釋迦譜 1.517

1.517

王聞益悲喜。歎曰。善哉善哉。阿夷言不妄。佛當來不。何日當至乎。優陀報曰。却七日到王大踊躍。即勅群臣國中萬民。吾往迎佛。導從威儀法轉輪王。平治道路掃除令淨。香汁灑地懸繒幡綵。竪其幢蓋周遍國內。其所修治光飾盡宜。千乘萬騎出四十里。往奉迎佛稽首歸命。優陀前報王曰。本受佛教奉命見王。宣其意故今還宣命。說王意旨饑虛無量。欲見至尊稽首受法。并化萬民咸蒙福慶。王曰。宜知是時勿復稽留。爾時優陀耶還來詣。佛稽首足下以啟國王。世尊及諸弟子。自期七日當還本國。王及臣民莫不欣悅。別來積年夙夜想念。飲食不甘寢不能寐。饑虛日久計日度時。須世尊到已憶七日。於時大聖告諸弟子。明日當發至迦維羅衛見於父王。皆嚴整衣服。護持應鉢。梵釋四王聞佛還國。皆來送侍天雨香汁。散華燒香竪諸幢蓋。四王諸天皆在前。導梵天侍右帝釋侍左。諸比丘眾皆隨佛後。諸天龍神華香妓樂追於上侍。佛適進路先現瑞應。三千國土六反震動。百歲枯樹皆生華實。諸枯竭溪㵎自然泉水。王見此瑞知佛已來。勅諸釋種大臣百官。皆行詣佛散華燒香。竪諸幢幡鼓眾妓樂。悉出迎佛王遙見佛。在於大眾如星中月。如日初出炤於朝陽。如樹華茂芬芳熾盛。巨身丈六相好嚴身。晃如金山王覩悲喜。前稽首足惟別彌時。今乃相見。大臣百官皆稽首禮。即還入城足蹈門閫。地為大動天雨眾華。樂器皆鳴。盲者得視。聾者得聽。拘躄得行。病者得愈。瘂者能言。狂者得正。僂者得伸。若被毒者毒為不行。百鳥禽獸相和悲鳴。婦女珠環相橖作聲。當爾之時見此變化。莫不歡喜。室寶藏者自然發出。中滿珍琦。懷異心者皆共和同。等心叉手自歸命佛。諸畜生類蒙其光潤。皆得生天。懷妊母人。蒙斯光明。苦痛微薄。皆得在產。端正姝好。消婬怒癡無復塵勞。展轉相視如父如母。如兄如弟如子如身。地獄休息餓鬼飽滿。尋光來至歸命世尊。皆發道意。王見佛巨身丈六。相好光明。體紫金色。諸根寂定。如星中月。晃如金山。天帝梵王四王所奉。覩諸梵志久在山中。薄露身形日炙風飄。身體黑臭在佛邊侍。猶如黑烏在紫金山。不能發起顯佛大德。令一切悅。便勅國中諸豪族釋。端正姝好顏貌殊異。選五百人出為沙門。侍佛在左右。猶如鳳凰在須彌山。亦如摩尼著水精器。時佛弟難陀亦作沙門。未下鬚髮難有典作。剃頭師前白佛言。人身難得。佛世難值。明時叵遇。今我大天及諸尊者。識道至高不可限量。不慕世榮捨世尊位。行作沙門今我小節下劣靡逮。何所貪樂不出為道乎。唯佛哀愍濟救污泥。沒溺塵埃拔為沙門。佛言善哉。佛時便呼比丘來。頭髮則墮袈裟在身。即成沙門禮諸沙門。因隨次坐難在後作。次第作禮到此沙門。即住不禮心自念言。是我家僕不能為禮。佛知告難佛法大通。舉學前後不在尊卑。猶如大海悉受萬川。四流不避。污塗執心。如地四大俱等。地水火風內外無異。其神空淨所著為名。宜棄自大以法自將。乃應先聖無極道訓。時難見佛教誨切至。事不得止解了本無。棄捐自大下意為禮。天地大動眾會同歎。善哉善哉。為道等心。除自高意而下卑心。感於天地為之大動。從是制法先學為長。後學為小。法之常儀各無所恨。無所諍訟。佛時入宮坐於殿上。王及臣民日日供養。百種甘饌。佛說經法所度無量。瞿夷携羅云來。稽首佛足瞻對問訊。久違侍覲曠廢供養。時王僚屬皆懷沈疑。太子捐國十有二年。何從懷妊生子羅云。佛語父王告諸群僚。瞿夷守節貞潔清淨無瑕疵也。設王不信今當現證。於時世尊化諸眾僧。皆使如佛。相好光明。等無差異。於時羅云厥年七歲。瞿夷即以指印信環。與羅云言。是汝父者以此與焉。羅云應時直前詣佛。以印信環而授世尊。王及群臣咸皆欣躍。稱言善哉。所現無量真佛子也。佛語父王及諸臣曰。從今已後無復懷疑。此吾之子。緣吾化生。勿咎瞿夷也。王得道證。瞿夷受戒。淨修梵行。宮人大小。咸受戒法。月六歲三。奉齋弗懈。國內清寧。風雨以節時不越序。五穀登賤民安其所。萬邦黎庶咸來慶賀。道德滋茂如月之初。

The king, hearing this, was all the more filled with sorrow and joy. He sighed and said, "Splendid, splendid! Asita's words were not in vain. Will the Buddha come? On what day will he arrive?" Udāyin replied, "He will arrive in seven days." The king was exceedingly overjoyed. He at once ordered his ministers and all the people of the state: "I will go out to welcome the Buddha with the retinue and deportment modeled on that of a wheel-turning king. Level and pave the roads, sweep them clean, sprinkle the ground with fragrant water, hang up silk banners and streamers, and erect canopies throughout the realm. Let everything be repaired and ornately adorned in all fitting ways." With a thousand chariots and ten thousand horsemen, he went out forty li to go forth and welcome the Buddha, bowing his head and taking refuge in him. Udāyin came forward and reported to the king, saying, "Originally I received the Buddha's teaching, accepting his command to see the king and make known his intent. Therefore, I now return to report the decree, saying that the king's wish is boundlessly yearning, desiring to see the Most Honored One, bow his head and receive the Dharma, and also transform the myriad people so that all may receive blessings and good fortune." The king said, "You should know that now is the time; do not delay any longer." At that time, Udāyin returned to the Buddha, bowed his head at his feet, and reported to him the king's words: "The World-Honoured One and his disciples themselves scheduled that after seven days they would return to their native state. The king, his ministers, and the common people are all delighted. Since departing, through accumulated years, he has thought of you day and night, his food and drink losing their sweetness, unable to sleep in his bed. Yearning for a long time, he counts the days and measures the hours, awaiting the arrival of the World-Honoured One, having remembered the seven days." At that time, the Great Sage told his disciples, "Tomorrow we will set out to Kapilavastu to see my father the king. All of you must neatly arrange your robes and maintain and hold your almsbowls." When Brahmā, Śakra, and the Four Heavenly Kings heard that the Buddha was returning to his realm, they all came to escort and attend upon him. The heavens rained down fragrant water, scattered flowers, and burned incense, and erected canopies. The Four Heavenly Kings and the devas were all in the van leading the way; Brahmā attended on the right, and Śakra attended on the left. The assembly of bhikṣus all followed behind the Buddha. The devas, nāgas, and