Five Ways to Heal

“Oh Kashyapa! There are five (kinds) of persons in this Mahayana Great Nirvana Sutra - except the Tathagata - who are sick, but they have places to go. Who are these five?

One is that which cuts off the three fetters ['trinisamyojanani'], which has done away with the first three of the ten mental fetters and attains the stage of Srotapanna, thus not falling into the three unfortunate realms of hell, animals, and the hungry ghosts. Such a person gains seven [more] births and deaths in the human and heavenly worlds, eternally cuts off all kinds of suffering and enters Nirvana. Oh Kashyapa! This is the first case of someone who has a disease and still has a place to arrive at. This person, in the days to come, after 80,000 kalpas, will attain unsurpassed Enlightenment.

The second type is one who cuts off the three fetters, relieving the weight of greed, anger and ignorance, attaining the level of Sakridagamin and, after one cycle of coming and going [birth and death], eternally cuts off the bonds of all suffering and attains Nirvana. Oh Kashyapa! This is the second instance of someone who has disease and still has a place where it will be born. This person, in the days to come, after 60,000 kalpas, will attain unsurpassed Enlightenment.

The third type of person is one who cuts off the five fetters of illusions ['pancavarabhagiyasamyojanani'] that bind one to the kamadhatu [world of desire] and attains the light of the Anagamin. This person never more will be reborn in this world, eternally cuts off the bonds of all suffering and attains Nirvana. This is the third case of whom, having a disease, gains a place to be born in. This person, after 40,000 kalpas, will attain unsurpassed Enlightenment.

Oh Kashyapa! The fourth person is one who eternally cuts off the defilements of greed, anger and ignorance, gains Arhatship, and having no more taints of defilement, enters Nirvana. Also, this practice is not monopolized by the Pratyekabuddha. This is the fourth case of the sick person who still gains a place to be born. This person, after 20,000 kalpas, will attain unsurpassed Enlightenment.

Oh Kashyapa! The fifth person is one who has eternally cut off the defilements of greed, anger and ignorance and, having gained the light of a Pratyekabuddha has no more illusions to cut off and enters Nirvana. This is indeed the sole case of a kirin [name of a fabulous animal]. This is the fifth case of a person who, having a disease, gains a place to be born. This person, after 10,000 kalpas, will attain unsurpassed Enlightenment. Oh Kashyapa! This is the case of the fifth person who, having illness, gains a place to be born. This person is not a Tathagata."

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 18 - On Actual Illnesses.

The Gravest Actual Illnesses

“Oh Kashyapa! There are three kinds of sick persons who are difficult to heal. These are: 1) a person who slanders the Mahayana, 2) a person who has committed the five deadly sins, and 3) the icchantika. The three mentioned above are the gravest of all sins in the world. These are not those which Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas can easily cure. Oh good man! For example, there is an illness which inevitably ends in death and is difficult to cure. There may be nursing, an attitude in accordance [with the medical treatment], and the medicine to apply; or there may be no nursing, no attitude accordingly, and nor medicine to apply. Such an illness means certain death and cannot be cured. One should know that such a person will surely die. The same is the case with these three kinds of (sick) persons. There may be Sravakas, Pratyekabuddhas and Bodhisattvas who are able to speak about the doctrine or there may not be. There is no way to make them [the three types of people] aspire to unsurpassed Enlightenment.

Oh Kashyapa! There is a person who is sick (and that is not of the three types above). If there is nursing of him, an attitude in accordance, and medicines, the disease can be cured. If there are not these three things, there is no way to cure [the disease]. The same is the case with Sravakas and Pratyekabuddhas. They listen to what the Buddha and Bodhisattvas say, and they indeed aspire to unsurpassed Enlightenment. It is not that they do not listen to the teaching and aspire to Enlightenment. Oh Kashyapa! Sick persons are those with respect to which there may be nursing, an attitude in accordance, and medicines - or there may not be such things. All are healed. This is the case of a person of the common kind (not of three kinds above). A person may come across a Sravaka or it may not; a person may come across a Pratyekabuddha or may not; or a person may come across a Bodhisattva or may not; a person may come across a Tathagata or may not; a person may have the opportunity to listen to the teaching or it may not. A person may naturally attain unsurpassed Enlightenment.”

