KASSAPA

KASSAPA, THE FIRE-WORSHIPER

  AT that time there lived in Uruvela the Jatilas, Brahman hermits

with matted hair, worshiping the fire and keeping a fire-dragon; and

Kassapa was their chief. Kassapa was renowned throughout all India,

and his name was honored as one of the wisest men on earth and an

authority on religion. And the Blessed One went to Kassapa of

Uruvela the Jatila, and said: "Let me stay a night in the room where

you keep your sacred fire."

  Kassapa, seeing the Blessed One in his majesty and beauty, thought

to himself: "This is a great muni and a noble teacher. Should he

stay overnight in the room where the sacred fire is kept, the

serpent will bite him and he will die." And he said: "I do not

object to your staying overnight in the room where the sacred fire

is kept, but the serpent lives there; he will kill you and I should be

sorry to see you perish."

  But the Buddha insisted and Kassapa admitted him to the room where

the sacred fire was kept. And the Blessed One sat down with body

erect, surrounding himself with watchfulness. In the night the

dragon came, belching forth in rage his fiery poison, and filling

the air with burning vapor, but could do him no harm, and the fire

consumed itself while the World-honored One remained composed. And the

venomous fiend became very wroth so that he died in his anger. When

Kassapa saw the light shining forth from the room he said: "Alas, what

misery! Truly, the countenance of Gotama the great Sakyamuni is

beautiful, but the serpent will destroy him."

  In the morning the Blessed One showed the dead body of the fiend

to Kassapa, saying: "His fire has been conquered by my fire." And

Kassapa thought to himself. "Sakyamuni is a great samana and possesses

high powers, but he is not holy like me."

  There was in those days a festival, and Kassapa thought: "The people

will come hither from all parts of the country and will see the

great Sakyamuni. When he speaks to them, they will believe in him

and abandon me." And he grew envious. When the day of the festival

arrived, the Blessed One retired and did not come to Kassapa. And

Kassapa went to the Buddha on the next morning and said: "Why did

the great Sakyamuni not come?"

  The Tathagata replied: "Didst thou not think, O Kassapa, that it

would be better if I stayed away from the festival?" And Kassapa was

astonished and thought: "Great is Sakyamuni; he can read my most

secret thoughts, but he is not holy like me."

  The Blessed One addressed Kassapa and said: "Thou seest the truth,

but acceptest it not because of the envy that dwells in thy heart.

Is envy holiness? Envy is the last remnant of self that has remained

in thy mind. Thou art not holy, Kassapa; thou hast not yet entered the

path." And Kassapa gave up his resistance. His envy disappeared,

and, bowing down before the Blessed One, he said: "Lord, our Master,

let me receive the ordination from the Blessed One."

  And the Blessed One said: "Thou, Kassapa, art chief of the

Jatilas. Go, then, first and inform them of thine intention, and let

them do as thou thinkest fit." Then Kassapa went to the Jatilas and

said: "I am anxious to lead a religious life under the direction of

the great Sakyamuni, who is the Enlightened One, the Buddha. Do as

ye think best."

  The Jatilas replied: "We have conceived a profound affection for the

great Sakyamuni, and if thou wilt join his brotherhood, we will do

likewise." The Jatilas of Uruvela now flung their paraphernalia of

fire-worship into the river and went to the Blessed One.

  Nadi Kassapa and Gaya Kassapa, brothers of the great Uruvela

Kassapa, powerful men and chieftains among the people, were dwelling

below on the stream, and when they saw the instruments used in

fire-worship floating in the river, they said: "Something has happened

to our brother. And they came with their folk to Uruvela. Hearing what

had happened, they, too, went to the Buddha.

  The Blessed One, seeing that the Jatilas of Nadi and Gaya, who had

practiced severe austerities and worshiped fire, were now come to him,

preached a sermon on fire, and said: "Everything, O Jatilas, is

burning. The eye is burning, all the senses are burning, thoughts

are burning. They are burning with the fire of lust. There is anger,

there is ignorance, there is hatred, and as long as the fire finds

inflammable things upon which it can feed, so long will it burn, and

there will be birth and death, decay, grief, lamentation, suffering,

despair, and sorrow. Considering this, a disciple of the Dharma will

see the four noble truths and walk in the eightfold path of

holiness. He will become wary of his eye, wary of all his senses, wary

of his thoughts. He will divest himself of passion and become free. He

will be delivered from selfishness and attain the blessed state of

Nirvana."

  And the Jatilas rejoiced and took refuge in the Buddha, the

Dharma, and the Sangha.