釋迦譜 5

English (machine translation) 5

Language: English

5.1

Compiled by the Śākya [monk] Sengyou of the Xiao Qi

5.2

Record 31: King Aśoka Builds Eighty-Four Thousand Stūpas

5.3

Record 32: The Past Causes for Śākya's Obtaining Eighty-Four Thousand Stūpas

5.4

Record 33: The Conditions of the Complete Disappearance of Śākya's Dharma

5.5

Record 34: The Marks of the Complete Disappearance of Śākya's Dharma

5.6

Record 31: King Aśoka Builds Eighty-Four Thousand Stūpas (drawn from the Saṃyuktāgama)

At that time, the World-Honoured One, walking through the towns and hamlets with the bhikṣus, saw two young boys, one named Jaya and the other named Vijaya, playing together in the sand. From afar they saw the World-Honoured One adorned with the thirty-two marks on his body. Then the boy Jaya thought to himself: 'I should offer barley flour to the Buddha.' He then cupped fine sand in his hands and placed it into the World-Honoured One's bowl. At that time, Vijaya joined his palms in sympathetic joy. Then that boy made a vow, saying: 'By the merit of the wholesome root of this generous gift, may I become an emperor with a single parasol over the entire world, and in that very place may I be born to make offerings to all the Buddhas.' At that time, the World-Honoured One let a smile appear on his face. Ānanda joined his palms and addressed the Buddha: 'World-Honoured One, for what reason do you smile?' Then the World-Honoured One told Ānanda: 'You should know that one hundred years after my extinction, this boy will become a wheel-turning king ruling over the world in the city of Pāṭaliputra, of the Maurya clan, named Aśoka, governing and transforming with the true Dharma. Furthermore, he will widely distribute my relics and shall build eighty-four thousand stūpas. Ānanda, take this sand offered in the bowl and cast it upon the Tathāgata's walkway; I will walk there.' Ānanda received the instruction and immediately took the sand from the bowl to plaster the walkway. 'Ānanda, you should know that in the city of Pāṭaliputra there will be a king named Candragupta. That king will father a son named Bindusāra, who will rule that country. He, in turn, will have a son named Suśīma. At that time, in the state of Campā, there was a brahman daughter who was exceedingly handsome, pleasant to behold, and prized by the state. The physiognomists, upon seeing that girl's marks, made the prediction that this girl would become a royal consort and would certainly bear two sons: one would rule the world, and one would leave home to study the path and achieve the traces of holiness. When the brahman heard what the physiognomists said, he was immeasurably rejoiced, and at once brought his daughter to the city of Pāṭaliputra with all manner of adornments, intending to marry her to Prince Suśīma. The physiognomists said she ought to be married to King Bindusāra. The king, seeing that this girl was handsome and virtuous, forthwith established her as his primary consort, and they constantly took pleasure in each other. She subsequently became pregnant, and having completed her months, gave birth to a son. At the time of birth, she was tranquil and free of distress; after seven days had passed, she named him Aśoka ("Without Distress"). She again gave birth to a son named Vītāśoka. As for Aśoka, his skin was coarse and rough, and his father took no pleasure in seeing him. The king wished to test his sons and called a brahman, saying: "Examine my sons: after my death, who should become king?" The brahman said: "Bring these sons outside the city to the park pavilions of the Golden Palace, where I shall examine their physiognomy." At that time, King Aśoka's mother said to Aśoka: "Now the king has gone out to the park pavilions of the Golden Palace to examine the princes, to see who should become king after his death. Why do you not go?" Aśoka stated: "Since I receive no affection and he takes no pleasure in seeing me, [why should I go]?" His mother said: "Just go!" He then set off, saying: "I pray, Mother, send me food." The mother said: "So it shall be." The king had beforehand instructed his ministers: "If Aśoka comes, make him come riding an old and sluggish elephant, and give him old men as his retinue." At that time, Aśoka rode the old elephant, reached the park pavilions, and sat on the ground. Then food and drink were served to the various princes. Aśoka's mother, using an earthenware vessel, prepared curd and rice and sent it to Aśoka. The king asked the master: "Among these, who possesses the marks of a king and will succeed to my throne?" Then that physiognomist observed the princes and saw that Aśoka fully possessed the marks of a king and would succeed to the throne. He also thought: "This Aśoka is not loved by the Great King. If I say he will become king, the king will certainly be displeased." He then said: "I will now make a general prediction: if there is someone here with a superior mount, that person shall become king." Hearing what he said, the princes each thought to themselves: "I ride a fine mount." At that time Aśoka said: "I ride an aged elephant; I shall become king." Then the king again said to the master: "Please examine them further." The master replied again: "If there is one here with the foremost seat, he shall become king." The princes said to one another: "My seat is foremost." Aśoka said: "Now I sit upon the earth; this is a firm and supreme seat, so I shall become king." The king again told the master to examine them once more. The master reported again: "The one here with the superior vessel and superior food, he shall obtain kingship." Aśoka thought: "I have the superior food; I must become king." The assembly dispersed and they returned to the palace. At that time, Aśoka's mother asked Aśoka: "Whom did the brahman definitively predict?" Aśoka reported: "Your son will become king. Taking an old elephant as mount, taking the ground as seat, and holding food in a plain vessel—non-glutinous rice mixed with curd—these are the most supreme." The brahman, knowing that Aśoka would be king, frequently paid him respect. His mother thereupon asked: "Who will become king?" The master said: "The prince you bore, Aśoka, is the person." At that time, in King Bindusāra's border country, Takṣaśilā rebelled. The king then said to Aśoka: "Lead the fourfold army and pacify that country." When it came time to set forth, he gave him few weapons and armor. At that time, the attendants addressed the prince, saying: "Now going to conquer that country without military weapons, how can it be pacified?" Aśoka said: "If I am destined to be king, weapons and armor will naturally appear in response." As he uttered these words, in response to his voice the earth opened and weapons and armor came forth from the earth. He then led the fourfold army to go and conquer that country. When the people of that country heard that Aśoka was coming, they leveled and swept the roads, and welcomed the prince with all kinds of offerings. The devas proclaimed a command: "Prince Aśoka is to rule this world; do not harbor rebellious intentions." That country then surrendered. In this manner he pacified this world even unto the edges of the ocean. At that time, the father king contracted a severe illness. The ministers then adorned Aśoka and brought him to the king's place, [saying]: "For now let us install this son as king; later we will gradually install Suśīma as king." When the king heard these words, he was grieved and unhappy, and remained silent without answering; thereupon he passed away. At that time, Aśoka thought and said: "If I am to rightfully attain the royal throne, let the devas naturally come and consecrate my head with water, binding my head with plain white silk." In response to his voice, the devas immediately consecrated Aśoka's head with water and bound his head with plain white silk; he ascended to the supreme royal station, and humans and spirits rejoiced. A commentary is also cited saying: On the day Aśoka was installed as king, an iron wheel flew down, and he ruled over Jambudvīpa, forty leagues into the sky and forty leagues beneath the earth, and the spirits all praised his goodness.'

