[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho) › [佛祖統紀](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2035) › 5.5 # 佛祖統紀 5.5 佛祖統紀 5.5 - **Language:** Classical Chinese ### [5.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2035.5.5) 始祖摩訶迦葉尊者（此云大飲光。古仙人身光隱蔽餘光。遂以為姓。此尊者是其後裔。身亦光明。飲蔽餘光。佛弟子中。有十力迦葉三迦葉等。於此同姓中最長故。標大字以簡之）名畢鉢羅（此菩提樹名。父母禱樹神而生故。從樹立名）羅閱祇國人（此云王舍城。即摩伽陀國中城名）父迦毘羅（此云頭面金色。蓋是古者金光仙人之後）世稱大富長者。十六大國無以為隣。千倍勝瓶沙王（即頻婆裟羅王。此云顏色端正）王有金犁千具。畏勝於王。減一耕犁。但用九百九十九雙牛金犁。有六十庫金粟。庫容三百四十斛。昔毘婆尸佛入滅之後（此云勝觀）塔像金色少處闕壞時有貧女。匃得金珠欲補像面。時迦葉為鍛金師。既為補治。因共立誓願。我二人常為夫婦。身真金色恒受勝樂。以是因緣。九十一劫生天人中最後得生第七梵天（初禪大梵。居六欲上。正當第七）時摩伽陀國（此云不害）有婆羅門。巨富無量而無子息。舍側有一樹神。常往乞子。歷年無應。瞋忿曰。今更七日奉祀。若復無驗必當燒樹。樹神愁怖即詣梵天。梵王天眼見一梵天臨當命終勸其往生。滿足十月生一男兒身真金色。光明赫奕照四十里。身具三十相（文句。應是闕白豪肉髻二相）相師占云。此兒宿福必當出家。年至十五欲為聘妻。兒語父母。能為我得紫金色女。我當納之。父母即召諸婆羅門。鑄一金女。輿行村落高聲唱言。若有女人見金神者。後出嫁時必得好婿。女聞悉出。唯一女軀體金色。獨不肯出。諸女強將共見金神。婆羅門見即為聘得。夫婦二人了無慾意。各住一房父母知已。毀除一房令其同室。迦葉語曰。我若眠時汝當經行。汝若眠息我當經行。夫婦節操。深厭世間啟求出家。即舍家事深入山林。心念口言。諸佛如來出家修道。我今亦當隨佛出家。即著壞色納衣自剃須𩬊。空中天神而告之曰。釋迦如來今與千二百五十阿羅漢。在王舍城竹園中住。迦葉聞語即趣竹園。佛往逆之。至跋耆聚落。值佛奉上寶衣。佛即授以糞掃大衣。初聞增上戒定慧即得無漏。時已百二十歲。其婦相續亦得阿羅漢果。迦葉受乞食法行十二頭陀。至老不舍。常曰我受佛衣。師想塔想。未曾頭枕。況以覆臥。如此大衣大進我行。佛語之曰。汝年老根弊。可舍乞食及受長衣。迦葉答曰。我當盡壽行蘭若行（此云寂靜處。十二頭陀行之一）佛言善哉。若迦葉行頭陀行在世者。我法久住。迦葉頭陀既久。𩬊長衣弊。來詣佛所。諸比丘皆起慢心。佛分半座令坐。迦葉不肯。佛即廣讚迦葉功德。與我不異。何故不坐。諸比丘聞為之心驚。佛復為說本因。昔有文竭陀（輔行云即頂生王也）高才絕倫。天帝欽其德。遣千馬車造闕迎之。天帝出候命王同坐。共相娛樂送王還宮。昔迦葉以生死座命吾同坐。吾今成佛以正法座報其往勳。迦葉共佛坐。時天人咸謂佛師。即起嗚佛足云。佛是我師。我是弟子（云云）毘耶離城有長者維摩詰。方便示疾饒益眾生。佛告大迦葉。汝行詣維摩詰問疾。迦葉白言。我不堪任詣彼問疾。所以者何。憶念我昔貧里行乞。維摩詰來謂我言。以一食施一切。供養諸佛及眾賢聖。然後可食。如是食者。非有煩惱非離煩惱。非入定意非起定意。非住世間非住涅槃。其有施者。無大福無小福。不為益不為損。是為正入佛道。不依聲聞。迦葉。若如是食。為不空食人之施也。時我聞說是語。即於一切菩薩深起敬心。不復勸人以聲聞辟支佛行。是故不任詣彼問疾（維摩經）世尊。於法華會上告舍利弗。如是妙法諸佛如來時乃說之。時舍利弗於此法說領解。世尊授記。未來作佛號曰華光。復告舍利弗。今當復以譬喻更明此義。遂說長者大宅歘然火起。長者方便誘諭諸子。以羊鹿牛三車玩好之具。引之令出。然後等賜高廣大白牛車。如來亦復如是。初說三乘引導眾生。然後但以大乘而度脫之。時大迦葉等四大聲聞於此領解。遂說窮子之譬。謂如窮子捨父迯逝。五十餘年。後雖遇會志意下劣。二十年中常令除糞。過是已後心相體信。結會父子正領家業。自言我等昔來但樂小法。世尊以方便力說如來智慧。今我方知。世尊於佛智慧無所吝惜。是故我等說本無心有所希求。今法王大寶自然而至。如佛子所應得者皆已得之。於是世尊復告迦葉。說藥草喻述成其解。而語之曰。汝於未來當得成佛名曰光明（法華經○此通付法）佛告諸比丘。我今所有無上正法。悉已付囑迦葉。當為汝等作大依止（涅槃經○此別付法○阿難問經。我入涅槃大迦葉當與比丘比丘尼作大依止。如我無異）時大迦葉與五百弟子在耆闍崛山。去拘尸城五十由旬。迦葉於正受中心驚身顫。從定中出見地大動。即知如來已入涅槃。即將弟子往拘尸城。至佛棺所。如來大悲。為迦葉故棺自然開。顯出真金紫磨堅固色身。迦葉哀哽。即以香水灌洗。千氈纏身。棺門即閉。迦葉說偈。如來復現雙足千輻輪相出於棺外。迦葉禮讚金剛雙足還自入棺。從心胸中火涌棺外。漸漸荼毘。經於七日。香樓乃盡（涅槃後分○迦葉與弟子向拘尸城。路見梵志手執曼陀羅華。謂曰。世尊涅槃已經七日。一切人天大設供養。吾從彼間得斯華來。出赴涅槃經）。 > The First Patriarch, the Venerable Mahākāśyapa (Translated here as 'Great Light-Drinker'. An ancient ṛṣi had a bodily radiance that overshadowed other lights, and so took this as his surname; this venerable one was his descendant, and his body was likewise luminous, drinking in and overshadowing other lights. Among the Buddha's disciples there were the Daśabala-kāśyapas, the three Kāśyapas, and others; because he was the eldest among those of this same surname, the word 'Great' was prefixed to distinguish him). His personal name was Pippala (This is the name of the bodhi tree; because his parents prayed to the tree deity and gave birth to him, he took his name from the tree). He was a person of Rājagṛha (Translated here as 'City of the Royal Abode', which is the name of the capital city within Magadha). His father was Kapila (Translated here as 'Golden-Hued Head and Face'; he was presumably a descendant of the ancient Golden-Light Ṛṣi). The world called him a great wealthy elder; none among the sixteen great kingdoms could rival him, and he surpassed King Bimbisāra (that is, King Bimbisāra; translated here as 'Handsome Demeanor') a thousandfold. The king possessed a thousand golden plows; fearing to surpass the king, \[Kapila\] reduced his plows by one, using only nine hundred and ninety-nine pairs of oxen with golden plows. He had sixty granaries of gold and grain, each granary holding three hundred and forty hu. Long ago, after the Buddha Vipaśyin entered parinirvāṇa (Translated here as 'Exalted Vision'), a golden statue at his stūpa had fallen into disrepair in a few places. At that time there was a poor woman who begged and obtained gold beads, wishing to repair the statue's face. At that time Kāśyapa was a goldsmith; having repaired it for