付法藏因緣傳 3.6

3.6

憂波毱多說是偈已。觀佛心至不覺為禮。魔言仁者。何故如此。答言波旬。我知世尊久已滅度。見此容貌若似覩佛。歡喜內發是故禮耳。魔復本形歸還天上。於第四日魔更來下。以大音聲普告一切。諸仁者。欲得富樂生人天中。欲求涅槃第一安隱。不見如來大悲說法。悉當往詣優波毱所。聽受妙法至心修行。時摩突羅城男女大小。聞於尊者摧伏惡魔。百千萬人皆共雲集。憂波毱多上師子座。隨其所應說種種法。百千眾生得須陀洹道。萬八千人成阿羅漢。從是已後所化無量。為阿恕伽王興大饒益。彼王功德深遠超勝。於三寶所得不壞信。以善緣故得斯勝果。昔佛住在迦蘭陀林日時已到將諸比丘入城乞食。於其路次見二童子。一名德勝。二名無勝。以土造作城舍倉庫。因復名為稻粟麻麥。即共聚斂置於倉內。如來光明皆悉照耀。同作金色無不清徹。德勝歡喜探名[麩-夫+少]者奉獻如來。其身卑小不能得及。無勝低跪令上奉之。於是世尊。即便微笑。爾時阿難尋白佛言。如來何緣現斯笑耶。佛告阿難。汝今見是二童子不。唯然已見。此童子者。我百年後。為轉輪王四分之一。於華氏城正法治世。分我舍利處處流布。造作八萬四千寶塔。即以此土授與阿難。塗房南壁足得周遍。於百年後果得為王。暴虐無道多所殺害。造作獄城名外可愛樂。令一惡人名曰耆梨。立大濩湯鐵丸刀劍。如是等事種種備足。外來入者皆悉治罪。有長者子出家為道。遊行乞食入愛樂獄尋欲還出。耆梨止之。即便舉聲而大啼哭。獄卒問曰。何故若此。比丘答言。我不畏死為善利耳。吾始出家未證道味。人身難得佛法難遇。今我值之而空受死。思惟是事故大悲泣。耆梨答言。王先有教。入此獄者終不聽出。比丘復言。我今定死願赦七日當就刑戮。爾時獄卒尋聽許之。阿恕伽王宮中婇女。與他男子共相調戲。王大瞋怒付獄治罪。尋以鐵杵碎之如塵。骨肉分散猶如聚沫。比丘觀已深生厭惡。即便歎曰。信哉大悲所言誠諦。說色無常譬如泡焰。不堅速朽甚難久保。先此女人顏容敷悅。今更求之將安所在。人命虛偽無可守護。尊貴貧賤愚智不同。生雖差別等有斯死。譬如百川泉源各異。未有一流不入大海。人亦如是同趣死處。為業長短受生修促。未幾時間會亦歸滅。此身臭穢不淨可惡。薄皮覆蔽妄生愛想。不觀其內種種過惡。怪哉生死嬰愚所樂。非是賢聖遊心味著。如是觀察從夜至旦。便斷眾結得須陀洹。轉復精勤獲羅漢道。滿七日已耆梨語言。汝期今至可就刑戮。比丘答曰。我夜已過我日已出。所作已辦隨汝治罰。耆梨瞋恚置鑊煮之。焰熱猛盛轉更清涼。怪其若此至鑊而觀。見鑊中生千葉蓮華。時彼比丘加趺坐上。爾時耆梨尋往白王。王將眷屬而來觀之。於是比丘踊身虛空作十八變。王見斯事歎未曾有。而作是言。我等今者同稟人形。威德奇妙差別乃爾。吾今未達。唯願宣說。爾時比丘欲化彼王。即作是言。我斷眾結解脫三有。離諸動亂寂然安樂。大王當知。佛記於汝。百年之後王華氏城。分布舍利廣建寶塔。汝今云何反造斯惡。殘害眾生無悲愍心。王今應當滿足佛意。施與眾生無畏之樂。王聞是已極自悔責。歸依三寶生敬信心。收集如來功德舍利。造作八萬四千寶塔。作塔已訖至雞頭末寺。合掌而問上座耶舍。此閻浮提頗有如我受記者不。耶舍答曰。佛記尊者優波毱多。於百年後興大饒益。王復問言。彼清淨人出世未也。答言大王。久已生世得羅漢道。於憂陀山圍遶說法。王即嚴駕欲往禮覲。尋遣使者。白言大聖。阿恕伽王欲來問訊。尊者念言。此處隘陋不容多人。我今宜應躬自往彼。即便嚴備向華氏城。王聞歡喜掃治巷路。燒香散華作眾伎樂。尋與群臣出迎尊者。當見之時五體投地。至心瞻仰目不暫捨。白言大聖。我得為王自在快樂。不如今日一相覩見。心大歡喜而說偈言。

After Upagupta had spoken this verse, his mindful reverence toward the Buddha became so intense that he inadvertently bowed down before him. Māra said, "Noble one, why do you do this?" He replied, "Pāpīyas, I know that the World-Honored One passed into extinction long ago. Seeing this form was as if beholding the Buddha; joy arose within me, and for that reason alone I bowed." Māra then resumed his original form and returned to the heavens. On the fourth day, Māra came down again and proclaimed aloud to all: "Noble ones, all of you who wish to attain wealth and happiness, to be born among humans or gods, or who seek the supreme tranquility of nirvāṇa, having not seen the Tathāgata teach the Dharma with great compassion, should all go to Upagupta's place to listen to and receive the wondrous Dharma and practice it with a sincere heart." At that time, men and women, old and young, in the city of Mathurā, hearing that the venerable one had subdued the evil Māra, gathered like clouds in their hundreds, thousands, and myriads. Upagupta mounted the lion seat and preached various Dharmas according to their capacities. Hundreds of thousands of sentient beings attained the path of the srotāpanna, and eighteen thousand people became arhats. From then on, those he transformed were immeasurable, and he brought great benefit to King Aśoka. That king's merits were profound, far-reaching, and extraordinary; he attained indestructible faith in the Three Jewels, and through good conditions obtained these supreme fruits. Formerly, when the Buddha was staying in the Kalandaka forest, the time came and he led the monks into the city to beg for food. Along the way, he saw two boys, one named Jaya and the other named Vijaya. They were playing with earth to build cities, houses, and granaries, and also named [the dirt] rice, millet, hemp, and wheat, collecting it together and placing it inside the granaries. The Tathāgata's light shone upon them all, turning everything into