5.8

After King Aśoka had buried his royal father in accordance with ritual propriety, he immediately appointed Anuruddha as his chief minister. At that time, Prince Suśīma heard of his father's demise and that Aśoka had been set up as king behind his back; feeling unable to bear this, he assembled an army and came to attack Aśoka. Minister Anuruddha then fashioned a mechanical wooden elephant and also made a statue of King Aśoka, placing the statue mounted on the elephant outside the eastern gate. He also made a smokeless fire-pit and covered it with a cloth. Minister Anuruddha said to Prince Suśīma, "If you wish to be king, Aśoka is at the eastern gate; you may go and attack him. If you can capture him, you will naturally become king." The prince immediately hastened to the eastern gate and fell into the fire-pit, dying instantly. King Aśoka governed by the true Dharma. At that time, the ministers thought, "We collectively enthroned Aśoka as king," and therefore held the king in contempt and slighted him, not observing the etiquette between sovereign and subject. The king was also aware of the ministers' contempt. He then said to the ministers, "You should cut down the flowering and fruiting trees and plant thorn bushes instead." The ministers replied, "We have never heard of cutting down flowering and fruiting [trees] to plant thorn trees." Even after the king commanded them thrice to cut them down, they still refused to obey. The king then took a sharp sword and killed five hundred ministers. When the king took his palace maidens out to stroll in the park, he saw an aśoka tree whose flowers were in full, luxuriant bloom. Having seen it, [he thought,] "This flowering tree shares my name," and felt joyful in his heart. The king's body was ugly and his skin rough and harsh. Because the palace maidens hated the king, they used their hands to break and ruin the aśoka flower tree. When the king awoke from sleep and saw the flowers of the aśoka tree scattered in disarray on the ground, he was enraged. He had all the palace maidens bound and burned to death with fire. Because the king acted with violent cruelty, he was called Aśoka the Fierce. At that time, Minister Anuruddha addressed the king, "Why should the king kill ministers and palace maidens with his own hands? The king should now appoint an executioner." A decree was then issued to appoint an executioner. In that land was a mountain named Giri, and in it was a weaver's son also named Giri. He was ferocious and cruel, flogging and binding men and women, catching living creatures of water and land, and even rebelling against his parents. For this reason the people of the world said of him, "the ferocious Giri-putra." The king's envoy said to him, "Can you behead wicked people for the king?" He replied, "I could wipe out all the guilty people in the entire Jambudvīpa, let alone this single region!" The king then built for him a building that was extremely stately and magnificent, with only one gate opened. Inside it, he instituted punishments resembling the hells. Then the ferocious man requested of the king, "I now beg a boon from the king: if anyone enters here, he must never be allowed to leave." [The king] replied, "It shall be as you wish." At that time, the son of a merchant chief, weary of worldly suffering, went forth to practice the Path and traveled through various realms. As he went about begging for food in turn, he mistakenly entered the executioner's house. The bhikṣu saw from afar inside the house that there were fire-carts, furnace embers, and the like used to torture living beings. Terrified, with hair standing on end, he tried to leave through the gate. The ferocious man came forward, seized the bhikṣu, and said, "He who enters here never leaves, but dies in this place." Grief and regret arose in the bhikṣu's heart; with tears filling his eyes, [he said,] "Grant me life for a short while, say for one month." The ferocious man refused. As the number of days was gradually reduced, [the killer] stopped at seven days and granted permission. The bhikṣu, knowing that he would soon die, was brave and vigorous, sitting in dhyāna to quiet his mind, yet by the seventh day he had still not attained the Path. At that time, a woman of the king's inner palace who had committed an offense was sent and delivered to the executioner. Taking this woman, he placed her in a mortar and pounded her with a pestle, grinding her into powder. When the bhikṣu saw this, he felt extreme disgust toward this body: "Alas, what suffering! My body before long will also be like this!" He severed all fetters and became an arhat. Then the ferocious man said to the bhikṣu, "Your time has expired." The bhikṣu replied with a verse: "My mind has attained liberation; / all forms of existence are completely cut off. / Now for this skeleton and frame, / I have no lingering regret or attachment." At that time, the executioner seized the bhikṣu and placed him in an iron cauldron of oil, piling on firewood; yet the fire would not catch at all, or else it did not become hot. Seeing that the fire would not burn, the executioner beat the attendant, and of itself the fire flared. The fire became fierce and raging. After a long while, he opened the cauldron's lid and saw the bhikṣu sitting upon a lotus blossom inside the iron cauldron. Filled with a sense of wonder, he reported this to the king. The king immediately mounted his carriage and led an immeasurable multitude to come and see the bhikṣu. The bhikṣu, realizing that the time to tame [the king] had arrived, ascended into the sky like the king of geese, displayed various wondrous transformations, and spoke a verse to the king: "I am a disciple of the Buddha; / I have attained the exhaustion of all outflows. / From the great terror of birth and death, / I am now entirely liberated." When King Aśoka heard what the bhikṣu said, he gave rise to great reverent faith toward the Buddha's Dharma. A tradition says: The king inquired among all his ministers and subjects whether there was anyone who had seen the Buddha, and there was