三彌勒經疏 1.39

1.39

Question: That Bodhisattva Śākyamuni generated the mind on account of Śākyamuni Buddha is not in doubt; but how do we know that Maitreya generated the mind on account of Maitreya Buddha? Answer: The Yiqiezhi guangming xianren cixin jing says: 'The Buddha was in the country of Magadha, at the bodhimaṇḍa of quietude, in the Īśvaradeva temple vihāra in the village of the woman Migā. At one time the Buddha was walking meditatively in the forest with one thousand two hundred and fifty monks. Bodhisattva Maitreya, possessing golden marks and characteristics and emitting silver radiance, adorned with yellow gold like a white silver mountain, came to the Buddha's dwelling. Five hundred matted-hair brāhmaṇas and others saw Maitreya from afar, threw their five limbs to the ground, and addressed the Buddha, asking: "Maitreya's radiance is actually equal to the Buddha's. In the presence of which Buddha did he initially generate the mind for the path?" The Buddha told the brāhmaṇas: "In the past, immeasurable, boundless asaṃkhyeya kalpas ago, there was a world named Supreme Flower Blossom, and a Buddha named Maitreya, who constantly instructed and transformed through the four immeasurable dharmas with a compassionate mind. At that time there was a great brāhmaṇa named All-Knowledge Radiance, who raised difficult questions but could not refute him; he then gave rise to faith and made a vow, saying: 'May I uphold the sūtras expounded by that Buddha, and surely attain Buddhahood with the name Maitreya.' At that time the brāhmaṇa entered a mountain valley, begging for food and reciting sūtras for a full eight thousand years. At that time, calamitous stars drifted across the sky and floods did not cease, so that he could not beg for food for seven days. At that time, in that forest there were five hundred white hares, with a hare king, mother and son. Seeing the ṛṣi without food, they said: 'The ṛṣi has not eaten for many days for the sake of the Dharma; the mountain of the Dharma is about to crumble, and the ocean of the Dharma is about to dry up. For the sake of the Dharma, I should not begrudge my life now.' Thereupon [the king] told the hares: 'All conditioned things are impermanent. Sentient beings cherish their bodies and have never acted for the sake of the Dharma.' And he spoke this verse:"