釋迦譜 2.30

2.30

佛將難陀復至地獄。見諸鑊湯悉皆煮人。唯見一鑊炊沸空停。怪其所以而來問佛。佛告之言。汝自往問。難陀即往問獄卒言。諸鑊盡皆煮治罪人。此鑊何故空無所煮。答言閻浮提內。有如來弟名為難陀。以出家功德當得生天。以欲罷道因緣之故。天壽命終墮此地獄。是故我今炊鑊而待難陀。難陀恐怖畏獄卒留。即作是言。南無佛陀南無佛陀。唯願將我擁護還至閻浮提內。佛語難陀。汝勤持戒修汝天福。難陀答言。不用生天。今唯願我不墮此獄。佛為說法。一七日中成阿羅漢。諸比丘歎言。世尊出世甚奇甚特。佛言。非但今日。乃往過去亦復如是。諸比丘言。過去亦爾。其事云何。請為我說。佛言。昔迦尸國王。名曰滿面。比提希國有一婬女。端正殊妙。爾時二國常想怨嫉。傍有佞臣向迦尸王。歎說彼國有婬女。端正世所希少。王聞是語心生惑著。遣使從索彼國不與。重遣使言求暫相見。四五日間還當發遣。時彼國王約勅婬女。汝之姿態。所有伎能好悉具備。使迦尸王惑著於汝。須臾之間不能遠離。即遣令去經四五日尋復喚言。欲設大祀須得此女。暫還放來後當更遣。時迦尸王即遣歸還。大祀已訖遣使還索。答言。明日當遣。既至明日亦復不遣。如是妄語經歷多日。王心惑著。單將數人欲往彼國。諸臣勸諫不肯受用。時仙人山中有獼猴王。聰明博達多有所知。其婦適死取一雌獼猴。諸獼猴眾皆共瞋。訶責此婬獼猴。眾所共有何緣獨。當時獼猴王將雌獼猴。走迦尸國投於王所。諸獼猴眾皆共追逐。既到城內發屋壞牆不可料理。迦尸國王語獼猴王言。汝今何不以雌獼猴還諸獼猴。獼猴王言。我婦死去更復無婦。王今云何欲使我歸。王語之言。今汝獼猴破亂我國。那得不歸。獼猴王言。此事不好耶。王答言不好。如是再三王故言不好。獼猴王言。汝宮中有八萬四千夫人。汝不愛樂。欲至敵國追逐婬女我今無婦唯取此一。汝言不好。一切萬姓視汝而活。為一婬女云何捐棄。大王當如。婬欲之事。樂少苦多。猶如逆風而執熾炬。愚者不放必見燒害。欲為不淨如彼屎聚。欲現外相薄皮所覆。欲無反復如屎塗毒蛇。欲如怨賊詐親附人。欲如假借必當還歸。欲為可惡如廁生華。欲如疥瘡而向於火。把之轉劇。欲如狗嚙枯骨。涎唾共合謂為有味。唇齒破盡不知厭足。欲如渴人飲於鹹水。逾增其渴。欲如段肉眾鳥競逐。欲如魚獸貪味。至死其患甚大。爾時獼猴王者我身是也。爾時王者難陀是也。爾時婬女者孫陀利是也。我於爾時欲淤泥中拔出難陀。今亦拔其生死之苦。

