勝鬘寶窟 1.29

1.29

From "At that time King Prasenajit" onward: If explaining the meaning in terms of the seven divisions, the preceding was the section on the profound tenets as the occasion for the compilation, while this is the second section, on deliberating what has been understood to receive and transform [others]. If explaining the meaning in terms of the two prefaces, the preceding concluded the preface confirming faith, and this is now the second [part], explaining the preface of initiation. As for the text, it has two parts: first, explaining the external conditions that initiate [the teaching]; second, explaining the inner causes of awakening. Each of the two texts has five [parts]. The five parts of the first section are: first, generally explaining that their faith in the Dharma had not been for long; second, separately recounting the king questioning the queen; third, Mallikā instructing in reply; fourth, composing the letter praising the Buddha; and fifth, dispatching an envoy to deliver the letter and respectfully present it to Śrīmālā. As these five arise in sequence, they form the order. Within the first, it first cites the king and the queen, and next generally explains that their faith in the Dharma had not been for long. "King Prasenajit": this is translated as "Harmonious and Pleasing" (Heyue), because his dispositions and actions were broadly harmonious, hence called "Harmonious and Pleasing". Furthermore, because he received the people with virtue, he was able to make all natures harmonious and pleasing. It is also translated as "Moonlight", as the *Renwang jing* speaks of "King Moonlight". The Tripiṭaka master says: "As for his nature being like the moon yet called light, through hearing the Dharma he awakened and attained the light of the Dharma, hence it is called 'light'." Some say: King Prasenajit was born on the same day as the Buddha. The Buddha was called "Sunlight", and the people of the country said: "Since the Buddha is called Sunlight, we should call the Great King Moonlight." Following the people's appellation, he was called "Moonlight". If based on the name given by his parents, his personal name was "Victorious Army" (Prasenajit), because he was matchless and undefeated in battle, hence called "Victorious Army". Next, concerning the king's status, the *Renwang jing* says: "In the past, ten thousand kalpas ago, under the Dharma of the Buddha King of Dragon Light, he was a bodhisattva of the fourth dwelling; now his status has mounted to the tenth bhūmi." As for the words "At that time King Prasenajit", this still refers to the time when the Buddha was dwelling in Śrāvastī. In reference to the preceding [mention of] the Buddha's dwelling, to clarify the time when their faith in the Dharma had not been for long, it says "at that time". "Queen Mallikā": also called Moli; this is the name of a flower. Master An of Zhongsi Temple south of the Yangzi, a man of wide learning, said that this flower is white in colour and small in shape, hence taking the flower as her name; here there was no thing by which to translate it, so the name Mallikā is still preserved. Some say: Mallikā's original name was Yellow Head; she was obtained from a mallikā garden, and taking her name from the garden, she was called Mallikā. As the sūtra says: this person was originally a garden-tending maidservant of the Yajñadatta family in the city of Śrāvastī. One day, having asked for food, she was guarding the garden when on the road she encountered the Tathāgata entering the city to beg for food. Yellow Head, seeing the Buddha complete with the marks and signs, gave rise to a mind of faith and reverence, thinking: "If I offer food and drink, perhaps he will have pity and accept it." Thereupon she went to request to give alms, and the Buddha then granted it. When she offered the food, she made a vow on her own: "May I be freed from being a maidservant and become a king's queen." At that time, it happened that the king went out into the fields on a hunt. The weather was hot, and from afar he saw the garden guarded by Yellow Head, whose grove was lush and luxuriant, and he galloped over to it. The king's horse was swift and arrived first. Yellow Head saw the king, welcomed him, helped him dismount, led him to a cool place, spread out a robe, and invited him to sit. Following whatever the king needed, she skillfully conformed to the king's wishes. The king asked: "Whose daughter are you?" Yellow Head answered truthfully. When the king had finished questioning her thoroughly, his retinue had just arrived, and he dispatched an envoy to summon Yajñadatta. When Datta arrived, the king asked: "What relation is she to you?" Datta answered: "She is a maidservant." The king ordered him to demand a price. Datta said: "I simply present her to you; I beg not to take a price." The king said: "Now I am taking a maidservant to be my queen; it cannot be