only King Prasenajit's younger sister, who had become a bhikṣuṇī, over one hundred and thirty years old, who had seen the Buddha in the world. The king went to ask her, "What were the Buddha's meritorious qualities?" The nun replied, "The majestic power of the World-Honoured One is fully set forth in the sūtras. When I was ten years old, the Buddha entered the palace halls; the ground turned entirely golden. I bowed in homage, and my golden hairpin fell to the ground, its color blending indistinguishably with the light; only after he left and the light ceased could I search for and find it." She also said, "The Buddha possessed eight kinds of voice. Nowadays there is a bird by the seashore named kalaviṅka, whose plaintive and resonant sound is somewhat similar to one ten-thousandth of it." The king sought and obtained this bird, but for ten days it did not sing. At that time, a maidservant was dressing before a mirror; seeing its reflection, the bird fluttered in surprise and was about to sing, but when the maidservant turned the mirror away, it ceased its sound. The king said, "Whoever can make the bird sing shall be made queen." The maidservant then took various mirrors and hung them on the four walls. The bird, seeing the reflections, looked about, turned round in confusion, and sang plaintively, shaking its feathers swiftly, its voice pure, melodious, and harmonious. When the king heard it, he was awakened to the aspiration for the true Path and appointed the maidservant as his second queen; the seven thousand palace maidens were all delighted. [The king] also addressed the bhikṣu, saying, "What prophecy did the Buddha give before his parinirvāṇa?" The bhikṣu replied, "The Buddha prophesied concerning the Great King: 'More than one hundred years after my demise, in the city of Pāṭaliputra there will be three hundred million households. In that realm there will be a king named Aśoka, who will rule this Jambudvīpa as a wheel-turning king, governing by the true Dharma. He will also broadly distribute my relics across Jambudvīpa and erect eighty-four thousand stupas.' Such was the Buddha's prophecy. Yet now the Great King has built this great hell and slaughtered countless beings. The king ought now to be compassionate and mindful of all sentient beings. Concerning what the Buddha prophesied of the Great King, you should practice in accordance with the Dharma." Then King Aśoka gave rise to extreme reverent faith toward the Buddha. He pressed his palms together, bowed in homage to the bhikṣu, and said: "I have incurred great guilt; I now repent before the bhikṣu. What I have done is exceedingly unwholesome. I only pray that the Son of the Buddha will accept my repentance with an attitude of equanimity, and no longer reprove me, a foolish person." The Avadāna Sūtra states: At that time, the king's palace regularly provided the four requisites to twenty thousand śramaṇas. There were non-Buddhist brahmans whose followers were very numerous, who envied and resented the śramaṇas and wished to humiliate and destroy them. They selected from among their assembly one who was skilled in illusory transformations to manifest as an exotic divinity whose revered deity was named Yamarāja, having one head, four faces, eight eyes, and eight arms, fierce and ferocious, followed mostly by hideous beings. He first patrolled the hamlets and neighborhoods, and then arrived at the city gate. The men and women in the realm fled in terror, losing their wits. The king descended from his carriage, put away his parasol, and received him at the city gate, asking what he desired. The spirit said, "I wish to devour humans. If you begrudge your subjects, all the śramaṇas do not plow yet eat, consuming and wasting far too much; it would be auspicious if you would hand them over to me to supply the kitchen meals." The king was terrified and sent a messenger to inform the Saṅgha. At that time there was a novice named Duanzheng, thirteen years of age, who said to the bhikṣus, "I can subdue and transform him." He immediately went to the spirit's place and told him, "The great bhikṣus will arrive one after another; if you wish to display your marvels, you can wait until the meal is finished." At that time, there were more than twenty thousand brahmans following the spirit. The king prepared a lavish feast. The novice devoured the delicacies and swallowed the food, crunching them completely with his teeth, yet was not yet sated. He then took the spirit's followers and swallowed them one after another, and by his supernormal powers they all ended up at Jetavana. The brahmans who had practiced the illusion bowed their heads in apology, sought to go forth from the household life, and all became śramaṇas; later, most attained arhatship. Because of this, the king had twofold faith and submission. When that bhikṣu had converted King Aśoka, he departed into the sky through transformation. As the king was about to leave that hell, the executioner said to the king, "The king may no longer leave." The king asked, "Do you wish to kill me now?" He replied, "Yes." The king said, "Who entered here first?" He answered, "I did." The king said, "If so, you ought to die first." The king immediately commanded his men to put the executioner into a house of pitch and burn him with fire. He also ordered the destruction of this hell, granting fearlessness to all sentient beings.

5.9

A tradition says: Having attained faith, the king asked a man of the Path, "Hitherto I have killed and harmed without proper reason. What wholesome deed may I now cultivate to be spared from this calamity?" [The man of the Path] replied, "There is only erecting stupas to make offerings to the Saṅgha, pardoning convicts, and giving relief to the poor and destitute." The king asked, "Where may stupas be erected?" The man of the Path then used his supernormal power to conceal the sun with his left hand; the sunlight divided into eighty-four thousand rays, shining out over Jambudvīpa. Wherever the light shone, a stupa could be erected. The sites of all the present stupas are these.

