The Three Kala Brothers

That morning, golden sunlight stretched across the dirt road connecting the city of Kausambi and the city of Savatthi. The ox-cart caravan of the three Kala brothers rolled along with a rumble, several hundred carts loaded with goods, servants attending in great numbers, and armed guards with swords and spears walking on both sides, looking most impressive. The eldest brother sat on the lead cart, gazing into the distance, thinking of the vast trading shop back home and his eight beautiful wives waiting for his return.

The three brothers were famous, wealthy merchants. The eldest and the youngest took turns leading the trading caravan on long journeys, from one province to another, sometimes even crossing borders into foreign lands. The middle brother stayed home to manage the large shop. Their wealth piled high and their reputation spread far, yet the eldest brother's heart always felt empty, as if missing something that money could not buy.

As the caravan was heading toward Jetavana, they came upon a large crowd of people holding flowers, dressed neatly, with radiant faces, walking ahead. The eldest brother waved someone over and asked:

"Virtuous friends, where are you going, so solemn and dignified?"

The man replied:

"We are going to Jetavana to pay homage to the World-Honored One and listen to his teachings."

Upon hearing this, the eldest brother's whole body trembled, and a strange feeling arose in his heart, as if some old connection had awakened. He turned to his youngest brother and said:

"You watch the caravan. I will go into Jetavana to see what the World-Honored One is like."

The youngest brother tried to stop him, but the eldest would not listen. He jumped down from the cart, adjusted his clothing, and walked quickly after the crowd. Upon entering the monastery, he merged into the crowd and sat listening to the dharma talk. That day, the Buddha looked directly at him and taught about the danger and swift decay of worldly sensual pleasures. The Buddha's words seemed to seep into every cell of his being; he listened and his heart awakened, as if just freed from a long dream.

After listening, he immediately requested ordination. The Buddha asked:

"Do you still have parents at home?"

"World-Honored One, my parents have passed away."

"Is there anyone else who is your kin?"

"I have two younger brothers. One stays home to manage the shop, and one travels with me."

The Buddha instructed:

"Then go tell your brother. Do not ordain carelessly and leave others in a difficult position."

The eldest brother bowed to the Buddha and withdrew, returning to the caravan that was still waiting. He said to his youngest brother:

"Little brother, from now on I hand over all the property to you and Trung Hac to manage. I am going forth to ordain."

The youngest brother cried out:

"Heavens! Brother, you can't do this to me! This is too much!"

But the eldest brother remained resolute, handing over all the goods and carts, then decisively walked away. The youngest brother stood frozen, at a loss for what to do. After thinking for a while, he turned back and said to the servants:

"Take this entire caravan back home. I am going to ordain too!"

With that, he jumped down and ran after his brother, requesting ordination. But the two brothers ordained with very different states of mind. The eldest brother had awakened through the Buddha's teaching and was determined to seek liberation. The youngest brother, who had depended on his eldest brother all his life, now did not know what to do without him, so he ordained with only the thought "my brother will come back." His mind held nothing wholesome.

At the monastery, the eldest brother practiced diligently, while the youngest was restless and unsettled. Whenever female devotees came to the monastery to hear the teachings, he would sit gazing at one, then another, muttering:

"This one is so beautiful! That one is so beautiful! I can't stand it!"

The senior monks were troubled by this, but since he was newly ordained and had not yet received the precepts, no one reproached him.

When he was about to receive the bhikkhu precepts, the eldest brother came before the Buddha and asked:

"World-Honored One, to fulfill the duties of a samana, what practices should one undertake?"

The Buddha taught:

"There are two: studying the teachings, and practicing them."

"World-Honored One, I am advanced in years and cannot learn much. I only know a few basic teachings. Now I wish to practice. But my weakness is that I have always lived in sensual pleasure, so I wish to focus my meditative contemplation on this."

The Buddha directed him to go to the charnel ground to contemplate corpses. He obeyed, went there, found a spot beneath a tree to sit in meditation, and looked at the dead bodies to contemplate the impermanence (anicca) and transience of the human body. An old woman who managed the charnel ground noticed him appearing and disappearing beneath the tree, and after watching him for a long while, discovered that he was a monk practicing contemplation of corpses. She came and said:

"When you come here, you must inform me, for I am the manager. You must also inform the head of the monastery and the village chief, so that if thieves discard stolen goods here, you will not be wrongly suspected."

Hearing this, the Venerable Mahakala instructed her:

"Whenever there is a cremation suitable for contemplation, please call me."

One day, a beautiful young woman from a wealthy family died young, and her relatives brought her body for the old woman to cremate. She called the Venerable to come. He stood watching the flames rise, the flesh sizzling and burning, fat melting, the body twitching, black smoke billowing. He looked on with deep insight, then withdrew to a quiet corner to sit in meditative contemplation. In his mind arose:

"All conditioned phenomena are impermanent (anicca), all subject to change. Only the mind of tranquil, pure cessation is true happiness."

At that very moment, his old connection opened, and he attained realization.

Later, the Buddha and the monks traveled to the Venerable Mahakala's hometown to teach. Mahakala's eight wives and Mahakala's brother's wife schemed to lure their husbands back to lay life. They invited the Buddha and the Sangha to a meal offering, but the Buddha assigned Mahakala's brother to go ahead and make arrangements. Surrounded by the wives, flattered and enticed by their sweet words, Mahakala's brother returned to lay life and stayed home. As for Mahakala, after the meal offering, he was fiercely attacked by his eight wives, but using his supernatural powers, he flew up to the rooftop and returned to bow at the Buddha's feet.

On the way back, the monks were still perplexed and discussed among themselves:

"Before, when the Buddha left Mahakala's brother behind, he returned to lay life. Today the Buddha left Mahakala behind—what will happen to him?"

But when they returned to the monastery, they saw Mahakala appear before the Buddha and kneel in homage. The Buddha praised him:

"Mahakala has attained realization."

Then the Buddha spoke this verse from the Dhammapada:

"Whoever dwells contemplating the beautiful, without guarding the senses, eating without moderation, lazy and lacking faith, is overpowered by Mara as a weak tree is by the wind. Whoever dwells contemplating the unattractive, well guarding the senses, eating in moderation, with faith and diligence, cannot be overpowered by Mara, as a mountain of rock cannot be moved by the wind."

## The Meaning of the Story

This story teaches us about the danger of contemplating beauty—that is, becoming infatuated with gazing at the bodies of the opposite sex, which makes the heart weak and trembling like a tree in the wind, creating an opening for the forces of Mara to enter and lead one to downfall. In contrast, one who knows how to contemplate the unattractive, guards the senses, eats with moderation, and practices diligently will be as unshakable as a mountain of rock. The lesson is that we must always remain awake and vigilant, guarding our mind and heart against the temptations of worldly sensual pleasures.

Compiled from a dharma talk by Venerable Thich Chan Quang.