a golden hue, utterly clear and pure. Filled with joy, Jaya took what he called "roasted grain flour" to offer to the Tathāgata. His body being small and low, he could not reach; Vijaya knelt down to let him step on him to make the offering. Thereupon the World-Honored One smiled. At that time, Ānanda immediately addressed the Buddha, saying, "For what reason does the Tathāgata display this smile?" The Buddha told Ānanda, "Do you see these two boys?" "Yes, indeed, I have seen them." "One hundred years after my death, this boy will become a cakravartin of the fourth rank, ruling the world with the true Dharma at Pāṭaliputra. He will distribute my śarīra far and wide, building eighty-four thousand jeweled stūpas." [The Buddha] then handed this earth to Ānanda to plaster the south wall of the chamber, which was just enough to cover it completely. One hundred years later, he indeed became king. Cruel and tyrannical, he killed many, and constructed a prison city named "Pleasing on the Outside." He appointed an evil man named Giri and set up large cauldrons with boiling liquid, iron pellets, knives, and swords, fully equipping it with various such things, and executed all who entered from outside. The son of an elder had left household life for the Path; while wandering on his alms round, he entered the Pleasing Prison and immediately wished to leave. Giri stopped him, whereupon he cried aloud with great wailing. The jailer asked, "Why do you act like this?" The monk replied, "I do not fear death, but care only for good benefit. I have just recently left household life and have not yet realized the flavor of the Path. A human body is hard to obtain, and the Buddha's Dharma is hard to encounter. Now that I have met it, to die in vain—it is reflecting on this that makes me weep with great sorrow." Giri answered, "The king previously ordered that whoever enters this prison shall never be allowed to leave." The monk said further, "I must now surely die; I only wish for a stay of seven days, after which I will submit to execution." At that time the jailer granted it to him. A palace maid of King Aśoka had flirted with another man; the king, in great fury, committed them to the prison for punishment, and immediately had them crushed to dust with an iron pestle, their bones and flesh scattered like a mass of foam. Having observed this, the monk felt deep revulsion and sighed, "How true! The words spoken by the Great Compassionate One are truly genuine! He said that form is impermanent, like a bubble or a flame, not firm, quickly decaying, and very difficult to preserve for long. Previously, this woman's countenance was blooming and delightful, but now if one seeks it again, where is it to be found? Human life is empty and false, impossible to guard. Noble and lowly, poor and rich, foolish and wise are different, but though their lives differ, they all equally meet this death. Just as the sources of a hundred rivers are each distinct, yet there is not a single stream that does not flow into the great ocean, so too are human beings, all heading toward the place of death. Long or short according to their karma, they receive lives of varied lengths, but before long they inevitably return to extinction. This body is foul-smelling, filthy, and repulsive; covered by a thin skin, one falsely gives rise to thoughts of love, failing to see the various faults and evils within. How strange that birth and death should be