分別功德論 1.13

1.13

Ānanda deferred to Kāśyapa, saying: "The venerable elder is competent to expound the Dharma for the assembly. Why is this so? The revered elder has practiced of old, knows much, and is someone entrusted by the World-Honoured One; for the sake of future sentient beings, and wishing to cause the true Dharma to abide long in the world, the Tathāgata shared half his seat to summon you. Since the noble elder is the senior monk among the saṅgha and his wisdom is all-encompassing, we pray that you graciously bestow your compassion and expound the jewel of the Dharma in due season." A foreign master said: The reason Kāśyapa did not preach the Dharma is that among the four kinds of eloquence, he lacked eloquence of phrasing. It is also said that he was originally a pratyekabuddha who merely manifested transformations through ṛddhi and never preached the Dharma from the start. Kāśyapa declined with humility, saying that he was decayed with age, his mind was dim, and he forgot much. [Ānanda] replied: "How could the true Dharma of the four truths decay or perish? It is like vajra, which cannot be damaged; only the four great elements of birth and death have increase and decrease." The Sarvāstivāda school also says: Among the nine kinds of arhats, there are those who fall back. Due to how many causes do they fall back? There are four causes: advancing in age and decay, affliction by the suffering of illness, fondness for traveling to distant places, and taking medicine improperly. Only due to these four causes are there mistakes and forgetfulness. How could the wonderful wisdom of the ultimate truth ever be forgotten? Kāśyapa exhorted Ānanda, saying: "You are now in your prime; moreover, you possess the wisdom of hearing and conventional wisdom, and have dhāraṇī and a powerful memory. Whenever the Buddha preached sūtras, he always entrusted them to you. For this reason, you should proclaim the sūtras and Dharma." How is it known that Ānanda possessed conventional wisdom? In the past, east of the city of Śrāvastī, there was a large nyagrodha tree whose shade covered five hundred carriages. In the city was a brahmacārin skilled in arithmetic, foremost among the ninety-five kinds [of heterodox teachers]. Encountering Ānanda beneath this tree, he said to Ānanda: "People say: 'The disciples of Gautama are foremost in wisdom.' Is there any truth to this?" [Ānanda] replied: "What I know is modest." [The brahmacārin] said: "I wish to ask one small question. How many stems, nodes, branches, and leaves are there in total on this tree?" Ānanda lifted his head, looked at the tree, and immediately answered him: "This tree has such-and-such number of stems, nodes, branches, and leaves respectively." He then departed. Behind him, the brahmacārin thought: "This śramaṇa definitely did not know the number, yet answered me so readily. Now I shall test him." He then picked sixty leaves from various places and hid them in the ground. When Ānanda returned from begging for food, [the brahmacārin] asked again: "Just now I forgot the count; tell me once more." Ānanda lifted his head, looked at it twice, and replied: "Why are the leaves of this tree fewer?" [The brahmacārin] asked: "Fewer by how many?" [Ānanda] replied: "Fewer by sixty leaves." The brahmacārin immediately pressed his palms together, thanked him, and said: "Unprecedented!" He also asked: "Are you an arhat?" [Ānanda] replied: "No." "Are you an anāgāmin or a sakṛdāgāmin?" [Ānanda] said: "No." "Are you a srotāpanna?" [Ānanda] said: "Why do you ask?" [The brahmacārin] also asked: "Do you have a master?" [Ānanda] replied: "I do. The prince of King Śuddhodana went forth from the household life and became a Buddha; he is my master." [The brahmacārin] thought: "This is borrowing his master's wisdom; it is not his own knowledge." He immediately followed him to where the Buddha was, sought to become a śramaṇa, and attained arhatship. From this it is known that Ānanda possessed conventional wisdom.