The Asian New Year is an occasion when Buddhists often wish for health, beauty, and money for one another. At present, temples belonging to the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist schools have paid attention to and popularized the worship of the Sīvali image because he is considered to be the foremost in requisites among the Buddha’s supermundane disciples.
Sīvali, with his full food bowl
In the Great Buddha History, there is a description of the image of the Sangha as follows: Shakyamuni Buddha is located in the middle, forty monks under the leadership of Moggallāna (the foremost in power) on the left, and forty monks including Venerable Sīvali (the foremost in wealth) under the leadership of Śāriputra (the foremost in wisdom) on the right. The life of Venerable Sīvali is recorded as follows:
THE PAST LIFE OF SĪVALI
One hundred thousand kalpas (lifetimes) ago, in the Buddha Padumuttara’s time, Sīvali was a layperson who attended the sermon of the Buddha with other friends. A previous week, when he saw the Buddha conferring the title of “one with the most wealth” to a monk, he also wanted to be like that bhikkhu, so he pleaded with the Buddha and finally received the same prediction.
“To the Lord Buddha, with the merit of this offering over seven days, I do not ask for wealth and prosperity, I only hope to become the most meritorious disciple in the Sangha in the future, just like the monk who received the designation from the Buddha.”
The Buddha indicated, “Your aspiration will be accomplished under the Gotama Shakyamuni Buddha.”
Many kalpas passed, and Sīvali was reborn in the realms of heaven and human beings. By the time of Vipassi Buddha, he lived in a village near Bandhumati city. At that time, the people of Bandhumati city competed with their king to make offerings to the Buddha, but they lacked honey and curd, so they sent an associate on the city road to search for honey and curd.
At that time, a man (who later became Venerable Sīvali) had brought a pitcher of milk to the street to sell in order to buy some other items in exchange. Along the way, he met the associate, who wanted to buy this food at a high price. The seller thought, “These foods are not worth much—why would he pay me so much?” Thinking thus, he did not sell. The buyer offered two coins, but the seller did not agree. Knowing this man was in need and was willing to raise the price high, the seller kept saying, “I do not sell at this price.” The buyer kept increasing the price in ascending increments up to one thousand coins. Thinking this strange, he asked, “These things are not worth that much, why do you buy them at such a high price?” The seller then heard the story of the city people “racing” with their king to make offerings to Buddha: lacking honey and curd, they would lose to the king. The seller asked, “So only the people from the city can make offerings to the Buddha? Can country people like me make offerings to the Buddha?”
After listening to the explanation that anyone can make offerings, the seller replied, “People of your city are making offerings to the Buddha, but does anyone offer a thousand coins in a day?”
“No.”
“Hey man, did you know that my honey and milk are worth a thousand coins here?”
“I know.”
“Then please announce to everyone that there is a countryman who will personally offer these two items to Buddha. Stop searching for honey and curd. Please be a witness that today I am offering the most valuable and expensive thing.”
Saying so, he bought five kinds of incense (with the money to buy food for travel) mixed with honey as well as milk and waited for his turn to make offerings. In turn, facing the Buddha, he said: “The bright Blessed One! This offering is from a poor person like me; please kindly receive this modest item.” The Buddha received it and blessed him. Then the Buddha divided the curd and milk among 680,000 monks, but surprisingly, the food was not exhausted.
After seeing the Buddha in person, he prostrated before him: “O Buddha! Today, the people of Bandhumati city knew all I offered to you. Thanks to this merit, I pray to receive much merit, entourages, and fame in the next life.” After predicting this for him, the Buddha returned to the monastery.
THE PRESENT TIME OF VENERABLE SĪVALI
According to the Ekottarikāgama Sutta, when Sīvali was born his hands held a beautiful bright pearl. With his divine eye and full knowledge of his past lives, Shakyamuni Buddha predicted, “This image of the shining pearl proves that the child has immense blessings. Later, at adulthood, he will lead five hundred people to study under me, and after becoming a monk, he will attain Arahantship. In the Sangha, Sīvali will be the disciple foremost in merit.”
As the Buddha predicted, Sīvali, with five hundred friends, renounced the world at the age of twenty. After only a short time of practice, Sīvali attained Arahantship and was so filled with merit that he and everyone around him always were full of the four requisites (clothing, food, shelter, and medicine). Since then, when monks went to preach in remote areas with a sparse population, if accompanied by Sīvali, material objects would naturally come. It was due to the imposing force of goodness from Venerable Sīvali, who moved heaven to create the appearance of neighbors, towns, and densely populated people in order to make offerings. And after the Sangha left such places, naturally the village, capital, and benefactors also disappeared.
According to the Dhammapada Commentary and the book Sīvali’s Life, it was said that one day, Buddha and too many bhikkhus came to preach at the forest where Venerable Revata lived. When the Buddha and bhikkhus arrived at a turn, Venerable Ananda told the Buddha, “Gautama, there are two roads. Which one do you want? The thirty-mile road is inhospitable and full of dangers, without alms and shelter. The sixty-mile road is safe because there are villages in which to live, and we can go for alms easily.”
The Blessed One asked, “Ananda, did Sīvali come with our group of bhikkhus?”
“Venerable Buddha, Venerable Sīvali has joined us.”
