觀彌勒上生兜率天經贊 1.46

1.46

贊曰：第二、眾集也。於中有三：初四眾集、次二眾集、後八部集。初中有四：一苾芻眾、二苾芻尼眾、三近事男眾、四近事女眾。苾芻眾中有四：一耆舊尊宿眾、二少欲杜多眾、三神通外化眾、四智慧內德眾。此即初也。梵云阿若，多解也。憍陳那，婆羅門姓中之一性也。憍陳如，訛也。梵薩縛遏剌他悉陀（唐言一切義成，舊云悉達多，訛略也）太子踰城之後，栖山隱谷己身殉法，父王淨飯乃命家族三人：一阿濕婆，此云馬勝；二拔提；三摩男𤘽利。舅氏二人：一憍陳那、二十力迦葉。王云：「我子捨家修學，孤遊山野，故命汝曹隨知所止。內則叔伯舅氏、外則君而且臣，凡厥動靜宜知進止。」五人銜命相望營衛，因即勤求欲期出要，每相謂曰：「夫修道者，苦證果耶？樂證果耶？」二舅氏曰：「要樂為道。」三家族曰：「勤苦為道。」二三交諍，未有以明。太子思惟其理，為伏苦行外道，日食麻麥以資支身。二舅氏曰：「太子所行非真，失正道矣。道由樂證，今乃勤苦，非吾徒也。」捨而遠遁，自思果證。太子六年苦行未證菩提，欲驗苦行非真，受乳糜而證果。三家族曰：「功垂成矣。今其退乎？六年苦行已一旦損功。」遂亦逃捨相從，求覓舅氏二人。既相見已，迬坐論曰：「昔見太子出王城就荒谷，去珍服被鹿皮，精勤苦心求無上法。今乃受牧牛女乳糜，敗道虧志，無能為也。」二舅氏曰：「君何見之晚乎！此猖獗人也。處深谷，受尊位；不能靜志，遁迹山林；棄輪王之大寶，為鄙賤之庸人。何可念哉。」言增慘切。太子浴尼連河，坐菩提樹成等正覺，號天人師。思察應度唯欝頭藍子者證非想定，堪受妙法。空天報曰：「彼命終來經今七日。」如來歎惜，斯何不遇！重更觀察，有阿藍迦藍證無所有處定，可授至理。諸天又報曰：「終已五日。」如來再歎，愍其薄福。又更諦觀誰應受教，唯施鹿林有五人者，堪先誘導。佛從覺樹趣鹿野園，威儀寂靜神光晃耀，毫含玉彩身瑩金色，安祥前進導彼五人。五人遙見互相謂曰：「一切義成彼來者是。歲月淹久都無果證，心期屢返故尋我徒。宜各默然勿起迎禮。」如來漸近，威神所逼，五人忘制各起禮迎侍從如來。如來漸誘示之妙理，為其示相、勸修、作證三轉法輪。佛問：「解耶？」時憍陳那最初答：「解。」地神唱告，淨居諸天亦言：「憍陳那先解。」如是乃至聲遍大千，因以為名名解。憍陳那今與其徒大德耆舊，見光晃耀、雨花宣唱，從禪定起趣世尊所。舊經或云尊者了本際、或云解無智，皆得阿若多義、不正得名，又不解憍陳那之姓故也。