5.10

Then the king, wishing to build relic stupas, led his fourfold army to Rājagṛha, retrieved the relics from King Ajātaśatru's stupa for the Buddha, and then repaired this stupa so that it was no different from before. In this manner he retrieved the relics from the stupas of the seven Buddhas, until he arrived at the village of Rāmagrāma. At that time, the nāga kings led the king into the nāga palace. The king requested relics from the nāgas to make offerings to them, and the nāgas divided and gave them to him. The king then made eighty-four thousand caskets of gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and crystal to contain the Buddha's relics. He also made eighty-four thousand vases of the four jewels to hold these caskets, and immeasurable hundreds of thousands of banners, pennants, and parasols, causing various spirits and deities to each hold relics and make offerings to them. He thoroughly commanded the spirits and deities, saying, "Throughout Jambudvīpa, extending to the edge of the sea, wherever there are cities, towns, or villages that reach one hundred million households, erect a stupa for the World-Honoured One." At that time, there was a kingdom named Takṣaśilā with 3.6 billion households. The people of that kingdom said to the spirits and deities:

5.11

"Give thirty-six caskets of relics to us to erect Buddha stupas." The king used an expedient means: for kingdoms with fewer people, he caused them to be shared with them so as to make up the required number of households and erect stupas. At that time in Pāṭaliputra there was an elder named Yaśas. The king went to his place and said to the elder, "I wish to erect eighty-four thousand Buddha stupas throughout this Jambudvīpa in a single day. Such is my wish." The elder said, "Excellent! Let the Great King fix the time of a lunar eclipse on the fifteenth day, and have the stupas of the Buddha erected across this Jambudvīpa." In this manner, eighty-four thousand stupas were erected in a single day. The people of the world rejoiced boundlessly and collectively called him Dharmāśoka.

5.12

The Da Ayuwang jing says: Eight countries shared the relics together. King Ajātaśatru's allotted share amounted to eighty-four thousand [portions]. In addition, he separately received two of the Buddha's teeth, returning with them to his kingdom. On the road he encountered the dragon king Nantouhe, who sought a share of the relics from him. King Ajātaśatru would not give them, so [the dragon king] said to him, 'I am a dragon king, with the power to destroy your realm.' King Ajātaśatru was frightened and thereupon gave the Buddha's teeth to him. The dragon king returned to the foot of Mount Sumeru, raised the waters eighty-four thousand li high, and built a crystal stupa beneath them. Ajātaśatru returned to his kingdom, placed the relics in a purplish-gold casket, made a lamp [to burn for] a thousand years, and buried them in a stupa beneath the waters of five Ganges sands. Afterward, King Aśoka obtained his realm. The king took a wife; her body was eight spans tall, and her hair was of equal length, fully endowed with all the signs. The king ordered a physiognomist to examine her. The master said, 'She will bear for the king a golden-hued son.' The king thereupon appointed her second queen. Later she became pregnant, and when ten months were completed, the king had official business and had to travel abroad. The chief queen was jealous and devised an expedient means, wishing together [with others] to eliminate her. She sought out a sow that was about to give birth and said to the second queen, 'You are young and have only just begun to give birth. You must not expose your face to look upon the heavens.' She covered her face with a quilt, and she indeed gave birth to a golden son, whose radiance illuminated the palace. They secretly took the child away and killed him, and immediately placed the piglet beside her. She then reviled her, saying, 'You claimed you would bear for the king a golden-hued son; why have you given birth to a pig?' She then took a round-headed mallet, [beat her,] and threw her into the rear garden to lie among the vegetables. The king returned, and hearing of it, was displeased. After a long time, the king went out walking in the garden, saw her, remembered her, and welcomed her back to the palace. As the second queen gradually grew close to him again, she recounted the full circumstances. The king was astounded upon hearing it, and immediately put eighty-four thousand secondary wives to death. King Aśoka later established a hell outside the city to punish all criminals. The Buddha knew that the king had killed the wives and was bound to fall into hell, so he sent the monk Xiaosan to transform the king. The king gave rise to faith and awakening, and asked the monk, 'I have killed eighty-four thousand wives; can this sin be redeemed or not?' The man of the Way said, 'If you erect one stupa for each person and place one relic beneath each stupa, you will surely obtain release from your sin.' The king immediately searched for the relics of King Ajātaśatru. There was a father of a state minister who was one hundred and twenty years old; leading fifty thousand men, he retrieved the original relics. The king was filled with great joy. He thereupon divided them among the ghosts and spirits, sending each back to their jurisdiction, commanding that on a single day and at a single moment they should simultaneously raise the eighty-four thousand stupa finials. The ghosts and spirits said, 'Many are separated by mountain barriers, so we will not be able to know [the moment] together.' The king said, 'You need only return, set up the base plates, guard the finials, and install the bells. I shall have an asura touch the sun and the moon with his hands, and the four continents will simultaneously strike drums, whereupon you shall raise and install them.' The two sūtras differ, and therefore both are preserved. Furthermore, the Jiaye yu Anan jing says: When the stupas were completed, twelve hundred woven banners and various flowers were made. Before the banners could be hung, the king fell ill. Leaning on his pillow, he lamented, 'If the spiritual powers have any resonance, may they perceive my utmost sincerity!' The various stupas then lined up beside his seat, bowing down before the king. The king tied the banners with his own hands; they departed one after another and returned to their respective places. The king's body was weak and exhausted, and he could not reach to take the banners; there were monks walking about who assisted the king in taking them. Therefore, nowadays when hoisting banners, monks are first made to carry them. Because of this, his illness was cured and his lifespan was increased by twelve [years]; thus it was named the 'Life-Extending Banner.' After the king had erected the eighty-four thousand stupas, he leaped for joy. Leading his ministers, he went to the Kukkuṭārāma monastery and said to the elder Yaśa, 'Are there any other monks who received predictions from the Buddha to perform Buddha-work? I should go to them to make offerings and show reverence.' The elder replied, 'When the Buddha was about to enter parinirvāṇa, he went to the country of Mathurā and said to Ānanda: "A hundred years after my parinirvāṇa, there will be the son of an elder named Upagupta. He will go forth from the household life, study the Way, and be called the 'Buddha without Characteristics'."' The king asked the elder, 'Has Upagupta already appeared in the world or not?' The elder replied, 'He has already appeared in the world, gone forth from the household life, and studied the Way; he is an arhat dwelling on Mount Urumuṇḍa.' Hearing this, the king leaped for joy. He immediately ordered his ministers to quickly prepare his royal carriage, intending to lead countless attendants to go there. The Venerable thought: 'If the king comes, his countless followers will suffer great hardship and crush tiny insects to death.' He answered the messenger, saying, 'I shall go to the king myself.' When the king heard that the Venerable was coming himself, he leaped for joy. From Mathurā to Pāṭaliputra, he opened and secured bridge pontoons between them, hanging various banners and canopies upon the pontoons. Then the Venerable Upagupta, leading an assembly of eighteen thousand arhats, went straight to the king's realm. The king leaped for great joy; he immediately removed his necklace of precious gems, worth tens of millions, and presented it to him. Leading his great ministers and attendants, the king went out to where the Venerable was, served him food, prostrated himself fully to make obeisance before him, knelt with palms joined, and spoke these words: 'Though I now govern this Jambudvīpa and hold the royal throne, I do not take joy in it; but now beholding the Venerable, my joy is boundless! That a disciple of the Tathāgata could be like this is just as if I were beholding the Buddha.' The king then invited the Venerable Upagupta into the city, arranged various seats, and invited the Venerable to be seated, while the Saṅgha was directed to go to the Kukkuṭārāma monastery. He said to the Venerable, 'The Venerable's countenance is upright and handsome, and his body is soft and supple, whereas my form is ugly and coarse, and my skin rough and harsh.' The Venerable then spoke a verse:

