The HARITI SUTRA

In the time when the Buddha was in the country of Ta-teou, in this country there was a woman, mother of many children, of a very malicious nature. She took delight in going to steal people's children to kill them and to eat them. The families who lost their children didn't know who had taken them. They wandered through the lanes and in the countryside and lamented; then returning, they held council. This continued for some time. Ananda and all the sramana went and saw for themselves the people lamenting; when they returned, they held a council with them, and they pitied the families who had lost their children. The Buddha knew what the sramana were thinking. He came to the place where they were staying and asked the sramana: "Concerning what subject did you hold a council?" The sramana and Ananda said to the Buddha: "The subject is this: having gone out and observed for ourselves, we noticed in the lanes and in the countryside many people who were lamenting. We asked these people who lamented, "Why do you grieve?" They answered us, "We have lost our children - we do not know where their bodies are." These people who lamented so, they were not just a single family, and all had lost their children."

The Buddha said to Ananda and to all the sramana, "Whoever stole the children in this country is no ordinary human being, it is the Mother of Demons who is now manifested as a human being. She takes delight in stealing the children of others. This mother has a thousand sons: five hundred are in the heavens and five hundred on the earth. These thousand sons are all Demon Kings, each of these kings commands several legions of demons. Therefore, five hundred demon kings are in the heavens and torment the gods, and five hundred demon kings are on the earth and torment the rulers and the people. The gods themselves can do nothing to fend off these five hundred demon kings."

Ananda said to the Buddha, "The mother of demons who has come into this county, shouldn't she be ordered not to steal the children of others?" The Buddha said, "Very good. She must be ordered not to steal the children of others from this time forward." Ananda asked the Buddha, "By what means can she be prevented from stealing the children of others in the future?" The Buddha said then to Ananda, "Let all the sramanas go to the place where this mother dwells and wait for her departure, then let them take all her children and bring them to the vihara and hide them."

All of the sramana went and waited for the mother to leave, then they took her children, numbering one thousand, and brought them secretly to the vihara. The mother had gone out again to steal children. Upon her return, in entering into her house she no longer saw her children. Then she abandoned the children of others without daring to kill them. Then she started looking for her children everywhere in her house but she could not discover where they were. Then she went out, going through the streets, scouring all over town but did not find them. Then she went out of town and searched for them without finding them, then she returned to the town and went through the lanes and lamented to herself. This continued for ten days. The mother was panicked; her hair undone, she went to the market uttering moans, striking her breast, hitting herself, sending out great shrieks to the heavens, delivering incoherent speeches, and able to neither drink nor eat. The Buddha sent his disciples to see this spectacle. Catching sight of the mother, they asked her, "Why do you go all throughout the town, hair undone and lamenting?" The mother replied to the disciples, "It is because I have lost my many children that I weep." The disciples said, "Do you want to find your sons?" The mother replied, "I want to find them." The disciples said, "If you truly desire to find them, there is in these times a Buddha. You must go to him and ask. The Buddha knows the future and the past. Go and you will find your sons." The mother, hearing these words, conceived a great joy and her mind was eased; and following the disciples, she came to the place where the Buddha was. Very joyful, she approached and venerated the Buddha. The Buddha then asked the mother, "Why do you go throughout the town lamenting?" The mother replied to the Buddha, "Because I have lost my sons." The Buddha asked the mother, "Where did you go after leaving your sons so as to have lost them?" The mother remained silent and did not reply. The Buddha asked the mother, "In leaving your sons, where were you going and from where did you return?" She remained silent and said not a word. The mother knew that it was wrong to steal the children of others. Then the mother arose and venerated the Buddha, flinging herself face-down against the ground and saying: "It is that I am a madwoman." The Buddha interrogated her anew: "You have children - do you love them?" The mother said, " The children I have, whether sitting or standing, I always want them by my side." The Buddha questioned her again: "Since you are capable of loving the children you have, why every day do you steal the children of others? Others love their children as you do. The families who have lost their children are going through the lanes and lamenting as you have done. Furthermore, those children of others whom you have stolen, back at your house you kill them and eat them. After you die, you will enter into Samghata Hell."

