阿彌陀經通贊疏 1.71

1.71

In Sanskrit he is called Rāhula, which is translated as "Seizing the Sun." "Luohouluo" is inaccurate; "seizing the sun" means obscuring it. In the past, he was once a king's prince. There were two brothers: the elder was named Sun and the younger was named Moon. After their royal father passed away, the elder brother succeeded to the royal throne. Later, weary of glory and nobility, he handed over the throne to his younger brother, Prince Moon, and went to the Buddha to leave home, scrupulously upholding the prohibitive precepts without the slightest transgression. Later, in the dark of night, he mistakenly used another's jar of water; he sounded the bell to assemble the Saṅgha and repent. Knowing his offense was slight, the assembly of monks did not perform the ritual of confession and repentance for him. His distress grew increasingly severe, so he personally entered the palace and informed King Moon, seeking repentance for the theft. Not wishing to go against his brother's wishes, King Moon soon sent his attendants to seize his brother and confine him to a single room; given to pursuit of pleasure, he neglected to release him for six days. Now, he incurred the evil retribution of remaining in the womb for six years. It is also said: In the past, he plugged a rat hole for six days, and now incurred this retribution of being in the womb for six years. Neither of these is correct. On the day the Prince leaped over the city walls, he pointed his horsewhip at Yaśodharā's womb, causing her to conceive this child, in order to show distinction from the ordinary multitude and specifically manifest an extraordinary miracle; only after six years in the womb was this wondrous being born. The king, suspecting and slandering [her], ordered mother and son burned together, but the fire transformed into a lotus pond without causing any harm. The ministers and the king immediately dispelled their suspicions, knowing that Śākyamuni had long abandoned defiling passions, and making clear that Rāhula was unlike the rest of the multitude. Furthermore, he presented jewels to the Buddha, clearing Yaśodharā of disgrace; and when Śāriputra brought him back, [the Buddha] directly caused him to attain liberation. With few desires and knowing contentment, through great practices and esoteric cultivation he had already realized the four fruits. For this venerable one, whose sagehood or ordinariness is unfathomable and whose cause and effect are difficult to know, internally he cultivated the mind of a bodhisattva, while externally he displayed the appearance of a śrāvaka; hence it is called "esoteric practice."