佛祖統紀 2.45

2.45

述曰．按瑞應．因果．中本起．大論。並云十九出家。十二遊。增一中雜長四阿含。出曜經和須密論。並云二十九出家。當何所從。今以如來八十壽除五十說法。則定取梵網．無相三昧．寶藏經等。三十成道之言。若以三十成道除六年苦行。則定取荊溪二十五出家。上合寶藏之說。若約前後義定。則有二事可證。一者出家之後。六年苦行取成道之歲。其數正合。二者將出家時。指妃腹曰。却後六年。汝當生子。後於成道之年。果生羅睺。按賢愚經云。出家修道。六年苦行。得一切智。未曾有經云。太子逃至山澤。勤苦六年。得佛還國。普耀經云。父王聞太子得佛以來。六年令優陀耶往請云。濶別以來十有二年。又云。佛還國入宮坐。羅雲來問訊。群臣皆疑。太子捐國十有二年。何從有子。此等經文。並約出家六年成佛。又經六年還國。逆而推之。當以二十五為出家之年審矣。孤山頌。謂五歲遊歷。此語無憑。神智補注。備論異同。請以荊溪之言為正。

I state: According to the Ruiying [jing], Yinguo [jing], Zhong benqi [jing], and Da zhidu lun, they all state that he left home at nineteen. The Shier you [jing], the four āgamas—Ekottarika, Madhyama, Saṃyukta, and Dīrgha—as well as the Chuyao jing and Vasumitra's treatise all state that he left home at twenty-nine. Which should be followed? If we now take the Tathāgata's eighty-year lifespan and subtract fifty years of preaching the Dharma, we definitively follow the statements of the Brahmajāla Sūtra, Wuxiang sanmei [jing], Baozang jing, and others that he attained the Way at thirty. If we take attaining the Way at thirty and subtract six years of tapas, we definitively follow Jingxi's statement that he left home at twenty-five, which accords above with the account in the Baozang [jing]. If determined by the meaning before and after, there are two facts that serve as evidence: First, after leaving home, the six years of tapas taken together with the year of attaining the Way match this number precisely. Second, when he was about to leave home, he pointed at his consort's belly and said: 'Six years from now, you will give birth to a son.' Later, in the year he attained the Way, Rāhula was indeed born. According to the Xianyu jing: 'He left home to practice the Way, and after six years of tapas, attained sarvajñā.' The Weicengyou jing states: 'The crown prince fled to the mountains and marshes, struggled diligently for six years, became a Buddha, and returned to his home country.' The Puyao jing states: 'When his father the king heard that the crown prince had attained Buddhahood, after six years he sent Udāyin to invite him, saying: "It has been twelve years since we parted." It also states: 'When the Buddha returned to his country and sat in the palace, Rāhula came to pay his respects. The ministers all wondered: "The crown prince abandoned the state twelve years ago; whence came this son?"' These scriptural passages all reckon six years from leaving home to becoming a Buddha, and another six years to returning to his home country. Deducing backward, it is certain that twenty-five should be taken as the year he left home. The verses of Gushan assert that he wandered for five years, but this claim lacks evidence. The Supplementary Notes of Shenzhi thoroughly discuss the discrepancies; let us accept Jingxi's statement as correct.