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 18 - On Actual Illnesses.

The Rising Sun of the Wonderful Dharma

Then Kasyapa said in a gatha before the Buddha:

"Oh Great Holy One of the Gautama clan!
Stand up, I pray you, and tell us about the All-Wonderful Dharma!
Do not recline on the bed like some child,
or someone who is sick.
The Trainer, the Teacher of gods and humans,
lies between the sal trees.
The humble and the ignorant

may certainly say that he will enter Nirvana.

They know nothing about the Vaipulya,
or what the Buddha does.
Like the blind, they do not see
the hidden storehouse of the Tathagata.
Only all the Bodhisattvas and Manjushri
well know the depths,
like a good archer.

All Buddhas of the Three Times [past, present and future]
rest on the Great Compassion.
What is the worth now of such Great Compassion?
Without compassion, there is no one called Buddha.
If the Buddha definitely enters Nirvana,
this is not the eternal, oh Unsurpassed One!
Take pity on us, answer our prayers,
bestow benefits to all beings,
and subdue all Tirthikas!"

Then the World Honored One, his mind of great compassion kindled, realized all the things that each being wanted to have, in accordance with [their wishes], to answer their prayers and bestow them benefits, raised himself from his seat, and sat cross-legged. His visage was shiny and smooth like a ball of molten gold. His serene face and eyes shone like the full moon. His form was pure, without any imperfection. A great light filled the sky. The light was as bright as that of more than 100 thousand suns. It shone over the east, south, west, north, in the four intermediate directions, the worlds above and below, and over all the Buddha Lands. It gave beings the torch of Wisdom, illuminated the gloom, and enabled 100 thousand billion nayutas of beings to live in the irreversible mind of Bodhi [Enlightenment].

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 18 - On Actual Illnesses.

The Three Great Hindrances

The hindrances of defilement are greed, hatred, ignorance and anger at what is unpleasant, the illusion that overshadows the mind, thus hindering the good to shoot out its buds; [the hindrances are also] burning worry, jealousy, stinginess, cheating, flattery, not feeling ashamed of one's own self, not feeling ashamed of others, pride, pride-inordinate, simulative pride, pride of self-esteem, pride of self, distorted pride, arrogance, indolence, self-importance, mutual resentment, arguing (dispute, controversy), wrong living, flattering, cheating using different appearances, pursuing profit by profit, seeking things through wrong ways, seeking a lot, lacking respect, not observing the injunctions, and associating with bad friends.

There is no end to the pursuit of profit, to entwine and bind one's own self, so that all becomes difficult to understand. A person abides in evil desires and greed. A person is greedily intentioned based on heretical views of life regarding his carnal existence, the visions of 'is' and 'not-is’ of life; a person utters a groan or is pleased to doze, yawns or is not satisfied, or eats greedily; his mind is weak and thinks about strange things, does evil with body and takes pleasure in talking much, and all his sense organs are dark, it talks too much and is always overshadowed by the senses such as greed, anger and harming. These are the hindrances of defilement.

The hindrances [which arise] from deeds [karma] are the five deadly sins and the grave diseases.

The hindrances from karmic retribution give one life in the realms of hell, animals, hungry pretas, also in slandering of Wonderful Dharma, and the icchantika. These are the hindrances from retribution.

These three hindrances (defilements, deeds (karma) and retribution) are the evils. However, the Bodhisattva, when practicing the Way through innumerable kalpas, dispensed medicines for all illnesses and always vowed to release beings eternally from the grave illnesses of the three hindrances.

Read More on the Nirvana Sutra, Chapter 18 - On Actual Illnesses.