大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 50.4

50.4

Regarding the commentary's phrase "Treatise [on the Great Perfection of Wisdom], fascicle 16: like the venomous dragon" and so forth: the treatise states, "Question: 'We already know the characteristics of śīla; what is its pāramitā?' Answer: 'Some say: A bodhisattva upholding the precepts would rather forfeit their body and life than transgress a minor precept; this is śīla-pāramitā. As explained above in the Sutra on King Sudharma, not sparing body and life in order to preserve the prohibitive precepts. For example, in a previous lifetime, the bodhisattva was once a venomous dragon of great strength; if a sentient being stood before it, one whose physical strength was weak would die at a mere glance, and one whose physical strength was strong would die upon catching its breath. This dragon once received the one-day prohibitive precepts, went forth from household life seeking quietude, and entered among the forest trees. After sitting in contemplation for a long time, it became weary and fell asleep. The nature of dragons is that when sleeping they resume the form of a snake, their body having colorful patterns in the mixed colors of the seven treasures. A hunter saw it, and exclaimed in joyful surprise, "It would be most fitting to present this rare and hard-to-obtain skin to the king of the country as clothing and adornment!" Thereupon he pressed down its head with a staff and stripped its skin with a knife. The dragon thought to itself: "My power is according to my will; overturning this kingdom would be as easy as turning over my palm. How could this petty person trap me? Now, because of upholding the precepts, I will not consider this body, and shall comply with the Buddha's words." Thereupon it restrained itself, closed its eyes and did not look, held its breath and did not breathe, feeling pity for this person. For the sake of upholding the precepts, it wholeheartedly underwent the flaying without giving rise to regret. Having lost its skin, its red flesh lay upon the ground. The day was extremely hot, and it writhed in the dirt wishing to head for a large body of water. Seeing many small insects coming to eat its body's flesh, it dared not move again for the sake of upholding the precepts. It thought to itself: "Now I give this body to these insects for the sake of the Buddha path. Now I give my flesh to fill their bodies; later, when I attain buddhahood, I will give the Dharma to benefit their minds." Having made this vow, its body dried up, its life ended, and it was immediately reborn in the second heaven, Trāyastriṃśa. The venomous dragon of that time was my present self, Śākyamuni Buddha. The hunter of that time was Devadatta and the others of the six masters. The small insects are the eighty thousand deities who attained the Way when Śākyamuni Buddha first turned the wheel of the Dharma. The bodhisattva protecting the precepts without sparing body and life, determined without regret, was like this; it is named śīla-pāramitā.'" Explanation: Although the primary topic was precepts, it directly concerns giving the skin. Also, the Bodhisattva-jātaka-sūtra contains this story, and its details are even more extensive. Previously, being a great dragon possessing great power, it would sometimes transform its body into a human. In order to sport together with dragon maidens, it went to a secluded place on Mount Veda. A garuḍa wished to devour them, intending to come to the mountains to shatter the springs and ponds and make them dry up. The dragons and dragon maidens transformed into women to take refuge with this dragon; for the garuḍa's sake, the dragon spoke the Dharma of loving-kindness, causing it to return to its original dwelling; later, for the dragons' sake, it spoke the Dharma of loving-kindness, also causing them to practice loving-kindness. Later, leaving behind noise and seeking quietude, it kept the precepts in the mountains. Exhausted after many days, it briefly lay down to rest, and then encountered the evil man; the rest is the same as the Treatise above. Regarding the commentary's phrase "and Bodhisattva-jātakanidāna-saṃgraha-sūtra, fascicle 4" and so forth: the sūtra states, "In the past, the bodhisattva fell among beasts and took the body of a deer; its flanks were golden-colored, its spine resembled lapis lazuli, its other parts were variegated with various colors difficult to name, its thighs were like mother-of-pearl, and its horns were like refined gold; its body was adorned like a treasury of the seven treasures, and the radiance of its bodily color was like the newly risen sun. The gods revered it and gave it the name 'Golden Deer.' It understood human speech well, and expounded the true Dharma to the herds of deer for their great benefit." Below, the meaning is cited in brief. It arrived beside a river where torrential waters flooded and destroyed the wooded banks; seeing a drowning man, it threw itself in to rescue him. When the man was saved, he said to the deer king, "You are my father and mother of second birth. How can I repay your virtue?" The deer king said, "I need nothing. Because my body's skin is wondrous, I am always afraid of people seeing it. You must keep silent; one who knows gratitude possesses many merits, while one who is ungrateful will immediately receive suffering retribution." This man betrayed the gratitude, returned, and reported it to the king. The king immediately ordered his chariot and had this drowning man lead them to the deer's place. The deer king was just asleep; a crow pecked its ear, and upon waking it looked out, seeing that the king's soldiers were already close. It then comforted the herd of deer, saying, "The king comes for me; do not be afraid." It went straight to the king's location, and the drowning man pointed, saying, "This is the deer king," whereupon his two hands fell off. The king saw this, dismounted, and went to the deer. The deer instead comforted the king: "Do not be afraid; I bestow fearlessness on all sentient beings." The king thereupon praised it, saying, "Although you have a beast's body, you are not truly an animal." The king said to the deer, "Since you bestow fearlessness on all sentient beings, why did you cause this drowning man's two hands to fall off?" The deer king replied, "Just as when a person violates the court's severe laws and incurs their own retribution, this man acts and receives it himself; it was not caused by me." The king then knelt upright with palms joined and said to the deer, "From this day forward, I take refuge in you forever." The deer said to the king, "If you can do so, I pray you grant this person fearlessness, thinking of him like an infant. This person will surely fall into hell, and is therefore pitiable." The king praised and revered it even more, vowing to be its disciple forever, universally bestowing fearlessness on all deer, and decreeing that within the kingdom no hunting or killing of sentient beings was permitted. It is as extensively explained there. There is also the Nine-Colored Deer Sūtra, whose narrative circumstances are identical, only that it says "nine-colored." Also, the king's consort had a night dream and feigned illness, and the king sought it for her, promising to divide half the kingdom. The drowning man, coveting gain, met the king and said he knew the deer's location, whereupon his face immediately became leprous. Later in the identification: the deer was my present self, the king was the father king, the consort was Sundarī, the crow was Ānanda, the drowning man was Devadatta, and the rest is all the same. Explanation: The golden color is identical in meaning, but not specifically the abandonment of skin; hence it says "broadly similar in general." Regarding the commentary's phrase "marks and minor characteristics": "mark" refers to the fifteenth of the thirty-two marks, the body's skin being golden-colored; "minor characteristic" refers to the sixteenth of the eighty minor characteristics, because the World-Honoured One's bodily skin is sleek, soft, luminous, fresh, and pure, untouched by dust and grime.