佛祖統紀 3.111

3.111

In the nineteenth year (wuxu)—sixteen years from when the Buddha first attained awakening—knowing that the bodhisattvas could uphold the Dharma treasury, between the two realms of desire and form he brought forth a great jeweled stairway. He gathered extensively the great assemblies of Buddhas and bodhisattvas from the ten directions, and together they ascended the jeweled stairway up into the sky, where he preached the Mahāvaipulya Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra for them. When the bodhisattvas wished to arrive and join the assembly, each according to their virtues first displayed their signs: Ākāśagarbha manifested empty space, and Sāgaragarbha manifested water; neither saw any substantial forms, and the great assembly saw only empty space and water (the manifestations of the other bodhisattvas were all similar to this). At that time, the devas and dragons spoke thus: 'From this day forward, we shall protect and maintain the true Dharma. If the kings of various countries whip and beat renunciants, whether they hold the precepts or break them, we will no longer protect their countries. The śrāvaka disciples will all leave for other countries, causing those lands to become empty and devoid of fields of merit, bringing about epidemics, famines, and warfare all at once, along with drought and violent storms that harm the crops.' Thereupon the Bhagavat entrusted this to the devaputra Viśvakarman, the great yakṣa general Kapila, and the seventeen devīs with double-pupiled eyes, each together with five thousand attendants: 'Protect and support the land of Cīnasthāna! In that land, cause all disputes, lawsuits, opposing battlelines, famines, epidemics, wind, rain, cold, and heat to entirely cease, so that my Dharma-eye may abide long in the world.' The Buddha told Maitreya and the other bodhisattvas: 'Now, out of compassion for sentient beings, I divide this reward-fruit into three portions: one portion I receive myself; one portion I give to the śrāvakas after my parinirvāṇa who are firmly aligned with dhyāna, liberation, and samādhi, so that they lack nothing; and one portion I give to those who break precepts yet chant the sūtras, the śrāvakas in the periods of the true Dharma and the semblance Dharma who shave their heads and wear the kāṣāya, so that they lack nothing and evil kings will not harass them together. Furthermore, I entrust those donors into your hands.' (Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra. Note: The Fo zang jing states: 'One should practice the Way with single-mindedness, not worrying about clothing or food. Even if one portion of the Tathāgata's white curl between the eyebrows were offered to all renunciant disciples of the final age, it could never be exhausted.') The Buddha said, 'If someone has gone forth from home, even if he fails to keep the precepts, that person is already sealed with the seal of nirvāṇa. If anyone strikes, scolds, or robs him of his robes, bowl, or requisites of life, that person destroys the reward-body of all Buddhas and gouges out the eyes of all humans and devas. If kings, ministers, and adjudicators see a renunciant committing major sinful deeds—great killing, great stealing, great defilement of celibacy, great lying, and other unwholesome acts—they may only banish him from the country and forbid him from remaining in the monastery to share in the Saṅgha's affairs; they must not whip, beat, scold, humiliate, or inflict bodily punishment upon him. If one deliberately violates the Dharma by penalizing them, that person strays far from the human and heavenly realms and is bound for hell; how much more so if one whips and beats a renunciant who fully upholds the precepts!' (Mahāsaṃnipāta Sūtra).