七佛八菩薩所說大陀羅尼神呪經 3.31

3.31

"Recite the spell three times, knot white fine-cotton thread into seven knots, and tie it around the neck. This great dhāraṇī spell was spoken by past buddhas [as numerous as] the sands of seven Ganges rivers. In ancient times, I was a great king in Jambudvīpa, and sixteen minor states all belonged to me. Having the power of fierce valour and great strategy, I subdued the various kingdoms, and thirty-six states all belonged to me. At that time I fell ill and was on the verge of death. Having scant merit, I had few children, only three sons. The eldest crown prince was dull and of little wisdom; the middle one was frail and weak; while the youngest was intelligent, brave, and sagacious, widely learned with broad knowledge, strategic, and valiant. Seeing that I was about to die, they all assembled, ten thousand ministers also assembled, and ten thousand royal consorts also assembled. When the king was about to die, he said to his ministers: 'Among my three sons, who is fit to be king?' The ministers said: 'As the Great King pleases.' The king then replied: 'It should not be as I please. After I am gone, the laws of governing the state and the affairs of sovereign rule are matters you should know. How could it be left to me?' The ministers stated: 'Excellent, Great King! You oversee us with loving-kindness and compassion, your mind free of hatred or partiality.' The ten thousand ministers proclaimed in unison: 'The third prince is capable of being king.' Having spoken, the ten thousand ministers took their leave and withdrew. The king was then in the main palace hall, his body weary and exhausted. He said to his sons: 'I now wish to lie down.' The third prince embraced the father king's head, the middle one held his feet, and the first prince held the father king's hand. The king lay on his back and immediately passed away. Hearing this, the ministers wept aloud and gathered; the ten thousand royal consorts also wept aloud and threw themselves to the ground. Seeing the father's passing, the third prince wailed and lamented, throwing himself to the ground, reviving only after a long time. The first crown prince was silent and did not weep, while the second prince sat weeping at his feet. The ministers said: 'The princes' demeanours are different.' There was a minister who was the king's uncle; while the Great King was alive, he had always entrusted state affairs to this minister. The prime minister thought: 'When the Great King was alive, he always entrusted state affairs to me. Now these princes have different inclinations; I should inquire about it.' He went forward and asked: 'Now that the king has passed away and the ministers have all gathered, the feelings of a son should not be like this—sitting in silence without weeping.' The prince replied: 'I have no karmic affinity with the father king. The third prince alone is his son; we two are like guests who have come to visit briefly.' The minister replied: 'It should not be so. The kingdom is yours; if not the elder brother, then the younger.' The third prince wailed, rolled on the ground, and went forward to embrace his elder brother's feet: 'I am young and childish; I should not be king. May my elder brother look down with care and succeed to our father's throne.' The elder brother then replied: 'Our father king, on the verge of death, gave orders to you. Though I was born first, I was given no orders. This is the father king's fault, not your wrongdoing. The two of us shall simply enter the mountains, and with dedicated sincerity and utmost effort seek the path of the immortals.' Having spoken, they departed. Through dedicated sincerity, before long they attained the five supernormal powers, moving mountains, halting flowing waters, and pulling the sun and moon with their hands. Having buried the father, the third prince succeeded to the throne and ruled the kingdoms for forty-eight years. Thereafter, a mind of greed and defilement gradually arose in him, and the people grew weary of and despised him. The kings of the minor states and all the ministers all thought of the immortals in the mountains: 'Only a nature free of greed can become an immortal. In the past we were all foolish: we thought the intelligent and sagacious prince was foolish, and took the greedy and defiled prince to be worthy and sagacious.' Having thought this, they all said to one another: 'We should go into the mountains together to invite the immortal to become the great king; furthermore, possessing supernormal transformations, he can overawe and subdue the various states.' Having thought this, the ten thousand ministers went together into the mountains, searching and seeking, and happened to meet him. The ten thousand ministers prostrated, paid homage, and inquired: 'Venerable Immortal! We were obstinate and foolish, failing to recognize what was true and right. We have been thrown into chaos by this greedy king; the people have fled and the state is on the verge of desolation. We only wish the venerable immortal would look down with favour, and with loving-kindness and compassion broadly cover us so that the state may be restored.' The immortal replied: 'I have no such interest.' The ministers replied: 'Truly, this cannot be stopped.' The immortal replied: 'I would rather die here than ever long for the kingdom and become a king of men again.' The ten thousand ministers all said to one another: 'If we return to the state we will also surely die, killed by the greedy king. It is better to remain here and seek the path of the immortals, drinking water, eating fruits, in serene seclusion and stillness.' Through dedicated sincerity, before long they all attained the five supernormal powers, soaring through the pure void everywhere without hindrance. At that time, the greedy king felt shame in his heart; he immediately renounced the throne to leave home and study the Path. Opening his father king's treasury, he wished to perform great generosity. He saw a golden chest sealed in seven places; opening the chest with his hands, he obtained a dhāraṇī, which had been spoken by past buddhas, no different from the previous one. Having obtained the dhāraṇī, he opened his father king's treasury, placed [its contents] at the heads of the crossroads, and let the people carry them away as they pleased. Having obtained this dhāraṇī, I immediately entered a clean chamber and for seven days and seven nights diligently cultivated and practiced it; with outflows ended and mind liberated, I immediately attained the five supernormal powers. At that time, because the king had scant merit and virtue, neighbouring states invaded his borders, wind and rain were unseasonal, and the people suffered from famine. The king then invited a monk to be the national preceptor to govern and transform [the realm] together with me. The monk then accepted his invitation, and out of pity for sentient beings acted as the national preceptor, teaching the king the correct Dharma of governing: taking non-greed as the foundation and loving-kindness and compassion as the nature, rewarding good and punishing evil, revering morality, and pitying the people as if looking upon an infant. He then taught the king the phrases of this dhāraṇī. Because the king was exceedingly sincere at that time, he was vigorous and unflagging for seven days and seven nights. Because he was vigorous, the buddhas of the ten directions, the great bodhisattvas, Śakra, Brahmā, the Four Heavenly Kings, the twenty-eight classes of great ghosts and spirits, and all the great nāga kings, protecting the realm, gathered at his borders; rain fell in season, grains ripened in abundance, and the people were peaceful and happy. Because they were peaceful and happy, all the minor states submitted to his rule. You should know that it was entirely the mighty spiritual power of this great dhāraṇī that was such. If kings at the end of the thousand years of Śākyamuni Buddha wish to seek their desires, they should also act like this ancient king, without any difference."