分別功德論 5.12

5.12

As for why the monk Utpalavarṇa is praised as foremost in contemplating the self as impermanent: this monk in past lives was respectful and cautious. If he saw elders, he served them as a father; if he saw the middle-aged, he respected them like elder brothers; toward those younger than himself, he loved them like younger brothers. Because his modesty and reverence reached the utmost, he received the retribution of an exceptionally large stature. When he was able to become a monk and attend to the left and right of the Buddha, though he had a tall and large form, he never relied on it; he constantly contemplated that this body had no self and no permanent master. Discerning and possessing bright wisdom, his mind was devoid of right and wrong; hence, he could abandon bodily pride and rid himself of arrogance, with modesty foremost. How is it known that his physical form was exceptionally large? When the Buddha first attained awakening, he converted the three Kāśyapa brothers and had a thousand monks. He traveled to the country of Magadha, converted King Bimbisāra, and when he was about to return to his home country, he first dispatched Udāyin to inform King Śuddhodana: "Seven days hence he will come to bring conversion." When the king heard this, he leaped with boundless joy, immediately ordered his chariot prepared, leveled the roads, and had them swept, sprinkled, and incense burned to await the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata, leading one thousand two hundred and fifty monks, came to the Śākyas. The Tathāgata thought: "Now my father the king will certainly come to welcome me. One of such dignity must not be made to bend his body; I should manifest ṛddhi and walk through the air." He was level with people's heads, wanting only to let the king take the Tathāgata's feet with his hands. The reason for this was that, though the Buddha's virtue was supreme, he did not wish to make his parents bend their bodies. At that time, the monk Utpalavarṇa was to the Tathāgata's right, and the Guhyaka vajra-warrior was to the Tathāgata's left; the Tathāgata's body reached exactly to this monk's shoulder. The king asked: "Who are those to the left and right of the Buddha, that they are so tall and large?" The reply was: "The one on the right is the monk Utpalavarṇa; the one on the left is the yakṣa Vajrapāṇi." He further asked: "Of what country are they people, that they are so extraordinary?" The reply was: "They are people of the country of Magadha." He asked again: "Are these bodies of ṛddhi, or are they physical bodies received from their parents?" The reply was: "They are physical bodies received from their parents, not of ṛddhi." The Śākyas thought: "The Tathāgata's spiritual virtue is incomprehensible, that he can have such tall and large persons—even rākṣasas and evil spirits—to his left and right!" Through this circumstance, it is known how great this monk's height was. When this monk attended to the left and right of the Buddha, he was constantly obstructing the Tathāgata from view, which the devas and people of the world found troubling. The Tathāgata has two kinds of body: first, the Dharma-body; second, the physical body. This monk only loved the golden physical body and did not love the anāsrava Dharma-body. An intimate disciple should by rule be entrusted [with the teachings], but [the Buddha] feared that the Dharma-body would be neglected and missing in the future. Because of these two matters, the Tathāgata sent him away and replaced him with Ānanda.