About an hour from the resting stop to the foot of Cockfoot Mountain (Mount Gurupāda or Kukkuṭapāda Giri Mountain), we walked through the train tracks, passing the poor hamlets, rundown houses, and huts of earthen walls and leafed roofs where many people live.
The night was pitch dark, the dew frosty, the roads jagged with gravel; the scattered puddles and piles of cow dung somewhat slowed down the steps of the foot-traveling Sangha. Though I had visited Cockfoot Mountain twice, my feeling this time was completely different from back then. The rocky dirt road sloping up the mountain was now replaced with multiple concrete steps. Though it was not bumpy, crooked, or rough, I somehow remembered the road of yesteryear had been somehow more naturally beautiful and much more poetic. The heavy footsteps that trudged up each step of stairs to the mountain top by us trekkers reflected our health and legs giving in to exhaustion of recent days. All that made the climb somewhat difficult. However, we were still joyful in our hearts because we had finally reached the spiritual land of Cockfoot Mountain.

Perhaps when hearing about Venerable Mahākassapa, most Buddhists would know of Him. The Buddha also praised His simple way of life, living in forests or on mountains and meditating in caves. He often turned to the less privileged for alms; the Commentary explained that He did so for the benefit of the poor. In the Mahākassapattheragāthā, there is a passage from Him recounting how a leper dropped his finger in the Venerable’s bowl while offering food; Venerable Mahākassapa put away the finger and continued to eat. The Dhammapada verse 118 tells the story of a country girl named Lājā who was a keeper of the rice fields; with pure faith, she offered parched rice to Him. Thanks to this offering, after passing away, she was reborn as a deity (Deva) in the realm of the Thirty-three Heaven (Tāvatiṃsa) with a brilliant aura, a magnificent castle, and many deva servants. After examining and knowing why she had this blessing, the Lājā Deva secretly tried to appear at His kuṭi daily to clean, fill up the water pot, etc. After discovering His cleaner was a deva, He insisted on rejecting her services. She cried and begged Him not to nullify what she had because she still wanted to accumulate more blessings she was enjoying by providing him services. Still sending her away, He even said she didn’t know the limits. This incident was not the only time he refused offerings from devas. Dhammapada verse 56 also records how He refused offerings from 500 devas and King Sakka, ruler of the Heaven of the Thirty-three. Venerable Mahākassapa lived a contented and simple life and paid special attention to the poor.

Today Cockfoot Mountain is where Buddhists believe Venerable Mahākassapa entered deep absorption meditation (Samādhi Samapatti). In that state, He will keep the robe and bowl of Gotama Buddha, waiting until the arrival of Metteyya Buddha to pass them on as per the recommendation of Gotama Buddha. Why is it called Cockfoot (Ke Tuc) Mountain? In the Old Vietnamese, Ke means cock, and Tuc means foot. The shape of this mountain is like the three toes of a foot of a giant cock covering the ground. The inside of the three-toed mountain is hollow, forming a large cave. Therefore, in folklore, this mountain is called Cockfoot Mountain. Local people, on the other hand, call it Kukkatapāda Mountain. This mountain range is located in Gaya district, Bihar state, in northwestern India.

Along the way up the mountain, the surrounding scenery is quiet and heartwarmingly beautiful. The solid, majestic, and immovable appearance of the mountain is created from grand natural rocks. This appearance is like the resolute mind of an Arahant, with the unwavering will to live alone to practice pure austerity, despite years upon years of strong winds, heavy rains, the harsh sun, inclement weather, and other challenges.

Near the top of the mountain was a large rock, some ten meters high and a few meters across, blocking the way. To reach the top, to the specific place believed to be where Venerable Mahākassapa entered deep absorption (Samādhi Samapatti); one must cross that rock. According to legend, when Venerable Mahākassapa came here, the mountain automatically cracked, and he went along this way to the top of the mountain to enter deep absorption (Samādhi Samapatti), waiting for the birth of Metteyya Buddha. This crevice is the only path leading to the top of the mountain. The crack was barely enough for an average-sized person to enter. One by one, the Sangha entered the crevice.

And Spotty Āloka lay in front of the opening to the crevice. Hmmm, he hesitated to enter for a moment. Having climbed up here from the foot of the mountain, he still couldn’t reach the main location. Feeling sorry for him, I carried him in my arms, and we walked step-by-step through the crevice. He groaned, clutching his legs to the sides of the mountain; it was already difficult for a single person to walk, let alone one carrying a dog, making it even more difficult. The air in this fissure is cool and seemingly mysterious. From the beginning of the crevice to the left, the turn to reach the top of the mountain was about a hundred meters. This turn leads through the ink-dark rock core. We eventually reached the top of the mountain, where a stupa stood to venerate Mahākassapa. Together we knelt before his statue to pay homage to the Foremost Austerity Monk, knowing that our practice of austerity on this journey to follow the Buddha’s footsteps, is simply not comparable to his experience.

Also, at the peak of Cockfoot Mountain is a stupa enshrined a statue of the Blessed One. We each found a place to sit for meditation, observed, paid homage, and finally recited the Triple Gem sutta to offer our dhamma practice to the Buddha and Venerable Mahākassapa, and share our blessings with devas and beings of all kinds. Legend has it that if someone with good kamma with him would stay overnight at the top of the mountain, they could see the Venerable’s aura or golden image. We left Cockfoot peak and descended the mountain by noon to continue our journey.

After lunch, it was a more than twenty kilometers journey towards the Forest of Ascetics (Mahakala Caves, Dungeshwari Hills, where the Buddha spent several years practicing self-mortification before his enlightenment). We passed by markets selling fruits, candies, and cakes. Flies darkened all of those items because most confectionery is made from sugar. Food is in the same state, neither covered nor sealed. The dust from the road fills the air. We stopped for the night on the campus of an elementary school by the roadside to end a long day.

Source: Dhammacetiya
#chuahuongdao
#sbsstupas