Night on Vulture Peak

Dusk fell over Vulture Peak, staining the whole sky a deep violet. The mountain wind blew briskly, carrying the scent of wild grasses and damp earth. Upon a great flat rock, the Buddha sat in stillness, his gaze resting on the far distance.

As darkness began to settle over the valley, the sky suddenly glowed with hundreds of halos of light, great and small, slowly descending. These were the devas from the heavenly realms, gathering to hear the Dharma. Sakka, king of the gods, led the way, majestic and solemn, filling the vault of heaven.

That night, the Buddha taught the Dharma to the devas. He expounded truths so profound that they lay beyond the understanding of humankind. In the midst of this, from afar, a bhikkhuni of serene and dignified countenance was flying toward the mountain. She was Bhikkhuni Khema, an arahant renowned for her supernatural powers, once the queen of King Bimbisara.

She had risen from the nuns' monastery in the Bamboo Grove to pay homage to the Buddha. But when she arrived, she saw the devas gathered in great numbers, the whole sky radiant with light. She paused and thought, "The devas are listening to the Dharma. If I press forward, the Buddha would have to teach in a different way, one not suited to their capacities. I should yield." With that thought, she quietly paid homage from a distance and turned back, troubling no one.

Seeing this, Sakka, king of the gods, asked the Buddha, "World-Honored One, who is that bhikkhuni who flew here and then flew away?" The Buddha smiled and answered with a verse: "One of profound wisdom, skilled in knowing the path from the non-path, who has attained the supreme fruit, her I call a brahmin." This was the praise he offered for Bhikkhuni Khema, a woman who had once lived amidst silk and velvet, yet who attained the fruit of arahantship after hearing the Buddha teach only once.

Bhikkhuni Khema was no stranger. She had once been the most beautiful queen of King Bimbisara. One day, the king coaxed her into going to hear the Buddha teach by having rumors spread about him.

When she arrived, the Buddha used his supernatural powers to conjure the image of a woman even more beautiful than she. Then, before her eyes, that woman slowly aged, collapsed, and died, until nothing remained but a pile of white bones. Khema was shaken to her core, and she awakened to impermanence (anicca). The Buddha then taught her a verse, and on the spot she attained arahantship, though she had never practiced a single day before. Afterwards, she ordained and became a bhikkhuni of vast supernatural powers.

The story of this night on Vulture Peak not only celebrates Khema's wisdom, but also teaches us about the subtlety of discerning the path from the non-path. The Buddha praised her because she was skilled in knowing the path from the non-path, clearly seeing what is the right path and what is the wrong path, even in the smallest of actions. She understood that yielding her place so the devas could hear the Dharma was the path, while pressing in, even with good intentions, could become the non-path if it did not fit the time and the circumstances.

In daily life, we tend to judge by appearances, yet the path and the non-path lie in the motive within. An action may seem admirable, such as visiting the temple, listening to the Dharma, or chanting sutras, but if the hidden motive is fame, profit, or deception, it becomes the non-path. Conversely, an action that seems harsh, such as a Zen master striking his disciple, is the path if it arises from the compassion that longs for the disciple's awakening. Only an arahant can see through such subtle matters.

The Meaning of the Story

The story of Bhikkhuni Khema teaches us that wisdom does not lie in outward form, but in a deep understanding of the path and the non-path. Every action and every word can be the path or the non-path, depending on the motive within. May we always remain wakeful, see clearly our own mind/heart, keep fame and profit from creeping into our practice, and learn to yield with humility, as Khema did.

Adapted from a dharma talk by Venerable Thich Chan Quang