spirits followed from above to attend upon him with flowers, incense, and musical entertainment. As soon as the Buddha set out on the road, auspicious omens appeared first: the trichiliocosm shook in six ways; trees withered for a hundred years all blossomed and bore fruit; and all dried-up streams and ravines naturally flowed with spring water. When the king saw these omens, he knew the Buddha had arrived. He ordered all the Śākya nobles, high ministers, and officials to go forth to the Buddha, scattering flowers and burning incense, erecting banners and streamers, and playing musical entertainment, all going out to welcome the Buddha. From afar, the king saw the Buddha amid the great assembly like the moon amid the stars, like the sun newly risen illuminating the morning light, like a tree in lush bloom whose fragrance is ablaze, his immense sixteen-foot body adorned with the marks and signs, radiant like a golden mountain. The king, seeing him with mixed sorrow and joy, stepped forward, bowed his head at his feet, and said, "Our separation has lasted so long! Only now do we meet again." The ministers and officials all bowed their heads in reverence. He then returned into the city; as [the Buddha's] feet trod upon the threshold, the earth shook greatly, the heavens rained down diverse flowers, and musical instruments all sounded on their own. The blind gained sight, the deaf gained hearing, the crippled could walk, the sick were cured, the mute could speak, the insane became sound of mind, the hunched could straighten, and if any were poisoned, the poison ceased to act. The hundreds of birds and beasts cried out to one another in harmony, and the pearl bracelets of the women clinked against one another, making music. At that time, seeing these transformations, there was none who was not rejoiced. The precious storehouses in households opened of themselves, filled within with rare gems. Those harboring discord reconciled with one another; with unified mind they joined their palms and took refuge in the Buddha. All the classes of animals, receiving this radiant moisture, were all reborn in heaven. Pregnant mothers, receiving this light, had their pain lessened and gave birth with ease to upright and beautiful children. Lust, anger, and delusion were extinguished, with no more defilement. Turning to look at one another, they treated each other like father and mother, like elder and younger brother, like child and oneself. The hells rested, the hungry ghosts were filled, and following the light they came to take refuge in the World-Honoured One, all generating the thought of the Way. The king saw the Buddha's immense sixteen-foot body, with the marks, signs, and radiance, his form like purplish gold, his faculties tranquil, like the moon amid the stars, radiant like a golden mountain, venerated by Śakra, Brahmā, and the Four Heavenly Kings. Seeing that the brahmacārins, having dwelt long in the mountains, had scantly covered bodies, scorched by the sun and blown by the wind, their forms dark and foul-smelling as they attended at the Buddha's side—just like black crows on a mountain of purplish gold, unable to set off and make manifest the Buddha's great virtue and cause all to rejoice—the king then ordered the noble Śākya clans in the realm, selecting five hundred persons of upright and beautiful appearance and extraordinary countenance to leave household life to become śramaṇas and attend upon the Buddha on his left and right, like phoenixes on Mount Sumeru or like mani jewels set in crystal vessels. At that time, the Buddha's younger brother Nanda also became a śramaṇa. Before his beard and hair were shaven, [Upāli] had difficult canonical matters to perform. The barber came forward and said to the Buddha, "A human body is difficult to obtain; the age of a Buddha is difficult to encounter; an era of illumination is impossible to meet. Now our Great Deva and the honored ones know the Way to the highest degree, beyond measure; not yearning for worldly glory, you renounced the worldly position of honor to become a śramaṇa. Now I, of petty virtue, low and inferior, unmatched by any—what do