分別功德論 5.18

5.18

The reason the monk King of the Śākyas is praised as being of an illustrious and noble lineage, heavenly by nature, and gentle, is this: In general, lineages are four: kṣatriyas, brāhmaṇas, gṛhapatis, and kulapatis. When one speaks of nobility, it is because upon becoming śramaṇas they all share the one Śākya clan, and on this account it is praised as noble. It is like the four Gaṅgā rivers—the Ox Mouth, Lion Mouth, Horse Mouth, and Elephant Mouth—each having five hundred tributaries, which together enter the great ocean and become a single water, without various tastes. Thus the ocean is called great and is held as the most noble among the hundred rivers. The Śākya lineage is also like this; hence he is praised as foremost in nobility.