無量壽經連義述文贊 1.29

1.29

經曰「現五濁剎」至「得攀出池」者，述云：第七、伏魔成道。有五：此初、沐蕩形垢也。剎者，土也。菩薩既知苦行非菩提因，亦念於昔父王園中閻浮樹下修得四禪是菩提因，應受美食令身有力，方能往詣菩提之場。五跋陀羅便捨菩薩，詣波羅奈仙人墮處。菩薩苦行已，來優樓頻螺聚落，主名斯那鉢底。有十童女，昔與五跋陀羅常以麻麥供養菩薩，知捨苦行，即作種種飲食奉上，未經多日，色相光悅。於尸林下見有故破糞掃之衣，自手取持，欲代苦行弊壞衣服。言：「何處有水？」時有一天，於菩薩前以手指地，便成一池。後更思惟：「何處有石？」釋提桓因即以方石安處池中，菩薩見石持用浣衣。浣衣已訖入池澡浴，時魔波旬變其池岸極令高峻。池邊有樹名阿斯那，樹神按枝令低，菩薩攀枝得上池岸，於彼樹下自納故衣。淨居天子名無垢光，將沙門應量袈裟供養菩薩。菩薩受已，於晨朝時著僧伽梨入村乞食。有善生女，聞樹神勸，即聚千㹀牛而揲其乳，七度煎煮，唯取其上極精純者置新器內，用香粳米煮以為糜。當煮之時，於乳糜上現千輻輪、波頭摩等吉祥之相。有仙人語：「若有食者得菩提。」善生煮已，告優多必往請梵志。向四方行，唯見菩薩，歸白善生：「不見梵志，唯有沙門瞿曇。」善生速令延請。菩薩至，尋受乳糜已，擎乳糜鉢出優樓頻螺聚落往尼連河，置鉢岸上，剃除鬚髮入河而浴。浴竟，坐河龍妃所奉之寶座，食彼乳糜，體相如本。以鉢擲河，龍王收取宮中供養，釋天變形為金翅鳥奪取金鉢，將還本宮起塔供養。由菩薩福慧力故，食乳糜已相好圓光轉增赫奕。總而言之，佛現化相處濁惡土，隨順眾生示有塵垢，沐浴令淨，故云現示。而沐浴金河、天按樹枝者，金河即尼連河，按枝即池岸樹。前後互舉，故不相違，神亦名天故。

The sūtra says: "Manifesting in lands of the five turbidities" up to "he was able to grasp [a branch] and climb out of the pool." The Commentary states: This seventh [part] is subduing Māra and attaining the path. There are five [parts]; this first is washing away bodily defilements. "Kṣetra" means land. The Bodhisattva, having realized that austerities were not the cause of bodhi, also recalled that formerly cultivating the fourth dhyāna under the jambu tree in his royal father's garden was the cause of bodhi; he ought to accept fine food so that his body would have strength, only then being able to proceed to the bodhimaṇḍa. The five Bhadras then abandoned the Bodhisattva and went to the Ṛṣipatana in Vārāṇasī. Having ended his austerities, the Bodhisattva came to the village of Uruvilvā, whose head was named Senāpati. There were ten maidens who formerly, together with the five Bhadras, had constantly offered hemp and wheat to the Bodhisattva; knowing he had abandoned austerities, they prepared various foods and drinks to offer him, and before many days passed, his complexion became radiant and joyful. Beneath a charnel ground, he saw old, ragged rags from the dust heap, and took them with his own hand, wishing to replace his worn-out ascetic garments. He said: "Where is there water?" At that time, a deva pointed to the earth before the Bodhisattva with his finger, and a pool immediately formed. Later he thought further: "Where is there a stone?" Śakra Devānām Indra placed a square stone in the pool; the Bodhisattva, seeing the stone, used it to wash the robe. Having finished washing the robe, he entered the pool to bathe, whereupon Māra Pāpīyas transformed the pool's bank to make it exceedingly high and steep. Beside the pool was a tree named Asana; the tree spirit pressed down a branch to lower it, and the Bodhisattva grasped the branch and climbed onto the pool's bank, where under that tree he stitched the old robe himself. A devaputra of the Śuddhāvāsa heaven named Vimalaprabha brought a monastic robe of proper measure to offer to the Bodhisattva. Having accepted it, in the morning he donned the saṃghāṭī and entered the village to beg for food. There was the maiden Sujātā who, hearing the tree spirit's encouragement, gathered a thousand milch cows and took their milk, boiling it seven times, taking only the finest and purest essence on top, putting it into a new vessel, and using fragrant non-glutinous rice to boil it into gruel. While boiling, auspicious signs such as thousand-spoked wheels and padmas appeared on the milk gruel. A ṛṣi said: "Whoever eats this will attain bodhi." After Sujātā cooked it, she told Uttarā to go and invite a brāhmaṇa. Walking in the four directions, Uttarā saw only the Bodhisattva, and returned to inform Sujātā: "I saw no brāhmaṇa, only the śramaṇa Gautama." Sujātā promptly had him invited. When the Bodhisattva arrived, he forthwith accepted the milk gruel; holding the bowl of milk gruel, he departed the Uruvilvā village for the Nairañjanā River, placed the bowl on the bank, shaved his beard and hair, and entered the river to bathe. Having finished bathing, he sat upon a jeweled seat offered by the queen of the river nāgas and ate the milk gruel, his bodily appearance restored to its former state. He cast the bowl into the river; the nāga king took it into his palace to make offerings to it, but Śakra transformed himself into a garuḍa, seized the golden bowl, and took it back to his own palace to erect a stūpa and make offerings. Due to the power of the Bodhisattva's merit and wisdom, after eating the milk gruel, his marks and halo became increasingly brilliant. In sum, the Buddha manifesting transformed marks while dwelling in the defiled, evil land, in conformity with sentient beings, shows having dust and defilement and bathing to become pure; hence it says "manifesting." As for bathing in the golden river and the deva pressing down the tree branch, the golden river is the Nairañjanā River, and pressing down the branch refers to the tree on the pool's bank. Mentioning one or the other across passages means they do not contradict each other, for a spirit is also called a deva.