釋迦譜 5.26

5.26

to the royal throne. At that time, Puṣyamitra asked his ministers, "What should I do so that my name and virtue will endure long in the world?" Then the good and worthy ministers who had faith in the Three Jewels addressed the king, saying, "The ancestral king Aśoka, during his lifetime, built eighty-four thousand stupas and raised up various offerings; the fame and virtue of this has been passed down to this day. If Your Majesty wishes to seek such fame, you should construct eighty-four thousand stupas and make various offerings." The king said, "The Great King Aśoka possessed formidable awe and virtue and was able to accomplish this. I cannot do it; think of something else." Among them, an evil minister who had no faith addressed the king, saying, "In the world there are two kinds of ways to be passed down through generations without perishing: the first is doing good, and the second is doing evil. The Great King Aśoka performed various good deeds. Now Your Majesty should perform evil deeds and smash the eighty-four thousand stupas; this fame will likewise never perish." The king then followed the flatterer's words, intending to destroy the stupas and monasteries. He first went to the Kukkuṭārāma Monastery. In front of the gate was a stone lion, which immediately roared. Hearing it, the king was terrified and immediately returned to the city. Three times he thus wished to destroy that monastery. The king then asked the monks, "If I am to destroy the stupas, or rather destroy the sanghārāmas?" The monks answered, "Neither should be done. If the king insists on destruction, he would rather destroy the sanghārāmas and kill the monks." Thus he gradually advanced to the country of Śākala. There he again proclaimed an order: "If anyone can obtain the head of a śramaṇa, they will be rewarded with a hundred pieces of gold." At that time, in that country there was an arhat who manifested numerous monks' heads and gave them to the common people to present to the king, causing the king's treasury of wealth to be exhausted. When the king heard that the arhat had done this, his rage doubled and he wished to kill the arhat. The arhat then entered the absorption of cessation (nirodhasamāpatti). The king used countless expedients to kill that holy man, but in the end could not succeed; through the power of samādhi, his body was not harmed. Thus the king gradually advanced to the gate of the Buddha's stupa. There was a spirit residing within who guarded the Buddha's stupa, named Tooth (Daṃṣṭrā). He thought: "I observe the precepts against killing living beings and cannot harm the king." He further thought: "There is a spirit named Insect (Kīṭa), who is fierce, violent, and brave, and has sought my daughter; I did not give her to him. Now, for the sake of protecting the Dharma, I shall marry her to him, so that he may protect the Buddha's Dharma." Then that Insect spirit shoved a great mountain and pushed it down upon the king, and his fourfold army was wiped out without exception. That king perished; the Maurya lineage came to a permanent end here. Sengyou investigates: The origins of the eighty-four thousand stupas indeed presaged later events; what was extensively and at length described has already been verified by evidence. When I began compiling this genealogy, my original purpose was to narrate the Śākya clan; but because the stupas were raised by Aśoka, I recorded the Mauryas in full. Although this is voluminous in text, the matters concerning the stupas are thereby made complete.