གསར་མདག་ག་སྔན་གྱ་སྦྱར་བ་ཞས་བྱ་བ 8

8

To whom should I now extend my compassion? Whose alms should I now receive and eat?’

“The blessed pratyekabuddha surveyed the whole of Jambudvīpa with his superhuman⁶² divine vision, and he saw that all the food in Jambudvīpa had been exhausted apart from a single measure of food left for King Kanakavarṇa. He then thought, ‘Let me extend my compassion to King Kanakavarṇa. Let me receive and eat the single measure of food that is left for King Kanakavarṇa.’⁶³

“Then the blessed pratyekabuddha, by such miraculous ability of his,⁶⁴ rose up into the sky, and, like a bird in bodily appearance, through his miraculous ability, proceeded to the royal capital Kanakāvatī.

“At that time King Kanakavarṇa was on the palace terrace, accompanied by five thousand courtiers. One minister saw the blessed pratyekabuddha coming from a distance. Seeing this, he called the other ministers, ‘Look, sirs, look! From the distance, a red-winged bird is coming toward us here!’

“Another minister said, ‘Sirs, this is not a red-winged bird—it’s a life-robbing demon that is coming here! It is now going to devour us!’

“Then King Kanakavarṇa rubbed his face with both hands and said to the ministers, ‘Sirs, this is not a red-winged bird, nor is it a life-robbing demon—it’s a sage who is coming out of compassion for us!’

“Thereupon that blessed pratyekabuddha alighted on top of King Kanakavarṇa’s palace. Rising from his seat, King Kanakavarṇa