釋迦譜 1.423

1.423

Thereupon, the Bodhisattva contemplated to himself: 'On what kind of seat did the past Buddhas attain the unexcelled Path?' He at once knew himself that it was on a seat made of grass. Śakra Devānām Indra transformed himself into an ordinary man holding pure and soft grass. The Bodhisattva asked him: 'What is your name?' He replied: 'My name is Svastika.' When the Bodhisattva heard this, his heart was filled with great joy: 'I shall destroy the inauspicious to accomplish the auspicious.' The Bodhisattva further said: 'May I obtain the grass in your hands?' Thereupon, Svastika handed the grass to the Bodhisattva, and made a vow, saying: 'When the Bodhisattva's Path is accomplished, may you first liberate me.' The Bodhisattva accepted it, spread it out as a seat, and sat down cross-legged upon the grass, according to the sitting posture of the Buddhas of the past, and took a vow himself: 'If I do not achieve complete awakening, I will not rise from this seat.' [The text adds:] 'I shall do likewise.' When he made this vow, the devas, nāgas, ghosts, and spirits were all joyful. A cool and pleasant wind blew from the four directions. Birds and beasts ceased their cries, and the trees did not rustle their branches. The drifting clouds and airborne dust all settled and became clear. They knew that these were omens that the Bodhisattva was sure to attain the Path. The Sūtra on the Samādhi of Contemplating the Buddha says: 'As soon as the grass was laid out as a seat, the earth shook greatly. The devas transformed themselves into eighty thousand Buddha-tree lion thrones. Some Buddha-trees were eight thousand li high, and some were four thousand li high. Each of the devaputras thought to himself: "The Bodhisattva is sitting upon my seat and not upon any other seat." But the base sentient beings who originally had meager merit saw the Bodhisattva's body sitting upon a grass mat.' After the Bodhisattva sat down, he considered: 'Māra Pāpīyān is the most arrogant and haughty. Now that I am about to attain unexcelled complete awakening, I should move him to come so that I may subjugate him.' He then stirred up the sentient beings of the three realms. The Sūtra on Entering the Womb says: 'He sat beneath the jambu tree for forty-eight days, contemplating the tree and moving heaven and earth. The earth trembled in six ways, and emitted great light, overshadowing the palace of Māra.' At that time, while Pāpīyān was asleep, in a dream he saw thirty-two transformations: his palaces were dark and gloomy; his palaces were covered in mud; he entered into a wrong path; the water in his ponds dried up; his musical instruments were broken and destroyed; the heads of the yakṣas and the torments of the spirits all fell to the ground; and the devas abandoned him and did not follow his commands (there are thirty-two dreams in all, but because the text is extensive, they are not recorded here). Waking from the dream in terror with his hair standing on end, he summoned his ministers and soldiers, told them what he had seen in his dream, and asked by what expedient means they could go and subdue him. He also summoned his one thousand sons. His five hundred sons, led by the Guide and others, had faith in and delighted in the Bodhisattva; his other five hundred sons, led by Evil Eyes and others, followed Māra's commands. In confusion and distress, the Demon King spoke to his four daughters: the first was named Desire Consort, the second Delighting Him, the third Pleasant Sight, and the fourth Followed by Sight. 'Go to him and disrupt his pure conduct.' The daughters went to the Bodhisattva, speaking seductive words and making seductive postures, thirty-two postures in all: puckering their upper and lower lips, casting sidelong glances, revealing their thighs and legs, baring their arms, and making the cries of mallards, geese, mandarin ducks, and mournful phoenixes (there are thirty-two attitudes in all, but because the text is extensive, they are not recorded here). Māra's daughters were skilled in the arts of feminine illusions and bewitchment, and they said: 'We are in the prime of our youth, and among heavenly maidens none surpass us in beauty. We wish to rise early and retire late to attend and serve at your side.' The Bodhisattva replied: 'You have past merit, through which you received heavenly bodies. Although your physical forms are fine, your minds are not upright. You are leather bags filled with foulness—why have you come? Begone, I have no use for you.' The daughters of the Demon King were transformed into old crones; unable to restore themselves, they returned to Māra's place. The Sūtra on the Samādhi of Contemplating the Buddha says: 'Māra had three daughters; the eldest was named Delighting Him, the middle one Joyful Mind, and the youngest Full of Allure. They said to their father: "We can go and disrupt him; please do not worry, Father." They immediately adorned themselves, surpassing Māra's queen a hundred thousand myriad times. Casting glances and striking poses, they displayed all kinds of enchantments. They paid homage to the Bodhisattva, circled him seven times, and addressed the Bodhisattva, saying: "When the prince was born, ten thousand spirits attended him; why abandon the heavenly throne to come beneath this tree? We are heavenly maidens, peerless in the six heavens. We now offer our humble bodies to the prince. We are skilled in massaging and pampering the body. We now wish to draw near; you must be exhausted from sitting beneath the tree, so you should rest and partake of amṛta." They then offered heavenly sweet flavors in precious vessels. The prince remained calm