha, a knowledgeable and venerable one, a sugata, one who knew the world, an unsurpassed guide who tamed beings, a teacher to gods and men, the Blessed Buddha Kāśyapa.

“With his following of twenty thousand monks, he lived and stayed in the Deer Park of Ṛṣipatana near Vārāṇasī. In Vārāṇasī there lived two householders and friends, who had wished to go forth in their youth, but had not received leave to go forth from their relatives. At a certain point, after their youth had faded, they abdicated in favor of their relatives and went forth into the teachings of the perfectly awakened Buddha Kāśyapa. As was natural given their junior status, they were always expected to perform errands, and so the monks would order them about, saying, ‘You two old-timers! Go do this!’ and ‘You two old-timers! Bring me that!’

“One of them had a placid nature but the other was quick-tempered. Thus when the one became angry, the other would say, ‘Old-timer, if you couldn’t go forth when you were young, why get angry now?’

“Though they lived the holy life for the remainder of their lives, they did not achieve any of the host of qualities. So later, as they died, they said this prayer: ‘We have lived the holy life for what remained of our lives under the Blessed One, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly awakened Buddha, the hallowed and unsurpassed Kāśyapa, but we have achieved none of the host of qualities. Therefore, may the roots of virtue from having lived the holy life for what remained of our lives ensure that at the mere age of seven we go forth into the teachings of the Blessed Buddha Śākyamuni, whose coming has been foretold in a prophecy that the blessed tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly awakened Buddha Kāśyapa gave to a wonderful brahmin boy: “In the future, when the lifespans of beings last one hundred years, you brahmin boy will become the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly awakened Buddha, the knowledgeable and venerable one, the sugata, the one who knows the world, the unsurpassed guide who tames beings, the teacher to gods and men, the Blessed Buddha Śākyamuni.” And further, may the Blessed One exempt us alone from the vinaya guidelines he laid down for his disciples, allowing us to abandon all disturbing emotions and actualize arhatship.’

“Monks, the two householders of that time are now these two novices. And due to the prayer that they made, they have gone forth at the mere age of seven, and I have exempted them alone from the vinaya guidelines I laid down for my disciples, allowing them to abandon all disturbing emotions and actualize arhatship.”