大方廣佛華嚴經隨疏演義鈔 84.44

84.44

Regarding the Commentary's statement that '[Kāśyapa] is translated here as "Light-Drinker"': Paramārtha and others consistently translated it as 'Light-Drinker', while ancient translations rendered it as 'Turtle Clan'. His ancestor studied the Way, and an auspicious turtle bearing a diagram responded to him, so the clan was named after it. The Ekottarika-āgama states: 'In Rājagṛha there was a wealthy elder named Kapila; his wife was named Dhāna, his son Pippala, and his daughter-in-law Bhadrā. His family surpassed King Bimbisāra a thousandfold, and among the sixteen great kingdoms none was his equal. Pippala was the name of Kāśyapa, because his father prayed to this [pippala] tree and he was born.' The Fu fazang zhuan states: 'After Vipaśyin Buddha passed into extinction, the golden color of the image in his stūpa had deteriorated. At that time, a poor woman obtained a gold bead and asked a goldsmith to beat it into gold leaf. The goldsmith was delighted; when the adornment of the Buddha was finished, they made a vow to become husband and wife. For ninety-one eons, among heavens and humans, their bodies were constantly golden and they continually experienced happiness. In their final life, they became Kāśyapa and his wife. Fearing they might incur offense by surpassing the king, they deducted one plow and used only nine hundred and ninety-nine pairs of oxen with golden plows.' Another sūtra states: 'His family had fine cotton cloth; even the lowest grade was worth a hundred thousand ounces of gold. When an iron nail was driven ten feet into the ground through it, the felt was not pierced or torn, remaining as before. There were sixty storehouses of golden millet, each storehouse containing three hundred and forty bushels.' Another sūtra states: 'Having offered barley rice to a pratyekabuddha, he went to the Trāyastriṃśa heaven and returned [to humanity] a thousand times, experiencing bliss, with a body endowed with the thirty-two marks—purely referring to his golden color. When Jāmbūnada gold is at the bottom of murky water, its light penetrates above the water; in darkness, it dispels the dark. Kāśyapa's bodily radiance surpassed this gold light, illuminating one yojana.' The Ekottarika[-āgama] states: 'Among those in my Dharma who practice the twelve dhūtas and difficult ascetic practices, Mahākāśyapa is foremost.' As for the remark 'distinguishing him from other Kāśyapas', this refers to ones such as Daśabala-Kāśyapa, Uruvilvā[-kāśyapa], and others.