The mother, hearing these words was filled with terror. The Buddha asked her still again, "Do you sincerely desire to find your children?" The mother got up and threw herself again face to the ground saying, "I beg of you, have pity on me!" The Buddha spoke once again to the mother, saying to her, "If your children are returned to you, will you sincerely repent? If you repent sincerely, I will return to you your children." The mother said, "I repent." The Buddha said, "You repent. What will you do in the future as a pledge of your repentance?" The mother said, "I will listen to the teachings and the precepts of the Buddha, and I will conform myself to his words - it is thus that I will repent. If the Buddha returns my children to me, I will never again deviate from what he will say." The Buddha said, "Will it truly be as you say?" The mother said, "I will surely act in accordance with the words of the Buddha."

Then the Buddha imposed upon her the Five Precepts - first, not to kill living beings; secondly, not to steal; thirdly, not to be lustful; fourth, not to deceive; and fifth, not to drink intoxicating liquor. In return, he gave back to her all of her children. Then the Buddha once again said, "You have one thousand sons; I will tell you the names of your thousand sons. Five hundred are in the heavens; all are kings among the demons and with their officers and subaltern demons, envious and malicious, they torment the inhabitants of heaven. Five hundred are on the earth where they torment all the human people. Your sons are demon kings, they command several legions of demons. These five hundred of your sons with their officers and subaltern demons in enormous numbers are extremely hateful and evil. They turn themselves some into tree spirits, others into spirits of the earth or of the waters; or deceiving people, they pass themselves off as their older or younger brothers, their wives, their children, by their malice causing trouble both inside and outside of houses; or they make themselves into spirits of the sea or spirits of boats and of wagons, or into house spirits; or they call themselves the spirits who live in the dark of night, or they send dreams to men or they send to them terrors and cause them to see dreadful things; or they assume the names of those who have died by accident or by disease. It is in this way that they torment men. And they are everywhere. They are very hateful and malicious. Thus, under these false names, they coerce men to perform sacrifices and to kill (victims) whom they cook; the ignorant people kill and cook (victims) in order to feed these demons; these demons do not really wish to eat (the victims) but, being very malicious, they cause men to commit murders in order to compel them to enter into hell. Even not eating these (victims), they rejoice to see men perform sacrifices. These demons are not capable of protecting human life; they do only what adds to their crimes; and men, maddened and ignorant, entangled with these demons, are miserable."

The mother of demons, hearing the words of the Buddha, repented to the depths of her heart and received the srotapatti, apprehending the future and the past. Making a great obeisance, she said to the Buddha: "I am a madwoman who knows nothing; from existence to existence I have been evil. Now I have received the precepts; my thoughts are completely absorbed in the Middle Way of the Law. My spirit is endowed with clairvoyance; I see again my thousand sons. Now I know; the excellent words of the Buddha are realized! I entreat the Buddha to have pity on me. I wish to live beside the vihara of the Buddha; I wish to call the thousand kings my sons; I wish to attach them to the Buddha. I wish to give back good deeds to men in and under heaven." The Buddha said, "It is very good; this thought that you have is excellent." The Buddha said, "In the future, you must abide by these words. You will live beside the vihara of the Buddha. When the people of this country who don't have children wish for and ask for them, you will give them some. According to your wish, I will give names to your sons; I will make them protectors of men and will allow them to wrongly torment them no more."

To make a vow with the Mother-of-demons, there was the Bhuta Manibhadra and his older sister called Tche-ni. All the demons in and below the heavens are the responsibility of this Manibhadra. He is sovereign over the interior of the four oceans; the merchants by boat and by wagon, they who possess riches - all are the responsibility of Manibhadra. Manibhadra attached himself to the Buddha and received the precepts. He protects men's interests. As for Tche-ni, she comes to the aid of women in childbirth.

There is a devaraja called Vaisramana who rules the four worlds and protects human life; riches are Vaisramana's responsibility. To make a vow, there was also a great demon king named Asura who has command over all the nagaraja and all the spirit poisoners. They vowed that their venom would do no harm to men; they vowed that their hearts having become good, they would not exercise vengeance and that they would no longer bite men. They vowed to give to men all that they ask for, and even if nothing is requested, at least they will do no harm. Then the men approached the Bhuta Manibhadra and venerated him.

*Cited in Taisho as: T.XXI, 1202. My English translation is based on Noel Peri's version in "Hariti la mere-de-demons," 16-21. Parentheses are Peri's.