法華傳記 9.16

9.16

昔外國王懷不信。唯事自在天。時有一沙彌。年二十有餘。深入無生。頗得通智。識知三世事。國王聞神異。遣使請來談佛法理。王生信心。捨邪歸命正法。即告王言。大王將聞正法。王曰。聞法有何功德。曰聞法功德不可思議。其福無量。大師釋迦。於初發心之時。一偈捨身。遂致得佛。亦如法華云。聞法歡喜讚。乃至發一言。即為已供養一切三世佛。其功德輕少耶。昔大雪山中有寶塔。於中安置法華梵夾。有一老僧。止住其中。受持讀誦。塔傍有石窟。中有二野干久住。老比丘初來時。一野干恐怖遠去。遊止林藪。一野干居於窟。恒聞比丘誦經。時屬風寒。雪積失路。愛法音故在窟中。餓死生人間。悟解妙法。深入無生。現前見十方諸佛。其怖畏去野干。住塔邊影下故。其福作國王。不聞正法故。妙法未染其心。彼去野干豈異人乎。汝大王是也。聞法野干今吾身是。以昔朋友故。宿緣所追化悟大王。說此語已。示神通事。因忽不現。王感悟流淚。國位委太子。出家學道得順忍焉（出西國傳）。

Formerly, a king of a foreign land harbored disbelief and worshipped only Maheśvara. At that time, there was a śrāmaṇera over twenty years of age who had deeply penetrated non-arising and had largely attained supernormal gnosis, knowing the events of the three times. Hearing of his divine wonders, the king sent an envoy to invite him to discourse on the principles of the Buddha's Dharma. The king gave rise to faithful confidence, abandoned heterodoxy, and took refuge in the true Dharma. The śrāmaṇera then said to the king, 'Great King, you are now about to hear the true Dharma.' The king said, 'What merit is there in hearing the Dharma?' The śrāmaṇera replied, 'The merit of hearing the Dharma is inconceivable, and its blessing is immeasurable. When our Great Master Śākyamuni first gave rise to the aspiration [for awakening], he abandoned his body for a single verse, ultimately attaining Buddhahood. It is also as the Lotus Sūtra says: "If someone hears the Dharma and joyfully praises it, / Even uttering just a single word, / They have already made offerings / To all the Buddhas of the three times." Could its merit be slight? Formerly, there was a jeweled stūpa in the Great Snow Mountains, in which was enshrined an Indic manuscript of the Lotus Sūtra. An elder monk dwelt there, upholding, reading, and reciting it. Beside the stūpa was a stone cave, in which two jackals had long resided. When the elder bhikṣu first arrived, one jackal was frightened and fled far away, roaming in the groves and thickets. The other jackal remained in the cave, constantly hearing the bhikṣu recite the sūtra. At that time the wind was cold, and deep snow obliterated the paths; yet out of love for the sound of the Dharma, it stayed in the cave. It starved to death and was reborn in the human realm, awakening to the wondrous Dharma, deeply penetrating non-arising, and seeing face-to-face the Buddhas of the ten directions. As for the jackal that fled in fear, because it dwelt under the shade beside the stūpa, that blessing caused it to become a king; but because it had not heard the true Dharma, the wondrous Dharma had not yet imbued its mind. Could that departing jackal be someone else? It was you, Great King! The jackal that heard the Dharma is now myself. Because we were friends of old, impelled by past conditions, I have transformed and awakened the Great King.' Having spoken these words, he manifested supernormal powers and suddenly disappeared. Deeply moved to realization, the king shed tears, entrusted his royal throne to the crown prince, and left household life to study the path, attaining ānulomikī-kṣānti (from the Xiguo zhuan).