and silent, his body and mind unmoved. Directing his white curl, he caused the three heavenly daughters to see within their own bodies sacks of pus, nasal mucus, saliva, the root of the nine orifices, the stomach and the bowels folding and winding, and eight thousand families of pupating worms running into the small intestines with their mouths open upward, gnawing at their viscera; in the bone marrow and vessels were born worms finer than autumn down, extremely numerous. When the women saw this, they immediately vomited. They then saw their own bodies: on the left grew a snake's head, on the right grew a fox's head, and in the center was a dog's head; on their backs they carried an old crone, and in their arms they held a dead child. The women cried out in alarm and backed away; lowering their heads to look at their navels, they saw their own female forms as hideous, base, and foul. There were also worms in the shape of bracelets, entwined together in a ring, possessing many mouths; from their mouths were born five poisons, gnawing at their female organs. When the women saw this, their hearts were extremely grieved and distressed, as if an arrow had pierced their hearts; they crawled away, sighing and lamenting, and returned to the Demon King. The Demon King was furious. He commanded all the six heavens and the eight classes of beings to go to Gautama's place. At that time, all the spirits arose like clouds. Some spirits had heads like ox heads with forty ears, from which iron arrows sprouted and flames rose upward. Some spirits had heads like fox heads with ten thousand eyes, their voices sounding like thunderclaps. The wild ghost-spirits and great generals had six heads on one neck, six faces on their chests, two faces on their knees, and body hair like arrows, which they shook off to shoot at people; their wide-open eyes were bloodshot and raw, dripping with blood, and they ran forward swiftly. Māra told the spirits: "Gautama is a virtuous man and may know spells. We should deploy the four divisions of the army." They transformed themselves into the four divisions of an army, lined up like a forest, extremely terrifying, descending straight from the sky to the side of the bodhi tree. Māra further thought: "This host may not be able to subdue Gautama." He took off his jeweled crown again and aimed it at the ground, hovering directly over the palace of King Yama. He ordered the spirits: "You hell-wardens and King Yama, bring all the wheel of knives, swords, halberds, fire-chariots, and blazing coals of the Avīci Hell up to Jambudvīpa!" The Demon King roared like thunder, ordering his troops: "Quickly kill Gautama!" From above, great thunder roared, raining hot iron balls, and wheels of knives and weapons crossed back and forth in the sky; yet the flaming arrows did not come near the Bodhisattva. At that time, the Bodhisattva slowly raised his white curl between his eyebrows and directed it toward the Avīci Hell, causing the sinners to see a stream of water from the white curl, pouring like chariot axles, so that the great fires were temporarily extinguished. Remembering their past sins, their minds became pure and cool, and they recited "Namo Buddhāya." Through this cause and condition, their punishment came to an end, and they were reborn directly among humans. Seeing this omen, Māra grew emaciated, sorrowful, and distressed, and suddenly returned to his palace. The white curl reached straight to the six heavens, where inside the pore of the white curl, precious lotus flowers were seen, with the past seven Buddhas upon the flowers. In this way, the white curl reached up to the Formless Realm, illuminating everything like a crystal mirror. The eighty-four thousand heavenly maidens looked upon Pāpīyān's body, which was like charred wood; they only gazed upon the light of the Bodhisattva's white curl mark. Countless devaputras and devakanyās all generated the thought of unexcelled bodhi. At that time, the Demon King came forward in person to debate with the Buddha. By the power of his wisdom, the Bodhisattva stretched forth his hand and pressed the earth; immediately the earth shook. Māra and his retinue tumbled and fell upside down. Having subdued the demon enemy, he accomplished complete, true awakening. At that time, when the Bodhisattva made his great vow beneath the tree, the devas, nāgas, and eight classes of beings were all joyful, leaping and praising him in the sky. At that time, the palace of the Demon King of the sixth heaven shook spontaneously. Thereupon, the Demon King was greatly distraught, his spirit agitated, and he could not enjoy sounds or flavors. He thought to himself: "The śramaṇa Gautama is now beneath the tree, abandoning the five desires and sitting upright in contemplation. Before long, he will accomplish the Path of complete awakening. If his Path is accomplished, he will broadly liberate all and transcend my domain. Before his Path is accomplished, I should go and destroy it." At that time, Māra's son Sārtha saw his father gloomy and emaciated, and went to ask him: "I wonder why my royal father is sorrowful?" The Demon King replied: "The śramaṇa Gautama is now sitting beneath the tree; his Path is about to be accomplished, and he will surpass me. Now I wish to destroy him." Māra's son then stepped forward to remonstrate with his father, saying: "The Bodhisattva is pure and transcends the three realms. His spiritual powers and wisdom are thoroughly clear. The devas, nāgas, and eight classes of beings all praise him together. This is not someone whom my royal father can subjugate. Do not trouble yourself to commit evil and bring disaster upon yourself."