The Eulogy says: Second is the gathering of the assembly. There are three parts within this: first, the gathering of the fourfold assembly; next, the gathering of the twofold assembly; and finally, the gathering of the eight classes [of beings]. Within the first, there are four: first, the assembly of monks (bhikṣus); second, the assembly of nuns (bhikṣuṇīs); third, the assembly of laymen (upāsakas); fourth, the assembly of laywomen (upāsikās). Within the assembly of monks there are four: first, the assembly of the senior and venerable elders; second, the assembly of few desires and ascetic practices (dhūta); third, the assembly of supernatural powers transforming others externally; fourth, the assembly of inner virtues of wisdom. This is the first of them. In Sanskrit, Ājñāta means 'understanding much'. Kauṇḍinya is one of the Brahmin clan names. 'Jiaochenru' is an erroneous transliteration. When Prince Sarvārthasiddha (translated in the Tang as 'accomplisher of all aims', formerly called Siddhārtha, which is an erroneous abbreviation) climbed over the city wall, retired into the mountains, hid in the valleys, and devoted his body to the Dharma, his royal father, Śuddhodana, thereupon dispatched three persons of his clan: first, Aśvajit (rendered here as Ma-sheng, 'Horse-Conqueror'); second, Bhadrika; and third, Mahānāma-koli; and two persons of his maternal uncle's clan: first, Kauṇḍinya, and second, Daśabala-kāśyapa. The king said: 'My son has renounced home to train and study, wandering alone in the mountains and wilds. Therefore, I command you all to follow and know his whereabouts. Internally, you are his uncles; externally, you are sovereign and subjects. In all his movements and repose, you must know when to proceed and when to halt.' Bearing the royal order, the five kept watch on one another and guarded him. Thereupon, earnestly seeking, they wished to attain liberation from suffering, and each said to the others: 'In practicing the Way, does one realize the fruit through suffering? Or does one realize the fruit through pleasure?' The two maternal uncles said: 'The Way necessarily requires pleasure.' The three clan members said: 'Diligent suffering constitutes the Way.' The two and the three disputed with each other, unable to clarify it. The prince reflected on the principle: in order to subdue the non-Buddhists of asceticism, he ate only hemp and barley daily to sustain his body. The two maternal uncles said: 'What the prince practices is not true; he has lost the right path. The Way is realized through pleasure, yet now he undergoes diligent suffering; he is no disciple of ours.' Abandoning him, they fled far away to contemplate the realization of the fruit on their own. For six years, the prince practiced asceticism without realizing bodhi. Wishing to verify that asceticism was not true, he received milk-rice and realized the fruit. The three clan members said: 'His accomplishment was near completion. Shall he now regress? Six years of ascetic practice have in a single morning lost their merit!' Thereupon they also fled, abandoned him, followed one another, and went in search of the two maternal uncles. Having met them, they sat together and discussed: 'Formerly, we saw the prince leave the royal city and go to the deserted valleys, casting off precious garments to wear deerskin, diligently and resolutely seeking the unsurpassed Dharma. Now he has received the milk-rice of a cowherd girl, ruining the Way and defecting from his resolve; he is incapable of anything.' The two maternal uncles said: 'Sirs, how late is your insight! He is a madman. Having occupied a deep valley and enjoyed an exalted rank, he could not keep his resolve tranquil, but fled to the mountain forests; casting away the great treasures of a wheel-turning king, he has become a vile, mediocre person. How could he be worthy of regard?' Their words grew increasingly bitter. The prince bathed in the Nairañjanā River, sat under the bodhi tree, and attained equal and perfect awakening, titled the Teacher of Gods and Humans. Reflecting on who should be liberated, [he saw that] only Udraka Rāmaputra had attained the concentration of neither-perception-nor-non-perception and was fit to receive the wondrous Dharma. A deity in the sky announced: 'Seven days have now passed since he passed away.' The Tathāgata sighed with regret: 'How unfortunate that he was missed!' He investigated again: Ārāḍa Kālāma had attained the concentration of the sphere of nothingness and could be taught the ultimate principle. The devas again announced: 'It has already been five days since he passed away.' The Tathāgata sighed again, pitying his meager merit. He further closely observed who should receive the teaching: only the five persons in the Deer Park were fit to be guided first. The Buddha went from the tree of awakening toward the Deer Park, his deportment serene and his divine light resplendent, the curl between his brows holding a jade-like glow and his body gleaming with golden color, advancing peacefully to guide those five persons. Seeing him from afar, the five said to one another: 'The one coming there is Sarvārthasiddha. After so much time has passed, he has realized no fruit whatsoever; his heart's desire has repeatedly turned back, so he is seeking our group. We should all remain silent, and not rise to welcome him or pay respects.' As the Tathāgata drew near, compelled by his majestic spiritual power, the five forgot their restriction and each rose to pay respects, welcome, and attend upon the Tathāgata. The Tathāgata gradually guided and revealed to them the wondrous principle, turning the wheel of the Dharma in three turns through indicating the characteristics, exhorting practice, and providing verification. The Buddha asked: 'Do you understand?' Kauṇḍinya was then the first to answer: 'I understand.' The earth deities proclaimed, and the devas of the Śuddhāvāsa heaven also said: 'Kauṇḍinya has understood first.' In this manner, the sound spread throughout the trichiliocosm, and from this he was named 'Understanding' (Ājñāta). Kauṇḍinya, now together with his disciples, the venerable elders, seeing the resplendent light, the raining flowers, and the proclamation, arose from meditative concentration and proceeded to where the World-Honoured One was. Older sūtras sometimes say 'Venerable Liaobenji' ('He who understood the fundamental limit') or 'Understanding the Non-Wisdom'; all of these convey the meaning of Ājñāta without obtaining the correct name, and nor did they understand that Kauṇḍinya is a clan name.