5.13

"When I practiced giving,
It was with a pure mind and fine wealth;
Yet it is not equal to the king's practice of giving,
When you offered sand to the Buddha."

5.14

Then King Aśoka said to the ministers, 'Because I offered sand to the Buddha, I have obtained such retribution as this; how could I not cultivate reverence toward the World-Honoured One?' The king further said to Upagupta, 'May the Venerable show me the places where the Buddha taught the Dharma and traveled, so that I may go there to make offerings and worship.' The king then led the fourfold army, bearing various offerings of incense, flowers, banners, and streamers, along with various musical entertainments, and departed with the Venerable. The Venerable arrived at the Lumbinī Grove, this being the place where the Tathāgata was born. The king prostrated fully, made offerings, worshipped, and erected a stupa. [He was shown:] 'Here the Bodhisattva practiced austerities for six years; here two maidens offered milk-rice to the Bodhisattva.' Then the Venerable led the king beneath the Bodhi tree and said to the king, 'Beneath this tree, the Bodhisattva, through the power of his samādhi of benevolence and compassion, shattered Māra's hosts and attained anuttarāsamyaksaṃbodhi.' The king then gave away countless rare gems, made various offerings, and erected a great stupa. The Venerable led the king to the country of Kuśinagara and said, 'Here the Tathāgata fully accomplished his Buddha-work and entered parinirvāṇa in the parinirvāṇa without remainder.' When the king heard these words, overcome with sorrow and confusion, he threw himself to the ground, weeping and shedding tears. In this way, he went so far as to raise various offerings and erect a great stupa. Then the king further said to the Venerable, 'My wish is to see the great disciples of the Buddha who received the Buddha's predictions, and to make offerings to their relics; please show them to me.' Then the Venerable said to the king, 'Excellent, excellent! Great King, you are able to generate such a wondrous aspiration.' The Venerable then led the king to the country of Śrāvastī. Entering the Jetavana monastery, he pointed to a stupa: 'This is the stupa of the Venerable Śāriputra; the king should make offerings to it.' The king asked, 'What merit does he possess?' The Venerable answered, 'He was the Second Dharma King, who turned the wheel of the Dharma in accordance [with the Buddha].' The king gave rise to great joy and gave one hundred thousand ounces of rare gems to make offerings to that stupa. Next, he showed the stupa of Mahāmaudgalyāyana: 'The king should make offerings to this stupa.' The king asked again, 'What merit does he possess?' The Venerable answered, 'He was foremost in spiritual powers; stamping his toe upon the earth, the earth shook all the way to the heavenly palaces, and he subdued the dragon kings Nanda and Upananda.' The king gave one hundred thousand ounces of rare gems to make offerings to this stupa. Next, he showed the stupa of Mahākāśyapa and said to the king, 'This is Mahākāśyapa's meditation cave; you should make offerings to it.' The king asked, 'What merit does he possess?' He answered, 'He had few desires and was content, foremost in dhūta practices; the Tathāgata shared half his seat with him and bestowed the saṅghāṭī robe, out of pity for sentient beings, to establish the True Dharma.' The king gave one hundred thousand ounces of rare gems to make offerings to this stupa. Next, he showed the stupa of the Venerable Vakkula: 'You should make offerings to it.' The king asked, 'What merit does he possess?' The Venerable answered, 'He was foremost in freedom from illness; he did not preach a single phrase of Dharma to others, remaining silent and wordless.' The king said, 'I offer one coin.' The ministers said to the king, 'Their merits being equal, why make an offering of only one coin here?' The king told them, 'Listen to what I say:

5.15

"Though he eradicated ignorance and delusion,
And his wisdom could discern and inspect,
Yet though Vakkula had [these virtues],
What benefit did he bring to the world?"

5.16

At that moment, that single coin returned and came back to the king. When the great ministers saw this rare event, with one voice they praised him: 'Ah, the Venerable had few desires and was content, even to the point of not needing a single coin!'

