Date: 01/24/2026 01/25/2026
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Shilin Long
Dharma Talk
The Buddha Liberates the Five Bhikṣus
One day, the Buddha led his disciples to the land of Kapilavastu. When the people of the country saw the World-Honored One, whose physical marks were dignified and majestic, they all reverently paid homage and made offerings. They also praised the five bhikṣus, such as Kauṇḍinya, saying that they possessed great blessings, having been the first to hear the Dharma and attain the path and its fruition.
Hearing the people’s praise, the bhikṣus respectfully requested the Buddha to compassionately explain why the five bhikṣus were able to obtain such a supremely rare fruition on this day. Thus, the World-Honored One related the causes and conditions of the past in detail.
In a distant kalpa in the country of Vārāṇasī, there lived an elder who engaged in trade, named Leṇa-jaya. One day, while the elder was out on business, he happened to encounter a destitute man in the countryside who was weeping bitterly and preparing to hang himself.
The elder kindly comforted him and asked the reason. The poor man replied, “Alas, I am utterly impoverished. In order to survive, I have had no choice but to live on debt. Now my creditors pursue me day and night demanding repayment, making my life worse than death.
My suffering is unbearable.” Hearing this, the elder gave rise to compassion and said to him, “Do not worry. I will help you repay your debts. You must never seek death again.” However, the man’s debts were as numerous as mountains, causing the elder to exhaust all his wealth.
From then on, the elder fell into poverty, forcing his wife and children to live by begging, and even his relatives and friends could not understand him and reproached him one after another.
At that time, a group of merchants came to invite the elder to go out to sea with them to gather treasures, and they specially visited his home. The elder said, “Going to sea to gather treasures can indeed bring wealth, but one must first prepare ships and provisions.
Now that I am so poor and destitute, I no longer have the means to make such preparations.” The merchants replied, “Leave the matter of money to us. You only need to be responsible for leading us out to sea to gather treasures.” Thus, everyone pooled their resources to purchase a large ship and provisions, and the remaining money was left for the elder’s wife and children to maintain their livelihood.
Before departure, the elder used seven thick ropes to tie the ship to the shore and told the group, “Although going to sea can yield many rare and precious treasures, the ocean is also full of dangers such as violent winds and waves, great fish, and evil spirits.
All of you have parents, wives, and children. You may wish to consider carefully whether you truly want to go to sea to gather treasures.” After saying this, he cut one rope. In this way, the elder repeated the same words to the group each day and cut another rope.
By the seventh day, all seven ropes had been cut, yet the merchants remained determined to go gather treasures. Thus, the great ship set sail into the sea, embarking on a perilous journey in search of treasure.
Not long after departure, they indeed encountered a great storm. Amid the violent winds and torrential rain, the ship was completely destroyed by the waves, and everyone fell into the sea. Some people managed to grab onto floating pieces of wood and drifted up and down on the surface of the sea, while others unfortunately drowned.
In this moment of great danger, five merchants said to the elder, “We followed you out to sea to gather treasures, and now we have encountered a shipwreck and our lives are in peril. We hope you can find a way to save us.” The elder replied, “I have heard that in the ocean, corpses do not sink.
In order to save you, I am willing to give my body in generosity. You need only firmly hold on to me.” Then the elder made a sincere vow, saying, “When I attain Buddhahood, I will use the unsurpassed ship of the true Dharma to ferry you across the ocean of suffering of birth and death.”
Having said this, he took a knife and ended his own life. The merchants then tightly held onto the elder’s body and were able to float upon the sea. The sea deity immediately raised a wind that blew them toward the shore, and these five people were thus able to preserve their lives.
The Buddha told his disciples, “That elder was my former life, and the five merchants who were saved are the present five bhikṣus. In a past life, I sacrificed my body to save these five people from death.
Therefore, in this life I was able to accomplish the Buddhahood, and these five people, because of my vow, were able to be the first to hear the undefiled true Dharma and be freed from the great ocean of birth and death and afflictions.”
The bhikṣus were deeply inspired and, from the depths of their hearts, praised the great compassion of the Tathāgata. They encouraged one another and joyfully practiced in accordance with the Buddha’s teachings.
