雜譬喻經 1.16

1.16

In the past, countless dust-mote kalpas ago, there was a bodhisattva named Xigen who expounded the Mahāyāna in the great assembly. At that time, Mañjuśrī was an ordinary mortal; he had left home to cultivate the Way, focusing diligently on asceticism, practicing the twelve dhūtas to bless and deliver all beings. Encountering the exposition of the Dharma, he happened to listen as the bodhisattva Xigen expounded the Dharma of the true nature of dharmas, stating that lust, anger, and delusion are not different from the Way—they are indeed the Way, and are also nirvāṇa. At that time, Mañjuśrī heard this and did not believe it, immediately walking away. He went to the home of a disciple of Xigen and expounded to him the teaching of foul impurity. The disciple of Xigen immediately objected: "That which has nothing is the truth of dharmas; all dharmas are empty—how could there be pure and impure?" The dhūta bhikṣu was silent with no reply, harbouring anger within his mind, which formed into a knot of resentment. The disciple of Xigen then spoke seventy verses praising the Dharma of the true nature of dharmas. For every verse the dhūta bhikṣu heard, his anger increased by one degree; by the end of the seventy verses, his anger had increased seventy-fold. Just as the speaking of the verses ended, the earth split open, and the Avīci hell manifested there completely. The dhūta bhikṣu immediately fell into it; only after countless kalpas had passed and his guilt was exhausted did he emerge. Only then did he realize that the fault of disbelieving the wondrous Dharma is grave. Later he became a bhikṣu, devoted himself to learning, attained great wisdom, and became foremost in understanding emptiness. This is an analogy explaining that when the Buddha expounds wisdom (prajñā), disbelieving and slandering it may cause harm now, but will bring great benefit later.