釋迦譜 1.93

1.93

The Ruiying benqi jing says: The king went in person to the fields, and saw from afar that the tree had bent its branches over the prince, following him to shade his body. The king was startled awake from a daze, and in astonishment, not realizing what he was doing, dismounted and bowed in homage. The prince bowed and said: 'I have merely come here this once; why should the Great King have troubled himself to come? When I attain the Path, I shall return and not forget this vow.' The Bodhisattva took off his precious robes and gave them to Chandaka: 'Return and report to my father the king and to Sheyi: "When I attain correct awakening, I will return once more."' Chandaka's tears fell like rain. The white horse knelt on the ground and licked the Bodhisattva's feet. When the king saw the precious robes, Chandaka, and the white horse returning, but did not see the prince, he threw himself upon the ground: 'Where has my son gone now?' Guoyi grieved and embraced the white horse's neck: 'The prince rode you; why have you returned alone?' The king, thinking of the Bodhisattva, could not let go of the longing in his heart. He summoned all his ministers: 'You, my elders, hold your grandchildren and take delight together. I have an only son, who has departed to enter the mountains. I select five of your sons and younger brothers to pursue and attend upon him. If any of you return halfway, I shall exterminate your clan.' The five men pursued him but could not catch up. They thought to themselves: 'This is a fugitive, traveling without choosing roads; what Path could he possess? If we return, our clans will be destroyed; it is better to remain here, where sweet fruits and fine springs are completely without lack.' The Bodhisattva thought to himself that he wished to become a śramaṇa. Reaching the edge of the mountain waters, he settled there. A heavenly king, knowing his thought, came holding a knife. Śakra received the hair, and he thereby became a śramaṇa, with the uṣṇīṣa remaining in place. The Da shanquan jing says: The Bodhisattva shaved his own hair; neither the devas, nāgas, nor spirits could see the crown of his head, much less cut his hair. The Bodhisattva thought: 'King Śuddhodana would surely feel resentment, asking who had shaved his son's head.' Hearing that he had shaved it himself, the king fell silent. This was an expedient means. The Bodhisattva went to the banks of the Nairañjanā River. Living in quiet seclusion, he contemplated for six years, demonstrating great austerities. Daily he took a single hemp seed and a single grain of rice, sitting cross-legged without tilting to either side. In heavy rains, thunder, and lightning, through winter and summer, he sat in silence, never once lifting a hand to shield himself. People marveled at him, and inserted grass and sticks into his ears and nose, yet he did not brush them away.