釋迦譜 5.26

5.26

王位。時沸沙蜜多羅問諸臣。我當作何等令我名德久存於世。時賢善諸臣。信三寶者啟王言。阿育祖王在世造八萬四千塔。復興種種供養。此之名德相傳至今。王欲求此名者。當造立八萬四千塔及諸供養。王言大王阿育。有重威德能辦此事。我不能作更思餘事。中有惡臣不信向者啟王言。世間有二種法傳世不滅。一者作善。二者作惡。大王阿育作諸善行。今王當作惡行。打壞八萬四千塔。此名不滅。時王用佞臣語。欲壞諸塔寺。先往雞雀寺中。門前有石師子即吼。王聞之驚怖即還入城。如是再三欲壞彼寺。時王問諸比丘。使我壞塔。寧壞僧坊。比丘答曰二不應行。王其欲壞者。寧壞僧房殺害比丘。如是漸漸至婆伽羅國。又復唱令。若有人能得沙門頭者。賞之百金。爾時彼國中有一阿羅漢。化作眾多比丘頭。與諸百姓令送與王。令王庫藏財寶竭盡。時彼王。聞羅漢作如是事倍復瞋恚欲殺羅漢。時彼羅漢入滅盡定。王作無量方便。殺彼聖人終不能得。三昧力故。不傷其體。如是漸進至佛塔門。有一鬼神止住其中。守護佛塔名曰牙齒。作是念。我受持禁戒不殺眾生。不能害王。又復作念。有一神名曰為虫。凶暴勇健求索我女。我不與之。今為護法當嫁與彼令其守護佛法。時彼虫神排攩大山。推迮王上。及四兵眾無不死盡。彼王終亡。孔雀苗裔於此永終。祐尋。八萬塔緣。乃懸記後事。廣長所說其驗己徵。撰譜之始本述釋種。但塔興阿育故備記孔雀。雖於文為繁。而塔事備矣。

to the royal throne. At that time, Puṣyamitra asked his ministers, "What should I do so that my name and virtue will endure long in the world?" Then the good and worthy ministers who had faith in the Three Jewels addressed the king, saying, "The ancestral king Aśoka, during his lifetime, built eighty-four thousand stupas and raised up various offerings; the fame and virtue of this has been passed down to this day. If Your Majesty wishes to seek such fame, you should construct eighty-four thousand stupas and make various offerings." The king said, "The Great King Aśoka possessed formidable awe and virtue and was able to accomplish this. I cannot do it; think of something else." Among them, an evil minister who had no faith addressed the king, saying, "In the world there are two kinds of ways to be passed down through generations without perishing: the first is doing good, and the second is doing evil. The Great King Aśoka performed various good deeds. Now Your Majesty should perform evil deeds and smash the eighty-four thousand stupas; this fame will likewise never perish." The king then followed the flatterer's words, intending to destroy the stupas and monasteries. He first went to the Kukkuṭārāma Monastery. In front of the gate was a stone lion, which immediately roared. Hearing it, the king was terrified and immediately returned to the city. Three times he thus wished to destroy that monastery. The king then asked the monks, "If I am to destroy the stupas, or rather destroy the sanghārāmas?" The monks answered, "Neither should be done. If the king insists on destruction, he would rather destroy the sanghārāmas and kill the monks." Thus he gradually advanced to the country of Śākala. There he again proclaimed an order: "If anyone can obtain the head of a śramaṇa, they will be rewarded with a hundred pieces of gold." At that time, in that country there was an arhat who manifested numerous monks' heads and gave them to the common people to present to the king, causing the king's treasury of wealth to be exhausted. When the king heard that the arhat had done this, his rage doubled and he wished to kill the arhat. The arhat then entered the absorption of cessation (nirodhasamāpatti). The king used countless expedients to kill that holy man, but in the end could not succeed; through the power of samādhi, his body was not harmed. Thus the king gradually advanced to the gate of the Buddha's stupa. There was a spirit residing within who guarded the Buddha's stupa, named Tooth (Daṃṣṭrā). He thought: "I observe the precepts against killing living beings and cannot harm the king." He further thought: "There is a spirit named Insect (Kīṭa), who is fierce, violent, and brave, and has sought my daughter; I did not give her to him. Now, for the sake of protecting the Dharma, I shall marry her to him, so that he may protect the Buddha's Dharma." Then that Insect spirit shoved a great mountain and pushed it down upon the king, and his fourfold army was wiped out without exception. That king perished; the Maurya lineage came to a permanent end here. Sengyou investigates: The origins of the eighty-four thousand stupas indeed presaged later events; what was extensively and at length described has already been verified by evidence. When I began compiling this genealogy, my original purpose was to narrate the Śākya clan; but because the stupas were raised by Aśoka, I recorded the Mauryas in full. Although this is voluminous in text, the matters concerning the stupas are thereby made complete.