釋迦譜 5.21

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.