付法藏因緣傳 3.12

3.12

Having spoken this verse, he bowed his head in reverence and departed. He went to the Bodhi tree and said: "I now wish to create two kinds of merit: first, to fill a thousand vases with fragrant broth and bathe the Bodhi tree; second, to establish a Pañcavārṣika." He then bathed himself, put on fresh, clean robes, ascended a high tower, bowed in reverence to the four directions, and said: "May all the noble ones accept my invitation!" Just as he finished speaking, arhats from the ten directions came flying through the air. Sages of the three paths, twenty thousand in all, also gathered like clouds. They left the seat of the elder, and none dared sit in it. The King asked the monks: "Why do you leave this empty seat?" Yaśas answered: "There is a great arhat named Piṇḍola. The Tathāgata prophesied that he can roar the lion's roar, and his majestic virtue is lofty and supreme. He will now come here." Hearing this, the King's bodily hairs all stood on end, like an utpala flower first beginning to blossom; he immediately joined his palms, looking up in anticipation. Then Piṇḍola, together with the arhats, flew down from the sky like king geese. The entire assembly arose in veneration. Seeing that the Venerable's eyebrows and hair were eminent and white, and that his bodily marks and features were like those of a pratyekabuddha, the King bowed in reverence, throwing his five limbs to the ground, and asked: "Great Holy One, have you seen the Tathāgata?" He replied: "I have seen him. His form was like a mass of gold, his face like the full moon, his body adorned with the thirty-two marks; his Brahmā voice was profound and wonderful, a cave and dwelling of great compassion." The King asked again: "In what place did you see him?" The Venerable replied: "In Rājagṛha, during the summer retreat. Residing among them, I saw the supreme field of merit. Even when you formerly offered dirt to the Buddha and the Buddha gave you the prophecy, I was also able to witness it." At that time, that king took everything in his country—his wife, children, and kin, gold, silver, lapis lazuli, cattle, sheep, fields, and houses, as well as his own person, his palace women and female entertainers—and offered them entirely to the saṅgha, requesting that the Pañcavārṣika be established in his name. After bathing the Bodhi tree, he personally poured and served the food for the monks. Then Piṇḍola poured ghee over the rice. The King said: "Great Holy One, the nature of ghee is difficult to digest; might it not cause illness?" The Venerable replied: "It will not cause trouble. Why? In the Buddha's time, water was equal to today's ghee. Therefore, eating it will ultimately not cause disease." At that time, wishing to prove this matter, the Venerable stretched his hand into the ground, reaching down more than forty-two thousand li, took the earth's fat, and showed it to the King: "The King should now know: because sentient beings have meager merit, the rich and oily tastes have all flowed into the earth. Therefore, worldly merit progressively declines." Having made his offerings, the King joyfully withdrew. The King had a younger brother named Suthāta, whose wrong views were vehement, and who hated śramaṇas. The King used skillful means to make him change his wrong mind; he immediately left the household life and attained the path of an arhat. Later, he was killed by a Qiang tribesman. At that time, the assembly questioned Upagupta: "For what reason was that Suthāta born in an eminent and noble family, yet was killed by a Qiang?" The Venerable replied: "Listen well, and I will explain. Long ago in the past, at the time of Kāśyapa Buddha, he made offerings to the saṅgha; owing to this merit, he was born life after life always in honor, glory, wealth, and nobility. Furthermore, in a past life, he was a hunter; having laid out his nets and snares and caught no birds, seeing a pratyekabuddha, hatred arose in his mind, and he immediately cut off his head with a sharp sword. Due to this karma, he fell into the great hells, and in life after life was constantly killed by others. Although he attained the fruit of the path, he still underwent bitter pain."