The Blessed One taught, “In this case, the bhikkhus should take the thirty-mile road to examine how much merit Sīvali has gained!”
The Buddha and bhikkhus walked on the long, thirty-mile road. All of the heavenly beings knew that the Buddha and numerous bhikkhus including their beloved Venerable Sīvali were on this path, so they were very happy. Therefore, at each mile, the devas manifested a prosperous city with a large population and temples. At each temple, they manifested a large shelter for the Buddha and small lodges for the bhikkhus. These places were full of requisites for the Sangha prepared in order to welcome the Buddha and the bhikkhus.
When the Buddha and the bhikkhus went anywhere, devas followed to turn out male and female Buddhists, who had pure faith in the Three Jewels and offered fully sufficient items to the Sangha.
After coming to pay homage to the Buddha, all of the devas said to the Buddha, “Reverend Lord, where is our Venerable Sīvali?”
When the devas met Venerable Sīvali, they were extremely happy, so the items of clothing, food, shelter, and healing medicine were offered to the monks in abundance until the time the Buddha and bhikkhus left the place.
Each day, the Buddha and bhikkhus went a mile, and devas manifested rich and densely populated cities to protect the Buddha and his monks at each mile along the thirty-mile long road, until they reached their destination, the residence of Venerable Revata.
Venerable Revata learned that the Buddha and his numerous monks were visiting, and he miraculously manifested a large temple in which the Buddha could give lectures and the monks could gather. He also manifested Gandhakuti place, which was full of facilities to offer to the Buddha, and other small lodges for the bhikkhus. Also by miracle, Venerable Revata manifested a great and beautiful path to welcome the Buddha and Sangha. Following that nice path to the big temple, the Buddha came to his Gandhakuti, while each of the monks went to rest in his small shelter.
The devas in the forest were very happy to welcome the Buddha and the monks, including their beloved Venerable Sīvali. The devas also turned into male and female attendants who knew that it was past noon so only made juice for the Buddha and monks. Each day, the devas rejoiced to offer an abundance of the four necessary items to the Buddha and monks. Thanks to the merit of Venerable Sīvali, during the half-month living in the forest, the Buddha and monks never lacked clothes, food, shelter, or medicine.
One day, the monks met to discuss how Venerable Sīvali had the most special merits, such that not only Venerable Sīvali but also the other monks always had full facilities to live in the forest. It was extraordinary! Not only the male and female Buddhists, but also heavenly beings and dragons brought the four necessary items to offer to Venerable Sīvali and the monks.
Then the Blessed One came and asked, “Bhikkhus, what are you talking about?”
The monks said to the Buddha, “Dear Reverend Lord, we are discussing the most special merit of Venerable Sīvali, who can make the four items available to all venerable monks. No matter how many, they are still sufficiently affluent.”
On that occasion, the Blessed One presided over a meeting of the venerable saints.
The Blessed One gave praise before all of the disciples by saying, “Bhikkhus, among the holy disciples of the Tathagata, Sīvali is the saint of great wealth due to the results of goodness created in past lives.”
Thus, we see that to preach at the residence of Venerable Revata, the World-honored One with five hundred monks had to cross an unsafe, wild, thirty-mile desert without people worshipping and offering food. Before departing, the Buddha asked Venerable Ananda to see whether Sīvali was with them because the Buddha knew that if Venerable Sīvali was present, the Sangha would avoid danger, harm, and hunger, even in remote places. Because of the special merit of the wealthiest Sīvali, the good devatās responded wonderfully, creating the appearance of villages and crowded populations to provide protection as well as offerings of necessary items to the Buddha and Sangha.
The Buddha always spoke of the theory of dependent origination of the past, present, and future. The past is the cause for the present. The present is the fruit of the past and the cause of the future. The future is the fruit of the present, and so on. Currently, Venerable Sīvali is known as the most meritorious one whose presence will make everyone around him gain complete facilities. This is due to his past actions: he has cultivated, as the Great Buddha History narrates the above story of a poor man (Sīvali’s predecessor) who sincerely made offerings over seven consecutive days to the Buddha Guru Padmasambhava to pray for a future as the one with the most fortune in the Buddha’s Sangha. In the Dhammapada Commentary, it is said that during the time of Vipassi Buddha, the predecessor of Venerable Sīvali offered one thousand coins, honey, and fresh milk butter (rolled to become medicine) mixed with five kinds of fragrances to ask to be the most fortunate one in the future. There are also many stories about the precursor Asātarūpa (Jataka, 100), the Holy Story (Apadāna), the commentary of the Sangha, the treatise of the Ekottarikāgama Sutta, and so on, especially emphasizing that although the precursor of Venerable Sīvali was a poor country fellow and his offerings were simple, he made an offering with complete respect, not acting on greed by selling his offering to others at a high price, even one thousand coins. He kept the opportunity to make offerings to the Blessed One to create good causes for the present and future fruits.
In the bright spring sunshine of the days starting the 2020 New Year, we would like to wish Buddhists who always sow good causes to reap good results: the Saint of Fortune Sīvali will come to everyone, everywhere.
Namo the Most Meritorious Venerable Sīvali.
Huong Sen Spring, January 1, 2020
Thích Nữ Giới Hương
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