I covet and take pleasure in that I should not leave household life for the Way? May the Buddha alone have pity, rescue me from the mire, pluck me out from drowning in the dust, and make me a śramaṇa." The Buddha said, "Excellent!" The Buddha then called out, "Come, bhikṣu!" His hair fell of itself, a kāṣāya was upon his body, and he at once became a śramaṇa and paid homage to the other śramaṇas. He then sat down in sequence. Nanda, having become [a monk] afterward, paid homage in order, and when he reached this śramaṇa, he immediately stopped and did not pay homage, thinking to himself, "He was my family servant; I cannot pay homage to him." Knowing this, the Buddha told Nanda, "The Buddha's Dharma is universally open; precedence in learning is not determined by noble or base [birth]. It is like the great ocean, which receives all the myriad streams and turns away none of the four flows. Defilement and cleanliness cling to the mind; it is like the earth, where the four elements are all equal. Earth, water, fire, and wind are no different inside or outside. The spirit is empty and pure; that to which it attaches is merely a name. You should discard arrogance and conduct yourself according to the Dharma; only then will you accord with the boundless instruction in the Way of the ancient sages." At that time, seeing that the Buddha's instruction was earnest and piercing, Nanda could not stop [himself]; he understood original non-being, cast away arrogance, lowered his mind, and paid homage. Heaven and earth shook greatly, and the great assembly sighed in unison: "Splendid, splendid! Practicing the Way with an impartial mind, removing arrogant thoughts and lowering oneself with humility, moves heaven and earth so that they shake greatly for it." From this, it was instituted as a rule that those who learned earlier are senior, and those who learned later are junior. According to the standard protocol of the Dharma, none bore resentment and there was no disputation. At that time, the Buddha entered the palace and sat in the hall. Day after day, the king, ministers, and people made offerings of a hundred kinds of sweet delicacies. The Buddha expounded the sūtras and Dharma, and those delivered were boundless. Gopikā brought Rāhula to bow their heads at the Buddha's feet, gaze upon him, and pay their respects: "We have long neglected attending upon you and neglected making offerings." At that time, the king's officials and subordinates all harbored deep suspicion: "The crown prince renounced the realm twelve years ago; whence was she pregnant and gave birth to the child Rāhula?" The Buddha said to his father the king and addressed all the ministers, "Gopikā maintained chastity; she is pure, spotless, and without flaw. If the king does not believe it, I will now manifest proof." At that time, the World-Honoured One transformed all the saṅgha so that they all looked like the Buddha, their marks, signs, and radiance equal and without difference. At that time, Rāhula was seven years of age. Gopikā then gave a signet ring to Rāhula, saying, "Whichever is your father, give this to him." Rāhula immediately went straight forward to the Buddha and presented the signet ring to the World-Honoured One. The king and all his ministers were exceedingly overjoyed and exclaimed, "Splendid! What is manifested is boundless; he is truly the Buddha's son!" The Buddha said to his father the king and all the ministers, "From now on, harbor no further doubts. This is my son, transformed and born through me; do not blame Gopikā." The king attained realization of the Way. Gopikā received the precepts and cleanly cultivated the pure life. The women of the palace, both senior and junior, all received the rules of the precepts. Six days a month and three months a year, they observed the fast without remiss. Within the realm there was purity and peace; the wind and rain came in season, and the times did not exceed their proper order. The five grains were abundant and cheap, the people were at peace in their dwellings, and the populace of myriad realms all came to offer congratulations. The moral Way flourished like the waxing moon.