彰所知論 1.12.4

1.12.4

When a celestial being dies in the Ābhāsvara heaven and is born in the realm of Mahābrahmā, being born solitary, he grows weary: 'Alas! Would that other beings of the same class were born into this world!' Although he has formulated such a thought, it is not through the power of his recollection, but because beings from the Ābhāsvara heaven whose life-spans have ended happen to be born there. The one who was born first then conceives this thought: 'Because of my longing, they were born.' Therefore the world all calls him Mahābrahmā, the Ancestor of Humans. Next in sequence are born the Brahmapurohita, the Brahmapāriṣadya, the Paranirmitavaśavartin, and so forth down to the Cāturmahārājakāyika; then the northern Uttarakuru continent, the western Godānīya continent, the eastern Pūrvavideha continent, and the southern Jambudvīpa continent are born in sequence. At that time, the people of Jambudvīpa had boundless life-spans; their food and drink was joy and bliss; they had mind-made physical forms, their bodies were endowed with radiance, and they flew through the air at will, like the devas of the realm of form. Then the earth-essence gradually emerged: its taste was sweet and delicious, its color white like honey, and its fragrance rich. At that time, there was one person who by disposition craved flavors. Smelling the fragrance, he gave rise to attachment; he reached out, tasted it, and immediately ate it. He also told the others, who followed his example and took it to eat. Because they ate solid food, their bodily radiance vanished. Due to the collective karma of beings, the sun and the moon then arose, shining over the four continents, and next the earth-essence disappeared. Then there arose earth-cakes, whose taste was sweet and delicious and whose color red like honey; they vied with one another to crave and eat them, and the earth-cakes disappeared again. Next forest creepers arose; because they vied with one another to crave and eat them, the forest creepers also disappeared. Then naturally growing rice, unploughed and unsown, arose, and everyone gathered and ate it together. Because this food was coarse, residual impurities appeared, and both the sensory roots and excretory passages emerged. At that time, the people harvested fragrant rice to eat whenever they ate, morning or evening. Later, someone who was lazy by disposition took a large amount of fragrant rice and stored it overnight for food; the others followed suit, and the fragrant rice vanished. Thereupon, they jointly divided the fields, fearing that it would be exhausted in the future. Toward their own allotted fields they gave rise to stinginess and protection; toward others' allotted fields they harbored thoughts of encroaching and stealing, and so strife and contention arose. At that time, the people deliberated upon a virtuous person to invest him as the master of the apportioned fields. Because he was approved by the multitude, he was called King Mahāsammata (which means 'Approved by the Multitude'). The king had many sons who successively inherited the throne: the eldest son was named Rocana, his son was Kalyāṇa, his son was Varakalyāṇa, and his son was Upoṣadha—these are called the five kings of the vivarta-kalpa. The son of King Upoṣadha was named Māndhātṛ, his son was Cāru, his son was Upacāru, his son was Cārumant, and his son was Cārumān—these are called the five Cakravartin kings. The son of King Cārumān was named Jaya, his son was Jayanta, his son was Śakuni, his son was Kuśa, his son was Darśana, his son was Mahādarśana, his son was Anantara, his son was Suvarṇa, his son was Bhāgīratha, his son was Apāpa, his son was Meru, his son was Dhṛtarāṣṭra, his son was Mahāghoṣa, his son was Mahāmahāghoṣa, his son was Kṣema, his son was Diśāmpati, his son was Renuka, his son was Vipula, and his son was Mahādeva. This royal lineage was handed down for five thousand generations. His final descendant was handed down for seven thousand generations, called King Aśmaka. His final descendant was handed down for eight thousand generations, called King Kuru; his final descendant was called King Kapāla. There were nine thousand kings, the last descendant of whom was named Nāgasvara. There were ten thousand kings, the last descendant of whom was Damiḍa. There were fifteen thousand kings, the last descendant of whom was named Gautama—this is the Ikṣvāku lineage. Handed down from his sons, there were one thousand one hundred kings of the Ikṣvāku lineage; the last king of the Ikṣvāku lineage was named Virūḍhaka (that is, King Ikṣvāku). The king had four sons: the first was named Ulkāmukha, the second Hastikaśīrṣa, the third Hastinīkāśya, and the fourth Nūpura; they were called the Śākya clan. Nūpura had a son named Nūpurapāda, his son was Vasiṣṭha, his son was Goma, and his son was King Siṃhahanu. He had four sons: the first was named Śuddhodana, the second Śuklodana, the third Droṇodana, and the fourth Amṛtodana. The son of King Śuddhodana was the Bhagavān, and the next was named Nanda. King Śuklodana had two sons: the first was named Tiṣya, and the second Devadatta. King Droṇodana had two sons: the first was named Aniruddha, and the other Bhadrika. King Amṛtodana had two sons: the first was named Ānanda, and the other Devadatta. The son of the Bhagavān was named Rāhula. With this, the Śākya lineage came to an end. Furthermore, kings of other lineages promoted the teaching in accordance with the Dharma. Two hundred years after the Tathāgata's parinirvāṇa, in the country of Central India, there was a king named Aśoka, a Dharma-king in Jambudvīpa; during the assembly of the Great Council, the king served as the donor and caused the Buddha's teaching to flourish. Three hundred years later, in the northwestern region of Jambudvīpa, there was a king named Kaniṣka; at the time of the third council, he acted as the donor and broadly caused the Buddha's teaching to flourish. The Dharma-kings of Brahmā-India, Kaśmīra, Khotan, Kucha, Nepāla, Cīnasthāna, Dali, Xixia, and so forth each caused the Buddha's teaching to flourish in their own countries. More than a thousand years after the Tathāgata's parinirvāṇa, in the country of Tibet, the first king was named gNya'-khri btsan-po; in the twenty-sixth generation there was a king named Tho-tho-ri gnyan-btsan, and at that time the Buddha's teaching first arrived. In the fifth generation after that, there was a king named Srong-btsan sgam-po; at that time, there was a paṇḍita named Ācārya [Kusara], and the chief translator was named Thon-mi Sambhoṭa, who translated the Dharma and constructed vihāras at Lhasa and elsewhere, disseminating the Dharma. In the fifth generation after that, there was a king named Khri-srong lde'u-btsan; this king invited the Great Master Śāntarakṣita, the Master Padmasambhava, the paṇḍita Kamalaśīla, and various accomplished masters, who, together with seven people including Vairocana-rakṣita and rBa dPal-dbyangs, translated the Dharma. Other paṇḍitas together with various translators broadly translated the Dharma, and the three kinds of vows flourished throughout the country. In the third generation after that, there was a king named Khri Ral-pa-can; the territory of this king was vast. At that time, there were Jinamitra, Surendrabodhi, and other paṇḍitas, who, together with sKa-ba dPal-brtsegs, Cog-ro kLu'i-rgyal-mtshan, and others, collated what had already been translated and translated what had not yet been translated, broadly making the Dharma flourish. The Tibetan royal lineage still exists today; because there are many paṇḍitas, translators, and spiritual friends, the Dharma has thereby flourished. In the northern land of Mongolia, the ripening of former merit gave birth to a king named Chinggis. Starting with Chinggis, he brought into submission various regions and many spoken realms, like an Iron Wheel-Turning King. His son was named Ögedei, who was titled Qa'an at the time; he inherited the imperial throne and expanded the borders beyond before. He had a son named Güyük, who inherited the imperial throne as Emperor Chinggis [line].