In the Buddhist canon, there is a story about a willful young man who loved to indulge in mischief and often succumbed to the whims of his capricious heart. Yet, after he entered the Dharma, he developed determination and worked very hard, studying the teachings with great diligence. He later became one of the most eminent Dharma masters of his time—the great Venerable Nagarjuna.
Young and playful Nagarjuna
When the Venerable Nagarjuna was a young man, he had three good friends who were of the same bent. All of them were sons of established families and misled by the folly of youth, they loved to play tricks and create much disturbance for others whenever they were together.
After some time, the group of friends began to tire of their usual pranks. So they had a discussion, and the idea that they sneaked into the royal palace for some fun was born. Amidst concerns that the royal palace would be tightly guarded, the young Nagarjuna replied that they could enter under a cloak of invisibility.
“That’s not possible, we don’t know the art of rendering ourselves invisible!” countered his friends.
However, they were quick to go along after Nagarjuna suggested that they become disciples of a particular Brahmin who was well-versed in the art of invisibility.
Looking at the four young men who had sought him out, the Brahmin saw that they were all sons of prominent families. He knew that if he accepted them as disciples, he would attain immediate fame. Yet, if he did teach them the magical art, they would soon leave him. Thus, the Brahmin announced, “Okay, I will give you the magic pill of invisibility. Once you consume this, your physical body will disappear. Come look for me the next time you need it again.”
The four young men took the pills back home. After consuming them, they noted with glee that their bodies had indeed become invisible. With great audacity, they swaggered into the palace without the guards noticing anything amiss and proceeded to get up to much mischief.
Seeing the palace maids carrying plates laden with food for the king, they helped themselves to the items one by one, to the great astonishment of the maids who could not understand how food could disappear in this manner.
The four young men were extremely tickled by the sight of the maids’ helplessness and confusion. They then proceeded to the maids’ living quarters and saw that they were about to sit down to a meal. One by one, buns neatly arranged on plates began to disappear and the maids were stunned beyond belief. More was to come; the four men began to cut away at the maids’ hair with scissors and loud screams of terror could be heard all around.
The matter was hastily brought to the attention of the king, who arrived to survey the chaos for himself. “This must be the work of someone who knows the spell of invisibility and has sneaked in!” thought the king to himself.
He proceeded to give the order for his men to hit out at every empty space they came across, without leaving out a single nook or cranny, explaining that there were invisible people hiding in the palace.
Nagarjuna’s three friends thus sustained bodily injuries while Nagarjuna himself escaped harm by craftily hiding behind the king, and then found an opportunity to flee.
After that, the king further instructed a thorough investigation into the matter, desiring that the culprits be severely punished. This effectively put an end to the pranks pulled by the four friends.
With heart set on the Dharma, an eminent spiritual cultivator emerges
During this time, Nagarjuna kept a low profile and reflected on himself. He realised that keeping the wrong company could have detrimental effects on one’s character and thus began a period of diligent study as he pored over the philosophical and religious teachings in India.
One day, Nagarjuna heard an old man calling him from outside his window. The old man asked, “How vast is your knowledge?”
“I have absorbed all there is to know in the whole of India,” replied Nagarjuna arrogantly.
And the old man said to him that it was not in the least wondrous that he was familiar with all the teachings found in India, which was a mere grain of sand in this vast world. He told him that if he wanted to see for himself what he meant, he must follow him.
Then, the old man, who was actually a Naga, proceeded to lead Nagarjuna to the sutra chambers found within the Naga palace.
When they arrived, Nagarjuna surveyed the collection of texts with excitement. “Wow! So many books. Am I allowed to read them all?”
The Naga explained that all the books which Nagarjuna beheld in his gaze contained the teachings of the Buddha. As long as he was sincerely committed towards learning the great Dharma treasury, he was welcome to read them all. The Naga also revealed that the Buddha himself had prophesied that 880 years after his passing into Nirvana, a man of great wisdom and diligence would come to propagate and pass on the Dharma.
From then on, Nagarjuna resolutely set his heart on delving into the vast Dharma treasury. As was prophesied, he became the great Venerable Nagarjuna, an illustrious proponent of Mahayana Buddhism.
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So we see that even the great Venerable Nagarjuna was not immune to bouts of mischief and playfulness in his youth. But when one inwardly collects one’s mind, develops determination, dispels delusion and ignorance, and awakens to wisdom, one will still be able to attain great accomplishments.
Venerable Nagarjuna had passed on the spirit of Mahayana Buddhism. Hence, when we undertake to learn the Dharma, we must take care to gather our hearts and focus our minds and avoid developing a scattered and cluttered mind.
Excerpted from Master Cheng Yen’s speech given on 22nd October 1995
Translated by the Tzu Chi Singapore translation team
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