Date: 07/27/2024 07/28/2024
Location: Star Lake Meditation Center
Teacher: Otto Huang
Dharma Talk
The Weeping of the Performer Tarabhatta
Once, when Buddha was traveling through the Magadha Kingdom, he stayed at the Kalanda Bamboo Grove Monastery in the north of Rajagaha.
One day, a renowned leader of a dance troupe named Tarabhatta visited the monastery to see Buddha.
After paying his respects, Tarabhatta asked Buddha,
“Gautama, in the past, I have heard from the elders in our performing arts community that if a performer entertains the public with great effort through song, dance, and drama, making them laugh and feel joyful, then as a result of such causes, the performer will be reborn in the heaven of joy after death. Gautama, is this true?”
“Leader, let’s not discuss this matter; please do not ask me about it,” Buddha responded.
However, Tarabhatta persisted and asked three more times, prompting Buddha to finally say, “Let me ask you a question instead, and please answer according to your understanding.
In the past, before there were any enlightened beings, everyone was still trapped in greed, hatred, and ignorance, without knowing they should be free from these states. Performances in those times also revolved around greed, hatred, and ignorance to cater to the audience’s preferences and draw crowds. When people indulge in watching these performances and are entertained, does it not reinforce their own greed, hatred, and ignorance, further binding them to these states?
Leader, it is like someone whose hands are bound tightly behind their back with a hemp rope, and someone else intentionally makes their situation more painful by wetting the rope, causing it to swell and tighten. Doesn’t this make the person’s bindings tighter and more painful?”
“Yes, Gautama!”
“Leader, wouldn’t it then increase the bondage of greed, hatred, and ignorance for beings who are not yet free from these states, when stimulated by performances?”
With Buddha’s clear explanations and powerful analogies, Tarabhatta, the troupe leader, felt his heart sink. He had to admit to Buddha,
“Indeed, Gautama, while performances entertain and make the public laugh, they also stimulate and enhance the growth of greed, hatred, and ignorance in beings, strengthening these bonds.”
“Therefore, leader, what your predecessors in the performing arts said about entertainers being reborn in the heaven of joy due to their performances is a false and harmful view. Honestly, those who hold such views will only fall into hell or be reborn as animals after death; how could they ascend to heaven?”
Hearing this, Tarabhatta, the troupe leader, could no longer contain his sorrow and began to weep.
Seeing this, Buddha said regretfully, “Leader, I repeatedly asked you not to discuss this topic because I feared it would hurt you.”
“Gautama, it’s not your words that make me cry, but the realization of my own long-held ignorance, deceived by the elders of the performing arts community. Now, I question: How could entertainers possibly ascend to heaven by merely entertaining others with song and dance? Gautama, from today onwards, I will no longer engage in this unwholesome field of performing arts. I wish to take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.”
