The Past Endeavour of Kanakavarna

In The Past Endeavour of Kanakavarna (Skt. Kanakavarṇapūrvayoga; Tib. གསེར་མདོག་གི་སྔོན་གྱི་སྦྱོར་བ། Wyl. gser mdog gi sngon gyi sbyor ba) the Buddha Shakyamuni illustrates the power of generosity by narrating a distant past life as a magnanimous king named Kanakavarna, who ruled over the entire continent of Jambudvipa. While faced with a devastating famine, this bodhisattva king decided to offer the last bit of food left in Jambudvipa—which had been kept especially for him—to a pratyekabuddhawho had come to his palace begging for alms. As a result of King Kanakavarna’s selfless gift, the whole continent was miraculously showered with all possible foods and goods, and the people of Jambudvipa were saved. In addition to this immediate fruit of the king’s meritorious deed, a further fruit of the king’s good deed is implied when the Buddha discloses King Kanakavarna’s identity at the end of the story. The king’s generosity would reach full karmic fruition in his perfect awakening in a future life as the Buddha Shakyamuni. .

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The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Dergé Kangyur, Toh 350

• English translation: The Past Endeavour of Kanakavarna