止觀輔行傳弘決 2.40.2

2.40.2

people reported to King Prasenajit: 'In the country there is a human serpent who has killed countless people.' Monks begging for food heard this and reported it to the Buddha. The Buddha straightaway went there. All the firewood gatherers and herders of cows and sheep could not pass through, saying, 'There is a brigand here.' The Buddha nevertheless advanced forward. Seeing the Buddha coming from afar, [Aṅgulimāla] said, 'The count for my garland of fingers is still incomplete.' His mother had just brought him food, and he thought to himself: 'I heard from my master that by killing one's mother one will be born in heaven.' He then grabbed his mother's head and drew his sword with his hand, intending to kill her. The Buddha emitted light that shone upon him, and [Aṅguli]māla said, 'Could this be a deva coming to strike me down?' The mother said, 'This is not the light of devas, the sun, or the moon; it must be the World-Honoured One.' Hearing the Buddha's name, [Aṅguli]māla said, 'My master also said, "If you kill a śramaṇa, you will definitely attain birth in heaven."' He told his mother, 'Wait here for now. I will go kill the śramaṇa.' Releasing his mother, he pursued the Buddha. He saw the Buddha like a mountain of gold; the Buddha walked along the road, and though he ran to chase him, he could not catch up." Speaking verses to the Buddha—which are identical to those in the *Aṅgulimālīya-sūtra*, where the *Aṅgulimālīya-sūtra* states: "Stop, stop, great śramaṇa, / eldest prince of King Śuddhodana! / I am Aṅgulimāla; / now I must levy a toll of one finger!" In this manner there are thirty-nine verses in all, differing only in the second line, saying: "O man in dyed robes free from greed," "O man of broken appearance with shaven head," "O man content holding an alms-bowl," and so on. The Buddha answered with two hundred and sixty-seven verses, saying: "Stop, stop, Aṅgulimāla! / You must abide in pure precepts. / I am the Equanimous and Fully Awakened One; / I offer you the toll of the sword of wisdom!" He altered only the third line, with the remaining lines being identical. The other third lines say: "I abide in the limit of non-arising," "I abide in the reality limit," "I abide in the limit of non-action." In all cases he used what he had realized to answer Aṅgulimāla. Having heard this, through the Buddha's power, [Aṅgulimāla] was made to awaken to the words of the Sanskrit original: "The Tathāgata appears in the world / only to be encountered after kotis of kalpas; / he delivers those who are not yet delivered, and so forth (the four universal vows); / for whoever sees the Buddha, / he immediately explains cessation." [Thinking,] "Since running after him I could not catch up, this must surely be the Tathāgata," he cast his sword into a deep pit and straightaway bowed down to the Buddha. The Buddha said, "Welcome, [monk]." He immediately became a śramaṇa and attained purity of the Dharma-eye. King Śuddhodana led the fourfold army to go attack him. The king thought he should first see the World-Honoured One. Having seen him, he reported everything to the Buddha. The Buddha asked his intention, and the king fully replied with his intention. The Buddha said to the king, "If you see that he has left home to practice the Path, what then?" The king said, "I would make offerings and bow down in service to him. But he has not the slightest good in him—how could he arouse such a mind?" At that time Aṅgulimāla was not far from the Buddha, upright in thought and seated cross-legged. The Buddha pointed him out to the king from afar. After paying homage and making offerings, the king praised the Buddha for being able to subdue such an evil person. Later, the Buddha again preached the Dharma for him, and he attained the fruit of an arhat, endowed with the six spiritual penetrations. Entering the city to beg for food, those who saw him recognized him. A woman was having a very difficult childbirth, and [her family] saw the Buddha. The Buddha [instructed Aṅgulimāla to say], "Since becoming a noble sage, I have never killed anyone." The woman suffered no harm. The monks asked the Buddha about the past causes, and so forth. Originally, in following the Brahmanical teaching to seek birth in heaven, not disobeying his master's instruction and moreover preserving the woman's deceptive flattery, he engaged in killing; therefore the present text says, "The more he killed, the more