金剛般若疏 1.24.2

1.24.2

"Could it be that he wishes to invite the king, the prince, the elders, the great ministers, or hold a marriage feast?" He then asked him: "Elder, are you tonight personally busying yourself managing such affairs and setting out the offerings because you wish to invite the king, the prince, or the ministers?" He replied, "No." Again he asked, "Do you wish to hold a gathering of relatives for a marriage?" He replied, "No!" Again he asked, "What then do you intend to do?" He replied, "Tomorrow I wish to invite the Buddha and the saṃgha of monks." At that time, when Sudatta heard the name of the Buddha and the saṃgha, his hair stood on end in awe; as if he had obtained something [precious], his mind was joyful and delighted. He asked again, "Who is called 'Buddha'? Please explain the meaning." The elder answered, "Have you not heard? King Śuddhodana's son is named Siddhārtha. On the day he was born, auspicious omens descended from heaven, heavenly gods attended him, and he took seven steps at once, proclaiming: 'In the heavens above and beneath the heavens, I alone am supreme!'" Hearing of such wonderful things, Sudatta leapt for joy; filled with emotion, faith, and reverence, he wished to see the Buddha that very night. Thereupon, the heavens grew bright for him, and so he set out. In the middle of the night, coming out of the gate, he saw a heavenly shrine and bowed to it; suddenly forgetting the thought of the Buddha, the morning vanished and it turned dark again. He thought to himself: "Tonight is dark; if I go, I will surely be harmed by evil spirits and ferocious beasts. Let me return to the city for now, and I will go when dawn comes." At that time, a deva in the sky saw that he was about to turn back in regret, and descended to tell him: "Householder, do not turn back! I am your former good friend, the brāhmaṇa Mijian. Because I heard the Dharma, I was born among the devas. If you go to see the Buddha, you will gain immeasurable benefit. Even if you were to obtain today a hundred carts of precious jewels, or even a universe of four continents filled with precious jewels, it would not compare to lifting your foot to go to the World-Honoured One's place; the benefit obtained surpasses it a hundred thousand times. Go! Do not regret!" Hearing the deva speak these words, Sudatta's reverence and mindfulness increased all the more. Thereupon, the darkness turned back into bright morning, and so he followed the path to where the World-Honoured One was. Knowing that Sudatta was coming at that time, the Buddha went out to do walking meditation. Then Sudatta saw the World-Honoured One from afar, like a mountain of gold, his marks and signs and dignified bearing solemn and resplendently shining. Beholding him, his mind was delighted; not knowing the proper etiquette, he simply asked the World-Honoured One: "I wonder, Gautama, how is your well-being?" The World-Honoured One immediately told him to sit down. At that time, the Śuddhāvāsa devas saw from afar that although Sudatta beheld the World-Honoured One, he did not know to pay homage at his feet. The devas then transformed themselves into four people walking in a line, came to the World-Honoured One's place, grasped the Buddha's feet in homage, knelt to inquire after his health, circumambulated him clockwise three times, and withdrew to stand to one side. Then Sudatta, seeing them do this, was astonished, and thought to himself: "The proper conduct of reverence ought to be like this." He immediately rose from his seat, paid homage with reverence, inquired after his well-being, circumambulated him clockwise three times, and withdrew to stand to one side. At that time, the World-Honoured One expounded the Dharma for him: the four subtle and wonderful truths, suffering, emptiness, and impermanence. Having heard the Dharma and rejoiced, he immediately realized the fruit of a srotāpanna. Thereupon he said to the Buddha: "I only wish that the Tathāgata would bestow your compassion, deigning to visit the sentient beings in the great city of Śrāvastī, to eliminate the perverse and turn them toward the correct!" The World-Honoured One told him: "The ways of the renunciant are different from those of the secular, and the dwelling place ought to be distinct. There is no vihāra there; how could I go?" Then Sudatta said to the Buddha: "World-Honoured One! This disciple is able to build one; may you grant your permission." The World-Honoured One remained silent. As Sudatta took his leave to depart, he said to the Buddha: "When I return to my native country, I shall construct a vihāra. Not knowing the proper regulations, I only wish that the World-Honoured One would send a disciple to accompany me and give instructions." The World-Honoured One considered: "The brāhmaṇas within the city of Śrāvastī believe in perverse and inverted views; if anyone else goes, they will surely be unable to accomplish it. Only Śāriputra is of brāhmaṇa stock, has been intelligent since youth, and possesses both wisdom and supernatural powers; his going will certainly be beneficial." He immediately commanded him to go together with Sudatta. Thereupon they returned to the country of Śrāvastī, and together with Śāriputra inspected all the lands to see where it was flat and spacious enough to erect a vihāra. They went all around everywhere, but no place met their approval; only Prince Jeta possessed a garden whose ground was flat and even, whose trees were lush and verdant, neither too near nor too far, precisely in the right location. Then Śāriputra told Sudatta: "This garden ground is suitable for erecting a vihāra. If built far away, almsfood will be hard to obtain; if near, it will be noisy and disturb the practice of the Way." Sudatta was delighted, went to the prince, and said to him: "I now wish to erect a vihāra for the Tathāgata, and only the prince's garden land is suitable for use; I wish to purchase it." The prince laughed and said: "What do I lack? This garden is lush and flourishing, meant for my recreation; why would you wish to buy it?" Sudatta was ceaselessly earnest, so the prince playfully bantered: "If you can cover the ground with gold so that there is no empty space between, I will give it to you." Sudatta thereupon respectfully agreed to cart gold and cover the ground according to the price. The prince said: "I was merely speaking in jest just now; how can you buy it on that basis?" Sudatta said to him: "A prince's conduct ought not to be joking speech; to utter false speech is unworthy of an heir apparent, unfit to succeed [to the throne]." They immediately went together to the arbiters. At that time, the Śuddhāvāsa devas, intending that the vihāra be built for the Buddha and fearing that the arbitrating ministers would be partial to the prince, transformed into a person acting as an arbiter, who said to the prince: "A prince ought not to utter falsehoods and jest. Having already agreed to sell, it is not proper to regret it halfway." He thus awarded the garden to Sudatta. Sudatta was delighted, and was able to order people to carry gold on elephants and horses, covering eighty qing; in an instant it was almost filled, with only a small area of land remaining. Sudatta pondered: "Which storehouse of gold should I bring out to suffice? Neither too much nor too little, it must be just enough." Jeta asked him: "Do you begrudge the high price and wish to reconsider?" He answered: "I was considering which treasury of gold would suffice to fill it." Jeta thought: "The Buddha must possess great virtue to make this man hold wealth so lightly like this!" He immediately said to him: "You may stop here! Bring out no more gold. The garden belongs to you, the trees belong to me; I myself shall construct and erect the gateway for the Buddha." Sudatta was delighted, immediately returned home, and set to work.