her, they thereupon made a mutual vow: 'May the two of us always be husband and wife, our bodies of pure golden color, constantly experiencing superior bliss.' Through this cause and condition, for ninety-one kalpas they were born among gods and humans, and finally were born in the seventh Brahma Heaven (The Great Brahma of the First Dhyāna resides above the Six Desires, exactly corresponding to the seventh). At that time in the country of Magadha (translated here as 'Harmless'), there was a brāhmaṇa of immeasurable wealth who had no son. Beside his house stood a tree deity to whom he repeatedly went to pray for a son, but with no response for many years. In wrath and indignation he said, 'I shall worship you for seven more days; if there is still no sign, I will surely burn down the tree.' The tree deity was filled with dread and immediately went to the Brahma Heaven. With divine vision the Brahma King saw that a certain deva in the Brahma Heaven was about to reach the end of his lifespan, and urged him to take birth there. When ten months were complete, a boy was born whose body was of pure golden color, blazing with brilliance that illuminated forty li, endowed with thirty of the primary marks (The Commentary says: 'It should be that he lacked the two marks of the white ūrṇā-hair and the uṣṇīṣa'). A physiognomist divined: 'This child has past merit and will surely leave household life.' When he reached the age of fifteen, \[his parents\] wished to find him a wife. The boy said to his parents: 'If you can find for me a woman of purple-gold color, I will take her.' His parents then summoned various brāhmaṇas, cast a golden woman, placed her in a carriage, and toured the villages, calling out in a loud voice: 'If any woman sees this golden deity, when she later marries she will surely obtain a fine husband.' Hearing this, the women all came out; only one woman, whose own body was of golden color, alone refused to come out. The other women forced her to go together to see the golden deity. When the brāhmaṇas saw her, they betrothed her \[to him\]. The husband and wife had no sexual desire whatsoever, each dwelling in a separate chamber. When the parents learned of this, they demolished one chamber to make them share the room. Kāśyapa said: 'When I sleep, you should practice walking meditation; when you rest in sleep, I will practice walking meditation.' With husband and wife maintaining such chastity and profoundly weary of the mundane world, they petitioned to leave household life. They thereupon abandoned their household affairs and went deep into the mountain forest, thinking in their minds and saying aloud: 'All the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, leave the household to cultivate the Way; I now should likewise follow the Buddha to leave the household.' He then donned dyed patch-robes and shaved his own beard and hair. A god in the sky announced to him: 'Śākyamuni Tathāgata is now dwelling with twelve hundred and fifty arhats in the Bamboo Grove at Rājagṛha.' Hearing these words, Kāśyapa went straight toward the Bamboo Grove. The Buddha went out to meet him. When he reached the village of Vṛji, he met the Buddha and offered him a precious robe; the Buddha then gave him a great robe of cast-off rags (pāṃśukūla). Upon first hearing the higher training in morality, concentration, and wisdom, he immediately attained the taintless state (anāsrava); at that time he was already one hundred and twenty years old. His wife subsequently also attained the fruit of arhatship. Kāśyapa adopted the practice of begging for food and maintained the twelve dhūta observances, never abandoning them into old age. He constantly said: 'I received the Buddha’s robe; I regard it as my Master, as a stūpa. I have never placed my head on it as a pillow, much less slept under it. Such a great robe has greatly advanced my practice.' The Buddha said to him: 'You are old in years and your faculties are decrepit; you may