the delight of infants and fools, and not that upon which the minds of the wise and noble roam and dwell!" Contemplating thus from night until dawn, he severed the fetters and attained the fruit of srotāpanna; practicing with further diligence, he attained the path of an arhat. When the seven days were fulfilled, Giri said to him, "Your time has now arrived; you may submit to execution." The monk replied, "My night has passed, my sun has risen; what was to be done has been accomplished. Do as you wish with your punishment." Giri in anger put him into a cauldron to boil him, but the blazing, intense heat turned cool and refreshing. Surprised at this, he went to the cauldron to look, and saw a thousand-petaled lotus flower growing inside the cauldron, with that monk sitting cross-legged upon it. Giri immediately went to inform the king. The king came with his retinue to view it. Thereupon the monk leaped into the air and performed the eighteen miraculous transformations. Seeing this, the king marveled at what had never been before, saying, "We all equally possess human form; how can there be such a difference in wondrous majesty and virtue? I do not yet understand; please explain it to me." At that time, wishing to transform the king, the monk spoke these words: "I have severed all fetters and am liberated from the three realms of existence, free from all agitation, tranquil and at peace. Great King, you should know: the Buddha prophesied of you that one hundred years later you would rule the city of Pāṭaliputra, distribute his śarīra, and widely build jeweled stūpas. Why do you now instead commit such evil, harming sentient beings without a heart of compassion? The King ought now to fulfill the Buddha's intention and bestow the joy of fearlessness upon sentient beings." Having heard this, the king deeply reproached himself, took refuge in the Three Jewels, and gave rise to reverent faith. He collected the Tathāgata's meritorious śarīra and built eighty-four thousand jeweled stūpas. Having completed the stūpas, he went to Kukkuṭārāma monastery, joined his palms, and asked the elder Yaśas, "Is there anyone in this Jambudvīpa who has received a prophecy like mine?" Yaśas answered, "The Buddha prophesied that the venerable Upagupta would bring about great benefit one hundred years after [his extinction]." The king asked again, "Has that pure person appeared in the world yet?" He answered, "Great King, he was born into the world long ago, has attained the path of an arhat, and is surrounded by people as he preaches the Dharma on Mount Urumuṇḍa." The king immediately prepared his chariot, wishing to go and pay homage to him, and promptly sent a messenger to say, "Great Sage, King Aśoka wishes to come and pay his respects." The venerable one thought, "This place is narrow and cramped, unable to hold many people. I should now go there in person." He then made preparations and set out toward Pāṭaliputra. Hearing this, the king rejoiced, swept and cleaned the lanes and roads, burned incense, scattered flowers, and played various music. He promptly went out with his ministers to welcome the venerable one. Upon seeing him, he cast his five limbs to the ground, gazed upon him with complete devotion, not taking his eyes off him for an instant, and said, "Great Sage, that I have become king with sovereign pleasure is not equal to beholding you once today." With his heart full of great joy, he spoke a verse, saying: