弘明集 1.6

1.6

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.'