5.17

He next showed the stupa of Ānanda and said to the king, 'This is the stupa of Ānanda; you should make offerings to it.' The king asked, 'What merit does he possess?' He answered, 'This person was the Buddha's attendant, foremost in hearing much, who compiled the Buddha's sūtras.' The king immediately gave one hundred billion ounces of rare gems to make offerings to his stupa. Then the ministers said to the king, 'Why is your giving and offering here superior to all the previous ones?' The king said to the ministers, 'Listen to what I say:

5.18

"The Tathāgata's physical form
And the Dharma-body are pure by nature;
He was able to uphold them all completely,
Therefore this offering is supreme.
The lamp of Dharma abides constantly in the world,
Extinguishing this darkness of ignorance;
All of this has come through him,
Therefore this offering is supreme."

5.19

At that time, after the king had made offerings of all kinds everywhere, he arrived at the Bodhi tree at the site of awakening. It was beneath this tree that the Tathāgata attained unexcelled, perfect awakening. He made offerings to the Bodhi tree with rare and precious treasures of the world. At that time, the king's queen was named Tiṣyarakṣitā. The queen thought to herself: 'The king loves and dotes on me deeply, and I too am devoted to the king. Now the king has forsaken me and, taking all kinds of treasures, has gone among the Bodhi trees. I must now devise an expedient means to kill the Bodhi tree. Once the tree withers and dies and its leaves fall, the king will no longer go there, and will be able to make merry with me constantly.' The queen then sent someone to pour boiling milk over it, and the tree immediately withered. Then the messengers reported to the king: 'The Bodhi tree has suddenly withered and died; leaf after leaf turns and falls.' When the king heard these words, he fell into a faint upon the ground. Seeing the king so dejected and unhappy, the queen said to him: 'Do not grieve and worry, Your Majesty; I shall gladden your heart.' The king replied: 'If that tree is gone, my life is gone as well. Beneath that tree, the Tathāgata attained unexcelled, perfect awakening. If that tree is no more, what use is there in my living?' Hearing the king's resolute words, the queen again ordered it to be watered with cold milk. The tree then revived and sprouted anew. Hearing this, the king rejoiced and went beneath the Bodhi tree, gazing at it without turning his eyes away for even an instant. Then the king prepared urns of the four jewels—gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and crystal—filled with fragrant milk and fragrant water, and brought one thousand kinds each of diverse foods and drinks, banners, flags, and jewelled canopies, as well as various flowers, incenses, and music. He observed the eightfold poṣadha fast, put on pure white garments, held an incense burner, and stood in the palace hall. Bowing toward the four directions, he thought in his mind and spoke aloud: 'May the noble and holy disciples of the Tathāgata in all directions, out of pity for me, accept my offering.' When the king spoke thus, three hundred thousand bhikṣus all assembled. Among that great assembly, one hundred thousand were arhats, and two hundred thousand were trainees and ordinary bhikṣus. The seat of the senior elder was unoccupied. The king asked the bhikṣus: 'Why is the senior elder's seat unoccupied?' In that great assembly there was a bhikṣu named Yaśas, a great arhat possessed of the six supernormal powers, who said to the king: 'This seat is the seat of the senior elder; how could any of the rest dare sit in it?' The king asked again: 'Is there an elder even more senior than the Venerable One?' The Venerable One replied: 'There is a more senior elder, spoken of by the Buddha, named Piṇḍola. This senior elder should sit in this place.' The king greatly rejoiced and said: 'Is there among them any bhikṣu who has seen the Buddha?' The Venerable One replied: 'Yes, Great King, Piṇḍola is still in the world.' The king asked again: 'May I see that bhikṣu?' The Venerable One said: 'Great King, you will see him before long; he will arrive shortly.' The king greatly rejoiced. Then the Venerable Piṇḍola, leading countless arhats following one after another, arrived riding through the empty air like the king of geese. When he sat in the senior elder's place, the community of bhikṣus each paid homage and sat in their proper order. When the king saw that the hair and beard of the Venerable Piṇḍola were completely white, with the bodily marks of a pratyekabuddha, he bowed his head to his feet, knelt on both knees with palms joined, and said to the Venerable One: 'Did you see the World-Honoured One?' Then the Venerable Piṇḍola raised his eyebrows with his hand, looked at the king, and said: 'Formerly, when the Tathāgata, together with five hundred arhats, first observed the rainy-season retreat at Rājagṛha, I was also among them. Furthermore, when the World-Honoured One was dwelling in the kingdom of Śrāvastī, the daughter of the elder Anāthapiṇḍada invited the Buddha and the community of bhikṣus. The bhikṣus each flew through the air to go there. At that time, I used my supernormal powers to bring a great mountain together and went there to accept the invitation. Then the World-Honoured One reproached me: "How can you display such supernormal powers in the true Dharma? I now punish you: you shall remain constantly in the world and must not enter nirvāṇa, so that you may protect and uphold my true Dharma and not let it perish." Furthermore, when the Tathāgata led the community of bhikṣus into the city to beg for alms, you, Great King, were playing in the sand with another boy. Seeing the Buddha approach from afar, you scooped up earth and sand and offered it to the Buddha. Then the World-Honoured One prophesied regarding that boy: "A hundred years after my extinction, this boy will ascend the throne in the city of Pāṭaliputra and rule over Jambudvīpa, named Aśoka. He will widely disperse my relics and in a single day build eighty-four thousand stūpas." You are that person now. I was also present at that time.' Then the king said to the Venerable One: 'Where does the Venerable One reside now?' The Venerable One replied to the king: 'On the northern mountain named Gandhamādana, together with my fellow practitioners of the pure life.' The king asked again: 'How many followers do you have?' The Venerable One answered: 'Sixty thousand arhats.' The Venerable One said: 'Why must the king ask so many questions? Now you should present offerings to the saṅgha. Once the meal is finished, I will bring you joy.' The king said: 'So it is, Venerable One. However, I must first make offerings to the Bodhi tree of awakening that the Buddha held in mind, and afterward present fragrant, delicious food and drink to the saṅgha.' He ordered his ministers to proclaim throughout the realm that the king was now donating one hundred thousand ounces of gold as an offering to the saṅgha, and one thousand urns of fragrant water to bathe the Bodhi tree, summoning the fivefold assembly. At that time, the prince named Kuṇāla, who was on the king's right side, raised two fingers without speaking, intending to double the offering. When the assembly saw this, they all burst out laughing. The king also laughed and said: 'Ah, the prince would multiply the merit!' The king said further: 'I shall offer another three hundred thousand ounces of gold to the saṅgha, and add another thousand urns of fragrant water to bathe the Bodhi tree.' The prince then raised four fingers, meaning four times as much. The king grew angry and said to his ministers: 'Who taught the prince to do this and compete with me?' The ministers reported to the king: 'Who would dare compete with the king? But the prince is intelligent and of sharp faculties; it is only to multiply merit that he does this.' Then the king looked to the right at the prince and said to the senior elder: 'Excepting the contents of my storehouses, all other possessions, Jambudvīpa itself, the queen, the palace ladies, the ministers and retinue, and my son Kuṇāla, are all bestowed upon the noble and holy assembly of monks! Proclaim this throughout the realm.' When the king, the senior elder, and the community of bhikṣus washed and bathed the Bodhi tree with the thousand urns of fragrant water, the Bodhi tree became twice as magnificent, flourishing and luxuriant. The king and all his ministers gave rise to great joy. After the king finished bathing the Bodhi tree, he next made offerings to the saṅgha. Then the senior elder Yaśas said to the king: 'Great King, now that a vast community of bhikṣus has gathered, you should generate a pure and faithful mind to make offerings.' The king then served the offerings with his own hands from top to bottom. There were two śrāmaṇeras who, upon receiving their food, shared flour dumplings, cakes, and sweet laddu balls back and forth with each other. Seeing this, the king laughed and said: 'These śrāmaṇeras are playing children's games.' When the offering was complete, the king returned to stand before the senior elder. The senior elder said to the king: 'Great King, do not give rise to a lack of faith and reverence.' The king replied to the senior elder: 'I did not have any lack of faith and reverence; it was just that I saw the two'

5.20

'śrāmaṇeras playing children's games. Just as children in the world play—throwing lumps of earth back and forth to each other—so did these two śrāmaṇeras throw flour dumplings, cakes, and sweet laddu balls back and forth to each other.' The senior elder said to the king: 'Those two śrāmaṇeras are both doubly-liberated arhats, serving food to one another.' Hearing this, the king increased his faithful mind and thought: 'If these two śrāmaṇeras can give to each other in turn, I too should now donate silk and cotton to all the monks.' At that time, the two śrāmaṇeras knew the thoughts in the king's mind. The two śrāmaṇeras said to each other: 'Let us make the king double his reverence and faith.' One śrāmaṇera held a cauldron and handed it to the king, while the other handed him dyeing herbs. The king asked the śrāmaṇeras: 'What are these to be used for?' The two śrāmaṇeras said to the king: 'Because of us, the king wishes to donate silk and cotton to the saṅgha. We wish for the Great King to dye them with colour and donate them to the saṅgha.' The king then thought: 'Although I thought it in my mind, my mouth had not yet spoken. These two accomplished men possess the knowledge of others' minds and know my mind.' The king then bowed his head in homage to the saṅgha and said to the śrāmaṇeras: 'Because of you, I donate monastic robes to the saṅgha.' Having donated the monastic robes, he furthermore offered the three robes together with four trillion ounces of precious treasures as dakṣiṇā to the five assemblies. After making the dakṣiṇā aspirations, he additionally redeemed Jambudvīpa, the palace maidens and concubines, the crown prince, and all his ministers with forty trillion ounces of precious treasures. Such was the measureless merit performed by King Aśoka.

