弘明集 1.6

1.6

或問曰。佛從何出生。寧有先祖及國邑不。皆何施行。狀何類乎。牟子曰。富哉問也。請以不敏。略說其要。蓋聞佛化之為狀也。積累道德。數千億載不可紀記。然臨得佛時。生於天竺。假形於白淨王夫人。晝寢夢乘白象身有六牙欣然悅之。遂感而孕。以四月八日。從母右脇而生。墮地行七步。舉右手曰。天上天下靡有踰我者也。時天地大動宮中皆明。其日王家青衣復產一兒。厩中白馬亦乳白駒。奴字車匿。馬曰揵陟。王常使隨太子。太子有三十二相八十種好。身長丈六。體皆金色。頂有肉髻。頰車如師子。舌自覆面。手把千輻輪。項光照萬里。此略說其相。年十七王為納妃。隣國女也。太子坐則遷座。寢則異床。天道孔明陰陽而通。遂懷一男六年乃生。父王珍偉太子。為興宮觀。妓女寶玩並列於前。太子不貪世樂。意存道德。年十九四月八日夜半呼車匿勒揵陟跨之。鬼神扶舉飛而出宮。明日廓然不知所在。王及吏民莫不歔欷。追之及田。王曰。未有爾時禱請神祇。今既有爾如玉如珪。當續祿位而去何為。太子曰。萬物無常有存當亡。今欲學道度脫十方。王知其彌堅。遂起而還。太子徑去。思道六年遂成佛焉。所以孟夏之月生者不寒不熱。草木華英。釋狐裘衣絺𥿭。中呂之時也。所以生天竺者。天地之中處其中和也。所著經凡有十二部。合八億四千萬卷。其大卷萬言以下。小卷千言已上。佛授教天下度脫人民。因以二月十五日。泥洹而去。其經戒續存。履能行之。亦得無為。福流後世。持五戒者。一月六齋。齋之日專心一意。悔過自新。沙門持二百五十戒。日日齋。其戒非優婆塞所得聞也。威儀進止與古之典禮無異。終日竟夜講道誦經。不預世事。老子曰。孔德之容唯道是從。其斯之謂也。

Someone asked: 'From where was the Buddha born? Did he have ancestors and a city-state? How did he act, and what was his appearance like?' Mouzi said: 'A rich question indeed! Please allow me, with my modest ability, to briefly explain the essentials. It is heard that the manifestation of the Buddha's transformation was such that he accumulated Dao and virtue for hundreds of thousands of koṭis of kalpas beyond reckoning. Yet when he was about to attain Buddhahood, he was born in Tianzhu, borrowing physical form from the queen of King Śuddhodana. While resting during the day, she dreamed that she mounted a white elephant with six tusks on its body, and was filled with joy; thereupon she conceived through spiritual resonance. On the eighth day of the fourth month, he was born from his mother's right side. Dropping to the ground, he walked seven steps, raised his right hand, and said: "In heaven above and earth below, there is none who surpasses me." At that time, heaven and earth shook violently, and the interior of the palace was entirely illuminated. On that day, a maidservant of the royal house also gave birth to a boy, and a white mare in the stables foaled a white colt. The servant was named Chandaka, and the horse was called Kaṇṭhaka. The king always had them accompany the crown prince. The crown prince possessed the thirty-two marks of a great man and the eighty secondary signs; his body was sixteen feet tall, and his form was entirely golden. On the crown of his head was an uṣṇīṣa, his cheeks were like a lion's, his tongue could cover his face, his hand bore a thousand-spoked wheel, and the light from his neck illuminated ten thousand li. This is a brief description of his marks. When he was seventeen, the king took a consort for him, a maiden from a neighboring state. When the crown prince sat, he changed seats; when he slept, it was in a different bed. The Heavenly Dao was brilliantly clear, and the yin and yang communicated; thereupon she conceived a son, who was born after six years. The father-king treasured the crown prince and built palaces and belvederes for him; female entertainers and precious curiosities were displayed before him. The crown prince did not crave worldly pleasures; his mind was set upon the Dao and virtue. At the age of nineteen, in the middle of the night on the eighth day of the fourth month, he called Chandaka, bridled Kaṇṭhaka, and mounted him. Ghosts and spirits supported and lifted him, flying out of the palace. The next morning, it was deserted and no one knew where he was. The king, officials, and people all wept and sighed. They pursued him and reached the wilderness. The king said: "Before you were born, we prayed to the gods and spirits. Now that we have you, like jade and like a ritual tablet, you should continue the royal position; why do you depart?" The crown prince said: "All things are impermanent; what exists must perish. Now I wish to study the Dao to deliver the ten directions." The king knew that his resolution was ever firmer, so he arose and returned. The crown prince went straight on, contemplated the Dao for six years, and then achieved Buddhahood. The reason he was born in the first month of summer is that it is neither cold nor hot, plants and trees are in blossom, one discards fox furs and wears fine linen, and it is the season of the Zhonglü pitch-pipe. The reason he was born in Tianzhu is that it is the center of heaven and earth, residing in harmony and equilibrium. The scriptures he composed total twelve divisions, comprising 840,000,000 scrolls. Its large scrolls are under ten thousand words, and small scrolls are over one thousand words. The Buddha imparted teachings to the world to deliver the people, and subsequently, on the fifteenth day of the second month, entered Nirvāṇa and departed. His scriptures and precepts continue to exist; if one can tread and practice them, one will also attain non-action, and blessings will flow to later generations. Those who hold the five precepts observe the six monthly fast days; on the days of fasting, they focus their minds with single purpose, repenting their faults and renewing themselves. The śramaṇas hold the two hundred and fifty precepts and fast every day; their precepts are not something an upāsaka may hear. Their deportment and movements do not differ from the ancient ritual proprieties. All day and through the night, they lecture on the Dao and chant scriptures, taking no part in worldly affairs. Laozi said: "The form of great virtue conforms only to the Dao." This is what it refers to.'