abandon begging for food and accept extra robes.' Kāśyapa replied: 'For the rest of my life I will practice the āraṇyaka observance (translated here as "dwelling in a quiet place", one of the twelve dhūta observances).' The Buddha said: 'Excellent! If Kāśyapa’s practice of the dhūta observances remains in the world, my Dharma will long abide.' After Kāśyapa had long practiced the dhūta observances, his hair was long and his robes tattered. When he came to the Buddha’s presence, the monks all felt disdain. The Buddha divided his seat in half and invited him to sit; Kāśyapa would not. The Buddha then extensively praised Kāśyapa's merits: 'He is not different from me; why does he not sit?' Hearing this, the monks were astonished in their hearts. The Buddha further explained his past causes: 'Long ago there was Mandhātṛ (the Fuxing says he is King Mūrdhagata), of unequalled talent. The Lord of Devas respected his virtue and sent a carriage of a thousand horses to the palace to welcome him. The Lord of Devas came out to greet him and invited the king to sit with him, sharing mutual delight, and then sent the king back to his palace. Long ago Kāśyapa offered me a seat in saṃsāra to sit together with him; now that I have become a Buddha, I repay his past merit with a seat of the True Dharma.' When Kāśyapa sat together with the Buddha, the gods and humans all considered him the Buddha's teacher. He then arose and kissed the Buddha's feet, saying: 'The Buddha is my Master; I am the disciple' (and so on). In the city of Vaiśālī there was an elder named Vimalakīrti, who employed expedient means to manifest illness to benefit sentient beings. The Buddha told Mahākāśyapa: 'Go to Vimalakīrti to inquire after his illness.' Kāśyapa addressed \[the Buddha\], saying: 'I am not competent to go there and inquire after his illness. Why is this? I recall that formerly, when I was begging for food in an impoverished village, Vimalakīrti came and said to me: "If you give a single portion of food to all, make offerings to all Buddhas and the assemblies of worthy and noble ones, and only then eat—one who eats in this manner neither has afflictions nor is free from afflictions, neither enters meditative absorption nor emerges from meditative absorption, neither abides in the world nor abides in nirvāṇa. As for those who give, there is no great merit and no small merit, no benefit and no harm; this is to truly enter the Buddha Path without relying on the śrāvakas. Kāśyapa, if you eat like this, you will not consume the alms of others in vain." When I heard these words at that time, I gave rise to profound reverence toward all bodhisattvas, and no longer exhorted people with the practices of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. For this reason, I am not competent to go there and inquire after his illness' (Vimalakīrti Sūtra). The World-Honoured One, in the Lotus Assembly, told Śāriputra: 'Such wonderful Dharma is spoken by the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas, only at rare intervals.' At that time Śāriputra attained understanding of this Dharma teaching. The World-Honoured One conferred a prophecy on him: in the future he would become a Buddha named Padmaprabha. He further told Śāriputra: 'I will now clarify this meaning once again by means of a parable.' He then spoke of the elder's great house suddenly catching fire; the elder used expedient means to coax his sons, drawing them out with the playthings of three carts—drawn by sheep, deer, and oxen—and afterward equally bestowed on them great, high and wide, white-ox carts. The Tathāgata is also like this: first speaking the three vehicles to guide sentient beings, and afterward delivering them solely by means of the Great Vehicle. At that time, the four great śrāvakas, including Mahākāśyapa, attained understanding from this and thereupon recounted the parable of the prodigal son, saying: It is like a poor son who abandons his father and flees away