What sutra is this story from?

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biryani
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What sutra is this story from?

Post by biryani »

I found a story told by Lama Zopa about the Buddha giving rise to great compassion during a past life in hell. He offers to pull Yama's chariot alone to save another being, is speared by Yama, and is reborn in a deva realm.

https://www.lamayeshe.com/article/chapt ... past-lives

It says it's from the "Paying the Kindness" sutra, but when I search for that all I have found is a sutra about repaying the kindness of parents, which does not contain this story. Does anyone know what sutra it is from?
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Aemilius
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Re: What sutra is this story from?

Post by Aemilius »

Friend, I remember reading a version of that story, but there are easily more than 500 stories of past lives in different sutras and collections of Jatakas and Avadanas. You can look at this collection of past life stories: https://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/j1/index.htm
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
Inedible
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Re: What sutra is this story from?

Post by Inedible »

The version I read was that he had been pushing a large rock up a hill with another hell being. The difference with the western version is that along the way the plant life is sharp as swords and a person is cut to pieces while pushing. The Buddha offered to push alone and was immediately killed for it. Dying in hell normally results in being immediately restored to life, but it didn't happen. I read that this was the initial generation of Bodhichitta and not just compassion.
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Queen Elizabeth II
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Re: What sutra is this story from?

Post by Queen Elizabeth II »

Aemilius wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 8:47 am Friend, I remember reading a version of that story, but there are easily more than 500 stories of past lives in different sutras and collections of Jatakas and Avadanas. You can look at this collection of past life stories: https://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/j1/index.htm
It's definitely not one of the Pali Jātakas. I've read them all and though I don't remember them all I'd be sure to remember one that was anything like that described in the OP.
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Aemilius
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Re: What sutra is this story from?

Post by Aemilius »

Queen Elizabeth II wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 4:03 pm
Aemilius wrote: Wed Aug 04, 2021 8:47 am Friend, I remember reading a version of that story, but there are easily more than 500 stories of past lives in different sutras and collections of Jatakas and Avadanas. You can look at this collection of past life stories: https://www.sacred-texts.com/bud/j1/index.htm
It's definitely not one of the Pali Jātakas. I've read them all and though I don't remember them all I'd be sure to remember one that was anything like that described in the OP.
There is a very similar story in the pali suttas.
svaha
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Sarvē mānavāḥ svatantrāḥ samutpannāḥ vartantē api ca, gauravadr̥śā adhikāradr̥śā ca samānāḥ ēva vartantē. Ētē sarvē cētanā-tarka-śaktibhyāṁ susampannāḥ santi. Api ca, sarvē’pi bandhutva-bhāvanayā parasparaṁ vyavaharantu."
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 1. (in english and sanskrit)
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