done for nothing." Datta then demanded a hundred thousand ounces of gold, and the king immediately gave it to him. She was bathed in scented water, dressed in queenly attire, and together with the king in his carriage, rode back to the royal palace. The king favoured her exceedingly, and among five hundred queens she became the first; therefore she is mentioned now, as this person capable of faith. Some say: Mallikā was a daughter born of a concubine in the family of Mahānāman. As for "faith in the Dharma": previously she had served non-Buddhist teachings, and now for the first time took refuge in the Buddha and had faith in the Buddha-Dharma; hence it is called "faith in the Dharma". Through what condition did she attain faith? As recounted in the sūtra: Queen Mallikā, because she offered food to the Buddha, was able to escape being a maidservant and become the king's queen. She constantly reflected: "Through what condition did I attain this? Can it be other than from having in the past given food to a śramaṇa that I obtained this karmic retribution?" She then asked those around her whether they had ever seen such a person. A bystander replied: "This must be the Buddha, who is now in the Jeta Grove." When Mallikā heard this, she took leave of the king to pay homage. The Buddha preached the Dharma for her, and she then attained faith and understanding. Because of her faith, she exhorted the king, but the king's mind had not yet turned. Then a group of seventeen youth monks entered the city to beg for food, and having eaten, went out of the city and played in the Aciravatī River. The king and the queen ascended a tower and saw them from afar. The king said to the queen: "What they do is just like this! What is there to revere, that you exhort me to have faith?" The queen was ashamed and answered: "These are merely young ones. Why does the Great King not look at Śāriputra, Mahākāśyapa, and the others?" Among the seventeen, there was one who had attained dhyāna and the divine ear; hearing the king's words from afar, he stood on the bank and said to the monks: "When you have finished washing, you should come up onto the bank, put on your robes, each fill a pitcher with water, place it in front of you, and sit cross-legged." The monks followed his words. This monk who had attained concentration, through his supernormal powers, took the monks up into the air and departed. Queen Mallikā saw this and addressed the king: "Look, Great King! Those whom I revere act in such a manner." The king then gave rise to faith and went before the Buddha. The Buddha preached the Dharma for the king, and he attained right faith and understanding; this is termed "faith in the Dharma". This matter appears in the ninth fascicle of the *Mahāsāṃghika-vinaya* and the third fascicle of the *Daśabhāṇavāra-vinaya*. Question: Was it faith in the Great Dharma or faith in the Small Dharma? Answer: According to tradition, his faith in the Small Dharma had already been for a long time. The sixtieth fascicle of the *Madhyamāgama* contains the *Śṛṅgālovāda-sūtra*, which explains at length that king's attainment of faith. The chapter on converting King Prasenajit in the *Zhong benqi jing* also speaks of his attaining faith in the Hīnayāna. Hence we know that his attainment of faith in the Hīnayāna had already been for a long time; it is only that his faith in the Mahāyāna had not been for long. Question: Through what condition did he have faith in the Mahāyāna? Answer: King Prasenajit blew conches and beat drums, and together with Queen Mallikā went to the Buddha. The Buddha then preached for them the *Dharmabherī-sūtra*, uttering the sounds of permanence, bliss, self, and purity; the king thereupon for the first time attained faith in the Mahāyāna Dharma; hence it says "their faith in the Dharma had not been for long". "Not for long" means that, looking from the initial faith mentioned before to the subsequent deliberation, the time was not long; hence it says "not for long". Question: Why recount that faith in the Dharma had not been for long? An old commentary says: The king had for generations served heterodox paths, and only then awakened to right faith; now it wishes to show that it had certainly not been long practiced, so it says "not for long". Moreover, speaking in terms of worldly affairs, the sentiments of parents are affectionate and loving toward their children; as soon as the parents attain faith and understanding, they wish to make their child awaken through what they themselves believe; hence there are the words "not for long". If distinguished in terms of principle: Prasenajit and Mallikā were mostly great expedient manifestations, and Queen Śrīmālā was likewise not of ordinary practice; always desiring to swiftly propagate the Great Path and cause beings to awaken early to the ekayāna, it therefore recounts the words "faith in the Dharma had not been for long".