compassion [he thought he had]." As for "Jeta and Mallikā" and so on: according to the lower fascicle of the *Sūtra on the Unprecedented*, it states: "Prince Jeta said to the Buddha: 'Formerly I received the five precepts, but the prohibition on alcohol is difficult to uphold; I wish to relinquish the five precepts and uphold the ten wholesome [actions].' The Buddha said, 'What fault is there when you drink?' He answered, 'The eminent and worthy of the country sometimes bring [wine] to drink together with me; there is no other fault.' The Buddha said, 'If it is like this, there is no fault throughout your whole life.'" Now, wholesome [actions] are of two kinds: with outflows and without outflows. If drinking does not give rise to evil karma, this is a wholesome retribution, called wholesome with outflows. The Buddha thereupon explained the past causes and conditions: "Formerly in Śrāvastī there was a kṣatriya who, because of a minor quarrel, incurred great enmity and raised troops to attack each other. The king had a great minister named Tivera, who relied on his high status and was arrogant; at that time the prince truly wished to execute him. His royal father would not permit it, and [the prince] harbored resentment and vexation. The queen mother, seeing this, brought fine wine and encouraged me [to drink]. I said, 'Since the time of my ancestors, we have never drunk wine. If I drink wine, the god Nārāyaṇa will be angered, and the brahmins will attack me.' In the middle of the night, the queen mother secretly opened the palace gates and urged me repeatedly. Having drunk it, I forgot my worries. For three days I experienced joy and happiness, and because of this, the enmity ceased. The royal father again admonished [me]: 'Virtue has been cultivated for successive generations; why incur such enmity over a small matter? If one does not endure it, the kingdom will be lost.' Because of this there was peace and harmony; this was the power of drinking." As for Mallikā, the sūtra states: "Originally she was the slave girl of the brahmin Yajñadatta in Rājagṛha, named Yellow-Head, who was constantly assigned to guard the garden. By the merit of offering dried rice to the Buddha, later King Prasenajit, while on a hunting excursion, entered the garden and saw her. The slave girl provided various services and massages for the king, greatly pleasing the king's mind. The king asked the brahmin, 'Is she for sale?' He replied, 'A lowly slave girl, what is she fit for?' The king asked him again, and he replied, 'One thousand ounces of gold.' The king then bought her from him for one hundred thousand ounces of gold and made her his foremost consort." The *Sūtra on the Unprecedented* says: "King Prasenajit said to the Buddha: 'As the Buddha has spoken, because the mind is joyful and does not give rise to evil karma, it is called wholesome with outflows. But this matter is not so. Just as when a person drinks wine, their mind is joyful and does not give rise to afflictions; because afflictions do not arise, they do not kill. I remember formerly, when I was hunting, I forgot to bring the cook, and in the mountains I felt hungry. My attendants said to the king, "This morning you did not order the cook to be brought; right now there is no food." Having heard this, I galloped back to the palace and ordered food to be brought. The cook, named Śukra, said, "Right now there is no ready food; I am just about to make it." Oppressed by hunger, I was enraged and ordered the cook to be executed. The ministers discussed together: "In the entire country there is only this one person; after he is killed, there will be no one who understands cooking to suit the king's taste." At that time Consort Mallikā, having heard this, immediately had fine wine and delicious meat prepared, bathed, adorned her body with famous perfumes, and brought various singing girls to my presence. Seeing the consort, my anger immediately subsided. The consort, on her own initiative, sent a eunuch to falsely transmit an order not to execute the cook. When next morning came, I deeply regretted and reproached myself, being melancholy and unhappy. The consort asked me, "Why are you unhappy?" The king said, "Yesterday, pressed by the fire of hunger, I mistakenly killed the cook. For this reason, I am full of remorse and sorrow." The consort smiled and said, "The man is still alive; may the king not sorrow!" The king said, "Is this true, or is it a joke?"