The Buddha then took Nanda to the hells. He saw cauldrons of boiling liquid, all of them boiling human beings. He saw only a single cauldron boiling and bubbling, standing empty. Wondering why this was so, he came and asked the Buddha. The Buddha told him, “Go and ask yourself.” Nanda immediately went and asked the hell warden, “The other cauldrons are all boiling and punishing sinners; why is this cauldron empty with nothing being boiled?” He replied, “In Jambudvīpa, there is a younger brother of the Tathāgata named Nanda. Through the merit of having gone forth as a monk, he will be born in heaven. But because of his intention to abandon the path, when his heavenly life-span ends he will fall into this hell. Therefore I am now boiling this cauldron and awaiting Nanda.” Nanda was terrified, fearing that the hell warden would detain him, and immediately said, “Namo Buddhāya! Namo Buddhāya! I pray only that you protect me and take me back to Jambudvīpa.” The Buddha said to Nanda, “Diligently uphold the precepts and cultivate your heavenly blessings.” Nanda replied, “I have no use for being born in heaven; now I only pray that I do not fall into this hell.” The Buddha preached the Dharma for him, and within seven days he became an arhat. The bhikṣus praised, saying, “The World-Honoured One’s appearance in the world is truly marvelous, truly extraordinary!” The Buddha said, “Not only today; it was also like this in the past.” The bhikṣus said, “It was also thus in the past? What happened? Please explain it to us.” The Buddha said: “Long ago, the king of the kingdom of Kāśi was named Full Face. In the kingdom of Videha there was a courtesan, exceptionally beautiful and exquisite. At that time the two countries were constantly hostile and envious of each other. A flattering minister nearby praised her to the king of Kāśi, saying that the other kingdom had a courtesan whose beauty was rare in the world. Hearing these words, the king’s heart became infatuated. He sent an envoy to request her, but that kingdom would not give her. He sent an envoy again, saying he sought only to see her briefly, and within four or five days he would send her back. The king of that country then instructed the courtesan, ‘All your charms and artistic skills must be fully displayed, so that the king of Kāśi becomes infatuated with you, unable to leave you for an instant.’ He then sent her away. After four or five days had passed, he soon summoned her back, saying, ‘I wish to hold a great sacrificial offering and must have this woman; let her return for a while, and she will be sent again later.’ The king of Kāśi then sent her back. When the great sacrifice was concluded, he sent an envoy to request her back. The reply was, ‘She will be sent tomorrow.’ When tomorrow came, she was still not sent. Thus through such lies many days passed. The king’s heart was infatuated; taking only a few men, he wished to go to that country. The ministers admonished him, but he refused to accept their advice. At that time, on Mount Ṛṣi there was a monkey king, intelligent, broad-minded, and possessing great knowledge. His mate having just died, he took another female monkey. The troop of monkeys were all enraged, scolding him: ‘This lustful monkey is the common property of the troop; why should you keep her solely for yourself?’ The monkey king then took the female monkey and fled to the kingdom of Kāśi, seeking refuge with the king. The troop of monkeys all pursued them. Arriving inside the city, they tore off roofs and broke down walls, causing uncontrollable disorder. The king of Kāśi said to the monkey king, ‘Why do you not now return the female monkey to the other monkeys?’ The monkey king said, ‘My mate died, and I have no other wife; why does the king now wish me to return her?’ The king said to him, ‘Now your monkeys are destroying and disordering my country; how can you not return her?’ The monkey king said, ‘Is such a thing bad?’ The king answered, ‘It is bad.’ After this was repeated two or three times, the king still said it was bad. The monkey king said, ‘You have eighty-four thousand ladies in your palace, yet you take no delight in them, wanting to go to an enemy country to pursue a courtesan. Now I have no wife and took only this one, and you say it is bad! All the myriad commoners look to you for their livelihood; how can you cast them aside for the sake of a single courtesan? Great King, you should know: the matters of sensual desire have little pleasure and much suffering, just like holding a blazing torch against the wind—a fool who does not let it go will surely be burned and harmed. Desires are impure, like a heap of dung; desires merely display an outward appearance, covered by thin skin; desires are treacherous, like a venomous snake smeared with dung; desires are like a bandit, falsely acting familiar and attaching himself to people; desires are like a loan that must be returned; desires are vile, like flowers growing in a latrine; desires are like scabies exposed to fire—the more one scratches, the worse it gets; desires are like a dog gnawing a dry bone, its saliva mixing with it so that it thinks it has flavor, breaking its lips and teeth without knowing satisfaction; desires are like a thirsty person drinking salty water, which only increases his thirst; desires are like a piece of meat competed for by a flock of birds; desires are like fish and beasts greedy for bait—their peril ending in death is exceedingly great. The monkey king at that time was myself; the king at that time was Nanda; and the courtesan at that time was Sundarī. At that time, I pulled Nanda out from the mire of sensual desire; now I have likewise pulled him out from the suffering of birth and death.”