釋迦譜 1.459

1.459

At that time, after the World-Honoured One had accepted the entreaties of King Brahmā and the others, he further observed, with the Buddha-eye for seven days, the higher, middling, and lower faculties of all sentient beings, as well as their afflictions, which were also lower, middling, and higher, completing twice seven days. At that time, the World-Honoured One again reflected: 'I should now open the Dharma gate of the nectar [of immortality]. Who should be the first to hear it? The ṛṣi Ārāḍa is clever, wise, and easily awakened, and he also made an earlier vow that I should deliver him when I attain the Way.' As he was having this thought, a voice in the air said: 'The ṛṣi Ārāḍa passed away last night.' At that time, the World-Honoured One immediately replied to that voice in the air, saying: 'I also know that he passed away last night.' He then reflected again: 'The ṛṣi [Udraka] Rāmaputra is sharp-rooted and clear-minded; he too should hear it first.' The voice in the air spoke again: 'The ṛṣi Rāmaputra passed away last night.' At that time, the World-Honoured One immediately answered: 'I also know that he passed away last night.' At that time, the World-Honoured One again reflected: 'Those five men, Kauṇḍinya and the others, who were sent by the royal preceptor and the great ministers to look after me, are all intelligent. Furthermore, in a past life they made a vow to me; they should hear the Dharma first. It is right for me to now open the Dharma gate first for these five men.' He also reflected: 'The place where the past Buddhas turned the wheel of the Dharma was always in the Deer Park, the dwelling of the ṛṣis, in the kingdom of Vārāṇasī. The dwelling place of these five men is also there. I should now go to their dwelling place and turn the great wheel of the Dharma.' Having thought this, he arose from his seat and proceeded to the kingdom of Vārāṇasī. At that time, there were five hundred merchants with two leaders: one named Bhadrasena and the second named Bhadrika. As they were traveling through a wilderness, a deity spoke to them, saying: 'There is a Tathāgata, Arhat, Samyaksaṃbuddha, Vidyācaraṇasaṃpanna, Sugata, Lokavid, Anuttarapuruṣadamysārathi, Śāstādevamanuṣyāṇām, Buddha, the World-Honoured One, who has appeared in the world as the supreme field of merit. You should now be the very first to make an offering.' When the merchants heard the words of the deity, they replied: 'Excellent, it shall be as told.' They also asked the deity: 'Where is the World-Honoured One now?' The deity responded again: 'The World-Honoured One will arrive here before long.' Thereupon the Tathāgata, preceded and followed by immeasurable devas as his retinue, arrived at the village of Tapussa-Bhallika. When the people of that village saw the majestic marks and adornments of the Tathāgata, and saw the devas surrounding him before and behind, their joy redoubled, and they offered honeyed parched-flour porridge to the Buddha. At that time, the World-Honoured One thought in his mind: 'The past Buddhas used a pātra to contain food.' At that moment, the Four Heavenly Kings knew the Buddha's thought, and each holding a bowl, came to the Buddha's dwelling and offered it. Thereupon the World-Honoured One thought: 'If I now accept the bowl of one king, the other kings will certainly harbor resentment.' He then accepted the bowls of all four kings, stacked them upon his palm, and pressed them into one, making the four rims remain visible. At that time, the World-Honoured One made a prayer: 'May this giving cause the eater to be filled with vigor; may it cause the givers to attain appearance and strength, attain vision and joy, be comfortable and without disease, and ultimately preserve their lifespan. May all good spirits and deities always follow and protect them, reveal to them the paths and stations, and may they achieve gain, harmony, and unceasing good fortune. May the sun, moon, five planets, twenty-eight lunar mansions, heavenly spirits, and ghost kings constantly follow and aid them. May the Four Great Heavenly Kings reward and distinguish good people. By giving food, may they sever the roots of the three poisons; in the future may they obtain the three firm Dharma retributions, be clever and wise, have firm faith in the Buddha's Dharma, and wherever they are born, may their right view be unobscured. In the present life, may their parents, wives, children, and kin all flourish, free from calamities, portents, and inauspicious occurrences. If anyone among their clan has passed away and fallen into evil destinies, may the merit of this present giving cause them to be reborn among humans and gods without giving rise to wrong views, increasing their merits, always attending upon the Buddhas and Tathāgatas, hearing the wondrous discourses, seeing the truth and attaining realization, with all their wishes fulfilled.' When the World-Honoured One finished making this prayer, he accepted the food. Having finished eating, he rinsed his mouth, washed the bowl, and transmitted the three refuges to the merchants: first, refuge in the Buddha; second, refuge in the Dharma; third, refuge in the future Saṅgha. Having transmitted the three refuges, he then parted from them. The Ruiying benqi jing says: The Buddha remained in mental absorption for seven days, unmoved and unshaken. The tree deity thought: 'The Buddha has just attained the Way happily, but having sat for seven days, no one has yet offered food. I should seek someone to offer food to the Buddha.' At that time, five hundred merchants passed by one side of the mountain; their carts and oxen all stumbled, obstructed and unable to move. Among them were two great men, one named Trapuṣa and the second Bhallika. Frightened, they returned with the crowd to the tree deity to pray for blessings. The deity displayed an image of light and said: 'In this world there is a Buddha, currently in this realm of Uruvilvā by the bank of the Nairañjanā River. No one has yet offered him food. If you are fortunate enough to first give rise to good intentions, you will surely obtain great blessings.' When the merchants heard the Buddha's name, they all rejoiced and said: 'The Buddha must be the uniquely great honoured one, revered by heavenly deities, and no ordinary kind.' They immediately mixed parched-flour porridge with honey and went together beneath the tree, bowing their heads and offering it to the Buddha. The Buddha remembered that all the past Buddhas, when compassionately accepting offerings from people, followed the rule of always holding a bowl, and that it was not fitting to receive food with one's hands like other religious mendicants. The Four Heavenly Kings knew from afar that the Buddha needed a bowl, and in the time it takes a man to bend and stretch his arm, they all arrived at Mount Aḍa; naturally out of the stone, as they wished, four bowls emerged, fragrant, pure, and undefiled. The Four Heavenly Kings each took a bowl, returned, and jointly offered them to the Buddha, wishing: 'Compassionately regard the merchants and cause them to attain great blessings; let there be iron bowls that disciples will subsequently use for eating.' The Buddha considered that taking one bowl would displease the other kings, so he accepted all four bowls, stacked them in his left hand, and pressed them with his right hand, combining them into one bowl while letting the four rims remain visible. Then he walked forward, his deportment measured and stately, walking like a king of geese. On the road he met a non-Buddhist named Upaga. Seeing the marks and signs adorning the Tathāgata and his senses calm and settled, he praised it as extraordinary and immediately spoke a verse: