Asanga was one of the most famous Indian Buddhist saints, and
lived in the fourth century. He went to the mountains to do a
solitary retreat, concentrating all his meditation practice on the
Buddha Maitreya, in the fervent hope that he would be blessed with
a vision of this Buddha and receive teachings from him.
For six years Asanga meditated in extreme hardship, but did not
even have one auspicious dream. He was disheartened and thought he
would never succeed with his aspiration to meet the Buddha
Maitreya, and so he abandoned his retreat and left his hermitage.
He had not gone far down the road when he saw a man rubbing an
enormous iron bar with a strip of silk. Asanga went up to him and
asked him what he was doing. I havent got a needle, the man
replied, so Im going to make one out of this iron bar. Asanga
stared at him, astounded; even if the man were able to manage it in
a hundred years, he thought, what would be the point? He said to
himself: Look at the trouble people give themselves over things
that are totally absurd. You are doing something really valuable,
spiritual practice, and youre not nearly so dedicated. He turned
around and went back to his retreat.
Another three years went by, still without the slightest sign from
the Buddha Maitreya. Now I know for certain, he thought, Im
never going to succeed. So he left again, and soon came to a bend
in the road where there was a huge rock, so tall it seemed to touch
the sky. At the foot of the rock was a man busily rubbing it with a
feather soaked in water. What are you doing? Asanga asked.
This rock is so big its stopping the sun from shining on my
house, so Im trying to get rid of it. Asanga was amazed at the
mans indefatigable energy, and ashamed at his own lack of
dedication. He returned to his retreat.
Three more years passed, and still he had not even had a single
good dream. He decided, once and for all, that it was hopeless, and
he left his retreat for good. The day wore on, and in the afternoon
he came across a dog lying by the side of the road. It had only its
front legs, and the whole of the lower part of its body was rotting
and covered with maggots. Despite its pitiful condition the dog was
snapping at passerby, and pathetically trying to bite them by
dragging itself along the ground with its two good legs.
Asanga was overwhelmed with a vivid and unbearable feeling of
compassion. He cut a piece of flesh off his own body and gave it to
the dog to eat. Then he bent down to take off the maggots that were
consuming the dogs body. But he suddenly thought he might hurt
them if he tried to pull them out with his fingers, and realized
that the only way to remove them would be on his tongue. Asanga
knelt on the ground, and looking at the horrible festering,
writhing mass, closed his eyes. He leant closer and put out his
tongue
.. The next thing he knew, his tongue was touching the
ground. He opened his eyes and looked up. The dog was gone; there
in its place was the Buddha Maitreya, ringed by a shimmering aura
of light.
At last, said Asanga, why did you never appear to me
before?
Maitreya spoke softly: It is true that I have never appeared to
you before. I was with you all the time, but your negative karma
and obscurations prevented you from seeing me. Your twelve years of
practice dissolved them slightly, so that you were at last able to
see the dog. Then, thanks to your genuine and heartfelt compassion,
all those obscurations were completely swept away, and you can see
me before you with your very own eyes. If you dont believe that
this is what happened, put me on your shoulder and try and see if
anyone else can see me.
Asanga put Maitreya on his right shoulder and went to the
marketplace, where he began to ask everyone: What have I got on my
shoulder? Nothing, most people said, and hurried on. Only one
old woman, whose karma had been slightly purified, answered:
Youve got the rotting corpse of an old dog on your shoulder,
thats all. Asanga at last understood the boundless power of
compassion that had purified and transformed his karma, and so made
him a vessel fit to receive the vision and instruction of Maitreya.
Then the Buddha Maitreya, whose name means loving kindness, took
Asanga to a heavenly realm, and there gave him any sublime
teachings that are among the most important in the whole of
Buddhism.