5.21

The Saṃyuktāgama states: King Aśoka attained great reverent faith and asked the monks, "Who within the Buddha's Dharma has been able to perform great giving?" The monks said, "The elder Anāthapiṇḍada performed the greatest giving." The king asked again, "How much did he give?" The monks answered, "A hundred thousand kotis of gold." Having heard this, the king reflected: "That elder could still give up a hundred thousand kotis of gold. Now that I am king, for what reason should I merely give a hundred thousand kotis of gold? I should give ten million kotis of gold!" Thereupon the king erected eighty-four thousand stupas of the Buddha, and at every single one of those stupas he further gave a hundred thousand [pieces of] gold. He also held a great five-year assembly. At the assembly there were three hundred thousand monks, whom he supported with three hundred kotis of gold. Among that assembly, the first division were arhats, the second division were trainees (śaikṣas), and the third division were pure and honest ordinary persons. Setting aside his private treasury, he gave this Jambudvīpa, along with his royal wives, palace maidens, crown prince, and great ministers, to the noble Sangha for forty kotis of gold, and then redeemed them again. Calculating in this manner, he expended ninety-six thousand kotis of gold. Eventually, the king fell gravely ill and knew his life was coming to an end. The king said, "It has always been my vow that I wished to complete ten million kotis of gold to perform meritorious deeds. Now my vow cannot be fulfilled, and I must depart to the afterlife." At that time, calculating the gold and jewels given from beginning to end, they fell short by only four kotis. The king then prepared various precious jewels to send to the Kukkuṭārāma Monastery. The son of Dharmavardhana, named Saṃprati, was the crown prince. The ministers addressed the prince, saying, "The Great King will soon pass away. Now he is again sending these precious jewels to the monastery. The state treasury's wealth is already exhausted. The laws of states hold material wealth as preeminent. The crown prince should now stop this, and not let it be completely depleted." The prince then commanded the keeper of the treasury not to issue any more. The king himself knew that when he asked for things he could no longer obtain them. He then sent the gold vessels from which he ate to the monastery. The prince then stopped the gold vessels and gave the king silver vessels to eat from. Having finished eating, he again sent them to the monastery. The prince again stopped the silver vessels and provided copper vessels. The king also sent them to the monastery. He then stopped the copper vessels and provided earthenware vessels. At that time, the king held half an āmalaka fruit in his hand. Weeping tears of sorrow, he asked the ministers, "Who is now master of the earth?" The ministers addressed the king, "Your Majesty is the master of the earth." Then King Aśoka summoned an attendant and said, "You now remember my kindness in nurturing you. Take this half āmalaka fruit and deliver it to the Kukkuṭārāma Monastery. In accordance with my intention, bow down to the feet of the monks and say: 'King Aśoka pays homage and inquires after all the great noble assembly. I governed this Jambudvīpa; Jambudvīpa belonged to me. Now it is completely gone and I have no autonomy. Only in this half āmalaka fruit do I retain my freedom. This is my final perfection of giving (dānapāramitā). Out of pity for me, please accept this offering, so that I may obtain merit.'" Then the sthavira (senior elder) announced to the great assembly, "Who that hears these words would not be weary of the world? As the Buddha's sūtra says: 'Seeing the decline of others, one should give rise to revulsion and renunciation.'" Then that sthavira thought to himself, "How can this half āmalaka be shared so that the entire Sangha receives a portion to eat?" He then ordered it ground to powder and stirred into pomegranate broth to be distributed, so that all received a share throughout. The king then asked his attendant ministers again, "Who is the master of Jambudvīpa?" The ministers addressed the king, "The Great King is." The king then sat up from his bed, looked out in the four directions, joined his palms in reverence, recalled the virtues of the Buddhas, thought in his mind and spoke aloud: "I now again give this Jambudvīpa to the Three Jewels." The king wrote it all down on paper, sealed it up, and stamped it with his tooth-mark as a seal. Having completed these matters, he then passed away. At that time, the prince and the people raised up various offerings for his funeral and cremated him in accordance with the royal law.

5.22

The Dharmavardhana Sūtra states: The king had a crown prince named Dharmavardhana (Dharmavaddhana), which in Qi speech means 'Increase of the Dharma' (Fayi). He was born on the day the eighty-four thousand stupas were erected. His eyes were lovely, resembling the eyes of a kuṇāla bird; thus he was given that name. In demeanor he was bright and refined, renowned in both civil and military arts, and skilled at playing the one-stringed zither. The king had a secondary consort who saw him, fell in love with him, and wished to have an illicit liaison with him. The prince firmly refused and would not comply. The consort's resentment ran deep, and fearing that the matter might leak out, she secretly wished to dispose of him. Thereupon she addressed the king, saying, "Today our borders are unified and the four seas follow the same custom. The crown prince's age and virtue are both fine, and he is thoroughly accomplished in both civil and military arts. It would be fitting for him to pacify and govern the strategic frontiers so as to win the hearts of the people." The king complied with her intention and immediately dispatched troops to escort him. While at his post, the prince showed great governing ability. After more than a year, the king suddenly suffered from a foul stench throughout his body, which none of the world's physicians or medicines could cure. The consort secretly sent people to inquire throughout the realm for anyone with the same illness as the king, cut open their belly to examine it, and found a black worm several inches long, so foul that one could not approach it. They immediately took various medicines to pour over it, but its foulness only increased. They then fumigated it with garlic; the worm died and the stench ceased. Thereupon she addressed the king, saying, "I can cure Your Majesty and ensure your recovery. I beg you to allow me to rule as king for seven days." The king was delighted and consented, saying, "As long as you make me recover, what are seven days?" The consort immediately gave garlic to the king and had him take it, whereupon he was cured. Thereupon the palace maidens presented wine to offer congratulations, causing the king to lie drunk without awareness. The consort, bearing resentment against the prince, fabricated an imperial edict to gouge out his two eyes, ordering others to take his place. By the law of the state, the king's tooth served as his seal; she therefore took wax to make an impression of the king's tooth and stamped it. The prince received the edict with joy and without resentment. He first had one eye gouged out and placed in his palm; looking at it for a long while, he awakened to suffering, emptiness, and non-self, and attained the stage of stream-enterer (srotaāpanna). Afterwards, he yielded the other eye. Thereupon, taking his consort by the hand, he walked out of the city on foot. Passersby wept for him, all raising their heads and crying out to Heaven, "What crime has the prince committed to come to this?" Prostrating to bid farewell, they sobbed and could not rise; some even died from intense grief. Begging for food while wandering in exile, he happened to return to his home country, still carrying his one-stringed zither and playing it wherever he went. At that time, a great minister recognized that he was the crown prince and also knew what the consort had done, but did not dare to inquire. Through another person, he addressed the king, saying, "Outside there is a blind man skilled at playing the zither, fully master of sixty-four arts, with wondrously exceptional skill; he should not be missed." The king immediately summoned him and thus saw his son. The son's wife fainted and fell to the ground; only after a long while did she revive. When the king questioned him about the cause, he realized that it had been done by the consort. Since the king had previously received the five precepts and no longer killed living beings, he only had her nose cut off and cast her into a deep forest. When the prince heard that the consort had been punished, his pent-up sorrow brought on an illness and he died. The king was old and senile, bedridden with illness, and had no remaining authority. For half a year, the ministers administered affairs. After the king passed away, they established the throne: the son of Dharmavardhana, named Saṃprati, succeeded to the throne.

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釋迦譜 — 僧祐, Classical Chinese