for over fifty years; though he later encounters him, his mind's aspiration is base and inferior, and for twenty years \[the father\] continually has him shovel dung. After this time has passed, their minds mutually trust each other, and \[the father\] gathers \[relatives\] to acknowledge him as father and son, officially handing over the family estate. \[Kāśyapa\] stated of themselves: 'Formerly we took delight only in lesser dharmas; the World-Honoured One, through the power of expedient means, expounded the Tathāgata's wisdom. Only now do we know that the World-Honoured One begrudges nothing of the Buddha's wisdom. Therefore we say that originally we had no thought of seeking anything, yet now the great jewel of the Dharma King has arrived of itself; all that a Buddha's son ought to obtain, we have already obtained.' Thereupon the World-Honoured One spoke to Kāśyapa again, preaching the Parable of the Medicinal Herbs to confirm his understanding, and said to him: 'In the future you shall become a Buddha named Raśmiprabha' (Lotus Sūtra; this is the general entrustment of the Dharma). The Buddha told the monks: 'The unsurpassed True Dharma that I now possess has all been entrusted to Kāśyapa; he shall serve as a great refuge for you all' (Nirvāṇa Sūtra; this is the specific entrustment of the Dharma; The Sūtra of Ānanda’s Questions says: 'When I enter nirvāṇa, Mahākāśyapa will serve as a great refuge for the monks and nuns, no different from myself'). At that time Mahākāśyapa was at Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa with five hundred disciples, fifty yojanas away from the city of Kuśinagara. While in samādhi, Kāśyapa felt a shock in his heart and his body trembled; emerging from concentration, he saw the earth shake violently, and immediately knew that the Tathāgata had entered parinirvāṇa. He then led his disciples toward the city of Kuśinagara. When they reached the Buddha's coffin, the Tathāgata, out of great compassion, caused the coffin to open spontaneously for Kāśyapa's sake, displaying his solid physical body of purple-polished pure gold. Kāśyapa sobbed with grief, then washed it with scented water and wrapped the body in a thousand pieces of fine cloth; the coffin lid then closed. Kāśyapa recited a verse, and the Tathāgata again manifested his two feet adorned with the thousand-spoked wheel mark extending outside the coffin. Kāśyapa bowed in praise to the vajra feet, which then returned into the coffin of themselves. From his heart and chest fire welled forth outside the coffin, gradually cremating it; after seven days, the scented pyre was consumed (Latter Part of the Nirvāṇa Sūtra; Kāśyapa and his disciples were heading toward Kuśinagara when along the road they met a brahmacārin holding a māndārava flower, who said to them: 'The World-Honoured One’s parinirvāṇa has already passed seven days; all gods and humans have held a great offering. I obtained this flower from that place and have come.' This comes from the Sūtra on Going to Nirvāṇa). > — English (machine translation) (machine translation) - [Previous: 5.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2035.5.4) - [Next: 5.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2035.5.6) - [Up: 5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2035.5) ## Translations (1) - [English (machine translation)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2035~en-mt.5.5) — English, machine translation ## Linked texts (3) - [維摩經略疏](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.1778.2.36) — Classical Chinese - [添品妙法蓮華經](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.saddharmapundarika*zh-jnanagupta.2.37) — Classical Chinese - [過去現在因果經](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.avadana.atitapratyutpannahetuphalasutra*zh-gunabhadra.4.55) — Classical Chinese --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2035.5.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.taisho.2035.5.5) · Pramāṇa